Ruby coming in to San Pedro for deep sanitizing

[PvTraveler]

Just received email from Princess that our Christmas cruise starting on Thursday will have a delayed departure due to an outbreak of noro virus. My question is how likely will the deep cleaning be effective in killing the virus ? And is there any extra protections we can take to reduce our chances of getting the virus ? Thanks for any tips.

[vmom]

I've been on a ship with noro and luckily none in my group were affected.

 

Best protection is a lot of hand washing. And most people do not wash for long enough. I believe that the recommended time is -20 seconds of lathering, not just a quick wet ,soap and rinse like most people do.

 

Good luck and hopefully a good cleaning by the staff will take care of things.

Edited December 21, 2016 by vmom

[mianmike]

Let's hope they get it eradicated. It does sound like a nasty virus to contract.

 

I'd be curious to hear how many were affected. :(

 

When cruising I typically wash my hands so much my fingers start to peel. I don't want to get sick!

[cruzsnooze]

I always bring a can of Lysol and spray the entire bathroom and spot spray the cabin where there is likely to be germs that the cabin steward probably misses like light switches and TV remotes.

[chengkp75]

Deep cleaning protocols are typically very good at eliminating the virus onboard (the agents used are very strong, commercial sanitizing agents). What typically happens is that right after the ship is cleaned, a new passenger who is contagious gets on the ship and re-infects surfaces.

 

Sanitizing your cabin is fine if it makes you feel good, the cabins will be treated with Virkon fogging during the deep clean, and this is far superior to Lysol. The more likely place to contract the virus is surfaces in public spaces that many people touch, not just your cabin where its only you.

 

One major way to keep from getting the virus is to not eat anything with your hands. Burgers, fries, pizza should all be eaten with utensils, as even with frequent hand washing, they can become infected in the buffet line from serving utensils, and then your hands touch the food, which you then ingest.

[caribill]

Just received email from Princess that our Christmas cruise starting on Thursday will have a delayed departure due to an outbreak of noro virus. My question is how likely will the deep cleaning be effective in killing the virus ?

 

I would be more concerned with how many of the passengers that embark with you are bringing the makings of a new outbreak with them.

 

Noro mainly gets onto a ship by the new passengers that have it in their systems when they board, usually before symptoms are noticeable.

 

With noro having over 20,000,000 cases a year in the USA, chances are some of those 20 million people are going on a cruise with you.

[peagreenid]

We avoid public restrooms on the ship if at all possible. I also bring either individual packets of antibacterial wipes or the travel pack and slip them in my small bag or pocket. I wipe my hands after using stair railings or elevator buttons etc. I like them better than antibacterial gels as I can control them a little better.

 

Patty

[chrysalis]

....don't eat anything using your hands....fork or spoon only.

[jb008]

People need to wash their &$%#ing hands. It's amazing how many people use the bathroom right outside the buffet, skip the sink, and head straight to the food. Granted, I only see what the men's bathroom is like... but no surprise there's regular outbreaks of gastroenteritis with behavior like that.

 

Depending on the severity, other steps beyond cleaning can include buffet food being served rather than self-serve, removal of salt and pepper shakers from the tables, and small additional steps like that to try to avoid people's contact with communal food items.

 

Just a good practices in general, avoid touching bathroom door knobs and handles via a paper towel on your way out and use a knuckle to push elevator buttons.

[JF - retired RRT]

I carry disposable medical type gloves (the cheap kind) when I cruise. I wear them when I use the stairs due to my inability to climb stairs without holding on ;). I generally also wear the gloves in the buffet serving line. It looks funny, but if there are germs on the utensils, they won't get on my hands.

Don't use your fingertip to push the elevator buttons, use your knuckle.

And I know it's controversial on here, but I wash a couple of times a day with Zylast XP. It's supposed to last up to 6 hours.

 

Something no one ever mentions...when are the menus in the MDRs cleaned? My assumption is not often or never. After holding any menu, I spray my hands with hand cleaner.

 

No noro in 22 cruises. Fingers crossed.

Edited December 21, 2016 by JF - retired RRT

[spyro1952]

Since noro is caused by a virus, antibacterial wipes or hand gels do very little except provide a false confidence. The 2 BEST things you can do to combat this and protect yourself is to wash your hands frequently throughout the day with soap and warm water for at least 30 seconds (sing Happy Birthday to yourself) AND don't use public restrooms on the ship - go back to your room and use the bathroom.

Have a great cruise and yes, they do a great job in cleaning the ship but more than likely another infected passenger gets on especially at this time of year.

Edited December 21, 2016 by spyro1952
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[chengkp75]

As I've said before on many noro threads, each and every cruise ship has to make a report to the USPH/CDC every cruise listing how many GI illnesses have been reported on the ship, even if there have been none. These reports are the ones no one in the cruising public see. From these reports, the CDC learns a lot about the epidemiology (causes, transmission vectors, etc) of the virus. Then, when an outbreak happens, they study not only the raw number of cases, but when those cases happened during the cruise, and the trend in the number of new cases daily. From this data, and the medical interview forms the medical department gets from sick passengers and crew, they are amazingly able to narrow down towards "patient zero" (the person or persons who brought it onboard).

 

They also, as I say, study the trend in new cases, and if the trend is downwards at the end of the cruise, and then shows a spike a day or so into the next cruise, it indicates that the second cruise is a new infection. A re-infection, by the people who would be on consecutive cruises (the crew) is shown by a fairly steady, flat trend over the turn-around day. And remember, those same folks who may "re-infect" the ship are there for months, and their personal hygiene habits don't change, so one would expect to see recurring outbreaks for months at a time, which you don't.

[yuccaman]

People need to wash their &$%#ing hands. It's amazing how many people use the bathroom right outside the buffet, skip the sink, and head straight to the food. Granted, I only see what the men's bathroom is like... but no surprise there's regular outbreaks of gastroenteritis with behavior like that.

 

 

 

Just a good practices in general, avoid touching bathroom door knobs and handles via a paper towel on your way out and use a knuckle to push elevator buttons.

 

 

Yes, you will find that as part of the ships' health inspection, that public restrooms are required to have paper towels, and even a trash can adjacent to the exit door for exactly this reason.

 

Even outside of noro season we preach the above to our loved ones (my wife is a lab rat with microbiology certifications) although don't use that elevator knuckle to wipe under your nose, or your eyes

 

In fact, add to the above- never touch your face without washing your hands, and don't handle your food if you can help it- eat hand foods with the opposite hand you use for the buffet spoons or eat with utensils.

 

The hand sanitizer stuff? Not effective against noro virus. Soap and water is where it's at

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Edited December 21, 2016 by yuccaman

[MsSoCalCruiser]

I always bring a can of Lysol and spray the entire bathroom and spot spray the cabin where there is likely to be germs that the cabin steward probably misses like light switches and TV remotes.

 

Great suggestions. I do the exact same thing that you do! The TV remote and the light switches are probably covered with germs :eek:

[chengkp75]

This is why this guy's on my ignore list, so I can't quote him directly. I don't know all the crew's personal hygiene habits, never said that. What I do know is the transmission vector for noro requires an initial anal to oral cross-contamination, i.e. someone who contaminates their hands while using the bathroom, and then ingests something they touched. Once this person is infected, they continue to infect their hands through poor hygiene, to provide the virus to contaminate the surfaces around the ship. So, if this person had such poor hygiene that they infected areas of the ship, why would their habits change to suddenly washing their hands when the outbreak stops? It wouldn't, they would continue to re-infect the surfaces week after week. Do we see this for the 10 months a particular "typhoid Mary" crew member is on the ship? Nope. You see spikes when passengers turn over, and when you get a group of passengers whose hygiene is sufficient to stop the transmission, the outbreak ends.

[Thrak]

Avoid using the handrails on the stairways. Use a knuckle to press elevator buttons. WASH YOUR HANDS WITH SOAP. Don't expect the hand sanitizer to stop noro. Don't play with your face. Don't pick your nose. (:rolleyes:)

 

After the deep cleaning I wouldn't have any more worries than on a normal cruise. Just do the normal things and you should be fine. The really most important one is frequent and thorough hand washing with soap.

[waltd]

Avoid using the handrails on the stairways. Use a knuckle to press elevator buttons. WASH YOUR HANDS WITH SOAP. Don't expect the hand sanitizer to stop noro. Don't play with your face. Don't pick your nose. (:rolleyes:)

 

After the deep cleaning I wouldn't have any more worries than on a normal cruise. Just do the normal things and you should be fine. The really most important one is frequent and thorough hand washing with soap.

 

What I wish they would provide again is the stack of paper napkins in the buffet area. I use to use a fresh napkin to pickup the serving spoons. I have seen too many passengers eating with their fingers while in line then touching the next set of serving spoons. I now try to unroll a bit of the cloth napkin that the silverware is rolled up in and use that instead. One of us does like eating in the buffet so I do what I have to. LOL

[Bruin Steve]

The "deep cleaning" has nothing to do with any virus...

Princess just monitors when I am cruising...and then schedules these things in order to delay my cruise...

 

I'm boarding tomorrow, I hope...

 

Last January (2015), we were on the Crown Princess out of San Pedro and they did the same thing...except that cruise was delayed so that boarding didn't start until about 5:00-5:30...Most of the passengers didn't get dinner that first night as they closed off all of the food venues so they could have the muster drill at 7:45...All of the entertainment and activities were canceled that first night (unless you consider the muster drill entertaining!)...And THAT was only a 3-night cruise! (In my 40+ cruises, this has happened to me THREE times now--ALL on Princess).

 

We spoke with the ship's doctor during the cruise...and he told us that on the cruise preceding ours, there were only 12 reported cases of any gastrointestinal illness (actually quite low for what had been a 7 night Mexican cruise)...But, about 7 weeks earlier, they had a cruise with over 300 cases...It just took them almost two months to get around to the "deep cleaning"...They really don't know if it's "Norovirus"...they don't exactly give everyone a major examination...Many cases are just someone eating or drinking the wrong thing in Mexico...

 

Truth be told, virus outbreaks can happen any time, anywhere... the Reason you always hear about it on cruise ships is because everyone on board is there all week...If the same virus outbreak occurs in a big Las Vegas hotel or at Disneyland (which it does), you never hear about it...because in those venues, people continuously come and go...and don't realize they're ill until they are home.

 

The truth is that you should ALWAYS be wary of viruses, any time you are sharing facilities with any large number of people...Always wash your hands often and use that gel stuff whenever. It's not just your cabin...it's the doorknobs on board, the handrails on the staircases, the chairs in the lounges...there could be germs on everything you touch. OTOH, we often go about our lives not thinking about it...and we more often than not don't get sick--because our bodies build up certain immunities and resistance...

 

As for me, I'm just going to try to enjoy the cruise...Yes, I will wash my hands often, use those liquid disinfectant dispensers, try not to touch a lot of handrails and such...BUT, I do that EVERY cruise...it's just the smart thing to do, ALWAYS...

 

But, I refuse to get paranoid...except for the knowledge that Princess just schedules these things to mess with my personal enjoyment of the first day of the cruise... :)

[critterchick]

We are onboard Ruby now. We haven't been to the buffet at all, but friends have reported that there is no self service allowed there or at the Trident Grill and pizza place. In the club class part of the dining room, the only real sign is that they are doling out bread instead of putting the baskets on the tables - salt and pepper shakers are still present.

 

Although I agree that we passengers should be diligent in hand washing and taking precautions, I also have to say that the ship does a lousy job of cleaning the public areas, especially the ladies' rooms that I've seen. All of the Captain's exhortations during his noon Noro report to wash our hands with hot soapy water are for naught when half of the soap dispensers are empty or malfunctioning. Whomever is responsible for cleaning the ladies' rooms has let sanitary products pile up, including an applicator that has been stuck in a towel disposal bin for four days now. If the other public restrooms are like that, it's no wonder the virus (not to mention all of the hacking, coughing and sneezing that is going on) is so rampant. If our cabin weren't all the way aft, I would avoid the public restrooms unless my eyes were yellow.:eek:

 

And Steve, thank you for taking the blame. I was starting to think it was me (we disembarked Crown Princess just before your delayed boarding). I hope your delay is minimal and that you have a great holiday cruise.:)

Edited December 21, 2016 by critterchick

[Aus Traveller]

One major way to keep from getting the virus is to not eat anything with your hands. Burgers, fries, pizza should all be eaten with utensils, as even with frequent hand washing, they can become infected in the buffet line from serving utensils, and then your hands touch the food, which you then ingest.

This works for us. The virus doesn't enter your body through your skin. It will enter your body through your mouth. Assuming that adults don't put their hands (or fingers) in their mouth, the way it enters is on food you eat with your hands. Simply - don't eat food with your hands if there is a noro outbreak on the ship. Either don't eat breadrolls or handle them with a knife and fork (very awkward!) This is more important than extended hand washing unless the handwashing is immediately before you eat and you haven't touched anything in the meantime. No touching the chair you will sit on and no touching serving utensils.

Edited December 22, 2016 by Aus Traveller

[JC13]

Just got home from our Ruby cruise. They had lots of public service announcements from the captain, which were not always understandable. Servers severed passengers and lots of cleaning was going on. We had over 700 kids on board, so I wonder if the correlation between kids and the virus go hand in hand. Lots of kids in diapers in pools and hot tubs, just saying.

They brought us in an hour early for cleaning.

[shredie]

Just got home from our Ruby cruise. They had lots of public service announcements from the captain, which were not always understandable. Servers severed passengers and lots of cleaning was going on. We had over 700 kids on board, so I wonder if the correlation between kids and the virus go hand in hand. Lots of kids in diapers in pools and hot tubs, just saying.

They brought us in an hour early for cleaning.

 

The severed the passengers? :eek: LOL. I'm surprised there were diapers in the pools. I haven't seen that.

[Gert2011]

Just got home from our Ruby cruise. They had lots of public service announcements from the captain, which were not always understandable. Servers severed passengers and lots of cleaning was going on. We had over 700 kids on board, so I wonder if the correlation between kids and the virus go hand in hand. Lots of kids in diapers in pools and hot tubs, just saying.

They brought us in an hour early for cleaning.

 

Hi, thanks for the info. We get on Ruby Jan 7 for 3 cruises. Have been on the Crown sever times when there was sickness but so far, so good. In fact, there was a cabin two doors down where they were putting in sick people for two or three days at a time, even one of the entertainment staff was in there for two days.

 

Can you tell me what party band was playing on the Ruby when you were on? (the band that plays at sail away and country night etc.) Any good?

 

Thanks

Edited December 23, 2016 by Gert2011

[lbfluffy]

We were on the November 26th sailing. I came back with a sore throat and cough that I got on the Friday before we got off. On many ships that I have been on I have always seen employees wiping things down but I did not see that being done on this last cruise

[candigirl]

I just got off the Ruby Princess and I can tell you that despite being a "germaphobe" and taking every precaution I somehow contracted the dreaded norovirus and I don't remember ever being so sick. I wiped everything down including light switches and TV remote with Clorox wipes when entering my cabin for the 1st time. I always pay special attention to the bathroom and wipe down everything, especially the shelves, vanity and faucet. As always, I brought antibacterial pump hand soap for both of the bathrooms. I washed my hands thoroughly and often, especially right before eating. Used public restrooms sparingly. Avoided hands to mouth, eyes and nose. I am a frequent cruiser, have never been sick, but this time, I got my butt kicked. I was very sick and did not leave my cabin for 2 1/2 days of my 5 day cruise. Fortunately, I was the only 1 in our group of 4 that got sick. I experienced severe dehydration and weakness like I've never had before. It was helpful that I had pre-ordered 2 24 packs of water and needed that to help with dehydration. I wish I knew how/where I picked it up so I could warn you, but I have wracked my brain and don't have a clue. I have added a new item to my cruise packing list and that is powdered Gatorade, I sure wish I would have had some of that to replace lost electrolytes. Whatever number you may have heard regarding sick passengers, I bet it is double. Don't ever want to experience that again.....

Needless to say, probably my least favorite of all my cruises.