Warning - Mercury

[poetic license]

With what this is going to cost Celebrity in terms of negative publicity and ill will amongst passengers, they may have been better off cancelling or delaying the current cruise until the ship had been disinfected.

 

But how can you ask people to cruise with you when the current "Celebrity Treatment" means chlorine sprayed on all surfaces?

 

Susan

 

Susan, I agree. But negative publicity is not the only reason. Celebrity should have CANCELLED the March 27 sailing since the problem was not under control, regardless of the cost to them. I say this even as a stockholder, because I am still a believer in RIGHT AND WRONG. It was WRONG of Celebrity to continue to sail MERCURY on this current voyage when it was clear the problem still existed after two previous sailings and couldn't be eradicated then. Far better to have bitten the bullet, cancelled the cruise, refunded ALL airfare, hotel arrangements and issue a priority booking credit for a future cruise plus a hefty discount for the inconvenience and disruption they cause to those who booked it. Far preferable to having guests spend eleven days on a ship waged in germ warfare. I'm sure the guests on the current cruise would have preferred this to having the cruise they are receiving, even though there would have been a lot of grumbling immediately (as there always is.)

 

It is not reasonable or fair to expect passengers to spend ten days breathing, touching and coming into contact with bleach and other heavy cleaning chemicals. Too many regular activities and dining options have been cancelled or severely altered to call this a vacation experience for those who paid for one. Too much to ask of crew who are already stretched very thin each day on a regular sailing.

 

It would be RIGHT of Celebrity to postpone the next cruise if necessary, take the ship out of service for the first two or three or four days of the planned itinerary, take care of the contamination completely and then re-clean the ship to eliminate ALL residues and lingering chemical odors so the next cruise and every subsequent cruise could be fairly called a vacation experience to those who book and pay for a cruise on MERCURY. Passengers could be housed in San Diego hotels and offered per diems and city tours until the day the ship was ready to sail. The itinerary could be changed to accomodate the days remaining. A refund should be issued to reflect the number of days lost when not on ship, and a sizable discount offered to those for a future cruise. Last but not least, an APOLOGY for not acting in a more timely manner and for the inconvenience of passengers.

 

Celebrity is my cruiseline of choice, but they dropped the ball this time in a big way. My apologies for an overly lengthy post. As for the original poster, I think their way of handling their (understandable) disappointment turned outrage is out of whack, but people do less than prudent things when they are angry and feel cheated. It's not an excuse for bad behavior, but I do understand where it is coming from.

 

Cheers~

Nicki

[nu2sea]

It is likely that the steps that the Mercury crew are taking are done on the recommendation of the CDC. From the CDC website:

 

"Investigation Update - March 27, 2006 Celebrity Cruises reported an increased number of cases of gastrointestinal (GI) illness on the cruise ship, Mercury, for the 11 day voyage completed on March 27, 2006, (sailing dates: 3/17/2006-3/27/2006) in San Diego, CA.

On March 21, 2006, Celebrity Cruises contacted CDC’s Vessel Sanitation Program (VSP) staff to report that an elevated number of Mercury passengers and crew were experiencing symptoms that were consistent with acute gastroenteritis and that the higher number of ill passengers and crew was consistent from the previous voyage. The predominant symptoms were diarrhea and vomiting.

 

On March 24, VSP staff boarded the ship in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico to sail for the remainder of the voyage to conduct an environmental and an epidemiological investigation. VSP staff consulted with onboard medical staff, observed cleaning and disinfection procedures, distributed a survey to determine the cause of illness, and made recommendations.

 

The ship’s medical staff reported that at the end of the voyage, 24 of 844 (2.84%) crew were and 107 of 1986 (5.39%) passengers were ill. Stool specimens were collected.

 

The ship will continue increased cleaning and disinfection procedures and provide daily updates to CDC throughout the current voyage (sailing dates: 3/27/2006-4/7/2006). "

This shows a decrease of almost 50% of passenger illness from the week before. Although the rate of crew illness is up. The url is: http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/vsp/surv/GIlist.htm

Scroll down and click on the sailing dates of the Mercury to read the CDC updates.

Susan

BTW, I doubt that God had a whole lot to do with the Norovirus on the Mercury. Hopefully he was too busy elsewhere to participate.:)

 

[elsje]

Susan, I agree. But negative publicity is not the only reason. Celebrity should have CANCELLED the March 27 sailing since the problem was not under control, regardless of the cost to them. I say this even as a stockholder, because I am still a believer in RIGHT AND WRONG. It was WRONG of Celebrity to continue to sail MERCURY on this current voyage when it was clear the problem still existed after two previous sailings and couldn't be eradicated then. Far better to have bitten the bullet, cancelled the cruise, refunded ALL airfare, hotel arrangements and issue a priority booking credit for a future cruise plus a hefty discount for the inconvenience and disruption they cause to those who booked it. Far preferable to having guests spend eleven days on a ship waged in germ warfare. I'm sure the guests on the current cruise would have preferred this to having the cruise they are receiving, even though there would have been a lot of grumbling immediately (as there always is.)

 

It is not reasonable or fair to expect passengers to spend ten days breathing, touching and coming into contact with bleach and other heavy cleaning chemicals. Too many regular activities and dining options have been cancelled or severely altered to call this a vacation experience for those who paid for one. Too much to ask of crew who are already stretched very thin each day on a regular sailing.

 

It would be RIGHT of Celebrity to postpone the next cruise if necessary, take the ship out of service for the first two or three or four days of the planned itinerary, take care of the contamination completely and then re-clean the ship to eliminate ALL residues and lingering chemical odors so the next cruise and every subsequent cruise could be fairly called a vacation experience to those who book and pay for a cruise on MERCURY. Passengers could be housed in San Diego hotels and offered per diems and city tours until the day the ship was ready to sail. The itinerary could be changed to accomodate the days remaining. A refund should be issued to reflect the number of days lost when not on ship, and a sizable discount offered to those for a future cruise. Last but not least, an APOLOGY for not acting in a more timely manner and for the inconvenience of passengers.

 

Celebrity is my cruiseline of choice, but they dropped the ball this time in a big way. My apologies for an overly lengthy post. As for the original poster, I think their way of handling their (understandable) disappointment turned outrage is out of whack, but people do less than prudent things when they are angry and feel cheated. It's not an excuse for bad behavior, but I do understand where it is coming from.

 

Cheers~

Nicki

 

Very well put, Nicki!

Els

[poetic license]

The ship will continue increased cleaning and disinfection procedures and provide daily updates to CDC throughout the current voyage (sailing dates: 3/27/2006-4/7/2006). "

 

This shows a decrease of almost 50% of passenger illness from the week before. Although the rate of crew illness is up.

 

 

It could very well be that crew illness is up due to bleach poisining. Overhandling and inhalation of bleach and chlorine fumes can cause illness as well. I would bet this is the case for crew members, and not norovirus. I am not speculating, but observing.

[zaandam_2]

sorry you had a bad cruise. yes, there is such a thing.

 

 

experiences from years ago really aren't relavent. Things change. Management and crews. Policies. Proceedures.

 

Thanks for posting, griz. you exposed a serious issue.

[May]

I think it's very unfair to blame Celebrity for this problem. I have a feeling that you may be making a big fuss because you are maybe hoping for Celebrity to compensate you in some shape of form???

 

My husband and I did the 11 day Mexican Riviera cruise on the Mercury last November. We have nothing but praise for the way the ship personnel was taking care of everything. This virus appears in different locales and it's not the cruiselines fault. It sure sounds to me that they were doing everyhting in their power to deal with the problem. What we noticed on our cruse was that 50% of the passengers were not using the hand sanitizer dispensers placed at the begining of each food buffet line and many other places. So whose's fault is it then?

[poetic license]

From the CDC website: "Investigation Update - March 27, 2006 Celebrity Cruises reported an increased number of cases of gastrointestinal (GI) illness on the cruise ship, Mercury, for the 11 day voyage completed on March 27, 2006, (sailing dates: 3/17/2006-3/27/2006) in San Diego, CA.

On March 21, 2006, Celebrity Cruises contacted CDC’s Vessel Sanitation Program (VSP) staff to report that an elevated number of Mercury passengers and crew were experiencing symptoms that were consistent with acute gastroenteritis and that the higher number of ill passengers and crew was consistent from the previous voyage. The predominant symptoms were diarrhea and vomiting.

 

On March 24, VSP staff boarded the ship in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico to sail for the remainder of the voyage to conduct an environmental and an epidemiological investigation. VSP staff consulted with onboard medical staff, observed cleaning and disinfection procedures, distributed a survey to determine the cause of illness, and made recommendations.

 

The ship’s medical staff reported that at the end of the voyage, 24 of 844 (2.84%) crew were and 107 of 1986 (5.39%) passengers were ill. Stool specimens were collected.

 

The ship will continue increased cleaning and disinfection procedures and provide daily updates to CDC throughout the current voyage (sailing dates: 3/27/2006-4/7/2006). "

 

I have to disagree with you newmexicoNita. As the above quote from the ongoing CDC report shows, Celebrity knew it had a problem only FOUR DAYS into the March 17 sailing .... a full week before getting back to San Diego to disembark and then reembark. They clearly could have notified the March 27 embarking passengers, and given them a choice whether to sail or not. Those who would choose not to sail should have been given a refund. Those who chose to go anyway would have done so knowing what they were facing on that cruise.

 

Instead, they chose to hold the information, board passengers with the full knowledge there would be procedures occuring on board that could clearly be dangerous for more fragile passengers and those with compromised immune systems. These folks are not a vacation as they thought, but unwittingly on a ship waging aggressive warfare on germs, as well as receiving vastly reduced services and on-ship options for activities. Some may not have any option but to stay in their cabins, due to the high concentrations of bleach in the air and on surfaces. Bleach may kill germs, but it is also a hazard in its own right. Celebrity may not have any legal obligation to compensate passengers per the contract of carriage, but they should have a moral one of doing the right thing by guests.

 

Cheers~

[cruisePRN]

. What we noticed on our cruse was that 50% of the passengers were not using the hand sanitizer dispensers placed at the begining of each food buffet line and many other places. So whose's fault is it then?

 

It could have been the staff spreading the virus, unable to be sure. I was on an RCL cruise when there was a shigella outbreak. Unless you experience this kind of problem you can't imagine how frustrating it is. On my cruise we came back to Port a day early from a four day cruise so the crew could sanitize the ship. We were compensated, no complaint about that part. My complaint was that the cruise refused to inform the passengers about the problem until they announced we are heading back to Los Angeles. For over a day people were wondering what was going on and how serious the situation was. If they had announced the problem people would have washed their hands better and avoided using the handrails on the staircase and done their share to contain the disease. Information is the most thing a person can possess.

[sasset]

Not to disregard the Noro issues, but the bleach, as noted earlier, could be the cause of much of the crew illness. Several years ago my wife, mid 40's and healthy, decided to deep clean the shower tile and grout with bleach. Even though the exhaust fan was on and the bathroom door was open, she had to make a trip to the Emergency Room and spend the night due to respiratory problems brought on by the bleach fumes.

 

Regards

[NanD]

I think it's very unfair to blame Celebrity for this problem. I have a feeling that you may be making a big fuss because you are maybe hoping for Celebrity to compensate you in some shape of form???

 

My husband and I did the 11 day Mexican Riviera cruise on the Mercury last November. We have nothing but praise for the way the ship personnel was taking care of everything. This virus appears in different locales and it's not the cruiselines fault. It sure sounds to me that they were doing everyhting in their power to deal with the problem. What we noticed on our cruse was that 50% of the passengers were not using the hand sanitizer dispensers placed at the begining of each food buffet line and many other places. So whose's fault is it then?[/quote

 

Trust me, using the hand sanitizers on the recent (3/17) Mercury cruise when entering any food service area, returning to the ship, and several other venues was not an option....and a non-option I agreed with. There was always a monitor observing participation. Entering the dining room in the evening, the assistant maitre'd personally squeezed the disinfectant into our palms. If that's not a first, I'd be surprised. I'm sure I'll be corrected if anyone disagrees.

Nan

[Host Anne]

OK folks ~ a couple of things to remember regarding this thread:

 

It is fine to disagree with other posters; it is NOT acceptable to be rude, sarcastic or demeaning in responding to other posters regardless of how you feel about a post.

 

This is a VERY emotional topic, especially for those who have sailed Mercury recently. Posts that are are rude and nasty are going to be removed.

 

And remember....there is a method to report these types of posts. Please hit the yellow triangle found at the right top of each post and it will send an alert to the hosts. Unfortunately, we can be on every thread all the time. Your help in keeping things reasonable and within the community guidelines is greatly appreciated.

 

I appreciate your help.

[jakedoc]

I beg to differ with a few posters who state that Novovirus was an issue with 2 previous sailings on Mercury prior to the 17th sailing. We sailed 02/24-03/06 onboard Mercury. No bleach, no cancelled activities or meals. We were a group of 6 and no mention of a Novovirus outbreak occured. I do know that the 03/06 sailing did have an outbreak. I'm sorry the poster had a bad experience . We had a great time on a great ship with a great crew. Would do it again.

[Bethwte]

Alright, I will be done with the subject after this, but I would like to just add this:

 

When you choose to book a cruise, you are choosing to risk that something like norovirus may happen aboard your ship. It is like choosing to vacation in key west (or going on a cruise for that matter) during hurricane season. It seems like you are taking a risk that a hurricane might happen, and thus, you should try to take it all in stride. Celebrity could have handeled things better, but it is not an ideal situation for them, just as it is not for the passangers. I would rather have them do all they can to stop the spread of the virus (bleach, cancelling certain things, etc), than have a "normal" cruise with everything remaining the same, and have the virus spread around terribly. I know it is annoying and not an ideal situation, but you have to remeber the are risks to every choice you make, and unfortunately for mercury cruisers, the risk did not quite pay off...

[newmexicoNita]

I beg to differ with a few posters who state that Novovirus was an issue with 2 previous sailings on Mercury prior to the 17th sailing. We sailed 02/24-03/06 onboard Mercury. No bleach, no cancelled activities or meals. We were a group of 6 and no mention of a Novovirus outbreak occured. I do know that the 03/06 sailing did have an outbreak. I'm sorry the poster had a bad experience . We had a great time on a great ship with a great crew. Would do it again.

thanks, that was my thoughts a few messages back (quite a few) having the virus show up sometime into the cruise prior to the 17th isn't reason to refund money. Celebrity probably hoped they could control any future problems. I do think it would have been appropriate to notify those boarding the ship, but as for refunding their entire fare that is just going to far in my opinion. Maybe there is something I am not seeing here. NMNita

[cml3]

NMNITA

WHAT I THINK YOU ARE MISSING IS WE (3/17) WERE NOT GIVEN ANY OPTIONS. WE WERE NOT TOLD--BECAUSE WE WENT THROUGH THIS LAST MARCH WE ASKED IF THERE WAS SICKNESS ON THE PREVIOUS CRUISE AND WERE TOLD NO!!!

WE ARE LOYAL CELEBRITY CRUISERS--HOWEVER THIS WAS UNACCEPTABLE.

I AM ALMOST AFRAID TO POST ANYMORE--I CAN SEE SOME PEOPLE CANNOT ACCEPT THAT CELEBRITY ISN'T PERFECT.:confused:

[tarheelmjfan]

Alright, I will be done with the subject after this, but I would like to just add this:

 

When you choose to book a cruise, you are choosing to risk that something like norovirus may happen aboard your ship. It is like choosing to vacation in key west (or going on a cruise for that matter) during hurricane season. It seems like you are taking a risk that a hurricane might happen, and thus, you should try to take it all in stride. Celebrity could have handeled things better, but it is not an ideal situation for them, just as it is not for the passangers. I would rather have them do all they can to stop the spread of the virus (bleach, cancelling certain things, etc), than have a "normal" cruise with everything remaining the same, and have the virus spread around terribly. I know it is annoying and not an ideal situation, but you have to remeber the are risks to every choice you make, and unfortunately for mercury cruisers, the risk did not quite pay off...

 

There's a bit of a difference here. 1st if I know a hurricane is on the horizon, I can cancel my hotel stay. No questions asked, no insurance needed. If I get to Key West, & the hotel has been hit by a hurricane causing my stay to be much less than was expected when booked, I can leave & go elsewhere. There's absolutely no way to accurately compare a land vacation with a cruise.

 

We read so many times about the risks we take when booking a cruise. If it's always that risky, do you think the business will continue to do well? I doubt it. People book vacations expecting to get exactly what they're promised. If the process becomes a game of Russian Roulette, they will soon be looking elsewhere.

[Sky Sweet]

NMNITA

WHAT I THINK YOU ARE MISSING IS WE (3/17) WERE NOT GIVEN ANY OPTIONS. WE WERE NOT TOLD--BECAUSE WE WENT THROUGH THIS LAST MARCH WE ASKED IF THERE WAS SICKNESS ON THE PREVIOUS CRUISE AND WERE TOLD NO!!!

WE ARE LOYAL CELEBRITY CRUISERS--HOWEVER THIS WAS UNACCEPTABLE.

I AM ALMOST AFRAID TO POST ANYMORE--I CAN SEE SOME PEOPLE CANNOT ACCEPT THAT CELEBRITY ISN'T PERFECT.:confused:

 

Cml3, I agree and feel empathy for you, as well as the other passengers who were on that March 17th cruise, because the people on your cruise did not know about the Mercury's problems until it was too late. On the other hand, I feel very differently about the passengers on its current cruise because they were given the option of not boarding the ship, and made the choice to sail on it anyway.

[Bethwte]

There's a bit of a difference here. 1st if I know a hurricane is on the horizon, I can cancel my hotel stay. No questions asked, no insurance needed. If I get to Key West, & the hotel has been hit by a hurricane causing my stay to be much less than was expected when booked, I can leave & go elsewhere. There's absolutely no way to accurately compare a land vacation with a cruise.

 

We read so many times about the risks we take when booking a cruise. If it's always that risky, do you think the business will continue to do well? I doubt it. People book vacations expecting to get exactly what they're promised. If the process becomes a game of Russian Roulette, they will soon be looking elsewhere.

 

Agree on the land bit... what about when cruising during hurricane season (which I did mention in my post). MANY people do this. And then they get pissy when a hurricane hits and they cannot go to a certain port. They are not getting what they were promised when they booked, but most people here seem to agree that there is really very little validity to that type of complaint. Thats just what I was getting at...

[cruznduo]

I have just finished reading through the postings and Nicki's is the exact solution my husband and I discussed at dinner tonight. We both feel that Celebrity needs to do whatever it takes to make sure the ship is both safe and pleasurable for all that have paid their hard-earned money and put their trust in this company. What don't they get? All of this negative publicity is going to cost them much more in the long run. As much of an inconvenience as it will be to passengers, a couple of days in San Diego (paid for by Celebrity) would be preferable to a miserable time on a ship not ready to host them, staffed by an OVERWORKED GROUP OF PEOPLE WHO DESERVE A BREAK! Bring in an outside company TRAINED to completely clean this ship up and get it back to what passengers have paid for and deserve! Does anyone from the Celebrity's corporate offices read this forum? One can only hope.

 

Incidentally we are booked for the April 28th sailing and we do live in the San Diego area. However, if we were flying to Florida, as we have for many cruises, I would be more than willing to be a tourist in the area for a few days (as described by Nicki in her posting and recieve fair compensation) rather than risk sickness and be on a ship that quite frankly does not "exceed expectations." Linda

[grizzair]

Thank you!!

[grizzair]

God bless you!

[grizzair]

We had a fabulous time at every port. The sooner we got off the ship the better. We went on this trip for the ports, not the cruise, so the time spent with my fiance in Mexico was almost worth it.

[grizzair]

Couldn't agree with you more.

[grizzair]

A final word from the OP. This will be my final post unless someone has a specific question. I wish people would read between the lines and see that I have no problem with their being a virus onboard. It is only in the way Celebrity has dealt, or shall I say, has NOT dealt with this issue. We paid for a cruise, not half of one, with cancelled activities, limited staff, delayed port visits, early returns, oblivious attitude from all staff when questioned about the circumstances, and especially not for dripping bleach EVERYWHERE. In response to your questions: My fiance and I had a fabulous time in every port, met some wonderful people, and that's about it. Before our cruise we spent hours researching cruise lines and based on what we heard and read we chose Celebrity for the food, the service, and for a 'luxurious experience'. We both found that Celebrity was severely lacking in all 3 of these areas and is being very misrepresented in their high profile advertising campaign. We couldn't eat most of the food, especially in the Manhattan Dining Room. It was bland, unseasoned, and of poor quality. The salads, especially, were wilted, brown, and tasteless. I understand it's hard to prepare food for 1800 people but Holland can do it and isn't that what we all pay for? I have to mention here that the omelettes and the sherbert and ice creams were wonderful. The service onboard was anything but what one should expect from any quality hotel, resort, or cruise line. Noone, even our stateroom attendant, ever addressed us by our names, the few faces that weren't covered up by masks rarely smiled, and the guest relations desk people, especially when we called them from our stateroom were very rude, uninformed, and curt. Yes, a couple of crew stood out as exceptional: Keon Meyers (representing Jamaica) who ran the omelette station and hamburgers poolside, our waiter's assistant from Los Angeles via Mexico, and Marcos who worked from sun-up to sundown at the Pizza and Pasta/morning Waffles Station (representing Honduras). Also Mathew of the activities staff was always fun and helpful. Unfortunately, Celebrity's poor service seems to continue off the ship as we have still not received one fax, email, or telephone response to our numerous inquiries to several corporate people. Does Celebrity not care about its clients and their experiences once our checks have been cashed and our money is in their bank account? It seems not. We just felt like cattle to them. Good luck to you all. Consider yourselves warned. Charter a Swan to Turkey!

[tarheelmjfan]

Agree on the land bit... what about when cruising during hurricane season (which I did mention in my post). MANY people do this. And then they get pissy when a hurricane hits and they cannot go to a certain port. They are not getting what they were promised when they booked, but most people here seem to agree that there is really very little validity to that type of complaint. Thats just what I was getting at...

 

I feel the same way, when people complain about missing a port for a hurricane. Then again, we go on cruises for the entire experience, not mostly for the ports. My opinion may be biased, because of that. :o Celebrity or any other cruise line has no control over the weather. I agree, that shouldn't be that difficult to comprehend. The only time I've read on here that IMO people had a reason to complain was when 2 cruise lines would go the the port, but the 3rd would omit it blaming the weather. Of course, if those 2 lines were able to dock & the 3rd would have to tender that's understandable.

 

IMHO, the current situation is much different. This has been going on for almost a month. Celebrity should have control of the situation by now. I'm with those who say, I'd rather spend a couple days in San Diego while they bring in someone to properly clean the ship. I would hope that we could then expect 100% of the advertised amenities. This would definitely be preferable to spending 10 days on a ship that only offered a portion of what they're supposed to, & having to constantly worry that you were going to ruin your clothing. Actually, this should have been done a couple sailings ago, which was under Celebrity's control.

 

For those who feel the passengers on the current sailing asked for the sutuation, would you think it a wise investment of your money to spend over $1000 to get to the port, just to tell them, "Thank you so much for allowing me to cancel this cruise that you know will not be anything like what you advertise?" We are already spending time precruise in San Diego. Yes, I would be fine with adding a couple more days, so the ship could be properly cleaned. However, I don't want to spend 12 nights in San Diego to keep from losing my other investment. If Celebrity allowed you to cancel prior to leaving home, that would be a proper & acceptable resolution. It's not like they haven't known the situation exists, until the day the ship was to sail.