NCL Pearl Forward Facing Penthouse - Excessive Noise = Minimal Sleep for 11 days

[stsnfes]

We are currently on the NCL Pearl in room 9500.
 

We have had the worst experience on this sailing. We are exhausted from lack of sleep.  The Pearl is currently installing a new production show, which means they have had full on practices all day, every day, including 1am, even at 2am.  It wasn't just noise, we could literally hear the full signing and drums, trumpets the entire time. We complained daily. They already know this is a problem, they kept saying they wouldn't have late night practices but they continued to.  Our butler and room steward both acknowledged that the situation was terrible, but there wasn't anything they could do.

 

We understand from 5-10 they have shows, but this was 11pm, 1 am, 8 am. By day three, I was a zombie.  The ship was full, but at one point someone offered me a room to take a nap in. I started crying, I really was going to go in some random room and take a time allotted nap on my vacation.

 

We spent alot of money on the penthouse and this cruise (10k range including travel,etc) and this was to be my husband's 50th birthday gift. We couldn't even sit in our room. By day 6, the exhaustion and fatigue really took over. We met with the cruise director who just flat out lied.

 

We are so disappointed in NCL and how they handled this.   They gave us a letter that basically said sorry, too bad, and acted like  the show is more important. They offered us a future cruise credit that wouldn't even cover 20% of a total cost of this trip and why would I want to spend money with them again.

 

I don't know if there should be next steps or if I should just never sail NCL again. I would appreciate some insight on what some cruise veterans would do. We would be close to Sapphire after this cruise but no status is worth not sleeping and being treated badly.

 

Thanks for your thoughts in advance.

 

PS. I recorded all the practices from the room when we were there. You can clearly see I am in the room and also hear the show through the recording on my phone. 

Edited November 27, 2023 by stsnfes

[TheDawg79]

This is why you ALWAYS check cabin location before booking. Booking rooms that are not above, below, or next to the theatre is tops on many “do no book” lists. This is what, unfortunately, cruise veterans do. Sorry to hear about your experience. Just chalk it up to a learning experience.

[BunnyHutt]

7 minutes ago, TheDawg79 said:

This is why you ALWAYS check cabin location before booking. Booking rooms that are not above, below, or next to the theatre is tops on many “do no book” lists. This is what, unfortunately, cruise veterans do. Sorry to hear about your experience. Just chalk it up to a learning experience.

In reading the OP, it sounds like they are cruise veterans and were anticipating noise… at normal performance/practice times. However, this is a unique circumstance in that it’s prepping a new show. 
 

That said, I don’t disagree with the cruise line that an entire production takes precedence over a couple of disgruntled passengers. I know it comes across as heartless, but it’s the big picture. Would you be satisfied if the amount that was offered as FCC was given as a refund instead? I guess that could be your next request. 

[mugtech]

3 hours ago, stsnfes said:

 

.

 

We are so disappointed in NCL and how they handled this.   They gave us a letter that basically said sorry, too bad, and acted like  the show is more important. 

The show was more important, they already have your money.

[ChiefMateJRK]

I always book inside and pack ear plugs. I sleep like a baby every cruise.  😎

[BirdTravels]

We always have ear plugs I our “emergency kit”. And ear plugs were readily available on the ship for hearing protection. 
 

That being said, even though we are “old”, we are rarely in bed before 1 pm and rarely up after 8am, so this would not have bothered us much. 

[scamper]

15 hours ago, stsnfes said:

We are currently on the NCL Pearl in room 9500.
 

We have had the worst experience on this sailing. We are exhausted from lack of sleep.  The Pearl is currently installing a new production show, which means they have had full on practices all day, every day, including 1am, even at 2am.  It wasn't just noise, we could literally hear the full signing and drums, trumpets the entire time. We complained daily. They already know this is a problem, they kept saying they wouldn't have late night practices but they continued to.  Our butler and room steward both acknowledged that the situation was terrible, but there wasn't anything they could do.

 

We understand from 5-10 they have shows, but this was 11pm, 1 am, 8 am. By day three, I was a zombie.  The ship was full, but at one point someone offered me a room to take a nap in. I started crying, I really was going to go in some random room and take a time allotted nap on my vacation.

 

We spent alot of money on the penthouse and this cruise (10k range including travel,etc) and this was to be my husband's 50th birthday gift. We couldn't even sit in our room. By day 6, the exhaustion and fatigue really took over. We met with the cruise director who just flat out lied.

 

We are so disappointed in NCL and how they handled this.   They gave us a letter that basically said sorry, too bad, and acted like  the show is more important. They offered us a future cruise credit that wouldn't even cover 20% of a total cost of this trip and why would I want to spend money with them again.

 

I don't know if there should be next steps or if I should just never sail NCL again. I would appreciate some insight on what some cruise veterans would do. We would be close to Sapphire after this cruise but no status is worth not sleeping and being treated badly.

 

Thanks for your thoughts in advance.

 

PS. I recorded all the practices from the room when we were there. You can clearly see I am in the room and also hear the show through the recording on my phone. 

I'm going to go a different route than other posters by saying I'm sorry you had a terrible cruise and don't blame you at all.

 

I agree, ship's personnel did not handle this well at all. I understand that the ship was basically full and thus they couldn't move you.  However, to only offer you 20% in FCC of your fare as compensation is piss poor indeed.  Had it been me, I would have made sure to actively look for an officer, the more gold braid the better.  If her or she didn't address the issue, I would have kept looking for more braid on the shoulder.  

 

I hope you will continue to seek remediation.  I don't know if getting a lawyer involved would help, but I am fortunate to have a lawyer in the family who has written letters in the past for me and other people that often get businesses and individuals to sit up and take notice. He never threatens to bring suit or anything of that nature, it's just that oftentimes letters on law firm letterheads are all that is needed to convey the seriousness of the situation.  It's 50/50 that such a letter might help, but it definitely couldn't hurt.

[stsnfes]

11 hours ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

I always book inside and pack ear plugs. I sleep like a baby every cruise.  😎

Ear plugs did nothing, even my noise cancelling headphones didn’t work.  It was like we were on stage, I’ve sailed alot and don’t mind ship “noise” .
this was wild, absolutely no noise insulation 😕

[DCGuy64]

I'm sorry for the OP, as well. I don't know what, if anything, NCL can do to rectify the situation. They're in a tough spot: people have been complaining about shows being retired and not being replaced, and now rehearsing the new show is causing problems, too. Hoping OP can make the best of what remains of her cruise.

[stsnfes]

4 minutes ago, DCGuy64 said:

I'm sorry for the OP, as well. I don't know what, if anything, NCL can do to rectify the situation. They're in a tough spot: people have been complaining about shows being retired and not being replaced, and now rehearsing the new show is causing problems, too. Hoping OP can make the best of what remains of her cruise.

Thanks! It wasn’t a new show just new performers,but any way totally understand the need for new entertainment. We had 7 port days, it seemed like practicing while in port would have been ideal. I’m not unreasonable, but if a guest was making this noise at these hours they would have a visit from security. Or maybe they don’t sell these three rooms during installation weeks. I don’t know what the answer is but this wasn’t what I paid for. 😞 

[G-DawgMN]

4 hours ago, stsnfes said:

Thanks! It wasn’t a new show just new performers,but any way totally understand the need for new entertainment. We had 7 port days, it seemed like practicing while in port would have been ideal. I’m not unreasonable, but if a guest was making this noise at these hours they would have a visit from security. Or maybe they don’t sell these three rooms during installation weeks. I don’t know what the answer is but this wasn’t what I paid for. 😞 

 

 Hopefully you are still on the ship, if so insist to talk to the General Manager. You'll have to decide what compensation you feel is appropriate, they will argue that you're still getting to use the ship amenities and suite perks, so you must take that into consideration.

 

   They must have really upgraded the sound system on the Pearl, we were in that exact same room a few years ago and never heard any noise at all, even when shows were going on.

 

 

[stsnfes]

Just now, KSSS2013 said:

They must have really upgraded the sound system on the Pearl, we were in that exact same room a few years ago and never heard any noise at all, even when shows were going on.

The cruise director admitted that they were working on figuring out something with the insulation, so I believe they know it's an issue.  They also said this was a unique scenario, in that they had just this week to prepare for this show with the new singers, so normally they would not be rehearsing all day. They had 3 artists being replaced in the Legends show. The entertainment manager said they normally would not be rehearsing at 1am.

 

I mean I was impressed with how loud /clear it was 🙂 however, I do not wish to hear Michael Jackson anytime in the near future. 

 

I asked to and wrote a note to the general manager, but they never did get him for me to speak to. I have a case # and I am going to take that to corporate.  

 

I appreciate your feedback 🙂

[stsnfes]

17 hours ago, TheDawg79 said:

This is why you ALWAYS check cabin location before booking. Booking rooms that are not above, below, or next to the theatre is tops on many “do no book” lists. This is what, unfortunately, cruise veterans do. Sorry to hear about your experience. Just chalk it up to a learning experience.

Thanks for your advice and thoughts, I appreciate it. That is a fair assessment.

 

I did this research and didn't find anything about 1am rehearsals or constant rehearsals or a noise problem with this room, just the normal noise to be expected during shows. I have always throughly researched YouTube, here, reddit etc. Perhaps I missed someone who had this experience in this room.

 

But I will help someone else who is researching the same thing. I will share the audio / video of the level of noise in this room in a review, so a future cruiser can make their own decision. 🙂 
 

TY

[Isabella Benjamin]

Here's a review from January of this year from someone who had problems with the noise from the theater in 9500:  Link.

 

"Speaking of noise, one big drawback of this suite is that it is right above the theater below. That means, almost every day around noon, you will hear them rehearsing for the shows. Then, at night, you get to enjoy two shows almost like you are in the theater. I mean it is LOUD. We often went to early dinner and then the late show as we had no chance of sleeping early if we wanted to."

[kitkat343]

If someone booked a room above the theater and then complained about the noise from the two shows each night, I'd have no sympathy for them.  But I certainly wouldn't have  expected performances or rehearsals on a main stage at 1 am ( a night club possibly, but not a main stage).  So sorry this happened to you.

Edited November 29, 2023 by kitkat343

[spookylu]

I would be very upset too. In my opinion,  Norwegian should not be selling this stateroom until the severe noise problem,  which they know is an issue, is fixed by installing soundproofing. Even if research was done, nobody would expect that a "noisy" room,  especially at the penthouse level, would be so loud the occupants can't sleep at night. If I paid $10,000 for a stateroom I couldn't sleep in, I would be livid. 

Edited November 29, 2023 by spookylu

[Turtles06]

20 hours ago, stsnfes said:

The cruise director admitted that they were working on figuring out something with the insulation, so I believe they know it's an issue.  They also said this was a unique scenario, in that they had just this week to prepare for this show with the new singers, so normally they would not be rehearsing all day. They had 3 artists being replaced in the Legends show. The entertainment manager said they normally would not be rehearsing at 1am.

 

And this is why the usual lack of sympathy from the NCL cheerleaders is especially unwarranted here.  No one booking these suites could expect rehearsals in the middle of the night. I’m really sorry this has happened to you. And it’s inexcusable that the GM did not speak to you.  I’m not sure what the appropriate compensation is, but it’s not what’s been offered. 
 

Good luck, let us know what happens. 

[sanger727]

This is terrible. Your cabin can't be the only near the theater who can hear theater noise. It's hard to believe that NCL thought that rehearsals at 1am were a reasonable thing to do. There are many hours during the day when the theater is free. Surely there is a way to rehearse song and dance without having the full sound system on. Play the music from a normal speaker and have the singer sing without microphones. Would create very little external noise. 

Edited November 29, 2023 by sanger727

[DCGuy64]

On 11/27/2023 at 3:50 PM, stsnfes said:

They gave us a letter that basically said sorry, too bad, and acted like  the show is more important.

Without demanding that OP divulge the contents of this letter, I'd be interested to know what NCL actually said. She earlier reports being told that they weren't going to be practicing until late at night, but then says they went until 1 or 2 AM. What was the NCL response to that claim? I find it hard to believe that when told they practiced that late at night, management simply said "tough." By no means do I think NCL is beyond reproach, but one thing I've learned by being part of CC for so long is that there's always more to the story than meets the eye. Something just doesn't add up for me.

[zqvol]

33 minutes ago, DCGuy64 said:

Without demanding that OP divulge the contents of this letter, I'd be interested to know what NCL actually said. She earlier reports being told that they weren't going to be practicing until late at night, but then says they went until 1 or 2 AM. What was the NCL response to that claim? I find it hard to believe that when told they practiced that late at night, management simply said "tough." By no means do I think NCL is beyond reproach, but one thing I've learned by being part of CC for so long is that there's always more to the story than meets the eye. Something just doesn't add up for me.

I agree

[stsnfes]

10 minutes ago, DCGuy64 said:

Without demanding that OP divulge the contents of this letter, I'd be interested to know what NCL actually said. She earlier reports being told that they weren't going to be practicing until late at night, but then says they went until 1 or 2 AM. What was the NCL response to that claim? I find it hard to believe that when told they practiced that late at night, management simply said "tough." By no means do I think NCL is beyond reproach, but one thing I've learned by being part of CC for so long is that there's always more to the story than meets the eye. Something just doesn't add up for me.

 

Yeah,  there is nothing more. Clearly Guest Services, Cruise Director and Entertainment Director were not on the same page and we were told the practices weren't going to happen repeatedly and they did.  If you don't believe it, that is your prerogative , but it is 100% the case. 

[DCGuy64]

17 minutes ago, stsnfes said:

 

Yeah,  there is nothing more. Clearly Guest Services, Cruise Director and Entertainment Director were not on the same page and we were told the practices weren't going to happen repeatedly and they did.  If you don't believe it, that is your prerogative , but it is 100% the case. 

It's hard for me to know what to believe. I only have your side of the story, but I'd love to hear management's. Let me offer a similar, although not exactly parallel, situation: I once read a very bad review on Yelp of a local Chinese restaurant where the reviewer excoriated the establishment for seating them at a bad table right next to the kitchen and complained of bad service. The management wrote a response in which it was revealed that the guest and her party arrived very late for their reservation and then demanded to be seated anyway, even though the place was packed. They were seated next to the kitchen because it was either that, or nothing at all. They then got very loud and very drunk and yelled at the server because their food took too long. By no means do I think you're a rude person, not at all. All I mean by saying this is that a negative review from only one side is hard to judge. I have never known any cruise line to flat out say "too bad" when a guest is given a room that is too loud to sleep in. It just doesn't fit my experience. If you don't want to go into details, that's certainly your prerogative, but please understand that it's not fair (from my view) to completely blame the other side when we haven't heard from them. I know that my wife, as a light sleeper, would be very upset if she were not able to get a good night's rest, so I do empathize with your situation and hope for a successful resolution to the problem with your cabin.

[silverturtle]

About 7 /8yrs ago, we booked a aft balcony on NCL's Pearl to Alaska. In the middle of the night we were awaken by a really loud sound coming from our balcony, opened up the doors to find ice mixed in with lettuce/chips on our chairs and balcony floor!!!! We found out they were cleaning the deck on top of the ship and throwing the ice overboard!!!! Which was totally illegal, but they did it every night. We complained every day and to anyone we could find. They even sent chocolate strawberries and I explained to guest services that I didn't want strawberries, I wanted them to stop throwing ice off the back of the boat! Nothing was done about it, so we were done with them. I can't remember booking another cruise with them again.

[silverturtle]

1 hour ago, silverturtle said:

About 7 /8yrs ago, we booked a aft balcony on NCL's Pearl to Alaska. In the middle of the night we were awaken by a really loud sound coming from our balcony, opened up the doors to find ice mixed in with lettuce/chips on our chairs and balcony floor!!!! We found out they were cleaning the deck on top of the ship and throwing the ice overboard!!!! Which was totally illegal, but they did it every night. We complained every day and to anyone we could find. They even sent chocolate strawberries and I explained to guest services that I didn't want strawberries, I wanted them to stop throwing ice off the back of the boat! Nothing was done about it, so we were done with them. Started cruising with another cruise line and havent been back.

 

[mugtech]

8 hours ago, DCGuy64 said:

It's hard for me to know what to believe. I only have your side of the story, but I'd love to hear management's. Let me offer a similar, although not exactly parallel, situation: I once read a very bad review on Yelp of a local Chinese restaurant where the reviewer excoriated the establishment for seating them at a bad table right next to the kitchen and complained of bad service. The management wrote a response in which it was revealed that the guest and her party arrived very late for their reservation and then demanded to be seated anyway, even though the place was packed. They were seated next to the kitchen because it was either that, or nothing at all. They then got very loud and very drunk and yelled at the server because their food took too long. By no means do I think you're a rude person, not at all. All I mean by saying this is that a negative review from only one side is hard to judge. I have never known any cruise line to flat out say "too bad" when a guest is given a room that is too loud to sleep in. It just doesn't fit my experience. If you don't want to go into details, that's certainly your prerogative, but please understand that it's not fair (from my view) to completely blame the other side when we haven't heard from them. I know that my wife, as a light sleeper, would be very upset if she were not able to get a good night's rest, so I do empathize with your situation and hope for a successful resolution to the problem with your cabin.

Shake them pom poms.