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There are several causes for sewage smells on cruise ships today.

 

The primary one is the new state of the art sewage treatment plants that most cruise ships have today. The only by-product that goes into the sea is drinking-quality water. The waste solids are burned, leaving only ashes. But an additional by-product is an awful sewer smell. Ideally, the odor is vented to the top of the smoke stack, where the wind blows it away. But too many new ships have discovered pin holes and cracks in the vent piping. Even the tiniest holes or cracks can cause dreadful odors to permeate the ship. It is not dangerous, but very annoying.

 

Another annoying odor causer is the drain in your bathroom floor. Instead of an odor trap like your drains at home, ships have a scupper with a small metal dome inside. If the ship rolls a bit the water barrier in the scupper is broken and the sewer gases from the grey water tanks below are allowed to escape into your cabin. Contrary to popular belief, grey water smells are far worse than sewage smells. Pouring additional water into the floor drain of your cabin usually solves the problem.

 

Despite endless warnings about what can and cannot be flushed down a vacuum toilet, many passengers just don't get it. They treat the toilet like a garbage disposal. Once it stops up, sewage and smells escape along corridors and into cabins until the engineers can correct the problem. On a large ship this typically occurs 20 or more times per day, all over the ship. A single toilet stoppage can have negative effects on as many as 60 additional cabins.

 

Norwalk Virus has an additional by-product; bad odors. The two most popular chemical bleaches that are sprayed, fogged, and wiped everywhere to combat the virus have very annoying smells.

Virkon smells almost exactly like urine. Virox smells remarkably like vomit. During NLV outbreaks ,we mix these bleaches to a stronger concentration, giving them even stronger odors. When you first board a ship, the chances are very good that the thorough cleaning just completed will result in some annoying odors.