What’s the deal with bringing a fan?

[DisneyJade]

After seeing a lot of people say the cabins can get hot, I ordered two portable fans. One has a sturdy base and one wraps around a rail for my little one who will be on the top bunk.

Today we read that the rooms are temperature controlled and you can ask your cabin steward to adjust the temperature to your liking. If this is the case, why does everybody bring portable fans? Do the room controls just not work very well?

TIA!

 

[scrappinginontario]

After seeing a lot of people say the cabins can get hot, I ordered two portable fans. One has a sturdy base and one wraps around a rail for my little one who will be on the top bunk.

Today we read that the rooms are temperature controlled and you can ask your cabin steward to adjust the temperature to your liking. If this is the case, why does everybody bring portable fans? Do the room controls just not work very well?

TIA!

I’m not sure what ship you’re sailing in but we were on the Fantasy last month and had zero problems adjusting the temp in our stateroom ourselves. There is a temp control just inside the stateroom door including a ‘quick cool’ function.

I’m not sure you’d be able to use a portable fan unless it’s battery powered.

Possibly the challenge is in ship dependent but on the Fantasy, if that’s your ship, you should be fine.

 

[shoegal9]

I was on the Fantasy in March. I brought a small USB powered fan for air flow at night and to keep me cool while blow drying my hair. I felt the stateroom temperature was very inconsistent. Sometimes I was freezing and sometimes j felt like it was just sticky and humid. And I live in Florida so if humidity is bothering me that says a lot.

 

[DCLMP]

I've brought battery-powered fans a few times. It's not a problem. The temp was always fine in the rooms before I became pre- menopausal. If you are a middle-aged female it may not matter how great the ac is. If you need a fan bring a fan.

 

[bigAWL]

March on the Dream, we had no trouble adjusting the room temp. Turned it to middle setting in the morning, and we were comfortable during the day. Turned it two notches down at night because we like a cold room to sleep in. It worked great.

 

[Chipmunkmaniac]

I ve never had issues with the rooms: whenever I couldn't find the right settings for my liking I'd ask the room attendant to help and explain I don't like them to ensure I enter a fridge at night ;-) (I like a consistent temperature, not too hot , not too cold)
My real temperature issue has been the temperature of the atrium the past year (esp Magic and Dream, Fantasy a little less) Before I would always find the atrium at night a bit chilli so I'd bring a sweater... the past year there has been times I've been sweating like a horse and an hour later it was cold as a fridge... or the atrium would be allright but the restaurants would be icecold....

 

[SandyinMonterey]

I like fans. I use one for sleeping and when getting ready for the day. I bought 2 small fans for our last sailing on the Fantasy 12/22. They were USB. I packed them in my carry on because there have been posts about fans holding up luggage being sent to staterooms. After it went thru the scanner, the lady asked if they were battery operated fans but didn't open my carry on and inspect. I didn't have a problem adjusting the room temp in our stateroom.

 

[OpieDoodle]

I never had any issues on the Dream with the temp. We like to sleep cold and no problem at all! Most people who bring fans are those "fan sleepers" at home. I use to be one so I feel it. Basically, the people who always sleep with a fan regardless of how cold it is. So those people, absolutely will not be happy with no fan.

I have not been on other ships yet but the verandah room I had on the Dream I had zero problems. I will say on other cruises I've been on I noticed my room would get hot and muggy and the AC wouldn't work well. Then when I'd go out on my verandah I'd hear the next room having their door propped open. So I can only assume it was related.

I asked for a fan on that particular cruise and it was no problem. I am sure you can ask for a fan from Disney as well if it ends up not being to your liking.

 

[Dug720]

I noticed my room would get hot and muggy and the AC wouldn't work well. Then when I'd go out on my verandah I'd hear the next room having their door propped open. So I can only assume it was related.

Bingo. People don't know - or worse they do know but don't care - that there is an actual reason there is a sign to keep balcony door closed when you're not going in or out. Leaving it open affects the HVAC system for an entire block - and not just veranda rooms, but it can also include ocean view and interior cabins that depend on the air circulation of the HVAC.

When I was on a Royal Caribbean ship in Europe several years ago, I was in an ocean view cabin overlooking the bow. I noticed that in spite of having the temp control set as cool as I could make it, my room was getting really stuffy. I was leaving anyway, but my cabin steward was in the hall around the corner preparing her cart and I mentioned it to her and said I figured someone had their balcony door open. She agreed, and we started talking about something else. Then right about that time, the deck supervisor came down the hall listening for the tell-tale whistling as other cabins had called Guest Services about hot cabins. Right as he identified the door and was about to knock, his radio went off to say that someone had called to say their door was stuck. It was the cabin the telltale noise was coming from. He knocked on the door and the guy inside said "I can't open it!!" The deck supervisor said "Close your balcony door, then come and open your main door." When the guy closed his balcony door, the vacuum seal broke and the main door opened. The deck supervisor politely but firmly explained that not only was leaving the door open sealing him into his cabin, it could result in serious injury blowing the door back if he did get it open, and he was affecting the temperature of other rooms, some of which couldn't just open their balcony door since they didn't have one. So it's not just "a cruise ship myth" as I've seen some people (the ones who just want it all about them and waht to leave their veranda doors open) try to claim.

(They did solve that block thing to a degree with the Celebrity Edge class where leaving your infinite veranda window down does shut off the a/c to your cabin entirely. But there is still a small effect for surrounding cabins.)

 

[lucas]

I mostly bring my small usb fan to use as a sound machine at night.

 

[mmouse37]

After seeing a lot of people say the cabins can get hot, I ordered two portable fans. One has a sturdy base and one wraps around a rail for my little one who will be on the top bunk.

Today we read that the rooms are temperature controlled and you can ask your cabin steward to adjust the temperature to your liking. If this is the case, why does everybody bring portable fans? Do the room controls just not work very well?

Never felt I needed a fan onboard.
MJ

 

[Kwami]

Bingo. People don't know - or worse they do know but don't care - that there is an actual reason there is a sign to keep balcony door closed when you're not going in or out. Leaving it open affects the HVAC system for an entire block - and not just veranda rooms, but it can also include ocean view and interior cabins that depend on the air circulation of the HVAC.

I remember Disney bragging about their air filtration systems just after the restart. I think they said that each unit had its own HVAC system with its own climate control and that rooms didn't share air. But, I can't find that info on the website anymore.

 

[Dug720]

I remember Disney bragging about their air filtration systems just after the restart. I think they said that each unit had its own HVAC system with its own climate control and that rooms didn't share air. But, I can't find that info on the website anymore.

All ships (at least modern ones) have had that for individual cabins. But the system is different from individual cabins. The cabins are separate but still in a block for the system - it always has been. If someone leaves their balcony door open, the system works harder to cool that cabin and pulls energy from cooling for others so that they are not as cool.

The only way to prevent that is to re-do the system so it is like the Infinite Verandas on Celebrity Edge Class where lowering the window shuts off air in that cabin only. And that would mean a pretty long time in drydock because everything would have to be rewired. I don't see any line taking that long to redo all of that. Even the Celebrity ships which are "revolutionized" did not have their whole system redone to shut off the air only to one cabin. Just the new build E-Class ships have it.

 

[Disney_David]

All ships (at least modern ones) have had that for individual cabins. But the system is different from individual cabins. The cabins are separate but still in a block for the system - it always has been. If someone leaves their balcony door open, the system works harder to cool that cabin and pulls energy from cooling for others so that they are not as cool.

The only way to prevent that is to re-do the system so it is like the Infinite Verandas on Celebrity Edge Class where lowering the window shuts off air in that cabin only. And that would mean a pretty long time in drydock because everything would have to be rewired. I don't see any line taking that long to redo all of that. Even the Celebrity ships which are "revolutionized" did not have their whole system redone to shut off the air only to one cabin. Just the new build E-Class ships have it.

If that’s the case, I’m really suprised there’s no literature in the verandah rooms explaining that snd tellinb people to close their doors. I opened ours to sit out there, or listen to the ocesn. Maybe there is and I missed it.


Do you know the history on why they designed it that way? I don’t have context so it seems like a very strange design decision to have one room take out a block of rooms. Cost maybe?

I am sailing verandah again next month. I’ll look out for a notice!

 

[Disney_David]

Oh and to add, I found the controls finicky to get just right! That might explain why!

 

[dcassetta]

I’m really suprised there’s no literature in the verandah rooms explaining that snd tellinb people to close their doors. I opened ours to sit out there, or listen to the ocesn. Maybe there is and I missed it.

 

[Dug720]

If that’s the case, I’m really suprised there’s no literature in the verandah rooms explaining that snd tellinb people to close their doors. I opened ours to sit out there, or listen to the ocesn. Maybe there is and I missed it.


Do you know the history on why they designed it that way? I don’t have context so it seems like a very strange design decision to have one room take out a block of rooms. Cost maybe?

I am sailing verandah again next month. I’ll look out for a notice!

There is a sign to keep the balcony door closed. THAT should be enough. People shouldn't have to have a reason for everything. They say keep it shut (obviously unless you're directly using it by going in or out), that should be enough.

I don't know the specific history, but getting individual rooms to have their own systems was an improvement on earlier systems where everything would be one temperature. It's likely cost and efficiency that they build them on a block. Could also have been the technology. Like I said, Celebrity has built that into the E-Class because of the design of the Infinite Veranda cabins - so it can be done. But they are a very different kind of ship. My guess is it would cost too much and take too long to change the existing tech on traditional ship designs.

 

[dclpluto]

After seeing a lot of people say the cabins can get hot, I ordered two portable fans. One has a sturdy base and one wraps around a rail for my little one who will be on the top bunk.

Today we read that the rooms are temperature controlled and you can ask your cabin steward to adjust the temperature to your liking. If this is the case, why does everybody bring portable fans? Do the room controls just not work very well?

TIA!

Yes they can get hot and they can get cold it’s up to you the way you want your room. Yes you can ask your room attendant to adjust the temperature but why not just do it yourself?

 

[kiford]

I've never brought a fan on board, but I do sleep with one. My temperature fluctuates a lot up and down during the night so sometimes I'm huddled under the blankets and sometimes I plant myself so that I can get the air blowing on me. This is all year round regardless of whether the heat or AC is on. It also helps to block the sound of DH's snoring (and my cats one of whom also snores loudly) and some people use it for that too. If I had the extra room in my suitcase for something the size of a fan, I'd probably use it for more shoes instead. We are learning to pack even more leanly than in the past to avoid having to take luggage through the airports so I doubt I'll ever bother to pack one. It's also just a little weird to me taking something like that on my vacation. I don't expect my hotel/stateroom to be exactly like my home so I can take a couple of weeks without it.

 

[DisneyJade]

Thank you, everyone. This has been very helpful! we are going to send back the fans we purchased.