Norovirus Outbreak Hits Royal Caribbean Cruise Ship

[Kosi]

My Sister is on this cruise and she just messaged me .. she is unsure if she thinks the offer is fair or not.. She said she doesn't want to sail again for a long , long time. She said if you were not sick from Noro, you were sick from the very rough seas..:(

[drarill]

It would appear to me that this cruise in essence has been canceled. All on board should get full refunds and forget about an FCC. They need rooms paid for until their flights etc. basically all out of pocket expenses need to be covered.

 

You are failing to realize that there are no hotel rooms to be found at a reasonable price in NYC or nj right now. Remember the Super Bowl is in town and people come in early to enjoy the sites as well as all the pre op folks for the game set up

 

True!!

[styles27]

My Sister is on this cruise and she just messaged me .. she is unsure if she thinks the offer is fair or not.. She said she doesn't want to sail again for a long , long time. She said if you were not sick from Noro, you were sick from the very rough seas..:(

 

Poor thing...I don't blame her for not wanting to cruise for a long time after this horrific experience.

 

I think a refund not a FCC should be given...it would go a long way with folks and in the end RCCL would benefit from the positive press.

 

I have to admit....I'm cruising a week from this Thursday on Brilliance and since this news broke I'm not quite as excited about it as I was before. :(

[Cd24747]

Poor thing...I don't blame her for not wanting to cruise for a long time after this horrific experience.

 

 

 

I think a refund not a FCC should be given...it would go a long way with folks and in the end RCCL would benefit from the positive press.

 

 

 

I have to admit....I'm cruising a week from this Thursday on Brilliance and since this news broke I'm not quite as excited about it as I was before. :(

 

 

Prayers go out to your sister. Don't let it ruin your vacation. There's a ton of cruises on the sea at any given time and this is just a freak incident. Unlikely to happen to you.

[DrD]

3 facts to remember:

 

1. peak noro season is January. It's usually over by April. We cruise in April. If you choose to cruise in January you should be aware that's it's peak season for noro, like September is peak month for hurricanes.

 

2. 3 most dangerous foods are lettuce, raw fruit, and oysters. I recommend to people not to eat anything raw from buffet, including raw salads and fruits.

 

3. According to CDC there are about 20 million cases per year, so the outbreak on EOS represents 0.003 % of total cases expected this year.

 

Am I worried? Nah.

[vermontvoyager]

Just saw it posted on CC news. It is a FCC for 50% of what they paid.

 

Yep...50% your cruise fair towards a future cruise.

$400 per stateroom with an extra $100 to each 3rd and 4th person in a room.

They are still currently working on arrangements for those going home and b2backers will be put up in a hotel.

[styles27]

3 facts to remember:

 

1. peak noro season is January. It's usually over by April. We cruise in April. If you choose to cruise in January you should be aware that's it's peak season for noro, like September is peak month for hurricanes.

 

2. 3 most dangerous foods are lettuce, raw fruit, and oysters. I recommend to people not to eat anything raw from buffet, including raw salads and fruits.

 

3. According to CDC there are about 20 million cases per year, so the outbreak on EOS represents 0.003 % of total cases expected this year.

 

Am I worried? Nah.

 

Taken directly from the CDC webpage 80% of Noro outbreaks are from November to April. Here's a link to the page. I wish it was only January since we're cruising in February (the 6th) :D

 

http://www.cdc.gov/features/dsNorovirus/

Edited January 27, 2014 by styles27

[vermontvoyager]

The Today Show messaged me through facebook and wanted to meet with me in St. Thomas and I declined.

Now CBS wants to meet me when ship gets back to port.:eek:

[styles27]

The Today Show messaged me through facebook and wanted to meet with me in St. Thomas and I declined.

Now CBS wants to meet me when ship gets back to port.:eek:

 

 

Tell them that your compensation needs to be a hotel room in NYC. lol

Edited January 27, 2014 by styles27

[LuckiStac13*Majesty*]

From past experience in a similar situation, I can say I agree totally with what you're saying. We were on the Crown Princess "Noro cuise to nowhere" in 2012 when the CDC stopped the ship and sent it back just 3 days into the cruise. While we didn't get sick, you were constantly wondering what to do or where to go. On day one it was obvious we shouldn't have sailed because the red bags and employees in hazmat suits were already running around. You asked yourself so many questions, where should I eat, is going to the gym a risk? are the people that should be staying in their rooms listening and staying in their rooms? Many crew were sick so shows were cancelled and activities were curtailed for the 2 days back to Fort Lauderdale. We were almost to Curacao when they announced the cruise was ending and the CDC was sending us back so we never stopped anywhere.

 

We made the best of it and were thankful we never did get sick but it was to be the first leg of a 14 day B2B so we kept wondering what else might happen before this is over?! Princess put us up and took good care of us. But wow, it was probably one of the strangest vacations we ever took. They totally stripped the ship, replaced all the food and sanitized everything 3 times. We left the next week on schedule and everything was fine.

 

One thing everyone needs to think about is that RCCL is going through a logistical nightmare right now. Will everyone be happy with the compensation offered? Probably not. But this doesn't happen everyday and I'm sure they are doing what they can to help people. I just hope that they have curtailed the virus best they can and nobody else gets sick. Like our cruise, it's just crazy to think that when the ship gets back, they will just be letting the sick people off to go to hotels, get on planes, etc. What a mess!

 

For those of you caught up in this craziness, I wish you well!!!! Dave

 

Dave, I am really sorry you had to go through that! Sounds like a strange vacation, like you said. It's tough to spend all that money and have things happen like that. I know it's life and things happen, but it's still difficult with all the planning, anticipation, and money involved.

[time4u2go]

Yep...50% your cruise fair towards a future cruise.

$400 per stateroom with an extra $100 to each 3rd and 4th person in a room.

They are still currently working on arrangements for those going home and b2backers will be put up in a hotel.

Not sure I'd want to do the other half of a b2b!

[akuperman]

Just wondering what can you do with the OBC offered as the compensation during the remainder of this "puke cruise to nowhere and back". It was posted on one of the threads that it is non-refundable, can somebody actually "cash it out" in a casino?

[reallyitsmema]

The report on the CDC website was updated again. Now 595 passengers and 50 crew sick.

 

http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/vsp/surv/outbreak/2014/january21_explorer_seas.htm

 

They also added a little more information.

 

One CDC Vessel Sanitation Program epidemiologist, one contract epidemiologist, and one VSP environmental health officer boarded the ship in St. Thomas, USVI and are sailing on the ship as it travels back to port in New Jersey. This team is conducting an epidemiologic investigation, environmental health assessment, and evaluating the outbreak and response activities on board. One additional CDC Vessel Sanitation Program environmental health officer will board the ship upon arrival on January 29 to assist with the evaluation of the disinfection process. The team will continue the investigation and evaluation on the ship thru the boarding of new passengers for the next voyage. Five clinical specimens were shipped to the CDC lab for testing on January 26.

[Freo]

The Today Show messaged me through facebook and wanted to meet with me in St. Thomas and I declined.

Now CBS wants to meet me when ship gets back to port.:eek:

 

How about a pair of Super Bowl XLVIII tickets @ Met Life?

[JB3]

From past experience in a similar situation, I can say I agree totally with what you're saying. We were on the Crown Princess "Noro cuise to nowhere" in 2012 when the CDC stopped the ship and sent it back just 3 days into the cruise. While we didn't get sick, you were constantly wondering what to do or where to go. On day one it was obvious we shouldn't have sailed because the red bags and employees in hazmat suits were already running around. You asked yourself so many questions, where should I eat, is going to the gym a risk? are the people that should be staying in their rooms listening and staying in their rooms? Many crew were sick so shows were cancelled and activities were curtailed for the 2 days back to Fort Lauderdale. We were almost to Curacao when they announced the cruise was ending and the CDC was sending us back so we never stopped anywhere.

 

We made the best of it and were thankful we never did get sick but it was to be the first leg of a 14 day B2B so we kept wondering what else might happen before this is over?! Princess put us up and took good care of us. But wow, it was probably one of the strangest vacations we ever took. They totally stripped the ship, replaced all the food and sanitized everything 3 times. We left the next week on schedule and everything was fine.

 

One thing everyone needs to think about is that RCCL is going through a logistical nightmare right now. Will everyone be happy with the compensation offered? Probably not. But this doesn't happen everyday and I'm sure they are doing what they can to help people. I just hope that they have curtailed the virus best they can and nobody else gets sick. Like our cruise, it's just crazy to think that when the ship gets back, they will just be letting the sick people off to go to hotels, get on planes, etc. What a mess!

 

For those of you caught up in this craziness, I wish you well!!!! Dave

 

Hey NewPennCruiser,

We were on the 'Crown Princess Noro Cruise to Nowhere' too! Glad you guys didn't get sick. My husband was one of the ones sick. He was quarantined to the room, but he was better once we got back to Ft Lauderdale. Do you remember that the sailing the week before ours also had the noro, and we had to sit in the convention center all day until they cleaned the ship and it was cleared by the CDC. Sunday night there was a super bowl party in one of the bars. The next morning, lots of people were getting sick, and it spread fast. It was such a crazy cruise. Princess refunded everyone for the cruise. I think the problem was that some of the crew probably still had it. Plus, ships are together in ports too, and then I think it gets spread to other ships as well. People need to wash their hands often, and don't touch much! I wish all of the Explorer passengers well too.

[At Sea 4Ever]

All of my life, I've been an early morning driver. I wake up early so there is no way I'd want to get on the road around 4:30 (assuming customs goes quickly.) Are New Jersey/New York hotels already pretty full because of upcoming Super Bowl? Is RCI offering to hotel with hotel arrangements for those that need overnight accommodations?

 

 

There are still vacancies in the nearby hotels but for what they are charging per night you could book another cruise with that!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[Mapleleafforever]

3 facts to remember:

 

1. peak noro season is January. It's usually over by April. We cruise in April. If you choose to cruise in January you should be aware that's it's peak season for noro, like September is peak month for hurricanes.

 

2. 3 most dangerous foods are lettuce, raw fruit, and oysters. I recommend to people not to eat anything raw from buffet, including raw salads and fruits.

 

3. According to CDC there are about 20 million cases per year, so the outbreak on EOS represents 0.003 % of total cases expected this year.

 

Am I worried? Nah.

 

If DrD isn't worried then neither am I. :D

[Crusin6]

We will be getting $400 to $800 obc depending on cabin cost plus 50% future on another cruise. The worst part is that they are forcing us all off on wed after 4 pm in the dark and cold in nj, so they can clean the ship for the next cruise. Some people with cars can't drive in the dark. Who knows what they'll do.

It's a bad situation for everyone.

Rich

 

What about compensation for the nights they are cutting the cruise short? It doesn't make sense does the obc apply to this cruis or a future cruise? and if one doesnt want to take a future cruise they get nothing?

 

Sorry but a cash refund for this cruise is required not for future cruises. At least 75% refund immediately. 50% at worst. None if this future stuff as these pax did not get a complete cruise and shouldn't have to pay for one

 

Rccl needs to treat this as though the ship broke down and they had to cancel the cruise

[At Sea 4Ever]

Just wondering what can you do with the OBC offered as the compensation during the remainder of this "puke cruise to nowhere and back". It was posted on one of the threads that it is non-refundable, can somebody actually "cash it out" in a casino?

 

 

A piece of jewelry in the gift shop or some spa services. Id find a way to make the best of it! Lol

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[time4u2go]

What about compensation for the nights they are cutting the cruise short? It doesn't make sense does the obc apply to this cruis or a future cruise? and if one doesnt want to take a future cruise they get nothing?

 

Sorry but a cash refund for this cruise is required not for future cruises. At least 75% refund immediately. 50% at worst. None if this future stuff as these pax did not get a complete cruise and shouldn't have to pay for one

 

Rccl needs to treat this as though the ship broke down and they had to cancel the cruise

 

Why? A broken-down ship is almost definitely the cruise line's fault. A noro outbreak may or may not be.

Edited January 27, 2014 by time4u2go

[bilyclub]

Royal is taking the cheap way out of this and will pay more in the long run.

[Cd24747]

Royal is taking the cheap way out of this and will pay more in the long run.

 

 

I agree.

[Snick500]

Does the CDC worry about sick people going into hotels and onto planes? Planes are never intensively cleaned IMO.

[Crusin6]

Why? A broken-down ship is almost definitely the cruise line's fault. A noro outbreak may or may not be.

 

Well they are mandated by the CDC to return home. The ship is not being allowed to continue the cruise. Regardless the compensation being offered in inappropriate. However the key words as per your post are may or may not be the ships fault. It would be interesting to see if the CDC has sanitary issues with this ship. Just good for thought

 

48 hours to go my bet is they up the ante

Edited January 27, 2014 by Crusin6

[FireStation46]

3 facts to remember:

 

1. peak noro season is January. It's usually over by April. We cruise in April. If you choose to cruise in January you should be aware that's it's peak season for noro, like September is peak month for hurricanes.

 

2. 3 most dangerous foods are lettuce, raw fruit, and oysters. I recommend to people not to eat anything raw from buffet, including raw salads and fruits.

 

3. According to CDC there are about 20 million cases per year, so the outbreak on EOS represents 0.003 % of total cases expected this year.

 

Am I worried? Nah.

 

 

Good tips on the food especially lettuce and fruit, my favorites.

 

Statistics really don't matter when you are one of the victims.

 

I have time if I want to cancel my June trip. I will watch what happens plus see what RCL communicates to future booked EOS cruisers to convince us we will not face the same threat.