When you say norovirus I presume you mean the winter vomiting disease. How many people were affected? How severe was it?
Did you get quarantined? Did the tour op recognise it as an outbreak? I would think any "money back" would depend on quite a number of things.

i too have just returned back from the balmoral.....(novovirus).we didnt have the bug and had a really great time and there was a letter waiting for us with 15% of our next cruise with them....yippee.....

You must have been one of the lucky ones.

How did you come to have such a great time, when most of the activities were cancelled?

We were kept in our cabin for four and a half days. Some 300 plus passengers were affected, most of the ships facilities were stopped and two of the ports of call were cancelled because the authorities would not let the ship's passengers off.
The virus was on the ship before we boarded, as some of the crew were already ill, including one of the nurses who came to see us.
It was a very unpleasant thing to have, I wouldn't wish it on anyone.

I am so sorry to hear this, and am interested too, because I am taking a cruise this year. What cruise was this on? If you didn't have the virus, why were you made to stay in your cabin? I have read that only those affected have to be quarantined, is this not true?

Yes sue, we were quarantined for four and a half days. And after we were let out we were not well enough to "really" enjoy what was left of the cruise.
The ship was Fred. Olsen's Balmoral.

hi all.........most of the day time activities were still on ..i.e.....bowls/darts/golf /deck games even the bingo (yuk).all the night times shows were still done ......they even gave us two free bars for a time before the dinner .
yes some people were unlucky .....with the bug but the staff did their best........to help .and the entertainment staff were fantastic....well done to the balmoral staff.....

A few years ago I helped a friend put together a complaint letter to P&O for a cruise through the South Pacific Islands leaving from Sydney, Australia.

Three out of four of the family were taken ill and their cabin was quarantined. They had to beg for clean linen and food. Their holiday was ruined... and were not able to enjoy the facilities the ship offered, nor could they go ashore to visit the islands they had dreamed of going to.

The first initial letter to P&O offered them a reduction off another cruise to be used in 12 months (yeah! right ) as they never wanted to endure another so called holiday with them they refused... However, because they refused P&O's 'kind' offer it was rescinded.

The outcome was that P&O stated that their ship was 'clean' and a member of the public had brought on the virus... in other words... Prove it !!

Good Luck with your claim and I hope you get satisfactory compensation for all the little people who get trodden on.

Cheers Geri

thats sounds awful, i think you need to contact Ros about this, she will definitely be able to help, im using her at the moment and shes managed to get me a better offer than i did, good luck

hi..again.......a lot of the problems with hygiene were caused by a few of the passengers not taking the personal hygiene seriously.i.e...washing their hands after using the toilet .the times i have seen men leaving the gents without washing hands.(the filthy swine) and thats what in my opinion made the problems worse......

John Doe,
The norovirus was on the ship before we boarded. Staff affected earlier than embarkation day were released as early as the day after embarkation day. As we were both affected less than forty eight hours after embarking, the problem was not exacerbated by the hygiene or otherwise of the other passengers (referred to by you as 'filthy swines'), very condescending, as my experience of the users of the public toilet areas was that all I observed performed the necessary ablutions, and opened the exit door with the hand towels provided. To be fair, most people who had been affected took the advice of the medical staff, and used the facilities in their own cabins whenever possible.
Incidentally, bingo and card games were banned for most of the cruise, and even the pencils used in the quizzes were given to the recipients, rather than be handled by others. The has been suggested that one of the causes of the infection spread was the use of the salt and pepper pots, which were in use for the first two days. then their use withdrawn, particularly in the Palms self service restaurant.
Hoping that this addresses some of your misleading comments.

Correction to previous post:-
It has been suggested that the use of salt and pepper pots, in use for the first two days, then withdrawn, contributed to the spread of the virus.

hi...milkenmarn.......ref the toilets i know what i and OTHERS.saw.........
i also except you and other passengers had a really bad time .
but please be honest ref the ammount of activities that did go on each day .i too was there.....

Umm I only found this page surfing to find out who spell Norovirus! My wife and on were on the Balmoral on its cruise when approx 1/4 of the passangers went down at sometime or another with the dreaded lurgi. My wife and I remained clear- and of course this colours our judgement. We felt very sorry for those affected-some of whom shared our dinning table.... but sometimes I honestly can't believe what I hear/read about this cruise.
The doctor on board explained things as much as he was able. The virus is near endemmic in the UK- any population coming on board a ship is bound to have both people who currently are affected by the virus, and carriers who don't know they have it but can spread the disease. The doctor said the virus, usually a 48 hour happening, had no known cure! The ship was put on to alert and all known precautions were taken to try and prevent the spread of the virus. Some of these caused inconvenience but as far as I recall they were common sense precautions any sensible person would want to see in place. What was the company supposed to do? 90% of all Nile Cruise passagers suffer from something similar, but that does not stop Nile cruises being popular. So what if the ship had the virus on the previous voyage- did the complainer really want to be turned away at Dover - the voyage being cancelled. He could have then stayed at home and braved the snow and chanced catching the flu!

The crew were, in our opinion, wonderful. We were not able to visit two ports of call- an additional port was substuted- circumstances totally beyond the control of the company. We have been compenstated by a 15% offer on a future cruise - to be knocked off what ever cheap discount we can find- that suits us. We shall certainly be cruising again with Fred Olson. As I recall nearly 4 fifths of the passangers were returning passangers and most I believe will be back. We met one couple however who said they would not be returning because, "the seas were too rough". I don't remember anything of the sort- this last illustration being just another example of how everybody had a 'different' holiday! Ours was good- as I say I am sorry for those that suffered, but it wasn't the fault of the company- if you go to travelling you run risks!

johndoe and chancydog

my wife and i have also just returned from a trip on the ms balmoral. how can anyone claim the had a great time when they paid to go to a destination and never got there and has been confirmed by other people most of the activiries were suspended. when i say activities i mean, the pool, library, gymnasium, card room. as has been also said the virus was on the ship berire we boarded, also confirmed to us by one of the nurses. Presumably a few free drinks went a long way to temper some peoples memories, i was too busy mopping up vomit and s... which the crew declined to do as well as trying to obtain food for myself and my wife. These remarks were made clear at the meeting held in the neptune lounge, perhaps you did'nt attend or listen. to mikenmarn i would suggest you collate all your information and submit a claim for a refund! The ship's doctor was only trying to put over the company point of view.

Thanks for your support jaykay.

I don't think that chancydog and johndoe realise how nasty the virus is.

Free drinks was the last thing we needed, in fact it took us several days before we could even look at an alcoholic drink. We couldn't even get food which was suitable for 'upset' stomachs. I lived on bread, which I got for breakfast every day. Meals with wine sauces was not what I wanted.
Our bed sheets were not changed untill we were clear of the virus. The nurse went mad about that, and complained to housekeeping.

We shall see what happens when Fred. Olsens get back to us. But we will not be going cruising with them again in a hurry. It's back to Turkey next.

Marn and mike.

Believe you me, without haveing had it, you have no idea how ill it made you feel.

I was also on this cruise and escaped the norovirus but being a healthcare professional had norovirus on 2 previous occasions. It is certainly very unpleasant. Two people at our table were affected, but said they were very well looked after by the staff, better than being hospitalised in UK.
Staff would not allow them to clean up "accidents". Seems other people had different experiences.
The quizzes were not suspended, just kept your own pencils, and i am sure bingo continued as usual.
A lot of activities were suspended but I still enjoyed the cruise as the food and entertainment was of a good standard. I think all the crew worked very hard.
Like many, was disappointed at not being allowed to land at Cape Verde Islands as this was the main attraction. Not very impressed with Fred Olsen`s offer of a 15% reduction on another cruise, as being restricted to a 14 day cruise, precludes another attempt at a Cape Verde cruise.
I thought the Balmoral was of a nice size and would consider going again.

further to previous notes and replies. as was suggested by another member the sailing date should have been delayed by 24 hours during which time the ship could have been fully cleansed and fumigated, since the company were aware that the virus was present as has been confirmed by nursing staff. this answers those that said that f olsen could take no action. they could and should have! we would then have all enjoyed the cruise we paid for. incidentally although 300 were directly affected by the lurgy add on their partners and you have about 550-600 people in isolation ie. almest half the passengers. by the way i think on a similar cruise carnival gave 30% discount and $150 per person. also 18 months is too short a period to use the discount last time they gave 5 years. can i just add in case anyone thinks i am being hard on the organisation our cabin was never fully cleaned and fumigated after the illness.
i urge passengers to press for a refund.

I don't see how you would have a claim to be honest. I had the virus on the Sea princess 7 years ago and yes it's horrible. However every ship has the virus on board most of the time at some level or other. Hygene standards on ships are far higher than in the average hotel, they are regularly inspected. The problem is people bring the virus on board constantly with little regard for others and many suffer because of this. I don't see cruise companies delaying or cancelling cruises because in all honestly they would receive even more abuse from passengers.

Write it off as a bad experience as I did and move on. We have had many wonderfull cruises since and never had a problem as we now know how to minimise the risks with regularly washing of hands,hand gell among other things.