Compensation for Riviera Nurovirus Cruise

[LHT28]

I think you could say that reading these is good for his shareholders. By taking care of some of these problems he could make more money for the company. It is important that he knows what the people think as in the past. That to me is also working for his shareholders. :):)

 

I am sure someone from the company is reading just not FDR

 

He used to read all the posts here & on Regent

[dibel]

I've copied and pasted the 2015 Norovirus outbreaks that were reported to the CDC...see below. I'm observing that Oceania had 2 outbreaks out of a total of 10....that would equate to 20% of the outbreaks? Given the small fleet of Oceania ships, doesn't this seem like a high percentage given for example, that Holland America only had 1 incidence? And the larger cruise lines with more passengers per ship (Royal Caribbean/Celebrity/Princess ) had 2 as well? Please feel free to prove me right or wrong as I'm not sure I've interpreted the information correctly.

 

 

 

 

Oceania Cruises Oceania Riviera 11/18 - 12/2 Norovirus

Princess Cruises Star Princess 4/29 - 5/14 Norovirus

Oceania Cruises Oceania Marina 4/21 - 5/7 Norovirus

Holland America Line ms Maasdam 4/17 - 5/1 Norovirus

Princess Cruises Coral Princess 4/12 - 4/27 Norovirus

Royal Caribbean Cruise Line Legend of the Seas 3/30 - 4/14 Norovirus

Celebrity Cruises Celebrity Infinity 3/29 - 4/13 Norovirus

Norwegian Cruise Line Norwegian Pearl 3/26 - 4/6 Norovirus

Celebrity Cruises Celebrity Equinox 2/13 - 2/23 Norovirus

Royal Caribbean Cruise Line Grandeur of the Seas 1/24 - 2/3 Norovirus

[Lord H]

Is Oceania offering to do anything for the passengers on Riviera? Seems to me they should offer something for missed ports and all the areas of the ship that are closed. Sounds like they have not even offered anyone a drink. Pretty cheap on their part. Not the cruise that all have paid for. Let's see if Oceania steps up and does the right thing.

 

Am a Newbie to Cruise Critic. Oceania are treating us not a customers but as customers they just want to be rid of. I condemn the management for not stopping this Noro infection just after it started ..after Funchal. Only yesterday after 20+ days did they issue the correct instructions to guests and staff FOLLOWING MY SUGGESTION to wash their hands with soap and water regularly and not simply to rely on alcohol based sanitisers!

 

Other problems include staff whose English is minimal thinking that a shrimp cocktail is a drink for example. THAT went up to senior concierge level!

 

To many other problems to annotate here. But RJB is right on the money. I support his vitriol. Paper is soup! treble yuk! :eek:

 

Shows lack of management control.

[Paulchili]

I've copied and pasted the 2015 Norovirus outbreaks that were reported to the CDC...see below. I'm observing that Oceania had 2 outbreaks out of a total of 10....that would equate to 20% of the outbreaks? Given the small fleet of Oceania ships, doesn't this seem like a high percentage given for example, that Holland America only had 1 incidence? And the larger cruise lines with more passengers per ship (Royal Caribbean/Celebrity/Princess ) had 2 as well? Please feel free to prove me right or wrong as I'm not sure I've interpreted the information correctly.

 

I think if one looked at the last 15 -20 years of Noro outbreaks one would get a more complete picture. After all, Noro has been around long before 2015.

[LHT28]

Am a Newbie to Cruise Critic. Oceania are treating us not a customers but as customers they just want to be rid of. I condemn the management for not stopping this Noro infection just after it started ..after Funchal. Only yesterday after 20+ days did they issue the correct instructions to guests and staff FOLLOWING MY SUGGESTION to wash their hands with soap and water regularly and not simply to rely on alcohol based sanitisers!

 

Welcome to Cruise critic

 

Unfortunately some adults have not learned this technique especially after using the washrooms

Edited December 11, 2015 by LHT28

[ORV]

Only yesterday after 20+ days did they issue the correct instructions to guests and staff FOLLOWING MY SUGGESTION to wash their hands with soap and water regularly and not simply to rely on alcohol based sanitisers!

 

 

Uh, no, this isn't correct. Sorry, I was there, from Venice, not only did Ray mention washing your hands they also sent a sheet out to the room with this information. Daily Currents mentions washing your hands and there was a video ongoing on one of the channels that showed Ray washing his hands, singing Happy Birthday twice while doing so, at the public restroom by the Lounge, and to use the napkin when opening the door.

 

They did of course also mention using the sanitizers, but hand washing was also mentioned frequently.

 

I don't mind calling them out when Oceania did something wrong, but let's not accuse them of not doing something that they actually are doing right.

[chengkp75]

I think if one looked at the last 15 -20 years of Noro outbreaks one would get a more complete picture. After all, Noro has been around long before 2015.

 

 

Also, as I've said, this list only lists those outbreaks that reach the 3% threshold. Ships that reach the 2% level have to make daily reports, but will never be seen on this list. Neither will ships that don't call at US ports.

[marylizcat]

Also, as I've said, this list only lists those outbreaks that reach the 3% threshold. Ships that reach the 2% level have to make daily reports, but will never be seen on this list. Neither will ships that don't call at US ports.

 

Yes indeed. For example, we were on HAL's Volendam this Easter in Asia, which was on Code Red or whatever they call it, with laundrette, library, hot tubs etc all closed and no self-serve in the buffet, but it is not on the list, presumably as it did not call in the US. So that list isn't really all that useful to judge how Oceania compare. Incidentally, they never said how many were ill.

[RJB]

I am sure someone from the company is reading just not FDR

 

He used to read all the posts here & on Regent

Too bad. I think it was helpful to everyone when he was reading them. :)

:):)

[harryw]

Forgive me if this is offtopic, but is it possible that O's expensive fees for medical help exacerbates health problems? O wanted a couple of hundred $$ just to remove a splinter!

 

Harry

[kazu]

Forgive me if this is offtopic, but is it possible that O's expensive fees for medical help exacerbates health problems? O wanted a couple of hundred $$ just to remove a splinter!

 

Harry

 

I suspect so.

 

My last ship that had Noro had free treatment and meds for anyone that reported. That, at the very least encourages people to come forward.

 

Our bill was over $350 and all that was needed was antibiotics. Comparison wise it was less than 1/2 on another cruise line.

[LHT28]

Forgive me if this is offtopic, but is it possible that O's expensive fees for medical help exacerbates health problems? O wanted a couple of hundred $$ just to remove a splinter!

 

Harry

Possible

many people do not take out travel insurance that would cover a trip to the ship's doctor

 

but if you are sick & do not want to report it then please stay in your cabin until 24 hrs after the last symptoms have stopped

not going around spreading the joy

 

If you were having severe chest pains would you avoid the medical centre because of the costs ??

[roger b]

The captain has just announced that there have been 3 more cases of GI reported today, this seams to be a ongoing problem that has not been solved since our leaving Madeira.

 

I still feel that the hygiene standards of some of the guests are not being adhered to and with a much older age group. unfortunately they are not taking notice of the washing of hands constantly.

 

I hope this epidermic clears up so or oncoming guests will not have the same loss of amenities that we have had for the last 20 days !!

I have declined my offer of $200 compensation for the the diminished pleasure that I have on my holiday as it was an insult. lets hope that Guest services in Miami will acknowledge my grievances !!

Good luck to all on your forth coming cruise on Riviera !!!

[Mura]

Perhaps the best thing to do in these situations would be to remove the ship from service for a week or two in order to make sure that all bugs are gone.

 

But that is hardly possible with an itinerary where the ship goes from one destination to another. Even if you have an itinerary that repeats, what does the cruise line do with the passengers who no longer have a cruise? I know that I wouldn't be happy to receive last minute word that my cruise has been erased. MAYBE they could please me with a replacement offer ... but maybe not! In fact, PROBABLY not. (No, $200 wouldn't do it.)

 

It's being between a rock and a hard place ... It does appear that once Noro appears on a cruise ship, it stays for a while ... for whatever reason.

 

And there is the issue of passengers who really do not practice good hygiene.

Do you assign one crew member per passenger to make sure they do? Obviously, you cannot. (And crew members may be equally at fault.

[Paulchili]

Forgive me if this is offtopic, but is it possible that O's expensive fees for medical help exacerbates health problems? O wanted a couple of hundred $$ just to remove a splinter!

 

Harry

 

I cannot imagine that anyone traveling on a cruise would not have PRIMARY health insurance - such as Blue Cross or Medicare (and perhaps also travel insurance).

The one time I needed medical attention on a cruise I submitted the bill to my Medicare provider and it was fully covered without any problems.

PS

I am told that the health care coverage for Canadians, Brits and EU is better than that of Americans - so there should be no problem.

Edited December 11, 2015 by Paulchili

[dibel]

To be fair, I did not see any outbreaks reported for 2014 and 2013...1 from O for 2012. Seems like they're having a run of bad luck.

 

Can't even imagine how exhausted the crew (not the captain and cruise director...lol) must be. I know when we left, our cabin steward was very fatigued.

[wristband]

Primary insurance coverage will often not provide coverage for illness on a ship. I can attest to that first hand. Blue Cross, United and Anthem refuse coverage and will not reimburse.

 

You could purchase travel medical insurance but that is a individual decision. I can't comment on Medicare or Medicaid coverage. But US health insurance carriers will NOT reimburse for medical costs onboard based on my experience.

[kazu]

Perhaps the best thing to do in these situations would be to remove the ship from service for a week or two in order to make sure that all bugs are gone.

 

But that is hardly possible with an itinerary where the ship goes from one destination to another. Even if you have an itinerary that repeats, what does the cruise line do with the passengers who no longer have a cruise? I know that I wouldn't be happy to receive last minute word that my cruise has been erased. MAYBE they could please me with a replacement offer ... but maybe not! In fact, PROBABLY not. (No, $200 wouldn't do it.)

 

It's being between a rock and a hard place ... It does appear that once Noro appears on a cruise ship, it stays for a while ... for whatever reason.

 

And there is the issue of passengers who really do not practice good hygiene.

Do you assign one crew member per passenger to make sure they do? Obviously, you cannot. (And crew members may be equally at fault.

 

Actually, from what I saw, the blame does not lie solely with the passengers. Enough sick crew on board all exposed to food. Whether it was the cruise crud cough or not, they shouldn't have been around food.

 

Noro is not hard to beat if the proper procedures are implemented. I stand by my statement that coating surfaces with goop will not solve the problem if food is out uncovered, unsupervised, exposed, cutlery, glasses and cups out, salt & peppers out (finally removed but not in the G.D.R.), sugar containers out in the G.D.R., creamers out, high tea set up early so anyone can "touch them", all the slots open (huge carrier), computers (keyboards), library (let's all touch the books), pools and hot tubs, etc.

 

Better to close things for a few days and lick it than drag on and on and on.

 

I have seen Noro licked mid cruise, but certain things were done which I did not see here.

 

I cannot imagine that anyone traveling on a cruise would not have PRIMARY health insurance - such as Blue Cross or Medicare (and perhaps also travel insurance).

The one time I needed medical attention on a cruise I submitted the bill to my Medicare provider and it was fully covered without any problems.

PS

I am told that the health care coverage for Canadians, Brits and EU is better than that of Americans - so there should be no problem.

 

OK, flame away, but why in Green Earth should anyone have to put in a claim for health insurance? It should have been covered on board.

 

I am in the process of doing one and the paperwork is endless. I get where the insurance company is coming from. But if O has communicable diseases on board, then it should be covered as other lines of "lesser" quality have done.

 

there were too many of us calling insurance once we got off. Had the fee been negligible, I wouldn't have bothered.

 

end of vent. flame away. My third Noro incident on a cruise ship and based on what I have seen in the past, I was not impressed and understand why they still have issues. Shutting down the ship will not help unless they change protocols.

[rallydave]

never mind

Edited December 12, 2015 by rallydave

[GeezerCouple]

Primary insurance coverage will often not provide coverage for illness on a ship. I can attest to that first hand. Blue Cross, United and Anthem refuse coverage and will not reimburse.

 

You could purchase travel medical insurance but that is a individual decision. I can't comment on Medicare or Medicaid coverage. But US health insurance carriers will NOT reimburse for medical costs onboard based on my experience.

 

Please always check with your *own* insurance provider about specific coverage terms like this.

 

For example, our regular employer health coverage (USA-based employer) paid for treatment at the medical center onboard another cruise line.

 

We had secondary travel insurance medical coverage, and figured that we would need to submit the claim there after it was denied by our regular coverage, but... it was paid.

(It was paid at 100%, something we still don't quite understand, but we didn't ask questions when the check arrived.)

 

We obviously have no information about what other plans would cover.

(Truly "obviously", as we didn't even realize that our own plan would cover this ;))

 

There are so many different types of policies and terms, it's almost impossible to make generalizations about what is or is not covered.

 

GeezerCouple

[wcc19]

We were on the original TA on the Riviera and experienced it first hand. There seems to be widespread agreement that regardless of whether the Noro was their fault or not, they handled the situation poorly. For comparison, let me tell you a story about a company that got it right.

In June of 2013 we were on a river cruise on the Danube, Vienna to Amsterdam, with Uniworld. We were two days out of Vienna when the worst flood in European history struck. We had to retreat to a commercial harbor near Melk. All shipping traffic on the Danube was stopped.

I think we can all agree that the flood was not Uniworld's fault.

Here is what they did:

- On the second day, opened the bar for the duration of the itinerary.

- Gave us excursions for free that were normally extra cost.

- On day 7, they put a letter in everyone's cabin apologizing for the situation and telling us that they were refunding $1250 per person of the cost of our trip.

- Gave us a $500 per person future cruise credit. Side note - the Vietnam itinerary was specifically excluded from the FCC but since that was what we wanted to do next we asked them and they agreed with no argument that we could use it for Vietnam.

- By busing and switching to another ship, got us to Amsterdam on schedule.

 

Did I mention that the flood was not their fault?

Across their fleet, this must have cost them a pile of money. However, this is a company that knows customer service. This is how you instill fierce loyalty in your clientelle.

 

Yes, I understand that flooding is less common than noro, and a grand gesture like that might not be appropriate. But it's the spirit of Uniworld's response that seems to stand in stark contrast to Oceania's.

[tgg]

I cannot imagine that anyone traveling on a cruise would not have PRIMARY health insurance - such as Blue Cross or Medicare (and perhaps also travel insurance).

The one time I needed medical attention on a cruise I submitted the bill to my Medicare provider and it was fully covered without any problems.

PS

I am told that the health care coverage for Canadians, Brits and EU is better than that of Americans - so there should be no problem.

 

Unless things have changed recently, in most situations, Medicare won’t pay for health care or supplies you get outside the U.S. The term “outside the U.S.” is defined as anywhere other than the 50 states of the U.S., the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands.

 

We have a Medicare supplemental policy "J" that covers these expenses in foreign countries. We are grandfathered; I understand it is no longer being offered.

 

For US citizens of a certain age, travel insurance with good medical coverage is a must.

Edited December 12, 2015 by tgg

[Cruzin Terri]

I cannot imagine that anyone traveling on a cruise would not have PRIMARY health insurance - such as Blue Cross or Medicare (and perhaps also travel insurance).

The one time I needed medical attention on a cruise I submitted the bill to my Medicare provider and it was fully covered without any problems.

PS

I am told that the health care coverage for Canadians, Brits and EU is better than that of Americans - so there should be no problem.

 

You are obviously not of Medicare age or else not very well versed in its coverage. Medicare does not cover outside of the US and its territories. Definitely not on a ship. It will cover you in Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands and Guam. Other from that, you need either a supplemental plan that covers you outside the US or travel insurance.

Terri

[LHT28]

I am told that the health care coverage for Canadians, Brits and EU is better than that of Americans - so there should be no problem.

Do you mean Canadians get better care on the ship ?? :D

 

DH went to the medical centre got RX's

we have to submit the receipts to our Provincial health insurance then whatever is not covered we submit to the travel ins

We have had to use the travel insurance on several occasions ..we do not leave the Province without it ;)

[Paulchili]

You are obviously not of Medicare age or else not very well versed in its coverage. Medicare does not cover outside of the US and its territories. Definitely not on a ship. It will cover you in Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands and Guam. Other from that, you need either a supplemental plan that covers you outside the US or travel insurance.

Terri

 

Well - all I can tell you is that I got a tetanus shot on a Princess cruise on the Amazon and my Medicare (the only primary insurance I had at the time) paid for it. I had travel insurance but didn't have to use it as Medicare paid the claim.

Many Blue Cross plans do cover medical costs abroad so it should cover cost on a cruise ship, These days I travel with annual Geo Blue policy

That said, I do feel that O (or any other cruise line) should provide free medical care for treatment of Noro symptoms under circumstances that were in place on the Riviera.