Mariner Alaska Cruise Viral outbreak

[Travelcat2]

We use Germstar Noro when we go aboard. We spray down everything in the cabin before we touch anything. Then, we check for bedbugs. Only after that do we start to unpack. Germstar's 2 oz bottle fits in your purse and can be carried aboard airplanes, too. As a former flight attendant, let me suggest you use it liberally. It's available at Amazon and it will kill Norovirus.

 

Norovirus is very hard to kill. That's why the hand sanitizers aboard ship don't do squat. It's just window dressing.

 

My cruising experience is limited to Cunard and river cruises. My first RSS cruise is in January. The protocol on Cunard is no one ever shakes hands, ever. Prevention is always in place. They take sanitation and safety very seriously. I'm hopeful to find the same standards on RSS. I certainly plan to do my part.

 

Great post and important information. Amazon has a few products (wipes, etc.) that kill Norovirus. There is a new product by Purell that has won an award this year. It is Purell Multi Surface Disinfectant. It kills norovirus (in addition to other viruses) and is safe for pets, kids and is fine around food. It is new and very popular - gets backordered frequently right now. While not a wipe for your hands, it could easily be dispensed into a small spray bottle that can be used on airplanes, buses, in the suite, etc. for all places that you will be touching.

 

For wipes there is Clorox Hydrogen Peroxide Cleaner Disinfectant Wipes (also kills Noro and is available on Amazon. Again I have to dispense them because they come in a container too large to carry.

 

There is one Captain on Regent (Serena) that has the no hand shaking policy. Sadly, she is the only one. I keep hoping that the policy will spread to all Captains on all Regent ships.

[SadieC]

Does anyone know how the Mariner is doing now?

[TravelnAl]

We were on the Mariner with Capt. Serena and we had a Code "Red". So much for that policy.

[gnomie1]

While everyone wants to be careful to avoid illness, esp when traveling, be warned, it can actually work against you. On one of my first cruises (not Regent), I unfortunately contracted a life threatening infection - while in the ER and ICU, literally the first question asked of me by any of the doctors treating me was "did you recently spend anytime in a hospital OR a cruise ship? I was stunned by the question because I had returned home from a cruise only hours earlier. As was explained to me, as a result to the overuse of disinfectants, we now have super bugs which are resistant to most antibiotics and can cause death. While once considered rare, this is now becoming more common, even in individuals who are young and healthy.

 

gnomie

[Johnthesailor]

Disinfectants do NOT lead to antibiotic resistance. They are different things.

[Travelcat2]

Disinfectants do NOT lead to antibiotic resistance. They are different things.

 

 

Agree with you 100%. It should also be noted that every doctor's office and hospital waiting room where we live have disinfectants for patients to use. Doctors and nurses use them constantly and I seriously doubt if they would compromise their immune system. However, there are still quite a few people that believe this very old wives tale (or perhaps in the old days the disinfectants did have problems that have since been corrected).

 

TravelnAl

- yes, norovirus broke out last year in Alaska and continued on and off until they reached Miami where the ship was thoroughly cleaned and - yes - Serena was Captain. She was understandably concerned about it returning since we were going to a part of the world where the Mariner has had issues with Norovirus previously. While no one can prove that the no handshaking rule is the reason that we stayed healthy but shortly after Mariner left Miami to return to South America, it returned with a vengeance. Serena had strongly suggested to the Captain that boarded to continue the no handshaking policy. General Manager Andreas was so impressed that he said he will try to have the policy implemented on cruises that he is on.

[gnomie1]

. However, there are still quite a few people that believe this very old wives tale (or perhaps in the old days the disinfectants did have problems that have since been corrected).

 

.

 

Not a wive's tale - in the past few years there have been numerous peer reviewed scientific studies regarding this very topic:

 

http://sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/2017/say-goodbye-antibacterial-soaps-fda-banning-household-item

 

http://stm.sciencemag.org/content/10/452/eaar6115

 

https://www.jic.ac.uk/news-and-events/news/2017/07/new-study-links-antibiotic-resistance-common-household-disinfectant-triclosan

 

Many other peer reviewed studies - however, the journal articles are not available on the general domain so they cannot be posted here.

 

gnomie :)

[Travelcat2]

Where is our resident doctor when you need her:)? Okay - so you can spin this anyway you want. Here are some arguments on the subject of super bugs, etc. https://search.yahoo.com/yhs/search?hspart=domaindev&hsimp=yhs-st_emea&p=do+hand+sanitizers+promote+super+bugs&type=dhm_A0GJW_ext_bsf__alt__ddc_srch_searchpulse_net and certainly more articles could be found.

 

The articles posted above were more about alcohol based products. What I posted about earlier on this page is about a fairly new peroxide based product - not alcohol based. This is what I currently being used in most hospitals. The Purell product is very new has a very low amount of alcohol in it (29.4%). Regent uses "Germstar" on their ships and it is 63% alcohol.

 

In any case, I have a hard time buying into the theory that these particular sanitizers are promoting super bugs (which would also indicate that hospitals, doctors offices and cruise ships are doing the same thing.

[lisajltx]

Great discussion, as appropriate use of disinfectants is near and dear to my heart. It is very important that the directions for using disinfectants are followed.

 

For example, to kill norovirus, Lysol has to remain wet on the surface for 10 minutes to be effective. How many of us just spray and wipe then go along our way thinking that we have killed germs? Also, the surfaces have to be clean of dirt/soil for the disinfectant to work, so you may need to preclean.

 

Different disinfectants have different wet contact times for effectiveness. It is very important to read the product label and use the product as directed. Just my 2 cents as an expert in hospital infection control.

 

Lisa

[RachelG]

Ok, I’m back.

 

In short, most infectious diseases on board a ship were brought onboard my someone who was infected prior to embarkation. They may or have not been aware, depending on when they were infected and then when they developed symptoms which can be anywhere from a couple of days to 2 weeks.

 

I try to avoid shaking hands as much as possible as it is definitely a germ spreader. I do hug a little, but not an in your face hug.

 

Personally I think hand sanitizers are pretty ineffective at spreading disease. They may kill some bacteria on your hands very temporarily, but I think relying on them and thinking you are safe from infection is ill informed. I personally rely on good old fashioned soap and water.

 

Antibiotic resistance and resistance to antimicrobial hand sanitizer are two different things, but both exist. The reason infections spread on cruise ships is probably related to neither, as most infections on cruise ships are viral, not bacterial. Not to say a bacterial infection outbreak couldn’t happen, but that is not the usual case.

[Travelcat2]

Thanks Rachel!

[TravelnAl]

[quote name=

TravelnAl

- yes, norovirus broke out last year in Alaska and continued on and off until they reached Miami where the ship was thoroughly cleaned and - yes - Serena was Captain. She was understandably concerned about it returning since we were going to a part of the world where the Mariner has had issues with Norovirus previously. While no one can prove that the no handshaking rule is the reason that we stayed healthy but shortly after Mariner left Miami to return to South America, it returned with a vengeance. Serena had strongly suggested to the Captain that boarded to continue the no handshaking policy. General Manager Andreas was so impressed that he said he will try to have the policy implemented on cruises that he is on.[/quote]

 

We were on the Miami-Lima leg with Captain Serena and we had a code "Red".