Mariner South America code Red

Would like to report things have not been so 5 star on this cruise code Red since Lima means RSSC has saved $$$ on this cruise. You have to ask for each piece of fruit etc. Now I am glad the precautions have worked but were they necessary to the extreme? No puzzles no books. No nothing.

You have to live through it to believe it but I feel like this cruise has been a total disappointment. And I am Platimum. Food was so so. Am training the crew in how to serve. Am teaching ESL. Please tell me I am imagining things?

Not sure what you are making reference to in your post? Fruit--teaching the crew? Is there a problem with fruit--Zika--did they pull crew members off the street? This doesn't sound like Regent, at least from what I have heard. It's a little troubling since we are booked on the Mariner for Alaska.

It sounds as if norovirus is on the Mariner and they are taking required precautions. The laundry is likely closed as well as the library and food is being served to you. It doesn't matter what level you are in the Seven Seas Society - these are necessary precautions until the illness is under control.

Believe me, Regent has not saved money on this cruise. Instead, their crew is being worked to the bone - cleaning and disinfecting everything. It is likely that, when everyone disembarks, they will have to pay to have the ship thoroughly cleaned. This could happen on a 6 star or 1 star cruise line. Most norovirus is brought onboard by passengers.

There is a way to help to prevent norovirus (in addition to washing your hands frequently and not touching anything like handrails, buttons on the elevator, etc. and then touching your mouth or nose). There is a peroxide based wipe that is used in hospitals to prevent the virus but it is likely too late for passengers to get a hold of any. When we travel, we wipe down the trays, arm rests and bathroom handles on the airplane. Then, once onboard, we wipe down door handles, the television remote, phone and any other places that we frequently touch. And, we make an effort to follow the steps that I suggested earlier in this paragraph.

Unfortunately, norovirus is fairly common on cruise ships (as well as schools) at this time of the year. Many of us have given serious thought to not sailing during the winter months. Truly hope that Regent gets this under control ASAP.

P.S. It affects the food as they cannot serve raw or rare food - it must be cooked more thoroughly than normal.

In most of these noro outbreaks the crew have to deal with the consequences of poor/sloppy passenger personal hygiene habits. We've all seen people coughing without covering their mouths, not using the hand sanitisers outside eating venues, not washing their hands after using the bathroom (!!!). I'm not a neurotic germ phobe by any means but I do understand the basics of minimising gastro risks to others and wish others were equally considerate.

If this is the Lima to Buenos Aires cruise I believe it may be the third year in a row that this has happened. We are booked for this cruise in 2018, but this is reinforcing our inclination to cancel....

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I understand your disappointment, and am therefore happy that we left the cruise in Lima. In our Miami-Lima segment there were precautions from time to to time, but not nearly as severe as reported here.

But, lashing out at Regent for saving money because of this is not fair: the implication is that they benefit from this. They don't.

I've heard stories about what happens when norovirus gets out of control on a ship. It is pretty ghastly. No effort is too much to make sure it doesn't happen on this cruise.

Why are we always so quick to minimize these reports/comments/complaints from a current cruiser? Yes this is often caused by the passengers and could happen anywhere people congregate; HOWEVER, we aren't the ones that spent 10/20/30K or more for a trip of a lifetime. We should commiserate with the OP instead of minimize him.

Just my two eurocents,

Marc

The OP (or TS?) said "Now I am glad the precautions have worked but were they necessary to the extreme? No puzzles no books. No nothing." which suggested to me that Mariner is no longer in Code Red (I emboldened the relevant words).

If indeed that's the case then I would say a wholehearted "YES!" to all precautions, as would anyone else who has sailed in such conditions. Last year the Code Red lasted the whole of our cruise and yes, it's miserable and far from the luxury cruise we looked forward to. These things are not to be taken lightly and as others have commented, Regent is most certainly not saving any money when such things happen. To suggest that precautions are unecessary indicates a lack understanding of how quickly these things can spread, not to mention how difficult they are to get rid of.

Perhaps someone on Mariner right now can confirm the current situation, please?

I don't think that anyone is trying to minimize the complaints - rather, we are trying to educate the TS (thread starter) and Phillygirl3. To suggest that Regent is getting their crew off of the streets and that they may have Zika ....... really?

It is extremely upsetting when a ship is put on Code Red and has to follow certain rules in order to contain the illness. Even things like books can easily pass the virus on to the next person that borrows it.

I'm sure that we are all interested in learning what is going on aboard the Mariner. We will likely learn soon.

Sorry, Travelkat 2, but I thought you would understand my sarcasm relating to the first post. I know that they are not dealing with Zika nor did they pull their employees off the streets, but the original thread had no background information regarding what was going on and it sounded as if he was dealing with some issues without giving any reference. Sorry, if you misunderstood my post.

Sorry, Travelkat 2, but I thought you would understand my sarcasm relating to the first post. I know that they are not dealing with Zika nor did they pull their employees off the streets, but the original thread had no background information regarding what was going on and it sounded as if he was dealing with some issues without giving any reference. Sorry, if you misunderstood my post.

I'm sorry that I did as well. It is always upsetting when a ship goes into Code Red. It is bad for everyone - the passengers as well as the crew. Truly hope that this is resolved quickly:)

We sailed the full Circle South America last year (2016) and must have had Code Red 3 or 4 times throughout the voyage. PIA? Yes! Word was that it was brought onboard by those doing the Machu Picchu pre-cruise package. It seemed to stop for awhile but then start up again depending on how many people rep orted symptoms. So our experience was definitely affected for several weeks. What I don't get is why they stopped the pre-dinner hot/cold d'oeuvres which are served by waiters as individual items. I get the "no nuts" in the little containers on the tables where people help themselves....

From my past experience from several sailing out of Lima, it seem that there is always an issue with Norovirus. From what I have heard the speculation is that the source is always from the passengers who come to Lima and or Machu Picchu for the per-cruise, then get sick and bring it to the ship. Peru has a notorious reputation for such things.

Having had the dreaded norovirus myself, it is not fun. I was very sick for several days. I hope that they get it under control soon for your voyage.

J

This is very disturbing news, as we are doing the Lima to BA portion next year, with the Regent pre cruise Machu Picchu package. What is it that makes everyone sick I wonder on this? Is it the food? I notice a couple of meals are included during the tour.

This is very disturbing news, as we are doing the Lima to BA portion next year, with the Regent pre cruise Machu Picchu package. What is it that makes everyone sick I wonder on this? Is it the food? I notice a couple of meals are included during the tour.

Has to be the guinea pigs; can't imagine getting sick from Pisco Sours. :cool:

JoAnn, I am sure Arlene will have a large supply of granola bars; crackers; etc to eat if she is at all worried about getting sick from local food; after all, it is only three days.

It's me again (for those of who remember him)

I decided to share my fave things about this post code Red cruise so glad it's over.

Visit to Machu Picchu-fabulous and no one I know got sick.

Iquequi Rock Art - -amazing tour

Tim Quinn in cabaret- Colleen Williamson, a wonderful singer

TERRY BREEN especially her lecture on Shackleton

Caron Maron, Social Hostess

Captains Serena and Teo

Meals in Signatures and Prime 7.

The Regent Signature Orchestra playing jazz & big band.

;)

Haha, thanks Marq.......not eating any guinea pigs!:D

Indigosea - thanks for the list of good things that you enjoyed, so glad the pre cruise was great. Not looking forward to the two 5am wake up calls though.

As noted by me earlier on a separate thread, Mariner and Explorer were docked at Cartagena in late Jan. At that time we asked to tour the Mariner. We were denied. Reason - Code Red. Indicates there was some level of problem almost a month ago.

Yes there was, and I reported it in my thread about the MIA-Lima segment. No biggy. It was handled very gracefully and was soon over, at least until we got off in Lima.

Haha, thanks Marq.......not eating any guinea pigs!:D

Indigosea - thanks for the list of good things that you enjoyed, so glad the pre cruise was great. Not looking forward to the two 5am wake up calls though.

JoAnn, apparently flights get in around midnight. Are you going to get in late at night and leave early am for Cusco or are you going to come in a day early?

Marc

Marq - definitely arriving late evening of the 19th, since we are using Regent air on this, I already had Regent book us an extra night at the hotel. I know we could have done better doing it on our own, but we just decided this way Regent would meet us and transfer us to hotel and we wouldn't have to deal with it after flying all day and sitting in airports and arriving late.

I realize it cost Regent additional money when this happens, however that''s the cost of doing business today. And they should take care of what needs to be done, including the cruisers that aren't getting what they paid for during the cruise. It's not Regents fault nor the cruiser fault-however the cost of doing business is for Regent to do whats right.

I realize it cost Regent additional money when this happens, however that''s the cost of doing business today. And they should take care of what needs to be done, including the cruisers that aren't getting what they paid for during the cruise. It's not Regents fault nor the cruiser fault-however the cost of doing business is for Regent to do whats right.

Of courses Regent will do whatever is necessary to take care of the issue -- the $$$ discussion was brought about because the TS indicated that Regent was "saving money" because of Code Red. Obviously, it is the opposite.

If this is the Lima to Buenos Aires cruise I believe it may be the third year in a row that this has happened. We are booked for this cruise in 2018, but this is reinforcing our inclination to cancel....

 

 

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I think this is the 4th year it's happened. Is it confirmed Norovirus? I'm aware of at least one that was Code Red due to a flu like upper respiratory outbreak.

The only report of norovirus on a cruise ship - through 2/2/2017 is listed below (along with some interesting insight in terms of reporting norovirus to the CDC)

Norovirus cruise ships 2017 news & reports

In the following table you can see all 2017 Norovirus outbreaks on cruise ships. The listed statistical data is based on CDC or news media reports. It shows the number of sick passengers and crew (with the respective percentage to all), along with the CDC report pages (if available) via outgoing links.

Note: When the itinerary doesn’t include US cruise ports, the ship is not required to report to CDC, thus no official illness report would be issued.

Lines / ShipsSail Dates / ItinerarySick Passengers / All Passengers (%)Ill Crew-Staff / All Crew-Staff (%)

Sun Princess(Jan 22 – Feb 2) 12-day roundtrip from Brisbane Australia to Papua New Guinea

(Feb 2 – 16) 14-day roundtrip from Brisbane Australia to New Zealand