FYI - Emerald Princess 3/17 Panama Canal Cruise Gastrointestinal Illness Outbreak

[JeffM1]

FYI - We are sailing on the 4/1 Emerald Princess Panama Canal Cruise in 4 days and just received the following "Emergency-Notification":

DELAYED EMBARKATION

Please be advised that embarkation for your Emerald Princess cruise has been delayed. During the current cruise there were elevated case counts of gastrointestinal illness among guests. A comprehensive sanitation program was launched in response, and Emerald Princess will undergo a prolonged disinfection in Los Angeles on Saturday, April 1, 2023. Check-in for your cruise will be delayed until 1:00 PM and your stateroom will be available shortly thereafter. Please do not arrive before 1:00 PM as the terminal will be closed for sanitation. Guests with Princess hotels or transfers will have their check-in times provided at the hotel or airport. All guests must be on board by 4:00 PM. Please refer to the Princess MedallionClass app for your assigned boarding group and see below for your revised arrival group time:...

[eclue]

Not to worry...we just went thru the delayed boarding on the Ruby in Galveston on March 5th...all went well...there was no self serving until the 5th day after the deep cleaning......we never got the virus but then we wash our hands. We will be boarding the Emerald on April 16th after your trip - hope it is all clear by then. You know....this is the time of the year for noro to show its ugly head - safe travels to all!!!

 

[JeffM1]

Thanks for the update.  We've been waiting for this cruise for three years, it will take more than this to stop us!!

[deja moo]

We got $43 on board credit for the March 5th delay on the Ruby. Check your account when you board.

 

Princess did a good job with sanitation as we did not hear of any illness on our sailing.

 

Enjoy!

 

 

[jinpasco]

We got off the Emerald the  14 day cruise prior to this one. Hubby got the bug and yes, we washed our hands and used sanitizers. One thing I think I will do differently from now on is to not only wash hands prior to eating but AFTER getting our food also. At least carry the antibacterial wipes or gel with us to use. Maybe WE washed but several others may not  have.When you go to the buffet you touch many spoons, salt and pepper and even the chairs. Lots of surfaces. Lesson learned! I

For those that say just skip the buffet....on this cruise the buffet has better food than the diningroom. Prime rib second night! The brisket was so tender there should have been a line made for " seconds only ". 

[bronzey214]

5 minutes ago, jinpasco said:

At least carry the antibacterial wipes or gel with us to use.

Only one type of gel works for Norovirus and that's the Purell Prime Defense. Just FYI.

[Coral]

I wish they would go back to serving at buffets. Plus - I liked the little containers things were plated with. Just grab and go. This would help prevent some cases of Norovirus.

[Paula_MacFan]

1 hour ago, jinpasco said:

We got off the Emerald the  14 day cruise prior to this one. Hubby got the bug and yes, we washed our hands and used sanitizers. One thing I think I will do differently from now on is to not only wash hands prior to eating but AFTER getting our food also. At least carry the antibacterial wipes or gel with us to use. Maybe WE washed but several others may not  have.When you go to the buffet you touch many spoons, salt and pepper and even the chairs. Lots of surfaces. Lesson learned! I

For those that say just skip the buffet....on this cruise the buffet has better food than the diningroom. Prime rib second night! The brisket was so tender there should have been a line made for " seconds only ". 

We like the buffet too and always carry single wrapped wet wipes with us which we use after getting our food and before we eat.  I also try to only get foods that I can eat with silverware and not things that require touching food or eating with my hands.  We also agree that sometimes the food in the buffet is better than the dining room, and many times they have the same entrees 🙂  Sorry you were negatively impacted by the bug on your cruise. 

[jinpasco]

39 minutes ago, Paula_MacFan said:

We like the buffet too and always carry single wrapped wet wipes with us which we use after getting our food and before we eat.  I also try to only get foods that I can eat with silverware and not things that require touching food or eating with my hands.  We also agree that sometimes the food in the buffet is better than the dining room, and many times they have the same entrees 🙂  Sorry you were negatively impacted by the bug on your cruise. 

We learned a good lesson. It was only 2 days and one was a formal night with steak and lobster.Instead, it was soup and club sandwich on the balcony. Actually it was very nice and quiet, great view. We were on the Caribe deck with the extended balcony.. Sometimes the simple things in life are the best ( minus the bug). 😬

[geocruiser]

One thing that we do all the time, is as soon as we get into our cabin we wash our hands.  Just to try not bring germs inside our cabin.