Norovirus Outbreak Hits Royal Caribbean Cruise Ship

[time4u2go]

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

 

Yes, if a large enough percentage of people in the hotel or plane come down with an illness.

Edited January 27, 2014 by time4u2go

[Sherlock43031]

any passenger that is happy with anything short of a full refund including any air fare both to and from this disaster plus any additional expenses like hotel and meals should have an 'easy button' put on their forehead.

[Crusin6]

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

 

Good point

[Crusin6]

any passenger that is happy with anything short of a full refund including any air fare both to and from this disaster plus any additional expenses like hotel and meals should have an 'easy button' put on their forehead.

 

Agree

[LuckiStac13*Majesty*]

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

 

Great points.

[LuckiStac13*Majesty*]

any passenger that is happy with anything short of a full refund including any air fare both to and from this disaster plus any additional expenses like hotel and meals should have an 'easy button' put on their forehead.

 

You got it.

[reallyitsmema]

any passenger that is happy with anything short of a full refund including any air fare both to and from this disaster plus any additional expenses like hotel and meals should have an 'easy button' put on their forehead.

There is no way the cruise line is going to refund airfare to and from this cruise, that is taking it too far. They should pay for any change fees for flights home or hotel and meals if people use their origninal flights.

[time4u2go]

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

 

In the last 10 CDC inspections of the ship, the lowest score it's gotten is a 94.

[LuckiStac13*Majesty*]

There is no way the cruise line is going to refund airfare to and from this cruise, that is taking it too far. They should pay for any change fees for flights home or hotel and meals if people use their origninal flights.

 

You're right, I missed that. I wouldn't expect them to pay for airfare either, just change fees.

[shiba_girl]

My husband and I got the norovirus while on the Oasis in 2012. What I cannot understand is why they ask you to come down to the medical center and then proceed to quarantine you in your room. Wouldn't it make more sense for them to come and diagnose you in your room instead of asking you walk about the ship, spreading this very and highly contagious virus. I can tell you right now, hubby didn't make it down there or back without a few "episodes". Luckily I had some extra plastic grocery bags that I had brought along and he was able to use those. Seems to me that offering them to make a "cabin call" would make much more sense. We got it despite being highly aware, washing hands and even bringing our own disinfectant to wipe down the phone, TV remote etc. I really feel for those people, it is definatly not fun. As we left our room on the day of disembarkation they had biohazard bags outside our door, I really felt bad for the next people coming on board.

 

RCCL gave us a voucher for future cruise. Yeah ok. Happy to report though, just took a cruise New Years Eve and all was fine!

[oldguysandgalls]

We often wonder if there's enough time allowed between the ship's arrival time, taking into account the disembarkation time of passengers, boarding of new passengers, and the debarkation time for a thorough clean up of the ship.

 

More often than not, cabins are not always ready when one boards the ship and we cannot help but wonder if the crew is rushing to get things ready for the new passengers as quickly as possible and thereby (albeit inadvertently) may overlook possible contaminated areas.

[LMaxwell]

What are some good ways to start to fortify your own immune system say 7 to 10 days BEFORE even traveling? Vitamins? More rest? That's common sense I guess, but other than maintaining personal hygiene to prevent from getting it, what's some good ways to let your body fight it as well.

[Mapleleafforever]

What are some good ways to start to fortify your own immune system say 7 to 10 days BEFORE even traveling? Vitamins? More rest? That's common sense I guess, but other than maintaining personal hygiene to prevent from getting it, what's some good ways to let your body fight it as well.

 

I have had good luck with probiotics and usually bring a bottle of Florastor with me on all my trips.

 

We also on regular occasion eat fermented foods such as sauerkraut and kimchi and kefir.

[LMaxwell]

I have had good luck with probiotics and usually bring a bottle of Florastor with me on all my trips.

 

We also on regular occasion eat fermented foods such as sauerkraut and kimchi and kefir.

 

Thanks for your input. It taking a probiotic supplement similar to just increasing yogurt intake as well?

 

As far as fermentation, what are the health benefits of that?

 

I've never had norovirus, and I tend to stay well while others get sick. I don't bathe in sanitizers but I do keep clean. I believe in letting your body be strong to fight viruses.

[Grumpy100]

What kind of compensation are they giving you for canceling the rest of the cruise?

[JB3]

My husband and I got the norovirus while on the Oasis in 2012. What I cannot understand is why they ask you to come down to the medical center and then proceed to quarantine you in your room. Wouldn't it make more sense for them to come and diagnose you in your room instead of asking you walk about the ship, spreading this very and highly contagious virus. I can tell you right now, hubby didn't make it down there or back without a few "episodes". Luckily I had some extra plastic grocery bags that I had brought along and he was able to use those. Seems to me that offering them to make a "cabin call" would make much more sense. We got it despite being highly aware, washing hands and even bringing our own disinfectant to wipe down the phone, TV remote etc. I really feel for those people, it is definatly not fun. As we left our room on the day of disembarkation they had biohazard bags outside our door, I really felt bad for the next people coming on board.

 

RCCL gave us a voucher for future cruise. Yeah ok. Happy to report though, just took a cruise New Years Eve and all was fine!

 

When it hit on our Crown Princess cruise, the nurses and doctors did go to the cabins. They didn't want anyone sick to be out and about anywhere on the ship. You'd think they'd all do it that way.

[antsnanny]

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

 

 

I agree. Im wondering if there are an hotels available in New Jersey on Wed with the Super Bowl on Sunday there looking like their filling up already..RCCL can't just ask people to leave if they have nowhere to go.

You have a very interesting perspective to share with us since you were on the Noro cruise to nowhere. Do you remember how many got sick on that cruise?

Do you think that coming back to NJ was RCCL's choice or do you think the CDC is running the show now?

[JDinWA]

<snip> 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.

 

There is always a chance that you'll pick up a virus, especially when there are a lot of people. There is no such thing as a no-risk cruise. What could they say that would convince you when there is no plausible way that they can guarantee that you won't get sick on your sailing?

[Wilda]

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

 

Sorry, but that to me is shameful. We were on Allure in December, had a shorter time in Nassau and St. Thomas because of mechanical issues and received $250.00 on board credit for a balcony cabin. IMO these passengers should get a full refund.

[FireStation46]

What is the drop dead date to cancel a direct booked RCL cruise and get 100% back?

 

I want to see more than RCL's cryptic note about EOS on the homepage now as a guideline if we want to continue or cancel.

 

They originally were to upgrade the ship this winter and we would have been one of the first to go out in a refurbished ship. However, RCL decided to delay the makeover.

[JB3]

I agree. Im wondering if there are an hotels available in New Jersey on Wed with the Super Bowl on Sunday there looking like their filling up already..RCCL can't just ask people to leave if they have nowhere to go.

You have a very interesting perspective to share with us since you were on the Noro cruise to nowhere. Do you remember how many got sick on that cruise?

Do you think that coming back to NJ was RCCL's choice or do you think the CDC is running the show now?

 

I was on that Crown Princess Noro Cruise to Nowhere too. There were at least 300 infected, and they had almost as many the previous week. We knew about this prior to boarding, and had to sit in the convention center all day while they "cleaned" the ship. We were given a full refund of the cruise, and they also paid for people to get back home. My husband was feeling better by the time we were back in Ft Lauderdale, so we chose to just keep our original flight home, and stayed a few days in Ft Laud. Princess also offered us a discount for a future cruise, but we decided not to take it. I believe it was something like 10-25% off of the same category you had for the same cruise. I hope that Royal Caribbean will also be giving some sort of refund to the Explorer passengers. 600 people sick is a lot! Everything changes on the ship too, even for people who aren't sick...so definitely not the same cruise people would be expecting. Everyone needs to wash their hands, and not touch much! All of the time, not just when the noro breaks out somewhere.

[Jimbo]

What is the drop dead date to cancel a direct booked RCL cruise and get 100% back?

 

I want to see more than RCL's cryptic note about EOS on the homepage now as a guideline if we want to continue or cancel.

 

They originally were to upgrade the ship this winter and we would have been one of the first to go out in a refurbished ship. However, RCL decided to delay the makeover.

 

 

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/customersupport/faq/details.do?pagename=frequently_asked_questions&faqId=227&faqSubjectId=323

[FireStation46]

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/customersupport/faq/details.do?pagename=frequently_asked_questions&faqId=227&faqSubjectId=323

 

Thanks! Let's see how the current situation plays out with those aboard.

[Midwestgal]

One thing that surprised me was that the number of outbreaks per year seems to have decreased beginning around 2008. Form a high of 34 in 2006, it seems to have leveled off at around 14 or 15 per year, although 2013 only had 9. Just chance? Or did the cruise lines start taking it more seriously at some point with more preventive measures? These stats are for all cruise lines above a certain size.

 

2003 24 incidents 2007 21 incidents 2011 14 incidents

2004 32 incidents 2208 15 incidents 2012 16 incidents

2005 17 incidents 2009 15 incidents 2013 9 incidents

2006 34 incidents 2010 14 incidents 2014

 

Although the annual listings include every cruise line above a certain size, for comparison sake I just looked at the stats for RCCL, NCL, HAL, Celebrity, Princess and Carnival. Here are the total number of incidents for each of the 6 cruise lines for past 8 years, 2006 through 2013. You tell me if anything surprises you.

 

NCL. 15

RCCL. 15

Celebrity. 22

Princess. 25

HAL. 33

Carnival. 6

 

This was taken from another blog and I copied it.

[caribill]

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?

 

 

If the jewelry shop is open.........