Plumbing Issues Onboard Symphony of the Seas Cause...

Key Facets: 

• Earlier this week, Royal Caribbean Symphony of the Seas skilled a time frame the place most of the bogs onboard weren’t working accurately.
• Different company have reported comparable plumbing points throughout their sailings, in addition to dangerous sewer-like smells onboard.
• Royal Caribbean works laborious to keep up its cruise ships, however can not management when company resolve to flush merchandise down the bathroom that don’t belong there.

2025 has been a little bit of a tough 12 months for Royal Caribbean’s Symphony of the Seas.

Thus far, the 2018-launched vessel has skilled three damaged home windows and had a visitor check optimistic for Legionella (the bacteria that causes Legionnaires’ disease).

Throughout her most up-to-date well being inspection on February 9, 2025, the Oasis-class ship was solely one point away from failing.

Now, company have observed one other main problem. For a minimum of a portion of the present crusing, which is a 7-night cruise to the Bahamas that launched into August 24, 2025, a lot of the ship was with out working bogs.

In keeping with updates from present passengers, this plumbing occasion would have occurred on embarkation day in Cape Liberty, New Jersey, or very quickly after setting sail that afternoon.

“Proper now we’re on the Symphony of the Seas and yesterday virtually your complete ship was with out bogs. We discovered after our children had used our stateroom rest room and it wouldn’t flush,” one present passenger posted on Reddit on August 25.

Presumably, one of many as much as 5,518 passengers onboard flushed one thing they shouldn’t have, which induced a blockage.

The cruise strains are continually reminding guests to only flush the supplied rest room paper, because the highly effective vacuum system on cruise ships is probably not fairly highly effective sufficient to deal with issues like moist wipes, female merchandise, or different non-dissolvable gadgets.

“It was a disgusting time frame. I suppose somebody flushed one thing they weren’t presupposed to and it clogged up the ship,” they continued.

The cruiser titled their submit “Nearly Pool Cruise 2.0,” which was a reference to the infamous Carnival Triumph sailing in 2013 wherein passengers have been stranded at sea for days with out working bogs following an engine fireplace.

The Netflix “Trainwreck” documentary on this matter dropped on June 24, 2025, bringing this ill-fated cruise again into the highlight and making it very prime of thoughts in conditions like this.

Is Plumbing an Ongoing Challenge? 

In my analysis, I discovered stories going again so far as July 2025 of cruisers who skilled plumbing issues throughout their time onboard Symphony of the Seas.

“That occurred to us on Symphony in July. Decks 5-7 had no working bogs for about 3 days. They mentioned the identical factor – clogged with gadgets that shouldn’t be flushed,” one latest visitor recounted.

“On our July 13-20 cruise somebody apparently flushed issues apart from rest room paper. Some folks on our deck have been complaining of bathroom points however fortunately ours was nice. There was a HORRIBLE septic scent for days on the upper decks,” another person mentioned.

Learn Additionally: What Do Cruise Ships Do with Sewage and Waste?

Talking of dangerous sceptic smells, this was additionally an expertise that different cruisers’ (and their noses) may relate to.

That is one thing that the Reddit poster observed as properly on Tuesday, August 26, whereas the ship was docked in Port Canaveral.

“The ship smells horrible. I don’t know if it’s due to the [air] in port or if it’s from the poo problem,” they wrote in an replace to their unique submit.

“We have been on Symphony lately and each time we used the steps and have been passing by deck six it stunk. We dubbed it the poop deck,” one other passenger added.

All that mentioned, let’s give credit score the place credit score is due. The roughly 2,200 crew members onboard work laborious to keep up the Royal Caribbean ship.

Along with the care she receives whereas in service, Symphony of the Seas visits dry dock as required for extra vital inspections and upkeep. 

Her most up-to-date dry dock stint was in April 2023, which actually wasn’t that way back.

When issues do go improper mid-voyage, there are dedicated teams of upkeep employees, engineers, and plumbers onboard who’re able to spring into motion.

Nonetheless, the cruise strains can’t management their company, and this consists of the gadgets that they resolve to flush down the bathroom. So long as company misbehave on this regard, there’s a threat of plumbing points.

Plumbing Issues Onboard Symphony of the Seas Cause Concern

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