This is a letter my partner and I wrote to NCL after our return from our Hawaiian cruise on Pride of America, Dec. 3, 2005.
My partner Tom Compise and myself, boarded the Pride of America cruise ship on December 3, 2005 for what was supposed to be a vacation of a lifetime. I had never been to Hawaii and thought what better way to see the Hawaiian Islands than island hop while enjoying the wonderful environment of a luxury cruise ship. What should have been a wonderful week turned into a nightmare.
We left the ship on our second day of the cruise to explore Maui. After a beautiful day driving the Road to Hana, we returned to the ship to be greeted by an extremely foul smell that can only be described as sewage. The smell greeted us soon as we got off the elevator and entered the lobby/reception area of Deck 5. We were traveling with another couple, who also observed the foul odor. We commented about the smell, and basically ignored it until we went to our cabin, on Deck 8 cabin #8136. As we were walking towards our room, we observed the same unpleasant odor in the hallway. When we opened the door to our cabin, the noxious smell was stronger than ever. We immediately went back to the Customer Service desk on Deck 5 to report the problem. We were advised by the gentleman at the front desk that he would have someone check into it immediately. He also mentioned this same problem smell was reported on a prior cruise. When no one responded to our complaint, we returned to the Customer Service desk a few hours later to again report the smell in our room. At that time, we were advised there were no other rooms available on the ship and that once again the problem would be reported. Soon afterwards, a young lady name Kopola came to our room, concurred the smell was very strong, and sprayed our room with Fabreze air freshener. Needless to say, it didnt fix the problem and Tom and I slept on our balcony that night. We left the ship early in the morning of the third day to continue exploring Maui. Again, when we returned, the smell was now apparent in many areas of ship, including Decks 5, 8, & 11. Unfortunately when we got to our room, it was as strong as ever. Other travelers on our deck were also experiencing the same problem. At one point, some of the folks joined Tom and tried to get some resolution at the front desk. Patrick, the front desk clerk, advised that he would contact Kara, the Office Manager, of the problem. Patrick told us they believed we were possibly docked on a sewage dump, or that there was a problem with a sewage plant on Maui. Shortly after that conversation, Tom received a call from Kara, the Front Office Manager, who asked to see Tom personally. She apologized for the problem, assured Tom the smell would be gone when we left Maui, and promised Tom a bottle of wine and a $50 credit for the inconvenience. Unfortunately the smell DIDNT leave our room that evening as we were assured. Again, we went to the Customer Service desk and explained the problem. Patrick at the front desk seemed determined to try to help us. He contact Kara again and magically we were given another cabin to sleep in for the night. (Obviously there were empty cabins on the ship!) Low and behold, the smell was gone from our room the next day when we docked in Kona. With much relief we spent the day off ship. Our room was still free of the stench when we returned to the ship; however, we kept smelling the foul odor in other areas of the ship including areas around the elevators, the ship lobby in certain areas, and in the waiting area of the Liberty Dining room. The following day, we docked in Kauai and left the ship early to explore the island. We returned to our room late that afternoon, showered, and again left the ship to attend a Lua at Gaylords. When we returned to the ship that evening, the smell was back. It had a very potent, chemical odor to it, more so than before. Once again, we went to the Customer Service desk, and were advised Kara was sleeping and would be notified later. Some time later that evening, Kara phoned Tom and advised him there were no cabins available to move to. She suggested we contact the NCL Customer Relations Department for further resolution. Apparently there was nothing more she was able to do. Tom was extremely upset and ready to throw up his hands in frustration. Fortunately we met a vendor on the ship, who advised us to contact John OHara, The Hotel Director of the ship. One of the front desk clerks left John a message that we wanted to speak with him. We met with John, who assured us he would find us a cabin for the night. He said this was the first he knew of the problem. He walked us to our room (1:00 am in the morning) while we got a bag together, and in his own words was APPALLED by the stink in our room. He took us to the 10th deck to relocate us in a cabin for the evening (cabin #10114). Unfortunately, that room was also full of the same disgusting smell. John then made a call to advise someone that the smell was on deck 10 also. He then brought us to a room on the 9th floor that was finally satisfactory. The following day we returned to our own cabin, which seemed to finally be free of the stench