Party Above Their Cabins, Complaint at the Desk: Why Deck Plans Matter Before You Book
If you are booking any cruise stateroom, pull up the ship's deck plan before you pay. Check what sits directly above and below your cabin, including nightclubs, restaurants, bowling alleys, gyms, the pool deck and the galley. Also note where staircases, elevators and crew service doors are. A travel agent can help, and searching YouTube for the ship's name plus your cabin number may turn up reviews. Do this before booking, because the women in this story got only a negligible onboard credit afterward.
My read is that this story is about booking homework, not guest relations. Five women were booked in two staterooms directly above a venue that hosted a major party, then demanded compensation, a suite move and full refunds, and walked away with a negligible onboard credit. The ironic twist is that a quick look at the deck plans, which exist for every ship, would have shown the problem before they paid. The winners are cruisers who spend ten minutes checking what is above and below a cabin; the loser is the young guest services employee who absorbed the complaint. The article does not say why the cruise line offered so little, and I won't guess. In the reader's shoes, I would check the deck plan for nightclubs, gyms, the pool deck and the galley, ask a travel agent, and search YouTube for the exact cabin. Cheap research beats a loud night and a fruitless argument at the desk.