Treatment of the sick on Explorer of the Seas

[cruisenfever]

 

On the 4th day of our trip, my 7 year old son was running around, eating greasy food every night (pizza, French fries, chicken fingers) and had his third dessert for the night.

He vomited. We called housekeeping and was told by the staff that we should have our son checked out by the medical staff. My husband and I were fine with that but we knew our son just vomited because he ate too much and was running around. He had no fever or diarrhea.

This is about a 7 year old child!!:eek:

 

I can tell you an incident where a friend of ours was quarantined because he had tried different beer on board that didn't agree with him. He went down to the shops on board to get some Imodium and was sent down to Medical. He was also quarantined for 24 hours. This is standard procedure.

Edited January 27, 2014 by cruisenfever

[booboojoy]

1. I am not trolling.

2. I have been on 32 cruises in the past, not a 1st time cruiser.

3. I read right on these boards that a family traveling on the Oasis a couple of weeks ago had a son who was only sick from eating too much pizza and junk. The went to medical and were told he was confined to the cabin... and they took his SAIL & SIGN CARD! I didn't make that up.

4. The CDC report for the Explorer that is now being returned home states 577 passengers and 49 crew are sick... That is over 600... NOT 300!! That is the fact, so you my friend should get it right.. I already did!

5. The people responding to my post are down right mean. That is really uncalled for.

6. What should the cruise line do??? Not lock up paying passengers on vacation. How about being clean and not have these things break out every other cruise?? That would be nice.

7. My husband had noro-virus on a cruise we were on 5 years ago. We handled it ourselves because those on our cruise that reported it to medical were telling everyone not to report it because of how terribly they were treated.

 

not reeportnig that you have noro is th rudest thing...... the ship did not make the people sick...the people made the ship sick. tell your husband to wash his hands so he doesn't get oro again.

[deetrayn]

I have never heard of someone's Sea Pass being taken away, it doesn't seem like they would have to do that. The illness itself should keep people in their cabins. If I was vomiting, and had diarrhea, there is no way I would be walking around anywhere. I wouldn't want to get anyone else sick, and I wouldn't want to be seen in that condition.

[tbill]

on earth does the age of the patient have to do with it? They took the sea pass card so this child could do nothing on the ship... BECAUSE HE HAD TOO MUCH PIZZA!

[cruisenfever]

not reeportnig that you have noro is th rudest thing...... the ship did not make the people sick...the people made the ship sick. tell your husband to wash his hands so he doesn't get oro again.

Absolutely agree. It only takes one person to start a chain reaction.

[time4u2go]

I went to the nurse, she checked my son's temperature which was normal and then took his seapass card.

 

As another poster pointed out, that's because this was a child. They do not take adults' cards.

[tbill]

It is not rude to not reported. My husband remained in bed until he felt better and until the symptoms subsided. It was is choice... He didn't spread disease to anyone and most of all he was not kept prisoner until the cruise staff decided he was "free to go".

[cruisenfever]

on earth does the age of the patient have to do with it? They took the sea pass card so this child could do nothing on the ship... BECAUSE HE HAD TOO MUCH PIZZA!

What you are failing to understand is that this is standard procedure when you go to medical with upset stomach and are throwing up.

 

When your husband was ill with Noro, you chose not to go to medical. That was your choice.

 

Do you really think it wise that the ship not keep track of those that have been diagnosed with Noro and confine them to their cabins so that they can get better control of the situation?

Edited January 27, 2014 by cruisenfever

[tbill]

As another poster pointed out, that's because this was a child. They do not take adults' cards.

 

And as I pointed out... What difference does it make if he was a child? The took the card. They had no reason to.

[bpear1600]

We booked another cruise while on board Grandeur in december. We're booked on Explorer, now my wife is nervous. I don't think we really need to be concerned. Has anyone been on a cruise where noro broke out?

 

Twice. The latest was on Mariner of the Seas a few years ago. Confined to cabin for three days. So many were sick they ran out of stuff we could eat. There was a several hour delay anyway. I was featured in an article about norovirus in the Wall Street Journal. Got half off next cruise. Too many slobs on the mass market ships who pay not attention to the sanitization stations and grab food (fries) off the buffet line with their bare hands. Disgusting.

[tbill]

As another poster pointed out, that's because this was a child. They do not take adults' cards.

 

 

And as I pointed out... What difference does it make if he was a child? They took the card. They had no reason to

[time4u2go]

As another poster pointed out, that's because this was a child. They do not take adults' cards.

 

And as I pointed out... What difference does it make if he was a child? The took the card. They had no reason to.

 

It makes a difference because there is guaranteed to still be SOMEBODY in the cabin that can enter/exit the cabin even if they take a child's card. If they took affected adults' cards, then their mobility in and out of the cabin would most definitely be restricted. But they do NOT take adults' cards. Therefore, nobody is imprisoned, as you seem to be insisting. They probably just don't want the affected CHILD to roam around by himself. The people in EVERY cabin can still gain entry/exit to/from their cabin.

Edited January 27, 2014 by time4u2go

[setsail]

on earth does the age of the patient have to do with it? They took the sea pass card so this child could do nothing on the ship... BECAUSE HE HAD TOO MUCH PIZZA!

 

And what does 32 cruises have to do with anything, other than you should be able to answer your own questions:rolleyes:

[nolesrule]

grab food (fries) off the buffet line with their bare hands. Disgusting.

 

Handling tongs with bare hands will have the same affect.

[bpear1600]

Handling tongs with bare hands will have the same affect.

 

I guess the only answer is to stay away from buffet lines altogether.

[booboojoy]

And as I pointed out... What difference does it make if he was a child? They took the card. They had no reason to

 

you seem to be against any rules the cruise line has in place to protect their passengers. I am sure that if something happened to you or yours, you would blame the cruise line for not having rules.... oh by the way...wash your hands..

[nanwel]

If I was in an inside room, I would have to get out - fortunatly, I can afford to travel with a balcony.

Sometimes you just need some fresh air.

I got ill on a ship once - no idea why, did not report it.

Was at dinner, and did not feel well, went to my room, had an early night and was better, not great the next day. As the saying goes - life goes on!

That was pre noro scares - just put it down to motion sickness.

Feel sorry for those that are ill on their vacation! Not fun!

Hope they all get better soon! and have a good few days before they have to get off.

[boulders]

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=247793

 

On the 4th day of our trip, my 7 year old son was running around, eating greasy food every night (pizza, French fries, chicken fingers) and had his third dessert for the night.

 

 

He vomited. We called housekeeping and was told by the staff that we should have our son checked out by the medical staff. My husband and I were fine with that but we knew our son just vomited because he ate too much and was running around. He had no fever or diarrhea.

 

 

I went to the nurse, she checked my son's temperature which was normal and then took his seapass card.

 

She came back and said that my son had to be quarantined for 24 hours to his room.

 

 

I was in disbelief. I said he had an upset tummy and no other symptoms to say he had the norovirus. He vomited once and was himself.

 

 

The nurse said the CDC and the captain of the ship take this very seriously.

 

 

My husband went down the next morning to try to talk to the staff to let my son out. The person at guest services said my son could be rechecked after 12 hours. Great!

 

 

My husband took my son back down to the doctor. The manager was already dealing with a woman who had a person in their party vomit from an allergic reaction to chlorine. The person in their party was also put on 24 hour quarantine. My husband knew we did not have a chance.

 

 

He basically told the manager that you are going to cause people to not be upfront with their illness in fear that they will be quarantined.

 

 

I even tried calling customer service for RCL and asking how they distinguish between people vomittng from the norovirus, motion sickness or upset stomach. The person could not answer that question. All I was told that this was for the safety of the ship.

 

 

Needless to say, they ruined a day that I wanted to spend with my family and get some nice pictures of us at the beach in St. Thomas. For the rest of the trip, I had to watch our three kids to make sure they did not overeat because I was worried that one of them would vomit from an upset stomach which was not uncommon with my kids. The staff even does "courtesy checks" to make sure that you stay put in your room. My son could not leave his room until 11:30 PM New Year's Eve. At least we got to ring in the new year.

 

 

All in all, our server and room attendant were great.

 

 

The shows were great. We did pre-book the show.

 

 

Another tip is when you are leaving the ship, allow yourself enough time for customs and the security line at the airport. We gave ourselves 3 hours and walked off the ship at 7:30 AM. Customs took awhile.

 

 

Then, we got to the airport and the line was very long for security. We had to be pulled out of line to make our 10:45 AM flight.

 

 

I am not happy with the overreaction caused by my son having an upset stomach with NO other symptoms and I think they handled it poorly.

 

As another poster pointed out, that's because this was a child. They do not take adults' cards.

 

And as I pointed out... What difference does it make if he was a child? The took the card. They had no reason to.

 

Nowhere in the review does it say that they kept the child's card. The nurse probably took it, took the info off it and then returned it. Just like they do any time you access a for fee service on a ship.

[Candleonwater]

I think this is a GREAT idea, however, can you imagine the complaints? It took too long to get food at Windjammer...

 

We are sailing for spring break, never really worried about noro - pretty sure my mother had it on our first cruise, but didn't get it checked out, she pretty much just quarantined herself! Obviously, it didn't stop us from sailing. I'm a firm believer that you are just as likely to get sick (if not more) on a flight, but it's less obvious since you're not "trapped" with the same people for a week.

 

We are taking DD's friend on our upcoming cruise. Any suggestions on the best way to ease their fears? I got an email from the mom asking "so are we worried about the fact that ship you will be taking is the one hit by norovirus?"

 

 

Perhaps Holland America has the best approach. They treat every cruise like there is an outbreak. For the first couple of days the staff serves at all of the buffets and they use plenty of disposable items. They continue this approach for a few days until the incubation period passes. This makes it a lot more difficult for the diesease to get started.

[ryano]

How about being clean and not have these things break out every other cruise?? That would be nice.

.

 

Seriously? You obviously dont know how a virus works :)

 

First of all, "these things" dont break out "every other cruise". Where did you get that info from? :confused:

 

Second, no matter how much they clean, if a sick person gets onboard for the next cruise, the vicious cycle starts ALL OVER again.

 

There is virtually no way to stop this from happening. All they can do is try and contain it and in order to contain it, they have to quarantine people.

[gooter45]

so, in re to: self treating-should we bring Immodium, and anti-nausea products along on the cruise? Not eat at the buffets? Wipe down our rooms upon arrival? Hand sanitize every time we touch something? Put the remote in a ziplock for use? And, of course continual hand washing w/soap? Only serious suggestions, please!

[SamboniMan]

In the summer of 2012, my whole family was on the Oasis and my 8 year old nephew threw up during the muster gathering (which was in a lounge). They took him to the ship's doctor but he was allowed to do whatever he wanted with no restrictions. Earlier in the day he had fallen and bumped his head by the pool so I think they thought it was related but there was no talk of quarantine or anything...

[tbill]

Seriously? You obviously dont know how a virus works :)

 

First of all, "these things" dont break out "every other cruise". Where did you get that info from? :confused:

 

Second, no matter how much they clean, if a sick person gets onboard for the next cruise, the vicious cycle starts ALL OVER again.

 

There is virtually no way to stop this from happening. All they can do is try and contain it and in order to contain it, they have to quarantine people.

 

Really?? I have been cruising since the 80's. This stuff never used to happen. It is just in the recent years that you hear of this and it is getting more and more common. The cruise lines have cut back on everything. When you have thousands of people confined to a ship there are going to be germs and Yes, it is the cruise line's responsibility to prevent these germs from spreading around all over the place. Have servers at the buffets, disinfect more often, do what ever it takes to keep your customers safe and happy.

[JetsFanCruiser]

If you feel the cruise lines are "nickel and diming", why still book one??

 

I think there's an easy answer to this as I also think there is some "nickel and diming" that happens on all vacations.....if the benefit of the trip (having fun, eating good meals, nice ports, etc.) outweighs the negativity of "nickel and diming" I will book...If not, I won't..

 

My point is, just because some states "nickel and diming" is an issue, does'nt mean they won't book....

[tbill]

I think there's an easy answer to this as I also think there is some "nickel and diming" that happens on all vacations.....if the benefit of the trip (having fun, eating good meals, nice ports, etc.) outweighs the negativity of "nickel and diming" I will book...If not, I won't..

 

My point is, just because some states "nickel and diming" is an issue, does'nt mean they won't book....

 

That is absolutely right!