Food Poisoning on HAL

[JoeB]

I recently had my honeymoon onboard the HAL Statendam. 4 days into the trip I contracted food poisoning from either the lunch I had in the Lido lounge or from the dinner I was later served. When I requested my money back on an excursion my wife and I had booked, we were ordered to the infirmary where I was promptly "diagnosed" with the Norwalk Virus. We were immediately quarantined and kicked off the boat. HAL did put us up in a decent hotel, and paid for lodging and the flight home, but it was an extremely disturbing experience, especially since I certainly did NOT contract the Norwalk Virus. We were told that it is highly contagious and the symptoms last 3-5 days, my wife slept next to me the whole time and is AOK and I was 100% in 2 days time. I now feel that HAL used the Norwalk "diagnosis" as an excuse to cover up the fact that I did in fact contract food poisoning from thier food.
What I'd like to know is: has anyone else out there had rotten experiences with HAL's food? This seems to be an extremely strange ocurrence and I'd like to know if I'm the only one...

Thanks

[JoeB]

I recently had my honeymoon onboard the HAL Statendam. 4 days into the trip I contracted food poisoning from either the lunch I had in the Lido lounge or from the dinner I was later served. When I requested my money back on an excursion my wife and I had booked, we were ordered to the infirmary where I was promptly "diagnosed" with the Norwalk Virus. We were immediately quarantined and kicked off the boat. HAL did put us up in a decent hotel, and paid for lodging and the flight home, but it was an extremely disturbing experience, especially since I certainly did NOT contract the Norwalk Virus. We were told that it is highly contagious and the symptoms last 3-5 days, my wife slept next to me the whole time and is AOK and I was 100% in 2 days time. I now feel that HAL used the Norwalk "diagnosis" as an excuse to cover up the fact that I did in fact contract food poisoning from thier food.
What I'd like to know is: has anyone else out there had rotten experiences with HAL's food? This seems to be an extremely strange ocurrence and I'd like to know if I'm the only one...

Thanks

[Marlis]

Just got back from a cruise on a nother line and people were coughing and being so confined it is easy to spread an illness. I had a very bad cold and had to be treated before I went on our cruise. My husband never got sick ,his ammune system was very good. That might have been the reason your husband did not get sick. I learned one thing, I always open the public restrooms on the ship with a paper towel because some people did not wash their hands properly. Hope others reply to your question too.
Hope you have a better cruise next time.
Marlis in Miami

[Karen Knowlton]

Joe, my sympathies on such a disappointing turn to your honeymoon! It is very difficult to tell the difference between a stomach flu virus (like Norwalk) and food poisoning, even for medical professionals. Usually when food poisoning occurs, it shows up in a lot of people right away - I get the impression that that was not the case on your cruise. In addition, there have been quite a few incidences over the last year of viruses among cruise passengers, and there always are some each year. Because of this, it is easy to see why Holland America (HAL) took the action they did.
As far as food on HAL cruises, I did not hear of any problems, nor did I experience any, when I was on a HAL cruise last year. If you did indeed have food poisoning, it was an isolated case - certainly not the norm on this cruise line!
Echoing the post above - I hope your next cruise goes MUCH better!

[Gwen]

I am so sorry to hear of your experience. It seems anyone with an upset stomach is locked into their cabin and not given any options. Would you cruise on HAL again? What would you have done differently?

Gwen

Cruising is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you are going to get.