Email from X re Legionella.

[toad90]

14 minutes ago, Heavy Roller said:

I'm sailing on Ascent on Sunday 3/9. TODAY I got this email that says 3 guests, with no date information about when it happened.

 

Dear Guest,

Your health and safety are always our top priority, and in an abundance of caution, we are reaching out as the CDC has advised that while they are unsure where exposed, three guests who sailed on Celebrity Ascent were later diagnosed with a respiratory illness known as Legionella.

In response to this, before your sailing, we immediately implemented heightened sanitation protocols and followed all CDC remediation guidance, as precautionary measures.

At this time, we are only contacting you for awareness.

It’s important to know that Legionella is not contagious from person to person. It is contracted by inhaling water droplets from a source containing the bacteria, which can be found throughout the world in any environment containing water – ponds, lakes, rivers, and streams, as well as municipal water systems, fountains, and whirlpools. Most healthy people exposed to Legionella do not get sick. Symptoms include cough, shortness of breath, fever, muscle aches and headaches. If you experience these symptoms before, during or after your sailing please reach out to your preferred medical professional or our medical team onboard.

Both Celebrity Cruises and the CDC work hard to protect the health of guests and crew. If you have questions about Legionella, contact your local or state health department or CDC at 1-800-CDC-INFO (1-800-232-4636) or visit cdc.gov/legionella. For questions about this situation or other questions related to travel on the Celebrity Ascent, please contact Celebrity Cruises at (888) 727-4907.

We look forward to welcoming you onboard soon.

Sincerely, 

Celebrity Cruises

 

 

 

Same - purposely done right before the cruise and with a phone number that doesn't even work past 5PM EST on Friday. 

[Heavy Roller]

8 minutes ago, toad90 said:

 

Same - purposely done right before the cruise and with a phone number that doesn't even work past 5PM EST on Friday. 

It's one thing if there were 2 in January. But now we don't know if this 3 was from a second incident. That would make a big difference.

[toad90]

1 minute ago, Heavy Roller said:

It's one thing if there were 2 in January. But now we don't know if this 3 was from a second incident. That would make a big difference.

 

Agree - I finally got hold of someone through the Captain's club phone number and they were careful not to provide any dates.

[def0715]

I’m booked on the 3/24 sailing and was surprised to receive the email today.

[NMTraveller]

2 minutes ago, def0715 said:

I’m booked on the 3/24 sailing and was surprised to receive the email today.

One would have thought that they would have fixed the problem by now???

[SeaMee]

I’m on the sailing now and just received the email. If I would have known ahead of time I would have canceled as I have lung problems. They were spraying the hallway this morning snd it was overwhelming. 

[dock]

Did you ask why they were spraying and with what? 
Hope you have a good cruise. 

[omahabob]

41 minutes ago, NMTraveller said:

One would have thought that they would have fixed the problem by now???

They never found a problem to fix. Legionella wasn't detected on the ship. A notice is required if it was.

 

10 minutes ago, dock said:

Did you ask why they were spraying and with what? 
Hope you have a good cruise. 

There is no spray for Legionella, so it must have been something else. Otherwise, my guess is their lawyers are telling them to take overkill measures, even if they don't help, in the hopes of staving off lawsuits. People sue for anything, and even nothing, these days. And to a tort lawyer, even the appearance of action is better than no action at all.

[NMTraveller]

1 hour ago, omahabob said:

They never found a problem to fix. Legionella wasn't detected on the ship. A notice is required if it was.

 

There is no spray for Legionella, so it must have been something else. Otherwise, my guess is their lawyers are telling them to take overkill measures, even if they don't help, in the hopes of staving off lawsuits. People sue for anything, and even nothing, these days. And to a tort lawyer, even the appearance of action is better than no action at all.

If they never found a problem then why are guests being notified about Legionella and why are they spraying?

[markeb]

2 minutes ago, NMTraveller said:

If they never found a problem then why are guests being notified about Legionella and why are they spraying?

They’re notifying to CYA. If they didn’t they’d be accused of covering it up.
 

Why do people assume spraying has anything to do with Legionella? It makes little or no sense. You eliminate areas where water collects and can be aerosolized. They’re not going down the halls spraying chlorine dioxide! It provably wouldn’t have an impact anyway. And so far no one knows if the patients were infected on the ship in the first place. Did they all stay at the same hotel before the cruise or eat at the same restaurant with a crappy HVAC system in the islands? Who knows what they were spraying and why. 
 

Freaking conspiracy theories!

[NMTraveller]

19 minutes ago, markeb said:

They’re notifying to CYA. If they didn’t they’d be accused of covering it up.
 

Why do people assume spraying has anything to do with Legionella? It makes little or no sense. You eliminate areas where water collects and can be aerosolized. They’re not going down the halls spraying chlorine dioxide! It provably wouldn’t have an impact anyway. And so far no one knows if the patients were infected on the ship in the first place. Did they all stay at the same hotel before the cruise or eat at the same restaurant with a crappy HVAC system in the islands? Who knows what they were spraying and why. 
 

Freaking conspiracy theories!

One more question.  So this occurred in January?.  It is March.  Why are the notices still coming out?  How long will they be coming out for?

Edited March 9 by NMTraveller

[Heavy Roller]

9 hours ago, NMTraveller said:

One more question.  So this occurred in January?.  It is March.  Why are the notices still coming out?  How long will they be coming out for?

And why is the number now 3? Is this a second incident? They don't give any date info.

[1Virgo]

we don’t sail for a couple of weeks, yet received the email.   

[omahabob]

On 3/8/2024 at 11:23 PM, NMTraveller said:

If they never found a problem then why are guests being notified about Legionella and why are they spraying?

 

1. An abundance of caution, like they said.

2. Lawyers, which is why an abundance of caution is needed.

I have no clue what they might be spraying, or why, but it isn't for Legionella. See post #58.

Edited March 13 by omahabob

[omahabob]

One reason for the abundance of caution may be related to a case in Vila Franca de Xira, Portugal in 2014. A woman contracted Legionella while caring for her son who was infected with the disease a week to twelve days prior. This is the only documented case where they suspect Legionella might have been transferred from one person to another. They assume that, if that is indeed what happened, her immediate closeness to her son, presumably when he was coughing, which he was doing intensely, was the cause. This is just a theory so far, because no case of human to human transmission has ever been documented. But if you're a trial lawyer looking for a payday, and there are tons of those around, the mere suggestion is enough to file a lawsuit. That is why companies like Norwegian will go way overboard with notification and remediation efforts. It isn't because they're worried about the disease, and it isn't because those actions are required. It's because they're worried about the lawyers. The son was infected by a cooling tower, by the way. But if you're still really concerned about this, I'd be happy to go on a cruise in your place. Just let me know.

Edited March 13 by omahabob

[omahabob]

As for air conditioning, the CDC has a Toolkit for Controlling Legionella in Common Sources of Exposure. It was developed in cooperation with ASHRAE (American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers). There are six modules, covering potable water, cooling towers, hot tubs, decorative fountains, etc. Air condotioning is not covered, unless you include cooling towers, so they don't think you need to worry about your air conditioner.