Thinking About Giving Up Cruising

[Oakman58]

Original poster here.  We did not get sick on our cruise on the Breakaway this past September so when we came back we booked another cruise and will be leaving the end of this week on the Epic.  We added some precautions which include wiping down everything with Lysol wipes and this includes the airline seats, trays and armrests.  We also booked a 7 day Alaskan cruise out of Seattle on the Holland Eurodam.

[canadjineh]

On 1/13/2020 at 3:20 PM, Kamlhj said:

My urologist and therapist suggested that I also give up cruising since I suffer from paruresis and certain cruise situations could prove damaging, but I love cruising probably more than anything else, plus those situations are extremely unlikely, so I'll continue to cruise. Of course, a simple catheter would do the trick, but doctors are reluctant to proscribe them. Btw, I only got sick after my last cruise.

Don't let this setback stop you from living as full a life as possible.  My husband still works full time in a physically demanding job and we enjoy travel a lot, although we are no longer able to do backpacking trips travelling on 'chicken buses' to small villages in less developed countries.

 

My husband must self-catheterize twice a day and we still travel quite a bit.  He also has to take along enough alcohol for sterilization, disposable gloves, a supply of sealed sterile catheters, and protective underwear for any trips where we can't access pharmacies or drugstores to buy same.  (Old bike accident and urethral damage causing bladder damage)  You don't need a doctor to prescribe a catheter (maybe you are talking about an in-dwelling cath?) - you can buy them from legitimate drugstores/pharmacies and online medical supply stores.  He could learn how to self-cath at a community health care clinic where they teach him how to do it, then practice in his own bathroom til he gets more comfortable with the procedure.  At least that's how they do it here in Canada, don't see why it would be different in the US (except for a clinic visit cost, I suppose.)

 

 

[ReligBookFreak]

On 6/27/2019 at 11:14 PM, Azure Moon said:

When I've felt under the weather during or after a cruise I'm pretty sure it came from the airplane flights. 

 

 I now also turn the air off when I arrive at my seat on planes.  I think the blowing air directly on me affected my sinuses and maybe blew more germs at my face, eyes, nose, throat.  So far with the air not blowing at me seems to have helped my eyes and throat not dry out so much too.

Actually, the opposite is true. When you turn off the air flow, you end up with stagnant air. Stagnant air breeds germs. By leaving the blowing air on full, but NOT aimed directly on you, germs are blown away from you.

Alan

[LoriPhil]

Drinking water on the flight helps keep those moisture-membranes moist as well.  We too bring the wipes for flights, pre-stay hotel and cabin wipe-down, as it provides me with a comfort level that I’ve done the best I can on a preventive-basis (ok, I’ll also admit to having put the TV remote in a thin plastic bag from the grocery produce section so I know it’s reasonably gunk-free).  
 

DH and I both take meds for a number of challenges and a cruise offers us the opportunity to travel in comfort.  We do consider Itineraries  more carefully now, and long flights are better for us in BusinessClass so we must factor those costs into the price of the trip.  

[TorontoSailor]

On 6/20/2019 at 10:48 AM, Heidi13 said:

It is often referred to as cruise ship crud. In addition to the usual hygiene precautions try getting out of the air-conditioned spaces more often and use a nasal moisturiser.

 

GREAT advice! Thanks.

[Globehoppers]

On 6/20/2019 at 6:03 PM, Mike981 said:

Another thought, you can build up your immune system at home before you go. And that means you have to be careful with over cleaning and using antibacterial soap. I used to tell people that a couple of months before I travel, I go to the mall and lick all of the hand rails and door knobs. But actually my wife has an in-home daycare and we have germs coming and going all day through the front door.

 

There is some truth to your comment.  We adopted a 7 y/o girl from a Romanian children's home in 1990.  She never got sick having been exposed to just about everything one could imagine.  Today she is health and has given us 4 wonderful grand-girls.  Americans are much more prone to "mall illnesses" than people in most other cultures.

[Von & John]

 What is “Mall Illnesses”?

Edited February 19, 2020 by Von & John

[Globehoppers]

8 hours ago, Von & John said:

 What is “Mall Illnesses”?

See "Mike981" above.