Cruise compensation

[bpl1]

On the first day of our cruise last year my wife became sick with the norovirus. It pretty much put her out of commission for the entire 11 day cruise.

 

Has anyone else been ill and offered credit on another cruise?

 

 

What is reasonable compensation?

 

tks

[Davey Interweb]

I've heard of X offering future cruise credits as compensation; it would seem that they generally take into consideration how many days a passenger had been quarantined to their cabin, and reimburse accordingly.

 

Never having been so afflicted myself, I know this only through reading reviews from people who had.

[BikerAl]

On the first day of our cruise last year my wife became sick with the norovirus.

 

According to the center for disease control, "Symptoms of norovirus illness usually begin about 24 to 48 hours after ingestion of the virus, but they can appear as early as 12 hours after exposure." If she became sick the first day, it is most likely she brought it on the ship, so I would think no compensation would be available.

[Ivanova]

I've heard of X offering future cruise credits as compensation; it would seem that they generally take into consideration how many days a passenger had been quarantined to their cabin, and reimburse accordingly.

 

Never having been so afflicted myself, I know this only through reading reviews from people who had.

 

I've only seen cruise lines do this if you purchased thier travel insurance/vacation protection plan ... or in some rare cases, when there's a rather large outbreak.

 

Honestly if the OP's wife became ill on the very first day of the cruise, she was more than likely exposed to the virus before boarding (24 to 48 hour incubation period). If she didn't contract norovirus onboard the ship, the cruise line probably would not offer any compensation.

 

Now, if the OP had 3rd party travel insurance they can file a claim through their insurance provider. There's no guarantee they'll reimburse, but a member of our group was quarantined for 3 nights 1/2 way through a 14 night cruise ... the insurance reimbursed for 3 nights worth of cruise fare under "trip interruption."

[jerseygirl3]

On the first day of our cruise last year my wife became sick with the norovirus. It pretty much put her out of commission for the entire 11 day cruise.

 

Has anyone else been ill and offered credit on another cruise?

 

 

What is reasonable compensation?

 

tks

 

 

If your wife became ill on the first day of your cruise, chances are she didn't pick it up on the ship. The incubation period is longer than that.

 

Having said that, I don't think the cruiseline owes any compensation. First of all, it would be pretty difficult to blame the cruiseline. When my kid gets strep throat from another student, am I supposed to get some tuition reimbursement? I don't see how the cruiseline is responsible for somebody contracting an illness. Now if they contracted food poisoning from food ill prepared, then that's a different story. But Norovirus is all around us; there's no way to avoid it except with diligent hand washing, and even then, it's possible one can contract it.

[Davey Interweb]

I guess the bottom line is that the cruise lines aren't obligated to offer any compensation to begin with in these circumstances. Anything offered by them should be seen as strictly goodwill, I'd think.

[MiddleagedM]

On the first day of our cruise last year my wife became sick with the norovirus. It pretty much put her out of commission for the entire 11 day cruise.

 

Has anyone else been ill and offered credit on another cruise?

 

 

What is reasonable compensation?

 

tks

 

bpl1,

 

Last October we were on an 11 day cruise on the Constellation. The ship had a bad outbreak of Norovirus and my wife was confined to our cabin for 3 days. We contacted Celebrity upon our return (we did get a note from the ships medical staff prior to debarking) After a few weeks we heard from Celeb and they offered us a $300 cruise credit on a future cruise. Would have like more, but it was better than nothing.

 

I'd give them a call and see what happens, never hurts to ask

 

Good Luck,

 

Mike

[MoreCruisesNow]

First, let me say that this is not particularly directed at OP...

 

But, yes, it DOES hurt to ask.

 

It seems pretty evident that Celebrity had absolutely NOTHING to do with this woman's illness - and that the measures they took were solely to protect the other guests.

 

They have no liability here and that's why it hurts to ask. It's somewhat like the person caught committing a crime who still pleads not guilty at his arraignment.

 

Is there a possibility that a claim will get something for nothing? Sure. Every large company in the country settles nuisance suits every day. But that does not make it morally defensible to ask for something you are not due.

 

I pursue my rights as far as necessary, but it seems to me that to be at all honorable, I must also recognize that when I have no rights involved pursuing supposed rights for what I can get out of it is just plain wrong.

[TravelerThom]

First, let me say that this is not particularly directed at OP...

 

But, yes, it DOES hurt to ask.

 

It seems pretty evident that Celebrity had absolutely NOTHING to do with this woman's illness - and that the measures they took were solely to protect the other guests.

 

They have no liability here and that's why it hurts to ask. It's somewhat like the person caught committing a crime who still pleads not guilty at his arraignment.

 

Is there a possibility that a claim will get something for nothing? Sure. Every large company in the country settles nuisance suits every day. But that does not make it morally defensible to ask for something you are not due.

 

I pursue my rights as far as necessary, but it seems to me that to be at all honorable, I must also recognize that when I have no rights involved pursuing supposed rights for what I can get out of it is just plain wrong.

Well said, MoreCruisesNow. Perhaps the issue should be how much compensation is the company owed by someone who could have potentially infected an entire ship.

 

Having been a ship with a severe Noro outbreak [probably three-quarters of the ship, including me, sick over the course of a 14 day cruise] I know it is not fun. It usually lasts about a day and a half [normal quarantine is two days], so eleven days out of commission sounds like follow on complications or something else entirely.

[wvufan]

When the OP said his wife became sick the first day, he well could have been talking about the first full day after sailing, which would mean she might have contracted the virus in the terminal area or on board.

 

Regardless, Celebrity will typically offer a $100 per day future cruise credit compensation for each 24 hour period of quarantine.

 

Without debating whether the person does or does not deserve compensation in every instance, it is a good policy to do so for quarantine days as to do otherwise would discourage passengers from honestly reporting their symptoms and thereby helping contain the illness.

 

Having said all that, I am curious as to what the OP meant about pretty much putting her out of commission. Did your wife report the symptoms? Was she examined (they now can do a test on board which can confirm if it is the noro)? Was she quarantined and on the specific noro diet so as to alleviate her symptoms?

 

I hope the answer to all those questions was yes. If not, then she not only does not deserve compensation but should pay for any given to other passengers who might have caught it from her.

 

Happy sails to you,

 

OOOEEE:D :D Bob and Phyl

[cme]

Why would you be asking this question now if your cruise was last year.:confused:

[Ivanova]

According to the OP, in a different thread, they were offered a $300 discount on a future cruise

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=599827

[Desertbelle]

It must really irk Celebrity to pay compensation to the person who may very well have been the person who came onboard and infected others who also, in the end, requested medical attention and compensation. :rolleyes:

[Davey Interweb]

It must really irk Celebrity to pay compensation to the person who may very well have been the person who came onboard and infected others who also, in the end, requested medical attention and compensation. :rolleyes:

 

Sure, but a $300 FCC isn't really "compensation" when it can only be used towards...another cruise. I'd think that X would still make a profit here.

[Desertbelle]

The OP (bpl1) did not mention they even requested medical attention, nor did they mention infecting others. In fact, they did not even say they were on a Celebrity ship. With so little facts it seems like maybe your comment was outside of the CC guidelines for flaming a poster, who merely asked a valid question.

 

Bpl1, My suggestion would be to write down in detail what happened and send a letter to what ever cruise line you were on and see what happens.

 

Davey, I would view a FCC as a gesture of goodwill and not compensation from a cruise line. You are right that these FCC's do not cost the cruise lines much and often these FCC's have restrictions, such as good only in North America, which may well make them worthless to someone from half away around the world from North America.

 

A. The OP is posting on the Celebrity board, therefore I would assume the cruise was a Celebrity cruise.

B. The OP mentions that the infection his wife came down with put her down for most of the cruise.....I would hope that someone that sick would have consulted with the MD onboard.

C. If indeed she brought the norovirus with her to the cruise, I imagine she stood in lines to get checked in, to get her picture taken, etc, and rode on an elevator with other cruisers, and in general mixed with others onboard. Thereby spreading her infection with others. I doubt she spent the whole time she was sick separated from others.

D. Even though these "gestures of goodwill" don't cost much to the cruise lines, it DOES cost and anything that interferes with cruiseline profits makes cruising more expensive for all of us. As a shareholder of RCI stock, this concerns me that people who arrive on a cruise sick, get compensated for that, even though the cruiseline had nothing to do with that person getting ill.

E. I in no way flamed the OP, all I did was share a thought about the question, and I didn't even address the OP directly, so I doubt I broke any rules. On the other hand, you did direct a flame directly to me, so maybe it was you who have broken some CC rules. :rolleyes:

 

Nothing I say has any impact on the "gestures of goodwill's" that Celebrity hands out, so I imagine they will continue to do so, but it is still rather ironic that they might pay someone for being the one who might very well have been the person to start a norovirus outbreak.

[bubbie617]

This woman got sick on the first day. It seems to me that she boarded the ship feeling well. How can you blame her for spreading a virus she didn't know she had until she developed symptoms?

 

I think it is any cruise line's responsibility to quarantine anyone who presents with symptoms of Norovirus given how quickly and virulently it spreads. Any compensation offered is a gesture of good will, but it is definitely not mandatory.

 

I know I would be unhappy to miss days of my vacation, but in the interest of public health one must follow the rules. To you it may just be a nuisance virus, but to someone with a compromised immune system or an elderly or chronically passenger, it could be much more serious.

[Desertbelle]

This woman got sick on the first day. It seems to me that she boarded the ship feeling well. How can you blame her for spreading a virus she didn't know she had until she developed symptoms?

 

I think it is any cruise line's responsibility to quarantine anyone who presents with symptoms of Norovirus given how quickly and virulently it spreads. Any compensation offered is a gesture of good will, but it is definitely not mandatory.

 

I was certainly NOT blaming this passenger for spreading a virus...no doubt she didn't have a clue she was coming down with something until it happened.

 

I have been sick on a cruise before, as have my children, and it certainly sucks. It never dawned on me to request compensation from the cruise line.

[fti]

A. The OP is posting on the Celebrity board, therefore I would assume the cruise was a Celebrity cruise.

B. The OP mentions that the infection his wife came down with put her down for most of the cruise.....I would hope that someone that sick would have consulted with the MD onboard.

C. If indeed she brought the norovirus with her to the cruise, I imagine she stood in lines to get checked in, to get her picture taken, etc, and rode on an elevator with other cruisers, and in general mixed with others onboard. Thereby spreading her infection with others. I doubt she spent the whole time she was sick separated from others.

 

Sounds like a lot of assumptions here. You know what assume means - makes an a** out of u and me.

[MiddleagedM]

My wife and I were on the the Constellation last October and she became very ill in the middle of the cruise. The cruise before ours had the CDC visit the ship due to a norivirus outbreak and our cruise also had the CDC onboard taking extra cleaning precautions. Our cruise even made the news due to the large number of cases.

 

As a result of my wife's illness she was quarantined to our cabin for several days. Two of those days she was feeling fine. I was also quarantined even though I had no symptoms.

 

It was the Medical staff that suggested to us that we contact Celebrity about compensation. They even gave us a written confirmation that we were confined to quarters due to the virus. We contacted Celebrity upon our return and they responded within 3 weeks with their offer of a FCC.

 

Celebrity did all thet they could to try and keep the spread of the virus contained, including extra cleaning, servers had to handle all of the food even at the buffet.

 

Although they did not have to give us a future cruise credit as a result of our quarantine, it was certainly a fine gesture on their part and would definately make me a repeat customer with them. In fact wife and I are sailing on the same ship again this year. and using the $300 FCC that Celeb provided.