Celebrity Silhouette Celebrity Suite 1233 - Beware of Sewer Gas

[DCtraveling]

I have been on cruises with Celebriy in the past. I found the ships, staff and service to be outstanding. Once I find a product that I am happy with I loyal to the brand.

 

Because of this we booked our cruise through the Baltics and Russia on the Celebrity Silhouette. Our room was a Celebrity Suite (suite 1233) which cost us almost $1,000 per night. The room showed some signs of wear and could use some TLC. The staff was outstanding, polite and professional. The ports of call were awesome, although we anchored at sea and only got one day in St. Petersburg, as opposed to two as listed on the itinerary.

 

Soon after we started our cruise we noticed odors coming from our bathroom and permeating throughout our suite. We reported this to the staff and immediately maintenance showed up to our cabin. The smell was a result of sewer gas emanating from the bath tub drain. The initial maintenance action was to run the tub faucet to flush the gas. Although the smell went away it soon reappeared. Next they brought reed diffusers into the cabin to mask the smell, but the gas reappeared. After this they dumped large quantities of a white liquid down the drain but soon the gas was back again. After once incident we left the room and when we returned we were overwhelmed with the smell of chlorine after we opened the door. My wife has Graves' disease. She felt sickly during the cruise. The problem was relentless. They worked on the plumbing lines, installed a vacuum breaker but they never could get rid of the odor. We inquired about another cabin but were told they were full. Finally we asked maintenance to leave us alone.

 

We just kept the tub stopper closed and filled the tub with water. Once my wife took a shower and soon we had loud sounds of sewer gas (and odors) gurgling from the tub. I took a video of the loud gurgling which I showed the Silhouette Guest Relations Manager and later forwarded to Celebrity.

 

Although I requested nothing I received a future credit of $1,000 per person to be used on the purchase of a future cruise, within a year, special offers and holiday sailing dates excluded. YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME. CELEBRITY RUINED OUR VACATION AND THEIR SOLUTION IS TO SELL ME ANOTHER CRUISE!!!!! I informed The Guest Relations Manager that I felt this was woefully inadequate. He promised that he or someone else from Celebrity would get back to me. Did he? NO. I called Celebrity again and was reassured that they would get back to me. Did they? NO.

 

Finally I called the Celebrity Conceierge and was referred to Tiffany. I requested a refund of cruise. She said Celebrity does not issue refunds but rather credit vouchers. After a few days she said Celebrity would give us a credit voucher for $1,600 per person but no refund. I informed her that I did not feel this was commensurate for what we had been put through.

 

Eventually Celebrity did issue us a refund of less than 1/2 of our cruise fees or approximately 1/3 of our total fees including airfare. I appealed to the Celebrity CEO but only got what I would call the "yes sir, yes sir, three bags full" response.

 

I WRITE THIS BECAUSE THE BUYER SHOULD BE AWARE. I FEEL THAT CELEBRITY IS LESS CONCERNED ABOUT THE CUSTOMER THAN THEIR BOTTOM LINE. For $1,000 a night you can expect to get a suite and all meals at a Four Seasons or Ritz Carlton and still have money left over. If there is a problem you can rest assured they will resolve the problem. If they don't, check out and go to their competitor. You don't have this option once you are on the open seas on a cruise ship.

 

THE TRUE MARK OF A QUALITY ORGANIZATION IS HOW THEY RESOLVE PROBLEMS AND ADVERSITY. CELEBRITY CRUISES has failed to pass the muster on this test. Because of this I will not cruise on another ship owned by RCCL (Royal Carribean Cruise Line). I just don't think they care about anything except for making a profit.

 

Don't let the cruise of your dreams turn into a nightmare.

[thebutlerdidit]

Id be more than satisfied with the efforts they made to rectify the situation and the compensation you were given. How could you ever expect a fully refunded cruise? I assume you didn't live in the bathroom for a week. You did get out to enjoy everything the ship has to offer, including meals in Luminae, drinks and socializing in Michael's Club etc. Didn't you?

[richsea]

Sorry for your troubles. Does not sound like fun. However, IMO, Celebrity was proactive in trying to solve the problem, & made a more than generous offer as compensation. I think you are over reacting.

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

These things happen. We had a sewer gas problem in a royal suite on Infinity. After a couple of days, they got the problem under control. We did not ask for our cruise fare to be refunded and were not offered monetary compensation. And I'm still happily sailing on Celebrity.

[DCtraveling]

Id be more than satisfied with the efforts they made to rectify the situation and the compensation you were given. How could you ever expect a fully refunded cruise? I assume you didn't live in the bathroom for a week. You did get out to enjoy everything the ship has to offer, including meals in Luminae, drinks and socializing in Michael's Club etc. Didn't you?

No amount of money can compensate for the fact that my wife has Graves Disease and was sick for almost a month.

 

Perhaps you should contact Celebrity. Maybe you could get some money off of a suite in exchange for living with sewer gas in your room for 12 days.

Edited August 29, 2016 by DCtraveling

[Karynanne]

We had a bathroom flood this past April. It was repaired immediately. We never expected any compensation. I feel Celebrity was extremely fair with your situation.

 

 

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[2calgarycruisers]

this is the first time I have chimed in on any post like this - does anyone here really believe that $1000 towards a future cruise (with exclusions) is fair compensation? That is what X believed was fair, until OP kept pushing and pushing, spending time and emotional drain until they bucked up to half of what OP felt was fair (but what some posters felt was 100% fair). Does Celebrity start out with a "low bid" when offering compensation knowing what it will go up to? Is that fair? OP stated his wife was ill - did X hope they wouldn't have the emotional fortitude to go as far as they did in their fight for fair compensation just hope they would go away? "did they spend a week in the bathroom and not enjoy laminae, Michael's Club etc" - or course they did go out but was not a chunk of their time wondering what was happening in their cabin and dreading going back?

 

Flame away, I have no skin in the game here, I'm sailing first time on Celebrity. I just hate it when companies who fail to live up to promises (I know they tried their best to fix it but bottom line is they were unable therefore they did not provide a sewer gas free cabin (which is implied when we book) trying to give skimpy compensation in return. I hate it especially when they do it to the elderly, handicapped and ill who are less likely to fight the fight to get what they deserve.

[grandgeezer]

Id be more than satisfied with the efforts they made to rectify the situation and the compensation you were given. How could you ever expect a fully refunded cruise? I assume you didn't live in the bathroom for a week. You did get out to enjoy everything the ship has to offer, including meals in Luminae, drinks and socializing in Michael's Club etc. Didn't you?

 

Unless you've experienced the sewer gas problem, you have no idea the hardships and inconveniences in caused. The odor isn't confined just to the bathroom, it's present in the whole cabin. His wife had an illness, so I would guess they wanted to spend more time in their cabin, especially since they had a suite. I'm surprised Celebrity didn't call it "aroma therapy" and charge them extra.

If a person wants to spend 24 hours a day in their cabin they should be able to, that's what they paid for.

[Turtles06]

OP: I am very sorry this happened to you, and I'm sorry about what it took for you to receive compensation for what clearly was a very bad experience.

 

I do love the Silhouette, but haven't been on her in a couple of years and was wondering about your comment that the suite could use some TLC. Could you please elaborate on that?

 

Thanks!

[DCtraveling]

Unless you've experienced the sewer gas problem, you have no idea the hardships and inconveniences in caused. The odor isn't confined just to the bathroom, it's present in the whole cabin. His wife had an illness, so I would guess they wanted to spend more time in their cabin, especially since they had a suite. I'm surprised Celebrity didn't call it "aroma therapy" and charge them extra.

If a person wants to spend 24 hours a day in their cabin they should be able to, that's what they paid for.

I appreciate the posts by grandgeezer & 2calgarycruisers. This was not a minor inconvenience or a trivial event. For a good part of the trip the smell was throughout out cabin. You just don't expect this from a reputable hospitality company.

 

This was much more significant. For at least half of the cruise we weren't able to enjoy the ports. When we left the ship we had to return after a few hours because my wife was not feeling good. Our vacation was wrecked. How do you put a value on a product that was not up to standard. This should not happen to anyone on any cruise line.

 

The fact that maintenance acknowledged that the sewer gas was related to the design of the ship is even more infuriating. If Celebrity is aware of the issue they should resolve it before they book the room again.

 

It is obvious to me that Celebrity was not interested in doing what is right. They negotiated vigorously for every penny. Finally I told them the resolution was up to them and I Has no interest in continuing to negotiate any further. I guess they saw this as a weakness because they held firm from that point on. My main purpose in posting is to bring the policies of Celebrity to the attention of the public so that this will not happen to others in the future.

[DCtraveling]

OP: I am very sorry this happened to you, and I'm sorry about what it took for you to receive compensation for what clearly was a very bad experience.

 

I do love the Silhouette, but haven't been on her in a couple of years and was wondering about your comment that the suite could use some TLC. Could you please elaborate on that?

 

Thanks!

Turtles06 - let me start by saying that I have been a fan of Celebrity for a long time. I was on the Equinox last year for 14 nights and it was perfect (spectacular). The ship was in tip top shape but apparently had just come out of dry dock.

 

The crew on both ships were top notch. They really do try to please you. I did notice some disturbing trends this year as amenities did appear to have diminished especially with the selection and quality of the food.

 

As far as the ship is concerned our suite was tired. There were small things such as the furniture and carpet were worn. The ceiling had cracks in multiple locations and the patch was obvious and the paint color didn't match. We had an Internet package but couldn't get internet in our room. We were told by management that we were the only one having issues. I spoke with multiple ship mates that said they were having the same issue. Indeed you could see people standing in the hallway with their iPads and iPhones trying to pick up an Internet connection. Only after I confronted Celebrity management with the facts did they resolve the issue. This was four or five days into the cruise. If I had not persevered the issue would not have been resolved.

 

I hope I have answered your question. If you want further info please let me know.

[jasm8449]

I've been a loyal Celebrity cruiser for 20 years. Whether it was an inside cabin or a suite, under these circumstances, they should have been offered a free cruise for the same length in the same category. This couple spent 12 days and nights in a suite that smelled like SH_T. How could they possible 'enjoy' whatever else the ship had to offer?? There is a big difference between posters who said their problem was fixed in a day or two, and something like this which was never resolved for their entire trip. I know there are folks who expect compensation for every inconvenience, but this is not that.

 

I'm with you OP, this was handled horribly by Celebrity. You deserved better. Much better.

[hcat]

Googled sewer gas..,,surprised to learn it has been an issue on a number of ships. Sometimes handled quite poorly. In some cases pax left the ship early rather than endure the smell and its effects...

 

Although internet opinions are not authoritative, several of the entries agree that the gas can cause headaches and other unpleasant symptoms........is unhealthy to breathe,..esp in a confined area,,,,Sounds like this was a reportable health condition to the entity that scores ships sanitation and safety,

 

The cruise line should have doubled up some staff and at least provided a breathable place for these folks to sleep, esp with the wife's pre existing condition...

 

We are booked on Silho in 2018 and will watch for any reports of recurrences,,,

Edited August 30, 2016 by hcat

[WpgCruise]

In any customer interaction there is "The Moment of Truth" which in this context means how the customer is made whole or satisfied when there is a "fail" by the supplier.

 

Clearly in this case Celebrity failed, miserably, and without remorse has told the customer to "take it, or leave it".

 

While this response might be good enough for some, I think Celebrity has done this customer wrong, and his sharing of the circumstances is a cautionary tale for the rest of us.

 

When things go well, all is good with Celebrity. When there is a problem, that's when the true character of an organization, specifically it's Leadership and Management is put to the test.

 

Celebrity is a mass market cruise line. All they need do to succeed is to appeal to enough of the masses to fill their ships and do so at the price determined by RCL to meet the Return on Equity which has been invested into Celebrity.

 

As long as there are enough Heads in Beds to meet the financial criteria Celebrity could not care less if their customers are returning or not.

Edited August 30, 2016 by WpgCruise