Smuts

[Kohima]

We are just back from  the North Cape cruise on SoA. Yes, there is still evidence of old smut stains on some of the outside upholstery and occasionally on the decks. A small amount of more recent smuts were still on a few of the outer handrails.
However the good news is that the situation is now on the way to be resolved. On embarkation day in Dover a large crane was lifting a heavy steel object up to the funnel and 2 workmen (not crew) were seen working on top of and inside the funnel during the voyage. The silencers are being replaced but it is a slow process as heavy objects can only be craned up to the funnel at Dover within a small window of wind tolerance so this work is ongoing as conditions allow. At least the workmen standing on top of the funnel were able to take great photos of the Svartisen Glacier when we were there!

 

[SaraSailing]

That's really interesting. I'm not long off SoD, and the funnel silencers were clearly not doing their job. The soot was a bit better than SoA in March, but at least in part because the cleaning and cushion cover changing has been increased. Hopefully they are on a better trajectory now, and these issues will get resolved.