Crown Princess Delay - Norwalk Virus

[caribill]

I agree with this. I'm surprised they are charging you for food when you would have gotten lunch on board.

 

Princess is not charging for the food.

 

The convention center food stands are.

[AttilaTheFun]

Princess is not charging for the food.

 

The convention center food stands are.

 

The point being made is that normally, passengers would have lunch for FREE on embarkation day onboard, but weren't provided any food during the delay, so a cost that should be included in the cruise now becomes the passenger's problem. I think it's nice they gave everyone a $20 credit if they weren't able to provide food for lunch otherwise.

[Pam in CA]

The point being made is that normally, passengers would have lunch for FREE on embarkation day onboard, but weren't provided any food during the delay, so a cost that should be included in the cruise now becomes the passenger's problem. I think it's nice they gave everyone a $20 credit if they weren't able to provide food for lunch otherwise.

Yup. They're giving everyone $20 to get what they need or want, certainly covering the cost of a hamburger. However, re-imbursement will be in the form of an OBC. Sounds reasonable to me.

[school nurse]

I will be on the Crown in a couple of weeks, and believe me I will be that person in the bathroom, reminding people who I see not washing their hands to do so. I am a nurse so perhaps that will add some weight. I'll even demonstrate for them!!!!

[fathercop]

Yup. They're giving everyone $20 to get what they need or want, certainly covering the cost of a hamburger. However, re-imbursement will be in the form of an OBC. Sounds reasonable to me.

 

I concur, Pam. Of course, it is frustrating when our plans don't go our way, but that is a fact of life. It is more frustrating when those plans are related to a vacation, but still I think Princess is trying to do a good job in light of difficult circumstances.

[asianguy30]

It is underway now.

 

http://portevergladeswebcam.com/

[NewPennCruiser]

We also got word of an itinerary change as well due to the late departure. We are now skipping Princess Cays (no big deal to Me) and we will head straight to Curaçao where we will get to spend the entire day Tuesday 9am to 10pm. Everyone gets a $50 credit for the itinerary change. Again communication on everything has been fine and now a total of $70 in credits. I think I'll go spend some of the credit now and get a beer. The Captain said it would be bumpy tonight but it's nice to be on our way. Dave

[Griller]

This was on our TV news here in Florida today, now this evening they have said Ruby P is berthing with 150 or more Noro cases in Fll later this morning

This is from the TV so may be inaccurate.

[1 HappyCruiser]

Were the people who were doing a B2B allowed to stay on the ship during the cleaning process?

[Shogun]

Hi All

 

Was once ill not with Noro, but cabin had to be cleaned with me still in it,

 

So crew crew turned up wearing masks, first the bed wash changed everything was put into red hazard bags.

 

Carpets got sprayed, along with curtains and soft surfaces, hard stuff like walls got wiped down, cleaning went down to TV remote, telephone etc

 

shower was cleaned to spot less, strong chemical smell

 

took about 20 minutes, now if they do this to a few thousand cabins

 

its a lot of man hours.

 

yours Shogun

[Grego]

I am starting the rumor (based on totally non-scientific fact and from those fine folks that brought you the Global Warming fiasco) that is fact that drinking large amounts of Tequila and cigar smoke will kill off any threat of Noro.

 

That's the truth and I'm sticking with it....

 

Hope the rest of the voyage is perfect for everyone on the Crown and Ruby.

[jbu]

Yup. They're giving everyone $20 to get what they need or want, certainly covering the cost of a hamburger. However, re-imbursement will be in the form of an OBC. Sounds reasonable to me.

 

Hi, Pam -

 

Until we hear from the passengers with exactly how this is handled, we're all just speculating, I think. However, I'm wondering if you've experienced something like this before. And if so, is what you describe how it was handled?

 

In other words, all the passengers are given $20 to cover the cost of food before they board (how are they given that money?), and then there is ALSO an OBC? That's a little closer to what I believe should happen than what others have been saying, which is that they've had to pay up to $8 for burgers at the convention center and will be give $20 OBC. If that's how it was handled by Princess, I'm afraid I'd think that wasn't quite good enough. These passengers will have lost half a day of ship use and could all quite possibly have had far more than $20 worth of food.

 

Certainly, the virus is not Princess's fault, and I think they're absolutely doing the right thing by delaying the launch until the ship has been deeply sanitized. And although I know that many things can - and do - happen that impact the cruise and which are outside the cruise line's control (bad weather, mechanical issues, itinerary changes, etc.), I also think that in situations like this, Princess should go above and beyond to make sure their guests walk away saying they'd still sail with Princess because of how well they handled this. Personally, I WOULD still sail with Princess, but I don't think I'd be very happy with just $20.

[1 HappyCruiser]

All this bad publicity about Noro along with the Costa incident might spell further trouble for all the cruise lines. Future cruisers might just talk a long hard look at cruising as a vacation. :cool:

[relaxatlast]

We were on the Dec 17th sailing of the Crown. Read on posts that Norovirus had been a problem on the ship since at least November. Also arrived before noon and were sent to convention center until around 5 pm. Appear Princess listened to complaints about cost of food at convention center as they are giving these cruisers a $20 credit, we did not recieve anything. Most people were expecting lunch on board. I heard they had to disinfect again on our return and I believe the B to B cruisers were required to leave the ship.

[cruisingBees]

My wife and I recently sailed on the Crown and our observations were there were fewer hand sanitizers on board than ANY other cruise we've taken. Additionally, many of those in place were inoperative. Princess used to be very diligent in providing numerous hand sanitizer dispensers around the ships. RCCI is very aggressive in enforcing hand sanitizers. I'm not at all surprised to hear that Princess has two outbreaks of norovirus.

[Coral]

My wife and I recently sailed on the Crown and our observations were there were fewer hand sanitizers on board than ANY other cruise we've taken. Additionally, many of those in place were inoperative. Princess used to be very diligent in providing numerous hand sanitizer dispensers around the ships. RCCI is very aggressive in enforcing hand sanitizers. I'm not at all surprised to hear that Princess has two outbreaks of norovirus.

 

The ironic thing is that the sanitizers do not really work against norovirus. There was a study someone posted that if the sanitizers are out there, people won't use soap and hot water (which really works) as they think sanitizers are good enough.

 

Soap and hot water is your best defense.

 

BTW - the Voyager of the Seas returned yesterday with an outbreak of something (CDC is still listing it as unknown).

[jchris50]

My husband and I are just off the Crown yesterday and I unfortunately succumbed to the Norovirus after 24 cruises and knowing all the cleanliness techniques. Believe me it was not fun! I was not very happy with the handling of the epidemic either as our stateroom was never cleaned and sanitized. grrrrr I want to let everyone know that of course you should use the hand sanitizers and wash your hands frequently. The only thing that kills norovirus is a bleach solution. The hand sanitizers will not kill it and hand washing is washing it down the drain which is why you should wash for 20 seconds. Try not to inhale any coughs or sneezes or worse! I can understand being upset about losing the first day of your cruise but many of us lost the last day and were very very sick in addition. Just have a good time with what you have and dont get sick! Since I am still a bit rocky its hard to think about my next cruise but I am sure there will be many to come.

[kkshelton]

Princess posted this on Facebook:

 

Several of you have commented about the news coverage today about an increased incidence of gastrointestinal illness on both Ruby Princess and Crown Princess. In collaboration with the CDC, who has told us that Norovirus is widely circulating in the US, our public health, medical and onboard teams are working diligently to ensure illness is not spread aboard any of our ships. On Ruby and Crown, measures include delaying embarkation so we can thoroughly disinfect all cabins and public areas, bringing on additional cleaning crews in Fort Lauderdale and, as an additional precaution, replacing the existing fruit and vegetable inventory with a totally new supply.

[Coral]

Not on a cruise ship but I can tell you that norovirus is all over where I work. We had so many people out sick last week.

[travelgal]

Anyone who has had this virus would be happy for the delay and hopefully deep cleaning of the ship before embarkment! I became ill early Friday morning and not a fun way to end our cruise. I washed my hands with soap/water - used purell - avoided pubic restrooms as much as possible and still became ill. I had to stay in my cabin (couldn't imagine even leaving for the first 12 hrs or so anyway). No one cleaned my cabin Friday but our room attendant was wonderful in proving me with addl. linens, paper goods and ice AND believe me I didn't want anyone in my cabin at all! Due to me being quarantined we had a choice of getting off the ship Sat. @ 6 am before anyone else or 10:30 am after the ship was cleared of passengers. They also sent someone up with breakfast room service Sat. morning since we weren't allowed to leave our cabin - only to get the heck off the ship! Thankfully I was much better by then - can't imagine what happened to folks who were still 'dealing' with norovirus on disembarkment day - yikes

[cwayne]

Sorry to hear this.. This seems to be a bad cruise year for the noro-virus

Srpilo

 

We have stopped eating the samples of fruits, nuts, etc that your tour guide stops for on the side of the road and cuts with a knife that he pulls out of his back pocket where it's been for who knows how long and may or may not have ever been washed. We've all seen ourselves and fellow cruisers without hesitation dipping into bowls to try this or that because the guide recommended it.We tend to blame the cruise lines because that's where the illness shows itself, but in all likelihood, we are bringing it on board from the stuff we're eating, drinking or touching while in port. While the locals' systems have acclimated to the germs, ours have not and revolt against them. My motto is.....if I wouldn't eat it at home prepared that way, I'm not trying it here. Washing our hands is great, but once it's inside..........

[RhondaPerr]

I feel for the people who had to pack and then fly feeling that way! I also understand that $20 does not seem like a lot of compensation for being delayed in starting the cruise. I understand that missing Princess Cays is upsetting. I paid quite a bit of money to stay at a top hotel in Las Vegas and ended up with Noro. The hotel did not compensate us in any way. The tour company for our trip to Grand Canyon, did not give me money back! The meals that were not eaten because I had it so bad I really did not eat for 5 days, was not reimbursed.

I am sure I would be annoyed that my first day was shortened and upset that my last day was spent counting the bathroom tiles, but here is the truth of the matter....People will not tell the truth if they are sick before they board, people do not think about how their lack of hygeine could cause this, and the ripple effect...So be prepared, be aware...

[geocruiser]

Anyone who has had this virus would be happy for the delay and hopefully deep cleaning of the ship before embarkment! I became ill early Friday morning and not a fun way to end our cruise. I washed my hands with soap/water - used purell - avoided pubic restrooms as much as possible and still became ill. I had to stay in my cabin (couldn't imagine even leaving for the first 12 hrs or so anyway). No one cleaned my cabin Friday but our room attendant was wonderful in proving me with addl. linens, paper goods and ice AND believe me I didn't want anyone in my cabin at all! Due to me being quarantined we had a choice of getting off the ship Sat. @ 6 am before anyone else or 10:30 am after the ship was cleared of passengers. They also sent someone up with breakfast room service Sat. morning since we weren't allowed to leave our cabin - only to get the heck off the ship! Thankfully I was much better by then - can't imagine what happened to folks who were still 'dealing' with norovirus on disembarkment day - yikes

 

You did all the right things to stay healthy. I was on the Crown cruise too. We were lucky and so far did not get sick. I know that some of the dinning staff was sick including one of the chefs. So that may help spread the noro.

[jbu]

Not on a cruise ship but I can tell you that norovirus is all over where I work. We had so many people out sick last week.

 

Same where I work. We were all stunned at how quickly it went through the office - and many of my coworkers who got it then took it home and spread it to their families.

 

This thing is NASTY!!! Hand washing is NON-NEGOTIABLE - EVERYWHERE!!!

[sarar]

My wife and I recently sailed on the Crown and our observations were there were fewer hand sanitizers on board than ANY other cruise we've taken. Additionally, many of those in place were inoperative. Princess used to be very diligent in providing numerous hand sanitizer dispensers around the ships. RCCI is very aggressive in enforcing hand sanitizers. I'm not at all surprised to hear that Princess has two outbreaks of norovirus.

 

I agree CruisingBees, the Princess ship have the least amount of hand santizers of any other cruise line and we also noticed that the soap dispensers were usually empty in the public restrooms.