More than 100 ill on a cruise ship due to the norovirus has some people wondering what kind of “royal” treatment Royal Caribbean cruise ship passengers get when they come down with the gastrointestinal illness which is accompanied with symptoms of dizziness, nausea, and diarrhea. One of the passengers who got off the ship on Friday after the 11-day Vision of the Seas cruise told CBS Miami on March 8, 2013, that “I’m just disappointed.”
After Royal Caribbean’s Vision of the Seas docked at Port Everglades in South Florida on Friday, some passengers shared their experiences of the not-so-royal dream cruise.
“The captain announced soon after departure two Monday’s ago that there’d been an outbreak of the norovirus. … Vision of the Seas experienced an elevated number of persons with a gastrointestinal illness on its last sailing. 105 guests and 3 crew members experienced the illness thought to be norovirus. Those affected by the short lived illness have responded well to over-the-counter medication.”
In addition to receiving over-the-counter medication, another passenger reported that he was quarantined in his cabin for days and since he caught the virus early on, he had to spend the duration of the trip separated from his wife in the quarantined portion of the ship.
“I’ve been vomiting since Tuesday night. I’ve made 28 trips to the bathroom. I didn’t enjoy my cruise. I went to customer service and they said, ‘if you had washed your hands, you’d be okay.”
Over-the-counter medication, quarantine, and a lecture is not what passengers expected when they booked the Royal Caribbean’s Vision of the Seas international dream cruise.
While the cruise line reported that 105 out of almost 2,000 passengers and three of 722 crew members had the gastrointestinal illness, dozens more Vision of the Seas passengers did not come down with the stomach flu until Friday when the ship docked.
Norovirus -- what a great souvenir to bring back and to share with friends and family.
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