How the Quiet Index works
One idea, applied the same way to every ship: a cabin is as quiet as its neighbours. We read the deck plan, look at what sits directly above, below and beside each cabin zone, and grade the noise risk from A (quietest) to F (loudest).
The scoring rules
Every cabin starts at grade A. Deductions come only from adjacencies the public deck plan shows.
| Adjacency | Deduction | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Directly below a pool deck, buffet, or other high-traffic public deck | -2 grades | Sound travels downward through the deck. Chairs, foot traffic and kitchen work overhead are the most common cabin noise complaints. |
| Directly above a theater or live-music venue | -2 grades | Amplified shows and bass carry upward through the deck, and shows run into the evening. |
| Beside a kids club or family program area | -2 grades | Daytime program noise and family foot traffic at drop-off and pick-up, right outside the cabin door. |
| Above bars, restaurants or shops | -1 grade | Evening music and furniture movement carry upward, but less than sound travelling down. |
| Above a buffet | -1 grade | Early morning kitchen setup below. Same upward-travel discount as other venues below. |
| Below a spa or fitness block | -1 grade | Spa and fitness spaces are low-key and daytime only, so this is the gentlest public deck to sit under. |
| Lowest cabin deck, below public areas | -1 grade | Closer to the ship's machinery spaces than any higher deck, with public areas overhead. |
| Forward-most low deck (anchor and bow thrusters) | -1 grade | Anchor chain noise and thruster rumble on port mornings. Brief and tied to port days. |
| Beside a late-night lounge | -1 grade | Daytime and evening conversation, guest traffic and programmed events beside the cabin. |
| Beside an elevator lobby | No deduction | The noise is people gathering and talking, not machinery, and it varies by sailing. Noted in the result, never graded. |
| Connecting cabin door | No deduction | Depends entirely on the neighbours. Noted where the deck plan marks it, never graded. |
| Far-forward or far-aft position | No deduction | More motion in rough seas, but motion is not noise. Noted as a motion note, never graded. |
Deductions stack. A cabin below a buffet and beside a lounge loses three grades, which is why the worst cabins on a ship are usually the ones with two adjacencies at once.
What the index can prove
A deck plan can prove that a cabin sits beside a venue, beneath a public deck, above a theater, or near an elevator lobby. Those are structural facts, and they are all we grade on. Every rating shows its reasons, so you can open the ship's deck plan and check our work.
What the index cannot prove
A deck plan cannot prove that a particular guest will hear music on a particular night. Sound depends on event schedules, neighbouring guests, maintenance work, sea conditions, and how sensitive a sleeper you are. We grade the risk, not the outcome. A C cabin can be a quiet week if the venue below is dark, and an A cabin can have a loud neighbour.
Where the deck plan does not show exact venue boundaries, we grade the zone conservatively and say the data is limited. We would rather underrate a cabin than overpromise quiet.
What we never do
- No invented decibel figures. We do not publish sound levels we have not measured. Where we take readings on board, they appear with the time, the location and the conditions, beside the deck plan grade, never replacing it.
- No made-up complaints. We do not invent cabin-specific noise reports. Forum reports are background reading only, never a rating input.
- No venue we cannot place. If a venue's position on the deck plan is unclear, it does not drive a grade.
How cabin numbers work
On Norwegian Cruise Line ships, the cabin number encodes the deck in its leading digits: 15136 is Deck 15, 9108 is Deck 9. The remaining digits run fore to aft on each side, so low numbers sit forward and high numbers sit aft. Port-side cabins use the 1xx to 3xx series and starboard uses 7xx to 9xx, with inside cabins in the 4xx and 6xx series. The lookup uses this numbering to place your cabin on the plan. Other cruise lines number differently, and each ship page explains its own scheme.
Sources
Deck plan data comes from the cruise lines' published plans and public deck plan sources, checked against each other. Each ship page lists its sources. Data for Norwegian Encore was checked November 14, 2026.