Noise level on ships

[Michidoeme]

Being on Beyond now where music especially in theater and club is very loud.  Unfortunately we had to leave some good shows and a nice big band/jazz performance because sound level was way too high.  Also cruise director and some presenters/ performers yell very hard in microphone and nobody tones it a bit down.

 

As it is our first cruise after Covid, we were wondering if it is on all ships similar now.  Some of you may remember that loud music was an issue a couple of years ago which after a lot of complaints was toned down again.

 

We are now reconsidering a planned Transatlantic because this, combined with the irritating pulsating background noise in all venues in and outside (not even good music or songs), does not make for a relaxing onboard experience.

We love music but at not at these levels.

 

What is your experience on E class ?  Are S class ships better in this respect ?

 

 

[chemmo]

1 hour ago, Michidoeme said:

Being on Beyond now where music especially in theater and club is very loud.  Unfortunately we had to leave some good shows and a nice big band/jazz performance because sound level was way too high.  Also cruise director and some presenters/ performers yell very hard in microphone and nobody tones it a bit down.

 

As it is our first cruise after Covid, we were wondering if it is on all ships similar now.  Some of you may remember that loud music was an issue a couple of years ago which after a lot of complaints was toned down again.

 

We are now reconsidering a planned Transatlantic because this, combined with the irritating pulsating background noise in all venues in and outside (not even good music or songs), does not make for a relaxing onboard experience.

We love music but at not at these levels.

 

What is your experience on E class ?  Are S class ships better in this respect ?

 

 

Not experienced E class and a while since we did M class but plenty of S class experience. Can’t say when we have been to main theatre productions we have been deafened. However, our favourite entertainment tends to be the outside the main shows (small groups, duo’s…). On S class this is in the Ensemble Lounge. The music events are usually placed towards one end of the lounge which is quite long. Those who are there primarily for the music sit close, those (like you and I who enjoy the entertainment but not to the detriment of their eardrums) can sit mid distance and those who simply want the entertainment as background to their conversations can sit towards the entrance. Suits us fine!

[cruzeluver]

We were on Apex in January and did not find the music too loud.

[Pickels]

When I go to a concert, [my wife drags me], and, in the theater on a cruise ship I always bring ear plugs.  Sometimes the music/volume is so loud that I can still hear it with the ear plugs. 

[Homosassa]

We were on the Constellation in February.

 

The music was deafening in the theater and the lounges to the extend we stopped attending shows.

 

The only music that was at a listenable level was the Kyiv String and another solo performer (can't remember her name). 

 

Between the blaring music and the drunk/drinking jokes made by entertainers and cruise director, I thought I had booked a Carnival Cruise by mistake.

[canderson]

5 minutes ago, Homosassa said:

We were on the Constellation in February.

 

The music was deafening in the theater and the lounges to the extend we stopped attending shows.

 

The only music that was at a listenable level was the Kyiv String and another solo performer (can't remember her name). 

 

Between the blaring music and the drunk/drinking jokes made by entertainers and cruise director, I thought I had booked a Carnival Cruise by mistake.

Any chance this was a short cruise?  The short ones seem to pick up a different demographic and a very different vibe.

[Fred321]

Just got off Constellation TA and had the same experience.  Piped in music was loud and very weird. Some kind of techno crap. DJ in atrium was also annoying in the late afternoon. Appreciated Kyiv Strings and guitar soloist Anthony. Rest of the music offerings were loud and lousy. Commented on it while on the ship as well as in the review email afterwards but who knows?

[Silkroad]

In my experience, the volume varies by ship, venue and sailing so it's impossible to make predictions about future cruises. With one notable exception, I've found the music and theater volume acceptable on both Edge class and Solstice class ships (including post-shutdown cruises on Edge and Equinox). The exception was on one of my sailings on Reflection, on which the canned music in the Ocean View Cafe was painfully loud, to the point that almost everyone was complaining. After first spending a couple days telling us the volume level was a "corporate decision" the staff finally turned the volume down.

[Denny01]

My view is opinions on noise level is much the same as opinions on restaurants and menus…..very subjective. 

 

i found the E-Class to be quite calm and less noisy. Yes, there will be some venue that is too noisy….for you….but there are more quiet spots on E-class, in my opinion.

 

For M-Class the ships were quite fine also. S-Class which I love, could be noisy….for me…..when the band was in the Grand Foyer which is open all the way up to the Deck 8 or so. But again found many quieter spots.

 

I never found the theater shows to be overly done. 

 

Den

[jelayne]

DH has a sound meter on his phone and it isn’t unusual to have the sound in the Martini and Passport bars and the Grand Plaza & theater be in the 90-94 decibel range.  Normal conversation is around 60 and a level above 85  can harm your hearing.  
When we go to the theater, rare, we end up leaving because the ships band drowns out the performer and on Apex the 1 night we went 96 Decibels.

 

With a few of the DJs when the venue isn’t packed DH  has spoke to them and showed them how loud the sound is at the other side of the venues and they have lowered the volume.  

[Michidoeme]

46 minutes ago, canderson said:

Any chance this was a short cruise?  The short ones seem to pick up a different demographic and a very different vibe.

This is a 9 day cruise on Beyond with only 1100 pax of which 800 Captains Club.  So not particularly young demographics.  Maybe want to fill this rather empty ship with sound/noise ?

But could also be that they haven‘t found volume buttons yet 🤔😉

[GottaKnowWhen]

We’ve not been on an E class yet, we have been on all M class and most S class. Have never been to a theater event where the sound level was tolerable for any period of time. We go, we listen, I check my phone’s db meter to verify that I am not being too sensitive, and then we quickly leave. Some of the House Band presentations in the Grand Foyer are quite good with tolerable sound level.

[Homosassa]

2 hours ago, canderson said:

Any chance this was a short cruise?  The short ones seem to pick up a different demographic and a very different vibe.

Eleven night cruise.

 

As far as the demographic, I also commented on it to my husband.  It appeared to me to be a good number of lower tier cruise line passengers who were trying Celebrity because of the lower rates.

[Michidoeme]

I do not think it is just us being too sensitive.  Running out of show tonight (female singer), we came past soundbooth and noticed it was indicating  114 decibel which is way too high for anyone !

[Covepointcruiser]

I am sensitive to loud and/or bad music.    I always have a pair of earplugs with me,Vibes are especially good in music venues.

[phoenix_dream]

We had exactly the same issue on Apex.  The sound at times was so loud I had to put in earplugs.  Don't these people understand how much damage this can do to your hearing!?!?  I already have tinnitus and trust me when I tell you it is not something you want to have if you can avoid it - and there is no cure.  

[Londoncruising1971]

We've not long returned from the inaugural Beyond cruise 

We were in the aft suite directly above Eden (7322)

The music in Eden is very atmospheric, but with a very heavy bass. This went on until around 11.30pm

We called the front desk at 11,30pm when it was still causing us problems. They agreed that it was loud and told us they would adjust the bass in the coming days. Next day, same problem and we asked to be moved.

We were moved to a midship sky suite the next day. To be fair to X, they gave us each £875 future cruise credit which was more than the difference in cost of aft and midship.

The issue was very well dealt with, but still a little frustrating. I'm not sure how they will deal with lessening the noise in that suite. I'm certain there will be more complaints to come

[zitsky]

On 5/13/2022 at 11:22 AM, Michidoeme said:

This is a 9 day cruise on Beyond with only 1100 pax of which 800 Captains Club.  So not particularly young demographics.  Maybe want to fill this rather empty ship with sound/noise ?

But could also be that they haven‘t found volume buttons yet 🤔😉

 

Could they be thinking, "our customer base is older and hard of hearing"???  Just a guess.

[DCPIV]

On 5/13/2022 at 5:43 PM, phoenix_dream said:

I already have tinnitus and trust me when I tell you it is not something you want to have if you can avoid it - and there is no cure. 

 

Same here, and I don't care to make it worse.  I often need to leave the pool area because of the music.

[Michidoeme]

5 hours ago, zitsky said:

 

Could they be thinking, "our customer base is older and hard of hearing"???  Just a guess.

Don t think it is that.  The sound technician in theater,  said : I like it loud. (It was over 100 Db !)

And the cruise director said he  wants „a party vibe“.

 

Best evening to sit in Al Bacio or there abouts was last night when they had silent disco there 🤗

Edited May 16, 2022 by Michidoeme

[levramosis]

On 5/13/2022 at 3:37 PM, Covepointcruiser said:

I am sensitive to loud and/or bad music.    I always have a pair of earplugs with me,Vibes are especially good in music venues.

Same, and I also have a set of Vibes on my keychain at all times. That little aluminum canister they sell for them is awesome.

 

I guess I will have to keep them on me when cruising also, which probably isn't a bad idea anyway.

 

I've never understood why almost everyone else seems to feel that everything has to be so loud to be enjoyable, but since it sure seems to be nearly everyone else it's probably me. Regardless, the only graceful way to handle the situation overall is to remove myself when it's objectionable, or deal with it (for example by wearing the earplugs).

[Scuba Dave]

We are booked into Sky Suite 7327 on Celebrity Beyond next March. It is 10 day Southern Caribbean cruise for our 50th. The comments about noise level from Eden are concerning. I am hoping it is not too bad. 
 

 

[ldubs]

On 5/13/2022 at 12:08 AM, Michidoeme said:

Being on Beyond now where music especially in theater and club is very loud.  Unfortunately we had to leave some good shows and a nice big band/jazz performance because sound level was way too high.  Also cruise director and some presenters/ performers yell very hard in microphone and nobody tones it a bit down.

 

As it is our first cruise after Covid, we were wondering if it is on all ships similar now.  Some of you may remember that loud music was an issue a couple of years ago which after a lot of complaints was toned down again.

 

We are now reconsidering a planned Transatlantic because this, combined with the irritating pulsating background noise in all venues in and outside (not even good music or songs), does not make for a relaxing onboard experience.

We love music but at not at these levels.

 

What is your experience on E class ?  Are S class ships better in this respect ?

 

 

 

I've come to the conclusion on all cruise lines the sound tech's are cranking up the volume to cover for mediocre singers.   I am happy to say on our last few cruises the performers we saw in the theater were very good and, low and behold, the music sound levels were enjoyable.    

[Jim_Iain]

I've not been in the theater (not our thing) but found the noise level in most small venues to be comfortable.  

 

One Exception -  The main Foyer (Martini Bar).     They put on a Light Show and the music is deafening.     Fine Cut is open into the Foyer and it was so loud we couldn't carry on a conversation during the show.   I will point out our table was close to the railing.

[MarkWiltonM]

We don't generally go to the theater on cruise ships, but what annoys me is that there is possibly not a single quite place on most cruise ships--indoors or outdoors--apart from our cabin. There is piped music everywhere and it appears to be 24 hours a day. I am usually up and about by 5 am and I long to find a place on the ship outdoors where I can sit and quietly enjoy the water. It seems people are so addicted to noise they cannot stand silence.