MSC Seaside nasty odor

Was the nasty smell reported to MSC management?

I guess so, but I'm wondering when that will be fixed. I'm going on that ship in 3 weeks from now, hopefully that will be all solved by then.

I remember the Carnival Dream had this issue too in it's first few weeks of service and that was resolved. I did it when it was 1 year old and did not smell the nasty odor.

I remember the Carnival Dream had this issue too in it's first few weeks of service and that was resolved. I did it when it was 1 year old and did not smell the nasty odor.

Do you remember what the problem was and/or how it was fixed?

SEA CRUISERS

MSC Seaside FOUL ODOR * My Personal Experience *

gkbiiii: So sorry you had to endure that, it definitely sounds gross! Can you confirm which sailing you were on? I’ve been following Seaside reviews and some have mentioned the smell, while others haven’t. Thanks!

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Sea Cruisers is a youtube travel program I watch. This video was in early January; I will be on the top floor Interior Yacht Club, so I hope I won't have the problem. This lady and her group, were near the bow, on the fourth floor.

Sea Cruisers is a youtube travel program I watch. This video was in early January, I will be on the top floor Interior Yacht Club, so i hope I won't have the problem. This lady and her group, were near the bow, on the fourth floor.

She was on deck 5, portside, mid-forward.

So I'm booked for my honeymoon in August..This s--t smell is really concerning. I just got off the phone with MSC customer service. They are obviously aware of the problem. They were informed that some machinery on the ship was not installed/connected properly and was venting exhaust fumes into the ship. It sounds like they have engineers and mechanics fixing the situation this week. Thats the story i got.

i hope that's true

So I'm booked for my honeymoon in August..This s--t smell is really concerning. I just got off the phone with MSC customer service. They are obviously aware of the problem. They were informed that some machinery on the ship was not installed/connected properly and was venting exhaust fumes into the ship. It sounds like they have engineers and mechanics fixing the situation this week. Thats the story i got.

Yeah, it's not exhaust fume smell...it's a fecal/sewer smell and it's strong. Mostly I smelled it on Deck 5 in the Atrium area. It's the first thing that hits you when you embark. It was there all week and just as strong. I know others reported it on other cabin floors as well. My cabin was on Deck 5 so I had to walk in that area alot.

I really hope they fix it for future passengers. I wouldn't want anyone else to have that experience. It's the kind of smell that lingers in your nose. I was on the January 13th sailing and it still bugs me that I had to smell that horrid stench on a brand new ship. For those that say they didn't smell it....they must not have very good smell sense.

August is a long way off still. I am sure that they will fix it before then.

Lets hope they fix it. Sounds terrible to have to experience that.

I am booked in the YC, from the sounds of it i may be staying in that area a lot.

Sounds like the food in the YC is to die for.

I was on the Seaside the week after SeaCruisers. In her video, she described an extremely strong sewage smell in the Piazza. We spent a lot of time in the Piazza, and simply did not smell any odor even close to what she described there. So, I have to conclude that whatever was causing that problem must have gotten taken care of by the crew. Because I have no reason to think that SeaCruisers was lying, and I know that one week later the smell she described simply did not exist in the Piazza. So, the only conclusion I can come up with is that MSC took care of whatever had caused that problem.

For anyone that hasn't seen the video we're talking about, here it is...

A number of passengers who’ve sailed Seaside during the past two weeks have reported little or no sewer smell. I think they’ll certainly have it fixed soon.

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gkbiiii: So sorry you had to endure that, it definitely sounds gross! Can you confirm which sailing you were on? I’ve been following Seaside reviews and some have mentioned the smell, while others haven’t. Thanks!

 

 

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DCGuy - I also mentioned in my review that the smell was noticeable during my cruise of December 30. From our cabin 11003 and mostly forward area we did not notice or have the smell. However from mid ship and going towards the aft it was noticeable. I also mentioned that during the Meet and Mingle a senior officer mentioned the issue of construction, piping, flow and toilet paper. BTW, he brought it up. So the staff is aware of the issue.

I'm pretty sure the smell has been eliminated for Yacht Club and Aurea passengers, mostly gone for Fantastica, but still there for Bella passengers, especially North American Bella passengers. ;o)

Admin: please don't delete, this post is tongue in cheek. Just a little humor. I hope you understand.

DCGuy - I also mentioned in my review that the smell was noticeable during my cruise of December 30. From our cabin 11003 and mostly forward area we did not notice or have the smell. However from mid ship and going towards the aft it was noticeable. I also mentioned that during the Meet and Mingle a senior officer mentioned the issue of construction, piping, flow and toilet paper. BTW, he brought it up. So the staff is aware of the issue.

We were deck 10 forward on Seaside last week. 2 nights we were awakened by bad fumes that smelled like turpentine or paint thinner coming thru our cabin ventilation . I did call guest services at 3 am and once at 2 am when it became too strong to ignore and we cracked our balcony door. The smell did dissipate . Again on our last port day in Nassau this smell was very bad in the hallways of deck 10. We did go to guest services and maintenance was called about it. That night we did not smell it in our room again. As for sewage smell, it wafted in and out but mainly on port days when the ship was still did we notice it the most- and even then it was not enough noticeable or last long enough to really bother .

I was also on the 1/13 cruise staying in a midship room on the 11th deck. We had to be moved to another room because we could not sleep as a result of the smell. It was definitely sewer gas and was awful. This was just one of the many problems too numerous to mention that we had on the ship and would not sail on MSC again. If this is the "European style" of cruising I want no part of it!!!!

I asked the chief engineer (not with MSC) who posts here on CC for his opinion/information.

This is a copy/paste...all credit to him.

Someone asked that I come over here to discuss this smell issue, and I'm not sure if this is the thread they were pointing me to, but I will see if I can copy this to any threads about the Seaside's smell problem.

 

While I will not dispute what passengers are told by "officers" (and many even senior "officers" have no clue what goes on on a ship), I will dispute the "officer's" facts.

 

One, the toilet system is a closed system, unlike your waste drain system in your home, so all smells are contained in the system, and you would only have a smell for the short period that the plumbers have the system open to clear a clog, and it would quickly dissipate, and the plumbers and front of house staff know to use deodorizers when the job is done.

 

While I can't comment on the installation of the vacuum toilet piping on the Seaside, this is not a new concept, having been used on ships for several decades, so any shipyard would know how to install it. Additionally, some ships are designed with toilet lines that flush up a deck, quite successfully, so routing really isn't a problem.

 

The hoary old story about toilet paper is a fun one. There is no such thing as "special" toilet paper for vacuum toilet systems. Many folks think of the marine toilet paper designed for use on yachts, but those systems are worlds apart from a cruise ship's vacuum system, and in fact, without getting too graphic, the system requires some strength to the toilet paper to keep the "product" "plug" intact enough to move along the pipes.

 

The vents from the sewage tanks, are not the grille types that you see along the side of the ship. They are merely pipes that extend all the way to the top of the funnel. It is possible that with the right wind, and the ship stopped in port, that you could get smell from these vents, but not likely.

 

The most common source of sewer smells is the "gray water" system, which is the sinks, showers, floor drains, galleys and laundries drain system. This is totally separate from the vacuum toilet "black water" system until it is mixed in sewage tanks in the engine room. This gray water system is a vented, gravity drain system, just like the waste drain system in your home (but without the toilets). Each and every drain has a U-trap, or P-trap, or barrel trap, just like your shower or sink (that curvy pipe under the sink) that works like a check valve, holding some water in the trap and allowing water to flow down but not allowing gases and odors to flow up. Traps that see water introduced regularly, like sinks and showers, have this trap water renewed frequently. Other traps, that don't see water regularly, like floor drains (there is one in your cabin bathroom (usually a gutter at the door, or a drain located under the toilet) for overflow, and this does not see water regularly. The AC supplies dry air, and this can evaporate the trap water and allow odors to come up. A glass of water down this drain daily will prevent odors in your cabin. Other deck drains are located in various technical spaces around the ship (cabin stewards' pantries and linen lockers) (pipe and electrical chases) (elevator pits) (machinery rooms), and these see even less water than your cabin bathroom drain. The AC dries these traps out as well, and finding where they are located, especially for a new ship, requires time, and record keeping so that staff remember from one instance to the next, where the traps in a particular area are and how to fill them (elevator pits are the worst).

 

As noted, vessel motion also shortens the "life" of trap water in traps that don't see water regularly.

...so it seems that if they can locate the problem areas, there shouldn't be an odor.

I would also like to note that masking the odor is not a very good idea. Our room steward offered to spray a deodorizer in the room which I refused. Prolonged exposure to high levels of sewer gas can be fatal!!!

I would also like to note that masking the odor is not a very good idea. Our room steward offered to spray a deodorizer in the room which I refused. Prolonged exposure to high levels of sewer gas can be fatal!!!

And again, I will say that regardless of the odor, this was not sewage (black water) from the toilets, it was gray water from the sinks and showers, which has a much lower propensity to generate hydrogen sulfide gas. H2S can be deadly in very high concentrations, and in areas with limited ventilation. However, typically if the H2S is in sufficient high concentration to be dangerous, or the level is low but the exposure time is long, you lose the ability to smell the gas. Also, cruise ship ventilation is designed to renew 20% of the ship's air volume every hour.

And again, I will say that regardless of the odor, this was not sewage (black water) from the toilets, it was gray water from the sinks and showers, which has a much lower propensity to generate hydrogen sulfide gas. H2S can be deadly in very high concentrations, and in areas with limited ventilation. However, typically if the H2S is in sufficient high concentration to be dangerous, or the level is low but the exposure time is long, you lose the ability to smell the gas. Also, cruise ship ventilation is designed to renew 20% of the ship's air volume every hour.

Thank you for this post, I for one appreciate the educational tenor of the post and it certainly puts my mind at ease about our cruise (which isn't for almost 9 months, BTW). Thanks!

And again, I will say that regardless of the odor, this was not sewage (black water) from the toilets, it was gray water from the sinks and showers, which has a much lower propensity to generate hydrogen sulfide gas. H2S can be deadly in very high concentrations, and in areas with limited ventilation. However, typically if the H2S is in sufficient high concentration to be dangerous, or the level is low but the exposure time is long, you lose the ability to smell the gas. Also, cruise ship ventilation is designed to renew 20% of the ship's air volume every hour.

H2S in dangerous concentrations are not smellable anymore.

Most of odor is not H2S - thats other sulfor compounds and NH3 - developed from Urease....

I have read many of your posts and have high respect for your knowledge. I have over 20 yrs. of plumbing experience and I stick to my opinion. I experienced it firsthand. You are assuming that the toilet vent system was installed correctly so therefore you are assuming it was not sewer gas. Evidently something was not installed correctly causing this odor. You also state the vent system efficiency, but that is where the odor was coming from,not from the bathroom. I prefer to cruise on a ship that does not smell like a barn. I think the passengers on Noahs Ark had better conditions!! Thank you for your opinion in this matter.

I have read many of your posts and have high respect for your knowledge. I have over 20 yrs. of plumbing experience and I stick to my opinion. I experienced it firsthand. You are assuming that the toilet vent system was installed correctly so therefore you are assuming it was not sewer gas. Evidently something was not installed correctly causing this odor. You also state the vent system efficiency, but that is where the odor was coming from,not from the bathroom. I prefer to cruise on a ship that does not smell like a barn. I think the passengers on Noahs Ark had better conditions!! Thank you for your opinion in this matter.

Since the toilets use vacuum to move the "product" down the line (or in some cases up the line), there is no toilet vent system. A vent would remove the vacuum from the piping system. The toilet piping system is under a full vacuum (30" hg) at all times, and a closed system until it gets past the vacuum pumps.. When you flush your toilet, it opens a valve between the bowl and the pipe under vacuum, and the vacuum sucks the bowl empty. The great advantage of vacuum toilets is that the piping does not have to slope down to allow gravity to move "product" down the line. The vacuum will move the "product" all the way to the source of the vacuum, the pump in the engine room. As I've said, in some cases, entire decks will flush up to the deck above to save on a pipe run, tell me how that is done with a vented plumbing system. The vents for the sewage tanks are not great louvers like HVAC vents. They are 6" diameter pipes that run all the way up to the funnel, to exhaust with the engine exhaust. While you may feel that the HVAC system was the source of some of the smell, it was most likely the force that moved the odor around the cabin, and down to your nose.

While I agree that this is decidedly unpleasant, and should be dealt with as soon as possible, I don't agree that it is black water gases, as this cannot happen for the reasons I state above, and that it is a gray water trap problem.

I agree to this. But why this is happening on this ship? It's not the first ship that Fincantieri built. They follow standards since decades, it's just weird to see that happening now.

I can sit here and dispute this till I'm blue in the face but I have better things to do. I was there,I smelled what I smelled and it is what it is. Like I said I don't care to stay in a cabin where my health is at risk. I hope they get the problem fixed as it is one beautiful ship. Maybe a temporary fix to the problem would be to rename it "The Sewerside"LOL Happy cruising. Thank you for your info on the sewage system!