QE II norovirus?
 

My daughter is currently on the QE II cruising NY to Caribbean to NY. I just received a message from her indicating that the Norovirus is active on board. She reports that "all outgoing calls, including that on my cell phone are bouncing back as ~restricted by agency~. we were not informed of the severity of the outbreak until today." She also learned that 500 people are sick.

Does anyone have more information? I can't find anything about it on the internet. Can they really stop all outgoing calls??? Is this all a bad joke? Thanks.

Actually, the ship's name is the QM2 ( Queen Mary 2 ). I googled for a norovirus outbreak currently on the QM2 and also went to the CDC website and so far there are no notices about it. If you find out more, please post it here. There is no reason at all to block calls.

Yep! I wish I was sailing on the QE2 norovirous or not.:eek::D Might be worth it.:D

I am currently on the Queen Mary 2 and there is a big outbreak. I don't know about the phone calls but tons of people are sick and they are putting more restrictions on us every day. Rumor has it that they may shut down the buffets. From what I have heard, a bunch of people were sick on the transatlantic crossing that preceded our cruise so Cunard knew there was a problem.

Trust me, it is definitely happening. I am on the Queen Mary 2 right now.

I happened to be reading the roll call for the QM2's December 22nd cruise and there are a couple of posts on there about it being a sick ship. What a shame!

I have never felt as sorry for the staff as I do now. They are working round the clock battling this situation. It is serious, but in my opinion it is being handled very well. The festivities continue and those of us who have avoided this virus continue to enjoy the many offerings we come to expect and appreciate.

For those passengers who have been exposed, they are confined to their cabins until declared safe to come out. I do not believe anyone's life is in danger. If there is a communication issue at present, I am not aware of the reason, but please do not be frightened.

Jeanne

Hi macsback. I don't know what the problem is with making phone calls on board QM2, but when your daughter reaches the next port, she should be able to phone you from there. Because passengers have posted from the ship on this thread, we know that the internet connection is working. So, I don't think it would make much sense for phone calls from the ship to be intentionally blocked when the internet is working and calls can be made at port stops.

To those all on board who are ill, best wishes for a speedy recovery. My sympathy to passengers and crew dealing with the disruption. Regards, -S.

This is so unfortunate for all concerned and strange as it happened on the QM2, same destination, same time in 2010.
Best wishes to all concerned for quick recoveries, so that you can get to enjoy the rest of the voyage.

Wow, that's a coincidence. I wonder if 'patient zero' made a return.

I was on the QM2 transatlantic departing Southampton 15th Dec that arrived New York 22nd Dec.

An outbreak of Noro on a P&O ship in Southampton two days before we departed had made national TV headlines.
So naturally Cunard were keen to be seen to be tackling any potential threat.
For three days we had restrictions (in the Kings Court for example, and no handshaking with officers during the entire voyage) and I observed constant cleaning of handrails etc by crew in all public rooms (much more so than normal, even while the rooms were in use).
We were assured that we had beaten any outbreak and the restrictions were relaxed, but we were urged to continue to take every possible precaution. Everyone I was able to observe, seemed to comply.
There was no reported outbreak or re-introduction of restrictions while I was on the crossing, and if we had had an outbreak I feel certain there would have been new restrictions placed on us, esp in the buffet.
Any rumoured sickness on the transatlantic voyage was, I am sure, caused by sea-sickness as the crossing was "very-rough" to "storm-force" almost all the way across (I saw people people being sick in Illuminations for example).
If there is Noro on board QM2 now, then it may have come on board in New York.
I urge everyone to remember the basic rules taught us as children and take extra precautions (on handrails and when in lifts/elevators).

Hope this helps.

I'm also onboard, and I think there is a bit of misinformation in this thread.

Yes, there is a persistent outbreak of noro onboard.
I don't think it's anywhere near 500 (e.g., 20% of passengers). I think reporting is mandatory at a much lower level of outbreak.
The restaurants are still full.
The Captain last night recommended that people take all of their meals in the full-service restaurants rather than the buffet, but the buffet remains open as of this morning.

We've been kept informed daily of the persistent cases, although there has been no official word on the number of cases (just that "cases have been continuing to be reported"). Again, it's nowhere near 500 to my observation.

We ate lunch with some passengers who had made the crossing and they said that after the normal 3-day period at the start of the voyage when things are more restrictive it was more relaxed than there was no apparent outbreak on the crossing.

In my opinion this is not really unusual in a winter cruise, especially considering the current European outbreak. You bring a lot of people together from around the world and confine them for a few days at sea and there is bound to be some exchange of sickness. The crew has justifiably been reacting to this but I think the quickness and extent of their reaction suggests a more widespread outbreak than is the case.

If I were to guess I'd say the extent is 75 people, or about 3%. Just a guess based on the number of cleaners I've seen in the passageways outside of staterooms.

Now that the Mayan Calender hype has fizzled out, time to turn our attention to The Riddle of The Norovirus.
Seriously though, still thinking of all aboard the QM2.

I was on the Transatlantic which departed on 15th Dec and while there were a few restrictions initially there were no cases of Noro on board. As has been said there were several cases of seasickness due to the rough crossing, but that was all. I highly doubt the accuracy of the original post here and I'm still looking forward to re-joining the ship on the 3rd Jan!

It can't be easy for any cruise line to know the total number of passengers stricken with a gastrointestinal virus because not all infected report to the Medical Centre. But "The CDC requires "an immediate special report … when the percentage of gastrointestinal illness cases in either passenger or crew reaches 2 percent," wrote Vazquez, a CDC health communication specialist, in an e-mail." quoted from http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business...,3050426.story

I don't know how many passengers or crew members are currently on board QM2, but if 2% of either are stricken, my guess is that the CDC website* would reflect that information - and currently there is no mention of an outbreak on QM2 (not to doubt that there is a problem, only that it appears not to have reached the 2% threshold). Of course, that doesn't explain why the passengers on board have not been informed of the reported number of cases to date, thus quelling any speculation.

Best wishes to all concerned. Regards, -S.

*http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/vsp/surv/gilist.htm

I am also onboard. Yesterday evening While waiting in line at the pursers desk I overheard a woman complaining very loudly about the Norovirus. From what I could hear her father had been ill and the number of ill passengers was over 200. Her initial complaint was about poor service but she became very vocal when she mentioned the Norovirus. As of last night's announcement the Captain was urging everyone not to eat in the King's Court but to use the dining room for meals.

We have also been urged to NOT use the public restroom but to use our cabin. Anadimo (Jeanne) is right the crew are working like crazy to service all the guests. At lunch today i noticed the hand rails on the promenade deck were wiped three times in about 1 hour.

Bruce


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It is passengers who bring Noro onboard and they should not be hassling the staff who contain things very well. I do wonder how many actually have the virus and how many simply have sea-sickness or tummy upsets? Oh well, hopefully it will be contained by next week! :(

Hi Jeanne......so glad to read you are not affected, and are still able to enjoy the festive season....keep it that way!! Not a fun thing to deal with over the holidays for passengers and especially the hard working staff.

Hope our mutual friends are OK..not heard from her which is odd. Will email her but if you see them tell them I was concerned.

Have a great time.....Happy New Year! :D

Cheers, Penny

“You can’t cross the sea merely by standing and staring at the water” Rabindranath Tagore

Penny’s “Affair to Remember” QM2 Review Dec. 2006
http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=471053

November 10,2007...QM2 to the Caribbean again
October 16,2008...QM2 transatlantic in tandem with the grand QE2 on her final transatlantic voyage.
December 9, 2008...QM2...back to the Caribbean
July 30, 2009....QM2....transatlantic again...
August 7, 2009....QM2... “home” to Norway
Feb. 7, 2010....Emerald Princess to the Caribbean
Aug 14, 2010...QM2... return to Norway, all the way to the top!
Aug 22, 2011...Diamond Princess....North to Alaska!!
Dec 2,2011...Noordam to the Caribbean...outstanding! http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1544173
2012...Assorted land trips in my own stunning country
Oct 2012....OBX
2012...Booked on the lovely Noordam again

Several North Atlantic crossings from childhood thru college on ships of the old Norwegian America line and Swedish America Line...RIP to those marvelous old ships

Just a thought...Considering the precautions the Captain is recommending to passengers (i.e. avoid the buffet and public area washrooms, etc), I doubt it is due to "sea-sickness or tummy upsets".

Clearly, there is an outbreak of gastrointestional illness on board. (We're calling it Noro here because that is most often the cause, but that hasn't been confirmed yet, nor has the extent of the outbreak.) When and how the virus came on board is also an open question, but passengers are not the only possible source. At this point, I imagine what matters most to passengers and crew is that it is contained as soon as possible. I'm sure every effort is being made to have that happen.


BTW, does anyone know if cruise lines are required to inform passengers waiting to board if there has been an reportable outbreak of gastrointestinal illness on the previous voyage? And if so, is their any compensation regarding their fare for those who decide not to board?-Thanks, -S.

If it gets to a very serious level where the CDC board the ship and get involved, then the usual practice is that passengers for the next voyage will be informed. At that point, if you do not wish to go on the cruise, Cunard will give a full refund if your travel agent gets in touch with them and asks for a refund. I have found them very fair on this. However, the outbreak would need to be very serious before this happens.