Australian maritime authorities inspected Carnival Adventure after receiving a complaint about an unpleasant odour on board, with passengers also reporting nausea, breathing difficulties and problems with cabins and plumbing during recent cruises from Sydney.
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) confirmed that an inspector boarded the Carnival Cruise Line ship and spoke with its captain and relevant crew after the complaint was received in August.
Although the odour was no longer present when the inspection took place, AMSA said its likely source and cause were identified. Carnival was already carrying out remedial work, and the authority did not issue a formal defect.
The inspection followed complaints from passengers who described strong sewage, rotten egg and diesel-like smells in cabins and public areas of the 13-deck ship.
One Queensland passenger, Elicia, 38, said she became seriously unwell during a ten-day cruise on Carnival Adventure while travelling with her partner to celebrate their engagement.
She claimed she noticed what she described as an exhaust diesel smell shortly after boarding and subsequently experienced migraines, nausea, breathing problems and other symptoms.
Passenger says illness forced early departure
Elicia said difficulties with her original cabin meant she spent time waiting in another part of the ship while discussing the accommodation with housekeeping and guest services.
She claimed the cabin had not been properly cleaned following the previous occupants and said medication and needles had been left behind.
“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 was moved to another cabin the following day but claimed there were further maintenance and cleanliness problems there.
“The carpet was moving in the “upgraded” clean room,” 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.”
Elicia said she could detect the odour in several parts of Carnival Adventure, including close to the medical centre on Deck 4.
She later attended the ship’s medical facility and said she was connected to an EKG before another patient arrived requiring treatment.
“My O2 stats were in the early 90s and they never gave me oxygen, nothing,” she said.
Elicia said her condition included high blood pressure, a low heart rate, migraines, breathing difficulties and repeated dry retching.
“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,” she said.
“Once, I was also in shock and going between being alert and not, and I also had mild hypothermia.”
She ultimately left the cruise at its first port of call, six days before she had originally expected to complete the voyage.
After returning home, Elicia said her GP told her that her reported symptoms were consistent with severe carbon monoxide poisoning.
“My GP was the one who said all my symptoms related to severe carbon monoxide poisoning,” she said.
“Carbon monoxide was building up in the body due to the diesel exhaust fumes I inhaled.”
Her account of the cause of her illness has not been independently confirmed by the maritime regulator.
AMSA investigates separate odour complaint
Another passenger, identified as Natalie, reported encountering a strong smell during a separate four-day Carnival Adventure cruise from Sydney’s White Bay with her five-year-old son.
She said the pair left their inside cabin during their first night after waking to what she described as a sewage-like smell, with her son eventually sleeping near Guest Services while she sought assistance.
“We woke during the night to an incredibly strong sewage-type smell in our internal cabin,” Natalie said.
“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 described the odour as resembling rotten eggs and said she noticed it elsewhere on the ship, particularly around the midship area.
She was initially moved to another cabin for one night before being allowed to stay there for the remainder of the sailing, but said the replacement accommodation was also affected by an odour that appeared to be coming from a drain.
Natalie and her son later visited the onboard medical centre after continuing to feel nauseous. She said she could smell the same odour when a nurse opened the door.
“When I got down there and the nurse opened the door, the rotten egg sewage smell was in there too,” she said.
“The nurse and doctor both said they were used to it now.”
Natalie subsequently complained to AMSA.
She said an inspector contacted her following an inspection and told her that ageing or defective plumbing traps were considered responsible for allowing hydrogen sulphide to escape, including a trap beneath a sink in the medical centre.
AMSA separately confirmed that it had received an odour complaint and carried out an inspection of Carnival Adventure.
“Earlier this month, AMSA received a complaint regarding an unpleasant odour onboard the Carnival Adventure,” an AMSA spokesman said.
“An AMSA inspector followed up on the complaint and boarded the vessel, engaging with the captain and relevant staff.”
The authority said the smell had disappeared before its inspector arrived but that investigators were still able to establish its likely origin.
“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.”
Other passengers have also posted complaints online describing sewage-like odours and toilet problems aboard Carnival Adventure, although individual social media accounts have not been independently verified.
One passenger said their young son became ill after the family noticed a strong smell and required a visit to the ship’s medical centre.
Another described repeated problems with a toilet during a nine-day sailing, including delayed flushing, loud noises and two occasions when it overflowed.
Carnival Adventure continues to operate cruises from Sydney. The ship joined the Carnival Cruise Line fleet after previously sailing for P&O Cruises Australia as Pacific Adventure, as part of the integration of the P&O Cruises Australia operation into Carnival.
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