Norovirus Westerdam June 2017

This is the message we got prior to our 28 June 2017 departure. Hopefully this will be solved "swiftly and with style" :cool::D

Please be advised that during the current cruise there were elevated case

counts of gastrointestinal illness among guests, suspected to have been caused

by norovirus. A comprehensive sanitation program was launched in response, andms Westerdam will undergo a prolonged disinfection in Civitavecchia on

Wednesday, June 28. Check-in and embarkation to public areas on board will

begin at 2:00 PM. Please do not arrive prior to 2:00 PM as there is limited

seating in the terminal. We look forward to welcoming you aboard and anticipate

an on-time departure.

If you have any questions or concerns please contact us at 1-800-577-1728.Australian guests please contact 1300 987 322.

Dutch guests please contact 0800-7245425.

GBP booking guests please contact us at 0843 374 2300.

Guests from Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, Luxembourg and Scandinaviancountries please contact 00800-18731873.

I hope that they do get the Westerdam cleaned thoroughly.

But don't be surprised if they keep the ship in Code Red for the first couple of days of the cruise. It has happened to us several times.

hopefully it is not an issue for you.

At least you got a warning. We didn't years ago and ended up at that terminal (which is not comfortable) and waited for a couple of hours. And we weren't early ;)

Good luck.

Well, we must go for the best. Washing hand thoroughly, use sanitizers often, use only you own toilet, clean you card often, no hands shaking but kick elbows ( of just bow ). And ofcourse we go for it, having a nice cruise with fantastisc destinations.

I always bring Lysol wipes and spray and clean my cabin, and luckily I have never had an issue. I hope I didn't jinx myself in posting this. lol I have an upcoming Bermuda cruise on the Veendam.

hopefully it is not an issue for you.

 

At least you got a warning. We didn't years ago and ended up at that terminal (which is not comfortable) and waited for a couple of hours. And we weren't early ;)

 

Good luck.

Same thing happened to us as well -- got to the terminal and sat for several hours. We arrived at 10:30 and sat until nearly 3 PM.

I always bring Lysol wipes and spray and clean my cabin, and luckily I have never had an issue.

Great suggestion... thanks! :) Adding Lysol wipes to packing list now. Do you know if they sell 'travel' size packages of these? I've only seen those giant canisters of them which would be way too much for a cruise, and a much bigger container to pack.

We use Wet Ones wipes- they list viruses on the package. Sold in indivdual packages in most drug/big box stores.

Great suggestion... thanks! :) Adding Lysol wipes to packing list now. Do you know if they sell 'travel' size packages of these? I've only seen those giant canisters of them which would be way too much for a cruise, and a much bigger container to pack.

I buy the smaller lysol wipes, good for travel, at Target or Walmart. I use on plane, ship, and hotel.

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what about those already onboard

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what about those already onboard

 

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When we were on a code red cruise we had deep cleaning in Vancouver. Those of us staying on had to leave the ship early in the morning for several hours for the cleaning. They offered us a complimentary city bus tour however we had shopping planned so did that instead. They told us we could re-board around 1pm. When we re-boarded there was definitely a disinfectant smell throughout the ship. It went away pretty quickly.

I just got off the Westerdam yesterday. Thankfully, my companions and I were not among those who were sick. I've cruised quite a lot and never been on a ship with a major norovirus outbreak before,so I have nothing to compare the Westerdam's response to. All I can say is that they took it very seriously, The captain made several announcements about it, and asked that everyone wash their hands after going to the bathroom and before eating while singing Happy Birthday twice to ensure clean hands. He also asked that you use your own bathroom, instead of the public bathrooms. The captain said that Purell is not really that effective against norovirus. In the buffet, no one was allowed to get any food on their own. Everything was handed out by a crew member. We noticed that the entertainment staff and Park West staff were brought in to help distribute food. The only place this was a problem was in the drinks station where it caused long lines. The tables in the dining room were cleaned after being used, and bread and butter were handed out by the waiter instead of being put on the table. At night, I noticed the buffet tables being thoroughly cleaned. However, during the day, they were just being wiped down.

I was careful not to touch the banisters when going up and down stairs. I also pushed the elevator buttons with my elbow instead of my fingers.

We were wondering if a thorough cleaning of the ship was being planned before the next segment started, so it's good to hear that it was done.

We are currently on board the Westerdam and there has been another outbreak. The same announcements have been made. My wife was ill for one day and quarantined to our room. The one twist to it all was the authorities in Naples wouldn't let companions in the same rom off of the ship today. The ship doctor told me it was the first time in company history that this has happen. I have no way to verify that claim. I was simply stopped exiting the ship and told to go to medical where they said sorry there is nothing we can do. Needless to say my private tour went south quickly.

In my opinion there is something off with the ship. Every few days there is a foul odor in some part of the ship. Some days it is in your stateroom.

I have heard stories of stateroom toilets overflowing and there seems to be an industrial dryer working on the ship every few days.

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What a shame you couldn't get off to do your tour-so very disappointing. Doesn't sound good on the ship at all. Sure hope things improve soon for you and all the passengers.

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Not what I want to hear as we depart on her in 3 weeks.

The SHIP isn't making anyone ill...other passengers carry the virus. The "sewer" smells you referred to are common on ships...and can (and do) happen at times....usually in different areas. Happens on EVERY ship from time to time.

Zaandam had a norovirus outbreak the week before we got on. The one thing I didn't know about ahead of time, due to the new hygiene protocol, all of the activities that were supposed to happen in ClubHAL were canceled. You could drop your children off but all they would do was watch movies. It was like that for three days. Very disappointing for my kids.

We were on a TA from Osaka to Vancouver. After we left our third port, we went to dinner and found nothing on our table. The servers let on that they didn't know what was going on. In our mail, there was literature on the noro virus. We got reminders all through the cruise. The library and puzzles were put away. If you wanted to look at anything in the shops, you had to put on gloves. In the lido, everything was served to you. IThe lido area was always being cleaned completely. This continued till we got to Vancouver. This was the beginning of the Alaska season. I was told that everyone would be served for the next 48hrs. After a while, we got used to all the restrictions. I shouldn't want to repeat this again.

If you get stricken with noro, does HAL refund part of your cruise?

And do you have to pay to see the doctor?

We are currently on board the Westerdam and there has been another outbreak. The same announcements have been made. My wife was ill for one day and quarantined to our room. The one twist to it all was the authorities in Naples wouldn't let companions in the same rom off of the ship today. The ship doctor told me it was the first time in company history that this has happen. I have no way to verify that claim. I was simply stopped exiting the ship and told to go to medical where they said sorry there is nothing we can do. Needless to say my private tour went south quickly.

 

In my opinion there is something off with the ship. Every few days there is a foul odor in some part of the ship. Some days it is in your stateroom.

 

I have heard stories of stateroom toilets overflowing and there seems to be an industrial dryer working on the ship every few days.

 

 

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That sucks! I was on the Celebrity Constellation with a huge noro outbreak last month, and Naples detained the ship for 2 hours as a result of the outbreak. We were dubbed the sick ship, and they didn't want us ashore. They finally cleared us.

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I think the lido being self serve is just going to cause outbreak after outbreak. Yesterday on change over day all code red procedures were gone. Very disappointing to see.

The SHIP isn't making anyone ill...other passengers carry the virus. The "sewer" smells you referred to are common on ships...and can (and do) happen at times....usually in different areas. Happens on EVERY ship from time to time.

I'm sure you are right, in general. However, certain plumbing problems are conceivably how noro could start. I'm not saying this was the case.

If you get stricken with noro, does HAL refund part of your cruise?

 

And do you have to pay to see the doctor?

No, they don't refund part of your cruise. No cruise line does to my knowledge.

The last time we had a noro outbreak on HAL there was no charge for those afflicted to see the doctor.

We weren't ill, but the medical help was made very public. We had a letter in our room to that effect.

That sucks! I was on the Celebrity Constellation with a huge noro outbreak last month, and Naples detained the ship for 2 hours as a result of the outbreak. We were dubbed the sick ship, and they didn't want us ashore. They finally cleared us.

 

 

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Certain ports seem to be more cautious regarding noro.

When we were on Oceania our sick ship was refused entry to Bermuda. We were scheduled for an overnight there and those plans bit the dust with their refusal. The ship had to carry on sailing.

I think the lido being self serve is just going to cause outbreak after outbreak. Yesterday on change over day all code red procedures were gone. Very disappointing to see.

We were in code red for several days on Zuiderdam a few years ago. We were told that code red would be lifted after 48 hours of no new outbreaks. As Noro hits very quickly (usually within 24 hours) we felt confident when they lifted it.

There really isn't much self service anymore in the Lido- I missed salt and pepper and the bread basket in the PG the most.

I really felt for the poor crew- they worked around the clock cleaning. I really hope people were extra good to them at the end of the cruise- I know we were- financially as well as thanking as many crew as we could for their hard work keeping us healthy.