Cruise Guest Threatens Gratuity Removal Over Noisy Cabin Neighbours

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A Royal Caribbean cruise passenger has taken to social media to vent frustrations over sleepless nights onboard Allure of the Seas, caused by a neighbouring family with young children and what they describe as “paper thin walls”.

Noisy connecting cabins Allure of the Seas

The affected guest, who sailed on a 7-night Western Mediterranean cruise aboard the vessel, posted a short video to Reddit revealing that the constant crying and screaming from the adjoining stateroom was disturbing their ability to sleep.

The video, which features the sound of a child crying loudly through what appears to be a connecting door between cabins, was posted on 22nd April 2025 and has since sparked wide discussion among fellow cruisers.

“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 its just constant crying and screaming at all hours of the night.. I can’t sleep this is beyond annoying“

CokeCanCowBoi on Reddit

According to the guest, the cruise line’s guest services team contacted the family once to address the noise, but the issue persisted into the second night.

The cruiser indicated they planned to return to guest services on day three and request a refund of gratuities if a room change could not be arranged.

In the comments, they then confirmed that they’d been given $400 onboard credit as a goodwill gesture from the cruise line, but they still felt it wasn’t enough and they still intended to remove gratuities.

It’s worth bearing in mind that gratuities are important for the crew on the ship, with them being split between many different teams including several behind-the-scenes workers.

So the assurance that the guest would still “leave a tip for the cleaner myself” still would mean several crew members to not receive tips, despite not being involved in the incident at all.

The guest threatened to contact news agencies and to include the names of the Guest Services team members who “refused to do anything” about the situation.

Given that the voyage falls during the busy spring break season, it is plausible that the ship is operating at or near capacity – potentially leaving no alternative cabins available for relocation.

The video that the user posted does appear to show the guest striking the door during the noise.

Allure of the seas paper thin walls?
byu/CokeCanCowBoi inroyalcaribbean

The cruiser did later post to say that they had been moved to a new cabin, but then suffered more bad luck.

They shared a video of water damage from a leaking sprinkler, which had caused their laptop (on a table underneath) to stop working correctly.

They then posed the question on whether it was worth complaining again, considering everything that had happened.

Just my luck…… Water damage
byu/CokeCanCowBoi inroyalcaribbean

Noise Complaints at Sea – Not Uncommon

While Royal Caribbean is known for its family-friendly offerings, many cruisers have weighed in on the Reddit thread to say they try to avoid connecting rooms for precisely this reason.

“Never book a room with a connecting door unless you’re also booking the other room too,” warned one commenter. It’s a tip I often share when I write a guide on cabins you should avoid!

Others shared practical tips, such as using magnetic hooks and a spare comforter to create a makeshift sound barrier, or playing white noise via a mobile device to drown out disruptive sounds.

More experienced guests advised avoiding staterooms located directly above or below high-traffic areas such as nightclubs, theatres, or pool decks to reduce the risk of noise disturbances.

While some sympathised with the guest’s plight, others pointed out that crying children are a fact of life on family-friendly cruise ships.

Royal Caribbean’s larger vessels, including Allure of the Seas, are equipped with childcare options including nurseries and youth clubs that can assist families travelling with small children.

It’s always worth checking the deck plans of your cruise ship and avoiding connecting cabins if you don’t need them. The doors are not the best for soundproofing and when you have a family next door with young children (highly likely on a family-friendly cruise ship), you can often hear noise.

A lot of people like to pack ear plugs for this very reason, while others ask for a large fan to help drown out some of the noise. White noise machines are also popular.

And if you choose a guarantee room which means you don’t get to pick the cabin yourself, be aware that you are at risk of getting a connecting cabin. The guest who complained on Reddit did confirm that they picked their cabin themselves.

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Cruise Mummy

Jenni Fielding is the founder of Cruise Mummy. She has worked in the cruise industry since 2015 and has taken over 30 cruises. Now, she helps over 1 million people per month to plan their perfect cruise holidays.

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