Norovirus on Crown Princess!

[KaththeTaff]

Surely the whole point of a 'code red' is that the Norovirus has been identified on board and preventative measures are brought in to ensure that the outbreak is contained and not passed on to every single passenger?

 

Now, the implementation of the preventative measures may have been inconsistent, but it is far better to have them and to report where there are issues, than to just say 'Hell, there's only 20 victims, and they are old anyway, so let's just let everyone do whatever they want and hope no one else gets sick'.

[spunkie4]

We have encountered the "code red" at least five times, the most recent being on the Emerald transatlantic. I never had complaints concerning how Princess handles this. Anything they can do to ensure my well-being is appreciated.

 

Many times this is brought on the ship at the beginning of a cruise. If people would practice simple, basic hygiene, the spread could be prevented. Wash your hands, don't place your hands on your face, use santizer when soap and water is not available.

 

It is sad that a cruise line has to take steps to ensure our safety when much of this is brought on ourselves. I have witnessed people drinking from their water bottle then placing it under the spout at the beverage station for a refill, eating from their plate while in line at the Horizon Court, leaving the bathroom without washing their hands and heading straight to the dining room. The list goes on.

 

Thank you Princess for taking care of these situations. It causes extra work on the already over-worked employees.

 

(P.S. we are seniors)

Edited June 4, 2011 by spunkie4
addition

[Roses2]

It is foolish to consider the Princess preventive medicine actions as right or wrong unless one has all of the facts at hand. Each Princess ship has a qualified physician well versed in preventive medicine who advises the Captain on steps that should be taken to prevent a wide spread outbreak of disease aboard the ship.

 

Norovirus, while usually not life threatening, is highly contagious and spreads very quickly among a closely confined group, such as on a cruise ship.

 

Preventive medicine actions are much more effective than treatment of disease entities after the fact.

 

Control of the spread of norovirus demands rapid and rigid attention to sanitation. Unfortunately, in a population of 2000 - 3000 people in close quarters that is not always possible for some will not adhere to the conditions needed (as cited in some posts above).

 

Second guessing of the actions, unless all of the medical facts are known is foolhardy. Were they right or wrong, only the ship's physican who advised the Captain truly knows.

[fredman]

WOMEN? It's the men who are the worst offenders and they're the ones who are more "feely touchy" than the women. :eek:

 

Everyone should sanitize. My son worked as a Manager of a major chain restaurant (not fast food) and the Men's room soap dispensers were filled every day wheres the Women's room only required refilling every 2-3 days...Pia what does that say?

 

Anyways let's face it everyone needs to wash their hands frequently if everyone did we would probably wouldn't require hand sanitizers at buffets and MDRs.

[asctony]

I had info from some officers and managers that the total number of people hit was "under 20", amongst a cruise of about 3000 guests. The cruise was primarily retirees given the departure date of mid-May, and thus sickness numbers will spike regardless. So 20 or so supposedly sick elderly people and Princess's idiotic response measures affected the other 2980 passengers considerably.

 

Anyone else experience this Code Red nonsense before?

 

Anyone here just get back from this cruise who has opinions on the mess?

 

Nonsense? You are very lucky that you did not get it. We have had it before and you never want it again. You better hope that you never get it. If you do, you won't think what any Cruise Line does to prevent it from spreading is NONSENSE!

[Wavesprite]

We were onboard the May22 Crown, too. It was a sad situation, and I'm happy to report that neither my mother or I experienced the virus. I do have to say though that she did end up in the Medical Center and they reprorted the numbers are MORE then 100 people sick. We also talked to people that were sick, but didn't report it, just stayed in for 24 hours or so they could avoid the 48 hour quarantine that the ships doctor was imposing. Hmmm, slightly irresponsible, perhaps!

 

If anyone thinks that the servers in the buffets are happy about doing it, they are nuts. They dislike it just as much as the passengers did. I didn't mind it, it was refreshing to talk to them all!

[ONT-CA]

Nonsense? You are very lucky that you did not get it. We have had it before and you never want it again. You better hope that you never get it. If you do, you won't think what any Cruise Line does to prevent it from spreading is NONSENSE!

 

Don't want to hijack the subject but have to ask if anyone who has been hit by the virus in the past ever had it happen to them the second time? On our last cruise I got the distinct impression from an odour in the cabin that it had been the scene of emesis. I later experienced the preliminary signs of the virus but then it quickly passed. Having been a victim of the virus before I wonder if there is an immunity build up that protected me. It would be interesting to hear of anyone getting it more than the once.

[Shogun]

Hi ont-ca

 

From what I was told noro is like the cold virus constantly changing, but

 

as some as some strains are very similar you would have some defence

 

if it was similar to a type you have had before.

 

yours Shogun

[johnmik1]

Don't want to hijack the subject but have to ask if anyone who has been hit by the virus in the past ever had it happen to them the second time? On our last cruise I got the distinct impression from an odour in the cabin that it had been the scene of emesis. I later experienced the preliminary signs of the virus but then it quickly passed. Having been a victim of the virus before I wonder if there is an immunity build up that protected me. It would be interesting to hear of anyone getting it more than the once.

 

I remember talking to a woman that got the virus and 3 days after her symptoms were gone she got it again!

[cruiseryyc]

Have only had it once but on subsequent cruises have taken great care not to get it again - never eat in the buffet; don't hold onto hand rails; try to only use my own bathroom; etc.

[azcruiser64]

"The lack of freedom to get ANY of your own food for 10 straight days really smarts. You have no control over proportions. Imagine a salad prepared by randomly selected sizes of each item, usually misinterpreted by the serving personnel. This includes dressing. Now imagine that for each and every food item that you attempt to eat over the course of a 12 day cruise. It was like a Laurel and Hardy scene! Although the lauhter fades after the first day or so."

 

Maybe it would be better to try the MDR every once in awhile when the ship is in Code Red.

[Grumpy100]

A gorup of 8 of us just got back this morning around 1:00 am from this cruise. Out of 8 four people got sick that is 50%. The numbers are way off. Around day 6 of the cruise after they announced that they had 26 cases that were reported and that those cabins were quarantined.

My girlfriend got sick on our excursion from Blarney Castle in Cobh and we did not think she had it. We thought she was car sick because she was sitting way back in the bus and the roads were very bumpy. She went straight to the medical dept. when she got on board and they did absolutely nothing for her. They were more interested in getting their money rather than treating her The nurse told her to go lie down and if she did not feel better to come and see the doctor. She tried to do the right thing but I do not think that they thought they had the visus epidemic on board since that was only Day 2 of the cruise. Later that night my husband got sick but we had eaten on shore at a pub and thought he had food poising so did not repot it. They both were fine within 12 hrs. of getting sick. Then the next day the outbreak was reported and I kept hearing about people getting sick. Then one day later my brother in law got sick. He did not report it. Then 2 days later my friend's brother got sick and they reported it and cleaned up their cabin and he was quarantined for 24 hrs. inside his cabin. I think for every person that got sick 2 other did not report it. I think it was more like around 200 people got sick but there is no way that the ship is going to give you the correct numbers.

We missed Dublin and others in our group of 8 missed only 1 port also.

If I had to do it again I still would not report it because they don't do anything for you but give you a shot to help with they nausea and vomiting and then charge you $111.00. That was the total bill that they charged for the nurse coming to the cabin and giving him a shot that did absolutely nothing for him. They were not happy. The next day he was fine but followed the rules and stayed in the cabin.

Even with my husband getting sick and the other 2 in our group I did not get sick. Alot of people keep putting their fingers in their mouths even after the reports of the virus outbreak. I guess I was spared because I washed my hands continuously and used hand sanitizer and I was tottally spooked out for the rest of the entire cruise.

We did not allow it to ruin our cruise but did stay away from the buffets but respected what Princess did to help stop the outbreak. You have to go with the flow.

Happy sailing.

[LARGIN]

Oh come on! Drama much? we just went through Code Red on Coral last month and went through exactly the same things you did. A minor inconvience at best.

 

Agree.. No problem here except for the cancellation of our Chef's Table..

[LARGIN]

I do too; ie. paper towel. But my husband will attest to the fact that men walk out w/o washing most of the time. When you're a medical person you tend to notice these things.

 

My wife commented the same thing about women..

[Pia1913]

My wife commented the same thing about women..

 

LOL. I suppose both sexes are equally guilty.

[curtdesilets]

Agree.. No problem here except for the cancellation of our Chef's Table..

 

They Cancelled the Chef's Table as Well?

 

I'll have to add that to my list. Princess ought to refund some of our money.

[curtdesilets]

It is foolish to consider the Princess preventive medicine actions as right or wrong unless one has all of the facts at hand. Each Princess ship has a qualified physician well versed in preventive medicine who advises the Captain on steps that should be taken to prevent a wide spread outbreak of disease aboard the ship.

 

Norovirus, while usually not life threatening, is highly contagious and spreads very quickly among a closely confined group, such as on a cruise ship.

 

Preventive medicine actions are much more effective than treatment of disease entities after the fact.

 

Control of the spread of norovirus demands rapid and rigid attention to sanitation. Unfortunately, in a population of 2000 - 3000 people in close quarters that is not always possible for some will not adhere to the conditions needed (as cited in some posts above).

 

Second guessing of the actions, unless all of the medical facts are known is foolhardy. Were they right or wrong, only the ship's physican who advised the Captain truly knows.

 

 

Responding to your last line:

 

Second guessing of the actions, unless all of the medical facts are known is foolhardy. Were they right or wrong, only the ship's physican who advised the Captain truly knows.

 

What I've described is that the waiting staff truly had no idea what they were doing. And I doubt seriopusly that the medical officer or the captain knew how badly the buffet situation was. We watched as a guy sneezed and coughed and drippped all over a table and plate. Busboy took plate away. Another passenger sat there. We told the busboy to thoroughly clean the area; one swipe with a rag and the next guests continued to eat. Same server/busser than proceeded to serve drinks to next customers, etc. There was NO CONTROL whatsoever of any viruses in what we observed.

[Toddy709]

They Cancelled the Chef's Table as Well?

 

I'll have to add that to my list. Princess ought to refund some of our money.

 

Hopefully you're joking about any refund. If you're not joking, well, then good luck with that one!:rolleyes:

[Wavesprite]

They Cancelled the Chef's Table as Well?

 

I'll have to add that to my list. Princess ought to refund some of our money.

 

They actually cancelled only one of two Chef's Tables. My friend went to one on Dublin night and it was AMAZING!!!!

[senior lady]

from all information that I've read........... Hand sanitizers really don't work!!! Much better to wash hands all the time.

[hubofhockey]

OP, if Princess' measures prevented just a few people from catching this awful virus, wouldn't you think it was worth it? This stuff can spread like wildfire and even you suggest that it was kept to a minimum. I would have been a bit frustrated as you were. But I would have been relieved that I didn't catch it. In your later posts, it seems that you agree that the controls should have been tighter considering how hard it is to control passenger behavior.

 

 

Can't wait to do this itinerary next summer.

Edited June 5, 2011 by hubofhockey

[Luvmyrotti]

They Cancelled the Chef's Table as Well?

 

I'll have to add that to my list. Princess ought to refund some of our money.

 

Well, I'm sure they didn't charge the passengers for the cancelled chef's table. Or, if you think that a cancelled chef's table that you were not scheduled to attend and/or had not signed up to try to attend, somehow justifies you getting a refund of cruise fare, well that is just plain ridiculous!

Edited June 5, 2011 by Luvmyrotti

[grandmaa]

Sorry there was norovirus on your cruise. The cruise line really has to control the problem for the greater good of all the passengers and that is one of the reasons why they implement

the procedures they do. The crew has to work harder with noro on board..and I would be thankful that I did not got sick and be grateful for all the measures that cruise lines take to

keep control of these issues. JMHO

[KaththeTaff]

Responding to your last line:

 

Second guessing of the actions, unless all of the medical facts are known is foolhardy. Were they right or wrong, only the ship's physican who advised the Captain truly knows.

 

What I've described is that the waiting staff truly had no idea what they were doing. And I doubt seriopusly that the medical officer or the captain knew how badly the buffet situation was. We watched as a guy sneezed and coughed and drippped all over a table and plate. Busboy took plate away. Another passenger sat there. We told the busboy to thoroughly clean the area; one swipe with a rag and the next guests continued to eat. Same server/busser than proceeded to serve drinks to next customers, etc. There was NO CONTROL whatsoever of any viruses in what we observed.

 

I don't understand. In your opening post, you used the words 'draconian' and 'mess', whislt complaining there were no nibbles served with drinks and you could not serve your own food at the buffet.

 

Now it seems that these dracnian measures were insufficient as areas in the buffet were not swabbed and sterilised before soemone else sat down?

 

So are you now saying that the draconian measures that were imposed did not go far enough?

 

Cruise lines have to try and minimize and conatin any outbreak of norovirus that occurs. The most obvious precautions to take are around food, rather than chairs, tables or perfume sprays.

[capriccio]

They Cancelled the Chef's Table as Well?

 

I'll have to add that to my list. Princess ought to refund some of our money.

 

Jeez - years ago my son got norovirus in a college dorm. I should have demanded a tuition refund for the classes he missed!

 

It sure looks like all the whining by the OP is an attempt to 'rationalize' a future request/demand for monetary compensation.