bad sewage smell on star

[CruiseChat]

Tonto524,

 

What is the email address for Hotel Manager - I will send one as well. We board this Saturday (11/25) and all of this is very discouraging to say the least. Please replay at your earliest opportunity.

 

Thanks!

[Host Star]

Anyone know why caymen was skipped and they are still not off the ship in cozumel?

 

 

tendering took a long time.because of the rough water,, those with excursions were tendered first... my son didn't get tendered in until 1:15.. and getting back to the ship from the pier took 55 minutes from pier to s hip

[tonto524]

I sent the email to starprincess@princesscruises.com and in the subject line I put "Attention: Hotel Manager". Have not heard anything back and we are flying out in the morning - I'll check before we go and will post if anything has been received. See you on board, CruiseChat, and hopefully we won't have clothespins on our noses!

[sosdiana]

Hi CruiseChat

I've been watching this thread too. I was afraid to mention it on our roll call as I didn't want to put any preconceived notions in anyone's head. Let us know what you hear back.

 

Happy Thanksgiving, have a safe trip and we'll see you at our get-together on Sunday.

[tejmar]

On monday the tour operator for the Thriller Boat ride emailed me that a front was going through Grand Cayman and the seas were 7' or more. Maybe that's why they couldn't stop there. I'm surprised that they are tendering in Cozumel. We docked at the International Pier on 11/15. I was pleasantly surprised about that since I had read that the Pier Princess used had not been finished. I guess we got a lucky break.

 

With regard to the sewage smell, I really doubt that Princess could fix the problem without some major reworking of the system. I think that the problem is their venting system which must come out somewhere on the Promenade deck and the air currents drag it through the ship as doors are opened or eddy currents drag it up onto the open decks. I remember the smell on the Veendam Promenade deck, but I don't remember it being present on the other decks like on the Star. Maybe the aerodynamics of the Star cause the odor to be dragged throughout the ship more often. You would think that they would try to vent that out with the flue gases, but maybe they have a reason for venting it the way they do. As I said before, it didn't ruin my cruise, but I smelled it enough that it was a memorable part of it.

 

As for the crew, they probably get used to the smells on the ship and probably don't notice it after awhile. Your sense of smell can get desensitized to a particular odor after awhile. Also, some people are more sensitive to smells than others. I know that I am, so a bad sewage odor like that is very noticeable to me. I sure that most of the smokers on our cruise didn't notice the smell much at all.

[CroozBlooz]

Friend of mine are currently on the Star, and they report no sewage odor. Perhaps they don't have sensitive senses of smell.

[bdjam]

It makes me wonder how does the ships deal with waste so many people must create a ton of waste onboard... does it get pumped out once back in port or does some of it get dumped at sea?

Cruise ships have sewage plants on board and any odor is a result of the processing of waste. Some of the treated water - once it is nearly clean - is discharged at sea.

If there is an ongoing problem with odor on Star Princess, complaining to the Hotel Manager isn't going to get it immediately fixed. The poster who indicated it would be an effort is correct - it's equivalent to correcting problems in an industrial plant.

[brovol]

thank you for your efforts to help. today i got some acknowledgement of the problem from the pursers desk. they told me that the person in charge of ventelation is working on it. nothing, however has been offered in terms of compensation or even appology. i dont expect anything other than a good faith effort to correct the problem, and a clear acknowledgement that it exists. having said that, i think it is only fair to state that, with the exception of the smell, and some bad weather (missing a port, and a rocky ride),the service has been outstanding, the food is some of the best i have had on a cruise in the last several years (particularly in the dining room), and it would have been a fantastic cruise, if we didnt feel like we were vacationing at the five star resort next to a sewage treatment plant. too bad for us. to make things worse, we took along a good friend, who had never been on a cruise, and before we booked we insisted that it be on a princess ship, because princess has always been our favorite. i will bet it wont be our friend judy's favorite now.

[ultimatemaniaccruiser]

Oh crap... literally. I'm on the star in January and I too insisted on Princess. I just hope the smell is dealt with before my cruise.

[KauaiKris]

the smell continues, just as other posters have decribed from previous cruises. i think our cabin is in a bad spot, but it originates from the outside in my estimation.

 

Brovol, I'm sorry it has not gotten better. I'm sure that's disappointing for you. I am glad someone acknowledged there was a problem.

 

Without giving the cabin number, could you give the section of the ship you are in (ie. Baja starboard 200's, Caribe port, 700's)?? I'm really stressing about this! We will be on the Caribe deck, starboard with balcony cabins in the 200's. If the weather is going to be rough and we miss visiting a port, I sure would like it to be pleasant spending time on the balcony instead!

 

If this wasn't a problem on the cruises in October, wouldn't that seem to indicate it may not be a permanent (design) problem, but one they can address? I wonder if all of us with upcoming cruises booked on the Star were to email and express concern, would they take it seriously and act to solve it?

[flvol77]

tendering took a long time.because of the rough water,, those with excursions were tendered first... my son didn't get tendered in until 1:15.. and getting back to the ship from the pier took 55 minutes from pier to s hip

 

 

Yikes!! I am not the star in Jan with no insurance...I better go ahead and buy it...I know it will not cover existing conditions, but it covers if something happens, lost luggage, and trip interuption...

[Sandytoes]

My family members who were on the Star 11/6-11 sailing said there was sewage smell throughout the ship from time to time.

They also said the food wasn't a good as it use to be....The quality went down.... They mentioned that the soups were just down right nasty.... (They are not picky eaters at all) So, it must have really been bad.....

As for the casino, no one was in there... They said it was empty 90% of the time. Just a few, smoking and playing the penny slots....

[KauaiKris]

CruiseChat & SOSDiana, have a great cruise. Please report back on your experience and whether the sewage smell was an issue or had an negative impact on your cruise.

 

I keep hearing that the worst of it is on my side of the ship (forward, starboard), unfortunately. Are either of your cabins in that area? I'm hoping Princess will already have it resolved and none of the rest of us will even notice anything.

[mwlillie]

I have to wonder if there is a major leak/break in the air line that services toilets throughout the ship. With the air suction that occurs during a flush there must be several hundred pounds of air pressure to pull waste through lines. If there was a leak or a seal break in the air line the backflow would smell very much like what people are experiencing. And if the leak was in a hard to reach (I.E. drydock only) location, there would be a temptation on the crew's/Princess's part to try to ignore the issue until the next drydock (which won't be for at least 18 months considering the amount of work that was recently done to repair the damage from the fire. Heat may have also warped some of the lines which would be a significant overhaul.

 

The best I can recommend is placing a complaint with the health services that inspects the ships (Coastguard?). It would probably be helpful for people to note and document the times in which the smell is mostly noted. If these time are consistant with late morning/late afternoon, late evening, it would indicate to me a backflow problem.

 

Problem is that health inspections are usually conducted while passengers are not using on-board facilities, so the smell is probably not as strong during these times. However, raising a health concern would probably get Princess to speed up repairs.

[CruiseChat]

Kauai,

 

We are on the Aloha Deck, forward - port side. We usually always get a balcony cabin, sometimes a mini-suite - but this time we just opted for an inside cabin. Maybe that's a good thing for us and we will not be exposed to the odors as much as if we had gotten a balcony. :confused:

 

Will advise.

[mdamron]

We were on the Grand transatlantic a year ago and had a similar smell. One post at that time referred to diesel odors. I have noted that diesel semi's have a similar smell. Maybe it has to do with the quality of the diesel on the ship?

[Druke I]

The heavy "bunker C" fuel oil does have an odor similar to raw sewage.

[KauaiKris]

The heavy "bunker C" fuel oil does have an odor similar to raw sewage.

 

Michael, that's interesting. In your experience, can you think of a reason either one (sewage smell or diesel smell) would suddenly increase significantly on a cruise ship? Thanks

[KC from California]

There appears to be a number of upgrades (from mini to full suites) happening for upcoming sails on the Star. I wonder if some of the full suite passengers are cancelling because of the sewage smell concerns. I will on the Star and am debating on how to best make the best of the situation (other than cancelling to allow the upgrade fairy to bless more passengers) as I paid for 2 full suites travelling with my in-laws and would hate to have the smell ruined our special family time together. Any suggestions?

[spongerob]

You might be jumping to an erroneous conclusion. Dec. 2 is a slow travel week everywhere because it's the pause between Thanksgiving and Christmas. On our sailing (Grand Princess) there are several unsold suites so I think the safer conclusion here is that the suites hadn't been sold in the first place.

 

I hope you enjoy your cruise and don't experience any bad smells.

[stormy75]

Just got off the Star and noticed the strong sewage smell on the 14th and 15th but only for the first evening. Never noticed it again.

[Host Star]

my son, DIL and inlaws were on this week ,nightmare tendering and horrible sewage smell.. they had a mini suite midship and didn't smell it in their cabin, but everywhere else..

[KauaiKris]

Just got off the Star and noticed the strong sewage smell on the 14th and 15th but only for the first evening. Never noticed it again.

 

You are meaning on the 14th & 15th Decks?

 

It sounds like everyone is noticing the smell; some are finding it horrible, others unpleasant and some feel it's not a big deal.

 

I'm losing hope that they'll have the problem cleared up in the two weeks before my own cruise. I don't wish to have to retreat into my cabin for a week to get away from the smell.

[stormy75]

I checked with my friends and they all noticed the sewage smell throughout the ship, particularly in the stairwell areas. I only noticed it on 15th deck during the departure party.

 

I can't explain why.

 

All agreed that the cruise was fantastic.

[honeymoon4ever]

We were in Cabin E609 (outside, no balcony) on the Thanksgiving sailing on the Star.

 

I am hesitant to write a review. I would like to think of myself as a positive person, and yet I have very few nice things to say about this cruise, or this ship.

 

One thing is for certain, my husband and I can BOTH attest that the smell on the ship seemed inescapable. Fore, aft, starboard, port, inside outside, it smelled. The first couple of days it was pretty nauseating, however, I think we just got used to it after that. It still smelled, but it just seemed "normal".

 

When I remarked about the smell to one of our favorite bartenders on the ship about it, he said that the smell was the worst it had been in the three months he had been on the ship.