Crown jan18 boarding delayed due to norovirus

[victory2020]

Hello,

Got an email telling us not to get to the pier before 2:30 due to deep cleaning. There goes embarkation lunch in the dining room! For those of you who have experienced this, will the maitre'd still be available for dining requests by the time we get on? I will have Elite boarding this cruise so I was thinking of getting there a little early.

[Colo Cruiser]

Hello,

Got an email telling us not to get to the pier before 2:30 due to deep cleaning. There goes embarkation lunch in the dining room! For those of you who have experienced this, will the maitre'd still be available for dining requests by the time we get on? I will have Elite boarding this cruise so I was thinking of getting there a little early.

 

 

It will be hectic. Check the Patter upon boarding to see if he is listed in there and meeting times.

His times are usually 2p to 3:30p in one of the DR's.

He may be unavailable.

The Crown seems to get hit alot with NORO. :(

Edited January 15, 2016 by Colo Cruiser

[Seacreature101]

What is it with that ship and NORO? Our one and only experience with Noro was a year ago on the Crown. It was awful. We were told our cabin had been infected by previous passengers as well as many others. Never have seen dh that gastro sick.

 

Almost cured me from cruising. NOT A CHANCE!! :p

[wernew2cruising]

What do you do if you are arriving by air that day and have a shuttle service reserved to take you to the port? Go as scheduled and wait outside? Hang at airport?

[Colo Cruiser]

What do you do if you are arriving by air that day and have a shuttle service reserved to take you to the port? Go as scheduled and wait outside? Hang at airport?

 

 

Probably advisable to wait elsewhere.

[moki'smommy]

What do you do if you are arriving by air that day and have a shuttle service reserved to take you to the port? Go as scheduled and wait outside? Hang at airport?

 

Call your shuttle service and change the time. You will be FAR more comfortable sitting around at the airport than at the cruise terminal...if they even let you thru security and into the terminal. Yes, spoken from the experience of spending 8+ hours sitting in a cruise terminal.

 

The airport will be warm, have a food court or other restaurant area, and have plenty of bathrooms. The cruise terminal, IF you get thru security and inside, may be cold, may have 2 vending machines which will quickly be empty, and will have limited toilet facilities which may run out of supplies. And...you may arrive and find out that due to the embarkation delay, security has not even set up yet and have to sit in the lobby for an hour or more before even getting into the check in area.

 

When you do arrive at the terminal, it will be a mob scene. Put on your "everything will be OK" attitude and go with the flow. Remember to wash your hands frequently using soap and water as well as using the hand sanitizer when offered...but don't count on the sanitizer. Wash. Keep your hands away from your face. Wash every time you enter your cabin as well as all the more normal times.

And have a great cruise.

 

If you purchased private insurance (not Princess), save all receipts. Depending on your plan and the exact amount of time that the cruise is delayed, you may find that you can get any extra expenses like lunch covered. It isn't much, but you paid for it! Many plans require a 6 hour or more delay to take effect,but you don't now when the cruise will actually sail!

Edited January 15, 2016 by moki'smommy

[MCC retired]

What is it with that ship and NORO? Our one and only experience with Noro was a year ago on the Crown. It was awful. We were told our cabin had been infected by previous passengers as well as many others. Never have seen dh that gastro sick.

 

Almost cured me from cruising. NOT A CHANCE!! :p

 

East Coast/ West Coast , doesn't matter , the Crown has Noro problems reported far more than any other cruise ship , anywhere .

Frequent cruisers since the 80's , on all mass market lines are we , the Crown was the only ship that wife suffered Noro onboard.

Crown must be cursed ?

[24639]

What do you do if you are arriving by air that day and have a shuttle service reserved to take you to the port? Go as scheduled and wait outside? Hang at airport?

 

If you are early you can drop your bags with the porters and walk over to the Battleship Iowa which shares the parking lot. It's a fabulous way to kill some time. I believe there is some sort of price reduction for cruise ship passengers.

[spyro1952]

Call your shuttle service and change the time. You will be FAR more comfortable sitting around at the airport than at the cruise terminal...if they even let you thru security and into the terminal. Yes' date=' spoken from the experience of spending 8+ hours sitting in a cruise terminal.

 

The airport will be warm, have a food court or other restaurant area, and have plenty of bathrooms. The cruise terminal, IF you get thru security and inside, may be cold, may have 2 vending machines which will quickly be empty, and will have limited toilet facilities which may run out of supplies. And...you may arrive and find out that due to the embarkation delay, security has not even set up yet and have to sit in the lobby for an hour or more before even getting into the check in area.

 

When you do arrive at the terminal, it will be a mob scene. Put on your "everything will be OK" attitude and go with the flow. Remember to wash your hands frequently using soap and water as well as using the hand sanitizer when offered...but don't count on the sanitizer. Wash. Keep your hands away from your face. Wash every time you enter your cabin as well as all the more normal times.

And have a great cruise.

 

If you purchased private insurance (not Princess), save all receipts. Depending on your plan and the exact amount of time that the cruise is delayed, you may find that you can get any extra expenses like lunch covered. It isn't much, but you paid for it! Many plans require a 6 hour or more delay to take effect,but you don't now when the cruise will actually sail![/quote']

 

to werenew2crsuing, this is excellent advice. LA pier & boarding can be crazy on a normal day. And who knows how long it will take to clean the ship. The building at the pier, as I remember is quite small, and when we left on the Sapphire a fews years ago, we stood outside for a long time.

[Astro Flyer]

What do you do if you are arriving by air that day and have a shuttle service reserved to take you to the port? Go as scheduled and wait outside? Hang at airport?

For our April cruise on the Crown the standard check-in time of 12:30 is indicated which each time sailing from LA check-in started before 11:00 and boarding began at about noon.

 

Your cruise says to arrive 2 hours later than normal & the cruise terminal may have limited seating available. Not sure if they'll also deep clean the cruise terminal because reading posts about when that happens boarding has been as late as 5:00. I recall reading that sometimes when boarding is delayed passengers with Princess transportation were taken to LB for a short walk around downtown before going to the ship.

 

Last January we sailed a 4 day cruise on the Crown one cruise after a deep cleaning of the ship & terminal and last October a weeklong cruise on the Crown & neither had norovirus. As we all know it's passengers who bring norovirus on a ship & several weeks ago read that this year's strain in the US is different & they expect a 50% increase in norovirus cases this winter season. :( I know that the local schools have already been severely affected by norovirus including our grandkids.

Edited January 15, 2016 by Astro Flyer

[wernew2cruising]

Call your shuttle service and change the time. You will be FAR more comfortable sitting around at the airport than at the cruise terminal...if they even let you thru security and into the terminal. Yes' date=' spoken from the experience of spending 8+ hours sitting in a cruise terminal.

 

The airport will be warm, have a food court or other restaurant area, and have plenty of bathrooms. The cruise terminal, IF you get thru security and inside, may be cold, may have 2 vending machines which will quickly be empty, and will have limited toilet facilities which may run out of supplies. And...you may arrive and find out that due to the embarkation delay, security has not even set up yet and have to sit in the lobby for an hour or more before even getting into the check in area.

 

When you do arrive at the terminal, it will be a mob scene. Put on your "everything will be OK" attitude and go with the flow. Remember to wash your hands frequently using soap and water as well as using the hand sanitizer when offered...but don't count on the sanitizer. Wash. Keep your hands away from your face. Wash every time you enter your cabin as well as all the more normal times.

And have a great cruise.

 

If you purchased private insurance (not Princess), save all receipts. Depending on your plan and the exact amount of time that the cruise is delayed, you may find that you can get any extra expenses like lunch covered. It isn't much, but you paid for it! Many plans require a 6 hour or more delay to take effect,but you don't now when the cruise will actually sail![/quote']

 

Great advice. Thank you. We are not affected but it got me thinking as to what could happen. We are on the crown the end of February. Wow, now I am a little nervous. We are seasoned cruisers now and have never experienced NORO and we certainly do not want to start.

[wernew2cruising]

If you are early you can drop your bags with the porters and walk over to the Battleship Iowa which shares the parking lot. It's a fabulous way to kill some time. I believe there is some sort of price reduction for cruise ship passengers.

 

This sounds like fun! Might have to do this.

[Seacreature101]

Yes. We had to wait and wait outside. It was November a year ago and weather was good but no place to "perch". People all ready to board and not happy. I would do elsewhere and show up later. We have never had noro either except this time. 35-ish cruises. Save all receipts. Had Travel Guard insurance which was wonderful. We sailed a day late and delayed sailing. Hope all will be well and you will be healthy. We know what to do and still got it. Sometimes it just is what happens.

[trystran72]

I hope your boarding went smoothly and that you have a great (and healthy!) cruise!!

[VibeGuy]

We got hit with the double-whammy of a delayed boarding for "enhanced sanitation" and being in the "other" terminal (closer to the Iowa - 92?). It was also insanely cold and windy for LA (40ish degrees)

 

My advice would be to hang out longer at the airport, and consider purchasing a day pass to one of the airline lounges. Better seating, fewer annoyances, and usually some snacks and beverages.

[riclop]

Hello,

Got an email telling us not to get to the pier before 2:30 due to deep cleaning. There goes embarkation lunch in the dining room! For those of you who have experienced this, will the maitre'd still be available for dining requests by the time we get on? I will have Elite boarding this cruise so I was thinking of getting there a little early.

That ship gets that all the time. WOW.

[CalLuvsCrusingToo]

I'm longtimer NCL.

 

This will be my FIRST time on Princess.

Were on Crown mid-March out of LA.

 

NOW I'm nervous. CRAP

 

I caught Noro couple years ago, and it was the worst couple days

I've ever had. Seriously thought I was going to die.

 

Do NOT ever want to go thru that again. This is part of the reason I have avoided Princess, I kept hearing about Noro. And Now Crown gets it often?

 

Is it too late to change ships?

Edited January 16, 2016 by CalLuvsCrusingToo

[waltd]

Call your shuttle service and change the time. You will be FAR more comfortable sitting around at the airport than at the cruise terminal...if they even let you thru security and into the terminal. Yes' date=' spoken from the experience of spending 8+ hours sitting in a cruise terminal.

 

The airport will be warm, have a food court or other restaurant area, and have plenty of bathrooms. The cruise terminal, IF you get thru security and inside, may be cold, may have 2 vending machines which will quickly be empty, and will have limited toilet facilities which may run out of supplies. And...you may arrive and find out that due to the embarkation delay, security has not even set up yet and have to sit in the lobby for an hour or more before even getting into the check in area.

 

When you do arrive at the terminal, it will be a mob scene. Put on your "everything will be OK" attitude and go with the flow. Remember to wash your hands frequently using soap and water as well as using the hand sanitizer when offered...but don't count on the sanitizer. Wash. Keep your hands away from your face. Wash every time you enter your cabin as well as all the more normal times.

And have a great cruise.

 

If you purchased private insurance (not Princess), save all receipts. Depending on your plan and the exact amount of time that the cruise is delayed, you may find that you can get any extra expenses like lunch covered. It isn't much, but you paid for it! Many plans require a 6 hour or more delay to take effect,but you don't now when the cruise will actually sail![/quote']

 

Not sure I understand. Are you suggesting that the OP leave their luggage in baggage claim ? Once you pickup your luggage I don't think you can get back into the part of the airport terminal that has the food court. I certainly would not want to leave my bags in baggage claim any longer then possible.

[Astro Flyer]

I'm longtimer NCL.

 

This will be my FIRST time on Princess.

Were on Crown mid-March out of LA.

 

NOW I'm nervous. CRAP

 

I caught Noro couple years ago, and it was the worst couple days

I've ever had. Seriously thought I was going to die.

 

Do NOT ever want to go thru that again. This is part of the reason I have avoided Princess, I kept hearing about Noro. And Now Crown gets it often?

 

Is it too late to change ships?

 

Do what makes you feel best but I've sailed a cumulative total of 2 months on the Crown (including twice last year) without any norovirus and I'm booked again on the Crown in April.

 

If I based my cruise decisions on some of the things I read on CC then I'd never cruise and would have missed out on over 40 great cruise experiences.

 

But if such things worry you, only you can decide whether to cancel your cruise or not.

Edited January 16, 2016 by Astro Flyer

[moki'smommy]

Not sure I understand. Are you suggesting that the OP leave their luggage in baggage claim ? Once you pickup your luggage I don't think you can get back into the part of the airport terminal that has the food court. I certainly would not want to leave my bags in baggage claim any longer then possible.

 

Whether there are food locations outside of security or not depends on the airport, but most have at least one or two food locations before going thru security. Some airports (MCO, for instance) have an entire huge food court before you go thru security. All of these can be accessed with your luggage. They are after the normal check in counters, but before the security lines so there is no reason you cannot take luggage to them. In addition, many airports are connected to a hotel, typically a short walk or tram ride from baggage claim. These also typically have one or more restaurants. You would typically access the airport restaurants by going to the level with the check in/ticket counters. You can easily determine what restaurants are available at any given location with a quick on line check.

 

By the same token, in the last 10 years I haven't seen any sort of "eating place" at any cruise terminal more than a few vending machines.

 

I just know that I had a 6 am flight on an airline that served only a beverage during our flight. That meant I ate about 4 am, a minimal amount. From that time until we arrived at the hotel about 8 pm I had nothing to eat except a granola bar given to me by a passenger in the terminal. I did have a cup with me and got water from a sink in the terminal. I did get my daughter a bag of cheetos and a diet coke before the vending machines ran out. She was also given a granola bar. Perhaps I was stupid, but I thought we would be having lunch on the ship....instead we were sitting in the terminal until Princess ultimately made the decision to send us all to hotels and that the ship would not depart till the next day. I will never again travel without some sort of packaged food in my carry on!

 

In fairness, Princess did supply bus transportation from the terminal to a food area of a nearby town. However, bus transportation was not HA. Between the walker and the need to take our luggage with us on the bus, we decided it wouldn't work with the disability involved. In retrospect, I should have gone and brought back food...but leaving a handicapped family member in the cruise terminal without assistance also has drawbacks.

Edited January 16, 2016 by moki'smommy

[waltd]

Whether there are food locations outside of security or not depends on the airport' date=' but most have at least one or two food locations before going thru security. Some airports (MCO, for instance) have an entire huge food court before you go thru security. All of these can be accessed with your luggage. They are after the normal check in counters, but before the security lines so there is no reason you cannot take luggage to them. In addition, many airports are connected to a hotel, typically a short walk or tram ride from baggage claim. These also typically have one or more restaurants. You would typically access the airport restaurants by going to the level with the check in/ticket counters. You can easily determine what restaurants are available at any given location with a quick on line check.

 

By the same token, in the last 10 years I haven't seen any sort of "eating place" at any cruise terminal more than a few vending machines.

 

I just know that I had a 6 am flight on an airline that served only a beverage during our flight. That meant I ate about 4 am, a minimal amount. From that time until we arrived at the hotel about 8 pm I had nothing to eat except a granola bar given to me by a passenger in the terminal. I did have a cup with me and got water from a sink in the terminal. I did get my daughter a bag of cheetos and a diet coke before the vending machines ran out. She was also given a granola bar. Perhaps I was stupid, but I thought we would be having lunch on the ship....instead we were sitting in the terminal until Princess ultimately made the decision to send us all to hotels and that the ship would not depart till the next day. I will never again travel without some sort of packaged food in my carry on!

 

In fairness, Princess did supply bus transportation from the terminal to a food area of a nearby town. However, bus transportation was not HA. Between the walker and the need to take our luggage with us on the bus, we decided it wouldn't work with the disability involved. In retrospect, I should have gone and brought back food...but leaving a handicapped family member in the cruise terminal without assistance also has drawbacks.[/quote']

 

The OP is flying into LAX. Cruising out of San Pedro. Once you pickup you bag you cannot return to the main terminal without a boarding pass. Best to get something to eat before picking up your bags but there is really no where to wait once in baggage claim.

[waltd]

Ok so after reading the OP's post I'm not certain that they are even flying in or driving so I guess it really doesn't matter about LAX.

[moki'smommy]

The OP is flying into LAX. Cruising out of San Pedro. Once you pickup you bag you cannot return to the main terminal without a boarding pass. Best to get something to eat before picking up your bags but there is really no where to wait once in baggage claim.

 

According to the airport web site, there are at least 9 food and/or beverage locations "before TSA." These could be accessed by someone after claiming their luggage. Granted, they are mostly starbucks or similar places, but better than what is at the terminal. I've flown in and out of LAX several times but have never been concerned with food or place to sit and or wait during those flights. Same for the terminal--my concern there was check in and boarding.

 

http://www.lawa.org/tenantLAXResult.aspx?airport=4&category=31&sindicator=qs

[rekarlu]

This darn ship is cursed with the norovirus.

We have sailed the Crown numerous times and if I recall correctly, this

must be the 3rd or 4th time we have encountered the norovirus on this ship.

So far we have managed to avoid getting the virus.

I think the US Govt/Center for Disease Control should impound this ship while

in a US port and FORCE Princess to get rid of this recurring scrouge once and for all. The ship should NOT be allowed to sail to/from any US port until it has been officially certified with a "clean bill of health".

In my close to 50 cruises, I have never, ever seen a ship, ANY ship so susceptible to the norovirus as much as the Crown is.

All the "deep cleaning" that they do every time the virus strikes is just "piecemeal" work and it sure is NOT working.

Stay tuned, I am sure the Crown will be back in the news, again and again, for all the wrong reasons.

Edited January 16, 2016 by rekarlu

[moki'smommy]

This darn ship is cursed with the norovirus.

We have sailed the Crown numerous times and if I recall correctly, this

must be the 3rd or 4th time we have encountered the norovirus on this ship.

So far we have managed to avoid getting the virus.

I think the US Govt/Center for Disease Control should impound this ship while

in a US port and FORCE Princess to get rid of this recurring scrouge once and for all. The ship should NOT be allowed to sail to/from any US port until it has been officially certified with a "clean bill of health".

In my close to 50 cruises, I have never, ever seen a ship, ANY ship so susceptible to the norovirus as much as the Crown is.

All the "deep cleaning" that they do every time the virus strikes is just "piecemeal" work and it sure is NOT working.

Stay tuned, I am sure the Crown will be back in the news, again and again, for all the wrong reasons.

 

Other lines have been known to cancel a cruise in order to deep clean an entire ship, but as far as I know have not been forced to do so.

 

While it is a lovely idea, all it takes is one infected passenger on the next cruise and the viral spread starts all over again. Still, some lines and some ships seem to have a bigger problem than others.