Sovereign smell question

[JSQ01]

I've only cruised on Carnival before, so I'm taking a leap and going for a cruise on RCCL. My friend and I are looking at the Sovereign but about half of the reviews say there is a sewer smell on the ship...did anyone experience this and was it that bad??? Also what about smoking? Bad???? We are not smokers...

 

Thanks!

 

P.S. I looked for a thread addressing this but didn't find one...so if you know of one, point me to it!

[wieslaw]

Hi,

 

I can not answer about this particular ship and this particular sailing....but I can share with you what I know about this subject....to start with no cruise ship would be in bussiness very long if it had a "trade mark" of sewer smelling ship...... what happens is this: all of the modern ships have a vacuum system that evacuates the 'waste' from the toilet into some tanks for some processing, it saves water and is more efficient ..... "we" -the passengers - sometimes careless, sometimes drunk, sometimes acting as children or children acting like children - put things into the toilet that for sure do not belong there...... that will plug up the system..... and sonner or later someone from the crew has to open some of the pipes to remove whatever caused the stoppage....... that is when the smell of what is in the pipes enters the hallway or whatever ......they clean the area, they are careful when they work there, they disinfect the area...but the smell will remain sometimes for hours or longer.

I have been on ships that I experienced that....so it does not mean much that you are on this ship or another...it can happen on any ship.. at any floor... sometimes right next to your cabin.....at any sailing..... sometimes more than once. Most of the time it is not the equipment that fails ...... but we make it fail.

 

Happy, smell free sailing.

 

Wes

[rednancy1]

We just returned from the Bahamas on the Sovereign OTS and there was no smell at all. I am usually very sensitive to bad odors.

[Gator0178]

I have been on the SOS many times and am sailing again 9/7. I wouldn't keep coming back if it was a "problem with the ship". I agree 110% with wieslaw. One of the times we sailed in Oct '06 and there was a slight sewer smell in the hall, but not in our room. It also only lasted a few minutes. I asked one of the room stewards what happened. He stated that a passanger had decided to flush a DIAPER down the toilet!!!!

 

Again, not a problem with the ship in my opinion. Problems with stupid and/or drunk passangers.

[cheaptravel]

We were on Sovereign in June '04, our cabin was fine, but other people we talked with had a sewer odor in their bathrooms.

[gizzy15@iowatelecom.net]

We went on the SOV in November and the ship is awesome-no odors on deck two where we were. I have a strong sense of smell too! Wonderful ship, matter of fact we sail on her again in September. Have fun and enjoy the cruise!

[isujim]

Half the reviews???:rolleyes:

[JSQ01]

Half the reviews???:rolleyes:

 

Yep, pretty much half the reviews on this ship stated there were some sewer smells...

[cb at sea]

We've been on ships where the "sewer smell" is fleeting. And on ships where it has lingered! Don't know why--I've YET to be on one where I didn't experience it SOMEWHERE on the ship. I'm sensitive to odors, too, and while mildly annoying, it wasn't strong enough to be sickening.

On Sov., we didn't notice it once we got underway. On Brilliance, it lasted the entire trip. Go figure.

[zotzer]

I've YET to be on one where I didn't experience it SOMEWHERE on the ship.

 

Ditto! (I was about to post something similar, but you beat me to it...LOL)

 

The smells are a part of the workings (or mis-workings) on any ship, and are usually fleeting.

 

T

[allie&bryant]

We just got back from Sovereign on Friday. We did notice a slight smell sometimes in our hallway on Deck 3, but never in our rooms. We noticed it the most on the day we were in Nassau, maybe they were doing maintenance? My husband noticed it more than I did.

[Leeser416]

We sailed a little over a year on her and did notice a smell in our stateroom bathroom. There also appeared to be a leak in the cabin next to ours. Could have been the cause of the problems???? Overall it was a nice ship...but walking into our room to find a heavy duty floor fan drying a wet floor was not fun.

[jimbulger]

Hi,

 

I can not answer about this particular ship and this particular sailing....but I can share with you what I know about this subject....to start with no cruise ship would be in bussiness very long if it had a "trade mark" of sewer smelling ship...... what happens is this: all of the modern ships have a vacuum system that evacuates the 'waste' from the toilet into some tanks for some processing, it saves water and is more efficient ..... "we" -the passengers - sometimes careless, sometimes drunk, sometimes acting as children or children acting like children - put things into the toilet that for sure do not belong there...... that will plug up the system..... and sonner or later someone from the crew has to open some of the pipes to remove whatever caused the stoppage....... that is when the smell of what is in the pipes enters the hallway or whatever ......they clean the area, they are careful when they work there, they disinfect the area...but the smell will remain sometimes for hours or longer.

I have been on ships that I experienced that....so it does not mean much that you are on this ship or another...it can happen on any ship.. at any floor... sometimes right next to your cabin.....at any sailing..... sometimes more than once. Most of the time it is not the equipment that fails ...... but we make it fail.

 

Happy, smell free sailing.

 

Wes

 

This far and away is the best explanation i have ever heard about "the smell"

well done

[Merion_Mom]

Hi,

 

I can not answer about this particular ship and this particular sailing....but I can share with you what I know about this subject....to start with no cruise ship would be in bussiness very long if it had a "trade mark" of sewer smelling ship...... what happens is this: all of the modern ships have a vacuum system that evacuates the 'waste' from the toilet into some tanks for some processing, it saves water and is more efficient ..... "we" -the passengers - sometimes careless, sometimes drunk, sometimes acting as children or children acting like children - put things into the toilet that for sure do not belong there...... that will plug up the system..... and sonner or later someone from the crew has to open some of the pipes to remove whatever caused the stoppage....... that is when the smell of what is in the pipes enters the hallway or whatever ......they clean the area, they are careful when they work there, they disinfect the area...but the smell will remain sometimes for hours or longer.

I have been on ships that I experienced that....so it does not mean much that you are on this ship or another...it can happen on any ship.. at any floor... sometimes right next to your cabin.....at any sailing..... sometimes more than once. Most of the time it is not the equipment that fails ...... but we make it fail.

 

Happy, smell free sailing.

 

Wes

 

This far and away is the best explanation i have ever heard about "the smell"

well done

 

You beat me to it, Jim.

 

Yes, this is exactly the explanation we have heard from RC personnel.

 

And I have smelled it in many miscellaneous places - for instance, outside the spa area on the brand-new Crown Princess. :rolleyes:

[bajathree]

While not a RCCL ship we were just on Disney Wonder staying on the lowest passenger deck. There was always a sewage type smell in the hall outside our room and near the elevators the entire cruise. Nothing that would ruin your trip but enough to notice. The smell did also emerge in our cabin bathroom one day....closed the toilet lid and it seemed to fade...again nothing to ruin anything but enough to say "where is that smell coming from". Sprayed a little cologne and we were fine. I was thinking since we were on deck 2 that half shared with staff and facilities maybe something to do with "waste" was on that deck or right below:confused:

[Retired LEO]

The smell is on all ships. The morning after the Mexican Buffet...:D

[Foffie232]

We took our honeymoon cruise on SOS and there wasn't a smell at all. In fact, of all the RCI cruises we had been on, it was one of the best ones! SOS is a GREAT ship!! I highly recommend it!

[Nliedel]

I've smelled it a very few times on the Sovereign, but it's not been so bad I felt awful, and I have a sensitive nose. I even smelled in on the Liberty, during muster drill. It's a new ship. It was very fleeting. Every ship can have a slight smell of sewage. It's not so bad you smell it constantly and feel you're going to gag. It's just part and parcel of sailing and a very fleeting and intermittent part and parcel, as well.

[Brianjetta]

We were looking at booking a quick cruise to the Bahamas and were trying to decide between SOS or the Majesty. Our Travel Agent suggested the Majesty since it has been refurbished. Just a thought . . .

[dreamer2]

Just got back from a 4-day on the Sovereign. Stayed on the 7th floor and did have a smell in my room. Smelled it as soon as I started down the hallway. I have a very sensitive nose but after 5 minutes in the room you didn't notice it anymore. It's not enough to ruin your trip. Did have staff tell us that in 2 years the Sov. was going to be overhauled again with emphasis on plumbing. Maybe this will eliminate the problem.

[My2Kitties]

I am afraid to say this but here goes...5 cruises, we never had any odor problems...I am sure it can happen but we never experienced it...

[Lady_Gamecock]

I've been on SoS three times (booked for #4 on 7 Sep) and she's a great boat! I choose to cruise her because she's clean, the staff friendly, cheap, and respectable accomodations. (Remember, she isn't the QM2, you aren't paying for a five star boat....)

 

I digress.... I have been in two inside and one oceanview cabin and not had too many issues that RCCL didn't try to fix/compensate. (Long story - just avoid Deck 2 - midship). Again, RCCL compensated us well and I'm returning for my fourth trip on her.

 

Concerned about cabin smelll? Go to Bath and Body Works and buy one of their air fresheners and bring it along! Viola, problem solved!

 

Don't let something like smell ruin a nice trip away from home!!

 

Word to the wise: bring a surge protector - there are only 2 outlets per cabin (at least inside/oceanview).

 

Enjoy!

Lady_G

[sea-cruise]

uH-oh...We'll be on deck 2 midship...When were you aboard? What happened??? :eek:

[Lady_Gamecock]

Check out my thread dated 27 Jan.....

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=482184

 

and here are my pictures from the "Girl's Weekend" with pics of the room and repair persons :p .....

http://travel.webshots.com/album/557250046kIIvNn

 

Don't sweat it! You'll have a SUPER time!!

[bajathree]

We were looking at booking a quick cruise to the Bahamas and were trying to decide between SOS or the Majesty. Our Travel Agent suggested the Majesty since it has been refurbished. Just a thought . . .

I was also between the two when I was choosing. Even though Majesty was cheaper and just refurbished I still choose SOS because it was out of Port Canaveral....which is much more convenient for me. Choose of port also makes a difference....thus I am sure the higher price from PC.