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Brown water on Enchantment


CTCruzin

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brown water for the first few days on our Explorer trip last December. I don't think I would have realised it until I blew up my infant's floatie tub and it filled up brown. I didn't bathe her until the water filled clear a few days later and I brushed my teeth with water I brought down from Promenade Cafe. I did not complain. In retrospect, I should have said something, but didn't.

 

We didn't get sick, but it was pretty gross.

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No, I don't think you are being nitpicky at all. After reading this, I wouldn't book the Enchantment any time soon! I think they through a minimum compensation at you and are hoping you will be satisfied. 10% is a bit low, however to give you a percent off of a NEXT CRUISE is unacceptable. I would certainly want the compensation in form of a refund for the cruise I experienced problems on!!! Then, at a later date, I think it would be a goodwill gesture if they offered you a percent off a future booking if they were hoping for repeat business from you.

 

And to suggest that someone use the public facilities as an alternative to their cabin bathroom (other than for a BRIEF period of time) is ludicrous!

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DW and I cruised on RCCL for the 1st time this last week on Enchantment. Dodged Gustav and avoided Hanna. Unfortunately there was no getting around the brown water coming out of the faucet in our stateroom. It even would staind the ceramic in the sink, so needless to say we didn't want to brush our teeth with it. Complained to guest relations who said there was an ongoing problem on the ship with the water in the cabins. They said we could use the bottled water in the cabin for free during our 5 days (which we did) to brush our teeth. Even sent us a cake, bottle of wine and chocolate covered strawberries to keep us happy until they figured out some form of compensation. As the ship was full, there was no cabin to move us to other that the "emergency" cabin on deck 2 all the way forward, which they showed us and also has brown water. On the last day, the guest relations manager said our concern was given to the "shore-side" folks who decided that 10% off of our next cruise would be just compensation. Now, we dont know if this was given to everyone on the ship, or just those that complained, but we don't think that was a fair deal. After all we still had to shower in that crud. There was a note sent to all passengers that RCCL was trying to fix the problem (others at our dining table had clear water). Also, each day from about 9-11 a.m. there was a complete water "shut-down" of all public water supply on the ship. There excuse was that it being an older ship there are some plumbing issues that should be expected. They will be sending the "credit" letter to our TA.

 

Well,

We were on the same cruise and we complained, but got no appologies or offers of compensation. I guess now I will write to RCCL direct. Will see waht are they going to do about it.

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My point exactly. If it is so insafe, then poeple would be getting sick by the dozens. ya know what, they are not.

 

Thanks for making my case for me.

 

If you don't mind drinking or bathing in brown water, good for you. I think it is unacceptable. The fact that they continue to sell these cabins with the problem is appaling. This is not a campground or some town with 100 year old pipes. I am normally an "RCI cheerleader," but not this time.

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If I were you I would bring a case of water just on the chance that the problem is not fixed and they would charge you for the bottled water...;)

Good luck.

 

Oh yes, I can see the sales brochures and web sites now: Come sail with us - let us pamper you with exotic locations and luxurious ships. And by the way, be sure to bring a case of water with you because you won't want to drink (or brush your teeth with) ours.....:eek: :D :mad:

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Oh yes, I can see the sales brochures and web sites now: Come sail with us - let us pamper you with exotic locations and luxurious ships. And by the way, be sure to bring a case of water with you because you won't want to drink (or brush your teeth with) ours.....:eek: :D :mad:

Ok, I have only had one cup of coffee, not sure if you are being sarcastic with me or not :confused:;)

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Well, for those who think they know all about water treatment and pronounce that it is safe since no one reported that they have got sick, I hope that the brown water doesn't stain your cheerleader uniform...

 

Assuming it is caused by iron corrosion products, some people DO need to be careful about high iron intake. In fact, someone with hemochromatosis needs to be very watchful about this to prevent serious damage to their liver and other vital organs. Yes, it is a longer term effect to be worried about and likely not significantly aggravated during a 7 day cruise, but this illustrates that iron is not as benign as some think. High iron can also promote growth of certain bacteria, so hopefully they're adequately over-chlorinating to prevent this.

 

I would never accept my water utility supplying brown water to my home. High iron content in a public water system would never be allowed.

 

(And no, I did not "stay at a Holiday Inn Express" last night. I am a chemical engineer and do know enough about water treatment to know better).

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Well, for those who think they know all about water treatment and pronounce that it is safe since no one reported that they have got sick, I hope that the brown water doesn't stain your cheerleader uniform...

 

Im a Celebrity person, no cheerleading here.

 

Assuming it is caused by iron corrosion products, some people DO need to be careful about high iron intake. In fact, someone with hemochromatosis needs to be very watchful about this to prevent serious damage to their liver and other vital organs. Yes, it is a longer term effect to be worried about and likely not significantly aggravated during a 7 day cruise, but this illustrates that iron is not as benign as some think. High iron can also promote growth of certain bacteria, so hopefully they're adequately over-chlorinating to prevent this.

 

Its the year 2008, pretty much every substance on earth has someone who is allergic to it now-a-days.

 

I would never accept my water utility supplying brown water to my home. High iron content in a public water system would never be allowed.

 

Don't know how old your home is, nor do i know how old the cities water mains which feed into your home are.

 

My home is pretty old (1910), i also live in the oldest part of the city. Brown water, hey, it happens.

 

As i said, im not saying its cool, everyone should go drink a big 'ol glass of brown water. Im just saying that everyone is making it out to be the the equivalent of the Jonestown Kool Aid, when in fact all it probably is, is a nuisance.

 

 

 

(And no, I did not "stay at a Holiday Inn Express" last night. I am a chemical engineer and do know enough about water treatment to know better).

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I was on Enchantment from Aug 14Th-18Th in a Junior Suite #8556.. It's the first JS Starboard side next to the Royal Family Suite. This was also my 1st with RCI and have been loyal to Carnival up to this point. Upon Embarkation when allowed I went to check out my Junior Suite and My cabin Steward was still in my cabin and I did notice that he had the Bathroom sink and Tub both running ?? I asked him why I heard the water running and he stated that the water was a "Little Brown" and that he was running the "Brown" out of it ? So I took the time at that point to walk into the bathroom and did notice the "Little Brown" water was ALOT BROWN !! :D It did get better to a degree but I did notice that at different times it was more brown then other times. I was led to believe that it was just something that happened THIS CRUISE.. As I read I now see that was not the case. At the time I was more pissed that I had a broken Balcony handle that needed to be replaced that took the whole first night to do. I also had Air Condition that was working so little that you could not feel it until a maintance man was called and had to pry two vents off of the ceiling to expose two Holes that were just barely blowing a little A/C out and he shrugged his shoulders and told me "Well that's as good as it's goin to get" So I had the steward store the covers under the bed and keep the two holes open for the entire cruise. I thought to myself before I got on the ship that no matter what I was going to have a great time on this cruise and I still did !!:D OH, I forgot to mention the highlight of the brown water point here !! I only had brown water in my toliet 3 different times, And all three times were after the toliet WOULD NOT FLUSH for up to 10 minutes each time !! :D I am generally an easy going person and had got home from this cruise and decided not to bother complaining about it as after all was said and done I still did have fun but several of my friends whom have been loyal to RCI for years made me promise to write a letter to RCI highlighting the negatives of this SUITE so I did that just last week. So we will see.. I never mentioned the brown water because remember I THOUGHT it was just THIS cruise and I didn't want to over complain..:eek: :D As I said we will see.. I already have a cruise now booked with NCL so wish me luck.:)

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Wow – I know a lot of you love Royal Caribbean, but seriously? I don’t care if the water is safe or not, brown water is disgusting regardless of if it causes health problems or not and will put bad thoughts in your mind when all you should have to be worried about is where you want to go on your excursion!

Paying as much as people do for a cruise, there really shouldn’t be any of this stuff going on! If this is still an issue when I go on my cruise for my wedding, I will damn well argue for some compensation and extras. I am not paying for a run down experience or a second class experience with rusty water and smelly decks and cabins.

Yes, it is all well and good to roll with the situation once you are involved in it and have no other choice but to try and enjoy your vacation. That it has been an issue for months and months and it isn’t dealt with simply because people ‘roll with it’ and don’t make a big deal is unbelievable. Honestly – they (travel service providers) COUNT on people rolling with these issues and they will make up a new excuse for the next group because the ones who just left will not be back and the new group doesn’t know it until it is too late and the business already has the money.

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DW and I cruised on RCCL for the 1st time this last week on Enchantment. Dodged Gustav and avoided Hanna. Unfortunately there was no getting around the brown water coming out of the faucet in our stateroom. It even would staind the ceramic in the sink, so needless to say we didn't want to brush our teeth with it. Complained to guest relations who said there was an ongoing problem on the ship with the water in the cabins. They said we could use the bottled water in the cabin for free during our 5 days (which we did) to brush our teeth. Even sent us a cake, bottle of wine and chocolate covered strawberries to keep us happy until they figured out some form of compensation. As the ship was full, there was no cabin to move us to other that the "emergency" cabin on deck 2 all the way forward, which they showed us and also has brown water. On the last day, the guest relations manager said our concern was given to the "shore-side" folks who decided that 10% off of our next cruise would be just compensation. Now, we dont know if this was given to everyone on the ship, or just those that complained, but we don't think that was a fair deal. After all we still had to shower in that crud. There was a note sent to all passengers that RCCL was trying to fix the problem (others at our dining table had clear water). Also, each day from about 9-11 a.m. there was a complete water "shut-down" of all public water supply on the ship. There excuse was that it being an older ship there are some plumbing issues that should be expected. They will be sending the "credit" letter to our TA.

 

My question to everyone is that (A) Are we making too big a deal out of this? and (B) If not, should we be getting more compensation from RCCL.

 

Personally we would've preferred some sort of an upgrade on a future cruise or OBC. Heck, we may not even want to sail RCCL ever again.

 

Thanking you in advance for any and all replies. :)

 

I can understand your frustration.. Good hygiene is very important to me and I would not have been happy showering in "brown" water.

 

I think they should offer you more than a 10% discount as they should not even let a ship leave the port with a problem as serious as that.

 

I don't know what compensation I would think was fair, but a 10% discount would not cut it.

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Brown water is disgusting. It seems the problem is more complicated than RCL realized when it first happened. So, the solution would be to put the ship in dry dock as soon as possible. That will mean cancelled cruises. And since they do not know what the problem is, the time to fix said problem is unknown. How many of you want your cruise cancelled? I am sure they would provide some compensation, a different cruise, an OBC. Who will volunteer to have their cruise cancelled?

I know I am glad that I don't have to make that call. I wonder which affects the most people, those suffering through brown water or those whose cruises would be cancelled. It is a lose lose situation for RCL.

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"It is a lose lose situation for RCL."

 

Agreed. But maintaining one's equipment is the price of doing business.

Just my opinion, but I would think that, in the long run, the cost (in terms of lost good will) of a real or perceived water-hygiene issue would be greater than the cost of cancelling/drydocking.

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CDRCRUISIN I agree to an extent. I think RCL needs to do what ever it takes to fix the problem. I am not sure how many people are actually being affected by the brown water problem. IMO I think RCL had decided to inconvenience a few rather than thousands. Any that complaiin will probably receive some compensation. If they can fix the problem without going to dry dock, they probably save a lot of money. In the long run, it may have been a tactical error and they will have to do drydock any way. Only time will tell.

But, I really think they need to fix it soon. Is Enchantment due for drydock soon? So many questions, so few real answers.

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For the life of me, I cannot understand why some people accept substandard amenities so easily. If one is living in the Mississippi Delta with outdoor plumbing, this brown water indoors might seem like a step up. But why pay hard earn money for this?

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