General Concern about Norovirus on all Ships

[LewiLewi]

My husband and I have been on more than 100 cruises over the past 40 years. Until recently (the Past 10 years),we have never even been concerned with Norovirus outbreaks. Suddenly, it seems that most voyages are compromised by actually getting Noro or fearfully anticipating that you may come down with it. It has certainly put a damper on the cruising experience for us. So far, we continue to cruise, but we feel that "one more time" of being sick, feeling lousy for days afterwards, may not be worth the enjoyment of a wonderful cruise vacation.

We have not had this problem on the smaller ship's, less than 700 passengers, but we have had it on ships thst are larger. It doesn't seem to target a particular class of ship either; we've been very sick on Oceania's Riviera as well as HAL and Celebrity.

Do others feel the same way, or will you continue to cruise "no matter what"?

[footer6]

If you stop cruising we'll miss you. I got severe food poisoning on the Queen Mary, and the ship never left the dock. It can happen anywhere.

[wallie5446]

My wife was embarresed a couple of cruises ago when I carried spray hand sanitizer around, and gave the door knobs to the bathrooms a spritz. Then the elevator buttons a misting, until she saw ladies leaving the public restrooms without washing their hands. She said, 'I thought it was only you guys that did that'! She does not like the looks I get, but I now will mention to someone that they forgot to wash.

 

Bottom line, it is a very sad commentary on today's adults that something so simple they refuse to do, and someone else pays the price.

 

Just my 2 cents thaty wont get you a cup of Joe anywhere but may keep someone from getting us sick and runing our vacation.

[seadancer]

I still carry a little bottle of sanitizer with me also. Ever since we started this we haven't gotten a cold after leaving a cruise. Which we used to do .

[jkrislc]

There are more outbreaks or norm on land than on ships; however, places like elementary schools are not mandated to report such an outbreak.

 

Some lines do a better job than others. For example, you cannot enter a restaurant on Disney without being compelled by an assigned staff member to use the hand sanitizing pies; whether they are effective or not is another debate. On Carnival, the sanitizes were available, but no one monitored their use and sometimes they were out. On Holland-American, they don't even allow you to serve yourself for the first two days of the cruise presumably to reduce the risk of the virus spreading should someone show signs within the first 48 hours of sailing.

 

I wash my hands after visiting the buffet and before eating. In 19 cruises, I've yet to be hit with the virus and have been lucky enough to not be on an infected ship. However, I am considering using food handlers gloves when serving myself at the buffet. Saw a passenger doing this and it made total sense to me. That way, you minimize cross contamination from someone who used the tongs before you.

 

Sadly, if everyone just washed their hands thoroughly, this wouldn't be a problem. It's ultimately the passengers, not the cruise lines that are at fault.

[Bagette]

Another perspective: There is a certain small sub-set of people out there who may have contact dermatitis from washroom hand soaps, or worse yet, may have eczema that flares up any time their skin is exposed to water. I know of dermatologists who have told their patients that it would be helpful to avoid water as much as possible (that they shouldn't wash their hands very often at all - only if their hands are sticky for some reason - and even that they should only bathe at most 2X per week). There are even people who come from areas where tap water has all sorts of icky bugs in it, that they wouldn't want to get on their hands, so they are not taught to wash their hands--it isn't a habit, and they don't think of doing it where the water is good.

 

If you accosted one of these people in a public washroom because they didn't wash their hands, they would probably be embarrassed and mortified. It isn't as if they are trying to endanger public health. They probably even have an alternative method of killing hand germs back in their cabin or in their/their wife's handbag.

 

Now certainly, most people don't have these problems, and most people you observe not washing their hands probably don't have these problems. But, you can't tell just by looking. Judge not, lest ye be judged ...

[bossygal77]

Hmmm, I would say that due to the proliferation of social media, the Internet, 24 hour news cycles, etc. the sensationalism associated with the sickness makes it appear like it is happening more than it ever has in the past. My son's preschool just went through a mini norovirus epidemic, but what are you going to do? We take whatever precautions we can, but sometimes things happen. I still go grocery shopping, use public transit, kiss the living daylights out of my kids, fly commercial airlines, and I will be on our June Alaskan cruise with bells on! Just take whatever precautions and common sense approaches you can, and try not to stress (as that can compromise your immune system anyway). These outbreaks happen anywhere a lot of people are in close contact...so, cruise ships are just a small sampling of where things can go wrong.

Enjoy yourself!

[d4m]

These outbreaks happen anywhere a lot of people are in close contact...so, cruise ships are just a small sampling of where things can go wrong.

Enjoy yourself!

 

How right you are. With thousands of people in such close quarters, once the outbreak starts, it is hard to contain. Celebrity is certain diligent in passing out hand sanitizer, but they certainly can't mandate it.

[CaroleSS]

bossy gal....you have the right attitude.....and one I share. These types of threads pop up anytime noro is in the news.

 

When you get ANY group of people together in confined spaces, germs spread. It is the reason we have more colds in the winter than the summer....because people stay IN!

 

Cruise lines are more susceptible because they are full of people all the time. As was mentioned earlier, schools have the same issue, it just doesn't get reported as much.

 

Any gathering of 3000+ people will have at least one sick person. I would rather enjoy my vacation and take my chances than to obsess over germs and be the potty police.

 

YMMV.

[TPKeller]

I have concluded that you have virtually the exact same chance of catching a Noro-type virus on a ship as you do while at home.

 

See the two posts in my thread here. (#1 and #12)

 

:)

 

Theron

[frankt]

Have you seen the ladies room what a bunch of -igs!

[gblotter]

For our upcoming cruise ...

 

1. We will bring a can of Professional Lysol III to wipe down the entire cabin when we first arrive (including walls, knobs, handles, remote controls, etc).

 

2. We will wash hands thoroughly and often.

 

3. We will make frequent use of hand sanitizers whenever available.

 

4. Just in case, we will bring our own bottle of Imodium (and hope it is not needed).

 

5. If feeling ill, we will stay in our cabin and self-medicate until better. We will NOT visit the ship doctor. We will NOT inform our cabin steward. We will NOT attempt to purchase any medication from the on-board shops. Those actions will only result in a draconian cabin quarantine, and we are not interested in being held prisoner. Various websites indicate that there is nothing other than hydration that a doctor can prescribe for Norovirus anyway, and we are quite capable of doing that ourselves.

Edited February 1, 2014 by gblotter

[timtam2]

However, I am considering using food handlers gloves when serving myself at the buffet. Saw a passenger doing this and it made total sense to me. That way, you minimize cross contamination from someone who used the tongs before you.

 

I am also seriously considering doing this - I don't care how it looks to other people if it increase my chances of not picking up some lurgy from the tongs.. I have seen too many grotty things at the buffet. I try to eat just after it opens to reduce the amount of people coughing all over the food. I really wish there were less self serve stations permanently - it may eventually come to this

Edited February 1, 2014 by timtam2

[cpj]

I really think as long as the cruise line allow you to serve yourself your going to have this nora problem. They should serve or give you plastic disposable to where. I saw and older gentlemen eating the baby shrimp while in line and licking his fingers while handling the utensils...I told the people behind the counter they need to change the utensils and they did not try to understand what I was saying. I just left and went a got a hamburger. But this stuff does go on. Also the food should be kept a lot warmer. Just my opinion

Edited February 1, 2014 by cpj

[junetraveler2014]

Just purchased 6 2oz bottles of Clorox 02174 Bleach-free hand sanitizer spray. Have the Clorox antivirus wipes to clean cabin and will carry rubber gloves and use at the buffet, ice cream machine, etc. Don't use elevators and don't use the steps railings. Will use our cabin facilities only. Will not use pools that parents put toddlers in (know that kiddy pools are maintained differently than adult pools) and if the food is not covered, won't eat it. Will keep my hands clean, fingers out of my eyes and mouth and won't drink from a pitcher. Will pray for the best and hope am prepared for the worst. But there is one thing DH and I are going to do and that is ENJOY THIS CRUISE!!!!!!!:D:D:D:D Hope you all do to.

[fleckle]

On some cruises they did not even provide separate holders or plates for the serving utensils at the buffet.

 

So after handling the serving utensils, people would toss them right into the pans on top of the food!

 

Whenever we see that kind of setup, the only food we will get at the buffet is the kind that is served to the passengers by someone behind the counter.

 

 

That is one of the things we like most about the ice-cream counters on Celebrity ships.

 

After being on ships with self-serve ice-cream machines where we saw children touching the spouts where the ice-cream comes out with their fingers and even licking them, we avoid all self-serve ice-cream machines. :eek:

 

[drarill]

I really think as long as the cruise line allow you to serve yourself your going to have this nora problem. They should serve or give you plastic disposable to where. I saw and older gentlemen eating the baby shrimp while in line and licking his fingers while handling the utensils...I told the people behind the counter they need to change the utensils and they did not try to understand what I was saying. I just left and went a got a hamburger. But this stuff does go on. Also the food should be kept a lot warmer. Just my opinion

I agree!! we were on a Disney cruise with a noro outbreak and they had people serving everything on the buffet. It wasn't like that in the beginning of the cruise. Wouldn't be easier to have servers assigned to every station on the buffet all the time? I'm on a vacation, I wouldn't mind...

We wash our hands frequently when cruising, clean everything on our cabin with Lysol wipes (including the remote control), we also use hand sanitizer and I travel with a portable pharmacy. Better be safe than sorry. ;) Still, on our next cruise I'm going to try to avoid the buffet as much as I can. Will have breakfast on our cabin and Blu, lunch in Bistro (good excuse) and dinner at MDR or specialty restaurants.

[dkjretired]

My wife was embarresed a couple of cruises ago when I carried spray hand sanitizer around, and gave the door knobs to the bathrooms a spritz. Then the elevator buttons a misting, until she saw ladies leaving the public restrooms without washing their hands. She said, 'I thought it was only you guys that did that'! She does not like the looks I get, but I now will mention to someone that they forgot to wash.

 

Bottom line, it is a very sad commentary on today's adults that something so simple they refuse to do, and someone else pays the price.

 

Just my 2 cents thaty wont get you a cup of Joe anywhere but may keep someone from getting us sick and runing our vacation.

 

I don't mind that you are spraying this stuff on yourself but are you aware that you are possibly injuring others. I have an allergic reaction to the hand sanitizers that you are spraying in and on public places. The ironic thing is the hand sanitizers do nothing against Noro.

[dkjretired]

My husband and I have been on more than 100 cruises over the past 40 years. Until recently (the Past 10 years),we have never even been concerned with Norovirus outbreaks. Suddenly, it seems that most voyages are compromised by actually getting Noro or fearfully anticipating that you may come down with it. It has certainly put a damper on the cruising experience for us. So far, we continue to cruise, but we feel that "one more time" of being sick, feeling lousy for days afterwards, may not be worth the enjoyment of a wonderful cruise vacation.

We have not had this problem on the smaller ship's, less than 700 passengers, but we have had it on ships thst are larger. It doesn't seem to target a particular class of ship either; we've been very sick on Oceania's Riviera as well as HAL and Celebrity.

Do others feel the same way, or will you continue to cruise "no matter what"?

 

21 million Americans get Noro every year, a couple thousand on cruise ships

[OceanCruise]

Don't forget that airplanes carry a ton of germs. A flight's passengers get off and the next ones get right on. I always wipe down the tray table, arm rests, video controls, and seatbelt with antibacterial wipes and avoid the plane restroom at all costs if possible. The airplane snacks are generally finger foods and I rarely see people using Purell or wipes before consuming them.

[Antonintassie]

Hi I fly on average 50 + days a year much greater chance of nasty nv checkout a seat back tray ,it can be minimised but sometimes its just the luck of the draw ,aircraft by their nature are hard to clean and air quality is marginal

 

 

My husband and I have been on more than 100 cruises over the past 40 years. Until recently (the Past 10 years),we have never even been concerned with Norovirus outbreaks. Suddenly, it seems that most voyages are compromised by actually getting Noro or fearfully anticipating that you may come down with it. It has certainly put a damper on the cruising experience for us. So far, we continue to cruise, but we feel that "one more time" of being sick, feeling lousy for days afterwards, may not be worth the enjoyment of a wonderful cruise vacation.

We have not had this problem on the smaller ship's, less than 700 passengers, but we have had it on ships thst are larger. It doesn't seem to target a particular class of ship either; we've been very sick on Oceania's Riviera as well as HAL and Celebrity.

Do others feel the same way, or will you continue to cruise "no matter what"?

[LewiLewi]

21 million Americans get Noro every year, a couple thousand on cruise ships

Maybe we've been lucky, but the Only times we have ever had Norovirus has been on a cruise ship, and we are both over 70. We also have traveled on land trips extensively, with groups of people, and have Never had NV. My concern is as to why we have only experienced this on a cruise and never anywhere else?

[4774Papa]

We have done 10 ocean cruises and had norovirus on two. First was the Norwegian Jade out of Barcelona in 2011. Second was the Celebrity Constellation Black Sea and W. Med in September 2013. In both cases, the cruiseline seemed to spray sanatizer on everything, many times a day.

I remember going to the buffet for breakfast one morning and the acculumated sanitizer sprayed on the table was as thick as peanut butter on a sandwich.

DW was getting sick as a reaction to all the airborne spray.

In the first case, we heard that the noro was traced to a pre-hotel in Barcelona.

 

We have never had noro, as we are extremely careful about washing our hands and carry our own sanitizer wipes.

[vickykay]

Wwe also have started bring Lysol wipes the past few cruises and wipe down our airplane seat area as well as our cabin. Gives us some piece of mind.

[BosoxI]

I really think as long as the cruise line allow you to serve yourself your going to have this nora problem. They should serve or give you plastic disposable to where. I saw and older gentlemen eating the baby shrimp while in line and licking his fingers while handling the utensils...I told the people behind the counter they need to change the utensils and they did not try to understand what I was saying. I just left and went a got a hamburger. But this stuff does go on. Also the food should be kept a lot warmer. Just my opinion

 

 

Excellent point. I frequently see utensils placed on top of the food being served. I won't touch that item, but who knows what had been placed miinutes before on the food I do take ? Spraying the cabin with Lysol sounds good, but the minute your steward comes in to clean, it could be contaminated again. One spray per cruise is not enought. Someone mentioned spraying the TV remore. My wife takes the plastic wrap from a cup and puts the remote in it. It has nothing to do with NV, as much as it does being told by a flight attendant what some people do with those remotes. Blah! And then there are those who won't cover their mouths when sneezing and then...and then... Where does it end?

Edited February 1, 2014 by BosoxI