BED BUGS OMG!!!!

In article , Cindy C
wrote:

Finally we get to the island itinerary (5 days) and can spend some time off
of the ship and think about something other than bugs. But no, now we are
overhearing other people talk about rashes, and "something biting" them.
This how we realized the entire ship is infested! Nope we are not sleeping
through the night anymore. We keep waking and itching all through the
nights.

Nobody else has reported this about Spirit. Also I have read from
someone who just got back from the 10/19 ailing and they said they had
a fantastic time. Nothing about bed bugs.

--
Charles

Hello Group,



I hate to have to bring such bad news home from our 10 day trip but ya need
to know!!!!

We have cruised every year for the last 12 years. This was our second NCL.



We booked NCL's Spirit out of NYC to S Caribbean 10/19/06-10/29/06. Selected
a guaranteed balcony for us and an outside cabin for my parents (We were
fortunate enough to be able to take them on their first cruise in 20 years.
We were very excited.) We thought it would be a great idea to travel out of
NY as we are from MD and my parents from DE (no airline hassles).



After spending one night in our cabin we returned from breakfast to find a
bug crawling on our curtain. I thought (rather 'afraid') I knew what it was
but asked my mom for confirmation. Yep, sure enough, bed bugs. They were
everywhere! Behind the bed, in the sleeper, in the curtains, etc. We killed
and caught several and proceeded immediately to reception to speak with a
manager privately. We spoke with the asst front desk manager and were told
to give them an hour to figure out where they would move us to while they
exterminated our cabin. After voicing my serious concerns about our personal
belongings they offered to launder anything we wanted. Later that day we
were moved (I should say *we* moved our belongings with out assistance) from
deck 10 aft (balcony) to deck 6 very forward porthole! (Well at this point
we hope it is far enough away from our original stateroom that the new one
may be safe.) That took the better part of our first day at sea and we were
unable to participate in any activities or formal night.



All of our empty luggage remained in the room as it was stored under the bed
and we could not bring ourselves to go under there again. I'm not kidding
when I say it was alive! The bedding and sleeper were filthy with fecal
matter, dried blood and living bugs of all sizes!



The front desk contacted us to let us know that they would extend an onboard
credit of $300 pp ($600), a complimentary dinner at a specialty restaurant
and a bottle of wine. Big deal! The difference between staterooms is at
least that much! They acted like it was generous! They replied that they
needed authorization from Miami to do anything further.



We tried to enjoy the second day at sea but we were now experiencing
inflammation from the bites we received on the first night and constant
itching. Later that evening we received a call from the front desk
management that Miami has extended an additional $200 pp ($400) and no other
credits would be offered. Meanwhile we still itch and can not sleep!



Finally we get to the island itinerary (5 days) and can spend some time off
of the ship and think about something other than bugs. But no, now we are
overhearing other people talk about rashes, and "something biting" them.
This how we realized the entire ship is infested! Nope we are not sleeping
through the night anymore. We keep waking and itching all through the
nights.



On the morning of our ninth day I awoke with a rather large bedbug running
down my arm! After screaming and cursing I captured and took the little
b*st*rd to the hotel manager. I tried to explain that I feared the entire
ship has a serious problem. He stated that he had a terrific extermination
team however, acknowledged that docking in NYC presents a particular
problem as NYC is known to have a dramatic bed bug problem. He was
sympathetic as I explained that we are terrified that we are going to bring
this problem home with us (as these things are efficient hitch-hikers) but
offered no advice or assistance. I asked that we be provided with a letter
acknowledging our complaint so I may have some instrument to persuade NCL to
take some responsibility should we in fact bring this home, but that we
would never get.



So we have just spent our evening emptying our suitcases in our driveway
(outside), sorted our laundry into plastic bags and sealed them. We will
store our luggage in the shed and hope that mice do not inhabit them until a
good freeze can kill any potential bugs or eggs. My parents also have bites
and they are following the same procedures.



Tomorrow I will consult with an exterminator as to anything else
preventative we can do, and we will write NCL to pursue additional monies
refunded.



This has been a horrible horrible experience! There are so many more details
that I wish I could convey, but this rant has gone on long enough. If anyone
has any advice on either the bugs or how to handle NCL, please let me know!
Thank you.



FYI-That ship only exterminated our 1st cabin and has sailed again today
with all of its little extra passengers.

In article , Ermalee
wrote:

Oh my! This is most disgusting! We have sailed on the NCL Spirit and
loved that ship. To hear this report about it sickens me.

Sounds too dramatic to me. Never heard of the person who posted this
before and no one else has reported bed bugs on Spirit. Another report
I read is from that sailing the person reports they had a fantastic
time and that the ship looked great inside and out.

--
Charles

In article , Crabman
wrote:

Your point being? What,that just some of the ship is infested?

She said the entire ship was infected. If no one else reports bed bugs
that casts doubts on her report.

--
Charles

Cindy C wrote:

Hello Group,



I hate to have to bring such bad news home from our 10 day trip but ya need
to know!!!!

We have cruised every year for the last 12 years. This was our second NCL.



We booked NCL's Spirit out of NYC to S Caribbean 10/19/06-10/29/06. Selected
a guaranteed balcony for us and an outside cabin for my parents (We were
fortunate enough to be able to take them on their first cruise in 20 years.
We were very excited.) We thought it would be a great idea to travel out of
NY as we are from MD and my parents from DE (no airline hassles).



After spending one night in our cabin we returned from breakfast to find a
bug crawling on our curtain. I thought (rather 'afraid') I knew what it was
but asked my mom for confirmation. Yep, sure enough, bed bugs. They were
everywhere! Behind the bed, in the sleeper, in the curtains, etc. We killed
and caught several and proceeded immediately to reception to speak with a
manager privately. We spoke with the asst front desk manager and were told
to give them an hour to figure out where they would move us to while they
exterminated our cabin. After voicing my serious concerns about our personal
belongings they offered to launder anything we wanted. Later that day we
were moved (I should say *we* moved our belongings with out assistance) from
deck 10 aft (balcony) to deck 6 very forward porthole! (Well at this point
we hope it is far enough away from our original stateroom that the new one
may be safe.) That took the better part of our first day at sea and we were
unable to participate in any activities or formal night.



All of our empty luggage remained in the room as it was stored under the bed
and we could not bring ourselves to go under there again. I'm not kidding
when I say it was alive! The bedding and sleeper were filthy with fecal
matter, dried blood and living bugs of all sizes!



The front desk contacted us to let us know that they would extend an onboard
credit of $300 pp ($600), a complimentary dinner at a specialty restaurant
and a bottle of wine. Big deal! The difference between staterooms is at
least that much! They acted like it was generous! They replied that they
needed authorization from Miami to do anything further.



We tried to enjoy the second day at sea but we were now experiencing
inflammation from the bites we received on the first night and constant
itching. Later that evening we received a call from the front desk
management that Miami has extended an additional $200 pp ($400) and no other
credits would be offered. Meanwhile we still itch and can not sleep!



Finally we get to the island itinerary (5 days) and can spend some time off
of the ship and think about something other than bugs. But no, now we are
overhearing other people talk about rashes, and "something biting" them.
This how we realized the entire ship is infested! Nope we are not sleeping
through the night anymore. We keep waking and itching all through the
nights.



On the morning of our ninth day I awoke with a rather large bedbug running
down my arm! After screaming and cursing I captured and took the little
b*st*rd to the hotel manager. I tried to explain that I feared the entire
ship has a serious problem. He stated that he had a terrific extermination
team however, acknowledged that docking in NYC presents a particular
problem as NYC is known to have a dramatic bed bug problem. He was
sympathetic as I explained that we are terrified that we are going to bring
this problem home with us (as these things are efficient hitch-hikers) but
offered no advice or assistance. I asked that we be provided with a letter
acknowledging our complaint so I may have some instrument to persuade NCL to
take some responsibility should we in fact bring this home, but that we
would never get.



So we have just spent our evening emptying our suitcases in our driveway
(outside), sorted our laundry into plastic bags and sealed them. We will
store our luggage in the shed and hope that mice do not inhabit them until a
good freeze can kill any potential bugs or eggs. My parents also have bites
and they are following the same procedures.



Tomorrow I will consult with an exterminator as to anything else
preventative we can do, and we will write NCL to pursue additional monies
refunded.



This has been a horrible horrible experience! There are so many more details
that I wish I could convey, but this rant has gone on long enough. If anyone
has any advice on either the bugs or how to handle NCL, please let me know!
Thank you.



FYI-That ship only exterminated our 1st cabin and has sailed again today
with all of its little extra passengers.


Oh my! This is most disgusting! We have sailed on the NCL Spirit and
loved that ship. To hear this report about it sickens me.

Ermalee

Charles wrote:
In article , Cindy C
wrote:

Finally we get to the island itinerary (5 days) and can spend some time off
of the ship and think about something other than bugs. But no, now we are
overhearing other people talk about rashes, and "something biting" them.
This how we realized the entire ship is infested! Nope we are not sleeping
through the night anymore. We keep waking and itching all through the
nights.

Nobody else has reported this about Spirit. Also I have read from
someone who just got back from the 10/19 ailing and they said they had
a fantastic time. Nothing about bed bugs.


Your point being? What,that just some of the ship is infested?

Clay

Charles wrote:

In article , Ermalee
wrote:

Oh my! This is most disgusting! We have sailed on the NCL Spirit and
loved that ship. To hear this report about it sickens me.

Sounds too dramatic to me. Never heard of the person who posted this
before and no one else has reported bed bugs on Spirit. Another report
I read is from that sailing the person reports they had a fantastic
time and that the ship looked great inside and out.

Maybe this is a person who wants to get free stuff from NCL. I
remember something similar posted about a hotel - I think from a
pre-cruise stay. The same kind of report as this.

Plus - you know bedbugs are quite small. Hatchling bed bugs are about
the size of a poppy seed, and adults are about 1/4 of an inch in
length. They mostly feed at night.

In April 2005, this was posted

recently boarded a Royal Caribbean cruise, on March 26. My wife and I
paid for a guaranteed balcony room. The first night we noticed a bug
between the sheets, but brushed it off and didn't pay too much
attention. The next morning we found 2-3 more bugs in the bed, called
for the staff to check it out. An officer came up and stated he was
stunned as this has not happened before, while his maintenance guy
states 'let me check one spot'. Behind the headboard was a swarm of
bugs, they were climbing up curtains and in our clothes in the closet.
They moved us to a non-balcony room, without mention of any
reimbursements of fees. They took all of our clothes to be laundered,
therefore we spent two days in the same clothes. However, my wife and
I tried to make the best of it, since I had had a heart attack 1 month
prior, and we were on the cruise to attempt to relax. We spoke with
lower management about needing a balcony, to avoid long walking
distances to the decks since I have a 100% blocked right coronary
artery, it is impossible for me to walk extended distances. We would
not have gone on the cruise without having a balcony room. They stated
they did not have any available and moved us to a smaller room with no
balcony.

"Cindy C" wrote:

Hello Group,



I hate to have to bring such bad news home from our 10 day trip but ya need
to know!!!!

We have cruised every year for the last 12 years. This was our second NCL.

We booked NCL's Spirit out of NYC to S Caribbean 10/19/06-10/29/06. Selected
a guaranteed balcony for us and an outside cabin for my parents (We were
fortunate enough to be able to take them on their first cruise in 20 years.
We were very excited.) We thought it would be a great idea to travel out of
NY as we are from MD and my parents from DE (no airline hassles).

After spending one night in our cabin we returned from breakfast to find a
bug crawling on our curtain. I thought (rather 'afraid') I knew what it was
but asked my mom for confirmation. Yep, sure enough, bed bugs. They were
everywhere! Behind the bed, in the sleeper, in the curtains, etc. We killed
and caught several and proceeded immediately to reception to speak with a
manager privately. We spoke with the asst front desk manager and were told
to give them an hour to figure out where they would move us to while they
exterminated our cabin. After voicing my serious concerns about our personal
belongings they offered to launder anything we wanted. Later that day we
were moved (I should say *we* moved our belongings with out assistance) from
deck 10 aft (balcony) to deck 6 very forward porthole! (Well at this point
we hope it is far enough away from our original stateroom that the new one
may be safe.) That took the better part of our first day at sea and we were
unable to participate in any activities or formal night.

All of our empty luggage remained in the room as it was stored under the bed
and we could not bring ourselves to go under there again. I'm not kidding
when I say it was alive! The bedding and sleeper were filthy with fecal
matter, dried blood and living bugs of all sizes!

The front desk contacted us to let us know that they would extend an onboard
credit of $300 pp ($600), a complimentary dinner at a specialty restaurant
and a bottle of wine. Big deal! The difference between staterooms is at
least that much! They acted like it was generous! They replied that they
needed authorization from Miami to do anything further.

We tried to enjoy the second day at sea but we were now experiencing
inflammation from the bites we received on the first night and constant
itching. Later that evening we received a call from the front desk
management that Miami has extended an additional $200 pp ($400) and no other
credits would be offered. Meanwhile we still itch and can not sleep!


Finally we get to the island itinerary (5 days) and can spend some time off
of the ship and think about something other than bugs. But no, now we are
overhearing other people talk about rashes, and "something biting" them.
This how we realized the entire ship is infested! Nope we are not sleeping
through the night anymore. We keep waking and itching all through the
nights.


On the morning of our ninth day I awoke with a rather large bedbug running
down my arm! After screaming and cursing I captured and took the little
b*st*rd to the hotel manager. I tried to explain that I feared the entire
ship has a serious problem. He stated that he had a terrific extermination
team however, acknowledged that docking in NYC presents a particular
problem as NYC is known to have a dramatic bed bug problem. He was
sympathetic as I explained that we are terrified that we are going to bring
this problem home with us (as these things are efficient hitch-hikers) but
offered no advice or assistance. I asked that we be provided with a letter
acknowledging our complaint so I may have some instrument to persuade NCL to
take some responsibility should we in fact bring this home, but that we
would never get.



So we have just spent our evening emptying our suitcases in our driveway
(outside), sorted our laundry into plastic bags and sealed them. We will
store our luggage in the shed and hope that mice do not inhabit them until a
good freeze can kill any potential bugs or eggs. My parents also have bites
and they are following the same procedures.



Tomorrow I will consult with an exterminator as to anything else
preventative we can do, and we will write NCL to pursue additional monies
refunded.



This has been a horrible horrible experience! There are so many more details
that I wish I could convey, but this rant has gone on long enough. If anyone
has any advice on either the bugs or how to handle NCL, please let me know!
Thank you.



FYI-That ship only exterminated our 1st cabin and has sailed again today
with all of its little extra passengers.

Rosalie B. wrote:
We spoke with
lower management about needing a balcony, to avoid long walking
distances to the decks since I have a 100% blocked right coronary
artery, it is impossible for me to walk extended distances.

I'm not a doctor (and I don't play one on TV) but this seems a bit
fishy to me. 100% blocked and allowed to go on vacation? Wouldn't he
be rushed into surgery immediately for a bypass?

Warren

Warren wrote:
I'm not a doctor (and I don't play one on TV) but this seems a bit
fishy to me. 100% blocked and allowed to go on vacation? Wouldn't he
be rushed into surgery immediately for a bypass?

Warren

Warren, No not fishy at all. Trying surgery with 100% blockage is
very very dangerous. Stints and shunts are not an option with this
kind of blockage. If a piece of the blockage breaks away it could
travel to the brain and cause a stroke. In order to do By-Pass the
patient must have a good vasuclar system and no problems. The patient
must also have no lung problems. By-Pass surgery is not for everyone.
You only want to do surgery if its in the patients best interest. You
always want the patient to come out of surgery better than when they
went in. FYI...

Rick