Azura - what IS that smell, and why hasn't it been dealt with?

[the english lady]

How can the smell of something be a health risk. If you were walking in raw sewage around the ship I can see that would be a health risk...cant see how a smell can be (although that is how they thought disease was spread in Victorian times)

[Harry Peterson]

12 minutes ago, the english lady said:

How can the smell of something be a health risk. If you were walking in raw sewage around the ship I can see that would be a health risk...cant see how a smell can be (although that is how they thought disease was spread in Victorian times)

I doubt the smell itself represents a health risk, though hydrogen sulphide is injurious to health in higher concentrations, but it’s the underlying cause of the bad smell that should present concerns.

 

Sorry to raise the Butlins comparison again, but can you imagine any hotel, holiday centre, or even Butlins expecting guests to accept the smell of raw sewage month after month without resolving the problem?

 

P&O says this:

 

 Our fleet of ships epitomises the best of modern British cruising and offers an unrivaled holiday experience.

 

Hardly!

[the english lady]

Somebody stated somewhere in among your posts that the Celebrity Edge had similar problems. That is a brand new ship, not pando, not carnival. Do you think it's something to do with being a ship, rather than a land based building that doesn't move. As it's intermittent that makes it even more difficult to solve..( I have a squeak in my car...all the time sir..no just every so often..what is it).

[Harry Peterson]

6 minutes ago, the english lady said:

Somebody stated somewhere in among your posts that the Celebrity Edge had similar problems. That is a brand new ship, not pando, not carnival. Do you think it's something to do with being a ship, rather than a land based building that doesn't move. As it's intermittent that makes it even more difficult to solve..( I have a squeak in my car...all the time sir..no just every so often..what is it).

It’s not intermittent though. It’s a constant presence that P&O are well aware of but choose not to deal with, presumably because of the cost.

[the english lady]

But people have posted they have been on the ship and not smelt anything so it can't be there all the time!

[Ranchi]

I guess that since they no longer chuck bucketloads of sewage into the sea then they must store it in containers which they need to fill. There will be two possibilities; either have an empty container (not really empty as it’s full of air), the air in the container will need to be vented as the container is filled ( you couldn’t fill your petrol tank if it didn’t vent to air). Alternatively you fill an evacuated container and this will fill without a vent - although you need to vent the air ( which could well be smelly) before filling. In both cases the vented air is usually released at or near the highest point of the ship ( incidentally most homes have a vent for similar reasons.) I would guess it is a fault in the venting that is causing the problem and it may be inaccessible without refit facilities. Certainly there was a similar problem on Aurora in 2010/11 and the smell was onboard near the Tavern. We were on 24 nighter and they cut off part of the area whilst they removed panels to repair and redecorate. 

Incidentally, as I understand it hydrogen sulphide is more poisonous than hydrogen cyanide( bad news)... but if you can smell it then it is present at a low concentration ( better news) as at higher and more dangerous concentrations it is not detectable by smell.

Tired now.... didn’t mean to write so much. Have a great day and look forward to your next cruise or enjoy memories of your previous cruises. 

[DS_Dean]

Had the same smell on midship when walking around promenade deck. Been on Azura a few times and definitely concur that the smell wasnt there in Azura's early days but I think its been there for the last three years! Its also really strong in the area near Malabar, especially by the stairs from what I can remember.

 

I expect something is broken but P&O like to take their time fixing things.. like the awful SeaScreen broken for many years, the burnt down pizzeria etc etc. It'll be fixed eventually.

 

No point asking P&O as they cover up almost everything!

Edited May 9, 2019 by DS_Dean

[Bazrat]

7 hours ago, DS_Dean said:

No point asking P&O as they cover up almost everything!

So you have chosen not to complain to P&O but to complain on here instead lets hope they read your complaints.

[amfc_lenny]

We were going to stop in Malabar for a cocktail but the smell is pretty strong in there. 

 

There was a notice in the newsletter that they are doing work to the sewage system so to expect smells.

[Harry Peterson]

22 minutes ago, amfc_lenny said:

We were going to stop in Malabar for a cocktail but the smell is pretty strong in there. 

 

There was a notice in the newsletter that they are doing work to the sewage system so to expect smells.

They've been wheeling that old excuse out for months, probably years! As usual, never trust P&O to give you the whole story.

[grapau27]

21 minutes ago, amfc_lenny said:

We were going to stop in Malabar for a cocktail but the smell is pretty strong in there. 

 

There was a notice in the newsletter that they are doing work to the sewage system so to expect smells.

Our very helpful resident chief engineer on RC forums Cheng would tell us all what the problem is and how simple the sewage system is on a ship to be fixed.

[DS_Dean]

10 hours ago, Bazrat said:

So you have chosen not to complain to P&O but to complain on here instead lets hope they read your complaints.

 

I did speak to Entertainment Manager Benne a few years ago about Sea Screen. Managed to catch her after Azura TV but at the time she said she knew of the problem but there was no timescale on when it would ever be fixed. Meanwhile P&O continued to advertise Azura with its Sea Screen even though the screen was almost completely knackered.

 

I did complain to Reception about the TV issue but told it was due to satellite issues. But other people were told other things on the ship and it became a bit of talking point between passengers as people were getting different excuses.

 

Granted though, never complained about the sewage smell. But I have no doubt P&O are already well aware. There is no way they couldnt be. I dont expect to have to complain to get my voice heard on issues that are obvious. The problem is as Docco says in her OP,  why is the issue taking so long to get sorted out?

 

Sometimes P&O need to be more honest and upfront about issues so that customers are more informed and aware that P&O are taking it seriously. Such as "We know there is a smell on Deck XXX. Unfortunately we need to wait until XXX for it to be resolved because of XXX reason".

 

Rather than just let it stink and people assuming (like I am) that P&O isnt really bothered.

Edited May 10, 2019 by DS_Dean