Live Dispatches From Royal Caribbean’s Barf Cruise: Passenger Takes To Reddit
Earlier today, we shared with you the news that a Caribbean cruise out of the port of Bayonne, N.J. has become a plague-wracked hellscape instead of a vacation. Well, maybe that’s overstating it a little, but things on board are unpleasant. According to the Centers for Disease Control, so far 19% of the passengers and 4% of the crew have the mysterious gastrointestinal illness. One passenger who isn’t sick (yet) took to Reddit to answer random strangers’ questions.
The cruiser chose to stay anonymous, but posted a photo of the cruise itinerary with this trip’s dates to prove where she is.
Most importantly: what is someone who’s young enough to know what Reddit is and how to access it from a cruise ship doing on a cruise ship in the first place?
A friend convinced me. Lots of interesting destinations. Being at sea is fun and relaxing. Much of North America is also very cold right now.
That’s the truth. How’s morale on board?
Morale is not very good. For sailing in paradise, there are a lot of bad attitudes from people that don’t seem to be sick. Lots of people getting screwed with their travel plans as we are arriving two days early into Bayonne, NJ right before Super Bowl weekend. There are no hotels available anywhere.
The crew is taking their sterilization duties seriously, though. The ship seemed “very clean” before people became ill.
The crew is awesome. Lots of people working overtime to get the ship cleaned. Wiping down all the walls and handrails. I’ve seen guys go around and wipe down every deck chair. Haven’t seen one bad attitude or rude anything from any crew member.
Remarkably, she had never heard of Carnival’s Poop Cruise.
Not sure what a Poop Cruise is. Googled it and read something a ship full of dead rats. Many of the passengers of this ship are 65+ so the mood of the boat is about the same.
There is Norovirus circulating in the Northeast, and most people taking a cruise out of Bayonne are most likely from the Northeastern United States.
Compensation details aren’t finalized yet that we know of, but mostly seem to be coming in the form of discounts on future cruises. This shouldn’t dissuade passengers from ever cruising again the same way that a voyage on the Poop Cruise would,
IamA passenger on the Explorer of the Seas – cruising to NYC with a ship full of sick people. AMA! [Reddit]
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