Oosterdam RAW SEWAGE DISASTER HOLLAND AMERICA DOES NOT CARE ABOUT THEIR GUESTS!

[OlsSalt]

13 minutes ago, vicd1969 said:

At the very least, free spa passes for the rest of the cruise to use the showers and toilet there should have been given to the OP. 

 

OP claimed this happened "multiple times", but did not report how many days this was a problem. How does the OP know the SAME cabin is still having the SAME issues months later? What is his source for this claim. Prior online reviews in a quick search for this cabin number and ship claimed it was a lovely choice. 

 

This is a problem ,when it happens. That is not the issue. Many of us have also faced occasional plumbing back ups. Just too many missing facts in the original post, to get a real sense of the compensation demands and degree of current rant.

 

I always welcomed the Captain's announcement during some lifeboat drills reminding people what to flush and what not to flush in the cabin commodes. Since what one passenger does can and will affect others on the same plumbing line who do follow the rules.

 

I don't hear these announcements any longer. Nor do I find the signage on the commode really adequate,  considering the nature of the problem affecting so many others on the same line.

[Destiny0315]

I also looked up reviews of the Oosterdam for this exact cruise and around it and there were complaints but about air conditioning troubles in which fans were provided by HAL to the cabins with issues and a light being out in the shuffleboard area which was replaced after they were alerted. So those were easy fixes but attended to quickly once reported to the right people. 

Edited August 23, 2023 by Destiny0315

[Guest ldtr]

33 minutes ago, OlsSalt said:

 

OP claimed this happened "multiple times", but did not report how many days this was a problem. How does the OP know the SAME cabin is still having the SAME issues months later? What is his source for this claim. Prior online reviews in a quick search for this cabin number and ship claimed it was a lovely choice. 

 

This is a problem ,when it happens. That is not the issue. Many of us have also faced occasional plumbing back ups. Just too many missing facts in the original post, to get a real sense of the compensation demands and degree of current rant.

 

I always welcomed the Captain's announcement during some lifeboat drills reminding people what to flush and what not to flush in the cabin commodes. Since what one passenger does can and will affect others on the same plumbing line who do follow the rules.

 

I don't hear these announcements any longer. Nor do I find the signage on the commode really adequate,  considering the nature of the problem affecting so many others on the same line.

Just an observation that the OP seems to only have posted here after his negotiations with HAL broke down.  When he did not agree to the $1000 OBC and they stopped responding apparently after he rejected their best and final offer.

[crystalspin]

It was a toilet back-up, not a raw sewage disaster. If someone refused to be moved to a "lesser" cabin (because the few Neptunes were indeed taken), that's on them. $2000 is not nothing.

[3rdGenCunarder]

3 hours ago, chengkp75 said:

The teak decking requires specialist installers, and a day or two with no rain to get the sealant between boards to cure.  This looks like the square patch is over a deck drain that may have rusted through, and the others are from sections of decking that came unglued from the steel deck.  Most times this kind of work requires the deck area to be taken out of use for a week, and to have the installers brought onboard.

 

Are the balconies teak? I thought they were some kind of vinyl that looks like teak decking.

 

The picture definitely looks like something was patched. This appears to be at the corner, looking toward the narrower side area. @urqu3, was the larger part of the balcony patched like that, too?

[3rdGenCunarder]

19 minutes ago, crystalspin said:

It was a toilet back-up, not a raw sewage disaster. If someone refused to be moved to a "lesser" cabin (because the few Neptunes were indeed taken), that's on them. $2000 is not nothing.

 

Did I miss something that was deleted since I was online earlier? All I see from OP is that they were told no cabin was available, no mention of categories. 

[Destiny0315]

21 minutes ago, crystalspin said:

It was a toilet back-up, not a raw sewage disaster. If someone refused to be moved to a "lesser" cabin (because the few Neptunes were indeed taken), that's on them. $2000 is not nothing.

Just for perspective, passengers on the infamous Carnival Triumph poop cruise of 2013 which was a true raw sewage disaster after a fire left the ship stranded for 5 days at sea with no working toilets at all received a complete cruise refund and $500pp FCC.

[Lakesregion]

I am amazed at the level of HAL cheerleading here. It would appear that the original poster made a number of sincere efforts to get the situation resolved, first on board and thn after the cruise. Anything short of a full 100% refund of the cruise fare is low class on the part of HAL. But now that both at sea and on land hospitality businesses are hiring people with little to no hospitality expeience nor desire to be a functionin hospitality employee, one can expect more of the same reaction.

[Dobby36]

FWIW, I was on the same ship a few months ago and there were toilet issues.  Luckily (maybe because of highest floor?) ours seemed just to not flush well/lose pressure, and nothing foreign certainly came back up thank goodness! 
 

However, I distinctly remember the charming Captain making a joke to the effect of “sorry to those of you who’ve had plumbing issues.  Oosterdam, she’s an older lady. And those of us who are older often are familiar with such plumbing troubles” or something to make light of it during his captains talk. He was being funny, but did acknowledge it and apologize. This was late March.  I hope they are doing their best until the October dry dock can provide a fuller fix, but obviously there are issues.  As others have said it could be quite local due to foreign objects disposed of too.  

[albingirl]

This whole thing is disgusting.  Whatever the case may be, and the discussion about compensation dollars, the issue is that nobody should ever have to deal with such a gross situation. I'd take my pillow and sleep in the crow's nest before I entered that cabin again.

[Mary229]

24 minutes ago, albingirl said:

This whole thing is disgusting.  Whatever the case may be, and the discussion about compensation dollars, the issue is that nobody should ever have to deal with such a gross situation. I'd take my pillow and sleep in the crow's nest before I entered that cabin again.

I did that once on an Amazon river cruise.  The boat was incapacitated and docked on shore in a remote area - no air conditioning, so I grabbed my pillows and slept in the screened in mess hall.   No one bothered me either!    I would expect better on a cruise ship owned by a large-cap multinational company. 

[sambamama]

The toilet problem is bad, but it is a backed up toliet, NOT raw sewage. I was on a cruise where people at my table had a raw sewage incident in their cabin and were promptly given a new cabin. I agree the deck needs repair, but I don't find it in disgusting shape. It looks rusty and needs to have some plank work repaired. But there is plenty of deck that is fine. We all know there have been cutbacks, and so the deck should have been fixed sooner. 

[Heidi13]

12 hours ago, Homelines said:

I think this shows that maintenance is insufficient on the ships.  Drydockings are needed more than once every 5 years.  The cruise lines only drydock their ships when required by law.  Years ago cruise lines drydocked their ships at least every other year, and before that it was done annually. 

 

The number of drydockings is totally irrelevant to both issues experienced by the OP, as both these issues can be addressed while the ship is operational by engineers and contractors. Regardless,  ships over 15 years old have to drydock twice in 5 yrs.

 

Yes, when I first went to sea we drydocked annually, because that was the limit of the anti-fouling paint. Marine coatings technology in the 70's was nowhere close to what it is these days. Back when doing annual dryockings we couldn't let the anti-fouling fully dry, so if flooding was delayed, we manned hoses to keep the hull wetted. Yes, I've spent > 12 hrs manning a hose spraying the hull, not something you tend to forget. Going into drydock after 1-year in the 1970's, the hulls were in worse shape with marine growth, than my last command drydocking after 3-years.

 

Although we may have drydocked annually, we didn't have much extra time than current ships docking 2 in 5, as the schedule had alternating 6-days and 9-days drydocks. By the time you add transit to/from drydock and the flooding/floating time, we didn't have more time than the current 12 - 14 day dockings. Therefore, even back in the days when we drydocked annually, we did not get any additional maintenance time for issues reported by the OP.

[sojodave]

I saw the original poster post this on FB.  What is really sad is that someone had that room on the cruise after them and had the exact same problems.  When HAL sees a problem with a room that can't be fixed quickly, they should not have sell that room on the very next cruise.

[urqu3]

Sambamama,  Just to clarify. The issue was not a backed up toilet. That was not our sewage filling the toilet it was filling up from other cabins every time somebody else flushed!

[keysey222]

I'm surprised by the comments making it seem like it's not that bad. I'd be livid if I spent all the money for a Neptune Suite and encountered both of these issues. First, I wouldn't feel comfortable allowing my child to play on the balcony with all that rust. Second, I can't imagine the smell inside the cabin. I've been on HAL ships (Nieuw Amsterdam, in this case) in which the room (Neptune) smelled like cruise toilet/sewage the entire voyage. We've all smelled the smell and it's not limited to HAL. But this time, it permeated the whole cabin and we had to endure a faint sewage smell the whole time. My father-in-law had the cabin next door and his didn't smell any better. Thankfully, it was only 7 days. That was awful enough, so I can't imagine enduring other guests waste sitting in the toilet and having to smell it. I'd expect more than $600 FCC per person for that. 

[parallax]

I tend to be a roll with a punches type of person.  I understand tha everything is not going to be perfect on a cruise.  However, if his happened to me and I received this sort of response, I would be livid.  I feel for he OP.  We have a 12 night cruise booked on the Oosterdam next year in a Neptune Suite.  This is giving me pause.  If there are plumbing issues that are endemic to the ship, why take the risk?  Plus, if this is how they are going to respond, why give HAL my hard earned money?

[AllTheSun]

17 hours ago, OlsSalt said:

 

OP claimed this happened "multiple times", but did not report how many days this was a problem. How does the OP know the SAME cabin is still having the SAME issues months later? What is his source for this claim. Prior online reviews in a quick search for this cabin number and ship claimed it was a lovely choice. 

 

This is a problem ,when it happens. That is not the issue. Many of us have also faced occasional plumbing back ups. Just too many missing facts in the original post, to get a real sense of the compensation demands and degree of current rant.

 

I always welcomed the Captain's announcement during some lifeboat drills reminding people what to flush and what not to flush in the cabin commodes. Since what one passenger does can and will affect others on the same plumbing line who do follow the rules.

 

I don't hear these announcements any longer. Nor do I find the signage on the commode really adequate,  considering the nature of the problem affecting so many others on the same line.

The multiple times comment means it had to have resolved multiple times as well so this is not a “I had no toilet for the cruise” situation but more of a “I had to call maintenance multiple times” situation…

[*Miss G*]

3 hours ago, keysey222 said:

I'm surprised by the comments making it seem like it's not that bad. I'd be livid if I spent all the money for a Neptune Suite and encountered both of these issues. First, I wouldn't feel comfortable allowing my child to play on the balcony with all that rust. Second, I can't imagine the smell inside the cabin. I've been on HAL ships (Nieuw Amsterdam, in this case) in which the room (Neptune) smelled like cruise toilet/sewage the entire voyage. We've all smelled the smell and it's not limited to HAL. But this time, it permeated the whole cabin and we had to endure a faint sewage smell the whole time. My father-in-law had the cabin next door and his didn't smell any better. Thankfully, it was only 7 days. That was awful enough, so I can't imagine enduring other guests waste sitting in the toilet and having to smell it. I'd expect more than $600 FCC per person for that. 

It would be nice if the room stewards were taught to pour a glass of water down the drains whilst servicing the rooms. It’s a simple fix to prevent the odors caused by ship movement unsealing them and allowing them to escape. We had 3 floor drains in our bathroom on the Oosterdam in June   Once I started doing that, the odors magically disappeared. 

Edited August 23, 2023 by *Miss G*

[Lvwindstar007]

19 hours ago, Destiny0315 said:

The Oosterdam is scheduled for its next dry dock from Oct 8-20, 2023.

And we are scheduled to depart Athens aboard the Oosterdam on 20 Oct 2023.  We have a deck 4 rear balcony. Will report if anything is amiss.

[Guest ldtr]

5 hours ago, urqu3 said:

Sambamama,  Just to clarify. The issue was not a backed up toilet. That was not our sewage filling the toilet it was filling up from other cabins every time somebody else flushed!

Which is rather interesting  Since the toilet systems are vacuum driven. If there is no vacuum the toilets will not flush. Which is the normal problem that the line gets plugged. If there is vacuum the waste will flow down the line and will not back up. If there is no vacuum the other toilets would not flush and no waste would enter the system.

 

In addition each toilet has a valve that only open when it is flushing that should prevent any back flow.

 

For this to happen with other waste entering a rooms toilet, it would require a number of simultaneous failures.

 

Maybe chengkp75 will comment on how this can occur.

 

Edited August 23, 2023 by ldtr

[chengkp75]

9 minutes ago, ldtr said:

Which is rather interesting  Since the toilet systems are vacuum driven. If there is no vacuum the toilets will not flush. Which is the normal problem that the line gets plugged. If there is vacuum the waste will flow down the line and will not back up. If there is no vacuum the other toilets would not flush and no waste would enter the system.

 

In addition each toilet has a valve that only open when it is flushing that should prevent any back flow.

 

For this to happen with other waste entering a rooms toilet, it would require a number of simultaneous failures.

 

 

 

You are correct.  I suspect that the OP's toilet had a "discharge valve" (the valve that opens to empty the toilet) that was leaking slightly, so the vacuum in the system was slowly sucking the water out of the bowl, but if the toilet is flushed often enough, one of these "leakers" doesn't get the bowl dry and create a "sucking toilet" that can be heard.  Now, when the vacuum goes down in the system, sometimes there is enough vacuum at a location to trigger the flushing sequence valve, so someone's toilet could flush, but there is not enough vacuum to get the "product" all the way through the system, and then what "product" is laying in horizontal pipe runs will flow by gravity down the system.  If the "discharge valves" are all working properly, then nothing should come back through while the vacuum is down.  But, a "leaker" will allow the "product" to back flow into a toilet by gravity.

 

So, long story short, the OP's toilet was most likely an unnoticed problem, that became a problem when the vacuum system got plugged repeatedly.

 

It is a pretty rare occurrence, I would set it at about once in every couple of thousand toilet failures.

Edited August 23, 2023 by chengkp75

[Fouremco]

4 hours ago, sojodave said:

I saw the original poster post this on FB.  What is really sad is that someone had that room on the cruise after them and had the exact same problems.  When HAL sees a problem with a room that can't be fixed quickly, they should not have sell that room on the very next cruise.

Well, that's fine in theory, but the passengers who booked that cabin might have done so months or even a couple of years ago. It would be impossible for HAL to know at the time of booking that there might be a problem at some distant future date.

[ChinaShrek]

19 hours ago, OlsSalt said:

 

OP claimed this happened "multiple times", but did not report how many days this was a problem. How does the OP know the SAME cabin is still having the SAME issues months later? What is his source for this claim. Prior online reviews in a quick search for this cabin number and ship claimed it was a lovely choice. 

 

This is a problem ,when it happens. That is not the issue. Many of us have also faced occasional plumbing back ups. Just too many missing facts in the original post, to get a real sense of the compensation demands and degree of current rant.

 

 

How many photos do they need to provide for us to validate their concerns? Perhaps the OP should have made videos of all interactions with apathetic crew members? I am not being sarcastic. I am suggesting that people be more supportive of the OP and a toilet that smelled and looked like that 24/7 on my cruise would have ruined my vacation. Several people think a $1000 FCC is wonderful compensation. I would argue that the problem was obviously serious enough or HAL would not have offered the amount. Furthermore, a FCC costs HAL very little because the OP will need to book an additional cruise to use it.

[urqu3]

Many of you have asked how many times this happened. Or was it an ongoing problem? 

We had raw sewage filling our toilet multiple times a day every day! I also want to reiterate this was not a backed up toilet , This was raw sewage filling our toilet from some other cabins. The excrement in the pictures was not ours!!!