Caribbean Princess cruise cut short?

[Rancher Dave]

CNN has a pretty balanced writeup.

 

Summary:

 

Short sailing was due to fog, not the virus per Princess Spokesperson

161 passengers, 11 crew affected (around 5 percent - RCCL was over 20 percent)

 

http://www.cnn.com/2014/01/30/travel/princess-cruises-illness/index.html?hpt=hp_t2

 

 

Re other issues, I was on with two different folks at Princess this evening...both offered up NORO before they ever mentioned fog. One read thru the email he had about it all and the email apparently said more about fog first then about the NORO but their system note was about NORO, barely a mention of fog.

 

Oh well...I think that with only 165 sick folks they could have kept on going if there was no threat of fog. Getting stuck possibly until Monday at the Sea Buoy waiting to come in with lots of sick folks aboard would have probably played out as a much worse scenario.

 

Just glad I didn't have to make the call to go back early or get stuck a few miles off shore...either way there will be upset passengers and plenty of folks second guessing the decision.

[Jzx1103]

Re other issues, I was on with two different folks at Princess this evening...both offered up NORO before they ever mentioned fog. One read thru the email he had about it all and the email apparently said more about fog first then about the NORO but their system note was about NORO, barely a mention of fog.

 

Oh well...I think that with only 165 sick folks they could have kept on going if there was no threat of fog. Getting stuck possibly until Monday at the Sea Buoy waiting to come in with lots of sick folks aboard would have probably played out as a much worse scenario.

 

Just glad I didn't have to make the call to go back early or get stuck a few miles off shore...either way there will be upset passengers and plenty of folks second guessing the decision.

 

We are also on this coming Saturdays sailing, the fog thing does also worry me a bit. Would it affect the ship leaving this Sat? Also what about next weekend, anyways to find out if there will be any fogs next weekend when we return? I sure hope we dont have to come back a day early also, that would really suck =)

Edited January 31, 2014 by Jzx1103

[Rancher Dave]

We are also on this coming Saturdays sailing, the fog thing does also worry me a bit. Would it affect the ship leaving this Sat? Also what about next weekend, anyways to find out if there will be any fogs next weekend when we return? I sure hope we dont have to come back a day early also, that would really suck =)

 

 

Well...if there is fog like could occur, i.e. one of the reasons for the early return...fog Friday thru Sunday or Monday, that would likely affect the sailing. The Port Captain(s) for Houston and Galveston basically get to decide if the port will be open or closed. If closed no ships can transit in and out, at least if they require a pilot. (I've seen a crew boat head out at high speed in the fog trusting their radar alone. Lets say I saw it from my ship balcony and we couldn't see too far in the fog.)

 

The pilots get some input with the port captain about the decision to open or close the port(s). There are two ports which share the channel from the sea buoy into the Texas City Channel and Galveston turn. From there on up it is Port of Houston. So, depending where the fog is located it could be one or both ports closed. More specifically if the fog is from the island offshore and the bay is clear, POH could be open but getting from the Sea Buoy into that area could be closed off.

 

The channel is somewhat narrow and shallow, as compared to what is found in many ports. It is plenty large enough for safe passage of the cruise ships. Its a bigger channel into the Galveston area than into parts of Houston. In some parts of the Houston Ship Channel I've heard pilots say its like playing a game of chicken with tankers and container ships.

 

Only time will tell about Saturday. I am sure you are anxious to get aboard etc...I'd plan to shoot for mid afternoon given the later boarding time after the cleaning job gets completed. That will cut down on waiting etc...should make it smoother and calmer. Just know you could be seeing the same scenery for a while if there if fog closing down the port. Even if there is Fog in the morning it does not mean it will be there at sail away time. Cruise ships do tend to get priority sailing and returning when fog is messing up pilotage schedules.

 

Go forth and enjoy. Don't worry about next Saturday until about this time next week...even then don't worry unless you have life saving surgery scheduled on Monday...then you should ask the captain before your last port in case you want to fly home instead...but really you should be fine. You will get home soon enough, so unless you have something you can't miss on Sunday etc...no stressing out.

 

Have a safe and fun cruise. Remember to wash your hands frequently.

[caribill]

Cruise lines are required to tell CDC if 2 percent or more of passengers on a ship fall ill.

Wonder why they don't have to report crew members :confused::rolleyes:

 

The 2% includes crew

[Wehwalt]

We are also on this coming Saturdays sailing, the fog thing does also worry me a bit. Would it affect the ship leaving this Sat? Also what about next weekend, anyways to find out if there will be any fogs next weekend when we return? I sure hope we dont have to come back a day early also, that would really suck =)

 

I don't think you can tell at this early date. But plainly weather is an ongoing issue for Princess into this port, and I hope it's worth the aggravation for them to sail there.

[Wehwalt]

When I was on the Pacific Princess during it's noro outbreak in December 2012, I wore long sleeve shirts and used the cuffs to touch bannisters, tongs, elevator buttons, etc. I didn't get sick, anyway. We picked up the virus from using transport in common with a Costa ship in Gibraltar.

Edited January 31, 2014 by Wehwalt

[GlendaleCruiser]

Re other issues, I was on with two different folks at Princess this evening...both offered up NORO before they ever mentioned fog. One read thru the email he had about it all and the email apparently said more about fog first then about the NORO but their system note was about NORO, barely a mention of fog.

 

Oh well...I think that with only 165 sick folks they could have kept on going if there was no threat of fog. Getting stuck possibly until Monday at the Sea Buoy waiting to come in with lots of sick folks aboard would have probably played out as a much worse scenario.

 

Just glad I didn't have to make the call to go back early or get stuck a few miles off shore...either way there will be upset passengers and plenty of folks second guessing the decision.

 

 

That number is extremely high, not just "only". When there are 30+ cases reported, most cruiselines go into high gear for precautions.

 

I would remind everyone to wash your hands well in your cabins/staterooms (sing Happy Birthday twice) and don't touch the bannisters/rails unless absolutely necessary.

 

What most people don't think of is THE MENUS. You are handed a menu that has been held by four dozen people if they cleaned them today, hundreds if they haven't. Make your menu choice and then use hand sanitizer.

[caribill]

What most people don't think of is THE MENUS. You are handed a menu that has been held by four dozen people if they cleaned them today, hundreds if they haven't. Make your menu choice and then use hand sanitizer.

 

The waitstaff sanitize the menu holders during an alert just like the CD's staff sanitize pencils used at trivia..

Edited January 31, 2014 by caribill

[deborahjo]

With 165 REPORTED cases of NORO how many are on the ship that are not going for medical help because they do not want to be quarantined? I do not care what anyone says 165 is a large number in a confined space.

[mzwaag]

We were on her last week and had a great week! They served us until Thursday because the week before had Noro but that was fine with us, we only left 2 hours late on the 18th. Everything was back to normal Thursday! The crew worked very hard to keep the ship clean! So sorry to hear about this weeks problems.

[chrysalis]

....and another preventative measure is to never eat anything with your hands.....especially when in the buffet.

[CCFC]

In the UK you can get an anti viral hand foam from Boots that kills 99.9% of viruses, I wonder if its not legal in the States?

[Underwatr]

The VF 481 formula of Purelll is effective against Noro. It was in use on my last cruise (Cunard but it's probably on Princess as well). I don't think it's available in the US (but is in the UK).

 

 

Compared against regular Purell VF481 has a slight blue tint.

Edited January 31, 2014 by Underwatr

[Galveston Cruiser]

CNN has a pretty balanced writeup.

 

Summary:

 

Short sailing was due to fog, not the virus per Princess Spokesperson

161 passengers, 11 crew affected (around 5 percent - RCCL was over 20 percent)

 

http://www.cnn.com/2014/01/30/travel/princess-cruises-illness/index.html?hpt=hp_t2

 

The local channel weather forecasters were all laughing about the "fog" statement last night as fog has not been predicted for the weekend. Seems like a pretty lame excuse by Princess.

[elled70]

We had a great time as well on the previous weeks cruise. I did notice women not washing their hands after using the restroom. They probably need an attendant . Wonder if virus coming from plane passengers?

 

Sent from my Nexus S 4G using Tapatalk

[Rancher Dave]

That number is extremely high, not just "only". When there are 30+ cases reported, most cruiselines go into high gear for precautions.

 

I would remind everyone to wash your hands well in your cabins/staterooms (sing Happy Birthday twice) and don't touch the bannisters/rails unless absolutely necessary.

 

What most people don't think of is THE MENUS. You are handed a menu that has been held by four dozen people if they cleaned them today, hundreds if they haven't. Make your menu choice and then use hand sanitizer.

 

Agree when there are several cases the cleaning activity kicks up. Have sailed thru more than one outbreak...lets say I am pretty good at the stairs without using the handrails.

 

The menus are gross enough without an outbreak...agree during an outbreak ideally they go to one use printouts of the menu. Of course what I see at many shore based restaurants is far less frequent cleaning of menus...some are sticky and have junk on them...at least I don't see that too much on any cruise.

 

I sure do hope folks are washing hands more than just after bathroom use. Captain on a prior Princess sailing had to announce twice per day that folks needed to wash hands after going to the bathroom...that got kind of old hearing, but apparently it was not sinking in as more people got sick as the cruise went on.

 

Hopefully everything will be clean enough and nobody will be continuing to shed the virus onto the ship to spread it around next cruise.

[Loonbeam]

Odd, because at least at one point the weather channel app was showing heavy fog...

 

One thing to note, they would have also had to clear early return with the harbormaster. Be interesting to see what they told the port.

 

 

The local channel weather forecasters were all laughing about the "fog" statement last night as fog has not been predicted for the weekend. Seems like a pretty lame excuse by Princess.

Edited January 31, 2014 by Loonbeam

[AllLacqueredUp]

Despite heavy sanitizing of the CB after the two previous sailings, my boyfriend and I still came home with Norovirus. After reading many comments about how effective the deep cleaning is and what precautions we should take, nothing prevented us from contacting this nasty virus. We constantly washed our hands, used Clorox wipes on everything and didn't leave our room without hand sanitizer. If we did everything right and still got sick, something is definitely wrong. I just spent the last three days more miserably sick than I can ever remember. Considering that these outbreaks continue to occur on multiple lines, new procedures need to be put in place to keep passengers healthy. This is ridiculous.

[brentlym]

Sadly, the only way to completely avoid it is to never leave your home, and isolate yourself completely from other humans. I don't think many of us are willing to do that, especially me. While I've thankfully never had it, the horror stories from folks that have are just awful. Still, I'd board the CB (or any ship for that matter) at a moment's notice. Best wishes and travel on.

Edited January 31, 2014 by brentlym

[DrSch]

....and another preventative measure is to never eat anything with your hands.....especially when in the buffet.

 

 

We used to call this having manners..

[Posaune]

There are stories in the news today about 1) A school system in Japan with 1,000 confirmed cases of noro this week 2) A hospital, nursing home and nursery in Cornwall with a massive outbreak 3) A school in Kansas with 29 cases in one classroom. These are current news stories from the past week.

 

Noro is not just a cruise line problem. Anywhere that groups gather the disease is passed.

[DrSch]

Despite heavy sanitizing of the CB after the two previous sailings, my boyfriend and I still came home with Norovirus. After reading many comments about how effective the deep cleaning is and what precautions we should take, nothing prevented us from contacting this nasty virus. We constantly washed our hands, used Clorox wipes on everything and didn't leave our room without hand sanitizer. If we did everything right and still got sick, something is definitely wrong. I just spent the last three days more miserably sick than I can ever remember. Considering that these outbreaks continue to occur on multiple lines, new procedures need to be put in place to keep passengers healthy. This is ridiculous.

 

The norovirus is designed to get you sick. If someone has it, and vomits, and you walk in the area shortly thereafter, there are droplets in the air around you. If they flush a toilet, and don't close the seat cover, it is in the air as well. If it wants to infect you, it will.

 

The hand cleaner on the ships doesn't kill it. You need to use either bleach, or a hydrogen peroxide wipe to clean your hands. Regular lysol won't kill it either, you need to use Lysol formula 3.

 

People who are blood type A or O tend to have a better chance of getting the virus. People with blood type B are supposed to have some natural defense to it. But I wouldn't risk daring it to infect you if you are blood type B.

 

Noro takes 2 - 3 days to hit. So the first 2 - 3 days of the cruise are the most dangerous. Be extra careful those days.

[Off2China]

There are stories in the news today about 1) A school system in Japan with 1,000 confirmed cases of noro this week 2) A hospital, nursing home and nursery in Cornwall with a massive outbreak 3) A school in Kansas with 29 cases in one classroom. These are current news stories from the past week.

 

Noro is not just a cruise line problem. Anywhere that groups gather the disease is passed.

 

But yet the media choose to focus on cruise ships. :mad:

[capriccio]

But yet the media choose to focus on cruise ships. :mad:

 

Cruise ships are required to report it when a percentage of the passengers and crew are infected. Hotels, for instance, have so many people coming and going that it is very difficult to determine if they have a problem.

 

My neice took her high school band (and parent chaperones) on a 5 day trip to Hawaii last month. Kids and chaperones started dropping like flies on day 2 in Hawaii. Were they infected on the flight over, in the hotel or both? I think between 20% and 25% ended up ill but all except 2 (a parent and her child) made the return flights. That probably means some of them were still contagious and potentially infecting others on the flights and in the emergency hotels they ended up in due to weather delays en route home.

 

My point is that it is all around us, especially in the winter.

[Mekamax]

It was only 5 confirmed cases of Noro and 160 something that went to the infirmary. I'm sure some of those had other things going on. I wonder how many go to the infirmary each cruise for something on average???

 

Also they had 15 foot waves and 50 mph winds. That would make getting out of Belize that night probably not possible as it is a narrow channel with lots of switch backs....