Norovirus on Island Princess again

[brute]

June 6, 2004Island Princess Halts Cruise Due to Noro OutbreakIn the first major Norovirus outbreak of the Alaska cruise season, Princess Cruises' Island Princess last week experienced such high numbers of ill passengers and crew -- that it ended the voyage a day early.

 

Medical staff on the ship, which left Vancouver last Saturday for a weeklong trip to Whittier, reported that within three days of boarding 375 passengers (19 percent of a total 2,018) and 49 crew (5 percent of a total 896) were affected by the illness. Princess' onboard staff went into what is for these days "the usual" mode-of-operation for any outbreak, offering medical services to those who were ill (and asking them to remain in their cabins for the 24 - 48 hours it takes for Norovirus to pass on through). The ship also underwent an intense cleaning protocol. Representatives of the Centers for Disease Control boarded Island Princess in Skagway last Wednesday and conducted tests which, indeed, determined that the outbreak was that of Norovirus. And Princess quickly transferred extra medical staff from Regal Princess, which was sailing nearby, to help out.

 

By Thursday, only 20 new cases were reported but Princess decided to halt the cruise early anyway, in order to buy more time for an intensive ship-wide sanitation. As a result, Island Princess, which was to spend the day at College Fjord, made an abbreviated visit before heading to Whittier; the ship arrived there at 5 p.m. on Friday and passengers disembarked.

 

Princess provided travel service for passengers, offering hotel accommodations and rescheduling flights. The cruise line also offered a refund for the missed cruising day -- and a $150 per person credit towards a future cruise. Folks onboard who were ill were permitted to remain on the ship overnight.

 

Island Princess departed, as planned, Saturday for the trip south through the Inside Passage to Vancouver.

 

How can you prevent catching Norovirus? Read Norovirus: What You Need to Know.

[Coral]

This is a June 6th report (a month old), right?

[LARGIN]

Kinda late news don't ya think.... And why the cross posts ???

[KAJOKG]

It is old news, but it would be wise for everyone to read the link provided on Brute's post. Lots of good advice for prevention on that link.

[joanne1]

Just to put everyone's mind at easy (even though this is old news) - especially those going in the next few weeks - there have been no cases reported in the last couple of weeks. My daughter is a dancer on the ship (and will be home in a week for a break:D before heading to another ship) and everything is back to normal !! Of course I always take extra precautions about this sort of thing in any public space (ships, planes, a theatre, etc.) - wash your hands lots, but don't go crazy - it will all be fine.

[JeannetteC]

There are plenty of new cases. Obviously, Princess and CDC don't want to make a deal out of a few new ones. I just got back from the Coral Princess. The staff handed out anti-bacterial wipes on boarding and there was disinfectant to use before entering the buffet. My husband and I were very careful but we still caught the norovirus on the last day of the cruise. The doctor and nurse who examined us told us they were up all night with passengers and they were beeped twice during their 20 minutes with us to attend to newly ill passengers. This is a common virus and not that bad. The symptoms resolve in 48 hours and it's 72 hours before you feel good again. We lost two days in Vancouver at the end of our cruise. Just be careful, wash your hands a lot and carry disinfectant lotion in your purse even at dinner. I didn't take this last step and it might have saved us.