Currently on Caribbean Princess - No Toilet

[partybarbie]

What cabin were you in on the Ruby? We're sailing on her in two weeks.

 

I was in R609, my sister was in R745, and my stepmom was in R741. Princess was aware of the problem because when we arrived in the cabin, there was a printed notice on the toilet explaining not to flush anything down it but the toilet paper.

 

Although we didn't have a sewer smell in the cabin, the hallway smelled terribly of sewage.

 

On the second day of our cruise, my husband flushed the toilet and it went all over the bathroom floor. It got to the point that I would give it a "test flush" before I would use it.

 

I called Passenger Services at least six times, and they did respond promptly. As others have said, the plumber had to remove a blockage from the main pipe in the hallway.

 

At 9:00 pm, on the last day of our 10-Day cruise, I finally got a call from the Hotel Services Manager offering us a free bottle of house wine for our troubles. I declined and asked that instead, perhaps the toilets could be repaired for the next passengers.

[CI66774]

I had this problem once on the Royal Princess (as well as on Disney and Cunard). I didn't bother telling the steward, just called down to the hotel manager and someone was up within one hour. On the Royal, my DD flushed some Kleenex down the toilet and that did it. Took five minutes to resolve. The problem on Cunard took lots longer. The problem on Disney was resolved promptly.

[Thrak]

I think the toilet issues are almost always caused by older people flushing baby wipes. Princess should put a sign by the toilet in each stateroom stating clearly that these items are not to be flushed. In general those aren't supposed to be flushed even in home toilets. When using the weaker vacuum toilets on a ship they are just a recipe for problems.

[chengkp75]

I think the toilet issues are almost always caused by older people flushing baby wipes. Princess should put a sign by the toilet in each stateroom stating clearly that these items are not to be flushed. In general those aren't supposed to be flushed even in home toilets. When using the weaker vacuum toilets on a ship they are just a recipe for problems.

 

You would be surprised what we fish out of the vacuum lines. Baby wipes are the least of the problems.

[PescadoAmarillo]

We had an issue once on our way to HI. The steward and passenger service both failed to correct the issue. We were getting stupid answers. The wife, a master letter writer, she wrote the Hotel General Manager a letter which we turn into the passenger service deck. We got the problem fixed, a phone call from him making sure the problem was fixed and a free steak dinner:D.

 

framer

Love your panoramic pics in your signature- they're beautiful- but they make the entire thread more difficult to read. In case you've not previously been told that. ;)

[FritzG]

It seems that on Princess' date=' the process to get anything done is not to go thru the room steward. We made 3 requests/inquiries, and in each case were told that it couldn't be done.

 

The best was the mattress topper--we asked thru the Access office in advance. They told us that they would note it, but we should ask the steward on board. When we asked the steward, he said that we should have asked in advance. :( My daughter has a disability, and we asked if we could get one of the footstools that we could see on some other balconies--no, they are for "suites only," even though we could identify them on balconies that were not suites. I don't even remember what the third thing was, but again, the answer was "no."[/quote']

 

Our steward on the Royal British Isles/TA last fall seemed to say no to every request we made the first two days. When I asked him for a blanket I got the usual "can't do it" response. I told him not to worry about because I'd just check with passenger services. He got very upset and asked for some time to find blankets. They arrived within 10 minutes so I guess he "learned" how to find them. He was very clear that we should ask him for things we needed rather than going to passenger services. I got the impression that it's a mark against them if passenger services is contacted.

[High C's]

Well, things appear to be fixed. FINALLY. They had to come and replace two valves on our toilet. Apparently it was broken. Gee - really??!!! Anyway, lets hope it stays that way. They did apologize and send a bottle of wine.

 

Thanks to all for your suggestions!!! :)

[JudithLynne]

Rather than looking for hidden wine in luggage, maybe security should be checking for baby wipes and confiscate it.

[Astro Flyer]

Well' date=' things appear to be fixed. FINALLY. They had to come and replace two valves on our toilet. Apparently it was broken. Gee - really??!!! Anyway, lets hope it stays that way. They did apologize and send a bottle of wine.

 

Thanks to all for your suggestions!!! :)[/quote']

That's great & I learned many things from your thread if we're ever in your situation.

 

Guess they know how much you enjoy vino...Buon Viaggio!!! :)

Edited April 27, 2016 by Astro Flyer

[TracieABD]

Love your panoramic pics in your signature- they're beautiful- but they make the entire thread more difficult to read. In case you've not previously been told that. ;)

 

Thank you, J. I have always wanted to say that to Framer. I cannot read the text when he posts on a page. (I have to raise text to read due to a visual issue).

 

I, too. love the photos, but it changes the width on the thread page, and I can not raise the text.

[TracieABD]

Well' date=' things appear to be fixed. FINALLY. They had to come and replace two valves on our toilet. Apparently it was broken. Gee - really??!!! Anyway, lets hope it stays that way. They did apologize and send a bottle of wine.

 

Thanks to all for your suggestions!!! :)[/quote']

 

Yay!!!! I hope it stays functional!

[2pbears]

For future reference on your next cruise, the "sewer" smell is generally from the floor drain in the bathroom (either a trough drain at the door or a round floor drain under the toilet, not the shower drain). These drains have traps in them, just like under your sinks at home. The purpose of the trap is to have some water "trapped" in the bends to keep the gases from backing up. The floor drain in your bathroom generally sees very little water, so the A/C tends to evaporate what water is in there, and the smell comes in. A glass of water down the drain daily will solve the problem.

 

Good information. Thank you.

[MrsScooby]

Well' date=' things appear to be fixed. FINALLY. They had to come and replace two valves on our toilet. Apparently it was broken. Gee - really??!!! Anyway, lets hope it stays that way. They did apologize and send a bottle of wine.

 

Thanks to all for your suggestions!!! :)[/quote']

 

So glad to hear this !!!

Hope the rest of your trip is smooth sailing:)

[MrsScooby]

For future reference on your next cruise, the "sewer" smell is generally from the floor drain in the bathroom (either a trough drain at the door or a round floor drain under the toilet, not the shower drain). These drains have traps in them, just like under your sinks at home. The purpose of the trap is to have some water "trapped" in the bends to keep the gases from backing up. The floor drain in your bathroom generally sees very little water, so the A/C tends to evaporate what water is in there, and the smell comes in. A glass of water down the drain daily will solve the problem. As a note, the "gray water" from the sinks, showers, and floor drain is a totally separate piping system from the "black water" from the toilet.

 

For the OP, yes, escalate to the Hotel Manager. It sounds like there is weak vacuum in your area, so there may be a partial blockage somewhere in the line, and needs to be cleared. All the other excuses are complete BS, and you can ask them to also check the "control valve and its timing ports" on your toilet to show them you know a little bit about what is going on.

 

Another thing to try. Don't just poke the flush button, but push and hold for a 2-3 count. This may temporarily solve the problem but also points to the control valve as the culprit.

 

Your advice is really helpful for all of us!!

I'm on the Caribbean Princess next month and I'm going to taking a copy of your advice with me just in case.

Thanks so much !!

Edited April 27, 2016 by MrsScooby

[Steelers0854]

I think the toilet issues are almost always caused by older people flushing baby wipes. Princess should put a sign by the toilet in each stateroom stating clearly that these items are not to be flushed.

 

 

 

Unfortunately they already have this with an illustration as well, it doesn't seem to help. ☹️

[GUT2407]

Great news.

[easyboy]

Well' date=' things appear to be fixed. FINALLY. They had to come and replace two valves on our toilet. Apparently it was broken. Gee - really??!!! Anyway, lets hope it stays that way. They did apologize and send a bottle of wine.

 

Thanks to all for your suggestions!!! :)[/quote']

Nice gesture on that bottle of wine. They do recognize what you have been into.

[Potstech]

I think the toilet issues are almost always caused by older people flushing baby wipes. Princess should put a sign by the toilet in each stateroom stating clearly that these items are not to be flushed. In general those aren't supposed to be flushed even in home toilets. When using the weaker vacuum toilets on a ship they are just a recipe for problems.

 

Do you have any proof of that or do you just hate older people? You seem to discount children and people with babies or just plain people doing stupid things. It just has to be the older people. By the way what is your definition of older people?

[riclop]

Too bad and that makes it a terrible cruise for so many days.

[GUT2407]

Do you have any proof of that or do you just hate older people? You seem to discount children and people with babies or just plain people doing stupid things. It just has to be the older people. By the way what is your definition of older people?

 

Strange blaming it all on "older people".

[partybarbie]

Out of the 3,000 plus passengers on the Ruby last week, about 3 of them were under the age of two. I hardly think that the babies are the ones doing the flushing of the baby wipes.

[GUT2407]

Out of the 3,000 plus passengers on the Ruby last week, about 3 of them were under the age of two. I hardly think that the babies are the ones doing the flushing of the baby wipes.

 

No but there parents may be.

 

I've also heard people say they take their own toilet paper as they don't like the stuff the ship supplies (I can't really blame them for that). But it can clog the system.

[partybarbie]

No but there parents may be.

 

Most parents (at the least the ones that I know) put the used wipes inside the used diapers and place them in the trash. They don't flush them down the toilet.

Edited April 27, 2016 by partybarbie

[gcvt]

The best response was the one today from the Purser's Desk who told me that the toilets on board "are not meant to be flushed in the morning". I KID YOU NOT!

 

I LOL'd at this pretty damn hard. Did they happen to mention during which hours the toilets are meant to be flushed? Is there a chart in the little binder with the room service menu? :p

[west coast cruiser]

Do you have any proof of that or do you just hate older people? You seem to discount children and people with babies or just plain people doing stupid things. It just has to be the older people. By the way what is your definition of older people?

 

Thank You.