Norovirus or just lots of sick people??

[titong]

I can tell you absolutely there is no Norovirus on Riviera..

Jancruz1

 

How can you be so sure when you were not even on the cruise?? There are posters above who were on that cruise who say differently.

[burm]

A while ago, a woman posted VERY proudly and emphatically on the Celebrity boards that she was a NON hand washer under all circumstances, even after using the restroom!

 

Here reason was that hand washing washed away the "good" germs, and she was not going to wash for that reason.

 

No washing, no hand sanitizer, none of it.

 

 

 

What thread was that on? I couldn't find it. What a pig.

[CAG]

When the Captain made his announcement about the 2% of guests and crew being stricken he indicated that they had gastro-intestinal problems. He never called it Norvirus. I think most of us are so in tuned to Norvirus on ships that some just assumed that is what it was and that is what they started calling it amongst themselves and you know how that goes from there.

[pacheco18]

Does it really matter what we call it?

 

Obviously there was a condition on the ship that led to many people getting sick. Norovirus or not, Oceania needs to get its arms around it, sanitize the ship and do whatever it can to make sure the next sailing is free from whatever caused the problem. It is serious. I am sure Oceania will take every precaution regardless of the name of the illness.

[titong]

Does it really matter what we call it?

 

Obviously there was a condition on the ship that led to many people getting sick. Norovirus or not, Oceania needs to get its arms around it, sanitize the ship and do whatever it can to make sure the next sailing is free from whatever caused the problem. It is serious. I am sure Oceania will take every precaution regardless of the name of the illness.

 

I agree. It is obvious from the numerous posters here that were on the ship-that there was some type of virus going around that made people sick. It should not be minimzed by one of the above posters, who was not even on the ship, making the blanket statment that she is sure that it is not the Norovirus. In my humble opinion she owes the persons who got sick on that ship an apology.

[digtexas]

Having contracted Norovirus on a cruise, this E. coli or whatever it was that spread on the crossing sounds much worse!:eek:

[NicoleAbbate]

I am really hoping Oceania gets the ship sanitized and under control before our cruise next week, and that no one else falls ill from this virus

[wristband]

Let's be fair. I was on the cruise and heard clearly the captain's announcement. He was required by the CDC to state there was a virus outbreak onboard. But it was determined (at the time of announcement ) not to be Noro. Yes, that distinction is small consolation to those of us - myself included - who suffered sadly through the nastiness.

 

However, Noro is a very different virus than the gastro-intesintal virus which spread throughout Riviera this past week. I rely on what the captain specifically stated in his public address and what Oceania emailed guests boarding in Miami. This comports with my conversation with the ship doctor who stated the same (72 hours before Miami.).

 

To claim there was a Noro outbreak is just not correct based on what has been revealed publicly. If it was Noro, we would not have been allowed to disembark Nov. 29 without greater scrutiny of our health condition.

[profpeabody]

With respect to at least one aspect of this problem, Oceania could take a lesson from Celebrity.

 

On every Celebrity cruise I have been on, there are "greeters" at the Buffet and MDR who squirt the hand sanitizer into your hands before you enter and "welcome" you to the dining venue. You cannot avoid the hand sanitizer. Celebrity does not rely on self service as it is obvious that many cruisers do not use the self service hand sanitizers (even though they are placed at the entrance to all dining facilities). It is not a total solution, but it is, IMO, an excellent practice.

 

 

I agree completely with this! I was stricken with the gastrointestinal problem on the last day of the crossing. I had counted myself lucky up to that point and was extremely careful to wash often and use the sanitizers. HOWEVER, at no time did the ship's crew make a concentrated effort to ensure everyone entering the dining areas used sanitizers. I have been on two other cruises where a "bug" went around and in both cases, a crew member stood at all the entrances with sanitizers and made sure each guest used it. On those cruises, I was lucky enough not to be affected by the bug. My complaint with Oceania is that they did not adopt such a policy early on or indeed, at any time, during this cruise. I believe, as others have stated, that had they been on top of this earlier, the numbers affected may have been much smaller. I called reception to let them know I was ill. I wanted to make them aware even though I was not going to the medical center, assuming they would be keeping tabs on the numbers affected. They could have cared less, I got the sense they were not keeping track at all. For the most part, the crew on this ship is wonderful but I will say that in three dealings with reception, I found them to be curt and unfriendly.

 

 

I concur that the captain, in his announcement, said that he was required to notify passengers anytime at least 2% of the passengers and crew were affected. He then went on to say that on our cruise at least 2% (no indication of what the actual percentage was) had reported experiencing a gastrointestinal disorder. Whatever it was (Noro or something else), it was very nasty stuff. My ribs are still sore from the violent effects!

 

It was a bad ending but I thought the cruise was great aside from this.

Edited December 3, 2012 by profpeabody

[MightyQuinn]

Cause of recent illness on Riviera inaugural crossing is unknown and not specifically Norovirus.

 

We were aboard at the time and weren't affected by whatever was going around, though we know several fellow passengers who became ill. We observed staff taking extra cleaning and preventative measures, both in advance of and after the outbreak was announced, which may have limited the numbers affected.

 

http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/vsp/surv/outbreak/2012/november29_oceania_riviera.htm

[doubledobles]

All Crystal public bathrooms have permanently mounted dispensers with paper tissues for opening the door upon exiting, with a bin for disposal. Do the Oceania ships not have these?

The answer is yes.

[Tansy Mews]

On the Marina in Rio! As lovely as ever. Tonight the nightly routine included two small bottles of alcohol hand sanitizer for use in ports. Or however. 66% alcohol.

[wristband]

Please, to protect yourself & others, wash your hands fanatically & pour Purell over your fingers at every opportunity.

 

You do not want to "get" the nasty virus that made the rounds on Riviera two weeks ago. My ribs still ache from the pummeling.

[sparty1]

So glad to hear that! Thx for reporting. Hope you have a great Rio to Val; and we'll see you in Val:D

 

On the Marina in Rio! As lovely as ever. Tonight the nightly routine included two small bottles of alcohol hand sanitizer for use in ports. Or however. 66% alcohol.

[beechwood]

Not surprised as the majority of people totally ignored the hand sanitisers when we were on the Marina in the summer. In direct contrast to Celebrity's approach where a crew member zaps you with sanitiser each time you enter an eating area.

[Mura]

Lots of things irritated me on our NCL TA a few years ago but the most was the crewmember stationed at the entrance to any restaurant exhorting us to "washee washee". I think it was the phraseology that bothered me more than the idea of using the hand sanitizer.

 

But it DID get me into the habit of always doing so when entering a restaurant or returning to the ship.

 

Mura

[LHT28]

What annoys me is those that do use the sanitizer feel they have to put their hand under the nozzle then whack the machine with their hand & putting their germs on the nozzle thus clogging it with the solution:eek:

 

People it is automatic ..no need to touch the machine at all

 

On the river cruise they had a metal box that when you put your hand in it sprayed your hands ...wish they had those on the Ocean ship ...much better & more effective as you whole hand is sprayed not just the palm

[wristband]

I thought the prevalence of (auto) hand sanitizers was very good & O made sure public bathrooms were well stocked with tissues available to open bathroom doors when exiting (rather than using just-washed fingers on the door handle).

 

My friendly suggestion is for ship staff to promote more - in a positive, friendly way - use of hand sanitizers as folks enter dining spaces. This is mentioned in the newsletter daily but it astonished me to see so many passengers waltz into dining rooms without bothering to sanitize their hands (after holding stair rails, punching elevator buttons).

 

What grossed me out is passengers alongside me in the public bathrooms next to Terrace or Grand Dining Room putter out the door without even washing their hands in the sink after finishing up. In Terrace, I unfortunately saw some such "adults" soon after touching lemon slices and taking breads with their (dirty) fingers.

 

That's not Oceania's fault. But I think the staff could remind all of us the importance of washing with soap and requiring use of Purell before entering spaces that serve food.

[scottsanfilippo]

On Riveria now and we are all healthy! Unfortunately, I've noticed several people completely ignoring the sanitizers when they enter the buffet or restaurants. I watched as one pax politely told another to use the sanitizer before entering the Grand Dining Room and the unsanitary pax told her, "I never use them, they dry out my hands."

 

I wonder what's worse, dry hands or three days of.... well, you know.

 

I'm a bit of a freak with the sanitizer on a ship, I carry a little bottle in my pocket and use it, as well as what the ship provides, continiously. I just wish others would as well.

[Hambagahle]

If they dry out the poor woman's hands then she should carry a small tube of hand cream with her to use afterwards... it is truly idiotic not to take every precaution. And very selfish too since you put others at risk!

[Roccoforte]

There are lots of nice combination hand cream/sanitizer products on the market. Gold Bond makes one guaranteed to kill 99.99% of germs and it's a nice smooth moisturizer. I always keep it in my purse. It pays to be careful!

[JAKUEHNLE]

We not only use the sanitizer at the door, but also use our own AFTER we hand back the menu. Not sure if they sanitize them before they pass them our for us to make our selection.:eek:

[Mura]

That's an excellent idea -- something I hadn't thought of before.

 

Given all the observations of people who do NOT practice good hygiene, we may need to be more creative in our approaches. I don't mind being responsible for myself, but I really don't appreciate having to be more attentive because other people may not be.

 

Maybe we should ask Oceania to pass "finger bowls" between each course! (Yes, I'm kidding.)

 

Mura

[sitraveler]

Finger bowls are provided at Red Ginger!!!!

 

We've had hand sanitizers delivered to our cabins on all our cruises the last couple of years, generally after more than 1 week. I don't know why. On Marina's TA it was before Brazil, I was expecting them before Cape Verde.

[Mura]

Finger bowls are provided at Red Ginger!!!!

 

I didn't remember that! Then again, it's been a year since we were on MARINA so maybe they didn't do that in October 2011 ... if they did, I forgot!

 

We've had hand sanitizers delivered to our cabins on all our cruises the last couple of years, generally after more than 1 week. I don't know why. On Marina's TA it was before Brazil, I was expecting them before Cape Verde

 

I don't remember that either ... but it could be me.

 

I am sure that we didn't receive sanitizers on Regatta on the August Black Sea cruise ... but we'd brought our own along so might not have noticed.

 

Mura