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Overflowing Toilet


Nghthawke

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Just finished the 10-day Gems of the Baltic cruise onboard the Eurodam. Beautiful cruise, wonderful sightseeing, perfect weather. Food: all appetizers/salads/soups were excellent; entrees were hit and miss; desserts almost all disappointing.

 

Low point #1 was on embarkation day walking onto Deck 4 towards our stateroom and getting that whiff of eau de sewer gas. Smell was also strong in our bathroom. We complained to our room steward. Smiling, he said he couldn't smell anything :rolleyes: . We complained to Guest Services. It was like the ship was releasing gas on Deck 4 every once in a while. The smell disappeared completely after a couple of days.

 

Low point #2 was the toilet overflowing/flushing by itself starting around 3:30 am on our last night with water pouring out onto the floor for an hour and a half.

 

I had read several plumbing threads here on the message board (including a few about the Eurodam) but never imagined it would happen to us. Luckily it was mostly clear water but I was really really nervous something else might start spewing out of the toilet at any moment... :eek: Thank goodness we had those animal creation towels.

 

With three flights ahead of us to get home we really wanted to shower before heading out but were told that no shower facilities were available. No they would not open the spa. No we could not use the sauna showers. No free staterooms available so we could shower. Worked out okay in the end: the plumber showed up, opened a wall panel outside the stateroom and did the necessary repairs.

 

Long story short, since this happens on a regular basis on the Eurodam and other HAL ships you would think that HAL would be better prepared to assist its passengers who find themselves in such situations through no fault of their own instead of shunning them. HAL should set aside a stateroom for such emergencies or come up with another suitable solution. Passengers need to have a bathroom and be able to wash. Passengers should never be left in a stateroom while a toilet overflows. This is unsanitary.

 

I was disappointed with HAL; as soon as this problem came up we became invisible. Guest services would not even pick up the phone after we called in our problem and hubby had to walk to the front desk in person to make inquiries. This was unacceptable.

 

HAL needs to be proactive when this occurs and prepared to assist its passengers.

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Such a lack of responsiveness and refusal to provide alternatives is simply unacceptable. Problems happen ... I can accept that. But a refusal to proactively respond to the needs of those impacted by those problems is unacceptable. How difficult would it have been, had your shower not been made operable in time, to enable you to gain access to an officer's cabin, or a visiting entertainer or chaplain's cabin, for long enough for you to shower on the morning of disembarkation.

 

It doesn't often happen, but sometimes the ship's staff becomes non-responsive when problems arise. When this happens, and when there's no acceptable resolution, a letter to HALHQ in Seattle is warranted.

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This is the kind of situation where a cruise line really earns its stripes. Handling a emergency like this really shows what a cruise line is all about and can make or break its reputation. Obviously HAL failed on all counts. A letter to HAL corporate office providing all the details is in order.

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This is the kind of situation where a cruise line really earns its stripes. Handling a emergency like this really shows what a cruise line is all about and can make or break its reputation. Obviously HAL failed on all counts. A letter to HAL corporate office providing all the details is in order.

I agree with all those who urge you to write a letter to HQ. This is not a failure of HAL ... it is a failure of specific personnel and they need to be called on the carpet for their lack of appropriate action, especially when sanitary issues are at stake.

harry

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I'm sorry to hear of your "bathroom" experience; while we've never had an overflowing toilet, we have had the sewer gas smell on occasion. DH did a quick fix - took a small zip lock bag and put it over the drain in the shower(held down by the bottle of shower gel), as well as one in the sink and that pretty much took care of it. I hope you get a response from HAL - please keep us informed.

 

Smooth Sailing! :):):)

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We were in 4067 but from what I've gathered over the years here on the board it seems to be the "luck" of the draw if your toilet overflows as the problem can be further up/down the pipe. I got the impression maybe the vacuum wasn't working properly. It was kind of weird really the toilet would flush all by itself but it wasn't the usual loud vacuum noise. Then it would stop for a few minutes and then start all over again overflowing onto the floor each time. I'm sure a few months from now we'll find it funny but at that hour in the morning we were kind of freaked out what with the possibility of sewage being just around the bend ya know?

 

Thanks for the address. Will follow-up with a letter and keep everyone posted.

 

Other than that it really was a lovely cruise. We're thinking of doing the Norwegian Fjords next but found the toilet thing unsettling... not sure if we want to sail on the Eurodam again and I think she's the only HAL ship doing that itinerary at the moment.

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We were in 4067 but from what I've gathered over the years here on the board it seems to be the "luck" of the draw if your toilet overflows as the problem can be further up/down the pipe. I got the impression maybe the vacuum wasn't working properly. It was kind of weird really the toilet would flush all by itself but it wasn't the usual loud vacuum noise. Then it would stop for a few minutes and then start all over again overflowing onto the floor each time. I'm sure a few months from now we'll find it funny but at that hour in the morning we were kind of freaked out what with the possibility of sewage being just around the bend ya know?

 

Thanks for the address. Will follow-up with a letter and keep everyone posted.

 

Other than that it really was a lovely cruise. We're thinking of doing the Norwegian Fjords next but found the toilet thing unsettling... not sure if we want to sail on the Eurodam again and I think she's the only HAL ship doing that itinerary at the moment.

 

No way of telling if it happened in this case but nice folks still cause those type of problems by completely ignoring the many requests (in writing) not do so (except toilet paper) and throwing everything but the kitchen sink in those vacuum-operated toilets

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No way of telling if it happened in this case but nice folks still cause those type of problems by completely ignoring the many requests (in writing) not do so (except toilet paper) and throwing everything but the kitchen sink in those vacuum-operated toilets

 

 

1016_plumber_460x276.jpg

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Pipedream, you've done it again.! :D

 

We had the same problem (overflowing toilet)--I think on the Prinsendam, also a European cruise--and called the 24-hour concierge (SS cabin). I fell asleep waiting, but my poor SIL waited TWO hours (severely depleting our vodka supply) and finally called back. They were extremely solicitous and the plumbers were there tout de suite!

 

Wish she had called back 15 minutes later instead of 2 hours, for her sake, as well as our cocktail hour's.

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