Just off the Balmoral

We are just off the Balmoral today and am sorry to report that norovirus is back. I can also confirm that recent reports of the deterioration in the quality and choice of food are definitely correct. All in all disappointing in both respects.

Examples ?

Last year was our first time on Fred and one of the things we really liked was the food. There was always something we liked on the menu. This time it was very hard to choose anything in the Dining Room and there was a lot of repetition. Some of what we had was very nice but some not good at all. I remembered the buffet as sometimes having some sort of carvery in the centre but this time it was always hot dogs and burgers at lunchtime and stir fry in the evening. On our last night there was a stir fry and a curry on at the same time which seemed a bit samey to me.

The breakfast was awful, the bacon seemed to be steamed instead of fried and the toast was always burnt.

In the Dining Room one night I had a starter of potted shrimp which was awful, about 90% butter that was still frozen and prawns that absolutely stunk.

I am sure I will think of more examples when I am less tired but everyone was complaining about how the food had gone down in quality and variety so it was not just us being picky.

Last year was our first time on Fred and one of the things we really liked was the food. There was always something we liked on the menu. This time it was very hard to choose anything in the Dining Room and there was a lot of repetition. Some of what we had was very nice but some not good at all. I remembered the buffet as sometimes having some sort of carvery in the centre but this time it was always hot dogs and burgers at lunchtime and stir fry in the evening. On our last night there was a stir fry and a curry on at the same time which seemed a bit samey to me.

 

The breakfast was awful, the bacon seemed to be steamed instead of fried and the toast was always burnt.

 

In the Dining Room one night I had a starter of potted shrimp which was awful, about 90% butter that was still frozen and prawns that absolutely stunk.

 

I am sure I will think of more examples when I am less tired but everyone was complaining about how the food had gone down in quality and variety so it was not just us being picky.

Those prawns sound very suspicious to me. Any sort of filter feeders are always potential problems when there are tummy bugs around. I spent a few years working in a hospital lab on one of my research posts and the micro biologists would never eat any filter feeders. If I am in any way uncertain about food I tend to leave off them.

How many people were affected by the gut problems? We were on board Balmoral early May last year and so many people were ill that they returned to Southampton a day early. Everything was fine for the first couple of days, then suddenly the ship seemed like the Marie Celeste.

The Captain announced the outbreak and instigated the usual measure six days in to the cruise which seems to indicate it was not brought on board by anyone at the start of the cruise. The last I heard which was a couple of days later it was sixteen cabins but there were an awful lot of empty tables in the Dining Room and it was a full cruise.

I spoke to someone who had been confined for a few days and he said they had told him he must have picked it up in Lisbon.

The Captain announced the outbreak and instigated the usual measure six days in to the cruise which seems to indicate it was not brought on board by anyone at the start of the cruise. The last I heard which was a couple of days later it was sixteen cabins but there were an awful lot of empty tables in the Dining Room and it was a full cruise.

 

I spoke to someone who had been confined for a few days and he said they had told him he must have picked it up in Lisbon.

Mmmm...

So one person picks it up in Lisbon which translates to "An awful lot of empty tables in the Dining Room". Not quite my understanding of epidemiology. Strange how a stomach upset on a ship is presumed to be norovirus, yet anywhere else it is presumed to be something one has eaten. Fred is no different to any other cruise line though.

Hope you enjoyed your cruise in other ways. Some of Fred's itineraries do have a big advantage over the bigger cruise companies, which is why we use them at times.

It was not just one person, there were at least sixteen cabins effected and the Captain actually called it Norovirus whereas last year they insisted that it was a "gastric type illness". I am assuming from this that they had performed tests and confirmed it as norovirus.

Funnily enough I've heard from a reliable source that on BW's current round the world trip a similar outbreak has occurred and those infected have been confined to cabin and threatened with being chucked off next port if they resist (good !). Some of those infected have even been offered discounts on future cruises as some sort of compensation. Of course, then there's a few crafty boggers who feign illness in the hope of bagging a similar deal - would you credit it ??

We did a section of last year's Far East Explorer on Balmoral and loved it, food, restaurants and staff were brilliant. Of course a few folk got ill but not as many as in your case though we had a few airlifts/diversions for those who needed hospitalisation, admittedly not for any food-related problems - or so we were told.

Happy cruising !

Unfortunately the time of year for those diseases. I had a bout on a a recent cruise on a Fred ship and must admit I was well treated. I called the doctor when I had the first symptoms and was visited by her within a few minutes. I was obviously confined to my cabin and my boarding card was blocked. Meals were served in my cabin, though the choice was bland, but had to be to get me well again :D They provided me with the Imodium tablets to ease the....... and when I called the doc to confirm my wellness she again visited to confirm. I was provided with a leaflet that explained what will happen and the last page was a claim form where I would be credited with days lost on my next cruise. I didn't bother to claim, my illness was extremely mild and I recovered in a couple of days. My cabin was then given a thorough deep clean.

Blocking the boarding card, ensures you do not leave the ship or that you do not frequent any of the bars

I am wondering if the catering standards on Balmoral are due to the previous Executive Chef leaving the ship. I'm not sure who has taken over their duties but wondered if this may be an issue.

I really hope that this one is sorted out soon. We had the experience 2 years ago on BW of all the public toilets closed and the buffets being manned by catering staff to keep us away from the food. We were OK but it slowed down everything. It was never referred to as Norovirus!! :confused:

Here's to a bug free end of May cruise! :)

We were on Balmoral for 46 nights January to March and commented on how good the food was. Plenty of choice and even better than usual and not a lot of repetition, apart from the wonderful bread and butter pudding each lunchtime. We ate all meals in the restaurant and only used the buffet for special functions such as Chinese or Indian etc. We had a wonderful time the entertainment was excellent, everything about the cruise was really good. Carolyn

We too have just come off the Balmoral, whilst we agree that the dreaded Norovirus was on board, we do not agree about the food. The spread of Norovirus is not helped by passengers who are infected not staying in their cabins, which happened on this cruise, and also other passengers refusing to wash their hands with soap after visiting the ladies toilets. We certainly can't and don't hold Fred Olsen to blame for any outbreak of the virus.

As to the food we were a party of three, and found the food to be excellent, and the variety was superb as well. We ate in the Avon restaurant, and most evenings we struggled to choose what to have as the choice was so good. There was only one thing that we weren't keen on and that was the texture of the Yorkshire pudding with the roast beef.

The staff were all fantastic, especially coping with all the extra work that they have when a norovirus breaks out.

Can't praise this cruise enough, we'll be back on board very soon.

As a point of interest have you sailed on the Balmoral before and, if so, did you find the food as good as last time. I didn't think the food was bad as such, just not as good or varied as last year.

Hi

Yes we did a 3 night trip to Antwerp in December 2015 and 14 nights in January 2016 and found the food to be just as good and varied as this last trip.

We have not been on the Balmoral before December 2015.

Seems the ship is still sick. It arrived in Baltimore, Maryland today. for the CDC to get onboard.

http://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2016/04/30/cruise-ship-with-sickened-norovirus-passengers-docks-in-baltimore/

On the local news they interviewed the Captain. He indicated that there have been a total of 153 cases of Noro identified during the entire length of the current voyage. Currently 7 are still quarantined.

Aloha,

John

It must be awful on a long cruise like that, so many sea days as well. I hope it is sorted soon for the sake of everyone on board.

Not so sure about Fred being totally blame free on all occasions though. We were on the Fjiord cruise in early May last year when many people were affected and the ship returned to the UK a day early. The sick passengers were confined to their rooms for a couple of days. However, I spoke to the future cruise sales lady one evening and she said she had been sick that morning - no one was stopping her being around the ship and she was working the next day as well! One rule for passengers and another for crew does not cut it IMO.

Bad news and a cruise with Noro is terrible if you get it and inconvenient if you don't.

I think us cruisers tend to think we are the only people it effects. But I know many people who use Coach Holidays and they are forever telling me about Hotels closing for a week and tours been distributed by Noro.

My Mother has been in Hospital for three weeks and every day we visited a different ward was hit by Norovirus.

Read any of the other Cruise forums even Cunard and their ships get hit.

I know I am Fred Cheerleader but i do not think a ship has Noro.

Basically it's down to people to practice good hygiene. Like Tring says that includes everybody.

Our own practice is to use our own Hand gel, use our own pen to sign chits, use our own cabin facilities, don't use lifts, try not to use hand rails and use serviette when using tongs in Buffett. Now it seems extreme but we just get used to it.

I really don't think Fred is any worse than other lines.

Our own practice is to use our own Hand gel, use our own pen to sign chits, use our own cabin facilities, don't use lifts, try not to use hand rails and use serviette when using tongs in Buffett. Now it seems extreme but we just get used to it.

And I think we should make sure the hand gel is virucidal, not just antibacterial.

Are there any opinions on which brands are best?

We use three brands.

Boots Anti Viral, Clinell hand spray and also wipes or Q Shield.

Used Q Shield mostly and is the most expensive.

The Sanitiser that are used on the Ships don't kill everything as far as i am aware. So we use our own plus of course the ships and hand washing.

Q Shield is very good because it does not need reapplying after washing. We use it three times a day.

Still doesn't protect us from any airborne germs. So if anybody is physically ill we try to move away pretty quickly.

Sounds as tho we spend our Cruises in a hygiene bubble, but it becomes second nature, like looking both ways when you cross a road.😄

We have cruised 2 or 3 times a year for the last 7 years and only been on a ship with Noro aboard twice.

Interestingly we were on a HAL Ship and every ship, at that time, in their line practiced Noro Alert for the first 2 or 3 days of the cruise. Buffett was served by staff, no salt and pepper on tables, jacuzzi closed etc. This was to protect if any people come on ill, or that was the theory.

We have sailed on the Balmoral twice and both times norovirus has been on board. We use the Boots antil/viral/anti bacterial and have managed to keep healthy.

I was surprised on this last cruise that there were no precautions taken for the first few days. These measure were only instigated on the fourth day when the norovirus was announced. I was under the impression that all cruise lines operated a code red for the first two days. I did not realise that Fred did not do this because last year the norovirus was present when we boarded and had been for the last three cruises.

We use three brands.

Boots Anti Viral, Clinell hand spray and also wipes or Q Shield.

Used Q Shield mostly and is the most expensive.

The Sanitiser that are used on the Ships don't kill everything as far as i am aware. So we use our own plus of course the ships and hand washing.

Q Shield is very good because it does not need reapplying after washing. We use it three times a day.

Still doesn't protect us from any airborne germs. So if anybody is physically ill we try to move away pretty quickly.

Sounds as tho we spend our Cruises in a hygiene bubble, but it becomes second nature, like looking both ways when you cross a road.😄

We have cruised 2 or 3 times a year for the last 7 years and only been on a ship with Noro aboard twice.

Interestingly we were on a HAL Ship and every ship, at that time, in their line practiced Noro Alert for the first 2 or 3 days of the cruise. Buffett was served by staff, no salt and pepper on tables, jacuzzi closed etc. This was to protect if any people come on ill, or that was the theory.

Hi, like you we cruise many times including twice with Fred Olsen.

We use what is provided but also are very particular about our own personal hygiene.

It is a policy that has worked and, touch wood, has kept us clear of this scourge for over 58 cruises.

"The spread of Norovirus is not helped by passengers who are infected not staying in their cabins"

 

I assume by that comment that you only think passengers should be confined to their cabins, whilst a future cruise sales person should be allowed to be out in the public areas of the ship the evening after she was sick that morning and on full duty early morning the next day. This, as I mentioned in an earlier post, was what I was told by the person herself when we were on Balmoral last May!

I totally agree that passengers should obey such requests, but I also think Fred should impose the same instructions on their staff.

It would be interesting to know if other posters think the staff should be allowed different rules, such as in this instance.

I assume by that comment that you only think passengers should be confined to their cabins, whilst a future cruise sales person should be allowed to be out in the public areas of the ship the evening after she was sick that morning and on full duty early morning the next day. This, as I mentioned in an earlier post, was what I was told by the person herself when we were on Balmoral last May!

 

I totally agree that passengers should obey such requests, but I also think Fred should impose the same instructions on their staff.

 

It would be interesting to know if other posters think the staff should be allowed different rules, such as in this instance.

Absolutely not!