Don’t Book A Noisy Cruise Cabin – Check These 5 Things First

When booking your cabin for your cruise, there are a few things to keep in mind.

Where your cabin is on the ship – and what is above and below it – can greatly impact your time onboard.

It is always best to check the deck plans to try to avoid certain public areas of the ship.

1. Cabins Above/Below Nightclubs & Bars

When I stayed on Cunard’s newest ship, Queen Anne, I absolutely loved the decor and the comfort of the inside cabin I was given.

I had booked the cheapest guaranteed inside cabin available, as I just wanted to try out this new ship.

Although the cabin turned out to be one of my favourite inside cabins, I didn’t like the fact that it was directly under the ship’s nightclub, The Bright Lights Society.

I could hear the bassline of music playing every night as I tried to fall asleep. The music went on until the early hours of the morning.

Luckily, I am quite a sound sleeper, and I always pack earplugs – but for some people, it would have been a deal breaker.

Have a look at that lovely cabin with the noise issues in the video below:

2. Cabins Under The Pool Deck

This is one loads of people get caught out by.

Early in the morning, the crew are moving chairs, tables, and sun loungers often scraping them across the floor, and this might wake you up.

In the evening, or if the weather is bad, the same process might happen when the crew stacks and secures all the chairs and tables.

You might hear people walking around, which isn’t a problem during the daytime, but at night, if you are a light sleeper, it could disturb you.

The noise is unlikely to go on all the time, but it could be a nucience.

3. Cabins Under The Buffet

My parents had a cabin beneath the buffet preparation area on P&O’s Arvia.

They describe it as the cabin where their sleep was most disturbed.

Noise went on until one or two in the morning, and then started up again at around 4 am.

This wasn’t just people walking around; it was the metallic clank of cabinets or doors being loudly shut.

There were people rolling trolleys across the floor, and then, they assumed, emptying stuff into bins/trash cans with metal lids.

The noise was relentless. It was enough to wake them up every night, and they are not light sleepers.

Thank goodness for earplugs!

If you are under the main buffet area, you are likely to hear chairs scraping across the floor as people sit down or people walking above you.

You might not be an early riser or a late-night snack kind of person – but you will soon find out that many other people are!

Have a look at that good value cruise onboard P&O’s Arvia here:

4. Cabins Near Crew / Service Areas

This is a really good “insider” tip.

Have a look at the deck plans, and avoid Cabins near:

• service doors
• cleaning cupboards
• crew access points

Early in the morning, you might hear banging, doors opening and closing, and trolleys being wheeled up and down.

Have a look at deck plans, and how to use them to your advantage, in the article below:

11 Cruise Deck Plan Hacks Only Regular Cruisers Know

5. Cabins Not Surrounded By Cabins

It is always best, as a general rule, to have a cabin surrounded by other cabins.

Then you won’t be disturbed by noise from the public areas of the ship.

If you are close to a bar or a restaurant, or right above the theatre, you are likely to get some noise, although it shouldn’t go on late into the night.

If you are right by the kids’ club or down by Reception, the surrounding areas might be quite busy most of the day, as people wander in and out. Hopefully, it would be quieter by bedtime, though.

Even on the most expensive cruises, you can still experience noise issues.

When I sailed on Viking Star, I had a wonderful time, I absolutely loved it. Our cabins were quite close to the (small) theatre.

Viking only have one performance a night, so the noise from that didn’t cause us any problems – we were normally in the theatre for performances anyway.

We did, however, hear all the opera singers, the ABBA tribute singers, and music through the walls of our cabins in the afternoon. They were doing their rehearsal and sound checks.

By the time we went to the evening performance, I felt like we knew exactly what was coming. We had literally heard it all before!

Find out about that most amazing cruise I took with Viking here:

Before You Go

Find out more about the sorts of noises you might hear in your cabin below:

Are Cruise Ship Cabins Soundproof? (Thin Walls, Balconies and Travelling Sound)

Have a look at the type of cabin you will get if you book the cheapest cabin on a river cruise ship here:

Inside the Cheapest Cabins on a River Cruise Ship: What Are “Underwater” Cabins Really Like?