Explorer Suite Download

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Elgin Carmona

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Aug 4, 2024, 10:59:14 PM8/4/24

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It seems like the suites 3000 and 3001 have a real oddity: they are on the same level as the bow, directly facing out to an area that can have activity. The bedroom window looks like it directly faces this public area. The reviewer of 3001 mentioned occasional events.

During our 2021/22 World Cruise access to the bow deck on level 3 was restricted. I only recall two times when passengers were allowed in this area: 1. to better see the Amalia Glacier, and 2. for a World Cruise group photograph. In each case the deck was only open for a short time. I occasionally saw crew members swabbing the deck. Otherwise, that area appeared pretty quiet.

The Deck 3 Explorer Suites are on the same deck as the Focsle, but this is a non-working space, as the mooring and anchoring machinery are 1 deck down. On the 2020 WC, I don't recall the bow area being open to pax.

Personally, I would be more concerned with seas pounding the windows in heavy weather. There is good reason why the original Princess ships had steel shutters that we used to cover windows in similar locations, when heavy weather was expected.

I believe that the noise issue in the explorer suites differs from ship to ship. We booked the Viking Emerald's explorer suite in 2017 (China) and experienced no engine noise whatsoever as our suite was on the 3rd deck situated over the bridge. It is a good idea to determine the location of the engine and location of the suite before booking as I, too, have heard of problems with engine noise on some of the ships.

The long ships I have been on all have the Explorer Suites (2 of them) at the rear of the boat. This is in order, I assume, to give a large balcony at the stern (the only space available), that also wraps round the side. Looking at the plan one can see the two suites are separated by the ships funnel and as it's at the stern it should be no surprise it's above the engine room.

I suppose the amount being above the engines affects people is how noisy the negines on a particular boat are, how hard they have to work - I guess going upriver against the flow they must work harder than going down river, when the boat is cruising and whether guests are in their suite when cruising. Oh, and their hearing. My SO can't hear low level noise so she wouldn't be affected.

And yet when OP started a thread about Explorer Suites nearly a year ago, the only response from anyone who'd actually cruised in one didn't mention noise at all. There are plenty of other posts from people who didn't suffer (or at least report) any noise issues in the suites. Peoples' sensitivity to noise or other night-time distractions, and how they grumble about it or not, vary a great deal so I certainly wouldn't write off the Explorer Suites as an option if I could stretch my budget that far. From my experience on Viking River I'd be very surprised if the designers had had a brain-fade when they got to the most expensive accommodation.

I find that ship designers generally take the Tom Sawyer approach: put the most expensive cabins in the least desirable spots and convince people to pay extra for the privilege! Note that the noisy areas underneath pool areas are almost always expensive suites. So this wasn't a 'brain-fade' but standard industry practice.

We have been reading so much about this terrible noise issue in the ES on the Longships. I just want to publicly state that I will be willing to suffer through it on my next Longship cruise, which is already booked. If Viking needs to fill these undesirable rooms, I will reluctantly accept an upgrade from my Veranda A.

That really doesn't add up: if there's a generic problem with Viking's Longship Explorer Suites then every mention by past pax on this forum ought to include a mention of the 'brutal noise and vibrations' that OP complains about. Only a few report any issues at all, so do you think the ones who don't say anything are too embarrassed to admit they paid top price for an inferior experience?

The earlier post that these suites are positioned where they are in order to get the wrap-around balconies is another good theory. But I have noticed that whenever I study ship deck plans, the high rent suites so often tend to be placed in what I consider the less desirable locations. So that's another theory. Is either right? Or both? For that you'd need to have been a fly on the wall when they were designing the first longship.

Normally I would expect that two full decks of buffer would protect the Explorer Suites from the noise, but engine noise travels through structure as well as air. Based on my experience sailing and sussing out deck plans and with these reports, I would avoid the Explorer Suites.

The Veranda Suites look quite spacious enough [but back to my first point, notice that they are directly below the Walking Track]. My mantra in choosing a cabin is: cabins to the right of us, cabins to the left of us, cabins across from us, cabins above us, cabins below us.

Regards the "walking tracks" : I don't think they are generally used as such, and I certainly have no concerns with that aspect. Most passengers on these ships get their daily fill and more without the need to walk around in "ovals" while on the boat. Having only stayed on level 3 ... I never heard noise from above.

Since there are so many longships, and they all have their Explorer Suites at the rear, I wonder whether the engine on the OPs ship was not working well, thus was running much more noisily than usual.

That said, my own noise issue happened on Uniworld, where I was on the lowest deck at the bow. I found that the bow thrusters that help maneuver into locks were very noisy, and woke me up on a number of occasions. I have never heard anyone else complain about that noise either.

I'll just add a couple of words. I'm hesitant to post since I've never sailed in Viking's Explorer Suite, but it may be worthwhile for me to mention our recent experience on the Royal Emerald, the former Scenic Emerald. The ship was leased by Teeming for our cruise. We splurged and got one of the two Panorama Suites. These rooms are on the top level on the back of the ship like Viking's Explorer Suites.

Due to previous complaints, the ship owner completely refurbished the suites to deal with the vibration and noise issues. We didn't think the refurb was successful, and we were moved to a suite mid-ship so that we didn't have to deal with the noise.

We used the dB Meter app on my wife's iPhone to measure the noise level. In our Panorama Suite the noise level averaged about 67dB while underway, ranging from 65 dB to 72 dB. In the Royal Suite mid-ship, the noise level measured about 40dB. We also measured the noise level with the engines off, and it was 35 dB.

The noise level was worse on some nights than others. The captain said that water depth was a significant factor in noise level due to sound and vibrations bouncing off the river bottom. If that's true, it might explain why some people noticed the vibrations more than others.