Noro on Marina

[LHT28]

25 minutes ago, Mrs f. said:

We are still in code red. They said  they might end code today but nobody knows.

as long as no new cases they will usually resume normal service

Better  safe  than sick

[janecambridge]

We were on the Lima cruise in 2018,with a  ‘gastroenteritis’ outbreak.

The handling of the situation was very poor.I wonder if on this last cruise,they still had casino and gym open during code red? On our cruise they were left open and the ‘crew were electro statically spraying nightly’!  Concierge and executive lounges  were shut.

Our cruise director was sick so we had no information as to what was happening,bar a few lines in the currents.

To say it’s the passengers ,always the passengers may not be correct.Crew,visitors,contaminated food,water and ice machines.Indeed I was told by Oceania in their reply to my email that ice was removed from cabins as ‘ice has been a known contributor to gastroenteritis problems historically,based on the inability to sanitise it and it’s ability to harbour bacteria’.

I was also told that they prefer passengers to ‘wash their hands over the option of using hand sanitiser.Guests are encouraged to return to their cabins to wash their hands frequently’

As for the ships clinic!!!! 

I am so sad to read about yet another Oceania outbreak of gastric diagnosis,maybe norovirus.

 

[Mrs f.]

23 hours ago, LHT28 said:

as long as no new cases they will usually resume normal service

Better  safe  than sick

Absolutely.   I'm  glad they are taking precautions.  They originally  thought coe red would be off by tues. Its wed morning early....still code red.....one of our servers said 2 new cases.   I'm  going to ask today.

[ClubSandwich]

16 hours ago, janecambridge said:

I was also told that they prefer passengers to ‘wash their hands over the option of using hand sanitiser.Guests are encouraged to return to their cabins to wash their hands frequently’

 

That is because alcohol-based hand sanitizers do virtually nothing to kill norovirus. They are placed throughout the ship and recommended officially as a "secondary" measure. They also have a staff member spray the hands of passengers with a 99% ethyl alcohol solution before entering the Grand Dining Room and Terrace. I believe these actions do more harm than good.

 

Why reinforce the message about the hand sanitizers when they are not effective? It makes certain people think, "I used the sanitizer, so I'm good to eat, touch my face, shake hands, you name it."

 

What passengers should be thinking is, "I must wash my hands *in my stateroom* before every meal, and then make my way to a dining area without touching literally anything (including me), touching my food only with utensils (no eating with your hands, sorry), otherwise I will be stuck in my stateroom with it 'coming out both ends' for 48 hours."

 

Some measures that will improve your odds of avoiding infection:

 

- Use your elbows to open doors, press elevator buttons, etc.

- Stay completely out of the public bathrooms, always use your stateroom bath.

- Move chairs with your foot, or ask a crew member to help you.

- Carry tissues in your pocket if you must touch something with your hand before touching your face or your food (you have an unlimited supply in your stateroom right below the sink!).

- If you touch *anything* in a public area, do not touch your face or your food until you return to your stateroom to wash your hands with soap and water.

 

Very troubling to hear of new cases.

 

At this point, I think Marina needs to be taken for a refurnish / overhaul before another passenger voyage. Besides Code Red, there's enough reason for this just based on the condition of the ship. The carpet was awful in our stateroom(s). The crown molding was falling apart. There were rusted ceiling panels flapping in the wind on our balcony. There were also gashes all over the corridor paneling / wainscotting throughout the ship. A lot of the furniture and seat cushions were at the end of their life, or needed to be re-upholstered. Etc, etc.

 

Not doing this given both the condition of the ship and the Code Red problem strikes me as symptomatic of a financial problem bad enough that the company is willing to sacrifice its reputation and business from future passengers.

[janecambridge]

. They also have a staff member spray the hands of passengers with a 99% ethyl alcohol solution before entering the Grand Dining Room and Terrace. 

 

This did not happen on our cruise this month.And now what???? 

 

[ORV]

1 hour ago, ClubSandwich said:

 

That is because alcohol-based hand sanitizers do virtually nothing to kill norovirus. They are placed throughout the ship and recommended officially as a "secondary" measure. They also have a staff member spray the hands of passengers with a 99% ethyl alcohol solution before entering the Grand Dining Room and Terrace. I believe these actions do more harm than good.

 

Why reinforce the message about the hand sanitizers when they are not effective? It makes certain people think, "I used the sanitizer, so I'm good to eat, touch my face, shake hands, you name it."

 

What passengers should be thinking is, "I must wash my hands *in my stateroom* before every meal, and then make my way to a dining area without touching literally anything (including me), touching my food only with utensils (no eating with your hands, sorry), otherwise I will be stuck in my stateroom with it 'coming out both ends' for 48 hours."

 

Some measures that will improve your odds of avoiding infection:

 

- Use your elbows to open doors, press elevator buttons, etc.

- Stay completely out of the public bathrooms, always use your stateroom bath.

- Move chairs with your foot, or ask a crew member to help you.

- Carry tissues in your pocket if you must touch something with your hand before touching your face or your food (you have an unlimited supply in your stateroom right below the sink!).

- If you touch *anything* in a public area, do not touch your face or your food until you return to your stateroom to wash your hands with soap and water.

 

Very troubling to hear of new cases.

 

At this point, I think Marina needs to be taken for a refurnish / overhaul before another passenger voyage. Besides Code Red, there's enough reason for this just based on the condition of the ship. The carpet was awful in our stateroom(s). The crown molding was falling apart. There were rusted ceiling panels flapping in the wind on our balcony. There were also gashes all over the corridor paneling / wainscotting throughout the ship. A lot of the furniture and seat cushions were at the end of their life, or needed to be re-upholstered. Etc, etc.

 

Not doing this given both the condition of the ship and the Code Red problem strikes me as symptomatic of a financial problem bad enough that the company is willing to sacrifice its reputation and business from future passengers.

Wow, the ship really has gone to ruin since we were on it a couple of months ago. 
 

Amazing what people can read into things. 

[ClubSandwich]

3 minutes ago, ORV said:

Amazing what people can read into things.

 

I took pictures if you want to see them. It wasn't my imagination.

 

I'm sorry if pointing this out offends you. How you choose spend your time and money when it comes to vacation and travel is up to you, and not a point of judgement for others to make.

[njhorseman]

4 hours ago, ClubSandwich said:

 

Not doing this given both the condition of the ship and the Code Red problem strikes me as symptomatic of a financial problem bad enough that the company is willing to sacrifice its reputation and business from future passengers.

You might want to read the company's financial filings before saying it's symptomatic of a financial problem. In 2018 NCLH, Oceania's parent company,  reported record revenues with record earnings per share of $4.25. Through the first 9 months of 2019 they're on pace to beat those numbers, with EPS through the third quarter of $3.73.

 

Of course earnings have essentially two components, revenues and expenses. What it might be symptomatic of is a lower budget for ship maintenance, which would go toward lowering expenses, thereby  supporting higher profits.

[LHT28]

4 hours ago, ClubSandwich said:

 

I took pictures if you want to see them.

 

 

Yes Please

I am shocked  that it has gotten that bad since our April cruise

 

[ClubSandwich]

6 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

Yes Please

I am shocked  that it has gotten that bad since our April cruise

 

Need to dig through a lot of photos from several devices, but for now, here's the balcony for starters.

[schmerl]

WOW! We have our very first Oceania cruise booked on the Marina this summer.  I hope we don't get this room!

[LHT28]

27 minutes ago, schmerl said:

WOW! We have our very first Oceania cruise booked on the Marina this summer.  I hope we don't get this room!

she will go for refurb in May

 

[schmerl]

Just now, LHT28 said:

she will go for refurb in May

 

 

Don't know how long a refurb takes but we sail July 6. 

[LHT28]

57 minutes ago, ClubSandwich said:

Need to dig through a lot of photos from several devices, but for now, here's the balcony for starters.

 

 

 

Did you report the loose ceiling panel??

[LHT28]

1 minute ago, schmerl said:

 

Don't know how long a refurb takes but we sail July 6. 

LOL

not that long

They will not tear the ship apart  

usually 2 wks

[ClubSandwich]

3 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

 

Did you report the loose ceiling panel??

 

Without getting into too many specifics, we determined it wasn't worth it, not least of which because the extremely hard working, sleep-deprived crew was already overwhelmed with the code red.

 

We did, however, have our toilet serviced 4 times for the fact that pressing the flush button did nothing except make a hiss.

 

I'm glad to hear its headed for a refurb. Marina needs love.

[LHT28]

5 minutes ago, ClubSandwich said:

 

Without getting into too many specifics, we determined it wasn't worth it, not least of which because the extremely hard working, sleep-deprived crew was already overwhelmed with the code red.

 

 

I would not think the maintenance staff are out  washing walls etc

 & Oceania like to know about  such problems

 

I am always amazed that people will post on CC or complain after the fact when they are home but  will not  make the problem known to staff  while onboard 🙄

JMO

[ClubSandwich]

1 minute ago, LHT28 said:

I would not think the maintenance staff are out  washing walls etc

 & Oceania like to know about  such problems

To be perfectly honest, some of our earliest dealings with Oceania left us feeling less than confident that they wanted to know about problems altogether. Our 'butler' actually complained on our behalf about another matter, because, "That is unacceptable and certainly no way to talk to a passenger."

[LHT28]

35 minutes ago, ClubSandwich said:

To be perfectly honest, some of our earliest dealings with Oceania left us feeling less than confident that they wanted to know about problems altogether. Our 'butler' actually complained on our behalf about another matter, because, "That is unacceptable and certainly no way to talk to a passenger."

maybe the butler would  contact someone to fix the panel for you

[ClubSandwich]

The panel had already been 'fixed'.

 

It's hard to see from the photograph, but it had been secured in-place with fasteners at various off-angles, straight through the sheet metal. Most likely they had to fix something above it, and the panel was bent out of shape irreparably while removing it. It was put back as best as they could without redoing the whole ceiling, and perhaps without a replacement panel to work with.

 

It's besides the point anyhow. Take my word for it. Our experience was more complicated than I need to/should disclose online, for my own privacy, but also the privacy and job security of crew members. I'm sharing my experience because I felt both the passengers and crew deserved better on that cruise.

 

As I said, I think there were also other factors at play, which as it turns out, I've been assured were in no way of a financial nature.

 

If it was a matter of priorities, Oceania demonstrated what their priorities were for better and worse. One big priority was keeping people healthy, especially the crew. We absolutely support them in that. As far as we could tell, they did their absolute best, short of telling people from the start what was happening. They didn't do that, and the crew suffered as a result.

 

At that point, telling them to rip out the ceiling for us seems a bit much given where the situation was. From our vantage point, they had too many pots on the stove to start, and then (we have reason to believe) some passengers made matters much, much worse when they knowingly came onboard with what we *think* is norovirus. That's not Oceania's fault. However, the condition of the ship *is* the company's fault. It wasn't important to them, otherwise it would have been fixed correctly the first time.

[edgee]

2 hours ago, ClubSandwich said:

The panel had already been 'fixed'.

 

It's hard to see from the photograph, but it had been secured in-place with fasteners at various off-angles, straight through the sheet metal. Most likely they had to fix something above it, and the panel was bent out of shape irreparably while removing it. It was put back as best as they could without redoing the whole ceiling, and perhaps without a replacement panel to work with.

 

It's besides the point anyhow. Take my word for it. Our experience was more complicated than I need to/should disclose online, for my own privacy, but also the privacy and job security of crew members. I'm sharing my experience because I felt both the passengers and crew deserved better on that cruise.

 

As I said, I think there were also other factors at play, which as it turns out, I've been assured were in no way of a financial nature.

 

If it was a matter of priorities, Oceania demonstrated what their priorities were for better and worse. One big priority was keeping people healthy, especially the crew. We absolutely support them in that. As far as we could tell, they did their absolute best, short of telling people from the start what was happening. They didn't do that, and the crew suffered as a result.

 

At that point, telling them to rip out the ceiling for us seems a bit much given where the situation was. From our vantage point, they had too many pots on the stove to start, and then (we have reason to believe) some passengers made matters much, much worse when they knowingly came onboard with what we *think* is norovirus. That's not Oceania's fault. However, the condition of the ship *is* the company's fault. It wasn't important to them, otherwise it would have been fixed correctly the first time.

You gave a great and helpful explanation for those following this thread. Shame we have so many second guessers on this board.

[njhorseman]

3 hours ago, LHT28 said:

maybe the butler would  contact someone to fix the panel for you

Even better, their concierge. If you are fortunate enough to have a concierge, particularly one who is willing to take the time to help their passengers they can serve as a good conduit to senior management on the ship. I know when we had some issues that no one seemed to care less about we asked our concierge for help and all of a sudden we our complaints were taken seriously rather than be dismissed.

[LHT28]

We had an issue on one cruise & spoke to the GM  ..

it was taken care of

Just saying

[floridatravelersforlife]

On 11/27/2019 at 8:16 AM, ClubSandwich said:

 

That is because alcohol-based hand sanitizers do virtually nothing to kill norovirus. They are placed throughout the ship and recommended officially as a "secondary" measure. They also have a staff member spray the hands of passengers with a 99% ethyl alcohol solution before entering the Grand Dining Room and Terrace. I believe these actions do more harm than good.

 

Why reinforce the message about the hand sanitizers when they are not effective? It makes certain people think, "I used the sanitizer, so I'm good to eat, touch my face, shake hands, you name it."

 

What passengers should be thinking is, "I must wash my hands *in my stateroom* before every meal, and then make my way to a dining area without touching literally anything (including me), touching my food only with utensils (no eating with your hands, sorry), otherwise I will be stuck in my stateroom with it 'coming out both ends' for 48 hours."

 

Some measures that will improve your odds of avoiding infection:

 

- Use your elbows to open doors, press elevator buttons, etc.

- Stay completely out of the public bathrooms, always use your stateroom bath.

- Move chairs with your foot, or ask a crew member to help you.

- Carry tissues in your pocket if you must touch something with your hand before touching your face or your food (you have an unlimited supply in your stateroom right below the sink!).

- If you touch *anything* in a public area, do not touch your face or your food until you return to your stateroom to wash your hands with soap and water.

 

Very troubling to hear of new cases.

 

At this point, I think Marina needs to be taken for a refurnish / overhaul before another passenger voyage. Besides Code Red, there's enough reason for this just based on the condition of the ship. The carpet was awful in our stateroom(s). The crown molding was falling apart. There were rusted ceiling panels flapping in the wind on our balcony. There were also gashes all over the corridor paneling / wainscotting throughout the ship. A lot of the furniture and seat cushions were at the end of their life, or needed to be re-upholstered. Etc, etc.

 

Not doing this given both the condition of the ship and the Code Red problem strikes me as symptomatic of a financial problem bad enough that the company is willing to sacrifice its reputation and business from future passengers.

I would add two more precautions we have used for years and never had an infection.  After handling any menu or table item at the sit down table, wash or sanitize your hands before touching tableware or bread.  Also if there are condiment servers, ketchup bottles, etc either use a kleenex to pick them up and dispense or if it is impractical, then use and wash/sanitize your hands again.   Treat everything as though it has black sticky ink on it.  Extreme but it works.

[RJB]

1 hour ago, floridatravelersforlife said:

I would add two more precautions we have used for years and never had an infection.  After handling any menu or table item at the sit down table, wash or sanitize your hands before touching tableware or bread.  Also if there are condiment servers, ketchup bottles, etc either use a kleenex to pick them up and dispense or if it is impractical, then use and wash/sanitize your hands again.   Treat everything as though it has black sticky ink on it.  Extreme but it works.

No posting on CDC website so it could not be so bad. Hope that is the case.