Horrible Experiance with DCL - Please be aware!

[Hercules10]

I saw another report of a lady who got an upset stomach and her DCL vacation went sour.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=478824

DCL needs to find a way to address these upset stomach issues or passengers will not come forward, infected or not.

 

[eek40]

Ah yes the "other" post about upset stomach. I was the one that got totally flamed on that one for saying I disagreed with the Original poster. However I also can see Belu's point. I wont coment on what dcl did or didnt do being fair or not as the poster stated thats not what she was writing about. What I will say is when people post about upset stomachs and quarentines everyone(not everyone I know) but a lot of people make the decision to AVOID DR ON BOARD AT ALL COST. This is what worries me. In my experience with having being quarentined for 90 % of my last trip I felt that DCL dr's were great, understanding, kind, smart. I would trust them. By not going if you have vomitting it puts many more people in danger. To me its just not something I want on my mind that because I wanted the "perfect" vacation I would put others at risk. But thats me. Please those of you that say you wont go to the dr just because of what happens to others, unless it involves a really bad thing..like something that causes injury. I know I am asking a lot, and that people will do what they want anyway. Hey I know how upset I was during my trip. Bottom line, it wasnt their fault, nothing I could have done to prevent it or plan for it...its just life. I made the best out of it.
Aimee

 

[CRB#33]

Originally posted by Hercules10

DCL needs to find a way to address these upset stomach issues or passengers will not come forward, infected or not.

They are addressing them.

It's just that people don't like the way they are.

As long as DCL confines people or tells them not to cruise, passengers may choose not to come forward. But what else is DCL supposed to do? Risk many more passengers getting sick? Risk the backlash that comes when many people get sick and the press runs with it?

They're caught between a rock and a hard place. They have made a policy and they are sticking to it.

 

[eek40]

Originally posted by CRB#33
They are addressing them.

It's just that people don't like the way they are.

As long as DCL confines people or tells them not to cruise, passengers may choose not to come forward. But what else is DCL supposed to do? Risk many more passengers getting sick? Risk the backlash that comes when many people get sick and the press runs with it?

They're caught between a rock and a hard place. They have made a policy and they are sticking to it.

Thank you crb..thats what I was trying to say and you said it soooo well!
Aimee

 

[hydster]

Sorry to hear about your disappointment. It stinks no matter how long you plan for a trip to have it ruined by illness. I have had several trips ruined with motion sickness or reaction to the patch so I know it stinks.

I think DCL did the right thing by not letting you on the ship. You mentioned you had a flu shot...the only thing is that the flu shot helps against influenza not a stomach virus so even if you had had a flu shot it would NOT guard against throwing up and diarreah.

Many people commonly and incorrectly confuse influenza (the flu) with the common cold. Flu differs from the cold in that someone with the flu gets sick suddenly, looks much sicker, and feels much weaker than if the ailment were a common cold.

The common cold is a mild infection frequently caused by viruses other than the influenza virus.

Flu is an acute infection of the airway tract in the nose and throat that can sometimes spread down into the lungs. It is the most frequent cause of acute respiratory illness and can affect people of all ages. It occurs every year mainly in late fall and early winter and in a widespread fashion affecting many people of different ages at the same time. The peak season for the flu is from November through March.

Some also confuse the flu illness with the term stomach flu. The latter is an illness associated with nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea and can be caused by bacteria or viruses, other than the flu. It is a stomach illness, whereas flu is an illness of the respiratory system in the body.

I know you didnt ask for it but my opinion is you were fairly reimbursed by Disney and this is one of the main reasons we buy travel insurance because you NEVER know! Travel insurance covers against this kind of thing and reimburses you if your trip is cancelled because of unforseen illness.

I guess I'm one of the few who agree with what Disney did.

 

[alexandrew]

no one else in your party became ill....you ate a few classic dishes at that restaurant that are prone to spoilage...in addition, you were the only one in your party to eat those dishes...also, the illness hit you suddenly, as food poisoning does, within hours of ingesting the suspect item(s)....as your report indicated, you had no prior symptoms i.e. aches , chills et al before eating at that restaurant....

I love DCL....but I think they really blew it with you...I guess it was their interpretation of doing the best they can for the greater good of the passengers....If I were you, I would have taken the $1300, collected on your trip insurance, and sailed on a future cruise on one of RCCL's Voyager Class ships....

as for all you agent provocateur contrarians who think DCL did the right thing.....get a life....this woman and her family were treated poorly and deserved appropriate compensation i.e full refund and free future cruise....

 

[LAMPSKIES]

Belu.......am I understanding you right that you didn't see the "I, nor has anyone in our sailing party have not had any flu like symptoms in the last 48 (I'm not sure of the time) hours". Before we boarded the bus from POR 11/29/03 ALL parties had to sign a release for before the bus even got to the resort to take us to the ship. On that form it gave us our options if someone WAS sick in that time period.
As far as travel insurance.......if DCL offers you a "refund" you can not file a claim. I found that out with our cancelled 11/30/02 Magic. I didn't look into it but it looks like DCL is "self insured". Which means they own the travel insurance company.

Try what I did......write a detailed letter to DCL. If you have one of those cards send it to that address....Lake Buena Vista I believe. Demand NOTHING!! Just give a detail of what happened and express your displeasure....like you did in the first part of your post....you know no vacation time due to a new job etc..... Don't threaten and don't wine. I am confidant the even though they "made it right" at a resort they will give you an incentive to return. Post back if you need that address.

 

[MarkRG]

I would also chime in on the fact that DCL was totally fair in dealing with you.


You yourself said you were exhibing all the symptoms, fever, vomiting, diharrea. Unfortunately, these virus outbreaks in the past have happened by people knowing they were ill boarding and spreading it around. The only way they can take steps is to deny passage to anyone visibly ill with the known symptoms. I am not accusing you of anything and do not take this the wrong way, but how do they know it was just something you ate? They don't. You cannot deny that there are people who would say anything to avoid being quarantined. They have to draw the line, and I for one am content that they do. Anyway I am sure it is in the fine print of the contract to cruise that they can deny passage on any basis they deem a threat to the passengers.

I am sorry for your aggrivation over this knowing what you did to bring this about in having potentially volitile foods the night before, but I do think their response was right and proper.

 

[floridafam]

Why does DCL deny passage to people because of illness but then they turn around and send them to hotels at WDW?

Hotels are small, full of people, most have pools where the sick person would be swimming.

This isn't the first time I have heard of them doing this.

Makes no sense to me.

 

[LAMPSKIES]

If a certain % of passengers on a ship get sick it MUST be reported.....I think that number is 5%. 5% of 2400 passengers in 1 contained space(......let's face it it's like a big airplane when the a/c is on) 5% of thousands of people spread out over....how many miles??

 

[LAMPSKIES]

Belu.............please don't take this as a slam but........look at it from my point of view........2500 of us were cancelled the Wednesday before our sailing, many were already at WDW,(it was Thanksgiving week) some were to leave Saturday, (that left room for modifications) and some like me had a flight out 13 hours after we were told of the cancellation. If DCL had not let the 85 people on the sailing before ours they might not have had to change the plans of the 2500 of us! JMHO

 

[goingbacksoon]

Letting one person on a cruise ship who may be possibly infected with a virus is a lot bigger risk than letting them stay in WDW. After all, there can presumably be upwards of 80,000 people in that area at any time spread over 50 square miles or so. Put simply, a cruise ship is far smaller than 50 square miles.

As a scientist, I know you can never tell when it comes to illnesses. Safety always comes first, even if some negative results occur. And while you weren't able to cruise, you walked away with a substantial "plan B."

I wouldn't abandon DCL for this, in fact, I'd probably be more wary of restaurants in WDW instead. DCL is truly a rewarding vacation for the price you pay, and they take steps to make sure it is like that for everyone.

goingbacksoon

 

[Mjasp]

This has nothing to do with the OP, but I've been meaning to say this every time this subject comes up.

I had the Norwalk virus a few years ago, and I was so sick, I couldn't get up to go infect anyone else. I went to the ER via ambulance, as I was blacking out. They admitted me and I was in for 2 days with an IV until I hydrated again. Even after I was discharged I was well but still very weak. So if someone truly gets the Norwalk virus, once they have the symptoms they will be in their stateroom and not able to eat or roam the ship. On the other hand, BEFORE the symptoms appear is what I would be concerned about.

OK ready for flames

 

[SeaSpray]

Originally posted by Mjasp
This has nothing to do with the OP, but I've been meaning to say this every time this subject comes up.

I had the Norwalk virus a few years ago, and I was so sick, I couldn't get up to go infect anyone else. I went to the ER via ambulance, as I was blacking out. They admitted me and I was in for 2 days with an IV until I hydrated again. Even after I was discharged I was well but still very weak. So if someone truly gets the Norwalk virus, once they have the symptoms they will be in their stateroom and not able to eat or roam the ship. On the other hand, BEFORE the symptoms appear is what I would be concerned about.

OK ready for flames

I was thinking the same exact thing. When you truly have a stomach/intestinal virus, you couldn't pass yourself off as being "well" if you wanted to, once the symptoms hit you.

Unfortunately, before the symptoms hit you, you may be spreading germs, but there's no way of knowing it

 

[LAMPSKIES]

No flames here Mjasp....................would you really WANT to be on the ship feeling like that?? I got what I thought was food poisoning after our Dec. 1 (Wonder) cruise, Friday at WDW.(replacement of cancelled Magic) I NEVER get sick!! I was down and out from about 4:00 p.m. 'till the next morning.....with the exception of running to the bathroom all night. To this day I don't know if it was Norwak, food or flu. It just hit me.....I was fine the 2 hours later all I wanted to do was curl up in a ball under the blankets......then it was gone 24 hours later.

 

[two-foxes]

Belu-
I am very sorry to hear of your experience. I was horribly ill on our WDW trip in 02/01, as a result of something....all I know is that I will never eat at the Crystal Palace again for dinner. I don't know if it was food poisoning or not and needless to say the staff at CP ensured me it was not. Regardless, perhaps you should retitle your post as "horrible experience with cruising-beware" I would be shocked if any other cruise line would have allowed you or handled the situation much differently. It is a hazard with cruising...as bad weather and mechanical problems could be.

One reason we will always book with Disney is because I know that the service is there....I know we will be taken care of, as we have been in the past when odd issues arise. I hope you reconsider your choice to never do DCL again. It is tough to replace that Disney magic elsewhere...even if you thought is was missing on your trip!

Lastly,

as for all you agent provocateur contrarians who think DCL did the right thing.....get a life....this woman and her family were treated poorly and deserved appropriate compensation i.e full refund and free future cruise....

What?

By the way, where are you from in Colorado? Fort Collins, here!!

 

[lookingforward]

First of all, I am soooo sorry for your trouble. I think Disney had no choice but to stop you from sailing...due to the Norwalk problem and how quickly it can infect people and kill the cruise business. BUT...I also think that they treated you very, very rudely.

1. The doctor should have spoken to you instead of your husband. The nurse should have gotten the doctor as soon as you became upset.

2. The fact that you called and complained about the food at Norway (before the cruise) should have been confirmed. They might have possibly discovered OTHER guests with the same symptom and then safely attributed it to food poisoning. (but then that would have opened up a whole new can of worms with regard to liability!)

3. They should have NEVER said deluxe and then put you in moderate. Talk about adding one final "kick in the stomach".

Since Disney evidently owns the travel insurance policies I don't think what they did was so wonderful. They would have had to do it ANYWAY.

In the end you might not have enjoyed your cruise if you had sailed because you were sick. Maybe you should write a very detailed letter and talk to someone about the entire incident. Perhaps you will feel better and give DCL another try.

I am truly sorry for your pain. Glad you had fun anyway!

 

[hawke]

I really liked Akershus when I ate there on my trip

 

[HooKooDooKu]

belu

It sounds like to me you did not have problems with the food but instead got a stomic virus (they take about 48 hours from the time you are infected til the symtoms you describe start).

I have not had the opportunity to read all of the responses in this thread, but generally speaking, I too think that Disney's response was reasonable given that in my view you had a stomic virus rather than food at Akershus making you sick.

Now I'll admit that I am not a doctor, but I can say the symtoms that you described fit exactly with what our family went through with what we KNOW to be a stomic virus and NOT food poisoning.

While I will not say that DCL handled the situation perfectly, IMHO the start of what turned into a bad situation was your (belu) assumption that you got sick from eating at Akershus for dinner. If I am right, then you got sick by being exposed to the stomic virus on or about Monday the 5th, the day you arrived at Wilderness Lodge. Do you remember being around anyone vomiting about that time?

[edit]
Sorry if the above message sounds at all like a flame. I don't intended it to be. I only want to point out that I think you are making a big assumption that food got you sick on the 7th. Even if the start of a big mess was caused by any mistake you might have made, that still does not excuse DCL for any poor mismanagement of the situation (such as trying to turn a $1300 cruise credit into a less than equivilent stay at WDW).

 

[Nick@ VB+OKW]

Originally posted by Mjasp
So if someone truly gets the Norwalk virus, once they have the symptoms they will be in their stateroom and not able to eat or roam the ship.

OK ready for flames