When I book a Carnival Cruise I take the time to carefully research my available stateroom options prior to booking. I will look at the ship's deck plans to see what is above & below my potential room to try to identify anything that could be noisy at night. I am a light sleeper and noise from music or other guests will very quickly wake me up.
This post is a list of the stateroom locations I personally try to avoid. All of the stateroom locations to avoid that are listed below are based on my own experiences. There could be other areas that experience noise that are not listed here. However, please keep in mind, no matter where you stay on a cruise ship you might have to deal with noise from fellow guests walking down the stateroom hallway.
This post is a list of the stateroom locations I personally try to avoid. All of the stateroom locations to avoid that are listed below are based on my own experiences. There could be other areas that experience noise that are not listed here. However, please keep in mind, no matter where you stay on a cruise ship you might have to deal with noise from fellow guests walking down the stateroom hallway.
1. Near The Nightclub or Disco
Typically Carnival Cruise Line's nightclubs are open throughout the evening and into the early morning hours. The music in the nightclub is loud and depending on the songs played can have an extra loud beat. I try to avoid staterooms that are above or below the ship's nightclub for multiple reasons. The first reason is the direct noise of the music. If the nightclub is close to a stairwell/elevator area, depending on the insulation, the noise of the music can travel up or down to stateroom decks. The second reason I try to avoid staying close to the nightclub is people coming back from the nightclub in the early morning hours can sometimes be noisy. On my recent Carnival Breeze cruise I was one deck above the nightclub and each night experienced very noisy people coming back around the time the nightclub closed. Noise from other guests can happen anywhere and not just in rooms close to the nightclub, but being in an area with a higher likelihood of being used as a cut-through hallway after nightclub hours could result in some extra noise.
Typically Carnival Cruise Line's nightclubs are open throughout the evening and into the early morning hours. The music in the nightclub is loud and depending on the songs played can have an extra loud beat. I try to avoid staterooms that are above or below the ship's nightclub for multiple reasons. The first reason is the direct noise of the music. If the nightclub is close to a stairwell/elevator area, depending on the insulation, the noise of the music can travel up or down to stateroom decks. The second reason I try to avoid staying close to the nightclub is people coming back from the nightclub in the early morning hours can sometimes be noisy. On my recent Carnival Breeze cruise I was one deck above the nightclub and each night experienced very noisy people coming back around the time the nightclub closed. Noise from other guests can happen anywhere and not just in rooms close to the nightclub, but being in an area with a higher likelihood of being used as a cut-through hallway after nightclub hours could result in some extra noise.
2. Close To The Atrium
Carnival Cruise ships generally have entertainment in the atrium throughout the evening that can last late. Entertainment sometimes is live music or a party in the atrium hosted by the cruise director. For Carnival ships with atriums, these atrium areas are usually several decks high. The noise from the atrium lobby can travel many decks up and enter the stateroom hallways. On my 2013 Carnival Triumph cruise I stayed close to the atrium, but on a deck that was many above the atrium lobby. The music in the atrium lobby & noise of the crowd enjoying the music traveled up to my stateroom. I could not fall asleep and was miserable for most of the night until the music stopped. For this reason I personally try to stay away from booking any stateroom on any deck that is somewhat close to the atrium area (if the Carnival ship has an atrium).
Carnival Cruise ships generally have entertainment in the atrium throughout the evening that can last late. Entertainment sometimes is live music or a party in the atrium hosted by the cruise director. For Carnival ships with atriums, these atrium areas are usually several decks high. The noise from the atrium lobby can travel many decks up and enter the stateroom hallways. On my 2013 Carnival Triumph cruise I stayed close to the atrium, but on a deck that was many above the atrium lobby. The music in the atrium lobby & noise of the crowd enjoying the music traveled up to my stateroom. I could not fall asleep and was miserable for most of the night until the music stopped. For this reason I personally try to stay away from booking any stateroom on any deck that is somewhat close to the atrium area (if the Carnival ship has an atrium).
3. Lido Deck - Close To The Pool Area
The Lido Deck on a Carnival Cruise ship is probably one of the most popular decks. At night the Lido Deck is used for hosting Dive In Movies, deck parties, or other late night events. People also use the Lido Deck for going to the ship's buffet or other food eateries. Since the Lido Deck is highly visited by other guests at all hours of the day, I try to avoid staying anywhere close to the main pool or near the front/elevator stairwell area on the Lido Deck.
The Lido Deck on a Carnival Cruise ship is probably one of the most popular decks. At night the Lido Deck is used for hosting Dive In Movies, deck parties, or other late night events. People also use the Lido Deck for going to the ship's buffet or other food eateries. Since the Lido Deck is highly visited by other guests at all hours of the day, I try to avoid staying anywhere close to the main pool or near the front/elevator stairwell area on the Lido Deck.
4. Near Elevator/Stairwell Areas
My general rule of thumb is to stay at least 3 staterooms away from an elevator/stairwell area if possible. I don't want to hear the chime of the elevator throughout the night and the elevator/stairwell area can be noisy if a group of guests are talking as they get in and out of elevators.
My general rule of thumb is to stay at least 3 staterooms away from an elevator/stairwell area if possible. I don't want to hear the chime of the elevator throughout the night and the elevator/stairwell area can be noisy if a group of guests are talking as they get in and out of elevators.
Other Considerations:
If you would like to view Carnival's ship deck plans I have compiled a listing of the deck plans. Click Here to view my list of Carnival ship deck plans.
- Regardless of a stateroom's location, you may have to put up with noise from other guests walking by.
- Besides the areas I listed above there could be some less than ideal stateroom locations I did not mention here. These 4 areas mentioned in this post are from my personal experience and are areas I will try to avoid. I highly recommend researching your potential stateroom pick while booking and try to identify any possible areas that could have noise from public spaces.
- Some people have ear plugs that help with noise. If you are someone who uses ear plugs to block out noise at night, make sure to add these to your packing list so you don't forget them.
If you would like to view Carnival's ship deck plans I have compiled a listing of the deck plans. Click Here to view my list of Carnival ship deck plans.