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Novo virus update on Constellation

Pepc

By Pepc,
in Celebrity Cruises

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Cellen

Cellen

Posted
Posted
On that topic silence is a good thing. That probably means they have it under control.

 

I was on the 6th - 18th November sailing and caught Norovirus along with 250+ other passengers. We were never allowed to serve ourselves with any food or cold drinks in the buffet (not a bad thing), and at the start of the cruise the cabins were stripped bare and items such as ice buckets, robes and soft furnishings gradually reappeared during the cruise. Menus were removed from all bars and not replaced, and no snacks were served in Bars. The sunbeds and chairs in the inside Thallaso pool did not have any mattresses for the 1st four days because they were cleaning the covers and this was a shame because it was not comfortable to relax on the beds. We saw a lot of cleaning around the ship by crew in the white hazmat suits, so Celebrity are doing their best but whether they're winning the battle??

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MicCanberra Holiday Sharing Rare

MicCanberra

Posted
Posted
I was on the 6th - 18th November sailing and caught Norovirus along with 250+ other passengers. We were never allowed to serve ourselves with any food or cold drinks in the buffet (not a bad thing), and at the start of the cruise the cabins were stripped bare and items such as ice buckets, robes and soft furnishings gradually reappeared during the cruise. Menus were removed from all bars and not replaced, and no snacks were served in Bars. The sunbeds and chairs in the inside Thallaso pool did not have any mattresses for the 1st four days because they were cleaning the covers and this was a shame because it was not comfortable to relax on the beds. We saw a lot of cleaning around the ship by crew in the white hazmat suits, so Celebrity are doing their best but whether they're winning the battle??

 

I think I will stay clear of the Connie for a while yet.:D

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hancock

hancock

Posted
Posted

We are on the next sailing. Members of our roll call doing a B2B indicate that it seems to be in control. Reported that they are starting to allow cruisers to serve themselves drinks..coffee..juice. Hoping this is a good sign.

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MicCanberra Holiday Sharing Rare

MicCanberra

Posted
Posted
We are on the next sailing. Members of our roll call doing a B2B indicate that it seems to be in control. Reported that they are starting to allow cruisers to serve themselves drinks..coffee..juice. Hoping this is a good sign.

I certainly hope so for your sake. Enjoy the cruise.:D

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Glammy Grammy

Glammy Grammy

Posted
Posted

Please try not to worry too much about it. Last year we received a letter the day before sailing saying Solstice had a problem with the virus and we could cancel or rebook at no charge to us if we weren't happy to go on the cruise. We went as planned, there was a thorough deep clean before boarding and cabin allocation, constant cleaning throughout the ship, no self service, we only heard of 2 people getting sick and there was no saying it was definitely the virus, could have been something they ate on shore or simply over indulging in the fantastic food!

 

The norovirus is now doing the rounds where I live and work, so no escaping it I'm afraid, whether on a ship or not, just have to be extra vigilant with hand washing, not touching your face with your hands, use cutlery not fingers for anything you eat, and I open doors with a tissue and then throw it away especially in the bathrooms. Just keep these things in mind and go and have a fantastic cruise.

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Alg63

Alg63

Posted
Posted

Rumors cause war. Please stop perpetuating this.

If a cruise ship was detected with a virus (and they are tested frequently, as well as having to report number of ill passengers on board, they would be pulled into port, grounded and sanitized. You have more chance of getting sick from bad air on a flight or bacteria in a hospital after an operation. Do you sterilize your garbage can every day? Have you tested the pillow you sleep with? Do you put a thermometer in every piece of meat, chicken or fish you cook at home or eat in a restaurant? If not, and unless your residence is encased in a plastic bubble, you are exposing yourself to germs, bacteria and viruses every minute of your day and night.

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jacketwatch

jacketwatch

Posted
Posted
Rumors cause war. Please stop perpetuating this.

If a cruise ship was detected with a virus (and they are tested frequently, as well as having to report number of ill passengers on board, they would be pulled into port, grounded and sanitized. You have more chance of getting sick from bad air on a flight or bacteria in a hospital after an operation. Do you sterilize your garbage can every day? Have you tested the pillow you sleep with? Do you put a thermometer in every piece of meat, chicken or fish you cook at home or eat in a restaurant? If not, and unless your residence is encased in a plastic bubble, you are exposing yourself to germs, bacteria and viruses every minute of your day and night.

 

 

This is not entirely true. It depends on how prevalent the offending organism is. Merely having the nv on board does not mean it will be dry docked. However as for the Connie it did have the nv last yr. which I became ill from. The previous cruise to ours and the one after it also had the nv despite great efforts from the crew to sanitize the vessel.

 

Any restaurant should be insuring that meat, chicken or fish is indeed cooked to the proper temp. What you do at home is irrelevant to the standards that are expected in restaurants for this as well as anything they cook or store.

 

I've found this website useful. See below.

 

http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/vsp/surv/gilist.htm

 

BTW for 2011 the Connie was not listed but that was due to the number of reported cases being less than what is required to report it to the CDC. However that number is less because people do not want to be quarantined as would happen if they did report it. IIRC Celebrity told me there ws about 95 reported cases but based on how many people I heard by chance complaining of being ill the number was no doubt more.

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Alg63

Alg63

Posted
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I am saying that the chances are minimal, I am servsafe certified so very familiar with health regulations, but to perpetuate this causes panic and alarm and the number of cases are minimal based compared to the number of cases contracted elsewhere, esp considering the loss the cruise lines suffer when grounded, and the expense they go to to avoid this.

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jacketwatch

jacketwatch

Posted
Posted
I am saying that the chances are minimal, I am servsafe certified so very familiar with health regulations, but to perpetuate this causes panic and alarm and the number of cases are minimal based compared to the number of cases contracted elsewhere, esp considering the loss the cruise lines suffer when grounded, and the expense they go to to avoid this.

This is what you said:

"If a cruise ship was detected with a virus (and they are tested frequently, as well as having to report number of ill passengers on board, they would be pulled into port, grounded and sanitized."

 

And this is not true.

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Alg63

Alg63

Posted
Posted
This is what you said:

"If a cruise ship was detected with a virus (and they are tested frequently, as well as having to report number of ill passengers on board, they would be pulled into port, grounded and sanitized."

 

And this is not true.

 

Sorry, which part is not true?

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El Crucero

El Crucero

Posted
Posted

I have just returned from the 12 day, Nov. 6 sailing on the Constellation. Some of the cruisers have reported becoming ill on that cruise here on CC. I believe them and commiserate with them. Fortunately, I did not meet anyone on the cruise who reported being ill (evidently those that became ill were quarantined about 72 hours, so they could have rejoined the population sometime during the cruise). Our stateroom steward said he maintained 23 staterooms and three of his cabins had occupants who reported ill at some time during the cruise. Neither he nor I know how representative this is of the entire ship's population. He said that this number was far fewer than the previous cruise where about half his stateroom occupants were ill.

 

I have heard the "250+ passengers" rumor before. Evidently this rumor was started by one of the tour guides on a shore excursion who was not part of the Constellation staff. I'm not sure how they would get that information. Who knows whether it is true or not. To my knowledge, there was no announcement by Celebrity about the number of cases on the ship during this cruise. I didn't find the food service by the staff to be an inconvenience. I rather enjoyed the personal attention and it was much more sanitary, but that is just me and YMMV.

 

We had a wonderful time on the cruise and would not have hesitated to take a B2B on the Constellation had we not had commitments for the Thanksgiving holiday. Unfortunately, I have contracted a bad head head cold from my daughter on Thanksgiving....but I doubt that will prevent me from doing Christmas with her this year. :D

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MicCanberra Holiday Sharing Rare

MicCanberra

Posted
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I have just returned from the 12 day, Nov. 6 sailing on the Constellation. Some of the cruisers have reported becoming ill on that cruise here on CC. I believe them and commiserate with them. Fortunately, I did not meet anyone on the cruise who reported being ill (evidently those that became ill were quarantined about 72 hours, so they could have rejoined the population sometime during the cruise). Our stateroom steward said he maintained 23 staterooms and three of his cabins had occupants who reported ill at some time during the cruise. Neither he nor I know how representative this is of the entire ship's population. He said that this number was far fewer than the previous cruise where about half his stateroom occupants were ill.

 

I have heard the "250+ passengers" rumor before. Evidently this rumor was started by one of the tour guides on a shore excursion who was not part of the Constellation staff. I'm not sure how they would get that information. Who knows whether it is true or not. To my knowledge, there was no announcement by Celebrity about the number of cases on the ship during this cruise. I didn't find the food service by the staff to be an inconvenience. I rather enjoyed the personal attention and it was much more sanitary, but that is just me and YMMV.

 

We had a wonderful time on the cruise and would not have hesitated to take a B2B on the Constellation had we not had commitments for the Thanksgiving holiday. Unfortunately, I have contracted a bad head head cold from my daughter on Thanksgiving....but I doubt that will prevent me from doing Christmas with her this year. :D

Thanks for the Info. I hope you recover quickly and enjoy tour Christmas with your family.

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