Just Back - Norovirus Outbreak On Caribbean Princess - 4/1-4/8

[kmtoner]

Just got home a few hours ago from our week on the CB. I will upload some more detailed reviews tomorrow, but I wanted to make some quick comments right away about an outbreak of norovirus on this week's cruise. Several hundred passengers became sick from the virus and had fairly uncomfortable digestive problems and cabin confinement. Captain Kent and the crew never revealed the precise number of stricken passengers, but my guess is that it involved more than 200 based only from my counts of the silver mylar tape placed over the grates of the cabin doors where stricken passengers were confined.

 

After the outbreak hit, the Captain issued a warning on the P.A., the hand sanitizer stations doubled, passengers were no longer able to serve themselves in any buffet, and crews began spraying public areas and furniture with santizer. Our 15-year old became sick around 3am on Friday, April 6. He threw up several times in his cabin and in the hallway. We called the 911 and medical emergency numbers and got no response. We called the concierge number, "O", and the cabin steward, but no one answered. So, we covered the mess as best we could with Princess Patters, paper towels, and a norovirus warning sheet to try to help other passengers avoid contamination.

 

At 7 am, the crew noticed the mess themselves and quickly sent what they called a "hit squad" to our son's inside cabin. They sealed the cabin, took his clothes and removed the bed linens from the one bunk for decontamination. At 11am, the ship's nurse showed up with a few days' supply of Cipro and preprinted instructions about what our son could order from room service for the next two days. The nurse did not take a medical history and never asked us or our son about any allergies. Our son was confined to his cabin until 3am this morning. He was pretty grumpy about those rules as he missed a day at sea and the day at Princess Cays. Nevertheless, in the car ride home from the airport, he told us that he really had a great time on the cruise because of all the terrific teenage friends he made this past week.

 

In several respects, I was impressed with how Princess handled this big problem and in several respects I thought they dropped the ball. Clearly Princess knew it had a big problem and pulled out the stops to spray down the handrails, deck furniture, passengers, etc. with sanitizers. I have no idea about how effective those sprays are against a virus. Princess was also smart to isolate infected folks, even though I know they were very disappointed to have two days of confinement and 2 more days of prohibition from all restaurants. And, Princess did a good job of having a trained hit squad tend to clearning our son's cabin, rather than the assigned cabin steward. On the other hand, I was not dazzled by the medical staff. Perhaps they were overwhelmed. We were also told that our son's clothes would be laundered for free, yet charges showed up on the final bill we received early this morning. I stood in line before disembarkation and was repaid in cash. Princess, however, refused to refund the Princess Cays cabana rental we did not use because our son was sick. Princess also required our son to order exclusively from a "light meals" room service menu, yet telephone hold times were more than 40 minutes and food wasn't delivered for 90 minutes. We ended up serving him ourselves by carrying items down 4 decks from the Horizon Court buffet. He never did see the ship's doctor, but he did recuperate quickly, as did two other passengers in nearby cabins who got an antibiotic shot from the ship's nurse.

 

The norovirus issue is a big problem for the cruise industry. I sympathize and understand how challenging this is for a ship at sea with 5,000 people onboard. Nevertheless, the virus is nasty enough and common enough on cruises that I expect we will likely opt for resort hotels or condos in the future. If you do cruise, please take the hand sanitizer solution seriously, try to get decent amounts of rest, hydration, and nutrition, and be sensitive to what you touch in public areas. The rest of our family followed these rules and survived without illness.

[tc2828]

Welcomes back! Thanks so much for the report, we will be sailing on CB next month for 14 days so this information is really helpful. Really don't want to get sick on the ship. Glad your son is feeling much better now. :) :)

[chasetf]

Sounds like Princess jumped right on it. Glad to hear your son has recovered> Some months back a CC'er posted something similiar about his personal experiences of becoming sick and the same types of pecautions and sanitizing actions you described.

 

One thing he mentioned was the reason the have a separate "Noro" crew come in and clean is because if your normal cabin steward did, then they would just spread the "contamination" to the other cabins they clean.

[LA_FadeAway]

Thanks for the report. I'm a little confused as to why they would administer Cipro or "antibiotic shots" for a virus?! That just makes no sense to me at all. I've heard there is a shot that can help with the symptoms, but this is the first I've heard of them using antibiotics.

[cecilterwiliger]

Nevertheless, the virus is nasty enough and common enough on cruises that I expect we will likely opt for resort hotels or condos in the future.

 

Sorry to hear of your ordeal, but you people can and DO get it on land, if not more often than at sea. It just gets more attention on a cruise ship because you notice all of the cases in one place. When it spreads other places, people go in different directions and get sick and it isn't as obvious. When it hits a cruise ship, more often than not, someone has brought it on board. How else would it get there? You won't avoid it in condos or hotels. One can only take precautions and hope for the best.

[marinearchit]

You will find that norovirus is just as common on land, if not even more common, then it is on ships. Unlike ships....resorts, hotels, etc. do not have to report an oubreak.

 

Well glad you guys are feeling better.

How was the cruise otherwise? I cruised the CB over Thanksgiving and we loved it so much we are going back as soon as possible.

[kmtoner]

Thanks for the report. I'm a little confused as to why they would administer Cipro or "antibiotic shots" for a virus?! That just makes no sense to me at all. I've heard there is a shot that can help with the symptoms, but this is the first I've heard of them using antibiotics.

 

While my son received "ciproxin" tablets (a trade name for Bayer's wide spectrum antibiotic, ciprofoxacin), I confess I don't know what was in the shot administered to the father in the balcony cabin next to ours. It is entirely possible it was a Vitamin B12 or some other item to help him with his symptoms. He and my son both reported they were extremely sleepy after these meds and they felt much better when they woke up.

[Clarkk W Griswald]

The shot was probably phenergan, given to alleviate nausea and vomiting, and it does make you sleepy.

[lindasuej]

My sister and her family were also on this cruise. She said they also asked everyone not to use the public restrooms. They wanted you to go back to your cabin if you needed to use the restroom. They were hoping that would help stop the spread. She and her family (kids and grandkids) all had a wonderful time. She said the only downer was it was over..

Linda

[CRLess]

I was on this same cruise and disagree with the OP as to the extent of the "outbreak". The virus began to emerge on Wednesday with 10 cases reported. By Thursday evening, the number had increased to 60 confirmed cases. Because of this jump, the ship went to "Code Red". My daughter was complaning that she felt like she was going to throw up in Wed night, and eventually did. The doctor came to the cabin a few hours later. Because my daughter was sound asleep and only threw up once and showed no other signs of the virus, she was not diagnosed with Noro. The doctor called me at 7:30 AM Thursday to make sure there was no other instances and released her to continue enjoying the cruise. The numbers I quoted above were direct from the doctor's mouth. They went to "Code Red" due to the rapid increase in the number of cases from Wed to Thursday. The last I heard was that the total number of cases never exceeded 100 people, due in large part to the Noro procedures that were put into place Wed night. My daughter's room did get taped over the vents, but the tape was removed within hours. The tape is a precaution they use if you complain of any symptoms, whether you get the virus or not.

 

I, too, will post a review of the week when I get a few spare minutes.

[MiBoater]

You can pick up the norovirus at a grocery story or at church too. ANYWHERE.

 

I was impressed with Princess and the way that they handled the anti-bacterial lotion available prior to entering the dining room, ESPECIALLY for my kids who don't wash their hands as much as I do.

 

I noticed the smell of bleach in our cabin bathroom every day. I appreciated that too.

 

Everybody just has to WASH THEIR HANDS OFTEN.

[kmtoner]

You will find that norovirus is just as common on land, if not even more common, then it is on ships. Unlike ships....resorts, hotels, etc. do not have to report an oubreak.

 

Well glad you guys are feeling better.

How was the cruise otherwise? I cruised the CB over Thanksgiving and we loved it so much we are going back as soon as possible.

 

The cruise was very good. Weather was great. Service was good. Ship was very pretty and we thought this eastern caribbean itinerary was good fun. This was our fourth cruise, third on Princess. Here are some other review points:

 

1. We ate in the formal dining room only on Friday night to make sure we weren't missing something. We found the Cafe Caribe buffets, Sabatini's, and Sterlings to be better. The food was consistent at all locations. Cafe Caribe lent itself better to family dining for us, because the kids get impatient with multi-course dinners. When my wife and I were in the mood for a long dinner, the specialty restaurants delivered a little better product IMHO. In all cases, the service was pretty good though slower than most nice restaurants.

 

2. MUTS was great and the main reason we chose the ship. Really enjoyed The Queen, Happy Feet, Finding Neverland, and a few others. Action movies were better than drama, because the MUTS sound system muddies the dialogue. (A couple next to me walked out of Dreamgirls because they just couldn't understand what the actors were saying when not singing.) There were one or two PG-13 movies (e.g., My Super Ex-Girlfriend) that had some racy dialogue and I was surprised they were playing at noon when so many younger kids were using the pool. My kids also grumbled that there were really only two very crowded pools for them to use, since the aft childrens pool was really a shallow kiddie pool.

 

3. The two shore ex programs we used were excellent. My wife and 10 year old took the kayak/snorkel trip in St. Thomas and raved about it. Our 15 year old was in New Wave SCUBA. He completed course and pool work before we left, so the cruise served as his open water dive requirements. Instructor Steve was terrific. I was able to dive on the same boat in St. Thomas and see first hand how Steve works with students of all ages. He's excellent. All of the dives were better than expected. I still would recommend western caribbean itinerary for experienced divers, but this trip was great for newbies.

 

4. Our 15 year old made great friends during the week. He met them through the New Waves class. Our 10 year old son did not enjoy the kids club facilities or meet other kids to hang out there. We had a similar experience on Royal Caribbean's Radiance two years ago. I think it depends more on the kids than the qualitiy of the facilities or the youth programs.

 

5. I recommend visiting Passenger Services by midweek and getting a printout of your cabin charges. We had several errors and were able to get a couple of them corrected. In some cases Passenger Services directed me to the Tour Desk and the Tour Desk sent me to Passenger Services. Because of the lines and because of the hours of the Tour Desk this made me a bit grumpy. Still, it is a good idea to look at the bill and remind yourself what you're spending to avoid some of the sticker shock and extremely long line on the last day of the cruise.

 

6. Entertainment was good. Better than some of our prior cruises, but not as good as another. We like comedian Steve Morris quite a bit. I very much enjoyed the cooking demonstration, though the galley tour was cancelled due to norovirus. I thought Bert Stratton was ok, but a bit over the top for my tastes. I walked out on the hypnotist, but my wife and 10-year old stayed and enjoyed his show. There was a terrific steel drum player (Alpheus?) and a good band that played on the pool deck. Trivia was fun. I avoided the casino like the plague, but others had great luck there. I was impressed that there were several $5 blackjack tables beckoning low rollers like myself, but smokey casinos are not my idea of fun these days. My kids liked the arcade.

 

7. I had a great hot stone massage. It wasn't cheap. I dropped $170, with tip, for 50 minutes. But the masseuse was excellent. My wife enjoyed a spa night for gals. It was a $69 special. She dropped another $50 on beauty products they were promoting. I did not receive much of a hard sell for products following my massage. The gym was excellent. I really enjoyed all the cardio equipment. Despite the full ship, it was always easy for me to find ellipticals or treadmills. Weight machines were very crowded. I showed up for a stretch and relax class on Friday morning, but the instructor never showed. I'm pretty sure I gained weight despite never using the elevators and putting in miles of wonderful walking on the Promenade deck pretty much every day. It takes more stamina than I have to work off the excellent food choices and bar services.

 

8. All of the bars and lounges were great. Poolside and MUTS drink services were great. I was dazzled that I could get a shot of Johnnie Walker Blue for just $10. Beers struck me as overpriced, but mixed drinks were terrific throughout the ship.

 

9. We enjoyed our balcony cabin. The balcony was comfortable. We were in Baja 219, and our boys took an interior cabin across the hall. We liked the queen bed and found that if one of us tossed or turned, it didn't disturb the other. I thought the springs were a bit lumpy on my side, but I still slept well. No a/c problems. Bathroom was fine. The drain on our sink was stuck closed one day, but our steward fixed it for us in the blink of an eye. I did not like having to fill out paperwork each day to get fruit in the cabin. I also didn't like having to remind the steward several times throughout the week to refill our ice bucket whenever he cleaned the cabin. The fridge was very handy to keep water bottles cool. I just refilled a couple of big ones using the bathroom sink and saved some bucks.

 

10. Embarkation was swift. We were transferred from FLL to the terminal in less than an hour. We stood in a long line outside for 20 minutes until 12 pm when the registration process began. Once it started, it raced along. Disembarkation was also very swift. There was confusion over our transfer to MIA for our flight home. I asked at Passenger Services and the Tour Desk for a voucher ticket for our transfer home. I was told that none was needed and that all they needed to do was switch the gold luggage tags we received for silver tags. That got us off the ship alright, but the transfer bus had no manifest and told us we needed a voucher ticket (as I had expected). Fortunately, we were able to sweet talk our way onto the bus and we were able to check our bags with Northwest many hours before our flight left. So, the disembarkation and trip home ended without any hitches.

 

One final tip. There are many terrific liquor sales on the ship and in the ports. In St. Thomas, I learned they have special rules, so I was able to buy 4 liters for myself for a fraction of what it would cost back home. The bottles were well packed and delivered to my cabin on the last day of the cruise, just as promised. What I forgot was the TSA rule about taking liquids on US flights. I had to wedge the bottles into a suitcase, pack it with clothes at the airport, and check it through to our final destination. Fortunately the bottles were unbroken. Had I remembered that I couldn't carry the booze as hand luggage, I'm not sure I would have bought it and if I did, I would have packed things a bit better before putting the suitcases out in the hall on Friday night.

 

Princess delivers a great product and overall we were not disappointed with our vacation experience.

[dakodacruiser]

[ Our 15-year old became sick around 3am on Friday, April 6. He threw up several times in his cabin and in the hallway. We called the 911 and medical emergency numbers and got no response. We called the concierge number, "O", and the cabin steward, but no one answered. So, we covered the mess as best we could with Princess Patters, paper towels, and a norovirus warning sheet to try to help other passengers avoid contamination.

 

It seems to me that here is where the ball was really dropped. Ho many pax had th pass by and breath the germs from the unclened and known virus carrier. That should have been taken care of immediatly. Also your son really should have been seen by the ships Doctor not just the nurse and NEVER have been given any Rx without a Doctors consult And a medical history. That could have been very dangerous.

[dforeigner]

[ Our 15-year old became sick around 3am on Friday, April 6. He threw up several times in his cabin and in the hallway. We called the 911 and medical emergency numbers and got no response. We called the concierge number, "O", and the cabin steward, but no one answered. So, we covered the mess as best we could with Princess Patters, paper towels, and a norovirus warning sheet to try to help other passengers avoid contamination.

 

It seems to me that here is where the ball was really dropped. Ho many pax had th pass by and breath the germs from the unclened and known virus carrier. That should have been taken care of immediatly. Also your son really should have been seen by the ships Doctor not just the nurse and NEVER have been given any Rx without a Doctors consult And a medical history. That could have been very dangerous.

 

 

This is not an airborne type virus. One would actually have to touch the emesis with their hands and then place their contaminated hands inside their mouth. Or touch a rail, the next person touches the rail and puts their hand inside their mouth.

[spongerob]

Thanks very much for your lengthy comments. Norovirus gets more attention when it hits on a cruise ship, but is the second most-common illness in the US, following the common cold. You can get it anywhere. And no matter where you get it, it stinks.

[dakodacruiser]

This is not an airborne type virus. One would actually have to touch the emesis with their hands and then place their contaminated hands inside their mouth. Or touch a rail, the next person touches the rail and puts their hand inside their mouth.

 

 

So it still shouldn't get cleaned up as soon as possible? What about stepping into it and then traipsing it all around. Surly, just becuse something is covered, dosn't mean that someone won't accidently walk right into the mess.

[Coral]

Nevertheless, the virus is nasty enough and common enough on cruises that I expect we will likely opt for resort hotels or condos in the future. If you do cruise, please take the hand sanitizer solution seriously, try to get decent amounts of rest, hydration, and nutrition, and be sensitive to what you touch in public areas. The rest of our family followed these rules and survived without illness.

 

Thanks for your report. I was on a sailing a few years ago with 6% of the people ill.

 

As someone else stated, norovirus is extremely common on land vacations also (probably more common). They just don't receive the press that the ships do. I also don't believe they are required to report their illnesses to to the CDC like ships are. I work in schools and have often heard that "that school has 20% of their people sick with the flu" - many times, this is norovirus - they just don't call it that.

[willysgrandma]

While this can happen on a cruise ship, it happens on land as well - there was a recent outbreak at a college and it's been known to happen occaisionally in areas where conventions are held.

 

Anytime I have been on a cruise, I am stunned by the number of people who walk right by the sanitizer stations without ever using them, especially in the dining areas and buffets.

 

I've heard the excuse "I use it when I sit at the table". But if you've been in the buffet, you've already handled the utensils and spread your germs before you sit at the table and decide to sanitize.

 

It is a mystery to me why so many people don't bother with the sanitizers.

[Clarkk W Griswald]

Our 15-year old became sick around 3am on Friday, April 6. He threw up several times in his cabin and in the hallway. We called the 911 and medical emergency numbers and got no response. We called the concierge number, "O", and the cabin steward, but no one answered. So, we covered the mess as best we could with Princess Patters, paper towels, and a norovirus warning sheet to try to help other passengers avoid contamination.

 

At 7 am, the crew noticed the mess themselves and quickly sent what they called a "hit squad" to our son's inside cabin

 

Even though noro isn't an airborne virus (as someone stated) this is unacceptable. This kid's puke was left in the hallway for 4 hours!! That is just down right disgusting. I'm sure someone could have located a crew member somewhere, they don't leave the ship at night.

[dforeigner]

Even though noro isn't an airborne virus (as someone stated) this is unacceptable. This kid's puke was left in the hallway for 4 hours!! That is just down right disgusting. I'm sure someone could have located a crew member somewhere, they don't leave the ship at night.

 

Specially when the instructions clearly state that if you have an emergency, dial 911. But the OP did not get an answer.

[jlp20]

.......I'm a little confused as to why they would administer Cipro or "antibiotic shots" for a virus?! That just makes no sense to me at all. I've heard there is a shot that can help with the symptoms, but this is the first I've heard of them using antibiotics.......

 

This has been done for decades. Doctor I don’t feel good, give me anything. The doctor shovels out antibiotics knowing it will do no good. The patient is happy because they have a pill. Bottom line is their body will not respond to that antibiotic in the future when it is really needed.

 

 

 

 

.....It seems to me that here is where the ball was really dropped. Ho many pax had th pass by and breath the germs from the unclened and known virus carrier. That should have been taken care of immediately......That could have been very dangerous........So it still shouldn't get cleaned up as soon as possible? What about stepping into it and then traipsing it all around. Surly, just becuse something is covered, dosn't mean that someone won't accidently walk right into the mess……Even though noro isn't an airborne virus (as someone stated) this is unacceptable. This kid's puke was left in the hallway for 4 hours!! That is just down right disgusting. I'm sure someone could have located a crew member somewhere, they don't leave the ship at night.

 

Try reading the OP again. This was in the middle of the night when it happened. They attempted to call but the crew was stretched thin. You do know that a ship has to operate 24 hours a day. The OP admits they never contacted anyone about the mess. How is anyone from the ship supposed to respond to something they have no knowledge about? By the way, if you have spell check, use it.

[Vanilla]

Looks like you could use spell check also!!!!

[Solara]

Also on our last cruise it was suggested that nobody shake hands. My husband always comments as to why they have the meet and greet with the captain and the entire ship shakes hands, can spread so easily that way.

[MaryPoppinz]

My guess is that the Cipro is being used to cover other bacterial diarrheal or GI illness (salmonella, E Coli), in case the presumptive diagnosis of Norovirus is wrong...

[kmtoner]

Try reading the OP again. This was in the middle of the night when it happened. They attempted to call but the crew was stretched thin. You do know that a ship has to operate 24 hours a day. The OP admits they never contacted anyone about the mess. How is anyone from the ship supposed to respond to something they have no knowledge about?...

You are quite correct. We tried every telephone number we could think of several times for 20-30 minutes or so. We searched the hallways for crew members, but at 3am no one answered and we didn't know what else to do. Glad I wasn't having a heart attack!

 

When the norovirus hit squad arrived at approx 7am, a crew member got the particulars from my wife, and then went straight into our balcony cabin to use the phone and alert the medical staff. He got an answer, said the doctor would be there in an hour. I waived at him from beneath the covers where I'd been sleeping. :) The nurse showed up at 11am. We received another call from the nurse asking about our son the next morning.

 

There is no doubt that by Thursday the virus put a bit of a strain on several things besides the medical staff. For example, after two 30 minute phone holds trying to get room service for my kid Thursday, I called the concierge who theorized that the kitchen was just swamped because so many people were eating in their cabins to avoid the virus. That's when I decided to play waiter/steward for the next several meals. Other attempts at room service remained slow (over one hour) for the rest of the cruise. I know some programs were changed in the kids club and for the galley tour due to the virus. And, the lounges stopped offering snack mix. Yet, somehow, we all survived. <grin>