Author Topic: Cruising  (Read 6412 times)

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Offline Yorkie

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Cruising
« on: May 26, 2013, 04:12:35 pm »
As it happens me and 'er indoors should now be on our way to Scandinavia and St Petersburg on Mr Olsen's good ship Boudicca.  Having heard rumours, I had enquired about outbreaks of Norovirus on the ship on its previous two cruises.    I received an email from a member of the management 5 days before we sailed, saying that everything was OK.

2 days before we sailed we received a "special" letter and an e mail, advising that departure would be delayed due to an outbreak of Norovirus  on the incoming cruise, and the need to carry out some sanitising of the terminal building and the ship.   The delay was shown as 30 minutes - not much time for a deep clean, me thinks.

After a bit of a tussle with them ending in me having to point out the piece of Legislation that applied, I was allowed to cancel with a full refund.

Since then I have found numerous references to the illness on this vessel and others.  Some have been reported as high as 27% of the passengers with the crew unable to cope and even the medical staff being ill and unable to help the situation.

I have never come across Norovirus before on any cruise, and my thought of further cruises will demand much investigation before I book.
 ZXZ
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Offline Blongb

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Re: Cruising
« Reply #1 on: June 08, 2013, 11:26:10 pm »
We had it on the Ocean Village a few years ago, on a Caribbean Cruise. I have never seen a ship’s crew work so hard to bring it under control. The naughty boy who brought it on board knew he had it before he and his wife boarded the ship but they didn't want to miss out on their holiday. The wife didn't see the need to obey the quarantine order that meant she had to stay in the cabin and as a result the outbreak went on a lot longer than it should have.

Yorkie you should have booked a Gateway priced cruise with P and O. We have just come back from the Baltic, 14 nights on the Aurora. £750 each and a balcony cabin to boot. Southampton - Stockholm - Helsinki - St Petersburg - Tallin - Warnemünde - Copenhagen - Zeebrugge - Southampton. Fantastic weather, calm seas and great travel connection, with Easeway picking us up outside the Killer in Llandudno Junction.  We had to wait 16 years before we were able to go on it but it was well worth it, every day had something really special.
 
Quot homines tot sententiae: suus cuique mos.
(There are as many opinions as there are people: each has his own view.)


Offline Yorkie

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Re: Cruising
« Reply #2 on: June 09, 2013, 06:51:48 am »
Some ports of call as we should have had.    Ours cost us under £800 each, although cost was not the problem!  Had we known the Boudicca was full of Noro we would have probably gone off for some Sun in Portugal.  As it happens we got every cent back within a couple of days and plan to spend it on something special later in the year.    ZXZ
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Offline Yorkie

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Re: Cruising
« Reply #3 on: November 08, 2013, 04:10:12 pm »
Apparently on a Scandinavian Cruise in September on Boudicca, almost all the passengers were confined to their cabins for the last few days due to sickness.  It left the same day as it disembarked passengers on another Cruise.

How irresponsible is this after all the problems with Norovirus that the Boudicca and Fred Olsen Cruises have had?
 :rage:
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Offline Ian

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Re: Cruising
« Reply #4 on: November 09, 2013, 07:42:30 am »
And it seems to happen a lot on cruise lines generally.
Nothing is so firmly believed as that which we least know.  ― Michel de Montaigne

Si hoc legere scis, nimis eruditionis habes.

Offline Hugo

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Re: Cruising
« Reply #5 on: November 09, 2013, 02:44:24 pm »
I had a Norwegian Fjord cruise with P & O a few years ago and knew about problems that had arisen on other ships but found that  P & O couldn't have done any more than they did to prevent an outbreak of Norovirus happening.  Thankfully we enjoyed a wonderful cruise without anything nasty happening on board.
Blongb has outlined the problems that Cruises face and those people who knowingly have the virus and yet bring it on board  are completely irresponsible.
It not only happens on Cruises but it does happen with Hotels too and no matter how clean a place is, if someone with the virus stays there it can have disastrous consequences for everyone.  If my memory serves me right I think that it has happened in a large hotel in Llandudno when a person who had  the virus went and stayed there and the place had to close for business until the problem was sorted out.

Offline Yorkie

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Re: Cruising
« Reply #6 on: November 09, 2013, 05:41:12 pm »
The problem with Cruise Lines is that they don't close the ship and the virus remains in the carpets, curtains, furnishings and the crew.  A couple of hours is insufficient time and that is about what Fred Olsen's turn round time is.   >>>

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Offline Bri Roberts

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Re: Cruising
« Reply #7 on: May 30, 2014, 06:26:07 pm »
We had a day out to Liverpool today.

The city is becoming increasingly popular with cruise ships.

It was wonderful to notice what the most popular tour was this morning with four coaches.



Offline hollins

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Re: Cruising
« Reply #8 on: June 06, 2014, 09:42:59 am »
We had a great view of the huge cruise ships coming in and out of Palma harbour recently.

Offline hollins

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Re: Cruising
« Reply #9 on: May 25, 2015, 03:23:34 pm »
I know we don't approve of the DFM, do we Ian?
However they do have some great photos on there.
Here is a link to the photos of the Queen Mary and her sister ships on the River Mersey.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-3096052/Cunard-s-Queen-Victoria-Queen-Elizabeth-ships-join-Queen-Mary-2-Liverpool-synchronised-river-dance.html

There is also good video coverage on,

http://live.cunard.com/

Offline Hugo

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Re: Cruising
« Reply #10 on: May 25, 2015, 03:56:36 pm »
I know we don't approve of the DFM, do we Ian?


I'm shocked     :o          as I've always thought that Ian was their  No 1 fan.
 
Those photos of the three ships are really great though and capture what must have been a lovely atmosphere in Liverpool

Offline Ian

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Re: Cruising
« Reply #11 on: May 25, 2015, 05:05:11 pm »
Quote
I'm shocked :o  as I've always thought that Ian was their  No 1 fan.
 
%0%
Nothing is so firmly believed as that which we least know.  ― Michel de Montaigne

Si hoc legere scis, nimis eruditionis habes.

Offline Bri Roberts

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Re: Cruising
« Reply #12 on: May 25, 2015, 06:38:48 pm »
We decided to view the Three Queens from Fort Perch Rock in New Brighton.

.