Thoughts ?

[babs135]

We've heard before about the dangers of fumes, so what is your reaction to this article ?  

Widow sues P&O cruises over claims husband was killed by fumes (msn.com)

[Jennizor]

This type of issue is  always a difficult one. My first reaction was that if I was in a cabin that had fumes in I would have insisted at once that I was moved. I have mild asthma but I am very wary if it suddenly worsens.  I had an unfortunate episode several years ago (not on a ship) and finished up in hospital. On the other hand no cruise company should ignore the issue of fumes in a cabin and should have investigated it thoroughly, we don’t know if they did. It’s very sad for this family who just want to know if there could have been a different outcome. 

[WECRUISEUK]

2 minutes ago, Jennizor said:

This type of issue is  always a difficult one. My first reaction was that if I was in a cabin that had fumes in I would have insisted at once that I was moved. I have mild asthma but I am very wary if it suddenly worsens.  I had an unfortunate episode several years ago (not on a ship) and finished up in hospital. On the other hand no cruise company should ignore the issue of fumes in a cabin and should have investigated it thoroughly, we don’t know if they did. It’s very sad for this family who just want to know if there could have been a different outcome. 

Would be interesting to know the cabin number as others could have had issues with this prior to august 2018 or just after.P&O have recently said that anyone requiring supplementary oxygen or dialysis will no longer be able to sail with them,clearly a safety measure designed to ensure this doesn't occur again.Condolenses for the family and friends of Peter Gair for this tragic incident which highlights the potential dangers for those with breathing issues,of which i'm one(sarcoidosis).

[Son of Anarchy]

If I could smell diesel in the cabin itself, I would ask to move cabins or that something be done about it.  I did wonder whether the article may be a bit poorly worded, and that the smell was actually encountered on deck whilst the ship was bunkering.  But this seems unlikely being only a seven day cruise.

 

When we were on Marco Polo I could smell diesel in the corridor when we got on and off the ship, but could smell diesel any where else.  Apart from the occasional whiff on deck in port whilst bunkering that's the only time I've smelt diesel on board.

 

Certainly should not be getting diesel smells in a cabin, or any area for that matter.

 

 

[Snibs]

1 hour ago, WECRUISEUK said:

.P&O have recently said that anyone requiring supplementary oxygen or dialysis will no longer be able to sail with them,clearly a safety measure designed to ensure this doesn't occur again. 

I thought that was for COVID reasons.

[Harry Peterson]

10 minutes ago, Snibs said:

I thought that was for COVID reasons.

So did I - but perhaps this is the real reason.  An interesting case, but we have limited facts of course.  Azura, Ventura, Britannia and doubtless other ships do have documented fume problems, I believe.

[WECRUISEUK]

24 minutes ago, Snibs said:

I thought that was for COVID reasons.

If it was then surely other lines would be doing the same..........perhaps they have? or are about to?

[nosapphire]

I cannot see in any of the reports whether a complaint about fumes was made to P&O on board during the cruise, and - if so - what P&O did or said about it.

As already said above, it is a very difficult one - but surely if fumes (and diesel fumes absolutely stink) were getting into the cabin throughout the cruise, then an immediate complaint should be made.

We'll probably never know - I feel very sad for the couple, but would hesitate to blame P&O without knowing the facts.

 

[WECRUISEUK]

21 minutes ago, nosapphire said:

I cannot see in any of the reports whether a complaint about fumes was made to P&O on board during the cruise, and - if so - what P&O did or said about it.

As already said above, it is a very difficult one - but surely if fumes (and diesel fumes absolutely stink) were getting into the cabin throughout the cruise, then an immediate complaint should be made.

We'll probably never know - I feel very sad for the couple, but would hesitate to blame P&O without knowing the facts.

 

Your right,i'm sure that they're just going to be gathering as much info. as they can regards the cabin and listen to the health experts before finally making a decision.The news info. on this is fairly new so all we can do is wait,the history of the cabin and prior occupants will help in deciding if there is any fault in their direction.

[Selbourne]

We have had aft suites on Britannia, Ventura and Arcadia. We had no issues with fumes or soot on Arcadia or Ventura, but it was a major problem on Britannia and this was after the ‘scrubbers’ were fitted that were supposed to alleviate the problem, but didn’t. Did I read on another thread that they have added glass screens over the aft balconies now?

[Harry Peterson]

8 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

We have had aft suites on Britannia, Ventura and Arcadia. We had no issues with fumes or soot on Arcadia or Ventura, but it was a major problem on Britannia and this was after the ‘scrubbers’ were fitted that were supposed to alleviate the problem, but didn’t. Did I read on another thread that they have added glass screens over the aft balconies now?

I believe that last point to be correct.

 

Like you, I've never had a problem with aft suites on Ventura - or Azura for that matter.  We avoided Britannia for one reason only - that the aft suites were allegedly 'sooty'.  You have confirmed my fears.

[Selbourne]

3 minutes ago, Harry Peterson said:

I believe that last point to be correct.

 

Like you, I've never had a problem with aft suites on Ventura - or Azura for that matter.  We avoided Britannia for one reason only - that the aft suites were allegedly 'sooty'.  You have confirmed my fears.

Sadly the soot was one of three major problems with the suite Harry. We received sizeable compensation (after a fight and the usual non-disclosure agreement, which I know you have also experienced) but would have much preferred to have had no problems and been able to fully enjoy the suite and the huge wrap around balcony. 

[grapau27]

We regularly sit on our balconies late at night with cups of hot chocolate or coffee and noticed significantly more smoke coming from the funnels when sitting on our aft balcony cabins at night time.

[yorkshirephil]

10 hours ago, grapau27 said:

We regularly sit on our balconies late at night with cups of hot chocolate or coffee and noticed significantly more smoke coming from the funnels when sitting on our aft balcony cabins at night time.

You see that often Graham, especially if the next port is a good distance away or if you are at sea, they need to get their foot down. Better at night than during meal times.

[davecttr]

2 hours ago, yorkshirephil said:

You see that often Graham, especially if the next port is a good distance away or if you are at sea, they need to get their foot down. Better at night than during meal times.

I remember reading somewhere that they might be purging the exhaust system filters during the quiet hours?

[Selbourne]

36 minutes ago, davecttr said:

I remember reading somewhere that they might be purging the exhaust system filters during the quiet hours?

 

Yes that rings a bell with me. I remember someone asking a similar question to the Chief Engineer during a behind the scenes tour and they do something different at night to clear them out. Explains why we awoke to the soot on the balcony in the mornings! 

[Snibs]

On 3/11/2021 at 2:26 PM, WECRUISEUK said:

If it was then surely other lines would be doing the same..........perhaps they have? or are about to?

I have no idea what the other lines are doing to be honest.

 

On 3/11/2021 at 2:10 PM, Harry Peterson said:

So did I - but perhaps this is the real reason.  An interesting case, but we have limited facts of course.  Azura, Ventura, Britannia and doubtless other ships do have documented fume problems, I believe.

They might be trying to use COVID as a reason but a) it’s been a couple of years & b) you would suspect more people being ill with it before or after that time.

 

While there is a soot issue (apparently more on Britannia then Ventura or Azura) this is probably more of an inconvenience for people, where as fumes pose a much more serious risk and would not the whole family be effected by it?

[majortom10]

7 minutes ago, Snibs said:

I have no idea what the other lines are doing to be honest.

 

They might be trying to use COVID as a reason but a) it’s been a couple of years & b) you would suspect more people being ill with it before or after that time.

 

While there is a soot issue (apparently more on Britannia then Ventura or Azura) this is probably more of an inconvenience for people, where as fumes pose a much more serious risk and would not the whole family be effected by it?

Since they have fitted glass shades over all the aft balconies I have not heard anyone saying they had a problem. We had an aft balcony on maiden cruise and we didnt have a problem except for one occasion and it wasnt serious and was soon sorted by cabin steward.

Edited March 12, 2021 by majortom10

[Snibs]

Pleased that the glass shades are working on Britannia. We had a cabin at the back of Ventura and didnt notice any soot. But it was a good few years ago!

[Selbourne]

8 minutes ago, Snibs said:

Pleased that the glass shades are working on Britannia. We had a cabin at the back of Ventura and didnt notice any soot. But it was a good few years ago!

The soot problem seems to be unique to Britannia. As I said previously, we have had aft cabins on Britannia, Arcadia and Ventura and only had a problem on Britannia. It was more than a slight inconvenience though. The poor cabin steward was out on the balcony for ages every day it ‘landed’ hosing it down and, try as he might, he couldn’t shift it all. It’s an oily soot, so just one spec of it on clothing from a seat or handrail smudged and meant that you had to change your clothes. We also walked oily footprints into the cabin and if you made the mistake of going out in to the balcony barefoot it was a nightmare to get it off the soles of your feet. The amount of soot depended on the weather overnight. If it’s cold and wet the soot falls sooner and catches the deck. If it’s warm and dry it falls behind the ship so missed the balconies. Also depends on wind direction. Some days the port side catches it, other days the starboard side. Hopefully this is all history now if the glass canopies are doing their job. 

[Snibs]

I accept that my terminology of inconvenience is probably a bit of an understatement, particularly from your description. Would I want to put up with it - no, especially on holiday. But don’t think it would be a major health risk.

Fair play to the cabin steward, bet he would dread the colder damp days.

[Guest]

We have an aft balcony booked on Britannia on C deck. Had anyone travelled in one since the introduction of the canopies? If they only added them to A and B deck it would infer that it was either for privacy reasons or that they do help with the soot for all the balconies 

 

We don’t spend a lot of time on the balcony during the day, but I’m worried now about it!

 

we will be in the Caribbean (if that makes a difference!)

Edited March 12, 2021 by Guest

[Selbourne]

19 minutes ago, Snibs said:

I accept that my terminology of inconvenience is probably a bit of an understatement, particularly from your description. Would I want to put up with it - no, especially on holiday. But don’t think it would be a major health risk.

Fair play to the cabin steward, bet he would dread the colder damp days.

I should have added that we only smelt fumes once during the 14 days. We didn’t consider the soot to be a health risk, just a damned nuisance! We like aft cabins generally, but if we booked another one on Britannia it would be around B to D decks. We had quite a bit of vibration on F deck and could hear music from the Live Lounge quite clearly, even though we were two decks above it. 

[terrierjohn]

11 hours ago, Selbourne said:

 

Yes that rings a bell with me. I remember someone asking a similar question to the Chief Engineer during a behind the scenes tour and they do something different at night to clear them out. Explains why we awoke to the soot on the balcony in the mornings! 

I don't think its just at night, we had a spotty soot incident around the main pool on Celebrity Eclipse once, on a Canaries cruise while docked in Lanzarote.  It was a still day with hazy sunshine on the sun deck, when there was a sudden shower which deposited sooty spots everywhere. When we looked at the funnels there was black smoke everywhere.

[Harry Peterson]

If you look, from your aft cabin or suite on Azura or Ventura, into the distance, there’s always a distinct yellowish haze of pollution.

 

Hopefully the newer ships will lessen the obvious problem.