Azura - plumbing issues

[ScotchBoy]

Does anyone have first-hand experience of plumbing issues on board Azura, or any other ship for that matter. Heard some horror stories at the weekend, but mostly anecdotal, so was wondering if it was a regular occurrence.  

[Technoman2]

Been on the ship 3 times and never had any plumbing issues.

[eightofninekev]

 

I was in a solo inside cabin on deck 6 last month and there was a dripping from the celling . The bed was soaked . I went to reception and told them by the evening i had been moved to another cabin . 

[bobstheboy]

The usual cause of plumbing issues is stupid passengers flushing wet wipes and similar down the toilet. Toilet paper only, it's not rocket science.

[carlanthony24]

Not had problems. It is caused by people putting things down the toilet that shouldn’t be. This then blocks the pipes and they need to find where the blockage is. It’s a different system compared to being at home.

[terrierjohn]

It does appear from forum posts over the years that Azura has a regular problem with a sewage smell, somewhere forward port side, and since none of the other ships have regular reported smells, it seems unlikely that it is solely due to passengers disposing of the wrong items. Short term blockage problems do occur on most ships, but do not routinely result in bad smells.

[9265359]

1 hour ago, ScotchBoy said:

Does anyone have first-hand experience of plumbing issues on board Azura, or any other ship for that matter. Heard some horror stories at the weekend, but mostly anecdotal, so was wondering if it was a regular occurrence.  

 

Yes and no.

 

Just before Christmas on our cruise we frequently had issues where the toilet wouldn't flush - not a blockage issue, simply no response from pressing the button.

 

Multiple visits from the engineers didn't seem to have much effect, and the ships's management solution seemed to be "here have a lump of OBC" every time - which was repeated so often that it became difficult to spend.

 

During the waits at the reception desk, there didn't seem to be a shortage of other people with similar issues - although they seemed to being fobbed off without the OBC.

 

Throughout the cruise on the section of indoor corridor from the atrium towards the back of the ship past Sindu there had been buckets to catch water dripping from the ceiling - give them the benefit of the doubt that it was from the aircon.

 

However... on the evening before we disembarked the stench in that area made it clear that it was *not* aircon water. It wasn't a mere whiff of something in the air, it was a full on assault on the nostrils with the smell of - well I will stop there. Quite how people continued with their meals in Sindu... 

 

And then the following day the sea-doors were closed at each end of that section of corridor with the sound of engineers working hard to resolve whatever the issue was.

 

However on our previous cruise on Azura 18 months or so ago, there were no issues at all.

 

So flip a coin, you might be lucky or you might not be.

[mercury7289]

Yes, pre Covid  24 day Canada cruise  Brown water and sludge from basin taps same on Aurora 2023

[zap99]

1 hour ago, terrierjohn said:

It does appear from forum posts over the years that Azura has a regular problem with a sewage smell, somewhere forward port side, and since none of the other ships have regular reported smells, it seems unlikely that it is solely due to passengers disposing of the wrong items. Short term blockage problems do occur on most ships, but do not routinely result in bad smells.

We have been on Azura a couple of times.  The pong is generally in port when they are pumping stuff out. As you say port side forward. It smells a bit like Morrisons, Woking and you all know how pongy  that can be. We have had blocked toilets a couple of times. It wasn't us.

 

Ps. Predictive changed pongy to pony. That's a bit spooky.🤣

[kalos]

2 hours ago, bobstheboy said:

The usual cause of plumbing issues is stupid passengers flushing wet wipes and similar down the toilet. Toilet paper only, it's not rocket science.

 

Last two weeks  the house keeping manager kept asking folk not to put anything down

the loo other than the supplied paper via the PA system and posted same in the Horizon

mag  as it was causing lots of grief for adjoining cabins .

Luckily we had no problems .

[mercury7289]

Any one any idea what they do to purge the system, after a brown water incident running through the basin taps or shower?

Running the water until its clear, seems to be the way they do it, but surly there is contamination within the pipework leading to the taps afterwards. Could this be part of the illness problem on board, sometimes, rather then the air con? which most people quote.

Just asking!

[terrierjohn]

38 minutes ago, mercury7289 said:

Any one any idea what they do to purge the system, after a brown water incident running through the basin taps or shower?

Running the water until its clear, seems to be the way they do it, but surly there is contamination within the pipework leading to the taps afterwards. Could this be part of the illness problem on board, sometimes, rather then the air con? which most people quote.

Just asking!

I hope the brown water is only a result of sediment in the pipes, and not cross contamination with anything more noxious.

[mercury7289]

9 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

I hope the brown water is only a result of sediment in the pipes, and not cross contamination with anything more noxious.

That is part of the point of the question! also sediment in the pipe must surly harbour bacteria, how is it purged?

[pennib]

This brings to the argument that drinking water out of the tap in your cabin bathroom is maybe not to be recommended, especially as now the provision of bottled water in your cabin on arrival from your journey has been withdrawn. This was particularly relevant when we arrived on Britannia in Barbados for our recent Christmas cruise after a very long tiring journey and all we (and many other passengers) wanted was a drink of clean water. We were told then that the provision of bottled water had been stopped as part of the cost cutting exercise currently going on on P&O ships. 

[9265359]

21 minutes ago, pennib said:

This was particularly relevant when we arrived on Britannia in Barbados for our recent Christmas cruise after a very long tiring journey and all we (and many other passengers) wanted was a drink of clean water. We were told then that the provision of bottled water had been stopped as part of the cost cutting exercise currently going on on P&O ships. 

 

Wouldn't you just stop at the nearest bar on the way to the cabin and ask for a couple of glasses of water? That's what I do when coming back on board or coming back from the gym and am hot and thirsty.

[terrierjohn]

1 hour ago, mercury7289 said:

That is part of the point of the question! also sediment in the pipe must surly harbour bacteria, how is it purged?

Why must it surely contain bacteria?  If it was bacteria free when first produced by the ship, or taken on board from a purified local source, then it should remain bacteria free, surely.

[mercury7289]

5 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

Why must it surely contain bacteria?  If it was bacteria free when first produced by the ship, or taken on board from a purified local source, then it should remain bacteria free, surely.

A build up of gunk on the pipes  loosened into the system and up into my basin, surly is not the same as that straight from the purified source. It's harboured growth?  i.e.; the gunk on the pipe has grown from what into what? I would have thought that  it must be a bacterial situation good or bad, but hey not got a clue which is why I am asking

[Grandad John]

4 hours ago, zap99 said:

We have been on Azura a couple of times.  The pong is generally in port when they are pumping stuff out. As you say port side forward. It smells a bit like Morrisons, Woking and you all know how pongy  that can be. We have had blocked toilets a couple of times. It wasn't us.

 

Ps. Predictive changed pongy to pony. That's a bit spooky.🤣

Wot, pony but no trap?

[pennib]

9265359 . I am sorry but you just don’t get it. You are expecting passengers who have just endured a very very long and tiring day travelling to go and find a bar for a glass of water when there should be some in your cabin to welcome and refresh you.

[Francisdrake]

8 hours ago, ScotchBoy said:

Does anyone have first-hand experience of plumbing issues on board Azura, or any other ship for that matter. Heard some horror stories at the weekend, but mostly anecdotal, so was wondering if it was a regular occurrence.  

 

Been on Azura maybe half a dozen times now and had issues with the plumbing on one cruise.   Balcony cabin & the toilet regularly wouldn't flush,   reported it and they'd get it sorted fairly quickly (they didn't need to go into the room to sort it) but i'd come back a few hours later & it'd be the same issue.   About halfway through the cruise though they must have done something different as they sorted it & I didn't have the issue for the rest of the holiday.

Edited February 5 by Francisdrake

[waddle]

Just off the Azura in Tenerife last weekend and there were numerous problems with toilets and sinks

 

Majority of public toilets had at least one ‘Out of service’ sign in either urinal or sink all week

 

We had an overflowing toilet on deck 8, briefly flooded the bathroom. Sorted by maintenance but throughout the week they were drying out the carpets outside various cabins and notices placed advising to only flush paper

 

Deck 7 around Manhattan/Sindhu had a nasty ‘drains’ smell towards the end of the week. 
 

On the flight home, heard anecdotal stories of some passengers having flooding problems and unusable toilets

 

 

[zap99]

12 hours ago, terrierjohn said:

Why must it surely contain bacteria?  If it was bacteria free when first produced by the ship, or taken on board from a purified local source, then it should remain bacteria free, surely.

Many years ago we asked for bottles of water in a local shop. The Lady explained " you don't wanna waste no money. Water from the tap in Barbados is the purest on the planet. Only Europeans fall for that.....water in bottles...whatever next. HUMPH!!!. Fill up your water bottles shoreside in Barbados. When onboard we just ask for a pint glass full of ice.

[ScotchBoy]

12 hours ago, Francisdrake said:

 

Been on Azura maybe half a dozen times now and had issues with the plumbing on one cruise.   Balcony cabin & the toilet regularly wouldn't flush,   reported it and they'd get it sorted fairly quickly (they didn't need to go into the room to sort it) but i'd come back a few hours later & it'd be the same issue.   About halfway through the cruise though they must have done something different as they sorted it & I didn't have the issue for the rest of the holiday.

We were on Azura last week and we had to call the engineer out on 4 separate occasions to fix this exact same problem. The flush button would not work. We woke on debark day at 6:30am to find a recurrence of the problem. Called reception and an engineer arrived at 7:45am. Not a great start to the day, as we had to keep running back and forth to the nearest toilets whilst getting ready to leave the ship. 

 

Just before 8am, we left the cabin and asked the steward had they discovered what the problem was. "Yes, madam", she replied, "It is you. You are putting wet wipes in the toilet". I was flabbergasted, and rebuked her accusation, but she was insistent. "Yes, madam, it is your fault".  (At this point, I could describe my toilet procedure, but it's too close to breakfast!).

 

We are fastidious about toilet systems, and NEVER put anything down the toilet other than toilet paper at home even, not even tissue paper from a box (which some passengers seem to think is okay. No, it is not.)

 

Anyhow, she insisted it was me (specifically me) and said that she would get the engineer to 'prove' it to me. Over 20 cruises, 10 on Azura and never experienced a plumbing problem. This is why I asked the question: If my actions were fastidious, then, how did we have a problem? The cabin steward was insistent. I am aggrieved. No OBC offered for our inconvenience (!) either 😡

[9265359]

13 hours ago, pennib said:

9265359 . I am sorry but you just don’t get it. You are expecting passengers who have just endured a very very long and tiring day travelling to go and find a bar for a glass of water when there should be some in your cabin to welcome and refresh you.

 

"Go and find" - It isn't as if there is a shortage of them on board and likely you will have passed several on the way to the cabin!

[jeanlyon]

I sailed on Azura 2 months after she launched and toilets had problems then.  Wet floors, etc.