Tag Archives: Royal Caribbean

Blame the consumer, cruise edition

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‘The simple fact is that if people washed their hands, there would be no norovirus,’ that’s what Royal Caribbean CEO Michael Bayley said in an  interview in Business Insider published this week.

Nope. It’s not that simple. Handwashing is a factor, but so is showing up ill, so is how surfaces are cleaned and sanitized (and with what compound). Norovirus isn’t just a handwashing or cruise patron problem. And if it was, and  was so simple we wouldn’t see 20 million + illness annually in the U.S.

The article has another gem, 

But personal hygiene isn’t always enough, according to Michael Osterholm, director of the University of Minnesota’s Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy. In addition to physical contact, the illness can also spread from an infected person’s respiratory system, which means that simply breathing the same air as an infected person can leave you vulnerable.

Huh? The virus can be aerosolized and then deposited on surfaces dozens of feet away from a vomit event – but it’s not a respiratory illness.

182 sick: Barf cruise ship docked in Sydney

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The Explorer of the Seas arrived at around 6am on Wednesday with Royal Caribbean confirming 182 cases of a gastrointestinal illness among guests and crew of the 14-night trip.

mr.creosote.monty.python.vomit“Those affected by the short-lived illness have responded well to over-the-counter medication administered onboard the ship,” the statement issued on Wednesday said.

Paramedics were on stand-by as the 3,566 passengers and 1,139 crew members disembarked the Royal Caribbean Explorer, but no patients needed to be transported, am Ambulance NSW spokesman told AAP.

The ship and terminal will undergo enhanced cleaning and sanitisation to prevent any illness affecting future cruises as the ship prepares to depart for its next voyage on Wednesday evening.

With more than three per cent of the ship’s passengers struck down with the stomach bug, it is a legal obligation that health authorities be alerted.

The outbreak started on December 5 and peaked on December 11 and 12, but has since been decreasing, NSW health authorities told AAP.

From the rerun files: norovirus hits cruise ships

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I’ve never been on a cruise. Sometimes we talk about taking one, hopping from island to island and relaxing on the open seas.

And then comes another round of norovirus outbreaks. Lots of news coverage, throwbacks to the poop cruises and pictures of the CDC Vessel Sanitation program officials boarding ships.

Restaurants are linked to 64 per cent of norovirus outbreaks. CDC says that cruise ships get a lot of the attention but onlyaccount for only about 1 per cent of norovirus outbreaks. But not everyone goes on a cruise. In 2013, according to the Florida-Carribean Cruise Association 11.7 million North Americans (out of a total of ~530 million residents) went on cruises.Screen Shot 2015-04-14 at 10.46.44 PM

It’s a numbers game: one per cent of the outbreaks happen in a setting that just two per cent of the population visit. Like Schaffner says, what’s the Crusies ?

But norovirus is everywhere. But being stuck on a ship with projectile vomiting doesn’t sound fun. According to the Guardian, two separate Royal Caribbean ships are experiencing outbreaks and are on their way back to San Diego.

Health officials are investigating what caused the outbreaks aboard the ships bound for California, both owned by Royal Caribbean Cruises Limited. The ships docked on Monday and Tuesday in San Diego.

Celebrity Cruises reported 106 sick passengers on board the Celebrity Infinity, which arrived on Monday in California. The ill vacationers accounted for 5% of the 2,117 travelers on board. Six of the more than 900 crew members were also sick.

Epidemiologists from the Centers for Disease Control are investigating the outbreak, and collected eight stool samples on board. Crews are tightening sanitation and disinfection procedures. 

Crew members are planning a “staged disembarkation” to avoid exposing healthy passengers to sick ones, potentially contaminating them with the infectious stomach virus.

Royal Caribbean Grandeur of the Seas linked to norovirus outbreak, again

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In March and April 2014 over 100 cruisers were ill on two consecutive voyages of Royal Caribbean’s Grandeur of the Seas, and according to wbaltv, the ship is the source of another outbreak. Almost 200 guests of the 2,300 on board during a were sick with gastrointestinal illness last week.

Royal Caribbean spokesperson Cynthia Martinez said that during the voyage, a number of guests aboard the Grandeur of the Seas experienced gastrointestinal illness.Royal-Caribbean--Grandeur-of-the-Seas-cruise-ship-jpg

Over the course of the sailing, 193 guests, 9.91 percent, and nine crew members, 1.15 percent, experienced the illness, thought to be norovirus, Martinez said.

“Those affected by the short-lived illness are responding well to over-the-counter medication administered on board the ship,” Martinez said.

The biggest complaint 11 News heard from passengers was the lack of information from Royal Caribbean.

“It was the honeymoon from hell. It was sad,” passenger April Neall said. “It kind of seemed like they weren’t being very honest with us about the whole situation.

We heard that here were three people sick. Then another person said it was over 100, so, I mean, we never got a clear answer from any of the crew members,” passenger Nick Canning said.

 

‘Feels like you’re going to die’ BC couple on norovirus cruise demand refund

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A couple from Victoria, British Columbia (that’s in Canada) are demanding a full refund after enduring what they say was a nightmare cruise ship vacation.

norovirus-2Wally and Diane King embarked on Royal Caribbean’s Explorer of the Seas last January. Norovirus struck on the second day of the week-long trip from Newark, New Jersey, to the Caribbean.

They were among more than 600 people who got sick on the ship.

“It feels like you are going to die and you wish you could, you know?” says Diane King. “It was just awful. I have never been that sick in my life.”

The Kings spent $7,300 on their holiday. Royal Caribbean offered some compensation to passengers, including a 50 per cent refund on the cost, on-board credit, and half-off on another cruise within a year.

The Kings received $1,300 back from Royal Caribbean: In their opinion, it wasn’t enough.

“It wasn’t a trip or a holiday for us. It was a disaster,” says Diane. “I want to be reimbursed for the whole trip.”

In a written statement, Royal Caribbean told CBC News: “We are sorry Mr. & Mrs. King got ill during this sailing and were not able to enjoy portions of their vacation. We recognized that this particular cruise was exceptionally challenging — so much so that our compensation went above and beyond what we normally offer in other circumstances.”

vomit cruiseSanjay Goel, president of travel agency Cruise Connections, says a full refund is the industry standard for compensation on cancelled cruises. Travellers can buy insurance to fully cover themselves in these sorts of situations.

“The most important thing for anyone to consider no matter what trip you are taking is to take out travel insurance,” says Goel. “That protects their investment against the unforeseen.”

The Kings say they don’t blame Royal Caribbean for their illnesses; just for not taking better care of its customers.

Brazil quarantines cruise ship over ‘some kind of food poisoning’

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My parents are set to return today from their latest cruise out of Florida.

Hopefully their experience was better than that of the 1,987 passengers and 765 crew members aboard the Vision of the Seas, operated by Royal Caribbean International, who were ordered by health officials in Brazil to remain aboard after some 310 people suffered "some kind of food poisoning.”

The ship was allowed to leave Buzios Thursday afternoon and was expected to arrive in Santos around midnight. An agency spokeswoman said passengers who showed no symptoms would be free to leave. Those still ill would be taken to hospitals for treatment, with expenses paid by Royal Caribbean.