indoor air quality for non-window stateroom

[ppwlee]

May be a stupid question, but I wonder if there's any negative feedback of the room air quality on Pearl? We have a 2yr old and wonder if we should ever taken into consideration of having a open balcony? Thanks in advance.

[cweinzie]

I am curious to see what others have to say. On our 1st cruise it didn't dawn on me but this last cruise it was obvious that there were smokers in our room previous to us. I was very relieved to have a balcony to open. I don't think that the air quality was poor, it was the lingering odor from previous.

[Azure Moon]

We had an inside cabin on Pearl in January and there were no odors in ours.

If you find your's has an odor, talk to your cabin steward about it and they can treat it again.

The stuff they use is very good.

[cruiser12]

We have been in the inside cabins and those with a window. There is nothing better then to open up the balcony door to get fresh air in. We were on a great ship twice ( Spirit) the inside cabin was way to dark and depressing. That was when I desided to change. I have a cruise coming up very soon and then again in August. We just started to spoil our selves with the balcony. This will be my 27 cruise and just the thought of the balcony makes me feel good.

[ute_fan]

We've been on 6 cruises -- two balconies, two windows (that obviously don't open), and 2 insides. We've never had a problem with a smoke odor in the rooms. I've been very pleasantly surprised.

 

The only air quality problem that I've ever noticed was a slight musty smell. That was on the old NCL Sea, which was probably 20+ years old at the time, and even it wasn't that bad. We take along one of those plug-in air freshener strips (ours has a night-light built in), just to take care of any lingering odors.

 

I wouldn't even consider paying the additional cost for a balcony because of the air quality. However, if your two-year old is still napping and you will be spending a lot of time in your room, that might be a reason for a balcony. When we're not planning on spending much time in our rooms, an inside cabin works fine -- but they are darker, and having the extra room from the balcony might be helpful.

 

Happy cruising!

[CanadaFour]

Your call, of course, but I would consider the following:

 

Is your child napping? The balcony will be wonderful for you while s/he sleeps.

 

Is your child a climber? Your fears of him/her falling off the balcony may make the balcony option much less attractive.

 

We have balconies, but block access physically to the balcony doors at night and watch like a hawk. I don't know of a single case of a child falling off the balcony on a cruise ship, but I didn't want my little one to be a first and she was/is a master climber.

 

The inside rooms are a dream if your child needs dark to sleep.

[kruzingtogether]

As long as you don't have a smoker in one of the staterooms right around you, you should be fine. That was the only major problem we ever had, and we were able to move rooms (although we had to take a down-grade, but worth it to breathe...) a day into the cruise.

[pixiedustdawn]

I have never been on th Pearl, but the Gem is her sister ship and I have been on her.

I just stayed in an oceanview cabin and loved it. I liked that my daughter was able to sit on the little ledge with no worries on my part. Even though she is almost a teen, I always worry about those balcony doors.

I also know if someone stayed in my room prior that was a smoker they can get rid of the smell (I never smelled anything) They also tell me they have machines that will remove any odors. I am not sure if they are air cleaners or not.

Also, I have never had the best sleep as when I get an inside cabin.

Dawn

[kf657]

What about bringing one of the little table top air ionizers or air purifiers if you are really concerned, I have a daughter with asthma and if she was going along I would consider bring one...Couldn't hurt.

[Us2inFL]

Contact the maintenance department and ask them to clean the air conditioner filter. Generally they're located at the base of the wall, near the bathroom. On the newer ships, the a/c intake is at the ceiling. Either way, the filter is generally rather dusty, and cleaning it or replacing it will dramatically improve the air quality.

 

On the Sky many years ago, the filter was caked with dust, and it was immediately changed for a new one.

 

I am certain they will have no problem performing this service, although it is something you would think they do as part of routine maintenance anyway.