Sooty Mercury

[harz99]

Having recently returned from the Ultimate Alaska trip on Mercury, I can confirm that there is a soot problem at the rear of the ship.

 

We were in cabin 1163, an aft SV on deck 10 and had regular deposits on our balcony floor and furniture, some of which got accidentally walked into the cabin carpet.

 

We chose the cabin for the stunning views, not for sitting out in the sun as it was not really warm enough, so the soot although a nuisance did not stop our enjoyment.

 

However, for somebody with different requirements or in hotter weather I can see this being a real issue - apart from which Celebrity really should not be polluting either the ship or the atmosphere this much.

 

We also noticed signs of soot on the open deck at the rear of the cafe area on deck 11.

 

Anybody had similar problems in the 8*** series SV cabins?

[excitedofharpenden]

This isn't a new phenomenon. It's been written on these boards for quite a while that soot can be a problem on Century and Mercury (and Galaxy before she left the fleet) on cabins with open balconies, mainly aft of the smoke stack ie some Sky Suites on deck 12 and the new aft facing cabins they have added to these ships recently. This is a picture I took of one of the aft facing Century balconies in 2007. It may be hard to see, but the white lounger has a lot of black soot on it.

 

I was in a Sky Suite on Century level with the smoke stack and didn't have any issues with soot.

 

It's the engines and the fuel they use and unless the propulsion system is changed, which is not likely, the issue will remain.

 

Phil

[pastgmdc]

Each night, place your veranda furniture under the overhang (assuming you have one).

 

We have sailed on GALAXY (2002 & 06) twice and will sail MERCURY this Nov., staying in the same Deck 12 Sky Suite each time (we like the veranda configuration). It is centrally located among the line of Deck 12 Sky Suites which puts it directly below the side of the smokestack.

 

We woke up on our very first morning in '02 to find the veranda deck and furniture covered with large particles of soot. We asked our cabin attendant about it and he said that they "blow out" the stack at night to clear deposits and it was our "luck" that night that the wind was blowing sideways across the ship, from the opposite side to our side.

 

Fortunately, this happened very infrequently and, when it did, the cabin attendant cleaned it up as soon as we informed him.

 

After that first experience we got in the habit of moving our furniture under the overhang before calling it a night. Yes, it is an inconvenience, but minor compared to finding dirty furniture in the morning.

[Denny01]

Having read through lots of threads on these forums, this is one subject you can see on just about every cruise line and class ships. The Solstice had issues written up on this as have other ships.

 

There are some gas-turbines that seem to cut down on the soot some, but there is always derivatives of burning fuels.

 

The answer has to be the cleanup by the room stewards as soon as possible. Had to have them change my robe once when forgot to look around and sat on a sooty lounge chair. They took care of the robe and the veranda.

 

We usually shoot for aft staterooms, but on M-Class, we love to be forward so we can run up to the T-Spa and jump in early in the morning - well, as early as I get up on a cruise!

 

But do love the aft balconies sometimes, for the view and orientation. Boy, do you know you are on a cruise watching that wake. Fantastic.

 

Worth the minor hassle - at least minor for us. If it's an issue and you put 'frowny faces' on the thread about this, then move forward. Many options, but we are on a ship that burns fuel and has a funnel. Good to point out so people know.

 

Denny

[harz99]

If it's an issue and you put 'frowny faces' on the thread about this, then move forward. Many options, but we are on a ship that burns fuel and has a funnel. Good to point out so people know.

 

Denny

 

Not quite sure what you mean by "move forward"; the frowny face was used as an indicator to people who are unawares and may well have a considerable issue with this problem - for instance in warm climes it would be very difficult to have breakfast on your verandah.

 

Yes the ship burns fuel, so do all the cars/buses/lorries/2 wheelers powered by diesel or petrol in the UK and the civilised world, but you would not get away with chucking soot out of their exhausts like the Mercury does!

[Imagineer]

...like the Mercury does!

 

...and most other cruise ships do as well, do some homework and you'll see it's a common issue discussed on many of the other sites, it's not just the Mercury, we've experienced a bit of this as well on the other ships we've sailed...

[Denny01]

Not quite sure what you mean by "move forward"; the frowny face was used as an indicator to people who are unawares and may well have a considerable issue with this problem - for instance in warm climes it would be very difficult to have breakfast on your verandah.

 

Yes the ship burns fuel, so do all the cars/buses/lorries/2 wheelers powered by diesel or petrol in the UK and the civilised world, but you would not get away with chucking soot out of their exhausts like the Mercury does!

 

There is a vey simple fix to your issue - get a forward stateroom. Then you don't have a 'considerable' issue.

[gwrod]

The Mercury is not the only ship ....I believe that the Solstice had similar complaints. Not a complaint for me though, I'm just glad to be on board!!

[harz99]

There is a vey simple fix to your issue - get a forward stateroom. Then you don't have a 'considerable' issue.

 

I don't have a considerable issue, others may do though - which was the reason for my OP, which you may wish to reread to clear up any misunderstanding on your part.

 

Forgive me if I've got it wrong, but these boards are meant to be a source of information are they not?

[harz99]

...and most other cruise ships do as well, do some homework and you'll see it's a common issue discussed on many of the other sites, it's not just the Mercury, we've experienced a bit of this as well on the other ships we've sailed...

 

Having never before had this problem, it is not something I had searched for until we returned so homework would not have helped us, nor anybody else who may not be "in the know".

 

Having said that it is something we will be aware of in future, thank you.