ChicagoDude

My first experience with ANY cruising was on the Westerdam in December of 1996.  I was the music coordinator for a Twentieth Century Fox production called "Out To Sea", starring Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon.  We sailed from Fort Lauderdale on an itinerary that spent a week in the Caribbean.  We had shot most of the "interior" shots at the studio during the 10 weeks prior to the cruise, but needed to ensure the movie didn't look like an episode of Love Boat.   It was a great time for the cast and crew - short work days, a nice dinner every night, and a great time on Holland America.  And this just-prior-to-Christmas trip was not very crowded.  

Say there Roz, we all could do without the political commentary.  Follow the rules or don't.  

21 hours ago, Roz said:

 

All of this last minute garbage has become so stressful, and I'm trying to coordinate things with my sister who lives in another state.  I'm losing my enthusiasm for this cruise.  This is our 3rd attempt and at this point I can't even remember why we booked it in the first place.  

On 12/12/2018 at 1:25 AM, Globaliser said:

 

Sorry, I could only easily find nine new threads started about this question (although the question has popped up inside other threads:-

Then the user-facing tools that suggest this is a "feature" should be disabled.  Simple.

Can't seem to send any direct messages to users.

System says "you can send 0 messages" . . . 

Too many people like to use personal anecdotal stories to explain how the world works. It is not that simple.

 

A surprisingly high percentage of people contract Norovirus and never know it. Their symptoms are so mild that they think they have a cold or a hangover. But they are still contagious and spreading the virus to everyone else.

Many Asians with type A or B blood can be carriers of the virus without ever experiencing any symptoms at all. They are also spreading the virus to those who are not immune.

This is I believe the most salient comment that's been made on this subject. Extrapolating my anecdotal experience and then making assertions about what I "should" have experienced is of course wrong. I'm not a butterfly - I've been traveling around the world since 1984, in places that were hardly known for their sanitation practices - my first overseas trip to Mainland China. I've had bouts of gastro over the years and would guess that this might result in some immunity.

In my view the way this has been handled by Holland has been the issue. Like any hotel that experiences high occupancy continually, keeping high standards is a continual process. Given the CDC reporting of incidents it would seem to be the case that HAL is having a much more difficult time with this challenge. A management issue.

And implementation of roadblocks in the reporting process makes the evaluation of the real situation difficult.

In our limited experience with cruising I've noticed that these businesses make it very difficult to contact and discuss complaints with management. I've routinely been told by low-level employees "my supervisor is unavailable" and in one case on this cruise "the medical officer doesn't talk with the passengers". Even the communication process with HAL via email or other electronic method has been artificially limited. This is clearly by design.

If I have a problem with an airline flight, I've always been confident that I can report it to the right person and get an appropriate answer. Once one of the big legacy airlines had their chief pilot call me and discuss an issue I had raised. The airlines are routinely given the stick in the media but they move much larger numbers of customers than the cruise lines and I've found them very responsive. The reason for this is simple - if you can't trust your airline with something simple, how can you trust them with a maintenance, security, or safety issue?

"We'll book your cruise and take your money, but if something goes wrong, you're on your own." Is this the management philosophy of ALL the mainstream cruise companies?

The whole event has caused us to look more closely at any continued use of HAL and/or the other Carnival owned companies. We enjoy the cruising experience. And we're only going to give our money to people we can trust.

I was not charged for my medical visit. I don't think anyone should be charged if they need treatment for norovirus. It is important to the health of all passengers that people be honest about norovirus and treatment, if required, should be free.

I agree. The way it was presented to me by the medical staff, they would not even TAKE a report about my illness unless I paid them $95 to see the doctor. It was only after I started yammering at ship management that they relented and took the report.

And in this case I believe HAL had even a higher duty of responsibility, as it was known the previous cruise had serious issues that logical thinking points to their failure to stop the virus on the passenger turnover.

So, you came down with Noro on this cruise. Because of cost you refused to be diagnosed by a trained Medical Officer, who could give you meds and whatever else it takes to cure it..

You also propagated the Noro by continuing to hang out in public places around the ship, instead of quarantining yourself and other cabin mates (if any) and therefore spreading it even more.....

I do not think the Medical Officer is in the wrong, ethically or otherwise to answer to a passenger the medical information you asked for. Now if you are CDC, Captain or other responsible person that is in the Need to Know bracket......................

Hubby was on the Noordam a few weeks ago and heard nothing of Noro on her.

Keep in mind that depending on how long you were on the ship BEFORE you started showing/experiencing symptoms, you yourself could have brought it on board with you.

A lot of "alternative facts" there, Joanie.

I began to have symptoms just after midnight on Day 5 (Glacier Bay) - so clearly I didn't have it when I boarded nor did I "bring it onboard".

The "trained medical officer" proffered to me was a nurse who's command of English was not reassuring. And *I* know as I suspect you do, that there is no "treatment" for Norwalk virus. There is no "curing" it.

I did NOT "hang out" in public spaces, I was incapacitated in my cabin and missed completely all of Glacier Bay. Medical put me on the cabin detention list and treated me as quarantined until the morning of Day 6.

After yammering at the staff about the secrecy, the Captain claimed at dinner on Day 6 that "about 60 passengers" had been reported. He also intimated that children who did NOT get reported were not in this count. He also suggested that these children were visited by family and others while contaminated. All very plausible, and as another poster has observed, a situation compounded by the chaotic Lido Deck food trough.

"Need to Know"? It's a public conveyance and they have a duty to report. And as I noted, Holland apparently decided to deceive passengers checking-in for this Norocruise in Vancouver. Not nice.

We are currently on the Noordam northbound from Vancouver, ending at Sitka (Anchorage) tomorrow, August 5.

This will be the third cruise in a row that the Noordam has had a huge Norovirus outbreak. The medical officer on this cruise refuses to confirm how many cases are on this current cruise.

Prior to the start of our cruise in Vancouver, we were sent an email by Holland telling us that our check-in would be delayed while they “super disinfected” the ship. This obviously didn’t work very well.

When we were checking in at Vancouver, the check-in clerk (a part-time, non-Holland employee) mentioned that the boarding was delayed due to “a couple cases of illness on the previous cruise”. I asked her who told her to say this, and she said they were briefed that day by someone from Holland.

The previous cruise has 142 reported cases! With the real number likely to be higher.

I came down with the illness overnight after leaving Skagway. I went down to medical to report my illness, and Holland wanted $95 for me to see the doctor. As there is no medication to treat Norovirus, I demurred from seeing the doctor. They told me that the only reports they take are after seeing the doctor. This is borderline fraud.

The CDC will at some point have a report about the number of cases on this cruise. But there’s clearly something systemic currently wrong on this ship. We’re previous cruisers on HAL in Europe, and we were surprised at the much different demographic on this cruise. The Lido Deck is generally jammed with cruisers while the dining rooms have been relatively empty. And there are lots of kids - and with the way children are let to run wild these days, it perhaps is part of the problem.

I’ve also found the last CDC inspection of this ship in April 2017, with a low score and NO remediation plan submitted by Holland.

I’ll have more to say after the cruise ends.

Well seems like a win-win if you can book directly with Australian Princess office. You can't do the reverse, being an Australian and booking directly with Princess US office.

You *can't* do the reverse - they will not take bookings at this price EXCEPT from Australians.

So can you book with Princess Australia or did they so no. :D

 

Australian prices even including gratuities.

Yes, they said these were Australian prices only.

I know there is a lot of talk about cruise booking prices for Americans being less than in other locations.

We were looking at a cruise of the South Pacific from Sydney in July. The price for Americans starts at US$5815 (including taxes). The Australian-booked price is US$4100!

First time I've seen this kind of huge disparity, especially in favor of the Australian-based tourist.