Creaking on Vista

[wencel]

Wrapping up night 6 of a 19 night cruise on Vista. Twice now I've been woken in the middle of the night by such incredibly loud creaking in my veranda cabin coming from the veranda area, alternating with loud clangs from the ceiling area by the closet/bathroom. I thought at first it was the hangers bumping into each other.

 

I did an 11 night Transatlantic on the new Silversea Nova in November and had similar experience. Not only was the creaking loud in the cabin (also mostly coming from the veranda area), it was so loud in the hallway by my cabin that I recorded a video of the noise... And creaking was also quite loud one night in the MDR.

 

Vista and Nova are my only very new ship experiences. Last December I was on Seabourn's Ovation (their newest at the time but already sailing for a year, I think) and did not have such creaking and groaning. 

 

Anyone else have similar experiences with very new ships? Is this typical and to be expected? I think from now on I will avoid any ship less than a year old!

[Condocat]

We were in a Vista suite this past February and the entire cabin area creaked horribly every night!

I think we had every engineer on the ship in our suite trying to figure it out but without success.  Fortunately there was an empty Penthouse suite we used at night to get some sleep, but it was a very strange situation.  We felt like we on an old rickety wooden ship  that was haunted!

[pinotlover]

1 hour ago, Condocat said:

We were in a Vista suite this past February and the entire cabin area creaked horribly every night!

I think we had every engineer on the ship in our suite trying to figure it out but without success.  Fortunately there was an empty Penthouse suite we used at night to get some sleep, but it was a very strange situation.  We felt like we on an old rickety wooden ship  that was haunted!

Which cruise line? Oceania Vista didn’t start cruising until April/May 2023.

[See_More]

It is a Vista problem.  I was on the Founders voyage and there was erratic loud banging every night. Sounded like they were still building the ship all night long. 

[pilgrimage]

Yes, we're in the same boat, so to speak.  One spot in the ceiling right next to the window in our PH.  Constant loud creaking while the ship is in motion, and even when docked if the seas are rough as they were in Costa Maya.  They sent someone to look at it, but I suspect it would require major surgery to fix.

[pinotlover]

We were fortunate on the Vista in June in a 10th Deck PH. Don’t remember any creaking noises other than maybe my knees. The paper thin walls where you could hear everything your neighbors said were a different issue.

[EJL2023]

We were on Vista in May and with traveling partners had 2 verandah staterooms on Deck 8 and did not experience any of the creaking noises. 

[Condocat]

51 minutes ago, pinotlover said:

Which cruise line? Oceania Vista didn’t start cruising until April/May 2023.

Oops...too many cruises last year!  Feb was the Marina, June/July was on Vista.

[LHT28]

we were on Vista Oct   on deck 7 only issue we had was when they lowered the tenders right by our cabin

no creaking or noisy neighbours  I guess we were lucky  except for the slippery deck 😒

[wencel]

I should clarify our family of three have 2 side by side cabins (not adjoining) mid ship on deck 7. Creaking in my cabin can get very intense but less so in the other cabin. My SS Nova cabin was also mid ship on deck 6 (I'm motion sensitive so always book low mid cabins). 

 

All the creaking noises are disconcerting... Makes you wonder how quickly they rushed through construction!

[bubbaed]

Currently on Vista, second leg of back-to-back. We were in cabin 7028 for the first leg and the creaking coming from the balcony door frame was very loud. Thankfully, we were moved (at our request) to a different cabin for our second leg, and our new cabin is wonderfully quiet (although the neighbor's TV can be heard through the wall...)

[Gracie115]

We are on Vista now too in a PH on deck 11 and have not experienced this, thankfully. 
 

It may well be a “new” ship thing. Last fall on the new Celebrity Apex we thought the room was ripping apart the creaking and groaning was so loud. 
 

The Vista has been great in every way for us.

[See_More]

3 hours ago, wencel said:

I should clarify our family of three have 2 side by side cabins (not adjoining) mid ship on deck 7. Creaking in my cabin can get very intense but less so in the other cabin. My SS Nova cabin was also mid ship on deck 6 (I'm motion sensitive so always book low mid cabins). 

 

All the creaking noises are disconcerting... Makes you wonder how quickly they rushed through construction!

Just thought I should add that when I posted earlier about all the loud erratic bangs I was also deck 7 midship.

[Travel2Learn]

Wencel, I was also on Nova October 15 to November 18, mid ship deck 9.  Overall, it was no worse than on Riviera in January in the Caribbean.  The noise on Nova was mainly when the sea was rougher.  During the trans-Atlantic we did have more nights that were rougher than others.  However, one night in the MDR the noise did seem worse than normal.  When the captain gave weather updates, he mentioned the creaking and groaning.  I wonder if it will gradually get better as the ship ages and parts that rub together in bad weather smooth out.  We'll be on Vista next month.  I hope the creaking and groaning of the new ship will not bother DH.  

[LouChamp]

Aloha. Back in the 1970s every ship creaked loudly. Was surprised as the years and technology progressed there was less of it. I still enjoy it although the Mrs…not so much lol.

[Queen of DaNile]

We were in #7092 for Vista's first TA and the creaking was so bad I wrote it up on the mid-cruise comment card. We had someone from engineering come up and assure us it was from the ship being new. He said it was so loud throughout the ship that he could hear it in the hallways.

[CardowMD]

Sounds like the architectural design to move to the container type cabins may be causing this issue— someone is forgetting to add insulation between the individual cabins and attach everything correctly. One should check to see who the naval architect and ship builders are to compare. I am sure other issue is “value engineering”

[Wynterwynd]

I have really good ear plugs…should work for both hubby’s snoring and boat creaking!  We’re on Vista Nov 2024 so hope the ‘ghosts’ are gone by then.

[chengkp75]

On 12/17/2023 at 9:30 AM, pilgrimage said:

Yes, we're in the same boat, so to speak.  One spot in the ceiling right next to the window in our PH.  Constant loud creaking while the ship is in motion, and even when docked if the seas are rough as they were in Costa Maya.  They sent someone to look at it, but I suspect it would require major surgery to fix.

This is the cause of 90% of cabin noise, not structural defects or architectural design problems.  Each of those ceiling panels is held in place by a series of sheet metal screws on one side.  The other side tucks under the next panel and is held by the screws on that panel.  Therefore, if the screws are even a little loose, the two panels will rub against each other, creating the "creaking", as the non-structural cabin walls and ceiling move with the ship's flexing.  It doesn't take real "major surgery" to fix, it just requires that the carpenters start at one end of the cabin, and take down all the ceiling panels until they get to the loose one, tighten that up, and then reinstall all the other panels.

 

As for this being a problem of just "new" ships, nope, it actually will get worse as the ship ages, as more flexing causes the screws to loosen.

[DENIE]

Interesting. We will be in a PH on Deck 7 Vista in 3 weeks or so. Will have to have a "listen".

[wencel]

Super interesting explanation @chengkp75 and makes a lot of sense. Thanks!

[edgee]

On 12/17/2023 at 3:20 PM, bubbaed said:

Currently on Vista, second leg of back-to-back. We were in cabin 7028 for the first leg and the creaking coming from the balcony door frame was very loud. Thankfully, we were moved (at our request) to a different cabin for our second leg, and our new cabin is wonderfully quiet (although the neighbor's TV can be heard through the wall...)

The TV noise was a pretty big problem for us, as our neighbors played their TV until midnight and we normally go to sleep right after the show...about 10:15 or so. We had already booked a return to Vista in late Jan. We know that we can only hope that our neighbors will not use their tv in the late evening. Partial solution is to open balcony door so the noise of the sea serves as a white noise...or use a white noise app on our phones. That was only a partial solution for us. Should not have to be dependent on just hoping our neighbors are quiet. While we love the ship, this may be our last cruise on Vista for that reason.

[Psoque]

On 12/17/2023 at 3:20 PM, bubbaed said:

Currently on Vista, second leg of back-to-back. We were in cabin 7028 for the first leg and the creaking coming from the balcony door frame was very loud. Thankfully, we were moved (at our request) to a different cabin for our second leg, and our new cabin is wonderfully quiet (although the neighbor's TV can be heard through the wall...)

How far away from 7028 did you have to move to escape the noise?

[Croooser]

On 12/19/2023 at 8:35 AM, edgee said:

The TV noise was a pretty big problem for us, as our neighbors played their TV until midnight and we normally go to sleep right after the show...about 10:15 or so. We had already booked a return to Vista in late Jan. We know that we can only hope that our neighbors will not use their tv in the late evening. Partial solution is to open balcony door so the noise of the sea serves as a white noise...or use a white noise app on our phones. That was only a partial solution for us. Should not have to be dependent on just hoping our neighbors are quiet. While we love the ship, this may be our last cruise on Vista for that reason.

Yep. Loved the ship, but not willing to roll the dice on the sound from next door. Had to use over the ear, noise cancelling headphones with white noise to block it out. Never had anywhere near that problem on four trips on Riviera. Sure seems like they did something different. Cancelled a Vista cruise next year because of the noise and replaced it with a, first for us, Seabourn that also has an itinerary that we prefer.

 

YMMV

Edited December 20, 2023 by Croooser

[edgee]

3 minutes ago, Croooser said:

Never had anywhere near that problem on four trips on Riviera. Sure seems like they did something different. Cancelled a Vista cruise next year because of the noise and replaced it with a, first for us Seabourn, that also has an itinerary that we prefer.

Yes for a while I thought that maybe I heard more noise because the A/C on Vista is so quiet that it provides no white noise which is common on other ships. But it is what it is and for us it is not acceptable.