Family veranda cabins Solstice class ships

[Archie12]

Hi

We are considering booking a family veranda cabin on either the Eclipse or other Solstice class ship in the next year and would like some advice regarding apparent noise experienced in these cabins. As a family of 5 we do not have many options available to us other than a family cabin but I am concerned that there seem to be reports of noise/vibration experienced in these cabins, particularly when docking. It is the holiday of a lifetime for us but I am hesitant to book as I'm a light sleeper and would be concerned if our small children were disturbed by the noise? My eldest son also does not have strong sea legs so is there a lot of movement experienced at the front of the ship? Any advice would be greatly welcomed. We are considering the cabins on the higher deck.

 

Many thanks

[az_tchr]

Is here noise while docking - absolutely when the use the side thrusters but it is only for a minute or two. Other noise - only because of the wind. Of the entire cruise how many times is your ship going to dock?

 

As to movement, all large ships use stabilizers at the bow and thus there is very little movement unless the weather is really severe. This situation is very unlikely as cruise ships will change course to avoid large storms and either change ports or drop one entirely. Do not worry and welcome to Cruise critic.

[jelayne]

In addition to noise from the thrusters, friends who stayed in a FV on deck 8 said loud noise while the anchor is dropped so no sleeping in.

 

There are only 4 FV cabins on the ship; 2 on deck 7 and 2 on deck 8.

[az_tchr]

Again does your cruise have and tendered ports? Won't you want to be getting up so you can be off to explore the port? Don't know the cruise you are looking at but it simply cannot be an ongoing issue. Thrusters are probably used for 15 minutes during an entire cruise and an anchor dropped maybe anywhere from zero to two times.

[Archie12]

Thanks for you replies. We are looking at sailing from the UK and all itineraries we are interested in are docked rather than tender (which is easier for us with children). Out of a 14 night cruise there would be maybe 6 or 7 ports? I have read that people have been woken as early as 4am in these cabins when docking - that would not be good! We have cruised on the Eclipse before but were midship in a family cabin before we had our latest little boy so noise and movement were not an issue. I just feel it's a lot of money to experience a lot of disturbance when we hope to relax (as much as that is possible with anyone uni family,)

[Archie12]

Sorry I meant we have been midship in a balcony cabin previously.

[CathyCruises]

We were in the family veranda on deck eight port side on solstice and had a lot of noise and shuddering and shaking when docking around 5 to 6 AM. However I have read that it's not as much of a problem on the later S class ships. I think kids would probably sleep through it unless they're excessively light sleepers but it was hard for us. On the other hand it made us get up and get ready early to go off and enjoy our day.

 

The flipside is that the cabinets are huge and so nice for a family to be able to spread out. We had originally booked ours for just the two of us because they were extremely cheap but my daughter and her boyfriend ended up coming with us. However I would not consider booking it again just for two people due to the noise issue. But would for a family.

 

One other thing to consider is that the family cabins on the M class ships, while not as large inside, have huge balconies and no noise issues that I've ever heard of

[Archie12]

Ah thank you for your reply. The space would be so beneficial. Just out of interest, when you say you got a cheap deal on this,does this mean these cabins sometimes come up on offer? I was given the impression they are very hard to get hold of and are expensive. Thank you in advance

[CathyCruises]

Ah thank you for your reply. The space would be so beneficial. Just out of interest, when you say you got a cheap deal on this,does this mean these cabins sometimes come up on offer? I was given the impression they are very hard to get hold of and are expensive. Thank you in advance[/QUOT

 

It was about 3-4 months before our cruise. We were booked but I was still checking prices every day. I think we had booked a 14 day Med cruise for about $899/pp. The FVs popped up one day for $999!! Could not pass that up! This was however quite a few years ago during the height of the economic downturn when prices had tanked. I sure wouldn't expect to get that deal again!

[Archie12]

That was an amazing deal! Many thanks for your reply.

[SuiteTraveler]

We stayed in a FV for a 13 night Med cruise roundtrip Southampton. There is noise when docking that only lasts a short amount of time, but to me, the REAL problems with a FV is that there is no TV in master bedroom or in the second bedroom. The only TV is in the living room. AND the 1 bathroom is located off of the living room.

 

We encountered high seas in the Bay of Biscaye. It was tough moving about the room that morning - keep knees bent and try to time yourself to the waves, even so, i got pitched head first into a wardrobe while dressing and I have good sea legs and showering the day was challenging to say the least. We went midship for the day as stayed at Cafe al Baccio as all outside decks were closed. Eating was a matter of keeping one hand on your drink while simultaneously holding down your plate and grabbing a mouthful of food in between waves. It was not a very enjoyable day at sea, however, we never felt in any danger as we waited it out. The Comedian who was in the theater that night did a great job of entertaining us and he helped make time pass quickly and we went to bed and awoke to a normal ship in the Med.

 

For a family of 5, I would suggest you consider 2 verandah cabins to get 2 TV's and 2 bathrooms instead of the Family Verandah with only 1 tv and 1 bathroom.

[BosoxI]

I am a light sleeper, too, so I can empathize with you, but you're more likely to be bothered by neighbors slamming their cabin doors at odd hours or loudspeaker announcements at 10AM every day than you are be the shuddering of the ship on occasion. And, yes, it's also possible that unmanaged kids will be tearing up and down the passageway, but that is a rare occurrence in my experience. They all go with the territory.

[CathyCruises]

We stayed in a FV for a 13 night Med cruise roundtrip Southampton. There is noise when docking that only lasts a short amount of time, but to me, the REAL problems with a FV is that there is no TV in master bedroom or in the second bedroom. The only TV is in the living room. AND the 1 bathroom is located off of the living room.

 

We encountered high seas in the Bay of Biscaye. It was tough moving about the room that morning - keep knees bent and try to time yourself to the waves, even so, i got pitched head first into a wardrobe while dressing and I have good sea legs and showering the day was challenging to say the least. We went midship for the day as stayed at Cafe al Baccio as all outside decks were closed. Eating was a matter of keeping one hand on your drink while simultaneously holding down your plate and grabbing a mouthful of food in between waves. It was not a very enjoyable day at sea, however, we never felt in any danger as we waited it out. The Comedian who was in the theater that night did a great job of entertaining us and he helped make time pass quickly and we went to bed and awoke to a normal ship in the Med.

 

For a family of 5, I would suggest you consider 2 verandah cabins to get 2 TV's and 2 bathrooms instead of the Family Verandah with only 1 tv and 1 bathroom.

We also missed having a TV in the bedroom, but the problem I have with two connecting cabins is that there's no place for everybody to just hang out together. Having that nice living space can be a real advantage versus everybody crammed into one cabin sitting on the beds etc. I should also add that we had four adults in our cabin, and actually one bathroom was never a problem. We just staggered our shower times. There are also lots of public bathrooms that can be used around the ship, and if necessary there are showers that are available to everyone in the spa area.

[Archie12]

Hi suite Traveller

Can I just ask - you obviously felt the movement when you were in the bay of biscay but would you say there was a lot more movement being at the front of the ship for the rest of the cruise when the seas were calmer?

[Archie12]

]Hi suite Traveller

Can I just ask - you obviously felt the movement when you were in the bay of biscay but would you say there was a lot more movement being at the front of the ship for the rest of the cruise when the seas were calmer?