Norovirus Oriana

[richleeds]

The faults you encountered on the trip have been experienced by myself in March of this year and been reported widely all year by numerous people and are not small faults. P&O know they have issues with plumbing, toilets and showers on Oriana and have known for some considerable time and in this day and age it is not excessive when paying for a cruise however much you have paid to expect clean water and working toilet facilities. I am sorry to say it but I told P&O in March that Oriana is not fit for purpose and should not be cruising in its current condition. While I know noro virus can be caught by numerous ways not having clean water in your cabin or defective toilets can only breed germs.

 

That is why I was shocked by the original post. I just find it inconceivable that someone would post that catalogue of horrors, then say they will cruise that ship again and also why I believe she is the worst culprit in the fleet of outbreaks.

 

If they are not willing to dry dock her for a complete plumbing overhaul then I can only presume they have deemed it too costly or technically impossible without pulling her apart or they are just running her into the ground before selling her.

 

Or maybe they are just so brazen that while she still sells, people still book, many repeat cruisers they will just keep her afloat, warts and all.

[shallwe]

I've been reading this thread with interest and would agree that it is worrying concerning the number of outbreaks of NV on ships. In some ways it isn't surprising as there are a very large number of people herded together in what is in effect a very small, compact area.

 

However, my personal thoughts are that I have now been on two cruises, both on Oriana, and although I love the ship in terms of elegance etc. I would be surprised if I set foot on it in the medium term future. Both of my two cruises were hit by NV, the last one last week was for the majority of the cruise and took away the pleasure of the cruise because of the required (and very necessary) stringent procedures.

 

I should add that I had no toilet problems, bathroom problems, water leaks, or any other such inconvenience. There was a leak from deck A above (as mentioned on a previous post above) that dripped through the ceiling to the floor just outside our cabin, but our cabin was fine.

 

I will open another thread concerning my overall thoughts of the cruise as that doesn't necessarily involve NV.

[richleeds]

I'm often in the States and we holiday in destinations where a lot of Americans go and one thing I see all the time is men washing their hands after having a pee.

 

That could be in a hotel, cruise ship, bar, mall, theme park etc etc.

 

This is not reflected in the UK, maybe its not too bad on cruise ships due to the annoucements but its shocking everywhere else!

[LondonStylist]

It's common and spreads easily so like you say any public space can carry and spread it.

 

We can all find horror stories on cruise ships but I'll still stand by what I say and say that it occurs more frequently on Oriana than any other ship in the P&O fleet.

I concur. I got norovirus on Oriana last year despite being quite ocd about cleanliness and having had disinfected the entire cabin daily....

[richleeds]

I concur. I got norovirus on Oriana last year despite being quite ocd about cleanliness and having had disinfected the entire cabin daily....

 

I would love to see the official figures from Port Health. Its a Government agency so you could probably get the figures under a freedom of information act....

[durhamgirl]

My son who is a senior manager with a nursing home company has recently been researching norovirus due to a serious outbreak in a nursing home. Research showed that air conditioning units also play a big part in the spread of the problem - the filters need to be clean or replaced. He also said that hand gels are not very effective to killing bugs.

[jeanlyon]

I'm afraid I knew that. They are anti-bacterial and not anti-viral, so do very little.

[kruzseeka]

I'm afraid I knew that. They are anti-bacterial and not anti-viral, so do very little.

 

We always carry Boots anti viral foam with us too. I don't suppose it gives much more protection but every little helps and it can't do any harm - at least I don't think so!

 

There are so many places/actions which can transfer bugs even after sanitising on entering dining areas - think putting your hands under your chair seat to pull up your chair - how many other hands have done the same thing - did they wash their hands/sanitise? It may seem a bit ott but if we can remember to use the foam we hope we are reducing the risk but as we all know it's very difficult. Inherent infrastructure problems with the ship though are likely to make it even more difficult to irradicate infections - until the next time! :rolleyes:

[majortom10]

That is why I was shocked by the original post. I just find it inconceivable that someone would post that catalogue of horrors, then say they will cruise that ship again and also why I believe she is the worst culprit in the fleet of outbreaks.

 

If they are not willing to dry dock her for a complete plumbing overhaul then I can only presume they have deemed it too costly or technically impossible without pulling her apart or they are just running her into the ground before selling her.

 

Or maybe they are just so brazen that while she still sells, people still book, many repeat cruisers they will just keep her afloat, warts and all.

 

From rumours I have been hearing since our cruise in March, when the Captain constantly at every meeting kept on about what a wonderful ship Oriana was and good for a few years dont know if he was trying to convince himself or the cruisers, I will go with the just running her into the ground before selling her.

[richleeds]

We always carry Boots anti viral foam with us too. I don't suppose it gives much more protection but every little helps and it can't do any harm - at least I don't think so!

 

There are so many places/actions which can transfer bugs even after sanitising on entering dining areas - think putting your hands under your chair seat to pull up your chair - how many other hands have done the same thing - did they wash their hands/sanitise? It may seem a bit ott but if we can remember to use the foam we hope we are reducing the risk but as we all know it's very difficult. Inherent infrastructure problems with the ship though are likely to make it even more difficult to irradicate infections - until the next time! :rolleyes:

 

You can always take your own precautions and hopefully they will do some good, but as some bugs are airborne its always going to be difficult.

 

In Japan (and often copied by Japanese tourists in London) you will see them wearing face masks either because they have a bug and are being courteous to try stop it spreading or they dont want to catch one.

 

Not quite sure a mask will complete the look of a frock on formal night though!

[kruzseeka]

You can always take your own precautions and hopefully they will do some good, but as some bugs are airborne its always going to be difficult.

 

In Japan (and often copied by Japanese tourists in London) you will see them wearing face masks either because they have a bug and are being courteous to try stop it spreading or they dont want to catch one.

 

Not quite sure a mask will complete the look of a frock on formal night though!

 

:D

We could always try sticking some sequins on to enter into the spirit! :rolleyes:

[richleeds]

:D

We could always try sticking some sequins on to enter into the spirit! :rolleyes:

 

 

Or at least on fancy dress night you could go as Doctor and Nurse!

[Britboys]

I also got off of Oriana last Thursday so thought I would add my thoughts.

 

Norovirus - I thought the crew dealt with the outreak as well as they possibly could. On the face of it, she does seem more affected than some other ships but I do wonder if the average age of the pax encourages this? Older people can be more vulnerable to infection and are often more likely to hold hand-rails inside the ship more? I am pleased to say that I was fine. I was moved to A deck about 5 days into the cruise but did not notice any problems around my cabin. The steward told me that most cases were on E/F decks.

 

Plumbing - after the first day, I could not get cold water in my cabin and so was moved. My first cabin was D deck aft - where the kids facilities used to be so was a more recent addition! I had absolutely no problems with plumbing up on A deck. The bathroom, whilst dated, was in good condition.

 

Disembarkation - the delay was due to the 'sea-bridge' not working at the terminal. Unfortunately, land-side did not inform the ship until she had come alongside so they had to move slightly and this caused the delay. I was due for last disembarkation slot so was only about 20 minutes late.

 

Oriana sell-off - unlikely. She is still very popular, hence this October cruise being virtually sold out without any significant discounting. They are also unlikely to sell her to a rival company as the risk of loyal pax departing with the ship would be rather high. She is an older ship and I recognise that this is likely to bring some problems. I however would still prefer to take that risk than sail aboard the gargantuan new ships with multiple (and often for-fee) restaurants, over-crowded open decks and public rooms and 3500 to 4000 other pax. Just my personal opinion and I fully accept others will differ.

[kersh]

Hi Andrew,

 

Thanks for posting your thoughts, glad to read that you enjoyed your cruise.

 

We have booked a similar cabin aft on D deck. One of the new ones. Do we need toaskto move? Do you know if the water is a continuing problem for these cabin. We are on the cabin next to the new outside restricted view cabins. We booked it for the close proximity to the outside space.

 

We are looking forward to being back on Oriana for Xmas.

 

Sue

[dgs1956]

Very good to read your post Andrew.

[jeanlyon]

Andrew - I agree wholeheartedly. The big ships are not for us and Oriana has a loyal following. We had no proper cold water either in C142 and neither did Shirley in C138. We also had no flushing toilet for nearly a day, which was a bit yuck!! However, I phoned down and they were working on the problem, which was fixed later.

 

I think you are perhaps correct about the older ones always using handrails and also possibly not being as careful about hygiene, hence my comment about the woman filling her bottle from the spout right under the notice saying "don't". Also someone else talking about a woman picking up bread with her fingers and putting it back - twice!

 

There was very little reduction in price on this cruise, a couple of cabins about 3 days before departure. However, I note there is quite a large reduction on our cruise next September on Oriana, which seems odd. Why would you discount it this early? Two days in Venice and some interesting other ports.

[Scriv]

Maybe trying to get people into the habit of booking early?

[jeanlyon]

Scriv, it's a big reduction though, nearly £500 on an inside cabin.

[Scriv]

Wow!! Really??!! Is that less than you booked it at? And for Select??

[AnnieC]

I think you are perhaps correct about the older ones always using handrails and also possibly not being as careful about hygiene,

 

And, for the less able, some things are outside their control. For the first time in my life, I've just spent 4 months on crutches. After using the loo, I have to flush and open the door, then hold the crutch handles before washing my hands. The nice clean hands then go back onto the dirty handles:eek:.

 

I tried to get around it by cleaning off the handles every time, but this was less than satisfactory and I've never seen anyone else bother to do it.

[jeanlyon]

Scriv, yes I booked Select and the Early Saver is £500 less than the current, but about £200 less than I paid, as I went to a TA and got a discount, plus OBC. I am watching with interest. I was happy when I booked it, so no complaints, just interesting.

[Scriv]

Jean - Sorry, I have got a bit confused. Did the Early Saver price come out at the same time as Select? Do you mean that the Early Saver price has reduced or that it is much less than the Select?

 

Isn't that one of the three categories now - Select and Early Saver for early bookers and the Saver with no frills or guarantees a lot later on?

Edited October 29, 2014 by Scriv

[majortom10]

Some of the prices I am receiving for deals on Oriana by e-mail from different cruise TAs and also seeing on cruise programmes on TV are very cheap indeed and all are certainly not late deals some are for March next year. I think that she has sold well this year purely on last minute cheap deals that have been widely advertised and the problems with plumbing i.e. toilets noit flushing, no cold water in cabins and dirty water from taps and showers is nothing new to P&O and they definitely know because they acknowledged me with a large compensation payout after my cruise in March. In my opinion knowing the problems Oriana is not fit for purpose and should not be currently sailing she should be removed from operation and plumbing problems sorted once and for all. But I have my own beliefs that the reason they are not doing this is because they have already decided to sell her and they are just bodging her up until she is sold.

[jeanlyon]

No, I watched the prices carefully for our cruise this year and there were no really good offers until very late, which doesn't bother me at all.

 

Just looked at the Early Saver terms, P&O decide on the cabin, and dining and you pay for shuttles. No OBC etc.

 

I'm still slightly better off, but I am also surprised that they would put an early saver on this early. The Select fare is quite a bit more than I paid.

Edited October 29, 2014 by jeanlyon

[jeanlyon]

I don't agree that she is not fit for purpose at all. She just has a few problems, but then I sailed on Azura when she was new and we had toilets flooding, water dripping from the ceiling, all sorts.