Independence Norovirus Outbreak?

[tugboat]

I agree, RC needs to be "Loyal" to us as well. Seems like every time we sail there is another perk missing. The latest was the morning stretch and abs class were reduced from 30 to 15 minutes each, and the TV stations on the exercise machines didn't work the whole time. We also experienced the smell of sewage on deck 2. Many of the carpets were filthy....yes she is way overdue for dry dock!

 

As to the Noro onboard we were not affected along with the 92% others that weren't. Anyone that refuses the hand sanitizer going into the dining rooms should be refused admittance, these are probably the same people that walk out of the bathrooms without washing their hands or cough without covering their mouth.

 

 

 

Agree so why doesn’t happen wash your hands or don’t eat.

 

 

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[lassie in Ga]

Why not take some Clorox wipes with you and wipe down the handles and remote control and anything else he may touch? I do it every time I go into a hotel and my cruise room. I also wipe down anything I am going to touch on the airplane. You have no idea what people did before you got to that seat or did with the remote, those things are grimy. Get the travel pack from the dollar store or Target.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[JakeyK414]

On Indy. Some aft elevators shut down. Reports of guest vomiting in them.

[Ocean Boy]

I use Clorox Commercial Solutions hand sanitizer spray and I've never had noro. However, I always practice good hygiene, etc.

I don't use either of those and I've never had Noro either.

[Plum Happy]

I don't use either of those and I've never had Noro either.

 

Neither have I but I am not going to play Russian roulette with my health either. People lie all the time because they paid for a trip and know very well that they sign those papers saying that they haven’t been sick in the last 72 hours. People take chances all the time.

 

I got the flu shot, now they are saying the formula they based it on is ineffective based on those getting the flu shot in Australia, they still got the flu. So, nothing is a fore sure thing because we are not isolated people in this world.

 

When someone doesn’t cover their mouth when they cough or cover their nose when they sneeze and you are within 6 feet, you’re likely to catch something.

[Ocean Boy]

Neither have I but I am not going to play Russian roulette with my health either. People lie all the time because they paid for a trip and know very well that they sign those papers saying that they haven’t been sick in the last 72 hours. People take chances all the time.

 

I got the flu shot, now they are saying the formula they based it on is ineffective based on those getting the flu shot in Australia, they still got the flu. So, nothing is a fore sure thing because we are not isolated people in this world.

 

When someone doesn’t cover their mouth when they cough or cover their nose when they sneeze and you are within 6 feet, you’re likely to catch something.

You may be exposed to something. It doesn't mean you are going to catch anything. I'm exposed to "stuff" every day at work between the hospital and the office. I was probably bombarded a few times last night at Walmart, too.

[Plum Happy]

You may be exposed to something. It doesn't mean you are going to catch anything. I'm exposed to "stuff" every day at work between the hospital and the office. I was probably bombarded a few times last night at Walmart, too.

 

I will always take precautions, clean things with wipes before I touch them. I am not a hypochondriac, be it being exposed or not, wipe it down.

[Jmonkey3000]

Does anybody who is on the boat right now or who just previously got off the boat have any new word about what is happening on the Independence of the Seas?? We will be getting on the boat on 12/21 and we are very nervous!! Looking for someone to please update me and help me out!!

[Clarea]

Does anybody who is on the boat right now or who just previously got off the boat have any new word about what is happening on the Independence of the Seas?? We will be getting on the boat on 12/21 and we are very nervous!! Looking for someone to please update me and help me out!!

What kind of help are you looking for?

[Jmonkey3000]

What kind of help are you looking for?

 

I am looking for someone who knows what is going on!!

[shuwei]

Jmonkey, I wouldn't hold your breath asking for help here. I got flamed for basically asking a similar question.

 

I hope it works out for us both, whatever we decide to do.

[Ocean Boy]

I am looking for someone who knows what is going on!!

Call RCI customer service. If you are lucky they will at least admit that the cruise line owns a ship call Independence of the Seas.

[Jmonkey3000]

Jmonkey, I wouldn't hold your breath asking for help here. I got flamed for basically asking a similar question.

 

I hope it works out for us both, whatever we decide to do.

 

I hope it works for both of us also! RCCL is no help :(

[Clarea]

I am looking for someone who knows what is going on!!

If they are still employing extra sanitary procedures, you may see crew members handling the utensils and serving guests in the buffet.

[davekathy]

I hope it works for both of us also! RCCL is no help :(

 

What is it you wanted RC to help with? The outbreak isn't anything new. Look at it this way. You'll be boarding an extremely clean/sanitized ship. Go and enjoy your cruise. Just use the same precautions that your normally would.

[WpgCruise]

Even with a spotlessly clean sanitized ship, in all probability there will be several of your fellow passengers boarding who are carrying the NoroVirus, Flu, several different cold viruses as well as who knows how many other infectious bugs.

 

Most won't know they are contagious having picked up the bug on their travel to the ship, or before they left home. They'll spread their viruses around the ship and in some cases may not even become sick themselves.

 

The reality of travel today is that given the numbers of people, the numbers of viruses, the closed environment of a cruise ship and the filthy airplanes taken to get to the ship, people on a cruise will become ill.

 

Don't place all the blame on the cruise ship or line, but rather your fellow passenger and in some cases yourself.

 

As Foghorn Leghorn used to say "You pays your money, you takes your chances"

[janice2348]

I will always and ever turn down the washy washy crap. This is just giving the people a false sense of safety. I´m always happy to use the hand washing facilities on ships that have them, but I´m absolutely not using hand sanitizer on a ship. Hand sanitizer belongs in a hospital and other medical setting, but not on a cruise ship.

 

Plus the fact that it does nothing for norovirus

https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/01/14/really-the-claim-hand-sanitizer-stops-norovirus-spread/

[Cushing985]

Just off the Indy. Many were indeed sick, and medical was overflowing with ill folks. News is reporting over 200 sick, however it was close to double that based on what every staff member told me. And 25 sick staff. We were told it was a "level 3" issue due to high numbers of passengers sick. It was a very uncomfortable feeling to be on the ship. I have a one and half year old and was so nervous for her to get it. Now while they can't control the actual outbreak, RCI CAN control how they respond. For the most part, I feel they handled it very well and obviously had procedures in place. However, I feel they started putting those procedures into practice too late. And then they were poorly communicated - for example - I sequestered my family in our cabin during the worst days (Wednesday and Thursday) Thursday evening I placed a room service order at 4:45pm. By 7pm (after being told 3 separate times that the food was on the way within 10-15 minutes) I gave up and went to the Windjammer. I was VERY relieved to see that every single station that a passenger could touch something was manned by a crew member (I personally think it should be this way all the time, especially regarding food handling). However, when I attempted to leave with a plate of food for my now very cranky toddler, I was told I couldn't bring food out of the Windjammer to my cabin. They stated that it was the "captains policy" and that it was because if I was bringing food to my cabin for a sick person they should be on a restricted diet. Well, needless to say, standing in the way of a mom trying to feed her hungry child isn't usually a great idea. For the first time in my adult life, I pitched a bit of a fit. I am generally understanding to a fault, but if this was a policy people should have been notified so they could have made other arrangements.

 

Anyhoo, short story long, YES. There was a significant issue on this sailing. YES, for the majority RCI handled it well and made me feel like they were addressing the issue seriously. But they should have started sooner and communicated better. Just my 2 cents.

 

Could not agree more. I've seen people sneeze over the food, pick up food with their fingers and my all time favorite, I/ve seen people move food around in the pans with their fingers. Are people more stupid now or I'm I just noticing it?

[Cushing985]

I am looking for someone who knows what is going on!!

 

I can help you out with that. The ship experienced an outbreak of Norovirus and at least 400 passengers were affected. The ship will be super sanitized prior to the next cruise. There is no effect on the passengers boarding for the next cruise other than a delay in boarding (for which Royal is paying each passenger $20.00 for their lunch eaten ashore) and the ship is delaying departure for a few hours.

 

There...what else could you possibly want to know?

[bobkat12]

I can help you out with that. The ship experienced an outbreak of Norovirus and at least 400 passengers were affected. The ship will be super sanitized prior to the next cruise. There is no effect on the passengers boarding for the next cruise other than a delay in boarding (for which Royal is paying each passenger $20.00 for their lunch eaten ashore) and the ship is delaying departure for a few hours.

 

 

 

There...what else could you possibly want to know?

 

 

 

I also am hoping to hear from someone who is currently aboard and the conditions aboard as we cruise on Indy Thursday!

 

 

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[davekathy]

I also am hoping to hear from someone who is currently aboard and the conditions aboard as we cruise on Indy Thursday!

 

 

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Bon Voyage.:ship::champagne-toast:

[CP3o]

I came across something mentioning those who got sick were the ones that ate at the buffet for lunch first day. If someone making the food was sick and infected it, wonder if any amount of prep would matter.

 

Probably good for rccl to learn from this and have ‘disaster’ training on what to do if larger percentage of people were to get sick.

 

 

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[RDC1]

Okay, I'm back down in my cabin now.

 

The issues started a couple of hours after lunch at Labadee yesterday. We talked with several people, word first started getting around at Dinner last night. Adults and children who opted for the hot dog at lunch yesterday the majority were ill within a few hours, this included many who had the dogs on the ship. Those who had the hot dog were mostly fine mid afternoon today whether they'd been down to medical or not. These people did not infect any cabin mates. (I personally know a family of five staying in two joined cabins down from me, one had the hot dog and got sick. Two stayed with him all night last night and never experienced any symptoms. He was fine by 2pm today. same story from others that I've talked to in elevators and bars across the ship. Others have reported illness in those who did not eat the apparently tainted dogs who have infected their companions.

 

I think we have a small Norovirus outbreak. and a large case of food poisoning.

 

I also think some staff has gotten ill as well. My steward was fine earlier today and from previous conversations I know that he does not have a day off during this cruise, but whoever serviced my room this evening was not him. In fact I've not seen him since before I disembarked in Falmouth today.

 

 

Food poisoning makes sense. As I under stand it this sailing was for five days. While this is peak season for Noro in the US, you usually don't get large outbreaks on short cruises due to incubation times. So even if someone comes on board with it, there is not enough time for symptoms to manifest in very many (there is an EU paper describing events on cruise ships and propagation through the passenger that covers this very well). The facts that you are reporting indicating a food based source would make sense with the number of patients and the very rapid onset.

[RDC1]

Why does it seem to occur on cruises between November and March? We were on Brilliance last week which was a Biker Charter (not Biker19). The ship seemed to be dominated by many from cold areas. Many have now reported online that they became ill on last cruise day or a day or two after the cruise. We are from Florida and not ill nor can I find anyone local who was ill. Now it got very cold on our cruise and all these people were dressed in shorts and t shirts. I wonder if this had anything to do with it. Not to mention it poured in Key West and so many got soaked.

 

 

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The reason is because October to March is the peak period for Noro cases in the US as indicated in this graph from the CDC https://www.cdc.gov/norovirus/reported-outbreaks.html

 

Keep in mind that there are usually between 19-21 million cases of Norovirus in the US during a normal year. Out of a US population of 323 million that means that 6.2% of the US population gets Noro each year. The percentage on cruise ships are far far lower. You would have less chance of catching Noro on a cruise ship than you do going about your daily life.

[kkardin]

I am currently on the ship now. The issue actually made the front page of CNN. It looks like almost 6% of the passengers on the previous sailing reported suffering from symptoms of a gastro-intestinal illness. That doesn't include the ones who probably never went to medical.

 

The ship is in some level 3 protocol, so you are served everything by crew. This includes needing to ask for salt,pepper, and condiments. As a result, every line is pretty long no matter when you want to eat. Main dining room seems to be a more "normal" experience, but everywhere else it definitely takes longer to get anything done. Staff won't set drinks out for people to grab, so you are served individually. The staff literally can't keep up, so I gave up trying to get _anything_ to drink at breakfast. At times the drinks would only be half full to try to keep up with demand.

 

I don't know if Indy normally has self-serve soda machines, my last cruise did on a sister ship, but it was almost 5 years ago. In any case, it is very hard to get your money worth out of a drink package since you need to allow quite a bit of time to wait in line. My kids have given up on using it outside of seated dining with adults. It is hard for a minor to get through the line to get any drink at all.

 

The staff is doing a good job, and they seem to be friendly as usual. Unfortunately, because of the situation the _feeling_ is that the first priority is keeping people from getting sick, and providing the traditional cruise experience is secondary. I'm not sure if they really have any choice, but we definitely feel like we lost the lottery on this one. I still get served alcohol whenever I want it pretty quickly.