noro on Voyager?

[cassamanda]

Quite obviously there is an endemic problem on the ship. Don't think new passengers are bringing on Noro or not doing the right thing. Sick crew?

[silverrrmine]

Bit rough on the crew. They get disciplined for not following red alert procedure, unlike passengers. Maybe it's to do with high global outbreaks of norovirus this season? According to this British article about noro : http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/shortcuts/2012/dec/19/norovirus-everything-you-need-know

[bobhsv]

 

 

 

Back in the fall of 2002, Holland America couldn't break the cycle after four cruises on Amsterdam despite enhanced cleaning; it took the ship out of commission and embarked on an ambitious program. This included sanitizing television remote controls and bibles, disinfecting poker chips and currency, discarding every pillow -- more than 2,500 -- and steam cleaning carpets. The end result? Amsterdam's follow-up cruise was, thankfully, Norovirus-free.

 

I had never given the pillows (or mattress protectors) a thought:eek:....I wonder if they discard pillows from infected cabins at the end of each cruise? I assume this would be easier than the mattresses themselves. Imagine the cost involved for the cruiseline.

[The_Big_M]

Do you know when they say 'sanitise' if they mean the usual delayed boarding because of cleaning, or a mega clean that will see the ship possibly delayed a day on her next cruise?

 

I'm personally hoping it means a complete dry dock, strip down, fumagation & total near nuclear sanitisation!! With special attention to my deck 8 hump cabin please. :D

 

Would you say that if it was your cruise that was delayed a day?

 

Cruises are booked solid at the moment.

[avalon007]

I thought of that when posting & the answer is YES.

I would rather lose a day than lose several being sick.

 

Many of the VOS cruises out of Sydney are adding an extra day at the start or finish of the cruise just sitting at dock in Sydney, this gives them a fairly easy way to do the deep clean without anyone missing an actual port.

 

All they have to do is pay for a nights accommodation for the passengers, same town just a hotel room instead of the ship.

 

A golden opportunity to address the problem really. :)

[diy dave]

Just got off voyager this morning.As far as the extra day in Sydney is concerned, there are a couple of things you should be aware of. First all the shops on board are all shut , there are no shows on that day, just a piano player or two, they stop people smoking when the bunker barge is refueling the ship for quite a few hours. Apart from that,we did'nt get a virus, didnt speak to anyone who had it, the head waiter at breakfast said that there were "less than 200" people who got sick out of the 3000+ on board.everyone seemed to be doing the right thing as far as washing hands goes. There was no extra cleaning done that day as far as I saw. Having said that the crew have been constantly wiping down surfaces all over the ship with "i suppose" disinfectant, but that done from the first virus outbreak.

dave

[avalon007]

Thanks for the update Dave.

 

I think the last day sitting in Sydney is a waste of time really, I would much rather be cruising or see another port than be on the ship with reduced facilities.

 

So 200 official Noro cases? That usually means quite a few more not actually reported etc. So it could be around 10-15% taking that into account.

 

Still too many really, they need to do something different to combat it.

 

I hope it is under better control in 5 weeks time when we board.

 

Other than the Noro update - will you be posting a review on the forum?

[diy dave]

Thanks for the update Dave.

 

I think the last day sitting in Sydney is a waste of time really, I would much rather be cruising or see another port than be on the ship with reduced facilities.

 

So 200 official Noro cases? That usually means quite a few more not actually reported etc. So it could be around 10-15% taking that into account.

 

Still too many really, they need to do something different to combat it.

 

I hope it is under better control in 5 weeks time when we board.

 

Other than the Noro update - will you be posting a review on the forum?

 

I agree , because i am a local, it would have been better spent cruising. and they will never tell you the truth about exactly how many people are actually ill.

[retyredgreynomad]

We also returned Sat. 22nd..cabin 7346 is as clean as...it was not when we boarded...the worse surface was the cupboard door to the safe! It was putrid:( WetOnes with anti bacterial were used through out the cabin for peace of mind.

 

My biggest tip is touch NOTHING that you don't have to...we got quite used to sitting and standing without touching chairs, backs of fingers for pushing buttons and definely no handrails...we used every available hand washing station on the way IN and OUT of venues as well as Hands First sanitiser when there was no hand station.

 

Some other guests unfortunately thought they were exempt from all attempts by staff to make the use of safe practices. This frustrated us no end. Most of these guests were non English first language guests.:rolleyes:

 

We met a total of 6 people who had suffered Noro...some were confined to their cabins, two were in the Hospital for 2 days on drips....quite a few cabins on the starboard side on deck 9 were fumigated and 2 lady's on deck 8 said they were woken at an "unGodly" hour by machinery cleaning the hallway, about day 10.:eek:0

 

One area that does concern me is all the CRACKED plastic coffee cups...I made sure we had new clean unstained cups when we had coffee or drinks. One of the funniest things I heard at MDR breakfast was a lady who boasted she got her cabin steward to get her some Nescafé sachets so she could have a "decent" cup of coffee. We thought the onboard coffee was fine.:D