Bed bugs on RC Liberty of the Seas 7/10-7/17

[rhuntington3]

My apologies. I must have missed that post. Thank you for helping me out.

[vettecruiser1]

Just off Liberty this morning. They know about the bed bugs. We requested egg crate toppers. They seem to be the source of the bugs, since we did not get any at first and without asking why was told due to them being the source of a bed bug issue they were having. I guess they got some delivered by corporate at first stop because they showed up on our bed after first port. Knowing what the said about bugs I pulled the sheet too look for the spots and it appeared our toppers were brand new. Guest services even informed us that by our November cruise most likely all toppers would no longer be allowed on the ship since they seem to be a very easy for them to spread, since they pull them from rooms and store them together we're I guess the bugs could then infest the whole lot every week. Hopefully they think about better mattresses because without the topper it was pretty hard.

[gerif]

What did they do a genotype from cells in the saliva or bug parts present in the bite? There is no way in he!! that someone made a diagnosis of the bug type from doing a biopsy of the bite site.

 

I'm not a doctor and have no idea what tests he ran. Whatever, he was spot on and they were gone the next day never to return.

[Ufam5]

Just off Liberty this morning. They know about the bed bugs. We requested egg crate toppers. They seem to be the source of the bugs, since we did not get any at first and without asking why was told due to them being the source of a bed bug issue they were having. I guess they got some delivered by corporate at first stop because they showed up on our bed after first port. Knowing what the said about bugs I pulled the sheet too look for the spots and it appeared our toppers were brand new. Guest services even informed us that by our November cruise most likely all toppers would no longer be allowed on the ship since they seem to be a very easy for them to spread, since they pull them from rooms and store them together we're I guess the bugs could then infest the whole lot every week. Hopefully they think about better mattresses because without the topper it was pretty hard.

Thank you for the follow up & the confirmation of the issue. I'm glad to see the ship is indeed aware & doing something about it. Maybe my phone call report did more than I thought? I sure wish they would have followed up with me. Thankful other families will hopefully be spared the aftermath of what we are living right now. Hope you had a great trip! Thanks again.

[TigerLady]

Did you by any chance stay in a hotel prior to your cruise? That could be where the bites came from as well.

 

My thoughts as well...

[sammee]

Well I did want to stay out of this subject but there are so many wrong answers that I just had to put my 2 cents worth in. First of all I want everyone to know that I spent 25 years working for one of the Largest Pest Control Companies in the world. I am now retired and enjoying not treating for Bed bugs anymore.;)

 

Bed bugs can and will and have been found in some of the most luxurious hotels, resorts, cruise ships, colleges, etc. Bed bugs are brought in by people they don't just appear! Billions of dollars are spent on trying to rid and prevent bed bugs in these places. Yes passed on down to the consumer in the price. I would like to say that all of these places have some type of active bed bug program established but some still don't. I do know for a fact that Royal takes the issue very seriously and does work with a very respected pest control company.

 

Instead of arguing about who is right who is wrong on the issue I am going to just give some of my preventive tips.

 

1) Inspect your bedding, headboard, drawers and room. Look for blood stains on the sheets and live bugs.Many places now use bed bug proof mattress & pillow covers that are extremely effective on keeping them out of the mattress.

 

2) Report if any are found. Do not and I repeat do not spray any insecticide that you may have. One more time do not use anything that you have on the mattress or anywhere else. You will make the problem worse. You do not know what you are doing so leave it to the professionals.

 

3) Put your luggage in a large plastic bag away from the bed and off the floor.

 

4) When packing to go home pack your clothes in the plastic bags.

 

5) Bed bugs and eggs eggs will die at 122 degrees Fahrenheit. When unpacking I put all my clothes in the dryer for 35 minutes then wash them then dry again. A little OCD but I don't like bed bugs so I double up on the heat.

 

6) If it is Summer time I put the luggage in plastic bags in the garage for a couple days. I live in Illinois it is 110 heat index right now.:eek:

If other times I still leave in a plastic bag in the garage for a longer period.

 

7) If you think you may have brought bed bugs home with you, do not spray anything on them call a professional pest control company. Once again you have no idea of what you are doing so save yourself time and money and call a professional. Time & money you ask? Yes you will spend a lot of money on useless insect sprays and waste a lot of time applying them, it will cost you less to call the professionals in the first place.

 

8) Relax you are on vacation take some precautions and don't worry so much that it ruins your vacation. The odds are with you that you don't bring them home.

 

Had our first dealings with them from a motel in South Carolina. We were very lucky, we found them within 15 miinutes before even lifting the covers. They were in the drawers storing an extra blanket. We got our money back and left. I put our luggage in my sons car, since he wasn't going to be using it for awhile. Hot summer heat wave, we know we killed anything on them. That was my wakeup call to always check. Our local movie theatre had bedbugs and was shutdown to clean it up a few years ago.

[gooch47]

Will cold kill them? I have thought about putting the clothes and even the suitcase in our large chest freezer in the basement.

[geoblond]

Just off Liberty this morning. They know about the bed bugs. We requested egg crate toppers. They seem to be the source of the bugs, since we did not get any at first and without asking why was told due to them being the source of a bed bug issue they were having. I guess they got some delivered by corporate at first stop because they showed up on our bed after first port. Knowing what the said about bugs I pulled the sheet too look for the spots and it appeared our toppers were brand new. Guest services even informed us that by our November cruise most likely all toppers would no longer be allowed on the ship since they seem to be a very easy for them to spread, since they pull them from rooms and store them together we're I guess the bugs could then infest the whole lot every week. Hopefully they think about better mattresses because without the topper it was pretty hard.

Thank you for this information. Guess I won't email guest services requesting an egg crate topper after all. :eek::(

[MsLMG]

I know many will think I'm crazy but we will be bringing our own topper, $40 at Walmart... 3 in thick. I just tack it on to the cost of cruising. My hip and back cannot survive 7 days on one of their mattresses. I love RCI....but I hate their beds.

 

 

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[geoblond]

I know many will think I'm crazy but we will be bringing our own topper, $40 at Walmart... 3 in thick. I just tack it on to the cost of cruising. My hip and back cannot survive 7 days on one of their mattresses. I love RCI....but I hate their beds.

 

 

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Good idea! Do you get the king or queen?

[MsLMG]

Good idea! Do you get the king or queen?

 

 

It's a shame their beds are so hard. Last year my parents had a hard time because there were no foam toppers avail....so I decided to do it myself.

I bought king size. Ships beds are an odd size. I just pack round tip "school" scissors to cut it to size.

As soon as I got it I stuffed it into a large duffle bag and put it in the closet. All I have to do is attach a luggage tag. At the end of the cruise they can do what they want with it.

Make sure you buy regular foam...not memory foam. The memory foam is more expensive and has a terrible odor to it that takes about a week of airing out to disappear.

 

 

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[Ufam5]

It's a shame their beds are so hard. Last year my parents had a hard time because there were no foam toppers avail....so I decided to do it myself.

I bought king size. Ships beds are an odd size. I just pack round tip "school" scissors to cut it to size.

As soon as I got it I stuffed it into a large duffle bag and put it in the closet. All I have to do is attach a luggage tag. At the end of the cruise they can do what they want with it.

Make sure you buy regular foam...not memory foam. The memory foam is more expensive and has a terrible odor to it that takes about a week of airing out to disappear.

 

 

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Besides sleeping comfortably, you are protecting yourselves from the bed bug nightmare we are dealing with! I think bringing your own is smart for multiple reasons!

[MsLMG]

Besides sleeping comfortably, you are protecting yourselves from the bed bug nightmare we are dealing with! I think bringing your own is smart for multiple reasons!

 

Do you know if there were foam toppers on your kids beds?

 

 

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[pspercy]

I've never had any complaints about RCL bedding, is Liberty different from the rest?

[MsLMG]

I've never had any complaints about RCL bedding, is Liberty different from the rest?

 

 

I think bedding is very subjective....we have had a tempurpedic mattress for about 5 years now so we tend to find most beds hard when we travel.

I have read a lot of others commenting on the firmness of the beds though. So I'm not alone. We sailed NCL Pride of America 2 years ago and the bed was very comfortable. I was quite surprised.

 

 

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[aggieteacher10]

We are sailing in a week and we have requested the egg crate toppers. Should I call and cancel it?

[Ufam5]

Do you know if there were foam toppers on your kids beds?

 

 

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There were on the bottom "twin" beds! My kids commented that they had "memory foam" mattresses like ours at home the first night. My husband & I kind of laughed knowing they were not.

[Ufam5]

We are sailing in a week and we have requested the egg crate toppers. Should I call and cancel it?

It sounds to me like the ship is on top of it now. I think as long as you inspect mattress when you get on ship you should be ok. I just hung up with RC customer service again & they seem to be taking me serious now. She said she was contacting ship & would follow up with me. They have requested dr diagnosis documents and pictures of my kids bites. This was not response after my initial report to them on Wednesday.