Getting away from infernal MUTS noise: Diamond Princess

[Mr DK]

We sailed on the Star in February, and it certainly wasn't just the movies on Muts. I went up on deck about 8:00am one morning to enjoy the view with my coffee. From 8am until 10:00, we were treated to the inane Wake Show blaring repeatedly, time after time, at a volume so loud that several people were complaining. One of the cruise staff attempted to lower the volume, only to find that the control panel was locked. Very annoying.

[mariakitty]

I love MUTS but also need daily quiet time which I have never failed to find on a Princess cruise. We sit on our balcony, read a book on the promenade, visit the adult pool, lounge on the sun deck, etc. I don't see the problem here.

 

Oh and we are taking our kids to Alaska in August and having done this cruise before we expect plenty of kids. In fact I think it's a fantastic itinerary for children. The idea that Princess Alaska cruises are just for older folks is simply a myth. In fact if you look at the latest marketing materials you may notice lots of pictures of families. :-)

[Colo Cruiser]

I love MUTS but also need daily quiet time which I have never failed to find on a Princess cruise. We sit on our balcony, read a book on the promenade, visit the adult pool, lounge on the sun deck, etc. I don't see the problem here.

 

Oh and we are taking our kids to Alaska in August and having done this cruise before we expect plenty of kids. In fact I think it's a fantastic itinerary for children. The idea that Princess Alaska cruises are just for older folks is simply a myth. In fact if you look at the latest marketing materials you may notice lots of pictures of families. :-)

 

 

I agree, its easy to get away from it by walking to another area.

[donaldsc]

I hate MUTS. Remember the original Mac commercial -

 

 

I have always wished I could do this to the MUTS screen. Of course I would never do it. However, I have basically stopped cruising on Princess because of MUTS.

 

DON

[Colo Cruiser]

I hate MUTS. Remember the original Mac commercial -

 

 

I have always wished I could do this to the MUTS screen. Of course I would never do it. However, I have basically stopped cruising on Princess because of MUTS.

 

DON

 

 

Yet you can't stay away. :p

[UpcountryTravelers]

I don't spend a lot of time by the pool so I hope it doesn't bother me too much.

 

I enjoy a Movie under the Stars, snuggled under a blanket with the one I love, but the noise during the day is too much, I wish they would find the off switch during the day.

 

Agree. The occasional MOVIE is nice, but as far as I am concerned, they can shut it off during the day. (Of course you have to get to the movie early to get a lounge and blanket.) Saw a couple of pretty good movies recently on there.

[donaldsc]

Yet you can't stay away. :p

 

But I have. I now only cruise on Princess if they have a totally unique itinerary that is not available on any other cruise line. There are not many of those.

 

DON

[SoCal Cruiser78]

How about a game of Wii the kids are playing on the big screen with all the loud noises? Or, a lovely promo to visit the shops that goes on and on. The sound level of MUTS is much, much louder than a band or poolside music. I've also experienced MUTS so loud that I couldn't sit on my balcony two decks below. When it's that intrusive, there's a problem. The sound is controlled by the CD's staff and some really crank it up. I'm not a fan.

 

I agree. It was so loud on the Golden last fall that you couldn't carry on a normal conversation in the pool area :(.

[OzKiwiJJ]

I agree. It was so loud on the Golden last fall that you couldn't carry on a normal conversation in the pool area :(.

 

It was so loud on Sun Princess at Christmas that my ears hurt just walking through the area. We tried sitting there one day and lasted ten minutes before we had to leave because the noise levels were so unpleasantly loud. Not my idea of a relaxing time! :eek: :mad:

Edited June 19, 2015 by OzKiwiJJ

[lahore]

S

Asking this question made me think about the noise, and I wondered what I did to escape that. If memory serves me I simply walked past it to another area and had a wonderful vacation!

 

 

And that's great if you can. Dawn Princess only has one other TINY pool which on our recent cruise was surrounded by a smoking area on one side, and was being repainted on the other. So one pool stank, and the other was incredibly noisy. I am happy to read on here that Diamond Princess has other options and I hope they will be fine.

[lahore]

I'm the OP and have only cruised Princess once. I was sure (given the flaming I got for knocking princess food) that i was an unmitigated snob and a curmudgeon to boot (not that I was intending to change, mind you). However so many other people seem to agree with me, I wonder why there has never been an actual revolt against MUTS during the day. Do other people complain? Have any of you complained to anyone senior? I'm going to next time, I probably would have anyway but this has given me even more motivation.

[schlot]

As a self proclaimed curmudgeon we would expect nothing less from you :)

 

Speaking for myself, even though I'm not a MUTS fan, I know others are. The fix is simple for me, go to another public area and enjoy myself. I also know the ship has more than one customer (me) and when I booked (and rebooked) my cruise MUTS was part of the package...like it or not.

[lahore]

As a self proclaimed curmudgeon we would expect nothing less from you :)

 

Speaking for myself, even though I'm not a MUTS fan, I know others are. The fix is simple for me, go to another public area and enjoy myself. I also know the ship has more than one customer (me) and when I booked (and rebooked) my cruise MUTS was part of the package...like it or not.

 

Indeed. :)

 

I'm fine with live and let live, as I said previously, if there's another alternative for me. I've been a band groupie in my time too. But as I also said just before, on Dawn Princess there was no viable alternative. It seems that on Diamond there is and so I'll be overjoyed if that comes to be. If not, I'll be exercising my inner curmudgeon on this August excursion, most likely to no avail, but I will vote with my purse in future.

Edited June 19, 2015 by lahore

[OzKiwiJJ]

I'm the OP and have only cruised Princess once. I was sure (given the flaming I got for knocking princess food) that i was an unmitigated snob and a curmudgeon to boot (not that I was intending to change, mind you). However so many other people seem to agree with me, I wonder why there has never been an actual revolt against MUTS during the day. Do other people complain? Have any of you complained to anyone senior? I'm going to next time, I probably would have anyway but this has given me even more motivation.

 

There will never be a revolt because MUTS is above the main pool area where most people like to hang out. Although there are a lot of people here who agree with you, there are also a large number of people who don't seem to notice noise. Perhaps they've already damaged their hearing enough to mute the racket. ;)

[OzKiwiJJ]

As a self proclaimed curmudgeon we would expect nothing less from you :)

 

Speaking for myself, even though I'm not a MUTS fan, I know others are. The fix is simple for me, go to another public area and enjoy myself. I also know the ship has more than one customer (me) and when I booked (and rebooked) my cruise MUTS was part of the package...like it or not.

 

schlot, that's not so easy on some of the smaller ships that we get down here in Australia - Sun, Dawn and Sea. Forward there is only The Santuary at extra cost, and aft there is virtually no shady spots, it's all full sun. MUTS is above the main pools midships and the sound carries either forward or aft depending on the wind direction. There is no covered pool on these ships, just a small pool mid-aft that is open to the sky and the noise. If you want to sit outside in the fresh air it is very hard to escape the MUTS racket.

 

Also the main pool area is the only sheltered area on the upper decks, there is a partial deck above and the sides of the main pool area have windows instead of being open railings. So on days where it is warm but very windy there are no sunloungers anywhere except around the main pool area.

[TwoBadKnees]

It was so loud on Sun Princess at Christmas that my ears hurt just walking through the area. We tried sitting there one day and lasted ten minutes before we had to leave because the noise levels were so unpleasantly loud. :mad:

 

You've discovered Princess' secret method of dealing with the chair hog problem - reduce the number of people wanting chairs.

[Colo Cruiser]

Princess will not get rid of MUTS because the small amount of people here on Cruise Critic hate the noise. We don't care for many of the blaring things they put on there but its pretty easy to avoid it. Once in awhile we do partake in a movie there.

[pablo222]

However so many other people seem to agree with me, I wonder why there has never been an actual revolt against MUTS during the day.

 

MUTS is a signature feature of princess. They have spent hundreds of

thousands of dollars installing it on their ships. They tout it on their

website as part of one's cruise experience.

 

I am sure after a few complaints on cruise critic, they will do away with it.

 

As people know in advance that they hate this, why book a cruise with

Princess?

 

Don't these people have a light socket that they can just stick a finger

in from time-to-time?

[schlot]

schlot, that's not so easy on some of the smaller ships that we get down here in Australia - Sun, Dawn and Sea. Forward there is only The Santuary at extra cost, and aft there is virtually no shady spots, it's all full sun. MUTS is above the main pools midships and the sound carries either forward or aft depending on the wind direction. There is no covered pool on these ships, just a small pool mid-aft that is open to the sky and the noise. If you want to sit outside in the fresh air it is very hard to escape the MUTS racket.

 

Also the main pool area is the only sheltered area on the upper decks, there is a partial deck above and the sides of the main pool area have windows instead of being open railings. So on days where it is warm but very windy there are no sunloungers anywhere except around the main pool area.

 

Interesting. I've never been on one of the smaller ships.

[Cruiserkenn]

Lahore - not to worry, you will have a great time on the Diamond. There are many, many alternative spaces. You don't have to see or hear MUTS unless you want to do so.

 

Enjoy your cruise:)

 

Bon voyage:)

[Linerguy]

It seems that on Diamond there is and so I'll be overjoyed if that comes to be. If not, I'll be exercising my inner curmudgeon on this August excursion, most likely to no avail, but I will vote with my purse in future.

 

I'm not sure how many times people have to say that it'll be fine before you're convinced. DIAMOND is not the DAWN...they're totally different.

[shredie]

 

As people know in advance that they hate this, why book a cruise with

Princess?

 

Don't these people have a light socket that they can just stick a finger

in from time-to-time?

 

Some people just want to complain--over and over and over, ad nauseum. :rolleyes:

[PescadoAmarillo]

As people know in advance that they hate this, why book a cruise with Princess?

 

Well, now that you mention it, Princess touts MUTS, the Piazza and the Sanctuary as their hallmark features. I dislike MUTS (except for sports), don't generally pay extra for the Sanctuary and, while I like the look of the Piazza, I dislike that it has definitely veered away from its roots of being a peaceful place to enjoy a coffee or cup of tea but instead is like sitting on the stage of a three ring circus. Somehow, by being selective on which ships I book, I've managed to have some wonderful cruise experiences despite what I don't like.

 

 

Don't these people have a light socket that they can just stick a finger in from time-to-time?

Not that, but I did witness an interesting interaction between an extension cord powering a saw and a mister when the wind suddenly shifted just yesterday. :eek:

[SoCal Cruiser78]

Deleted.

Edited June 19, 2015 by SoCal Cruiser78

[lahore]

Lahore - not to worry' date=' you will have a great time on the Diamond. There are many, many alternative spaces. You don't have to see or hear MUTS unless you want to do so.

 

Enjoy your cruise:)

 

Bon voyage:)[/quote']

 

Great, I hope so too. Thanks.