Looks like Sky Princess has norovirus - boarding delayed

[Coral]

IMPORTANT NOTICES

Booking Notification

November 1, 2019

Voyage / Dest: Ship / Registry: Embarkation: Disembarkation:

Y944B / 28 Days Europe - Trans-Atlantic Sky Princess / Bermudan
November 3, 2019 / Rome (Civitavec December 1, 2019 / Fort Lauderdale

Please be advised that during the current cruise there were elevated case counts of gastrointestinal illness among guests. Although the majority of guests have been unaffected, in an abundance of caution Sky Princess will undergo a prolonged additional disinfection in Rome (Civitavecchia) on Sunday, November 3, 2019. Check-in for your cruise will begin at 2:00 PM and embarkation will begin shortly after. Please do not arrive prior to your designated check-in time as seating will be unavailable.

 

2:00 PM - Aloha and Lido Decks - Cabins on these decks begin with A & L
2:30 PM - Dolphin and Emerald Decks - Cabins on these decks begin with D & E
3:00 PM - Caribe Deck - Cabins on this deck begin with C
3:30 PM - Marina and Riviera Decks - Cabins on these decks begin with M & R
4:00 PM - Baja and Sun Decks - Cabins on these decks begin with B & S

All guests must be aboard by 5:00 PM. Sky Princess is expected to depart Rome at 6:00 PM as scheduled.

Edited November 2, 2019 by Coral

[hobbyfarmer2]

Hope it clears up on this cruise as we board on Nov 10 for a b2b.

[Steelers36]

How unfortunate to happen with a brand spanking new ship.

 

[mthomp5]

Bummer about the noro onboard.  Hopefully they can wipe that out and it doesn’t linger around for future sailings.

[PoohUnderstands]

"Usually" a sailing right after they do the above cleaning is a good time to go.  This is becoming a common occurrence aboard ships in the last year or so.  Our Disney Cruise last year, we were held up boarding for a few hours as they cleaned (and if you have cruised Disney you know there are NO seats in the waiting area to speak of!); on our last cruise (Baltic/TA on the Regal) we didn't have a round of noro, but FluA which my DH and I got!  Thank goodness, though, never have gotten the noro.  I think that would have been worse.  We wash a lot and don't go near the buffet as we don't like buffets.  Maybe that helps.  But I will say, Princess has a good plan in place if Medical determines noro cases are prevalent!  They also did a good job surrounding the FluA outbreak too.

 

Pooh

[mamkmm2]

2 hours ago, hobbyfarmer2 said:

Hope it clears up on this cruise as we board on Nov 10 for a b2b.

 

Our experience this year has been if it is happening on one cruise, the following cruise will also experience the elevated hygiene protocols even if a high level disinfection process takes place on the ship AND in the terminal.  That happened to us this year on the Caribbean (though they were raised once we got into Canadian waters), the Golden, and the Island.

 

What that means is:  no self-serve in the buffet or pool-side food condiments, no salt/pepper/sweeteners on tables, no butter or rolls on the tables in the MDR but served separately, no self-serve beverages, heightened handwashing requirements with crew enforcement, you are asked to use hand sanitizer going in and out of most of the venues, and for those they don't outright tell you to they have them available.  The railings in the elevators and stairwells are often damp to wet as crews run rags doused in some kind of disinfectant on them numerous times through the day.  There are other things as well but the ones above are the ones that impacted us the most.

Edited November 2, 2019 by mamkmm2

[Astro Flyer]

Coral...not only a delayed boarding but the weather forecast is 100% chance of thundershowers & showers with winds 25-35 mph & gusts over 40 mph.  As I recall the terminal wasn’t very large so it will be a soggy start to our 28 days enjoying the Sky.

 

Tonight we’re at a Civitavecchia hotel & can confirm that this evening’s forecasted 100% chance of rain is accurate.

 

A passenger on the cruise ending Sunday posted on our roll call there were 28 possible cases of norovirus.  The only time I experienced a delayed boarding to deep clean the ship they didn’t allow anyone in the terminal until their stated time.  Inclement weather with a delayed embarkation...we’re in no hurry this time & won’t be earlybirds like on other cruises.

[liamur14]

Dirty Passengers ! 🙁

[Coral]

4 hours ago, Astro Flyer said:

Coral...not only a delayed boarding but the weather forecast is 100% chance of thundershowers & showers with winds 25-35 mph & gusts over 40 mph.  As I recall the terminal wasn’t very large so it will be a soggy start to our 28 days enjoying the Sky.

 

Tonight we’re at a Civitavecchia hotel & can confirm that this evening’s forecasted 100% chance of rain is accurate.

 

It will be nice and clean for you.

 

Have an amazing cruise!

[Colo Cruiser]

Cruise lines have to report. 

Airlines/Hotels/Trains/ Buses etc etc don't.

 

Noro is everywhere. It only takes one.

 

[liamur14]

Hello Coral, Where did you stay in Civ?   We're doing the same on the Enchanted next fall. Looking forward to your comments and reviews.  I think the Enchanted is pretty much as the same as the Sky. My daughter was in the officer ranking for 8 yr with princess and they experienced the outbreak a few times.  Mostly starts with Passengers never washing up. Staff always commented on Dirty Passengers! Sad but true that grown -ups want to skip this step .  ON a  recent Holland Cruise there was a staff  permantly stationed at the buffet area ensuring everyone washed up properly using soap and water.... no one got past them !   Many tried and were denied entrance!   I thought it was a great idea.  Hope you have a great adventure on the Sky.

😎Cheers. 

[Colo Cruiser]

23 minutes ago, liamur14 said:

  ON a  recent Holland Cruise there was a staff  permantly stationed at the buffet area ensuring everyone washed up properly using soap and water.... no one got past them !   Many tried and were denied entrance!  

What about those that claimed it was THEIR cruise?

Were there fist fights?   🤔

[Coral]

23 minutes ago, liamur14 said:

Hello Coral, Where did you stay in Civ?   We're doing the same on the Enchanted next fall. Looking forward to your comments and reviews.  I think the Enchanted is pretty much as the same as the Sky. My daughter was in the officer ranking for 8 yr with princess and they experienced the outbreak a few times.  Mostly starts with Passengers never washing up. Staff always commented on Dirty Passengers! Sad but true that grown -ups want to skip this step .  ON a  recent Holland Cruise there was a staff  permantly stationed at the buffet area ensuring everyone washed up properly using soap and water.... no one got past them !   Many tried and were denied entrance!   I thought it was a great idea.  Hope you have a great adventure on the Sky.

😎Cheers. 

I am not on the Sky Princess. I happened to be speaking with my agent earlier and she brought this up.

 

It appears Astroflyer probably has a hotel location he can give a review on.

 

Have a great cruise next year!

[Micahs Grandad]

Friend told us the scuttlebutt is a passenger came on with it and passed it around

[Colo Cruiser]

1 hour ago, Micahs Grandad said:

Friend told us the scuttlebutt is a passenger came on with it and passed it around

🤔

[liamur14]

1 hour ago, Colo Cruiser said:

What about those that claimed it was THEIR cruise?

Were there fist fights?   🤔

Colo Cruiser ...... No issues at all !   Holland staff were very firm and professional. This was a French Polynesia cruise so very easy , laid back and courteous passengers, like I said ... no issues that I seen or heard of. 

Edited November 3, 2019 by liamur14

[susiefay]

2 hours ago, Micahs Grandad said:

Friend told us the scuttlebutt is a passenger came on with it and passed it around

That's usually the case.  Happened on our Alaskan cruise aboard the Star last year.  The captain said as much and Princess did an excellent job keeping it contained.  Wash wash wash!

 

[cr8tiv1]

12 hours ago, Astro Flyer said:

Coral...not only a delayed boarding but the weather forecast is 100% chance of thundershowers & showers with winds 25-35 mph & gusts over 40 mph.  As I recall the terminal wasn’t very large so it will be a soggy start to our 28 days enjoying the Sky.

 

Tonight we’re at a Civitavecchia hotel & can confirm that this evening’s forecasted 100% chance of rain is accurate.

 

A passenger on the cruise ending Sunday posted on our roll call there were 28 possible cases of norovirus.  The only time I experienced a delayed boarding to deep clean the ship they didn’t allow anyone in the terminal until their stated time.  Inclement weather with a delayed embarkation...we’re in no hurry this time & won’t be earlybirds like on other cruises.

 

You are really a long way from home.  Safe travels and enjoy your cruise.  

[Astro Flyer]

9 hours ago, Coral said:

It will be nice and clean for you.

 

Have an amazing cruise!

 

Thanks Coral...we’re ready for an amazing cruise after the boarding delay to prepare the ship & hopefully no one brings it onboard again.

 

35 minutes ago, cr8tiv1 said:

 

You are really a long way from home.  Safe travels and enjoy your cruise.  

 

Mahalo Renee...11 hours from the Islands.

 

Hopefully our Medallions will speed up the boarding process unlike last April in LA when it wasn’t any faster for us.

Edited November 3, 2019 by Astro Flyer

[Geoffa30]

Have been onboard this past week and will be on for next week too. Per the captain’s nightly announcement, numbers peaked at 47 on Friday evening. Three crew members seemingly affected at that time. First announcement was on Wednesday when there were 17 cases, Thursday it had risen to 28. Last night it had fallen to 17.

[Astro Flyer]

6 hours ago, liamur14 said:

Where did you stay in Civ?   We're doing the same on the Enchanted next fall.

 

We stayed at the same Civitavecchia hotel as previously...Hotel San Giorgio...and are once again enjoying our stay here.  It’s conveniently located a short distance from the port’s front gate & has a shuttle to the ship option.  It’s also a short distance from the train station but this time we preferred taking a shuttle van from Bob’s Limos to the hotel from Rome.  It’s about a 0.5 mile walk to Supermercato Elite where we bought well priced wine to take on the ship.  They had a €5 Banfi Chianti that at the hotel’s front desk was €25.

[caribill]

57 minutes ago, Geoffa30 said:

Have been onboard this past week and will be on for next week too. Per the captain’s nightly announcement, numbers peaked at 47 on Friday evening. Three crew members seemingly affected at that time. First announcement was on Wednesday when there were 17 cases, Thursday it had risen to 28. Last night it had fallen to 17.

 

 

Will they be requiring you to leave the ship until the cleaning is completed?

[Expat Cruise]

I'm sorry but I see this another way, I really do not believe it is on the passengers, I believe it starts with the crew. You really need to understand most crew members come from third world countries and have no idea about food safety until they start working for the cruise line.  I see this everyday, go to the local markets in the Philippines and you find fresh meat and fish out in the open, no refrigeration, no packaging just laid in bins. Most family do not even understand refrigeration, leaving cook foods out at room temperature to eat later. 

 

So it becomes very hard to train people to change what they have been doing their whole life. Add in a new ship with new crew and limited training on the ship and these outbreaks happen. Having spent the last 20 years outside the United States, most of that time in third world countries.....what my friends visiting cannot eat I seem to have no issues with. Most travelers are exposed to bacteria that is foreign to their systems.  This is one of the leading reasons people get sick. 

 

The bottom line is if you travel , you may have these issues with gastrointestinal illness. You need to be prepared. We travel with a complete personal pharmacy, drugs for almost anything that could come up during the cruise. (All legal with a visit to the doctors office first).

[Geoffa30]

3 hours ago, caribill said:

 

 

Will they be requiring you to leave the ship until the cleaning is completed?

We had to be off from 930 until 1130. Currently sat in the Vista Lounge waiting for clearance though. It’s 1230. We can go to the Cielo dining room for lunch but nowhere else. 

[AF-1]

to all those on Sky this week.  Once they allow boarding; have fun and take lots of pics