On Spirit, Massive Noro Virus Outbreak

[scottie99]

We are constantly getting messages about Noro virus on board.

 

Staff serving all food in buffet. No condiments on table, whole ship being cleaned from top to bottom.

[Son of a son of a ...]

Yikes!

[lisajltx]

Oh no!  How many are affected? Hopefully, the measures taken by the staff prove to be effective!  We board in a couple of weeks.  Wash your hands frequently!!

[cwsdks48]

We just got off the Spirit. No problems as far as we could tell. Rough seas the last couple of days with Alicante stop being cancelled. Puke bags in the stair wells. Sea sickness would be a likely cause for extensive cleanup as well.

[dexddd]

As Mking recently from Escape reported ahead of announcements and regulars would know, once you see things disappear off tables and servers in buffet, it is noro.

Edited January 28, 2019 by dexddd

[scottie99]

They haven’t told us numbers, just that it’s severe.  

 

I have been on ships before with the virus but have nevertheless seen such deep cleaning. 

 

When you you hand your card over for a drink, it is sanitised!

[mking8288]

Scottie99, thanks for the 2nd. update/posting & sharing this ... hopefully, they can bring it under control and manage it with the aggressive steps & measures.  We're on the Escape & dealt with it for 8 days, until we got back home - in good health & avoided catching the virus(es)  Wasn't too much fun and knowing that Washy Washy itself, isn't really enough. 

 

Our ship's Captain & the CD referred to as the "Outbreak Response Plan" per US-CDC & public health guidelines, the most rigorous cleaning, preventive, monitoring & hygiene measures for passengers and crew to deal with it.  

 

As of 4 or 5 days ago, a regular CC'er onboard the Escape reported that the full nine yards are (were) still deployed - full force - to guard/protect all guests & crew members ... 

 

Assumed that over 2%, if not 3% of the crew and/or passengers were reporting the symptoms before it triggered them to officially "announced" or acknowledged - per guidelines; and, for a ship in that class, looking at 80 to 120 persons affected with the "bugs" (hopefully, not more.)   

 

Made a friendly suggestions to ship's onboard management to consider informing everyone in NOT just English, but consider other key languages spoken - or, get corporate HQ involved to approve it - not all passengers are fluent in the language and/or familiar with the nature of the viruses ... I shake my head watching some of the personal hygiene practices, even when majority are doing it, or at least making an effort to try & do the "washy washy" thing.  

 

What was going on in my mind then - there is always a chance that NCL would cancel and/or cut short the remaining or rest of the cruise itinerary, and head back to home port.  And, the vessel might not be allowed to dock & passengers confined and not permitted to go ashore ... luckily, we didn't.  

 

This is flu season and trending higher on land ... Walk into a long-term care facility to do a routine visit and the entire floor of a unit has been under quarantine - no visitors allowed & all others must report first to the charge nurse.  Noro is more frequent than we sometimes realized, when large # of people are gathered and in close contact ... "no hand shakes and no touchy, touchy either"  

 

Please keep us posted and be well, stay healthy.  

[luv2kroooz]

Cant agree more about the hygiene. People not washing their hands, running their hands through their hair while in line, and the absolute worst ----eating with your hands while in the buffet line and then going back in to the buffet to touch the tongs for more food. You even see people walking around with a plate eating, and licking their hands. Please don't start eating until you are finished taking all of your food. And then if you go back to the buffet, please re-sanitize your hands. Rant over. Thank you.

[newmexicoNita]

On 1/28/2019 at 2:09 AM, scottie99 said:

We are constantly getting messages about Noro virus on board.

 

Staff serving all food in buffet. No condiments on table, whole ship being cleaned from top to bottom.

what a pain. We have only been through this once .They even wiped off every menu after each use. We had to ask for salt and pepper. Either we got the little packages or the wait staff would salt and pepper our food. This actually was the week after the breakout. We still had a breakout, but thankfully not that bad. 

[brandybit]

Hopefully they get this contained - we are due to sail on her Feb 3!  We just had this same problem in October on Jewel of the Seas out of Rome.  We couldn't get in our cabins until evening because they were deep cleaning everything on the ship.

[FLAHAM]

I was on the escape and thought having crew members serve me everything from the buffet was kind of nice.  Wanted ketchup?  A crew member handed you a little cup.

[Newleno]

11 hours ago, scottie99 said:

They haven’t told us numbers, just that it’s severe.  

 

I have been on ships before with the virus but have nevertheless seen such deep cleaning. 

 

When you you hand your card over for a drink, it is sanitised!

Once on a back to back cruise they gave us a free excursion to Rome so they could thoroughly clean the ship after a noro outbreak

[Newleno]

10 hours ago, blcruising said:

Cant agree more about the hygiene. People not washing their hands, running their hands through their hair while in line, and the absolute worst ----eating with your hands while in the buffet line and then going back in to the buffet to touch the tongs for more food. You even see people walking around with a plate eating, and licking their hands. Please don't start eating until you are finished taking all of your food. And then if you go back to the buffet, please re-sanitize your hands. Rant over. Thank you.

Yep that is one of my peeves, I dont understand why there is not a video in your stateroom  about how one needs to conduct themselves at the buffet, I know for a fact this would cut down the NORO.

[scottie99]

5 hours ago, brandybit said:

Hopefully they get this contained - we are due to sail on her Feb 3!  We just had this same problem in October on Jewel of the Seas out of Rome.  We couldn't get in our cabins until evening because they were deep cleaning everything on the ship.

 

We have been informed that all cleaning and disinfecting measures will be maintained until we return to Barcelona and into the next cruise (sorry).

 

All announcements are repeated in about 6 languages. 

 

There was a very very pointed message from the Captain about passengers who didn’t adhere to being confined to their cabin yesterday. Whilst I do not condone this in the least, it must be very difficult to be confined to such small cabins ( we are in balcony and find that small). There is a very limited TV service on the Spirit with virtually no movies or repeats of shows to watch. 

 

A guy 2 doors along from us was in the midst of reporting his coming down with the bug when we passed by yesterday. On hearing he was being confined, his question was, “ I need to get out for a smoke”!

[ziggyuk]

The problem is you don't always think of the places you can pick it up.

For example, you sit down and the first thing you do is grip the chair on both sides and pull it forward under you, exactly what most others have done before you.

[don't-use-real-name]

37 minutes ago, ziggyuk said:

The problem is you don't always think of the places you can pick it up.

For example, you sit down and the first thing you do is grip the chair on both sides and pull it forward under you, exactly what most others have done before you.

In the Buffet the condiments - salt & pepper shakers - the undersides of the chairs as mentioned previously - the table

surfaces the wire racks that hold the condiments - while unlikely the napkins with silverware wrapped inside

 

Just for starters -

 

Elevator buttons -

Hand rails everywhere on the ship -

Door handles - on any door including your own cabin door -

House telephones anywhere on the ship -

Arm rests in the theatre -

Any furniture anywhere on the ship -

Books and periodicals in the ships library -

Ships Daily newsprint and shore excursion literature - cruise next forms -

Gift shops any gifts touched by a previous looker or customer -

Same for Duty Free shop -

While clothing items are short term - who is to determine what short term is ? -

Menus in all restaurants -

Anything touched anywhere in a rest room -

Shaking hands with anyone on the ship - fist bumps included -

Footwear handled by hands in putting on and taking off - where have you stepped - into what ? -

 

Notably all the stuff right in front of eyes -

MORE -

Someone wearing surgical cleaning gloves - where and what did they touch while cleaning ?

 

Finally your key card - who has handled your key card getting a drink UBP dining coupon SDP

 

Probably not all that bad - just makes you think for a moment - - -

So how do they clean - deep clean a ship - power wash it with a high pressure bleach spray ?

[ziggyuk]

That was my point, it's last contact, you think you have washed and prepared for eating but then, without thinking you touch the underside of the chair to slide it forward or pick up the pepper shaker, next you tear your bread roll appart with your hand, everyone knows you tear not cut (even you cut, you hold the roll with one hand), you then keep the bread on a side plate and pick it up with your fingers to eat it.

 

[luv2kroooz]

We carry the pocket sized hand sanitizer and apply it after we sit down to eat. It has worked for us in prior cruises, although I agree that you can not possibly defend against ever possible scenario. You have to do the best you can and use good common sense.

[luv2kroooz]

37 minutes ago, Battle Bots said:

 

 

You do realize that those 'sanitizers do absolutely nothing to avoid a virus right?  Just because you did not get sick on the previous cruises does not mean that the sanitizer "worked".  It just means you did not get sick!

I do realize that, yes. There is no substitute for good personal hygiene - washing your hands frequently with soap and hot water, not eating in line at the buffet and then touching things people behind you have to touch, etc.

[macandlucy]

Alcohol based hand sanitizers are effective on both viral and bacterial illness (it's antibiotics that don't work on viruses).

[Visigoth]

[ziggyuk]

Depends which one you use, this is my choice and does work against Noro.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 31, 2019 by ziggyuk

[MillerWRHS]

13 minutes ago, ziggyuk said:

Depends which one you use, this is my choice and does work against Noro.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for sharing!

[lumpkin8]

Does anyone have recommendations for those who cannot use hand sanitizers?  I have severe excema on my hands, and cannot do the washy washy upon entrance to the dining areas.  I do wash my hands with soap and water very, very often, but it sure looks to most people that I am being dirty or intentionally non-compliant when I pass on the hand sanitizing offered at the dining venues.   Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[lisajltx]

There are some non alcohol wipes for hand hygiene that are individually wrapped which may be used instead of the alcohol sanitizer.  You will need to do some research to see if the specific active ingredient is effective against norovirus.  Amazon has several brands, just do a search.