24 hour quarantine

[cruisinhotmamma]

I am recently off the Monarch and spent half our cruise in quarantine due to food poisoning from the windjammer boarding lunch. After spending the evening in the bathroom then a couple of hours in the medical area I was put in quarantine. We weren't able to leave our room till the morning of day 3. I emailed RCI because I missed half our cruise due to their fault. Anyone had this experience before and did RCI do anything? Thanks.

[critterchick]

Sorry to hear that you fell ill!

 

A guest services manager told me a couple of years ago that they will compensate you for the time you're quarantined, but as I recall, she would take care of it onboard so the customer knew about it prior to departure. It would likely be in the form of a credit toward a future cruise and is based on the amount of time that you're confined to your cabin. They may have changed their policy in the face of tought times, but it never hurts to ask.

 

You might call customer service rather than rely on an email, since those are easier to ignore. Good luck!

[NorbertsNiece]

Hi,

 

Sounds dreadful. Were others affected on your cruise? Did RCL accept liability? Your symptoms came on so very quickly.

[heffa72]

No experience, although I've heard stories of people being quarantined. I don't think you have any ground to stand on unless you can prove it was food poisoning vs just a bug/virus you caught. They do it (and probably post it in their contract with you) to protect the other passengers. Imagine if they didn't and you had that Norwalk virus or something similar. Then the whole boat gets sick? No one wants that.

 

I'm very sorry that happened to you. Just an awful way to spend the trip. Maybe they'll give you a voucher towards a future cruise in a good faith, but don't count on it. :(

[yogimax]

Wow! What a bummer! Please let us know how RCCL responds.

[nanfromatlanta]

Hi,

 

Sounds dreadful. Were others affected on your cruise? Did RCL accept liability? Your symptoms came on so very quickly.

 

That's what happens when you get food poisoning. It doesn't take very long after eating bad food!!

[cruisenfever]

Here is a toll free number for RCI Customer Service 1-800-256-6649.

[phoenix_dream]

How did you know it was food poisoning? Did they take tests to prove it? If so I am wondering why you would be quarantined for food poisoning? If you are presuming it was because it came on so quickly that may not be the case. Unfortunately Norovirus can also hit quickly. And in fact, while food poisoning can come on quickly, it very often does not hit for 24-48 hours after. Just wondering if it was a proven case of food poisoning - if so I think you got mistreated. I'm sorry you had to go through this either way.

[LisaH]

Both my husband and I had noro (not food poisoning) on one of our cruises and were both quarantined one day each on different days. Not sure why you would be quarantined for food poisoning though as it is not contagious is it? That comes from contaminated food.

 

We received no compensation other than a refund on shore excursions and free medical care. However, if they served you contaminated food I would think some reasonable form of compensation would be in order.

[The Viking]

I am sorry you did not have a good cruise.

 

If you got this from the food on board the ship, I would imagine that other passengers also were quarantined.

[cruisinhotmamma]

Thanks for all the replies. I'm an RN and know the timing for food poisoning and it comes on within a couple of hours of digestion. The dr on board also said because of the timing and what I ate that day, the two days before that it had to be bad food. Their policy is 24-72 hours quarantine for anything involving diarrhea and vomiting. That's a good idea about calling customer service. The email reply I received said sorry don't be leery of coming back to RCI.

[phoenix_dream]

I'm not an RN, but I do know that food poisoning can come on suddenly or it can come on days later, depending upon a number of circumstances and the type of contamination. Is it not true that norovirus can also hit (seemingly) out of the blue? I am surprised your ship doctor would admit to it being food poisoning without some type of proof as that opens the ship up to liability costs (ok, my insurance background is showing!).

 

I was also surprised (but not doubting you) that the quarantine was so short. If you did have some type of virus, you would likely be contagious for longer than 24 hours.

[cruisenfever]

Thanks for all the replies. I'm an RN and know the timing for food poisoning and it comes on within a couple of hours of digestion. The dr on board also said because of the timing and what I ate that day, the two days before that it had to be bad food. Their policy is 24-72 hours quarantine for anything involving diarrhea and vomiting. That's a good idea about calling customer service. The email reply I received said sorry don't be leery of coming back to RCI.

Yep, that's their policy.

 

Always bring OTC medication with you so that if, by chance, you get an upset stomach from eating something that you knew you shouldn't but it was just too good to pass up, you don't need to inquire about medication at the shops on board because they will politely tell you can get that medication in the medical facility.

 

What they don't tell you is that you will most likely be quarantined.:eek: They take no chances these days.

[NorbertsNiece]

Yep, that's their policy.

 

Always bring OTC medication with you so that if, by chance, you get an upset stomach from eating something that you knew you shouldn't but it was just too good to pass up, you don't need to inquire about medication at the shops on board because they will politely tell you can get that medication in the medical facility.

 

What they don't tell you is that you will most likely be quarantined.:eek: They take no chances these days.

 

Couldn't agree with you more regarding the OTC meds.

 

Not sure that I would ever eat something I know I shouldn't.... I know I'm sensitive to some sea food though though not to an extent that I've been as ill as the OP experienced. DH had an onset of noro many years ago though and the symptoms were dire.

 

I do hope samples were taken for analysis to identify just what it was. Would there not have been others sick too?

[cruisenfever]

Couldn't agree with you more regarding the OTC meds.

 

Not sure that I would ever eat something I know I shouldn't.... I know I'm sensitive to some sea food though though not to an extent that I've been as ill as the OP experienced. DH had an onset of noro many years ago though and the symptoms were dire.

 

I do hope samples were taken for analysis to identify just what it was. Would there not have been others sick too?

By eating something you shouldn't I meant ordering that very rich looking desert after a meal where you know there is absolutely no room in your stomach to put it.:D

 

And all of us are guilty about doing that on a cruise.

[travelntreats]

Thanks for all the replies. I'm an RN and know the timing for food poisoning and it comes on within a couple of hours of digestion. The dr on board also said because of the timing and what I ate that day, the two days before that it had to be bad food. Their policy is 24-72 hours quarantine for anything involving diarrhea and vomiting. That's a good idea about calling customer service. The email reply I received said sorry don't be leery of coming back to RCI.

so it sounds like the dr. was almost stating that the specific food item you ate on the ship caused the problem... how would he know that to be true ? Kinda bold for them to make that type of statement. Not doubting you in anyway, but unless there is a test done of the particuliar item suspected to cause the food poisoning, there is no way that a dr. can specifically say what caused the issue. Nor can you or him be certain that what made you sick actually came from what was consumed while onboard.

 

Sorry to hear of your illness and the disrupted cruise that you experienced, but this does happen on many cruises w/ passengers and their instant claim of food poisoning being the only rationale behind the sickness.

[cruisinhotmamma]

I had a hamburger at windjammer. The quarantine was 24 from the time of last symptom. If I had a virus then yes I would have been on quarantine for longer than 24 hours. They had to put me on some timeframe of quarantine because of their policy. I didn't have any other symptoms pointing any other direction. I didn't post this to debate what I had or didn't have. I posted for possible options on RCI s part.

[travelntreats]

Without actual proof of the illness or it's cause, what do you expect RCI to do for you....

 

Food Poisoning is such a difficult symptom to actually prove. And were there other passengers that fell ill to the same problem with the hamburgers reported ? Bet ya won't find that info out from the cruiseline !

[travelntreats]

I would suggest writing a letter to the cruiseline stating the facts as you know them... Perhaps they will offer a future cruise discount of say 10% for good customer relations, but I would not expect more than a generic response and apology from them at best.

[Ashland]

Was your cabinmate quarantained or sick as well ? Why were you not able to secure what the compensation would be before getting off ship by having them call Miami..Sorry this happened :( that's why I always bring my own remedy...Good luck on resolving this situation....

[LisaH]

I had a hamburger at windjammer. The quarantine was 24 from the time of last symptom. If I had a virus then yes I would have been on quarantine for longer than 24 hours. They had to put me on some timeframe of quarantine because of their policy. I didn't have any other symptoms pointing any other direction. I didn't post this to debate what I had or didn't have. I posted for possible options on RCI s part.

 

Our quarantine was only 24 hours and we exhibited pretty straigh-forward noro symptoms. They quarantine you for 24 hours unless you exhibit symptoms within those 24 hours. Once we got over our initial "bout" we had no more symptoms and had a relatively mild case but during the 4-6 hours of "activity" it was not fun.

[Islandbear]

Are you sure that the Doctor said Food Poisoning?

 

Most doctors would reserve that term for illnesses such as Campylobacter, Salmonella, Shigella, E. coli O157:H7, Listeria, and Botulism. These are the most common types of Food Poisonings and are serious illnesses that require more than just day to get over. Also a ships doctor would be very careful not to infer that a Food Poisoning happened on his ship.

 

Is it possible that you had a virus which would be much more likely for the doctor to have quarantine you for?

[travelntreats]

Careful... the OP does not want to debate this issue regarding it's validity ! :)

[canadian loves explorer]

My aunt was sick and she and my uncle were quarantined for 3 days on a cruise 2 years ago and they each received a future cruise credit. I think it was all arranged while they were onboard.

 

Good luck. Glad you're feeling better:)

[Islandbear]

Oh Sorry!

 

Hope you are feeling better from your bout with "Food Poisoning" and hope you get a full cash refund. Next time don't eat the puffer fish sushi. :rolleyes: