Sun Review May 23 sailing

[bkluyt]

For the OP -- you were able to swim? Are you just tough/brave, or are the pools heated?

 

I was wondering the same thing!

[4774Papa]

I was wondering the same thing!

 

We were on the NCL Star in September/October on a cruise out of Copenhagen that went to Norway, Iceland, Shetland Islands and a lot of cold or chilly places. The pool was either closed or too cold for use. I don't know at what point they close the pool, probably if the seas are stormy and/or temps are low.

[puli]

My husband and I were on the May 23 Sun cruise to Alaska in balcony room 8274. The smell in the room, hallways, and aft staircases was horrible. It smelled like sewage! I went to guest services immediately and they informed me the our cruise was fully booked and they can't do anything but come clean and refresh the room. All they did was spray air freshener and put down carpet powder to hide the smell. The smell was back a few hours later. I called down to guest services because I didn't want to waste 20 mins standing in line again. This time they sent a steward to the room and asked us where the smell was coming from. He said he didn't smell anything and he left. I asked a steward in the hallway if he smelled the horrible smell and he laughed and said he was used to it now. It was very noticeable when we were out on the balcony and came inside or if we were mid-ship and walked to aft ship. LONG STORY SHORT THE ENTIRE AFT PART OF THE SHIP SMELLED LIKE ****! Customer service wouldn't do anything about it. We got back home and I called NCL. I waited over 30 mins on hold, got disconnected, then waited another 35 mins and got to talk to a customer service agent. She told me I have to write a letter and mail it in or submit an online claim and it would be 15-20 days processing time before a customer service agent can respond to the claim. I am so upset with NCL right now, and the smell was very noticeable in our room and the whole aft part of the ship and customer service doesn't care at all. If you are on the aft part of the ship bring some febreze or air fresheners with you!

 

we are booked in an aft suite on deck nine for next summer...and are seriously thinking about cancelling.

 

Spent 10 days twice on HAL ships with the same "odor" complaint...later found out that with older ships the duct work throughout the ship's ventilation system developes minute holes over time and with the marine regulations for burning waste rather than discharging it overboard what one smells is the residue ash...supposedly it is not toxic but has a real sewer smell. Often there are entire areas that are affected.

 

It is a good topic to discuss with the ship officers at your on board roll call celebration.

 

If you search the C.C. boards of major cruise lines you will find this "sewer smell" complaint is universal..I personally have read about passengers experiencing it on HAL, Princess, RCCL, and NCL.to name a few.

[4774Papa]

The Sun does have a refurb coming up, so hopefully the problem gets fixed.

[puli]

The Sun does have a refurb coming up, so hopefully the problem gets fixed.

 

That would be great but when we discussed this issue with a HAL sanitation officer he said that would require redoing the entire ship's ventilation system...not an easy or fiscally desirable project..... IMHO probably better to placate passengers and look for biological ways to lessen the stench .

[hartwickds]

The Sun does have a refurb coming up, so hopefully the problem gets fixed.

 

The Sun just went through refurbishment within the past month to month and a half....

[4774Papa]

The Sun just went through refurbishment within the past month to month and a half....

 

According to another thread on cc, the Sun is scheduled for this summer. I understand that the refurb was cut a week short.

[CruisinMaterial]

According to another thread on cc, the Sun is scheduled for this summer. I understand that the refurb was cut a week short.

 

The Sun already had her dry dock. The problem unfortunately was not corrected but since I'm staying forward I don't really mind if the odor is there. The only time I would encounter it would be at the Stardust Theater. Everything else I do on the Sun is forward of the aft stairwell. She's still a good ship but just choose your stateroom wisely! I wish they had worked to correct it but if the air system requires a complete overhaul to do so then chances are they're not going to do that... maybe just sell the ship? :cool:

[puli]

The Sun already had her dry dock. The problem unfortunately was not corrected but since I'm staying forward I don't really mind if the odor is there. The only time I would encounter it would be at the Stardust Theater. Everything else I do on the Sun is forward of the aft stairwell. She's still a good ship but just choose your stateroom wisely! I wish they had worked to correct it but if the air system requires a complete overhaul to do so then chances are they're not going to do that... maybe just sell the ship? :cool:[/quote

 

 

good I guess, for those cruisers who have forward cabins but what about the rest of the passengers? and if parts of the ventilation system are already riddled with microscopic leaks what's to keep the rest of the system from continuing to corrode? ..who knows the vent duct in your forward cabin might be next!

 

It is a little like Russian Roulette except you already know in which chamber one bullet is located. but is there only one bullet?????

 

Off to research other ships that sail to Alaska!

 

how can one find out exactly which cabins are affected?

Edited June 6, 2016 by puli

[CruisinMaterial]

From previous guest complaints it's been around the aft stairwell and moving aft to the back of the ship. Steer clear of cabins in those areas and you should be fine. As things corrode over time the smell may travel for sure but as of reports over the last year, it's solely been the aft part of the ship experiencing problems with it. :cool:

[snowcones]

We were on the Sun Feb 2014 in cabin 10064. The hallway smelt like raw sewage then. We complained but nothing was done about it. We nickname the area "the poop deck". Sad that it is still an issue today

 

Brenda

[Sonora5]

We are booked in an aft balcony 9277 that is on the starboard side. I always wanted an aft balcony on an Alaskan cruise. Now, after reading your post and several reviews, I wonder if I should try to move to another cabin?

 

The Sun was just in dry dock. Why didn't they fix the problem?

 

We were in 8277 prior to the dry dock and the smell was awful. It made the butler sick at one point. We were not able to stay in our cabin on several sea days.

 

I am on hold with NCL now and they are giving me the "put it in writing" runaround. I am happy to do that, but I was not told to do that while onboard. I was just given a card with a phone number and a claim number.

 

In any event I will not sail on this ship again, and if you can switch your cabin away from the aft section do it.

[MrHaney]

We were in 8277 prior to the dry dock and the smell was awful. It made the butler sick at one point. We were not able to stay in our cabin on several sea days.

 

I am on hold with NCL now and they are giving me the "put it in writing" runaround. I am happy to do that, but I was not told to do that while onboard. I was just given a card with a phone number and a claim number.

 

In any event I will not sail on this ship again, and if you can switch your cabin away from the aft section do it.

Were you on the South American cruise? I read several reviews from that cruise that stated that toilets had backed up and ran out onto the carpet and all out in the hallways. I believe one person even said it got on their clothes. Is there any way sewage could have seeped into the air system?

Our room is midship, so I hope it doesn't smell. We were on Disney Magic a couple of years ago and it was smelling like sewage. We were so sick from smelling it, we practically ran off that ship when we got back and that was only a 3 day cruise.

[Sonora5]

Were you on the South American cruise? I read several reviews from that cruise that stated that toilets had backed up and ran out onto the carpet and all out in the hallways. I believe one person even said it got on their clothes. Is there any way sewage could have seeped into the air system?

Our room is midship, so I hope it doesn't smell. We were on Disney Magic a couple of years ago and it was smelling like sewage. We were so sick from smelling it, we practically ran off that ship when we got back and that was only a 3 day cruise.

 

There was a problem with the toilets but that started after the smell began I think. There was also a problem with water running blue. Several women had their hair turn green and had to get it fixed in the salon. The treatment was soaking their hair in ketchup.

 

The smell was in the aft cabins and on occasion reached the buffet. It was really awful-I have been on ships before that had a smell but it was never this bad, for this long, over so much area.

 

There were also a lot of contractors on the ship working. Insulation and dust were all over the carpets. The contractors had masks to wear but we were not given anything to protect us. This was especially concerning to me because my husband has a lung disease.

 

We loved the itinerary, the crew was mostly great, and since it was a long cruise at 20 days we really got to know a lot of our fellow passengers. Very nice group of mostly experienced travellers. So it wasn't all bad. Post dry dock reviews of the Sun seem to indicate the smell is still there. If you are stuck with the Sun switch your cabin to as far forward as you can go. If you have an alternative, rebook on a different ship.

[MaryKEllis]

Thanks for the review---I will be on the Sun July 10-25th (b2b). Have been on the Sun twice before (Alaska july 2015 & Mexican Riviera Oct 2015), so will be like going home! Anxious to see what they did on their refurb

[4774Papa]

I just got off the phone with Christina at the NCL GUEST RELATIONS number 866-625-1164. She was very nice and did put me on hold to check for other complaints. She came back and said that there had been some complaints pre-refit, but none since there.

 

I explained to her what I had done on cc by soliciting others experiences on the Sun and that others had experienced the sewage odor problem AFTER the refit.

 

Sorry, I had to wait almost half an hour on hold to talk to Christina. However, my suggestion is that if everyone that experienced this problem called and complained or as Christina suggested write a letter or email to NCL detailing complaints (email accessible through website, "help".