Pacific Explorer plumbing issues

[lagoon380]

Reading many posts online regarding plumbing issues - toilets blocked, overflowing etc on the Pacific Explorer, I seem to recall the ship as the Dawn Princess having plumbing issues and it looks like they weren't repaired when she went into dry dock for the makeover. For those that sailed on the Dawn Princess, are these the same issues which are happening now?

We were considering a cruise on the pacific Explorer but I doubt we would now considering these issues.

[pacificlover]

I'm already locked in for Christmas cruise..........do hope that things get sorted quick smart. They can't continue blaming problems on guests not following rules of cruising - careful of what is put down the toilets.

[Aus Traveller]

There can be plumbing issues on any ship. We sailed on the Dawn Princess several times and did not encounter any. I am certainly not saying that they didn't occur, but that they were not evident to everyone on board.

[MicCanberra]

There can be plumbing issues on any ship. We sailed on the Dawn Princess several times and did not encounter any. I am certainly not saying that they didn't occur, but that they were not evident to everyone on board.

Like you we haven't experienced any WC issues on the Dawn Princess or any ship really, however with any ship especially the older ones, issues will arise. Just luck of the draw I suppose if it is your particular cabin.

[lagoon380]

We have cruised Carnival and P & O, 6 cruises, each 10 nights or more and no toilet issues and haven't heard of any while on a cruise so there might be the odd one here or there, on the Explorer there seems to be a bigger than normal issue.

Cruising on a ship with sewage odour in some areas or non functioning toilet or worse toilet overflow in cabin would not be my idea of a nice cruise, short cruise I could put up with it I suppose but not for a longer cruise.

I have read some very balanced reviews where they had a great cruise but with the only negative being the sewage smell or having to deal without using the toilet in your cabin.

[MicCanberra]

We have cruised Carnival and P & O, 6 cruises, each 10 nights or more and no toilet issues and haven't heard of any while on a cruise so there might be the odd one here or there, on the Explorer there seems to be a bigger than normal issue.

Cruising on a ship with sewage odour in some areas or non functioning toilet or worse toilet overflow in cabin would not be my idea of a nice cruise, short cruise I could put up with it I suppose but not for a longer cruise.

I have read some very balanced reviews where they had a great cruise but with the only negative being the sewage smell or having to deal without using the toilet in your cabin.

Well, I agree that having smells corridors would not be pleasant and a broken toilet in my cabin would certainly not make a good cruise. But it really can happen on any cruise while there are people that block the toilets by putting the wrong things in them and or the plumbing systems are ageing to the extent of failure.

[megsie]

We cruised on Pacific Explorer early August.

There was a note with the usual papers when we got to our room with the whatnots of using the toilets.

We had a balcony on deck 11 and at times there was a mild sewerage smell or whiffs in the hallway.

There seemed to be someone working on the pipes often.

Whether people were disposing of wrong things or just an old system - not sure. But we did see some rooms being sanitized (disposable overalls, masks etc) along the corridor. May or may not have anything to do with toilets.

Didn't inconvenience us at all and was not that strong or often. No smells in our room.

[Aus Traveller]

Usually if a cabin is being sanitized by crew wearing the white suits (almost like those worn on the moon), it means there has been a case of noro in that cabin.

 

For a couple of days during one cruise on the Sun Princess we had an intermittently non-functioning toilet. Yes - it was inconvenient, but not too bad.

[MicCanberra]

We cruised on Pacific Explorer early August.

There was a note with the usual papers when we got to our room with the whatnots of using the toilets.

We had a balcony on deck 11 and at times there was a mild sewerage smell or whiffs in the hallway.

There seemed to be someone working on the pipes often.

Whether people were disposing of wrong things or just an old system - not sure. But we did see some rooms being sanitized (disposable overalls, masks etc) along the corridor. May or may not have anything to do with toilets.

Didn't inconvenience us at all and was not that strong or often. No smells in our room.

I suppose the sanitizing could be from toilet over flow (onto the carpet) issues but may also be to do with sickness such as Noro virus.

[megsie]

We wondered about the sanitising but it was well down the corridor from us. And we saw it when heading to the lifts.

There were two teams of two and we saw a group of 4 rooms in a row being done and maybe more that we didn't see.

Interesting.

[MicCanberra]

We wondered about the sanitising but it was well down the corridor from us. And we saw it when heading to the lifts.

There were two teams of two and we saw a group of 4 rooms in a row being done and maybe more that we didn't see.

Interesting.

Yeah, could have been either or neither of those two reasons.

[maxmia]

Yeah, could have been either or neither of those two reasons.

Just off the Pacific Explorer. The sanitation crew were on duty for the very bad influenza outbreak. We heard from the Medical centre that there were 800 cases, my husband being one of them. The problem was a number of the passengers who were diagnosed as being infected, did not wear their masks, and stay in their cabins as requested. No issue with the toilets or smells the we noticed. Enjoyed the choice of restaurants, and in the Pantry, all food was served by staff, no food handling by passengers. They also have 3 hand washing basins on each side of pantry.

Elite with Princess, but quite liked the Explorer, and would sail on her again.

[takeout]

Reading many posts online regarding plumbing issues - toilets blocked, overflowing etc on the Pacific Explorer, I seem to recall the ship as the Dawn Princess having plumbing issues and it looks like they weren't repaired when she went into dry dock for the makeover. For those that sailed on the Dawn Princess, are these the same issues which are happening now?

We were considering a cruise on the pacific Explorer but I doubt we would now considering these issues.

These issues were happening when we were on her sept 2015 obviously still not fixed

[takeout]

Reading many posts online regarding plumbing issues - toilets blocked, overflowing etc on the Pacific Explorer, I seem to recall the ship as the Dawn Princess having plumbing issues and it looks like they weren't repaired when she went into dry dock for the makeover. For those that sailed on the Dawn Princess, are these the same issues which are happening now?

We were considering a cruise on the pacific Explorer but I doubt we would now considering these issues.

Yes this issue was happening when we sailed on her Sept 2015 leaks all over the ship

[takeout]

We sailed on her in Sept 2015 and there were major problems with toilets and leaks all over the ship having said that she is an older ship and I think that the plumbing is shot

[shining gem]

As has been previously stated. The use of non ship issued toilet paper, tissues and wet wipes being flushed down the loo accounts for a lot of the problems on board. :(

[Cruisegroover]

Was onboard a few weeks ago and in some places the stench was overpowering. Lucky for me no toilets issues.

[OzKiwiJJ]

We sailed on her in Sept 2015 and there were major problems with toilets and leaks all over the ship having said that she is an older ship and I think that the plumbing is shot

 

We were on her in August 2015 and our cabin toilet blocked up one day, through no fault of ours. It was mid-afternoon. DH went to get our laundry and noticed it then, so was able to get it fixed before in became an inconvenience or worse.

[SY7DNEY CRUISER]

We were on the ship in early August. They were overwhelming Sewerage smells all over the ship and in a cabin. This is obviously a health hazard as indicates leaking Sewerage. Ship should be taken out of service until it is corrected it seems to be going on and on p&o have done an excellent job in refurbishing the ipublic rooms and the rest of the cruise was good. Why do they have to send all the 20 year old boat to Australia we deserve better

[MicCanberra]

Just off the Pacific Explorer. The sanitation crew were on duty for the very bad influenza outbreak. We heard from the Medical centre that there were 800 cases, my husband being one of them. The problem was a number of the passengers who were diagnosed as being infected, did not wear their masks, and stay in their cabins as requested. No issue with the toilets or smells the we noticed. Enjoyed the choice of restaurants, and in the Pantry, all food was served by staff, no food handling by passengers. They also have 3 hand washing basins on each side of pantry.

Elite with Princess, but quite liked the Explorer, and would sail on her again.

Thanks for the update.

[MicCanberra]

We were on the ship in early August. They were overwhelming Sewerage smells all over the ship and in a cabin. This is obviously a health hazard as indicates leaking Sewerage. Ship should be taken out of service until it is corrected it seems to be going on and on p&o have done an excellent job in refurbishing the ipublic rooms and the rest of the cruise was good. Why do they have to send all the 20 year old boat to Australia we deserve better

They (P&O) almost had a new ship but it was sent to Carnival instead.

[NSWP]

Usually if a cabin is being sanitized by crew wearing the white suits (almost like those worn on the moon), it means there has been a case of noro in that cabin.

 

For a couple of days during one cruise on the Sun Princess we had an intermittently non-functioning toilet. Yes - it was inconvenient, but not too bad.

The men in the white suits are known as the 'Hit Squad.' :halo:

[MicCanberra]

You can put a 'S' in front as well.

[chengkp75]

We were on the ship in early August. They were overwhelming Sewerage smells all over the ship and in a cabin. This is obviously a health hazard as indicates leaking Sewerage. Ship should be taken out of service until it is corrected it seems to be going on and on p&o have done an excellent job in refurbishing the ipublic rooms and the rest of the cruise was good. Why do they have to send all the 20 year old boat to Australia we deserve better

 

While I have no direct experience with Pacific Explorer, so I can't comment on the condition of the plumbing system, I will say that in the vast majority of times, a "sewerage" smell onboard a ship has absolutely nothing to do with "leaking sewerage", or for that matter even sewage from the toilets (black water). Unlike sanitary plumbing systems on land where black water (toilets) and gray water (sinks, showers, laundry) are commingled in the piping as it flows away from the building, on a ship the black water and gray water systems are completely separated until they reach the storage tanks in the engine room. As the black water (toilet) system operates on a vacuum, it is a closed system, and there will only be odors when the system is opened for maintenance. Also, leaking from the system would reduce the vacuum in the system, and this would affect the ability of large groups of toilets around the ship not functioning.

 

Typically, an older vacuum toilet system's piping may be partially clogged with scale, reducing the pipe size and affecting bends. This can be remedied, and even reversed, using acid to remove the scale, and is commonly done by dropping dissolving packets of citric acid in the toilets on turn around day, and flushing them away.

 

Most typically, the "sewerage" smell that most cruisers experience is caused by the water in a "U-trap" (that S shaped bend of pipe under your sink at home) drying out from lack of water replenishment. The trap in drain piping is designed to keep a certain amount of water "trapped" (hence the name) and act as a "valve" to keep odors from coming back up the pipe. On a ship, the sink and shower drains get frequent additions of water to replenish the water in the trap, so these are not a problem. However, the floor drain in your cabin bathroom (not the shower drain, but outside the shower, typically tucked under the wall mounted toilet, or a gutter type drain at the bathroom door), as well as all other deck drains in crew service spaces (pantries, storage rooms, mechanical rooms) do not see water regularly, and the dry AC air will evaporate the water in the trap, causing odors to rise in the pipe, with no leakage of sewage whatsoever. A glass of water down your cabin bathroom floor drain daily takes care of this for your cabin, and when the crew finds the smelly trap in a service space, they will simply do the same.

[NSWP]

While I have no direct experience with Pacific Explorer, so I can't comment on the condition of the plumbing system, I will say that in the vast majority of times, a "sewerage" smell onboard a ship has absolutely nothing to do with "leaking sewerage", or for that matter even sewage from the toilets (black water). Unlike sanitary plumbing systems on land where black water (toilets) and gray water (sinks, showers, laundry) are commingled in the piping as it flows away from the building, on a ship the black water and gray water systems are completely separated until they reach the storage tanks in the engine room. As the black water (toilet) system operates on a vacuum, it is a closed system, and there will only be odors when the system is opened for maintenance. Also, leaking from the system would reduce the vacuum in the system, and this would affect the ability of large groups of toilets around the ship not functioning.

 

Typically, an older vacuum toilet system's piping may be partially clogged with scale, reducing the pipe size and affecting bends. This can be remedied, and even reversed, using acid to remove the scale, and is commonly done by dropping dissolving packets of citric acid in the toilets on turn around day, and flushing them away.

 

Most typically, the "sewerage" smell that most cruisers experience is caused by the water in a "U-trap" (that S shaped bend of pipe under your sink at home) drying out from lack of water replenishment. The trap in drain piping is designed to keep a certain amount of water "trapped" (hence the name) and act as a "valve" to keep odors from coming back up the pipe. On a ship, the sink and shower drains get frequent additions of water to replenish the water in the trap, so these are not a problem. However, the floor drain in your cabin bathroom (not the shower drain, but outside the shower, typically tucked under the wall mounted toilet, or a gutter type drain at the bathroom door), as well as all other deck drains in crew service spaces (pantries, storage rooms, mechanical rooms) do not see water regularly, and the dry AC air will evaporate the water in the trap, causing odors to rise in the pipe, with no leakage of sewage whatsoever. A glass of water down your cabin bathroom floor drain daily takes care of this for your cabin, and when the crew finds the smelly trap in a service space, they will simply do the same.

 

Good post mate, explains all. In case you did not know recently rebirthed Pacific Explorer - P&O Australia is ex Dawn Princess - Princess Cruises, sent over here from the USA some 7 years ago.:loudcry: