Infinity Illness - Possible Delays on April 13

[Jim_Iain]

CruiseLawNews

 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that at least 95 passengers and 5 crew members have been sickened with a gastrointestinal illness (GI) while aboard the Celebrity Infinity.

 

The Infinity is on a two week cruise that started on March 29th and will end on April 13th in San Diego, CA.

 

We have received emails from sick passengers on the ship.

 

The CDC hasn't figured out whether the outbreak is due to norovirus yet.

 

The CDC will send two employees (an environmental health officer and epidemiologist) to the cruise ship when it reaches San Diego April 13th.

Edited April 12, 2015 by Jim_Iain

[Cruise Raider]

Oh no....awful way to end a cruise. So many people sick right now. :(

[dodger1964]

http://www.foxnews.com/health/2015/04/13/100-sickened-by-norovirus-during-cruise-ending-in-san-diego/?intcmp=latestnews

[Redtravel]

2 years ago I was on the Infinity after a noro virus cruise. Even after the deep cleaning and delayed boarding, many people on our cruise got sick. It was not a pleasant cruise. Unfortunately, unless the ship is completely cleaned from the virus, the virus will continue to live on the ship. The Infinity has had several problems with the noro virus. Perhaps, it is time to take it out of service and clean it.

[Shirley C]

We are boarding the Infinity on the 28th. Hoping it is all cleared up by then.

[gimletgal]

We are boarding the Infinity on the 28th. Hoping it is all cleared up by then.

 

Hi Shirley -

I was originally scheduled to be on the cruise with you on the 28th, but had to cancel. My sincere hope is that all will be good by the time you board! I will be embarking on the 15th when you arrive in San Francisco.

 

Have a great cruise, and stay well! :)

 

(I am also booked on the Reflection in March, so perhaps we will see you on that cruise.)

[need2cruisesoon]

Also on the Legend of the Seas.

Both ships cruising the Mexican Riveria, must be the water.

 

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/royal-caribbean-passengers-suffer-vomiting-190012834.html

Edited April 13, 2015 by need2cruisesoon

[deise17311]

The article I read said 100 people were sick..hardly a crisis on a ship with over 3000 guests and staff...

[Shirley C]

The article I read said 100 people were sick..hardly a crisis on a ship with over 3000 guests and staff...

 

Unless you're one of the 100.

[Shirley C]

Hi Shirley -

I was originally scheduled to be on the cruise with you on the 28th, but had to cancel. My sincere hope is that all will be good by the time you board! I will be embarking on the 15th when you arrive in San Francisco.

 

Have a great cruise, and stay well! :)

 

(I am also booked on the Reflection in March, so perhaps we will see you on that cruise.)

 

Sorry you won't be joining us on the 28th. Hopefully all will be back to normal by the time you board.

 

Looking forward to seeing you on the Reflection.

 

Shirley

[CYNSport]

We were on that cruise (not one of the 100). The crew did a great job and we had a great cruise.

[Ken1359]

We are boarding the Infinity on the 28th. Hoping it is all cleared up by then.

 

One of my earliest cruises found me spending several days in the bathroom with the norovirus. Not fun and certainly not the way to spend a cruise.

 

That being said, I've been super cautious about what I touch on board any ship, especially in a situation such as this. People forget about little things like elevator buttons, etc. When there is a problem reported I choose to eat in the main dining room as much as possible where many people aren't touching the same serving utensils. The hand sanitizers posted at many entrances are invaluable, but be sure to really rub your hands together.....a quick version does only a weak job. Be sure to take your own supply of sanitizer on board to wipe down things like the telephone and bathroom door knob in your cabin. Considering the possibilities, why not take a little extra care?

 

And lastly, anyone observed leaving a restroom without having washed up should be tossed to the sharks. I see this fairly often and wonder where their head is. Don't answer that!

 

I'm expecting a great cruise on the Infinity April 28th and look forward to enjoying a bug free trip.

[Jim_Iain]

Was really interesting CBS San Francisco had a clip of the Infinity in San Diego and close ups from a helicopter of crew deep cleaning the decks.

 

Like many other's I have been on a couple cruises right after an outbreak. It is unbelievable how hard the crew work to contain and eliminate any contamination.

 

Number 1 rule is to always wash after using the rest rooms. It is amazing to me the number of people I notice who do not do this.

[TeachKinde]

We will be on the Infinity on the 28th as well. Bringing wipes and sanitizer and keeping fingers clean and crossed!

[Kingofcool1947]

Was really interesting CBS San Francisco had a clip of the Infinity in San Diego and close ups from a helicopter of crew deep cleaning the decks.

 

Like many other's I have been on a couple cruises right after an outbreak. It is unbelievable how hard the crew work to contain and eliminate any contamination.

 

Number 1 rule is to always wash after using the rest rooms. It is amazing to me the number of people I notice who do not do this.

 

Holy ****! :eek:

 

What is the reason why people don't wash their hands after using the rest rooms? Is it a cultural thing? Or from how they were raised? :confused:

 

Or coughing into their hand, instead of in the crook of their arm? :confused:

 

Just wondering, that's all.

Edited April 14, 2015 by Kingofcool1947

[vmarq]

We just got off the Infinity. Luckily, we did not get sick but half way through our 15 day Panama Canal cruise, the staff instituted the strict Norovirus protocols. For example, in the Oceanview Cafe, you were not able to serve yourself any food or even get your own coffee, water, juice. Everything was removed from tables such as salt/pepper, sugar. No longer would the staff take your sea pass card when you ordered a drink. They had you hold it up so they could write down your folio number. In the dining rooms, they no longer would place a basket of bread on your table. They went around and served it. When you had coffee, they would come around with tongs and grab the splenda, equal out of container and give it to you. Constant cleaning was seen throughout the ship. They removed our decorator pillows from the staterooms 3 days before the end and our bedskirt 2 days before. Paper cups showed up in our cabin 1 day before so they could remove the glasses. The Emporium area where the shops are was roped off and everyone entering/leaving area had to have hand sanitizer squirted on their hands. There were people squirting your hands in major public areas. The staff was getting so over worked that they actually had the Celebrity Dancers handing out coffee, juice, water. They were all working so hard to keep us safe and it was much appreciated. The protocols made it that you had to wait in line for about everything but understandable. The captain, during his noon updates, would always tell us to wash our hand. Anyone that had GI symptoms was quarantined to their room for 2 days. In fact, they requested if you had symptoms that you call and have the medical staff come to your room instead of going to the medical facility. These were some of the main changes we saw. Everyone was very hush hush as to how many people were affected but we knew it had to be substantial if they were going to these lengths.

Vicki

Edited April 14, 2015 by vmarq

[cruzemaven]

2 years ago I was on the Infinity after a noro virus cruise. Even after the deep cleaning and delayed boarding, many people on our cruise got sick. It was not a pleasant cruise. Unfortunately, unless the ship is completely cleaned from the virus, the virus will continue to live on the ship. The Infinity has had several problems with the noro virus. Perhaps, it is time to take it out of service and clean it.

 

 

Is The Infinity more prone to Noro because they haven't cleaned it as thoroughly as they should? We are bringing our grandson on this ship for an Alaskan cruise...wondering whether we should cancel and find a cruiseline with a cleaner record...( are there any?).

[smtcan]

Noro comes on ships with passengers. Some times of the year are worse than others, and often the outbreak on the ship can be linked to one ashore. We were on Mercury when the departure was delayed two days while deep cleaning was done. The precautions do not make for a pleasant atmosphere on the ship, but they are necessary. After the cleaning and precautions, there were no cases on our cruise.

 

I don't think any cruise line is immune to the virus and it is no more likely to be on Infinity in the summer than on any other ship/

[phoenix_dream]

No, the Infinity is no more likely to get noro than other ships. The fact of the matter is, noro is extremely contagious and can spread rapidly in any contained environment - it is very common in schools, nursing homes, workplaces, etc. Think about how quickly it spreads when it comes into your household. It's a shame the media portrays it as 'the cruise ship virus'. You are no more likely to catch it there than anyplace else you frequent. It is true, if you are one of the 100 who came down with it on this cruise you would not be happy about it, but that statistically is a very small percentage.

 

ps

I am writing this from my home, recuperating from a stomach virus - maybe noro who knows. I caught it somewhere in my neighborhood.:(

[TLCOhio]

We just got off the Infinity. Luckily, we did not get sick but half way through our 15 day Panama Canal cruise, the staff instituted the strict Norovirus protocols. For example, in the Oceanview Cafe, you were not able to serve yourself any food or even get your own coffee, water, juice. Everything was removed from tables such as salt/pepper, sugar. No longer would the staff take your sea pass card when you ordered a drink. They had you hold it up so they could write down your folio number. In the dining rooms, they no longer would place a basket of bread on your table. They went around and served it. When you had coffee, they would come around with tongs and grab the splenda, equal out of container and give it to you. Constant cleaning was seen throughout the ship. Everyone was very hush hush as to how many people were affected but we knew it had to be substantial if they were going to these lengths. Vicki

 

Appreciate, Vicki, these added details from your sailing. This story was just reported nationally on the CBS Morning News. Glad you did not get sick.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Enjoyed a 14-day, Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Sydney to Auckland adventure, getting a big sampling for the wonders of "down under” before and after this cruise. Go to:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139

for more info and many pictures of these amazing sights in this great part of the world. Now at 105,847 views for this posting.

[floridatravelersforlife]

We were on the Infinity on the prior cruise from Valpariso to FLL. The ship was full of people with sneezing and hacking coughs. During several theatre events, there were coughs or sneezes every couple of minutes. Never seen it this bad

 

Pax we met on cruise told us that on the prior cruise from BA to Valpariso it was worse, that there were many people sick in bed. My organized excursion in Ecuador, was short a person due to illness

 

Yet during our cruise, offering (not enforcement) of the sanitizer prior to entry to the food areas was weak, almost a joke. I'd estimate 2 of 3 pax bypassed the sanitizer. And the serving utensils continued to be present for pax to help themselves in the Oceanview Café.

 

As far as prevention, I'd blame the pax 60% and celebrity 40% for this one.

 

I'm not surprised the airborne and stomach bugs continued on into the next cruise.

[Cruise Critic Chris]

Our news story on this: http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=6300

[uktog]

How many times do we have to say enforcement of the use of sanitisers us not appropriate, not all of us can use them

[Sfdtiller]

How many times do we have to say enforcement of the use of sanitisers us not appropriate, not all of us can use them

 

For those who cannot sanitize they should enforce washing with warm soap and water for at least 20 seconds. Actually they should enforce this always and just recommend sanitizer.

[Sfdtiller]

Is The Infinity more prone to Noro because they haven't cleaned it as thoroughly as they should? We are bringing our grandson on this ship for an Alaskan cruise...wondering whether we should cancel and find a cruiseline with a cleaner record...( are there any?).

 

Prior to leaving Fort Lauderdale for this cruise, the ship went through a US health inspection and received a perfect score. Ship was very clean and as others have stated the crew did a great job.

During this cruise I heard a man in a stall, not urinating, he left the stall and started to walk out of the restroom. He ignored the attendant that was stationed inside and tried to open the door with his hands. I politely asked him to wash his hands so the rest of us did not get sick too. He gave me a dirty look, but he did wash. It is people like him who spread the Noro.