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Cholera on Haiti

jo anne

By jo anne,
in Royal Caribbean International

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sutuz

sutuz

Posted
Posted
I can now add this topic to the list of threads best NOT started here on Cruise Critic, along with 1) Obnoxious children, 2) obnoxious adults 3) chair hogs 4) Proper dress in the MDR and 5) Alcohol Smuggling.

 

Michael

 

 

You forgot 6) Smoking

 

;)

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jmraggs

jmraggs

Posted
Posted

I'm curious - I see you only have 15 posts and all on this subject - are you new to Cruise Critic posting, or have you chosen to create a new profile just to participate in this discussion?

 

I have been suspect of many "new" posters that seem to have the same "tone" in their language on any particular thread. If you read enough posts on this site, you tend to get a notion of how some people post. People can change their screen name all they want, but the same junk and attacks still come out. I am not saying that this poster that you quoted is one of these; I am just making a generic comment to release me of any liability.:D

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cruzemaven

cruzemaven

Posted
Posted

Posted on the CDC site today...."At this time, CDC and the U.S. Department of State maintain travel warnings for Haiti. These warnings recommend that U.S. citizens avoid all nonessential travel to Haiti" My question is...with this warning stated, will RCCL still stop at Labadee? We took insurance...I wonder if we are covered if we cancel.

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chef_christoph

chef_christoph

Posted
Posted
Posted on the CDC site today...."At this time, CDC and the U.S. Department of State maintain travel warnings for Haiti. These warnings recommend that U.S. citizens avoid all nonessential travel to Haiti" My question is...with this warning stated, will RCCL still stop at Labadee? We took insurance...I wonder if we are covered if we cancel.

 

While I don't make light of such warnings, getting off a cruise ship and spending a few hours inside a secure compound that has very little in common with Haiti probably isn't what the CDC and State Department are worried about.

 

Yes, Labadee is technically in Haiti, but it is not relying upon the same damaged infrastructure as the general population.

 

My qualifications for making such a comment? No, I'm not a doctor or scientist, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night....

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lookgood2

lookgood2

Posted
Posted
Posted on the CDC site today...."At this time, CDC and the U.S. Department of State maintain travel warnings for Haiti. These warnings recommend that U.S. citizens avoid all nonessential travel to Haiti" My question is...with this warning stated, will RCCL still stop at Labadee? We took insurance...I wonder if we are covered if we cancel.

...Thanks....I thought that I was the only one who read that......

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daze6399

daze6399

Posted
Posted
Past experience shows that quarantine measures and embargoes on the movement of people and goods are unnecessary. Isolated cases of cholera related to imported food have been associated with food in the possession of individual travellers.

http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs107/en/index.html

 

Is It Transmitted From Person to Person?

 

Because casual contact with a person who has cholera is not a major risk for becoming ill, cholera is not likely to be transmitted directly from one person to another.

 

http://diarrhea.emedtv.com/cholera/cholera-transmission.html

 

Cholera is transmitted from person to person through ingestion of water contaminated with the cholera bacterium, usually from faeces or other effluent. The source of the contamination is typically other cholera patients when their untreated diarrhea discharge is allowed to get into waterways or into groundwater or drinking water supplies.

 

Any infected water and any foods washed in the water, as well as shellfish living in the affected waterway, can cause an infection.

 

http://www.news-medical.net/health/Cholera-Transmission.aspx

 

I (as a parent, and husband) would think very hard about canceling a vacation because there was a cholera outbreak near a destination.

 

The facts (as reported above w/ links to verify) are that cholera does not transmit easily from person to person.

 

I would be wary of shellfish procured on site, but that is about the extent of my concern. Of course, drink bottled water, or sodas with the seal intact. As has been said over and over again, cholera is not an airborne virus, it is a bacteria transmitted through fecal matter. To me it means that even if the guy in the cabin next to me, or my table mates had cholera, I wouldn't be very likely to catch it.

 

If I thought RCCL's employees (cooks especially) didn't wash their hands I wouldn't eat on board, cholera or not.

 

Also consider that according to the WHO website linked above that 80% of cases can be cured with (clean) water and Oral Replacement Salts, i.e. salt tablets to keep your body from becoming dehydrated. The remainder of the cases are usually fixed by IV fluids (these are the severe cases) I'm fairly certain that the ships have the ability to hang an IV bag in what I would consider a "worst case scenario"

 

Consider too that the State Department makes a habit of being paranoid. I'm not sure if it is fear of being sued, or just general over cautiousness, but there are a LOT of travel advisories. Add that into your equation before making a decision as well.

 

Ultimately it is your choice but I recommend thinking long and hard about canceling any vacation.

 

daze (the computer geek, NOT Doctor, Dentist, Epidemic Specialist or any other health professional)

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daze6399

daze6399

Posted
Posted
Posted on the CDC site today...."At this time, CDC and the U.S. Department of State maintain travel warnings for Haiti. These warnings recommend that U.S. citizens avoid all nonessential travel to Haiti" My question is...with this warning stated, will RCCL still stop at Labadee? We took insurance...I wonder if we are covered if we cancel.

 

...Thanks....I thought that I was the only one who read that......

 

While I don't make light of such warnings, getting off a cruise ship and spending a few hours inside a secure compound that has very little in common with Haiti probably isn't what the CDC and State Department are worried about.

 

Yes, Labadee is technically in Haiti, but it is not relying upon the same damaged infrastructure as the general population.

 

 

Top two--see bottom

 

Cruizemaven--Check with your insurance and see if they will refund you for your trip if your are that worried about it. If you are stressing, what's the point of the vacation then? OR Call RCCL and see if they will let you change ships/itineraries.

 

The State department makes lots of travel warnings read the ones below these are places you probably don't want to go, but note the tone of the statements compared to the Warning for Haiti

 

http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/tw/tw_4327.html

http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/tw/tw_921.html

 

further reading at the US Embassy to Haiti Here

 

 

Funny thought I just had, RCCL transfers employees from ship to ship right? If this is SUCH A BIG DEAL why not just give up cruising all together? I mean employees could quit working for RCCL and be on a CCL ship, or a Cunard, or Celebrity, or almost any other cruise line. :rolleyes:

 

daze

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TPKeller Excellent Advice! Rare

TPKeller

Posted
Posted
I can now add this topic to the list of threads best NOT started here on Cruise Critic, along with 1) Obnoxious children, 2) obnoxious adults 3) chair hogs 4) Proper dress in the MDR and 5) Alcohol Smuggling.

You also left out tipping.

 

And here's where it gets fun... much like tipping, where 90% of the controversy is the misunderstanding that tipping on a cruise ship is not really "tipping" in the sense that most Americans are familiar with the word, much of the issue here is that Labadee, while technically "in" Haiti, is not really Haiti, in the respect that the poor infrastructure and health practices of Haiti in general have no impact on the passengers who enjoy a day at the beach.

 

Theron

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Mark_K

Mark_K

Posted
Posted
Posted on the CDC site today...."At this time, CDC and the U.S. Department of State maintain travel warnings for Haiti. These warnings recommend that U.S. citizens avoid all nonessential travel to Haiti" My question is...with this warning stated, will RCCL still stop at Labadee? We took insurance...I wonder if we are covered if we cancel.
There have been various travel warnings in place related to travel to Haiti for months, if not years. If you were willing to ignore the others why cancel now? This one is no more likely to affect your visit to Labadee than the others.
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hgmizzou

hgmizzou

Posted
Posted
I just love Cruise Critic - the way people shout hyperbole on both sides of a question. Classic here is calling others ignorant, and then proceeding to make incorrect statements.

 

Neither Labadee nor Haiti are islands. The cholera that we are talking about is not a virus. It cannot be avoided by simply not drinking the water. The outbreak area isn't *that* far from Labadee .. it is in the central plateau north of Port-Au-Prince.

 

Exposure to cholera during a day's visit to Labadee is neither impossible nor likely. Food, water, and food-handling staff (with the exception of some bar runners) are from the ship. I have it on good authority that the water in the ocean, though, is not from the ship. :-)

 

I will be on a cruise that stops at Labadee soon. I will have informed myself of the situation before I go, and listen to what the RC staff have to say about it, if anything (though I wouldn't blindly trust just that). I will gauge my own comfort level with going ashore that morning and will stay on the ship if I think the concern will interfere with my enjoying the day. If I stay on board, I'm not crazy or paranoid. If I get off the ship, I'm not crazy either. I will be following my own risk assessment and acting accordingly.

 

Now that is the most rational response I have seen. I agree. An informed, personal decision...great plan!! Enjoy your cruise!! :)

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Cruiser 4 Life 66

Cruiser 4 Life 66

Posted
Posted

Lots of panicking people on here, glad to see there are still some sane ones too. Your risk of getting cholera in Labadee eating and drinking food from the ship is 0%. Meanwhile none of you have a problem eating food from street vendors in the Caribbean or even NYC. Ever wonder where street vendors go to the bathroom? You don't wanna know. Ever wonder where they wash their hands after going to the bathroom? They don't. Then they touch your food with their bare hands. Now THAT'S something you should be scared of.

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cruisefan8888

cruisefan8888

Posted
Posted

But also malaria is a risk, even in Labadee.

 

Areas of Haiti with Malaria: All (including Port Labadee). (more information)

 

If you will be visiting an area of Haiti with malaria, you will need to discuss with your doctor the best ways for you to avoid getting sick with malaria. Ways to prevent malaria include the following:

 

from: http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/destinations/haiti.aspx

 

Same goes for the Dominican Republic. Why is Royal still visiting these ports?

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QTBabyNurse

QTBabyNurse

Posted
Posted

Just spoke to someone from the C&A Desk as we will be on a sailing which stops in Haiti next week and we have purchased the Cultural Tour excursion for that port as well.

The representative told me that RCI has not made any plans at this time to adjust their itinerary but they are "monitoring the situation closely and if they deem it will be dangerous to the health of the passengers, they will adjust it at that time". When I asked her if the Cultural Tour excursion was still planned, she repeated the above statement and then said we would be refunded if it had to be cancelled but we could cancel up to 24 hours prior to the excursion with refund if we chose to.

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daze6399

daze6399

Posted
Posted

Same goes for the Dominican Republic. Why is Royal still visiting these ports?

 

Yes, malaria is at those locations as well as parts of Mexico, the majority of the rest of Central America, and the majority of South America. So why do they go to those ports? Their customers want them to go there. $$$ wins. There are drugs that are said to help prevent individuals from contracting malaria.

 

http://www.cdc.gov/malaria/travelers/drugs.html

 

Cholera is a VERY minimal risk.

 

daze

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Ocean Boy

Ocean Boy

Posted
Posted
But also malaria is a risk, even in Labadee.

 

Areas of Haiti with Malaria: All (including Port Labadee). (more information)

 

If you will be visiting an area of Haiti with malaria, you will need to discuss with your doctor the best ways for you to avoid getting sick with malaria. Ways to prevent malaria include the following:

 

from: http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/destinations/haiti.aspx

 

Same goes for the Dominican Republic. Why is Royal still visiting these ports?

 

Sometimes I sit here and then sometimes I sit here and just shake my head.

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Ocean Boy

Ocean Boy

Posted
Posted
Yes, malaria is at those locations as well as parts of Mexico, the majority of the rest of Central America, and the majority of South America. So why do they go to those ports? Their customers want them to go there. $$$ wins. Malaria is pretty much a non-issue as there are at least 5 different vaccines for malaria. So if you're worried about that go to your local drug distribution office. Cholera is a VERY minimal risk. So what's the concern again?

 

daze

 

Really? They must have invented those vaccines when I wasn't looking. My understanding is that there is one that is undergoing clinical trials. None are available for use in the general population.

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