Has anyone compiled a list of the excessively noisy cabins on the Prima?

[ontheweb]

6 hours ago, RocketMan275 said:

I've had three different hearing aids.  You'll be disappointed.

Yes, why I am resisting. I know my late mother not only hated her hearing aids, but also the person in charge where she bought them.

[omahabob]

4 hours ago, UKstages said:

....people can refuse to believe this, but they do so at their own peril.

 

What peril will we be in?  😜

 

Seriously though, I don't doubt there's a list. But I think it's more likely a list of open maintenance items rather than a dedicated database for cabin noise. Every ship has a list of open maintenance items. Some are slated for immediate or somewhat delayed fix (like between cruises), and some are deferred until the next major maintenance/refit period. We do the same thing with airplanes.

Edited July 12, 2023 by omahabob

[UKstages]

4 hours ago, Two Wheels Only said:

If it's a permanent sound…

well, I can meet you in the middle… it is indeed a “permanent” sound… that only manifests in bad weather/high seas. until and unless they rip the walls open and take the beast, it will always be there… in bad weather, which is a pretty frequent occurrence. as I said in my cruise critic report on the issue, and, i think, also in my review… you could stay in one of these cabins and never know there was any problem at all, if the seas are calm throughout the entire cruise.

 

1 hour ago, omahabob said:

I think it's more likely a list of open maintenance items rather than a dedicated database for cabin noise.

thank you for your thoughts.

 

but, nope, it’s a dedicated list of prima cabins that have this unusual condition, the cause of which may still be unknown. the list - and the notes in each room’s data set, which they can see when they pull up a guest’s account or the cabin’s “file”  - are used to verify the veracity of the guest’s complaint. if somebody complains about this noise, everyone in a customer service capacity can easily see that the cabin has already been identified as having this issue.
 

also, and this is key, since they are providing many people with “sleeping cabins,” they need to make sure that the next room they put you in doesn’t have the same condition. how can they do that if they don’t have a list of problematic cabins? in fact, I was in a club balcony on the prima that had this condition. when they gave me a balcony sleeping cabin, the assistant GM told me they didn’t have any club balconies to put me in… then she corrected herself… she said they did, but that those rooms had the same problem that I was already experiencing. she wasn’t guessing… she looked in the database. also, they likely deal with this issue on almost every cruise… and it’s been going on for almost a year. of course they have a list!

 

1 hour ago, omahabob said:

What peril will we be in?

the peril is self evident. if you book a room on the prima, especially at the back of the ship, you will be subjected to a hellish nightmare from which you may not be able to escape, especially if the ship is sold out.

 

i’m always fascinated when people with no experience with this problem hold court and attempt to minimize the problem and second guess those who have actually experienced this problem. go ahead and ignore the warnings. there’s a chance you’ll have a lovely cruise. there’s also a chance you’ll be kept awake all night long and won’t be able to concentrate while in your cabin throughout the day. imagine the worst sleep disruption you can possibly imagine… then multiply it by a factor of 10X. that’s what this is like.
 

and people who book the prima, and presumably the viva, need to know.

Edited July 12, 2023 by UKstages

[omahabob]

23 minutes ago, UKstages said:

...thank you for your thoughts.

 

but, nope, it’s a dedicated list of prima cabins that have this unusual condition...

 

Yet you have no evidence of such a list. I'm not saying it can't be true, just that I doubt it. But you're touting it as absolute fact even though you have zero evidence to back that up. Thank you for your thoughts, but nope.

 

26 minutes ago, UKstages said:

...i’m always fascinated when people with no experience with this problem hold court and attempt to minimize the problem and second guess those who have actually experienced this problem...

 

I'm always fascinated when people report 'facts' without evidence, and misrepresent what other people say. I never minimized the problem. I never addressed the problem at all. And I never said there was no list. I just said it was more likely a maintenance list.

 

31 minutes ago, UKstages said:

...and people who book the prima, and presumably the viva, need to know.

 

I'm booked on the Viva, and never even remotely suggested people don't need to know. Please stop twisting what I say. It's getting really old.

[MagnoliaBlossom]

On 7/12/2023 at 6:45 AM, RocketMan275 said:

I've had three different hearing aids.  You'll be disappointed.

I disagree, Rocket (love the name, BTW).  I have had HAs since I was in my 50s and they are  a blessing to me.   My husband, who fully intended to hate his, says the same.  I have worked with geriatric patients for nearly 40 years and many hate their hearing aids, and have at least one pair sitting in a drawer somewhere.  Here is my observation over the years from both a professional and person perspective.  BTW, I am not in the HA industry.

1.  Let me say this upfront - the astronomical cost of hearing aids is a sin.

2.  You really do, for the most part, get what you pay for.  If you go to some of the big names such as BelTone or Miracle Ear you will not get a quality product. 
3. Ask your ENT doctor who they recommend, and who they would steer clear of.

4. at first your aids will be very unnatural and drive you crazy, but you WILL get accustomed to them .  When you get new glasses they seem wonky the first few days too.  The brain needs time to adjust to the new norm.  Wear them at least two hours at a time at least twice a day.  Do not start your experience in a noisy area like a restaurant with lots of background noise.  Gradually increase your wear time until within 30 days you are wearing them for six hours straight.

5. if they still bother you go back to your audiologist and have them adjust your aids.  It may take several visits to get them just right.  
6.  A reputable company will have a trial period during which your aids can be returned for a full refund if you cannot adjust.

7.  Most of my patients who have had failures did not follow the above protocol. 

Just my soap box and my experience.  Helen Keller once answered the question “which sense would you have restored if you could?” By answering her hearing, as hearing loss is the most socially isolating of the senses.   Just a thought.

MB

[RocketMan275]

8 minutes ago, MagnoliaBlossom said:

Just my soap box and my experience.  Helen Keller once answered the question “which sense would you have restored if you could?” By answering her hearing, as hearing loss is the most socially isolating of the senses.   Just a thought.

MB

First of all, thank  you for sharing your insights.

I've had three different sets of hearing aids.  I've struggled with them for over 10  years.  

I've been disappointed with all three sets.  Ten years is enough time to adjust.

I very much doubt I'll give them another try.

[omahabob]

I paid thousand for hearing aids for my mother-in-law, and she decided not to use them. Since I'm still making payments, you could say I'm disappointed too. 🤪

[Agent999]

22 hours ago, UKstages said:

the list exists.

 

Unfortunately, the use of bold fonts does nothing to make it true, or convincing.

 

22 hours ago, UKstages said:

everybody from the assistant GM to guest services reps to the engineer who visits your cabin to the cabin attendants to corporate folks in miami acknowledge the existence of a list. and that suggests it’s more than just a handful of isolated incidents/cabins. this happens so often that there’s a list!

 

that’s a sucker’s bet. i would not take that wager. of course they are not going to give out a number. they believe it is in their best interest to pretend the problem doesn’t exist…

 

Why wouldn't you be able to get a number? In one breath, you argue that "everybody" acknowledges the list, and in another you insist they they all are going to "pretend the problem doesn't exist". If they thought that was in their best interest, then surely everyone wouldn't acknowledge the existence of a list. Again...just my opinion, but I'd bet you were played.

[UKstages]

yeah, that’s me. nailed it. i’ve been played. i probably shouldn’t even leave my house in the morning without a name tag affixed to my clothes. and I should definitely not let decades of experience dealing with other human beings influence how i interpret the words and actions of those around me. 

 

i’m always fascinated when people with no experience with this problem hold court and attempt to minimize the problem and second guess those who have actually experienced this problem… onboard the very NCL ship(s) being discussed.

 

here’s the thing… it’s always the same four people… every thread.

 

[Agent999]

32 minutes ago, UKstages said:

yeah, that’s me. nailed it. i’ve been played. i probably shouldn’t even leave my house in the morning without a name tag affixed to my clothes. and I should definitely not let decades of experience dealing with other human beings influence how i interpret the words and actions of those around me. 

 

i’m always fascinated when people with no experience with this problem hold court and attempt to minimize the problem and second guess those who have actually experienced this problem… onboard the very NCL ship(s) being discussed.

 

here’s the thing… it’s always the same four people… every thread.

 

 

It is, I have to say, interesting the way that you simply dismiss everyone by trying to frame yourself as the some sort of sole authority because you were on a ship with a noisy cabin. Its interesting how you simply assume that nobody but you has "experience with this problem".

 

I'm not saying that ships aren't or can't be noisy. I'm not saying that the problem doesn't exist, nor am I trying to minimize the problem. Can't state it any clearer than that. With that said, if you try to frame my position as anything else, then it is clearly just you trying to be argumentative.

 

OTOH, what I am saying AS MY OPINION (something else I've pointed out multiple times), is that I'm not 100% convinced of the existence of some sort of noisy cabin list/database. Nothing more, nothing less. This is my belief. Not sure why you take it so personally and why you simply can't let someone have a belief that might not be the same as your own. Its almost like you're somehow vested in changing my mind, and you haven't yet figured out that you are not going to be able to do so.

[ontheweb]

2 hours ago, MagnoliaBlossom said:

I disagree, Rocket (love the name, BTW).  I have had HAs since I was in my 50s and they are  a blessing to me.   My husband, who fully intended to hate his, says the same.  I have worked with geriatric patients for nearly 40 years and many hate their hearing aids, and have at least one pair sitting in a drawer somewhere.  Here is my observation over the years from both a professional and person perspective.  BTW, I am not in the HA industry.

1.  Let me say this upfront - the astronomical cost of hearing aids is a sin.

2.  You really do, for the most part, get what you pay for.  If you go to some of the big names such as BelTone or Miracle Ear you will not get a quality product. 
3. Ask your ENT doctor who they recommend, and who they would steer clear of.

4. at first your aids will be very unnatural and drive you crazy, but you WILL get accustomed to them .  When you get new glasses they seem wonky the first few days too.  The brain needs time to adjust to the new norm.  Wear them at least two hours at a time at least twice a day.  Do not start your experience in a noisy area like a restaurant with lots of background noise.  Gradually increase your wear time until within 30 days you are wearing them for six hours straight.

5. if they still bother you go back to your audiologist and have them adjust your aids.  It may take several visits to get them just right.  
6.  A reputable company will have a trial period during which your aids can be returned for a full refund if you cannot adjust.

7.  Most of my patients who have had failures did not follow the above protocol. 

Just my soap box and my experience.  Helen Keller once answered the question “which sense would you have restored if you could?” By answering her hearing, as hearing loss is the most socially isolating of the senses.   Just a thought.

MB

OK, you have named 2 brands to avoid (one of which often solicits me to try them), but what brand or brands would you recommend?

 

And new glasses do not bother me or make me need an adjustment period. (I will say the same is not true for my DW who when she first needed glasses in her 40s constantly lost them. And she never adjusted to bifocals, so need more than one pair now.)

[MagnoliaBlossom]

I would ask your ENT, what he recommends.  he/she will know what is available in your area and which good audiologist will work you through your needs. I will tell you I have never known an ENT who recommended the two brands I mentioned.

Edited July 14, 2023 by MagnoliaBlossom

[ontheweb]

11 hours ago, MagnoliaBlossom said:

I would ask your ENT, what he recommends.  he/she will know what is available in your area and which good audiologist will work you through your needs. I will tell you I have never known an ENT who recommended the two brands I mentioned.

Could you comment on the very inexpensive hearing aids that now seem to be advertised?

[UKstages]

i don’t have a hearing aid and I’m not in the market for a hearing aid. but from recent research for somebody who is in the market, my understanding is that the lower cost of hearing aids is due to a new law, and not poor quality. the FDA issued a final ruling a couple of years ago that essentially changed the definition of “hearing aids” and enabled access to over-the-counter hearing aids.
 

and, just to get this back on topic, assisted listening devices such as these will definitely lead to lower guest satisfaction on the prima, if guests find themselves in one of these cabins.

[Parallaxe]

Avoid cabin 10100 at all costs!

 

I'm currently on Prima's transatlantic cruise from Barcelona to New York and whenever there's a bit of swell the noise in this cabin is infernal. Almost every minute it sounds as if we were hitting an iceberg or running over another ship. The banging and crashing sound is unbelievable. You can even feel the impact.

I have no idea what that is - sounds almost like a loose anchor swinging around and hitting against the hull.

[Parallaxe]

On 11/25/2023 at 10:47 PM, Parallaxe said:

Avoid cabin 10100 at all costs!

 

I'm currently on Prima's transatlantic cruise from Barcelona to New York and whenever there's a bit of swell the noise in this cabin is infernal. Almost every minute it sounds as if we were hitting an iceberg or running over another ship. The banging and crashing sound is unbelievable. You can even feel the impact.

I have no idea what that is - sounds almost like a loose anchor swinging around and hitting against the hull.

 

Update: it got so bad that I had to call guest services around midnight. Staff was awesome and gave me a vacant inside cabin for a good night's sleep. 

They also told me that it's a known issue with the anchors on the Prima: swell/waves and the ship's movements seem to let the anchor bang against other ship's components, leading to this infernal noise.

So I suppose all front facing suites like mine could be affected, if swell/waves are at a certain strength.

 

Hope it helps.

[RocketMan275]

On 7/13/2023 at 7:46 AM, RocketMan275 said:

First of all, thank  you for sharing your insights.

I've had three different sets of hearing aids.  I've struggled with them for over 10  years.  

I've been disappointed with all three sets.  Ten years is enough time to adjust.

I very much doubt I'll give them another try.

 

On 7/13/2023 at 7:33 PM, MagnoliaBlossom said:

I would ask your ENT, what he recommends.  he/she will know what is available in your area and which good audiologist will work you through your needs. I will tell you I have never known an ENT who recommended the two brands I mentioned.

An update:

I'm now on my fourth set of hearing aids.  These I got from Costco (which btw is the nations biggest retailer of hearing aids).  These aids, manufactured by philips) are far superior to any I've had in the past.  FWIW, I do not use the over the ear type aids.  I've experienced much difficulty with those little ear wax guards coming dislodged in my ears so I use the inside the ear type which has a different type of wax guard.

[MaisonRose]

On 7/11/2023 at 5:38 PM, ontheweb said:

???????

Cabin  OV   deck 5   cabin 5778   
There were noises (fast rolling carts but not very loud) we were under the Casino.

with the TV going we heard nothing.

[cruiseny4life]

I was really hoping I would not have to add to this thread, but alas, I do. Our stateroom, 14310, roughly midship and a Haven room, is a perfectly fine and noiseless cabin when the ship is cruising through calm seas. It's even ok, though has limited noise when waves are four or five feet high. Once waves hit six to eight feet, or more, as they did on the Transatlantic from Barcelona to NYC, the room sounds like a house of horrors. Crashes. Bangs. Metal rubbing metal. Booming sounds. 

 

We did not require a sleeping room, so it wasn't as bad as others have described, but I was woken up multiple times a few of the nights. And eight foot waves don't even make for rough seas! If you're cruising through the Caribbean during non-hurricane season, you'll probably be fine. Just be prepared if rough weather is on its' way. 

 

We still really enjoyed our Pr1ma cruise! 

[Liljo22]

1 hour ago, cruiseny4life said:

I was really hoping I would not have to add to this thread, but alas, I do. Our stateroom, 14310, roughly midship and a Haven room, is a perfectly fine and noiseless cabin when the ship is cruising through calm seas. It's even ok, though has limited noise when waves are four or five feet high. Once waves hit six to eight feet, or more, as they did on the Transatlantic from Barcelona to NYC, the room sounds like a house of horrors. Crashes. Bangs. Metal rubbing metal. Booming sounds. 

 

We did not require a sleeping room, so it wasn't as bad as others have described, but I was woken up multiple times a few of the nights. And eight foot waves don't even make for rough seas! If you're cruising through the Caribbean during non-hurricane season, you'll probably be fine. Just be prepared if rough weather is on its' way. 

 

We still really enjoyed our Pr1ma cruise! 

Is that not normal in seas that rough?  I have been in storms that bad twice and both times my room was noisy to the point that sleeping wasn't happening. On the Disney Wonder, the ceiling would lift up and drop down hard on top of the loud creaking.   

[cruiseny4life]

33 minutes ago, Liljo22 said:

Is that not normal in seas that rough?  I have been in storms that bad twice and both times my room was noisy to the point that sleeping wasn't happening. On the Disney Wonder, the ceiling would lift up and drop down hard on top of the loud creaking.   

In my previous experience, no. I was on Carnival Triumph years ago (2009). If anything, back then I couldn't sleep through the least amount of noise. I was never disturbed in my sleep then and we had worse seas off the coast of Maine and New Brunswick. Last year, we were on a sailing to Bermuda and had rough seas - pretty similar to what we experienced on Pr1ma. Our stateroom never uttered a groan. 

 

But, perhaps it is normal as I have only had three experiences in rough weather. I'm certainly open to the fact I experienced a normal night at sea. Wow, though! I'm thinking a ceiling doing that would worry me a trifle.