Serving Methods

[brian_uk]

Just off an Oceania Cruise where every item in the Buffet, breakfast, lunch and dinner was served to you throughout the cruise by staff wearing plastic gloves.

We are now booked on Zuiderdam and I see that the staff serve for the first 2 days only and the reason is to cut down on illness !!!

Who on earth can guarantee that passengers will wash their hands regularly and in particular prior to using any serving spoons etc. This must surely be a recipe for disaster. Has HA a good reputation for cleanliness and an absence of Sickness from cross- contamination ?

 

Brian

[kazu]

Just off an Oceania Cruise where every item in the Buffet, breakfast, lunch and dinner was served to you throughout the cruise by staff wearing plastic gloves.

We are now booked on Zuiderdam and I see that the staff serve for the first 2 days only and the reason is to cut down on illness !!!

Who on earth can guarantee that passengers will wash their hands regularly and in particular prior to using any serving spoons etc. This must surely be a recipe for disaster. Has HA a good reputation for cleanliness and an absence of Sickness from cross- contamination ?

 

Brian

 

HAL has a very good reputation for cleanliness. There are purell containers at the entrance of all dining locations and quite often a crew member with a bottle in his hands to squirt on your hands:)

 

The crew serving the food do indeed wear plastic gloves while they are cooking and serving the entire time. The only difference after the first 48 hours is that the passengers can help themselves to things that do not need to be cooked.

[brian_uk]

It is not a matter of serving foods that do not need to be cooked, it is about the passengers actually using the purell and then handling the serving spoons etc.

 

Brian

[sapper1]

I read earlier that the reasoning is if anyone has brought Noro aboard with them it will show up in the first 48 hours, ergo the suspension of self service in the Lido. If no illness is present after 48 hours then the restriction is lifted.

 

As Jacqui mentioned there is a vigilant staff member squirting hands as you enter the Lido. In fact, the guy who was doing it by the aft elevators on the Prinsendam in June was an absolute delight. He made it look like a fun job and always made us smile. He was so much fun we gave him an extra tip at the end of the voyage for making our days just a little brighter.

[kazu]

It is not a matter of serving foods that do not need to be cooked, it is about the passengers actually using the purell and then handling the serving spoons etc.

 

Brian

 

You don't have much choice about using the Purell when someone is squirting it on your hands.:D:D They do this when you are coming on board from port as well:D

 

If it is a huge concern, the other option is not to eat in the Lido, but rather the main dining room, Pinnacle, Canaletto, wherever you are formally served and no one else touches anything but your waiter:) (you'll get squirted there as well:D). Most people know the importance of the purell. It is emphasized on board and from what I have seen, people use it.

[jtl513]

Norovirus is most commonly brought onto the ship at embarkation by large numbers of people who have recently flown to the port, so the 2 day Code Orange is to cut down the person-to-person contact during the incubation period. Unfortunately it can also be picked up in ports along the way, so there are still occasional outbreaks.

 

You can see the reported outbreaks on all cruise lines HERE. It appears that Oceania's approach does work better, since the last one listed is more than 2 years ago while HAL has had 3 incidences in that period.

[KirkNC]

Don't be fooled by Purell, while it will help prevent the spread of things like colds, it is not effective against noro. I worry that it causes people to wash their hands less as they use the Purell instead.

[Krazy Kruizers]

All too often we have seen people walk right by the Purell machines and never stop to use them. Sad.

And there isn't always someone at the entrances to the Lido to squirt the Purell onto people's hands.

And the 48 hour no-self service is only in the Lido.

In the dining room people are handling menus that everyone else has handled.

[Lauranne]

Don't be fooled by Purell, while it will help prevent the spread of things like colds, it is not effective against noro. I worry that it causes people to wash their hands less as they use the Purell instead.

 

After reading this statement I did a google search and this indeed seems to be the case. Personally, as a teacher of young children, I hand wash as much as possible and will do so while cruising. Thank you for posting this KirkNC.

[rafinmd]

You don't have much choice about using the Purell when someone is squirting it on your hands.:D:D They do this when you are coming on board from port as well:D

 

If it is a huge concern, the other option is not to eat in the Lido, but rather the main dining room, Pinnacle, Canaletto, wherever you are formally served and no one else touches anything but your waiter:) (you'll get squirted there as well:D). Most people know the importance of the purell. It is emphasized on board and from what I have seen, people use it.

 

All good suggestions. One more: Room service.

 

Roy

[sail7seas]

Most foods in Lido are served the whole time at the buffet.

After code orange, we can serve ourselves salad, iced tea/water/coffee, cheese/crackers, taco bar and bread/rolls.

 

All hot dishes are served to us as are desserts, ice cream, sandwiches, pasta station, stir fry station...... Far more of the food in Lido and the burger bar are served by staff rather than self-serve for the whole cruise.

[bcd2010]

You can see the reported outbreaks on all cruise lines HERE. It appears that Oceania's approach does work better, since the last one listed is more than 2 years ago while HAL has had 3 incidences in that period.

 

Outbreaks only need to be reported if a certain number of pax + crew have it (a %, I think). On my B2B Panama Canal trip we were in code red 26 of the 28 days but the number of cases was small enough that it did not get reported.

[sail7seas]

Outbreaks only need to be reported if a certain number of pax + crew have it (a %, I think). On my B2B Panama Canal trip we were in code red 26 of the 28 days but the number of cases was small enough that it did not get reported.

 

 

Barbara,

That is also my understanding. :)

 

[trvlcrzy]

After reading this statement I did a google search and this indeed seems to be the case. Personally, as a teacher of young children, I hand wash as much as possible and will do so while cruising. Thank you for posting this KirkNC.

 

This comment isn't directly about cruising, but as a teacher, I was frustrated a couple of years ago when I had a SINK and SOAP in my classroom, and my students asked for hand sanitizer. I tried to teach them that the hand sanitizer is only designed for times when soap and water aren't readily available... yet they were ensconced in their myth!

 

This year, I'll be back in a classroom with soap and water. I may ask the nurse to come speak to my classes to prove my point!

[Lisah101]

Hand sanitizer has its place but NOT for stopping Noro, soap and water is the best defense there. It's scary to see how many people don't wash their their hands before meals. Using the hand sanitizer might make you feel better, but it doesn't stop NORO.

 

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/the-hot-button/hand-sanitizer-is-useless-against-the-norovirus-cdc-research/article7379053/

[Randyk47]

Don't be fooled by Purell, while it will help prevent the spread of things like colds, it is not effective against noro. I worry that it causes people to wash their hands less as they use the Purell instead.

 

After reading this statement I did a google search and this indeed seems to be the case. Personally, as a teacher of young children, I hand wash as much as possible and will do so while cruising. Thank you for posting this KirkNC.

 

We have very strict hospital rules and must wash or use hand sanitizers between patients but we also know it has little to no impact on Norovirus. Norovirus is not susceptible to alcohol based sanitizers. Chlorine or bleach based sanitizers and extreme heat are really the only effective methods to kill Norovirus. So why bother? Well, on a cruise it does help contain or control mostly other bacteria and maybe more importantly it is a constant reminder to crew and passengers to pay closer attention to proper personal hygiene.

[jtl513]

Outbreaks only need to be reported if a certain number of pax + crew have it (a %, I think). On my B2B Panama Canal trip we were in code red 26 of the 28 days but the number of cases was small enough that it did not get reported.

Yes, 3% - when sailing from a US port - and there are other criteria that exclude some voyages as well. If your b2b was also sold as a Collectors Cruise, the 28 days would mean that it would not have to be reported. Still, the CDC list is a pretty good indication of which lines have the most problems, and lately it seems to be Celebrity.

Cruise ships participating in the Vessel Sanitation Program are required to report the total number of gastrointestinal (GI) illness cases (including zero cases) evaluated by the medical staff before the ship arrives at a U.S. port, when sailing from a foreign port. A separate notification is required when the GI illness count exceeds 2% of the total number of passengers or crew onboard.

 

Cruise ship outbreak updates are posted when they include the following criteria:

 

• fall within the purview of VSP (see about VSP),
  
• are sailing on voyages from 3-21 days,
  
• are carrying 100 or more passengers, and
  
• are cruise ships in which 3% or more of passengers or crew reported symptoms of diarrheal disease to the ships medical staff during the voyage, and
  
• are gastrointestinal illness outbreaks of public health significance.
  

[jtl513]

duplicate

[kristinp36]

Just off an Oceania Cruise where every item in the Buffet, breakfast, lunch and dinner was served to you throughout the cruise by staff wearing plastic gloves.

We are now booked on Zuiderdam and I see that the staff serve for the first 2 days only and the reason is to cut down on illness !!!

Who on earth can guarantee that passengers will wash their hands regularly and in particular prior to using any serving spoons etc. This must surely be a recipe for disaster. Has HA a good reputation for cleanliness and an absence of Sickness from cross- contamination ?

 

Brian

 

At least HAL does something....HAL was the first cruise ship I sailed on that had these measures. Most are a free for all from day 1.

[TiogaCruiser]

This comment isn't directly about cruising, but as a teacher, I was frustrated a couple of years ago when I had a SINK and SOAP in my classroom, and my students asked for hand sanitizer. I tried to teach them that the hand sanitizer is only designed for times when soap and water aren't readily available... yet they were ensconced in their myth!

 

This year, I'll be back in a classroom with soap and water. I may ask the nurse to come speak to my classes to prove my point!

 

You might look IMO "glow germs" and a black light. This is a substance that glows under the black light. I was at a new employee orientation when Infection Control used it. The speaker applied it to her pen before we arrived and passed it around along with the sign in sheet. After her talk she pulled out the black light and we held out our hands. Glowing spots ("germs") were all over, and had spread to people's faces, wrists, paper- where ever they had touched.

 

I used the same product in new employee orientation to self evaluate hand washing: I had staff apply a small spot to their hands, then they washed under the black light, stopping every few seconds to see the "progress". It really highlights how hard the nail area or dry skin is to clean.

[TiogaCruiser]

On Veendam one day I entered the public restroom as employee with an apron who had done a session for pax came out of the watercloset and bypassed the sink. Another pax was standing there waiting and pointed out she didn't wash. I found an officer and reported the incident. He obviously was concerned and apparently recognized the description and said he was going to have a talk with her. <:o <eek>

[frankc98376]

We have very strict hospital rules and must wash or use hand sanitizers between patients but we also know it has little to no impact on Norovirus. Norovirus is not susceptible to alcohol based sanitizers. Chlorine or bleach based sanitizers and extreme heat are really the only effective methods to kill Norovirus. So why bother? Well, on a cruise it does help contain or control mostly other bacteria and maybe more importantly it is a constant reminder to crew and passengers to pay closer attention to proper personal hygiene.

 

This is what I have been saying all along- chlorine kills Noro. Require every passenger to jump in a pool before eating!! Towels on the MDR and Lido seats will absorb the excess water and chlorine.

[sail7seas]

Now there's a practical suggestion. :rolleyes: :D

 

 

[TiogaCruiser]

This is what I have been saying all along- chlorine kills Noro. Require every passenger to jump in a pool before eating!! Towels on the MDR and Lido seats will absorb the excess water and chlorine.

 

Non-compliants are easily identifiable!

[Randyk47]

This is what I have been saying all along- chlorine kills Noro. Require every passenger to jump in a pool before eating!! Towels on the MDR and Lido seats will absorb the excess water and chlorine.

 

:D Yep...kind of would work but they'd have to jack up the chlorine level just a bit. ;):)

 

How is the Olympic Peninsula these days? My old stomping grounds, in the sense of hiking, in my youth. Probably spent more than 90 days hiking the park, covering most of the established trails and a few that weren't so established. My goal always was to duplicate, as close as possible, the Press Expedition of the late 1800's. Love the area. An old flame of mine lives in Port Townsend.