Jump to content

Coronavirus symptoms (late December)?


jtwilshire
 Share

Recommended Posts

On 3/18/2020 at 11:01 AM, jtwilshire said:

I know this is a site with many cruise enthusiasts, who have undoubtedly had many great experiences on the ships.  However, when we were on the Norwegian Epic in late December it was very crowded (no surprise - Christmas cruise), and there were people coughing and hacking everywhere... including the buffet lines.  We were told many, many cruise ship employees were sick as well during this time.  I just think when your jamming 4,000- 5,000 people from all over the world into a small space... you're asking for issues.  Case in point with recent ships marooned off shore (Japan, California, New Jersey, etc.).   This was our first "big" ship cruise....probably won't be back.

 

I'll bet there were a lot of folks from NYC on your cruise. Christmas cruises are expensive.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 3/17/2020 at 3:13 PM, jtwilshire said:

I was on the Epic Caribbean cruise 12-22-19 thru 12-29-19.  During the cruise I developed symptoms very similar to the coronavirus (terrible dry cough, chills & night sweats, fatigue, fever (but low 99-101), loss of appetite).  I also experienced a few episodes where I had trouble taking deep breaths, which is unusual for me as while I am 57 years old... I am in very good physical shape... run marathons, etc.  While on the cruise I told my wife that I had never experienced something like this before... some strange respiratory sickness. I did not have a runny nose or nasal congestion.  When I got back to the US, I got screened for strep and the flu.... both tests came back negative.  I felt better after about 10 days... but it took a good 3 weeks to get rid of the dry cough.  This was a few weeks before any of us heard of the "coronavirus"... which was starting to ramp up in China.   I am writing this in case someone reads this and experienced the same symptoms I did on the Norwegian Epic during similar timeframe.  While not convinced that I had the coronavirus... I do think there is a chance that I did, or had some other related strain.   Curious if there are others out there that experienced similar symptoms while on that cruise.

 

"The CDC published a report earlier this week that said confirmed COVID-19 cases were traced back to at least 25 cruise ships around the world. "

 

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/27/four-dead-on-carnival-cruise-ship-amid-new-coronavirus-outbreak-aboard.html

 

So, CONFIRMED on 25 ships, reasonable to assume it was on all of the ships by the end.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, CroozFanatic said:

 

"The CDC published a report earlier this week that said confirmed COVID-19 cases were traced back to at least 25 cruise ships around the world. "

 

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/27/four-dead-on-carnival-cruise-ship-amid-new-coronavirus-outbreak-aboard.html

 

So, CONFIRMED on 25 ships, reasonable to assume it was on all of the ships by the end.

We were on the Norwegian Epic over Christmas holiday... there were passengers from all over the world including MANY from Asia... and assuming many from New York as well.   I bet 20% of the crew were out sick.  Would definitely believe that COVID-19 could have also been traced back to this ship too.  I started this post.... and I was sick as a dog on that ship, with identical symptoms to CV19.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I was on another ship. One crew member I met the first day...was looking a little haggard when I spoke with her on day 3. I asked her directly if she were sick. She said YES. She was probably 25. I never saw her miss a day the entire cruise. This was the week after New Year's. So, they cleaned the ship, but you can't sanitize the crew if they keep working.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

If you are on board, dont stress too much about catching it. The thing is that if you are young (less than 40) you should be alright and even if you catch it your immune system should be able to deal with it. One piece of advise would be - dont get too drunk on board, it hurts your immune system. As far as other people - just make sure not to communicate closely with them, especially with older generation. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just now, Roger88 said:

If you are on board, dont stress too much about catching it. The thing is that if you are young (less than 40) you should be alright and even if you catch it your immune system should be able to deal with it. One piece of advise would be - dont get too drunk on board, it hurts your immune system. As far as other people - just make sure not to communicate closely with them, especially with older generation. 

 

Unless you are this guy..."Crew Member Dies on Marella Dream"

 

http://crew-center.com/crew-member-dies-marella-dream

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 3/30/2020 at 9:06 PM, ksmcdonald said:


Would the ship you were on be the Joy, 16 day cruise out of Los Angeles?  My father came home very sick from that cruise and was immediately hospitalized with double pneumonia.  I think he got off ship on agency 2nd. Emergency Room said the same thing, he didn’t meet the criteria for corona testing, although finding out now Ohio didn’t even have test for corona then. He texted negative for flu.  He spent 6 days in the hospital. I remember him saying he had no smell nor could he taste his food. He is 82 years old and lost 20 lbs. on a 16 day cruise. He did say 3-4 people were life flighted off, although he didn’t know what was wrong with them.  I’m sure he had corona.  Fever, terrible cough. 

No. We were on the Gem Panama Canal cruise from Jan. 24 to Feb. 14. We are both better now but still with remnants of the cough. I hope your father is doing well now.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

16 hours ago, Roger88 said:

If you are on board, dont stress too much about catching it. The thing is that if you are young (less than 40) you should be alright and even if you catch it your immune system should be able to deal with it. One piece of advise would be - dont get too drunk on board, it hurts your immune system. As far as other people - just make sure not to communicate closely with them, especially with older generation. 

 

Depends what is your definition of: "you should be alright."   If you mean you're probably not going to die, then yes, the odds are in your favor. 

 

I'm not young anymore but I wouldn't like the odds even if I was young.  According to the CDC, for the 20-44 age group, your odds of going to the hospital if you contract coronavirus is 14.3% - 20.8%.  Odds for a trip to ICU is 2.0%–4.2% and 0.1–0.2% chance of death.   

 

In other words, you probably won't die on your cruise but if you contract coronavirus there is 14-20% chance you'll be spending your vacation in a foreign hospital.     

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Novastar said:

No. We were on the Gem Panama Canal cruise from Jan. 24 to Feb. 14. We are both better now but still with remnants of the cough. I hope your father is doing well now.

Hey there Novastar we were also on that cruise  I agree that there was lots of coughing - my wife the nurse was always listening to see if they were wet or dry or just smokers hack. Most of the time she felt they fell into the wet or smoker category. I do remember for a few days we could not serve ourselves at the buffets - they also were doing more deep cleaning of the cabins - we noticed a much stronger smell while walking the halls. Also remember the announcement they made to all the Chinese  pax - done in Chinese. We were also told by the Concierge that he had been told that other ships entering NYC had extra health screenings while going through customs that delayed debarkation up to an hour. We were also watching the news closely and saw that the COVID-19 was no where near us - yet.  There are so many viruses floating around these days and most cause similar symptoms - cough, runny nose, aches, fever, shortness of breath etc. If you body has been exposed to similar viruses in the past it knows how to fight it. Variants on past exposures may result in mild symptoms. Flu shots attempt to predict the strains of flu that might be around that season - they give you a mild case of the flu so that your body will know how to fight it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

20 hours ago, Roger88 said:

If you are on board, dont stress too much about catching it. The thing is that if you are young (less than 40) you should be alright and even if you catch it your immune system should be able to deal with it. One piece of advise would be - dont get too drunk on board, it hurts your immune system. As far as other people - just make sure not to communicate closely with them, especially with older generation. 

 

You certainly have a better chance under 40 but don't brush it off....

Our youngest death was 19 until yesterday when we lost a 13 year old, both with no know underlying issues.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 3/30/2020 at 9:06 PM, ksmcdonald said:


Would the ship you were on be the Joy, 16 day cruise out of Los Angeles?  My father came home very sick from that cruise and was immediately hospitalized with double pneumonia.  I think he got off ship on agency 2nd. Emergency Room said the same thing, he didn’t meet the criteria for corona testing, although finding out now Ohio didn’t even have test for corona then. He texted negative for flu.  He spent 6 days in the hospital. I remember him saying he had no smell nor could he taste his food. He is 82 years old and lost 20 lbs. on a 16 day cruise. He did say 3-4 people were life flighted off, although he didn’t know what was wrong with them.  I’m sure he had corona.  Fever, terrible cough. 

 

Was your father on the 16 day Joy Panama Canal Cruise (Jan-Feb)?  I got a terrible cold on that cruise, and a lot of people were sick with something respiratory.  Extra sanitation measures went into effect.  Near the end of the cruise, there was an announcement in Mandarin for the Chinese passengers on the ship.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

41 minutes ago, crayola1932 said:

 

Was your father on the 16 day Joy Panama Canal Cruise (Jan-Feb)?  I got a terrible cold on that cruise, and a lot of people were sick with something respiratory.  Extra sanitation measures went into effect.  Near the end of the cruise, there was an announcement in Mandarin for the Chinese passengers on the ship.  


Yes, my father was on that cruise.  He had such a bad cough/ respiratory issue he self quarantined himself in his cabin the last few days.  He hesitated going to ships doctor because he didn’t want to be flown off in a third world country like Equador.  He just wanted to get back to the USA.  Of course, we didn’t even think corona virus then, as it was just starting up in the states.    He was so sick when he got home I took him straight to the ER.  He tested negative for the flu, but was hospitalized for almost a week.  
 

Thinking back, didn't  the Joy come from China?  It was moved back to US not long before this cruise.  I’m thinking crew members could of had the COVID 19 and not even know it.  Plus, my dad said there were many Chinese on that cruise. 
 

I’m  sure he had it, although none of us at home got sick after being with him.  My sister and brother did come down with something minor for a day or so after dad got home.  I guess they could of had a mild reaction to it.  Hard to tell.  I would be curious if their is a test he could take to see if he had it previously.  I’m thinking that could make him immune now.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

21 minutes ago, ksmcdonald said:


Yes, my father was on that cruise.  He had such a bad cough/ respiratory issue he self quarantined himself in his cabin the last few days.  He hesitated going to ships doctor because he didn’t want to be flown off in a third world country like Equador.  He just wanted to get back to the USA.  Of course, we didn’t even think corona virus then, as it was just starting up in the states.    He was so sick when he got home I took him straight to the ER.  He tested negative for the flu, but was hospitalized for almost a week.  
 

Thinking back, didn't  the Joy come from China?  It was moved back to US not long before this cruise.  I’m thinking crew members could of had the COVID 19 and not even know it.  Plus, my dad said there were many Chinese on that cruise. 
 

I’m  sure he had it, although none of us at home got sick after being with him.  My sister and brother did come down with something minor for a day or so after dad got home.  I guess they could of had a mild reaction to it.  Hard to tell.  I would be curious if their is a test he could take to see if he had it previously.  I’m thinking that could make him immune now.  

 

There were alot of Chinese on our cruise too at the end of December (EPIC - Caribbean)... and not saying that is how I caught my respiratory illness, but makes you wonder.  While I had all of the COVID-19 symptoms, no one around me got sick (that I know of)... which is only reason why I think it may have been something else.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

It should be noted that the Joy had a complete re-ferb after China - it took several weeks to turn it back into a regular NCL ship and not one purpose built for China. I am sure that the crew was also brand new too. It had also done a full season in Alaska too.

 

We also had many Chinese on the Gem Jan 24-Feb 14 and in the middle of the cruise they also made an announcement in Mandarin. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 3/17/2020 at 7:11 PM, zqvol said:

IMO this virus has been in the US since at least Thanksgiving. Too many people have had symptoms, that were mild, negative flu tests, negative strep. MDs just called it a virus, and people were told to treat the symptoms.

I totally agree with you- I know of several people that had the flu a little after that and it was pretty bad. Just because it was reported in December of course doesn't been it wasn't here before then.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 hours ago, jtwilshire said:

 

There were alot of Chinese on our cruise too at the end of December (EPIC - Caribbean)... and not saying that is how I caught my respiratory illness, but makes you wonder.  While I had all of the COVID-19 symptoms, no one around me got sick (that I know of)... which is only reason why I think it may have been something else.

 

I figured my extremely harsh respiratory illness in January was just another bug...until I spoke to an old friend - Chinese-American - that lives in NYC. She said she had a brutal illness along with her whole family and lost her sense of smell and taste...in December.

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A agree that this virus has been around for awhile.

My son, who live in Seattle, but has not been on a cruise in a few years, had the symptoms at the end of January.

Not one to go to a doctor often, his symptoms were so bad that he went to his physician. He tested negative for the flu, but was asked if he might take part in a new study that was being done on atypical viruses.

He is convinced that what he had was COVD19.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think clearly, once it was anywhere outside China, it was everywhere.

 

Why Northern Italy? It wasn't random. Regular direct flights to Wuhan and 300,000 Chinese, legal and illegal making clothes in Milan....so they carry the Made in Italy label.

 

NYC...again, large Chinese population + (my speculation here) favorable weather and work conditions - cold and dry, indoor shared spaces.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

54 minutes ago, CroozFanatic said:

I think clearly, once it was anywhere outside China, it was everywhere.

 

Why Northern Italy? It wasn't random. Regular direct flights to Wuhan and 300,000 Chinese, legal and illegal making clothes in Milan....so they carry the Made in Italy label.

 

NYC...again, large Chinese population + (my speculation here) favorable weather and work conditions - cold and dry, indoor shared spaces.

Agree.  Most of the very first cases in the US were travelers from Wuhan area.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The more they look the earlier the date gets where they find people who had it.  They simply realized they were dealing with a new virus on December 31st.

 

You can add me to the list of people wondering what they had.  I was sick from early January for around 6 weeks.  It started with a 2 day fever followed by shortness of breath, tiredness and a persistent, sometimes uncontrollable, dry cough for 6 weeks.  I have had nothing like it in my life.  

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

We were in CA in early January including several days in Disneyland.  My husband came down with what we thought was a bad cold during the trip and I got sick a few days after returning.  It was like no "cold" I'd ever had.  The upper respiratory symptoms typical of a cold only lasted a couple of days, then turned into fever, chills, shortness of breath and chest pains.  I was worried I was developing pneumonia, but started downing as much Musinex as allowed and after a few days the shortness of breath symptoms improved.  The cough, however, lasted for about 3 weeks.  My husband mostly had typical cold symptoms (though very severe ones) but it took weeks (5-6) for him to fully recover.

 

Was it Covid-19?  We'll never know unless they come up with an antibody test some day.  But looking back I do think it's a real possibility.  Our son never showed any symptoms, though he had his own room throughout the trip and returned to college the day after we got back home.  

 

Like so many on this thread, I really think that this virus has been all around us for quite some time now.  We're only just now realizing what everyone has had.

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hopefully for all of us who think we had it the antibodies blood test will be out in 4-6 months. I had the "Flu" like I've never had before. 7 days of fever,  chest hurt at night, no taste or smell for a week. It took me a full 4 weeks to finally feel back to normal. I was tested for flu and it was negative.  Turns out I was in contact with two technicians who were working in China in early, mid January. They were both very sick 10 days after they returned, I was with them at day 7. Both ended up in the hospital I found out later. Eight of my coworker had the same thing a week after I got "IT"

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well, I am glad OP posted this.  Maybe it has really been around for quite a while, but we cruisers just thought it was the normal cruise crude.  I hope we do have the antibodies and can get a hold of this thing asap.    

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 minutes ago, Level six said:

Well, I am glad OP posted this.  Maybe it has really been around for quite a while, but we cruisers just thought it was the normal cruise crude.  I hope we do have the antibodies and can get a hold of this thing asap.    

Listening to Dr Sanjay Gupta on a podcast last week he indicated it was his belief its been around serval months before December. Will never really know for sure.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share

  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...