Hello, We just returned from the worst trip ever with Princess. We took the 15 day to Hawaii. There was a virus on the boat the previous trip. The wait to start boarding was 2 hrs. This was due to the boat being disenfected. This is straight from thr crew members. Well my husband got so ill on the third day. He had to be given several IV due to dehidration. 22 hrs later I contracted it. I was so ill, I seriosly don't think that I have ever been that ill before. I was in a fetal position in bed for 26 hrs. They confined us to quarters for 3 days. We missed the fist island completely. For at least a week we just were not right, NO appetite at all. I just find it very irrisposible that the cruise line would just board people knowing that the virus was aboard. So many people got ill. The diner would not put salt and pepper on the tables, the buffet would not you you serve yourself. The crew was cleaning everything, too late. It was an epidemic now. What bothers me as well, when we got off a new boat load of innocent victims are putting themselfs at risk. When we returned we wrote an E-Mail to Princess. No reply, no surprize, they do not have are wellfair as a concern. Just a warning people. Still Mad in Huntington Beach
SO sorry to hear that you & your husband got so ill. Do hope that you hear from Princess. If as many were sick as you say it may take time to get back to everyone.
For some time now prior to boarding the ship Princess has you sign a waiver stating that you have not been ill prior to embarkation. Sadly, you can be fine & still contract this virus. Both pax & crew have been stricken with it.
Glad you were able to enjoy some of your cruise at least.
So sorry to hear as well. All cruise companies do their best to disinfect the ships continuously. I recently read there was an outbreak on Celebrity. I can understand your anger and do hope Princess will get back with you. I do hope you enjoyed the part of your cruise that you were not ill. Hopefully your next cruise will be the best!
One more reason to take every precaution you can, even if you have to disinfect your cabin yourself. Im so sorry to hear you had such a miserable time. Sounds to me like they better postpone a couple cruises to take time to REALLY clean the ship good.
Posts: 684 | Location: St. Charles, Minnesota | Registered: July 25, 2006
Hi, Yes I am still mad, I have taken many cruises and I did hear of a few ill, but this was OUT OF CONTROL! I think it will take some time before I think of doing another. I do beleive that it is the disregard for customers health that really makes me mad. Like the mother who sends a child to school with chicken pox. They put their needs first and oh well if someone else gets sick. Indeed they could of at least offered a vacination for a charge. The steward said he had one, so he wasn't worried. Gee how considerate of them. I am still venting. Still mad, staying mad and not feeling forgiving for the money paid we were screwed and didn't enjoy it. Ex cruiser
How sad that you exert so much into staying mad and angry. It accomplishes nothing. I am sorry you had a bad experience. However; I feel instead of making accusations that the cruise line only thinks of themselves; you should learn more about their responsibility to the CDC. A ship is required to report 2% or more of total crew and passengers that report gastrointestinal symptoms. This is much more stringent than any land based restaurant or resort. The CDC does an investigation and makes recommendations on preventing a recurrence. Based on the CDC investigation if the outbreak was serious enough the ship could be quarantined. If you would like to learn more go to www.cdc.gov
he he , people untill you have the painand dicomfort we did you can not understand. The facts are in international waters they have too much leway. We wre to disinbark in Ensenada and the Mexican authorties denied us. This is from the front desk. They gave me a line of it is not stopping because of time, untill I asked the right questions. Yes it had to be reported, oh boy. That doesn't change the fact they put me in a seriously dangerous inviorment. Did I mention my husband had a blood pressure of 80/60 and had to have 3 IV's. I could not move for 26 hours, only to wither in pain or run to restroom only not to make it. So please people until you go thru it don't leture.
Ckirk Sorry you wer sick. You are absolutely 100% correct to feel the way you do. They knew better. Vacation time is precious to me. I'm going on princes 1st of January and this makes me mad. If they would do it to you then they would do it to me.
Just curious When should they notify you ...before you leave home for the cruise or before you board the ship? Should you be able to cancel your cruise if there is an outbreak?
My DH was ill with a bug when we did the Baltic cruise knocked him out for 3 days ...many people had the cough but didn't see the doctor because they didn't have insurance or didn't want to be bothered.
Hi, I would assume since they didn't know till it happened and so many people are ready to board,tey should be reqired to inform you before boarding. I do think at that time, if there is a vacination, it should be offered at a reasonible charge. I would be troublesome and very possibly some might cancel. This would be the decent and responsible thing to do. I think that it was more of a cost then letting people get sick and then dealing with the complaints later. We did not get charged for the doctor visits on board. This also shows the fact they did admit to compibilty to me. I do wish I had the ability to ask for cruise reform, or higher passenger pertection. I now understand a little better how the strange things you here about on cruises is swept under the rug by thr cruise lines. Until they are confronted it's speak no evil, see no evil. Ex Cruiser
Hope you have recovered. I am not sure there is a vacination against this Each strain of the virus can be different. Like the Flu shot by the time they make a vaccine there is another strain of the virus out there.
I don't know what Princess could have done to make the situation any better during the outbreak other than the usual disinfections they do when the outbreak happens. I do understand you being upset because you vacation was ruined. Did Princess offer any compensation? In your opinion, how many people were affected. You mention it was the worst trip ever on Princess. I can only assume that you've had other bad experiences with them before which is unfortunate because they normally keep their ships very clean.
Hi, We wrote a letter to Princess on Monday, but no responce. I know it's still to soon and I am sure they are receiving many complaints. Well I asked and did not get an answer to how many from the medical unit. Only that our steward said he had never seen it so bad. When we would go to dinner, either in dining room or buffet, at least one one person at the table had a friend or family member ill. I think that is alot. We have had 4 trips with Princess and this is the first time it was bad. There were several things besides the illness that made it a bad trip. The service was not as good, the time boarding,disembarking at all ports was very unorganized and timely, other things as well. It could of been that I was so upset and ill that I just saw the negative in so much. All and all it is still a matter of being placed in an unhealthy inviorment. Got to go to dinner. Thanks for caring. Cindy
I can understand your frustation, BUT I CAN'T UNDERSTAND WHY YOU ARE PUTTING THE FAULT ON PRINCESS????????????? Did you ever think it might be YOUR problem???????????? We were on the Island 9/11 to 9/18/06 in Alaska, though we did have people sick, from what we heard, we never had a problem. The virus basically is the FLU. When so many people are that close and don't go outside the FLU BUG will spread very quickly. Whenever you go to any of these ships you have to be very careful about personal hygiene. All cruise lines have this same problem, people are sssssssooosoooooooo quick to blame them. It's time for the passenger to start taking more responsibility for there own actions. The cruise lines do everything possible to curb this problem. We have been on other lines that treat this problem the same way. The must important thing is wash your hands frequently and use the disinfectant the ship has at ALL entrances to the SHIP,BUFFET OR DINING ROOM, LOUNGE/BAR. Just a note some people should learn how to spell instead of being sooooooooooooo quick to accuse.
Posts: 36 | Location: Ilion, New York (Upstate) | Registered: August 08, 2006
I really interested to see how Princess responds to you letter (you should have had your TA send it as it carries more weight). There were only 109 pax sick on board who actually complained - possibly there might have been more but didn't say because they would have been confined to their room. Also there were 11 crew members who got sick. About average for a Norovirus outbreak. http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/vsp/surv/outbreak/2006/nov5island.htm Although this was a serious problem, it doesn't seem to have affected all the pax as you implied. I'm positive Princess did all they could to see that these thing don't happen & they can't be blamed when it does. They've got a business to run & the last thing they need is more bad press from a situation like that. We've sailed a considerable number of cruises on Princess and other lines as well & their boarding, disembarking etc. are excellent in handling the large crowds. In many situations the disembarking is controlled my other factors - CDC, customs which they have no control over. Again, sorry to hear that you trip was ruined by the sickness & let us know the outcome from Princess.
To JC 49, I type as I think, I dfo not go back and edit, why? I also have terrible arthritis in my hands, so if the spelling bothers you, OH WELL! I think that sometimes the posts are from peolple somehow affiliated with the cruiselines. I am a bit of a germaphobe. I am very clean, I know Ia m cleaner than most. So put that to bed. I am talking about the Princess knowing the virus was on board before we came on. Do you get it yet? I do spray the rooms with disinfectant when ever we travel, any room. Do you raelly think that bad press isn't sometime deserved if earned. To the person who knew the facts better, thank you. You know we asked and they would not say. I will check out the web sites. Bad speller, good person Cindy
