GI outbreak on the Sirena

[AmateurGO]

We have a month before we get on Sirena in Southampton, Apr. 22 so I certainly hope this is well cleared up by then!  🤞 (fingers crossed)

[Mrose11]

We are also getting on the Sirena in Southhampton on the 22nd so I have been following the comments 

I guess we can only hope for the best and try to stay healthy on the ship!!

[avw]

On 3/16/2024 at 6:56 PM, clo said:

What is the substitute for a cloth towel???

Paper towels

[snoopy2001]

On 3/20/2024 at 7:30 AM, golfer4798 said:

I just got off the Sirena PC cruise on 3/17.  Home late that night.  Still struggling with diarrhea.  Finally went to ER yesterday.  Has anyone else returned home from that cruise and continues to experience GI or other issues??  I ate ONLY on the ship.  I suspected lingering issues from what ship doctor said was AG virus, a gastro virus.  But my doctor said this is too long for a virus, as I am a healthy person.  Testing now for food borne bacteria.

Hi Golfer4798,  Sorry to hear about your extended illness. Can you please tell us your doctor's final verdict?  We board the Sirena soon for our first Oceania cruise, and this is very concerning. You can reach me at shop snoopy at gmail dot com  (eliminate the spaces, change at to @ and dot to .)  Wishing you speed recovery after you get a proper diagnosis!

[golfer4798]

On the mend. Never ate off of ship. Our 2nd Oceania. Mega antibiotics in ER seems to have gotten whatever it was. We both got sick. Guess cruising has its risks. We have taken over 40 on many lines & this was a first. Besides illness, we were disappointed with ship. Clearly showing it's age. We like smaller ships but Sirena needs a refresh. Hope u have a great trip.

[1985rz1]

1 hour ago, golfer4798 said:

On the mend. Never ate off of ship. Our 2nd Oceania. Mega antibiotics in ER seems to have gotten whatever it was. We both got sick. Guess cruising has its risks. We have taken over 40 on many lines & this was a first. Besides illness, we were disappointed with ship. Clearly showing it's age. We like smaller ships but Sirena needs a refresh. Hope u have a great trip.

If antibiotics seem to have addressed the issue, then it was not a virus.  So, I wonder what the source was.

[CurlerRob]

17 minutes ago, 1985rz1 said:

If antibiotics seem to have addressed the issue, then it was not a virus.  So, I wonder what the source was.

 

E. coli or C. difficile are possibilities. Both are highly transmissible, cause severe bowel issues and generally respond to high-dose antibiotics (not a course of treatment that you want to experience, as it can cause issues down the road).

 

Nothing on the CDC VSP site at present for Sirena ( https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/vsp/surv/gilist.htm ), but that may be due to its itinerary, which I don't have at hand. 🍺🥌

Edited March 24 by CurlerRob
Addendum

[ToxM]

I have nothing to add except if they are saying GI issues on board it’s almost certainly Noro despite what they say - if they don’t call it Noro they don’t have to declare it….

 

I was on a Regent cruise in Jan and the previous two cruises (at least; possibly more) on our ship had issues with Noro, we were on full Code Red for the duration of our trip (14 days). I think once it is embedded onboard it is difficult to get rid of. I caught it, it wasn’t pleasant. At the height over 80/520 passengers had it. I believe it took two more cruises post our cruise for it to come out of Code Red.

 

Then I managed to get Covid which I probably caught onboard as I was strongly positive within 3 days of disembarkation.

 

The whole experience (compounded by Regent offering a terrible product generally on that cruise) has put us off cruising at least for a few years. 

 

 

Edited March 25 by ToxM

[CurlerRob]

3 hours ago, ToxM said:

I have nothing to add except if they are saying GI issues on board it’s almost certainly Noro despite what they say - if they don’t call it Noro they don’t have to declare it….

 

While not all cruises are required to report to the US CDC VSP, when they do, they must report all GI issues. E. coli is the second-most common, but others also show up. Have a look at the link for prior years and you'll see that it's not only Noro that must be reported through this channel. 🍺🥌

 

https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/vsp/surv/gilist.htm 

[Scots Al]

Well - the saga of Sirena ex Miami to Panama City of 7th March is fascinating. We understand the ship sailed late from Miami - however lateness not explained! We understood the call to Costa Maya was cancelled due to the late sailing from Miami ( or the initial outbreak of GI prevented the call going ahead?!?) No surprises the number of comments regarding “ lack of transparency”..!

[osandomir]

Anyone on the SIRENA right now can comment on the GI/Noro situation on board? We’re sailing from Southampton on April 22. Hopefully, the ship has been cleared of the virus by now.

[AmateurGO]

Since we are on that same sailing, I'd be very interested also!

[PhD-iva]

I’m on the 10 August Oslo embarkation…

[alcpa1]

We were on Sirena March 17 from Panama City to Miami.

We were requested to board late via an email on the 16th.

The ship went through a required cleaning with several venues closed for two days.

We never heard of any health issues for the entirity of the cruise.

If the ship left late from Miami it could have been a Coast Guard inspection. There were Coast Guard officials in the terminal when we disembarked.

 

[AmateurGO]

Thanks alcpa1....  sounds like they probably have the issue resolved and cleaned up.