HeatherInFlorida

Yes, cabin was washed down twice daily.

Who was your butler? Ours was Anthony. We were in11053

We are in 11020 and have Rasheth. I may have spelled it wrong. Nothing here with his name on it. We've never had a bad Butler. He's been too busy to visit much until this evening when he really opened up. Such a fabulous, positive attitude. I told him I knew a few Americans who could take a page from his book. 😃

Rhea, we are still here. We leave at 11:00. Norwegian Gem just left and Anthem of the Seas is using a lot of room a few berths over😃

Update: our butler just told us we are Code Green ...everything normal. He has such a great attitude. He said everyone top to bottom put in extra hours and he was happy to do it for a company he loves. Says they pay better than anyone else and he's happy to step up when they're in trouble.

I'm sorry. I was feeling a little pissy with some saying too many threads😃 I know I really appreciated all the posts before we embarked.

I think great news!!! It's been 72 hours and Ray said they are putting out tablecloths, s&p etc😃😃😃. That means no one has gotten sick. I haven't seen this for myself but I trust him.

We were told to use alcohol based hand gel sanitizers. I heard nothing about a bleach solution. We're in San Juan and they're not spraying anything now. Just the usual dispensers at the gangway. Earlier today they were spraying.

Things are looking up😃

I guess my take on all of this is if I have a rotten trip on Oceania because of noro it is a lot of money to loose, but most of all in all my trips and reading here I have never heard of such turmoil and dissatisfied people.

If you had a cruise on Riviera soon you'd be interested. If you don't and you're not, then skip it. Why be snarky? I agree people are complaining more than I ever would think of doing, but on the other hand life onboard right now exceeds no one's expectations. Easy to sit on land and say it's no biggie.

Some of us cruise once a year or less. We look forward to the relaxed time onboard. So disappointment is understandable. Complaining the whole time isn't.

I am surprised they did not bring people on to clean during the two days in Miami to give the crew a rest. Give the bottom line$$ a rest.

I believe they did. What makes you think they didn't? But back on the sea it's the regular crew and staff working many extra hours constantly washing/disinfecting. They're tired but I've seen few complainers among them. They would much rather work hard now than see the ship out of service for 2 weeks.

*****

With all the complaining about too many Noro posts on this and other threads, I'm not posting again. Not worth my time and it's no fun for me.

I completely understand how people feel and felt on the previous cruises with Noro. I would feel the same. However, keep in mind that it really doesn't matter what ship or line you're on, this can happen. It sucks when it's us, but sometimes life gives us lemons. So when people are saying they'll never cruise Oceania again, that makes no sense to me unless they mean they'll lose less money.

I'm going to the spa for Sole Rejunvenation, my favorite indulgence. That should definitely relax me, maybe even cheer me. 😃😃

Good morning. Day 3-Thurs., 2/25. We continue Code Red. Our butler told us this morning the "doctor in charge" has given approval to go to normal but they've not been given overall approval. we've been told it is hoped we'll be back to normal soon. I sure hope so because this is extremely hard on the crew. They are exhausted and so the mood of the ship, though they try, is just not the same.

The effect, of course, is less timely service. This is not a big deal except I cruise the Caribbean for the joy of being served😃; been to all the islands many times so I don't care about ports. I cruise for the joy of the sea and the ship. So it's a lot of money to pay for this service level.

That said, I understand what's at stake here. They want this cruise to be a Noro free experience and are doing everything to achieve it.

I have not experienced this, but people have told me that passengers are getting annoyed and impatient; lots of complaining. But personally, to me, no one has done that. There just doesn't seem to be the usual good mood, that feeling of relaxation that usually sets in by now.

I will post again later today or tomorrow.

I'm postponing updates to our cruise until tomorrow hoping it will be good news. Where would everyone like me to post updates re the 2/22 Riviera cruise I am on now?? I don't want to beat the horse either but I do know there are those who are interested.

It is common knowledge that people are using way too many sanitizers, too many anti-bacterial wipes, etc. does nothing for a virus anyway. And it kills our ability to fight with our natural immune system. Not talking about onboard Ruviera right now when in Code Red, but generally speaking. Cleanliness is the most important thing we can do wherever we go.

are you still in Code Red??

Based on what I know I would say yes though no one uses that word. I have described conditions ... No condiments, no place settings in Waves or Terrace, wash down of tables labeled with time we can use it washdown of cabin surfaces, public restrooms doors open, etc.

Seems to me there are people who have decided Oceania is the bad guy, don't care, etc. I'm not feeling or believing that. Makes no sense. They don't want this anymore than passengers do .... If anything it matters more to Oceania because we have choices.

It's ridiculous. I'm going to post the truth here. Not spinning it either way. But I won't play this stupid blame game. No one wants Riviera to be called a sick ship least of all Oceania.

Yes.

Thank you Heather for your update. I am very pleased to hear that all is well and people are upbeat. Are you seeing passengers using disinfecting wipes on their own accord?

Yes. And someone is standing by it encouraging everyone. They then thank us for doing so.

I was reporting in on the Noro thread, but perhaps this is better since I'm trying to be positive and not think Noro😃 So far so good. 48 hours to go. Beautiful day in Nassau. They are exercising an abundance of caution an though they are wiping down everything with this antiseptic solution, I can't complain nor is anyone else that I've seen. The cabin delay yesterday was a shame and I'm not sure what went wrong, but people waited forever to get their cabins on Deck 7. But the CDC was onboard checking everything and I suspect that was the cause.

Everyone I've met is thinking positive😃

I just learned that so far no one has become ill with Noro. So a little over 24 hours; 48 to go. If someone does become ill, we start over. But everyone is happy and upbeat. Fingers crossed! My husband met someone onboard from corporate office. He said he's flying back to Miami from San Juan. They are obviously taking this very seriously despite what some on this thread imply.

Right now on the Riviera all the doors to all the public washrooms are open all the time.

Spirits.... In spirit! Works for me! Have a blast!

 

 

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😃😃😃😃

I will definitely post any news ... Preferably good😃

Heather, don't you dare forget to have a Big O Martini (or 3) for me! LOL Have a great time!!!!

 

 

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I would so love to!! Alas we consumed our lifetime quota of alcohol over 25 years ago so I cant😞 But I will in spirit😊

The CDC was everywhere today. Everyone is very upbeat and positive all will be well. They're sanitizing tables and you have to wait for them to dry before next group can sit. Everyone is using the sanitizer and this is a new type ... Sticky, takes a while to dry. They were way backed up getting people into their cabins. We were lucky and our bags were already here when we came to our room. Library cabinets are locked for now; will be opened after 3 days if all is well. If it is, all else will return to normal, too.

The crew and staff are upbeat, hopeful and as wonderful as I remember. Ice in cabin in room is only by request though I can't figure that one out. We touch nothing. There is no salt, pepper, sugar...nothing on the tables.

We had a delicious surf and turf in Waves for lunch and a casual dinner in the Terrace for dinner. Hated not having the tables set and welcoming, but it's a small price to pay if we can be virus free. Everyone I've spoken to knows about the last cruise. So time will tell.

I know this was a bad cruise, but don't toss the baby out with he bath water. We were on Oceania in April and I don't believe it's possible to bring a line down in 10 months. But this will be a true test given the last 10 days. If the staff can bounce back from this, I'll give them a huge gold star.

Yet it's hard not to read once you start. Catch 22

 

Good luck on your cruise.

Thanks! Reading some posts I have to wonder how people have avoided this on other lines when we've been in Code Red several times on HAL and Celebrity and I have never known a line to over-communicate. The problem is that just like here if they were announce every day how many are sick and other gory details it just makes everyone crazy waiting for the ax to fall on them. So they provide a bare minimum of info.

I know we all react differently, but vowing never to hoard an Oceania ship again isn't going to eliminate the problem for anyone. JMO.

Thanks to those with suggestions for carry-ons; I have my Pepto packed, but we don't have Immodium on hand. I may try a quick run to the drugstore, but I really am feeling positive and though some will debate this, I've often found that if you expect something will happen it probably will. So I'm not expecting.

We were on this cruise and have NO horror stories to tell. A lot of cleaning going on that was not very pleasant but not that depressing either. All the dining venues were open with special handling of the food. Not a problem. We were not sick at all, so can not talk for the people that did. We will go on Oceania again. Now to make it clear we expected a home run on this cruise as in all our past Oceania cruises but we just got a double. Sure was not a strike out for us. Most of the people we spoke to on the ship thought about the same. If not a double that a single. Hope the 2 days of cleaning works and you go and have a great time.

I hope it does, too :). Thanks so much for this post. Between this and another private note through Tapatalk, I feel a bit less apprehensive.

Which is why the cut this trip short and headed back to Miami 2 days early. Hope this will give them time to clear this up. If not ??????

I believe it will clear it up what was. It can do nothing if sick people board the ship. I know that there were clean cruises between November and now ... quite a few in fact. So the notion that the ship is terminally ill just doesn't wash with me. But as far as new people coming on sick, we run that risk every single time we board a ship.

I'm not quite ready to lock myself in my house. I have a t-shirt that reads "I could stop cruising, but I'm not a quitter". Still ... if I get sick all bets are off, but I still wouldn't be blaming Oceania. Stuff happens and things don't always go the way we want. Fingers crossed plus I have a couple of really super angels looking down and watching out for me :).

...............I feel sorry for the people who do not read CC and will show up tomorrow not knowing of the bad vibes on this ship.

I don't. I think they're the lucky ones. I wish I hadn't. At this point there's nothing you can do but cancel. And I'm betting practically no one would do that. Way TMI for me and I'd give good money to drive to the port tomorrow with no info other than what Oceania has told us.

It was lousy. No one denies that, but now it's "I heard this" or "I heard that" and I'm sure more horror stories will follow. Other than having been affected on this cruise, it can't get more depressing than reading this thread.

Oceania is doing a major cleaning of the ship and it will be thoroughly inspected before we board tomorrow. If it doesn't get a full green light by health officials, I suspect we will not be allowed to board. Otherwise I'm confident that at least for now all will be well.

We are boarding tomorrow as well. There has been some talk on this board of delayed boarding. We have heard nothing from Oceania or our TA. Does anyone have updated information on this?

A letter was sent from Oceania to the TA's advising that we will have late boarding tomorrow. I posted the contents of that letter on our roll call so you can read it there if you like. The boarding time for suites is 1:30 PM and general boarding at 2 PM. If that changes, or I hear any additional info, I will post it on our roll call.

............

 

Lessons learned:

1. the processes required to clean a ship infected with norovirus are completely incompatible with a cruise experience for passengers.

2. Never board a vessel that has reported norovirus, no matter what the cruise line promises, until they have had several clean sailings.

 

Word to the wise ... To those scheduled to board on 2/23 I hope you do not experience what we went through.

........

Interesting "lessons learned", but easier said than done. When you have booked and paid for a cruise and learn 7 or 8 days before embarkation that Noro is onboard, do you cancel? Do you simply toss the thousands of $$$ you have spent? Perhaps some would, but not many.

I completely sympathize with anyone who had to deal with what was obviously a miserable cruise for them and it's easy to Monday morning quarterback. I may be doing the same thing in a week or so, but I sure hope not. We board tomorrow (2/22 as far as I know...not 2/23) and will hope that the extra cleaning they are doing since last night will do the trick.

Frankly, I think at this point we have a better chance of avoiding Noro on Riviera than most any ship heading out to sea right now.

................

 

I guess that my patience for this thread is less than normal because the loss of Don Horner makes this thread seem quite unimportant. Some passengers have been sick which could happen anywhere - some passengers have been inconvenienced -- but, thankfully, all of you reading this have survived the cruise. Try putting things into perspective!!!!!

Beautifully said.