bad sewage smell on star

[stewcrews]

Marie,

If it's any help to you, Alan and I were on Star 12/16 and were on Aloha deck starboard midship (A629 if you want to look to see how close your cabin is to where ours was) and we were able to use our balcony at night. A woman in Aloha down the hall from us in A305 couldn't use her balcony. It seems that the problem is more forward than midship so you might be okay. Hope that helps.

Debbie

 

The sewer smell is worse in the cabins and balconies near the front elevators. Mostly on the starboard side. Sometimes it goes back to mid and aft ship. Spa area is bad and sometimes all the way to the buffet smells like a sewer.

[CCSSDRC]

People seem to be blaming the starboard side of the ship the most. Is that the side of the fire on the star?

[Gator83]

Nancy's review when I noticed the info on the Renaissance. Thanks for letting me know that I messed up in such a kind way - not always the case these days on CC.

If Gator83 happens to see this post maybe she can fill me in on her experience with Priceline and the Renaissance.

THANKs AGAIN -we are cruising on the Star the end of April - pulled Dolpin starboard 529 hope it doesn't smell on our balcony :o

 

Sorry to disappoint you but it wasn't me that posted about the Renaissance. I stayed with family prior to my trip.

 

Go Gators.......NCAA Football Champions!!!!!!!

[Host Star]

friends are on star now and met with the captain and officers as part of an elite member get together.. they mentioned the smell and all seemed surprised.,.. what smell?.. she told them there were a lot of posts on the internet about it also and they seemed surprised at that.. also they could not get into cozumel because of rough seas....

[CruiseKing]

Star,

Thanks for the update. Have your friends encountered the now infamous oder?

[coka]

Is there ever a "good" sewage smell (I like the thread's title)?!

 

Ay yiy yiy...booked the Star 4/21 sailing and just read through this thread.

 

Thank you for the information everyone shared. I forwarded it to those I know who are currently booked on her. Not sure how they will respond (cancel, switch ships or ensure cabin is not located forward starboard).

 

Coka

[Host Star]

Star,

Thanks for the update. Have your friends encountered the now infamous oder?

 

yes.. they said there definitely is a smell.. they could not believe the replies they got about it being non existent, even from the captain

[DebbieLynne]

Is there ever a "good" sewage smell (I like the thread's title)?!

 

Ay yiy yiy...booked the Star 4/21 sailing and just read through this thread.

 

Thank you for the information everyone shared. I forwarded it to those I know who are currently booked on her. Not sure how they will respond (cancel, switch ships or ensure cabin is not located forward starboard).

 

Coka

 

I hope you have a great time, regardless. The mainstage entertainment is great (and doesn't stink!) pun intended:D

Debbie

[Katrinamp]

yes.. they said there definitely is a smell.. they could not believe the replies they got about it being non existent, even from the captain

 

Maybe the cruise staff can't smell it becuase they got used to it. Though, that is not to say that they couldn't smell it when the problem first showed up, because they had to of, who wouldn't?

 

Have you ever walked in to a coffee shop and been hit by the really strong coffeebean smell? I worked in a coffee shop for 2 1/2 years and after the first month or so of working there, I never noticed the coffee smell when I walked in the store to work. It was like I had grown immune to it. Then I went back to visit the store after quitting and I noticed the smell as soon as I walked in again!

[Sea YA Cruiser]

:confused: Can anyone tell me if the Star has movie under the stars?

[iancal]

I think that it is safe to assume that the staff have all been EXPRESSLY TOLD not to say anything about the smell or even acknowledge that there is one. If anyone at Princess admits there is a smell, a problem, this serves to obligate Princess to 'fix' the problem and 'compensate' those whose cruises have been impacted by the problem. I doubt very much that Princess will ever admit to a problem, rather they will quietly have it dealt with at the next scheduled drydock unless of course bookings start to be impacted.

[Sea YA Cruiser]

Does anyone know when the next scheduled drydock is for the Star. We are going on the Star in March. I really hope they fix this problem but from what I read this seem to be a long pass problem.

[NorcalGuy]

yes.. they said there definitely is a smell.. they could not believe the replies they got about it being non existent, even from the captain

This is very disturbing to me. With these reports of the staff denying any "smell" on the Star, it seems as if they may be living with a "white elephant" in the atrium and everyone is ignoring it (or is that phrase pink elephant?) I sincerely hope that is not the case, but I won't know until I actually board. If that is the case, then it will surely be hard to believe anything from them thereafter. I really hope any problem will be/is fixed! We just want it to go away, and soon!

[CruiseKing]

:confused: Can anyone tell me if the Star has movie under the stars?

No MUTS on the Star.

[Sea YA Cruiser]

Thank for the info. i enjoyed looking at your photos.

[drjochen]

OK, we just returned from the Star Princess (1 hour ago...).

We had D603 and D605. There is a smell. We encountered it only twice during the cruise in our cabin, everytime after we left port for ~ 1-2 hours. It wasn't too bad, but it was definitely annoying. I asked the staff and they heavily denied it (it was almost suspicious how fast they denied it...).

It was also there on the upper decks, but not so much on the balcony.

Its not really a sewage smell, smells a bit different.

 

Any other questions about the Star, fell free to ask!!!!!!!!!!!

[CruiseKing]

Who was your CD and do know how much longer that person will be there? Any word on who might be their replacement?

Thanx,

[kosmo]

Kelvin was the Cruise Director and Adam was the Deputy Cruise Director. Not sure how much longer either is there though.

[BACON227]

Anybody just back from the Star know if Sarge is still onboard and if he will be there for the 01/20 cruise?

[drjochen]

Kelvin was the Cruise Director and Adam was the Deputy Cruise Director. Not sure how much longer either is there though.

 

Nothing to add here. They were both ok. The jokes were a bit old...

[Great Stone Face]

Does anyone know when the next scheduled drydock is for the Star. We are going on the Star in March. I really hope they fix this problem but from what I read this seem to be a long pass problem.

 

The sewage odor problem seems to be mentioned in posts re Caribbean cruises on the Star. Anyone experience the problem on a Baltic cruise? Would colder water ameliorate the problem?

 

We are booked on the Star in Aug. '07 out of Copenhagen for Stockholm, Oslo, Helsinki, Gdansk, St. Petersburg, & Tallinn (in some order). It'll be our first-ever cruise.

[crusdiva]

The sewage odor problem seems to be mentioned in posts re Caribbean cruises on the Star. Anyone experience the problem on a Baltic cruise? Would colder water ameliorate the problem?

 

We are booked on the Star in Aug. '07 out of Copenhagen for Stockholm, Oslo, Helsinki, Gdansk, St. Petersburg, & Tallinn (in some order). It'll be our first-ever cruise.

 

DH and I were on the September 12th Baltic cruise - no sewage smell.:)

BTW - you will love this itinerary!

[NorcalGuy]

The sewage odor problem seems to be mentioned in posts re Caribbean cruises on the Star. Anyone experience the problem on a Baltic cruise? Would colder water ameliorate the problem?

Yes that's a great question. I'm also considering the Baltic voyage. Any "smell" reports from Baltic cruisers on Star? Cruisediva weighs in with a "No". That's encouraging!

[Sea YA Cruiser]

OK, we just returned from the Star Princess (1 hour ago...).

We had D603 and D605. There is a smell. We encountered it only twice during the cruise in our cabin, everytime after we left port for ~ 1-2 hours. It wasn't too bad, but it was definitely annoying. I asked the staff and they heavily denied it (it was almost suspicious how fast they denied it...).

It was also there on the upper decks, but not so much on the balcony.

Its not really a sewage smell, smells a bit different.

 

Any other questions about the Star, fell free to ask!!!!!!!!!!!

 

How did you like the shows & food? Did you enjoy the islands? Any pointer I should know?

[drjochen]

How did you like the shows & food? Did you enjoy the islands? Any pointer I should know?

 

The cruise started with a big disappointment. Princess changed our pre-cruise package hotel to the Grand Yacht Club, which is under total construction. I had read about it, so I called Princess about it, and they claimed that “we have no record of the hotel undergoing construction”. Well, even the hotel web page said it! They refused to do anything about it then. So we ended up there and the hotel was ok at best. The location is nice, but the room we were in was in dire need of a renovation (mold, baseboards falling off, toilet seat broken, etc.). The main tower is under construction and we had jackhammers and concrete drilling the entire morning that we spend at the pool. During breakfast, they were drilling right above out heads and plaster fell down from the ceiling on the table next to us….

The cabin was fine, mostly clean (although there was still sand and hair from the previous occupants), but the carpets and the sofa were heavily stained.

The shows were quite good. We had a couple named Komika, Kamika, whatever and they were really great. However, they were British so their humor was a bit different and not for everyone from the US (people here get offended way too fast…). The dancers/production shows were also great.

The food was also very good, not outstanding, but good enough for us to be happy. The service was excellent every time!

What we found was that the Eastern European waiters were less friendly and attentive than the waiters from Mexico/Asia. We had a great duo Rey/Juan in the Portofino room and we requested them every night. There was a wait for dinner (anytime dining) every night that started ~ 7 pm. Come before 6.30 pm and there is no wait. The foodcourt was at best so/so, but then I am not a fast food / food court guy anyway. Btw., I did not see anyone sell coffee stickers (since this has been a topic here).

Ports:

Ocho Rios was awful (for us). We are not the “I am going on vacation mainly for shopping type people”. The dock is a bauxite factory and ~ 20 min from town. People were very aggressive in trying to sell stuff and we heard that 5 people got busted for drug purchases (I have no proof for it…). We did the plantation tour, which was interesting, but unfortunately included Dunns River Falls, a huge tourist trap. However, it was quite amazing to watch hundreds of overweight tourists struggling up the falls in the water. We just stood there for an hour laughing…

Cayman: nice, but VERY crowded (6 ships that day). Very expensive, though. We did the turtle farm, which was very nice for our daughter. “Hell” is a total joke, a tourist trap in need of a clean-up and new paint.

Cozumel: well, we didn’t get there because of wind. They just cancelled the port without waiting or even trying to get close. The ship then proceeded directly to Princess Cays, where we did not arrive any earlier although we had an extra 10 hours to get there. They definitely saved some fuel there…..

Princess Cays: very nice facilities, very very very expensive stores (go outside to the local vendors, they sell T-shirts for 30% of what you pay inside), ok beach, but lots of stones in the water. Not child friendly at all (for them to go into the ocean). Take rubber / beach shoes with you. Food there was ok, nothing special. The NCL island in comparison has a much nicer beach, but not so good facilities.

Some other random observations:

I already described the smell. Its there, but not too bad or annoying, and they vehemently and immediately completely deny its existence.

The indoor pool was “broken” twice, which led to much disappointment from my daughter.

They charge for ice cream, what a joke.

The art auction, spa package etc. selling is out of hand. We got tons of advertising material in out cabin. My wife did an eye treatment and they were trying very hard to sell her more stuff.

The childcare was great. Out 5 year old loved it.

The soda stickers do not work on Princess Cays, what a ripoff.