Platinum Member with Bed Bugs on Epic 3/15/15

[JimS4210]

 

Maybe they should seek some compensation from us;).

Shhh... They might be reading this! :)

 

"Let's add $2.95 per passenger per day for Pest Control. We can tack it onto the added DSC. No one will notice!"

 

Jim

[Loucat]

Sometimes you have to accept a resolution provided at the moment because those you are dealing with only have so much empowerment with regards to compensation. Then if you feel it's warranted you escalate the issue to those with more empowerment at the earliest opportunity. This is what the OP did and in the same situation I probably would have done the exact same thing.

 

If he declined any resolution onboard people would be complaining that he shouldn't have left the ship without some sort of resolution and missed his opportunity. It's a no win situation.

I think you were the OP on the video that demonstrated incredible mold in your stateroom.

Did you leave EPIC without resolution as you claim you later wrote to NCL without a response and then created your U tube video that is posted on the NCL boards.

Just wondering if you are the same person...

[staceyv64]

I would venture a guess that the majority of the responders here have not experienced, encountered or lived through a bed bug infestation.

 

It is true that you can get them anywhere and bring them everywhere. And maybe OP was a bit melodramatic and over the top in his post. And maybe, just maybe, they brought the bugs with them from the hotel stayed at the night prior. Maybe....

 

But please, do not minimize the fear, panic attacks, discomfort, and plain old "freaking out" that people do about a bed bug situation. I caught my "infestation" early.....there were 10 of these little buggers in my couch....not even in my bed! And only 10!! I had no idea I had them until I had a line of bites. I was on the couch all day on a Sunday writing a paper. My rash took about 24-36 hours to show and didn't pop up until late Monday night. It cost me over $2,000 to have the house and my furniture treated. Not to mention the doctor bills because I refused to believe I had bed bugs and thought I had a food allergy. I still have nightmares. Any future vacation that involved a place to sleep for a week that had bed bugs would be hell for me and not a vacation.

 

I realize there wasn't much that NCL could do, and they did their best given the circumstances. I also realize that most of you are taking this stance because of OP's sense of entitlement. Just please understand, if you ever went through what I went through, (and my situation was nothing compared to others'), this would ruin your vacation.

 

There....I had to get that off my chest!:D

[spanishguy1970]

Is always been my concern encountering bed bugs in my stateroom. I will have to say that is not the cruise line fault is US, the people, who bring them on board. There is a website which i will try to find that tells people about hotels and motels that are infected with bed bugs that way you can avoid staying there or at least be cautious. People arrive at their hotels( night before their cruise or week before) leave their bags on the floor and there you go the critters get in your bag therefore bringing them on board. We all need to be careful where we stay.

 

good luck to future cruisers..

[b_cruise]

What freaks me out is that NCL just sells the room to the next unsuspecting person who then spreads the bugs unknowingly. I would love to know if the cabin was fumigated and how long it was left vacant and made sure they got all the bugs. I have heard they are very tough to get rid of.

 

Does anyone who worked in the motel/ cruise industry know how these rooms are treated?

[eroller]

I think you were the OP on the video that demonstrated incredible mold in your stateroom.

Did you leave EPIC without resolution as you claim you later wrote to NCL without a response and then created your U tube video that is posted on the NCL boards.

Just wondering if you are the same person...

 

 

 

I posted the video but that wasn't me. Someone completely different. I just thought the video was well done and deserved to be shared.

[staceyv64]

I was told by the pest control company that a hotel is legally required to tell you if your room was treat for bed bugs but only if you ask. When my house was treated, it took them a few hours to do an inspection and fumigate. They took my bed apart and inspected every nook and cranny, checked the nightstands, even removed light and plug face plates to spray. The bugs usually stay closest to where you sleep because they are attracted to the carbon dioxide in your breath. Since you are usually still when you sleep, they come out of hiding and start biting. They don't need to feed often so if a room goes vacant for a while, they can still live on reserves. To this day, I have no idea how I had them in my couch and not my bed. And when I say I had 10, I literally had 10.

 

There are very good videos on Youtube that show what to look for. I have a chocolate brown couch and found them once I knew what to look for. They would be very easy to see on the white sheets on a cruise ship bed. Based on the time it took to do the treatments at my house, I don't think it can be treated efficiently on a ship. Just switching out the mattress is not a sufficient way to keep them at bay.

 

I tried to upload a photo of my leg after the worst biting before I figured out what was doing it, but the upload failed. I have attached a picture of the adult male that I caught. I also had a female and babies. Just a happy little family hanging in my couch, drinking my blood! When they bite, they inject something like an anesthetic so you don't feel them.

 

To feel safer on your cruise, just put your suitcases in the tub if you have one, or in the shower. Inspect the mattress piping all around the bed and any tags. Check the pillows, check the surrounding furniture. I realize that the only place to store luggage is under the bed, so bring a large hefty garbage bag to protect it while it's there. If you get bit, the itching is worse than any bug or mosquito bite you have ever had. Leave your luggage outside the house when you return home and transport your dirty laundry in a bag and dump right in the laundry. Ideally, it would be best if you could take all your clothes off and get them in the house in the bag too, but if you don't have a garage, it might upset the neighbors! Or maybe not! :D

[gwsster]

If you Google Bedbugs on Cruise ships.....Lots of posts from many cruise lines, some with videos of what they look like. I am not going to panic, but I will be checking the rooms of any hotel and ship cabin before setting my luggage down from now on. The video that someone posted was great. I travel with a small LED flashlight (in case of power outages) so now I found another use for it.

[jb9991]

What freaks me out is that NCL just sells the room to the next unsuspecting person who then spreads the bugs unknowingly. I would love to know if the cabin was fumigated and how long it was left vacant and made sure they got all the bugs. I have heard they are very tough to get rid of.

 

Does anyone who worked in the motel/ cruise industry know how these rooms are treated?

 

I was General Manager of a motel for 14 years in the Disney area. We had one case of bedbugs & we had to get rid of all the furnishings including nightstands, dresser, chairs, mattress. There was "popcorn" ceiling and they were up in the popcorn & in the wood of the furniture as well as the bed frame, etc. After the room was stripped, pest control came in & treated twice. The rooms directly next to & above were also treated as a precaution. The room was out if service for a week. It was not pretty. Pest control services do not include treatment for bedbugs & it is expensive.

[cruiseclues]

Always a possibility...bed bugs could come aboard many ways...passenger could pick them up in their luggage from any hotel...sorry about your experience.

 

Thank you for your review.

Edited April 19, 2015 by cruiseclues

[bigfoot88]

OP Joined in 2007 and its his 1st post. hmmmmmmmmmmm. :eek:

 

TY TVGuy, I saw that also.

 

Still reading...