Crown Princess norovirus break-out leads to embarkation delays and cancelled activities

• Crown Princess will have a delayed embarkation for its next itinerary due to an outbreak of norovirus on board.
• It is known how many people have been affected, but the ship will need to receive a deep clean before new passengers are allowed to embark.
• A new norovirus has been present in the USA and UK, but it’s not clear if that virus yet has a significant presence in Australia or on any cruise ships.

While Norovirus issues have well reported across the cruise industry in the USA, it appears that they’ve been sneaking under the radar in Australia. 

The Crown Princess appears to be currently experiencing outbreaks of norovirus on board. While the details of how many have been infected aren’t known, the outbreaks have proved severe enough to limit some of the available activities onboard, stop self-service in The Horizon and delay the embarkation of the ships next cruise out of Brisbane, on Sunday May 18.

A similar incident actually occured last year on the Diamond Princess, with several deep cleans needed that required guests leaving the ship, due to outbreaks of gastrointestinal illness.

Passengers sailing on Crown Princess’s next voyage out of Brisbane were sent this communication.

“Please be advised there will be a slight delay in the embarkation process for your upcoming Crown Princess voyage departing Brisbane on Sunday, 18 May. During the previous voyage, some cases of gastrointestinal illness were reported. While most guests were unaffected, we have implemented a thorough disinfection program in coordination with international health authorities. As an extra precaution, the ship will undergo additional disinfection on 18 May.

“Check-in will now begin at 1:30 PM, and staterooms will be available later in the afternoon. Please do not arrive before 1:30 PM as there is limited seating available in the terminal. Guests with Princess hotels or transfers will have their new pick-up times provided at the hotel or airport. All guests must be on board by 4:00 PM.”

One passenger who is on the ship said that there have been some changes to protect passenger safety onboard as a result of the outbreak.

“We are on crown princess now abd because of norovirus on board we have not been able to do any sports activities for some time now, or serve ourselves in the horizon, but the staff are doing an amazing job in keeping up with cleaning. If only people would do the right thing from the start, then this wouldn’t happen.”

Check-in generally begins at around 9:30 or 10am, meaning the crew will have a few extra hours to perform a deep clean across the ship and hopefully eradicate the virus over the short term.

New norovirus strain?

The United States has recently been experiencing a new strain of norovirus. Furthermore, many general outbreaks have been reported on cruise ships lately, without clear evidence as to whether they are part of the new strain that has been spreading across the country. 

The United States Centre for Disease Control previously suggested that the rise of outbreaks in the country appeared to be to the new strain of the infection. 

It hasn’t been reported as to whether this strain or any other new strains have made their way to Australia, but the UK is also seeing a rise in cases, even being forced to shut down hospital wards. 

Aussies and Aussie cruisers alike will be hoping that the Crown Princess outbreaks are an isolated incident and not really to the new strains that have been spreading across the USA and the UK.

Keeping safe

Cruise Passenger has a complete guide on how to keep safe from norovirus while travelling on cruise ships. 

Truthfully, the advice is not too complicated. Simply taking care of your personal hygiene and making sure to regularly wash your hands with soap and water, not only with sanitizer, is the most important thing to do. 

Then it’s also important to show care for other passengers and not venture around the ship if you’re ill or believe that you could be coming down with something.