The Dream and the Sewage Smell

[justjim312]

Sailed twice on the Dream and both times, in different parts of the ship, the sewage smell was awful. Won't be going on her ever again.

[RuthlessBoss]

Sailed twice on the Dream and both times, in different parts of the ship, the sewage smell was awful. Won't be going on her ever again.

Okay. But it can happen on any ship and on any cruiseline.

It's not just Dream and who is verifying it's sewerage?

[waldocruiser1]

We just got off the Dream this morning and for the most part we had a wonderful time. The staff was WONDERFUL, the food was ok and the ship was maintained very well. BUT, trust me when I tell you, the sewage smell is REAL!! We were on the Vista deck and you could smell sewage at the aft of the ship. It was worst in our room. I am not sure how the ship is designed, but on Thursday, our bathroom floor was full of water and bleach. Once we notified the steward, he qucikly came, mopped the floor and apologized. DH and I could not figure what was wrong, but as the day went on, we figured that the room steward must have used it to try to combat the smell. By this morning, the stench was so bad my nostrils were burning (we had air freshner and a Renuzit). Does anyone know the cause of the stench?

 

It was mentioned last week the smell is from the COWS on the ship that provide the "real" fresh milk for the passengers.

[twentyknots]

We've noticed it on the Fantasy maybe 3 of the 5 sailings and on other non-Carnival ships too. I think it's a peculiarity of cruise ships.

[Tantra1]

I've been on the Dream a few times and never had the experience. I don't know how plumbing systems are designed on ships but most times water has the tendency to flow downhill. Since people have noticed the smell at different times on all deck levels fore and aft my suspicion is that some stupid passenger has flushed something down the toilet that they should not have. The system then clogged at that level and area of the ship. How else would there be this odor that appears just anywhere. I would be more inclined to blame it on some idiot passenger and not the ship design.

 

Cheers!

[mitsugirly]

We were just on the Dream less than 2 months ago and there wasn't a sewage smell when we were on her either. (Thank goodness) :)

[ShellLoves2cruise]

I'll be on the Dream the end of October and I hope my experience will be that I don't encounter "The Smell." I have gotten whiffs of it on other ships (mostly Fantasy class) but never anything that lasted or made my trip unbearable or uncomfortable. I grew up camping in self-contained RV's and the smell when they were being dumped is the best description of what I smelled on the ships.

[chengkp75]

I've been on the Dream a few times and never had the experience. I don't know how plumbing systems are designed on ships but most times water has the tendency to flow downhill. Since people have noticed the smell at different times on all deck levels fore and aft my suspicion is that some stupid passenger has flushed something down the toilet that they should not have. The system then clogged at that level and area of the ship. How else would there be this odor that appears just anywhere. I would be more inclined to blame it on some idiot passenger and not the ship design.

 

Cheers!

 

While you are correct that water tends to flow downhill, and the old adage that s*** also flows downhill, on cruise ships this is not always true. One of the advantages of the vacuum toilet systems is that you are not relying on gravity to move the "product", but a vacuum. So, many decks on ships will utilize the black water main pipe from the deck above, and your toilet will actually flush up.

 

I really don't believe that persistent sewage smells are caused by toilet blockages. There is something going on either with the incineration of the sewage sludge from the treatment plant (and there are deodorant chemicals that are designed just for this purpose), or with the venting of the treatment system that is being caught by the a/c system and brought into the ship. Many ships built in the 90's had their waste water treatment systems retrofitted, and the design of the vents in relation to the a/c inlets is not always thoroughly thought out.

[Defender1962]

I just got off the Dream today. The smell of sewage was so strong I was compelled to research it. So here I am. We were on the Vista deck, aft. It was pretty powerful for the first 3 days, mainly in the hallway leading to our room. Never detected the odor in the room. The smell was offensive enough that I won't cruise this ship again. Going to put lots of thought into doing a Carnival cruise again if that smell is no big deal to them.

[purplemusik]

I just got off the Dream Feb 15th and the only smell I sometimes noticed in the staircase I wouldn't describe as a "sewage" smell because I've worked in a restaurant. It smelled like the cooler/ cold storage room. Like cold-fresh food. Still not the greatest but when I think sewage- I think rotten spoiling garbage

[meinnj4]

We were on the Dream 2/8-2/15 Empress deck Aft , and never had a sewage smell.

[relliea]

We were on the Dream March 1-8 2014. Yes, sewage smell at night only. We were in an extended balcony aft cabin #8470. Thursday night it was so bad the stench woke me up & I thought i was going to get sick. We smelled it only that one night in our room. The other two nights we were walking up the aft stairs between decks 7 & 8. Sewage odor is definately a problem on this ship. We had a great Dream cruise overall, but due to this issue we will not be sailing her again.

[EZ4]

After a week of 4000 people eating day and night, it stands to reason that the smell will increase in intensity. The food is either wasted, waisted or wasted. ;):p

[canttanman]

Smelled it on the Dream, deck 2, the cove balcony deck, and on the Glory, at our table in the MDR. Every day. Hope I don't get that bonus on the Breeze in a couple weeks.

[bisonman7]

I was on Dream Feb 1-8, 2014 and stayed on deck 2. Smelled something peculiar first time we walked down the hallway to our cabin after embarking. Never smelled anything in the cabin, but we did have balcony door open a lot, not sure if that made a difference. In the hall, noticed the sewer smell a few times in passing in the midship area. Overall it had zero effect on the week other than some kids making jokes of who dealt one lol.

 

 

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[SkyMaster]

I sailed "Dream" twice in the last three months, and NEVER noticed any sewage smell, at all. NO PROBLEM IMO!

 

"SKY"

[fergusonvt]

We had an aft wrap on Empress on the Valor and never smelled anything. I just booked the Dream in a similar cabin for 2016. We smelled sewage on the RCI cruise we were on in Feb. on the Independence of the Seas but only at the beginning of the cruise. After 2 days the smell was gone. We were also in a similar type cabin on that cruise. Could be an aft thing but I haven't smelled it on any other ship and this was our third aft cabin.

[PAPERBKWRITER]

"The smell" happens on every cruise ship from time to time. Only had it really bad once on Miracle for 2 days. Complained and was told "we're working on the problem." and hours later it was corrected.

[jamesr3939]

In January, on the Dream we noticed the smell only when in port and only on deck. We hung out on serenity deck and the smell would come and go depending on the wind direction. Never got it in the interior spaces.