Crown Princess and Norovirus

[curtdesilets]

It seems to me that this ship in particular gets norovirus more than any other.

 

The CDC lists several outbreaks in the past few years for the Crown Princess, including one last week, and another earlier this year.

 

We had first hand experience with a Code Red situation on our Crown British Isles Cruise a few years ago. The cruise itself was fine (great), but the Code Red enforcement was quite aggravating. They removed all nuts and snacks from the bars. No salt and pepper shakers. No cologne samples in the gift shop. No self serve anything anywhere. This was for the majority of our cruise.

 

There were no official numbers but staff had said about 150 people were stricken. The problem is if a ship does not port in the US, the CDC has no record of it, so we just do not know how severe it was. Apparently it was Code Red on the transatlantic cruise just prior to ours as well. I just wonder how many other instances in Europe the Crown Princess had ??

 

I still think the Crown must have some sanitation problems or something to warrant such a frequent number of outbreaks in comparison to all the other ships on the high seas. It's a shame, because she is truly a lovely ship.

 

Another poster said that the next cruise this Saturday will be boarded at 630pm to facilitate another cleaning. Hope they get rid of this thing! (Not the ship, the norovirus) :p

[MomToJack]

All of this is seriously bumming me out. My husband and I will be on the Crown in a little over one week to celebrate our 10 year anniversary. My husband is absolutely PANIC ridden whenever he hears about someone with the stomach bug. I refuse to even tell him about this outbreak on our ship, I'm scared he won't even get on the ship if I tell him before we get on!

 

So very hopeful it gets resolved - we have spent so much time, money, and energy to make this trip possible. I'm trying really hard not to get too anxious about this. :(

 

 

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[luvseaside]

All of this is seriously bumming me out. My husband and I will be on the Crown in a little over one week to celebrate our 10 year anniversary. My husband is absolutely PANIC ridden whenever he hears about someone with the stomach bug. I refuse to even tell him about this outbreak on our ship, I'm scared he won't even get on the ship if I tell him before we get on!

 

So very hopeful it gets resolved - we have spent so much time, money, and energy to make this trip possible. I'm trying really hard not to get too anxious about this. :(

 

 

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Hopefully, it will resolve by your trip. I wouldn't get too anxious. I've gone on a cruise a couple of weeks after an outbreak of Noro and you could see a few of the remnants of the cleaning solution (bleach) on the surfaces of things. They clean thoroughly. And restrictions were lifted during our cruise.

 

Just make sure you follow advice on this board on how to avoid possible infection. Personally, I consciously try to train myself prior to any cruise to do those things to minimize any issues (don't touch handrails, don't push elevator button with my fingers, wash hands constantly after touching something or before eating).

[shastatroy]

Keep your hands and fingers off your face and you will be fine.

[MCC retired]

Agreed , the Crown Princess seems to get hit with the Noro more often than any other ship ,not only Princess ships ,but on any cruise line .

East Coast/West Coast , it doesn't seem to matter ?

It can't just be bad luck ?

75 + cruises under our belt . Noro got us only once , and that was on the Crown Princess.

[Working 2 Cruise]

MomtoJack, it looks like we'll be sailing together. The Crown and the terminal are going to undergo a thorough cleaning on Saturday. We should be fine!

[Kerry&LuAnn]

We just returned from a cruise on the Coral Princess and there was no sign of any virus. Ironically, upon returning home we learned that while we were gone there was an outbreak of norovirus in the public schools in our town. We were saved by going on the cruise!

 

On our last Alaska cruise, the ship had an outbreak on the cruise just before ours. So our boarding time was delayed while they sanitized the ship. Our feeling was, take all the time you need! We were confident we were stepping onto a very clean and germ-free vessel, and we appreciated all of the extra precautions the crew had in place as we began our cruise. As a result, there were no issues.

[Aus Traveller]

Keep your hands and fingers off your face and you will be fine.

If you want to be very careful, don't pick up your food with your hands - only with a fork. This applies if you have touched any other surface - hand rails, lift buttons, underneath of your chair as you move it closer to the table. One of these surfaces might have the virus on it and if you pick up your food, you can transfer this to your body. Unfortunately that eliminates bread rolls etc.

 

We have been on a ship on several occasions during code red and (so far) not have a problem.

[suzyed]

All of this is seriously bumming me out. My husband and I will be on the Crown in a little over one week to celebrate our 10 year anniversary. My husband is absolutely PANIC ridden whenever he hears about someone with the stomach bug. I refuse to even tell him about this outbreak on our ship, I'm scared he won't even get on the ship if I tell him before we get on!

 

So very hopeful it gets resolved - we have spent so much time, money, and energy to make this trip possible. I'm trying really hard not to get too anxious about this. :(

 

 

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You should tell your DH so that he can take precautions! WASH WASH WASH your hands for a full 20 seconds EVERYTIME you use the rest room. Try not to use the public restrooms if possible. Do not touch handles, handrails, elevator buttons, etc etc. etc. We were just on the 28-29 day sailing and my DH got it, but I didn't. I am fanatically about washing my hands. Bring clorox wipes and use them everywhere....casino, photo shop....wipe off tables and arms of chairs. Use hand sanitizer ALWAYS!!

[wayuphigh]

I was on the Crown for 49 days in Feb and March 2014 and we had 2 outbreaks of the Noro virus, each lasting a couple of weeks. This has been going on for too long on the Crown. They really need to do something soon to find the problem, I can't believe that someone new keeps bringing the virus onto the ship.

 

I love the Crown, great captain and crew so I hope that get it under control soon, have booked a couple of cruises on the Crown in February.

[RetiredNTraveling]

MomtoJack, it looks like we'll be sailing together. The Crown and the terminal are going to undergo a thorough cleaning on Saturday. We should be fine!

 

Safe & Healthy cruising to you and the others! :D

 

If you want to be very careful, don't pick up your food with your hands - only with a fork. This applies if you have touched any other surface - hand rails, lift buttons, underneath of your chair as you move it closer to the table. One of these surfaces might have the virus on it and if you pick up your food, you can transfer this to your body. Unfortunately that eliminates bread rolls etc.

 

We have been on a ship on several occasions during code red and (so far) not have a problem.

 

Very sage comments, that is why we carry a large quantity of disinfectant wipes and after seating ourselves we use one prior to eating or drinking and particularly playing on a slot machine. I have enough issues that I don't need to add "noro"!

[brentlym]

We just disembarked the Crown this morning from the "abbreviated" Mexican Riviera cruise that left last Sunday evening. The ship was super clean, but the Capt reported 39 additional cases during the week and we were down to five passengers that were confined to their staterooms as of yesterday. Obviously, we were in code red all week. It was somewhat of a pain....especially being served in the Horizon Court. That aside, there seemed to be some audio visual equipment problems in various locations onboard. Food was top notch. We made the best of a challenging situation.

[caribill]

I was on the Crown for 49 days in Feb and March 2014 and we had 2 outbreaks of the Noro virus, each lasting a couple of weeks. This has been going on for too long on the Crown. They really need to do something soon to find the problem, I can't believe that someone new keeps bringing the virus onto the ship.

 

I love the Crown, great captain and crew so I hope that get it under control soon, have booked a couple of cruises on the Crown in February.

 

It sounds as if passengers brought it aboard. Either new passengers at a turnaround port or passengers from a shore excursion.

 

We were on one ship (not the Crown) where passengers who ate mid-cruise at an onshore restaurant on a Princess excursion caught it and brought it aboard.

[TubT]

I believe the CDC made a statement earlier this year that they had never proved an outbreak started aboard a ship. It was always brought aboard by a passenger. Now...I wonder if the Crown has some reservoir of the virus, or if it habitually calls at some port with a high infection rate, or if some worker on the ship, probably in the kitchens, is a "carrier" of some sort.

[Cruisecrazy25]

We went on the Crown Princess in December a couple years ago and had delayed boarding for them to sanitize it from Noro. We still had an outbreak on our trip and were Code Red all week. My mom refuses to sail the Crown ever again because of this ongoing issue with it. It is happening way more on this ship than any other cruise ship out there and they need to get to the bottom of the issue. Sanitizing it doesn't seem to be helping because it seems a few months later it has another outbreak.

[MomToJack]

Fantastic. So I booked our trip on the one ship that apparently is more susceptible than any other ship to noro? Ugh.

 

 

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[caribill]

Sanitizing it doesn't seem to be helping because it seems a few months later it has another outbreak.

 

Over 20,000,000 people contract norovirus in the USA each year. You can almost bet there will always be at least one embarking passenger who has it.

[dylandog25]

I,m sure you would have found it more aggravating to be confined in your room for 3 days just be glad they took the measures they do to prevent the spread and taking about aggravating I overheard the person in front of me refuse to sanitize their hands stating they had just washed their hands just before coming to buffet well let me tell you if ever I hear someone say that again I will turn into one of those arrogant cruisers that customer service has to deal with and hasn,t got a chance on hell of pleasing

I will give it right back and tell them what selfish and ignorant people they are and take a course on infection control

 

and so many wonder why we get noro on ships

[cb at sea]

You know it's not the ship...it's the passengers! Ships do NOT have viruses! It's the people who carry them onboard..usually, because they have no symptoms when they board, but develop them soon AFTER boarding....Noro is sneaky...you can have the virus and start spreading it BEFORE the symptoms show...

That's why it's so pervasive.

[harrodsfan]

Couldn't a crew member bring it onboard??

[shredie]

Couldn't a crew member bring it onboard??

 

 

Well, yes. The crew, the entertainers, the guys who deliver the supplies on shore. Sneaky little virus doesn't care who it infects.

[caribill]

Couldn't a crew member bring it onboard??

 

Yes, but for most cruises almost all the passengers are new to the ship and very few crew members get to go ashore.

[Dezertbear]

Friends of ours just got off the Crown today (after the shortened cruise) and they said there was another outbreak, maybe 45 people.

 

We've been on the Crown twice and haven't had a code red (but we did on the Diamond in 2009). But we have had toilet issues.

 

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[jrzebird]

Well, yes. The crew, the entertainers, the guys who deliver the supplies on shore. Sneaky little virus doesn't care who it infects.

 

Actually, it is almost always passengers who bring it with them. Airplanes and hotels are breeding grounds for noro, and that's how it gets onboard. This is why HAL has a standard of enforcing noro procedures the first 2 days of a cruise,whether they have it or not. No self-service, no salt or pepper shakers on the table, not bread baskets, etc. They lift it the third day, because by day 3 most people who might have carried it onboard are showing symptoms and therefore don't unknowingly infect others. It has greatly reduced outbreaks.

 

While the Purell helps reduce bacterial infections, it's useless against noro, which is a virus. But it makes you feel better about things, so no harm. The most effective defense against noro is hand washing with soap and hot water, at least 20 or more seconds, and not just when you use the bathroom, but definately then. The thing I find the most difficult is not touching my face, rubbing my eyes or touching my mouth, but these are things one must be aware of if you are going to avoid noro.

 

I had no issues on the one noro cruise I had (except for the rude passengers who refused to cooperate and one who actually threw a plate at a server). I really enjoyed having my food served to me. I missed the hot tubs and sauna as they had to close but service was a large notch above the usual.

[MauiLvrs]

The cruise itself was fine (great), but the Code Red enforcement was quite aggravating.

Were were on the April sailing that had delayed boarding with the extended cleansing. We didn't seem to have issues after we sailed.

 

We were actually surprised when half way through the cruise they lifted the code red. We' thought that it was a little premature to go back to normal.

 

We actually liked not having everyone touching everything in the buffet.

It was kinda nice to not have to wonder so much if the folks in front of you just god done wiping their you know what and not washing :eek: