chengkp75

See post #61.

So, the evaporation lowers the total chlorine, and the measuring sensors and dosing pumps keep replenishing it, and you have a stable chlorine level. And, neither dpd or titration give a continuous reading, which the amperometric sensors used on ships do.

Depending on what kind of test strips are used, the pink coloration that determines chlorine level can get bleached out at high chlorine levels, so the strip appears to read zero. As for total chlorine level, it is interesting that home pool and hot tub manufacturers recommend a 1-3ppm level, while the USPH/CDC requires a 1-4ppm level for a pool, and a 3-10ppm level for a hot tub, and the CDC recommends this for all public hot tubs (though they have no jurisdiction over land hot tubs). https://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/swimming/aquatics-professionals/operating-public-hot-tubs.html

As I said, the maximum time between draining is 72 hours, per USPH/CDC regulation. Very typically, when the tub is full and covered with netting, they are allowing the "super-chlorination" to dissipate down to normal operating levels of chlorine, before allowing anyone in.

Actually, both NCL and RCI use DNV as their classification societies, so they must meet the exact same criteria for maintenance and structural integrity.

Chlorine generators are not approved by the USPH/CDC for use in cruise ship recreational water facilities, because they don't react to changes in bather load as quickly as the chlorine and pH meters and liquid dosing pumps do.

No, the sensors measure "residual" chlorine, which is the free chlorine level after the water comes back to the pump from the hot tub, and some of the chlorine has been used up in sanitizing. It is the amount of "free chlorine" that has not been used up. If there was 0ppm of residual chlorine, the ship would be in serious trouble at the next USPH inspection, as the recording charts are kept for a year for review.

Let's put out some facts about ship's hot tubs, both public and private. The hot tubs are kept at a constant chlorine level of 3-10ppm, much higher than the recommended 3ppm for home hot tubs. Further, it is maintained at this level constantly, since while the water is being recirculated, it passes a chlorine content meter, and the reading from this meter adjusts the chlorine dosing pump that runs all the time. The chlorine content of the hot tub is recorded on a chart, and is kept for review by the USPH, when they make their inspections. By regulation, the water in all hot tubs must be changed every 72 hours, but most lines do it nightly. When the hot tub is drained, it is washed with bleach, and then "super-chlorinated" to 20ppm, and circulated for one hour, before being diluted to normal, in order to remove any "bio-film" anywhere in the piping system. Any time there is a fecal accident, the hot tub must be drained and sanitized using 100ppm chlorine. Individual (cabin) hot tubs must be chlorinated to 10ppm, and circulated for 1 hour, between guests. One thing that can affect how well chlorine sanitizes the water is sunscreen. This forms an oily layer that coats the surface of the water, and restricts the chlorine's ability to react with the oxygen in the air, limiting the sanitizing reaction. This is why cruise ships are required to have showers on deck near pools and hot tubs, to rinse off sunscreen before going in the pools/tubs.

As I've said, the FAA changed the regulations from the CAA to restrict the types of animals that were to be considered as ESA for air travel. Since the ADA, which partially applies to cruise ships, does not allow protections for ESA in settings other than housing or air travel, it is only the fact that the cruise lines do not enforce the policies and procedures of the ADA that allow these dogs onboard. Even if the passenger comes up with a "task" that the dog is supposed to perform for them, if the dog does not meet the code of conduct, or the owner does things that affect the health and safety of others, they can be required to leave the ship, just as any business in the US can require a person to leave if the service animal disrupts the business, or misbehaves.

I will just say that this is apparently a commonly held misconception regarding service dogs. While 28CFR36.104 defines a service animal as one which does "work or tasks" for the benefit of an individual, and it has "tasks" pluralized. However, 28CFR36.302(c)(6) states that an accommodation may ask what "work or task" the animal is trained to perform, with "task" in the singular. And, in the DOJ Guidance document for the ADA, it explains that the dog: "must be trained to take a specific action" (bolding is mine, and indicates that a singular action is required under the DOJ interpretation of the law. And, further, if the dog does "work" for the benefit of the owner, it is not required to perform any tasks, though it is a little muddy as to what is "work" and what is a "task".

Unfortunately, this kind of behavior has been going on for quite some time on most cruise lines, and there have not been outbreaks of illness, and I think this would be quite a stretch to extend one or two dogs being fed (and I don't condone this) to an outbreak of illness.

The flag state is what governs while on the ship. The US ADA only applies in certain areas, as I said, in that if the cruise originates in the US, then things like whether or not there are accessible cabins, or whether all public areas are accessible, or whether a service animal is allowed or not, would apply, since they are acting as "common carriers" and also providing "accommodations". I would assume that the same would apply in the UK, for cruises originating in the UK. Even with the ADA, I know that Viking originally did not allow electric mobility scooters onboard, only wheelchairs (don't know the current policy). The reasoning for the SCOTUS ruling that "internal policies and procedures" of a foreign flag cruise ship do not need to meet the ADA, is based on the precedents of international law. How the UK handles this, I can't say, since their system is different than the US, and they may have different judicial precedents that handle things differently, or that interpret international law differently.

I don't believe I've posted regarding service animals on the Viking forum, so I'll try to answer some of the questions/observations that I see in this thread. First off, ESA's (emotional support animals) are not covered by the ADA, and so there is no requirement for a foreign flag cruise ship to allow them onboard. The only areas that ESA's are guaranteed protection, in the US, are the Equal Housing Act (provides protection for owners of ESA's in housing) and the Civil Aviation Act (though this has been recently restricted as to ESA's on aircraft). Per the ADA, the only place that a Service Animal should be is on the floor, or in the owner's arms (this allows for diabetes detection dogs to be close enough to sense the owner's breath for signs of keto acidosis). Next, there is no requirement in the US ADA for a service animal to have any identification (harness or vest) on it at any time. Why can cruise lines only ask two questions regarding service animals, while the airlines have restricted types of ESA's allowed? Because, as stated above, Service Animals are covered by the ADA, while ESA's are covered by the EHA and CAA, and the CAA has been amended or had the regulations changed by the agency involved. Regarding allergies, under the law of the ADA, the ability of a person to have a Service Animal trumps allergies, though the owner of the establishment should make as many concessions to those allergic as possible. Regarding the dog's toilet needs, this has been addressed by others, but the main point of contention is that Service Animals are (or should be) trained to only "go" on command, while ESA's and pets will typically "go" when the urge hits them. Per the ADA, there is no requirement for Service Animals to have any formal training, or certification, but there is a "code of conduct" that the ADA spells out, where if the Animal does not behave according to this code, the establishment can ask the owner to leave. Now, having said all that, regarding the ADA and Service Animals, everyone should understand that SCOTUS has ruled, in Spector v NCL, around 2005, that while foreign flag cruise ships must comply with the ADA in certain areas (such as not discriminating against the disabled, and requiring accessibility within certain limits), that the "internal policies and procedures" of the cruise ship with regards to accessibility (areas such as policies about where and how Service Animals are handled) is up to the cruise line, and do not have to follow ADA requirements. This was stated as being the case until Congress specifically mentions "foreign flag cruise ships" in the ADA, and in the intervening years, Congress has not acted to amend the ADA. Many of the "rights and protections" that US citizens take for granted in their everyday life, end once you walk up the gangway to a foreign flag cruise ship. So, know that you cannot complain to Viking about Service Animal behavior based on the ADA's "code of conduct", but given the lengthy description given in a previous post, there may be grounds for a complaint. Viking may need to adjust their terms as well, if they wish to more closely align with the ADA's code of conduct. Viking also needs to instruct their personnel that when a dog owning passenger presents their animal as a "Service Animal", the answer to the question, "what task does the animal provide for the owner", cannot be that the "mere presence of the animal" provides a service, as that is defined in the ADA as an ESA, and they are not granted protection under the ADA. Even PTSD Service Animals, whose main job is to calm the owner, must be shown to do certain "tasks" like blocking the person from walking into situations where the dog senses that the stress level will trigger a PTSD attack, or licking the owner to signal that the situation requires his/her attention to limit stress.

To answer the OP's question, no, the line has no responsibility, unless the passenger was injured on the ship. Whether or not the line will, voluntarily assist the passenger is something that is quite likely dependent on circumstances and location, as Heidi13 states above.

Alcohol is allowed for passengers, since it is not classified by the WHO as a dangerous drug, so it is allowed onboard. Alcohol can affect the crew's ability to perform needed safety functions, and can lead to additional injuries performing daily functions. Alcohol for crew is strictly limited, with random alcohol testing, and the crew can have no more than a 0.05% (lower than most state's DUI limit), at any time while serving on a ship.

Coupling the smell complaint with the fact the ship was rolling enough to splash the pool out onto the deck, and that the smell improved the second week, when the rolling stopped, tells me what this was. Every floor drain on the ship, including the one in each cabin bathroom (there is a floor drain in addition to the shower drain, that is outside the shower, usually under the wall mounted toilet), has a "trap" on it, just like the U-traps or P-traps that are under the sinks and showers in your house. These traps have some water in them, to act as a seal and keep odors and gases from coming back up the drain pipes. Rolling and pitching of the ship will cause the water in these traps to empty down the drain pipe, and then you lose the seal, and the odors come back up. As the crew notice the odors, they will start pouring water down all the traps to "re-seal" the trap. Complaints about odors in the cabin bathrooms are dealt with the same way, pour a glass of water down the drain, and the odor will stop. These drains, unlike sinks and showers, do not see water running down them frequently, so the dry AC air in the ship will evaporate the water in the trap, causing the odors to come up.

It makes perfect sense if there were labels on all the sinks from a pipe flushing (though for the most part when ships have to flush the pipes, it is still okay to drink, it just doesn't look right), and the previous occupants removed them from the sinks they used., and didn't remove them from the sinks they didn't use.

This is absolute nonsense. What does your friend consider "deep seas"? What reason does he/she give for why they can't be deployed in shallow water? When you look at the size of the stabilizer fins, and the size of the ship, one fact becomes glaringly obvious: stabilizers are not designed to, nor can they stop rolling. Nor are they capable of even reducing rolling. The one thing stabilizers do, is to slow how fast the ship rolls from one side to the other. A cruise ship is inherently "stiff", meaning that it will roll from side to side in a very fast, snapping, motion, which is very uncomfortable. The stabilizers slow this roll down so that while you may still be veering from one side of the hallway to the other as you walk along, you are not being thrown across the hall. And, as for "pitching", or the bow of the ship rising and falling with the waves, stabilizers can do absolutely nothing for that motion, nor for "swaying", which is lateral motion of the ship as it is thrown by the waves (most commonly when wind and seas are from behind the ship).

No, it would not, as the class society doesn't care about passenger amenities. But, that would be the time frame for any "improvements" to happen.

According to the Lloyds Register database, the Island Princess is due for "bottom inspection" (dry dock) in Sept 2024.

The movements described by @3rdGenCunarder are quite common for azipod equipped ships, and has to do with the flat hull at the stern above where the azipods are. As I've said before on other threads, the only way to compare how two ships roll or pitch, is to have them at the same location, at the same time, going the same speed, and in the same direction.

There is no "non-potable" water anywhere in guest areas of any cruise ship. There is extremely limited usage of non-potable water even in crew areas, strictly limited by USPH regulations.

So, the ships aren't bound by the IMO conventions?

I don't know of any site that lists all of NCL's ship dry dock schedule. I looked at the DNV (the class society) website, and the Dawn was last dry docked in Nov 2022, so isn't scheduled for another until 2025.

Yes, I've been a Marine engineer for over 45 years, most of it as Chief Engineer, and have worked on virtually every type of ocean going ship, including cruise ships. The pumps in your municipal water system are running all the time as well, it's just that if the pump is putting out more than is demanded, it raises the pressure, and a relief valve returns it to the suction. One reason the water is recirculated, rather than being a static system, is that the USPH requires a minimum residual chlorine content "at the furthest point from the pumps", and so it is necessary to measure it, and dose continually, as it is recirculated.