Family off Disney Cruise

[kajohn]

I have two children who are perfectly health, but who vomit very, easily, my 5 year old especially, but my 7 year old has been known to do it as well. I'm not talking daily, or even monthly, but on several occasions, they have done it just once and never shown any signs of being ill. It usually happens if they eat something that doesn't agree with them, or they eat and then jump around too much, get too much time out in the sun, too much sweets etc., there are any number of reasons when it has occured, but it is one episode, and they are fine. In an older child or an adult it would probably be just a queasy stomach, but they are still at the age that they don't control an upset stomach very well. This is a situation that would probably be quarantined, and they would have absolutely no symptoms after the incident.

I have sent an email to disney, and am awaiting their reply asking specifically, what happens if a child vomits, how is that handled, what is the quarantine policy etc. I will post when I get their reply, so I am trying to get official word on this subject.

Also, AnnMorin, I am not trying to attack you here, but you are very vocal about this but in a previous thread you posted the following:

Quote:

this is exactly why...
When my stomach was feeling iffy on thursday and I was pretty sure that it was because of the amoxicillian and motrin my husband (a lawyer) told me NOT to call the med center to tell them. He knew it was a side effect and felt sure that we would be unduley quarinteended. I still don't know for sure what bothered me until yesterday but I am good to go today. Did feel a bit queezy still after taking the amox. at noon so it probably was because of that.

There is a slight possibility that that was Norwalk, not everyone has the same symptoms, or the same severity. Should you have been quarantined for the rest of your trip and missed Castaway Cay? I think you did the right thing, but that is what we are stating here, we don't want to be unduly quarantined.

I have hardly ever posted in any discussion board before now, I've almost always just lurked, but this issue really is making me not want to take a trip I have planned for almost a year.

 

[Mojomanny]

Disney has a duty to take a pro-active stance in this matter. Of course they are in a no win situation, if they are pro-active (as they are being) people cry that they have gone overboard (as they are doing). If they are not pro-active and more people get sick, they will almost certainly face class action lawsuits for their negligence in people getting sick and cruises being ruined.

The underlying factor here is that too many people are irresponsible. They will push their limits and since they paid so much for their cruise, they will do things far less prudent than they should. I mean that they will let the kid go to the club after showing symptoms, they will go to dinner, they will use the pool. If people were more practical, perhaps Disney would not have to be quite so proactive.

Lets face it folks, Disney is in a difficult position. The minority of people who exhibit suspicious symptoms may have to "suffer" quarantine or dis-embarkment to benefit the majority of the people. It is far from perfect but it is the best they can do.

And, I think they have been more than fair in compensating people. The illness did not originate on the ship, someone brought it to the ship (probably one of the people crying foul over being quarantined). Disney has no magic power medically speaking to stop the spread. I beleive every cruise line has disclaimers in their documents that state they are not responsible if you get sick. They are also not responsible for your travel arrangements if you have to leave the ship due to illness. Yet Disney is going above and beyond the legal requirements and living to a higher standard. The arguement can be made it is simply good business on their part, but maybe it is just the Disney way. Lord knows it would be good business for the other cruise lines to do it but I have not heard of them treating their passengers as well as Disney does.

Well, nobody asked, just my opinion.

(Oh and BTW - if on our next cruise one (2/14/04) of us got sick and Disney offered to fly us home and give us a replacement cruise later, I would take it happily. When I am sick there is no where I would rather be than my own bed.)

 

[cndncruiz]

This is a tough one. You don't want to go on a vacation where the people around you are sick and you spend all of the money to get there and plan for so long and you end up getting sick.

I think I would be less upset though, If I were to take my family on this vacation and they got sick because of others then if my daughter had motion sickness and vomitted and were policed and forced to stay in our room when she didn't have the flu.

It is alot of money and disney is in a tough position but there isn't much they can do really, especially more then they already have. I live VERY far away from Orlando and our hospital was almost completely closed to the general public because the hospital had the Norwalk virus. So there isn't much Disney can do to prevent it coming on board.

I am concerned about being locked up in our room because no matter what, it wouldn't be worth the over 10,000.00 to me to have to stay in our room for 3 days, no matter where we were. I have a vacation planned on DCL in one year, at the sick time of the year. This does worry me, I must admit.

I am very concerned about this and will have to rethink whether a cruise is a good idea. Not just Disney but any cruise.

Yikes.

 

[ncligs]

Originally posted by AnnMorin
I agree with you that a great of people do not have common sence, I was on the 12/7 cruise and right in the middle of dinner at Luminere's someone vomited all over the table. So unfortunately people are not using common sence!

I am sure that wasn't a pretty site.

 

[MarkRG]

From the gist of everything I have been reading on this subject, the bottom line is some people are quite accepting of measures taken(including me) and then there's the ones who, no matter what is done, it's going to be wrong. I feel bad for the people who have been quarantined, but, sofar, IN ALL cases stated, the symptoms in one way or another have been there. The people who have been removed from the ship, they refused medical's orders and were ejected from the ship, rightfully so. To me quarantine is the only answer, short of a PREVIOUSLY FILED medical statement before the cruise as the medical personnel have to take the position that the afflicted person will say anything to get out of the quarantine. No, I'm NOT calling anyone a liar, but, the risk of letting somone who is possibly ill go around the ship spreading it is too great. If it was me, I'd happily stay in quarantine until proven otherwise. But that's because I'm responsible enough to know it's for the greater good of others to be sure about it than to run the risk it could be illness and I'd be the one getting others sick.

All that said, I have NO compunctions whatsoever about going in February.

 

[peagreenid]

You can't have it BOTH ways. As I posted before, we go on these trips VACATION or bust. My neighbor discussed the SICK ships with me and I asked her one question........

1. If your child was vomiting or had diarhea 1-2 days before you went on your vacation, Would you cancel your vacation?

I can guarantee you that 99.9% would not. And yet bringing your children or family members on board ill, is what is causing this in the first place. And somehow some of you are trying to still say that this is DISNEY'S fault. That there is still something wrong with the ship. That it still needs to be cleaned.

I have read reports of Kids licking Ice Carvings, The horrors of what you see in the buffet lines, And I personally witnessed some idiot dipping his cup into an ice chest filled with ice at the drink station when the ice machine was empty, because he was TOO lazy to wait in line for the scoop. That alone made me want to throw up. If 10 passengers get on that ship and have semi- poor hygiene the virus can spread rapidly.

Another thing I find really amazing, Is how quickly the numbers grew on the "SICK" sailing when people were getting refunds. But now, NO ONE with a loose stool, upset tummy, nausea, or a little vomiting has the virus, because they don't want to be confined to their room.

smiles Patty

 

[peagreenid]

Disney is currently not the only cruise line executing quarantines.
I read a pretty nasty news story on a couple that was quarantined on a HAL cruise, just because their dinner companions came down with the virus and they had been exposed. They were not exhibiting any symptoms.

We just happen to be hearing about these, just like most of you weren't aware that this Norwalk Virus had been around on Cruise Ships since May of this year. Hal and Dcl just brought it home.

smiles Patty

 

[AnnMorin]

Kelli I had a queezy stomach , was NEVER vomiting and NEVER had diarihha (sp? )if I had then, YES I would have to say that as unhappy as it would make, me a quarentine would be in order. I was taking medicine that the written side effects are nausiousness so I was not overly concerned that I had the virus. My husband was advising me out of caution- not trying to hide the virus or get away with anything. If I had been displaying overt symptoms I am confident he would have also advised me to go to the medical center for treatment. (they have a shot to administer that stops the vomiting) I would NEVER put others at risk and walk around contaminating them. I am a preschool teacher and love children. I could NEVER put any child at risk! If I had true symptoms (not medication side effects of simple queeziness) then I would do the RIGHT thing.

Out of respect for Barb I am not going to become argumentative here, I hope your cruise is as wonderful as my last one was and our next one will be.

Happy Holidays everyone

 

[stancan]

We where on the dec 07th magic, because we booked the nov 30th magic and got cancelled. During our day at sea there where swarms of kids , including ours, cooling off at the mickey pool. Someones child had vomited in the pool and the whole pool was evacuated and srubbed down for about three hours, can you imagine all the upset children tugging at there parents for something to do. I have no simpathy for any family that gets the boot for not following official orders to protect the rest of the ship population.

 

[mcnuss]

First of all, going back to the original story that started this thread, the family that was asked to leave WOULD NOT WAIT FOR THE DOCTOR.

In a statement, Disney wrote, "the Browns refused the option to keep their child in their stateroom until he was medically cleared, so we had no choice but to remove them from the ship. We could not put 2,500 passengers at risk for them."

Second, until 4nana comes back, we are jumping to conclusions about whether she was "wrongfully" quantantined. There are 2 sides to every story. Pete Werner contacted DCL and was told that the stateroom host did not cause her to be quarantined, but that the ship's doctor makes the final call.

Then there's this:

Another thing I find really amazing, Is how quickly the numbers grew on the "SICK" sailing when people were getting refunds.

I was on the so-called sick sailing. I personally have neither seen nor heard of anyone playing possum in oder to get a refund (and if you feel you must, you can tell me if I missed something). Those who did get sick, and to whom compensation was offered (and not demanded), have every right to accept it in the spirit in which it was given.

Last, but not least, this thread and others like it are like a runaway train or the proverbial snowball. I see people so frightened of being quarantined that they are thinking about cancelling vacations that have been planned for years. As of right now, we "know" of 1 person potentially incorrectly quarantined, and 2 families with admittedly sick children who were either a) too impatient to wait for a doctor or b) too worried about spoiling their own trip that they'd risk spreading illness to others. Ok, that's three out of what, maybe 10,000 people who have cruised since the first virus outbreak?

So flame me all you like, but I think we all need to take a deep breath and go out there and enjoy the holiday madness.

Peace.

 

[lpursell]

mcnuss, Well said! I'm one of those getting worked up about the possibility of being quarantined for a reason other than the flu and I have realized that I am over-reacting. I contacted my travel agent who specializes in cruises and she said she has a friend who was on a Disney cruise last week who was quarantined and who did have the flu. I'm going to hope for the best, and watch to see if 4Nana posts.

 

[coach4448]

I have to agree with mcnuss.
My intent when I posted this was not to scare anyone into canceling a trip or to make folks feel that they would put into quarantine.
I posted it to show that I felt that Disney was being very pro-active in trying to keep something like this virus under control.
I thought that parents of this child were being very uncooperative. I would have gladly kept my child in the cabin for the time specified, and made the most of it. They ruined an entire trip for what might have been only 12 hours. To me, they spoiled what could have been a very nice time by not compiling with what they were asked to do. They were given a choice and they made it. I truly feel these parents did not want to have to contend with their own children. I have seen it on many cruises, the kid are dumped into the children’s programs while the parents are living it up. ( I know that the programs are there for the kids and to give the parents a break, but I have seen it taken advantage of many times)
My last cruise (not on Disney) I noticed the children’s group taking a tour holding hands. Now, we all know that small children most likely do not have the best hygiene habits. (Hand washing etc) All it would take is for one or two sick children to be touching the others and you have a shipful of sick kids.
To anyone that is thinking they should cancel, I am truly sorry that I posted this and have made you feel uncomfortable with your plans. I only wanted to share some information on how Disney was handling things. As I said, it was all the talk of 4nana that made me thinks of posting. I thought they are doing a fine job and showing concern for the passengers on the ships.

 

[mrsltg]

I don't know. In general, the idea of quaruntining is excessive. It's even more excessive when you consider that DCL is not (to the best of my knowledge) quaruntining the entire cabin, but just the sick individual. It's a shame that DCL is backed into this corner, but I have to believe that they are overreacting. Are we now to be afraid that if we had a large lunch and don't want dinner we'll be locked up for 3 days? Or better, if the ship's pitching and you get seasick you're out of luck until someone tells you otherwise? What about a pregnant woman in her first trimester who experiences 'terminal quease'? Denying someone the ability to move about as they wish is extremely dangerous ground. I really hope that DCL has thought this through before they end up with a false imprisonment charge and/or lawsuit in their laps.

Erin

 

[AnnMorin]

Originally posted by mrsltg
I really hope that DCL has thought this through before they end up with a false imprisonment charge and/or lawsuit in their laps.

Erin

False imprisonment (from Barron's law dictonary third edition) as a tort, the unjustitifed detention of a person. The restraint must be total so that it amounts to an imprisonment; mere obstruction, stopping, locking one out of his room, etc.. is not enough 219F 2d 622,624. The total restraint may, however be of any appreciable duration. 70 So. 734, 736. No physical force need be used so long as the victim reasonably believes that he is being restrained against his will.

I would think false imprisonment is a bit much.. people are free to disembark if they choose not to be quarentined. But Disney will probably make people sign waivers in the future to avoid tort issues.

 

[hydster]

that I think this is one of those posts where people are going to have to agree to disagree and let it go. Neither side is getting anywhere with the other side! I dont have a position on this and dont know how to stand but I do think that this post no matter how many arguments all of us have will NOT benefit any of us!

Just my opinion and flame me if you want but I dont see any point to this since both sides are right in their positions in some ways and one side will never get another side to agree with their position of whether or not DCL was right or wrong. This is a non-winning argument and seems kind of pointless to me! Everyone who has a cruise planned should do what THEY think is right for THEIR family and not worry about anything else. Only you can decide what risk is worth it and which is not for you! It is unfortunate that this has received so much attention but I think if we go to war with Iraq this issue will be the last thing the media reports on...right now it seems this is the best shock value they can find (other than Trent Lott but that is a whole other subject for another board!)

JMHO and now let the flames begin!

Heidi

 

[ppiew]

Enough is enough is enough!! This is beating a dead horse. No matter what - people will do what they will do. The way we live our lives and the choices we make are our own - along with ANY consequences. Chosing what to do or what not to do for others is no one else's perogative - only our own. No one yet has changed my mind and I am sure I have not changed anyone's. I WILL go on the cruise, if I get sick - I will deal with it then. If my grandchildren get the chicken pox at school, they WILL stay home - nobody needs to tell me otherwise. MY responsibility. DCL has a business to run and it seems they are doing their level best despite ruffling some feathers. Let's move on.

 

[AnnMorin]

Amen........

 

[TeamMom011]

I would like to put just a bit of a different spin on this thread - -

My thanks to Coach4448 for posting the information. I am on permanent disability with a gastro-intestinal disease that on occasion will cause symptoms similar to the dreaded norwalk virus ( truth be told, that's the reason we're in a category 3. Not because we require the added benefits or space, it's so our family will have two bathrooms since I tend to spend an inordinate amount of time there).

Because Coach4448 brought this up in what I believe to be a positive attempt to let us know that DCL was doing all it can to stop the spread, I have begun the process of asking DCL exactly what I need to bring along to prove that any flare up of my disease is just that and nothing contagious. I realize my interest in this thread is a bit unusual, but the point is once again these boards have provided a heads up that might save me much time and grief.

Thanks again Coach4448.

 

[ppiew]

TeamMOM - Now THAT's the kind of help these boards need to give. You are handling your potential problems in a proactive way and should be applauded. Best wishes to you and your kind and have a Happy Holiday!

 

[ppiew]

TeamMOM - Now THAT's the kind of help these boards need to give. You are handling your potential problems in a proactive way and should be applauded. Best wishes to you and and have a Happy Holiday! Ano ounce of prevention is always worth a pound of cure.