Grand Princess smell of fuel aft balcony deck 12

[vmom]

We are currently on the Grand in a balcony cabin deck 12/Aloha deck towards the  rear close to the rear elevator but not an aft cabin. It’s only day 2 but we have a strong smell of fuel when out on the balcony so we have not been able to sit outside on our balcony.

 

Is this common or well known problem with balconies in the upper rear section of this ship?

 

I have been in this same location on other Princess ships (deck under the Buffet) but never had this smell before.

 

I’m hoping it’s just a matter of some adjustment or fix that will be resolved but I’m doubtful. What have others experienced in this location?

 

Having a wonderful time on the cruise and the staff is fantastic.

[pms4104]

First I've heard of this on the Grand ... I would contact PSD to send someone up to assess this situation.

[john watson]

Is it a fuel store for the tenders and survival craft venting a bit?

 

Regards John

[Level six]

We were on from Nov 5-20 and it smelled like that the whole cruise.  

[Steelers36]

Hmmm.. between the fuel smell and the new smoking issue, I don't mind at all our Inside bookings.

[AZjohn]

Damn... cigarette smoke on the aft balcony's and fuel smell on the side balcony's. Sure sounds like a real bad situation on Grand (shaking my head in disbelief this could happen on any cruise ship).

[vmom]

I talked to the passenger service desk. He said they have had several similar complaints. He said it was the exhaust  from the stack and is dependent on the direction of the wind and direction of the exhaust. 
 

I’m enjoying the views from inside but I hope we will eventually get to sit outside on the balcony.

Funny, I’ve been on side aft balconies before on other ships but never had this problem before. 
 

I’m close to the rear elevators so maybe the secret is going forward of the rear elevators? 
 

I like cabins towards the rear since it’s an easy elevator ride up to the Lido deck.

 

Thank you everyone for your responses .

 

if anyone has any suggestions as to if this is a problem on other ships or how to avoid this in the future, please , I’d love to hear your feedback.

Edited December 7, 2021 by vmom

[Level six]

All I can say is it did not matter which way the wind was blowing, it smelled like fuel.  At first we just thought it was the port of LA smelling, but every time we went out, it smelled like fuel.  Sometimes even in the hallway.  

[donaldsc]

28 minutes ago, vmom said:

I talked to the passenger service desk. He said they have had several similar complaints. He said it was the exhaust  from the stack and is dependent on the direction of the wind and direction of the exhaust. 
 

I’

 

So essentially they are saying "tough.  Just live w it."  Do I have it right?

 

DON

Edited December 7, 2021 by donaldsc

[Level six]

6 minutes ago, donaldsc said:

 

So essentially they are saying "tough.  Just live w it."  Do I have it right?

 

DON

That's what it was for us.  I hope they find what it is.  Several people had complained on our cruise.  I don't know.  It seems dangerous really to be inhaling that.  

[pms4104]

36 minutes ago, vmom said:

I talked to the passenger service desk. He said they have had several similar complaints. He said it was the exhaust  from the stack and is dependent on the direction of the wind and direction of the exhaust. 
 

I’m enjoying the views from inside but I hope we will eventually get to sit outside on the balcony.

Funny, I’ve been on side aft balconies before on other ships but never had this problem before. 
 

I’m close to the rear elevators so maybe the secret is going forward of the rear elevators? 
 

I like cabins towards the rear since it’s an easy elevator ride up to the Lido deck.

 

Thank you everyone for your responses .

 

if anyone has any suggestions as to if this is a problem on other ships or how to avoid this in the future, please , I’d love to hear your feedback.

I would now ask to be moved to another part of the ship in at least the same cabin category ... should not be an issue, as they surely are no where near full capacity.

 

I would think Princess would be very concerned that the fuel smell and crew smoking are in such proximity.

[pms4104]

11 minutes ago, donaldsc said:

 

So essentially they are saying "tough.  Just live w it."  Do I have it right?

 

DON

I don't think they care one whit.

[AnyMajorCruiseDude]

Im sitting on deck 15 watching the smoke come out of the stacks.  Since the ship moves forward, the smoke goes towards the aft areas.  

[XBGuy]

Some years ago we were on the Crown Princess in a starbord side balcony almost to the absolure aft on the B Deck.  There were a couple of occasions when we could smell diesel fumes while out on the balcony.  Obviously, these occurred when the ship was cruising.

 

I am inclined to agree with the Princess Guest Services agent who told @vmomthat it was an intermittent event depending on conditions.  If we smelled something, we left the balcony.

 

Typically, if we are in a balcony cabin, we pick one in the forward section of the ship.  That was the first time we'd ever booked a side-facing cabin in the aft section.  My guess is that we not go back there.

 

In our last few cruises, we have booked aft-facing cabins on a couple ships.  Happily, we have had no problem with fumes in those cabins.

[chengkp75]

I'm guessing the Grand still uses residual fuel oil, which needs to be heated in the storage tanks in order to be used.  The vents for these tanks will be high up and aft, in the funnel area.  If the tank is heated a little too much, or the particular fuel oil has a higher aromatic content, then there will be some "vaporization" of the fuel, and that vapor will rise and come out the vents around the funnel.  Then, depending on vessel speed, wind direction relative to ship direction, and wind speed, those fumes can drift down to the balcony areas.  Exhaust gas can do the same, but has a different "aroma" from raw fuel.

[Level six]

31 minutes ago, chengkp75 said:

I'm guessing the Grand still uses residual fuel oil, which needs to be heated in the storage tanks in order to be used.  The vents for these tanks will be high up and aft, in the funnel area.  If the tank is heated a little too much, or the particular fuel oil has a higher aromatic content, then there will be some "vaporization" of the fuel, and that vapor will rise and come out the vents around the funnel.  Then, depending on vessel speed, wind direction relative to ship direction, and wind speed, those fumes can drift down to the balcony areas.  Exhaust gas can do the same, but has a different "aroma" from raw fuel.

Since you would know, it is normal for the smoke to be almost brown? 

[chengkp75]

3 minutes ago, Level six said:

Since you would know, it is normal for the smoke to be almost brown? 

Judging smoke quality by its color is a very difficult thing, and even those trained in doing so, are questioned often.  The normal diesel exhaust (and remember, there will be not only exhaust from the diesel engines, but the boilers, and the incinerators while at sea) will be a light yellow/brown, but this color can look far different in different lighting scenarios (early morning, noon, evening, full overcast, hazy cloud cover), and even white clouds behind the smoke will affect how people see the color of smoke.

 

Also, is this smoke always "almost brown", or is it just sometimes?  When boilers first start firing (and they will cycle on and off all day long), the combustion is often not quite complete, and therefore the smoke is brown to black.  When diesels start up, or when they are suddenly loaded (running bow thrusters and azipods intermittently when entering/leaving port, the diesel's turbocharger cannot react fast enough, and you get brown/black smoke (think of buses/trucks starting from a stoplight).

[Level six]

3 minutes ago, chengkp75 said:

Also, is this smoke always "almost brown", or is it just sometimes

Thanks, as always for your answer.

I am not onboard now so I can't say.  But, it did seem odd to me.  After all the cruises I have been on, I can only remember one time when the smoke from the ship looked like a fire smoke.  Once on NCL in Norway(it was horribly polluting the pristine fjords), and this time on the Grand.  We could literally see the smoke from the ship miles away, it was bad.

 

[chengkp75]

26 minutes ago, Level six said:

Thanks, as always for your answer.

I am not onboard now so I can't say.  But, it did seem odd to me.  After all the cruises I have been on, I can only remember one time when the smoke from the ship looked like a fire smoke.  Once on NCL in Norway(it was horribly polluting the pristine fjords), and this time on the Grand.  We could literally see the smoke from the ship miles away, it was bad.

 

Again, judging smoke and how "polluting" it is from the color is very, very difficult.  The opacity of the smoke is a better test (how much can you see through the smoke), and all ships have meters in the exhausts that measure pollutants like NOX (nitrous oxides), SOX (sulfur oxides), and particulates (smoke density), and will sound alarms when statutory limits are reached.

[brisalta]

I have taken a number of voyages on the Grand all in outside balcony state rooms about 3 from the stern and never smelt fuel oil or smoke there.

It seems there is something not right there on your vooyage.

It might be worth talking with one of the ships engineering or navigation officers. I have seen them eating in the buffet and in Sabatini's. I have also seen engineering officers in their working khaki uniform walking through passenger spaces.

[Coral]

On 12/6/2021 at 5:14 PM, vmom said:

Having a wonderful time on the cruise and the staff is fantastic.

VMOM - how many people are on your sailing?

 

Can you tell me what times the shows are at night?

 

Thanks.

[vmom]

34 minutes ago, Coral said:

VMOM - how many people are on your sailing?

 

Can you tell me what times the shows are at night?

 

Thanks.

We have approximately 1500 passengers.

It’s the most they’ve had since resuming sailing. There’s been some difficulties with adjusting from the small numbers of passengers to 1500 so quickly but the crew has been fantastic. The main difficulty has been with seating in the dining room prior to 7:00.  Too many people want to eat early and there’s not enough tables available. 
By my observation, not by any person of authority, it looks like when 2 or 3 groups are seated at one large table, they are trying to keep a chair open between the groups. Also I’ve noticed many tables for 4-6 with only 2 people which further reduced the availability of  tables. I’m wondering if that may change due to the high demand for earlier seating times. 

 

There’s 2 different shows usually.

Princess theater entertainment is at 7:00 and 9:00.

Vista lounge shows are 8:00 and 10;00. 
Live music at the Explorer Lounge and Wheelhouse Bar/lounge.

 

The cruise director has been great and  the Vista Lounge is being well utilized for a change in the evenings.  

Edited December 8, 2021 by vmom

[Coral]

13 minutes ago, vmom said:

We have approximately 1500 passengers.

It’s the most they’ve had since resuming sailing. There’s been some difficulties with adjusting from the small numbers of passengers to 1500 so quickly but the crew has been fantastic. The main difficulty has been with seating in the dining room prior to 7:00.  Too many people want to eat early and there’s not enough tables available. 
By my observation, not by any person of authority, it looks like when 2 or 3 groups are seated at one large table, they are trying to keep a chair open between the groups. Also I’ve noticed many tables for 4-6 with only 2 people which further reduced the availability of  tables. I’m wondering if that may change due to the high demand for earlier seating times. 

 

There’s 2 different shows usually.

Princess theater entertainment is at 7:00 and 9:00.

Vista lounge shows are 8:00 and 10;00. 
Live music at the Explorer Lounge and Wheelhouse Bar/lounge.

 

The cruise director has been great and  the Vista Lounge is being well utilized for a change in the evenings.  

Thank you!

[Steelers36]

2 hours ago, vmom said:

Princess theater entertainment is at 7:00 and 9:00.

IMO, 7 is too early.  Used to be 7:30... occasionally 7:15 if they were packing more in.

[Papa Yoda]

Go see Steve Moris - he'll make you laugh!