Is it just me?

[MISTER 67]

I'll start this off by saying that in no way am I picking on Celebrity but because I think the Celebrity board of all the boards I visit is this is the one I respect the most. That plus we were on the Equinox on the 8/31 cruise. Here is what is going on with me and its driving me crazy. I'm 73 and in very good health but in 6 out of the last 8 cruises I have come down with horrible colds after dis-embarking the ship,  this has happened on Princess, RCCL, MSC, HAL and now with Celebrity. In 61 cruises we have never come down with the Norovirus but down through the years I've had more than my share of colds after a cruise, we live in Florida and only get colds after a cruise. Is this going on with anybody else? We are extremely careful when onboard using the hand sanitizers just about every time we pass by one. Is this happening to others? Any tips than you might hep us out with would be gratefully appreciated.

[hulamoon]

It happens with me and my husband occasionally. I had been blaming the flights, I had not considered the cruise itself except when mos to the CC board reported a deep cough afterwards. We do better with less travel to port. I am back to Europe soon, so the theory will again be tested.

[chemmo]

Whilst I generally don’t exit the ship with a cold I do find I my nasal passages really dry out on a cruise...Also I can wake up with a tickly throat. Probably a combination of air conditioning, pool water, sunshine....I usually use a mild nasal spray which is part cleanser and part allergy. Since I have used it far less symptoms...

 

It can be hard to differentiate between ‘cold’, ‘allergy’, ‘sinus infection’....May be worth discussing with your doctor. By the way most of the pillows on Celebrity cruises have a feather component, could that be part (or all) of the problem?

Edited September 12, 2019 by chemmo

[Cruise Junky]

I've had it really bad on two occasions, one HAL with no flights and one Celebrity with long flights. 

[TeaBag]

I have had some terrible colds which resulted in Bronchitis and a trip to the ship's Dr.  I think it is what you breathe and no amount of hand sanitizing can protect you from the droplets in the air.  Yes, I think you can get infected on planes but my colds have started well into the cruise proving I caught it on the cruise.  You never know when you step into an elevator who has sneezed etc while on there before you.  I have taken garlic pills in the past and found they helped some.  I'm sorry you get so many colds as it really does affect your enjoyment of the cruise.

 

Maybe ask your Dr for something to strengthen your immune system.

Edited September 12, 2019 by TeaBag

[JFontaine]

I haven't gotten a cold in more than 40 cruises and all but 3 with flights (knock on wood).  I also avoid  public bathrooms  on ships and crowded places, except for the casino and muster.  I rarely eat in the buffet.  I dont use hand sanitizer but wash my hands very often (after all meals and the minute I walk into the cabin).  My diet is unhealthy but I take vitamin C every day.  Hope this helps someone. 

[MISTER 67]

6 minutes ago, TeaBag said:

I have had some terrible colds which resulted in Bronchitis and a trip to the ship's Dr.  I think it is what you breathe and no amount of hand sanitizing can protect you from the droplets in the air.  Yes, I think you can get infected on planes but my colds have started well into the cruise proving I caught it on the cruise.  You never know when you step into an elevator who has sneezed etc while on there before you.  I have taken garlic pills in the past and found they helped some.  I'm sorry you get so many colds as it really does affect your enjoyment of the cruise.

 

Maybe ask your Dr for something to strengthen your immune system.

Actually I come down with the cold after leaving the ship, most of the time its been the next day or two. Only twice in 61 cruises have I come down with a cold while on the ship. We live in Florida and drive to the various ports so no problem with planes.

[If only]

I have the same problem but what we do now is always have a balcony cabin & before we retire each night we open the balcony door & cabin door to replace the stale air in the cabin.  This seems to work for us.  One time we tried an inside cabin & both came down with some throat thing, so never again, miss the fresh air in the cabin.

Edited September 12, 2019 by If only

[SFCAcruiser]

4 minutes ago, MISTER 67 said:

Actually I come down with the cold after leaving the ship, most of the time its been the next day or two. Only twice in 61 cruises have I come down with a cold while on the ship. We live in Florida and drive to the various ports so no problem with planes.

 

I rarely get colds after a cruise. I try to be conscious of hand washing, in addition to using sanitizers. I am also conscious of where I put my hands and fingers; i.e.  not using finger tips to press elevator buttons, using paper towel to open  public bathroom doors, and just generally frequent hand washing. Some of the newer ships have installed hand washing sinks at the entrance to the buffet, and I like that approach

[Kwaj girl]

Also, no matter how much hand sanitizer you use, keep your hands away from your face....eyes, nose, mouth

[I_r_a]

Hi M,

 

No, it is not just you.

 

Ira

[mafig]

We both have had Noro.  DH once, me once, and once both of us.

 

Now I take those sani wipes and wipe down the stateroom.

 

I have to admit I did not read your post and the threads that followed all the way through but I have to ask if this happens more in the winter than summer or spring.

 

I find that dh and I to a lesser degree suffer from coughs after a cruise.  We cruise many lines so it is not just Celebrity.

 

I have a theory, and I know few people agree with me, but I believe the room stewards spread the germs.  They're in a hurry and don't change their cleaning cloths and hence spread germs.  

 

Just drink a lot of alcohol!

[MISTER 67]

9 minutes ago, mafig said:

We both have had Noro.  DH once, me once, and once both of us.

 

Now I take those sani wipes and wipe down the stateroom.

 

I have to admit I did not read your post and the threads that followed all the way through but I have to ask if this happens more in the winter than summer or spring.

 

I find that dh and I to a lesser degree suffer from coughs after a cruise.  We cruise many lines so it is not just Celebrity.

 

I have a theory, and I know few people agree with me, but I believe the room stewards spread the germs.  They're in a hurry and don't change their cleaning cloths and hence spread germs.  

 

Just drink a lot of alcohol!

Time of the year doesn't matter, just got off the Equinox last Saturday and woke up Monday with a sore throat and the rest of the week has been miserable. 

You may be right about the stewards and how well they clean the cabins. Lot of pressure trying to get the cabins ready for a shipload of new passengers plus they have a lot more cabins to clean than in previous years. 

 

Edited September 12, 2019 by MISTER 67

[mafig]

We enjoy going to casinos.  Las Vegas, Atlantic City, Biloxi …….

When there we also go to buffets.

 

While in the casinos we play slots,.....think of all those buttons we push, and how many people have pushed them before us.....

 

(Knock wood here) but we've never gotten sick on a casino vacation.  We have on cruises.

[hcat]

In Jan we and the folks from  nearby tables  all started with bad coughs just before the cruise ended.  We call it "cruise cough"...  Have had it before but not always. Not sure if its the gen environment ,  being with so many folks from all over or ????

[mafig]

2 minutes ago, hcat said:

In Jan we and the folks from  nearby tables  all started with bad coughs just before the cruise ended.  We call it "cruise cough"...  Have had it before but not always. Not sure if its the gen environment ,  being with so many folks from all over or ????

Yes, that's what I said in my post too.  A cough.  Wonder why?

[DENIE]

We have a couple times, including our last Celebrity Caribbean cruise in 11/2018.  After we got back to AZ, we called our SIL (who shared our stateroom) in WI, and yes, she had a cold too.  Maybe we will take some Airborne with us on our Mediterranean cruise in 11/2019!

 

[Cruise Raider]

6 hours ago, mafig said:

Yes, that's what I said in my post too.  A cough.  Wonder why?

 

We cruise rather frequently and I've noticed the same thing in the last couple of years.  I always seem to get a very deep cough towards the end of a cruise or shortly after we get home.  Many of these don't involve air travel either ... 

Never used to get sick before but it has me worried about booking anything longer than a week now.  

[CruiseLifeIsTheBest]

8 hours ago, MISTER 67 said:

I'll start this off by saying that in no way am I picking on Celebrity but because I think the Celebrity board of all the boards I visit is this is the one I respect the most. That plus we were on the Equinox on the 8/31 cruise. Here is what is going on with me and its driving me crazy. I'm 73 and in very good health but in 6 out of the last 8 cruises I have come down with horrible colds after dis-embarking the ship,  this has happened on Princess, RCCL, MSC, HAL and now with Celebrity. In 61 cruises we have never come down with the Norovirus but down through the years I've had more than my share of colds after a cruise, we live in Florida and only get colds after a cruise. Is this going on with anybody else? We are extremely careful when onboard using the hand sanitizers just about every time we pass by one. Is this happening to others? Any tips than you might hep us out with would be gratefully appreciated.

We were on the same cruise and DH has been suffering from a dry cough and cold/flu like symptoms since Sunday night. We have experienced it in the past, I call it “cruise crud”. I have not had any problem and DS has not either this time but will say we were off the ship on excursions a lot more than DH, only thing that seems different. Hum...

 

[hiccups]

On cruises we're exposed to a lot of "new" germs thanks to people getting on the ship from all over the world.  It's like when you first send your child to daycare, or a teacher in their first year in the classroom--until they build up some immunity to those new germs, lots of colds and other illnesses.

[Mike981]

7 minutes ago, hiccups said:

 

On cruises we're exposed to a lot of "new" germs thanks to people getting on the ship from all over the world.  It's like when you first send your child to daycare, or a teacher in their first year in the classroom--until they build up some immunity to those new germs, lots of colds and other illnesses.

 

 

And to go off of this, and this is just my theory, people don't allow their systems to build up immunity. It's easy when you are in a static environment at home and sanitize everything. But just like getting getting exercise, your immune system needs to keep getting stronger.

Then add that some are hyper aware of their health when they go on vacation and no one knows exactly when and where they got sick...

[Iamthesea]

Both of my girls are teachers.  Both come down with colds with-in the first two weeks back at school.  One daughter has a 3 year old in the schools daycare.  She was sent home with a high 24 hour fever twice in her first 3 weeks back.  So far...knock on wood...my grandson has stayed healthy.

 

I went to the doctor last week because I needed refills on meds.  They said that I needed a check-up because I had not been to THEM in 3 years. Saw the doc.  He did the usual exam, including putting a stethoscope up my nose.  Guess who came down with a cold 2 days after my visit! 😥  I had not been out of the house for 3 days prior to the visit, and came straight home afterward.   Cold started with a sore throat on Saturday afternoon into Sunday evening.  Head and nose stuff started Monday. Now in full fledge coughing mode. 

 

My husband started symptoms yesterday evening and still has the sore throat.   We are suppose to fly out for a trip on Tuesday.  I SHOULD be on the mend by then, but he will not be.  I feel badly that he caught the cold from me even though I tried to be careful.

 

In 44 cruises, we have each come home with a cold twice, and had one develop during the trip twice each.  I blame the air. We are really, really careful on the ship.

[ORD1166]

I have been very lucky to avoid the "cruise crud" over 30+ cruises..  My wife is another story.  Seems to catch it nearly every cruise.  Symptoms sometimes last 6-8 weeks!  Came home one time with pneumonia and missed 12 more work days before doctor would release her.  

 

Read a hint on cruise critic a while back to ask cabin steward on the first day to have the air filter in the cabin changed. Seemed to help.  Just in case, we travel with lots of OTC cold meds, cough drops, etc.  Super expensive (sometimes unavailable) on the ship.

 

Healthy sailing to all!

[Shadow9612]

14 minutes ago, ORD1166 said:

Read a hint on cruise critic a while back to ask cabin steward on the first day to have the air filter in the cabin changed. Seemed to help. 

Oh, wow.  Hadn't heard about that. Thank you !

Edited September 13, 2019 by Shadow9612
Typo

[jasm8449]

Although we take every practical precaution on the flight and on the cruise, DH and I often come down with a cold near the end or in the days after returning from a cruise.  I actually now stock the freezer with homemade chicken soup before we leave, so it's ready and waiting for us if we come home with colds.