Live from the Emerald...Norovirus and Christmas.

[Infi]

We're on day three of our Emerald Princess Christmas cruise and last night got the dreaded letter: there's been an outbreak of Norovirus. Haven't been able to determine how many are affected, but still. Precautions are in place (hand sanitizers at entrances to food areas, no salt/pepper on tables, etc.) so hopefully this will be contained quickly...no one needs to be sick on the holidays.

The ship is decorated for Christmas and looks absolutely gorgeous. Holiday activities have been going on as well, and the ship has a great festive atomosphere. This is our first Princess cruise and we've been enjoying it, looking forward to writing a review when we return.

If anyone has any questions about the ship or ports (only been to Princess Cays and St. Thomas so far, headed to Dominica tomorrow), I'll be happy to try and answer them for you, but don't know how often I will get on here. Happy holidays all!

[Treven]

Were the hand sanitizers in place from the beginning of the cruise, or merely as a result of the outbreak? Personally I appreciate seeing the hand sanitizers outside the entrance to the dining rooms & the buffet.

[Carolyn R]

Happy Holidays and enjoy. It is snowing here. Washyourhands, washyourhands every chance you get. Touch nothing! Only use the bathroom in your stateroom if possible. Eat in the dining room only. Hope you don't get it.

[Shogun]

Hi there,

noro is a pain, but have cruised with it before and not been one of the un lucky ones, keep washing your hands, and try and and not touch anything touched by the un washed.

The Emerald is a fine ship, spent last New Year on board, you have some great islands to lokk forward to,


thanks for posting,

yours Shogun

[Colo Cruiser]

Unfortunatley noro is everywhere there are large groups of people staying in confined places, hotels/cruise ships etc.

Hope like you said that it will be contained.

[RM]

Oh sorry to hear that.........packing extra hand sanitizer.........we're on next!

Thanks for the heads up.........enjoy your cruise!

[jackdiamond]

Repeated hand washing in hot water and avoidance of shaking hands are rather efficiacious in combatting the norovirus. By the way, the hand santizers placed outside the eating areas are fine, but they are effective against bacteria, not the virus.

[DrivesLikeMario]

Hope it's a minor outbreak and that everything else goes well.

How has the weather been? The bridge cam looks really weird - it's super bright, so you can't really tell what the weather is like.

Enjoy!

[cruzinchris]

I must be psychic! Just last week, I added a package of disinfectant wipes to the pre-packing pile in the basement. DH and I embark the Emerald Princess 1/19.

I know that the wipes don't do much for virus germs but cleaning the phone, remote, doorknobs, etc. in our stateroom several times daily gives me some peace of mind along with constant hand-washing, avoiding the buffet, using only our cabin bathroom, etc.

I hope the current Norovirus outbreak doesn't affect too many passengers and that everyone has a fabulous Christmas and Hanukkah aboard the beautiful Emerald Princess.

Bon Voyage!
Chris

[Hulagirl]

We are also on the Emerald Princess this week. It is a beautiful ship and I think my favorite so far. There is so much to do and it pretty and decorated for Christmas. The trees are elegant looking and this morning there was a gingerbread display in the atrium.

Yes the norovirous seems to have struck the ship. Like was said, we have no idea how many have it. We wash hands all the time and use the sanitizer. Anything to try and stay safe.

Boarded on the 20th about noon and called the DINE line right away to secure a spot at the Chef's Table. Only to be told it was full from people staying on the ship from last cruise. I was a bit surprised and told the gal I truly didn't think that was fair, but to put us on the wait list. Well we made it and it was scheduled for tonight. But now it is canceled for everyone becasue of the norovirous. Oh well, I don't think it was supposed to be this cruise.

Having great weather. Today in Dominica it rained off and on, but it quit quickly each time. Was nice to get back to the ship. Had a private excursion arranged through Fredo's from one of the gals on our roll call. It was 6 hours and we were tired and hungry when done, but we saw a lot.

Other than that, it is nice not being in snow for Christmas, though it doesn't seem like Christmas to me.

Merry Christmas!

[Infi]

Originally Posted by Treven

Were the hand sanitizers in place from the beginning of the cruise, or merely as a result of the outbreak? Personally I appreciate seeing the hand sanitizers outside the entrance to the dining rooms & the buffet.

The precautions were not in place from the beginning of the cruise, but are definitely underway and more serious now. Officers and guest relations staff wearing gloves, constant surface cleaning, dining room sanitizing between seatings. The captain even spoke about it over the PA yesterday afternoon.
For those who were curious, we were told by our waiter that the outbreak was at about 30 passengers and 2 crew members. Hope it stays at that number or dwindles soon!

Originally Posted by Lady Jag

How has the weather been? The bridge cam looks really weird - it's super bright, so you can't really tell what the weather is like.

Enjoy!

The weather has been great. DD said the water at Princess Cays was cool (we've got thin Florida blood, what can you do?) but temps have been in the 80s and above. Rained a bit in Dominica today, very spotty and for very short periods. I agree that the cam has been strange, from what we have seen on our cabin TV. Looks like the lens needs a change!

BTW: For anyone who is sailing on Emerald soon, the ultimate ship tour is now available on here as well. Don't know if it's lottery or first-come-first-serve, but there's a heads up. Merry Christmas eve!

[wnyguy2003]

Merry Christmas to you all

Looks like you are going the opposite way that we are going on 1/9. We hit Princess Cays last.
I hope that the virus gets contained ASAP. We were on the Freedom of the Seas two years ago and it was terrible by the time we were all done with the cruise. Everything had a white crusty film on it. After they got us off the ship, I think we were the 3rd voyage to have it, they cleaned it from top to bottom and didn’t sail again until 3 days after they were suppose to leave.
Can only imagine what the ship looks like with all the decorations for xmas. We were on the Jewel of the Seas a few years back and it was very nice.

Looking forward to more of your posts!

Thanks

[rcacace]

How many kids aboard this Christmas week?

[Times Prince]

Originally Posted by Treven

Were the hand sanitizers in place from the beginning of the cruise, or merely as a result of the outbreak? Personally I appreciate seeing the hand sanitizers outside the entrance to the dining rooms & the buffet.

We were on the previous Emerald Princess cruise that ended on the 20th. Hand sanitizers were in place in all public areas, Horizon Court, Caribe Cafe, but not that I saw at the entrance to the main dining rooms. Our cruise was free of any outbreak. There was the usual precautionary notice in our stateroom on arrival for recommended sanitary practices.

We were onboard the same ship last Christmas and there was a norovirus outbreak then as well (as on all the other ships in our ports of call). We survived it without incident as a result of the extra precautions the crew took, and also by religiously washing hands and avoiding common contact surfaces as much as possible.

These things come and go, and this early in the cruise would have come on board with passengers who had already contracted the virus elsewhere.

Our prayers are sent for the affected persons and well wishes for all for a Merry Christmas.

...and Hulagirl, there will be snow on your cruise...just wait !

[PescadoAmarillo]

Originally Posted by cruzinchris

I must be psychic! Just last week, I added a package of disinfectant wipes to the pre-packing pile in the basement. DH and I embark the Emerald Princess 1/19.

Chris, we use those wipes too, but this year we're making a trip to Walgreens or KMart in FLL before we board the ship, and I am going to buy a can of Lysol which DOES specifically state it kills viruses.

See you on the Emerald 1/19!

[NevadaHiRoller]

Oh sorry. That sucks.

[psyfi]

hmmm, 30 people is less than 1% of the passengers. Can that really be called an outbreak?

I so hope none of you get it. Merry Christmas to you all.

[wnyguy2003]

Infi: What is the ultimate ship tour???

[dcrow72]

an outbreak is officially any number of people beyond the norm for the area/entity and does not go by percentages. For example, if the ship expects to see 10 passengers per cruise with GI symptoms and that number hits 15-20, they would consider that an outbreak and take action to contain it.

[rdsqrl]

Originally Posted by wnyguy2003

Infi: What is the ultimate ship tour???

Here you go, check it out:
http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=890918&highlight=ultimate+ship+to ur