Live from the Crown; 'Norovirus' precautions in full swing

[chengkp75]

Scrapchick, yes, I experienced the same thing last September when there was a noro outbreak on the ship we were on (not a Princess ship). I don't understand why cruise lines don't keep passengers informed - it would certainly avoid a lot of speculation.

 

Anyway, I'm sorry to tell you that Princess has reported another increase to the media:

 

"Karen Candy, a representative of Princess Cruises, released this statement:

"Onboard the current sailing of Crown Princess, there has been an increase in the number of cases of gastrointestinal illness among passengers. We believe the cause to be the common virus called Norovirus which is extremely contagious and easily transmitted from person-to-person. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports widespread Norovirus activity throughout North America that has affected people in schools, hospitals, nursing homes, childcare centers, as well as cruise ships this season."

 

All individuals who are ill (currently 94 passengers and 23 crew members), have been isolated in their cabins until they are not contagious.." -copied from http://www.cbs8.com/story/25212848/cruise-ship-with-sick-passengers-returns-to-san-diego

 

Best wishes, -Salacia

 

Well, your numbers totaling 117 cases is approaching the 3% mark (128) where the CDC will issue an outbreak update on their website (hasn't hit yet). The ship must notify the CDC when cases reaches 2%, and then a 24 hour update.

[karatemom2]

Yes, it does matter how many people, when the captain is telling us the numbers are not increasing and Princess is giving information to the media to the contrary! Yes, to us on on board the ship, it would be nice to be given some solid information, seeing as it is freely available to the general public. The lack of transparency and open communication is key, especially as we're being lectured daily on personal hygiene because "we're all in this together."

 

I agree. Certainly if I was onboard I would want to be fully informed. I do hope you are still managing to have some fun and that you stay healthy! Take care!

[J.A.H.]

Just got an email in which they are telling us that they look forward to welcoming us on board for our CA. coastal cruise?!! (tomorrow, now boarding at 5:00). I'm wonder if they changed the itinerary in order to be closer to the U.S. That would make sense, with all of this going on? Guess I should call them......

[Eddiesmom]

I'm on the sailing of 4/12, this Saturday. Just received an email stating that the ship will not leave the port until 9:00pm due to sterilization of the Crown.

 

They will start allowing passengers to board by 5:00pm depending on what deck they are on. The first being the Caribe and Dolphin decks. I guess our 7 day cruise has just become a 6 day cruise :(

[Colo Cruiser]

At least it will be scrubbed down.

[stocks]

The ship is sick.

[Scrapchick]

At least it will be scrubbed down.

 

It went through a good scrubbing less than a week ago... Doesn't seem to have helped much.

[tonit964]

I'm on the sailing of 4/12, this Saturday. Just received an email stating that the ship will not leave the port until 9:00pm due to sterilization of the Crown.

 

They will start allowing passengers to board by 5:00pm depending on what deck they are on. The first being the Caribe and Dolphin decks. I guess our 7 day cruise has just become a 6 day cruise :(

 

I can't even imagine what the terminal will be like with 3,080 passengers all arriving at the same time to board, if they say the terminal will not open until 5:00.

 

I'm sure there are pax that have not received the updated email.

 

Yep, it's now a 6 day cruise. We will be up late unpacking. :eek:

[MJSailors]

The spread of a stomach virus such as the Noro virus ,as most people recognize , is not limited to outbreaks on cruise ships.

My DH and I have spent the winter at a condo community in Florida.

Our complex has been hit with a stomach flu (Noro ?).

I am recovering from it now. After five days, I still tire easily and have little appetite.

Washing hands and keeping them away from your face is important. Trying to eat well and getting enough rest is important too.. When your immunity is compromised,you are more likely to catch the virus.

I am thinking that getting into public pools and hot tubs during an outbreak may not be the best practice.

Hoping all those who are ill a good recovery.

Those who are healthy, be careful and remember to wash your hands!

[tweety522]

Hi currently on the ship and am disappointed on Princess has handled this problem. It started before we got on the ship and I think they should have notified us and given us a choice to cruise or to cancel.it has made us stay in our room more, not use the pools,not use the buffet, run back to our rooms to use the restrooms,and a few others. This was a problem before this cruise began and I am traveling with older parents and would have appreciated a warning and given a choice to cruise or NOT!

[SimonPaco]

My DH and I were on the ill fated (no pun intended) cruise on the Crown in Feb 2012 that had to return three days early due to a large noro outbreak. Initially after the cruise we said "never again" will we cruise with Princess due to multiple, frustrating issues. But then months went by and yes...we cruised with Princess the next year and it was great!

 

When we first cruised again after the Crown incident we took extra measures to ward off noro. Like many have already posted we had all sizes of sanitizers, Lysol, clorox wipes, etc. As soon as we arrived in our cabin we wiped down every surface, handle, door knob, etc. We always returned to our cabin to use the restroom.

 

For those of you taking on these precautions I want to add one more item. We brought liquid hand soap to use instead of the bar soap in cabin restroom. It is true that hand sanitizers will not kill the noro virus but will help with other viruses. The best defense against noro is frequent, warm water, lengthy hand washing. We may seem a bit OCD but working in healthcare causes OCD tendencies when it comes to thoroughly washing your hands.

 

Wishing the current Crown cruisers all the best and hopefully the noro outbreak will quickly resolve!

[JohnS43]

By sheer coincidence I am in the San Diego area today, the same day the Crown is docked here. I checked into my hotel, turned on the TV, and they were covering this story on the local news. Apparently a number of passengers want to leave the ship (for good) in SD, but Princess is enforcing the rule that requires them to reimburse Princess for any violations of the law that prohibits them from transporting passengers between two US ports with no foreign stop in between. The news story said it costs $300 per person for every passenger who leaves "voluntarily." Princess's position is that, since the itinerary was not changed, they are fulfilling the terms of the cruise contract. (This is from the news story, not me.)

[poolreader]

I got a call today from Princess wishing us a good trip, we are on the Crown April 19, 2014. I told her I was concerned about all the sick people, she said do not worry the ship is coming back early and will leave late on Saturday so they can clean the ship and the terminal. Has anyone heard about the ship coming back early?

[tonit964]

I got a call today from Princess wishing us a good trip, we are on the Crown April 19, 2014. I told her I was concerned about all the sick people, she said do not worry the ship is coming back early and will leave late on Saturday so they can clean the ship and the terminal. Has anyone heard about the ship coming back early?

 

I suppose anything is possible at this point.

 

I wouldn't be surprised if your embarkation is delayed also.

[Scrapchick]

No, have not heard that and we're on the ship!! We're en route to Ensenada now.

[avalon1025]

Sailing the crown on the 19th, sad to hear that Princess, formerly a decent cruise line now requires one to bring their own soap and conditioner. Even a mediocre hotel provides something

 

Just off Celebrity last month and they have great new Gilchest and Soames amenities

[rtlk]

:confused::confused::confused::confused::(:(:

[RickEk]

Sailing the crown on the 19th, sad to hear that Princess, formerly a decent cruise line now requires one to bring their own soap and conditioner. Even a mediocre hotel provides something

 

Just off Celebrity last month and they have great new Gilchest and Soames amenities

 

Requires? I found the shampoo/conditioner and the bath gel that is provided to be just fine.

[caribill]

Sailing the crown on the 19th, sad to hear that Princess, formerly a decent cruise line now requires one to bring their own soap and conditioner. Even a mediocre hotel provides something

 

 

Princess still provides soap, a smaller version of the previouis size bar. The cabin steward is willing to bring more as needed.

 

There is a combined shampoo/conditioner in a bottle mounted in the shower.

[RickEk]

I got a call today from Princess wishing us a good trip, we are on the Crown April 19, 2014. I told her I was concerned about all the sick people, she said do not worry the ship is coming back early and will leave late on Saturday so they can clean the ship and the terminal. Has anyone heard about the ship coming back early?

 

The trip from Ensenada to LA is a short one. They probably mean getting back in the wee hours of the morning, earlier than usual. And I would bet that embarkation will be delayed.

[rtlk]

:(:confused::(:confused: We are very concerned about going on the 4/26 Cruise, does not seem like this ship has been able to clean up its act, the history of these problems is of great concern, heads should roll over these persistent problems some folks in leadership rolls on and off this "SICK SHIP" should be held accountable.

Edited April 11, 2014 by rtlk

[Bucky3]

 

We always take our own large bar of soap. Here's a simple solution to the large soap bar: Get an extra washcloth from your steward' date=' fold it and lay your large soap bar on top of it in the small holder in the shower. Voila! No more bending over to pick of the soap. Caution - you may need to "train" your room steward not to remove the cloth each day!!

 

 

Love that your cup is half full - all the time! Good for you! Hope the rest of your cruise is as wonderful! Can't wait to hear the rest!

 

I agree! What a fun thread this is!

[chengkp75]

:(:confused::(:confused: We are very concerned about going on the 4/26 Cruise, does not seem like this ship has been able to clean up its act, the history of these problems is of great concern, heads should roll over these persistent problems some folks in leadership rolls on and off this "SICK SHIP" should be held accountable.

 

Huh? The previous cruise had about 1% reportable cases, and the present cruise appears (from last night's west coast news reports) to still be under 5%, so this is not a major outbreak. There are still over 2800 passengers onboard that are not sick. There was a deep cleaning between cruises, and there are protocols in place during this cruise, and according to those same news broadcasts (someone posted a link over on Carnival forum, not that the tv station got it all right), the numbers are dropping. IF the numbers weren't dropping by the end of the voyage, the USPH/CDC would have an investigation team board the ship at the next turnaround (today?) to check on all protocols being used. As soon as the reportable cases reaches 2% of passengers and crew, there must be a special report made to the USPH, with 24 hour updates, another report when cases reaches 3%, again with 24 hour updates. So the USPH is tracking this every day, and can weigh in at any time if they feel that the ship is not doing enough.

 

Multiple cruise outbreaks are usually caused by B2B cruisers or infected crew, both of which were on the Crown. All it takes is for one infected person, who has not shown symptoms yet, or who may never show symptoms, not using good hygiene to touch something after it is sanitized, and the cycle repeats all over again.

 

Preventing noro is all about personal hygiene, whether passenger or crew, and the crew are trained and drilled in hygiene, while the passengers are not. Once it is onboard, or in the college dorm or nursing home, it is very difficult to contain.

[jimdalva]

huh? The previous cruise had about 1% reportable cases, and the present cruise appears (from last night's west coast news reports) to still be under 5%, so this is not a major outbreak. There are still over 2800 passengers onboard that are not sick. There was a deep cleaning between cruises, and there are protocols in place during this cruise, and according to those same news broadcasts (someone posted a link over on carnival forum, not that the tv station got it all right), the numbers are dropping. If the numbers weren't dropping by the end of the voyage, the usph/cdc would have an investigation team board the ship at the next turnaround (today?) to check on all protocols being used. As soon as the reportable cases reaches 2% of passengers and crew, there must be a special report made to the usph, with 24 hour updates, another report when cases reaches 3%, again with 24 hour updates. So the usph is tracking this every day, and can weigh in at any time if they feel that the ship is not doing enough.

 

 

 

 

Multiple cruise outbreaks are usually caused by b2b cruisers or infected crew, both of which were on the crown. All it takes is for one infected person, who has not shown symptoms yet, or who may never show symptoms, not using good hygiene to touch something after it is sanitized, and the cycle repeats all over again.

 

Preventing noro is all about personal hygiene, whether passenger or crew, and the crew are trained and drilled in hygiene, while the passengers are not. Once it is onboard, or in the college dorm or nursing home, it is very difficult to contain.

 

yeah, what he said!

[rbt001]

:(:confused::(:confused: We are very concerned about going on the 4/26 Cruise, does not seem like this ship has been able to clean up its act, the history of these problems is of great concern, heads should roll over these persistent problems some folks in leadership rolls on and off this "SICK SHIP" should be held accountable.

 

Yes, that's it! Let's just fire them all and require the new leadership team to have a minimum of 2 years experience working at CDC.

 

Here's an idea: let's all call Jan today so she can get on it this weekend, and then then I'm sure the new leadership staff will be in place by 4/26 so the problems of the world will all be solved on time.

 

And if Princess can't do all that, then they should require EVERY crew member and EVERY passenger to wear those bulky and uncomfortable hazmat suits so as to not infect the only passenger and their travelling companion(s) on the 4/26 cruise who shall not be inconvenienced with that bulky gear.

 

-end sarcasm

 

If one were only to invest 30 minutes from ones "me, me, me" time to read about norovirus, one would learn that it can be extremely contagious and difficult to eradicate. One could also read many of the LIVE posts which describe dedicated crew members following "leadership staff" protocols to cleanse the ship.

 

But to some... it seems Princess is a failure...

 

 

_________________

"...heads should roll..." I'm still stuck on this comment and left wondering if people realize there is a "Preview Post" button that allows them to review and perhaps think twice about what they intend to communicate.