Toxic stench and dirty cabins: Carnival Adventure cruise ship passengers tell of their holiday hell: ‘I was dry retching’
A Queensland woman claims she was poisoned by a toxic stench from a Carnival cruise ship that left many others ‘throwing up in the corridors’.
Elicia Squires, 38, who was celebrating her engagement with her partner, felt ill within minutes of boarding the Carnival Adventure for a four-day cruise from White Bay on Sydney Harbour in August.
Ms Squires claimed it was due to the vile odour that was emanating from the 13-deck ship.
‘There were multiple leaks and issues on the ship, a lot of very bad ones,’ she told the Daily Mail.
Ms Squires claimed that she was exposed to the smell because her cabin was in a horrible state.
‘I was forced to sit in the area that had the diesel exhaust because our room wasn’t cleaned,’ she said.
‘The previous passengers’ Mounjaro medication and needles were still in the room.’
She requested a different room, but it wasn’t any better.
Queensland woman Elicia Squires claims she was poisoned by a toxic stench on a Carnival Adventure cruise ship that left many others ‘throwing up in the corridors’
‘The carpet was moving in the “upgraded” clean room due to the fumes,’ she said.
‘It was so old and so gross, but also dangerous.
‘The fridge couldn’t close and the lounge couldn’t fold back down, so you couldn’t sit on it.’
She claimed the stench could be smelled from most areas of the ship including deck four, where the medical centre was located.
When she visited the ship’s hospital, Ms Squires claimed the doctor and nurses confirmed she was unwell.
‘I was on an EKG for a few minutes before another person was also brought down in serious condition.
‘I was put in another bed.
A passenger said the stench got so horrific that her five-year-old son ended up sleeping on the floor of the ship’s foyer during their first night
‘My O2 stats were in the early 90s and they never gave me oxygen, nothing.’
She said she didn’t get any better as the cruise went on.
‘I had high blood pressure, was dry retching to the point where I couldn’t breathe, had a low heart rate, massive migraines and trouble breathing,’ Ms Squires said.
‘Once, I was also in shock and going between being alert and not, and I also had mild hypothermia.
‘When I was awake enough to sit in a wheelchair, I left as they weren’t caring for me.’
She said she wasn’t able to get out of bed until the final day of the cruise.
When Ms Squires went to her personal GP after the trip, she said she was told she was poisoned.
‘My GP was the one who said all my symptoms related to severe carbon monoxide poisoning,’ she said.
Ms Squires claimed that she was exposed to the smell because of the poor state of her cabin
‘Carbon monoxide was building up in the body due to the diesel exhaust fumes I inhaled.’
Another passenger, who wanted to be identified as Natalie, said the stench got so horrific that her five-year-old son ended up sleeping on the floor of the ship’s foyer during their first night.
‘We woke during the night to an incredibly strong sewage-type smell in our internal cabin,’ she said in a post shared to Facebook.
‘It was bad enough that my five-year-old and I left the room in the middle of the night.
‘He was feeling really unwell and ended up sleeping near Guest Services at 2am while I tried to get help.’
Natalie, who described the smell as ‘a rotten egg’, also claimed other areas of the ship were affected.
‘The smell wafted around the ship at all levels and all times of the day and was particularly strong in mid ship,’ she said.
When she told staff about the issue, Natalie claimed they said the smell was a common occurrence.
Ms Squires on the way to the cruise where she was planning to celebrate her engagement with her partner
She also said they were initially only able to move her to another room for one night, but allowed the pair to remain there for the rest of the cruise after she pushed back.
However, Natalie told Daily Mail the new room also reeked.
‘I noticed the smell from the drain in the room also and reported it,’ she said.
‘They checked and said they found nothing but I noticed something in the drain after they were there.’
Natalie said they both felt unwell despite changing rooms, so they made their way to the ship’s medical room, but to their astonishment, the smell was in there too.
‘We felt nauseous and it didn’t get better after being moved rooms, so I decided it was best to get checked out,’ she said.
‘When I got down there and the nurse opened the door, the rotten egg sewage smell was in there too.
‘The nurse and doctor both said they were used to it now.’
One of the cabins on the Carnival Adventure cruise ship
When Natalie tried to explain her concerns to staff on board, she claimed she felt unheard and that they weren’t taking the matter seriously.
‘I went to guest services in the middle of the night and they just treated me like I was overreacting,’ she said.
‘The woman who served me the next day was lovely, but the service logs that she reported to me did not reflect the actual issue I was smelling.
‘They were very dismissive, like saying nothing was found even though multiple people were up in the room and smelling it.’
Unhappy with the responses she received, she emailed the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (ASMA) who she claimed revealed the smell came from a toxic and flammable gas.
‘An AMSA inspector investigated the ship that day after my trip and rang me the next day telling me that the smell was from broken plumbing traps and involved hydrogen sulphide,’ Natalie said.
‘The plumbing traps were getting old and needed replacing and that had allowed hydrogen sulphide to leak into our room.
‘There was also water leaking from a trap under the sink in the medical centre, which was allowing the smell out when it ran dry.
The Carnival Adventure claims it is ‘perfect for families, couples and groups of friends who are looking to experience it all’
‘I was also advised that the ship is now being required to address all traps, with cabins where smells had been reported prioritised.’
An AMSA spokesman told Daily Mail it was aware of the situation.
‘Earlier this month, AMSA received a complaint regarding an unpleasant odour onboard the Carnival Adventure,’ one said.
‘An AMSA inspector followed up on the complaint and boarded the vessel, engaging with the captain and relevant staff.’
However, he said the smell had gone by the time inspectors arrived.
‘The odour was no longer present at the time of AMSA’s inspection, but the likely source and cause were identified,’ the spokesman said.
‘As remedial actions by Carnival were underway to address the source of the odour, no formal defect was issued.
‘The outcome and findings from AMSA’s inspection were communicated to the passenger who made the complaint.’
Daily Mail has contacted Carnival Cruise for comment.
Many other passengers recalled having bad experiences on board the Carnival Adventure across social media.
‘We woke to a horrible stench, let guest services know and following the phone call, my young son became ill,’ one said.
‘We even had to visit the medical centre onboard, it was that bad.’
‘We had the sewerage smell on first and second day of the trip on Adventure and this morning as well,’ a second said.
‘During the nine days we had so many problems with the toilet.
‘It would flush properly a few times but mostly made really loud noises and wouldn’t flush or flush five minutes later.
‘It overflowed twice and there was water everywhere.’
‘They have some smell issues all over the ship,’ another said.
‘It was disgusting every night between 2am to 5am on deck 11,’ a fourth said.
‘Guest services wanted me to call them so the plumbers could verify the smell and wake up the ones that managed to sleep. Poo particles for sure.’
