Diamond Princess Cabin D-741

It's been discussed before, but needs to be said again. DON'T BOOK CABIN D-741 ON THE DIAMOND with the thought that you'll have a wonderful aft balcony cabin.

Although it's an aft balcony (and a mighty big one, at that) the garbage grinders from the kitchen were vented wrong, and the stench on that balcony is sickening. Truly and really sickening. Smells like a meat locker with a bit of rotting cantaloupe rinds thrown in. The odor is very strong, and you smell it the minute you open the balcony door. If you don't close the balcony door tight, the smell comes into the cabin very quickly.

We'd booked the cabin because we had the twin cabin twice on the Star and thought it was wonderful. However, we were sorely disappointed on our recently completed D-741 on the Diamond.

Here's the deal. On other Grand Class ships the smell is vented out the vents on the Prominade Deck; that's the odor you get on the Grand and Star when youre overlooking the wake at the stern on the Prominade. On the Diamond, however, the vent is piped so that odor blows directly into the balcony of cabin D-741. The fan does not just blow the stench out the back of the ship, instead it blows the stench directly into the balcony and straight toward the sliding door of cabin D-741.

We talked to the Purser's Desk and Customer Service, and they sent both staff and crew up to investigate. Finally they said that Princess has been aware of the problem for some time and that only the Legal Department can make adjustments on this problem to make sure that all who complain are compensated the same to be fair. After three days of talking to them, they offered to move us into another cabin for one night, but we'd have to move back the next day because a new entertainer was coming onboard who was going to be in the other room. Because of shore excursions, we decided not to take them up on the offer to move ourselves twice; we take cruises so we don't have to pack up and move every night!

You might think that it's a small thing, but if you pay extra for a balcony and the weather cooperates, you should be able to use the balcony. The balcony also has a wide post that obscures the view from the room. We feel that we should receive an adjustment for at least the difference between what we paid and what they charged for an obstructed view ocean view cabin. However, that doesn't begin to compensate for the disappointment of not having the use of a balcony that we paid for. I didn't see the previous post about Diamond cabin D-741 until February, but by then it was too late to change without additional charge, I was told.

Our biggest problem is that Princess has known about that problem for quite a while and still rents out the room. Customer Service and a crew member told us that it will take one week of the cabin being empty to tear everything apart and re-pipe the vent. However, as long as travel agents offer it and as long as people book the cabin, that won't happen.

So, if you have the cabin booked, I'd sure advise you to call you TA and switch to another, even if it means a side balcony. If they are all booked, switch to an ocean view because that's in reality what you'll have with cabin D-741 on the Diamond.

Charlotte

Now that's something to complain about! I'd definitely contact the "legal" department on this one.:mad:

We are booked in D740 in Feb. Wonder if that cabin has the same problems? I'd like to know now so we can change.

thanks

Kay

I had Dolphin 740 on the Sapphire and can verify that this is a valid problem. Basically what divides D740 and D741 are huge white vents. I took a picture of it but haven't downlaoded it. I actually don't know how they would modify this because I think the vents were put in for a specific purpose (but am not an expert....).

I could definitely smell the odor when I was sailing but didn't smell anything when we docked or when we were in port. To me - it smelled like rotten onions.

I contacted the Purser's Desk 2x and was told they were not aware of any problems with the ship or this cabin and then a manager called me and told me it was a known problem. She offered to move me to another balcony but this offer was made on the 2nd to last day of the cruise.

On my cruise - it was very port intensive and I didn't use the balcony all that much. I agree, it would be a huge problem if you planned on using the balcony when the ship is at sea.

We actually knocked on the door of cabin D-740 on the Diamond and they allowed us to go on their balcony; no smell at all!

As I said, on the Grand and Star this particular vent goes to the Prominade Deck; on the Diamond it goes to the balcony of D-741; apparently on the Sapphire it goes to the balcony of D-740.

We have had 5 aft balconies on 4 ships (Star & Tahitian Princesses and Celebrity ships) and none have smelled until this one.

There's a difference of $473 per person between an obstructed view ocean view cabin and a category BB, which is what Cabin D-741 is. I expect them to either give me credit on my future cruise or to send me a check for at lease twice that amount. (two people). My consternation is that they know about this problem and still book the cabins--better to have disappointed customers and money in their pockets, I guess.

Charlotte

As I said, on the Grand and Star this particular vent goes to the Prominade Deck; on the Diamond it goes to the balcony of D-741; apparently on the Sapphire it goes to the balcony of D-740.

The vent was between the two cabins on the Sapphire. It was huge and occupied the entire space between the two cabins. If you look at the aft of the Diamond/Sapphire - you can see these vents. On the Sapphire - my guess is that it would affect both cabins. Ironically - the suite next to me did not smell it (one cabin over).

Yes, those vents are huge. They take up the space of two cabins and are a couple of decks high. However, different pipes from different regions go to different parts of the vents. They can re-conigure the pipes with some engineering and worker know-how.

On the star that particular vent pipe from the kitchen vents to the stern on the Prominade Deck. However, that smell affects everybody who happens to take a stroll completely around the Prominade. So I think that they have tried to move it several different places on succeeding ships in that Grand Class of ships.

Charlotte

We had this cabin last summer (June 25) on the Diamond to Alaska and we thought we had the best cabin on the ship because the vents were mini-heaters for us. We had NO smell at all and spent all of our sea time on the balcony. I am wondering if it is a matter that the vents need cleaning because of build-up or something. We had no odor at all. I am so sorry that was an issue, because it is a special cabin. I hope maintenance will get on this. Sungirl ;-)

We had this cabin last summer (June 25) on the Diamond to Alaska

Could it have something to do with the climate? Better in cooler weather versus hot, humid weather?

My cruise was not hot and humid. I did a CA to Vancouver coastal cruise and the temps were probably 50's and 60's.

OH NO:eek:

We have D-740 Sapphire for 29 days April 2007 with tons of sea days.

I'll address this problem with Princess and see if they respond.

I have a horribly super sensitive 'smelling' system. I can literally throw up smelling onions.

We choose our cruises for sea days and spend absolutely a ton of our time on the balcony.

Thanks for the info.

We're looking at these rooms on the Crown Princess and wonder if anyone has had experience with them on the Caribbean, as this is probably the best resource of info for now. Thanks.

Cammelia,

I would certainly contact Princess about this and I'd save whatever communications they send you in both electronic and hardcopy formats. That way, if you do happen to have a smell after they have assured you that there is none, you'll have something to deal with.

My husband and I do not have sensitive noses, and both of us still thought the stench was unbearable. Our daughter, who has a more sensitive nose than we do, did become very nauseous and left our room. The neighbor, who happened to be a butcher, said that it smelled exactly like a meat locker.

As an aside, for the muster drill they sent us down a side door to the muster station. The door is beside cabin D-439, which was our only neighbor. That is usually a "crew only" area, but they open those doors for muster. At any rate, the smell in there was absolutely horrible, and whenever the crew members did use it, we could smell it in the hall after the door had been opened for even a short time.

The e-mail address in Santa Clarita, CA where we were directed is for Princess Customer Relations: passengerrelations@princesscruises.com

Good luck,

Charlotte

Oh wow.

Hubby and I really are in a tizzy over this.

I printed out everything today and will communicate with Princess.

This should prove interesting.

We booked this cruise two years out, picked our cabin, read nothing but great reviews about it (that's why we picked it). Now this new info.

Trust me, I do believe you and I know that I personally cannot hack it for 29 days with any type smell.

I also know that cruise companies protect themselves and never have anything negative to say when you question them. We'll see.

Sydney will always be there to visit. I definitely do not need to be in a stinky room. As I said, we booked it for the balcony, period:eek:

Thanks for the address. I will be communicating with them Monday.

We realize we may have noise from Club Fusion (not a problem) and also have been told it sounds like you are under a waterfall (also not a problem) but smells absolutely would be a BIG problem.

We smelled stinky stuff when we took our walks evey morning on the Coral Princess. The smell was on the port side of the bow and it was disgusting. I cannot imagine having to smell that on your balcony!!!

Cheers, Denise

We have sent our first correspondence regarding above problem to Princess.

I have also notified our Travel Agent of our concerns regarding D740.

We will wait and see if they acknowledge our concerns. Hopefully something will be worked out.

Changed my booking based on these posts. D-741 was one of four cabins I had reserved on the Diamond in December. Taking a chance on the odors you described was just not worth the risk. We unfortunately had to downgrade one of the bookings from a mini-suite to a standard balcony. I'm curious to read any other threads on this problem. I've tried doing a search. But, I don't seem to be having any luck find other posts. Any suggestions?

Anyway, thanks for the info. My daughter suffers from severe migraines. Smells are one of her triggers. She was booked in D-741. I've managed to book all four cabins on the Aloha deck. My husband and I had to downgrade to be close to her. She's only ten, and booked in a room with her grandma. But I feel it's worth it, to be sure she doesn't suffer a migraine on her vacation.

Thanks again!

We've already heard back from Princess but as you can see it will be a long wait. Whatever--we don't want a stinky balcony or cabin:eek:

We will probably cancel and book the 2008 cruise. The 2007 is sold out. Don't know where they could possibly move us to. It's too bad because these were supposed to be great cabins:mad:

Thank you for your email regarding your cruise onboard Sapphire Princess. Due to the nature of your concerns, we have opened a file in Passenger Relations under your booking number (XXXXXX) and you will be receiving a written response from a department representative following a thorough review of your correspondence. Our response time currently is approximately 4 - 6 weeks. All will be done to expedite your response. However, all files are answered in the order in which they have been received by our department. We thank you for your patience while awaiting your reply.

Sincerely,

Passenger Relations Specialist

passengerrelations@princesscruises.com

Thanks for the info Camellia. We are booked in D740 on Diamond in Feb. I will be curious to see what Princess' reply is.

Kay

Kay, the smell was not on the balcony of cabin D-740. It's on the other side of the filter room, and Frank & Pat had no smell there; apparently the air from some other part of the ship is vented to that side. The smell was really, really bad on the balcony of D-741 and to a lesser extent the suite next door, D-739.

Camillia, you received exactly the same reply that I did.

Denise, we've never been under a night club, but we were under an outdoor balcony off of the buffet, an area where they had outdoor music till 11 pm every night. Others complained about it, but we don't go to bed very early and considered it our private music session on our balcony as we toasted the wake each night.

Widow, I think you were wise to change cabins. Our daughter was booked into another cabin on the side, and she had no problem. She's in her 30's, but suffers greatly from allergies and wouldn't even come to our room after the first trip. We were able to use her balcony to view the glaciers, but I still feel that Princess owes me the difference between the price I paid for a category BB balcony and an ocean view with an obstructed view. After all, I paid for two balconies and should have been able to use both--and hers was about 1/3 the size of ours so it was crowded!

Just to make sure that everybody understands, though. The room, itself, did not smell as long as we kept the sliding door closed tightly. The door sealed well and kept the odor out. However, we were not able to use the balcony at all because of the stench and also could not leave the door open to hear the sound of moving water, which is what we love back there.

Charlotte

Craven - I did research on these 2 cabins before my cruise. I read reports of both D740 and D741 on both the Diamond and Sapphire having this issue. The manager I spoke with on the Sapphire indicated that both cabins have this issue on the Sapphire.

If this is a possible issue for people - I would avoid those two cabins. For me, it was a port intensive cruise - I choose to keep the cabin. My other alternative was a cabin over Club Fusion and I did not want that.

I do agree with you that my room did not smell at all as long as I kept the door closed.

Music won't bother us at all. Our son is a drummer and we spent many a night falling asleep to his band!! We are looking forward to spending our evenings on the aft balcony looking at the wake. This is the first cruise in several where it is just the two of us...we are looking forward to some serious alone time!!

Cheers, Denise

I hope you get some compensation from Princess. It sounds as though they are aware of the problem. Hopefully that will work in your benefit. Good Luck!

And once again, thanks for the heads up!

Well, the mystery thickens. We were in cabin D740 this past February on the Sapphire and not once did we notice any smells of any kind and I spent hours out on that balcony. Even made a point of poking my head around the side to see those vents and didn't notice anything then either. We had a hot weather itinerary.......Mexican Riviera and we were sitting out on the balcony while in port and also at sea. This is really strange! I guess that explains how we got the aft cabin when booking so close in........someone must have read a report about the smell and cancelled. Lucky for us as it was the nicest balcony we have ever been on.........the size was huge and again there was no smell. I would have noticed as bad smells are a precursor to my migraines.

Pat

Coral: just curious......when did you experience the problem on the Sapphire? I don't for one moment doubt that you experienced problems with smell but perhaps they have since fixed the problem and vent it elsewhere. I'm just trying to figure out this mystery as to why one time there is a problem and then other times there is not as now it even has me hesitant to ever book that cabin again even though we experienced no smell and really enjoyed that huge balcony.

Thanks Pat