Balmoral ongoing Norovirus outbreak - please help

I have been informed by Fred Olsen that Balmoral is still experiencing Norovirus outbreaks (I have been told thare are several outbreaks on board at present). This has been going on for about 6 weeks and despite taking the ship off duty twice they have not been able to contain it. We are booked to sail on Balmoral in 4 days and we obviously don't want to go as our chances of falling ill and end up confined in our cabin are very high due to the ongoing outbreak, and that is noone idea of a Holiday!.

Fred Olsen is refusing to let us cancel the cruise and will only allow us to rebook it for something of 75% of the value. As we work we cannot move our Holiday and there is nothing else sailing that week, basically our choice is either lose all the money or go.

Does anyone know if they can do this to us? Can they really force us to walk in on a Norovirus outbreak and have a high risk of ending up violently vomiting for 48 hours before being confined for another 48????? Logic would say they should refund us but they seem set on denying this to us.....

Any help is appreciated.

Mmmm..... we were on the fjiord cruise that came back a day early on the 10th May.

If they could claim the infection was not present before the current cruise it would be difficult to push a point, however in the present situation Fred is in very sticky water. If you just do not travel and try to claim afterwards you could be considered to have not travelled at your own choice, so it would be difficult to win a case then. I suggest you get legal advice quickly. A google search should come up with a firm of solicitors who has dealt with Fred in the past.

In writing this I am assuming you have had official notification from Fred that there is still an outbreak onboard. You could not act on hearsay. I would also suggest you keep any communications to email if possible so you have a written record.

I feel for you, I really do, but if that is the stance they are taking there is very little you can do other than take whatever precautions you can. We were in the same situation when we boarded on 24 May norovirus had already been present on the previous three or four cruises. They do not seem to be able to get rid of it. FO, however take no responsibility for the outbreaks blaming it on the passengers as can be seen by the article written by Nathan Philpot.

http://www.travelweekly.co.uk/Articles/2015/06/05/54450/opinion+illness+compensation+culture+could+see+travel+catching+a+cold

We used an anti/viral/anti bacterial spray and fortunately did not succumb to the virus but did feel as though it was creeping down the corridor towards us being only two cabins away on the last day.

I hope you manage not to get ill and enjoy your cruise.

I would not take any notice of any travel article written by a member of Fred's staff!!

Get the advice for yourself and you will know exactly where you stand and how best to deal with the situation.

I would not take any notice of any travel article written by a member of Fred's staff!!

 

Get the advice for yourself and you will know exactly where you stand and how best to deal with the situation.

I assumed that in his position he would be speaking for the Company. I cannot understand why they do not allow passengers to cancel rather than pay out the compensation later.

I guess it's cheaper for Fred to compensate those who fall ill rather than allowing passengers to cancel....still I was expecting more than this from them. I know if you're retired you can always rebook to a later date, but if you're mid forty like us you have to go to work and cannot really rebook your holidays with 3 days notice! They seem not to care at all....

I know you are in a strong position, but you need to get that advice to deal with the situation, then you will be able to negotiate with Fred on a strong footing. They will get out of doing what they should if they can.

The answer is for us all to stop going on Olsen's ships. That should concentrate their minds. We are booked to go on the Balmoral in September but I think we will be looking at P&O in future. I've experienced norovirus on the Boudicca and Balmoral and it's extremely unpleasant and completely spoils your holiday.

I am now in receipt of an official Fred Olsen letter , and I quote"...over the recent period,we have had instances of a gastric type illness on board which has proved difficult to eradicate despite our very best efforts...."

Basically they are informing us of the ongoing norovirus outbreak 2 days before sailing. I wonder if they are doing so in order to wiggle out of paying compensation after the cruise as they can claim passengers were informed and accepted this......

Without reading the whole letter I can't be certain, but I'd have thought they could only claim you willingly accepted the risk if they have also offered you the option to cancel without penalty...

You may want to take some professional advice on this if it is a significant concern or if the risk of infection presents greater than normal risk due to any pre-existing conditions ...

I was on the Balmoral for 5 weeks in April. There were lots of ill people then. They claimed the problems were "gastro" but who knows. We also had a very bad episode when obnoxious fumes entered a lot of the cabins.

I was on the Balmoral in April and there was a lot of people ill then. They said it was "gastro" but who knows?

When we were on 'Black Watch' there was a Norivirus outbreak which apparently cleared up, then we had another one. Can somebody please tell me why they think Fred ships are so prone to it? When I dared to suggest it was due to the ships' conditions, I was shouted down.

To cruisevirgin71, we didn't succumb to the virus but took precautions to avoid it.

We took Clinell wipes and cleaned every hard surface in our cabin / balcony

We never touched hand-rails or lift buttons.

We had disposable gloves in our pockets when we needed to touch things

We never used public toilets, just our cabin w.c.

We carried our own pens around with us for signing receipts.

MOST OF ALL! We went to our cabin and washed our hands regularly

I know this sounds crazy but we didn't want our holiday spoilt and we soon got into a routine with it.

We di

When we were on 'Black Watch' there was a Norivirus outbreak which apparently cleared up, then we had another one. Can somebody please tell me why they think Fred ships are so prone to it? When I dared to suggest it was due to the ships' conditions, I was shouted down.

 

To cruisevirgin71, we didn't succumb to the virus but took precautions to avoid it.

 

We took Clinell wipes and cleaned every hard surface in our cabin / balcony

We never touched hand-rails or lift buttons.

We had disposable gloves in our pockets when we needed to touch things

We never used public toilets, just our cabin w.c.

We carried our own pens around with us for signing receipts.

MOST OF ALL! We went to our cabin and washed our hands regularly

 

I know this sounds crazy but we didn't want our holiday spoilt and we soon got into a routine with it.

We di

Now that to me is not a holiday and no one should have to go to those extremes in order to cruise.

The answer is for us all to stop going on Olsen's ships. That should concentrate their minds. We are booked to go on the Balmoral in September but I think we will be looking at P&O in future. I've experienced norovirus on the Boudicca and Balmoral and it's extremely unpleasant and completely spoils your holiday.

You can succumb to Noro on any cruise line or ship. We have experienced (not personally thank goodness) on cruises on Princess, NCL, and P&O. Good personal hygiene needs to be exercised by everyone on every cruise ship. The best personal hygiene is frequent handwashing and avoiding touching hard surfaces.

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You can succumb to Noro on any cruise line or ship. We have experienced (not personally thank goodness) on cruises on Princess, NCL, and P&O. Good personal hygiene needs to be exercised by everyone on every cruise ship. The best personal hygiene is frequent handwashing and avoiding touching hard surfaces.

 

 

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That action would only work if it is norovirus and it is spread person to person or from furnisings etc. rather than the most likely method of tranmission of norovirus which is the faecal oral route. There could also be a carrier in the kitchens or problems with the water supply or food stocks.

This is a link to a post I made on another thread in May (#21)

http://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/sho...206841&page=2#

If you follow my link and the one in my other post, to which this link goes you will see, from a news article on this site, that even a spokeswoman of Fred's admitted that the outbreak on the early May cruise was not caused by norovirus!!

Thank you all for your advice. Unfortunately we tried everithing short of a lawsuit to get our money back but we did not manage. We're now rebooked for next year and hopefully our first Fred Olsen cruise will be a success. I hope the pepole still going tomorrow will be fine though.

Now that to me is not a holiday and no one should have to go to those extremes in order to cruise.

I know it was absolutely ridiculous that we had to go to those lengths to keep ourselves well and that's why we decided that we wouldn't cruise with Fred again. Too many people we met had to miss one or more of the ports because they contracted Noro. Have never come across it on any other ship and we've cruised numerous times with P&O, Cunard, Princess and Celebrity.

I know it was absolutely ridiculous that we had to go to those lengths to keep ourselves well and that's why we decided that we wouldn't cruise with Fred again. Too many people we met had to miss one or more of the ports because they contracted Noro. Have never come across it on any other ship and we've cruised numerous times with P&O, Cunard, Princess and Celebrity.

Good personal hygiene along with minimizing hand to mouth contact will greatly reduce the chance of a GI. I have been on 15+ cruises with FO and never suffered. Remember, there isn't a cruiseline that doesn't carry this virus so you have to be vigilant.

Good personal hygiene along with minimizing hand to mouth contact will greatly reduce the chance of a GI. I have been on 15+ cruises with FO and never suffered. Remember, there isn't a cruiseline that doesn't carry this virus so you have to be vigilant.

I have heard of other lines having cases but not with the frequency of FO. Boudicca is currently based at Rosyth for a couple of months and there's already been two outbreaks of Noro. Sure, Noro and other GIs can occur in all cruise ships, schools, care homes etc but I just feel it's endemic in FO...... for whatever reason ....... and, for us, the risk is too high to cruise with them again. I know it's not a popular thing to say on a FO forum but I just came across the OP's question by chance and wanted to relate our experience

Good personal hygiene along with minimizing hand to mouth contact will greatly reduce the chance of a GI. I have been on 15+ cruises with FO and never suffered. Remember, there isn't a cruiseline that doesn't carry this virus so you have to be vigilant.

We feel the same way, not quite as many cruises as you but still never had a problem.

We don't take any extreme precautions, but we do bring our own anti-viral hand cleanser with us and we never use the public restrooms.

We've done >20 FO cruises, some longer than 3 months and have had it twice

on the Boudicca in 2013 and 2014 each time in Norway and once on the Balmoral in 2012 in the Falkland Islands. It was so rife on that ship in 2009 we were barred from entering several Canadian ports although we escaped being

ill on that occasion. We have a theory that it is more prevalent in colder climates as that has been our experience. But we would have to have a much larger sample in order to claim that is a fact.

We've done >20 FO cruises, some longer than 3 months and have had it twice

on the Boudicca in 2013 and 2014 each time in Norway and once on the Balmoral in 2012 in the Falkland Islands. It was so rife on that ship in 2009 we were barred from entering several Canadian ports although we escaped being

ill on that occasion. We have a theory that it is more prevalent in colder climates as that has been our experience. But we would have to have a much larger sample in order to claim that is a fact.

If you are talking about Balmoral in 2010, it was the weather that prevented us from entering three ports in Canada. Spreading malicious gossip is tantamount to libel. You need to watch what you write.

Good heavens above! Will you please stop these vicious attacks? I clearly stated it was 2009 not 2010. That year we went around Italy on the Balmoral.

Good heavens above! Will you please stop these vicious attacks? I clearly stated it was 2009 not 2010. That year we went around Italy on the Balmoral.

I am sorry if you feel that I am attacking you but you need to stop making these wild fabrications. Whatever year it was the Balmoral sailed from New York to Canada and hone to the UK via Cobh and missed three ports in Canada BECAUSE OF THE WEATHER.