NOROVIRUS - CRUISE LINE "GUILTY" - compo to pax

[mrs and mrs]

And the older we get, the more susceptible we are to viruses, and recovery is longer.

[OzKiwiJJ]

what a load of BS....a lot of passengers dont wash their hands after being to the loo

 

Actually, it may not be quite that simple.

 

What is the first thing people do after using the toilet, and before washing their hands? Adjust their clothing!

 

So even if they do wash their hands religiously they may recontaminate their hands by touching their clothing - hitching up their pants, straightening a skirt, etc.

 

I think the most important thing is to wash hands thoroughly before eating and also use a sanitiser as backup. We carry our own sanitiser, an alcohol-free foam one, and use it again after handling the menu or before unwrapping cutlery in the buffet.

[Pushka]

I always wash hands after bathroom, obviously, and never touch the handle and use a paper towel. Usually but not always press lift buttons with elbow. I do use the rails on stairs. I carry the gel but dont use it in the actual restaurants. I've been lucky but maybe there is also a line on doing too much? I know on the noro alert cruise it had delayed boarding for deep clean so I purchased cleaning products to do my own clean. In the end I didnt bother.

 

 

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[Embl]

If you contract noro on board who pays for the medical treatment you might need? Does the line cover it or is it your insurance?

[OzKiwiJJ]

I always wash hands after bathroom, obviously, and never touch the handle and use a paper towel. Usually but not always press lift buttons with elbow. I do use the rails on stairs. I carry the gel but dont use it in the actual restaurants. I've been lucky but maybe there is also a line on doing too much? I know on the noro alert cruise it had delayed boarding for deep clean so I purchased cleaning products to do my own clean. In the end I didnt bother.

 

 

We use this one, it's much kinder on hands than the gels. https://www.handsfirst.com.au/

 

We have a 50ml pump in every bag we carry, plus I take a couple of spares. I get the refill packs so it works out quite economical.

[MicCanberra]

I always wash hands after bathroom, obviously, and never touch the handle and use a paper towel. Usually but not always press lift buttons with elbow. I do use the rails on stairs. I carry the gel but dont use it in the actual restaurants. I've been lucky but maybe there is also a line on doing too much? I know on the noro alert cruise it had delayed boarding for deep clean so I purchased cleaning products to do my own clean. In the end I didnt bother.

 

 

I do likewise but I also avoid the buffet, and try to never put my hands in or near my mouth, no use having cleaned your hands and then touching a something that may have been just before eating. As mentioned, it can only be contracted by consuming it and not by simply touching something or breathing it in. Eating with your fingers is the easiest way to get it so the bread rolls, pizza, burgers, chips etc that most people use their hands to eat will be high risk as your hands have likely touched something that was contaminated like the chair or table or door handle, etc.

Edited August 6, 2016 by MicCanberra

[NSWP]

I do likewise but I also avoid the buffet, and try to never put my hands in or near my mouth, no use having cleaned your hands and then touching a something that may have been just before eating. As mentioned, it can only be contracted by consuming it and not by simply touching something or breathing it in. Eating with your fingers is the easiest way to get it so the bread rolls, pizza, burgers, chips etc that most people use their hands to eat will be high risk as your hands have likely touched something that was contaminated like the chair or table or door handle, etc.

And watch the grubs wandering around the buffets, loaded plate in hand, having a pick from their plate with their fingers, whilst they patrol, reloading as they go. Seen it all, grubs on every ship, Aussies, Poms, North Americans, Europeans.

Edited August 6, 2016 by NSWP

[Pushka]

In Vietnam we had to eat at an atrocious buffet for meals. Kids everywhere grabbing things. One very unpleasant man was picking up food in his hands and putting it back. Revolting. So with tongs I picked up the last bread piece he had touched with his hands and put it back on his plate, said 'Nyet' and he just shrugged and walked off with it.

 

 

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[NSWP]

In Vietnam we had to eat at an atrocious buffet for meals. Kids everywhere grabbing things. One very unpleasant man was picking up food in his hands and putting it back. Revolting. So with tongs I picked up the last bread piece he had touched with his hands and put it back on his plate, said 'Nyet' and he just shrugged and walked off with it.

 

 

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I would have stuck the said tongs in his ears, but then that is not hygienic.

[MicCanberra]

Lucky he understood Russian.

[mrs and mrs]

delete

Edited August 6, 2016 by mrs and mrs

[mrs and mrs]

Lucky he understood Russian.

 

Might have been a Russian Tatar

[GUT2407]

Might have been a Russian Tatar

 

Or a Black Russian terrier

 

Like this little fellow

[mrs and mrs]

Or a Black Russian terrier

 

Like this little fellow

 

 

Lol,need a lot of white-out to cover him.Hahahaha;)

[Aus Traveller]

I do likewise but I also avoid the buffet, and try to never put my hands in or near my mouth, no use having cleaned your hands and then touching a something that may have been just before eating. As mentioned, it can only be contracted by consuming it and not by simply touching something or breathing it in. Eating with your fingers is the easiest way to get it so the bread rolls, pizza, burgers, chips etc that most people use their hands to eat will be high risk as your hands have likely touched something that was contaminated like the chair or table or door handle, etc.

I agree completely. If there is a Red Alert for noro on a cruise we are on, we do not touch any food with our hands. That usually means, we don't eat bread rolls while the alert is in place :(. This might seem extreme, but even if you are careful and don't press lift buttons with your hands and walk down the stairs with your forearm on the rail rather than your hands, you cannot be sure your hands are totally clean. You would have pulled your chair away from the table, then moved it closer to the table as you sat down. We assume the cutlery is clean - after all we can't be too paranoid. :D

[Pushka]

I would have stuck the said tongs in his ears, but then that is not hygienic.

 

 

He probably would just have extracted them and put them back! [emoji47]

 

Noro alerts are pains. We had one for half a 12 night cruise. Boarding was delayed five hours to do a deep clean - the last three cruises had noro. The usual amenities - room service menus, information booklets, binoculars etc were removed from the cabin. People were spending ages in the buffet in queues waiting to be served, not helped by obc people only wanting a specific piece - 'I want THAT piece of orange' multiple times. No self serve water, coffee tea or juice. Anywhere. No salt and pepper shakers. It just cast a pall on the ship and it was surprising how much better it was when the red alert was cancelled. The cruise after ours was a charter, but noro struck again on the next cruise with a completely different set of passengers both pre and after charter. I wondered if there were issues also on the middle cruise but being a charter they didn't do a red alert.

Edited August 6, 2016 by Pushka

[mrs and mrs]

Gotta say,never experienced a red alert,or an outbreak.

So touch wood.

I'm sure it will come though.

[Pushka]

Gotta say,never experienced a red alert,or an outbreak.

 

So touch wood.

 

I'm sure it will come though.

 

 

Probably. The issue is if the cruise before yours has an outbreak then it extends to yours. But this was the first of five cruises we had experienced it.

 

 

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[OzKiwiJJ]

We had a red alert Noro outbreak on our first cruise, from the third day I think, of 13 days.

 

We kept away from the buffet. Bread rolls and butter were served to you instead of being on the table, ditto milk for tea, even salt and pepper was shaken for you.

 

The number of cases was announced daily. The numbers were actually quite small, can't remember exactly, 10s rather than 100s, but it was treated very seriously. Interestingly the numbers went down for a few days, then started going up again. I guess someone didn't stay in quarantine as requested.

 

The only thing that was slightly annoying was the issue of milk for tea. I only like a splash of milk and always ended up with too much milk, and when I wanted to refill my cup I had to find a waiter to give me more milk. For some reason they didn't appear to have any tiny, one person milk jugs.

 

Despite the noro outbreak we had a great cruise.

[MicCanberra]

I agree completely. If there is a Red Alert for noro on a cruise we are on, we do not touch any food with our hands. That usually means, we don't eat bread rolls while the alert is in place :(. This might seem extreme, but even if you are careful and don't press lift buttons with your hands and walk down the stairs with your forearm on the rail rather than your hands, you cannot be sure your hands are totally clean. You would have pulled your chair away from the table, then moved it closer to the table as you sat down. We assume the cutlery is clean - after all we can't be too paranoid. :D

 

Exactly, taking some precautions all the time and ramping them up when the Noro alert goes out. Whether by luck or good management, we haven't been sick on a cruise as yet, hopefully we can stay healthy in the future.

[MicCanberra]

I will openly shame someone if I see them leave the toilets without washing their hands, it has led to some angry words but they do wash their hands out of shame. Luckily I haven't had to do it too many times as normally (specially on Celebrity they have toilet attendants that ensure that people do it.

[Tara Jane]

I avoid using the public toilets, prefer to go back to my room even if it is a long walk.

I have noticed the decline with all lines of the staff at the door with the squirty bottle of hand santizer. When we frist started cruising we couldn't get in the door of any dining room or buffet or even the theatre without an attendant squirting our hands. Maybe leaving the container in the stand at the doorway they consider adequate but I don't believe it is. No squirty no food would be my policy. They can always order room service.

[Aus Traveller]

I avoid using the public toilets, prefer to go back to my room even if it is a long walk.

I have noticed the decline with all lines of the staff at the door with the squirty bottle of hand santizer. When we frist started cruising we couldn't get in the door of any dining room or buffet or even the theatre without an attendant squirting our hands. Maybe leaving the container in the stand at the doorway they consider adequate but I don't believe it is. No squirty no food would be my policy. They can always order room service.

It might depend which ship you are on. On our last several cruises, at the dining room there have been a couple of people armed with hand-held containers of hand sanitizer, as well as two stationery units. In the buffet there is one stationery unit, but a crew member stands beside it to hand people their plate and cutlery as they enter. I don't know if he/she would make a comment if someone didn't use the hand sanitizer. I have not seen anyone try to enter without cleaning their hands.

[Pushka]

The new Kings Court on QM2 has a trough of taps and soap at the entrance.

 

 

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[MicCanberra]

The new Kings Court on QM2 has a trough of taps and soap at the entrance.

 

 

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Sign of the times, I think it will happen on more ships, especially near the buffet areas.