Dream Sewage Smell

[waldocruiser1]

We always catch whiffs of sewer on a cruise. Think that's normal considering how much they are hauling around. If it's constant in a public or room area then yes I would consider a reason not to book. I would not enjoy using the serenity, slides, cabin etc if it smelled like crap the whole time.

 

A lot comes down to how sensitive of a nose you have too. Some may think aww it's not that bad, others may think OMG I'm gonna hurl. Any constant bad smell is something they need to fix.

 

 

These will be issued to all passengers that need them, they are $1.99 from local swim shops, but on the cruise they will be only $9.99 plus gratuities.

[RossTheBoss]

In another thread Cruise Critic member Tenga1899 gave a very detailed explanation of the cruise industries sewage smell issue and what causes it. We can probably guess that Tenga is an engineer and that 1899 is probably his IQ :D. Here's the information he shared: [i thought it might be helpful to anyone reading this thread].

 

The sewage smell is one of the most overrated complaints on a cruise ship. A floating city of up to 4,500 pax and crew with a contained sewage system because they cannot dump straight into the ocean means it all stays on-board. The plumbing works much like your plumbing at home, except your home doesn't rise and fall and roll with the waves 24 hours a day. That motion occasionally causes air pockets to form in the pipes and those pockets can block flow and cause a backup or the "bubbles" could pop and release the gas where it can escape into public spaces. It will be a transient event that will dissipate as the air moves around. Sewage smells would be much more common in our everyday lives if we didn't live on stable ground (except you Californians out there perhaps... ;) ). Just as well, it is NOT a common occurrence, has nothing to do with the age of a ship or the weather it sails through, and does not indicate any problems with the ship or the cruise line. Sewage smells occur across the board, all lines, all ships, random times as that is just how it works. Don't let something so trivial ruin your fun... :)

 

Regards, Ross

[Carnival Platinum Cruiser]

For heavens sakes it is a brand new ship it should not have foul odors at all. Especially now that it has been sailing for a few months one would think CCL would fix the problem.

 

I don't care about this ship anyway I will stick to the Spirit class vessels, way less mobbed with people.

[themob]

almost 6000 crew passengers, average 2 poops a day with average 3 u know what =36000x 7 days = 252000 no wonder it smells

[MrPete]

average 2 poops a day

 

2?? :eek:

[okwriter]

WOW! I am above average!

Mama always said I was "special..." :D

[themob]

WOW! I am above average!

Mama always said I was "special..." :D

 

too funny Okwriter

[RossTheBoss]

WOW! I am above average!

Mama always said I was "special..." :D

 

:eek: More info than we needed to know!!

[cmhatter]

Is the chance to get a whiff of a sewer smell a reason to not book? It does not sound like it is a big deal, from the descriptions here.

 

simply put... yes...

 

if i am one of the people who "can't stand to stand outside of their own room and talk"...

 

I will be extremely disappointed to say the least. I have been on 5 RCCL cruises and have NEVER smelled anything out of the ordinary.

 

I want to go on Carnival and have a good experience. This way I will be able to alternate cruise lines and not get burnt out on one ship.

[waldocruiser1]

simply put... yes...

 

if i am one of the people who "can't stand to stand outside of their own room and talk"...

 

I will be extremely disappointed to say the least. I have been on 5 RCCL cruises and have NEVER smelled anything out of the ordinary.

 

I want to go on Carnival and have a good experience. This way I will be able to alternate cruise lines and not get burnt out on one ship.

 

So are the cabins in the general area of the smell, lets call them the "Poop Deck" a special catagory? and if you had a nasal condition that prevented you from smelling things, can you book that area for a cheaper rate?

 

They could give these cabins a special code, 4p, 5p, 6p ect.

 

I smell a deal coming.

[C Cruise Dude]

We were on FEB 20. Really only smelled in in a few places. WE were on the 7th floor. Across from the laundry room was awful. That was the worst place. We had suites. Never smelled it in there . We were down the hall from the laundry room. Near us was okay. I have never smelled it in any of our cruises from them. That made 9 for us.

 

 

What were the cabin numbers near the laundry? Thanks.:confused:

[DGP1111]

Some folks reported smelling something on deck 2 on that cruise, but a friend that walked deck 2 several times a day every day...did not smell anything on that cruise.

 

However this same friend just cruised on the Dream again and did notice it from time to time...I believe it was also on deck 2.

 

As usual (:)), Linda is being very professional and discrete in her response post, but I'll just come busting in a say I am the person she is refering to. I spent 9 days on this ship without any odd smell noticed whatsoever. I'd read about it here on CC, and I utilized that Main Deck hallway a lot, but still nothing.

 

Two months later I was in the exact same cabin (2216) and planned to do much of the identical pattern of getting around the ship during those 7 days. After one bad encounter, and then one really bad encounter, I decided to adjust my paths while onboard. Since there was zero issue near my own cabin, and I made a few small changes for those following days, no part of my vacation was negatively affected for any real length of time because of odors.

 

Is the chance to get a whiff of a sewer smell a reason to not book? It does not sound like it is a big deal, from the descriptions here.

 

Despite one non-issue sailing, and a second trip where there was some definite presence . . . I'm still booked on the same ship and same deck (oposite side) for a third sailing later this year. Smells are not my real 'beef' with Carnival Dream, and would not cause me to cancel.

 

So I will ask, have any of the "gime gime" people asked at the pursers desk about the smell, if it is as bad as people say is Carnival actually doing anything about it? Fixing it, compensating for it, like the group that was at the smell area a few posts back that could not stand in the hall and talk it was so bad.

 

I, for one, never said a single word to any crew member onboard. Saw no need to do so, since I found my own personal solution. ;)

 

.

Now . . . that being said, I'm currently continuing my crusade (behind the scenes) with Carnival to get one thing immediately taken care of on Carnival Dream that is a MUCH greater threat to passengers than some occasional strong smells. They scoffed at my initial effort, so now they're having to answer to a 'much wider tie' beyond CCL.

[Dave85]

For heavens sakes it is a brand new ship it should not have foul odors at all. Especially now that it has been sailing for a few months one would think CCL would fix the problem.

 

I don't care about this ship anyway I will stick to the Spirit class vessels, way less mobbed with people.

 

I wish there was a way they could just build a larger version of the Spirit Class ships with the same space/pax ratio and excellent passenger flow... Wishful thinking, huh?

 

(So as not to hijack the thread) I have smelled the sewer smell on all sorts of different ships in the past but I actually didn't smell it at all on the Pride last summer.

[jessemon]

I have sailed on ships big and small on different lines including the Dream for nine nights in Dec. I have to say I caught a slight wiff once or twice on the Dream......

On to the other ships I have sailed on some more than once and others with Carnival. I have caught a wiff on most ships and sometimes more than a wiff on some ships I have sailed on. This is not uncommon. It just seems to be part of cruising.

By the way...I have two more cruises booked right now so, I guess it really doesn't bother me that much.....

[bakechef]

I have sailed on ships big and small on different lines including the Dream for nine nights in Dec. I have to say I caught a slight wiff once or twice on the Dream......

On to the other ships I have sailed on some more than once and others with Carnival. I have caught a wiff on most ships and sometimes more than a wiff on some ships I have sailed on. This is not uncommon. It just seems to be part of cruising.

By the way...I have two more cruises booked right now so, I guess it really doesn't bother me that much.....

 

I too have caught a whiff on just about every ship that I have sailed on, this isn't unique to the dream. I will say I never experienced it anywhere in the interior of this ship.

 

The worst and I say worst, was on the first crown princess. It smelled like a sewer pipe burst near the dining room, it was so bad that people were literally gagging coming out of the dining room. It only happened once thankfully.

[ERLEC]

:) It won't stop me from cruising on the Dream! As other said, there's always smells everywhere on ships, sometime pleasant, sometime not.... Like anything on the ground!

[southbayer]

Is this smell issue something new, like within the past 4 months or so... It seems now many here have noticed it, but I've been on this board for 5 years now and I don't remember seeing any posts before about it.

It seems like everyone is smelling something left and right now. I say again, I have never smelled anything foul like that in 11 cruises now.:confused:

[riegem]

"It" has to go somewhere, and years ago it would simply be dumped over board. More recently "it" is usually purified by on board advanced wastewater treatment systems, and then released.

 

Potentially odorous air is displaced from storage tanks of these systems as they are filled with the wastewater (i.e. septage, dish water, shower waste) and potentially during the treating of the wastewater (e.g. aeration). Hopefully that air is released in a manner that results in a lot of dispersion, or is successfully filtered, before affecting the ship's passengers. Typical carbon filters used for this have a limited life and must be continuously replaced. The life of a filter depends on many, many factors and they could "expire" earlier than expected. My point is... if you smell something, then say something to someone. The ship may not know that an odor problem has "evolved" unless it is reported.