Bio Hazard bag under the bed

[Milsib]

Hi All,

 

I just went on my first cruise a few weeks ago. I'm deeply bothered with finding a blood stain/splatter in our bathroom and bio hazard bag full of blood stained tissues under my son's bed.  Actually, my son found it on our second night but didn't say anything to me. It just slid out from under his bed on our fifth night. I went down to guest services and I spoke to one of the Assistant Housekeeping Managers. They apologised, cleaned our room and replaced all our beddings. It is my impression that all rooms are properly cleaned and beddings replaced after disembarkation of guests from the previous cruise.   I have previously worked in hospitality for 20 years and I understand how hard the people on these ships work. I don't want anyone to lose their jobs. But I felt that they have just shrugged off the issue. It annoyed me no end that one of the Assistant Guest Services Manager I spoke to was smug about it. We enjoyed the cruise specially my son. I didn't want to ruin our first cruise by making a big fuss about it.

 

I'm interested in your take on this. Should I have made a formal complaint?

 

Bothered,

 

Milsib

[Flatbush Flyer]

17 minutes ago, Milsib said:

Hi All,

 

I just went on my first cruise a few weeks ago. I'm deeply bothered with finding a blood stain/splatter in our bathroom and bio hazard bag full of blood stained tissues under my son's bed.  Actually, my son found it on our second night but didn't say anything to me. It just slid out from under his bed on our fifth night. I went down to guest services and I spoke to one of the Assistant Housekeeping Managers. They apologised, cleaned our room and replaced all our beddings. It is my impression that all rooms are properly cleaned and beddings replaced after disembarkation of guests from the previous cruise.   I have previously worked in hospitality for 20 years and I understand how hard the people on these ships work. I don't want anyone to lose their jobs. But I felt that they have just shrugged off the issue. It annoyed me no end that one of the Assistant Guest Services Manager I spoke to was smug about it. We enjoyed the cruise specially my son. I didn't want to ruin our first cruise by making a big fuss about it.

 

I'm interested in your take on this. Should I have made a formal complaint?

 

Bothered,

 

Milsib

Sometimes, "hindsight is the best sight."

Your conversation should have been with no one else other than the ship's "general manager." 

What you have described is outrageous.

At this point, you may want to write directly to the CFO and include the pix. You can get the CFO's email address via an inquiry on the Christopher Elliott website (travel writer/ombudsman).

If you want "compensation," say so AND indicate what that may be and WHY it will "make things right."

[dwayneb236]

Most complaints here I see as minor and take with a grain of salt. This one is valid and disgusting. I rarely feel anyone should be comped anything because of issues that might pop up but this one takes the cake. Some OBC should have been offered at the least. 

Edited November 14, 2018 by dwayneb236

[Heidi13]

Any company, cruise lines included can experience issues, but the good ones deal with them effectively.

 

As a previous post noted, many issues we read about are minor, but in my opinion, this is a significant issue that is a potential health issue.

 

I am highly surprised at the reception you received on board. On reporting it at the Purser's Desk, I would have expected the Passenger Services Manager would have taken you to an office, as these type of issues are not dealt with at the front desk. I would also have expected an apology from the Hotel General Manager, with follow up to ensure your satisfaction. Personally, I would not have dealt with a supervisor or low level Purser. The ship should have made you so happy that any post on social media would have discussed how effectively they dealt with the issue.

 

Since this obviously did not happen, I would be writing a detailed report, with photographs and response received from the ship's staff to the Cruise Line's CEO.

[AmazedByCruising]

4 hours ago, Milsib said:

Should I have made a formal complaint?

 

Of course!

I think you are already very, very nice not saying which ship this was, I'd mention that as well. 😈

[LuckyStar]

9 hours ago, Milsib said:

Hi All,

 

I just went on my first cruise a few weeks ago. I'm deeply bothered with finding a blood stain/splatter in our bathroom and bio hazard bag full of blood stained tissues under my son's bed.  Actually, my son found it on our second night but didn't say anything to me. It just slid out from under his bed on our fifth night. I went down to guest services and I spoke to one of the Assistant Housekeeping Managers. They apologised, cleaned our room and replaced all our beddings. It is my impression that all rooms are properly cleaned and beddings replaced after disembarkation of guests from the previous cruise.   I have previously worked in hospitality for 20 years and I understand how hard the people on these ships work. I don't want anyone to lose their jobs. But I felt that they have just shrugged off the issue. It annoyed me no end that one of the Assistant Guest Services Manager I spoke to was smug about it. We enjoyed the cruise specially my son. I didn't want to ruin our first cruise by making a big fuss about it.

 

I'm interested in your take on this. Should I have made a formal complaint?

 

Bothered,

 

Milsib

Yes, you should make a formal complaint.  Those pictures are disgusting.  I'm shocked it was shrugged off so easily. 

[SRF]

One thing, your post stated the biohazard bag was "full" of bloodstained items.

 

The pictures shows them out of the bag.

 

Did you open the bag to check the contents??????

[Milsib]

The bag wasn’t tied up. I took the pic through the opening.

[Herfnerd]

If I didn't, my wife would have definitely made a humungous stink about it and would not have accepted just an apology and bedding change - and we aren't the type that is out to get as much as we can out of a situation.  This is pretty serious and should have gone further up the chain.  At the very least, I would have insisted on moving cabins - if they missed something like this, who knows what else was missed.

 

Having said that and since you have returned, definitely lodge a formal complaint and clearly state that you should have been offered some sort of restitution or compensation based on the severity of the situation

[Aquahound]

When exactly did you find that blood droplet on the wall and how long after did you take that picture?

Edited November 16, 2018 by Aquahound

[SPacificbound]

What a terrible experience for your family. I hope you will follow through as recommended. I am sorry you had this experience.

[Milsib]

1 hour ago, Aquahound said:

When exactly did you find that blood droplet on the wall and how long after did you take that picture?

I actually saw it on our first day but didn’t think anything of it. But I noticed the color changing from red to maroon then I found the bag and put one and one together. CSI?

[Milsib]

Thanks for all your comments. It’s unanimous that I should lodge a formal complaint. 

[Aquahound]

40 minutes ago, Milsib said:

CSI?

 

Yes.

[LA_CA_GAL]

Congrats!  You win the prize for the most incredible post EVER on CC.

 

You find blood spatter on a wall, then a bio hazard bag full of bloody contents under the bed.

 

Curious minds want to know.  Did the previous occupants bring their own bio hazard bag with them?

 

Or did the crew clean up the bloody mess, and just leave the bloody bag under the bed?

 

Where is Colombo when we need him?

[SRF]

Since the blood was red at first, it probably happened to a crew member during turn around or the previous occupants just before leaving.

 

The biohazard bag is proper when cleaning up any bodily fluids.  Typically, once the material is removed, the area is wiped down with a bleach solution to disinfect and all cleaning rags disposed of in the bag.  The clean up materials typically have some bleach solution on them, so are pretty safe.

 

It seems that they forgot the bag for some reason, or there was more than one, and one got left behind.

 

I would request a copy of their bodily fluids clean up procedure and request information on training of crew and follow up when they have a clean up.

 

If I was happy with the responses, I may request a second wipe down, but would not request a cabin change.

 

But, this type of thing is part of my profession.  And I used to be married to microbiologist, so don't get too worked up. 😄