Sewer smell on the Sunshine

[grandmarnnurse]

I have heard that there is often a sewer smell on some Carnival ships, mostly complaints coming from the passengers of the Triumph, Ecstasy, and Victory, but my daughter just got off the Sunshine today after a 5 day cruise with her family and 80 of their closest friends, and they said at times the odor was just awful and nauseating! She did say the odor was not always present, and it didn’t interfere with this HUGE group from Buffalo, NY from having a fabulous time, but it was still a nuisance. Anybody else just get off the Sunshine today (April 6) and notice a sewer smell? Wondering why this happens ONLY on Carnival ships, and what they are planning to do to remedy it. I’m just returning to Carnival myself after having not cruised with them since 2007, and I find this very distressful. I never noticed this on any of my RCCL or NCL ships.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[famof4togo]

I noticed the gray water smell on the Splendor last week...like your daughter stated sometimes not all the time but it was gross...

[cruzeluver]

It can and does happen at some point on most ships and is most certainly not unique to Carnival (don't believe me? go over to the MSC area and read the copious threads regarding a sewage smell on their newest ship, Seaside. we were on it in January and smelled nothing plenty of others did). The plumbing systems on ships are very sensitive and can easily get backed up. Typically the smell is fleeting.

[lcpagejr]

Correct... I think the smell moved from MSC Seaside to sunshine (lol).... I think Seaside finally figured it out.... Last couple cruises, including ours last week....NO Sewage smell!!

[poz222]

Many times it is the drains getting dry. I try to make a habit to put a bit of water in each drain (the one in the bathroom floor is a common culprit as is the balcony... every day or so just in case. For some ships it is a design issue for venting of the bilges. I saw so e complaints from the Vista class that the starboard side coves midship have this venting issue and deck 3 or 4 aft on the Splendor. There are other ships that get random dry drain issues especially in cabins near housekeeping wet lockers...

[salty dingo]

I always thought this smell was more likely to occur on the lower decks. To minimized the chance, book a cabin as high up as you can.

 

Also it's worth noting that some people's sense of smell is more acute and sensitive than most. What make make one person just wrinkle their nose may make another person feel nausea.

[chengkp75]

Many times it is the drains getting dry. I try to make a habit to put a bit of water in each drain (the one in the bathroom floor is a common culprit as is the balcony... every day or so just in case. For some ships it is a design issue for venting of the bilges. I saw so e complaints from the Vista class that the starboard side coves midship have this venting issue and deck 3 or 4 aft on the Splendor. There are other ships that get random dry drain issues especially in cabins near housekeeping wet lockers...

 

This is the most common cause, and those deck drains are not only in your cabin bathroom, but in many of the areas "behind the scenes" like the technical lockers where the pipes and wiring run, and these see almost no water and can dry out, and the hotel crew are typically not aware of where these are. Higher decks don't make any difference, it is the dryness of the AC air that causes the traps to dry out.

 

Not sure what you mean by "venting of the bilges", but bilges don't have vents, they are open to the engine room, and they definitely don't have anything in them that smells of sewage or gray water. Oil and water, yes, other wastes, no.

 

I believe the problem with the cove balconies is a vent from the waste water treatment plant.

[jordanaire]

Sitting on Deck 10 of Sunshine right now. Yes...Deck 4 has terrible sewage smell. We just had our Muster drill there and thought we had gone to a water treatment plant.

 

Sent from my LG-LS993 using Forums mobile app

[salty dingo]

Higher decks don't make any difference, it is the dryness of the AC air that causes the traps to dry out.

If dry traps are the culprit, then running some water down the sink and shower drains would cure that condition pretty quick, right?

[Organized Chaos]

We were aboard Conquest two years ago. Kept running into the sewage smell around deck 4 or 5, about mid-ship. If you've ever emptied the black water tank on a camper or RV, you'd know the smell. It wasn't overpowering, like the OP mentioned, just annoying.

[chengkp75]

If dry traps are the culprit, then running some water down the sink and shower drains would cure that condition pretty quick, right?

 

Yes, except that the main culprit is the one no one sees. The sink and shower drains see water regularly, so they are not the problem. There is another bathroom floor drain, either a metal gutter type at the door, or a round plastic drain grate tucked under the toilet, that only sees water when the shower overflows. This drain has it's own trap, so a glass of water down this everyday keeps the nasty smell away.

 

When housekeeping would call the engine room about smells around the hotel, we would send a plumber with a bucket of water to look for the drains in the linen lockers, stewards pantries, and the technical spaces and pour a bit down them to stop the odors.

[poz222]

This is the most common cause, and those deck drains are not only in your cabin bathroom, but in many of the areas "behind the scenes" like the technical lockers where the pipes and wiring run, and these see almost no water and can dry out, and the hotel crew are typically not aware of where these are. Higher decks don't make any difference, it is the dryness of the AC air that causes the traps to dry out.

 

Not sure what you mean by "venting of the bilges", but bilges don't have vents, they are open to the engine room, and they definitely don't have anything in them that smells of sewage or gray water. Oil and water, yes, other wastes, no.

 

I believe the problem with the cove balconies is a vent from the waste water treatment plant.

 

Ahhh that is the Vent I was thinking of... for some reason bilges was all that came to mind...

[salty dingo]

There is another bathroom floor drain, either a metal gutter type at the door, or a round plastic drain grate tucked under the toilet, that only sees water when the shower overflows. This drain has it's own trap, so a glass of water down this everyday keeps the nasty smell away.

Thanks, I have learned something.

 

Now, a rhetorical question: if the cure is so simple as pouring a glass of water on the floor, why would the steward not do this?

[A&Jfamily]

OP-

We stay on deck 7 usually and have never had an issue. The one time we chose a Cove Balcony (Deck 2 Magic), our room was fine, but there was an odor more toward midship on that deck.

 

Our resident ship expert, Cheng, has clearly explained why it happens - I learn so much! Thanks!

 

And in the future...you can find me on Deck 7!

[chengkp75]

Thanks, I have learned something.

 

Now, a rhetorical question: if the cure is so simple as pouring a glass of water on the floor, why would the steward not do this?

 

I asked myself that question many times when I worked on the ships, and tried to explain it to the stewards. To be fair, they don't have a lot of time for each cabin, and don't want to leave a possibly wet deck for you to come back to. And, its not really needed daily, and some drains tend to dry out faster than others, no real rhyme or reason that I've found, and I know that even those who've heard from me about putting water down the drain don't remember to do it daily, which is fine.

[Midwestgal]

When we were on Glory in February the sewer smell was awful, we had the same issues on the Breeze also.

Not sure what the problem seems to be. I’ve smelt sewer on every Carnival cruise, some worse than others. The Glory was the worst with the Breeze a close second.

Sorry it’s much more than a glass of water down a drain, the smell was everywhere not just the cabin.

[Bobrunner]

Sitting on Deck 10 of Sunshine right now. Yes...Deck 4 has terrible sewage smell. We just had our Muster drill there and thought we had gone to a water treatment plant.

 

Sent from my LG-LS993 using Forums mobile app

 

So if the Sunshine stinks, has anybody, that has already sailed, complained to Carnival? I am going this May and would think by then it would be fixed if passengers complained enough.

[teddybear231]

I remember prior to our Sunshine cruise back in August 2016 a lot of reviews we're mention a sewage smell on the ship, and sure enough we smelled it on our trip. I can't believe after all this time (1.5 years later) the smell is still there! I have only experienced this issue on the Sunshine (so far).

[rsumrow79]

We were on the same cruise. We never noticed until leaving Freeport yesterday afternoon. We were on deck 7 and didnt notice anything. But we went down to deck 4 using the middle elevators before dinner, around 5pm and the smell was pretty bad.

[lcpagejr]

When we were on Glory in February the sewer smell was awful, we had the same issues on the Breeze also.

Not sure what the problem seems to be. I’ve smelt sewer on every Carnival cruise, some worse than others. The Glory was the worst with the Breeze a close second.

Sorry it’s much more than a glass of water down a drain, the smell was everywhere not just the cabin.

 

 

Exactly!!!! Lets be real here....The stench I have smelled several times on a cruise...wouldn't have been alleviated by a simple glass of water down a drain. IMO ....Its a ventilation and/or sewage buildup issue.

[chengkp75]

Exactly!!!! Lets be real here....The stench I have smelled several times on a cruise...wouldn't have been alleviated by a simple glass of water down a drain. IMO ....Its a ventilation and/or sewage buildup issue.

 

Well, can only speak from my experience, and I've solved a lot of these complaints, and seen large areas affected by one drain that had dried out, and when refilled the smell went away very quickly. As I say, there are drains where even most crew don't know about, and when the smell gets going, the ventilation will recirculate the air and smell. Systemic ventilation problems would make the smell constant, and widespread, not localized or transient. Also, the black water, from the toilets is in a completely enclosed system, there is no vent, and no open connection to the piping (which is how they maintain the vacuum), until you get to the holding tank in the engine room, and that tank's vents are up in the funnel.

[grandmarnnurse]

Sitting on Deck 10 of Sunshine right now. Yes...Deck 4 has terrible sewage smell. We just had our Muster drill there and thought we had gone to a water treatment plant.

 

Sent from my LG-LS993 using Forums mobile app

 

 

 

That is precisely the location my daughter first noticed the smell! They were at their muster, and it made several of her friends actually nauseated.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[grandmarnnurse]

Yes, except that the main culprit is the one no one sees. The sink and shower drains see water regularly, so they are not the problem. There is another bathroom floor drain, either a metal gutter type at the door, or a round plastic drain grate tucked under the toilet, that only sees water when the shower overflows. This drain has it's own trap, so a glass of water down this everyday keeps the nasty smell away.

 

 

 

When housekeeping would call the engine room about smells around the hotel, we would send a plumber with a bucket of water to look for the drains in the linen lockers, stewards pantries, and the technical spaces and pour a bit down them to stop the odors.

 

 

 

Good to know. I will look for this drain when on the Breeze next year and pour water down it.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[Bollinge]

Good to know. I will look for this drain when on the Breeze next year and pour water down it.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

There is often an odour of what in England we politely call sh-1-t on cruise ships.

 

In my considerable experience it is more common the older the vessel.

[espritkennels]

I was on the Triumph in January on the Lido Deck in a balcony however the last day of the trip, I was looking at the pictures and a crew member came thru the door from the crew area and there was a major sewer smell. I could not smell it thru the passenger area. However on debarkation day, I woke up to a very strong sewer smell in my cabin. I went to the bathroom and my toilet would not flush at all. I went to breakfast and came back and the smell was gone and my toilet was flushed. I have been on many Carnival and other cruise line ships and have never had this issue until now.