Cruise Guest Demands Action After Being Kept Awake by Kids
One of the main reasons people like to take cruise vacations is for rest and relaxation. So, why is it so hard for so many to get a good night of sleep?
For one current cruise guest who is sailing onboard Royal Caribbean’s Allure of the Seas, the sleepless nights can be attributed to thin walls and one inconsiderate family.
The frustrated passenger posted a video to Reddit, in which children could be heard screaming and crying in the middle of the night.
It appeared that the poster’s cabin shared a connecting door with the stateroom belonging to the noisy family, which may have been making it easier for the sound to travel between rooms.
“Allure of the Seas paper thin walls? Or door for that matter…,” the cruiser began their Reddit post.
“I asked them to move me and they just keep telling me there’s no other rooms.. I have a balcony room with a connected room to some family of 3 kids and it’s just constant crying and screaming at all hours of the night…I can’t sleep. This is beyond annoying,” the guest continued.
As the passenger is currently onboard, it’s worth acknowledging that their voyage coincides with the spring break busy season – during which it’s quite possible that the 5,484-guest ship could be at or is close to capacity. This means there really wouldn’t have been an available cabin to move the guest.
The Oasis-class vessel is currently operating multiple 7-night Western Mediterranean sailings simultaneously, which is a popular itinerary.
In an update in the comments, the guest added: “This is 2nd night. I went yesterday to guest services and they called them to ask them to stfu then they called me back asking if the issue resolved and I said no lol and today no one checked in so. Am going tomorrow day 3 if they refuse to put me in another room I’m gonna ask for the gratuities to be refunded.”
This update shows that the crew members did advise the family at least once that they needed to tone down the noise, but there is unfortunately not much more guest services can do – especially if there really are no available cabins.
Allure of the seas paper thin walls?
byu/CokeCanCowBoi inroyalcaribbean
As Royal Caribbean is one of the more family friendly brands, it’s also not all that surprising to encounter crying children onboard.
And as every parent knows, sometimes kids just cry. Especially while traveling, the change in routine and time zones can be harder for some kids than others – resulting in increased restlessness and water works.
But at the same time, parents also have a responsibility to look after their children and prevent them from disturbing other guests. Perhaps the parents could take the children to another area until they settle down or could seek aid from the nurseries and childcare facilities onboard.
Dealing With Noise at Sea
Unfortunately, noise complaints are fairly common in the world of cruising. From experience, the walls can be quite thin and partying guests are not always the most considerate of resting passengers while coming and going from their cruise cabins at all hours of the night.
That said, there are some ways of dealing with noise – and setting yourself up for success so that you don’t actually have an issue at all.
First, be strategic when selecting your cruise cabin. Try to avoid louder areas of the ship, such as directly above or below the pool decks, theaters, and dance club type environments.
As this Redditor learned from the comments section of his post, connecting staterooms also have a reputation for being louder than most.
“Never book a room with a connecting door unless you’re also booking the other room too,” one cruise fan advised.
“Connected rooms have an issue with noise sometimes,” another echoed.
But if you do end up in a connecting room, one experienced sailor had a tip to make it through with your eardrums intact: “Trick from being in the Service. If you have a connecting room, get some magnetic hooks and ask for a comforter to make a sound baffle. Sorry about your cruise being disrupted.”
Others recommended that the guest should play music or white noise from their phone to try to block out the crying.
Read Also: Seven Tips for Going on Cruises With Kids
All that said, the cruiser did do the right thing by going to guest services for help. Their job is to problem solve and help guests have the best experience possible – and it’s unfortunate that their hands seem to be tied in this situation.
Others felt that the guest should be pushing guest services harder for compensation and potential workarounds – especially if a cabin switch isn’t possible.
“In these situations your best bet is to take this video to guest services and tell them if they can’t move you to another room then you want a refund on the cruise. You didn’t sign up for torture and that is what this amounts to,” one person replied.
“You also should demand they TRY to sound proof the doors better. They can put rubber stripping and duct tape around the door edges and also hang up a comforter to try and dampen the sound,” they continued.
Whenever I travel – whether it is by land or by sea – I always make sure to pack ear plugs or noise cancelling headphones as a fail safe. That way if I end up in noisy accommodations and there is nothing to be done about it, I can still get to sleep at night.
I also like to bring a small portable fan with me – which can create some white noise and muffle sounds around me.