Soot in the Aft SV (Sunset Verandah) Cabins on Solstice?

We are planning to book on Solstice in November and wanted to book one of the deck 6, 7 or 8 AFT cabins - however we have read quite a few comments suggesting soot from the funnel was a significant problem.

Is this still a problem or have Celebrity made changes to alleviate the problem?

We have also read that the lack of overhead cover (apart from about an 18 inch ledge) means that the cabins/balconies can become very hot or wet (we will be sailing across the Equator).

Are these potential drawbacks enough to discourage people from booking these cabins (despite the attraction of seeing the wake and horizon)?

Alternatively, are some of the these cabins definitely to be avoided whilst others seem to avoid the problem of the soot? And, if so, which are recommended?

Any comments/views would be appreciated.

Regards, Don

They haven't made any design changes so soot can still be an issue. There aren't any good or bad cabins as far as this is concerned because it is dependent on wind direction as to where the smoke from the stack drifts. There are however some balconies that are wider than others:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1627021

For me personally the lack of cover and soot I experienced was enough for me to not book these cabins in future. I notice that the SVs don't sell that fast and I'm sure it's because of these issues. They'd turn this around if they put a bit more cover over the balconies. Shame because the aft view is wonderful.

Phil

We were in 1676 ( deck 11) in May on the Solstice. The soot was an issue on some days and I noticed black spots on my light blue pants. After that I covered the chair with a pool towel each time I sat . The sun was strong on a few days but we enjoyed it as it was spring and the temp. was not high. I would not want it in a hot climate!

Celebrity cruises themselves say on their website that the SV cabins are very much in demand - and are some of their best selling cabins. The views are also some of the best anywhere on the ship.

I've read a lot of reviews on these cabins and the general concensus seems to be that they are some of the best on the ship. Looking at the colour coding on the website also suggests that they are up there in the highest ratings. The soot seems to be an issue with some people, but not with others. I get the impression from most posters that there is the occassional odd spot of soot, but the stewards clean the balconies twice a day anyway

I sail in one of these cabins on Tuesday, so I'll let you know. :)

Celebrity cruises themselves say on their website that the SV cabins are very much in demand - and are some of their best selling cabins. The views are also some of the best anywhere on the ship.

 

I've read a lot of reviews on these cabins and the general concensus seems to be that they are some of the best on the ship. Looking at the colour coding on the website also suggests that they are up there in the highest ratings. The soot seems to be an issue with some people, but not with others. I get the impression from most posters that there is the occassional odd spot of soot, but the stewards clean the balconies twice a day anyway

 

I sail in one of these cabins on Tuesday, so I'll let you know. :)

We loved the sun, We loved our larger balcony. We love the view and watching the wake from the ship!!! but... it was not an occasional odd spot of soot! My clothes had multiple black spots, on the back of my tops and the seat and legs of pants! The floors are very spotted. Don't lean on your railings without wiping them first or your arms will be covered! Maybe ours was worse as we were on 11. The other issue with being on 11 aft ( and it was aqua class) was that folks on the buffet deck who stood and looked over the railing were just over our heads.. too close. We got hit by a finger nail clipping and a Tictac.

The balconies are not cleaned every day. You will get a notice on a port day that your balcony will be cleaned. It was done twice on our 14 night and only once on our 12 night. Our 12 night was the aft and our room attendant was lazy!!

Get a couple of pool towels to cover your chair and bring them in each time and make sure you know which side you had facing up.

I would book an aft again if the sailing was not in a hot climate

Celebrity cruises themselves say on their website that the SV cabins are very much in demand - and are some of their best selling cabins. The views are also some of the best anywhere on the ship.

 

I've read a lot of reviews on these cabins and the general concensus seems to be that they are some of the best on the ship. Looking at the colour coding on the website also suggests that they are up there in the highest ratings. The soot seems to be an issue with some people, but not with others. I get the impression from most posters that there is the occassional odd spot of soot, but the stewards clean the balconies twice a day anyway

 

I sail in one of these cabins on Tuesday, so I'll let you know. :)

I'd take issue with the facts that you quote. A look at many sailing will show the SVs aren't popular although the Celebrity website would of course say they are. There are usually quite a few to choose from. The balconies most definitely aren't cleaned by the stewards twice a day. Mine was hosed down with their morning round, but that was it. I used the face cloth in the bathroom to clean the railing off first thing when I woke up so I didn't get covered in soot when I looked out at the great view. The soot if it is blowing your way will build up during the day and if you are sitting out there will land on you.

You are staying in one soon and I am not trying to wee in your porridge, just provide the information I have from experience.

Phil

we were blasted by heavy soot on Silho recently...

everyone out at the aft bar on the non-smoking side was enjoying the reggae band, when a huge soot discharge covered us & the entire deck/furniture with no warning.. some had it in their eyes, we had it in our hair, nostrils & it was ALL over our clothing head to toe....including socks...

officers were summoned immediately to investigate & sort things out--they refilled out drinks for free, did our laundry for free etc...at the time we worried about our clothing (brand new white capris!) but then worried about breathing that stuff in (it is filled with oil)

from now on we will sit in the middle out back there to block any sudden discharges...and will avoid any statrooms that could be impacted by soot

Celebrity cruises themselves say on their website that the SV cabins are very much in demand - and are some of their best selling cabins. The views are also some of the best anywhere on the ship.

 

I've read a lot of reviews on these cabins and the general concensus seems to be that they are some of the best on the ship. Looking at the colour coding on the website also suggests that they are up there in the highest ratings. The soot seems to be an issue with some people, but not with others. I get the impression from most posters that there is the occassional odd spot of soot, but the stewards clean the balconies twice a day anyway

 

I sail in one of these cabins on Tuesday, so I'll let you know. :)

Hopefully you enjoy the SV but I would not say they are in high demand on Solstice Class ships and they are certainly not the highest rated or best staterooms. Soot issues, far walk to closest stairs, balcony no deeper than balconies on the side and no cover from the elements. Also if one is prone to motion sickness there is more motion aft than midship. On S-Class the best/most popular non-suite staterooms are those on the slanted portion of the humps. The soot is definitely often an issue with the aft facing staterooms and not just an "occasional odd spot."

This is a photo from when I sailed on an aft stateroom on Equinox and this was pretty much typical; some days a little better, some days a little worse.

We cruise in less than 3 months and there's 10 SVs open. We certainly didn't want one after some of the reports here and we love aft cabins

OK, I got a battering there and fully accept what you all have to say. However, there are plenty of reviews around the internet from people who have had SV cabins and who had no soot problems and loved the cabins. We're on deck 7, so I'm hoping that the deck is low enough to avoid any problems.

I'll let you all know in 3 weeks time.

We got back from Solstice cruise in Mediterranean in May and had Sunset Veranda. We loved the views but we certainly had some soot issues. As mentioned there is very little cover from the elements as well as little privacy as to any conversations as we could hear everything spoken above or below us. We have concluded that we would not book a SV cabin on Celebrity in the future given the pros and cons.

My wife and I booked the transatlantic on the Equinox recently to Rome we had a SV on the 9th deck. Travelling east across the Atlantic provided us with marvelous views, but the lack of shade was something we missed. Someone below made a makeshift curtain by draping string across the balcony, then using towels to provide shading!!!! Ugly sight from where we were.

The soot issue didn't seem too bad, but I doubt we would book one of those cabins again, especially in a hot climate.

Hello Shieldsboy,

We have had 8353 on Solstice,Med on Equinox 9307 Caribbean and have had miminal issues with soot,

so much so we are aft again on Silhouette July,but as a precaution we always but the beach towels on the outside

chairs just in case, may be we have just struck it lucky, we don't mind the long walk to the lifts, helps burn off the calories from those lovely

cookies we have with afternoon tea :) but the view from the aft

is great , just had a Cruise on Azura and had a 'side' balcony I know

the layout is slightly different but we did miss the Aft.

There is a slight overhang on the Aft on S class, so you can only be seen

by others if at the hand rail, from above.

Mrs Blue Sky

A technical footnote to these discussions, the first three Solstice ships (Solstice, Equinox, Eclipse) have propulsion provided by Wartsila engines whereas the last two in the series (Silhouette, Reflection) have MAN engines.

A technical footnote to these discussions, the first three Solstice ships (Solstice, Equinox, Eclipse) have propulsion provided by Wartsila engines whereas the last two in the series (Silhouette, Reflection) have MAN engines.

So what does that mean, one engine type have more soot than other?

We also booked these cabins on Solstics because our TA told us that they are desirable location and that there were no soot issues. I've been reading reports from many people here and now really worry. I've cruise before but mostly balcony cabins in the mid-ship so I'm not aware about this stuff. I'm borderline angry at the agent right now unless he can change it. I'm worry that this may cause some issues for my family who suffer from allergy. What to do, what to do? Errr :mad:

I'm not sure if the engine manufacturer has much to do with it, since the engines are the same size and capacity. One factor that would influence soot production is the grade or quality of the fuel oil they are burning at the time-they don't have much choice, it's heavy fuel oil and isn't highly refined. We just sailed on the Silhouette last week in a SV on deck 6 and the soot problem was terrible. Nearly calm winds didn't help and it was worse when it rained. Our steward worked tirelessly to keep the balcony hosed down, but mentioned those cabins do get more soot.

The view is incredible though, I will admit.

So what does that mean, one engine type have more soot than other?

 

We also booked these cabins on Solstics because our TA told us that they are desirable location and that there were no soot issues. I've been reading reports from many people here and now really worry. I've cruise before but mostly balcony cabins in the mid-ship so I'm not aware about this stuff. I'm borderline angry at the agent right now unless he can change it. I'm worry that this may cause some issues for my family who suffer from allergy. What to do, what to do? Errr :mad:

We were on the Solstice in May and the couple who were next to us on aft 11 changed cabins after the first day as he said his wife was having allergy issues due to the exhaust. We fueled up in Barcelona so she might have been smelling that as well . I did smell the exhasut on a couple of calm days in port. You should be fine at sea

Many thanks for all the very informative responses.

We have now decided NOT to book an SV cabin as it appears too risky in terms of our health and also the chances of sunburn!

Safe and happy voyages to you all.

Don

Many thanks for all the very informative responses.

 

We have now decided NOT to book an SV cabin as it appears too risky in terms of our health and also the chances of sunburn!

 

Safe and happy voyages to you all.

 

Don

Shame - we're too late to answer you but wanted to add our bit !

We too had SV 8353 on the Silhouette last August - just little bits of soot but the balcony was hosed down every day so no problem.

We spent most sea days on the balcony as it was quiet, no soot issues, not too much breeze and there was a mix of shade (for hubby) and sun (for me).

It was perfect for us and we have booked the same cabin for the next 2 cruises.

:)

Are the corner aft SS1 balconies affected by soot as well, or just the aft balconies in the center of the ship (IE SS2 and SV)?

Are the corner aft SS1 balconies affected by soot as well, or just the aft balconies in the center of the ship (IE SS2 and SV)?

Yes, the S1's are impacted. While they are very nice suites, the balconies do often experience soot. I sailed in S1 7356 on Equinox and frequently experienced soot on the balcony.

Do you know if the higher decks have the same problem on aft S1? :)