Soot on regal aft suites

[dmccadden]

we Are on the regal in February and have an aft suite.  I’ve been reading reviews and I keep hearing about soot coming down on the furniture and you if you are out there.  I read somewhere that princess was going to modify the smoke stacks so this would not happen.  Has anyone had on of the aft suite recently that can tell me if the soot is still a problem.  It would suck to pay for a premium cabin and not be able to use the balcony.  We upgraded and my wife will not be happy and I will be in the dog house, thanks for any insight 

 

[Colo Cruiser]

17 minutes ago, dmccadden said:

we Are on the regal in February and have an aft suite.  I’ve been reading reviews and I keep hearing about soot coming down on the furniture and you if you are out there.  I read somewhere that princess was going to modify the smoke stacks so this would not happen.  Has anyone had on of the aft suite recently that can tell me if the soot is still a problem.  It would suck to pay for a premium cabin and not be able to use the balcony.  We upgraded and my wife will not be happy and I will be in the dog house, thanks for any insight 

 

There are a couple of recent threads on this. 
They did the modification (added scrubbers) a couple of years ago to the Royal but IMO it did not help much. 
I think the Regal had this done last week in a wet dock in the Bahamas.

 

Sailing on the Sky for almost a month last Nov it was still happening. 
 

It’s has been an issue on Royal Class ships.
 

Some post they have had no issues. 

[RocketMan275]

If you're cruising on a Regal Class ship, you have a choice to make.

You can book an aft suite and you might have soot issues but you will have a balcony sufficiently large to be usable.  

You can book a suite on the side and ensure that you won't have soot but you will have a balcony to small to be usable.

[I object 2]

 We were in an aft suite on the Royal January 4th and had soot issues. Depending on the direction of the wind, it wasn't an everyday problem.  We knew this was a possibility when we booked, so it didn't spoil our enjoyment of the suite and large balcony.  Your cabin steward will clean the balcony deck, table and chairs daily.  Just be sure to check your deck chairs for soot before you sit down.  A quick wipe with a towel will take care of the problem.   Enjoy your suite!

 

 

[Cruiserkenn]

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[SDWalt]

We were on the Jan 11 Royal Mexican Riviera in an aft Penthouse suite.  Soot was AWFUL.  Completely unusable balcony the entire cruise.  Interestingly, the day we embarked a ship's officer came to check the condition of the balcony...his response at looking outside...'Not too bad today'.  Well the was the beginning.  Add to the fact our room steward was the least attentive steward we have ever had, the balcony was worthless to us.  We always try to book an aft penthouse or owner's suite but I will not be booking one on the Royal again.  And if Princess can't seem to correct the issue we probably will try sailing only on the grand class ships (while they are still around) or book mid ship penthouse suites even though we prefer a more spacious room.

[franktown]

 

1 hour ago, SDWalt said:

We were on the Jan 11 Royal Mexican Riviera in an aft Penthouse suite.  Soot was AWFUL.  Completely unusable balcony the entire cruise.  Interestingly, the day we embarked a ship's officer came to check the condition of the balcony...his response at looking outside...'Not too bad today'.  Well the was the beginning.  Add to the fact our room steward was the least attentive steward we have ever had, the balcony was worthless to us.  We always try to book an aft penthouse or owner's suite but I will not be booking one on the Royal again.  And if Princess can't seem to correct the issue we probably will try sailing only on the grand class ships (while they are still around) or book mid ship penthouse suites even though we prefer a more spacious room.

Fully agree with you.  The Aft penthouse balcony can be unusable.  I my last cruise in one we had 3 good days and 3 terrible days.  I have switched to the Premium Suites on the Royal class ships.  They have a great front facing large window and a normal suite balcony on the side.  Also quite a bit cheaper.

[Mary Ann 2]

We sailed Thanksgiving on the Regal in an aft balcony.  We did not experience any soot, but we chose the Dolphin Deck which is covered more than the other decks.  We love aft balconies.  The huge balcony and the sound of the wake is worth it.

[Paula_MacFan]

19 minutes ago, Mary Ann 2 said:

We sailed Thanksgiving on the Regal in an aft balcony.  We did not experience any soot, but we chose the Dolphin Deck which is covered more than the other decks.  We love aft balconies.  The huge balcony and the sound of the wake is worth it.

We had a Premium Deluxe Balcony Dolphin aft cabin on the Regal 2 weeks ago and also had no soot issues. 

[Papa Yoda]

 

Dolphin aft on boarding.  There was a door mat just inside the balcony door.

 

[jwattle]

I'll be happily risking it on the Enchanted in D737 

[Ox Fan Cruiser]

we are booked for Sky Princess D730 for the Transatlantic in September. I wonder if the direction of the wind vs sailing direction plays a part in Soot / No Soot game?

 

[Colo Cruiser]

53 minutes ago, Ox Fan Cruiser said:

we are booked for Sky Princess D730 for the Transatlantic in September. I wonder if the direction of the wind vs sailing direction plays a part in Soot / No Soot game?

 

Many factors including fuel, wind direction etc

 

[I object 2]

On 2/7/2020 at 5:06 PM, SDWalt said:

We were on the Jan 11 Royal Mexican Riviera in an aft Penthouse suite.  Soot was AWFUL.  Completely unusable balcony the entire cruise.  Interestingly, the day we embarked a ship's officer came to check the condition of the balcony...his response at looking outside...'Not too bad today'.  Well the was the beginning.  Add to the fact our room steward was the least attentive steward we have ever had, the balcony was worthless to us.  We always try to book an aft penthouse or owner's suite but I will not be booking one on the Royal again.  And if Princess can't seem to correct the issue we probably will try sailing only on the grand class ships (while they are still around) or book mid ship penthouse suites even though we prefer a more spacious room.

Sorry you experienced the heavy soot issue during your cruise.  We were fortunate and experienced minimal soot in R731 the week before you.  Was your balcony partially covered or totally open?

 

Jan      

[RocketMan275]

8 hours ago, Ox Fan Cruiser said:

we are booked for Sky Princess D730 for the Transatlantic in September. I wonder if the direction of the wind vs sailing direction plays a part in Soot / No Soot game?

 

Absolutely.  It's the relative wind, the direction of the ship and the direction of the wind and the strength of the wind, all play a part.  Have you ever noticed smoke trailing behind a ship?  A wind from the side blows the smoke/soot away.  A relative wind blowing aft also blows it away.  A wind blowing from the rear forward holds the smoke/soot closer to the ship as the soot falls.  

[RocketMan275]

On 2/7/2020 at 7:09 PM, franktown said:

 

Fully agree with you.  The Aft penthouse balcony can be unusable.  I my last cruise in one we had 3 good days and 3 terrible days.  I have switched to the Premium Suites on the Royal class ships.  They have a great front facing large window and a normal suite balcony on the side.  Also quite a bit cheaper.

Of course the balconies along side of the ship are always unusable due to their small size.

[SDWalt]

2 hours ago, I object 2 said:

Sorry you experienced the heavy soot issue during your cruise.  We were fortunate and experienced minimal soot in R731 the week before you.  Was your balcony partially covered or totally open?

 

Jan      

Partially covered.  The entire thing looked gray there was so much soot.  Just the luck of the draw I guess.