Mariner Boarding Late for 12/26/11

[denamo]

Just received email saying this week again the Mariner will be sanitized due to gastrointestinal illness. Boarding is slated between 2:00 P.M. - 5:00 P.M.

 

We will be given a $20 on board credit to cover our lunch....looks like no honey stung chicken. ;)

 

Anyone ever get one of these emails prior to boarding? Guess we don't need to get in too big of a hurry.

[Mickeygrl71]

I did not receive an email today? I had a feeling that might happen. So what else did it say?

 

Thanks

[Mickeygrl71]

Ignore the previous post.....the email was in my spam folder. For anyone else, see below.

 

12/22/2011

Royal Caribbean Mariner of the Seas Guest,

We are contacting you to provide you with important information regarding your sailing on Mariner of the Seas on Monday, December 26, 2011. During Mariner of the Seas’ last sailing, a number of guests onboard experienced gastrointestinal illness. In an abundance of caution, we are conducting enhanced sanitizing onboard the ship and within the cruise terminal to help prevent any illness from affecting your cruise.

Because of this additional sanitizing, the check in and boarding process is now anticipated to take place between 2:00 p.m and 5:00 pm. We sincerely apologize for this delay. Due to the limited seating in the cruise terminal in Galveston, Texas, please do not arrive at the pier before 2:00 pm on Monday. As a gesture of goodwill, and to thank our guests for their understanding and cooperation, Royal Caribbean will provide each guest with a $20 credit to their onboard account to cover lunch in Galveston and any incidental cost they might incur due to the delay in boarding.

According to health experts, as many as 300 million people worldwide are affected by norovirus each year. Only the common cold is more prevalent. The advice of medical experts, tell us that the best way to prevent gastrointestinal illnesses is to simply wash your hands thoroughly with soap and hot water after using the bathroom and before eating anything. We also recommend using the complimentary sanitizing gel that is available at various locations onboard.

Please understand the importance we at Royal Caribbean International place on the health and safety of every one of our guests and crew members. We want to ensure that every guest’s cruise is a fun, relaxing and healthy experience. This is why we are taking these additional measures.

We thank you for sailing with Royal Caribbean International.

[packedandready]

Just off the Mariner on the 18th. Noticed the honey stung chicken was now available through room service.

[39august]

So how was debarkation on Dec. 18? Some of us experienced a real mess on prior cruises!

[denamo]

Just off the Mariner on the 18th. Noticed the honey stung chicken was now available through room service.

 

Thanks for the heads up! So we don't have to miss it after all. :)

[rubrrick]

We also got off the Mariner on December 18th, and I have to say kudo's to the entire crew, who, for 2 cruises, worked so hard to keep the ship sanitized.

 

To hear that it happened again for the Christmas sailing, well, that is very sad!:o

 

One of our friends that was with us on our first sailing of November 27th, came down with Noro the following Wednesday (December 7th), so I have a feeling that someone came aboard on the November 27th cruise that started this whole Noro virus mess.

 

Maybe someone here on CC can fill us in on what is the length of the gestation period. This is the 3rd sailing with Noro, and I for one, would not sail on the Mariner again till I knew it was clean.

 

Rick

[robtx100]

In my opinion, the letter (email) is not stating they have an outbreak on the current sailing. It states on the "last sailing" which would be Dec. 11-18. Maybe I'm reading it wrong, but either way it's nice to see they conducting enhanced sanitizing.

 

We are on her for the first time January 29 and are excited with each day we get closer.

[kruzerci]

Thanks for the heads up! So we don't have to miss it after all. :)

 

It's better through room service than in the Windjammer. Plus you get sweet potato fries on the side!

[critterchick]

In my opinion, the letter (email) is not stating they have an outbreak on the current sailing. It states on the "last sailing" which would be Dec. 11-18. Maybe I'm reading it wrong, but either way it's nice to see they conducting enhanced sanitizing.

 

We are on her for the first time January 29 and are excited with each day we get closer.

 

They are famous for not being clear in their communications.

 

But at least they're letting you know - perhaps that came out of the San Juan early departure fiasco...

[wl2cruise]

We also got off the Mariner on December 18th, and I have to say kudo's to the entire crew, who, for 2 cruises, worked so hard to keep the ship sanitized.

This is the 3rd sailing with Noro, and I for one, would not sail on the Mariner again till I knew it was clean.

 

Rick

 

Now Im concerned.

[kruzerci]

Now Im concerned.

 

You don't sail for 10 days, these things generally don't last more than 2-3 weeks. I would think if it was still a major problem at the end of this weeks sailing, they would hold the ship in Galveston for a few days without passengers, in order to sanitize the ship, as they did with Freedom in 2006.

 

I have a feeling both next weeks sailing and your sailing will be fine, but worst case scenario, it should be cleared up in 10 days.

[Doug S]

I also got the e-mail earlier today. Did not take it that there was necessarily a current outbreak, but it does seem likely its a reaction to something like that. I guess the Christmas Cruise is at about the mid-point now, so time for the cycle to have started again.

[Rancher Dave]

Rick, I thought Per said in one announcement the inc period is 48-72 hours...

 

With only 5 pax staying on b2b from last week, I wonder if a crew member is spreading it around. I'd think when the ship gets cleaned so do I95 etc...

[rubrrick]

Rick, I thought Per said in one announcement the inc period is 48-72 hours...

 

With only 5 pax staying on b2b from last week, I wonder if a crew member is spreading it around. I'd think when the ship gets cleaned so do I95 etc...

 

Dave.........we actually together were watching the sanitizing of I-95. They do as much, if not more for the crew than the passengers.

 

Glad you are home safely, and hope that your bride is recovering nicely......so that you can cruise again next week!!:)

 

Rick

[jkspringtexas]

My husband and I were on the Mariner - 16 days Rome to Galveston Transatlantic and arrived back on November 11. We both got the Noro along with 2 other of our tablemates. We were never told how many other passengers had it. We must say the ship's medical staff and hotel department took great care of us under the circumstances. So, to answer another posting, the Noro can be traced back at least that far.

[denamo]

I'm not all that concerned with the Norovirus. Our two sons share an apartment and one had some type of gastrointestinal illness last weekend. When he got back to work after his "fun" weekend, he found out others had experienced it over the weekend and some were out with it throughout the next few days. The other son (who was a great brother throughout the ordeal) did not get it even being in such close quarters. They have separate rooms, so that and cleanliness practices probably helped.

 

I am excited about being on board and am hoping for the very best. Hoping the email we received is not referring to the current cruise and is indeed referencing the December 11th one. As one poster mentioned, the email seems to be proactive in nature given there was no warning prior to a ship leaving in Puerto Rico and cruisers being stranded.

[Galveston Cruiser]

We also were on the Mariner from Rome, but none of our friends or us became ill with anything. Kept hands clean and drank lots of wine - for medicinal purposes only:D

[Cindy]

Hopefully the delayed boarding is just a precautionary measure to make sure the virus outbreak is over. Once it starts it's very difficult to get rid of when you have a lot of people in a contained environment.

[woohooTOO]

So how was debarkation on Dec. 18? Some of us experienced a real mess on prior cruises!

 

We were off on the 18th. We were called to "unboard" before the scheduled time. The lines through customs were pretty long but the customs guys were friendly. I guess it took about 45 minutes in line. Not nearly as horrible as the boarding. FYI there was virus on the cruise before us and on our cruise. Supposedly, they were delaying the boarding on the 18th.

[Jimnbigd]

I was on the Dec. 4 Mariner of the Seas and of course some passengers caught the virus (not sure of the number). The crew was continually wiping hand rails and other parts, and was not allowed to shake hands with passengers. I'm booked again for March 25 -- I sure hope it is over by then.

 

I wonder how long the virus lasts once you catch it? It could sure mess up not only the cruise but your travel home.

[charlesjoy]

My husband just called C&A to inquire as we are considering trying to postpone our cruise on Jan 8 on Mariner due to this problem. The lady was aware that the virus had been on all the sailings since TA and they were going to do an enhanced cleaning on Dec 26. If they have been aware why are they just now doing an "enhanced cleaning"? We take so many precautions before boarding to keep from getting sick before we cruise and to now think we might actually get sick on the cruise is very worrisome to me!

[comfixit]

My husband just called C&A to inquire as we are considering trying to postpone our cruise on Jan 8 on Mariner due to this problem. The lady was aware that the virus had been on all the sailings since TA and they were going to do an enhanced cleaning on Dec 26. If they have been aware why are they just now doing an "enhanced cleaning"? We take so many precautions before boarding to keep from getting sick before we cruise and to now think we might actually get sick on the cruise is very worrisome to me!

 

Was on the Dec 4th sailing. And crew kept my family updated on what was going on. The virus progressed to a Stage 2 (while on the sailing requiring RCI to report to the CDC and conduct the sanitation operations). About 240 people were projected to be sick by the time the ship docked in port.

 

Now I HATE stomach viruses and having been in the situation I can tell you I had a great cruise. Don't let the news bother you just take appropriate precautions.

 

Wash/Sanitize your hands often and you will decrease your likelyhood of contracting the virus. The crew did an amazing job. Some guests did not want to sanitize their hands when entering the WindJammer and the crew insisted. With the crew working so hard I felt comfortable and I really feel like they do an excellent job of keeping things in check.

 

If your worried, don't be. Just be extra mindful to do the types of things you should be doing anyways (wash your hands before eating and after eating). Consider eating cooked foods if your especially paranoid (I enjoyed the sushi and fruit offerings myself), when you touch something (i.e. hand rails, seat rests, slot machines etc...) then use some sanitizer prior to touching your eyes, mouth, nose etc... Do these things and you will diminish your chance of getting sick by quite a bit.

 

Go out, enjoy your cruise and don't obsess over common viruses. I used to, but having actually been on the cruise during an outbreak I realize that even a Stage 2 condition does not put a damper on the cruise unless your the unlucky small percentage who contracts the virus.

 

Roll with the punches and concentrate on all the fun things you want to do. Being on the cruise during the outbreak I can tell you its not a big deal. I wish they had some statistics to show how efficacious washing your hands often really is in fending off viruses. Doctors do it all the time and they manage to stay very healthy seeing sick people regularly.

 

Your going to have a great cruise. Bring some Purell and don't give it another thought, my families cruise and many of my fellow cruisers had an amazing time.

[BecciBoo]

So far no one on our roll call for Dec.4 has reported getting the stuff. I would not even consider cancelling a cruise because of this. I am just careful. Be sure and take that container of bleach or antiseptic wipes and go for it in your own cabin and continue to wipe down your knobs etc. while you're there. Wash wash wash as has been stated umpteen million times. Have been on several cruises just like Mariner with her problems but have never had any sickness of any kind.

[Texas_firefighter]

The lady was aware that the virus had been on all the sailings since TA and they were going to do an enhanced cleaning on Dec 26.

 

 

There was no sickness that I was aware of on our sailing.We departed on time and I heard no mention of such the entire cruise.