The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is looking into an outbreak blamed for making 143 people sick Carnival Cruise Lines’ “Holiday.”
The ship returned to port this morning, after a 4-day cruise to Cozumel.
According to Matt Albright with the CDC, 121 passengers and 22 crew members on-board the ship contracted the Norwalk Virus, a gastrointestinal illness that causes sudden nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. Symptoms usually last for 48 hours.
The CDC is trying to determine whether it will conduct an outbreak investigation. Outbreak investigations, which involve inspecting the ship, looking at things like how the food is stored to the cleanliness of restrooms, are normal in these types of cases. But the CDC says it is swamped at the moment investigating 15 other Norwalk outbreaks reported nationwide since January 1st.
This is not the first time “Holiday” passengers have gotten sick from the Norwalk Virus. In December of 2003, 120 passengers and crew members contracted the virus during a a 5-day cruise to Playa Del Carmen and Cozumel.
Despite the latest outbreak, the manager of Mobile’s Cruise Terminal told News 5 that the “Holiday” is leaving this afternoon on another cruise. We’ll have much more on this story, including an interview with a passenger who says she got deathly ill, tonight on News 5 at 6:00.
Statement from Carnival Cruise Line
During the previous voyage of the cruise ship Holiday, a four-day cruise, which departed from Mobile, Ala., on Jan. 24 and returned to Mobile this morning, a number of incidences of gastrointestinal illness were reported to the ship’s infirmary.
The cruise line has been working closely with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control since the early part of that voyage. In addition, as soon as the cruise line became aware of an increased incidence of gastro-intestinal illness, the following actions were taken:
– Provided full medical care to guests and crew who became ill and arranged for food and beverages to be provided in the cabins during their recovery.
– Increased the frequency of cleaning and sanitation throughout the ship.
– Offered serving assistance in all the buffet areas to replace self service.
– Communicated with guests throughout the voyage regarding the situation.
The cruise line is currently working with the Centers for Disease Control to determine the cause. Laboratory testing is being conducted to determine what caused the outbreak to occur although a norovirus is viewed as the most likely source.
A total of 121 guests of 1,548 sailing on the four-day voyage and 22 crew out of 686 on board reported to the ship’s infirmary with illness symptoms over the course of the four-day voyage. A reduction in new cases during the latter part of the voyage suggests that the intensive efforts the crew made to reduce further spread proved successful.
The Holiday is scheduled to depart Mobile this afternoon on a five-day voyage to Mexico.
Ship Happenzz 
I was one of the so called 121 passengers sick on this ship. I am shocked by the number that was given by the CDC. Although I do not know the exact amount of people that were sick, there were far more than what they are reporting. As far as the crew, if there were only 22 of 686 crew members, then where were the other 664 members. We could not find anyone to service our room, deliver room service, provide beverages and the main show was cancelled on Sunday Night. Does that sound like 22 crew members? Carnival Cruise Line is covering their tracks and I cannot believe they would sail that germ infested ship back to Mexico and take the chance of contaminating more passengers. Also, what is up with the fact that we were quarantined in Mexico but passengers who were diagnosed with the virus were allowed to exit the ship in Mobile. Looks like we need to start protecting our own ports so this virus epidemic can be controlled in the U.S.
This was the worst experience ever and the way carnival is hiding the facts just makes it worse. Instead of talking to Carinval why don’t the passengers that were sick on this cruise.
My husband was one of the passengers aboard the M S Holiday out of Mobile that was infested with this AWFUL virus if that is what it truly was. We have our doubts. However regarding the statements that was reported from the cruise line this is a absolute joke there was far more than a 143 passengers aboard that infested ship that were sick. There was probably that many alone our floor alone. There was 5 of the 8 in our group that got sick. Three of the eight were quarantined in their cabins for 24 hours and never even saw the light of day in Mexico and as far as food or liquids or anyone being in contact with any of our group there was not one single drop of food or drink ever offered to anyone as a matter of fact my mother and myself got off to get gatorade and crackers for our family members that were sick we couldn’t even get ice . I went and hunted it down myself. No one ever contacted us to see how my husband was and the day we left someone contacted 2 of the 5 that were sick to see if they needed assistance getting off the ship. No one offered my husband assistance and he at that point had had no solid food since Friday night at dinner. It was very disturbing to me to walk around the ship and see all the crew and staff with their gloves and mask on but we were never offered a mask or gloves .Also I would love to know why it is that we were told that the Mexican Government will not allow anyone to get off sick in Mexico but we will let them bring a whole ship of infested people back to the U.S. and let them off maybe if we protected our people like they do we wouldn’t have an epidemic going around. I would love to tell someone who could do something about this more of this nightmare of a vacation and I will not stop until someone listens.
I totally agree… and have my own experiences to add to this nightmare.
In response to the response from the Carnival Cruise Line … They are full of the stuff that was coming out my behind! I do not mean to take lightly or joke about what went on, on that ship. I sit here typing still dizzy headed, headache, and not holding down anything of substance. We stopped four times for me to go to the restroom on the way home and I went to the restroom twice going through the immagration lines … they could not wait to get us off of the boat. Friday night 3 of the eight traveling with us were sick and went to the infirmary for help. Two received medication and one a shot. They remained in their cabins all day and yes, they did refund our shore excurssion fees for the group, since that had been ruined. When we went down for help there were people laying in the floor, down the hallways and NO ONE that had been there could leave the ship! But, they suggested getting Gatorade, which some of the people were unable to get, because both in the same stateroom were sick. There were others on board that went to shore to get these items for those that were quarantined. I, myself, went to shore to get a few souvenirs for my granddaughter and within three hours of getting back on the ship I started with the same symptoms. So did my brother in law, which had also left the ship. By the next morning, 5 of our 8 were in bed recovering, watching as people (staff) ignored us, took there ever loving time filling a simple request for ice … (it took 4 1/2 hours) to get something from room service. I did manage to get to the infirmary on Sunday morning and they gave me a shot and told me to stay in my state room until we reached the United States. When I was in the infirmary there were atleast 30 more people and they were all talking about the eight that had be removed from the ship and taken to the emergency room in Cozamel. LEFT to get home by there own means!!! When they were making the calls to disembark … THEY FINALLY CALLED to make sure that we did not need assistance leaving the ship … “but we would have to make our way ourselves to the eighth floor from the fifth in a crowded ship to be able to get a wheel chair because they were understaffed”. As we were making our way down the hallways … EVERY ROOM that we passed had atleast one person sick in it and most had gotten sick since the original on Friday night … some had even caught it a second time by the time we reached the United States. I cannot believe that the United States government will just let any contracted unknown disease cross it’s border like this … If they would have borded that ship and requested for all sick passengers to have remained in their staterooms … I’m sure that 4 out of every 5 staterooms would have had atleast 1 person in it. This is rediculous! I could be bringing this home and passing it to my family, which could then take it to their work or schools! There were more than 120 names taken down by a sick attorney on board, which I’m sure will be contacting them soon. If they would have been nice at all this would not be a problem, but the fact that the money is more important than their customers and the welfare of others in the United States bothers me deeply!
I have to disagree with the previous poster. I was also on the Holiday for this cruise, and thankfully my family was not among the 8% or so of the ship that was infected with the virus.
I think that the prior poster’s reaction is understandable, but misplaced. We did notice a decrease in the speediness of room service, but I’m sure that was due to the increased strain of approximately 40 families which were in quarantine and therefore relied on room service, as well as the decreased capacity of the sickened crew.
As far as servicing our room, we had excellent service throughout the cruise. Our steward was very attentive to our needs, and we had exemplary service in that regard.
Of course the Sunday Night main show was canceled; all it would take is for two or three dancers to get sick for the show to be impossible to perform. No show on Sunday is hardly a catastrophe of any proportion.
Regarding your comment about infected passengers being restricted from going ashore in Mexico, but being allowed to leave in Mobile… the illness was brought on-board in the United States, so of course a general quarantine would be put in place to stop the infected passengers from entering a foreign port. Mexico is doing exactly what you suggested America do… protect its own ports. Since the virus was brought aboard in the US (symptoms were showing up on the very first day) there’s no need (or sense) in going through drastic measures.
In all, I don’t fault Carnival at all. I don’t think they hid any facts from the media or from the CDC. I think they downplayed the infection during the course of the cruise (the show was canceled for “technical reasons”, for example) to keep an unwarranted panic from occurring. I feel that your reaction was due to the fact that you were one of the unlucky 8%, and of course your trip was miserable, and of course you feel that things were much worse than I feel that they were.
I too was one of the infected ones. I was treated at the infirmary and was well taken care of by the personnel there, but I was among the first to have symptoms. The main show on Saturday night was canceled as well and the pool was closed too. The wait staff were clearly taking up the slack because there were a lot of crew members sick. I also think the number reported was too low. There were at least 22 people out of our group of 140 alone that were sick. Carnival made the statement that they had kept us informed of what was happening but we were never told anything about it. We were all ready to get off of the ship and I would hate to have been on the 5 day cruise that was leaving out this afternoon. One of our concerns is bringing it home to our families. We were also told by some of the crew members that some of the crew were sick on the cruise before ours. The ship should have been sanitized then.
Yes, I agree 100%. I didn’t report my illness until the night before we got back to Mobile. I experienced the symptoms for 2-1/2 days. While in the infirmary, i filled out paper work and i believe they did not finish it at the time. In fact, a lady came in behind me and the nurse said that they would not be filling out any more paperwork. they were just to hand out the medicine. I can’t remember the nurses name, but she was from South Africa. there should be more investigation.
Sounds like the passengers need a vacation from their vacation.
For most of my life I have been told to never take a cruise, it seems the reason why is this exact issue. My mom has always been a bit of a germ-o-phobe and so cruises have always been a no-no because of the various bacterial outbreaks and viruses such as the one that has afflicted the Carnival cruise. I have always thought that she was a bit out of control about this and simply being melodramatic, that is until I read this.
I am so nauseated to learn about this outbreak. A few years ago my aunt went on a cruise similar to this and she did get a mild case of food poisoning, but she is always sick so it didn’t seem like a big deal. In addition, I am a student studying public relations and Carnival is doing a terrible PR job. To deny the severity of an outbreak of this nature is the worst thing that a cruise line can do. It makes them seem like a unethical corporation, not to mention the fact that they are endangering many lives in not acknowledging and advising what people should to prevent and cure their ailments.
I guess now I finally understand why my mom has always feared cruise ships. I should call her and tell her she was right.
I just arrived home from the four day Holiday cruise on a chartered bus. There were 57 of us on the cruise as a group. Several became very ill while on the cruise and several became ill on our bus ride home. We were not informed by the Holiday staff that there was a viral outbreak, but found out by word of mouth. The staff worked hard to keep the virus at bay, but there appeared to be less and less of them. I don’t know if a lot of them were sick or if they were tapped for other jobs that they might not normally do. So far, I have not become ill. If I make it through tomorrow, I think I wil have escaped it. Wish me luck.
When I called Carnival Cruise in Miami on my way home the Customer Support Representative indicated they were not aware of any sickness on this Cruise Ship. I find this hard to believe since the CDC says they were notified.
It is important that anyone who was affected by this illness contact Carnival in Miami and start yourself a file. The number is 1-800-929-6400. This is the executive office for Carnival. We were given this number by the Pursers on the Cruise and were told the Miami office would be the only representative from Carnival that would discuss the sickness outbreak on the ship. There was nothing they could do.
I also have contacted Matt Albright with the CDC. His contact number is 954-356-6650. Please let him know your experience.
I believe with all my heart that this number is a fabricated number and not all of the paper work was turned into the CDC. On our floor alone there had to be atleast that number not including other floors. When I went to the infirmary on Monday morning I was handed medication without a name taken. I know at this point they were just ready to get us off of the ship. There were others being taken off of the ship in wheel chairs, unable to go on their own.
If we do not report the cases to the CDC, they can not take care of the United States ports the way they should be and this will continue to be a problem.
Does anyone have the name and contact info for the attorney that took down the names and numbers. I don’t want to sue anyone, but it helps to have a “legal” voice. I have been unable to get through to the carnival number due to high call volume if that surprises anyone.
I too was one of the passengers that had this ‘virus’ and in response to the person who said they don’t feel that the cruise line is hiding anything and it wasn’t so bad I think you are crazy. My cabin mates fortunately didn’t get sick but they didn’t exactly have a great time. The fact that everything had to shut down is understandable but some sort of compensation should be given to EVERYONE that was aboard that ship.
And no they did not provide the kind of care for the sick people that they should have. I understand room service would be slow and since the crew members were ill everything takes longer. HOWEVER, the fact that none of us could eat anything that had this virus and had to live on liquids for at least a day or two; they offered none of these things. They told me I could only have water and sprite and then when I ordered more sprite from room service (since I was quarantined) they charged me for the sprite! On top of that they still added the gratuity in there! $2.01 for a sprite which is the only thing I could have and keep down and they are going to charge me for it, when I can’t eat any of their food. They told me I could eat Jello on the second day if I felt I could but didn’t offer it anywhere.
I have cruised before and will cruise again but Carnival is definitely the ‘cheaper’ line for a reason.
The attorneys name is Page Patterson out of Birmingham. His mother in law gave us his name because he was in his cabin sick but said that he would be notifying us. If we get his number we will post it on the website
I was on board the Holiday Jan. 24 through Jan. 28, and fortunately was not one of those who became ill. Four in our party of eight did become ill.
I think it is obvious this was something brought on board by someone, and it spread quickly. Should Carnival have done more to notify passengers there was a problem? Probably. But it could have only started mass panic. I love traveling on the Holiday, and will do so again, assuming they can survive this fiasco.
We had incredible service throughout our cruise both in room service and our housekeeping. I hate that this has happened, and I do pray for the families of those who are ill.
I imagine when it is all said and done, there will be a lot more than just a couple of hundred people who contract this virus. It could still hit me, to be honest, as I have only been on the ship just over 24 hours and am back at work.
As for who brought this on board? If you were on the cruise, you may remember those crazy ladies from Tennessee who kept shouting “Marco!” “Polo!” I think they did it.
FYI–We too were on the same cruise. After returning home, 2 passengers traveling with us got sick last night! (Jan 29th)
Passengers were not informed at all. This isn’t the first time I have been on a carnival cruise where a some what disaster happened and the passengers were left in the dark. After being on the celebration ship that caught on fire in 1995 leaving us stranded for 2 days, I finally got up enough nerve to try another carnival cruise. Again, a situation that wasn’t handled well. Norovirus is not what my family and I intended to bring home.
Watch channel 12 news tonight if you are in the chattanooga/cleveland area at 6 p.m.
I am concerned that the incidence is under-reported because many people become ill at the end of the cruise or shortly after coming home and spread it to others at home.
I was on the Holiday on the previous tour from Jan19-24 with twelve others and we have all become ill. I can tell you that the infirmary was well-aware that there was a virus spreading quickly across the ship at that time. I know because my roommate visited the infirmary after becoming ill in the middle of the cruise 1/22, and at that time she was told that 15 others were already quarantined and the virus spreads quickly. My roommate was given some pedialyte and bed pads because they were out of adult diapers. She was also given a handout on the “Norwalk” virus as it is sometimes called. Someone came to clean our bathroom and change the bedding, but the room was a mess again by the time we disembarked. It needed to be sanitized completely, including the carpets, bedding, walls. I can’t imagine how they would be able to do all of this since they were setting sail again at 4pm the same day! This virus was truly horrible, with an abrupt onset and almost constant bouts of simultaneous vomiting and explosive diarreah.
It was my turn to get sick on day we disembarked 1/24 and I am still recovering. The stomach symptoms have finally subsided, but now I am very congested and have laryngitis. Everyone in my traveling party has become ill, and almost all became symptomatic shortly after disembarking.
Now my elderly mother, who was not on the cruise with us, is displaying the same horrible symptoms. She is almost 90, so this can potentially become a life-threatening condition for her. My family is living on high-alert because of this ship-borne illness.
I think that Carnival should have given us warning about the contagion, given us precautions to follow and detailed how they would be ensuring our safety. Then we could have decided whether it is worth the risk of travel. They did none of these things, displaying negligent disregard for our health and safety. The question is: “What did they know and when did they know it?” Yes, I’d like the name and number of that attorney too.
The brown water that came out of the sinks from the cabins was disgusting. The room steward told me that the staff don’t drink the water pumped to rooms. There may be something systemic on the Holiday with unsanitary conditions that harbors illness.
I was on the cruise over the weekend with my parents and my friend and am still angry over the experience. My father became sick while on the excursion in Cozumel and I got ill on the drive home from Mobile on Monday. Two out of four passengers is a significant number, and after spending time in the infirmary, I know the CDC’s number of infected is far more than reported.
Everyone understands that illness occurs and unfortunately people get sick….. but you have to look at the previous circumstances. It’s hard to believe one person brought on this virus and had far more infected withone the span of one day. Everyone in my party was skeptical about the origins of this virus, along with a lot of others on the Holiday. We learned on Monday from a friend who works at a local hospital that several people had come in Wednesday, Jan. 23 with the same virus that we suffered from after disembarking from the Holiday. Evidence that passengers from the previous voyage were infected is not shocking at all. HAD you been on the ship and seen what little “sanitation” took place, you’d be amazed. I believe the staff in their SARS masks and gloves wiping down the elevator buttons was for the passengers’ peace of mind, not for any true sanitation methods. And sure enough, the ship leaves out of Mobile on Monday without a hitch, after dumping off a load of sick people who conveniently left their germs behind for the next go around. Carnival is stupid for exposing itself to this media nightmare, being so callous about peoples’ safety and opening the doors to potential lawsuits.
I have now received a personal email from someone else that had a family member on the previous cruise. It was just as rampid on their cruise, which leads one to believe that it will be on the next cruise. I have been in contact with one of my personal friends that is on this cruise and she said that so far everything is ok. I pray for their sake it continues that way and they have controlled the spread.
However, they subjected our members of our cruise to this virus by letting us on a cruise that had just disembarked with the exact same symptoms! These people were treated just as rudely. I really do feel for the cleaning staff and the infirmary staff because they are the ones that are being subjected to all of this for two cruises straight.
As for the comment to one of the people saying I am out for a free cruise because of a little rumbly in my tumbly … they are sadly mistaken! I am truely concerned for my friend that is on that boat right now. NO ONE should have to go through what we went through on that boat and be confined in that rocking den of stinch with a run to the toilet with very harsh toilet paper and a shower or garbage can to the side for what is coming out the other end. The headache and chills were unbearable. I’m two days on dry land and I am still running the the rest room, on clear liquids, and still feel chaffed from the lack of charmin. What I would have give for one roll! But I still feel the rocking in my head and I still have a fever. There are other members of my family still having problems as well and one that has to have surgery at the end of the week after being subjected to this.
There is no way that I will get back on a ship again without fully checking through the CDC’s listing of disease control and calling them to get a current list of the ship that I am going on. This is a very valuable lesson learned. This is not about trying to get reimbursed, if Carnival feels that they need to, that is Carnivals decission, not mine to pressure them into. This is about them taking responsibility for letting us onto a ship that had just let out a large number of passengers that were sick with the same virus and letting us on and not giving us any information, any concern or treating us like guest. I was born and partially raised in the north and very glad that I was transplanted in the south where southern hospitality is a fact of life in most places where I live. I love the fact that most people in my life are honest with me and treat me with the respect of telling me the truth and life is not just about a dollar. We went on this cruise to enjoy our time with family, with no children, grandchildren, just grown children and parents having time to share. My father in law truely enjoys spending time with his children and their spouses and he did not get that experience. What we shared instead was a very unpleasant experience and a time consuming trip home stopping at every BP on the way to use the restroom. This could have been avoided if they would have stopped the ship from sailing when we showed up and allowed the current crew to get well and the ship to air out. It would have inconvenienced us to have postponed our trip, but I would have much rather postponed than to have went through what we went through.
I was very sick and told I could not get off the ship in Mexico. I was then confined to my room where the staff (they were doing what they could) refused to service the room. After visiting the nurse I was called several time to make sure I didn’t leave room. My best Friend was not sick and was forced to still room with me knowing it was a very easily caught.
We were not warned and many of the events were canceled and all the pools were closed. By the time I got better there was nothing to do. They did arrange a family night-like games for those guest left standing. I have been on so many cruise and have never seen anything like this. The Holiday needs to be retired or updated….I feel bad for the passenagers aboard now because I talked to several people who throw up on the bed and the crew just replaced the sheets after a 20 min wait. The staff acting like nothing was going on.
I was on this cruise many from our group became ill. I too think the numbers reported are low. Many people did not report it on the ship.
Do not let this be a representation of Carnival, or cruises in general. I believe someone probably got on the ship sick and just like a school or work place the illness spread rapidly.
It was very unfortunate a LIFE experience “Stuff” happens.
Despite many SICK and Crabby People most of our group had a good time. A true test of character to perserver under duress.
I met some of the most awesome women.
We had a meeting today and are already planning and looking forward to our next group cruise.
Here is yet another account from another passenger. My in laws gave the whole family a vacation for Christmas. Fourteen in all. My husband and my two year old son got sick. We received excellent service from the staff and I feel that, while we should be compensated for other things (such as a stroller rental that never got used), the staff deserves their gratuity. The infirmary was ill prepared for this however. They also tried to limit panic by telling us it was ‘most probably’ food poisoning. Because we were quarantined (which is odd for ‘most probably’) our family members visited us to relieve the boredom. After leaving the ship three more of the family so far have come down sick. It’s terrible, my vacation was ruined, I feel I should be compensated. At the same time I don’t feel so much resentment towards the cruise line itself. This is a nightmare for their business. I won’t be cruising ever again. My poor little boy is still recovering. My steward was wonderful. Cleaning the bathroom as many times a day as he could manage and still give his other passengers the attention they needed. Room service filled every little request despite being shorthanded and very busy. The overall staff was great. The decision makers did the best they could, but made a bad decision in informing their passengers. We all assumed it was most likely food poisoning until we got off the boat and started reading the news. We could have saved our other family members from this if we had just been informed correctly.
Jill and I were on the cruise. She was infected and spent half the cruise in the room. What was supposed to be a much-needed getaway turned out very badly for both. As for the numbers released by Carnival; no way, they are much higher. I’ve since learned that there was an outbreak on the previous as well as the subsequent cruises. This is nothing short of criminal on the part of Carnival. I expect their quest for money will end up costing them a great deal more than it should have if conducted properly. I understand we live in a natural world and outbreaks occur but to hide the truth and place passengers/crew at risk for the sake of making a buck is inconceivable.
My family was also aboard the Holiday, and I too am shocked at the numbr of cases Carnival is reporting. I am very disappointed at the response from the crew on board, and the general handling of the situation. For Carnival to say they provided extra cleaning is a joke. Our stateroom that we were isolated in had vomit on the bed from our 4 year old and was not cleaned for 11 hours. Try to be quarantined in a tiny room with 4 people(2 toddlers), and a vomit filled bed.
Out of the 50 in our group approximately 15 were sick. I only know of one that went to the infirmary. The numbers reported are definately too low!
Our group of 4 all in one room started falling sick one by one. One from our party started at the beginning of the trip, 2 of us started on Sunday morning and last but not least I started on Monday the day we were getting off the ship. Now we did not realize the problem on the ship until Monday morning when we heard the cries and moaning from the room next door and then we heard others talking about how many people were Quarantined. We did not report this until after we were off the ship which makes me wonder how would the ship was santitized before they took off later that day at 5pm. After reading articles on this virus you realize how infectious this virus really is, unfortunatly not aware of exactly what we had we traveled 800 miles stoping every 1/2 hour for emergency stops (if you know what I mean). It would have been nice to have been told of the situation before we left and most likely infected more people.
My son and I was among the members of the Holiday cruise ship that departed 24Jan for Mexico.
We both got very sick right after the Friday 515PM meal. My son went to the Doctors area around 1200Midnight 25Jan and the nurse gave him a sea-sickness shot vs any virus systems pills.
I also was there and noticed the crisis management for this emergency was extremely poor and was not managed very well.
I made sure I got documentation from the doctors office on the ship for prove later on to Carnival for some kind of rebate or whatever.
I do not think I will take another cruise with the cruise line. I an not planning to go on another cruise with this ship again. We were sick as a dog and the Room Service told us we had to pay for Ginger Ale to drink to help the systems of the virus or whatever it was. Simply poor management and very poor consideration of its passengers.
It was a terrible cruise and I felt they were only out for the all mighty dollar vs helping the sick people.
I was on board the Holiday Jan. 24-28th. I teach classes for the Health Department and talk about Noro-virus and food borne illness every day. Before we even left on this cruise I looked up the score that the Holiday got on its last inspection. 94 out of 100.They did great , for a very OLD ship. I brought tons of hand-sanitizer and washed my hands often. But I started feeling sick on Saturday night, and Sunday, but did not throw up until Monday.I was very ill with chills, body aches, and now I have a sorethroat and I still have not eaten since Sunday. I called Carnival to report it yesterday. They said “so you did not get sick until after you got off the boat”. This made it sound like they did not want to be responsible . I don’t think I will get a refund or coupons, but I just wanted them to know an accurate number of passengers that were sick. My roomate was very sick Sunday and Monday. I had heard that the infrimary was very crowded and the people there were alot more sick than us. But I tried to go on Monday morning at 7:30, it was closed. I knew it was going to be a VERY long bus ride home.We were with a group of 40 people and I bet at least half were sick on the boat and even quarentined to their room. Some did not even get to see Cozumel. I am so glad that I was not sick on Saturday and we got to enjoy Cozumel! I will probably go on more cruises in the future. I just hope that the ship has been sanitized before we board. I have been reading the comments from passengers from the trip before ours. It sounds like the virus is being passed from cruise to cruise. Maybe they should have cancelled the one that is at sea right now. ( or even cancelled ours) I feel sorry for those passengers that are sick right now and they could have rescheduled for another time. Maybe it is time that the Holiday be retired. It was buit in 1985. Did anyone else notice all the nasty stains on the carpet in the hallways? It looked like passengers had gotten sick and they quickly cleaned it up. I think they were very busy sanitizing hand rails and elevator buttons on Saturday and Sunday, but maybe that should be an everyday practice. I was happy that they started serving us , instead of having self-service buffets.that was probably one way the virus spread on Thursday and Friday. I was even served an OPEN bottle of water on Friday night. I refused it, and the waitress said she had just opened it. I did not see her open it and requested another bottle of water that was sealed! She acted insulted. I wanted to be sure that bottle was not refilled or contaminated. I was paying $4.00 and it took her half an hour to bring it to me in the first place.
Overall I had a good time. I had paid for my daughter to come with me and could not make it because of a death in the family. I am kind of glad she stayed home, because she did not have to experience the awful virus that many of us had. Carnival should at the least apologize to every passenger that sailed on that trip.
I have already posted on this site some of you have already contacted me at my personal email address at: trueblueaufan@charter.net and have used our contacts at CDC and Carnival in Miami, but I was a passenger of the Holiday Carnival Cruise during the January 24th – January 28th 2008 cruise to Cozamel. I can tell you for a fact they knew the Noro Virus was on the ship when we boarded on the 24th now and they new that it was on there when my friends boarded on the 28th. They have submitted three boat loads of passengers and their own crew to this virus because they will not cancel one cruise and clean the proper way and let their crew recoup. I can promise they have not heard the last from this passenger or the group we were with. Email me at: carnivaldisaster@charter.net if you have anything you would like to send your experience to the attorney handling our situation. He was on board and sick as well. They reported 124 passengers and 24 crew members sick and I assure you this was not the real number on board sick. They have ignored the passengers, their needs, and their welfare, as well as, endangered the lives of the elderly on this cruise ship and should be held accountable and NO I’m not after money … I want the cruise to change it’s policies of informing the current passengers and upcoming passengers of what they should be informed of! After emailing some of you personally I’m sure that some compensation should be due in some of your cases and I’m sure that the attorney will be happy to help each of you. I can not believe some of the horror stories that I have read and continue to read, but if you do want your personal story to go to the attorney, please feel free to send it our way. We’re praying that you all are feeling much better and that this virus does not continue to spread throughout your families, friends, coworkers and schools.
I am so worried because I am travelling on this ship the end of February. I feel bad for those of you that got sick & I hope that it works out for us.
I too have already posted on this site however just wanted to update those who have been through this horrible experience . Just a quick update I was with a group of 8 and 5 of the 8 got very ill beginning shortly after midnight on Friday night including my husband who I have been married to for 22 years and can tell you that he has had 2 viruses in 22 years of marriage .so he is not one to catch everything that is floating around. He is thankfully better and today was able to eat something besides toast, crackers or creamed potatoes however my dad has not been as fortunate . He is still in the bed very sick and has been to the doctor twice since returning home . I am very concerned about him he is not one to stay in bed and certainly not one to miss his job. People who are posting comments on here acting like this is being made out to be bigger than it really is need to be a little more sensitive to those who have been through this or have had family members who were affected or should I say infested. Like the person who said” that for those who are trying to get a free cruise out of this because they had a little rumbly in their tumbly and to grow up” I have news for you I can only speak on mine and my families behalf we don’t want a free cruise as a matter of fact my dad has been on 15 cruises and has been on the M.S. Holiday 3 times and was just on it in Nov.of 2007and had such a great time that he decided to take his family as a christmas present. So NO we dont want something for nothing we just want someone to take responsibility for what happen because regardless of how it got there, or when ,it really don’t matter it is how this is handled and as of right now it has been handled very poorly.
The saga continues..2 1/2 days after leaving the boat, it’s my turn. Thought I got lucky but this is a reminder to all that it’s not over. To make it even worse, my 8 month old daughter (who wasn’t even on the cruise) is now sick with similar symptoms. I’m getting madder by the minute regarding the wreckless attitude exhibited by the Captain of the Holiday (who by maritime law has the ultimate responsibility for the health and safety of the crew and passengers) and Carnival Cruise Lines. Getting me sick is one thing, getting my 8 month old daughter sick…..the gloves are off.
This is my first day out since I returned from the Holiday Cruise on 28Jan08. Yeahhhh!!!!
I had a great time on the cruise and will do it again in the future.
I was sick during the last full day at sea. My cabin steward was great and came in and frequently sanitized the bathroom. I am a biologist so I put myself into a mini-quarantine (only going out for necessities) to avoid exposing others. I am shocked at how many people put others at risk by continuing to run around the ship and (excuse me) puking everywhere. Carnival can only control so much if people don’t use common sense when they are sick. However, although I saw many crew members cleaning on the floors with cabins I never saw a single person cleaning the public toilets on the upper levels. Also, it would have been nice if Carnival could provide some kind of sickness bag for people to carry around (or have next to their beds).
In short…
Carnival can only control so much while a cruise is going on, but if this is happening over the course of several cruises then it is their responsibility. They need to give the ship a THOROUGH cleaning, not just a once over between cruises. The crew needs several days for the sick to recover and to determine who will get sick before allowing them to interact with passengers.
I am watching as this saga continues to unfold. At my last posting, I had fortunately not become ill, and out of eight of us, four had been ill. As of now, seven of the eight have become ill. Mine was minor, thankfully. This many days out, I am hoping that the one in our group that stayed healthy remains so.
And I have to admit as I read these posts, I am becoming concerned that there was an outbreak the week before. That was certainly never told to us.
And to make it even more interesting, my sister was on this same cruise over New Year’s Eve and reported that it was horrible because everyone was sick. It was blamed on seasickness, because the voyage was so rough the ship couldn’t even dock in Cozumel. But now, I am wondering. Is this something that has been there a while? I would hope Carnival will step up and quarantine this boat until the answers come.
I hate this for Carnival, because we have had some amazing vacations on their ships, and three on the Holiday.
I was a member of a large family group of 71 (most aboard probably saw our neon green shirts). Among the 71, I and around 30 of our group were contaminated. I began feeling the effects of the virus on the second day, shortly after the captain’s dinner. During the night the virus began to do what it does best. My brother was also contaminated, so the bathroom was very full throughout the night. I was given a shot of fenegrin(sp?) the next morning and then slept until 10 the next day. I completely missed out on Mexico, and thus the most exciting part of my vacation. I believe that those operating the ship should have warned those on board of a outbreak via intercom, a nice TV information short is nice, but how was anyone supposed to know about it? Even through the best efforts of the crew in terms of sanitation, many members of my family began showing symptoms of the virus on the way home. We are seeing into taking legal action and urge those who were contaminated to do the same. At least sell a shirt in the gift shop stating, “I went to Mexico and all I got was a shot in the butt”
My daughter, 14, was very sick as well. Her body seemed to respond as if it was a food poisoning, so I believe either the food or water was contaminated with the virus. I wish the CDC would do a thorough investigation and find out. The numbers reported were not even close. I probably talked to that many people in the halls that were rooming with sick people.
The infirmary stopped taking paperwork, so it made it seem like the cases decreased, but in reality, they just were not recording them anymore. The passengers were definitely not informed and our safety wasn’t the first priority clearly.
My family and I were on the Holiday Jan 19-24,2008.
On the last day of the cruise, my grandsone became ill with vomiting and diarrhea. When we first went to the infirmary there was a sign stating they were close due to a medical emergency. When we call later, to ask advice we were told by the nurse that there were several cases of passengers with an intestinal virus!
I feel the cruiseline should have made some kind of announcement to warn the passengers to take extra precautions. There were 32 people in our group and many of us were infected and we have not recovered! It is not a 48 hour virus for infants and children!
Forget about a reimbursement. I got sick on Princess in sept. Passengers had to sign a sheet saying that they did not have diareha within the last week. Flyers were in every room about the norwalk. I was quarentine after being ill 2 days following embarkment . Cruise lines make it difficult to sue. Please read your contract.
My ship is covering it up. 80% of passengers were elderly and paid $150.00 for a doctors visit . They were told that it was sea sickness. I made a stink and I almost got marroned on an island to silence me. The busses left and my train ticket was stolen . The ship left while I was trying to make it home. Everyone was sick on this cruiseship. The next cruise had no chance. Most all ships are owned by carnival.
I pledge to fight the fight and make it known that the cruise line keeps it secret to avoid losses of time and mostly money.
I had insurance yet they paid me less than what I paid for insurance alone. (princess travel).
I’ve been on 8 cruises. If the cruise ships continue this behavior then all will be at risk.
They need to sanitize the boat (completely)
I’m ashamed ot the CDC. They know better. I also reported it to no avail…..You think there might be some incentive going to them?????????????
I suggest you all get a lawyer. FAST…..I myself plan to bring this out in the open…..I won’t settle for anything less than that.
I was also sick with the virus, after getting over the stomach infection, I came down with the head cold. I believe there was something in the air filter system. Our bathroom sink water was orange, you could not even brush your teeth and was your face. I hope something can be done or RETIRED that ship
Has anybody on the Holiday gotten sick with the Norovirus since the end of January, other than the people who sailed on the trips listed above. We are scheduled to leave in two weeks and hoping the conditions are A LOT better!
In response to Kelly I just found another thread from someone who was on the cruise after ours (the beginning of feb) and they said they were given notification on their cruise that the prior cruise had the virus. They said they took the chance and went and fortunately did not get sick but it ran rampant on their cruise as well. It sounds like it might still be a large risk.
My 3rd entry. After getting home, all 3 of my children have had this virus. My daughter and i have also developed the severe head cold and cough as mentioned by another entry. Carnival as of yet has not said or done anything meaningful.