Sun Cruise Nov 3-Dec 6

[bubbachief]

We were on the 33 day cruise also. NCL certainly was not informative at all. When our cabin attendant became ill, we were told she was on "holiday". The cruise director was ill for 3 days or so. The ailment was a gastro-intestinal problem. My wife and I escaped the malady but nearly everyone I talked to was either ill or the spouse was ill at some time. The room service staff was kept very busy serving those confined to their cabins. There were two travel groups that embarked in Valparaiso. According to members of those groups many were ill when they came aboard. Both groups had stayed at the same hotel in Santiago. NCL should have informed passengers of symptoms to look out for and what to do if affected.

 

On the second leg of the cruise the entertainment was all repeats except for a flautist. I would expect the stage shows to repeat but it seems unfair for the 300 or so who were on the 33 day cruise. Too bad The Skinny German Juggle Boy didn't stay for the entire second leg.

Ralph

 

Mike and Lois(Knuckle) stayed in Santiago for a few days after the cruise and he said they came down with food posioning. I wonder if it could have been norovirus. Don't know what hotel they stayed at. Are you getting hit with all the snow? Just rain here in Seattle. Hope you have a very Merry and Blessed Christmas. John and Jo

[bubbachief]

Hi John!

The reason I am curious is that both Steve & Caren came down with horrible colds and coughs that they both just got over. We thought they caught it on airplane home but maybe it was on the ship?

Maybe we'll cruise together again someday:)? I booked the transatlantic on the Sun (great price) but still haven't convinced Steve, have until Feb final payment:rolleyes:

Wishing you & Jo a wonderful Christmas & Happy New Year.

 

I'm in the middle of a cold, but don't think I can blame it on the trip after being home for 3 weeks.

 

Jo and I have done three transatlantics,all to the Med, two on NCL. We really like them. The only problem is the exchange rate on the Euro will eat you alive.

 

We are going on another repo in April on the Jewel. Western Caribbean for 13 days Miami,ending up in New York. Say hello to Steve and have a great Christmas. Are you getting hit with the snow this weekend? John and Jo

[BobbieandRalph]

Mike and Lois(Knuckle) stayed in Santiago for a few days after the cruise and he said they came down with food posioning. I wonder if it could have been norovirus. Don't know what hotel they stayed at. Are you getting hit with all the snow? Just rain here in Seattle. Hope you have a very Merry and Blessed Christmas. John and Jo

 

John,

 

Merry Christmas to Y'all too. We are not getting snow here - but there is quite a bit north and west of us. Our daughter lives 3 hours west of us so she and our grandson were playing in the snow this afternoon.

We are doing a TA in Sept on Crown Princess after a 12-day British Isles cruise.

Ralph

[Elcruzer]

Woke up this morning to over a foot of snow. Hope someone comes around to help us shovel out:eek:

[flyhi120]

We just got back from the worse 14 day cruise of our lives!!!! Seems like everyone got the Norovirus and it was as sick as I have ever been...I ran a 102 temperature and was put on Cipro...the ship was filthy, the person in charge of our room actually put little white paper coasters on glasses that were used instead of replacing them...everything that could go wrong did...we did not meet anyone who was happy with NCL...book a cruise on the Sun and, instead of gaining weight, you will get home thinner than you could ever image yourself...it should be called the weight watchers cruise, if you live long enough to make it off the ship from HELL ...:(

[flyhi120]

Mike and Lois(Knuckle) stayed in Santiago for a few days after the cruise and he said they came down with food posioning. I wonder if it could have been norovirus. Don't know what hotel they stayed at. Are you getting hit with all the snow? Just rain here in Seattle. Hope you have a very Merry and Blessed Christmas. John and Jo

It was the Norovirus, you got it from the ship from HELL, the NCL Sun...probably half of the passengers got it on the 12/06/09 sailing...a good portion of us where quarantined and very, very ill:( The Sun keeps it mum but it should be taken out of service and the CDC should fine them...

[Planer's Edge]

It was the Norovirus, you got it from the ship from HELL, the NCL Sun...probably half of the passengers got it on the 12/06/09 sailing...a good portion of us where quarantined and very, very ill:( The Sun keeps it mum but it should be taken out of service and the CDC should fine them...

...and this disease is limited to the Norwegian Sun????

 

PE

[pictonite]

We just returned home from the fourteen day voyage, and, yes, there was the GI virus on board. Yes, many of the passengers were sick, and were quarantined. But - I have to disagree with a previous poster - the ship was not dirty, the crew were constantly cleaning, and disinfecting. Our cabin was immaculate every day, and the crew were really friendly and accommodating. We heard some passengers complain, but we also had several friends who were quarantined and they felt that the treatment they received was fair. It probably wasn't everyone's great voyage - there was a very rocky sea day - but we felt that the crew did everything they could to assist us in a very difficult situation. I suppose that we were fortunate that we didn't get the virus, and I appreciate that someone who did would have a different perspective of the cruise, but to those who are awaiting their own cruises to South America on the Sun, I would like to present the other side of the coin, and to suggest that the ship is a fine ship with a great crew, and a wonderful itinerary!

Cheers!

 

PS When I have recovered from the horrendous 24 hour plane journey I will write a review for all of those who are looking for information about the ship.

[DMH15]

I was on the Sun SA cruise last year. Loved it and the Sun. Sorry about the illness. Perhaps some of the Crew were ill and the others had to pick up the slack. I do feel sorry for all.

[sottovoce]

We just returned home from the fourteen day voyage, and, yes, there was the GI virus on board. Yes, many of the passengers were sick, and were quarantined. But - I have to disagree with a previous poster - the ship was not dirty, the crew were constantly cleaning, and disinfecting. Our cabin was immaculate every day, and the crew were really friendly and accommodating.

Thanks for writing this. Makes one think perhaps the Sun is not the ship from hell but perhaps some of the passengers are from there.

[*Wink*]

Thanks for writing this. Makes one think perhaps the Sun is not the ship from hell but perhaps some of the passengers are from there.

LOL!!!!

 

.. and Happy Holiday's!!!!!

[woozlebear]

Thanks for writing this. Makes one think perhaps the Sun is not the ship from hell but perhaps some of the passengers are from there.

 

 

Well, I am still looking forward to my stay on the Sun in a few weeks. There was a positive reveiw of this cruise on one of the UK sites, so lets hope the 'Sun Shines'

 

Susan

[flyhi120]

Thanks for writing this. Makes one think perhaps the Sun is not the ship from hell but perhaps some of the passengers are from there.

Our cabin was very dirty even after it had been made up...I am sorry but I have never seen a dirty glass with liquid still in it be left there and the paper coaster top be put on it as if it were new...I have never seen bloody robes from the previous passenger left in the room on the first cruise day, I have never seen a dirty rag left in the bathroom that was, apparently used to clean rooms...and on packing to leave, I have never seen broken glass under the bed, who knows for how long...we were on deck 10 and the couple 3 cabins down would no longer let the room steward in their room so NCL assigned someone else to their cabin...we did not complain until the last day when we called up housekeeping to come up and look after the room had been "made up" and Minny, the lady in charge, was appalled...yes, it is upsetting that I got the Norovirus but I followed NCL's advise to the letter called the front desk and they simply told me to eat 3 green apples, I got sicker, I asked medical to call me, they did and told me to stay in the room and not eat for 48 hours, finally, I was so sick I went down to medical and they took my temperature, it was 102 and now they were more proactive and put me on Cipro...I am happy some of you had a good cruise but I think there are fewer of you then us...all we heard from fellow passengers was "NCL, never again"

[Planer's Edge]

I was so sick I went down to medical and they took my temperature, it was 102 and now they were more proactive and put me on Cipro...I am happy some of you had a good cruise but I think there are fewer of you then us...all we heard from fellow passengers was "NCL, never again"

 

...and I will ask again. Norovirus is limited to NCL and the Sun?

 

PE

[mbisson]

Thanks for writing this. Makes one think perhaps the Sun is not the ship from hell but perhaps some of the passengers are from there.

 

I wish I could find it now, but I recall reading a post somewhere about a leg of this cruise that had 2 groups board and many of their members were ill when they boarded. I suspect that they may be the source of the illness and the ship from Hell wasn't

[ocnlvr2]

I hate to tell you but they did not clean up the Sun enough after your cruise .... we were on it from Dec.6 to Dec 20 right after you and we understand that over 200 people got sick from the Norovirus including my girlfriend and I .... For those of you that don't know the norovirus and confuse it with a cold think vomiting and diarrhea with bloody stools lasting for a minimum of 48 hours (The time they quarantined us on the ship .... confined to the cabin). Many people we personally talked to were sick for as long as a week (We personally met over 30 people that had been sick including a family where all 5 contracted the virus)

[flyhi120]

No, it is not limited to NCL and yes, it is a beautiful ship but, in my opinion, the challenges that the Norovirus presents were not handled well on NCL...and, again in my opinion, our room was never really cleaned the way it should have been...I have cruised with NCL before and perhaps this is just a one time thing, but, aside from the Norovirus and bad room service, didn't you really object to all the canned responses by employees "A glass of wine, why not buy the bottle?" ..."Get $100 cruise credit, sign up for another cruise"...so as you don't think I am totally negative, I do think NCL excells in 2 things,:) wonderful fresh orange juice and very good shower pressure...see, nothing is ALL bad...:rolleyes:

[mbisson]

I respond favorable to the:

..."Get $100 cruise credit, sign up for another cruise"...

 

So that one wouldn't bother me ;)

[ocnlvr2]

Sorry I have to disagree with some of my fellow passengers.... There were many complaints from a number of passengers on Deck 10 about how poorly the rooms were being cleaned ... It is nice to think it was due to fewer crew due to illness but the Chief Steward told us personally that none of the room stewards got sick .... We had the Chief Steward come to our room herself and she took copious notes on all the issues .... When we arrived the previous passengers medicine was still in the room their dirty robes were still hanging on the hooks and the bed had just been thrown together (like they did most mornings)

Don't confuse the Norovirus with a cold.... It is severe diarrhea with bloody stools and vomiting.... which last for a minimum of 48 hours and can last for over a week ... There were at least 200 sick people on board (that is around 10% of the passengers, many who were quarantined in their room for 48 hours or more)and the previous cruise had it's share of illness too ... We are experienced cruisers and this was without a doubt the worst I have seen it .... Happy for those of you who did not get sick and had clean rooms but please don't be insulting to those of us who sufferd through it ... It is not a case of hand sanitizing ... I used literally every sanitizer I passed and still got the virus ...

I thought the ship was pretty and the food in the main dining rooms was excellent ... that said the burger I had on the aft deck restaurant could have been used to pound nails it was so overcooked (No exaggeration I could not cut it with my fork and barely got through it with my knife) ... if I wanted ice I had to ask several times each day... We experienced very rude people on the front desk and to add to all that they lost my shore excursion which would return us to Santiago airport at thee end of the cruise (I had the document with me proving that I had signed up for it ... The manager had to be brought in to get us on another tour as our original was full)

I have been on other NCL cruises with minimal issues but this will likely be my last

[pictonite]

I apologize if you thought that I was insulting you!

 

I am really sorry that this trip was such a washout for the two of you. I know that you were really anticipating an exciting trip, and the fact that the virus incapacitated both of you was really unfortunate. Since we were on deck nine, and had exemplary stewards, I cannot comment on the situation on deck ten. But I would have been very upset if I had encountered a dirty cabin. I really can't comment on the food on deck eleven. In all honesty, that was the worst buffet setup I have seen on a ship, and I hope that it is rectified when the ship goes into dry dock. However, the restaurants were good, as was the tapas bar on deck twelve. We also had an issue with the shore excursions we had selected, but the issue was resolved very quickly.

 

Again, we didn't have any of the issues you describe, so we really saw the trip in a different light. In all fairness to people planning a trip on the Sun, I felt the need to give a different perspective, which, incidentally, was shared by many other passengers we encountered.

 

Cheers!

[flyhi120]

I apologize if you thought that I was insulting you!

 

I am really sorry that this trip was such a washout for the two of you. I know that you were really anticipating an exciting trip, and the fact that the virus incapacitated both of you was really unfortunate. Since we were on deck nine, and had exemplary stewards, I cannot comment on the situation on deck ten. But I would have been very upset if I had encountered a dirty cabin. I really can't comment on the food on deck eleven. In all honesty, that was the worst buffet setup I have seen on a ship, and I hope that it is rectified when the ship goes into dry dock. However, the restaurants were good, as was the tapas bar on deck twelve. We also had an issue with the shore excursions we had selected, but the issue was resolved very quickly.

 

Again, we didn't have any of the issues you describe, so we really saw the trip in a different light. In all fairness to people planning a trip on the Sun, I felt the need to give a different perspective, which, incidentally, was shared by many other passengers we encountered.

 

Cheers!

yes, i was really looking forward to this cruise and we talked to many on deck 9, two of our group had cabins there and LOVED their room steward but deck 10 was another story, anyhow I am almost finished venting, all these letters have been sent to Kevin Sheehan, the CEO of NCL, he will probably never answer. I have emailed the CDC because it was very difficult for me to get the front desk to take action on this Norovirus. When I finally got to see a doctor he was amazed my temperature was so high and that the front desk did not inform them of my problem. BTW, did you happen to see all the people lined up at the front desk for the 100 credit on the bill when you get the Norovirus, it wrapped around the lobby...oh, I am so happy to be home!!!!!!!!

[SeaShark]

I'm really starting to wonder what the real story is here...

 

What has been described doesn't quite jive with the symptoms associated with norovirus

 

They are REQUIRED to notify CDC of any outbreak that affects more than 3% of the people...and this cruise was NOT reported to CDC.

---To put this in perspective, 3% of 2000 people is just 60 cases. So for all the reports in this thread, the grand total had to be less than 60.

 

For those who are going to sail elsewhere...there have been 13 reported outbreaks of norovirus this year.

--6 times on a HAL ship

--3 times on a Princess ship

--2 times on a Celebrity ship

--1 time on a Carnival ship

--1 time on a NCL ship

 

So...if 1 outbreak of what is NOT norovirus is enough to make you go elsewhere, what are you going to do when the alternatives can be as much as six times worse?

 

 

I'm no thespian, but it sounds like there was a severe outbreak of drama on this cruise :rolleyes:

[Elcruzer]

I am sorry to hear about the norovirus outbreak but am surprised about the complaints about cleanliness. We were on the repro leg of this cruise and had absolutely no complaint about cleanliness, especially our cabin steward Kirnan was a gem, very frindly and our cabin was always in tip top shape. Our cabin was on deck 7 but didn't hear any complaints from other passengers while we were on board

[flyhi120]

I'm really starting to wonder what the real story is here...

 

What has been described doesn't quite jive with the symptoms associated with norovirus

 

They are REQUIRED to notify CDC of any outbreak that affects more than 3% of the people...and this cruise was NOT reported to CDC.

---To put this in perspective, 3% of 2000 people is just 60 cases. So for all the reports in this thread, the grand total had to be less than 60.

 

For those who are going to sail elsewhere...there have been 13 reported outbreaks of norovirus this year.

--6 times on a HAL ship

--3 times on a Princess ship

--2 times on a Celebrity ship

--1 time on a Carnival ship

--1 time on a NCL ship

 

So...if 1 outbreak of what is NOT norovirus is enough to make you go elsewhere, what are you going to do when the alternatives can be as much as six times worse?

 

 

I'm no thespian, but it sounds like there was a severe outbreak of drama on this cruise :rolleyes:

 

The CDC has not released its December Norovirus Outbreak Report yet. The symptoms of this virus are severe diarrhea and vomiting and, in some cases, a fever. In no way is drama a Norovirus symptom

[Elcruzer]

The CDC has not released its December Norovirus Outbreak Report yet. The symptoms of this virus are severe diarrhea and vomiting and, in some cases, a fever. In no way is drama a Norovirus symptom

I know firsthand that norovirus is not something you want to catch, especially on a ship when you must be confined to a small cabin. DH and I were sick several years ago on a riverboat cruise and as a previous poster mentioned, this unfortunately is not a rare occurence on ships.

I hope that all the germs are eradicated from the Sun soon, since we have booked another cruise on her in the Spring.