[Equinox] Brown water from stateroom faucet

[CelebrityBrownWater]

We’re leaving the Equinox today from our 10-day April 24 Ultimate Southern Caribbean vacation. We had many issues with our aging stateroom. The toilet would not flush on multiple occasions. The lights and tv aren’t working. However, it was the water quality in our room that really had us grossed out.

 

 

Halfway through the trip, while brushing my teeth at approx 8:45am, I looked down to see brown water flowing from our faucet. My wife had just washed her face. We’d been using the sink water for things like taking our meds. We did not have a drink package and failed to bring bottled water with us. We’re still pretty new at cruising, and this was our first time with Celebrity. It was our honeymoon.

 

If you’re wondering what the heck the water is, rest assured: customer relations never actually told us. So it’s like playing the brown water lottery! Fun! 

 

But we were told comforting things like:

 

It’s happening everywhere!

 

Don’t worry, it’s not human waste, it’s just rust!

 

Sorry, we shouldn’t have said it was rust! It can’t be rust. We don’t know what it is at this time.

 

It’s from flushing the lines.

 

I never said that! I warn you, don’t put words in my mouth. I never said that. - Hotel director, Lauren.

So…

Be careful out there. Always photo/video any issue on board. This went to the top of the totem pole, including the hotel director, chief engineer, and accommodations maintenance manager. By the time these important people asked us to a formal meeting on day 9, they had switched to a pure denial tactic. This was after days of back and forth and many acknowledgments of the issue from our stewards and customer relations, and evidence taken on our phone. The upper level staff on this boat are not above lying.

We declined their offer for future onboard credit.

 

Do not trust the water in your room. Say a little prayer before boarding. And good luck.

[spiritkat090909]

What was your room number?

[mahdnc]

31 minutes ago, CelebrityBrownWater said:

We’re leaving the Equinox today from our 10-day April 24 Ultimate Southern Caribbean vacation. We had many issues with our aging stateroom. The toilet would not flush on multiple occasions. The lights and tv aren’t working. However, it was the water quality in our room that really had us grossed out.

 

 

Halfway through the trip, while brushing my teeth at approx 8:45am, I looked down to see brown water flowing from our faucet. My wife had just washed her face. We’d been using the sink water for things like taking our meds. We did not have a drink package and failed to bring bottled water with us. We’re still pretty new at cruising, and this was our first time with Celebrity. It was our honeymoon.

 

If you’re wondering what the heck the water is, rest assured: customer relations never actually told us. So it’s like playing the brown water lottery! Fun! 

 

But we were told comforting things like:

 

It’s happening everywhere!

 

Don’t worry, it’s not human waste, it’s just rust!

 

Sorry, we shouldn’t have said it was rust! It can’t be rust. We don’t know what it is at this time.

 

It’s from flushing the lines.

 

I never said that! I warn you, don’t put words in my mouth. I never said that. - Hotel director, Lauren.

So…

Be careful out there. Always photo/video any issue on board. This went to the top of the totem pole, including the hotel director, chief engineer, and accommodations maintenance manager. By the time these important people asked us to a formal meeting on day 9, they had switched to a pure denial tactic. This was after days of back and forth and many acknowledgments of the issue from our stewards and customer relations, and evidence taken on our phone. The upper level staff on this boat are not above lying.

We declined their offer for future onboard credit.

 

Do not trust the water in your room. Say a little prayer before boarding. And good luck.

 

Yuck.  All reports I have seen up to now about Equinox's shape have been pretty good.  I am sorry this happened to you, esp the water. 

 

How much future onboard credit did they offer as compensation?

 

Interesting CC screen name you chose, I hope you like it in the morning!

[Luvcrusn]

Sorry for you unsettling experience. We sailed on Equinox several times (as recently as last December) and never encountered that. In fact, we've never encountered that on any of our Celebrity sailings on any ship.  What cabin number did you have?

[chimchimtx]

Sorry you had such a bad experience. We were on Equinox in September and had no issues.  It was such a great cruise we are sailing her again in a few weeks.  I know everyone's experience can vary even on the same cruise.  If you really want to escalate you can search for the celebrity engagement team email. They are generally helpful and responsive.

 

For future reference you can ask for water from any bar and take it back to the room. We used bottle water for taking meds/drinking partly because it was easier to pour in a glass and use than getting under the tiny faucet. But we brushed our teeth with sink water and had no issues.

[CelebrityBrownWater]

1 hour ago, spiritkat090909 said:

What was your room number?

Deck 9 midship

 

1 hour ago, mahdnc said:

How much future onboard credit did they offer as compensation?

 

Interesting CC screen name you chose, I hope you like it in the morning!

$250 obc next cruise 

[Gia2cats]

Just curious as to how long the brown water lasted. Very surprised that Celebrity didn’t take this very seriously.

[hcat]

what deck?

problems like this must run along a deck or up the line somewhere

 

how was the water in the shower abd toilet?

[PTC DAWG]

I've sailed Equinox 3 times, never had issues like this.  I would have let it run for a while and see if that helped anything..maybe ask someone in cabins next door if they have same issue. Take it from there.  

 

The toilets, I've had non flushing happen occasionally on various lines.  It's usually a fairly easy fix for the crew.  

 

 

Edited May 4, 2023 by PTC DAWG

[Jim_Iain]

While I don't know the specifics of the brown water, I do know that where we live when they have a had a water main break or flush it stirs up the natural silt in the public water lines and we have brown water for a day.   The Water Department reports it isn't safe to drink.   

 

We also in the HOA often get it when we have to have the Backflow's tested and / or repaired.

 

 

[Pickels]

Sailed on Equinox, Silhouette and recently on Reflection--- Never had this issue.  BTW--here in Long Beach, we would get brown water whenever the fire department flushes  out the hydrants.   Clears up in a few minutes; maybe this was a similar issue on your cruise. 

[luv2camp04]

1 hour ago, CelebrityBrownWater said:

Deck 9 midship

 

$250 obc next cruise 

Deck 9 midship?  That's a weird room number 

[CelebrityBrownWater]

5 minutes ago, Pickels said:

Sailed on Equinox, Silhouette and recently on Reflection--- Never had this issue.  BTW--here in Long Beach, we would get brown water whenever the fire department flushes  out the hydrants.   Clears up in a few minutes; maybe this was a similar issue on your cruise. 

Flushing was the reasoning provided at one point, first by customer relations, then by the hotel director, only to be backtracked the following day by the chief engineer. After that point the hotel director denied she ever mentioned flushing, and threatened to pull ‘video’ of our conversation the previous night, to which I responded ‘please do’. She never did. I can only assume she might get in pretty big trouble for such an admission.

 

If it was indeed from flushing the lines, then they did it at 8:45am on a port day, without warning.

 

Our room steward left our water running for quite awhile. Maybe an hour. Can’t say how long it took to run clear again.

[davekathy]

1 hour ago, CelebrityBrownWater said:

Deck 9 midship

 

$250 obc next cruise 

Based on all the issues you experienced that little OBC would only have been a start.

 

[chengkp75]

Having caused this problem myself, when I worked cruise ships, I can tell you what it is.  When the ship makes distilled water from sea water, it is like all distilled water, slightly acidic.  This can cause problems with shipboard machinery and piping, as well as attacking the enamel in your teeth, so the ship neutralizes the water by passing it through a filter bed of calcium carbonate (the active ingredient in Tums).  This calcium tends to build up a scale on the inside of the piping, which doesn't cause any problems as long as the pipes are filled with water.  However, when the pipes are drained for repairs, this scale will break off the inner surface of the pipes, and when water is restored, it will start to circulate through the pipes.  Since the water in the pipes is constantly circulating from the storage tank, around the ship and back to the storage tank, most of this scale will be quickly circulated out of the system.  However, in "static" sections of piping, like those between the main line on your cabin deck, and your bathroom sink or shower (meaning there is no flow until you turn on the water tap), this scale will tend to accumulate.  It will cause a yellow to brown coloration, and while not appealing visually, is not harmful.  Typically, running the water for a couple of minutes will clear up the discoloration.

 

There is no "flushing" of water lines on ships, and as for timing, a repair means that a pipe was leaking somewhere, and that needs to be repaired immediately.

[CelebrityBrownWater]

16 minutes ago, chengkp75 said:

Having caused this problem myself, when I worked cruise ships, I can tell you what it is.  When the ship makes distilled water from sea water, it is like all distilled water, slightly acidic.  This can cause problems with shipboard machinery and piping, as well as attacking the enamel in your teeth, so the ship neutralizes the water by passing it through a filter bed of calcium carbonate (the active ingredient in Tums).  This calcium tends to build up a scale on the inside of the piping, which doesn't cause any problems as long as the pipes are filled with water.  However, when the pipes are drained for repairs, this scale will break off the inner surface of the pipes, and when water is restored, it will start to circulate through the pipes.  Since the water in the pipes is constantly circulating from the storage tank, around the ship and back to the storage tank, most of this scale will be quickly circulated out of the system.  However, in "static" sections of piping, like those between the main line on your cabin deck, and your bathroom sink or shower (meaning there is no flow until you turn on the water tap), this scale will tend to accumulate.  It will cause a yellow to brown coloration, and while not appealing visually, is not harmful.  Typically, running the water for a couple of minutes will clear up the discoloration.

 

There is no "flushing" of water lines on ships, and as for timing, a repair means that a pipe was leaking somewhere, and that needs to be repaired immediately.

Thank you. If only the staff on board could have been truthful. This information could have really helped our peace of mind for the rest of the trip.

[grandgeezer]

10 minutes ago, Lisah101 said:

Yeah, I was thinking the same thing - a user with a specific name to accommodate their issue that is new and this is the only thread they have posted to - new account.

You didn’t see the picture? You think it was staged? If so, why would they turn down the obc?

The response from the ship doesn’t surprise me in the least. We had a similar situation on the Allure right before the pandemic.

We did a B2B in a Grand Suite as we got a great price, about $200 p.p. per day, taxes and fees included. We had the same cabin both legs.

The next morning the was a puddle of water about 12” in diameter, on the tile right below a sprinkler head. The room steward was in the area so I told him what was going and we considered it a major safety hazard, on he told me he would report it and do the clean it up after they fixed it. When we came back from breakfast the water was cleaned up so we assumed the problem was taken care of.

Wrong, next morning the puddle was back. I talked to the room steward and he told me a maintenance man had showed up and could find nothing wrong. I called the front desk and explained what happened. I said I would like to talk to someone who actually cared and had the authority to correct it. Within ten minutes the room steward’s supervisor showed up. That was it. I told her what had transpired and I considered a major safety problem. She left and came back with a maintenance supervisor, two maintenance men, and the hotel director. I told them it had to be the sprinkler as there was no other water source within fifteen feet and the tile was bone dry between them. The supervisor said it couldn’t be the head.

I said fine, but if you do nothing, if one of would happen to get up in the middle of night to use the bathroom, and fall due to the water, my first call will be to OSHA, the second one will be to the media, and the third will be to the best ambulance chasing lawyer I can find.

I had times, dates, names and pictures of all people involved. All of a sudden changing the sprinkler head was a good idea. Head changed and not a drop of water for the last ten days of cruising. We were offered dinner for two, and a bottle of wine for our inconvenience, but turned it down.

[chengkp75]

2 minutes ago, CelebrityBrownWater said:

Thank you. If only the staff on board could have been truthful. This information could have really helped our peace of mind for the rest of the trip.

Unfortunately, I've found that most of the hotel staff, even senior supervisors, have absolutely no clue what goes on "behind the scenes", and will make up something to appease the passenger.

 

5 hours ago, CelebrityBrownWater said:

Do not trust the water in your room.

It is the same water, flowing in the same system, as everywhere else on the ship.  Every cabin (passenger or crew), every galley, restaurant and bar, and the laundry.

[CelebrityBrownWater]

7 minutes ago, chengkp75 said:

Unfortunately, I've found that most of the hotel staff, even senior supervisors, have absolutely no clue what goes on "behind the scenes", and will make up something to appease the passenger.

 

It is the same water, flowing in the same system, as everywhere else on the ship.  Every cabin (passenger or crew), every galley, restaurant and bar, and the laundry.

We did meet directly with the chief engineer and the accommodations manager. Both denied that such an event had taken place, or ever could take place in their boat. The engineer specifically said, after 4 years on the equinox, he had never seen such a thing. 

I really appreciate your explanation and expertise though.

[chengkp75]

4 minutes ago, CelebrityBrownWater said:

We did meet directly with the chief engineer and the accommodations manager. Both denied that such an event had taken place, or ever could take place in their boat. The engineer specifically said, after 4 years on the equinox, he had never seen such a thing. 

I really appreciate your explanation and expertise though.

Given the Equinox' age, it is possible that they have not had too many piping repairs during his time onboard, but it is a pretty common phenomenon on cruise ships.

[phoenix_dream]

I've cruises over 80 times, with more than 70 on Celebrity, including a b2b on Equinox in January of this year.  Out of all those cruises, we only had that issue (brown water) once, on a Royal ship years ago.  They also told us it was harmless but it was disgusting to look at and I didn't want to drink it.  Back then we got a small OBC.

 

As to the toilets, I believe the problems are usually caused by the passengers, flushing down things that should not be flushed.  Can happen on any ship.  People flush things like tissues and feminine products and it clogs the lines.  I've even read on these boards of people bringing their own toilet paper onboard because they don't like the ship's paper.  Hello, people, it's specially designed to disintegrate easily so it doesn't block the lines!!   If everyone would cooperate the toilet flushing problems would happen much less frequently.

[TwoBeAtSea]

10 minutes ago, phoenix_dream said:

I've cruises over 80 times, with more than 70 on Celebrity, including a b2b on Equinox in January of this year.  Out of all those cruises, we only had that issue (brown water) once, on a Royal ship years ago.  They also told us it was harmless but it was disgusting to look at and I didn't want to drink it.  Back then we got a small OBC.

 

As to the toilets, I believe the problems are usually caused by the passengers, flushing down things that should not be flushed.  Can happen on any ship.  People flush things like tissues and feminine products and it clogs the lines.  I've even read on these boards of people bringing their own toilet paper onboard because they don't like the ship's paper.  Hello, people, it's specially designed to disintegrate easily so it doesn't block the lines!!   If everyone would cooperate the toilet flushing problems would happen much less frequently.

Did you take a glass of the brown water, give it to the crew member and say "Drink this"? 

[chengkp75]

17 minutes ago, phoenix_dream said:

I've cruises over 80 times, with more than 70 on Celebrity, including a b2b on Equinox in January of this year.  Out of all those cruises, we only had that issue (brown water) once, on a Royal ship years ago.  They also told us it was harmless but it was disgusting to look at and I didn't want to drink it.  Back then we got a small OBC.

 

As to the toilets, I believe the problems are usually caused by the passengers, flushing down things that should not be flushed.  Can happen on any ship.  People flush things like tissues and feminine products and it clogs the lines.  I've even read on these boards of people bringing their own toilet paper onboard because they don't like the ship's paper.  Hello, people, it's specially designed to disintegrate easily so it doesn't block the lines!!   If everyone would cooperate the toilet flushing problems would happen much less frequently.

Actually,  you are mistaking "boat" toilet paper with what is used on ships.  The cruise ship toilet paper is merely the cheapest available,  and in 46 years of maintaining ship toilet systems,  I have never seen a clog caused by "wrong" toilet paper. 

[NutsAboutGolf]

6 hours ago, CelebrityBrownWater said:

Deck 9 midship

 

$250 obc next cruise 

 

What exactly are you wanting?  Sometimes if you tell them exactly what you want with compensation, assuming it reasonable they'll just give you what you ask for

[CelebrityBrownWater]

3 minutes ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

What exactly are you wanting?  Sometimes if you tell them exactly what you want with compensation, assuming it reasonable they'll just give you what you ask for

An honest statement of what happened, what was in the water, and an apology would be a good start.