Soot and the aft balconies

[WhiteSoxFan]

Oddly enough we had some soot on our balcony when we were in 7708 on the Freedom. It just seemed unusual as the balcony is pretty much covered by the deck above. On the Mariner we had 1688, the deck 10 corner aft which is completely exposed, and had no issues.

[moknits]

We took the Vision B2B from LA to Vancouver then Vancouver to Alaska and down to Seattle back in April or May 2007.

 

I would say that most days, in ports, we had to wipe down our chairs to sit outside. It wasn't really the kind of whether where you'd want to lay out as if to sunbathe, but just to sit outside you would want to wipe down the chairs.

 

I think it seemed better when we were moving because the soot probably trailed us more. And when we were sitting in port it just settled down?

 

They also cleaned the aft balconies every day or twice a day. In a way, that was a problem too because if the chairs weren't sooty, they were wet.

 

But we did love the aft balcony. For seeing Alaska, there was nothing better.

[FreshOffTheBoat]

Weird, we had an AFT balconey recently and had no issue like that.

[Cuizer2]

We're just off the Liberty of Seas and we stayed in the Royal Family Suite (8714) and the adjoining balcony (8712). Due to soot issues, we found our balcony to be essentially unusable. The soot was unreal. We didn't realize this was a problem on the first evening and we were sitting out on the balcony, but when we came back in doors, everyone realized that they had soot all over their pants, shirts, hands and feet! Housekeeping was kind enough to wash our clothes at no charge, but the soot didn't come completely out of my white pants:(

 

The soot remained bad throughout the cruise. The crew members were exceptionally helpful and really tried to keep the deck clean, but the build-up between their cleanings was crazy. We loved everything about these 2 rooms except for the soot issue.

 

My question is this....is this typical? We'd love to book these rooms again, but not if this is the norm. I've heard mention of soot and having to shake things off, but this seemed more extensive.

 

[ATTACH]166459[/ATTACH]

This was from wiping just one cushion off and was taken at 8am. The deck had been cleaned/wiped down on the previous night around 9pm.

 

We had the same problem on the Freedom of the Seas ...

 

 

[MomtoCCC]

We had corner aft on Liberty - deck 10 (the D1 room with the pole) and had no issues with soot at all... strange...

[jerseysmom]

We had an aft on Radiance for 5 days and had no problem. Did NZ in January and had a corner aft on Rhapsody, again no problem. I see OP's disappointment. It would render your balcony (that you paid $$$ for) unusable.

[foxesden1]

We had corner aft on Liberty - deck 10 (the D1 room with the pole) and had no issues with soot at all... strange...

 

We r on deck 6 and I hope it's the same for us.

[jewelmick]

I had a corner aft booked for our Feb FOS and I decided to change it. My daughter has asthma and I just don't want to risk it. We sailed on DCL and spent a bid of time on the deck 7 aft "secret" deck...it triggered a minor attack, she never had any other problems. You did notice the smell from the stack if you were downwind.

 

I changed to a more forward balcony.....THE most forward actually. Figgered it would also help not having anyone in front of us. We had a smoker next door last time....it really cut down on the time we could use the balcony, and had to keep the door close most of the time, as the wind would blow the smoke into the cabin.

[flbeachmom]

We had the same problem on the Freedom of the Seas ...

 

 

 

Wow can you smell it? And would you go aft balcony again? We are in 7714 on thanksgiving this year now I wonder if it was a smart move?

[Cuizer2]

Wow can you smell it? And would you go aft balcony again? We are in 7714 on thanksgiving this year now I wonder if it was a smart move?

 

I would not go aft on a Voyager or Freedom class ship.

[FloridaPalms]

We never had even a small soot problem on our Navigator corner aft balconies but had a major soot problem one night on Independence corner aft (7708). It was after dinner Thanksgiving evening and we were all still dressed in our formal wear (luckily black clothing). Upon sitting down, we realized that heavy soot was blowing in all over us. The next morning, a sea day (our last full day), we had scheduled the fancy breakfast from our romance package but were unable to eat it on the filthy balcony. We wiped down the chairs just to have a smoke with coffee. Neither our room steward nor a follow up call to Housekeeping and a later complaint at the CS desk did anything to clean the balcony. The steward's one attempt was to pour a single trash basket full of water on the deck and claim it could not be cleaned until we got back to FLL Saturday. So much for enjoying a nice sea day on the balcony! :mad:

 

However, the crew had been out soaping and hosing down THEIR deck (deck 5 aft) the first thing Friday morning. :rolleyes: Once we docked in FLL Saturday morning, the crew ran hoses up to the higher decks and starting cleaning the superstructure and balconies as cabins were vacated. We did not have to leave our cabin and dirty balcony until 10:00 am so it was interesting to watch.

 

No compensation whatsoever (such as cleaning our clothing) was offered by the CS rep.

 

An email to RCCL after the cruise, asking what is RCCL's position/procedure for cleaning balconies at sea (wanting to avoid a repeat of this on another cruise we had booked, especially if it should happen on the first day of a cruise), resulted in a call from RCCL and an offer of a small NCC. While the NCC offer was nice, the response was less convincing. He cited caustic chemicals are used to clean the balconies so guests have to leave the cabin for 24 hours. :confused: Hmmm... yet they cleaned and did a turnaround on our cabin and balcony in under 3 hours that Saturday.

 

We had paid a premium for this much sought after E1 balcony since, right before sailing, we could have "upgraded" to a D1 for almost $500 less!

 

Would we continue to book these aft balconies again? YES! Although we probably won't book Independence again (the crew on Navigator seems 10x better). But if we ever have soot like this again we won't be easily placated and we will insist on immediate cleaning. I'm sure they could have cleaned it with mops and buckets but I don't care if they have to use windex bottles and paper towels. There was no excuse for this!

 

We wiped down chairs and table - steward did nothing.

[sgermic]

When my cousin sailed on the Voyager this April, she said that her balcony was rendered unusable because of the smell of exhaust. She didn't have an aft balcony, but she had the last superior ocean view on the port side of deck 6. No word on soot though.

[Kikkycat]

Well, my fingers are surely crossed now. My best friend & I have 8710 on Liberty in two months. We both have asthma. I've sailed twice before, both times in corner afts (7388 on Adventure, 8618 on Serenade) and never had a soot problem on either of them.

[Star_Luna]

We're just off the Liberty of Seas and we stayed in the Royal Family Suite (8714) and the adjoining balcony (8712). Due to soot issues, we found our balcony to be essentially unusable. The soot was unreal. We didn't realize this was a problem on the first evening and we were sitting out on the balcony, but when we came back in doors, everyone realized that they had soot all over their pants, shirts, hands and feet! Housekeeping was kind enough to wash our clothes at no charge, but the soot didn't come completely out of my white pants:(

 

The soot remained bad throughout the cruise. The crew members were exceptionally helpful and really tried to keep the deck clean, but the build-up between their cleanings was crazy. We loved everything about these 2 rooms except for the soot issue.

 

My question is this....is this typical? We'd love to book these rooms again, but not if this is the norm. I've heard mention of soot and having to shake things off, but this seemed more extensive.

 

[ATTACH]166459[/ATTACH]

This was from wiping just one cushion off and was taken at 8am. The deck had been cleaned/wiped down on the previous night around 9pm.

 

Yikes! I've never thought of a soot problem, though it makes sense since the smoke tends to move towards the aft. In fact, I haven't read any type of soot problem in the 5 months I've been here(even though I just recently joined not too long ago).

 

From what I've read, you're not the only one who's had problems. I hope, if you decide to have an aft cabin again, it won't happen again.

[lablvr2]

We have sailed Radiance class (Serenade, Jewel and Raidiance aft) without a problem. I was so sad to to see that soot. Ruins a vacation at sea. I could NEVER tolerate that going on out on MY balcony. I would be furious :eek:

[CVU]

We have been in an aft IOS cabin and minimal soot.

On the Jewel in an aft and don't remember a problem. Hope our next aft on the Liberty next month is soot free!!:)

[Seadiva2]

We had no soot on our aft and were in 7708 on August 8.

 

Hello, I was just on the Liberty last week. I had room 7708 which I loved however, we had a terrible soot problem everyday. The balcony floor was almost completely covered in black soot daily. It wasn't on the chairs just on the floor. After the first day I had to wear flip flops to walk out on the balcony or my feet would be black. So I guess it depends on the winds or weather not sure.

 

Also, had problems with the A/C. It was never cold. It was barely cool. Called maintenance to see if they could make it colder but, the technician really couldn't make it cold. Wish I would of brought a fan with me!

[Seadiva2]

We are in 7708 in April 2011. It is great to know you had no soot problems. We were corner aft on the Jewel in March 2008 and had no soot either.

 

Kathy:)

 

Hi Kathy, I just came off the Liberty last week and had cabin #7708. There was a soot problem everyday but the first day. The floor was black and you could not walk outside without shoes.

 

I loved the room as it was quiet. However, it never got cold when we were there either. The room is barely cool. Maintenance could not fix the A/C for some reason. I could not change rooms as the ship was full.

 

Enjoy your cruise.

[Merion_Mom]

We had an aft balcony on Mariner and had soot issues five out of seven days, with varying levels of severity...

 

We had an aft on the Independence of the Seas for 13 nights in November, zero ash. On the Mariner for 7 nights we had it one day, but nothing bad. I imagine it has to do with the relative wind flowing over the ship, IE there is always ash, but it doesn't always land on the same balconies.

 

jc

 

I would not go aft on a Voyager or Freedom class ship.

 

I had an RFS, aft Deck 9, on the Mariner for 46 nights. No soot problem.

 

:)

[enamelchick]

We are staying in the RFS Deck 9 on the Explorer of the seas. Does anyone know if the soot is bad for this balcony?

[pbinn]

Wow..sorry i stumbled on this thread !! We have our first corner aft on freedom of seas in may 7708..and have so been looking forward to sitting out there and watching the world sail by. I sure hope we dont have this issue..that sure would suck ! guess ill pack some wipes in by bag !

[Cuizer2]

We are staying in the RFS Deck 9 on the Explorer of the seas. Does anyone know if the soot is bad for this balcony?

 

Soot is bad for any balcony. However, since I have not been in the RFS on the EOS I don't know if you will find any on your balcony.

[critterchick]

We've sailed aft balcony cabins on all Voyager class and the two Freedom class ships. Sometimes there was soot, sometimes not. But it was never as bad as the OP states. What a bummer for them! Radiance class ships do not have the soot problem.

 

Since RCI added diesel engines to the Radiance class, there can be some soot. We noticed some in 1100 on Radiance in April. Not very much, and it was just on the deck, but it was definitely there. Same with our corner aft cabins on Vision. On the more central aft cabins, there's enough roof coverage that I think any soot just lands there.

[Bonnie Voyager]

The staff was actually very accommodating and I have to say that I was definitely impressed with their response to the issue. I really think they did everything they could and short of them putting up an awning to cover the balcony, can't imagine what else they could have done for us.

On the last day of the cruise, the Hotel Director contacted us and offered us a discount off of a future cruise.

 

So, for sure, they kept me as a customer, just not sure if I'd book an aft balcony again, but sounds like perhaps this was a little unusual.

 

 

Wow, looking at the photo you posted, you really did have a soot issue! I've sailed in many, many aft cabins and have never had more than a few specks of soot on the railing and outer edge of the deck itself. I really think it is hit-and-miss with the soot and not something that you can count on happening or not happening. I wouldn't let it deter me from booking an aft cabin in the future, if you enjoyed you cabin otherwise. ;) I would say that a soot issue like you experienced would be the exception, not the rule. I'm glad to hear they at least responded to the problem for you. Sorry you had to deal with it at all though! I'm thinking my day in the soot will be coming soon, as statistically I am due! :eek::D I try to sail aft any time I can!

[Canuck-Ottawa]

We had a similar experience on an NCL cruise in March, but only while docked in port (no wind to carry away the soot).

 

By the way, I assume everyone knows what that soot is from?

 

What do you think they do with human excrement on ships? It isn't dumped or pumped out at ports. It's BURNED off after the water is removed (and recycled). Yup, that's what "rains" down on you in aft cabins!