Sox Fan Cruiser Posted October 11, 2013 #1 Share Posted October 11, 2013 Someone just posted on here that their aft facing cabin balcony on the Royal was covered in soot from the smoke stacks. Has anyone else experienced that? We leave in 4 weeks and I need to be prepared for what might be in store! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunner22aa Posted October 11, 2013 #2 Share Posted October 11, 2013 It's too bad but common on a lot of ships. I too just read a live review on here where rather than soot it was refered to as tar. I sail exclusivly in aft suites and have experienced this on only a couple of trips but nowhere near what I read today. Could be a serious design flaw with the airflow over the ship. It could also have been exagerated way out of proportion as well. That wouldn't be a first on these boards for sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skai Posted October 11, 2013 #3 Share Posted October 11, 2013 It could also have been exagerated way out of proportion as well. That wouldn't be a first on these boards for sure. ;) Wind direction can cause soot to collect on aft balconies, but it isn't a constant problem. Soot happens when the ship blows out the exhaust stacks and that is only done when needed which may be once a day, and at night. They certainly don't do it during peak balcony hours. Most of the soot is a byproduct of the "heavy bunker C" fuel cruise ships burn when legally allowed. This is not diesel. Ships have to use diesel in certain territorial waters and in ports. But when out in international waters they switch to the heavy bunker C fuel, which is also called #6 fuel oil. It is cheaper, but it is the dregs from a barrel of crude oil. It has to be heated in order to be fluidic so it can get to the engines and flow through the injectors. You can see how this causes build-up in the exhaust stacks. So yes, soot can appear on the aft balconies. It depends on when they blow the stacks to clean them out. They usually do this at night, but it isn't done every night. That is why the soot can be there sometimes, but not there other times. It isn't a large amount, but you should make it clear to your cabin attendant that you want the balcony cleaned every day. Some will not give the balcony much attention. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sox Fan Cruiser Posted October 11, 2013 Author #4 Share Posted October 11, 2013 Thanks for the responses! I feel better and will talk to my cabin steward. For Gunner to sail exclusively with aft balconies, it sounds like it's not enough to ruin a cruise. I'm glad we are aware going in though. Does anyone else have a "soot story", especially from the Royal. Maybe it's worse on the Royal? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capitano1 Posted October 11, 2013 #5 Share Posted October 11, 2013 We were on the September 15 sailing on the Royal Princess for 12 days. Our balcony was half covered B738. On certain mornings, we would wipe the railing and the table. We never had soot on our clothes from the chairs but kept those under the overhang part of the balcony. It really was not a problem for us. We will book another aft cabin if we ever sail on the Royal or Regal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKELLEY Posted October 11, 2013 #6 Share Posted October 11, 2013 We were on the September 15 sailing on the Royal Princess for 12 days. Our balcony was half covered B738. On certain mornings, we would wipe the railing and the table. We never had soot on our clothes from the chairs but kept those under the overhang part of the balcony. It really was not a problem for us. We will book another aft cabin if we ever sail on the Royal or Regal. In November we are in cabin B736, do you have any pictures of your balcony and room you can post for me? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikeyto Posted October 12, 2013 #7 Share Posted October 12, 2013 I've been in an aft balcony on a previous non-Princess cruise and did experience some soot but not much as previous posters have mentioned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bhopal21 Posted October 12, 2013 #8 Share Posted October 12, 2013 We had problems with soot on our port side suite onboard the Island a few years back. Each morning the furniture would be covered in small black flakes. Mike:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chamima Posted October 12, 2013 #9 Share Posted October 12, 2013 We were on the September 15 sailing on the Royal Princess for 12 days. Our balcony was half covered B738. On certain mornings, we would wipe the railing and the table. We never had soot on our clothes from the chairs but kept those under the overhang part of the balcony. It really was not a problem for us. We will book another aft cabin if we ever sail on the Royal or Regal. In November we are in cabin B736, do you have any pictures of your balcony and room you can post for me? We currently have B736 booked for Feb. I also would appreciate pictures. Also, someone who was on Dolphin reported that they had no problem at all with soot (and that they thought the balcony was larger) so I'm wondering if we should switch to that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SewLady Posted October 12, 2013 #10 Share Posted October 12, 2013 There Topic regarding soot on the rear balconies of the Royal. Check it out. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1927914 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cantwaitfornextcruise Posted October 14, 2013 #11 Share Posted October 14, 2013 In November we are in cabin B736, do you have any pictures of your balcony and room you can post for me? We currently have B736 booked for Feb.I also would appreciate pictures. Also, someone who was on Dolphin reported that they had no problem at all with soot (and that they thought the balcony was larger) so I'm wondering if we should switch to that. We are in B736 Nov 10 sailing, I have a feeling this has been blown out of all proportion but we will see Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chamima Posted October 14, 2013 #12 Share Posted October 14, 2013 We are in B736 Nov 10 sailing, I have a feeling this has been blown out of all proportion but we will see We would REALLY appreciate your comments (or photos) about the cabin after you sail in her!!!!! Thanks! :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RRFPresident Posted October 14, 2013 #13 Share Posted October 14, 2013 We currently have one of the OS aft cabins on Baja booked for the Regal next summer. I sent an email to my TA last night about switching to midship after reading all about the soot on here. After reading the first hand experience on this thread, I'm not so sure it's worth changing? I've also been reading about how the OS suites on Royal are not as worth the extra price since they are more like PS inside so the soot wouldn't be the only factor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruiserkenn Posted October 14, 2013 #14 Share Posted October 14, 2013 There Topic regarding soot on the rear balconies of the Royal. Check it out. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1927914 OP - see the pictures in this link. Pictures tell 1000 words. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mafig Posted October 14, 2013 #15 Share Posted October 14, 2013 We love aft balconies and have had them on many ships. Sometimes we've had soot back there as well, usually it's there in the morning, nothing as bad as the pictures, though. I remember a cruise on Norwegian where our cabin steward was cleaning the soot one morning. She told us that the ship had just come from Alaska and there was not a soot problem there. She said she had spoken to her supervisor who told her that there was almost always a problem when it was humid because the air was so heavy. So maybe, just maybe, this problem on Royal will be intermittant. I also recall reading how the Queen Mary had her smokestacks specially built to deflect soot away from the ship. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
runnerodb83 Posted October 14, 2013 #16 Share Posted October 14, 2013 Soot on the balcony! A tragedy! Wind too? Noooooo! I be there's sunlight back there too! Outrageous! :p Seriously folks, you book downwind of the funnel and you don't expect some soot? Although I still maintain that princess dropped the ball on the design of this ship vs the grand class ships. They use cleaner fuel in alaska, so less likely for soot. The new scrubbers should help but are probably only installed on ships that regularly visit ports in the waters around the US...I don't think the Royal will be doing trips on the west coast for a very long time, if ever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bhopal21 Posted October 14, 2013 #17 Share Posted October 14, 2013 Personally I think it is more of a fuel quality statement rather than relating to ship design. As I related in an earlier post our balcony on the Island was covered in soot for about three days of an 11 day trans-canal cruise. Mike:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruiserkenn Posted October 15, 2013 #18 Share Posted October 15, 2013 Soot on the balcony! A tragedy! Wind too? Noooooo! I be there's sunlight back there too! Outrageous! :p Seriously folks, you book downwind of the funnel and you don't expect some soot? Although I still maintain that princess dropped the ball on the design of this ship vs the grand class ships. They use cleaner fuel in alaska, so less likely for soot. The new scrubbers should help but are probably only installed on ships that regularly visit ports in the waters around the US...I don't think the Royal will be doing trips on the west coast for a very long time, if ever. Maybe some of the differences of opinions have to do with different expectations. I do expect a clean balcony, no soot, and shelter from the sun and wind. Aft facing balconies on the Grand Class ships give me these features. They also give me a nice promenade deck. I will stick with the Grand Class ships, as long as they are around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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