Belly Problems - Is it Fair to Criticize Cruises?

[ldubs]

3 hours ago, JRG said:

 

Same here too.   Started 2020 with a managed-portion low-carb Atkins type plan and then switched after 2 months to a high-fat Keto plan (think bacon) and good-bye 30 big ones.   

 

I also burn off alot of calories reading some of our daily posts here too.

 

 

 

Congrats.  I picked up weight during the covid stay home.  So I started watching carbs in Sept.  Nothing too structured.  I just avoid them as much as possible.  Down 23#.  Kind of weird that clothes don't fit anymore.   Haha

[ldubs]

1 hour ago, pris993 said:

I don't trust food trucks anywhere.

 

That is probably a wise decision.   Before, we pretty much limited street food choices to those well known/established vendors.   

 

I tend to agree with others who have said that the quality of "to go" food from many previous restaurant choices is not what is was pre-covid.  Not sure why, other than it is more difficult & expensive to obtain ingredients. 

[jocap]

The only time was a stay in Mallorca, Spain, when OH discovered Chocolate Brandy.

It was not, as he thought, a chocolate drink with just a dash of brandy.... 🤪🤢

[clo]

3 hours ago, ldubs said:

 

That is probably a wise decision.   Before, we pretty much limited street food choices to those well known/established vendors.   

 

I tend to agree with others who have said that the quality of "to go" food from many previous restaurant choices is not what is was pre-covid.  Not sure why, other than it is more difficult & expensive to obtain ingredients. 

That's too bad for both. Street vendors are buying their groceries the same place everyone does.  As for the quality of take-out vs. dine-in there are simply things that don't reheat well and I try to base my take-out choices on that.

[getting older slowly]

On 1/12/2021 at 3:00 AM, jtwind said:

Lately, there have been lots of discussions on land based trips vs. cruises.  Everyone knows the reputation cruise lines have for occasional outbreaks of belly problems.  But is the alternative any better?  In my experience, I've had more issues on land based trips.  Any thoughts/

It is all up what you eat and where you eat...... Buffets could have been an issue with reheated food or accidently contamination by other guests...

 

But generally food on cruise ships is good, land based food   depends on the country and the place and your choice of food...

 

So all in all there are too many variables to make a generalized statement....

 

one thing on cruise ship is airborne diseases, ( even colds ) quickly spread due to confined places.

 

Generally  have picked up more cold like issues on a cruise ship than land, and rarely have any problems with anything one has eaten anywhere...

 

Any thoughts......  nothing to worry about, a like a storm in a tea cup.

 

Don  

[clo]

1 hour ago, getting older slowly said:

land based food   depends on the country and the place and your choice of food...

I honestly believe that a whole lot of it is how strong your 'gut' is to things. As I've said here the only time I was sick was due to American made peanut butter. And I've eaten rat, bugs, countless street vendors, really you name it. Well, I haven't had durian 🙂 I wouldn't travel ever again if I couldn't eat all the local food.

[getting older slowly]

37 minutes ago, clo said:

And I've eaten rat, bugs, countless street vendors, really you name it

 

That is different..... and I don't think those things would be what the OP was thinking about 

 

since they are from the US..  and comparing to Cruise Ship food, made one think more western style of food..   which the above is not.

[clo]

11 minutes ago, getting older slowly said:

 

That is different..... and I don't think those things would be what the OP was thinking about 

 

since they are from the US..  and comparing to Cruise Ship food, made one think more western style of food..   which the above is not.

They said they've had more problems with land based foods. I took that to mean 'foreign.' Do many people actually have problems going out to eat in their home country?

[ldubs]

4 hours ago, clo said:

That's too bad for both. Street vendors are buying their groceries the same place everyone does.  As for the quality of take-out vs. dine-in there are simply things that don't reheat well and I try to base my take-out choices on that.

 

What is too bad and who is both?  

 

I'm sure good niche street food vendors use decent quality ingredients.  I don't know if it is same as everybody else and don't even understand the comment.  The "food trucks" use more of a commissary style stocking with little prep themselves.   

 

I'm sure you are very skilled at selecting take out.    

 

    

[clo]

3 minutes ago, ldubs said:

What is too bad and who is both?  

 

That you've not had good luck with street food and take-out.

 

8 minutes ago, ldubs said:

I'm sure good niche street food vendors use decent quality ingredients.  I don't know if it is same as everybody else and don't even understand the comment.  The "food trucks" use more of a commissary style stocking with little prep themselves.   

 

I don't know what food trucks are like where you live. The ones I've frequented are either stand alone or in groups (we have a gathering here on Fridays in warm weather). Each one is totally separate from every other one. And different cuisines. And it's all cooked on site with prep likely being done ahead.

[cruisemom42]

I've long been known in my family to have an iron stomach. I've never, as far as I know, gotten food poisoning -- or norovirus for that matter -- while traveling, despite some adventurous eating including street food in Egypt (just avoid water and peel anything that can be peeled, lol).

 

On the other hand I am not so lucky when it comes to respiratory infections and have picked up a few humdingers -- worse ones on bus tours than any I've gotten on cruises though. 

 

[Elaine5715]

On 1/11/2021 at 11:23 AM, SelectSys said:

The Norovirus is the #1 cause of problems on cruise ships.  You have more opportunities for "food poisoning" on land.  On land bacterial and parasitic infections are also possible.  It really comes down to where you eat on land.  

 

My last bad experience with food happened several years ago on a land vacation in Huatulco, Mexico.  It was a very simple restaurant.  We saw the same sink used for cleaning plates also being used for giving a baby a bath.  Also, it was off season and the food that I ate might have been pretty old. 

Actually it isn't.  The top causes for health issues on cruising is dehydration and constipation.  There is a reason they run out of prunes on the breakfast buffet towards the end of each cruise. Noro requires someone exposing others.  We cause our own dehydration and irregularity.   

[ldubs]

6 minutes ago, clo said:

That you've not had good luck with street food and take-out.

 

I don't know what food trucks are like where you live. The ones I've frequented are either stand alone or in groups (we have a gathering here on Fridays in warm weather). Each one is totally separate from every other one. And different cuisines. And it's all cooked on site with prep likely being done ahead.

 

Who said I had bad luck?  I said I elect to frequent known/quality vendors.  

 

Food trucks vs street food.  What you refer to is what we lovingly call street food.   Food trucks/wagons typically cater to construction sites, etc.   Source of ingredients can be an exposure but the larger exposure is from improper food handling (prep).  Hence my not understanding your comment regarding sourcing.   

[clo]

3 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

respiratory infections and have picked up a few humdingers -- worse ones on bus tours than any I've gotten on cruises though.

Oh yes. Our Antarctica cruise began with a bus tour (maybe 40 people) of Argentinian and Chilean Patagonia. I'm sure we didn't ALL get sick but lots of us did. To the point that even I - who has tons of medical background - went to the medical clinic. But, yeah, "iron constitutions."

[ldubs]

8 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

I've long been known in my family to have an iron stomach. I've never, as far as I know, gotten food poisoning -- or norovirus for that matter -- while traveling, despite some adventurous eating including street food in Egypt (just avoid water and peel anything that can be peeled, lol).

 

On the other hand I am not so lucky when it comes to respiratory infections and have picked up a few humdingers -- worse ones on bus tours than any I've gotten on cruises though. 

 

 

I've been unlucky enough to have experienced food poisoning three times.  It is a horrible experience.  As a result I am very careful.  Sadly, I also share a tendency to pick up respiratory infections too.     

[clo]

4 minutes ago, ldubs said:

 

I've been unlucky enough to have experienced food poisoning three times.  It is a horrible experience.  As a result I am very careful.  Sadly, I also share a tendency to pick up respiratory infections too.     

ldubs, with complete sincerity, I'm sorry you've had those experiences. I would tend to be cautious also except I knew my only time was from US peanut butter 🙂 

[cruisemom42]

1 minute ago, ldubs said:

 

I've been unlucky enough to have experienced food poisoning three times.  It is a horrible experience.  As a result I am very careful.  Sadly, I also share a tendency to pick up respiratory infections too.     

 

I figure it's all the dirt I ate as a child, back in the day when moms kicked kids out the door to play whenever we weren't in school, eating, or in bed. 🤣

 

Or maybe -- and I'm serious about this -- because I started traveling young, my immune system was challenged early with different food, different water qualities, etc.  Who knows?

[ldubs]

7 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

I figure it's all the dirt I ate as a child, back in the day when moms kicked kids out the door to play whenever we weren't in school, eating, or in bed. 🤣

 

Or maybe -- and I'm serious about this -- because I started traveling young, my immune system was challenged early with different food, different water qualities, etc.  Who knows?

 

That could be it -- the dirt and the travel!  I grew up on a farm.  Well water and a lot of what we ate grew or was raised outside the back door.  Food prep was always a big deal. Hard to think so, but my stomach must have been pampered.     

[clo]

14 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

Or maybe -- and I'm serious about this -- because I started traveling young, my immune system was challenged early with different food, different water qualities, etc.  Who knows?

I didn't travel young but we eat and drink it all and I really do believe it's strengthened our immune system. And you know how you are about Roman ruins? We're like that with local foods when traveling 🙂

[pris993]

10 hours ago, clo said:

Omigosh. NY, SF, SFO, etc. food trucks are a fave of ours. Why don't you trust them? Bad experiences?

You are right many folks feel they are fantastic.  My family follows a restricted diet, so I avoid eating out.  We only eat out when traveling.  And, then we are very selective where we eat.  I mentioned food trucks because that is where someone had a problem in Mexico.  I do not trust street foods for sanitary reasons. 

[ilikeanswers]

I've only had food poisoning once when travelling and for me it was pretty mild, compared to ones I had a home😆. Don't know if I have been lucky or just pick good places. I usually try to pick places with lots of foot traffic. I've eaten street food, food trucks, small shack like restaurants on the side of the road. The big difference for me when land travelling is I tend to do a lot more cooking. I'm use to a diet high in vegetables and I have found except for a few places in the world most eat out cuisines tend to be very meat or carbohydrates heavy. It is not too bad at the begining but after awhile I start craving for a big bowl of vegetables😰. I've perfected what I call my travelling vegetable stew dish which I can whip up in any rental with even a micro kitchen and can be adjusted for local markets. On a cruise if you have a buffet it is easy to get that plate of veggies unfortunately with expedition cruising there aren't a lot of buffets so I don't really get that option often.

[Joebucks]

The "threat" of noro on a cruise is extremely overrated. We hear about it because it is popular to report and easy to track. Noro isn't born on the seas. It can be anywhere. Due to the laws of probabilities, if it happens with 5% of people on a 5000k passenger cruise every year or so, that is insignificant.

[K32682]

2 hours ago, Joebucks said:

The "threat" of noro on a cruise is extremely overrated. We hear about it because it is popular to report and easy to track. Noro isn't born on the seas. It can be anywhere. Due to the laws of probabilities, if it happens with 5% of people on a 5000k passenger cruise every year or so, that is insignificant.

 

Noro is everywhere. The problem is when it is introduced in the close confines of a cruise ship. The same applies to COVID and other viral infections. They spread like wildfire on cruise ships and other places where people are in close quarters such as prisons and homes for the elderly. 

[gooch47]

Sadly, no cruises since forever, but when we were cruising frequently I'd get Norovirus.  Had it at least six times.  But we stopped going to the buffets, and no more Norovirus.

[clo]

2 minutes ago, gooch47 said:

Sadly, no cruises since forever, but when we were cruising frequently I'd get Norovirus.  Had it at least six times.  But we stopped going to the buffets, and no more Norovirus.

I'm betting true buffets are going to be a thing of the past so that should help you.