Noro caution costs traveler cruise USAToday

[coolcat12]

Posted below is the link to the article about a man who suffered an intestinal issue prior to his cruise and was denied boarding. I found it interesting that he had insurance but had some trouble with his claim. I was very happy to find out that Holland America refunded his cruise portion. Read on:::

 

http://www.usatoday.com/travel/columnist/burbank/2007-05-22-cruise-line-norovirus_N.htm#uslPageReturn

[RuthC]

I consider myself a well-informed, responsible passenger who would never put other passengers in danger of getting sick.

Still, if I were in that passenger's situation I wonder what I would have done. That's a lot of money---not to mention a longed-for cruise---to put on the line. How many of us can say we wouldn't be tempted to something other than the "right thing"? How many of us can say we wouldn't succumb?

[cusyl]

He did the right thing and got punished for it, no wonder people get on the ship and don't reveal an illness. They should have rewarded him for telling the truth with an onboard credit for next cruise or something.

[O2B@C]

Yes, it has occurred to me to wonder how effective this questionnaire method of screening is. If people know that a "yes" answer means denial of boarding, and that there's no way to check whether their answers are true - well, we're all human. I'm not saying I would lie, nor am I saying anyone would be justified in putting other pax at risk by doing so. I'm just trying to be realistic about human nature. :rolleyes: Cusyl's idea of rewarding people for honesty makes a very good point, in that regard.

 

It would be great if there were a simple, quick saliva test or something, but there isn't. Bottom line is that people with noro are going to get on board if they're really determined to do so - and that's not even counting those who were exposed on the plane to the embarkation port and don't even know it yet when they board. So we all have to be responsible about our personal hygiene in order to protect ourselves the best we can, and just hope our luck holds!

[MercedMike]

The last paragraph of that article is well worth quoting again and again:

 

"How can you avoid trouble? Buy travel insurance. Travelers often plan—and prepay—far in advance for cruises. Insurance can help if your plans change.

Contact the cruise line if you get sick before your trip to find out what your options are. Don't travel if you're ill.

Protect yourself against norovirus. Thorough handwashing is the best defense; alcohol-based gel hand sanitizers can help, but aren't a substitute for soap and water."

 

I remember back in 2004 when we boarded Rhapsody of the Seas there was a sign at the checkin that said:

 

""If you are suffering from a gastrointestinal problem, we will be glad to give you a full refund on your cruise fare and a free upgrade on a future cruise."

 

Now that seems to be to be a very sensible carrot approach to the problem. But I haven't seen it since.

[jtl513]

In the end all it cost him was the cost of the travel insurance policy - which has happened to me also - so it didn't turn out too badly except for the very large disappointment. However, I am a little surprised that they wouldn't let him board on the condition of confinement to his cabin for 48 hours, just as if he had first had symptoms after boarding. :confused:

[sail7seas]

It surprised me that insurance company will review case by case before deciding whether to pay in a like situation. Did they pay this time because USA Today was doing the story? Would they pay you or me in the same circumstance?

 

[sail7seas]

sorry.......double

[PDAZ]

Well I'm confused. The passenger stated that he thought he had the one day flu on March 1st and that when he was boarding on March 6th, he was asked if he'd been ill in the past three days. My math says no.

[kryos]

He did the right thing and got punished for it, no wonder people get on the ship and don't reveal an illness. They should have rewarded him for telling the truth with an onboard credit for next cruise or something.

I hate to say it, but unless I was absolutely certain I was suffering from an intestinal virus and not a reaction to the rigors of traveling to the port or maybe something I ate the previous day that didn't agree with me, I doubt I would "fess up" to stomach troubles at the port. There's too many other things that can cause one's stomach to act up ... and most of them have absolutely nothing to do with viruses.

 

So, if it were me, I would get onboard and then perhaps stay in my cabin for the first day and see what developed.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[kryos]

It surprised me that insurance company will review case by case before deciding whether to pay in a like situation. Did they pay this time because USA Today was doing the story? Would they pay you or me in the same circumstance?

 

I hate to say it, but I don't think they would. Saying you've been sick is a great way to get out of taking a cruise when something comes up at the last minute. Too much chance for a passenger to manipulate the system. For example, if things in my life change at the last minute ... something crops up that would not be a valid reason to cancel and thus be reimbursed ... such as my job offered me a major promotion three days before the cruise contingent on the condition that I cancel my cruise ... what a great way to be able to cancel and still get my money back. Take a day or two off ... go to the pier ... and then tell them that yes, I've had stomach trouble as recently as that morning. Sure, I've wasted my airfare ... but I wouldn't have been able to cancel that and get my money back anyway. Sure, I put up with traveling to the port ... but a bit of trouble is sure worth it to get maybe $3,000 back from a cruise that at the last minute I can't take.

 

Not saying many people would do this ... but it is definitely something that the travel insurers have to consider.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[kryos]

However, I am a little surprised that they wouldn't let him board on the condition of confinement to his cabin for 48 hours, just as if he had first had symptoms after boarding. :confused:

That's what strikes me as strange too. What? If he got sick two days into the cruise ... would the cruise line then make him disembark at the next port? Heck no. They would simply quaranteen him. So, why not quaranteen someone who reports these symptoms as soon as they board?

 

Better to lose a couple of days of your cruise being confined to your cabin than lose out on the whole thing, right?

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[sail7seas]

I hate to say it, but I don't think they would. Saying you've been sick is a great way to get out of taking a cruise when something comes up at the last minute. Too much chance for a passenger to manipulate the system. For example, if things in my life change at the last minute ... something crops up that would not be a valid reason to cancel and thus be reimbursed ... such as my job offered me a major promotion three days before the cruise contingent on the condition that I cancel my cruise ... what a great way to be able to cancel and still get my money back. Take a day or two off ... go to the pier ... and then tell them that yes, I've had stomach trouble as recently as that morning. Sure, I've wasted my airfare ... but I wouldn't have been able to cancel that and get my money back anyway. Sure, I put up with traveling to the port ... but a bit of trouble is sure worth it to get maybe $3,000 back from a cruise that at the last minute I can't take.

 

Not saying many people would do this ... but it is definitely something that the travel insurers have to consider.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

 

 

I disagree. This person traveled to the port. He stayed pre-cruise in a hotel and appeared at the dock for check-in. It is unreasonable IMO to suggest he went through those motions when all he really wanted was to cancel his cruise. He was trying to board the ship and take his cruise.

 

I do not think there is any reason to think this set of facts suggests anything other than the facts as presented. To suggest otherwise is extremely cynical and unfair to this man IMO There are no facts that support that supposition.

[sail7seas]

That's what strikes me as strange too. What? If he got sick two days into the cruise ... would the cruise line then make him disembark at the next port? Heck no.

 

Heck Yes.........it has absolutely happened.

They would simply quaranteen him. So, why not quaranteen someone who reports these symptoms as soon as they board?

 

Better to lose a couple of days of your cruise being confined to your cabin than lose out on the whole thing, right?

This, too, has happened. Quarantine is the most common but I have definitely seen guests put off the ships. It may have been cases where they were uncooperative.

[fcorey]

Heck Yes.........it has absolutely happened.

 

This, too, has happened. Quarantine is the most common but I have definitely seen guests put off the ships. It may have been cases where they were uncooperative.

 

I think I read someplace, maybe here, about someone who was put off, but they refused to stay quarantined

[Grumpy1]

I disagree. This person traveled to the port. He stayed pre-cruise in a hotel and appeared at the dock for check-in. It is unreasonable IMO to suggest he went through those motions when all he really wanted was to cancel his cruise. He was trying to board the ship and take his cruise.

 

I do not think there is any reason to think this set of facts suggests anything other than the facts as presented. To suggest otherwise is extremely cynical and unfair to this man IMO There are no facts that support that supposition.

Sail. I believe rita was responding to the questions you asked about the insurance company considering on a case by case basis. She was not questioning the veracity of the article or the motives of the person involved in the article. She was pointing out that there COULD be people that would scam the system and that is why the insurance companies look at the merits of each claim. It's paobably also the reason that full refund/credit for future sailing is not offered as a reward for being honest. there are always those that will cheat the system and ruin it for the honest folks.

[Krazy Kruizers]

In 2003 when we left Seward on the Ryndam, several people from cruise tours got on the ship with the Novo virus. At each port our captain chose to put all sick people off the ship. One morning we saw 10 people on the dock waiting for taxis. They weren't even given the choice of being quaranteed. So yes - sick passengers can be put off the ship.

[Krazy Kruizers]

On our Alaskan cruise in 2006, over a dozen people were unable to board the ship in Seward because they were sick.

[Blue Eyes]

We had to cancel a 10 day cruise on the Prinsendam on Thursday with a sail date of Saturday. Dr. put 4 words on insurance form about husbands bacterial intestinal infection and we had full refund 3 weeks after I filed the paper work. We just did not want to expose other passengers to a contagious disease, even though I never contracted the infection. We were very careful about hygiene. First time we had to use insurance, buy it everytime you might have to use it.

[sail7seas]

Yes, Grumpy.......

 

I understand what Rita wrote. I just happen to disagree with her.

 

Doesn't make her wrong; doesn't make me right. I simply disagree that someone would fly to a port the day before, pay for a hotel, appear at the dock to board, be refused, fly home immediately....... and then for someone to think he went to those extremes to collect on his insurance. I know there are cheats in everything in life. I don't think many people would do all that to collect $3,000 MAYBE. Doesn't seem to be any guarantee the insurance might actually pay.

In this case, the newspaper happened to be doing a story that could have provided impetus for them to pay. No newspaper story? Who knows if they would have paid out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[sail7seas]

We had to cancel a 10 day cruise on the Prinsendam on Thursday with a sail date of Saturday. Dr. put 4 words on insurance form about husbands bacterial intestinal infection and we had full refund 3 weeks after I filed the paper work. We just did not want to expose other passengers to a contagious disease, even though I never contracted the infection. We were very careful about hygiene. First time we had to use insurance, buy it everytime you might have to use it.

 

 

 

So sorry you missed your cruise but really happy the insurance paid so easily for you. You did the right thing and I commend you for thinking of others. Good 'on' you!!! ;)

[kryos]

I do not think there is any reason to think this set of facts suggests anything other than the facts as presented. To suggest otherwise is extremely cynical and unfair to this man IMO There are no facts that support that supposition.

I'm not saying in this particular case the passenger necessarily was manipulating the system ... but I would say that travel insurance companies are gonna be very, very careful before paying a claim for something like this. There is just too much opportunity to manipulate the situation. To be totally honest ... if pushed with my back against the wall, I could see myself faking such a condition ... if that were the only way to recoup my money for a sailing that at the last minute I couldn't take. I think many people would ... given no other alternative.

 

So, all I'm saying is that I don't think travel insurance companies would automatically pay in a case such as this. Rather, they will very, very carefully investigate on a case-by-case basis and then make their decision based on the facts that present themselves.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[ldog]

Here again, HAL missed the PR / Goodwill boat. This guy should have been given something for his honesty. A future cruise credit - a no question expenses refund - flowers and a fruit basket when he got home.

 

It shouldn't have been a hassle to get his refund. As the article says HAL only turns away 5 people a month. That's chicken feed for them. Nobody is going to go to all the trouble of travelling to the port, paying for a hotel, etc just to get a refund. Why are you so distrustful?

 

I doubt that he will cruise with HAL again. There are so many other options. They gave him trouble he'll go somewhere else and tell people about the problems he had dealing with nickel and dimers.

[onthegogirl]

On the March 13, 2007 sailing of the Ryndam, the cruise was cut short by a couple of days because of a Norovirus outbreak. It is quite possible that this virus was brought aboard by a passender. HAL incurred substantial costs sanitizing the vessel and accomodating the passengers. Seems to me that HAL should be encouraging passengers to be honest on the questionier and, if denied boarding, make the passenger whole. It's a whole lot cheaper than what it cost HAL for the delayed Ryndam sailing. Penny wise.........