Infinity

[Shermcruiser]

Why is the Infinity still in port?

[Scrappy cruiser]

A friend's parents are on board and they report late embarkation and late departure due to thorough cleaning after a virus outbreak.

[Shermcruiser]

She is finally on the move at 9:20. About 5 hours late.

We just got off her this morning.

[HokiePoq]

What port did the Infinity leave from?

Good to know about the complete cleaning.

We had late embarkation in January on another ship due to CDC mandated cleaning. Well worth it as we stayed well the following 28 days.

The video they put on the TV tells you just how hard it is to eradicate noro. Blasted virus lives on surfaces for a very long time.

Glad they were able to get away, albeit delayed.

[Shermcruiser]

They left from Ft Lauderdale on a TA.

[Shermcruiser]

Correction, they left from Miami.

[HokiePoq]

Correction, they left from Miami.

 

Thanks. That's where our cruise with noro originated and the CDC runs a tight ship there. Every passenger debarking on the cruise before us was interviewed by a doctor (or so we were told while waiting). We saw this going on and it was after noon before all left the ship. Meanwhile the cleaning goes on....guess we were lucky to get on before 3.

[Guinny]

Donna here, I sent you a friend request.:)

I hope they were able to remove all the germs. I think it is fortunate they were able to keep the cooties contained as well as they did. One does wonder though.

[fourrowdys]

My husband and I debarked the Infinity yesterday. Miserable cruise. Everyday we encountered crew in complete hazmat suits fogging the ship. Service suffered a lot as many of the crew were taken away from their regular jobs in order to walk around the ship with a squirt bottle and rag "cleaning". This was our 63rd cruise and by far the worst. We have another sailing booked for the Infinity but we will be canceling it.

[cruisehome]

what was the condition of the ship other than sikness

[fourrowdys]

We have also cruised in the last year on Summit and Millie. Of the three ships Infinity is by far in the worst condition. Lots of rust. We were in a S1 and our balcony had tons of rust. The upholstery is showing wear also. Outdoor furniture needs a coat of varnish. The ship just felt tired.

[Shermcruiser]

The ship was just fine. We had a great time. We didn't get sick, which was a great plus. Yes they were spraying, but we worked around it.

We had a great cruise.

[Shermcruiser]

Donna here, I sent you a friend request.:)

I hope they were able to remove all the germs. I think it is fortunate they were able to keep the cooties contained as well as they did. One does wonder though.

 

Where did you send the friend request?

[Redtravel]

I was on the Infinity in April 2013. We were also delayed boarding for many hours due to the clean up from the nori virus. The first 3 days were awful. It improved later. However, even though the ship was supposedly virus free, we experienced reduced staff and lots of bad service. Hazmat suits were seen. Hazmat suits are not necessarily for the nori virus. On a recent cruise, we saw the hazmat suits. We were told that a cabin had bugs. Never saw them again. What is amazing is how the Infinity keeps having problems. Most ships are great. Is there some unknown type of problem on the Infinity?

[fourrowdys]

According to the CDC website 4 of the 9 cruise ships reporting norovirus outbreaks in 2013 were Celebrity ships. Three of the four ships were M class -- Summit, Infinity and Millie. And now the ongoing issue with the Infinity. It makes you wonder if there is something within the workings of the ships that is propagating the virus rather than an outside source. We are canceling our future sailings on this class. Not because we fear getting sick but because it completely disrupts everything when an outbreak occurs.

[HokiePoq]

According to the CDC website 4 of the 9 cruise ships reporting norovirus outbreaks in 2013 were Celebrity ships. Three of the four ships were M class -- Summit, Infinity and Millie. And now the ongoing issue with the Infinity. It makes you wonder if there is something within the workings of the ships that is propagating the virus rather than an outside source. We are canceling our future sailings on this class. Not because we fear getting sick but because it completely disrupts everything when an outbreak occurs.

 

Oh, dear, that is not good to hear. I will say I've been on two other lines where noro outbreaks have occurred and still had great cruises, especially the last one (NCL Star out of Miami) The hotel director went over and beyond to see that a good time was had by all in spite of the hazmat suits we'd see. Poor crew did work very , very hard sanitizing surfaces every hour as mandated.

Does make one wonder when one ship keeps getting it....whether crew is pressured to return to work before they are well or whatever the issue is. There are certain ports where it is more likely that noro will be brought aboard by passengers consuming local food/drink. Not sure if the Infinity has been to those but it may have since it's sailing out of Miami.

[Cruise To Relax]

A couple of thoughts on this whole subject. First, my wife got the dreaded noro on a transatlantic cruise 5 years ago while on Princess and she was confined to the cabin. They came in in Hazmat suits and disinfected everything. We were schedule to visit a port 2 days after she got it. IN that instance, it was not a breakout. So why did she get it? That brings me to the second point - who is responsible. Certainly the cruise line bears some of that responsiblity but so do the passengers IMHO. How many times do you see people go to the buffet, the MDR, the Casino, and bypass the hand sanitizer that are pretty much everywhere. Even when they put crew at the entrance to the buffet, I have personally viewed at least 25-30% of the passengers bypass and fail to use the sanitizer. I can tell you that neither my wife or I were religious about using the sanitizer and we paid the price. We use it probably more than we should to include carrying a small bottle with us everywhere we go and using it multiple times. The Noro is a fact of life and is everywhere. It seems to strive better on a cruise ship. Finally, I think we are all responsible for spreading the virus. IMHO cancelling a cruise on one type of ship for another is like changing deck chairs on the Titanic. At some point, you may get the virus and then you might decide to be more proactive and just HOPE all the other 1500+ fellow passengers plus crew feel the same way. Just my 2 cents worth.

[snowmc]

After doing extensive research on hand sanitizers, we do not use them. We wash our hands religiously. Use of the most common hand sanitizer actually decreases your resistance to viruses. Also...many people are allergic to the products used in them, so do not assume that people are being ignorant or lazy when you see them pass it by. There are other, better, ways of fighting viruses.

[Cruise To Relax]

After doing extensive research on hand sanitizers, we do not use them. We wash our hands religiously. Use of the most common hand sanitizer actually decreases your resistance to viruses. Also...many people are allergic to the products used in them, so do not assume that people are being ignorant or lazy when you see them pass it by. There are other, better, ways of fighting viruses.

 

No argument at all. Everyone has different ways to fight Noro. Just wish more folks would do something more - hand wash, sanitizer, whatever. I know the hospital where I volunteer trains us to use both. But they really emphasize sanitizer when when hand washing is not available. Better to do something than nothing.

[fourrowdys]

We boarded the Infinity as rather normal, run of the mill hand washers and debarked with a bad case of OCD -- at every turn there was someone standing there with a bottle of hand sanitizer -- stores, theater, lounges --it was EVERYWHERE and you get off the ship and still think you need to use hand sanitizer every 5 minutes. They even came and sprayed the arms of our lounge chairs in the solarium while we were sitting In them --TWICE --the third time she tried it we said NO! It's going to take us a few more days to get over it!

[bikn4fn]

now I'm worried. We are set to sail in August on British Isle cruise. This does not sound good.

[alcpa1]

bikn4fun,

Don't worry, if there's another outbreak you'll hear about it.

We were on the Infinity during a code red cruise last year and will be on her again soon. I'll post when we return. As will anyone else with an issue.

[Photo_Traveler]

I put together a thorough look at the cruise. We went into code red at the Puerto Vallarta stop or just after it.... That meant over 80% of the cruise was spent under Code Red conditions.... It was not the 40th Anniversary cruise we had in mind... :eek:

 

Mike

[fourrowdys]

Nor was it our 34th Anniversary/Retirement celebration that we had hoped for! Honestly the worst cruise we've ever experienced. Mid cruise we expressed our concerns to Jenny the Captains Club hostess but never received any follow up from anyone. As we were leaving the Captains Club debark lounge on the last day my husband commented to her that we were surprised that we had received no followup and she "Oh -- you didn't hear from anyone? Well I'm not surprised -- things just kept getting worse after that". And that pretty much sums up while we're canceling our October sailing on the Infinity. A lot of what makes cruising great is the service and in this ship it fell short! I've expressed our concerns on the online comment survey but don't expect to hear from anyone.

[LBOATER1]

I'm with Shermcruiser. We were on the same voyage and had a wonderful time!

Yes, they were cleaning constantly, yes there were some inconveniences, but the crew and staff were great and did everything they could to make it an enjoyable experience.

It was a great way to celebrate our 23rd anniversary and I would do it again in a heartbeat!

:D