sick from the voyager may 15th?

[boatbunny]

to all who came to my defense, thank you.

Pete, you're right, i was just looking for feedback. Cannot believe some of the nasty things that were written. The royal board has really soured me. You don't see things like this on the other boards.

thanks, Traci

 

Traci,

 

I hope you are feeling better. I came down with a similar bug a couple of years ago on our AOS cruise, fortunately it was the last day and we were getting off the ship. We stayed in the cabin as long as we could, then went up to the pool area and I crashed on a lounge chair til our color was called. Fortunately, we were not flying home from San Juan to Boston until the next day, but we had planned on exploring San Juan. I went straight to the hotel, and basically slept through to the next morning.

 

Please don't let the couple of insensitive posters spoil your visits to RCCL. Both of them are notorious for stirring up trouble, whenever I see their posts, I ignore them. They never post anything positive and are always attacking people who want to provide feedback for others to help them enjoy their trip even more. Everytime I come on the boards, I found out something new to help me plan my next trip.

 

I just finished taking a food safety course required by the Fed Government for anyone working in the food industry. There are at least 2 viruses you can get that come on very suddenly with the symptoms you described, one is Norwalk (now called norovirus) and the other is cyclosporiasis. Both can be transmitted through water and raw produce (ie: salads, fruits). The culprit of the virus is either poor hygiene of the food workeres or as a result of contaminated water, if there was an accidental backflow of water in a sink in the kitchen where produce was being washed or staff was washing their hands.

 

Anyway, I hope you are feeling better and please come back and join the majority of us who are helpful!

 

Michelle

[nomad498]

OP---

 

At 3 am on 5/20, I got so sick I thought I was going to turn inside out. Apparently, decks 6-8 (we were on deck 6) were experiencing the same thing. Although RCCL did not formally say that we had the norovirus, there were over 100 people in the medical facility and hallway on Friday morning with me that were as sick as I was. It appears that since everyone was trying to get off the ship, many who were sick did not go to the doctor facility. Since we are all asked to leave our rooms by 8 am, many were taking refuge in the theatre and the bathrooms respectively. My room steward was nice enough to allow us to stay in our room until our tag was called (which was around 10 am). He shared with me that the sickness started the night before with many of the staff. He also shared that they had received word that they needed to do "extra deep cleaning" before the next set of people came on board. When we left the room, there were several ship inspectors on board looking around the cleaning areas to be sure everything was being done as ordered. There was not any reports about all of us being sick and I am sure it is because many of the sick did not report it. Many thought it was from the Mahi Mahi....but I can assure you all it was not....I do not eat fish...... Worst part-I was so sick, mom and I could not go to the Daytime Emmy's (I had tickets to go). When I got home, I laid down on the FLOOR of the house and slept until Saturday morning.

 

Glad to be home and recouperated-not so glad to be writing this from work-yuck!!

 

I reported my sickness to the guest relations desk as well as to RCCL's customer service line (and of course to the medical facility).

 

The medical facility gave me a shot and I slept when I got home like I have never slept before.

[Soxfan05]

soxfan , where are you from? i'm from the hudson valley in new york and one of our schools was closed 2 wks ago from a mystery virus. out of 900 students in the school 300 were sick altogether throughout the week 11 teachers and the principal. they checked water and food and air. all had the same symptoms vomiting headache stomache cramps. they said it could maybe be norwalk. but they don't know. then one of the hospitals reported a couple of cases. you have to remember one person is exposed, then they see other people somewhere else.now two people have it and they keep exposing it to other people and so on and so on. someone may have brought it on the ship. they say it's contagious from 1 to 3 days. I was on voyager last year and i will be on her again in a couple of weeks i know they keep the ship clean and nothing has been reported. you never know who is coming aboard the ship sick.

 

I live on the south shore of MA. The virus affected an elementary school in Rockland, MA.

[cruiser still]

Chris and Jim,

 

Thanks for replying to this thread. We were on deck 9 and got it also. I have also reported it to RCL. I did not see any inspectors onboard, but I now wonder if that is why it took us so long to get off.

 

Hopefully those who responded with stupid remarks earlier will now realize that this is serious stuff. I hope you're feeling better. I called my MD and was told that I should push fluids for the next few days. I have a previously scheduled appointment with him on Wed., so we'll discuss this at greater length.

 

I must say I was surprised not to see the hand sanitizers on the Voyager that I've seen regularly on other RCL vessels. I only saw one on the day we boarded. Wonder if this would have helped.

 

Personally, I found the Voyager too big, too many lines and long waits. But, it was interesting to see and experience - except for the last day.

 

Helen

[FlyingPhotog]

....the staff and crew were not allowed off the ship on Friday...they were given orders to clean and disinfect everything in sight.

 

Shouldn't they be disinfecting everything in sight anyway? It's almost disturbing to know they they're only really devoted to cleaning once people get sick. :eek: :(

[canuckof5]

I'm sorry you were so sick, thats terrible...Hope your feeling better and others who were also sick...

 

Hope you had a nice time up until that time..

 

Take Care

:)

[nomad498]

I think the cruisers that are out now will be interesting to hear back from. Hope they did not get sick.

 

It was the worst feeling I have ever felt.

 

Am interested in hearing what your DR says.

 

DId you go to the medical facility on 5/20? They gave me a shot (of god knows what). I stopped vomiting, but did not stop the cramps and dizziness.

 

We all should email vsp@cdc.gov with our symptoms and time it started. The email address is to the CDC and is for vessel sanitation (which are the ones that decide if it is an 'outbreak' or not). I think our sicknesses will be under reported since so many of us got off the ship wanting to just get home and to be comfortable there.

 

Thanks for the reply too.

[Emmabelle]

Sorry to hear that you guys got sick. :( It stinks to get sick on vacation. Me, my son, and daughter all caught horrible colds while sailing on the Sovereign in April, luckily not until the last day of the cruise, that flight home was an experience, all our ears blocked so badly and of course we had a connection to add to the pain. I'm sure the other passengers on the plane just loved the three of us!

[belles53]

Glad to let you know that I am feeling fine again and no one else in my immediate family has gotten sick. I am curious to see if anyone ever finds out what it was.

 

Dorothy

[boatbunny]

I think the cruisers that are out now will be interesting to hear back from. Hope they did not get sick.

 

It was the worst feeling I have ever felt.

 

Am interested in hearing what your DR says.

 

DId you go to the medical facility on 5/20? They gave me a shot (of god knows what). I stopped vomiting, but did not stop the cramps and dizziness.

 

We all should email vsp@cdc.gov with our symptoms and time it started. The email address is to the CDC and is for vessel sanitation (which are the ones that decide if it is an 'outbreak' or not). I think our sicknesses will be under reported since so many of us got off the ship wanting to just get home and to be comfortable there.

 

Thanks for the reply too.

 

Hi Nomad,

 

You may also want to contact the FDA (Food and Drug Administration). They are the governing inspection service for anything that transports, serves, prepares food, etc. that crosses state lines or comes into the US (such as cruise ships, airplanes, trains, etc). The cruise ship would have had to contact them once more than 2 people complained of the same illness. Failure to report has serious penalties, including the ship from being allowed into US waters again or leave the port without inspection. They should be aware of this situation already, but it wouldn't hurt to call them.

 

An "outbreak" relative to food borne illness is defined as affecting 2 or more people at the same time, so, yes, you guys are part of an outbreak.

 

This may or may not be food related. Most food related illnesses actually occur as a result of poor hygiene on the part of the food preparers, and also because of contaminated water. Water can easily become contaminated if a sink has a backup or there is a cross connection between a good water line and bad water line. So, you may not have all eaten the same food, but simply eaten things, such as produce or fruit, that was cleaned with contaminated water.

 

As for fish, the illness related to food poisoning with fish is a toxin. It would be unusual that more than one fish actually carried the toxin, and since a large population appears to have been affected, it's doubtful it is related to fish. And, the symptoms of toxin poisining are significantly more severe, not that I am discounting how ill you all were.

 

I would definitely get in touch with the FDA just to see what their investigation revealed.

 

Hope you are all feeling better soon!

[belles53]

Hi, all

 

Have been checking also on the postings that some of us were on before our cruise, getting to know each other. Here is another example of several reports on that site.

 

"Now to that darn sickness thing--

 

At 3 am, I got so sick I thought I was going to turn inside out. Apparently, decks 6-8 (we were on deck 6) were experiencing the same thing. Although RCCL did not formally say that we had the norovirus, there were over 100 people in the medical facility and hallway on Friday morning with me that were as sick as I was. It appears that since everyone was trying to get off the ship, many who were sick did not go to the doctor facility. Since we are all asked to leave our rooms by 8 am, many were taking refuge in the theatre and the bathrooms respectively. My room steward was nice enough to allow us to stay in our room until our tag was called (which was around 10 am). He shared with me that the sickness started the night before with many of the staff. He also shared that they had received word that they needed to do "extra deep cleaning" before the next set of people came on board. When we left the room, there were several ship inspectors on board looking around the cleaning areas to be sure everything was being done as ordered. There was not any reports about all of us being sick and I am sure it is because many of the sick did not report it. Many thought it was from the Mahi Mahi....but I can assure you all it was not....I do not eat fish...... Worst part-I was so sick, mom and I could not go to the Daytime Emmy's (I had tickets to go). When I got home, I laid down on the FLOOR of the house and slept until Saturday morning.

 

Glad to be home and recouperated-not so glad to be writing this from work-yuck!!

 

I reported my sickness to the guest relations desk as well as to RCCL's customer service line (and of course to the medical facility).

 

The medical facility gave me a shot and I slept when I got home like I have never slept before.

 

Glad to know everyone is doing better!"

 

I will try to find the phone number for the FDA and let them know. I just don't think this was taken seriously enough.

 

Dorothy

[smeyer418]

don't call the FDA--- call the CDC(center for disease control). they have a special program

 

http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/vsp/default.htm

 

(770) 488-7070 or 1-800-323-2132

[horizoncorporate]

Traci:

 

Did you do the Western Caribbean cruise? If you stopped in Cozumel, that might have something to do with it. I few friends of mine got sick there from eating at the wrong place. They had lots of fruit in Mexico that had been washed with the local water. They felt horrible for about a week afterwards.

Otherwise, the question would be how many other people did you see who were sick. If there were a lot, maybe it was something you ate or someone you were in contact with. Its hard to tell. Hope you are feeling better though.

 

F

[boatbunny]

don't call the FDA--- call the CDC(center for disease control). they have a special program

 

http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/vsp/default.htm

 

(770) 488-7070 or 1-800-323-2132

 

I simply suggested reporting it to both, FDA would be responsible for inspecting the ship including the kitchen, the hygiene practices, making sure all plumbing associated with food preparation is working properly. So, if it wasn't a virus and caused by something related to food prep, it will be fixed and not happen again, as well as ongoing inspections. CDC is not responsible for food or food preparation inspection.

[Guest OBAYbee]

I simply suggested reporting it to both, FDA would be responsible for inspecting the ship including the kitchen, the hygiene practices, making sure all plumbing associated with food preparation is working properly. So, if it wasn't a virus and caused by something related to food prep, it will be fixed and not happen again, as well as ongoing inspections. CDC is not responsible for food or food preparation inspection.

 

I agree with your recommendation to call both.

Here is something I found about the CDC regarding cruise ships.

"By law, cruise ships that enter a U.S. port from a foreign port are required to report to the CDC, 24 hours prior to arrival, the number of passengers and crew on board who go to the ship's medical facility with gastrointestinal illness, even if the number is zero. Having 3 percent or more of either passengers or crew reported with a gastrointestinal illness is considered an outbreak and cause for investigation."

[kt55z]

I was aboard the Vogager may 15-20 travelling with 10 people and several of our parties had stomach complaints all week. Thursday night, around midnight my husband was vomiting with severe stomach pains he never felt before lasting all day friday. We also had another in our group with the same ailments around the same time however she had a fever up to sunday night. As of today, Tuesday he has a dull headache since leaving the ship on friday. We all ate different foods for dinner thursday night too. Our waiter at 6:00pm dinner disclosed to us his girlfriend (a waitress on deck 4 dining room) was sick since wed night with a fever and stomach pains so this was on the ship prior to thursday. This was our first cruise experience but we had a great time up to the last day.

[Iamthesea]

I just feel really bad for all of you. Being sick is no fun...especially on vacation!:(

[smeyer418]

I simply suggested reporting it to both, FDA would be responsible for inspecting the ship including the kitchen, the hygiene practices, making sure all plumbing associated with food preparation is working properly. So, if it wasn't a virus and caused by something related to food prep, it will be fixed and not happen again, as well as ongoing inspections. CDC is not responsible for food or food preparation inspection.

This is a special program. The CDC VSP is responsible for both. Please look at the CDC website. They inspect the kitchens, water everything. You can call anyone you want to, but the CDC is responsible for health and cleaniness aboard cruise ships, that visit the US.

[nomad498]

Hi everyone.

 

I have called the CDC and they said they have received numerous calls about the 5/15 sailing. If you have not already done so, definately call them-it only takes a minute to answer the 3-5 questions they have. I emailed them too (vsp@cdc.gov) which they were able to tell me they received.

 

I included a link to this messageboard posting so they could see that we were talking about it.

 

Hope everyone is felling better. I am back to my 2nd day of work and am only today regaining my appetite. (I had been eating lightly for a few days).

 

Thanks to everyone that provided the CDC and FDA information.

 

Chris

[pcur]

Traci:

 

Add my sympathy for your illness, and the fact that it didn't ruin your cruise, and the opinion that ANYBODY that is rude to a sick person didn't get their manners included in some part of their upbringing!!!

 

I hope you're feeling better (and DH, too). Remember, a ship is like a small town, and people get on board with the bugs, they incubate over the week after you're exposed, and then you get sick. You might have picked up a bug before you got on board. However, my friend I was traveling with last week by car got the same symptoms and we think it was food poisoning (per the post above, her symptoms were identical: cramps, vomiting, headache). I had only a mild stomach (actually lower down on the anatomy, if you catch my meaning), and I ate a small amount of the same food she did.

 

Get well, and start planning your next cruise.

[traci m]

It WAS unfortunate to get ill but it hasn't changed my mind about RCL or cruising. Things happen. Husband got very ill in Jamaica a few years back, yet we've gone back there. We're cruising Alaska on Celbrity this July and we are so looking forward to it. A little (well maybe alot) of vomiting isn't going to make me stay home.

Feeling better now, not perfect, but have only good memories of our cruise!!

Traci

[smeyer418]

for an overview of the VSP program by the CDC please visit this site

 

http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/vsp/desc/aboutvsp.htm

[voyagerclassfan]

People are ridiculous on these boards. They take offense to everything. It is like they are being attacked or insulted. Its so uncalled for. Anyways, we were also aboard the Voyager May 15 sailing and 3 out of 4 of our party were ill on the last day. I had even sanitized my cabin myself with Clorox wipes. But these things happen I guess. I felt horrible on Friday and wanted to just die. Apparantly there were a bunch of people ill as well so it must have been a virus of some sort. I sent them an e-mail just to advise them in case they needed to know. Otherwise, the cruise was great.

[harrodsfan]

I feel bad for you. Nothing worse than being ill while traveling.

I avoid anything uncooked while i am traveling anywhere,,,and especially buffets. Only hot food for me...or breads etc.

I heavliy invest in hand santizer, have no ice, Have traveled the world, Burma, Nepal, India....Only place I have ever had a problem was on the American Queen coming into St. Louis...Deathly ill for 5 hours...Fortunately well enough to fly home. Think it was bad saussage in Pizza. Now I don't eat ground meat or sausage when traveling. Only time my dh was sick was in Atlanta on a bad hamburger. (Again ground beef.)

[voyagerclassfan]

Funny thing is that my DH and I ate the same things. I however, constantly washed my hands, had hand sanitizer and so did our friends. My husband was the only one who didnt get sick though.....maybe being that clean is overrated....LOL