Live from the Maasdam - May 1 – 16, 2015 The Atlantic Coast

[travelwide]

I cut and pasted the following from the CDC - VSP . Since the first outbreak occurred while in a U.S. port, they should have reported it. At least the number of people up to that point. With the cruise after ours, that should have been reported since it came into a U.S. port with passengers who were sick. Perhaps with the holiday yesterday things are running slower.You are right in that we went from U.S. to foreign. I am sure a country as sophisticated as Canada has some reporting guidelines. Their local news stations picked up on it!! I can't believe what someone said about only 2 passengers sick on the cruise after ours.

 

We might not have had more than 2% fall sick from FLL - Bar Harbor although I really doubt that. It also gives them 15 days to do it. This is just my curiosity getting the best of me. Here are the guidelines:

 

When are gastrointestinal illnesses reported to VSP?

Cruise ship medical staff are required to send gastrointestinal illness case reports to VSP at the following designated times:

 

• Before arriving to a U.S. port from a foreign port. This report is required even when there are no cases of gastrointestinal illness. This report is made 24–36 hours before arriving to the United States.
  
• If the number of ill passengers or crew changes after the initial notification in the bullet above, but before the ship is 4 hours from arrival.
  
• When 2% or more of the passengers or crew are ill with gastrointestinal illness. This report must be sent at any time the vessel is in the United States or within 15 days of arriving to a U.S. port.
  
• When unusual gastrointestinal illness symptoms are reported to the ship’s medical staff.
  

What does VSP do with the reports?

We monitor reports of gastrointestinal illness to

 

• Determine if a high number of people are sick.
  
• Determine if unusual cases occur.
  
• Provide support to the cruise line and cruise ship crew as they respond to an increase in cases.
  
• Analyze illness patterns over time.
  

Preventing outbreaks

Cruise lines are required to develop an Outbreak Prevention and Response Plan (OPRP). The OPRP must

 

• Indicate trigger points that initiate a ship’s response to cases of illness.
  
• Identify overall outbreak management strategies.
  
• Include detailed infection control procedures for each area of the ship.
  

Outbreak Investigations

 

What does VSP do when an outbreak occurs?

When an outbreak occurs, we ask for logs and records, including gastrointestinal illness surveillance logs, so we can closely examine the reported cases. The surveillance logs include information such as specific symptoms and the date and time the illness occurred. By reviewing the logs, we are able to determine the following:

 

• Amount of illness throughout the ship.
  
• Distribution of illness among the passengers and crew.
  
• When the illness first began.
  
• Distribution of illness during each day of the voyage.
  
• Profiles of the ill people’s symptoms.
  

When does VSP conduct an outbreak investigation?

VSP conducts outbreak investigations on ships sailing in the United States or within 15 days of arriving to a U.S. port. These ships must also have one of the following:

 

• 3% or more of the passengers or crew reporting they are sick with symptoms of gastrointestinal illness.
  
• Report of illness symptom(s) or occurrence(s).
  
• An outbreak the ship has difficulty getting under control.
  

Where are outbreak investigations conducted?

Outbreak investigations may be conducted either in the office or on a cruise ship.

When CDC conducts an investigation in the office, we

 

• Evaluate ship records, including gastrointestinal illness surveillance logs;
  
• Establish daily contact with cruise line officials to determine if proper sanitation practices are being applied;
  
• Assess current outbreak management practices; and
  
• Make recommendations for outbreak management.
  

Cruise ship staff collect clinical specimens, such as stool samples, or environmental specimens, such as water samples. They send these samples to a land-based laboratory to test for cause(s) of the outbreak.

When CDC conducts an investigation on-site, we first follow the same steps as in an office investigation.

CDC staff also board the cruise ship to do one or more of the following:

 

• Epidemiological assessment to examine the distribution of gastrointestinal illnesses, interview passengers and crew members, and distribute and analyze questionnaires.
  
• Targeted environmental health assessment to investigate specific areas on the vessel to check for exposure and routes of transmission of the illness and to monitor the ship’s OPRP procedures. This assessment is based on preliminary findings from the epidemiological review.
  

What does VSP require cruise lines to do during outbreaks?

Cruise lines are required to activate their Outbreak Prevention and Response Plan (noted above under the Preventing Outbreaks section) and make every effort to gain control of the outbreak. Control measures include the following:

 

• Increase daily cleaning and disinfection frequencies.
  
• Stop high-risk activities, such as self-service buffet tables and handshaking.
  
• Isolate ill people.
  
• Collect clinical and/or environmental specimens for analysis.
  
• Provide daily updates to VSP that include case counts and reports of what the ship has done to establish control.
  
• Alert passengers and staff of the illness.
  
• Provide information about proper handwashing.
  
• Notify new passengers about the outbreak before embarkation.
  

VSP may also ask cruise lines to do the following:

 

• Notify port authorities.
  
• Delay embarkation of the next voyage.
  
• Establish cleaning and disinfection procedures in terminal buildings.
  

Where can I find information about a specific outbreak?

We post all outbreak summaries on our website.

[Tink5520)]

Tink. Not a good idea to post our e-mail address. Unless you post your address only???

 

Hi email me at tink5520@live.ca

[Sue from Canada]

Hi email me at tink5520@xxxxxxxx

 

Got it. Can you have your original e-mail deleted?

[dbits]

HAL does read their surveys...we were rather negative regarding the norovirus outbreak and they gave us a substanial shipboard credit on our next booking.

[DaveOKC]

HAL does read their surveys...we were rather negative regarding the norovirus outbreak and they gave us a substanial shipboard credit on our next booking.

 

All I got from my survey was a nice "thank you for your input" - no credits or anything else.

 

We did not catch the virus however, so I guess that is good enough.

 

I wonder if anyone else who was on this cruise received anything from HAL??

[dbits]

All I got from my survey was a nice "thank you for your input" - no credits or anything else.

 

We did not catch the virus however, so I guess that is good enough.

 

I wonder if anyone else who was on this cruise received anything from HAL??

 

To clarify...."Every traveler who has experienced illness while on vacation knows how frustrating and disappointing it can be and we truly sympathize with those guests who find themselves in this situation. Consequently, we’ve instituted a policy of compensating guests who are asked to remain isolated in their staterooms by our shipboard medical staff due to illness."

 

Both of us became ill and required medical attention, and of course were isolated for 36hours.

[clogaltocruise]

Hi Dave,

I also got a "thank you for responding" email'

[DaveOKC]

To clarify...."Every traveler who has experienced illness while on vacation knows how frustrating and disappointing it can be and we truly sympathize with those guests who find themselves in this situation. Consequently, we’ve instituted a policy of compensating guests who are asked to remain isolated in their staterooms by our shipboard medical staff due to illness."

 

Both of us became ill and required medical attention, and of course were isolated for 36hours.

 

Well, that makes good sense IMO. I was not looking for anything anyway, as the problems caused by the code red were not all that bad I thought.

 

I did mention in my survey that I thought HAL should reach out to first time cruisers with some offer, as this cruise was not a "typical" one and I hated to see them not try HAL again because of the issues. Us frequent HAL cruisers know that this situation was far from the norm and that the entire crew worked extremely hard to handle the situation and should be complimented for it.

 

I wonder if the OP received anything for being confined for a couple of days?

[Alberta Quilter]

Hmmm. I guess I'll have to wait until I get home to check my home email. I, too, was quarantined for about 36 hours. I know my port fees were refunded for Quebec City; DM's were not. We were happy that our shorex were refunded for that day.

 

I'll let you know if I get a similar letter to dbits.

[DaveOKC]

Hmmm. I guess I'll have to wait until I get home to check my home email. I, too, was quarantined for about 36 hours. I know my port fees were refunded for Quebec City; DM's were not. We were happy that our shorex were refunded for that day.

 

I'll let you know if I get a similar letter to dbits.

 

I wonder why DM's port fees were not refunded? Both Geri and I got refunds on our account. Perhaps DM will get a credit on her credit card or ?

 

Dave

[Alberta Quilter]

I wonder why DM's port fees were not refunded? Both Geri and I got refunds on our account. Perhaps DM will get a credit on her credit card or ?

 

Dave

 

You both got refunded port fees for Quebec City? And you weren't sick at all?

 

I thought that only the quarantined people got refunded the port fees. DM could have gone out had she wanted to, according to the medical staff and front office so I'm guessing that that's why her port fees weren't refunded.

[DaveOKC]

We got the following:

 

On 5-12 we each got $8.51 taxes, fees and port expenses for Gaspe.

 

On 5-15 we each got $30.40 taxes, fees and port expenses for "15 day sailing guests".

 

Not sure how that all worked out.

[clogaltocruise]

When I asked about the $30.40 credits, I was told it was due to the change in actual port expenses vs what we originally paid.

[Alberta Quilter]

Maybe that's what we got, too. Obviously, I don't have the final bill with me here at the office but I'll try to check it this weekend.

 

I was pretty sure that it was port fees for Quebec. They had DM listed as Guest 1 and the refunds had my name listed beside them. That's one reason why I thought they were my port fees for Quebec.

 

Have to get back to work; lunch is over!

[cruz chic]

I also got refunded port fees on the Veendam. It's due to changes in port fees and has nothing to do with being ill. I've shreaded my onboard bill because I've been charged and I keep too much paper.

[Alberta Quilter]

We got the following:

 

On 5-12 we each got $8.51 taxes, fees and port expenses for Gaspe.

 

On 5-15 we each got $30.40 taxes, fees and port expenses for "15 day sailing guests".

 

Not sure how that all worked out.

 

We did get the same credits. I was wrong to think that those were refunds of my Quebec City port fees for being isolated. Mine are indicated with my name and DM's are not since the account is in her name.

 

I have not received the Thanks for sailing with us OBC offer (yet), nor an email regarding being sick onboard. I, however, wasn't very negative about the outbreak. Maybe the squeaky wheel got a wee bit of grease?! However, I only filled out my survey a couple of days ago since we returned home later than most of you. DM has yet to fill hers out.

[clogaltocruise]

Hubby tried to complete his yesterday but it said it was closed. Just today I received the response for completing the survey & the thank you obc.

[Alberta Quilter]

Hubby tried to complete his yesterday but it said it was closed. Just today I received the response for completing the survey & the thank you obc.

 

Yes, I do believe they close the surveys in less than two weeks post cruise. I suspect that DM will find hers closed.

 

Still haven't received the response for completing the survey or the thank you obc. I did, however, get my Happy Birthday email from HAL and now I'm getting emails regarding other deals since I don't have a cruise booked with them.

[Alberta Quilter]

Well, I literally just received an email thanking me for my survey comments:

 

"Thank you very much for submitting your Guest Satisfaction Survey regarding your recent Holland America Line sailing aboard the ms Maasdam. We truly value all feedback from our guests, as it helps us to maintain our Signature of Excellence and continually improve the onboard experience for all of our travelers.

 

While we were pleased to note the positive aspects of your cruise, we are sad there were some areas that you found disappointing. We truly appreciate that you have taken the time to share your thoughts and observations for us, such as your remarks on the cost of our shore excursions, the quality and variety of the merchandise sold in our shops and your embarkation and disembarkation experiences, to name a few. Comments are important to us and because we take your input very seriously, we have made all appropriate senior management aware for their information and benefit. If there is anything additional you want to discuss with us or follow up on, please feel free to contact our Guest Relations team directly; you may reach us by email at guestrelations@hollandamerica.com or by phone at 1-800-599-8256.

 

We want you to know that we greatly appreciate your taking the time to share your comments. We thank you for choosing Holland America Line, and we do hope to see you again soon."

 

So, no offer of OBC for being quarantined but I really didn't expect any. I don't remember what I said about the cost of the shorex, probably just that they were expensive. I do recall telling them that I was disappointed with the merchandise in the shops.

[DaveOKC]

Yes, I do believe they close the surveys in less than two weeks post cruise. I suspect that DM will find hers closed.

 

Still haven't received the response for completing the survey or the thank you obc. I did, however, get my Happy Birthday email from HAL and now I'm getting emails regarding other deals since I don't have a cruise booked with them.

 

Did you happen to see a deal for Dec 7, 2015 on the Oosterdam (11 nights S. Caribbean)?

 

We booked this one already and thought it was a good deal due to the Anniversary Sale.

 

Dave

[Alberta Quilter]

Did you happen to see a deal for Dec 7, 2015 on the Oosterdam (11 nights S. Caribbean)?

 

We booked this one already and thought it was a good deal due to the Anniversary Sale.

 

Dave

 

No, the private fare email mentioned almost everywhere but the Caribbean! I did get another email where your cruise was mentioned but it was in regards to the Anniversary sale ending. With our river cruises in November, I have no more time this year to take off at work so I'm only looking at cruises for next year at the earliest.

[Sue from Canada]

Hubby tried to complete his yesterday but it said it was closed. Just today I received the response for completing the survey & the thank you obc.

 

I got my thank for responding..... but no obc. Hmmmm.

[Alberta Quilter]

I just received, through snail mail, a letter that gives me obc for being quarantined. The amount is determined by the per diem paid for the cruise and the length of the quarantine period. Too bad that DM didn't get sick on the ship; she did not get anything (nor did we expect it).

 

Still haven't gotten the Thanks for Sailing with us obc offer. What is the cut off date for that? I know I can still use the zpm code to get it, if we book another cruise. We just haven't found one that we can agree on.

[DaveOKC]

Mine was July 28 expiration, but they often will honor it past that date (cannot hurt to try). I am waiting until after the Anniversary sale is over (July 1) to book anything new, as I expect prices to come down.

 

Glad you at least got some OBC for being sick (but its a hard way to earn it!).

[Alberta Quilter]

Mine was July 28 expiration, but they often will honor it past that date (cannot hurt to try). I am waiting until after the Anniversary sale is over (July 1) to book anything new, as I expect prices to come down.

 

Glad you at least got some OBC for being sick (but its a hard way to earn it!).

 

Thanks, Dave. Hopefully, by July 28th, HAL will have released the remaining 2016 itineraries.