Norovirus on Crown Princess!

[curtdesilets]

We just returned from the 12 day British Isles Cruise that left Southampton on May 22. We were notified by the captain on day 3 that the cruise had acquired Norovirus. They went to something called "Code Red" which meant that all food at the buffet was handed to you, amongst about another dozen other Draconian measures.

 

The cruise itself was fabulous; the "Code Red" business was a disaster. I'll give you more details later, but here is a sampling:

 

They canceled all "Captain Club" events, took the drink and fruit stations away from the spa area, closed down the international food court for dinner, took the cologne and perfume testers away, minimized the number of buffet stations open to one! No snacks, peanuts, olives, or cherries were served with any drinks, and were not even available upon request. Why? Who knows? It was a mess and really created a bad cruise experience.:mad:

 

I had info from some officers and managers that the total number of people hit was "under 20", amongst a cruise of about 3000 guests. The cruise was primarily retirees given the departure date of mid-May, and thus sickness numbers will spike regardless. So 20 or so supposedly sick elderly people and Princess's idiotic response measures affected the other 2980 passengers considerably.

 

Anyone else experience this Code Red nonsense before?

 

Anyone here just get back from this cruise who has opinions on the mess?

[Shogun]

Hi There

 

There are different levels Red means a lot more than 20 ill,

 

those silly measures you refer to just stopped 3000 folk being ill,

 

but if you want to cruise with folk being sick in the hall ways the elevators,

 

toliets closed of etc, trust me its a lot worse than wwhat you just went through, been there seen it do not want to see it again.

 

a pity that it impacted on your cruise,

 

yous Shogun

[paul929207]

Sorry the measures taken impacted your cruise. I suspect you would not object to them if you had ever gotten noro

[Toddy709]

A couple of years ago we experienced this on a 15 day round-trip LA to Hawaii.

 

It was slightly inconvenient for the passengers, but a TON more work for the crew.

 

They don't do this to ruin your cruise. They do this so that you can keep enjoying your cruise. Would you rather be confined for several days sick as a dog?? If not for their "Draconian" measures, chances are you and MANY more would have really had a miserable cruise.

[cruiseryyc]

Have experienced Code Red on a couple of cruises and it didn't bother me at all. Those measures meant I didn't get sick. I have also experienced getting Norvo once and was very pleased with the care I received and the attention they paid to cleaning my cabin properly. They are not Draconian at all, they are the best way to prevent the spread of a virus.

[wickedwitchofthewest]

Rather code red then catching Norovirus - if you've ever experienced it you'll never want to catch it again.

I'm grateful thay implement these measures -slight inconvenience is better than getting the bug!

[johnmik1]

Hi There

 

There are different levels Red means a lot more than 20 ill,

 

those silly measures you refer to just stopped 3000 folk being ill,

 

but if you want to cruise with folk being sick in the hall ways the elevators,

 

toliets closed of etc, trust me its a lot worse than wwhat you just went through, been there seen it do not want to see it again.

 

a pity that it impacted on your cruise,

 

yous Shogun

 

The different codes are when a certain percentage of passengers and crew become ill.

[Pia1913]

We just returned from the 12 day British Isles Cruise that left Southampton on May 22. We were notified by the captain on day 3 that the cruise had acquired Norovirus. They went to something called "Code Red" which meant that all food at the buffet was handed to you, amongst about another dozen other Draconian measures.

 

The cruise itself was fabulous; the "Code Red" business was a disaster. I'll give you more details later, but here is a sampling:

 

They canceled all "Captain Club" events, took the drink and fruit stations away from the spa area, closed down the international food court for dinner, took the cologne and perfume testers away, minimized the number of buffet stations open to one! No snacks, peanuts, olives, or cherries were served with any drinks, and were not even available upon request. Why? Who knows? It was a mess and really created a bad cruise experience.:mad:

 

I had info from some officers and managers that the total number of people hit was "under 20", amongst a cruise of about 3000 guests. The cruise was primarily retirees given the departure date of mid-May, and thus sickness numbers will spike regardless. So 20 or so supposedly sick elderly people and Princess's idiotic response measures affected the other 2980 passengers considerably.

 

Anyone else experience this Code Red nonsense before?

 

Anyone here just get back from this cruise who has opinions on the mess?

 

I won't repeat what the others have said, but your statement above leads me to ask: did you do a survey? How did you come to this conclusion? Did it ever occur to you that when crew gets sick, NONE of them are elderly?

[curtdesilets]

In response to the responses that I'm just a bitter cruise critic that doesn't get it....

 

I'm glad they did take the outbreak seriously, but there are details missing that overshadow the generalizations that Princess's response was on the up and up:

 

Some Random observations:

 

Both Maitre d's that I talked to said very few (i.e less than 20) were affected but that they went to Code Red to be preventative. There was apparently a large upswing (perhaps all 20 in one day) in new cases on the second day that prompted the code red.

 

Coming back from excursions, it was hit or miss whether or not you were squirted with hand sanitizer. Likewise for most restaurants and the original embarkation. There were no fliers or anything to inform guests of all the precautions one should take. There were also a lot of foreigners (Chinese in particular) that I'm sure had no idea what the Captain was saying over the PA. And all he really said was to use your own bathroom.

 

The cafeteria situation was the worst hindrance to the cruise experience.

 

Same guys/gals who are bussing and cleaning tables (like plates that people just sneezed on) are now handing out sugar, salt and pepper, drinks etc. without re-sanitizing hands between every action. It seems if anything, this will spread more virus than contain it. BTW, most tables were not well cleaned! And there were a lot of hackers, sneezers and gaggers with common colds/flus and other contagious things! It was difficult to watch and eat. Someone on another board said the best thing to do with Norovirus is just eat in the MDR. Of course, I read that AFTER we got back.

 

The lack of freedom to get ANY of your own food for 10 straight days really smarts. You have no control over proportions. Imagine a salad prepared by randomly selected sizes of each item, usually misinterpreted by the serving personnel. This includes dressing. Now imagine that for each and every food item that you attempt to eat over the course of a 12 day cruise. It was like a Laurel and Hardy scene! Although the lauhter fades after the first day or so.

 

It was as if the entire CROWN PRINCESS restaurant crew was not trained to do any of this. It seriously was a mess.

 

Order coffee with creme and they might serve you upwards 4 ounces of pure creme (not half and half) in the cup. The coffee was entirely white! They ALWAYS over-served whatever you asked for.

 

Order creme on the side and they fill an entire 8 oz glass full of creme in which you might use 1 tablespoon and have to toss the rest (WASTEFUL).

 

10 dollar sale...no restrictions whatsoever! There were hundreds of people touching all the watches, handbags etc.... Irony? Consistency? What gives Princess? Same with the casino chips/cards. Seems it's okay for hundreds of people to touch those without any problem

 

Canceling all Captain Club events Huh?????

 

Taking away all complimentary items like salty snacks with your cocktails?

 

It goes on and on...

 

What Holland America does is they do a Code Red sort of enforcement for the first 48 hours or so, and if everyone is fine, they open up the buffet. Princess is opposite. They are lax in enforcing clean hands at the beginning, and once an outbreak occurs they go into paranoia model for the rest of the cruise. For 5 days of a 7 day cruise, that might be okay.

 

For 10 days of a 12 day cruise...ridiculous!

 

I welcome more thoughts on the subject.

 

Again apart from this, we had a wonderful time. Princess just needs to re-evaluate this Code Red procedure.

[senior lady]

so how was the cruise and the ports????

[curtdesilets]

I won't repeat what the others have said, but your statement above leads me to ask: did you do a survey? How did you come to this conclusion? Did it ever occur to you that when crew gets sick, NONE of them are elderly?

 

We are in our 40's and were in the lowest percentage of age brackets. By observation over 12 days, one can assess the age of passengers. I would say the vast majority were 60's to 70's and active seniors. The two cases of quarantine that I witnessed were elderly. When a room is quarantined, they are evaluated by a "Hit Squad". I talked to them about the passengers affected. So at least 2 were elderly. But you are right. Maybe I am generalizing. Princess does a good job of misinformation, so it's hard to assess.

[Cruise Junky]

Oh come on! Drama much? we just went through Code Red on Coral last month and went through exactly the same things you did. A minor inconvience at best.

[Sulo]

Just wanted to add like other posters, yes, as inconvenient as the Code Red is, it's really the only way to go.

 

However, having just returned from the Crown's trans Atlantic (the previous itinerary to the poster), I was very surprised at the lack of hand sanitizers around the ship. (On HAL last year someone was at the entrances to the buffets and MD with a large container of hand sanitizer. It was difficult to get past him without being 'squirted'). Even returning to the ship in port there were no sanitizers in sight. And even more shocking to me were the number of people going into the buffet who didn't bother sanitizing their hands. And don't even get me started on the number pf women who flounce out of the public bathrooms on board without washing their hands.

 

I prefer the overkill procedure than not enough.

 

Whew, now that I've got all that off my chest......... sorry I did go on a bit....

[curtdesilets]

so how was the cruise and the ports????

 

The cruise was overall excellent, apart from the Code Red Nonsense mentioned. 10 of 12 days were ports, so lots of excursions and exploring. Not much activities on board during those days. Sea days had great acrivities, but got a bit crowded. No sitting room for entertainment in Explorer's Lounge for instance.

 

Best ports for us were Dublin, Glasgow, Inverness, and Edinburgh.

We reallly really love Scotland! Great people and unbelievably warm people.

 

Blarney Castle is worth seeing, just for the Blarney Stone kissing thing.

 

Saw Loch Ness and Stonehenge and Edinburgh Castle. all Bucket List items.

 

We generally took half day tours, as the 8-9 hour tours WILL Exhaust you if you try them every day. Those entail getting up early, eating and off the boat around 8 am and returning around 5pm

 

It is worth taking this cruise, as this is a very unique itinerary.

 

I just wish Princess was better equipped and informative for the Norovirus thing.

 

BTW, all google searches showed no hits on Crown Princess getting this Norovirus...so it's as if it didn't even happen.

 

CDC only gets notification if a ship ports in the US and the outbreak exceeds 3%.

[Pia1913]

Just wanted to add like other posters, yes, as inconvenient as the Code Red is, it's really the only way to go.

 

However, having just returned from the Crown's trans Atlantic (the previous itinerary to the poster), I was very surprised at the lack of hand sanitizers around the ship. (On HAL last year someone was at the entrances to the buffets and MD with a large container of hand sanitizer. It was difficult to get past him without being 'squirted'). Even returning to the ship in port there were no sanitizers in sight. And even more shocking to me were the number of people going into the buffet who didn't bother sanitizing their hands. And don't even get me started on the number pf women who flounce out of the public bathrooms on board without washing their hands.

 

I prefer the overkill procedure than not enough.

 

Whew, now that I've got all that off my chest......... sorry I did go on a bit....

 

WOMEN? It's the men who are the worst offenders and they're the ones who are more "feely touchy" than the women. :eek:

[curtdesilets]

Just wanted to add like other posters, yes, as inconvenient as the Code Red is, it's really the only way to go.

 

However, having just returned from the Crown's trans Atlantic (the previous itinerary to the poster), I was very surprised at the lack of hand sanitizers around the ship. (On HAL last year someone was at the entrances to the buffets and MD with a large container of hand sanitizer. It was difficult to get past him without being 'squirted'). Even returning to the ship in port there were no sanitizers in sight. And even more shocking to me were the number of people going into the buffet who didn't bother sanitizing their hands. And don't even get me started on the number pf women who flounce out of the public bathrooms on board without washing their hands.

 

I prefer the overkill procedure than not enough.

 

 

Whew, now that I've got all that off my chest......... sorry I did go on a bit....

 

Thanks for the info. We noticed the same lack of hand sanitizers at the beginning of the cruise. Thus Princess may have been somewhat responsible for the outbreak. The ship was well clean during this Code Red, except for the buffet eating area.

[curtdesilets]

WOMEN? It's the men who are the worst offenders and they're the ones who are more "feely touchy" than the women. :eek:

 

 

Agreed, except for the $10 watch and handbag sale :>)

[curtdesilets]

Oh come on! Drama much? we just went through Code Red on Coral last month and went through exactly the same things you did. A minor inconvience at best.

 

 

Perhaps...not all Code Red's are created equal. your experience was probably different than ours. Just saying. :p

[Sulo]

WOMEN? It's the men who are the worst offenders and they're the ones who are more "feely touchy" than the women. :eek:

 

You're probably right Pia, but I only see what goes on in the women's bathroom. I'm one of those who uses the paper towel to open the main bathroom door when I leave, just because of those other 'unclean' hands.

[Cruise Junky]

Perhaps...not all Code Red's are created equal. your experience was probably different than ours. Just saying. :p

 

It was exactly as you're describing it. There's absolutely no use in getting so worked up that it overshadows your cruise... be the leaf.. go with the flow, it's a lot less stressful ;). I did a review of my cruise and Noro didn't even enter into I have a feeling it would take centre stage in yours which is sad.

[Pia1913]

You're probably right Pia, but I only see what goes on in the women's bathroom. I'm one of those who uses the paper towel to open the main bathroom door when I leave, just because of those other 'unclean' hands.

 

I do too; ie. paper towel. But my husband will attest to the fact that men walk out w/o washing most of the time. When you're a medical person you tend to notice these things.

[busymomofboys]

I am surprised that they kept it on the whole 12 days unless more cases came up. Did you ask? As I was on the Coral with Cruise Junky and we were under code red until there were no new cases not the entire cruise. I can tell you they really wiped down the Horizon Court tables on the Coral and they left them wet for them to air dry. I hated sitting and waiting for the table to air dry but it was a minor inconvience and did not affect the quality of my cruise. I did hear some people grumbling about having to be served but they were always ready and capable of serving us.

[curtdesilets]

It was exactly as you're describing it. There's absolutely no use in getting so worked up that it overshadows your cruise... be the leaf.. go with the flow, it's a lot less stressful ;). I did a review of my cruise and Noro didn't even enter into I have a feeling it would take centre stage in yours which is sad.

 

This site is called Cruise Critic. Healthy criticism is all I have offered. Reread my posts and reassess.

[curtdesilets]

I am surprised that they kept it on the whole 12 days unless more cases came up. Did you ask? As I was on the Coral with Cruise Junky and we were under code red until there were no new cases not the entire cruise. I can tell you they really wiped down the Horizon Court tables on the Coral and they left them wet for them to air dry. I hated sitting and waiting for the table to air dry but it was a minor inconvience and did not affect the quality of my cruise. I did hear some people grumbling about having to be served but they were always ready and capable of serving us.

 

 

Since they cramped everyone into one sitting area and one buffet line, there was no time for the tables to air dry. As soon as someone got up, another sat down and waited for a quick cleanup of the table. Again, Princess on this cruise dropped the ball at least on the buffet portion.

[Coral]

We experienced Code Red on several cruises. It was inconvenient but necessary to make sure the numbers of people did not increase. We tried not to let it interfere with our cruising experience.