Marco polo-novovirus-august 2013

[parthia]

Having returned from a CM&Y cruise of the Norwegian Fjords-on the 24th August I am surprise that assuming some of our members may have been on that cruise there was no mention of anyone having been on board during the 16th-24th August.

So perhaps I could do so myself by announcing that the was another Novovirus "attack"on board yet again.This was"detected" by the third day of the cruise after leaving Eidsfjord.Up to that time everything lovely and beautiful despite the rainy conditions which did not spoil our first views of the fjords.

It was announced that the Marco restaurant would be closed to self service and will be served by members of ghe crew

[myotis]

Thank you for this post. It is important that the public keeps informed and therefore more vigilant when sailing.

[whispy62]

We are sailing on Thursday, had a call from them today, to let us know they have had another outbreak of Novavirus, and our departure time has been moved back, to allow for deep cleaning to take place.

[yorkshire terrier]

I just got back today from the Baltic Capitals cruise on Marco Polo.The norovirus broke out round about the 4th or 5th day,and we did hear via Chinese whispers of course,that 300 people were down with it.A number of public rooms were closed such as the buffet,library,gym and sauna.Thorough disinfecting was carried out by the crew over the entire ship,and they worked like Trojans.All the passengers received compensation,those who hadn't been ill received £100 per cabin,and the ones who had been ill received various amounts depending on how many days they were in isolation.We were also given complimentary wine,beer,champagne and soft drinks on the next to last night,along with a voucher for a reduction on future cruises.

[whispy62]

Well what can I say, just got back from our 3 day break , and what a sham it was. Was only told we would have a one and half delay is sailing, no mention was made about the previous week cruise. All areas were still closed, so that meant meals were to be taken in the main resturant,were over crowded, with very poor service, this should of been taken out of service, as it seems to be a on going problem , we paid full price for this break, with half a glass of free wine to say thank you for our understanding, Will I recommend to a friend No, would I go again, Sorry it has to be a NO

[regbobsal]

We heard rumours that there had been a 'virus' on board the Marco polo one day before we were about to board. We telephoned the owners Cruise & Maritime to find out if this was true. They said they have had a more than usual problem. When we arrived at the port in Tilbury we were told we might have a boarding delay. We were delayed about one & a half hours. When we got aboard we were then told that some of the facilities would not be in use because of the 'virus' problem. The Library,gym,internet room,deck grill bar, wellness centre, self service bistro, jaccuzi,s,saunas,swimming pool & toilets were all not in use. Every day there was hundreds of staff everywhere you went washing walls, floors, windows, handrails, etc. The ship smelled of disinfectant & other cleaning substances. At one time when we came back to our cabin we could not get to it because of the mass of cleaners!. There was the odd "thank you for being patient but the cleaning is necessary" over the tannoy. The food service suffered because the only restaurant open was the Waldorf. The breakfast was inedible. When we complained that the bacon was just fat, we were asked, "don't you like fatty bacon"!. & the matradine was actually serious!. The sausages were cold & the scrambled eggs looked like watery porridge, the miserable young lady serving them did not help. I felt physically sick at the sight of the slop they were trying to serve us & was so disgusted I walked out. The activities promised did not happen due to the staff being used for cleaning duties. We complained on several occasions as did a lot of people, but were given excuse after excuse about the cleansing of the ship. We did not book the cruise to be given a cleansing exhibition. This ship should not have left Tilbury. I had a suspicion that this short cruise was used to clean the ship ready for the next more expensive one after ours. I found it funny that the toilets amazingly became usable when we asked to use our cabin toilet, after we had unoccupied them at the end of the cruise. The swimming pool was also filled at the end & the self service bistro was being readied for the next cruisers. We were far from impressed with our trip & will be making a formal complaint to cruse & maritime. For all our "patience" we were give a free quarter of a glass of wine!.

[whispy62]

My letter will be in the post tomorrow too !! will be interesting to see the reply,

[craig F]

Well what can I say about my recent cruise on the Marco Polo.

 

I'm currently sat at home sick with NoroVirus. It would appear the deep cleaning onboard the marco polo that we had to endure for 3 days failed.

 

Whilst the cruise itself was pleasant enough beautiful Ghent, and Amsterdam. The ship whilst slightly older was nice and well maintained, the crew seemed very surly.

 

Breakfast was an absolute farce. 800 people trying to get into 1 restraunt, this could have been resolved the night before by setting up 2 seatings as per dinner. Cold runny scrambled egg, tastless mush called 'sausages', fatty bacon potato wedges as hash browns. The second day of breakfast consisted of the bread rolls on the table.

 

Lunch was great as was dinner.

 

Most of the facilities closed, apart from the ones which you would pay for such as the health suite (surely that will be a hot bed for the breeding of viruses!) The gym closed, the spas closed, the pool closed. No daytime activities the buffet closed, yet the bars were all open great if you want to drink yourself into a stupor.

 

On the very last day pulling into Tilbury the pool was full, the gym open, the buffet being prepared, the communal toilets open.

 

Being a first time cruiser this could quite easily have put me off cruising, as it happens we will be looking at one of the bigger cruise lines next time.

[whispy62]

I just think they should of been honest about what was going on, on the ship , funny it was all shut apart from the bar areas where we was spending money !!. I know it sailed on time on the Sunday. because I saw it go passed.

[regbobsal]

We have recently been on a short cruise with cruise & maritime travelling on the Marco polo. Cruise & maritime have not answered ANY of the three emails I have sent to them since getting back on the 6th oct 2013. Is anyone else having trouble getting them to reply?. It is beginning to look like I will need a solicitor. Their customer service is poor to say the least & potential customers should take this into account when they book with this company. Be warned!.

[whispy62]

I sent my letter by post and had it tracked, and I know they received it on the 9/10/2013, so if I dont get a reply , will try phoning next week , I think they will be receiving many letters, Post on here , so i know if you get a reply please regbobsal

[regbobsal]

Whispy, I will let the posters know if I get any reply.

[whispy62]

Did you get a reply to your emails

[regbobsal]

Hi, well we contacted our travel agent & sent them a letter. They said they would forward the letter to cruise & maritime. After a few days we contacted cruise & maritime direct & they said they had received our complaint & they would forward a reply to our travel agent!. Why they cannot deal directly with us is beyond me. So that's it so far. Have you had any luck?. Ps they have 28 days to sort something out,so their time is running out.

[whispy62]

Hi, yes i had my reply from C&M, and I quote from their letter " The decision as to weather any amenities would be closed were only taken at approx 8.30 am on the Thursday . Funny sure I have read the amenities had been closed on the affected cruise. Quote from there letter, A letter was handed out to arriving passengers at the terminal , and the letter was quite clear as to what services would be suspended and invited passengers to discuss transferring their booking . Funny never received such letter before boarding. Quote from letter "all services with a self serve element had to remain closed . Funny all the free to use areas remained closed other areas like duty free shop , was open . Quote from letter "there was a appreciable bottleneck at breakfast for which they apologise and despite advising passengers to breakfast early ." Quote from letter " WE expect all our crew to be courteous at all times, and we must say this is a rare comment that I found the breakfast staff rude, and unhelpful. they also told me that " our records in the last show that usage of the library, card room and gym is quite limited on a 3 night cruise" so to them it was ok we couldnt use them. It also goes on to say , they are pleased to report no other cases were reported, and that all 740 passengers enjoyed Ghent and Amsterdam . !!, dont know about you, but we stayed off the boat as long as possible , so spent more money in port, anyways it ended that no monetary compensation on this occasion. Even though we know the cruise before got money off each cabin and a voucher off further cruises. I would of given them another go in future, but after this reply I for one will not be booking with them again , and have many cruise friends that have heard about my experience, .. Sorry for the long winded reply. Let me know if they value your custom, and you get a reply .

[regbobsal]

Hi, Whispy. Well there was 4 in our party & we have all complained. As you say,they never gave us any letter before boarding & were not offered any alternative. They have no right to tell you you will not be getting any compensation for the lack of facilities. The are breaking the trades description act by not providing the facilities that they say they would provide. So if I were you I would go to your local council & get 2 copy's of the trade description act, send them a highlighted part which mentions your particular lack of promise they made in your booking, ie, the failure provide you with what they said you would get. Send it to them. & tell them you will go to court & the media if necessary. I have already told them about the trades description act & what I am entitled to do. I also told them I would take them to court for compensation. It costs about £40, & when they lose the case (which they undoubtedly will) they will then have to pay ALL your costs. This Ship (marco polo) has already a bad reputation of viruses, the owners have had a lot of bad publicity. You need to express that you will if necessary contact the press about the way you have been treat. Don,t worry You have plenty of witnesses. Ps, keep all you letters brochures etc, because they tell you what facilities you are entitled to & are paying for when you booked your cruise.

[regbobsal]

Whispy, do not let them get away with this. They are trying to fob you off. Write & tell them you are far from satisfied with their reply & you will take further action. You can also tell them you will write about the way you have been treated on every cruise & holiday message board you can find. They rely on good feedback & they will not like that. If you put passengers off their cruises or make them think twice about booking with them, it hurts them. If you tell the truth ,they are stumped!.

[regbobsal]

Whispy, cruise & maritime say they didn't take the decision to close some of the amenities until 8.30am on the day of departure of the Ghent/Amsterdam cruise. That was a lie. If you read 'yorkshire terriers' blogg, you will see that on their cruise of the Baltic capitals cruise ended on the very same morning, knowing fine well the ship was infected days before.( they paid out compensation & gave passengers free drinks) In his blogg he says that the same amenities were closed on that cruise. So the decision was NOT taken to shut the amenities at 8.30am, it was taken several days before. Also I have an Email here dated 2 days before the Ghent/Amsterdam cruise, that some of the amenities would be closed. I had heard rumours & asked to be notified asap. C&M are lying to you. You must let them know you have evidence that the 8.30am decision on the day of the cruise is a lie. I have the proof here that it was a lie.

Edited October 23, 2013 by regbobsal

[whispy62]

Regbobsal : thank you , there will another letter in the post tomorrow.

[regbobsal]

Hi, whispy an update. As advised by our solicitor we have sent of another letter asking cruise & maritime to reconsider their decision to turn down our claim for compensation. We were advised to tell them that we were claiming for,'lack of enjoyment' & 'lack of value'. apparently they have a duty to give you good notice of any problems that might affect your holiday. They said they did not find out about the virus until 8.30 am on the day of our cruise. Now this is a lie, because they knew of the virus at least 4 days into the previous cruise to ours. I have written to the city of London health & safety people & asked for copies of their reports on the marco polo for the days before ,during & the day our cruise finished this will tell us if they had to close the facilities or not. I will have to wait but they said they will send them. If they do not I will get them via the 'freedom of information act'. I am waiting for further news from Cruise & maritime & will post it to you as soon as I receive it. Their excuse for the facilities being shut was, "the health & safety advised us to close all communal areas". How they come to think that bars,lounges,reception areas ect, are not 'communal areas' is beyond me. A ship, by its very nature is a communal area. Bye for now.

[whispy62]

Thank you for your uodate, I am still waiting for a reply to my second letter that they received last s friday, like you say all the area.s you spend money in were kept open . There was a intersting review on the Marco Polo under reviews, have you seen it, Keep in touch I am with you on this ,

[whispy62]

Looks like they are not going to reply to my last letter. Have you heard anything else. A few bad reviews are being posted ,

[regbobsal]

I wrote to them on the 24/10 & did not receive anything, so I phoned them up just yesterday & asked what was happening. They said they had sent a letter to the travel agent who we booked with & they will forward the letter to us. I contacted our travel agent & they said they have a letter & will send it to us once it had been 'processed'. So we should know something in the next few days. I am still waiting for the city of London health & safety report on the ship but at least things are moving, although slowly. What ever happens I can assure you I will not stop until something is done about this. Did you insist that you are claiming compensation for ' lack of enjoyment' & lack of value'. You can also claim from your travel agent. I have not pursued that line yet because I think cruise & maritime should shoulder the blame. Anyway as soon as the letter arrives I will contact you again. bye for now.

[regbobsal]

We have received a letter albeit sent to someone else, & they have offered us 20% off another cruise. I have flatly refused their derisory offer & insisted they give us what they gave to the previous cruise to ours. ( £100 per cabin & 20% off a further cruise) I have asked them why are we being treated differently to others. So once again I have put the ball in their court & await another reply. They said in the letter that they had "addressed" all our comments", I told them they had not addressed any of our comments & asked them just what comments of ours they had addressed & how they felt they addressed them. Who do they think they are?. Well anyway as soon as I get their next reply I will let you know. My next step is the ombudsman & then court. I have sent them what I was advised to do by my solicitor & he has asked to see the next letter they send. I have been advised by him to express that I am claiming compensation on a parallel level to the passengers of the previous cruise who had the very same problems & to cite them for, lack of enjoyment, lack of value & misleading information in their brochure. bye for now.

[DaveinWhales]

It seems C&M's PR department might not be the best but I have to say reading through the comments again I have come to the conclusion that if you weren't actually sick you didn't miss out on much It was a 3 day trip and most of the time was spent on land. Why would you want or need day time activities anyway ? The previous cruise passengers were given a £100 voucher off their ship's bill but they had been on a 7 day trip, missed out on a port of call and endured a few days at sea and in stormy weather.

I have read complaints about that trip ( not necessarily on this forum) saying the dates shouldn't run to clash with bad weather ( really!) and on this one that the swimming pool wasn't open....in October and Northern Europe !

How much did the 3 day trip cost ? What percentage of enjoyment was lost ? Then you can arrive at some sort of level of compensation which to be honest isn't going to be very much in my book.