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I hate to even ask this question, but has anyone ever had a problem with a room not being clean or having.......well, the nightmare of all traveling nightmares....bedbugs?  I am super paranoid after a bad experience at a high end hotel 5 years ago.  It has taught me to meticulously check the beds of any hotel prior to sleeping in them.  I worry about the massive turnover of people each week on a cruise, and the lack of the ship to truly have a deep clean (with them turning over a new guest list each and ever week).  And, what would they do if you did find something?  Not like you could change cabins when they are at capacity.  Just random thoughts, 7 month out for a first time cruiser! 

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20 minutes ago, Lovestotravel said:

I hate to even ask this question, but has anyone ever had a problem with a room not being clean or having.......well, the nightmare of all traveling nightmares....bedbugs?  I am super paranoid after a bad experience at a high end hotel 5 years ago.  It has taught me to meticulously check the beds of any hotel prior to sleeping in them.  I worry about the massive turnover of people each week on a cruise, and the lack of the ship to truly have a deep clean (with them turning over a new guest list each and ever week).  And, what would they do if you did find something?  Not like you could change cabins when they are at capacity.  Just random thoughts, 7 month out for a first time cruiser! 

I’ve never seen a bug at all in a cruise room. Because of the small environment they are usually meticulous about cleaning rooms as things spread fast. 

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Out of the nine cruises under our belts we have not had one issue with ANY sort of bugs.  Haven't even seen an ant onboard! Even if there was an issue I know enough to know that it would be handled by the staff onboard.  RCCL does an amazing job of taking care of their guests as well as their brand.  Bed bugs are a hot topic, and if they did have any issues and not take care of them promptly that would create some extremely horrible press for their brand.  You really don't have much to worry about!  Take your cruise and relax! Leave all the stress at home where it belongs! 

 

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I 100% share your fear of bed bugs.  All Royal ships have a strict protocol that they follow if they find bed bugs.  Can it happen?  Most definitely yes, but the crew moves pretty swiftly to clear it if there is a case of it. 

How do I know this?  About a week or two prior to our Anthem Group cruise back in July, I had heard through FB of a reported case of bed bugs in the room right next to mine!  Needless to say, I was panicked.  Not everything you read online is true, but for someone like me, where in my job, bed bugs are a true reality, that was enough to scare me.  Anyway, I wasn't about to cancel the cruise but when I got on board, I did make it my mission to find out if it was true.  My stateroom attendant (who had both my room and the one next door) confirmed that yes, a few weeks prior there was a bed bug incident next door, exactly as I had read.  He then went through the entire protocol with us that they followed after.  According to him, after cleaning out the room from top to bottom, they closed off the room for a few sailings and then went back to check thoroughly prior to opening it back up. 

The conclusion that I always come to is that unless I never want to leave my house, I will just do my due diligence by checking the beds, wiping things down, etc.  Not going to be able to avoid it 100% but it's not going to stop me from travelling either.

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15 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

I 100% share your fear of bed bugs.  All Royal ships have a strict protocol that they follow if they find bed bugs.  Can it happen?  Most definitely yes, but the crew moves pretty swiftly to clear it if there is a case of it. 

How do I know this?  About a week or two prior to our Anthem Group cruise back in July, I had heard through FB of a reported case of bed bugs in the room right next to mine!  Needless to say, I was panicked.  Not everything you read online is true, but for someone like me, where in my job, bed bugs are a true reality, that was enough to scare me.  Anyway, I wasn't about to cancel the cruise but when I got on board, I did make it my mission to find out if it was true.  My stateroom attendant (who had both my room and the one next door) confirmed that yes, a few weeks prior there was a bed bug incident next door, exactly as I had read.  He then went through the entire protocol with us that they followed after.  According to him, after cleaning out the room from top to bottom, they closed off the room for a few sailings and then went back to check thoroughly prior to opening it back up. 

The conclusion that I always come to is that unless I never want to leave my house, I will just do my due diligence by checking the beds, wiping things down, etc.  Not going to be able to avoid it 100% but it's not going to stop me from travelling either.

Yikes, that would have FREAKED me out!! But, so glad to hear they took it seriously.  

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I noticed on Enchantment a few weeks ago, when I went to check the mattress piping seams for "evidence" (a habit I have picked up over the years due to the "fear") - and noticed that they had the mattress encased in a protective covering. This was reassuring. 

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8 hours ago, Momof4crazytocruise said:

I noticed on Enchantment a few weeks ago, when I went to check the mattress piping seams for "evidence" (a habit I have picked up over the years due to the "fear") - and noticed that they had the mattress encased in a protective covering. This was reassuring. 

Yes, that is a good proactive feature, as long as they wash it each time!  And, I always check the mattress seams.....with a flashlight.....my kids think I am nuts. ?

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I was curious and tried to find statistical data about prevalence of bed bugs, but it’s apparently not monitored by the CDC or other regulatory or monitoring agencies. 

As a healthcare practitioner, my recommendation is an “ounce of prevention, is worth a pound of cure”. 

I would definitely recommend being overly cautious and check for signs. But I wouldn’t let it discourage you from something you may enjoy! Even 5 star hotels are at risk...

When in doubt; seek them out! If none are found; let the fun abound!

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I am with you and completely understand your fear @Lovestotravel

I've heard horror stories from my friends of bed bugs in their hotel room and rental car that left them scratching their skin off.  We are super paranoid, but like @Lovetocruise2002 said, we try not to let it stop us from travelling. 

Here's a funny story for you!  On our first cruise Oasis, we followed the same procedures we do for hotel rooms.  We left our suitcases near the door, stripped off all the sheets and inspected the seams with a flashlight, inspected the room and headboard and even behind the pictures.  We hurried up and put the bed sheets back together, and low and behold, knock knock!  Our stateroom attendant came to greet us!  Can you imagine?  She must have thought we couldn't wait to get it on .. ?

 

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In all the threads I've read here in the last 2 plus years, I don't recall an mention of bedbugs on any RC ships. Somewhat reassuring, although it just takes one person to bring them with them. Just like Norovirus, bedbugs are not finding their way onboard by themselves!

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On June 30th 2018 my wife and I sailed on Harmony of the Seas, we were on cabin 12720. 

Since the first night we started to wake up because of the itch of some kind of bug bites on the legs. We went down to guest services at 4 or 5 AM and showed the bites to them. They sent us to the infirmary where the Dr. confirmed they where bug bites. 

We were placed temporary on another room while they were searching the room. Later that day they told us they didn't found anything but they gave us 50% FCC... weird... 

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9 hours ago, raahc said:

Here's a funny story for you!  On our first cruise Oasis, we followed the same procedures we do for hotel rooms.  We left our suitcases near the door, stripped off all the sheets and inspected the seams with a flashlight, inspected the room and headboard and even behind the pictures.  We hurried up and put the bed sheets back together, and low and behold, knock knock!  Our stateroom attendant came to greet us!  Can you imagine?  She must have thought we couldn't wait to get it on .. ?

OMG!  Feeling super bummed out that 5pm is the first opportunity I've had all day to log in here to the message boards and this is such a good laugh!!!!

 

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  • 6 months later...

Unfortunately we got bedbugs our last night on Liberty of the Seas Dec 2018. Even worse, we brought them home with us and had to fight them for 3 months straight every day. What a nightmare. This was our 6th cruise that we had that experience/nightmare. We have since gone on another Disney Cruise and are booked on Symphony of the Seas in Sept 2020 and another Disney Cruise in Feb 2021. I was very disappointed RCCL didn’t care we got bedbugs, but ultimately it was a bad experience but we don’t let bad experiences ruin our vacation or our lives. We get past it, learn, and move on. We now bring peppermint essential oils and sprinkle around the rooms. So far we haven’t had any other issues anywhere. Hopefully it’ll stay that way. I know this post is old but maybe will help someone reading it. 

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No direct personal experience but my brother and his family ran into bedbugs on Freedom OTS a few years back when we did a family thanksgiving cruise.

Royal packed up all their clothing, ran it through the laundry and returned it folded later in the day.

Pulled all the furniture from the room (couch, mattress, linens, etc.)

Did a major clean of the room, treated carpets, etc. (they werent allowed in the room at all for the day but were given an alternate space to use bathroom, take a nap, change, etc.)

Replaced the furniture after cleaning the room.

Threw in a big enough FCC that they took a "free" cruise a year or so later.

Bad experience getting the critters but Royal did a good job taking care of the problem.

They were in a family cabin since they had the kids along, otherwise i think they would have just been "swapped" to the open cabin instead of moved out and back in but regardless, they were still happy coming off the cruise and took another ... so im guessing they were ok with the solution.,

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