Live from Mariner, October 7 - 17

[Roninpsnow]

Sometimes the obvious answer escapes the only one who tries hardest to defend Regent. Maybe because she has the most to gain? Thankfully, someone watches the computer room while the crew bar is open.

The only constant in all of the code reds (how many?), are the crew. They stay on board for months, passengers stay on for weeks. Go figure...

Uncle D I agree with you. I enjoy reading CC, however I always hesitate to post because their are some that think their opinion is always right.

 

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[Travelcat2]

Sometimes the obvious answer escapes the only one who tries hardest to defend Regent. Maybe because she has the most to gain? Thankfully, someone watches the computer room while the crew bar is open.

The only constant in all of the code reds (how many?), are the crew. They stay on board for months, passengers stay on for weeks. Go figure...

 

Really trying to understand your perspective. You state that the crew is a "constant" and I disagree. Many crew members that were onboard Mariner last month are not onboard Mariner this month. They constantly move.

 

For every crew member that left the Mariner in the past 6 weeks, new crew members have arrived. And, more importantly, 600-700 passengers have boarded for each new cruise. So, logically, the greatest number of "new" people to the Mariner are passengers - not the crew. Since we are currently well into the season where many people are ill, one assumes that at least a few sick people (including crew members) board the ship in a condition where they can spread the disease.

 

As has been discussed, crew members that are ill take precautions that passengers are not required to take. So, looking at the situation completely based on the the majority of the evidence, where does the largest percentage of the blame for spreading colds/flu come from?

 

This topic was discussed ad nauseam on the Oceania board last year and no one had a conclusive answer. The fact is that the Mariner is having issues - even it were caused by the crew, it has to be remedied. I will be paying particular attention to people that are sick in the airports, plane, hotel and ship when we sail next month.

 

P.S. No one needs to defend Regent -- especially when they aren't doing anything wrong. Regent has not had reportable norovirus on any of their ships since 2009. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for Crystal, Oceania, NCL, Princess, HAL and most other cruise lines. Based on the records from the CDC, Regent is doing a good/great job of managing illnesses onboard their ships.

[Uncle D]

“I will be paying particular attention to people that are sick in the airports, plane, hotel and ship when we sail next month.”

Brilliant! Also, remember to put on your mask as you board Mariner. Many crew members have been onboard for months.

 

 

“Regent is doing a good/great job of managing illnesses onboard their ships”.

Absolutely, only the last four cruises have been code red.

[irishwitchy]

Sorry, TC - I haven't read anything from anyone about all the code reds on the other Regent ships. Not talking about any other lines in the fleet, just Regent, since this is a Regent forum. Lets stick with 2017 also.

 

The Mariner hasn't been doing a WC or other cruises, so most passengers have been on the ship for weeks, not months. If it was the passengers that are sick and causing the Code Red are you suggesting only the sick passengers have been picking the Mariner cruises, but not the other ships. The crew is on for months, not the passengers - at least for most of this year. Therefore, I stand by my comment, the crew is sick or the ship isn't being cleaned properly.

 

I would love to know where your "evidence" is and why you think it couldn't be some of the 445 folks that work on the ship for months in close quarters that may be part of the issue. BTW, I do hope they clear this up quickly for your cruise.

[Travelcat2]

This issue in not one that anyone can win. However, according to the Center for Disease Control, Regent does not have Norovirus on any of their ships and have not had a reportable illness since 2009 (already linked the page)

 

Other ships do matter -- especially when one ship had repeated issues last year and the others did not.

 

Two Regent ships are currently in the Med..... Different climate than where the Mariner has been. However, if anyone wants to blame Regent for the whole thing, go for it (BTW, IMO, snarky remarks isn't going to remedy the situation!)

[PaulaJK]

Frankly, the idea that a Regent ship has not suffered incidents of norovirus or other reportable illness in 8 years is __________. As I posted earlier, the constants in the equation are ship and crew. Otherwise one is assuming 4 different batches of infected pax.

[Roninpsnow]

I went to CDC (Vessel Santation Program) VSP website where a previous poster provided in a previous post here is what in the short criteria the CDC provided:

 

Copied and paste CDC Vessel Sanitation Program (VSP)

 

"When sailing from a foreign port to a U.S. port, cruise ships participating in the Vessel Sanitation Program (VSP) are required to report the total number of gastrointestinal (GI) illness cases–including zero–evaluated by the medical staff at least 24 hours before the ship arrives at the U.S. port.

 

VSP also requires cruise ships to send a separate notification when the GI illness count exceeds 2% of the total number of passengers or crew onboard.

 

Data on this page are from these surveillance reports and from CDC-led investigations. The GI illness cases reported are totals for the entire voyage and do not represent the number of active (symptomatic) GI cases at any given port of call or at disembarkation.

 

Cruise ship outbreak updates are posted when they meet the following criteria:

 

Fall within the purview of VSP (see*about VSP)

 

Are sailing on voyages from 3-21 days,

 

Are carrying 100 or more passengers, and

 

Are cruise ships in which 3% or more of passengers or crew reported symptoms of diarrheal disease to the ships medical staff during the voyage.

 

VSP may also post outbreak updates for gastrointestinal illness outbreaks of public health significance."

 

It goes on prior to the list that the CDC does not verify the numbers provided! Bottom line: they don't have to report anything!

 

I think if above poster experienced viral gastroenteritis (norovirus) perhaps their defense would be different.

 

Ron

 

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[Uncle D]

Is Mariner under code red today?

[Travelcat2]

Roninpsnow, for clarification purposes, we were told by Regent that the ship had influenza - not norovirus when we were onboard last month. We on don't know what the protocol is for other illnesses/viruses. I did read about "code red" on Oceania when it had norovirus and the staff were doing things in addition to what was being done on the Mariner (for instance, wiping down tables chairs walls and other hard surfaces and and leaving them wet so that the disinfectant could work. Again, this was not being done on the Mariner but would have been if it were norovirus.

In terms of cruise ships not reporting norovirus, I can't see Regent withholding the information from the CDC. With quite a few cases listed on the CDC website for Oceania and NCL (sister cruise lines to Regent), it doesn't make sense to me that Regent would be deceptive.

[UUNetBill]

It could be crew, it could be passengers, it could be improper cleaning, it could be little tiny spaceships flying invisibly through the public spaces spraying a virus.

 

The fact is, we don't know what the cause is. I'm sure if someone knew for certain, they'd contain it. Another fact is that we've cruised 9 times - 8 of those 9 have been on Regent. Guess which cruise we were on that had a Code Red? If you guessed the non-Regent cruise, give yourself a gold star.

 

In MY experience, Regent crews are very concerned with cleanliness. But obviously you can't kill every germ on a ship. I'd also guess that if some crew members had visible signs of illness, they'd be quarantined - but the problem is a lot of times you're contagious before you even show symptoms. So trying to stay ahead of any kind of outbreak is kind of a 'rolling response' where you're always a step behind. All the crew can do is try and minimize the spread...

[Roninpsnow]

Obviously you did not read my post. I went to CDC website that you yourself posted and copied onto my post the CDC requirements for reporting.

 

Who was talking about Oceania I certainly was not! Why do you defend Regent when a code Red is just that! Influenza is a word that used freely as a catch all in laymen terms. There is no such thing as stomach flu. Influenza is a respiratory virus. I'll let you have the last word since you seem to be a infectious disease expert!

 

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[Travelcat2]

Obviously you did not read my post. I went to CDC website that you yourself posted and copied onto my post the CDC requirements for reporting.

 

Who was talking about Oceania I certainly was not! Why do you defend Regent when a code Red is just that! Influenza is a word that used freely as a catch all in laymen terms. There is no such thing as stomach flu. Influenza is a respiratory virus. I'll let you have the last word since you seem to be a infectious disease expert!

 

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Now I understand the confusion. I did post a link to a CDC website but not the page that you cut and pasted. I linked a page that shows all of the ships that have had reportable instances of norovirus in the past several years. Why the sarcasm? I don't pretend to be an expert on this subject which is why I checked the CDC. I also believe what Regent said to us when we were on the ship. What appeared to be going around was a cold - did not hear of any stomach issues. Since it was not reported (and we were in the U.S. which is super strict about that kind of stuff), I had no reason to believe that Regent was lying to us.

 

Since we don't seem to have anyone that works for the CDC on this thread, one must assume that we are all guessing as to what has been going on. If the CDC ends up stating that there was noro on the Mariner, I'll believe it.

Edited October 25, 2017 by Travelcat2

[Uncle D]

Is the Mariner under code red now?