Norovirus

[Teacher42]

Dear Nou,   The salient point for me in the CDC presentation is "given the lack of evidence", which to a person with any affliction  is a professional's way of saying  'we have no answer to your condition at this time'. Quite a 'bedside manner' for someone suffering the effects of any disease. The 'placebo effect 'may even come into effect, working in conjunction with our own immune systems, using something as innocuous as oral peroxide, which was stated in the presentation as killing norovirus. This prophylactic measure in the very least can give the patient a hope and perhaps a feeling that they are doing something for themselves to make themselves well again; which is something mere brushing of ones teeth will not accomplish.

[John&LaLa]

18 minutes ago, Mikew0805 said:

Well... they're not stupid.🤣

 

...wait

 

Lysol wipes are bogo at Publix.  

 

 

[Canadian Tyler]

Despite being in isolation in our cabin for 48 hours, we still had a great cruise.

We think Royal went above and beyond with the compensation and are very happy with it.

Kudos to the crew who worked very hard at sanitizing the ship (and still are).

[sargejenn]

1 hour ago, rt1092 said:

Not going back 12 pages. Just read this page. I heard from the most reliable source. That they think it was a child in Adventure Ocean the vomited 2 hours after leaving port. Makes sense that this could cause the perfect storm. The kids get infected they pass it to other kids, parents and siblings, and they pass it to others.  Royal bent over backwards to accommodate everyone. I still can't believe they gave 100% refunds and not future cruise certificates. Plus they offered to pay up to $200 for a hotel room, and up to $200 for airline change fees.. The B2bs were transferred to a hotel  and given meal vouchers. Then they are to be escorted back to the ship in the morning. I'm sure the shareholders are having a fit. This cost Royal big time both in cash and bad PR. All in all I don't think any cruise line could have handled it better.

 

We are B2B guests on this cruise.  First time we have heard this child in Adventure Ocean theory.  

 

B2B guests were given OBC for the upcoming cruise, not meal vouchers.  

 

The crew were awesome and worked hard to make the best of a bad situation.  Royal is to be commended for how they handled this.  

[Canadian Tyler]

I've been ignoring a lot of the theories and rumors. Didnt hear the Adventure Ocean one but did hear the one about Disney threatening to pull out of sailing to Jamaica if they let us out.

[Ukigirl]

I am nauseous just reading this thread, thank goodness never experienced this and hopefully never will.  I used to get sick all the time during flu and cold season, about five years ago I started taking supplements religiously and gotta tell you that besides a couple days where I feel under the weather every season, I’ve dodged the bullet. This includes being coughed on airplane trips, multiple cruises where everyone else comes home sick except me and I work at a health care clinic where I deal with germs every day.  I don’t think I’ve become immune to these germs, this is working for me and in case you are wondering , no flu shot since 2012.  

Edited January 13, 2019 by Ukigirl

[Starry Eyes]

1 hour ago, John&LaLa said:

 

We did not get a survey

Maybe they didn’t waste the paper or your time as you had previously reported GI symptoms.  Or a mail delivery failure.  I prefer to give benefit of doubt of believe the former.

[chrisb74]

Question: If only soap & water hand washing is a suitable way to prevent this why don't they have proper soap and water washing stations at the entrances to the food venues? It wouldn't be that hard to do. 

 

 

[Mikew0805]

3 minutes ago, chrisb74 said:

Question: If only soap & water hand washing is a suitable way to prevent this why don't they have proper soap and water washing stations at the entrances to the food venues? It wouldn't be that hard to do. 

 

 

Proper washing with soap (preferably not anti-bacterial) and warm water, is far better than the use of sanitizer. Some ships have these washing stations at the entrance to the Windjammer. They were on the Adventure, and were nice to have. Carnival had fantastic hand washers in their Lido restaurant. So efficient... I wish all the lines would use the ones they have. 

[sfaaa]

1 hour ago, Mikew0805 said:

. Carnival had fantastic hand washers in their Lido restaurant. So efficient... I wish all the lines would use the ones they have. 

It takes about 30 seconds for every passenger to go through the hand washing cycle. Takes too long and will likely create a traffic jam at the door.

Edited January 13, 2019 by sfaaa

[BEENSAILING]

5 hours ago, John&LaLa said:

 

Lysol wipes are bogo at Publix.  

 

 

I have clorox wipes that I brought from Chicago on airplane. And Purell bottles. On Symphony now. Hope to stay healthy on this brautiful ship. However, can’t do much about sneezers who sneeze into the air... 

[xpcdoojk]

8 hours ago, sfaaa said:

It takes about 30 seconds for every passenger to go through the hand washing cycle. Takes too long and will likely create a traffic jam at the door.

Several new ships have a complete hand wash area outside of the Windjammer.

 

jc

[vacationlover_mn]

34 minutes ago, xpcdoojk said:

Several new ships have a complete hand wash area outside of the Windjammer.

 

jc

It makes me so frustrated when people skip them!  The hand washing stations are such a good thing!

[gatour]

8 hours ago, sfaaa said:

It takes about 30 seconds for every passenger to go through the hand washing cycle. Takes too long and will likely create a traffic jam at the door.

When I was on the Harmony last year there were handwashing stations at the entrance to the Windjammer.  Pretty much everyone was washing their hands.  There was slight back up, more like waiting the person in front you to get done, not line out the door.

[h20skibum]

39 minutes ago, xpcdoojk said:

Several new ships have a complete hand wash area outside of the Windjammer.

 

jc

Ships with recent updates also have them added.  They were on Indy.

 

We noticed people skipping them, as soon as someone wasn’t monitoring the line.  Don’t know what is wrong with people.

[h20skibum]

2 minutes ago, gatour said:

When I was on the Harmony last year there were handwashing stations at the entrance to the Windjammer.  Pretty much everyone was washing their hands.  There was slight back up, more like waiting the person in front you to get done, not line out the door.

 

The only time on Harmony when there was a significant line for hand washing, was when it first opens up.  After the early birds get through, not a long wait at all.

[FionaMG]

13 hours ago, sfaaa said:

Besides public washrooms and common areas, another high risk area on the ship is the gym. Common courtesy dictates that  you are supposed to wipe down the gym equipment with sanitizing wipes after each use. This quite often is not the case as some inconsiderate users would drip sweat onto the gym equipment and then just get up and walk away when they are done. Saw this many times to my dismay.

I totally agree with this BUT it is something that could so easily be addressed if Royal had not done away with on-duty instructors in the gym. When I first started cruising in 2001, every time I used the gym (daily) there was always one or sometimes two instructors on duty. On my last few cruises I have hardly ever seen one and, on the few occasions that I have, instead of patrolling the gym they are doing foot analyses or other similar functions that guests have to pay for. Not the instructors' fault, obviously.

MSC has Royal beaten hands down in this respect. On my two cruises with them they had pro-active instructors on duty in the gym all the time and they did not only make sure people were wiping down equipment but also sterilising the mats after each use, something I have never seen on Royal.

[Freerbythesea]

I have worked my entire life in child care and am now working in the food industry.  "Proper" hand washing is a MUST to both keep myself healthy and those around me.  An important piece of hand washing (in public places) is making sure that you use a barrier when you turn off the sink and when you open the bathroom door.  I watch so many people wash their hands by turning on the water, rinsing their hands quickly with just water and then leaving.  This can easily spread germs.  I practice using a barrier religiously.  In bathrooms were they don't have paper towels I use the inside of my shirt, coat, sweater.  This has kept me healthy for years!  

[RoperDK]

If you are unfortunate enough to come down with Noro, how do you treat it?  I have heard to let the virus run through you without medications and others say to take anti-nausea and diarrhea meds.  Of course, keeping hydrated is a must. So, how is the best way to survive this illness?  I understand the concept of allowing the body to expel the virus without slowing it down, but it seems like medications to ease symptoms would be appreciated.    

[Atlantix2000]

2 hours ago, vacationlover_mn said:

It makes me so frustrated when people skip them!  The hand washing stations are such a good thing!

 

2 hours ago, h20skibum said:

We noticed people skipping them, as soon as someone wasn’t monitoring the line.  Don’t know what is wrong with people.

 

It's possible to wash your hands elsewhere and walk to the windjammer (or MDR, etc) without touching anything.  I often pass the hand washing stations because I've just come from the bathroom and washed my hands there.  I get that many people have poor hygiene but let's be careful about over-generalizing.

[vacationlover_mn]

1 hour ago, Atlantix2000 said:

 

 

It's possible to wash your hands elsewhere and walk to the windjammer (or MDR, etc) without touching anything.  I often pass the hand washing stations because I've just come from the bathroom and washed my hands there.  I get that many people have poor hygiene but let's be careful about over-generalizing.

Yes!  I always wash my hands in the restroom first, and use my sleeve to open doors 🙂

[island lady]

On 1/11/2019 at 11:54 AM, MalteseMama2 said:

John & I are sorry to hear that you 2 are sick! I always get the flu shot also and just pray they got it right for that season. 

 

Thanks...I was indeed shocked to learn it was the flu.  Guess I just assumed we were safe with the shot.  This must be a stubborn strain of it.  Many pax and crew members coughing all around the ship. The flu can be more scary than the noro IMHO.  

[John&LaLa]

There she goes on another action packed adventure.  

 

Edited January 13, 2019 by John&LaLa

[MalteseMama2]

13 hours ago, island lady said:

 

Thanks...I was indeed shocked to learn it was the flu.  Guess I just assumed we were safe with the shot.  This must be a stubborn strain of it.  Many pax and crew members coughing all around the ship. The flu can be more scary than the noro IMHO.  

I agree. John had noro and was absolutely miserable. But every year there are deaths from flu. 

[Mikew0805]

On 1/13/2019 at 12:28 AM, sfaaa said:

It takes about 30 seconds for every passenger to go through the hand washing cycle. Takes too long and will likely create a traffic jam at the door.

These are a bit different. First they are scattered throughout the lido deck restaurant, I would guess about 6 of them. Second they are 12 seconds to complete. There was never more than a couple person wait. 

 

Never going to get everyone to wash, but I like that they are scattered, as I can wash before and after I get my food. It’s fine that one washes before, you you still have to touch the serving utensils that other people have touched... so I like the ease of washing after I get my food.