Continuous, Mysterious sound - Fascination

[fitoldguyinspeedo]

Wondering if there are any recent passengers of the Fascination that might chime in here. I was reading multiple posts on another Cruise forum regarding a continuous, mysterious sound on the ship that literally keeps people awake at night. They describe it as the sound of a fog horn in the distance. When reported to the ships customer service there was never a fix for the sound. It's as if no one on the ship can find the issue to correct it.

 

Anyone?

[Cruisegirl6]

We got off the Fascination (had two balcony aft rooms) and weren't able to sleep due to the noise. We did find while the ship was docked the noise disappear so we caught up on sleep the two days in port. It is more pronounced at night than in the daytime which is normal as night time its quieter and you hear noises louder.

We contacted guest services, who in return, contacted us many times regarding the noise, they have sent people to our room including maintenance who all have heard this "horn" sound, cabin stewards heard it and it was heard in the hallways also, nobody knew what it was although this carnival employee (I didn't get his position or name) came to our door and heard the noise and said it could be the engine, but nobody exactly knew what it was, where it came from (we could tell it came from above us and we were on the Empress deck) and it was never fixed.

 

If you have a cabin in midship or forward, we didn't hear any noise there.

Edited December 17, 2015 by lyndamr

[fitoldguyinspeedo]

Wonderful, just wonderful. We also have an aft balcony room booked. And no there are no other midship cabins avaiable or I would have booked one to begin with. :mad:

[Flatbush Flyer]

Without hearing it, one can only guess. But, if you are experiencing it mostly in the aft and at night (when the ship may be cruising at a different speed), it could be propeller cavitation. Oddly, like wave slapping and/or rocking, it will actually help some passengers to sleep while driving others crazy.

[chengkp75]

My guess would be that there is some kind of vent pipe or air intake nearby. When the ship is underway, the wind blowing past this pipe or vent causes the "foghorn" sound, like blowing across the neck of a soda bottle. I've heard this before, on other ships.

Edited December 17, 2015 by chengkp75

[sweetsixteencruisers]

Wonderful, just wonderful. We also have an aft balcony room booked. And no there are no other midship cabins avaiable or I would have booked one to begin with. :mad:

 

Bring ear plugs!! I'm being serious, not snarky. I wear them all the time because I'm a lite sleeper! If I heard a noice like that, it would drive me mad :eek:

 

They work!! I would bring just in case..

[A&Jfamily]

Wonderful, just wonderful. We also have an aft balcony room booked. And no there are no other midship cabins avaiable or I would have booked one to begin with. :mad:

 

But the good thing is you know, and can plan. Take a sleep aid with you and all will be fine...if the drink of the day isn't enough to assist....:D:D:D:D

[crusinpsychRN]

I was on Inspiration and my cabin had a random beeping noise. No one could figure out what it was. Really a problem when trying to sleep and annoying other times.

[SadieN]

We had the fog horn noise in the Inspiration a few weeks ago.

 

A vent makes sense, kind of. We've sailed on the Inspiration, Imagination, Elation and Paradise. Mostly in aft cabins. Never heard that noise before.

 

The worst part of the noise is that it wasn't steady pattern. At times it was but other times it was like Morse code.

Edited December 17, 2015 by SadieN

[Cruisegirl6]

We also cruised other ships in the aft and never heard any noise. The vent pipe does make sense but during the entire cruise day and night while cruising everyday?

 

Fitoguyinspeedo when will you be cruising?

 

Our fog horn noise was exactly every two seconds. Wearing ear plugs would not work for me I don't like things in my ear would not be comfortable for me to sleep and then I have a safety issue, what if something bad was happening fire/emergency or similar, I won't hear a thing, that to me is very dangerous.

[SadieN]

We only heard it when moving. Not in port. There was hardly any wind in port.

[Cruisegirl6]

Same here....we also had bad weather last week in both ports also. It only happened when the ship was moving.

[chengkp75]

Not familiar with the class, so maybe some of you can help me out. Do all the ships mentioned (those that have the sound, and those that don't) have the same balcony structure around the stern? Do they all have the same appointments aft (pool structure, movie screens, water slides, etc.)?

 

I would definitely say the noise is caused by wind blowing over or through some structure, and the fluctuations in whether heard or frequency of sound is most likely proportional to ship speed and wind speed and direction. Just wanting to see if there is some difference in the ships that would account for this.

[loubetti]

Not familiar with the class, so maybe some of you can help me out. Do all the ships mentioned (those that have the sound, and those that don't) have the same balcony structure around the stern? Do they all have the same appointments aft (pool structure, movie screens, water slides, etc.)?

 

I would definitely say the noise is caused by wind blowing over or through some structure, and the fluctuations in whether heard or frequency of sound is most likely proportional to ship speed and wind speed and direction. Just wanting to see if there is some difference in the ships that would account for this.

 

As always I agree with chengkp75 110%. That is really all it could be. Now eliminating it, that is another issue!

Edited December 18, 2015 by loubetti

[oceanmom62]

I wear ear plugs nightly because my husband snores like the hounds of hell. I use the blue ones which block sounds up to 33 decibels (I think). I use a vibrating alarm clock under my pillow. I can still hear things like the phone ringing but it is slightly muffled. I still wake up and I would think that emergency sounds would be even louder. The ear plug molds to my ear and I don't really feel it. Try it at home first and see if that would work for you.

[Cruisegirl6]

Im sorry but I been on many of these ships and many times on this particular class of ship in the very same aft balcony area and never heard this noise, I truly believe something is wrong, guess we know for sure as time goes by. Its not normal but this is my opinion only because I been on these ships over and over and never heard a sound. I also don't forget in the past hearing problems on ships only to hear they broke down at sea...not saying this will happen but I don't rule it out, my opinion.

Edited December 18, 2015 by lyndamr

[The4Cruisers]

Not familiar with the class, so maybe some of you can help me out. Do all the ships mentioned (those that have the sound, and those that don't) have the same balcony structure around the stern? Do they all have the same appointments aft (pool structure, movie screens, water slides, etc.)?

 

I would definitely say the noise is caused by wind blowing over or through some structure, and the fluctuations in whether heard or frequency of sound is most likely proportional to ship speed and wind speed and direction. Just wanting to see if there is some difference in the ships that would account for this.

 

All of the ships mentioned in this thread are in the Fantasy class. However, some of them have different characteristics: bolted-on balcony rooms, different water slides, etc.

[bakersdozen12]

Bring ear plugs!! I'm being serious, not snarky. I wear them all the time because I'm a lite sleeper! If I heard a noice like that, it would drive me mad :eek:

 

 

 

They work!! I would bring just in case..

 

 

 

I wear ear plugs nightly because my husband snores like the hounds of hell. I use the blue ones which block sounds up to 33 decibels (I think). I use a vibrating alarm clock under my pillow. I can still hear things like the phone ringing but it is slightly muffled. I still wake up and I would think that emergency sounds would be even louder. The ear plug molds to my ear and I don't really feel it. Try it at home first and see if that would work for you.

 

 

Another vote for earplugs. I also wear them every night due to a snoring hubby. I pretty much can't hear anything and I sleep like a baby. and I never have a problem hearing my alarm, which is my phone that's on the nightstand next to me. Never hear my husband's alarm, however as he keeps it on a bureau on the other side of the room.

[SadieN]

Not familiar with the class, so maybe some of you can help me out. Do all the ships mentioned (those that have the sound, and those that don't) have the same balcony structure around the stern? Do they all have the same appointments aft (pool structure, movie screens, water slides, etc.)?

 

 

 

I would definitely say the noise is caused by wind blowing over or through some structure, and the fluctuations in whether heard or frequency of sound is most likely proportional to ship speed and wind speed and direction. Just wanting to see if there is some difference in the ships that would account for this.

 

 

No. The Fantasy class is the oldest class in Carnival's fleet. When they were built only suites had balconies. Three of the eighth had balconies added to some of the OV cabins. 6 of the 8 have added water slides.

 

What was truly odd is that this past cruise had to been my 20th cruise on this class (probably 5th on the same ship) and it never heard that noise before.

 

ETA-- here's the wiki about the class

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fantasy_class_cruise_ship

Edited December 18, 2015 by SadieN

[Esmeralda Kitty]

I was in an aft cabin on upper deck dec 10-14. I did hear the sound but it ever bothered me. It did sound like a fog horn and was random. I slept as well as I do at home.

[Cruisegirl6]

I am glad you were able to sleep and the sound was random, for us it was every other second nonstop while ship moving. ugh lol

[rubycat1]

We are taking our first cruise in February and I am looking for recommendations. We will be flying in to Jacksonville airport the day before so we need a hotel, also we will need to do some shopping for wine and soda so hotel near shopping would be good. Any suggestions? Also travel recommendations to and from the port? There will be five of us. Thanks in advance!

[fitoldguyinspeedo]

We also cruised other ships in the aft and never heard any noise. The vent pipe does make sense but during the entire cruise day and night while cruising everyday?

 

Fitoguyinspeedo when will you be cruising?

 

Our fog horn noise was exactly every two seconds. Wearing ear plugs would not work for me I don't like things in my ear would not be comfortable for me to sleep and then I have a safety issue, what if something bad was happening fire/emergency or similar, I won't hear a thing, that to me is very dangerous.

 

May 1 2016 out of San Juan.

[Cruisegirl6]

Thats a ways away, I am sure way by then they figure out what the issue/problem is, and if the ship didn't get stuck by then it won't. All will be fine.

[undercat]

May 1 2016 out of San Juan.

 

fitoldguyinspeedo and anyone else sailing an aft balcony cabin on Fascination, please keep us posted about the sound. I booked us into an aft cabin on Fascination for a December 2016 cruise out of San Juan. We are looking forward to seeing the wake from our balcony, but we may want to move to a different balcony or even upgrade to a GS or ES (budget permitting) if the Sound is still around. Any reports on the Sound from the other aftward (but not true aft) balconies?

Edited January 24, 2016 by undercat