Reporting Kurtis Ming
A Sonora couple says their 50th anniversary cruise was ruined by a Norovirus outbreak. Then they learned the outbreak started before they ever got on board.
It’s been a half-century love story between Judy and Richard Matthews.
“I met her in church and asked her to go steady,” recalls Richard.
Married just out of high school, they’re celebrating their 50th anniversary this year.
“I wanted to have our vows renewed and I wanted to do it on a cruise ship, that would be nice,” says Judy.
The couple booked a 10-day Alaskan cruise with Princess. Their son, his family and Judy’s sister all came along for the celebration.
As they’re boarding in San Francisco, they were handed a health advisory telling people to wash their hands often to prevent Norovirus, but it never said there was already an outbreak on board.
“I didn’t really think too much about it because I didn’t know what it was, never heard of it before,” says Judy.
But she learned first-hand all about Norovirus the next day.
“I felt so bad, I mean just like instantly.”
So sick, she was isolated to the cabin for three days and as the days went on, she says all seven members of her group became sick.
“I feel like they cheated me out of something I wanted so bad,” says Judy.
Saying the trip was ruined, they want a refund on the $9,700 the entire family paid. Princess has apologized, but refused the refund.
“You can’t treat people like this,” says Richard.
We pulled the records and found more than 150 people on that cruise got sick. More than 140 on the previous cruise also got Norovirus. 44 people got it on the trip before that.
So when there’s been an outbreak on the ship you’re about to board, does the cruise line have to warn you?
“Of course you’ve gotta let the consumer know ahead of time,” says Travel Law Attorney, Al Anolik.
He thinks the family should sue Princess for negligence, saying the cruise line didn’t clean the ship well enough, causing seven percent of the passengers to get sick.
“The crew knew what to do for themselves because less than one percent of them caught the virus,” says Anolik.
The CDC says during an outbreak it requires cruise lines to increase cleaning, isolate sick people, and stop high-risk activities like self-service buffets.
The CDC tells CBS13 it asked Princess to warn the passengers on this particular trip of the outbreak but never specified when that warning should go out. Judy says she wasn’t told until she was on the ship.
Princess wouldn’t answer our questions about giving the couple a refund but told us they worked with the CDC to sanitize the ship.
Although delayed several days, Judy and Richard were able to renew their vows before getting off the boat.
Judy says it’ll be the last time she’s on a Princess cruise.
“I lost all respect for that shipping line. I’m afraid to go on their line again,” says Judy.
According to federal documents, passengers on the next cruise did receive calls and emails warning them of the outbreak. And Princess says no one on that voyage became sick, although, 53 passengers did get sick on the following cruise. Now more than 350 people total have gotten sick on that same ship since May.
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