I Was Diagnosed With Noro Virus on Nieuw Amsterdam

[Snowbaby369]

I don't understand why they quarantine for norovirus but not upper respiratory infections.

 

On our second leg in Australia, during cocktail hour, there was a couple that said they visited medical and they were lined up 20 feet outside the doorway to medical.

 

I caught the upper respiratory the last day of the cruise, and was sick for a solid month. Wonder if I had caught this year's influenza. DH and I were both sick, and it took a shot, two rounds of antibiotics to fix it for both of us. DH can usually walk it off. But we were also had a 13.5 hour plane ride to get home.

 

A nasty case of norovirus can put people in the hospital if they get dehydrated enough.

My husband came down with Influenza B, on Koningsdam and was quarantined 24 hours. They checked his temp and it was normal so he was released...had it been high he would have been another 24 and so forth until it was normal.

[winddawn]

I sailed on Nieuw Amsterdam in early December 2017. I noticed during the entire cruise, the buffet food was served to passengers and no one was able to help themselves at any of the buffet stations. After I got home from that cruise, I searched Uncle Google to try to find out if Nieuw Amsterdam had any recent incidents of norovirus because I thought it was odd they were being so careful to not allow passengers to serve themselves. I found this article which was published in November 2017 that states, "The cruise line with the second most outbreaks is Holland America Line with 18 cases of GI sicknesses reported to the CDC since 2010. HAL suffered norovirus outbreaks on the Nieuw Amsterdam, and two outbreaks each on the Volendam and the Noordam this year." I thought you might be interested in this information based on your experience. I'm glad to hear you recovered quickly from being sick.

 

http://www.cruiselawnews.com/2017/11/articles/norovirus/gastrointestinal-outbreak-on-the-crown-princess-again/

[OlsSalt]

I sailed on Nieuw Amsterdam in early December 2017. I noticed during the entire cruise, the buffet food was served to passengers and no one was able to help themselves at any of the buffet stations. After I got home from that cruise, I searched Uncle Google to try to find out if Nieuw Amsterdam had any recent incidents of norovirus because I thought it was odd they were being so careful to not allow passengers to serve themselves. I found this article which was published in November 2017 that states, "The cruise line with the second most outbreaks is Holland America Line with 18 cases of GI sicknesses reported to the CDC since 2010. HAL suffered norovirus outbreaks on the Nieuw Amsterdam, and two outbreaks each on the Volendam and the Noordam this year." I thought you might be interested in this information based on your experience. I'm glad to hear you recovered quickly from being sick.

 

http://www.cruiselawnews.com/2017/11/articles/norovirus/gastrointestinal-outbreak-on-the-crown-princess-again/

 

HAL ships have not had self-service in years. A few items are still self serve like the taco bar. But they even had to eliminate Lido outdoor BBQ's and buffets due to new CDC requirements. No reason to turn this into some dark conspiracy - VSP reports are always public information.

 

18 caes of noro in 8 years across how many ships carrying thousands of passengers every day? What kind of article was that

[winddawn]

HAL ships have not had self-service in years. A few items are still self serve like the taco bar. But they even had to eliminate Lido outdoor BBQ's and buffets due to new CDC requirements. No reason to turn this into some dark conspiracy - VSP reports are always public information.

 

18 caes of noro in 8 years across how many ships carrying thousands of passengers every day? What kind of article was that

 

The intent of my post was not nefarious. I simply thought the OP might like to know there has been norovirus on NA in the not too distant past. Just take it at face value.

[chengkp75]

The reports on the CDC website are not the only "outbreaks" of noro that have been reported to the CDC. Those are the only outbreaks that reach the 3% reporting threshold. Every cruise, every ship, when it returns to the US must make a report to the CDC of the number of gastro-intestinal illness during the previous cruise, even if that number is zero. When the number of GI illness cases reaches 2%, a special report must be made at that time. These reports, as well as the "regular" every cruise reports, are not public information, so that any cruise line could have hundreds of 2% outbreaks without anyone being the wiser. So, just because HAL has had the second most number of 3% outbreaks, this could be far outweighed by many more ill passengers on many less than 3% outbreaks, which could be even more indicative of a poor infectious disease mediation culture than HAL.

[Cuervosar]

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!

 

The worst part about this Virus is that once you have it you are a carrier for life.

[chengkp75]

The worst part about this Virus is that once you have it you are a carrier for life.

 

Can you cite a source for this? Never heard this before. Since the CDC figures that only 30% of noro infections are asymptomatic (no symptoms), that must mean you are suffering from noro symptoms (violent vomiting and diarrhea) for life.

[OlsSalt]

The worst part about this Virus is that once you have it you are a carrier for life.

 

Best you stay away from any grandchildren who go to day care and stop visiting relatives in senior cane centers since they have far more incidents of noro than cruise ships.

 

This is a 24 hour bug folks, and was almost a ritual right of passage for early travelers to Europe when it was benignly know as "tourista". Or any number of other clever names according to locale.

[stickey_mouse]

The worst part about this Virus is that once you have it you are a carrier for life.

Then aren't we all carriers? The norovirus is a fancy name for the common stomach bug. I assume I've had it before, as have most others.

[kazu]

The worst part about this Virus is that once you have it you are a carrier for life.

 

Totally false. Once recovered, you are not a carrier. State your source please and not some non medical source.

 

Can you cite a source for this? Never heard this before. Since the CDC figures that only 30% of noro infections are asymptomatic (no symptoms), that must mean you are suffering from noro symptoms (violent vomiting and diarrhea) for life.

 

Exactly. You are not a carrier at all once you are totally recovered.

[OlsSalt]

Interesting spread across the months for noro-virus incidents - pretty much the same as "flu season" which was explained to me once in a heath course as the start and end of the school calendar - when kids pick up just about everything at school and bring it home. Noro follows that monthy similar pattern: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norovirus#/media/File:Reports_by_Month_of_Norovirus.svg

 

Yikes, I have a silk blouse that pretty much looks like the color photo of the noro-virus in this link to a WIKI page.

[winddawn]

Wow! I'm amazed following this thread. Those who work for the CDC need to identify themselves, and some others just need to be kind to others.

 

Spreading kindness yields so many more benefits that benefit others.

[OlsSalt]

Wow! I'm amazed following this thread. Those who work for the CDC need to identify themselves, and some others just need to be kind to others.

 

Spreading kindness yields so many more benefits that benefit others.

 

Spreading rumors and tacitly implying HAL runs dirty ships is not kind.

[winddawn]

Spreading rumors and tacitly implying HAL runs dirty ships is not kind.

 

I did not spread any rumor, nor did I state anything implying HAL runs dirty ships. Please don't jump to conclusions. I thoroughly enjoy sailing HAL. Transparency is invaluable.

[OlsSalt]

I did not spread any rumor, nor did I state anything implying HAL runs dirty ships. Please don't jump to conclusions. I thoroughly enjoy sailing HAL. Transparency is invaluable.

 

The comment was directed at the drift of the entire threat. Nothing personal intended.

[winddawn]

The comment was directed at the drift of the entire threat. Nothing personal intended.

 

Please consider that before replying to my individual posts.

[OlsSalt]

Please consider that before replying to my individual posts.

 

Confusion noted. Your post was general in tone. Response was to the general complaint about the thread. I can see using your quote to highlight the topic could be taken as personal.

[sail7seas]

It is common to have Noro like virus in dormitories, hotels, nursing homes, schools and the like but we hear far more about cruise ships because they must report when there is a percentage of guests and cfrew who are ill. No hotels must report, no domitories or nurisng homes. In a hotel, people come and go. who would know if someone was sick for days in their room with noro and then checked out, went to airport, flew wherever and infect ed how many on the way??? Impossible to know how many could be ill withnoro in a hotel or where they contracted it.

[winddawn]

Confusion noted. Your post was general in tone. Response was to the general complaint about the thread. I can see using your quote to highlight the topic could be taken as personal.

 

I stand behind my original post. HAL customers deserve to know HAL had a "higher than most" incidence of norovirus on their ships in 2017 (rated #2 overall). That is significant. I also stand behind my post that states I enjoy cruising HAL. A mature consumer understands norovirus can occur in many different settings. It is especially important in this context considering HAL tends to cater to a more mature customer base that may be more susceptible to norovirus. I'm a shareholder of HAL's parent corporation so I have nothing to gain from your alleged accusations. Transparency is invaluable and we all have tools easily available to us online to research truth.

Edited February 3, 2018 by winddawn

[chengkp75]

And I'll stand by my post that you have no idea of the overall incidence of noro on any line for any year. You, and the article, base your conclusion on a limited set of data.

[OlsSalt]

I stand behind my original post. HAL customers deserve to know HAL had a "higher than most" incidence of norovirus on their ships in 2017 (rated #2 overall). That is significant. I also stand behind my post that states I enjoy cruising HAL. A mature consumer understands norovirus can occur in many different settings. It is especially important in this context considering HAL tends to cater to a more mature customer base that may be more susceptible to norovirus. I'm a shareholder of HAL's parent corporation so I have nothing to gain from your alleged accusations. Transparency is invaluable and we all have tools easily available to us online to research truth.

 

Did I miss the link to your original article? Can you provide it again so we can all read it first hand. Transparency is good. Thanks. And thank you for qualifying my "accusations" as alleged.

[OlsSalt]

Here is the link to an article in Newsweek magazine allegedly claiming Holland America is the "second dirtiest" cruise line on the high seas:

 

Have at it ..line by line. http://www.newsweek.com/cruise-lines-most-virus-outbreaks-2017-750838

 

QUOTE: Holland America was hit especially hard in 2017. In less than a month’s time span, the cruise line had five outbreaks among various ships, which led to a total of 462 passengers and crew getting hit by the stomach bug. Although these events almost always gain widespread attention, it’s important to note that only 1 percent of all norovirus outbreaks occur on cruise ships.

For the record according to the article, Coral Princess had 172 passengers on a single cruise suffer from a noro-outbreak. That would not be pretty, And RCCL gets their top dirty sailing award.

14 HAL ships, 462 passengers reported sick over a 365 day period per ship, for an approximately 24 hr stomach bug. How does that work out? Or even better - five passengers over 14 HAL ships in just one month getting this 24 hour stomach bug.

[KroozNut]

HAL ships have not had self-service in years. A few items are still self serve like the taco bar. But they even had to eliminate Lido outdoor BBQ's and buffets due to new CDC requirements. No reason to turn this into some dark conspiracy - VSP reports are always public information.

 

18 caes of noro in 8 years across how many ships carrying thousands of passengers every day? What kind of article was that

 

Are you by chance a HAL 'cheerleader'? Please don't get me wrong, I LOVE HAL, but I'm just curious.;)

[KroozNut]

And don't forget how incredibly filthy planes are. We wipe down our seats, headrests, trays, windows, overhead buttons, vents, everything. I've gotten sick on planes way more often than on the boat.

 

OCD, perhaps? Wow!:o

[KroozNut]

The worst part about this Virus is that once you have it you are a carrier for life.

What? this comment is totally way out in left field and should be deleted.:o