Sick on Carribbean Princess.

[mgoblue01]

I am on the Caribbean Princess starting on Halloween so I'm following her outbreaks with a close eye! I just packed a package of Lysol wipes, and I intend to wipe down anything we touch in our cabin as an extra measure of caution. Besides the pocket anti-bac, we'll be furiously washing our hands and now I'm thinking bring the rubber gloves for the buffet utensils! Gross!

[Colo Cruiser]

now I'm thinking bring the rubber gloves for the buffet utensils! Gross!

 

That would be nice of you but the staff already have gloves. :eek:

[skellis]

They have cancelled the Bon Voyage experience for tomorrow's repositioning on the Caribbean Princess. We will be on her, and we have heard that they are doing that because they want more time to sanatize, it may also delay boarding by an hour or two.

[billie5]

For what it is worth, recent research seems to indicate that you are less likely to get severe norovirus if you do not have type O blood. If that research is confirmed, have to wonder if ABs like me are especially protected.:D

 

Bill

[harrodsfan]

I truly believe that one of the culprits for spreading the virus are the menu covers, and we discreetly use an alcohol wipe under the table after we handle them.

 

I believe that this is true. We go into many resturants and the menus are just disgusting. I mentioned this to my hubby and then told the waiter. Also the salt and pepper shakers I believe harbor lots of germs.

 

Also ketchup and mustard bottles....

 

I am somewhat obsessed about sanitation. Frequently I eat everything with a knife and fork.

[Astro Flyer]

I agree about menus and salt/pepper shakers. Also, watch out for the banisters/stair rails. I try to avoid them if at all possible. Think I'll wear mittens next month so as not to touch anything! LOL :p

Obviously a personal choice...but I use the rails because falling on the stairs would be much more dangerous than the norovirus.

 

I'll just keep my hands away from my face until I can wash them. I'm still nimble on the stairs but as I get older it will be even more important for me to continue to use the rails...to me it's the lesser of two evils.

[caribill]

Also the salt and pepper shakers I believe harbor lots of germs.

 

Also ketchup and mustard bottles....

 

 

Which is why at the first sign of an outbreak onboard the salt and pepper shakers will disappear and only the waitstaff will pour ketchup and mustard.

[mytime53]

One reason I prefer a MDR to the buffet is that you are seated by the waiter in the MDR and don't have to touch the bottom of the chair (after you've washed your hands) to scoot your chair up.

We wash our hands, use the hand sanitizer, get plates and table ware handed to us by gloved attendants, and then have to touch the unseen chair bottom.

That to me seems like it would be the grossest thing in the food area--how often do you think that gets washed? I try to remember wipes when we go to eat just for that reason.

[farmerjohn]

We were on a Mediterranean cruise last February and the immediately proceeding cruise had an outbreak of Norovirus. In the buffet the staff would not let you touch anything. There was staff to serve all of the food. They would not even let you get your own ice water. The ship’s crew was also sanitizing each cabin on the ship.

We took reasonable precautions and did not have any problems. Nor did we hear of others having problems on our cruise.

The alternating itinerary from the one we were on included a port stop in Egypt. Crew members said that all season they had been having trouble with Norovirus after they would visit Egypt.

[cptncrunch]

Not only are you guys killing germs. But your killing my whole vacation vibe. Relax.

[Shogun]

Hi All,

 

Have cruised with Noro a few times, never caught it, have chatted to crew who have many years at sea and come across noro many times

 

and never caught it, its so simple wash your hands as many times as you want, but do not never put your fingers near your mouth.

 

Relax have a great cruise,

 

yours Shogun

[BigGuy25]

I agree that NORO is an issue and cruise ships need to take all precautions to prevent and take extraordinary measures when it appears. But, people go a little crazy being so worried about "catching" it. Enjoy your cruise, eat in the buffet, grab the handrail if you need it, wash your hands when you get a chance .... but don't obsess about this!!! We all ate dirt as kids ... and we're still here!!!

[cormike1]

My husband and I were really sick a couple of years ago on a Rhine river cruise. He got it first and then it hit me. Don't know if it was Noro but it was awful. I have never been so sick!!! Our friends did not get sick and we were together all the time. There were some crew and others that got to. Even at the beginning of our cruise, the staff were forever wiping down the handrails, etc. and that was before anyone got sick. We kind of quaranteened ourselves and wouldn't even let the room steward come in. Thank god for Juliet balconies lol as we could air out the room periodically lol.

[Lancer1568]

Here we go again.Saw on the news last night that at least 50 passengers down with an intestional problem in St.John ,New Brunswick on the way to Halifax.:eek:

 

Just got home from the Caribbean Princess. They made announcement about noro virus on day 2 or 3 can't remember then they made another announcement as we were leaving St. Johns saying that the CDC and Canadian health athoroties were satisfied with the response. The second announcement was kind of odd so wonder if maybe that was in response to the TV show. We did not get sick and while I have no idea how many people were ill, the cruise seemed to proceed normally and don't think it got out of hand.

 

Lanier

[Colo Cruiser]

Just got home from the Caribbean Princess. They made announcement about noro virus on day 2 or 3 can't remember then they made another announcement as we were leaving St. Johns saying that the CDC and Canadian health athoroties were satisfied with the response. The second announcement was kind of odd so wonder if maybe that was in response to the TV show. We did not get sick and while I have no idea how many people were ill, the cruise seemed to proceed normally and don't think it got out of hand.

 

Lanier

 

 

Thanks.

Princess does a great job. :)

[LisaroseNY]

Just got home from the Caribbean Princess. They made announcement about noro virus on day 2 or 3 can't remember then they made another announcement as we were leaving St. Johns saying that the CDC and Canadian health athoroties were satisfied with the response. The second announcement was kind of odd so wonder if maybe that was in response to the TV show. We did not get sick and while I have no idea how many people were ill, the cruise seemed to proceed normally and don't think it got out of hand.

 

Lanier

 

my husband and I just got off this cruise also and we think that Princess did a fantastic job of keeping us informed as well as making the ship safe for the rest of us (no salt/pepper shakers, buffet totally served by the staff, and the common areas were always being cleaned) We were told all in all that about 40 people were sick (including Staff) so out of 3500+ people on the cruise, this is a very small percentage.

[HolidayCruising]

Have see a lot in the news lately about bed bugs and how they are terrible in New York, Ohio and by Disney resorts and places where a lot of different travelers visit.

Does anyone know what the situation (IF Any) is regarding bed bugs control on the Crown Princess? :confused:

[skellis]

We were on the repositioning CB cruise after the Noro "outbreak" (October 23) and the ship was cleared after the first three days and everything went back to normal. There were no reports of any problems, but we were told to wash our hands and use sanitizer but no further precautions were obvious. I think they do a great job, and we were not inconvenienced.

 

As to bedbugs, they are in all cities and many hotels allegedly including the Waldorf Astoria), but I have never heard of bedbugs on Princess, however, in an excess of caution we brought a spray we got at Bed Bath and Beyond, checked the beds for the signs of bedbugs, and didn't need it anywhere. ! also brought very large plastic bags and put them around my suitcases as a precaution from transferring the bugs to my luggage.

 

Pick up some protection for $3.95 and don't stress. Also the impact of bedbugs is small compared to the benefit the news (both print and TV) in increasing ratings.

[SF]

As to bedbugs, they are in all cities and many hotels allegedly including the Waldorf Astoria), but I have never heard of bedbugs on Princess, however, in an excess of caution we brought a spray we got at Bed Bath and Beyond, checked the beds for the signs of bedbugs, and didn't need it anywhere. ! also brought very large plastic bags and put them around my suitcases as a precaution from transferring the bugs to my luggage.

 

Pick up some protection for $3.95 and don't stress. Also the impact of bedbugs is small compared to the benefit the news (both print and TV) in increasing ratings.

 

What spray did you get and how is it used?

[spongerob]

We were on both cruises (the Canada/New England cruise mentioned) and the subsequent repositioning. As soon as there was an indication that a number of passengers had noro the captain made a ship-wide announcement and asked everyone to make sure to report any illness and take precautions. As a result the outbreak was contained and the crew did a fantastic job trying to keep things running smoothly.

 

Obviously there were some noticeable effects. Self-serve facilities were manned by crew members and as a result service was a bit slower. Every chip in the casino was washed on a daily basis. If you touched a railing on the stairs someone popped out of the woodwork and disinfected it.

 

In New York, anyone who had reported being sick was allowed to remain in their cabin until called and disembarked in a separate group so as not to contaminate anyone on their way home and to help make sure that new passengers were not accidentally exposed. Embarkation was delayed by about an hour although we were permitted back on board during their extra cleaning period.

 

Everyone responded professionally and it was apparent that many crew members were pulling extra duty to help maintain cleanliness on board. The actions taken were proactive and appropriate and I have to credit everyone with a job well done.

[gingera]

I was the one and only pax that got sick on our Crown Princess cruise! The medical team was fantastic & I think the bill was around $70 for everything & at the time I would have paid anything to stop the whole thing going on....if you know what I mean:eek:. We were reimbursed for everything with our health coverage, but that is beside the point..Princess medical staff took wonderful care of me & brought special meals to my room & even did the icky laundry free of charge. Plus put us in cab to the airport 2 days later--free . What would a 5* hotel do??? Nothing I would guess.

Jan

 

I have been ill on Princess before and had to visit their clinic....including medication, the bill was around $100, very cheap in my opinion and the staff was wonderful.

[gingera]

Hi All,

 

Have cruised with Noro a few times, never caught it, have chatted to crew who have many years at sea and come across noro many times

 

and never caught it, its so simple wash your hands as many times as you want, but do not never put your fingers near your mouth.

 

Relax have a great cruise,

 

yours Shogun

 

Shogun, wise comments.....noro is spread thru direct contact, so keeping your hands away from your mouth is so smart!

[Minoushka]

When Noro broke out on the STAR last Jan ..Of course we washed our hands ALL the time PLus only used our cabin facilities ...not always convenient as we were the last aft cabin HOWEVER we remained OK

Avoid Public washrooms as a RULE on ships ..I try to run to my cabin Most times it is fine

[nctraveler54]

Have see a lot in the news lately about bed bugs and how they are terrible in New York, Ohio and by Disney resorts and places where a lot of different travelers visit.

Does anyone know what the situation (IF Any) is regarding bed bugs control on the Crown Princess? :confused:

 

Was on the Crown in September and did not hear of any problems.

[skellis]

The spray was "rest easy" which was $3.95 at the store but is listed as 9.99 on line, it contained two bottles.