soot on aft balconies on Westerdam

[luvtojump]

Just returned from a two day cruise last Thursday on the Westerdam. Noticed some sooty residue on the back of the pool deck one morning. After some investigating I looked down into the aft balconies below and they were COVERED. Some were completely black. You could see footprints and all. I am sure this gets tracked into the cabins also.

Not sure if this is a design flaw with the Vista class ships or what. Just a warning. If you want an aft cabin, I would suggest one on the Navigation deck. It is completely covered from the pool deck above. I am assuming it would protect the verandah from the soot and provide complete privacy as well.

[bepsf]

Not a design flaw - ships have had issues w/ soot on their decks ever since they stopped using sails to get around.

Various funnel shapes have been used over the years to get the smoke up and away from the ship (France/Norway and Carnival's ducted funnels being the most extravagant solutions)

Most of the time, the winds will blow the soot away from the ship - but sometimes the winds do blow in the "wrong" direction...

[Krazy Kruizers]

There have been times of the "R" and "S" class ships while sitting out by the aft pool we suddenly got covered with a light dusting of soot.

Can't be avoided.

So yes - those aft balconies on the vista class ships may soot from time to time.

[luvtojump]

Dear Bepsf,
I have been on other ships that have "spit" ashes on us...however, this was incredible. I would say a 1/4 -1/2 inch dusting was on these balconies. They were completely black. Furniture and all. I realize that the winds must have been just right that night. This is not my first rodeo.

I just wanted people to be aware.

[srpilo]

This subject is a mystery...

I can tell you its not a "Vista Class" design flaw, and while I've definetly heard varing reports of soot and ash specificly on the Westerdam, we were in cabin 7031, a aft balcony on the Zuiderdam for seven days, basicly in all weather and wind conditions, and never experienced any soot or ash on our oversized rear facing open balcony. (believe me I looked every morning)

So as a first hand contributer, I can report it's definetly not a "Vista Class" design problem, but more likely a localized Westerdam glich of some kind .

Srpilo