bad sewage smell on star

[flvol77]

We should know more later today into early tomorrow if the smell was still around...it will be interesting to see how Princess will handle the situation if passengers keep coming back saying the ship had a unpleasent smell.

[hugger]

to the email address on the CDC site - will this help???

[TCF]

This is most unfortunate. If you read all of the pages in this thread there is clearly a problem with this ship. Whether it is a design problem or an operating problem it is clearly a problem that is not going away.

Is it an exagerated problem...probably by some...we are human after all! But, by the same token the "cheerleaders" can't simply sweep it under the carpet and blame all the negative talk on the "devil"!

But far worse than exageration and denial is the fact that by now Princess Corporation has to know about the problem on this ship and continues to sell cruises on it knowing that there is a considerable possibility that this problem will ruin the vacation of those who are spending a lot of money.

This kind of behaviour seems to me to be a pattern with Princess Corporation.

Conducting what appear to be less than honest art "auctions". Don't do anyting to stop the practice...instead blame the "biased" reporter who wrote the story about it.

Manipulating the currency exchange rates for those of us who live in countries that have our own currency...and ignore it even when we point it out to them. Then add a surcharge for converting our money to USD.

There are other issues, but I think these three make the point.

It is most unfortunate because Princess has good itineraries, for the most part good crews, good food, and, for the most part good ships. But this will only keep people coming back for so long. Sooner or later the word will spread that all Princess ships smell like large floating toilets...then no matter how good the itineraries are or the food and crews are, business will drop off. And it won't take long.

There are too many competitors in the cruise market today for any cruise line to behave like Princess Corporation is doing. Do the arrogant people in the Princess Corporate corner offices hear the likes Oceania sneaking up behind them? Probably not...but their customers do!

Tom

[bdjam]

This is most unfortunate. If you read all of the pages in this thread there is clearly a problem with this ship. Whether it is a design problem or an operating problem it is clearly a problem that is not going away.

 

Is it an exagerated problem...probably by some...we are human after all! But, by the same token the "cheerleaders" can't simply sweep it under the carpet and blame all the negative talk on the "devil"!

 

But far worse than exageration and denial is the fact that by now Princess Corporation has to know about the problem on this ship and continues to sell cruises on it knowing that there is a considerable possibility that this problem will ruin the vacation of those who are spending a lot of money.

 

This kind of behaviour seems to me to be a pattern with Princess Corporation.

 

Conducting what appear to be less than honest art "auctions". Don't do anyting to stop the practice...instead blame the "biased" reporter who wrote the story about it.

 

Manipulating the currency exchange rates for those of us who live in countries that have our own currency...and ignore it even when we point it out to them. Then add a surcharge for converting our money to USD.

 

There are other issues, but I think these three make the point.

 

It is most unfortunate because Princess has good itineraries, for the most part good crews, good food, and, for the most part good ships. But this will only keep people coming back for so long. Sooner or later the word will spread that all Princess ships smell like large floating toilets...then no matter how good the itineraries are or the food and crews are, business will drop off. And it won't take long.

 

There are too many competitors in the cruise market today for any cruise line to behave like Princess Corporation is doing. Do the arrogant people in the Princess Corporate corner offices hear the likes Oceania sneaking up behind them? Probably not...but their customers do!

 

Tom

Wait a minute – first of all this cheerleader is making an attempt to add a little objectivity to this thread. I think if you do a real count of those who have posted here about the issue it would be balanced by those who have posted here who have not experienced the issue. Most of the posts here are from those who will be on board and who are assuming – like you – that Princess is “getting away with something.” It would be interesting to see how many of those who now are panicking will actually get on the ship and smell nothing. Being human is no excuse for allowing a problem to be exaggerated – I thought as humans we were supposed to have the brain power to be realistic.

 

I further think your overall contention that Princess doesn’t run a fair business is bunk. You condemn their business practices because of what “appear” to be dishonest auctions? Do you think Princess can manipulate currency exchanges outside of what the law allows? Business policy and what is legally right are two different things – just because Princess may not have the same policy as another cruise line doesn’t mean they are doing things illegally. But you’re right – there are a lot of other cruise lines out there and if Princess was as bad as you point out in their business practices, how do you attribute the fact they are successful – and have been for over 40 years – in business? Are Princess passengers stupid enough to keep coming back when the cruise line is so unscrupulous and there are other choices available? And your contention that the executives at Princess are arrogant is without merit.

 

I continually fail to understand why posters here who feel Princess does such shoddy business continue to spend their money with the cruise line – it just doesn’t make sense to me. Except that it gives them the opportunity to complain.

[flvol77]

 

I continually fail to understand why posters here who feel Princess does such shoddy business continue to spend their money with the cruise line – it just doesn’t make sense to me. Except that it gives them the opportunity to complain.

 

I want to see for myself - maybe princess will correct the problem - if not and we can't use our balcony when we are aboard the Star in Jan - which we use A LOT then I will be highly upset and we will look to use a different line -

 

I am worried because we are on the starboard side and we are mid ship on dolphin deck - I really hope Princess fixes the problem.

[SForman]

I am just off of the Star today. I had Caribe 530 and we never had an odor problem on our balcony.

[KauaiKris]

First off -- Tom, I think that was an excellent post. Very articulate and points made well

 

I continually fail to understand why posters here who feel Princess does such shoddy business continue to spend their money with the cruise line – it just doesn’t make sense to me. Except that it gives them the opportunity to complain.

 

There are several of us that are sailing on our first Princess cruise, on the Star, in the coming months. My previous cruise experiences have been very positive. But a sewer smell on my ship WILL negatively impact my experience. I am concerned. I want it fixed, prior to my cruise. Does this make me a complainer?

 

Had I known anything about this problem when I booked my cruise (or at any point up until I made my final payment), I would have cancelled and booked another ship, rather than stay with this ship "so that I have an opportunity to complain about it." That's absurd.

 

 

---

SForman -- That's excellent news. Thanks for reporting back.

[bdjam]

First off -- Tom, I think that was an excellent post. Very articulate and points made well

I’m not sure how you can say the points are well made. Unless conjecture equates to points well made.

There are several of us that are sailing on our first Princess cruise, on the Star, in the coming months. My previous cruise experiences have been very positive. But a sewer smell on my ship WILL negatively impact my experience. I am concerned. I want it fixed, prior to my cruise. Does this make me a complainer?

Absolutely not – we all want our cruises to be as excellent as possible. But until now, you are apparently not reading the posts here that indicate there is nothing to be fixed.

Had I known anything about this problem when I booked my cruise (or at any point up until I made my final payment), I would have cancelled and booked another ship, rather than stay with this ship "so that I have an opportunity to complain about it." That's absurd.

Good for you – that’s the right way to do business. You demonstrate some common sense. In the meantime it seems that based on the reports from the ship, this issue is blown out of proportion.

[stewcrews]

I am just off of the Star today. I had Caribe 530 and we never had an odor problem on our balcony.

 

We were on Caribe port side also and never had a problem on our balcony during the Thanksgiving week cruise. We did smell it on the starboard side balconies and on the upper decks starboard side. SForman did you notice the sewer smell on any other parts of the ship during the week?

[Host Caroline]

I closed this thread for a couple of days simply to see if things will calm down on here... it has/had turned into a rant against Princess with some pretty dicey language.. if this can remain an objective, civil discussion of a problem that some have -- and others have not -- experienced onboard the Star, it will remain open. Hopefully rampant sarcasm, name calling and inappropriate language will not darken the doors of this thread?? Otherwise.. well....

Private communications with the cruise line and other business should not be posted on the boards and Cruise Critic threads, copies of posts etc. should not be sent to third parties. Please see CC Guidelines regarding copyright etc. for clarification ("...you may download for personal use only....")

Thanks in advance for your cooperation:confused: :)

[CruiseKing]

New Report http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=450472

We just got back from the 11/25/06 - 12/02/06 Cruise of Ocho's Rios, Grand Cayman, Cozumel and Princess Cays. This was our first cruise. There was no "new carpet" smell or any "smoke" smell. We stayed on Aloha (Deck 12) and I don't think our Stateroom was one that had been caught in the fire. Overall opinion of the cruise was that it was average. The service isn't the best. A lot of the service staff have quite a bit of attitude. The cabin steward was good. I didn't know about the automatic $20.00 per day hotel charge and that kind of caught me off guard. The shore excursions were great. The food was okay. A lot of people I talked to on the ship felt the food was really good so I might just be too picky. The pay restaurant Sabattini's was very good. A lot of food. The lobster was bang on and so was the Tiger shrimp.

 

That's my 2cents.

 

Any other questions?

[loveJake]

I am on the 12/9 sailing on Baja, forward starboard where most of the bad reports were coming from. I had an interesting conversation on Saturday with Princess. I called, not about the smell, but to put a credit on my account which paid for my shore excursions. After I was finished the girl asked if there was anything else she could help me with. I told her of my concerns about the smell, she said she didn't hear anything about this since she is just in reservations, but put me on hold. Came back on and said no one knew anything about the smell, put me on hold again. Came back on and said that she tried to move me but no other balcony cabins were available but to check when checking in to see if anything was available. Now the funny part is that I did not mention one word about changing cabins, I am booked thru a TA so I know I would not be able to change cabins directly. Something tells me that a lot of people are calling/writing and this girl was trying to move me since I brought up the smell before I even cruised. I sure hope Princess has looked into the problem and taken the steps to prevent this. I will report back as to how the vacation went.

[SForman]

SForman did you notice the sewer smell on any other parts of the ship during the week?

 

 

I noticed an odor in a few random areas. It was no different then odors I found on HAL, Carnival, RCI and Celebrity. I can also add that I did not hear anybody on the ship talking about an odor.

[KauaiKris]

LoveJake & SForman,

 

Thank you both for that information. When I called Princess today and asked about it, I was put on hold and then the person came back, they said it had been a minor issue and the problem had been resolved. That's all he said. Hopefully that is completely correct.

 

I'm glad SForman didn't notice anything. I keep hoping to hear the same thing from someone who had a forward starboard balcony, since that is where previous posters have said it was the worst.

[Jacqueline]

Someone on my Roll Call for March just came back from the Star. They had a great time.

He did mention a persistant low level of sewerage smell. Only occasionally on his balcony but here and there on the ship.

[sosdiana]

Just got off the Star on 12/2. Cabin was Aloha 608 (Deck 12-port side). Only time I noticed a smell on the balcony was one morning about 4am. Other than that, a fleeting whiff here and there, but nothing to cause concern.

 

People react differently to smells/situations. I've heard people complain about the long lines in the buffet and at the same time people comment about how short the lines were. It's all a matter of perspective.

[KauaiKris]

Thanks for sharing your experience. We're all glad to hear it.

 

But I still have to ask, WHERE ARE ALL THE CRUISERS ON THE STARBOARD SIDE!!! :D

[brovol]

I am just off of the Star today. I had Caribe 530 and we never had an odor problem on our balcony.

 

you were an even number, and thus port side. it is very clear that the smell is distinctively on the starboard side. i would like to hear from a recent balcony passenger, starboard side, mid-ship. that is the area of sad noses. we had problems on the starboard side (where our cabin was, unfortunately).

[Jacqueline]

Thank you to the moderator for re-opening the thread.

It was also time for the subject to get back on topic. Its always unfortunate when it strays to the personal.

For one, that is why Cruise Critic is a good board. Sometimes the moderator does need to step in and set the tone.

In terms of whether there is or isn't a problem, this is the best place to sort out the facts.

[stewcrews]

Thanks for sharing your experience. We're all glad to hear it.

 

But I still have to ask, WHERE ARE ALL THE CRUISERS ON THE STARBOARD SIDE!!! :D

 

I agree there have been very few post from the Star 11-25 sailing and none from the Starboard side.

[NorcalGuy]

Thanks for sharing your experience. We're all glad to hear it.

 

But I still have to ask, WHERE ARE ALL THE CRUISERS ON THE STARBOARD SIDE!!! :D

Yes please, would like to hear from people with balcony cabins on the Starboard side. That seems to be where the issue is to me.

[flvol77]

I agree there have been very few post from the Star 11-25 sailing and none from the Starboard side.

 

I think its because the roll calls weren't that active

[dewee]

Just of the Star (12/01) and was in cabin D219 - Starboard side and found no smell in the cabin, on our balcony, or any where on the ship. In fact I found the ship to be immaculate with no indication that there was ever a fire aboard. Trust me if there was a so called "smell" on board I would have know because I am very sensitive to them. I am unable to pump my own gas without becoming asthmatic and I have to hold my nose when I enter the detergent aisle in the supermarket!

[KauaiKris]

Just of the Star (12/01) and was in cabin D219 - Starboard side and found no smell in the cabin, on our balcony, or any where on the ship. In fact I found the ship to be immaculate with no indication that there was ever a fire aboard. Trust me if there was a so called "smell" on board I would have know because I am very sensitive to them. I am unable to pump my own gas without becoming asthmatic and I have to hold my nose when I enter the detergent aisle in the supermarket!

 

Thank you. That is excellent news for everyone on upcoming cruises on the Star, and me especially since I'll be on the ship this Saturday in a balcony cabin in the same section as yours.

[stewcrews]

Thank you. That is excellent news for everyone on upcoming cruises on the Star, and me especially since I'll be on the ship this Saturday in a balcony cabin in the same section as yours.

 

Kris, Hope your cruise is smooth and smells good. Our Thanksgiving cruise had rough seas and winds. Possibly that caused the bad sewer smells we experienced. Let us know when you get back.