Regatta and Noro - Happening to often

[KS&JW]

Do you have proof of that? I've read that they use a special formulation, VF71 or something like that that does have some efficacy on noro. Even if it doesn't it will protect against others.

 

 

Purell, on their website, does not make that claim. They, and the CDC, say wash your hands with soap and water and you can use hand sanitizer 'in addition' to hand washing.

[Ken the cruiser]

The Purell hand sanitizer they use on the ships doesn't actually protect against Noro. Maybe the false sense of security is what causes it to spread?

Uh, not true on our recent B2B cruise around Cuba on the Sirena. They had Gemstar hand sanitizer dispensers all over the ship and provided miniature spray bottles of the stuff in our cabin with "noro" clearly marked on the label. The alcohol content of the Gemstar sanitizer was 63% and was rated at 99.99% effective. By the way we had no outbreaks reported on our B2B cruise that I am aware of.

[MisterBill99]

Uh, not true on our recent B2B cruise around Cuba on the Sirena. They had Gemstar hand sanitizer dispensers all over the ship and provided miniature spray bottles of the stuff in our cabin with "noro" clearly marked on the label. The alcohol content of the Gemstar sanitizer was 63% and was rated at 99.99% effective. By the way we had no outbreaks reported on our B2B cruise that I am aware of.

I stand corrected. I was going based on what other cruise lines use since we've never been on Oceania. They use Purell.

[hillsprint]

I’m someone who regularly uses the hand sanitizers when onboard. Due to my hobby of many years, working on car mechanicals has left me with mild psoriasis on my hands and the sanitizer chemicals do sting when applied and can cause cracking of the skin. I can put up with it, but for those with a stronger form of the condition, the effects would be very painful, so they are not a global solution.

[LHT28]

I’m someone who regularly uses the hand sanitizers when onboard. Due to my hobby of many years, working on car mechanicals has left me with mild psoriasis on my hands and the sanitizer chemicals do sting when applied and can cause cracking of the skin. I can put up with it, but for those with a stronger form of the condition, the effects would be very painful, so they are not a global solution.

Washing with soap & water is the best but that can be bad for people with Psorasis or eczema on their hands as well

It is not good either way

[Ken the cruiser]

I stand corrected. I was going based on what other cruise lines use since we've never been on Oceania. They use Purell.

No problem. I believe on most of the mass market ships, Purell is the goo of choice. In fact we were very pleasantly surprised when we first used the hand sanitizer on the Sirena as it evaporated quite quickly rather than being a gooie mess. But, as others have mentioned, frequent hand washing is still the number one means to sanitize your hands.

Edited May 31, 2018 by Ken the cruiser

[Ken the cruiser]

Washing with soap & water is the best but that can be bad for people with Psorasis or eczema on their hands as well

It is not good either way

And that's OK too. We're just glad Oceania is stepping up their game with a higher quality of hand sanitizer for those that are able to use it.

[LHT28]

And that's OK too. We're just glad Oceania is stepping up their game with a higher quality of hand sanitizer for those that are able to use it.

I believe O has used the Gemstar brand for several years now

 

& the spray bottle for the cabin has also been around a few years

 

people that are new to Oceania are used to lesser quality elsewhere

[vaitape]

As a person who lives with eczema/contact dermatitis, I carry a small bottle of hand lotion (can be found in the travel section of CVS, Rite Aide etc) and use that to lubricate/soothe after hand sanitizer use. Work very well....

[Janet-]

I was on this cruise and in talking with people affected, it seems the gastro problems were related to food and drink on shore. In Guatemala I observed quite a few people drinking margaritas with ice, and in Costa Rica prepared drinks were offered along with a snack of french fries. I believe that people on O tours might have thought that as long as it was an O tour, food and drink were safe. The warning about taking care in Mexico came too late.

 

 

No matter what the cause, O reacted as if it were Noro, and put sanitary measures in place. The Captain and the CD informed us several times that those affected (and their companion in the cabin) were in isolation. It was a long 2 or 3 days for those directly affected. It was certainly strange to go for dinner and find only a sea of bare linen covered tables. The crew had a lot of extra work, and got a good start at least on sanitizing the cabins during the 5 hours we waited to debark after clearing our cabins. Inconvenient, sure, but no quibbles with the steps O took to keep us safe.

What time did you have to vacate your cabin? We were on the following cruise and embarkation didn't start until 6.30pm

[northerngirls]

11:00 am...I think we disembarked around 4

 

 

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[StanandJim]

11:00 am...I think we disembarked around 4

 

 

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Why would you hang around with all your luggage in the Public Rooms for FIVE more hours?:confused:

[rallydave]

Why would you hang around with all your luggage in the Public Rooms for FIVE more hours?:confused:

 

The ship was extremely late to SF. They had to wait for the ship to be docked. Various reason and theories why the ship was about 7 hours late from sea conditions to engine issues. Ship didn't actually depart SF until about noon the next day again for various not fully explained reasons. All explained or theorized in the Miami to SF thread.

[northerngirls]

Why would you hang around with all your luggage in the Public Rooms for FIVE more hours?:confused:

 

 

 

Ummm... we had to be out of our rooms at 11:00 am. We were not cleared to disembark until 4ish. We didn’t have any choice but to be in the public areas for 5 hours.

 

 

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[SusieV]

Please use the hand sanitisers.

Even if you don't care whether or not your hands are clean, you'll at least have the satisfaction of your fellow shipmates thinking you're concocting an evil, dastardly plan.

 

I don't use the hand sanitizers onboard any of the ships. I prefer to wash my hands with soap and water. My skin dries out painfully when I use a sanitizer and I am not willing to be in pain just so people don't think I have a dastardly plan.

[Ken the cruiser]

We’ve given up worrying about everyone else. We sanitize our hands going into and out of public areas like dining rooms and the theater and wash our hands when we get back to the room. Since there is nothing you can do about the hygiene practices of others, why worry about it. If they want to get sick, that’s their problem.

 

We’re just glad O uses a high quality sanitizer rather than Purell like a lot of the other lines do.

 

However, I will say something if I see an inpatient person grabbing the tongs in the Terrace Cafe when a server has stepped away for a moment.

[roothy123]

That seems to be the way they say it these days since they do not want to call it Noro. Most times the same thing.

I'm not an expert, but I checked the CDC website recently. I believe it says noro is not very common on cruise ships. Apparently GI distress is more likely to be another form rather than noro or a kind of GI distress that hasn't or can't be specifically identified. In 2018, Azamara, Celebrity, Cunard, Silversea and a couple other lines have had outbreaks. Oceania is not alone, although it does seem to hit Regatta more than the other O ships. I wonder if that's because of the places she goes or because it doesn't take too many people who are on a small ship like that to make up the 2% threshold for which an outbreak has to be reported. (I'm not sure if that's 2% of crew and cruisers combined or what, but assume combined.)

 

I boarded Regatta in San Francisco, after a very long wait while the ship was sanitized and inspected. Then when she finally left (the next day - ouch! missed Oregon stop), Homeland Security observed our safety drill. I don't know if that was related or just random, but that was the first time in 12 cruises I had experienced that. For 2 days we couldn't use the pool, library books, etc. and couldn't get our own coffee. Please, everyone, you're not just jeopardizing yourself by not using handwashing and sanitizers, you're inconveniencing a lot of passengers. I'm not crazy about using those sanitizers all the time, but I do it. It's really not a big deal.

Edited June 11, 2018 by roothy123