Carnival - Noise and Vibration?

[athe0007]

Hi, We just completed a Caribbean cruise on the Victory. We had a forward cabin on Deck 6. The first two nights were quiet, but on the third (and during the day) there was a repeated "bang" or "jolt" followed by vibration. The service desk told us it was waves hitting the side of the ship, but the waves were never at big. They also told us it was all over the ship, but that clearly was not true. We've been on more than five cruises and never experienced anything like it (except occasional vibration). 

So...is this common to forward cabins? Thanks in advance. 

[JerseyGirlJen]

Do you know what was directly above your room, or very close to it?  The reason I ask is that one year on the Freedom I was literally awake the entire night because there was some kind of boiler or maintenance room directly above my room.  At first I thought it was someones balcony door slamming repeatedly, then realized it was coming from above.  Went on for hours 🤬, maintenance was called to fix the malfunction, but that took forever. 

When I did the "drag it decks" website prior to choosing my room it was just an empty blank square above my room, I thought it was a closet 🙄.  I know the people across the hall also heard it and I'm guessing the people next to me did too.  I was midship, in 8292.

Edited October 5, 2019 by JerseyGirlJen

[athe0007]

"Do you know what was directly above your room, or very close to it?"

Our room was directly below the Bridge so I don't think it was from above. 

[Cushing985]

10 minutes ago, athe0007 said:

"Do you know what was directly above your room, or very close to it?"

Our room was directly below the Bridge so I don't think it was from above. 

 

 Not sure what cabin number you were in but assuming the very front you have cabins above you and below you is the main lounge.  Actually the lounge is just aft of you.

[athe0007]

20 minutes ago, Cushing985 said:

 

 Not sure what cabin number you were in but assuming the very front you have cabins above you and below you is the main lounge.  Actually the lounge is just aft of you.

 

6201. There was one deck of cabins above us, below the Bridge, but now that I look at it there was a "blank" space below us. I'm not sure what that would have been. 😮 Hmm...maybe it was a storage area for sets for the theater and they were moving those around.  

Edited October 5, 2019 by athe0007

[Cushing985]

3 hours ago, athe0007 said:

 

6201. There was one deck of cabins above us, below the Bridge, but now that I look at it there was a "blank" space below us. I'm not sure what that would have been. 😮 Hmm...maybe it was a storage area for sets for the theater and they were moving those around.  

 

That might be it.  I hate those grayed areas on the deck plans.  Who knows what it could be.  I just stay away from them.

Edited October 6, 2019 by Cushing985

[chengkp75]

19 hours ago, athe0007 said:

The service desk told us it was waves hitting the side of the ship, but the waves were never at big.

Regardless of the "size" of the seas, depending on the period (time between) waves and the speed of the ship, waves can slam into the bow of the ship (typically from about 45* either side of the course line).  If the period of the waves and the speed of the ship are just a little out of "synch", then the waves will tend to hit the bow rather than have the bow ride up over the wave.  And if the period of the waves matches the harmonics of the hull in the area of the bow, then the booming and vibration will be amplified.

 

The fact that it only happened on certain days/nights is indicative of wave noise, since the vessel's course and the direction and period of the waves would be different pretty much each day.

[athe0007]

2 hours ago, chengkp75 said:

The fact that it only happened on certain days/nights is indicative of wave noise, since the vessel's course and the direction and period of the waves would be different pretty much each day.

 

Oh great. So regardless of the ship some nights you won't be able to get any sleep in a forward cabin? I guess this is a minor detail that the cruise lines don't want you to know when you book. So it's impossible to design a hull so that the harmonics are outside of the possible range or frequency of the waves?

What brothers me more than the noise is that the person at the service desk was not completely honest with me. The second thing she said to me was, "I can't change your cabin," when we weren't even asking. We just wanted to know what was happening and use that knowledge for future reference. And it most definitely wasn't happening, "all over the ship." Is this common knowledge among veteran cruisers? I find it a little weird that I'm up on many of the cruise YouTube videos and never heard of this phenomenon. Maybe it's a little industry dirty secret that they don't want you to know about when you book? So...can this phenomenon happen anywhere on the ship? Is it minimized by being on an upper deck? Do you happen to have any links to references about this? Thanks. 

[chengkp75]

1 hour ago, athe0007 said:

 

Oh great. So regardless of the ship some nights you won't be able to get any sleep in a forward cabin? I guess this is a minor detail that the cruise lines don't want you to know when you book. So it's impossible to design a hull so that the harmonics are outside of the possible range or frequency of the waves?

What brothers me more than the noise is that the person at the service desk was not completely honest with me. The second thing she said to me was, "I can't change your cabin," when we weren't even asking. We just wanted to know what was happening and use that knowledge for future reference. And it most definitely wasn't happening, "all over the ship." Is this common knowledge among veteran cruisers? I find it a little weird that I'm up on many of the cruise YouTube videos and never heard of this phenomenon. Maybe it's a little industry dirty secret that they don't want you to know about when you book? So...can this phenomenon happen anywhere on the ship? Is it minimized by being on an upper deck? Do you happen to have any links to references about this? Thanks. 

Well, technically, I guess using the NSA's Cray supercomputers for years you could analyze the nearly infinite combinations of wave period, wave direction, wind direction, wind speed, ship course, and ship speed so that this would never happen, but you must realize that even in today's world, shipbuilding is still more art than science, and two "identical" sister ships will have different vibration characteristics for the same location on the ship.  Who did the welding?  What time of year?  Day or night?  How good was the fit between the sections that the block shop built?  All of these questions affect ship harmonic frequencies.

 

I believe the guest service person was honest with you, she told you the most likely answer about what was causing this, and in fact, it would be felt "all over the ship", but in lesser degrees the further aft you go.  Yes, this is a well known and well documented phenomenon here on CC, I've seen it mentioned many times.  As for anywhere on the ship, yes, but generally not wave action vibration, though aft can feel this in a following sea, and there is the ever present "azipod shimmy" on those ships with pods.  Many people, myself included, are not bothered by wave slams unless they get violent enough to toss me out of the rack.

 

No, my links to this are my 44 years going to sea, and hearing the waves bang on the ship on many forward accommodation type ships.  The day I would rely on YouTube for experiences at sea, is the day I put an oar on my shoulder and walk inland until someone asks what that pole on my shoulder is.  Remember, this is a moving thing, this ship, not a hotel on land.  Most everything you think you know about structures can be forgotten about ships.

[Shaded Lady]

OP if it was truly bothersome, next time book a cabin on a higher floor, mid-ship. I've heard people complain about the wave noise on the lower decks, but not on deck 6! Having said that, I'd never disagree with chengkp75, our resident expert on technical cruiseship info... 

 

10 cruises and I've only ever experienced door-slamming as the loud obnoxious noise that kept me awake at night!

[ObstructedView2]

16 hours ago, athe0007 said:

 

6201. There was one deck of cabins above us, below the Bridge, but now that I look at it there was a "blank" space below us. I'm not sure what that would have been. 😮 

 

Hmm...maybe it was a storage area for sets for the theater and they were moving those around.  

 

 

Cabin 6201, Bingo!!

No reason to over analyze, it was the (backstage area) of the theater (below you). 

A lot of movement, rehearsels & noise from that area. 

 

 

☺️

[athe0007]

28 minutes ago, ObstructedView2 said:

 

Cabin 6201, Bingo!!

No reason to over analyze, it was the (backstage area) of the theater (below you). 

A lot of movement, rehearsels & noise from that area. 

 

 

☺️

 

Oh no! Now I have completely different explanations from multiple responders.  😉 One very knowledgeable sounding person explained it in detail about wave frequency. I just wish I could get a straight answer from Carnival. 

[athe0007]

1 hour ago, chengkp75 said:

 

I believe the guest service person was honest with you, she told you the most likely answer about what was causing this, and in fact, it would be felt "all over the ship", but in lesser degrees the further aft you go.  

 

I guess you had to have been there. Part of it was her tone and irritation when asked how to plan future bookings. I may not know much about ships, but I do know something about customer service. 

I appreciate your explanation, but I think this problem is somewhat specific to this ship and cabin, at least in degree of probability of occurrence. So....I have to believe that there is a probability distribution of this effect over cabin location and I'm just looking to book our next cabin will a low probability. I'm glad it doesn't bother you, but not all humans have the same sleep patterns. 

[ray98]

Its a working ship at sea....there will be noises at time.  That is the answer.

[athe0007]

1 minute ago, ray98 said:

Its a working ship at sea....there will be noises at time.  That is the answer.

 

Naw. If all cruisers had to go though this there would be far fewer of them. I don't think you have a good idea of the severity.