Thread: Does the Noise Level in the Main Dining Room annoy you?

The only time "noise" has bothered me in the MDR is when the staff starts singing or like on Carnival when they turn up the "music" and dance.

I enjoy the shows Carnival waiters put on at dinner.

To be honest until I read the question I had never thought the MDR to be noisy as such. There are times maybe when it got noisy enough to be bothersome a little but not really.

In fact most every night on my 28 night Panama canal cruise, aboard HAL MS Statendam, I could clearly hear the string Quartet playing above any talk or other noise in the room, even though we were seated right to the side and there were obstructions in the way.

My biggest issue with HAL and MDR is that it can be a real challenge to be on the particular seating you want. Even though the last cruise and my next one I specifically request Early seating with a table of 6 or more, it always comes through as open seating, took 4 tries to change it last time.

Joel, was that the Rosario Strings playing? They are a phenomenal string quartet who will quiet any room with their stirring playing.

No, although it sounds like I would love to hear them. On the Statendam it was the Adagio Strings, at the time four very talented young ladies.

I love the string quartets in the dining room. They give a certain amount of elegance to dining that I love. We had a group on our Veendam cruise back in '01 but did not have anything on the Noordam in '08. I really missed it.

Originally Posted by janabm81

The only time "noise" has bothered me in the MDR is when the staff starts singing or like on Carnival when they turn up the "music" and dance.

Originally Posted by kirkz

I enjoy the shows Carnival waiters put on at dinner.

What do the Carnival waiters do? I can't imagine how waiters do anything when they are carrying dishes.

Originally Posted by nealberk

I love the string quartets in the dining room. They give a certain amount of elegance to dining that I love. We had a group on our Veendam cruise back in '01 but did not have anything on the Noordam in '08. I really missed it.

I will never understand how one ship in a large fleet can be awful. You would think all HAL ships had great food, service, crew, and hair dryers.

Originally Posted by Smart Traveler

I will never understand how one ship in a large fleet can be awful. You would think all HAL ships had great food, service, crew, and hair dryers.

This is true with any cruise line and any ship - they can be completely different or very similar. Not only does it have to do with the cruise line and the ship, but the entire experience can be different because of the crew. And all of this is constantly changing. We've been on the same ship three times and while all three cruises were different, the difference between the 2nd and 3rd cruise was huge. The ship before refurbishment was drab, dirty, and in desperate need of help. After refurbishment, the ship was cleaner, brighter, and much more enjoyable. But the crew had also been changed, so this added to the different experience. Crew members normally sign contracts ranging from 3 to 12 months depending on their position and the cruise line. After their contract, they'll usually go home for a month or so and then go back to work, which can be on the same ship or a different ship. Plus, whenever new ships are launched, their crew is selected from other ships in the fleet. So the makeup of the crew is constantly changing. And the crew works together as a team and when the complexity of the team changes, the ship can have an entirely different 'feel' about it. A Captain can have a huge impact on a crew, so when there is a Captain change, it can take a while before the crew comes together as a team.

But that's the one interesting thing about cruising; you're never really quite sure what your experience is going to be as everything is constantly changing.

Pete

For the most part, I try to shut out what many might call too high a decibel level. Maybe that's because almost any restaurant I go to here in The Villages is decidedly noisy!

I should also admit that at least once a year I travel with a group which tends to be noisy! On one cruise, the Cruise Director sought us out near the end and remarked that our group had been noted as the loudest and most raucous to have sailed with the cruise line in a number of years!

Our organizers were delighted!

SWR