Cabin Temperatures on Nieuw Amsterdam

[OBX-Cruisers]

During our recent 20 day TA cruise on the NA we experienced a lot of new stuff in our cruising career:

1. A fire in the incinerator room that had some non-English speaking passengers out in the halls with their life preservers on and ready to abandon ship. [They were complaining about lack of announcements in Dutch that they could understand with officers as we went by].

2. First ever missed port on disembarkation/embarkation day for the NA according to crew members. [Captain did try to enter Barcelona port 4 times before port was closed].

3. HOT cabin temperatures for our last 4-5 cruising days and peaking at unbearable on final (packing) night. We had to request a fan to complete packing without passing out.

 

What is wrong with the NA environmental controls? During our 20 day trip the controls worked fine and we were very comfortable. During the last part of the trip, all of the cabins on Deck 5 (Verandah Deck) in the middle of the ship were stifling and people complaining. Calls to the front desk did not produce any changes. Requests to our cabin attendants had them report it to unresponsive "engineering staff":(:confused:

 

What was wrong with the Nieuw Amsterdam that required a fan for surving the last night on deck 5?????

Edited November 17, 2015 by OBX-Cruisers

[Krazy Kruizers]

Thanks for your report.

Can't answer as to why you had so little air conditioning on the last few days of your cruise. Did you ask the front office what was wrong?

We have encountered incinerated (solo) fires on quite a few HAL ships.

Wow -- that must have been terrible for people who needed to get off the ship in Barcelona and for those who missed their cruise on embarkation day. Do you know what happened to all those passengers? What was your next port?

[innlady1]

Kk...it was posted here that HAL put them up in hotels in Barcelona. ..the ship left a day late. Perhaps you were on your cruise and missed it.

[cbr663]

Thanks for the update on the air conditioning issues on the NA. This board is sadly littered with complaints of inoperable and poor operating air conditioning on HAL ships. We will be sailing on the NA soon and I hope that this problem has been fixed. Poor air conditioning in the Caribbean will make for a very unpleasant experience.

[cruz chic]

Kk...it was posted here that HAL put them up in hotels in Barcelona. ..the ship left a day late. Perhaps you were on your cruise and missed it.

 

I was on the same cruise as KK. It did happen since we've been home but perhaps she missed the thread.

[chengkp75]

Incinerator fires are fairly common. What happens is that the paper and cardboard is shredded before being stored in a "silo" until the incinerator can be started at sea. Unfortunately, sometimes the crew sorting garbage does not find something metallic in the paper garbage, and this metal object (I've seen fires started by a AA battery) creates a spark when it goes through the teeth of the shredder. This spark drops into the 5 cubic meters of paper/cardboard, and causes a fire. The silo has fire suppression equipment, but the fire teams will be called to respond as well.

 

As for the A/C. When you say, all the cabins on Deck #5 in the middle of the ship, bolding mine, were the cabins all within one fire zone (between a given set of corridor fire doors) or were they over more than one?

 

Given that it was only localized, it would not appear to be anything systemic to the A/C system as a whole.

 

If all the affected cabins were in one fire zone, it may have been a problem with either the air handlers or the chilled water circulation for that fire zone. Each fire zone has it's own ventilation system, isolated from the next fire zone.

 

Since it was only one deck, this becomes peculiar, as the air handlers that supply fresh air to a fire zone tend to cover more than one deck of passenger cabins, but the NA could be different. Each cabin also recirculates air through a small cooler, which is controlled by the cabin thermostat. This is cooled by chilled water as well, and also has an air filter which could restrict cooling when clogged. The fact that many cabins were affected doesn't point to the cabin unit coolers.

 

Was there air moving at all, even warm air? It could be that there was a problem with one fan in the air handling room. It shouldn't have taken 4-5 days to repair, but that might be the problem.

 

Please don't accuse the engineering staff of being "unresponsive". Just because they didn't come to your cabin (because they had a whole set of cabins with the same complaint) doesn't mean they weren't working on the problem as best they could. Most issues like this are fixed in areas of the ship passengers never see, and never see the workers getting to/from them either. The engineering staff are not hired for their hospitality skills, that is a function of front of the house staff, and complaints like this about engineering are quite common, when in fact the fault lies with those whose training is in the hospitality industry, and should know how to keep passengers informed.

[cruz chic]

Incinerator fires are fairly common. What happens is that the paper and cardboard is shredded before being stored in a "silo" until the incinerator can be started at sea. Unfortunately, sometimes the crew sorting garbage does not find something metallic in the paper garbage, and this metal object (I've seen fires started by a AA battery) creates a spark when it goes through the teeth of the shredder. This spark drops into the 5 cubic meters of paper/cardboard, and causes a fire. The silo has fire suppression equipment, but the fire teams will be called to respond as well.

 

As for the A/C. When you say, all the cabins on Deck #5 in the middle of the ship, bolding mine, were the cabins all within one fire zone (between a given set of corridor fire doors) or were they over more than one?

 

Given that it was only localized, it would not appear to be anything systemic to the A/C system as a whole.

 

If all the affected cabins were in one fire zone, it may have been a problem with either the air handlers or the chilled water circulation for that fire zone. Each fire zone has it's own ventilation system, isolated from the next fire zone.

 

Since it was only one deck, this becomes peculiar, as the air handlers that supply fresh air to a fire zone tend to cover more than one deck of passenger cabins, but the NA could be different. Each cabin also recirculates air through a small cooler, which is controlled by the cabin thermostat. This is cooled by chilled water as well, and also has an air filter which could restrict cooling when clogged. The fact that many cabins were affected doesn't point to the cabin unit coolers.

 

Was there air moving at all, even warm air? It could be that there was a problem with one fan in the air handling room. It shouldn't have taken 4-5 days to repair, but that might be the problem.

 

Please don't accuse the engineering staff of being "unresponsive". Just because they didn't come to your cabin (because they had a whole set of cabins with the same complaint) doesn't mean they weren't working on the problem as best they could. Most issues like this are fixed in areas of the ship passengers never see, and never see the workers getting to/from them either. The engineering staff are not hired for their hospitality skills, that is a function of front of the house staff, and complaints like this about engineering are quite common, when in fact the fault lies with those whose training is in the hospitality industry, and should know how to keep passengers informed.

Thank you for the information. Yes, communication goes a long way when these issues arise.

 

I'd like to ask a question please. There is a lot of discussion on these boards about leaving your balcony door open and it cutting the supply of a/c to other cabins. I never leave mine open but others seem to feel this isn't a concern. Can you comment? Thx.

[Janet524]

Aren't fires supposed to be in the incinerator? ;) (just joking...no flames - pun intended, please)

 

On a serious note, I was troubled to hear about the HVAC issues on Nieuw Amsterdam. Our last cruise on Westerdam had similar issues, not only in the cabins, but in public areas which ranged from stifling to freezing. Hopefully the problems will be resolved by the time we sail on her.

[chengkp75]

Thank you for the information. Yes, communication goes a long way when these issues arise.

 

I'd like to ask a question please. There is a lot of discussion on these boards about leaving your balcony door open and it cutting the supply of a/c to other cabins. I never leave mine open but others seem to feel this isn't a concern. Can you comment? Thx.

 

Sigh. Not your fault, but I've answered this on nearly every forum at least once. I'll try to be brief.

 

Whether or not the balcony doors on a given ship are equipped with A/C switches, you will in fact affect other cabins when leaving a balcony door open.

 

Air conditioning in your cabin is made up as follows: 20% of the air volume is changed out each hour. 20% comes in as fresh air from outside the ship, that is air conditioned by large air handlers (usually in those "white spaces" down the middle of cabin decks) that supply usually one or two decks worth of cabins within a fire zone. 20% is exhausted via the bathroom vent. The remaining 80% of the cabin's air is recirculated from the cabin, to a small cooler, and back to the cabin. This small cooler is what is controlled by the cabin thermostat, and the balcony door switch.

 

The fresh air supply is pressure balanced so that back pressure in the cabin will control the amount of air entering to match that being sucked out by the bathroom vent. This positive pressure in the cabin also helps in fires, so that smoke in other cabins or in the passageway isn't drawn into your cabin. Once you open the balcony door, the restriction to supply air is changed from the 3" diameter bathroom vent duct to an 18 square foot doorway, so the backpressure on the supply air drops dramatically. Just like water, air will flow in the path of least resistance, so vast quantities of the air being delivered by the fresh air fan goes out the balcony door, and the other cabins that are supplied by that fan get reduced amounts of fresh air supply, and start to draw warm passageway air under the door into the cabin.

 

The way to tell this is true is to walk down a passageway full of cabins. If you hear "whistling wind" or "wind tunnel" sounds at a particular door, that is the A/C supply air being drawn out the balcony door, and the air being drawn under the doors of other cabins (much more noticeable when multiple balcony doors are open).

 

Sorry, not as brief as hoped, but less detail than I could go into.

[chengkp75]

Aren't fires supposed to be in the incinerator? ;) (just joking...no flames - pun intended, please)

 

On a serious note, I was troubled to hear about the HVAC issues on Nieuw Amsterdam. Our last cruise on Westerdam had similar issues, not only in the cabins, but in public areas which ranged from stifling to freezing. Hopefully the problems will be resolved by the time we sail on her.

 

Actually, that's what we would try to do, if a fire happened in the incinerator silo. If we used water to extinguish the fire, we were left with 3-4 tons of wet paper/cardboard that is difficult to burn. However, if we can start the incinerator and move the fire's fuel down to where it's supposed to burn, that would be preferable. It usually became a balancing act, and required several hours of monitoring the smoldering paper to see that it didn't get out of hand again before it got to the firebox of the incinerator.

[cruz chic]

Sigh. Not your fault, but I've answered this on nearly every forum at least once. I'll try to be brief.

 

Whether or not the balcony doors on a given ship are equipped with A/C switches, you will in fact affect other cabins when leaving a balcony door open.

 

Air conditioning in your cabin is made up as follows: 20% of the air volume is changed out each hour. 20% comes in as fresh air from outside the ship, that is air conditioned by large air handlers (usually in those "white spaces" down the middle of cabin decks) that supply usually one or two decks worth of cabins within a fire zone. 20% is exhausted via the bathroom vent. The remaining 80% of the cabin's air is recirculated from the cabin, to a small cooler, and back to the cabin. This small cooler is what is controlled by the cabin thermostat, and the balcony door switch.

 

The fresh air supply is pressure balanced so that back pressure in the cabin will control the amount of air entering to match that being sucked out by the bathroom vent. This positive pressure in the cabin also helps in fires, so that smoke in other cabins or in the passageway isn't drawn into your cabin. Once you open the balcony door, the restriction to supply air is changed from the 3" diameter bathroom vent duct to an 18 square foot doorway, so the backpressure on the supply air drops dramatically. Just like water, air will flow in the path of least resistance, so vast quantities of the air being delivered by the fresh air fan goes out the balcony door, and the other cabins that are supplied by that fan get reduced amounts of fresh air supply, and start to draw warm passageway air under the door into the cabin.

 

The way to tell this is true is to walk down a passageway full of cabins. If you hear "whistling wind" or "wind tunnel" sounds at a particular door, that is the A/C supply air being drawn out the balcony door, and the air being drawn under the doors of other cabins (much more noticeable when multiple balcony doors are open).

 

Sorry, not as brief as hoped, but less detail than I could go into.

 

Sorry this question has been asked so much but I really appreciate you taking the time to answer. I have copied the link to my ioad so I'm armed the next time this question comes up :D. Thx again. I apprecite your presence on the board.

[chengkp75]

Sorry this question has been asked so much but I really appreciate you taking the time to answer. I have copied the link to my ioad so I'm armed the next time this question comes up :D. Thx again. I apprecite your presence on the board.

 

No problem. What I should do is keep the links to my "stock answer" posts on:

 

1. Diapers in the pools

2. A/C and balcony doors

3. Toilet paper

4. Water quality and taste

 

Maybe someday I'll get smart and tech savvy.

[Lizzie68]

No problem. What I should do is keep the links to my "stock answer" posts on:

 

1. Diapers in the pools

2. A/C and balcony doors

3. Toilet paper

4. Water quality and taste

 

Maybe someday I'll get smart and tech savvy.

 

Your information is always invaluable. On the balcony door issue, it always amazes me how many doors are propped open when we watch sailaways from FLL.

Edited November 17, 2015 by Lizzie68

[innlady1]

...and that could well have been the issue on the NA.

[CruiseReg]

No problem. What I should do is keep the links to my "stock answer" posts on:

 

1. Diapers in the pools

2. A/C and balcony doors

3. Toilet paper

4. Water quality and taste

 

Maybe someday I'll get smart and tech savvy.

 

Don't forget power strips/surge protectors :)

 

Thank you for your contributions, I love reading your detailed responses.

[chengkp75]

Don't forget power strips/surge protectors :)

 

Thank you for your contributions, I love reading your detailed responses.

 

How could I forget those many, many posts. :D

[OBX-Cruisers]

[Chengkp75 "Please don't accuse the engineering staff of being "unresponsive"

 

Was not intending to "accuse" anyone and just stated that there was apparently nothing done to fix a problem for 5 days since it was a continuous problem. Perhaps the word "unresponsive" would be better directed at lack of follow up communication from the front desk and "ineffective" for the resolution of the problem by engineers.....a problem that never did get resolved..........

 

I should stress here for those going on the NA that our cabin AC was doing fine for 15 days. Lack of communication about why we were having a problem prevents me from commenting on anything other than we were told several times by the front desk staff and our cabin attendant that "engineering would be notified of the problem".....no follow up communication was received from anyone

[cruz chic]

[Chengkp75 "Please don't accuse the engineering staff of being "unresponsive"

 

Was not intending to "accuse" anyone and just stated that there was apparently nothing done to fix a problem for 5 days since it was a continuous problem. Perhaps the word "unresponsive" would be better directed at lack of follow up communication from the front desk and "ineffective" for the resolution of the problem by engineers.....a problem that never did get resolved..........

 

I should stress here for those going on the NA that our cabin AC was doing fine for 15 days. Lack of communication about why we were having a problem prevents me from commenting on anything other than we were told several times by the front desk staff and our cabin attendant that "engineering would be notified of the problem".....no follow up communication was received from anyone

Unfortunately the front desk seems to have a set of canned responses that they drag out depending on the situation. I think the issue needs to be placed on ineffective front desk personnel.