Is the Royal aft balcony soot issue over?

[chamima]

My TA was on the ship this last week and I promised I'd come back and report what she said about the aft balconies.

I just got this email from her :

"There is still soot aft on all decks.

 

On Sat the ship was going slow and there wasn’t much wind, they actually had soot all over the pool deck and in the pool.

 

They are supposed to fix this, don’t know when."

 

MY husband REALLY wanted to keep our large aft balcony for our February cruise but we may have to re-think this. (We're past final payment but I think if we upgrade they're ok with that. :confused: )

[compozer]

At least people are talking about the issue again. For a while there if you mentioned the ship had soot issues, you got blasted and I think people were afraid to say anything. Why do people have to post comments if they were not in any of these cabins and do not know anything first hand? I just noticed on the FB page of Princess that a lady said they were in an aft balcony cabin and had no soot issues. Her cabin was A701 and no one has said they have had issues in that area. That is NOT an aft balcony cabin. People really get confused when you say aft. Many think if you are towards the aft of the ship you are in an aft cabin. I guess we should say TRUE AFT.

The cabins having issues have all been across the stern of the ship - all cabins facing the wake.

 

capriccio, I have a couple questions for you. could you send me a note so I can get your email address - thanks. compozer424atyahoodotcom

[Sayra]

MY husband REALLY wanted to keep our large aft balcony for our February cruise but we may have to re-think this. (We're past final payment but I think if we upgrade they're ok with that. :confused: )

 

Karen,

I also really wanted to keep our aft balcony for our March cruise, but after reading these posts we just switched over the weekend. Our final payment is tomorrow, we were able to upgrade to a Mini, and we saved $400. My cousin didn't have FCC's to use, so he was able to upgrade, but he wasn't given any money back (unless he wanted to lose his deposit).

 

I thought it was interesting that these cabins are so expensive (compared with other cabins on the same cruise) with all the issues, but maybe Princess did that purposefully, so that people will book other cabins. I'm curious to see if they "upgrade" people into them or leave them empty.

[jagoffee]

Hopefully they can change the fuel and improve the situation until they can really fix it. I know the Celebrity Solstice class ship have problem with soot on the aft balconies and it seems to have been fixed without a drydock. At least that is my hope because we have three aft Royal cabins booked for August.

Edited December 16, 2013 by jagoffee

[chamima]

Hopefully they can change the fuel and improve the situation until they can really fix it. I know the Celebrity Solstice class ship have problem with soot on the aft balconies and it seems to have been fixed without a drydock. At least that is my hope because we have three aft Royal cabins booked for August.

 

Wouldn't it be nice if the two competitors could share info on this for the benefit of their passengers. :o

[Beachdude]

Is there even a fix for this, how far on is the Regal build, i wonder if she is having a redesign.

 

We were told by the Royal crew that they are expecting a fix to the Royal in just a couple of months. It is not a difficult fix. They will mount some kind of fixture to distrupt the wind so that it doesn't follow the path it is on now. Very common in the aviation and auto industry.

 

Burt

[SassySpokane]

I just got off the ship yesterday and was in the owners suite E729. Although its a problem I wouldnt trade out your room over the issue. We only had one morning where it was unusable but cleaned down by the time we returned after the room steward touched up the room. I have pictures of the worst day and truly its only bad if you make it bad.

 

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[Weluv2cruise2007]

We were told by the Royal crew that they are expecting a fix to the Royal in just a couple of months. It is not a difficult fix. They will mount some kind of fixture to distrupt the wind so that it doesn't follow the path it is on now. Very common in the aviation and auto industry.

 

Burt

 

Obviously won't be soon enough for us. We're on the Royal in 2 weeks time and I'm so upset. This aft balcony was a big splurge for us...to not be able to use it is just unacceptable. We are also travelling with our 7 month old and we're obviously not going to expose him to soot and/or fumes. Even to compensate the dollar value between the aft and a regular deluxe balcony is not enough as far as I'm concerned. It should be the aft and an inside, as essentially it sound like that's what we may end up with!

[Beachdude]

We are also travelling with our 7 month old and we're obviously not going to expose him to soot and/or fumes. Even to compensate the dollar value between the aft and a regular deluxe balcony is not enough as far as I'm concerned. It should be the aft and an inside, as essentially it sound like that's what we may end up with!

 

I understand, to be fair it isn't a fumes problem, just soot.

 

Burt

[capriccio]

I understand, to be fair it isn't a fumes problem, just soot.

 

Burt

 

You didn't smell the fumes then. In addition to being exposed to them on our balcony, I walked a mile (7 laps) on the track and had to stop because for about a quarter of each lap the stench was overwhelming -- and that was when we were in port!

[Weluv2cruise2007]

I understand, to be fair it isn't a fumes problem, just soot.

 

Burt

 

I was able to speak to someone who sailed recently on the same deck we're booked on (Riviera) and he said fumes were an issue at times when they were outside. So disappointing.

[5:00_Somewhere]

I understand, to be fair it isn't a fumes problem, just soot.

 

Burt

 

With all due respect, that is not the case at all. BOTH are a significant problem.

 

I was able to speak to someone who sailed recently on the same deck we're booked on (Riviera) and he said fumes were an issue at times when they were outside. So disappointing.

 

As I have discussed elsewhere here on CC, during our 11/7 cruise we had an aft balcony on Riviera Deck and the fumes were at least as much of a problem as the soot. I tried to sit out on the balcony to read one afternoon on a sea day - after putting down a previously used beach towel on the chair to help prevent soot from soiling my clothes - because the wind seemed to be blowing strongly across the ship. I was hopeful that the soot issue would be ameliorated by the wind, which it was to some degree - though I could still see it falling out of the sky as I sat. But, the diesel fumes were overpowering and I could not stay more than 5 minutes or so because of them. The balcony was utterly useless to us for 7 days due to both the soot and the fumes. Very disappointing.

Edited December 17, 2013 by 5:00_Somewhere

[compozer]

Can anyone tell me if the soot is a problem on the suite balconies if you go around the side rather than staying on the back?

 

Same thing for the diesel smell?

 

I was very upset when I first read about this problem then I settled down and figured we would work around it and maybe it would be fixed or not as bad as people said but hell, now I am getting upset again. I booked the suite for its great balcony. Like someone else said - we should only have to pay for an inside if we can't use it. I doubt it will be fixed by next week.

[jagoffee]

Obviously won't be soon enough for us. We're on the Royal in 2 weeks time and I'm so upset. This aft balcony was a big splurge for us...to not be able to use it is just unacceptable. We are also travelling with our 7 month old and we're obviously not going to expose him to soot and/or fumes. Even to compensate the dollar value between the aft and a regular deluxe balcony is not enough as far as I'm concerned. It should be the aft and an inside, as essentially it sound like that's what we may end up with!

 

Funny. I did not get the irony until I realized that the Royal does not have Oceanview cabins.

 

Too bad they did not a cabin in another location available for you.

[Beachdude]

With all due respect, that is not the case at all. BOTH are a significant problem.

 

 

 

As I have discussed elsewhere here on CC, during our 11/7 cruise we had an aft balcony on Riviera Deck and the fumes were at least as much of a problem as the soot. I tried to sit out on the balcony to read one afternoon on a sea day - after putting down a previously used beach towel on the chair to help prevent soot from soiling my clothes - because the wind seemed to be blowing strongly across the ship. I was hopeful that the soot issue would be ameliorated by the wind, which it was to some degree - though I could still see it falling out of the sky as I sat. But, the diesel fumes were overpowering and I could not stay more than 5 minutes or so because of them. The balcony was utterly useless to us for 7 days due to both the soot and the fumes. Very disappointing.

 

I stand corrected. We were on the same 11/7 cruise with a group that included five aft cabins. Despite the soot, most of our group spent a lot of time on the balconies. While soot was a daily complaint among the group, nobody that I recall mentioned anything about fumes.

 

Burt

[5:00_Somewhere]

Can anyone tell me if the soot is a problem on the suite balconies if you go around the side rather than staying on the back?

 

Same thing for the diesel smell?

 

I was very upset when I first read about this problem then I settled down and figured we would work around it and maybe it would be fixed or not as bad as people said but hell, now I am getting upset again. I booked the suite for its great balcony. Like someone else said - we should only have to pay for an inside if we can't use it. I doubt it will be fixed by next week.

 

I sort of went through the same process before our cruise: I was excited, then upset at the reports of fumes and soot, but ultimately figured we could deal with it. I guess that's one of the reasons I was so disappointed to find the problem really was as bad as reported.

 

I stand corrected. We were on the same 11/7 cruise with a group that included five aft cabins. Despite the soot, most of our group spent a lot of time on the balconies. While soot was a daily complaint among the group, nobody that I recall mentioned anything about fumes.

 

Burt

 

Interesting. I wonder if perhaps the fumes were only an issue for the upper deck and/or fully uncovered balconies. I'm glad to hear it didn't affect everyone with an aft balcony.

[briananddenise]

With all the soot issues, and Princess unable to resolve them we've changed rooms from D725 to E405. It would be a shame to pay for a balcony room and not be able to use it. This will be our first Princess cruise, and would hate for it to be our last because of a design flaw. There are some good reviews on E405, hopefully our vacation will be all that we are hoping for. :)

[MessyCat]

What would stop Princess writing to all passengers who have booked an aft suite/balcony along the lines of that they have a problem with soot which they are working on resolving. In the meantime, we really hope that you will continue with your booking and we will offer you xxx as compensation. However, if you do decide to cancel, you may do so with a full refund.

 

At least people would know where they stood.

[chamima]

What would stop Princess writing to all passengers who have booked an aft suite/balcony along the lines of that they have a problem with soot which they are working on resolving. In the meantime, we really hope that you will continue with your booking and we will offer you xxx as compensation. However, if you do decide to cancel, you may do so with a full refund.

 

At least people would know where they stood.

 

 

 

I think many people just don't complain and deal with it with their room steward. Thus Princess doesn't have to compensate everyone.

What you are suggesting is very forthcoming but I just don't think large corporations do things that way.

[briananddenise]

Princess would loose to much money admitting they have a problem. It's more cost effective to deal with the people who do complain on board rather than sail with a half empty ship. There is a very small percentage of cruiser who are on cruise critic. Most people aren't even aware there is a problem.

[bhopal21]

Very good point.;)

 

Mike:)

[caribill]

It's more cost effective to deal with the people who do complain on board rather than sail with a half empty ship.

 

There are only 56 aft view cabins on the ship. Ship would be far from half empty if these cabins remained unsold until the soot problem is solved.

 

However, your comment about only dealing with those that complain is a good one.

 

Hopefully the soot problem will be solved within a few months. However, dealing with those who are disappointed with the size of the aft owner's suites is not something that will go away.

[gr82cu2]

Are there any new reports? We're in D728 for the April TA. I want so badly to be able to enjoy that balcony! Ugh!

[SassySpokane]

dealing with those who are disappointed with the size of the aft owner's suites is not something that will go away.

 

If your in an owners suite I promise you will not be disappointed with the balcony size. We were in E729, the Auckland Suite and our balcony was amazing!

 

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[5:00_Somewhere]

Due to our bad experience in November, I have been watching this topic closely. Word is that Princess is working on a solution for the Regal (sister ship currently under construction) that they can retrofit onto the Royal at future time, but I have heard of no remedy for the soot issue on either the Regal or Royal as of yet. Different people report different experiences, but when we were departing St. Thomas we spoke with people in aft balconies on every single deck - including the covered balconies - and all reported issues with soot to greater or lesser degrees. Departures were one of the few times many of us could use our balconies as the ship was moving sideways away from the dock and, at times, even backward, so that exhaust from the stacks was drifting in directions away from the stern of the ship. Sorry I couldn't report better news. :( If anyone else has different information, I'd be interested in hearing it, as well.

Edited January 5, 2014 by 5:00_Somewhere