We NEED some reports on VOS - please.

[nugget64]

Thank you The Big M.

 

I was hoping for an earlier time, but 6am is cool, can do a warm up stair climb first, I know, sad.

 

Anyone else with tween and teen area photos or information. My DS wants to know what gaming they have available, PS3 or Xbox. I know, more sad. He is a bit of a health guy too, so both questions, gaming and the gym apply.

 

Thanks again fellow cruisers.

 

TraceyG

 

Hi,

 

We got off voyager in Perth and have a 16 and 14 year old, the boys said there is a PS3 and a WI, the combined the older kids together as there where not that many of that age group but enough for them to have a great time, they have a huge arcade area and there own club, every day they get a compass with all the kids activities on them and most nights our boys where out till about 1 am, they also spent heaps of time in the spas and up on the sports deck, if your son likes sport they have the rock wall and a full basketball court, inline skates and mini golf, if he is 16 or older he can also use the gym, if you have any more questions you can email me at jnugent64@hotmail.com

 

Hope this helps

Judy:)

[Gold Coast Cruisers]

Didn't take long to get out .. ship was a sick ship arriving into Perth we boarded there and were hand served in all food and beverage areas until Adelaide ... we were then trusted to serve ourselves until Wednesday just gone .... no mention of latest outbreak was mentioned onboard that we were aware of ... before we blame the pax imo it's time RCL take a good long hard look at the cleaning regime in one place in particular the Windjammer ...sticky plastic cane look chairs a haven for bacteria, dirty table surfaces cleaned with dirty chux cloths...didn't once see anyone rinsing their cloth!!!!! In the MDR our head waiter's uniform stained and grubby ... the assistant dropping circles of bread into onion soup ... no gloves on ... for goodness sake... had he not been told what was going on ... RCL is a far cry from our first cruise on her back in 2007... Mr RCL it doesnt matter how clean we are and how stringently we follow your hygeine rules if your staff don't pick up their act you will bw heading for the horizon with your funnel between your pods when people flock back to the opposition ....

 

 

Gosh that's not good and doesn't sound like the same Voyager we were on. However I must say, and anyone reading this don't shoot me down I'm just stating a fact, but RCCL took on Asian crew when we departed from Barcelona to Singapore. New Orleans to Barcelona was fine. From Barcolona onward we noticed a deterioration in the cleanliness in the likes of the Windjammer so I know where you're coming from there.

We had to report a matter of bad hygiene of one of the new Asian crew twice to one of the Officers. That new crew member took no notice of what was said as we saw the same disgusting habit happen again.

 

It's not the Asian crew's fault, he appeared not to know better due to his culture. On board ships there is no room for 'culture habits' of crew they all need to be trained as one, with strict hygiene being paramount.

 

Hope RCCL get this all sorted now before the season really swings into action.

 

Jilly

[LuckiePuris]

I use www.photobucket.com

 

Jilly:)

 

Thanks Jilly, I'll give that site a try!

[dancinman66]

Here's the video by 7 News Perth: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCr0Yyhv2KU :)

 

thanks for that , it is great

 

by the way the norovirus is more a condition of our society than the ships cleaning regime

the biggest areas for pick up are plates, food utensils and hand rails/ door handles

 

These are near impossible to control and only need one or two people selfish enough to not stay put in their cabin when sick that way

 

no hand washing before and after toilet and always prior to eating and bed

 

They did quite well although yes some tables were a bit sticky from poor cleaning

 

but the wipes they use although not cleaning properly would have killed the germs

 

4000 people in close proximity and using all same stuff will always bring trouble

I have a very sensitive stomach but was ok as am carefull with my own cleanliness at all times and try not to touch my face - the other failure in transmitting germs

 

all ships get this and is only controllable with people staying in their cabins and getting medical help

 

lots of filthy people on the ship who don't wash hands after going to the bathroom

 

only ourselves to blame is how I see it

 

have fun all

Greg

[bazzaw]

Jilly

 

Not sure what you mean by "Asian" -- aren't almost all the staff "Asian" - Cunard is the only ship that we have been on that has some European staff (and I am not saying that that is necessarily a good thing ) .

 

Barry

[Red Robyn]

Red Robyn - no problems, none taken.

Bazzaw - agree it will be a different experience, just interested to hear your views. Lucky you!

 

 

Aussieflyer

 

Thanks for that.

 

Red Robyn

[avalon007]

I have seen plenty of Australians who use the toilet & walk out without washing their hands as well!:eek:

 

Noticed quiet a few of all ages also ignoring the hand sanitiser as they walked into the windjammer.

 

I have travelled through Asia quite a bit, spending 4 weeks in China at one time & have never been sick, my husband got a bad case of gastro in Morocco though, not pretty!!

 

One of my main issues in the windjammer is with people using food tongs to get their food but then placing the whole set of tongs including the handle they just touched back on top of the food!

I always select my food from these trays from way way at the back, where the tong handles (and kids fingers) don't go! :D

[dancinman66]

Also found that Noro outbreaks are alot more common on cruises of older people

 

This last cruise was OLD to say the least

 

I know what you mean around china areas, maybe it is also to do with spices they eat giving tough stomachs - who knows

 

I know I am easily succeptable to Noro though due to stomach issues so am careful

 

take care all

Greg

[NSWP]

Also found that Noro outbreaks are alot more common on cruises of older people

 

This last cruise was OLD to say the least

 

I know what you mean around china areas, maybe it is also to do with spices they eat giving tough stomachs - who knows

 

I know I am easily succeptable to Noro though due to stomach issues so am careful

 

take care all

Greg

They don't call cruise ships 'Floating Nursing Homes' for nothing ! LOL.

[avalon007]

Yes, once people get quite aged they are in some ways less observant regards hygene, but plenty of grotty youngsters as well.

 

My 80 year old mum though is quite hygenic, always wiping her hands when we are out with a sanitising wipe before handling her food, my father in law though, not so good, & wears dropped food from his meal on his clothes for days.

 

I didn't eat anything spicy in China but chose what I ate carefully. In suspect places I usually go vegetarian & avoid foods washed liberally in water & never eat from street vendors.

I've seen some really gross things in Morocco, Egypt, China & Indonesia, but Singapore is Asian & cleanliness obssesed.

 

I think you just have to look out for yourself & if you take extra precautions to safeguard yourself it helps.

 

At home here we never use any hand sanitiser, glen 20 sprays etc, & we are exposed to a lot more grotty stuff as we own a farm & have to deal with animals & their faeces, give injections, come in contact with other body fluids & so on.

 

Plus we can't use any anti-bacterial cleaning products as our sewer system is an on farm one that uses bacteria to break down waste & recycle it into clean water for the garden, so we don't want to kill those good guys.

 

We rarely get any noro type problems, maybe the farm has toughened us up!

 

But when we cruise I take some Dettol wipes with us & the first thing I do in the cabin is wipe down the door handles, draw knobs, taps, light switches, desk tops etc, anywhere people touch often but may not have been cleaned by the cabin steward every time.

 

Last night on Today Tonight they had a story on mobile phones & found them to be a breeding ground for lots of nasties including E-Coli, Salmonella & Golden Staph! :eek:

 

Makes the ships bugs sound almost friendly!!:D

[bazzaw]

I believe that there is something unique about cruiseships that cause them to be such "generators" of Norovirus. For example, consider the food halls in large shopping centres. Literally thousands of people sit at the tables and eat there. The chairs are NEVER wiped down or sanitised -- and usually toilets are deliberately placed in close proximity to these eating areas - and yet we do not seem to get Norovirus in these places.

 

My suspicion regarding cruiseships is that Norovirus outbreaks are somehow related to or connected to seasickness on board the ships - and may have nothing to do at all with people not washing hands after toileting (although this is obviously a "must do" practice.

 

Anyway, the most important thing we do is to wash our hands before we eat -- but we also wash our hands everytime we go into our cabin. Don't press lift buttons with our fingers - don't put our hands on stair railings.

 

Barry

[avalon007]

The difference though is that people go home from food courts etc & develop the symptoms later on & may not even associate it with the shoping centre meal.

 

It only ever gets traced back to those places when it is a serious food poisoning issue etc that affects a lot of people at once.

 

On a ship everyone stays in the one place for days on end & therefore makes it easier to track & also spread as it does in any environment where people gather for days at a time, eg schools, nursing homes, summer camps, prisons etc.

 

Just people not closing the toilet lid when they flush can send minute faecal matter through the air & deposit it onto surfaces like the door handle to exit the bathroom.

I noticed on Radiance they had a sign in the public toilets suggesting you use a paper towel to open the door to exit the main toilet/bathroom area.

 

Apparantly noro virus is also best destroyed by sufficient heating or chlorine based sanitisers like bleach as they are less susceptible to alcohol or detergent based disinfectants.

 

Some peoples genetics also give them good immunity against such bugs with 20% of the white population having some minor difference on a chromosome that works in their favour.

Fingers crossed we all have that handy mutation! :D

 

Lets also hope Voyager is over her current noro outbreak by the time we cruise late January.:)

[fishtaco]

I believe that there is something unique about cruiseships that cause them to be such "generators" of Norovirus. For example, consider the food halls in large shopping centres. Literally thousands of people sit at the tables and eat there. The chairs are NEVER wiped down or sanitised -- and usually toilets are deliberately placed in close proximity to these eating areas - and yet we do not seem to get Norovirus in these places.

 

My suspicion regarding cruiseships is that Norovirus outbreaks are somehow related to or connected to seasickness on board the ships - and may have nothing to do at all with people not washing hands after toileting (although this is obviously a "must do" practice.

 

Anyway, the most important thing we do is to wash our hands before we eat -- but we also wash our hands everytime we go into our cabin. Don't press lift buttons with our fingers - don't put our hands on stair railings.

 

Barry

 

We wouldnt really know if food hall patrons got norovirus all the time as we wouldnt come in contact with them again after the visit!

 

I have been Gastro sick after many food hall visits and just never go back again!

 

On a ship you dont have much choice and are at much closer quarters to those in a food hall you may only ever see once in your life!

 

I am sure if people on a plane flew together for 7 or more days flying time they would all die of a super bug! Cant remember the last time I flew without getting a cold or flu shortly afterward even though airlines say its impossible to catch it from flying!

 

Den

[Guest012]

[quote=bazzaw;36157107 and yet we do not seem to get Norovirus in these places.

 

Barry

 

Barry we on land scream or rather moan, I've got the gastro" or worse still the dreaded "food poisoning" ( a dirty word on a cruiseship) ... and are loathed to return to the source.....:eek:

 

A veteran of some 20 cruises now, John has done many many more, we know when a ships dirty and anyone who knows about hygiene knows without rinsing a cleaning cloth regularly you aren't cleaning you are just moving the nasties from A to B... the Windjammer closed at 2100hrs each night yet at 0630hrs the tables and chairs were still sticky and stained :confused::confused::confused:, not good enough....

I agree protect yourself but cruise lines need to be more stringent with watching over staff work ethic in helping minimise the risk....

 

Next cruise for us is the repo of the Mariner of the Seas from Barcelona to Singapore and if we encounter same i will become the dreaded moaning cruiser who makes known loudly things aren't right.....

 

Jill, John and I thought perhaps the crew had changed over just before they had left Singapore so we made allowances for their inexperience....guess we were being over generous...:eek::eek:

 

When RCL get a grip on this problem and the other problems passengers complained about, and I am confident they will, as i said before Australia will love this ship and what she has to offer.

[bazzaw]

re chlorine -- Yes, I have read this elsewhere as well. I wonder what "chlorine based sanitisers" are available - or can be manufactured??

 

I did mention this a long time ago somewhere within these Forums - and got howled down about what terrible stuff Chlorine is.

 

Barry

[avalon007]

re chlorine -- Yes, I have read this elsewhere as well. I wonder what "chlorine based sanitisers" are available - or can be manufactured??

 

I did mention this a long time ago somewhere within these Forums - and got howled down about what terrible stuff Chlorine is.

 

Barry

 

Hi Barry,

 

An Australian made non alcohol based foaming hand cleanser product that contains the chlorine based Benzalkonium chloride that is said to be more effective against noro virus is called 'Hands First', available at chemists around Australia or online. :)

 

I believe the reason it is said that washing with soap & water is one of the best ways to kill noro could partially be because a lot of water supplies are treated with chlorine.

[NSWP]

An anti Noro tip, avoid the public toilets on board, just use your own cabin bathroom.

[Cruise ship fan]

Ok just got off so here is a little report. For the time you got on it was easy to see something was happening. The rooms were closed until 4pm. Secondly when we went to the windjammer, they were strictly enforcing using the hand sanitisers. Then it wasn't self-serve, instead they had to dish it for you. This made it horrible to get food. At most they had two people in each section serving people and half the time one of them wasn't even doing anything they just stood there watching. The more people boarded the worse it got. It also looks like the NSW government sent on a health inspector, with them taking notes in the buffet. This morning at the breakfast the also ran out of certain foods. While I am on the buffet, I might as well as they the seating is horrible, there is hardly any room between tables, which was made worse when a family couldn't decide where to sit and went back and forth around 6 times. Also like others have said the tables and chairs are sticky. The cleaning staff were almost non-exsistant, taking a whole meal before even the first plates were cleared. It was severely understaffed.

 

The cabin. Since it was only a one night cruise we just had a inside cabin. The cabin itself was small, compared to an outside on P&O (the only equal cabin I have been in and outside and inside are about the same). It was nice though, just could of been a little bigger. I was with my parents and my Mum was laying in the bed while we were putting things away and in the short amount of time see got bites all over here from the bed, not a good sign. Apart from that the room was nice. During the Dreamworks parade (was great to watch, when I could see) the music was either way too loud or the speakers are horrible ad the music sounded horrible, the speakers must of been at maximum volume and it cause it to become high pitched, destroying the quality.

 

Entertainment. There was only one main show, it was a magician, he was very impressive. The cruise director he seemed alright until after the show when he was making he appearance. It was here he seemed to develop memory problems, because this is what we got, "give it up one more time for John Tayler and Cherry, (minute later) give it up one more time for John Tayler and Cherry, (minute later) give it up one more time for John Tayler and Cherry, (minute later) give it up one more time for John Tayler and Cherry, (minute later)" and a few more times. He was really irritating.

 

The ship. The ship itself it beautiful but the fact that it was a one night cruise, really showed off the design faults with the ship. The ship has too many passengers for the size of the ship, due to being one night everyone wanted to see everything and everything was only shown once. The royal promenade should not be an entertainment venue, the new Dreamworks parade really shows this. If you want to go anywhere you better not get your hopes up once the crowds come in because you are not going anywhere, people are standing just as close as some of the trains through out the busy parts of Asia. The onboard shop opened at 10:30 but it was about the same time as the dreamworld show, so it was crazy. The shop itself is way too small of a ship of its size. For comparison the branded shop is about the size of the public toilets onboard. It is also shared with the perfume shop next door, the two of them share only two counters. The shops on even the old Pacific Star dwalf the shops on VOS, its sad really. The cash registers didn't seem to work or print receipts , causing delays, made even worse by the fact many people were using C&A discount vouchers and everyone who wanted to visit the shop went at once due to it only being open for 2-3 hours, which also didn't help with the small size.

 

The other issue we had was with our cruise cards. We were in the dining room when we went to order drinks when they told us our card was coming up as invalid. They ended up only charging us for half the drinks (it good considering they charged for two cokes but not the two glasses of wine). Royal Caribbean really needs to completely change the drinking age on the Voyager. It creates confusing for the staff. I am 18 years old and when we were having issues with the card we asked them to try mine but said I can't buy alchole due to be underage (US ship I know) but it was a cruise out of Australia where they change the rules with parents permission, well my parents were both with me at the time. We later asked the front desk staff about it and they said that we were correct. Back to the card issue, when we were asked them about the card at the front desk they found out that the check in staff never activated the cards, it appears it happened to several other people to, as our waiter had he same issue with other people.

 

Almost all the issues we had were with RC themselves, and not the ship (with the exception of the tiny brand store/perfume shop. It also plays with my bad experience on the Oasis getting food poisoning. Hopefully my next RC cruise on next Saturday is not as bad. The ship itself seems a perfect fit for the market (if more ports could handle it) as the ship should do longer cruises rather then the short cruises these large ships do in the US.

[avalon007]

Thanks for your review.

 

Sounds like many of the problems you experienced were related to the noro outbreak & also the short cruise meaning everyone wanted to do & see everything in just 1 day.

 

First day on any cruise is often not so smooth as you have loads of first timers not having any idea where to go, how to get there & what you do when you do get there! :D

 

Hope you have a better experience on your next cruise & hope it is a longer one with less frenzy.

 

1 or 2 day cruises are not an optimal way to experience a ship.

[Cruise ship fan]

Thanks for your review.

 

Sounds like many of the problems you experienced were related to the noro outbreak & also the short cruise meaning everyone wanted to do & see everything in just 1 day.

 

First day on any cruise is often not so smooth as you have loads of first timers not having any idea where to go, how to get there & what you do when you do get there! :D

 

Hope you have a better experience on your next cruise & hope it is a longer one with less frenzy.

 

1 or 2 day cruises are not an optimal way to experience a ship.

 

Yea the quick cruise really wasn't ideal.

[rkmw]

yes a good review and personally i wouldnt do a 1 day cruise, to me not worth the trouble

 

did they happen to do the muster and do they still do it on the promenade deck

[Cruise ship fan]

yes a good review and personally i wouldnt do a 1 day cruise, to me not worth the trouble

 

did they happen to do the muster and do they still do it on the promenade deck

 

Yes they did muster. It's no longer on the promenade deck. We had it in the egyptian themed lounge at about 5:30 (30 minutes after they close embarkation for passengers). Although something I didn't mentio which I was surprised about they did a very poor job of the muster in there. As they were making the announcements they didn't turn off the music playing the room, as well as, being understaffed, I think there were about 2 crew showing how to put on the lifejackets, from where we were we could see one of them on the far side of the ship. It was a little surprised they didn't make it a big deal after the Concordia. (You don't need to take the jackets from you cabin).

[bazzaw]

Hi Barry,

 

An Australian made non alcohol based foaming hand cleanser product that contains the chlorine based Benzalkonium chloride that is said to be more effective against noro virus is called 'Hands First', available at chemists around Australia or online. :)

 

I believe the reason it is said that washing with soap & water is one of the best ways to kill noro could partially be because a lot of water supplies are treated with chlorine.

 

Thanks for that - will look for some of that.

 

I don't believe that the water on board cruiseships has any chlorine in it.

 

Barry

[bazzaw]

I usually find the first day on cruiseships to be the worst

http://pacificpearltotahiti.blogspot.com.au/2011/07/first-glimpse.html

 

So a one day cruise would have all the "bad" and none of the "good"

 

Barry

[barnsey1802]

Our muster drill was on deck 4 in the dining room. There was a group on the promenade deck as well.

 

It was very quick, but a lot of people were late for the 6 pm dinner first searing.

 

Deidre.