Mercury passengers ill

[Joe Beach]

I agree Arno, the first suspect in my book is crossover for reinfection. Though I think it more likely a crew thing. All it takes is the wrong crew to start the reinfection of the next load of passengers. Then it escalates, because some passengers think THEY don't contribute to the problem, and they don't want to be quarantined so they go around infecting, because THEY are ALL trained in asepsis (the process of removing pathogenic microorganisms or protecting against infection by such organisms) OK a little sarcasm.

 

To note, when it got so bad in the past some cruises were cancelled for a week, which I believe broke the cycle of reinfection. Not to say chlorox doesn't work, but something reintroduces it, whether it is a missed spot or a crew crossover.

[Fblack]

Moondoggie:

 

Sorry to hear you were sick. I am curious, were you treated with IV's in your cabin or did you have to "drag" yourself to the doctors office on the ship?

[C 2 C]

Hey Joe:

 

Jack makes a good disinfectant.;)

 

Arno

[hardingk]

I was thinking that...just keep drinking...it will kill anything.

[Salty Dawg]

Just think of the crew & how hard they have worked dealing with the effects of this illness for the last 3 sailings of the Mercury. I'm sure it doesn't make for a pleasant voyage for them either. A few complained about the staff but it is no wonder that some employees displayed a 'crappy' disposition!

[Fblack]

New San Diego Union Tribune story on latest outbreak.

 

 

 

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20060327-1312-bn27virus.html

[Happy ks]

There are many precautions you should take, especially when there is an outbreak occurring on a ship. Avoid touching surfaces that others have touched. The tip about the bathroom, using the towel to open the door is a good one except, many times on a ship the public bathroom does not have paper towels!

 

I keep tissues in my purse for this very reason. I use a tissue to turn off the water spigot (you can re-contaminate your hands by touching the handle again) and to open the bathroom door. Keeping your hands out of your mouth, nose and eyes will help, too. But, there are many surfaces we just don't think about. Elevator buttons, rails, counter tops, any surface other people are touching.

 

Every year we hear about the Noro-virus on ships, it's one of the hazzards of being in public, as cruise ships are the only public venue that has to report it.

 

The numbers may be much higher than the ship reports, they only report the cases they know of. Some people don't go to the infirmary, don't stay quarantined long enough and, unfortunately, infect their fellow pax unnecessarily. It seems as though this is a person to person contamination, not food or beverage related.

 

The illness does sound dreadful, I hope my luck stays with me and I never have to experience it.

[Salty Dawg]

Waiting to read reports from those returning from the latest voyage...

[NanD]

We just returned from the 3/17 Mercury cruise.....with no ill effects. Not time at the moment to go into depth, but the crew worked overtime during the entire cruise disinfecting the ship....continually wiping down all surfaces. Altho there were more cases of the norovirus than considered acceptable, the numbers were cut appreciably from the prior cruise. The first clue that there had been a problem with the previous cruise was arriving at the terminal to find the terminal room jammed full of waiting passengers as boarding time was pushed way back. The second clue was the hand sanitizer at the top of the gangway immediately upon entering the ship. Hand santizers became the symbol of the cruise. There was a monitor entering all food service overseeing their use. Hand washing was continually emphasized. Officials from the US Public Health Service were aboard. The unofficial feedback is that Mercury proceedures were not found to be lacking. Today our debarkation was earlier than usual to give added time to disinfect more before the next sailing. Everyone was off the ship by 9AM. The 3/27 passengers were going to arrive to find a very tired crew. We hope for everyone's sake this next cruise will be easier. All the ship's crew...and I mean everyone...even band members....were seen in working parties washing down the ship. We certainly appreciate their efforts on our behalf. Personally my husband and I had a wonderful time and remained healthy. There were some inconveniences due to the heightened status, but none significant enough to ruin our vacation. As for our first experience on Celebrity, that discussion will come at another time. Right now I'm sure most are concentrating on the norovirus outbreak that was newsworthy. A short version, however, is we had a great time...found a few things we prefer on Celebrity and a few we missed from Princess. Botton line, however, is we haven't met a cruise we didn't like. Tomorrow...flying back to Washington. I'll check in to see what the take is from other 3/17 cruisers is later.

Nan

[mktmzm]

I also just disembarked from the 3/17 sailing of the Mercury. Our group of 4 was not affected by any gastro-intestinal issues. This was due mostly to the fact that we kept to ourselves, didn't use the buffet or many of the public areas. I have a chronic illness and was almost afraid to leave my cabin. I certainly did not want to be evacuated to a Mexican Hospital if my condition worsened by being aggravated by the Norwalk virus.

 

This was our 4th sailing on the Mercury and we were VERY disappointed with the overall quality of the cruise.

 

Major areas of disappointment...

 

1.) We were NEVER informed about the health issues on the previous cruise. The only time we were made aware that there was an issue was when we received a CDC survey. We were never given the choice as to whether we wanted to get on the "sick" ship. Anyone with a chronic health problem was put at HIGH RISK by NOT being informed by Celebrity. I have since found out that the 3/27 cruise passengers had received an email from Celebrity telling them where to call about their options for sailing.

 

2.) In order to sanitize, the staff was spraying BLEACH everywhere. Instead of spraying the bleach on the rags and wiping, they were spraying a bleach mixture into the air and then occasionally wiping down the area. In many cases, passengers were walking into a mist of bleach (which is very dangerous). This bleach mixture would also damage passengers clothing if they happened to lean upon a railing or wall.

 

3.) Numerous ship events were cancelled due to the health concerns. Again, we should have been given the choice to select another sailing.

 

4.) We were disembarked VERY early with very little notice. People who had made previous arrangements to be picked up were left sitting at the terminal for several hours.

 

5.) The crew went above and beyond the call of duty to keep the ship clean. We even saw Celebrity dancers cleaning down railings and walls on many occasions. However, the staff was so tired that they could barely keep up with feeding the passengers. There were many long lines on the buffets and restaurants. Celebrity was WELL aware that the previous cruise was a major health issue. They should have flown in staff to supplement the overworked and exhausted crew.

 

These are just a few concerns.. Overall the quality was just not up to Celebrity's standards. Food was just ok and the Shows were very lame.

 

As I said, we have cruised exclusively on Celebrity and this was our 3rd time on the Mercury. We had booked a Royal Suite and ended up spending most of our shipboard time there.

 

I was going to book a future cruise while onboard, but chose not to because I was so disgusted by how they Celebrity management treated the passengers on this sailing

 

Marcy

[Salty Dawg]

I was going to book a future cruise while onboard, but chose not to because I was so disgusted by how they Celebrity management treated the passengers on this sailing.

 

Marcy

I felt the same way about the ship's officers & management personnel we encountered on the March 6th. voyage.

 

The ship's food service workers, stewards, & maintenance employees tried to maintain a cheerful attitude and were doing their best under the circumstances but it was obvious the added workload was taking a toll on them.

[C 2 C]

I felt the same way about the ship's officers & management personnel we encountered on the March 6th. voyage.

 

We felt the same after our 14 day Zenith norwalk experience last year. The crew is hard working but management was in total denial mode. Bleach spray everywhere but no admission or explanation of the seriousness of the problem at any time.

[bububr]

"1.) We were NEVER informed about the health issues on the previous cruise. The only time we were made aware that there was an issue was when we received a CDC survey. We were never given the choice as to whether we wanted to get on the "sick" ship. Anyone with a chronic health problem was put at HIGH RISK by NOT being informed by Celebrity. I have since found out that the 3/27 cruise passengers had received an email from Celebrity telling them where to call about their options for sailing.

 

2.) In order to sanitize, the staff was spraying BLEACH everywhere. Instead of spraying the bleach on the rags and wiping, they were spraying a bleach mixture into the air and then occasionally wiping down the area. In many cases, passengers were walking into a mist of bleach (which is very dangerous). This bleach mixture would also damage passengers clothing if they happened to lean upon a railing or wall."

 

I have to disagree somewhat with these statements.

 

#1. The ship was not sick, passengers brought the sickness onboard. I don't care who you are or where you come from...we all lie at one point in our lives and we also have the tendency to disregard others at some point. I just wonder how many passengers answered the questionaire at the pier truthfully. or how many were already sick, but didn't want to give up their vacation. As for 'chronic illnesses' any public contact is a risk. I'm not saying that you shouldn't vacation...but you are taking your chances by being in an elevator, airplane, bus, or even in a mall. Should ANY public venue be required to POST warning signs just becuse someone sneezes? We all get sick once in a while. This is NORWALK season... Many schools and offices across the US have closed down for a period to try and halt this illness. THe best line of defense is to wash your hands and not touch your eyes or nose. It is NOT highly contagious by ingestion as the saliva and stomach acids kill the virus.

 

#2 At least they WERE sanitizing. If you recall on the questionaire..they specifically mentioned the Shereton harbor view, one of the popular hotels to stay at. Did anyone EVER see them sanitize anything with bleach? Airlines don't sanitize the planes, busses don't get sanitized...etc.. There is VERY LITTLE chance this illness was already on the ship...there is VERY good reason to believe it was brough on by a passenger or passengers. EXAMPLE..in the buffet upon embarkation...MANY refused to sanitize their hands...many refused to cover their mouths when the coughed or sneezed. I blame this on disrespectful passengers, not the cruiseline.

 

I do however agree that they could have wiped down surfaces a little better, but I think the crew was just over tired from the last trip, and they had just about had it with this proceedure...and I don't blame them.

 

As for bleach overspray...the amount you would ingest/inhale is less of that you would get exposed to in a hot tub or pool. It is not deadly unless highly concentrated, or if continually exposed to a person with severe allergies, or breathing problems...It is however annoying.

 

I did not get ill, I used the sanitizers which CELEBRITY has ALWAYS provided and washed my hands frequently. Had others done the same, I truly believe this cruise would have been more enjoyable for all.

 

Dave:eek:

 

detailed review to follow

[mktmzm]

Dave..

 

I also used hand-sanitizers and wash hands frequently. Our party did not get sick, but we didn't use the buffet and used the stairs and our private bathrooms instead of using the public ones.

 

I was wondering what deck your cabin was on. On our deck, the narrow hallways were being sprayed with a VERY strong solution of bleach. Having worked in a hospital, I KNOW there are other (less toxic) solutions that can used.

 

Several passengers on our deck became physically ill from the fumes. Some of them had existing allerigies and respiratory illnesses, but they should have been WARNED that this was going to happen during our cruise. There was a significant outbreak on the sailing PRIOR to ours.

 

The management of Celebrity knew enough to bring on an extra physician for the 3/17 sailing. Why couldn't they have WARNED the passengers like they did for the 2/27 sailing.

 

Marcy

[Fblack]

I would like clarification to the folling comment:

 

"Numerous ship events were cancelled due to the health concerns. Again, we should have been given the choice to select another sailing."

 

Please explain what was cancelled.

[bububr]

I agree there should have been a more expansive press release on the issue.

 

However our group never became ill, and we ate at the buffet daily as well as the main diningroom. enjoyed the public areas, I KNOW I used the public washrooms more than my cabin facilities ( I did see MANY men NOT wash their hands after using them, and I witness an elderly gentleman vomiting in one of the stalls and tried to assist him...He inturn got angry and stormed out WITHOUT washing his hands, and vomit on his jacket. I promptly reported him to an officer. ).

 

We were on deck 10 midship and yes we were in bleach vapors for most of the cruise. But I have to wonder, yet I'll take your word, were these people on your deck ACTUALLY ill from the fumes, or totally and completely annoyed and frustrated by them? As I mentioned before hand....many people lie, and even more want to get something for nothing from the 'rich' cruiseline companies.

 

As for the cleaning solution of bleach, CELEBRITY was following the CDC guidelines. The incident was reported, and the CDC has not found any violations. If anything, some of the complaints should be with our own CDC, which mandates the proceedures, not the ships that adhere to them.

 

As I said, I was dissapointed somewhat in the way things were handled, but I had no control over them, being said, I enjoyed the trip. Not the BEST, but not the worst time I've had on a ship either. We are on the Mercury again in September, and booked another cruise with future sales regardless.

 

I'm very sorry to hear your experience was less than expected. I had some problems with the excursions which I will go into in my review.

 

Fblack: some of the things that we missed out on.

 

1. The Grand Buffet. ( Cancelled per CDC)

2. Fruit and twist in drinks. (Cancelled per CDC)

3. Wine tasting ( Cancelled per CDC)

4. Galley tour for elite members..this was obvious ( Cancelled per CDC)

5. diningroom and buffet doors were closed on one side as not to allow passengers that DIDN'T use hand sanitizer to sneak in ( Celebrity )

6. Closing of certain public areas to be completely sterilized ( Celebrity)

7. The CONSTANT parade of mask wearing crew with bleach bottles that lurked in the hallways sometimes making it difficult to walk through.

 

And some other little annoyances.

 

But the biggest annoyance was some of the passengers. At one point in the martini bar a woman from New York going to dinner ( Dressed in JEANS btw, was furious she couldn't get a twist in her drink. This apparently RUINED her whole cruise ) personally someone disrespectful enough to wear jeans to the main diningroom on Informal night doesn't warrant my sympathy.

 

Dave:eek:

[tangerinebunny]

I'd guess that many of us are interested in hearing from the people who just sailed and those who just returned. Perhaps they'll feel free to give honest reactions if we treat them politely and don't second guess their comments. Afterall, they don't owe us an explanation; they're being kind enough to give us their perspective on events.

[mktmzm]

Dave....

 

I was also on deck 10 midship on the port side. Yes. Please do take my word. I am not lying when I say that people became ill from the fumes. Our dining partners were not "complainers" nor did they want to get something from the cruiseline (other than what they paid for). One woman had bad allergies. They were under control when she boarded. She stayed in her room alot after the bleaching became a torrent down the walls each day.

 

Yes, the bleach was frustrating. Perhaps more frustrating was the lack of open communication from the officers and management.

 

Even more so, as you say are the passengers who will not adhere to good hygiene practices or the rules. There were rumours flying during the cruise that passengers were actually removed from the ship for not remaining quarentined. I was also sitting by the pool and a man sat down beside me who promptly told me about all of his stomache ailments that morning. I was appalled and shocked that someone who had been sick would go to the VERY crowded pool area after having been sick that morning. He then got up and later asked me to hand him his shirt (I did not).

 

In retrospect, the crew did a fabulous job keeping things running under those circumstances, but wouldn't it have been better to cancel the cruise and give the ship a good cleaning instead of letting us get on board on 3/17? They disembarked us early and boarded the 27th sailing very late in order to do a room by room intense cleaning. Our waiter was responsible for assisting on 25 cabins.

 

Marcy

[joeyanddavid]

ABC7 in losangeles reports the illness outbreaks still exsisits .. the had a report this morning that Numerous passengers report getting sick. Maybe they need to "tent " the ship or what ever they do to disinfect an entire ship.....this doesnt sound like they have got a handle on it

[Sky Sweet]

ABC7 in losangeles reports the illness outbreaks still exsisits .. the had a report this morning that Numerous passengers report getting sick. Maybe they need to "tent " the ship or what ever they do to disinfect an entire ship.....this doesnt sound like they have got a handle on it

 

I agree with you. If I had booked that cruise, I would have been grateful if it was cancelled. That way it could be disinfected in a manner that cannot be done while it is filled with passengers who are expecting and deserve excellent service.

[mktmzm]

I totally agree! The aggravating part is that those of us who were on the March 17th sailing were NEVER informed prior to boarding that their were health concerns.

 

We only found out by hearing about sick passengers while we were onboard and by receiving the CDC Survey.

 

Marcy

[joeyanddavid]

by receiving the CDC Survey.

 

Marcy

 

Hi Marcy.. could u elaborate on what the CDC survey covered?

[mktmzm]

The CDC Survey was very extensive.

 

for each of the 5 days previous to the sailing, it asked detailed questions about the following:

 

1.) Where did you sleep? Specifically, did you sleep at the San Diego Sheraton.

 

2.) Were you traveling in a group? Was anyone in your group sick prior to sailing?

 

3.) Were YOU sick prior to sailing? If so, what were your symptoms and did you seek medical advice prior to sailing.

 

For each day of the sailing up until the survey, about Wednesday we received the survey:

 

1.) Where did you eat Lunch, Breakfast, Dinner, and Snacks?

 

2.) Did you use the Casino?

 

3.) Did you use the Celebrity theater?

 

4.) Did you use the shops? Remember.. EVERYONE is picking up the merchandise!!!

 

It took us about an hour to fill it out. EACH person was supposed to fill out their own survey.

 

Marcy

[C 2 C]

I totally agree! The aggravating part is that those of us who were on the March 17th sailing were NEVER informed prior to boarding that their were health concerns.

We only found out by hearing about sick passengers while we were onboard and by receiving the CDC Survey.

Marcy

 

When we arrived at the Tampa cruise terminal in January 2005 waiting to board the Veendam, HAL gave us a form letter stating the problem on the previous sailing and offering us a full refund if we decided not to board. Since we had paid for our own travel arrangements and these were not covered, we decided to get on board. We were then given a two page "Health Notice" explaining what would be done differently on the sailing.... I can post the details if anyone is interested.

[Salty Dawg]

...We were then given a two page "Health Notice" explaining what would be done differently on the sailing.... I can post the details if anyone is interested.

I would be interested in reading the details. ~~Thank you!~~