Beware of this cabin: Vista Suite E732 on Emerald

[compozer]

I'm lost also.

 

There is a curtain that could be pulled across so if you were watching tv on either side, it would block the light from the tv.

 

Why go all the way to the aft elevators to make a call. There are two phones in the suite with long cords?

 

I can't imagine what you asked your poor steward to do!

 

And what is the big deal anyway????????????????/

You said you couldn't sleep until after midnight. If you got up at 7 - then you got 7 hours of sleep - that is more than many of us get. Wait until you get old like some of us and only get 4 hours a night.

[susiesan]

Susie, in all fairness there is no way that a band, their instruments, the sound equipment, lighting, etc. can be moved without a lot of pre-planning, which is what you seriously should have done before booking this cabin.

 

I know it's not always something that we think about when we're very excited about booking a cruise. That said, EVERYONE needs to learn that cruising is different than booking land vacations in a hotel room. There are lots of variables to be considered. LOCATION of your cabin being the number one concern.

 

You and your sisters had a lovely cabin right above a very popular, loud, night spot, that is well known onboard Princess cruise ships. This was very poor planning for folks who are disturbed by music in the evening.

 

You obviously have access to the internet where the deck plans of all cruise ships is readily available and where you can easily see what's above and below the cabin that you booked. Or, you could always ask your Travel Agent to tell you.

 

If I had been the Purser's Desk, I would have told you the exact same thing: "Sorry, the venue is the venue......Please plan better next time!!!!!"

 

As I had not been on Princess for 9 years and had never cruised on a ship this large, I counted on my TA to warn me. She did not and I have already contacted her.

 

I have been on over 40 cruises and have never had this happen before. I had no idea this club was considered popular. It wasn't last week on Emerald. I did look into it before going to the suite at 11:00pm and there were never more than 3 people in it, sometimes no one. A few nights they started playing at 11:00 and quit early since no one was there.

 

As it turned out, the goodwill credit was very generous. It has not shown up on my credit card yet though and I am watching. I do have it in writing on my final onboard account statement.

 

If the pursers desk had said to me what you thing they should have, to plan better, my response would have been "yes, I'll be sure to plan NOT to cruise on princess next time. The staff at the pursers desk were far too gracious to use a snippy remark like that. For the most part they handled it very graciously and diplomatically, as did I.

[compozer]

A good will credit will appear on your personalizer as a credit toward another cruise. You should see it now. It is not a credit that they put on your credit card. You have a year or two to use it and is lost if you don't use it within the time frame. It is like a future.

[wizard-of-roz]

As I had not been on Princess for 9 years and had never cruised on a ship this large, I counted on my TA to warn me. She did not and I have already contacted her.

 

I have been on over 40 cruises and have never had this happen before. I had no idea this club was considered popular. It wasn't last week on Emerald. I did look into it before going to the suite at 11:00pm and there were never more than 3 people in it, sometimes no one. A few nights they started playing at 11:00 and quit early since no one was there.

 

As it turned out, the goodwill credit was very generous. It has not shown up on my credit card yet though and I am watching. I do have it in writing on my final onboard account statement.

 

If the pursers desk had said to me what you thing they should have, to plan better, my response would have been "yes, I'll be sure to plan NOT to cruise on princess next time. The staff at the pursers desk were far too gracious to use a snippy remark like that. For the most part they handled it very graciously and diplomatically, as did I.

 

Your advice to have us "chill" won't get you any credits or good will from me!

 

The fact that they were gracious to you goes beyond what they had to be. There's nothing diplomatic about asking a cruise line to change their venue for you, it's presumptuous at best and "pushy" and "rude" at least.

 

When you say you won't book Princess next time it's the most sense you've made in this whole thread.

[susiesan]

A good will credit will appear on your personalizer as a credit toward another cruise. You should see it now. It is not a credit that they put on your credit card. You have a year or two to use it and is lost if you don't use it within the time frame. It is like a future.

 

That it not what I was told. I was told the credit will be applied to the credit card used to pay for the cruise. On my final shipboard account the amount owed is a negative number. It's shown as "Owner's memo credit card summary for E732-1, my name" and the credit card number listed. There were 4 people's onboard charges going on the same credit card to settle all the onboard accounts. All accounts are correct as to spending.

 

The personalizer shows 2 credits for the suite, nothing in onboard credits or cruise credits. I suspect they will drag their feet in crediting the card, but charges would already have been run if the number was a positive.

[compozer]

Then maybe it is not a good will credit. Is that what they called it? Every credit I have heard about for an issue while cruising was for a future cruise. I don't think I have ever heard of anybody getting cash back. Maybe someone else here can speak to their experiences. Even with hurricane Sandy, we were given future cruise credits and nothing was put back on the credit card. I even think Princess just gives future cruise credits for insurance claims for a cancelled cruise. I may be wrong.

 

Anyone?

[shredie]

The fact that they were gracious to you goes beyond what they had to be. There's nothing diplomatic about asking a cruise line to change their venue for you, it's presumptuous at best and "pushy" and "rude" at least.

 

It's also hysterically funny. :D I'm with you on this one, Roz.

[bhopal21]

This is just one of the reasons we don't do guarantee's and always pick our cabin carefully. But as a result we pay more than some.

 

Likewise and never regret it.;)

 

Mike:)

[billco]

I just returned from a 7 day cruise in Vista Suite E732 on the Emerald. There were 3 women in this suite which cost thousands of dollars. Unbeknownst to me this suite is located directly over the stage of the nightclub Club Fusion. Whenever there is live music being played in the nightclub, it is so loud you can hear the lyrics in the suite. The pounding music and drums shake the cabin. There was no way the 3 of us could sleep through the loud sounds, even with earplugs, until after midnight when the band would usually stop.

 

Every night I would call the front desk to ask that it be turned down or move the band to another venue. Every night they would promise to fix ix it, but nothing ever happened. There were very few people in Club Fusion after 11:00pm listening to the music anyways. After 4 nights of not being able to sleep I spoke to a supervisor, asked for an empty cabin to sleep in, and compensation for not getting full use of the expensive suite payed for. I had to continue to negotiate with Princess until the last day to find out the compensation they were offering.

 

I did get a goodwill credit, in writing, for the inconvenience. Princess needs to soundproof this suite and warn people that it is so loud and light sleepers should never be booked into this cabin. This is a serious design flaw.

 

If you are a light sleeper stay away from this suite on the Emerald and the sister ships.

A serious design flaw on a class of ships that has been sailing for several years? Yet, I don't recall seeing many posts on CC about this serious design flaw. Oh well, another way to figure out how to get some compensation.

[Kingofcool1947]

I usually do research cabin location and also rely on my TA to advise me. She failed in this duty and I will let her know what happened. I have never sailed on one of these very large ships before and had not been on Princess in over 9 years. I did know there was a venue called Club Fusion below the suite but I did not know what it was used for. On most ships the late night music/dance venue is the disco, or Skywalkers on the Emerald.

 

I could not just stay up and watch a movie until midnight because there were 2 others in the cabin who were able to sleep through the noise from Club Fusion but not from a TV in the cabin. I should not have to adjust my schedule to fit Princess; if I want to go to sleep at 11:00pm I should be able to do that.

 

I did enjoy the suite experience for the first time. If it weren't for having 3 women in a cabin I would never have booked one. I don't think it was worth the extra money other than for the additional space.

 

Are you suggesting Princess should have adjusted their schedule to fit yours? Is that realistic? :D

[susiesan]

Are you suggesting Princess should have adjusted their schedule to fit yours? Is that realistic? :D

 

Actually, 2 nights the music did stop before midnight. This band was so lousy no one was in Club Fusion listening to them. They may have quit early due to lack of audience and my request to knock off early. If they had just lowered the volume on the speakers and had the drummer back off a bit there would not have been a problem.

[Kingofcool1947]

Actually, 2 nights the music did stop before midnight. This band was so lousy no one was in Club Fusion listening to them. They may have quit early due to lack of audience and my request to knock off early. If they had just lowered the volume on the speakers and had the drummer back off a bit there would not have been a problem.

 

Otherwise, how did you like your cruise?

[geoherb]

We were above the theater on one cruise. I did not usually hear the sound because we had late seating traditional dining and went to the show afterward. The one night I was too tired to go to the show and went to bed, I could hear the show going on below me. Fortunately, I was tired enough that it did not keep me awake.

[shredie]

Actually, 2 nights the music did stop before midnight. This band was so lousy no one was in Club Fusion listening to them. They may have quit early due to lack of audience and my request to knock off early. If they had just lowered the volume on the speakers and had the drummer back off a bit there would not have been a problem.

 

Oh, yes, I'm sure that was it. :D:D:D:D

[DebJ14]

Since they gave her a "generous" credit everyone who stays in that cabin will be demanding one. Giving her the credit opened up Pandora's Box.

[pablo222]

A serious design flaw on a class of ships that has been sailing for several years? Yet, I don't recall seeing many posts on CC about this serious design flaw. Oh well, another way to figure out how to get some compensation.

 

There have been similar comments about the last couple of mini-suites

in the same neighborhood.

[pompeii]

We were in the last mini on the starboard side on the Star and heard music at times. But since it was obvious from the deck plans that we were over a lounge, we didn't even think of asking for compensation. We actually expected it to be louder than it turned out to be.

[morriscats]

We actually request the last Mini on the ship as we love the larger balcony. Can hear some bass but never has been a problem. I can't imagine anyone doing what the OP did or even posting about it.

[susiesan]

Otherwise, how did you like your cruise?

 

Having done the last 20+ more cruises on smaller ships like Oceania, Azamara, Windstar, HAL, Star Clipper, and Viking, I was not expecting much from this giant ship cruise ship experience. I was pleasantly surprised. Maybe it was an older demographic and few children that had most pax going to bed early and no venues ever crowded. The only line I ever saw was for anytime dining before 7:00pm, but by being in the suite I was able to make a reservation for my family of 4 to dine at anytime we wanted to and bypass the line.

 

I was impressed with the food quality on princess that got better as the week went on. The quality of the entertainment was lacking, except for trivia/game shows hosted by Kelvin Joy and the staff.

 

I will return to Princess if the price and itinerary are right.

[dw64]

Actually, 2 nights the music did stop before midnight. This band was so lousy no one was in Club Fusion listening to them. They may have quit early due to lack of audience and my request to knock off early. If they had just lowered the volume on the speakers and had the drummer back off a bit there would not have been a problem.

 

Susie, I beg to differ. I truely enjoyed the band Wavelength. I was in Club Fusion when abruptly their 2nd set was canceled. There were more than 2 people in Club Fusion. Princess does have many venues for the many different tastes it's passengers can enjoy. It was to bad you were such a light early sleeper. Hopefully, you get the credit on your credit card.

[san diego sue]

We were on the Star Princess on Emerald deck in the 200 numbers.

Getting back to our cabin the first night we heard music when we were in the bathroom area. I laughed so hard, telling my husband we had a show in there.

Well, next day people forward of us came out of their cabin and gave me a dirty look. Apparently they thought we had out TV set on loud. I told them what it was (and not us). The next day they moved cabins.

Sometimes it is not very apparent that your cabin will experience noise.

Even on Caribe deck we have heard the theatre.

We cruise Princess often and read the boards. Not everyone is that lucky.

I think you all are a little tough on the OP. She is not a person that reads these boards all the time.

[yndygo]

As a noise-sensitive person, I'm actually glad the OP posted this. Because it was CC that helped me realize that I needed to *not* be in a minisuite on the portside on Emerald deck. It totally wouldn't bug DH or DD as they sleep through stuff like that, but even with a whitenoise machine, it's the bass that gets me everytime.

 

That said, I can't see demanding a refund from the cruiseline - since there are a ton of reviews out there about this very thing. Yes, the TA probably ought to be held to task for not saying anything about it, but Princess isn't going to stop having bands in the club b/c someone who is a noise-sensitive person books that cabin.

 

We had one cabin that had noise from the restaurant below at night *and* during the day b/c they did classes in there and used an obnoxious PA system. That one bugged me - but I just resolved not to book that cabin or area again.

 

Moving the band is kind of a funny image though! :)

[pegpowell]

What's frustrating to me, is that we all pay for passengers who complain and get compensated.

[susiesan]

As a noise-sensitive person, I'm actually glad the OP posted this. Because it was CC that helped me realize that I needed to *not* be in a minisuite on the portside on Emerald deck. It totally wouldn't bug DH or DD as they sleep through stuff like that, but even with a whitenoise machine, it's the bass that gets me everytime.

 

That said, I can't see demanding a refund from the cruiseline - since there are a ton of reviews out there about this very thing. Yes, the TA probably ought to be held to task for not saying anything about it, but Princess isn't going to stop having bands in the club b/c someone who is a noise-sensitive person books that cabin.

 

I did not demand a refund, Princess offered me the compensation. I doubt they would have made the first offer if this was not a known issue/problem experienced by other past passengers in E732. I asked to change cabins, but no other suites were available. I asked for the volume to be lowered and it never was. Since Princess made the decision to offer compensation to make me happy, why would I turn it down? And there are not a ton of warnings about this cabin, only 1 thread found from earlier this year.

 

Since most responders here don't like the posting of warnings about anything Princess does wrong I will not do it again. I thought firsthand recent information on problems/flaws would be appreciated but I was wrong. In the future, I will always check deck plans and verify the cabin location and what is above and below before choosing one.

[abisha]

Just chiming in... I always pick my cabin on my own. I like to see what is over/under and around the cabin. When I call to book, I have the cabin# ready (with a second choice just in case) for the TA. Don't always rely on the TA booking a cabin location to your specifications or them remembering to be sure to tell you "oh, by the way, it's under the nightclub". Always scout it out on your own.