Hand washing...

[AndyMichelle]

Does anybody admit to not washing their hands after using the toilet??? 

I have seen many passengers do it, but never met anybody who admits it. 

In case you are wondering, I am an ardent hand washer. 

Andy

[Harry Peterson]

Interesting topic, Andy.  And an important one.

 

It staggers me how many people don’t, even on a cruise ship, and in supermarkets where you can then see the same people digging their filthy hands into foodstuffs that other people then go on to buy.

 

Have to admit, though, that on a cruise we’ll always avoid the public lavatories if at all possible. And as many surfaces as possible!

[AndyMichelle]

9 minutes ago, Harry Peterson said:

Interesting topic, Andy.  And an important one.

 

It staggers me how many people don’t, even on a cruise ship, and in supermarkets where you can then see the same people digging their filthy hands into foodstuffs that other people then go on to buy.

 

Have to admit, though, that on a cruise we’ll always avoid the public lavatories if at all possible. And as many surfaces as possible!

I will use the loo's, but follow the rules with the paper towels etc. 

As for the rummaging, I have mentioned this before. On Aurora recently, a girl who had special needs, was left by her carers to help herself in the buffet, picking up bread rolls etc with her hands, sniffing them, then putting them back. 

That was the last time we used the buffet... 

Andy 

[Kendo44]

Lol when I saw the title I had visions of you washing your smalls in the sink.

i think it’s outrageous that people don’t wash their hands.

ive seen it so many times where people pick food up put it back don’t use tongues etc etc.

also seen plenty not wash their hands after using the bathrooms.

im paranoid about noro virus as I’ve had it after getting home from a cruise but I suspect I picked it up on the coach or at the services.

i won’t even touch a door handle or a handrail 

 

[AndyMichelle]

6 minutes ago, Kendo44 said:

Lol when I saw the title I had visions of you washing your smalls in the sink.

i think it’s outrageous that people don’t wash their hands.

ive seen it so many times where people pick food up put it back don’t use tongues etc etc.

also seen plenty not wash their hands after using the bathrooms.

im paranoid about noro virus as I’ve had it after getting home from a cruise but I suspect I picked it up on the coach or at the services.

i won’t even touch a door handle or a handrail 

 

I hope they don't use 'tongues'!!! 😊

As for my smalls, they are not as small as they used to be... 

The reason for posting this was just to see if anybody would own up and try to justify it. We know people do it, but why??? 

Andy

 

[chrisg1uk]

Just pure ignorance in my opinion.  No other possible explanation I can think of. 

 

The worst case I saw in the buffet was a lady who inserted her finger into one of the puddings.  When challenged she got aggressive  shouting at the staff member that she had washed her hands and she needed to check how hot it was.   Needless to say, the whole tray was taken away.   

[NoFlyGuy]

I would second most of what's been posted and am careful to wash my hands etc.

I don't go as far as to avoid touching handrails - I'm on holiday and want to relax and although less congested, one could  pick up a bug in an hotel on land if unlucky.

It is dreadful that some passengers handle food in the buffet and then replace it but equally I'm not convinced that tongs are a good idea.

In some ways I would rather someone pick up a bread roll, without touching anything else and take it back to their table, than use the tongs. If their cleanliness is lacking their bugs could be transferred to the tongs risking all those who subsequently use the tongs. 

[AndyMichelle]

20 minutes ago, NoFlyGuy said:

I would second most of what's been posted and am careful to wash my hands etc.

I don't go as far as to avoid touching handrails - I'm on holiday and want to relax and although less congested, one could  pick up a bug in an hotel on land if unlucky.

It is dreadful that some passengers handle food in the buffet and then replace it but equally I'm not convinced that tongs are a good idea.

In some ways I would rather someone pick up a bread roll, without touching anything else and take it back to their table, than use the tongs. If their cleanliness is lacking their bugs could be transferred to the tongs risking all those who subsequently use the tongs. 

Good point about the tongs, they must be riddled... 

Andy

[majortom10]

I have stood and watched people picking up sandwiches at afternoon tea in the buffet and open the sandwich to see what is inside and then close them back up and put them back on the tray even when in those days there was a sign above every tray of sandwiches saying what they were and this happened many times before Carnival merger.

[grapau27]

2 hours ago, AndyMichelle said:

Does anybody admit to not washing their hands after using the toilet??? 

I have seen many passengers do it, but never met anybody who admits it. 

In case you are wondering, I am an ardent hand washer. 

Andy

We always wash our hands and open the toilet door with a paper towel but rarely use an outside toilet.

Noro virus is awful and it would be no surprise if these people who don't wash their hands after a toilet visit are carriers of NV.

I wonder if any culprit owns up to their disgusting actions? Probably not Andy.

This behaviour is endemic and is not just related to P&O.

Graham

 

[Eglesbrech]

I avoid the public toilets whenever possible on ships but then I try to avoid them on shore as well. Poor personal hygiene and lack of hand washing is unfortunately not confined to cruises. 

 

Andy is correct though, no one ever admits to not washing their hands.

 

 

[AndyMichelle]

8 minutes ago, grapau27 said:

We always wash our hands and open the toilet door with a paper towel but rarely use an outside toilet.

Noro virus is awful and it would be no surprise if these people who don't wash their hands after a toilet visit are carriers of NV.

I wonder if any culprit owns up to their disgusting actions? Probably not Andy.

This behaviour is endemic and is not just related to P&O.

Graham

 

Wouldn't it be good if one of these people explained their actions Graham. 

Even if they said something like 'I can't always be bothered' or 'why should I bother when others don't'. 

I suppose nobody wants to admit to being 'that' person... 

Andy

[brian1]

I never buy uncovered bakery products in supermarkets here in the uk.After living in Italy,it's opened my eyes,one example Lidl Italia has an airlock type system where you drag bread rolls with tongs thru a hole and then retrieve them singularly.Fruit and veg,disposable gloves are provided for all products.It makes me sick here when everything is exposed and every dirty sod picks them up and puts them down again.The worse culprits are doddery old ladies.They are probably elite on most cruiselines,lol.

[grapau27]

58 minutes ago, AndyMichelle said:

Wouldn't it be good if one of these people explained their actions Graham. 

Even if they said something like 'I can't always be bothered' or 'why should I bother when others don't'. 

I suppose nobody wants to admit to being 'that' person... 

Andy

They probably do the same at home and don't realise it is wrong.

This thread is very relevant but it reminds me of the joke I have heard from several comedians on P&O when they say :-

Put your hand up if you are in an inside cabin.

Of course no-one puts their hand up.

 

[brian1]

Thing is noro never existed in their day,nor most of mine.As a plumber I often had pussy cuts and scrapes,I just wrapped them in gaffer tape and it was healed in 2 days.Now people get a scratch and are dead within 2 days of sepsis.Immunity to antibiotics is the problem.

[Ranchi]

I always use a paper towel to handle the deck quoits...oh heck, has that blown my green credentials?

Seriously if you are conscious of such things you are always touching your eyes, mouth etc with your hands. There was a post a few weeks back about a woman who got an eye infection on board and blamed poor hand hygiene in the buffet. 

I’m retired now but spent 30+ years working in labs where eye protection was mandatory. Fortunately we only had two incidents of eye contamination. Both occurred outside the lab as people who had been in the lab inadvertently touched their eye with a contaminated finger. 

Edited October 1, 2019 by Ranchi

[terrierjohn]

Good grief I do hope that our tiny forum community is not representative of the wider cruising population.  I accept that I do always wash my hands after visiting the toilet, but I don't I avoid the public toilets, and I don't obsess about what others do, and am not fearful of picking up germs from the buffet.  Maybe I am fortunate to have a fully functioning immune system, which might be because I don't worry about picking up germs and avoid them like the plague.  As for the assumption that P&O passengers are less hygienic than those of other cruise lines, the idea is simply preposterous.

[tartanexile81]

In reply to your question Andy, yes I always wash my hands after using the toilet- and not just on a cruise.  And I always use a tissue to open the doors if I have to use a public toilet - which I hate doing

 

I down think I'm obsessed about Norovirus but I take reasonable precautions to avoid catching it - well I think they're reasonable!! However that's not the only bug that can be passed on and I must admit I wash my hands constantly throughout the day on the cruise. My OH has a health condition and if he picks up a cough or cold it can ruin his cruise. I wish people would cover their mouths when coughing - but not with the same hand they pick up the tongs in the buffet!

[DamianG]

14 hours ago, AndyMichelle said:

I hope they don't use 'tongues'!!! 😊

As for my smalls, they are not as small as they used to be... 

The reason for posting this was just to see if anybody would own up and try to justify it. We know people do it, but why??? 

Andy

 

You just reminded me of an excursion down the River Nile many years ago with lunch included. One of the options was pasta with a separate tomato sauce. An older lady in our picked up the ladle from the sauce then raised it to her mouth for a taste before putting it back into the sauce. We carefully avoided anything she went near, however a few days later I caught my one and only dose of norovirus. Thankfully it was a very minor case and I was confined to the cabin for a couple of days only.

[kruzseeka]

We try not to be too OTT but do try to take sensible precautions as described by others above. We always sanitise on entering food areas (seldom use the buffet because of experiences like those of other posters) but even in the mdr, we sit down, hutch up our chair, handle the menu before eating, but after sanitising.  Like Dave we carry an Antiviral foam and just have a discrete squirt after handing back the menu and before handling our bread rolls etc.  It's not foolproof of course but any precautions must help reduce your chances of picking up bugs - but cross-contamination is always a danger.  Coughing and sneezing over things - and people - is another source of problems.  It would be great if everyone observed at least basic hygiene precautions out of respect of their fellow passengers if not concern for themselves.  

[Pentlands]

The worst thing about tongs is when there is no plate provided for them or when a plate is provided they are rested on the food trays, with all the hands that have handled them.

 

Sorry but in all hotels i am now very carefull. Taking wipes and sprays for the used points in the room, switches, TV controls (wonder how often they are cleaned and de -bugged by quick turnaround staff), door handles, toilet flush etc. I also carry Boots antivaral pocket spray as there is some doubt about how effective the hand sanitizer is on ship. Norro is a virus and the hand sanitizers are often antibacterial.

[2BACRUISER]

Its not just cruises, its anywhere theres self service motorway cafes are another instance specially the loos. Yuk. 

Totally in agreement re coughs and sneezes, somebody on a recent flight had a hacking cough and i thought hmm we'll all have that by end of next week and sure enough DH has the cough so far i've not succumbed but..........?

[dgs1956]

This is really interesting. I travel on P&O, I'm male and aged 63. Could some one tell me at what age I will become bad mannered and unhygienic have to wear funny coloured specs and it also appears I will become racist as well. Will I be able to delay the onset of these conditions by travelling on another cruise line?

 

Edited October 1, 2019 by dgs1956

[Windsurfboy]

Older people should be given RESPECT rather than repeating these UNSUBSTANTIATED ALLEGATIONS 

 

If you said this about an ethnic group you'd be in deep trouble, why do you think you can say this about people who have worked so hard for this country .

[Harry Peterson]

42 minutes ago, Windsurfboy said:

Older people should be given RESPECT rather than repeating these UNSUBSTANTIATED ALLEGATIONS 

 

If you said this about an ethnic group you'd be in deep trouble, why do you think you can say this about people who have worked so hard for this country .

An interesting point - and just for the record I'm also one of the people referred to.  But exactly how have we worked so hard for our country?  I think this country has looked after me pretty well, but I can't really say I've worked hard for it. I wouldn't be that presumptuous.