NCL Star has the Norovirus 1/19-1/27 sailing

[CrusinAgain]

As reported by CDC:

 

http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/vsp/surv/outbreak/2008/jan25nstar.htm

[coaster]

It is a little early to say Noro though. The unpleasant symptoms listed on the CDC site could also be food poisoning. January already has 4 outbreaks of 'something' among cruise lines this month. Not a good start to the year.

[CrusinAgain]

Well after I posted that I saw that passengers had already started a thread about it and apparently it is the Noro. I highly doubt it is too early to know as I'm sure the doctor is well aware of the signs and smells such as was on the Pearl on the Nov. 30 sailing. I would not have posted this alert if the search engine of this site was working to see it was already reported straight from the Star, but it wasn't working.

[EdinPueblo]

Not leaving till the 12th of February on the Star. So what does this mean for the next 2 planned cruises if CDC is delaying embarkation? Is NCL making an official announcement to the passengers on the Feb4 and Feb12 cruise. Will NCL pay my penalty/additional airfare increase if the trip is delayed? Am traveling with someone who last year had colon cancer/radiation/chemo and is just now starting to get his strength back.....not sure he could handle this with all the previous weight loss. Anyone please advise.:confused:

[Hockey19]

Here is the official CDC scorecard so far.

Norwegian Cruise LinesNorwegian Star1/19-1/27PendingHolland America LineNoordam1/5-1/16PendingHolland America LineVolendam1/2-1/12PendingPrincess CruisesPacific Princess12/15-1/10Pending

 

Holland America with 2 ships in 2008 is winning in early returns.:)

[zqvol]

Well after I posted that I saw that passengers had already started a thread about it and apparently it is the Noro. I highly doubt it is too early to know as I'm sure the doctor is well aware of the signs and smells such as was on the Pearl on the Nov. 30 sailing. I would not have posted this alert if the search engine of this site was working to see it was already reported straight from the Star, but it wasn't working.

 

Until the tests from the stool samples are completed it is too early to tell if it is Noro. The symptoms and smells are similar for many GI ailments not all of which are Noro. Don't be such an alarmist. GI illnesses happen all the time.

 

Not leaving till the 12th of February on the Star. So what does this mean for the next 2 planned cruises if CDC is delaying embarkation? Is NCL making an official announcement to the passengers on the Feb4 and Feb12 cruise. Will NCL pay my penalty/additional airfare increase if the trip is delayed? Am traveling with someone who last year had colon cancer/radiation/chemo and is just now starting to get his strength back.....not sure he could handle this with all the previous weight loss. Anyone please advise.

 

It probably means nothing. The illness should have run its course by the time you get there. the delay in embarkation is a few hours, not days or even overnight. The delay will not impact any other aspect of the cruise but there will likely be increased awareness of good hygiene. Your friend should check with his physician before sailing (which he should have done anyway).

[salty dingo]

The ship will sail as planned, you can be sure. There may be a delay in boarding as they clean extra-thoroughly. There will also be strict food handling procedures and lots of cleaning on board. But most of the cruise experience will not be affected. Nothing to worry about!

[CrusinAgain]

Until the tests from the stool samples are completed it is too early to tell if it is Noro. The symptoms and smells are similar for many GI ailments not all of which are Noro. Don't be such an alarmist. GI illnesses happen all the time.

 

 

 

It probably means nothing. The illness should have run its course by the time you get there. the delay in embarkation is a few hours, not days or even overnight. The delay will not impact any other aspect of the cruise but there will likely be increased awareness of good hygiene. Your friend should check with his physician before sailing (which he should have done anyway).

 

Well, obviously you have never had it before and it is on CDC so it is highly suspected it is the Noro. It you had looked at the previous years all the ones with the exception of one that is still unexplained turned into Noro, so please stop calling me an alarmist. I suffered with this on the Nov. 30th sailing and I know the signs and the smells and yes it has a distinct smell like no other GI smell. Sorry you are not aware of this.

 

To EdinPueblo: It will sail on time or pretty much close to it as our sailing did when we got off and we had 14% of the passengers ill. I would take extra precautions with your traveling friend since his/her immune system is low and take wipes, Lysol spray, and germ buster fluid. Make sure this person uses it after going thru the buffet and try to eat at the dining rooms more than the buffet since people will have germs on their hands, handle the tongs and lay the tongs on the food. I don't know about the Star but on the Pearl they squirted your hands every time you entered an eating establishment but we saw a few who grumbled no, and got past them. Just take extra precautions.

[CanadianTwosome]

We just missed this. I had thought that my husband and daughter did not have noro, but my husband thinks that at least he did... my daughter we don't know, because she just threw up a couple of times on the plane on the way home and didn't have any other symptoms. Another of the passengers on our roll call also exhibited noro-type symptoms on her return home, so we think maybe the bug hopped on in Cabo.

 

I also witnessed people ignoring the sanitizers and staff with the sprayers. The first day when we had lunch in the buffet, a man walked up and rather than waiting for the gloved staff member to hand out plates, reached around and started grabbing them for him and his friends. I was happy to see the server remove the entire stack of remaining plates after handing me a clean plate from a new stack. The staff really do their best to maintain the most sanitary and safe environment they can, but their hands are tied to a certain degree in that they cannot force passengers to do anything. It only takes one passenger with germs on their hands to touch one thing in a public area (or worse, a food service area) to start distributing whatever was on their hands exponentially to their fellow passengers.

 

I'm very sorry to hear that people are suffering now on the ship that we enjoyed so much.