Ruby has Noro again....

[sunsetbeachgal]

Our local newspaper just had an article about how all of the schools had norovirus outbreaks this year...im sure one passenger bringing it on board can spread it to many...

[speedyjane]

Do they close the pools during an outbreak?

[DrivesLikeMario]

Some hand sanitizers WILL KILL NORO! Benzethonium Chloride and Benzalkonium Chloride DO KILL norovirus! Products with either of the these active ingredients WILL kill norovirus. Purell just kills bacterial and won't touch Noro.

 

Wet Ones brand wipes have Benzethonium Chloride as the active ingredient and it’s widely available in most stores. Clorox wipes DO NOT contain Benzethonium Cl and do not kill noro.

 

Purchase and carry Wet Ones on board with you. As soon as you enter your room take 20 minutes or less and wipe down everything you will touch...light switches, drawer pulls, door handles...you get the picture. Then wipe down chairs, etc on your balcony if you have one. Then wash your hands.

 

Wash your hands as part of your normal routine every time before you leave your room.

 

If everyone boarding Princess would do these simple things odds of a Noro-free cruise go way up!

 

So, should I ditch my Chlorox wipes for Wet Ones on the next cruise? I looked up the ingredients of both and they're just as you say.

[geocruiser]

I sure too, that all it needs is one PAX or crew/staff member to bring it on board and it starts up again.

[jbhermes]

We were on the Ruby the week of Feb 14. The crew did an amazing job. We had no illnesses. Wash your hands a LOT. Dont use the public restrooms. Don't worry about silverware, salt and pepper shakers in the dining rooms--they will remove them. They'll have someone hand you silverware that is all wrapped and you'll have to use packets of salt/pepper. Take all the precautions and I bet you will be fine! I hope so! We had a wonderful time! The Ruby is amazing!

[Stevesan]

So, should I ditch my Chlorox wipes for Wet Ones on the next cruise? I looked up the ingredients of both and they're just as you say.

 

Clorox wipes are a good, convenient to use sanitizer. I use extensively in my kitchen and bathrooms, but they don't deter viruses.

 

As Dshock says, Wet Ones has an antiviral ingredient so it should help. They're convenient so It couldn't hurt.:p

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benzethonium_chloride

 

Wet Ones brand wipes contains Benzethonium Chloride as the active ingredient and it’s widely available in most stores

Ingredients

Active Ingredient: Benzethonium Chloride (0.3%). Inactive Ingredients: Water, SD Alcohol 40, Propylene Glycol, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Potassium Sorbate, Quaternium-52, Fragrance, PEG-60 Lanolin, Citric Acid, Disodium EDTA.

[luvtheships]

LOL also, but it's better than back to the cabin for several hours of explosive diarrhea and vomiting.:eek:

 

I've investigated several cases of reported "food-bourne" illnesses in institutional settings and always looked for the common cross-contamination point. It was, in most all instances, faulty food and/or utensil handling by food service workers. That's one reason I can't help but notice and speak up when I observe faulty practices and cross-contamination situations.

 

The Horizon Court is such a place.

agreed..faulty handling by the workers would be my guess.

 

Good quality disposable utensils is not such a bad idea though....

 

however..bringing them to the buffet or the main dining room would garner attention...which wouldn't bother me if the attention was from other pax...but the crew on the other hand is known to be a bunch of gossips...and I fully believe that it would take only one or two meals of bringing your own utensils for the the entire crew to know every single thing about you....not that they don't already gossip about the pax every move:D:eek:

 

on the bright side...it would also garner the attention of the officers...who I bet would nicely request that you give the silverware a chance and put the disposables away...because other pax might get frightened and start noro rumors....

 

would probably get you a free dinner in the specialty restaurants if you appeased the officers and put the stuff away....it would be a thank you of course..not a bribe:rolleyes:

[5326jan]

Mike, when you get home and settled will you please do a brief review? We sail on the 11th and these are the questions I have:

 

*Entertainment- anything new?

*Muts- any good movies?

*Illness- your impression of how wide-spread Noro was and if the crew appeared sick too

*weather/sea conditions

 

Thanks! I appreciate your calm delivery of the news about noro being present aboard the ship again. Sad, but inevitable as long as passengers get on without admitting they are sick. :(

[dreaminofcruisin]

Just got home today from being on the Ruby last week. Yes there was Noro onboard and fortunately none of our party of 6 got it. From the Captain's announcements, my impression was that they interview the sick people and narrowed it down that it 'came onboard' at St. Martins. It seems to me that it may have been that these people all ate at the same place onshore? We were kept well informed and I believe the crew does everything they can to try and keep it contained.

 

I saw the things others have posted once the outbreak occurred: No salt & pepper on the tables, bread served by the waiters in the main dining room, the staff serves absolutely everthing in the Horizon Buffet......nobody touches any of the serving utensils. They have staff handing you plates and utensils as you enter the Buffet area and you tell them what to put on your plate. It does take a bit longer, but at least you feel like not everyone is touching the serving dishes. They also have people serving you coffee and juice, etc. and no these are not the same people that are bussing the tables. The staff doing serving stays put in their serving area.

 

The public bathoroom doors were held open. There were staff cleaning railings everywhere. They had special staff cleaning rooms with people infected who were wearing masks and putting the linens etc in separate bags. It was obvious that there were people in our hallway affected and we were careful to wash our hands well and constantly, but other than that we didn't take any 'special' precautions.

 

Except for the poor people who were impacted by Noro (never heard the number...just heard when it peeked and when it was improving), I think most people had an outstanding cruise. When this happens, it is certainly on your mind, but you can't let it impact your enjoyment of the cruise. The first couple of days were pretty rough seas, so was some of it seasickness? Possibly. The rest of the trip was very nice and excellent weather.

 

I will try to write a cruise review instead of a noro review later....

:eek:

[AmberTeka]

OK...They think it was contacted in St. Martien. Then..could it be a European strain of the virus..thus hitting Americans and Asians more harshly? Could the CDC not check? virus strains mutate constantly. It is not rare.

 

Then...if they just avoided those ports...for a while?

[fandlmom]

I realize people kind of laughed at my comment above about bringing my own silverware, which I probably will not have the guts to do, by the way.... BUT... have you ever had NORO? I'm not freaking out about the fact that I could get it....and I'm certainly not blaming Princess. I had Noro once when my daughter was about a year old. I have never been so sick in my entire life. I can not even begin to imagine being sick in a small cabin on my 10th anniversary while trying to decide if I should puke in the toilet or allow it to flow from the other end... I have never been weak...EVER.

 

 

I'm not a germ freak. Not even close. But I really don't want to get Noro on my cruise...

[OhioDogLover]

We got home last night from the 2/26 sailing. We had a wonderful time on board and it appears that they did everything they could to contain the virus. They disinfected things constantly.

My suspision is that it was brought on board by a passenger or passengers. I don' t know how many cases there were. There was one person complaining that he asked and they would not tell him. But we were on elevators with people talking about their spouses having it. WE tried to give them a wide berth.

At Fort Lauderdale Airport, we were waiting for the plane and went to one of the restaurants. One woman in line for the restaurant complained that she had been sick from the beginning of the cruise and did not like her cruise. Given that there is an incubation period, I suspect she (and others) brought it on board with her. After all, it is all over the US. She had clearly not remained in her cabin.

Over all, the cruise was terrific. The cruise director staff did a great job. The chef was good. Service was great. If I get time, I will post a review, but this was a great cruise. We would do it again.

Ohiodoglover

[FNJ]

We just got off the Ruby and it was announced the 4th day of the trip that some people were getting sick. Everything was handled amazingly by the ship staff, we never saw anybody sick and our cruise went on normally. We did see some really bad situations at the ports on the trip as far as health concerns. On Grand Turk at Buffets Margaritaville, the bar staff would pick up jello shot cups with their fingers after cruise passengers licked the cups out, then without washing continue to make drinks without washing. Now if the noro was going to spread there was the perfect way it could along with many other bad sanitary habits we saw at the different ports.

[5326jan]

We just got off the Ruby and it was announced the 4th day of the trip that some people were getting sick. Everything was handled amazingly by the ship staff, we never saw anybody sick and our cruise went on normally. We did see some really bad situations at the ports on the trip as far as health concerns. On Grand Turk at Buffets Margaritaville, the bar staff would pick up jello shot cups with their fingers after cruise passengers licked the cups out, then without washing continue to make drinks without washing. Now if the noro was going to spread there was the perfect way it could along with many other bad sanitary habits we saw at the different ports.

 

Gross!:eek: If they think it was from St Maarten than, it could have come from a similar situation. Were there many kids on board? They are notorious for having bad hand washing technique and touching everything! :o

 

Thanks to all who shared their experiences~

[FNJ]

We saw only a handfull of kids onboard. The ones we saw were extremely well behaved. As for other info, entertainment was lacking on the Ruby. The band would play for 45 minutes at the pool and then basically that was it for music for the day. The pool at Muts was busy during the day with people lounging but few were interested in anything on the big screen. At night there were only a handfull of people watching what was on the screen.......infact most of the decks were empty at night as there was nothing as far as entertainment on them at night. One exception was the one deck party they had which brought people outside for the evening....but that was one night only. Sail away parties leaving port consisted of a band or a DJ playing for about 45 minutes. That was usually shortened by PA anouncements. The comedians were very good. We didnt see the production shows in the theater so we cant comment. We did see a magician in the thearter but unfortunately you could see the same thing at a kids birthday party.......it was bad.

The weather was perfect, only had a sprinkle or two. The boat had a little movement for the first couple of days but after that you didnt know you were moving.

[zacc]

OK...They think it was contacted in St. Martien. Then..could it be a European strain of the virus..thus hitting Americans and Asians more harshly? Could the CDC not check? virus strains mutate constantly. It is not rare.

 

Then...if they just avoided those ports...for a while?

 

Since Noro has been reported in many of our US ports(in schools, colleges, nursing homes, jails, hospitals, etc, etc) should we also avoid sailing out those ports for awhile as well? When will people understand that this is not going to go away. It is a virus-a worldwide virus-and as such is always lurking somewhere that you are. There is no way to avoid it and no way to "eliminate it". Disinfect today and if one hour later someone who is infected touches anything it that newly totally disinfected area it starts all over. You really want to worry about getting sick....do alittle research about the amount and kinds of germs on the handle of your shopping cart at the grocery store! As mentioned by someone before it may be a good idea for the moderators to treat these noro threads like smoking threads.

[happycruizer]

Since Noro has been reported in many of our US ports(in schools, colleges, nursing homes, jails, hospitals, etc, etc) should we also avoid sailing out those ports for awhile as well? When will people understand that this is not going to go away. It is a virus-a worldwide virus-and as such is always lurking somewhere that you are. There is no way to avoid it and no way to "eliminate it". Disinfect today and if one hour later someone who is infected touches anything it that newly totally disinfected area it starts all over. You really want to worry about getting sick....do alittle research about the amount and kinds of germs on the handle of your shopping cart at the grocery store! As mentioned by someone before it may be a good idea for the moderators to treat these noro threads like smoking threads.

 

We also just returned from the Feb. 26th Ruby sailing. I was thinking the first announcement about the noro was made by the 3rd day but may be mistaken. I totally agree with everything that has been said about how hard the crew was working to try to contain the virus. We also did all we could by wiping down everying we thought the cabin steward may have touched with clorox wipes, constantly washed our hands, used the hand sanitizers whenever we passed them, used our own toilets and 2 of our six still got sick.....one on Saturday and the other on the way home yesterday. One crew member said that approx. 50 cases had been reported but I feel he was down playing it somewhat. We were on Baja, Deck 11 and I think there were several cases on our floor. I realize this can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere and there is only so much you can do to prevent it.

It was a great cruise and I in no way blame Princess. Knowing how many reported cases there were did not change the situation so we tried to enjoy the cruise as best we could. I'm so sorry for those affected. My friend said she did not think she has even been so sick so I may still be one of the noro casualtities. I certainly hope NOT.

[SeaLaRae]

My pharmacist said that there is a noroviral injection that you can get from your doctor prior to cruising. Has anybody ever used the shot and does it help?

 

Tal

SPI Tx

[Ella2]

My pharmacist said that there is a noroviral injection that you can get from your doctor prior to cruising. Has anybody ever used the shot and does it help?

 

Tal

SPI Tx

 

Not yet. They are in testing and a vaccine looks promising, but it won't be released for several more years.

 

http://vitals.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/02/21/10470608-norovirus-vaccine-showing-promise

[Elizabeth K.]

I too was on this sailing and overall was a wonderful week. My mom had a brief bout of loose stools and decided to report it. She felt well immediately after and had no nausea, cramping or vomitting. She was quaranteend the last 2 days. No one from the medical team saw her in person. I am quite sure she didn't have noro--probably just something she ate. She took it in stride and we were in a mini so could've been worse. So they were being very overly cautious.

[love4connor]

This is my first cruise.....in 6 weeks. I am really nervous now. I will freak out if I forget to sanitize my hands now. I am already nervous about getting sea sick or heat stroke or just climate change sick....I hope I am in perfect health. I've never been on vacation like this and who knows if I ever will again.

[zacc]

This is my first cruise.....in 6 weeks. I am really nervous now. I will freak out if I forget to sanitize my hands now. I am already nervous about getting sea sick or heat stroke or just climate change sick....I hope I am in perfect health. I've never been on vacation like this and who knows if I ever will again.

 

While not a doctor I will give you the best advice you will get as to staying healthy. Relax, enjoy yourself, forget about getting sick, your chances of getting sick on the cruise are no greater than your chances are at home. Wash your hands and remember the power of the mind is incredible!!..Enjoy your cruise!! And by the way I will not be sending you a bill!

[nails62040]

So, is it better then to wipe down your cabin with Wet Ones vs. the green packaged Chlorox wipes? :confused:

 

 

We just returned home from the Crown. I purchased Clorox Professional wipes via the internet - the wipes that actually contain clorox. The clorox disinfectant wipes you buy in the store such as walmart etc. do not contain actual bleach - the main ingredient to kill the noro virus. I think a container of the wipes ran me around 18.00 including shipping. We used rubber gloves and disinfected our room with the wipes as soon as we arrived. Be warned - if you're in an interior room, the fumes can get a little overwhelming. I also packed a bottle of soft soap for the room - just seemed a little easier to use and more sanitary than a bar of soap.

[zacc]

We just returned home from the Crown. I purchased Clorox Professional wipes via the internet - the wipes that actually contain clorox. The clorox disinfectant wipes you buy in the store such as walmart etc. do not contain actual bleach - the main ingredient to kill the noro virus. I think a container of the wipes ran me around 18.00 including shipping. We used rubber gloves and disinfected our room with the wipes as soon as we arrived. Be warned - if you're in an interior room, the fumes can get a little overwhelming. I also packed a bottle of soft soap for the room - just seemed a little easier to use and more sanitary than a bar of soap.

 

If it made you feel better that is great but it was a wasted effort. The amount of time you spent in your room was minimum plus the room was compomised the first time you re-entered after walking around the ship. If you were exposed to the virus it was from a banister, at the food court, in the elevator, from the person sitting next to you at a show, in the airport, in the terminal, etc, etc, etc. Like I just posted, the key is simple common sense with an eye on relaxing and having fun. I was on the Crown the first cruise after the "cruise to nowhere". I didn't do anything differently on this cruise than I did on any of the others.

[sunsetme]

my husband is an MD and always brings gloves and clorox wipies, maybe it works and maybe it doesn't. It makes him feel better to do something.