Winter Weather Delayed Queen Mary 2

The Queen Mary 2  Credit: Robert Neal Marshall

Winter Storm Hercules Dumps Snow on Midwest, Northeast 

When the weather at home is cold and snowy, travelers take to the seas to get out of town and head to somewhere warm. Imagine the surprise to Cunard Line Queen Mary 2 passengers as they embarked their ship in New York on January 3rd and found the scene above. 

Queen Mary 2 arrived in New York ahead of schedule in order to avoid the worst part of the storm.  She didn't sail until after midnight to allow sufficient time for passengers to embark the vessel.  According to the line, the ship is still expected to arrive in Southampton, England on time January 10th.

Ethiopian 787 Dreamliner Fire Closes Heathrow

Ethiopian Dreamliner Fire at LHR      Courtesy Sky News

London Heathrow Suspended Flights Temporarily

According to London Heathrow airport website, a fire broke out on a parked Ethiopian Boeing 787 Dreamliner causing a suspension in flights in and out of the airport.  As of this writing, there is a resumption of flights, but they are advising you check with your airlines for possible delays.

The good news is that noone appears to have been injured as there were no passengers onboard at the time of the incident.   Several fire brigades responded to the scene and runways were closed while the fire was contained.

UPDATED: 12 July 2013 - 1:45 PM Eastern The runways are now fully re-opened, following an earlier internal fire on-board an aircraft. All arrivals and departures were earlier temporarily suspended while airport fire crews attended to the incident. Flights are now operating, but will be subject to delay. Please check the status of your flight with your airline before travelling to Heathrow. The Metropolitan Police Service have advised that there were no passengers on board and no reported injuries. You can keep up-to-date by following Heathrow on Twitter and Facebook or receive individual flight status updates on the move by using our mobile app or our SMS text service.

Boeing Dreamliner Plagued with Problems

This just adds to the string of problems that have been reported with the new aircraft developed by Boeing.  Earlier this year, the FAA grounded all Dreamliners operated by U.S. companies until they could be deemed safe following problems with the batteries onboard.  Boeing found what it believed was a solution to the problem and flights resumed.

Learn More: Boeing 787 Dreamliner

Carnival Triumph & Sunshine Returns Delayed

Carnival Triumph & 

Carnival Sunshine 

Mechanical Improvements

Carnival Cruise Lines' President and CEO Gerry Cahill announced that Carnival Destiny and Carnival Sunshine will extend their time in drydock in order to complete some extensive mechanical improvements in the wake of the Carnival Triumph fire and subsequent operational review.

The ships will remain out of service longer than expected so the line can increase operating redundancies, emergency power and fire prevention, detection and suppression systems. Cahill had announced the fleetwide operational review at announced during last week's Cruise Shipping Miami tradeshow and this announcement comes right on its heels and the mechanical problem on Carnival Liberty which caused the ship to limp back to port.

Carnival Triumph - 10 Additional Cruises Cancelled
Return to Service now June 3rd

Carnival Triumph now will return to service on June 3, with 10 additional cruises being canceled.

The changes they are implementing are focused primarily on improvements to better support continued power and hotel services should unexpected issues arise. In addition, we are applying new learnings and making enhancements in the area of fire suppression and extinguishing.

For more information about the Carnival Triumph fire and subsequent cancellations, see the following article:
Carnival Triumph Additional Cancellations & Compensation

Carnival Sunshine - 2 Cruises Cancelled Return to Service now May 5th

Carnival Sunshine will now complete the full-ship makeover from the former Carnival Destiny, and will enter service May 5, following the cancellation of two European cruises. For more information about the makeover, see Destiny + 49 Days = Sunshine.

In a news release, Cahill apologized for the additional cancellations but said the line is "fully committed to applying the recommendations stemming from our fleetwide review and to make whatever investments are needed despite the difficult position to impact people's vacations."

“Our team of experts has worked virtually around the clock to determine the best set of solutions and rapidly develop an effective implementation plan for both of these ships,” he continued. “Moving forward, we will have the ability to source materials and schedule improvements much more expediently, thus minimizing the scheduling impact on other vessels. I would like to provide continued assurances that all of our vessels have fully effective safety systems, equipment and training in place. Additionally, our ships receive regular inspections from the U.S. Coast Guard and other regulatory authorities.

Compensation Plan

Guests on the canceled voyages will receive a full refund, reimbursement of non-refundable travel costs, and a 25 percent discount on a future cruise.

“Going forward, the review will focus on the balance of our fleet. While this process will take time, it is our highest priority and has the full support and resources of Carnival Cruise Lines and Carnival Corporation,” Cahill said.

We Are Going to Need More Bleach

Cruise Ships & Norovirus ...
Tis the Season

Celebrity Cruises Constellation is the latest ship to need to have a deep clean following an up tick in the gastrointestinal illness, known as Norovirus on it's 12-night wine tasting cruise to France, Spain and Portugal.   

What happened and who is to blame?

Sanitation Delays Departure

When Celebrity Constellation pulled into port in Southampton, England yesterday (Nov. 6th) the Southampton's Port Health Authority confirmed about 350 passengers had fallen ill with the vomiting and diarrhea bug out of the more than two thousand passengers.  Celebrity Cruises delayed the departure until 8 PM to allow the crew to deep clean 200 affected cabins, identified by the health authority, and all public areas of the ship.

The procedures, that Celebrity Cruises followed, adhere to the guidelines set forth by the international cruise industry.  A statement from Celebrity Cruises said: “A small number of guests experienced a gastrointestinal type illness. We therefore conducted extra cleaning and sanitizing onboard the ship and within the cruise terminal as preventative measures. As a result of the additional cleaning, boarding began at the revised time of 2:00pm yesterday. Our hygiene procedures on-board are comprehensive and always strictly adhered to.”

Who is to Blame

The first inclination when you hear about an outbreak would be to blame the cruise line. Clearly, they have let you down - you expected a healthy cruise, and you got sick.   In fact there's a group of passengers that were on sister cruise line's Independence of the Seas that are suing Royal Caribbean International for £500,000 after contracting norovirus while onboard the ship.

The cruise line is responsible - right?

The cruise line IS responsible  for cleaning the ship and providing the facilities for passengers and crew to maintain proper hygiene onboard the ship.   They do that - you'll notice signs posted in all the rest rooms and crew members pointing out sanitation machines, such as the one in the picture above posted outside the restaurant entrance.  

But, ladies and gentleman - I suspect that YOU are to BLAME.   Did you stop to wash your hands after using the bathroom?   Did you sanitize your hands every time you entered a restaurant onboard the ship.   Did you do so all but one time?   That one time would be enough to kick off this sort of outbreak.

We've just returned from two short cruises on Disney Dream and Carnival Sensation.  On both ships, we noticed the sanitizing materials and signs.  We also noticed many passengers disregarding the signs and avoiding the sanitizing of their hands before entering the restaurant. 

Working together, the cruise lines and passengers could Prevent Norovirus!

USEFUL LINKS ABOUT NOROVIRUS

Facts About Noroviruses on Cruise Ships  -  gastrointestinal (GI) illnesses can be prevented

Wash hands often. Wash hands after using the bathroom or changing diapers and before eating or preparing food.  Use alcohol-based hand sanitizer along with hand washing.

Norovirus outbreaks, when they occur on a cruise ship, always make the news.  The truth is these outbreaks can occur anywhere there are groups of people in a small area such as nursing homes, restaurants, catered events, hotels, and cruise ships.

Vessel Sanitation Program - prevention and control of spread of gastrointestinal (GI) illnesses on cruise ships

Viking Njord Delayed Again

Viking River's Njord

Longships Overdue

Delays Cancel 

April 24th Sailing

Viking Njord - God of the Wind

Viking River Cruises has cancelled the April 24 departure of the Viking Njord due to continuing construction delays at the Neptun Werft shipyard in Rostock, Germany. The April 24 “Tulips & Windmills” departure becomes the latest cancellation which included March 28 and April 6 sailings.

First Sailing Now May 3rd

The ship is now scheduled to enter service May 3, 2012. As we reported in our previous blog post, Viking Longboats Christened, four of the longboats were scheduled to be christened at the same time and begin sailing in March.  Two ships were named in Amsterdam while the Viking Freya and Viking Njord were named the same day in the shipyard in Rockstock instead.

Six Additional Longships Ordered

On March 14, 2012, Viking River Cruises announced that it has commissioned six more Viking Longships for delivery in 2013.  The Longship series have been designed by celebrated maritime architects Yran & Storbraaten and Los Angeles based Rottet Studios. They are all being built at the Neptun Yard in Germany, part of the Meyer Neptun group.

Refunds & Future Credits

These delays, caused by local strikes at the shipyard, are costing the company money.  Impacted passengers, on the cancelled cruise, have been contacted and offered a full refund plus credit for a future European cruise worth 25 percent of the amount paid.

Related Blog Posts

Viking Longboats Christened 

Viking River Cruises Longships Update 

Viking River Cruises 2012 Fleet Upgrades

Crown Princess Cruise Ends Early

Southern Caribbean Cruise Cut Short

A second outbreak of excessive gastrointestinal illness on Crown Princess has caused Princess Cruises to end the cruise two days early.

Three ships, from two different cruise lines, had delayed their boarding last weekend for additional sanitation in the wake of an increase in illness on the ship during the previous week.

For details about last week's outbreak as well as information about Norovirus and other gastrointestinal illness (GI), see: Delayed Boarding Today Voyager of the Seas

Returning to Fort Lauderdale for Sanitation

Crown Princess will return to its Fort Lauderdale homeport on Thursday instead of Saturday, where it will undergo two days of sanitation in consultation with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).


Princess indicated that 114 passengers (3.7 percent out of 3,078) and 59 crew (5 percent of 1,178) on the weeklong Southern Caribbean cruise have reported a gastrointestinal illness believed to be Norovirus. Cruise lines participating in the CDC's Vessel Sanitation Program, which Princess and all major lines does, are required to report the total number of GI cases evaluated by the medical staff before the ship arrives at a U.S. port when sailing from a foreign port. A separate notification is required when the count exceeds 2 percent of the total number of passengers or crew onboard.

This cruise had already been delayed six hours for the vigorous sanitation program done under CDC oversight February 4th.

According to Princess, the upcoming two-day disinfection will include "bringing aboard additional cleaning crew to assist with a thorough sanitization of all public spaces and surfaces including soft furnishing and carpets, railings, door handles and the like. Additionally, once all of the passengers have disembarked on Thursday morning, all bed linens and towels will be removed from every stateroom. The staterooms will be sanitized multiple times before making up the rooms with fresh linens and towels on Saturday morning, just prior to passenger embarkation."

Compensation for Impacted Passengers

Impacted passengers will receive full refunds for the cruise, flights home, coverage of change fees if air was not booked through Princess, hotel accommodation if necessary and a 25 percent future cruise credit.

February 11th cruise is scheduled for normal departure time presently.  We will monitor the situation and announce any reported changes.

Norovirus Can be Prevented

Norovirus is the second most common illness next to the common cold, and is highly contagious, spreading easily in confined spaces like hospitals, hotels, dormitories and cruise ships. Symptoms include vomiting and diarrhea, and millions are infected each year.

It can be prevented if everyone washes their hands and uses sanitation liquids found throughout the ship.  Also, if you have been sick prior to boarding the ship, please do your fellow passengers a favor and reschedule your cruise.   It doesn't take much to turn a sanitized ship into a sick camp once the disease takes hold.

As of press time, the other two ships that had GI outbreaks last week, Ruby Princess and Voyager of the Seas have not reported a repeat of last week's outbreak.

Delayed Boarding Today Voyager of the Seas

Royal Caribbean Voyager of the Seas

Delays Boarding

Boarding for February 4th sailing of Royal Caribbean's Voyager of the Seas is being delayed to allow time for sanitation of the ship (public areas and cabins) due to an unusual reports of gastrointestinal illness.

We received the following announcement from Royal Caribbean:

"During Voyager of the Seas' last sailing, a number of guests onboard experienced gastrointestinal illness.In an abundance of caution, we are conducting enhanced sanitizing onboard the ship and within the cruise terminal to help prevent any illness from affecting your client's cruise."

Check-in Process Begins at 1 PM


"Because of this additional sanitizing, the check in process is now anticipated to begin at approximately 1:00 p.m. We apologize for this delay to your client's boarding.

We are also sanitizing guest staterooms, and they will be available to guests at approximately 3:00 p.m. Once guests board the ship, they can explore public areas, open decks and lounges and enjoy lunch, until their stateroom is ready."

Two Princess Cruise Ships Also Delayed

UPDATE: Feb 8

Crown Princess had a second outbreak this week and has cut its 7 Night Southern Caribbean short by two days to allow for sanitation.   see:   Crown Princess Cruise Ends Early

###

Princess Cruises has also announced delayed embarkation times for the next sailings of Crown Princess and Ruby Princess, following an increased number of Norovirus cases on each of the ships' current voyages. 

According to statements from the line, 81 of Ruby Princess' 3,133 passengers and nine of its 1,186 crew members have come down with the virus. Meanwhile, 364 of 3,103 passengers and 30 of 1,168 crew on Crown Princess were affected.

Although the numbers are relatively small, cruise lines are required to report all cases of Noro to the CDC, and a "special report" is created when numbers reach 2 percent of a ship's total onboard population. (Ruby Princess' have reached nearly 3 percent of passengers and Crown Princess' more than 11 percent.)

Because the gastrointestinal virus is highly contagious, both ships will be given special cleanings upon their return to their Fort Lauderdale homeport. As a result, embarkation for Crown Princess' next cruise will be delayed on Saturday, and Ruby Princess' will be pushed back until 2 p.m. on Sunday.

About Norovirus
According to health experts, as many as 300 million people worldwide are affected by norovirus each year. Only the common cold is more prevalent. However, we would prefer if none of our guests became ill.

Prevention:

Royal Caribbean asked us to convey the following preventive measures.

• wash your hands thoroughly with soap and hot water after usingthe bathroom and before eating anything
• use the complimentary sanitizing gel that is available at various locations onboard
• if you experienced any gastrointestinal symptoms within the last three days, we ask that you please consider rescheduling your cruise

Here are some additional resources that we have compiled (these can also be found on our International Travel static tab above).

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (advice about any health advisories here and abroad)

Traveler's Health (CDC Travel specific topics)

  

Facts About Noroviruses on Cruise Ships  -  gastrointestinal (GI) illnesses can be prevented

It's that time of year, so PLEASE:

Wash hands often. Wash hands after using the bathroom or changing diapers and before eating or preparing food.  Use alcohol-based hand sanitizer along with hand washing.

Norovirus outbreaks, when they occur on a cruise ship, always make the news.  The truth is these outbreaks can occur anywhere there are groups of people in a small area such as nursing homes, restaurants, catered events, hotels, and cruise ships.

Vessel Sanitation Program - prevention and control of spread of gastrointestinal (GI) illnesses on cruise ships

We had a similar experience when we boarded our Princess Cruise to the Mediterranean and Greek Isles last spring.  They also sanitized the ship and put some additional measures in place for the first few days of our sailing.  During that time, we were not allowed to serve ourselves in either the buffet or dining room.  The wait staff served all items to us, including sugar packets and other condiments.  Things returned to normal once the ship was satisfied that there were no additional reports of illness.

Oceania Riviera Maiden Voyage Delayed

Year	2012
Gross Tonnage	66,000 t
Length between Pp	210 m
Moulded  Breadth	32.2 m
Number of Cabins	629
Max Speed	19.5 knots

Artist Rendition of  Oceania Riviera            Courtesy Fincantieri

Oceania Riviera Facts

Oceania Cruises announced that the debut of its next ship, the 1,250-passenger Riviera, has been delayed due to recent strikes at the Fincantieri shipyard near Genoa, Italy where it is being built.  It is a sister ship to Marina which debuted last year.  It was also built by the same shipyard.

Delay Cancels Two Cruises

The maiden voyage of the 66,000-ton vessel has been pushed back to May 16 from April 2, 2012. Two cruises scheduled to take place between April 24 and May 16 are being canceled.

"We sincerely regret any inconvenience that this may cause our guests," Oceania President Kunal Kamlani says in a statement accompanying the announcement. "We are working very closely with the shipyard to ensure Riviera is completed to meet Oceania's high standards of quality and service."

Second Delay for Debut

This is the second announced delay, within the last six months, to the maiden voyage of the Riviera. The line announced in August that the ship's debut was being pushed back from April 14 to April 24.  Delays to maiden voyages, while rare, can happen for a number of reasons.  In this case, a strike over reorganization planned at the shipyard due to a slowdown in newbuild orders, lasted longer than expected.


Oceania says customers on the canceled cruises will be contacted by the line or their travel agents to discuss alternative cruise dates. Those who choose to rebook onto a later voyage will receive a credit ranging from $250 to $1,000 per person, depending on category of accommodation. Those who do not wish to rebook will receive a full refund.

The new maiden voyage is a 10-day ‘Pearls of the Aegean’ cruise that includes an overnight aboard ship in Venice before departing for Dubrovnik, Kotor, Corfu, Monemvasia, Crete, Santorini, Delos, Mykonos and Athens.

Carnival Triumph Cruise Delayed Due to Fog

Port of Galveston 

Fogged In

Carnival Triumph 

Departure Delayed

The port of Galveston is a great place to start your cruise vacation.  The boardwalk has shops and restaurants for you to enjoy before departure.

Galveston Channel Closed

Due to dense fog (zero visibility) Galveston channel was closed today.  Therefore, Carnival Triumph’s arrival today Saturday, January 21st was delayed until conditions improved sufficiently for the channel to reopen for marine traffic. Carnival Triumph remained at anchorage at the pilot station.

Passengers Updated by Cruise Director

It looks like the fog is starting to clear nearer to the terminal and the island. It’s still pretty thick where we are. In his last announcement, Captain Los said that we might be able to board the pilot by 11:15am. This would put us alongside at 12:45pm or 1:00pm. At this point, the phone lines have been opened and are complimentary so that guests can update/change travel arrangements. We’re going to start serving lunch in about an hour. Hopefully, the fog will clear soon.

Arriving Passengers:  TEXT CCL1 to 36500 for text updates

UPDATE:  Carnival Travel Advisories

The port of Galveston is now open. Check-in is scheduled from 3:00PM–6:30PM and Triumph will set sail around 7:30PM 

No impact to the itinerary 

  ###

It is out of respect for the passengers, family, and crew of those aboard Costa Concordia, that we have been restricting our posts to that accident and related safety information.  We will continue our coverage of that tragedy, but will once again start to return to coverage of other topics of interest to our readers.   We thank you for your understanding.  Please continue to pray for all those impacted by this tragedy.   

Radiance OTS Departure Delayed

Delay - Radiance of the Seas 
January 7, 2011
1100 a.m. E.S.T

During Radiance of the Seas' last sailing, a number of guests onboard experienced some gastrointestinal illness. At Royal Caribbean International, we have high health standards for all our guests and crew. Therefore, in an abundance of caution, tomorrow we will conduct some enhanced sanitizing onboard the ship and within the cruise terminal to help prevent any illness from affecting the next sailing.

Because of this enhanced sanitation, the boarding process for Radiance of the Seas is now anticipated to begin at 6:00 p.m. We apologize in advance for this delay to the boarding process and we thank you our guests for their understanding.

Parking and seating at in the cruise terminal is very limited. Therefore, guest should not arrive at the pier on Saturday before 5:00 p.m. Regrettably, due to the limited facilities and seating area, we must turn away any car that arrives at the terminal before 5:00 p.m. We kindly ask that guests arrive at the terminal between 5:00 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. for check-in and boarding.

If you have experienced any gastrointestinal symptoms within the last three days, we ask that you please consider rescheduling your cruise.

Norovirus is an extremely common gastrointestinal illness, and only the common cold is more prevalent. According to health specialists, about 300 million people in the world are affected by norovirus every year.

The health and well-being of our guests is very important to us and we believe that these additional measures will further assist in ensuring that our guests' vacation experience is a fun, relaxing and healthy experience.

USEFUL LINKS ABOUT NOROVIRUS

Facts About Noroviruses on Cruise Ships  -  gastrointestinal (GI) illnesses can be prevented

Wash hands often. Wash hands after using the bathroom or changing diapers and before eating or preparing food.  Use alcohol-based hand sanitizer along with hand washing.

Norovirus outbreaks, when they occur on a cruise ship, always make the news.  The truth is these outbreaks can occur anywhere there are groups of people in a small area such as nursing homes, restaurants, catered events, hotels, and cruise ships.

Vessel Sanitation Program - prevention and control of spread of gastrointestinal (GI) illnesses on cruise ships