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Of course the Crown has Noro Virus!

brutusmom

By brutusmom,
in Princess Cruises

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brutusmom

brutusmom

Posted
Posted

I am sad to say I am not surprised one bit to read this ship had an outbreak. I just returned on 4/9/16 from my first Princess cruise. From the second we stepped on board, I had major concerns. In over a dozen cruises in my life, I was almost ready to get off the ship before we set sail.

We boarded on time and went straight to our cabin to drop off our wine. Noticed that there were no wine glasses so we called room service. Then I used the bathroom. And it was gross! Let's just say that I know there was a woman staying in my cabin before me. How my cabin steward didn't notice to clean my toilet seat is beyond me. Went to front desk to report it and asked that my whole cabin be cleaned, for if they didn't clean that I can't imagine what else they missed. Came back 1 hour later to find that it was half cleaned off but half still on the seat! Really?? Reported a second time and demanded a new cabin with a different steward. Full ship they said.

Problem 2. Received the wineglasses. At that point I was feeling very untrusting. Held them up to check them out. There were fingerprints all over the rim of the glass where you would put your mouth. Really bad sanitation issues.

Problem 3. Went to buffet. Watched as one of the workers took the tongs from one food item and placed it in another. Really bad, that's cross contamination. Someone with food allergies can really become ill. I reported it the supervision who was horrified. She ran to remove the item. 4 hours later we went back to get some fruit. The lady saw me and thank me for bringing it to her attention and assured me that she spoke to the staff. I went in with my husband to get our fruit and there it was again. A different guy going from item to item with the same spoon! Are you kidding me!!

Since I have been back, I took the online survey and told them all my findings. Princess has called me to talk about my concerns. I told them if these are the things I can see, I don't want to know what I don't see. I understand that things are never perfect but blood in a bathroom, dirty fingers on glasses where I place my mouth and cross contamination of food products gets places on land shut down by the board of health for a reason.

Also I found out that they don't provide flat sheets for your bed which means that who's ever naked body it was covering before, it is now laying upon mine. Do they change them after they leave? I don't know. They don't sanitize the toilets until the 3rd try!

Sorry. Know it is a long post. But Niro Virus on the Crown. Not surprised at all!

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JF - retired RRT

JF - retired RRT

Posted
Posted (edited)

Ugly stuff...never seen anything like those happening.

 

BTW: if you go on Princess again:confused:

You can request a top sheet from your steward.

If the new beds/bedding is on the ship, it will include a top sheet.

 

PS: I've seen them doing cabin change out when we have been on B2Bs and the covers are usually changed. Can't say if it is always.

Edited by JF - retired RRT
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Working 2 Cruise

Working 2 Cruise

Posted
Posted (edited)

In my 12 Princess cruises, I've never seen anything like you describe. FYI, norovirus is brought onboard by sick passengers who spread it around... This is just so you have some factual information.

 

Apparently, you were unable to eat or drink on the ship due to lack of hygienic procedures... I hope you had a few good moments.

Edited by Working 2 Cruise
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Astro Flyer

Astro Flyer

Posted
Posted (edited)

The OP posted the same thing on the current "Crown NoroVirus" thread (http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2343650&page=3) but she still felt that it was necessary to start another thread. :confused:

 

I get that she had a terrible experience but I don't understand the need to begin a new thread to discuss the exact same thing.

 

Thankfully I've never had such an experience during dozens of Princess cruises which have included about 2 months on the Crown Princess & most recently in October. Tomorrow we board the Crown again but I'm not on a campaign to convince anyone that the Crown is perfect. Any cruise has issues but some people like to promote hysteria about the Crown being cursed with norovirus which we've never had on any of our Crown Princess cruises.

 

I feel badly for the OP's terrible experiences however it's an anomaly based on my experience & we expect our Crown Princess cruise will be great just like our other Princess cruises. :)

Edited by Astro Flyer
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Astro Flyer

Astro Flyer

Posted
Posted (edited)
Bon voyage Frank! I'm sure the Crown will be great, as usual. Have a great cruise!

Thanks and any day we're fortunate to be on a cruise is a GREAT day! :D

 

It'll be a nice break away from some of the CC drama. ;)

Edited by Astro Flyer
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brutusmom

brutusmom

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Astro Flyer, I did feel it was important to put my experience in a new thread.. not just bury it in an existing one. I thought my experience to be important enough to pass along. I love cruising with all my heart but when there are certain situations that put people's health at risk, I feel it is best to share it, so that people might stay aware. You sound like you are a big Princess fan and a bit protective. That's fine. But my time on the Crown Princess had some very serious situation happen.

My background is in food and beverage management and casino management. I work at a 5 star resort for over 20 years. My knowledge in public health safety is extensive. I passed along my experience to help others protect themselves. It could happen on any ship at anytime. It just so happen that my experience was on the Crown Princess.

I do hope you have a wonderful voyage filled with happy memories and laughter. I know that's what I sail for.

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mmckm

mmckm

Posted
Posted

We never eat in any Buffet's. I've never found the food to be that good in most buffets. I'm not worried about the staff, its the people eating there. The things I've saw years ago, turned me off from eating at a buffet. People using their hands and picking up things and putting them back, wiping their nose while in line, sneezing and not covering mouth proper and not using the hand cleaning stations, leaving the washroom and not washing hands. Most people are good about watching what they do, all it takes is a couple slobs and things can spread. Some people will never learn. There's nothing wrong with the Crown its the people sailing on her. They spread it and there's nothing you can do but protect yourself by washing hands often and being careful when eating. The shorter the cruises the more turnover of people and the odds go up that noro can be a problem. It's on every cruise ship and every cruise.

If the buffet was served by the staff, no body helping themselves it would help, but also would take longer to as everything would be put on your plate by the staff. Also they would need more staff to man each station.

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j3000

j3000

Posted
Posted (edited)

Have to lean towrads the OP's stance on this. (not so much on cabin-cleaning, but just general conditions) We just got off the regal and on day 3 (i think) they announced a NV outbreak on board. I know the die-hard cruisers don't understand, but this really took the edge off the trip for us.( I too started my own thread on this, but not many seemed to pay attention)

Not that we couldn't see it coming... the food at the buffet was very good, i must say, but just the way all those people & hands herd through there...the tongs thrown back on top of the food etc. - almost impossible to prevent spread of germs. Plus you're trapped in those elevators going up & down all day long....I dunno... might be a while before we cruise again...

Edited by jargey3000
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elliair

elliair

Posted
Posted

If the buffet was served by the staff, no body helping themselves it would help, but also would take longer to as everything would be put on your plate by the staff. Also they would need more staff to man each station.

 

That won't stop it as people use the public restrooms and don't take care of hygiene like washing their hands, or they wash their mouth out into the sink (which I have witnessed), then going to their table and touching the chairs, salt and pepper shakers, beverage dispensers, hand rails, on and on. The casino is another germ attracter, I don't go in there. So, I don't think the buffet is the main place where you get the noro. Watch out for those elevator buttons!:eek:

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24639

24639

Posted
Posted

We had a group of eight on this sailing as well. Upon returning my Father asked me if I noticed things were lacking and indeed I had. I have sailed on the Crown numerous times and the last two times I really noticed the lack of cleanliness. (In addition to the penny pinching.The butter thread!) A few of our group were on their first ever cruise so they thought everything was wonderful, but for those of us who sail often things are definitely going down hill. It's becoming on par with Carnival just different decor. FWIW, I, like the OP, also have a lengthy history in the hospitality/restaurant/customer service industry.(35 years)

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tooner1977

tooner1977

Posted
Posted

We are waiting to disembark from the Crown this week. While we did have a few cases of Norovirus I have to commend the crew on an awesome job stopping the spread of the Norovirus. There were only 15 cases and I didnt feel threatened at any time that I was going to get sick. They had a very thorough deep cleaning the first day in port and after the cases were reported we were not allowed to touch any of the utensils in the buffet, we were served our food plus all the salt shakers, butter, sugars etc... were taken off the table.

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Montrealais

Montrealais

Posted
Posted
In my 12 Princess cruises, I've never seen anything like you describe. FYI, norovirus is brought onboard by sick passengers who spread it around... This is just so you have some factual information.

 

Apparently, you were unable to eat or drink on the ship due to lack of hygienic procedures... I hope you had a few good moments.

 

It's good to know that crew members are immune to norovirus :confused:

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Shogun

Shogun

Posted
Posted

Hi All

 

Many years ago now think it was my third Princess cruise, boarded the ship

 

and found cabin to be a health hazard and a wreck, took pictures went straight

 

to front desk told them was not accepting cabin, and wanted to see an officer,

 

by the time l had walked back to my cabin one was standing out side my cabin,

 

he inspected cabin accepted my concerns and instructed cleaning repairs to be

 

carried out, it took a few days for all items to be fixed, shower was declared

 

dangerous crack in floor with sharp edges and green mould, so rubber matt

 

was put in to stand on,

 

the OP only mistake was in accepting cabin, they should have said no,

 

we all know ship keeps spare cabins for when things go wrong,

 

they should have also have asked for head of house keeping, our customer services director to inspect cabin, or even HGM if bad enough.

 

yours Shogun

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MCC retired

MCC retired

Posted
Posted

The Crown , far and away , has had more reported Noro outbreaks than

any Mass Market cruise ship .

Yes , people bring it onboard all ships and many have bad hygiene habits , but could the Crown's crew not be cleaning as thorough as other cruise ships ?

Princess should be zeroing in on the Crown's crew and their procedures , from the managers on down .

75+ cruises under our belt and only suffered Noro once , aboard the Crown Princess [emoji852]️

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elliair

elliair

Posted
Posted
Is there an official statistic on that?

 

Go here http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/vsp/surv/gilist.htm#2016 and check out the year and what cruise ships were affected with noro. Princess had several and the Crown is listed at least 2 times on the list. I've been on almost all the Princess ships listed and never had noro. Was on the Star Princess when an outbreak occurred and it made the cruise less desirable, as everything was taken away on tables, no snacks served at happy hour, no salt and pepper shakers, they tightened it all down. No serving yourself, on and on. It was a Hawaiian cruise so we had several days of this going on.:(

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