Royal Princess - Soot on Balcony

[MessyCat]

 

 

 

Photos of partially covered Aft Balcony B735

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[CruisinChris]

Wow! We haven't seen this on a princess ship in a while. The sun class ships all accumulated soot on their aft balconies, just like this. None of the grand, coral, diamond or gem class do, to my knowledge. Unfortunately that's poor design to blame.

I know from experience that that soot stains so be careful before you sit and ask your steward to clean daily. :(

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[JimmyVWine]

A picture's worth a thousand words. That situation is COMPLETELY unacceptable.

[Iamcruzin]

And yet they get top dollar for these balconies because unsuspecting passengers climb over each other to be the first to book them?:rolleyes:

Edited October 12, 2013 by Iamcruzin

[dmwnc1959]

Photos of partially covered Aft Balcony B735...

 

 

WOW! That is a mess. :( I'd be very unhappy if that was my balcony.

 

Here's the aft 'map' so others can see where your cabin was located...

 

Edited October 12, 2013 by dmwnc1959

[Coral]

A picture's worth a thousand words. That situation is COMPLETELY unacceptable.

 

I agree.

 

I didn't think it was ever this bad on the Sun Class ships.

[pablo222]

It is great that you were able to post pictures showing the problem.

Without those, the cheerleaders here would have been hell-bent

on discrediting you.

 

The only person who must hate it more than you is the steward

-- who has to clean the balcony, and has to clean the cabin

after the soot is tracked inside.

 

I guess all you can do is be like howie mandel -- request a gazillion

towels, and lay them down side-by-side.

[JimmyVWine]

 

Here's the aft 'map' so others can see where your cabin was located...

Dave: are your cabin numbers right? MessyCat shows B735 as a Balcony cabin but your image appears to show it as a corner Suite.

 

Oops. Edit to add that MessyCat calls it an Aft Balcony but the furniture must be from a Suite.

Edited October 12, 2013 by JimmyVWine

[redtogo]

I feel sorry for those who book these cabins who do not know about the soot problem. I really feel bad for the steward who is assigned to this area of the ship. He/She has no choice, but to contend with this problems everyday for 6 or 8 months. Horrible!

[dmwnc1959]

Dave: are your cabin numbers right? MessyCat shows B735 as a Balcony cabin but your image appears to show it as a corner Suite.

 

Hi JimmyVWine,

 

According to the deck plan on the Princess web site it is a starboard aft S2 corner suite.

[Bimmer09]

Hi JimmyVWine,

 

According to the deck plan on the Princess web site it is a starboard aft S2 corner suite.

 

I think you are right Dave as the sooty table shown is a teak suite table.

I've had three aft suites on the Grand Class ships but they all had a roof provided by the deck above and never a speck of soot, as opposed to the stepped design of the Royal where some of the aft cabins have no protection from falling objects (including sun rays) and some have partial. A puzzling aft design.

 

Norris

in Chicago

[Love.II.Cruise]

Thanks for posting the photos. I suspected this design would yield to soot problems on the aft cabin balconies. That would be horrible to have to clean daily for the steward. Plus imagine tracking that in the room. You almost need a dedicated pair of shoes that you only use to walk out on your balcony and then take off and leave at the door once back inside.

[skynight]

Looks like diesel fuel residue, similar to what comes from some 18 wheelers. Could it be just an engine adjustment, a batch of low quality fuel, or something more serious. Any maritime experts out there?

[Cruiserkenn]

Thanks so much for posting these pictures. I normally book aft cabins, but now I know better on the Royal and Regal.

 

Good job.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Cruiserkenn]

I agree.

 

I didn't think it was ever this bad on the Sun Class ships.

Right, I agree. I had an aft suite, and also an aft mini suite, on the Sun Princess. No soot problems.

[Cruiserkenn]

It is great that you were able to post pictures showing the problem.

Without those, the cheerleaders here would have been hell-bent

on discrediting you.

 

The only person who must hate it more than you is the steward

-- who has to clean the balcony, and has to clean the cabin

after the soot is tracked inside.

 

I guess all you can do is be like howie mandel -- request a gazillion

towels, and lay them down side-by-side.

 

Definitely right. I was upset about the lack of a promenade deck, but now this. The pictures really tell the story.

[curiouscat]

Messy Cat I'd invite the Captain up for lunch:D

 

 

CC

[ne1travel]

Good post...our forward mini suite will suit me fine:o

[Loreni]

So much for fresh sea air. You may still be breathing that in even if the steward wipes down the furniture.

[dchip]

Wow! We have had some soot and ash occasionally on an aft balcony with HAL but nothing like this!!! :eek:

 

The bigger the ship...the more soot and ash?? So sad for all the folks looking our forward to their aft balconies.

 

Can anything really be done to change this??

 

Cheers, Denise

[MessyCat]

We had noticed some comments/queries re soot on aft balconies so posted the photos in order that people could see for themselves. We do not wish to put anybody off from booking. We stayed in B735 which is classified as an owner's suite on the starboard aft corner as per David's photos but this would presumably apply to aft balconies whether deluxe or suite. This was the July Venice to Barcelona cruise.

 

We noticed soot deposits, although comparatively minor, right from our first day at sea on leaving Venice. However, the deposits were excessive after sailing through the Straights of Messina.

 

We reported the soot at the Purser's Desk who sent someone to inspect. The answer seemed to be it was the room steward's problem and that he had to get on and clean it (all the balconies under his control). We thought this was unreasonable for him and requested that he was given some assistance but the answer was no. We were really sorry for him; he was very apologetic which of course was not his fault and he worked his socks off in an effort to clean the balconies.

 

We used extra poolside towels to cover the seats; were careful with light coloured clothing; and cleaned our shoes on additional towels placed at the balcony entrance.

 

We loved the ship; in particular the entertainment in the Piazza; breakfast in Sabatini's (the Head Waiter and staff were great); balcony dinner; Captain's lunch; Bellini's bar; Alfredo's; Horizon Court. We enjoyed the cruise and in fact have booked the equivalent suite on the Regal for next year so really hope they have got this sorted by then.

 

We wrote to the Customer Services Manager on 7th August in relation to the soot and have not had the courtesy of an acknowledgement or reply.

[Loreni]

No reply since August 7th. Did you send them the pictures?

[Host Jazzbeau]

Send them this link too, so they know the news is out.

[Gig103]

"No smoking on balconies... Unless you are the chief engineer or his equipment!"

 

That looks awful, and although I've heard complaints on other lines, I've never seen a picture. That is quite extensive.

[gracie65]

Messy Cat I'd invite the Captain up for lunch:D

 

 

CC

 

 

Again we need a like button, this statement cracked me up!!

 

Photos of partially covered Aft Balcony B735

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wow everyone is right a picture is worth 1,000 words!! I can't believe this is a suite that you have paid even more for. This rooms should be discounted if this is what you have to deal with. Imagine people suffering from asthma, allergies, breathing disorders etc. if they aren't following CC they are in for a rude awakening!!