Nightmare Cruise January 15th

[pershing]

I was also on the same cruise and my kids lived in the pools. When were they closed due to rough seas? The only time I saw a pool closed was when a little girl threw up in the Mickey Pool on Friday. They kept the goofy pool open when it was a virtual 'wave pool' sloshing back and forth with tons of people in it. (The kids loved that, by the way.)

 

[MrsMork]

For personal reasons I WILL NEVER SAIL ON ANOTHER DISNEY CRUISE. Why My husband almost died. I AM NOT ABOUT TO MAKE THIS UP.
There medical is the worse. They were suppose to medivac him out but unfortunately could not find a helicopter.
So he sat with a concussion and blood preasure beyond the charts for two days in his room.
All I can say they could not wait to get him off the ship.
NEVER AGAIN

The medical staff are not Disney. They are the same that service most cruise ships. I received treatment from them on the 10 day Christmas cruise and they were professional, knowledgable and kind. Now I did not need to be evacuated, but again was it Disney that could not get a helicopter? Disney does not have their own helicopters. I hope your husband is doing better, but felt it needed to be made clear that the medical staff are not any different than any other line.

 

[niks81]

I was not on the Disney cruise during those dates but I was on Carnival from Jan 21-24 and the water was ROUGH. I'm talking people were hanging on for dear life in the dining area and those that weren't near anything were falling!! It was like nothing I've ever seen.

That being said, it's part of the territory with winter cruising. I think all cruiselines try to be accommodating to their guests. I know on my cruise they didn't contract with FOX as a channel regularly in the rooms, but the FB game was on to determine who was in the superbowl, and Carnival paid extra to get the channel for all the guests, and it made for a hell of a good time

The water is always better in the late spring/summer

 

[MrsMork]

The medical staff are not Disney. They are the same that service most cruise ships. I received treatment from them on the 10 day Christmas cruise and they were professional, knowledgable and kind. Now I did not need to be evacuated, but again was it Disney that could not get a helicopter? Disney does not have their own helicopters. I hope your husband is doing better, but felt it needed to be made clear that the medical staff are not any different than any other line.

Did a bit of research. The medical services are provided by Vanter Cruise Health Services.

 

[Muushka]

Did anyone else notice this at the end of the OP post? Maybe it was meant to be a joke.

 

[MrsMork]

I, for one, fail to see the humor in Norwalk virus on a cruise ship.

 

[Muushka]

I, for one, fail to see the humor in Norwalk virus on a cruise ship.

Well, I don't think it's funny either. But then you never know what makes people tick.... or start a troublesome post .

 

[jkssands]

I had clicked on the link to read the post thinking I may have to worry and this seems like someone with nothing better to do than make up more than the truth.

 

[BRADYMAN]

Boy getting sick on your vacation does not sound like fun. That Norwalk Virus pops up on cruse ships every year. Too many people in one area. I still want to try a D cruse, how is the weather in July?

 

[BRADYMAN]

I found the CNN story http://www.cnn.com/2005/TRAVEL/01/22/cruise.virus/index.html

 

[EWL]

I found the CNN story http://www.cnn.com/2005/TRAVEL/01/22/cruise.virus/index.html

That story refers to Royal Caribbean's Mariner of the Seas, NOT Disney!!

 

[allears]

Cruised Disney Magic Jan 15-22nd. Missed Cayman Islands due to rough seas. Missed Castaway Cay again due to rough seas. Pools closed due to rough seas. Other cruise ships with same itineraries diverted to other ports so that their passengers could enjoy themselves, but not our ship. Everyone on board was sick with stomach virus. Our complaints were ignored. Have now found out that the ship was carrying the Norwalk Virus which explains everyone sick. Not so sure about Disney.

We were on that cruise as well, and while I totally understand yours and anyone's disappointment regarding missing ports, espeically CC, please understand that your description of the crusie does not speak for all of us. We had an awesome time, and never saw anyone sick, publicly.

And as a couple of posters said, other lines have multiple ships with agreements at other ports. Taking a cruise ship to another port is not like taking a bus to a different mall. There are limited docking faclilities, differing port taxes and authorities, plue the change needs to be with in a certain distance of the next port of call, sot that it can be made on time.

It is a shame when unforseen circumstances disrupt what we've been planning for and looking forward to for a long time, but it does happen. Again, many of us had a blast, and I can't wait to be back on the Magic.

 

[CU on The Magic]

No Norwalk Virus here!

We just returned from a FABULOUS Jan 22 Disney Cruise, and had the vacation of a lifetime ( even though we did not get to parasail on Castaway due to high winds). No one in our party was sick, nor did we observe anyone who appeared under the weather.

We have absolutely NO complaints about the entire DCL experience. This was our first ever Cruise, and were not traveling with children. Disney went above and beoynd all of our expectations to make it incredible for Adults, as well as all of the kids we saw on board. The shows were incredible, the food was fantastic (yes, even Topsider's buffet breakfast and lunch was top quality), and crew members were the best!

Thursday night we experienced some 10 foot waves, but it was still not as bad as what I had anticipated. I have never slept better.

We did the Orient Beach excursion, had a great time. The weather was beautiful , compaired to the snow storm we left in WV at the time or our departure. Then took the open air taxi to Magen's Bay Beach, and again it was wonderful. My DH said the taxi ride was better than a roller coaster. I think our driver was trained via Nascar .

I am so glad we decided on the DCL, our vacation could not have been better! Also, I wanted to add a note of THANKS! to all of you who post all of those great tips and suggestions on this board, because I read them all. This was great information, and helped me make a lot of decisions about planning and packing before our trip.

We are already planning our second DISNEY CRUISE..............and can't wait till we are back on board.

 

[Howdill]

i know for a fact that the disney magic did not have the norwalk virus, as my daughter worrks on the ship, and she says that if they had of had it onboard crew are informed immediately, as to step up sanitizing procedures, precautions etc! Anf they were not, however GI is not common aboard any ship, whether disney or not! Disney cannot control the weather either, that is a risk you take cruising in the winter months, and they do their upmost to entertain, and my daughter would know as shes in the mainstage cast, entertainment, and she told me they did extra shows, and cruise staff added many more activities! It is unfortunate that you experienced a bad cruise, however dont let that be the judge, as 95% of cruisers have a phenomenal time, and return once, if not more!!!

 

[LakeAriel]

THIS WAS NOT A DISNEY TRIP!!!!!!!!!

 

[JimmyJackJunior]

I too was on the Jan 22nd cruise. While I did have some complaints and probably wont do it again one thing they were great about was cleanliness.

Also had to take my five year old nephew to teh medical staff for a really bad cough and can only compliment them.

 

[James Metcalf]

My wife and daughter and I all contracted a terrible virus while on the Disney western cruise this last summer 05. It was both stomach and respiratory. It even got into my wife's eyes and has caused damage to her retina which is permanent. We have seen numerous doctors, including specialists who confirm this must have come from the cruise ship but is not Norwalk. Prior to this my family was the picture of health and we have all had reoccurring health problems since them. This was my first cruise and my last. My daughter had a great time and the ship and crew were first class but I would never risk close quarters living with a thousand plus strangers again as part of my vacation. I am writing this because I did not know this was a risk when I booked the cruise and people should know the risks before cruising. I know there are risks everywhere in life but after traveling in many countries this is my first devastating illness.

J. F. Metcalf

 

[justmestace]

My wife and daughter and I all contracted a terrible virus while on the Disney western cruise this last summer 05. It was both stomach and respiratory. It even got into my wife's eyes and has caused damage to her retina which is permanent. We have seen numerous doctors, including specialists who confirm this must have come from the cruise ship but is not Norwalk. Prior to this my family was the picture of health and we have all had reoccurring health problems since them. This was my first cruise and my last. My daughter had a great time and the ship and crew were first class but I would never risk close quarters living with a thousand plus strangers again as part of my vacation. I am writing this because I did not know this was a risk when I booked the cruise and people should know the risks before cruising. I know there are risks everywhere in life but after traveling in many countries this is my first devastating illness.

J. F. Metcalf

Two questions:
1. How much time searching did it take you to dredge up a year-old thread?

2. Can you honestly tell us that you didn't realize before you booked the cruise that you would be in close quarters with a thousand (or two) other people?



Okay, I lied. More questions:
Did you go into any ports? Could you have possibly picked up something there?
I am truly sorry for your families illness, and the after effects, but still......it's a bit of a stretch to blame it on the cruise line.

 

[DIS NURSE]

pretty funny this year old thread surfaces now!
Thanks for the entertaining reading!

....can't wait for our 2nd DCL vacation this Fall! 2 stops at CC!

 

[James Metcalf]

1. Less than 5 minutes. If you are ever suffer a life altering virus someday (I hope not) you may find yourself doing searches from time-to-time on the subject, particularly when the problems persist six months later.

2. Honestly, the thought of contracting a dreadful virus never entered my mind when booking the vaction. I first became aware of the possibility onboard with the over-the-top precautions like hand washing stations in the middle of the walkways when you enter and leave all dining areas. Someone commented to me that they had problems in the past with Norwalk. That was news to me.

3. Yes, we went ashore in Mexico and I could easily use Mexico as the virus scapegoat except for the fact that I live and work less than 30 min from the U.S./Mexico Border and have never experienced anthing like this before depite having lived and traveled in Mexico over the years.