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I Was Diagnosed With Noro Virus on Nieuw Amsterdam

cruizn2escape

By cruizn2escape,
in Holland America Line

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cruizn2escape

cruizn2escape

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I am posting this not to scare anyone, but as a point of information. I was on the 10 day sailing on 1/13/18. About half way through the cruise I started vomiting and had diarrhea. After several episodes of both, I called the Medical Center. Two nurses came to my cabin, took my vitals and gave me a shot. After the shot, I slept for 8 hours and had no more bouts.

I was “isolated” to my cabin for 24 hours. This was a mild case of the virus.

A special crew was sent to my cabin to clean it. All they did was change the bedding and clean the toilet. The did not wipe down any of the surfaces in the cabin, which I thought was strange.

The cost of the medical treatment including the shot and medication was $115. Which I think is reasonable.

I had washed my hands frequently before I got sick, but still managed to get it. I am thankful for the medical staff!

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cruizn2escape

cruizn2escape

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Sorry to hear that the Nieuw Amsterdam has the Noro virus and you got sick.

Great that you got the shot and only had to stay in your cabin for 24 hours.

Yes, I was so glad that it was only for 24 hours. I only heard of a few others who got sick, so don’t think it was widespread.

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Paulinda

Paulinda

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Sorry to hear that your became ill but luckily you called the medical center and improved rather quickly afterwards. Sounds like it is not an outbreak but isolated cases??? Where you diagnosed with a Noro Virus strain or food poisoning? Hopefully if it is an outbreak they will do a scrub down. We are on NA in a few weeks.

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cruizn2escape

cruizn2escape

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Sorry to hear that your became ill but luckily you called the medical center and improved rather quickly afterwards. Sounds like it is not an outbreak but isolated cases??? Where you diagnosed with a Noro Virus strain or food poisoning? Hopefully if it is an outbreak they will do a scrub down. We are on NA in a few weeks.

I was diagnosed as Noro. I think it must have been isolated cases. The crew was always cleaning the ships common surfaces.

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Underwatr

Underwatr

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I was diagnosed as Noro. I think it must have been isolated cases. The crew was always cleaning the ships common surfaces.

How quickly was it diagnosed? As far as I know the precise cause isn't immediately apparent, which is why it takes several days for outbreak reports on the CDC website to be confirmed as norovirus rather than a generic gastro illness. That suggests to me that it can't precisely be attributed to Noro without inspection of, um, "specimens."

 

See https://www.medicinenet.com/norovirus_infection/article.htm#how_is_a_norovirus_infection_diagnosed

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cruizn2escape

cruizn2escape

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How quickly was it diagnosed? As far as I know the precise cause isn't immediately apparent, which is why it takes several days for outbreak reports on the CDC website to be confirmed as norovirus rather than a generic gastro illness. That suggests to me that it can't precisely be attributed to Noro without inspection of, um, "specimens."

 

See https://www.medicinenet.com/norovirus_infection/article.htm#how_is_a_norovirus_infection_diagnosed

The paperwork I got from the Medical center several days later stated it was Noro virus.

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chengkp75

chengkp75

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How quickly was it diagnosed? As far as I know the precise cause isn't immediately apparent, which is why it takes several days for outbreak reports on the CDC website to be confirmed as norovirus rather than a generic gastro illness. That suggests to me that it can't precisely be attributed to Noro without inspection of, um, "specimens."

 

See https://www.medicinenet.com/norovirus_infection/article.htm#how_is_a_norovirus_infection_diagnosed

 

Also note that the ship sends a report to the CDC 24 hours prior to arrival in the US, every cruise reporting how many cases of GI illness have been reported, even if the number is zero. This report is never seen on the CDC website. Then, when the number of reported cases reaches 2% of passengers or crew, another report is sent, and this report is never seen on the CDC website. Only when the number of reported cases reaches 3% is an "outbreak update" posted.

 

Most diagnoses of noro like the one the OP received are based on symptoms. There are field tests available, using stool or vomitus samples, but these tend to be only 50-70% reliable. Laboratory testing is required for completely accurate diagnosis. I believe the CDC will not classify an outbreak as confirmed noro until lab testing has been done.

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Snowbaby369

Snowbaby369

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I am posting this not to scare anyone, but as a point of information. I was on the 10 day sailing on 1/13/18. About half way through the cruise I started vomiting and had diarrhea. After several episodes of both, I called the Medical Center. Two nurses came to my cabin, took my vitals and gave me a shot. After the shot, I slept for 8 hours and had no more bouts.

I was “isolated” to my cabin for 24 hours. This was a mild case of the virus.

A special crew was sent to my cabin to clean it. All they did was change the bedding and clean the toilet. The did not wipe down any of the surfaces in the cabin, which I thought was strange.

The cost of the medical treatment including the shot and medication was $115. Which I think is reasonable.

I had washed my hands frequently before I got sick, but still managed to get it. I am thankful for the medical staff!

We were on Koningsdam in December. My husband came down with Influenza B, diagnosed in ships medical centre. We both attended the doctor, and I was also given tamiflu, supposedly to lesson the chance of getting sick.....it didn't work :(. He was quarantined for a day. A letter was sent to our cabin regarding quarantine. It stated in part that special team would clean and dissinfect cabin. That never happened. We too are left wondering about the special cleaning of cabins when there has been an identified sickness.

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Lady President

Lady President

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We had the opposite experience regarding cleaning on our Thanksgiving NA cruise. My husband came down with Noro on day 2 of our cruise, went to the doctor on day 3, and was subsequently quarantined for 2 days. We assume he had the virus when he boarded the ship, but felt fine at the time.

 

I have never seen anything cleaned the way our cabin was cleaned! During the 2 days of quarantine, a 3-man crew with medical gloves and masks scrubbed every inch of the cabin-- walls were wiped down, every surface was cleaned, all the linens (including pillows, robes, and the mattress pad) were replaced each day, the glassware was replaced, the coffee maker replaced, etc. It was unbelievable to watch! The crew simply could not have treated us better.

 

Fun fact-- all the medical costs were included in our onboard spending. We ended up with 21 days credit for a 7 day cruise. Definitely the least fun we've had on a cruise, but that was a silver lining.

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KanCruise

KanCruise

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We had the opposite experience regarding cleaning on our Thanksgiving NA cruise. My husband came down with Noro on day 2 of our cruise, went to the doctor on day 3, and was subsequently quarantined for 2 days. We assume he had the virus when he boarded the ship, but felt fine at the time.

 

I have never seen anything cleaned the way our cabin was cleaned! During the 2 days of quarantine, a 3-man crew with medical gloves and masks scrubbed every inch of the cabin-- walls were wiped down, every surface was cleaned, all the linens (including pillows, robes, and the mattress pad) were replaced each day, the glassware was replaced, the coffee maker replaced, etc. It was unbelievable to watch! The crew simply could not have treated us better.

 

Fun fact-- all the medical costs were included in our onboard spending. We ended up with 21 days credit for a 7 day cruise. Definitely the least fun we've had on a cruise, but that was a silver lining.

 

 

 

Now that is how it should be done...your cabin I am referring to! Just changing the bedding and cleaning the bathroom is not enough. Every thing people touch and cough around should be cleaned.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

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Snowbaby369

Snowbaby369

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We had the opposite experience regarding cleaning on our Thanksgiving NA cruise. My husband came down with Noro on day 2 of our cruise, went to the doctor on day 3, and was subsequently quarantined for 2 days. We assume he had the virus when he boarded the ship, but felt fine at the time.

 

I have never seen anything cleaned the way our cabin was cleaned! During the 2 days of quarantine, a 3-man crew with medical gloves and masks scrubbed every inch of the cabin-- walls were wiped down, every surface was cleaned, all the linens (including pillows, robes, and the mattress pad) were replaced each day, the glassware was replaced, the coffee maker replaced, etc. It was unbelievable to watch! The crew simply could not have treated us better.

 

Fun fact-- all the medical costs were included in our onboard spending. We ended up with 21 days credit for a 7 day cruise. Definitely the least fun we've had on a cruise, but that was a silver lining.

 

That's certainly more like what we were expecting.

Since returning home ...I have heard from a very reliable source, seniour staff from future sales on another large line that influenza is running rampant on several of their ships.

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OlsSalt

OlsSalt

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Now that is how it should be done...your cabin I am referring to! Just changing the bedding and cleaning the bathroom is not enough. Every thing people touch and cough around should be cleaned.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

This was reported to be noro (gastro-intestinal); not upper respiratory. And the bathroom is where most people "touch" things when it comes to transmission of noro. Maybe the room cleaning protocol is different in each case?

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tkwbear

tkwbear

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I am posting this not to scare anyone, but as a point of information. I was on the 10 day sailing on 1/13/18. About half way through the cruise I started vomiting and had diarrhea. After several episodes of both, I called the Medical Center. Two nurses came to my cabin, took my vitals and gave me a shot. After the shot, I slept for 8 hours and had no more bouts.

I was “isolated” to my cabin for 24 hours. This was a mild case of the virus.

A special crew was sent to my cabin to clean it. All they did was change the bedding and clean the toilet. The did not wipe down any of the surfaces in the cabin, which I thought was strange.

The cost of the medical treatment including the shot and medication was $115. Which I think is reasonable.

I had washed my hands frequently before I got sick, but still managed to get it. I am thankful for the medical staff!

I'm sorry you got sick, but glad you made a quick recovery with HAL's help.

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HALrunner

HALrunner

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Thanks to the OP and all for sharing their stories about what exactly happens when you get sick onboard. We have always wondered what kind of care is provided, costs, cleaning protocols etc. One question I still have is if hand sanitizers were available upon entering the dining venues on the NA? Or other ships recently for that matter?

On our recent Eurodam cruise we were disappointed that hand sanitizers were not posted in most places around the ship as they have been for many years. Specifically all the dining venues except the Lido were lacking the sanitizers. We wondered if this an informal study by HAL to see if rates of noro, influenza etc increased without the sanitizers or simply an oversight. Along the lines of when they eliminated the Code Orange for the first few days of each sailing. Any thoughts?

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cruizn2escape

cruizn2escape

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Thanks to the OP and all for sharing their stories about what exactly happens when you get sick onboard. We have always wondered what kind of care is provided, costs, cleaning protocols etc. One question I still have is if hand sanitizers were available upon entering the dining venues on the NA? Or other ships recently for that matter?

On our recent Eurodam cruise we were disappointed that hand sanitizers were not posted in most places around the ship as they have been for many years. Specifically all the dining venues except the Lido were lacking the sanitizers. We wondered if this an informal study by HAL to see if rates of noro, influenza etc increased without the sanitizers or simply an oversight. Along the lines of when they eliminated the Code Orange for the first few days of each sailing. Any thoughts?

There were hand sanitizers on the Lido, dining room, and when boarding in ports. I have often thought they should be by the elevators. They are not as effective as hand washing, but are better than nothing.

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sail7seas

sail7seas

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So, N. Amsterdam doesn't have Noro. There was one confirmed case. You could have caught it anywhere before you got on the ship. Bad thread title.

 

 

OP, I am very sorry you were ill but happy you recovered quickly.

 

I wonder, OP, did you fly to join the ship or stay pre-cruise in a hotel? So many people carry the virus (unknowingly) onto the ship afffer being exposed on planes and during pre cruise stays. NO one's faultt, of course, but a c ommon scenarrio and no way t o know for sure if that was the case.

 

Thank you for your post. Stay well.

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