Balmoral noro

The dreaded question... Does anyone know if balmoral has the noro still? I know it was plagued for sometime!!

The dreaded question... Does anyone know if balmoral has the noro still? I know it was plagued for sometime!!

We just got back on Saturday from a very enjoyable 14 day Baltic cruise on Balmoral, there were extra measures on board for the first 3 days, servers at all the buffets, frequent announcements to wash hands regularly, after the first few days the buffets were returned to self-service. The ship was kept extremely clean and there were no outbreaks as far as we were aware, they even had someone on each excursion bus with hand sanitizers, for the first 3 days they had toilet attendants in all the public loos on board to remind people to wash their hands, there were also crew constantly wiping down handrails on the ship throughout the cruise, I suppose some people thought it was overkill but the virus is caused by bad hygiene it is not airborne and is caught orally, unfortunately I saw people who couldn't be bothered to wash their hands so it seems it was necessary to have these measures. Its interesting that FO has been in the news alot about noro virus when it is not just them an MSC ship cut a cruise from Harwich short in June because of it and there have been outbreaks on P&O and others. I was satisfied that FO did everything they possibly could while we were onboard.

Thanks for the update, good to hear it was an 'uneventful' cruise from that perspective.

We will be on Balmoral in about 3 weeks, so we hope it is still clear by then.

......... unfortunately I saw people who couldn't be bothered to wash their hands so it seems it was necessary to have these measures...............

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Unfortunately and rather annoyingly, this was the case on the previous cruises and staff had to spend long hours on duty in a 'prominent' position to remind those passengers who thought they had a god-given right to ignore the precautions. I heard tales of those staff being verbally abused by some passengers. IMHO, it needs to be made absolutely clear that this is mandatory and the Captain's noon announcement should make this totally clear.

Glad you enjoyed the trip and it was virus free.

wft

Thanks for the update, good to hear it was an 'uneventful' cruise from that perspective.

 

We will be on Balmoral in about 3 weeks, so we hope it is still clear by then.

Good luck Mark. Please post a noro update when you return since my next cruise on the Balmoral begins on September 13th and I have a vested interest. :D We've already been stocking up with antibacterial hand gel, Dettol wipes and Dettol soap - not that they will be very effective against viruses. I suppose medical face masks may be considered a bit over the top but the cabin staff all wear them when there is an outbreak. They would certainly add a new dimension to our holiday photos. :D I wish you a trouble free cruise and look forward to your update.

Perhaps it should be made clear to cruisers if they do not adhere to the rules of the ship, putting others in danger of being ill, they will be asked to leave the ship at the next port. Fred Olsen does more than any other line I have sailed on to prevent norovirus.

Good luck Mark. Please post a noro update when you return since my next cruise on the Balmoral begins on September 13th and I have a vested interest. :D We've already been stocking up with antibacterial hand gel, Dettol wipes and Dettol soap - not that they will be very effective against viruses. I suppose medical face masks may be considered a bit over the top but the cabin staff all wear them when there is an outbreak. They would certainly add a new dimension to our holiday photos. :D I wish you a trouble free cruise and look forward to your update.

I always take Boots anti-viral hand foam...effective against 99.9% viruses and bacteria. £3.19 but buy 2 and one is half price.

Thanks very much for that information Jakanne - very much appreciated.

We took the Boots one in May on the Balmoral and although the illness was on board we managed not to be affected, thank goodness. We even started taking it with us and spraying it on in front of the people trying to spray us with the antibacterial one they use.

The only problem was I ended up at the end of the voyage with skin like sandpaper on my hands. Not sure if it was the constant spraying or the handwash in the bathroom.

We took the Boots one in May on the Balmoral and although the illness was on board we managed not to be affected, thank goodness. We even started taking it with us and spraying it on in front of the people trying to spray us with the antibacterial one they use.

 

The only problem was I ended up at the end of the voyage with skin like sandpaper on my hands. Not sure if it was the constant spraying or the handwash in the bathroom.

To be honest, I always take it and use it for the first 2/3 days but then just use the ship's anti bacterial gel as we have fortunately never had Norovirus on any of our cruises. Fingers crossed for the next one.

We have done 10 cruises with Fred Olsen including three this year and have been on all 4 ships. We have never experienced novo virus on any of our cruises so don't panic!:)

I always take Boots anti-viral hand foam...effective against 99.9% viruses and bacteria. £3.19 but buy 2 and one is half price.

I went to Boots today and bought a large spray to keep in the cabin and a small one to take with us when we go ashore. :)

A good tip given to me by a hospital employee, to prevent dry skin, is to use hand cream or moisturiser before applying anti bacterial gel. It does work.

That's good to know. I was a bit unsure about using hand cream in case it cancelled out the spray.

We just got off the Balmoral today.

There didn't seem to be any cases of Norovirus on board, as far as we could tell. All buffets were as normal and salt pots etc. fully available. :)

Excellent news.

Less than two week until we board so as long as nobody messes it up for us on the next cruise we should be good :)

Very good news for everyone. Let's hope we all get a trouble-free holiday.

That's all good news.

Thanks for the update.

wft