Princess Cruises

Is anyone concerned about the Princess Cruise Line having had two (2)outbreaks of the neurovirus? :confused:

Until passengers stop bringing viruses on board cruise ships there will always be outbreaks of norovirus (not 'neurovirus) and other infections - gastro-intestinal upsets and upper respiratory infections tend to be rife where there is any collection of people. What is important is how a ship (or hotel / hospital / school / any institution) handles it. As far as I am aware Princess acts in the same way as other lines in isolating obviously infected passengers, reducing risks in dining venues (serving passengers rather than allowing them to help themselves, not leaving condiments out to share etc) and deep cleaning ships where infections have occurred, but the biggest problem remains passengers who spread the infection: not washing their hands after toileting; not washing their hands before eating; touching contaminated surfaces and then their mouth; not confining themselves to their stateroom when they have symptoms. Although staff do at times become infected they are rarely the 'index' cases and if they are found to have failed to wash their hands etc that is a disciplinary offence, so they are well motivated to comply.

So, I know there is a risk of norovirus or similar on any cruise, but I do not feel it is any more likely on Princess than any other line.

Thank you CraftyEC for your reply. Does Princess Cruise Lines routinely have the passengers use the hand cleaner wipes as they enter the dining rooms, do you know? I hear what you are saying about people coming onboard sick, my concern is the recent information regarding Princess Cruise Lines.

Hi Lucy - every cruise line has dealt with Noro at some time. It is not exclusive to Princess. It's just that when it is in the news and made to sound so dramatic and severe, some people get concerned. We have been on 3 cruises where there either was Noro onboard, or the cruise before us had Noro. We have never gotten sick.

There should be wipes available (or a crew member squirting you some liquid sanitizer into your hand) at the dining venues. You can bring your own as well; I do this, even though I always start with clean hands I use my little bottle of sanitizer before eating.

Have you already booked, or are thinking of booking? What is the concern you have?

.

Every cruise line is subject to Noro. It springs up one place and then somewhere else.

NoroVIRUS is a virus. The anti bacterial wipes and soaps do nothing against a virus. Sorry to say, the stuff is just for show. Kind of like the gloves worn by the kitchen help. They handle this pan, that pan, this servicing spoon, wipe down that counter, all with the same gloves. Like if bacteria or viruses won't stick to the gloves. The gloves should be changed every time they touch a different object, especially those handled by the passengers.

Thank you Langley :) My concern was the concentrated attention to Princess with this virus and because I have not heard of other lines dealing with it in the recent past. I would agree, it is probably because it has been in the news lately. We were planning on trying a Princess Cruise in August so my concern is I am retired, really healthy and I don't want to come off a cruise sick. Thank you for your reply, we do appreciate it.

Every cruise line is subject to Noro. It springs up one place and then somewhere else.

Isn't that the truth!

Also, most Noro outbreaks are not on cruise ships. Seems the ones on cruise ships make better Headlines.

Fear of Noro is no reason to not to consider cruising. :)

LuLu

We were on a 31 day cruise, and while not paranoid, were concerned about catching the virus. We brought a can of Lysol #5, which is supposed to be effective against Noro. When our steward opened the door, we sprayed the outside handle. Entering the cabin, we sprayed the telephone, remote control, all the knobs and handles, and the entire bathroom.

We were fortunate that we did not contract the virus, but had the normal colds from being in airports and in airplanes.

Here's a link to the CDC statistics on cruise ship Norovirus outbreaks, by year.

http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/vsp/surv/gilist.htm#2014

It is by no means limited to or more prevalent on Princess. This year Princess has had 3 outbreaks, Royal Caribbean 3, Holland America 2, and NCL 1. In 2013, Celebrity had 4 outbreaks, while NCL, Holland America, RCI, Princess, and Crystal each had only 1.

We were on the Crown Princess that just had the outbreak; while there while there were 158 passengers affected, there were over 2800 of us who did NOT contract it and had a wonderful cruise. Once the outbreak was announced onboard and we were reminded to wash our hands frequently (and isn't it a shame that we have to be reminded!), the numbers dropped off very dramatically.

Also, it's not necessarily true that hand sanitizers are useless. My doctor told me that they won't kill viruses, but they will make for a 'less hospitable' environment for them to grow. Even the CDC section on preventing the spread of Norovirus mentions the use of alcohol-based hand sanitizers IN ADDITION TO handwashing.

Tis the season for norovirus. Just wait...another ship of another line will soon be the subject of noro. I wouldn't hold this against Princess at all.

The idea that Princess is the only cruise line that deals with Noro issues is nonsense, and it really has nothing to do with how Princess does things. It has to do with the fact that the Noro virus is pretty much everywhere, especially where a lot of people are gathered or are living together. And then there are the people who unintentionally bring it aboard, often because they do not practice good handwashing.

Think about it .... how often do you, while standing at a sink washing your hands, see people in public restrooms come out of a stall and walk out without washing their hands??? WAY too often!!

Norovirus on cruise ships is hyped because news shows love to sensationalize things. Princess is no worse or better than other lines; it just varies from season to season.

The virus is so common in society at large, not just cruises, that if the news reported every outbreak like they report those on cruises (schools, businesses, etc.), that's all we'd hear. I have heard that cruises have to report Noro cases, when above a certain percentage, while most businesses don't.

I still contend that if they just called it 'stomach flu', like we used to, not the scary sounding 'Norovirus', people would be much less concerned.

Princess always has hand sanitizers at the entrance to dining venues, whether they help much or not.

I think this article does a good job of providing context related to the reality of norovirus on cruise ships. My favorite stats: 1) Only 1% of all norovirus outbreaks occur on cruise ships and 2) Norovirus has only affected 1,500 cruise passengers this year out of 21,000,000 cruisers. I'll take my chances!! :)

https://www.yahoo.com/travel/another-norovirus-outbreak-what-if-i-get-sick-on-a-102892622512.html

I was on the Emerald Princess 2 years ago when there was an outbreak on a transatlantic reposition to Copenhagen. I make these observations: the fact that it was Princess is just coincidental, it can occur on any ship; the crew went into extreme sanitation mode, the captain kept all informed with public announcements, I did not come down, nor did I know any who did, they were what I would call a small number, although I never learned what the actual number was. I am conscious of it on any cruise on any ship and take the common precautions, but don't give it a thought otherwise.

This virus is rampant this time of year....worked with young kids for 40 yrs who routinely brought it home from school during the holidays.....or the grocery store.....the dentist's office....it can be anywhere.....sometimes only the kids got it but it often spread to the adults.....one year about 14 members of my extended family got it from one little one who didn't look sick until we got home.....all we can do is wash our hands....

Is anyone concerned about the Princess Cruise Line having had two (2)outbreaks of the neurovirus? :confused:

Absolutely not.

I was in Bar Harbor, Maine a few years ago off the QM2. One of the shopkeepers asked if we had norovirus on board, which we did and told me that practically every ship passing through did. I've encountered it on Princess, HAL and Cunard.

Princess is one cruise line that almost requires you to use a hand sanitizer as you enter the buffet! There is a hostess standing their and she doesn't hesitate to remind you to use it!

We have been on three other lines, and Princess, since spring and none of them did this. They have it there but leave it up to you use to use it.

I don't like the stuff so I wash my hands a lot and before all meals!

Maybe because Princess has more ships than the other cruise lines?