Recent Sun cruisers-Sewage odors-your experience

[puli]

We were also booked in an aft suite 9076 for a cruise tour in 2017 but reluctantly changed it to a forward penthouse 9002. We have been in a sewer smelling cabin twice before and vowed never again. Bad enough having a fleeting foul odor in stairways and halls but it is impossible to have your cabin infused with that smell for days on end.

[4774Papa]

I just got off the phone with Christina at the NCL GUEST RELATIONS number 866-625-1164. She was very nice and did put me on hold to check for other complaints. She came back and said that there had been some complaints pre-refit, but none since there.

 

I explained to her what I had done on cc by soliciting others experiences on the Sun and that others had experienced the sewage odor problem AFTER the refit.

 

Sorry, I had to wait almost half an hour on hold to talk to Christina. However, my suggestion is that if everyone that experienced this problem called and complained or as Christina suggested write a letter or email to NCL detailing complaints (email accessible through website, "help".

[jamminlion]

Thanks Papa for the update. I'm just thinking an email will go straight to the junk mail folder.

 

I will definitely come back and report on our experience. We have an aft facing mini, and I SO appreciate all the heads up. ESPECIALLY about the blue water.

 

If there is even an iota of a problem, given the amount of money we have spent on the fare for the cruise alone, I will be going directly to the Hotel Director, completely bypassing guest services.

 

Our last Alaska cruise in 2012, we had an absence of hot water issue in our shower for 3 days. Guest Services did NOTHING until I wrote a note to the Hotel Director, then things started moving, changing, and getting fixed very quickly.

[suzycruise]

I am following closely too. I booked almost 600 days out to get an aft mini, and we sail in less than 2 weeks.

 

I will not be happy if there is a problem, and I will be working my way up the chain if there is.

Make sure to collect the business cards of all those you speak with about the smelly problems you may encounter. It will help when you file a complaint post cruise.

[newzandile]

So I'm leading a multi family multi generational trip on the June 27th sailing in less than 3 weeks. With all the buzz on here about the aft odor I checked with everyone (each couple booked their own cabins) and all but one of our cabins happened to be forward of midship. One couple was on Deck 10, right behind the aft stairwell. I suggested they move (after checking online and confirming the only category sold out was the suites) ASAP.

 

They called yesterday and were moved with no hassle, then today received notice they were being charged an extra $3,000 for the change this close to sailing. Luckily they hung in there and demanded accommodation and finally NCL allowed the cabin change at no charge and gave them 4 specialty restaurant meals for the hassle. According to the couple NCL DID acknowledge that they were aware of a smell issue in the aft of the ship. Not sure who they spoke to but apparently they were on the phone a long time.

 

Just thought I'd share in case someone else is wanting to change cabins. It's times like this I'm so thankful for cruisecritic! I'm sorry for all the folks who didn't have advance warning!

[MrHaney]

I also called earlier this week to inquire about what was being done to fix this. At first I was told they did not know about it; but after she put me on hold for awhile and then came back to the phone, she said she found where they are aware of it and are trying to get it fixed. However, I wonder if most of the calls they get just fall on deaf ears.

[casofilia]

Find as many NCL email addresses as you can and send 1 email a day working through the list. Then start again at the beginning.

 

If enough people do this then they will soon get the message.

[DkswartzFamily]

I don't understand how this isn't something they would fix! This is something that could really mess up a vacation

[casofilia]

I don't understand how this isn't something they would fix! This is something that could really mess up a vacation

 

They have "fixed" it a number of times but their "fix" is only a "fix" not a FIX.

[shadowmeboy]

They have "fixed" it a number of times but their "fix" is only a "fix" not a FIX.

 

well said. They need to find a permanent solution and not a temporary fix like has been described on these threads.

[puli]

I don't understand how this isn't something they would fix! This is something that could really mess up a vacation

 

If this is due to the naturally occurring microscopic disintergration of an aging ventilation system in an older ship there is little that can be done other than replace the entire ventilation system (an almost impossible task.physically and fiscally) or ignore the regulations to burn refuse rather than dump it in our oceans. Some lines have opted for something else.....selling these older ships to countries just starting a cruising industry.

 

Reports of smelling this " sewer odor" are found in many older ships across all cruise lines.

 

It seems the initial reports are of scattered instances in varied places at random times but eventually there are known "hot spots"..and IMHO it seems the aft section of the Sun is one such venue and I for one have moved cabins just to be on the safe side..having sailed twice in ships with similar MO's.

 

otherwise...either do your research well or only sail on new ships.

[pizzalady1]

We were in 9077, an aft balcony, in 2014. At that time there were many threads about the smell, however, we did not smell any thing bad. I am very sensitive to all smells and nothing bothered me in this cabin or anywhere in the aft area.

[DkswartzFamily]

If this is due to the naturally occurring microscopic disintergration of an aging ventilation system in an older ship there is little that can be done other than replace the entire ventilation system (an almost impossible task.physically and fiscally) or ignore the regulations to burn refuse rather than dump it in our oceans. Some lines have opted for something else.....selling these older ships to countries just starting a cruising industry.

 

 

 

Reports of smelling this " sewer odor" are found in many older ships across all cruise lines.

 

 

 

It seems the initial reports are of scattered instances in varied places at random times but eventually there are known "hot spots"..and IMHO it seems the aft section of the Sun is one such venue and I for one have moved cabins just to be on the safe side..having sailed twice in ships with similar MO's.

 

 

 

otherwise...either do your research well or only sail on new ships.

 

 

Very interesting, I definitely have no knowledge of how this works but what you say makes a lot of sense :-) it seems to me that most older ships have them but it seems to be very fleeting. I guess I am more surprised that it is so prevalent on the sun and has been for a few years (it was bad last year when we went). Thanks for sharing!

[puli]

Very interesting, I definitely have no knowledge of how this works but what you say makes a lot of sense :-) it seems to me that most older ships have them but it seems to be very fleeting. I guess I am more surprised that it is so prevalent on the sun and has been for a few years (it was bad last year when we went). Thanks for sharing!

 

I am no expert on this topic but a sanitation officer of one of our very large US cruise lines talked to us about this while we were enduring a very foul smelling suite for a 10 night Christmas cruise. His explanation did not erase the smell or make residing in that cabin a bit easier but it did help us keep our anger from spewing out at the wrong people.

[casofilia]

If this is due to the naturally occurring microscopic disintergration of an aging ventilation system in an older ship there is little that can be done other than replace the entire ventilation system (an almost impossible task.physically and fiscally)......

 

Simple fix then; replace the entire ventilation system and hang the cost or sell the ship.

[puli]

Simple fix then; replace the entire ventilation system and hang the cost or sell the ship.

 

Easier said than done!

[Sonora5]

Easier said than done!

 

Maybe so, but it seems pretty unethical for them to continue to sell these cabins. We spent about 13k for our aft penthouse suite, and it was unuseable at many times during our cruise. In addition, it was difficult to move around the ship, particularly the aft section.

 

My husband has a lung disease, which NCL knew about, so as you can imagine this was really troubling to us. And since we have returned we have really been getting the runaround with respect to our claim.

[4774Papa]

I see that the Theater on the Sun is located aft instead of forward like most cruise ships.

 

I wonder if the sewer odors have ruined any shows?

 

Some posters have mentioned that the odors tend to start in the early mornings, like around 4am and last until about 10am. I wonder if they are burning the solid sewage in the middle of the night?

[ZN1300]

We were in 9077, an aft balcony, in 2014. At that time there were many threads about the smell, however, we did not smell any thing bad. I am very sensitive to all smells and nothing bothered me in this cabin or anywhere in the aft area.

 

Consider yourself lucky.

 

I see that the Theater on the Sun is located aft instead of forward like most cruise ships.

 

I wonder if the sewer odors have ruined any shows?

 

Some posters have mentioned that the odors tend to start in the early mornings, like around 4am and last until about 10am. I wonder if they are burning the solid sewage in the middle of the night?

 

The odors didn't stop at 10am. It happened throughout the day.

 

We didn't go to the shows because, you know, ship shows... Actually we went to one. We asked Carlos, our concierge, if the show used that fake fog (mineral oil, glycol, or glycerin vaporized) and he said no. I can't breathe that stuff. As soon as the show was about to start they filled the place with fog so we left.

 

But to answer your question we were told by other cruisers they could smell it from time to time during a show. Also on the Sun the MDR is aft below the main stage. We ate there once for dinner and the odor would waft through occasionally which really wet an appetite.

[3Fluffies]

I just returned from the Sun northbound from Vancouver to Seward, May 30-June 6. I had heard about the sewage odors too and was apprehensive, but for the most part, although I did occasionally notice them, they weren't too bad.

 

On embarkation day, I did notice that it the most in the Stardust Theater (along with the smell of bleach, combining for a very unpleasant odor) but that cleared by Day 2. I did often catch "whiffs" of sewage particularly in the aft stairwell, and once it was strong in the Deck 9 corridor outside my cabin. Fortunately (I was in midship balcony 9036) it never came into my cabin, which always smelled fresh and clean. I ate in the aft restaurants often, including Seven Seas (deck 5) and Garden Cafe/Great Outdoors (Deck 11) and Cagney's/Moderno (Decks 11/12) and never noticed any bad odors inside the restaurants.

[chengkp75]

If this is due to the naturally occurring microscopic disintergration of an aging ventilation system in an older ship there is little that can be done other than replace the entire ventilation system (an almost impossible task.physically and fiscally) or ignore the regulations to burn refuse rather than dump it in our oceans. Some lines have opted for something else.....selling these older ships to countries just starting a cruising industry.

 

Reports of smelling this " sewer odor" are found in many older ships across all cruise lines.

 

It seems the initial reports are of scattered instances in varied places at random times but eventually there are known "hot spots"..and IMHO it seems the aft section of the Sun is one such venue and I for one have moved cabins just to be on the safe side..having sailed twice in ships with similar MO's.

 

otherwise...either do your research well or only sail on new ships.

 

I am no expert on this topic but a sanitation officer of one of our very large US cruise lines talked to us about this while we were enduring a very foul smelling suite for a 10 night Christmas cruise. His explanation did not erase the smell or make residing in that cabin a bit easier but it did help us keep our anger from spewing out at the wrong people.

 

I have no direct information regarding problems on the Sun, nor can I explain the problem from the anecdotal comments here, but all I can say is that the "sanitation officer" knew nothing of what he was talking about, and as for the "explanation", I can only say "***?".

 

Could you please explain what the "naturally occurring microscopic disintergration of an aging ventilation system" means? 'Cause I've got no clue what you are talking about. What is disintegrating in the ventilation system that causes a sewage odor?

 

Similarly, what do you mean by " ignore the regulations to burn refuse rather than dump it in our oceans." I worked many years on the Sky, the Sun's sister ship. If the Sun has the same equipment installed as the Sky to burn the solid waste that comes from the waste water treatment plant, this could be the source of a persistent sewer smell from aft, particularly late at night and early morning. We installed this on the Sky years ago, and tried to get it working, but there were too many technical difficulties (smell, dust, the incinerator not being air tight) to make it feasible. However, there is no international regulation regarding the pumping into the ocean of this solid waste from the waste water treatment plant, which is what we continued to do. This solid waste is 98% toilet paper fibers, since the waste water treatment plant processes water too quickly to digest the paper fibers like a septic tank ashore does. By international definition, this is "treated" waste, and is safe to pump into the ocean. Even Alaska, with some of the most stringent water quality standards in the world, allow the cruise ships to run their waste water plants at the dock and discharge the waste water, since it is tested by the state frequently and found to be nearly pure fresh water. The solids are stored and pumped at night.

 

Reports of sewer odors are not restricted to older ships, even brand new ones will have them occasionally. A transitory smell is generally caused by a floor drain (especially cabin bathroom floor drains) that don't see water flow into them frequently, and the A/C dries out the water in the trap. This is cured by pouring water in the trap, with almost instantaneous results. As I say, this is more for transitory smells, but every ship gets these.

[dijid]

I was on the same sailing as 3Flufflies and had a similar experience. I thought the smell was strongest at embarkation. I occasionally got a whiff on a staircase, but never in the theatre or while eating and I had breakfast in The Great Outdoors most days.

[puli]

I have no direct information regarding problems on the Sun, nor can I explain the problem from the anecdotal comments here, but all I can say is that the "sanitation officer" knew nothing of what he was talking about, and as for the "explanation", I can only say "***?".

 

Could you please explain what the "naturally occurring microscopic disintergration of an aging ventilation system" means? 'Cause I've got no clue what you are talking about. What is disintegrating in the ventilation system that causes a sewage odor?

 

Similarly, what do you mean by " ignore the regulations to burn refuse rather than dump it in our oceans." I worked many years on the Sky, the Sun's sister ship. If the Sun has the same equipment installed as the Sky to burn the solid waste that comes from the waste water treatment plant, this could be the source of a persistent sewer smell from aft, particularly late at night and early morning. We installed this on the Sky years ago, and tried to get it working, but there were too many technical difficulties (smell, dust, the incinerator not being air tight) to make it feasible. However, there is no international regulation regarding the pumping into the ocean of this solid waste from the waste water treatment plant, which is what we continued to do. This solid waste is 98% toilet paper fibers, since the waste water treatment plant processes water too quickly to digest the paper fibers like a septic tank ashore does. By international definition, this is "treated" waste, and is safe to pump into the ocean. Even Alaska, with some of the most stringent water quality standards in the world, allow the cruise ships to run their waste water plants at the dock and discharge the waste water, since it is tested by the state frequently and found to be nearly pure fresh water. The solids are stored and pumped at night.

 

Reports of sewer odors are not restricted to older ships, even brand new ones will have them occasionally. A transitory smell is generally caused by a floor drain (especially cabin bathroom floor drains) that don't see water flow into them frequently, and the A/C dries out the water in the trap. This is cured by pouring water in the trap, with almost instantaneous results. As I say, this is more for transitory smells, but every ship gets these.

 

sorry i do not know how to quote certain passages.so you will just have to put up with all the verbage and the ****'s...and as I said i am no expert at all . and we did not credential the officer but I know at the time of our first experience with this unfortunate phenomena that we were told that on the ship in question it was possible that the ventilation systems had developed tiny minute tears/holes which can thus allow fumes/odors to escape.

for the first few days of course we poured water down the floor drain every day just in case it was a drain problem despite the fact that the smell was prevalent in the cabin, and not the bathroom.

 

as to how NCL deals with the treatment of waste that is truly your department... I know that over my 50 years of cruising there have been many changes/upgrades in waste management regulations and hopefully this will continue.

 

The odor we experienced was not transitory and did not respond to "flushings", or any other fixes and had occurred prior to our boarding ( acknowledged by our cabin attendant) and I am sure after. We were not the only passengers affected...at least the cruise line seemed to feel it was a real and continuing problem and responded before we and others ever complained.. .Can't find fault there but the experience was very unpleasant at best.

The second cruise experience was not so bad with only a few bad days out of the 12 for us more so for others.

 

Different ship/different line but we feel the reasons given us on the first experience by the "so called" sanitation officer could be applied the same for the second time. so for us that is the way we experienced it and the way we feel and that is why when we read about "sewer odors" being prevalent and for an extended time we do our due diligence and book accordingly....

 

..our past experiences, & reasoned actions may make no sense to you given your vast knowledge of ships etc. but it works for us and that is what counts!

[chengkp75]

we were told that on the ship in question it was possible that the ventilation systems had developed tiny minute tears/holes which can thus allow fumes/odors to escape.

 

Different ship/different line but we feel the reasons given us on the first experience by the "so called" sanitation officer could be applied the same for the second time. so for us that is the way we experienced it and the way we feel and that is why when we read about "sewer odors" being prevalent and for an extended time we do our due diligence and book accordingly....

 

 

The problem with this theory is that it assumes that the entire ventilation system is common, and therefore sewer smells from some sort of equipment or tankage could "escape" into the ducting that forms the A/C system, or from its own ducting into the public spaces. Very, very far from the case, even for "older" ships. All ventilation of mechanical spaces (even those "white areas" on the deck plans on decks of cabins), galleys, and other "work" areas must, by law, be completely separate from the A/C system in passenger cabins, public spaces, and crew quarters. They are not even allowed to run the ducts through passenger areas.

 

It's fine with me however you want to book your cruise, but I can't let nonsense "explanations" go without rebuttal. If I had a nickel for every time I heard a crewmember incorrectly explaining ship's operation to a guest, even when I'm standing a few feet away, I'd rival Trump. 95% of the crew have no idea how the ship works.

[puli]

The problem with this theory is that it assumes that the entire ventilation system is common, and therefore sewer smells from some sort of equipment or tankage could "escape" into the ducting that forms the A/C system, or from its own ducting into the public spaces. Very, very far from the case, even for "older" ships. All ventilation of mechanical spaces (even those "white areas" on the deck plans on decks of cabins), galleys, and other "work" areas must, by law, be completely separate from the A/C system in passenger cabins, public spaces, and crew quarters. They are not even allowed to run the ducts through passenger areas.

 

It's fine with me however you want to book your cruise, but I can't let nonsense "explanations" go without rebuttal. If I had a nickel for every time I heard a crewmember incorrectly explaining ship's operation to a guest, even when I'm standing a few feet away, I'd rival Trump. 95% of the crew have no idea how the ship works.

 

If I ever see our "Officer' again I will pass along your words of wisdom. heaven forbid I should be part of creating another Trump....

 

.Bless your heart for taking the time to try to "educate" me...I fear it is a lost cause! Happy Sailing!