Has anyone gotten norovirus on ship?

[SPARKY12]

How bad was it, how many days, could you still function on the ship or confined to bed and toilet?

[Sally Forth]

WARNING- Major major TMI coming up ----- I had it in 2002 on a two week cruise along the Norwegian Fjords. There were many many people sick on that cruise and an older man told me the infirmary was full of people getting IV fluids. He and his wife left the ship in Stavanger to get medical attention because she had a heart condition and he was worried her electrolytes were off after a day of being sick.

 

Let me preface this by saying I have a bit of a handwashing compulsion when traveling and I rarely get sick even at home. I had never had turista in Mexico or Costa Rica. I will give you a rundown:

 

10 a.m.- touring Stavanger, I felt a little tired but thought it was from the late night and champagne the evening before plus I'd had a bit of a sore throat for a couple of days

noon- had a light lunch but it didn't sit well. Went back out to do some shopping

 

2 p.m.- told my mom I was so exhausted I needed to get back to the ship. Fortunately it wasn't far from where we were shopping. Went to bed

 

6 p.m.- woke up and told my mom I was feeling better after my sleep. She said, "Oh good. Let's go out. Look at the drink of the day....it has blue curacao and cream!" I got out of bed and made it halfway into the bathroom. Fortunately, the vomit had such force that some of it made it three feet and hit the toilet. Called steward to help with cleaning and gave first of several $20 tips that evening

6-midnight- was in bathroom every 20 minutes from both ends, sometimes simultaneously. My mom went foraging for food and there were no crackers left anywhere on ship and very little ginger ale.

Midnight to next morning (as we crossed the North Sea)- dry heaves every few minutes, but I didn't even bother getting out of bed. When I woke up in the morning, my shoulders and the area around my eyes were purple with blood vessels broken from the force of the vomiting.

 

I had some tea in the morning and then went for lunch and had the broth from some soup. Was weak all afternoon but was fine for a light dinner. So, it was about 36 hours start to finish, with 12 hours of intense discomfort.

 

There were people sick on the bus going into London and my mom got it 24 hours later and her experience was about the same as mine.

 

In summary, it's not the length of time that you get sick with this, but the intensity of it.

 

Viv

[Mark]

NO... I have been on 25 or 26 cruises and have never gotten sick from anything anyhow!

[Cruising Fool]

Had my first bout with it a few weeks ago on the Enchantment. Just had a feeling of "not quite right". So I passed on going into Cozumel. About 3 hours later I found out why. Not sure of which end to put where first. Never went to the ship's doctor. Just refrained from eating for over 24 hours. Then had about 4 bites the next night and..... Basically it took me about 3 days to get over it. Maybe I should have been quarantined to the room. I never felt much like getting out of the room anyway. But I only had 2 days left of the cruise. The 3rd day of being sick I was at home.

 

Been on over 100 cruises and this was the first time it happened to me. Was it from the ship? Or maybe I picked it up while on a tour the previous day.

 

I always tried to be extremely careful with washing my hands - but evidently I wasn't as careful as I thought. No one else in my group of 4 got sick.

[dkjretired]

How bad was it, how many days, could you still function on the ship or confined to bed and toilet?

 

 

Just to keep things in perspective, last year 25 million people got norovirus in the US, 4 to 5 thousand of them were on cruise ships. This is according to the CDC.

[Spikesgirl]

Check out the news this morning. 300 sickened at an Olive Garden due to one employee coming in with Noro. That was just one evening and who knows how many others they infected. Angsting about it is just wasted effort. Wash your hands properly, bring some meds in case to help you feel better (the doctor can prescribe something to help with the trots) and keep your hands away from your eyes, nose and mouth between washings. Do not rely upon hand santizers (they work on bacteria. not viruses) or plastic gloves to protect you. Be pro active and if you get sick, staying in your cabin and don't spread it! This is good advice for any work place.

 

And for the record - never gotten Noro on a cruise and am hoping never to.

 

Charlie

[Rheaya]

I got it, but not on a ship. I havenever been so sick in my life. It lasted about 36 hours, but took me 3 or 4 days until i was back to normal. I recommend going to get a SHOT of gravol. That was the only thing that made me stop vomiting long enough to rest. don't other with pills, you can't keepwater down long enough for the pill to work, in my and my boyfriends case

[Sally Forth]

I got it, but not on a ship. I havenever been so sick in my life. It lasted about 36 hours, but took me 3 or 4 days until i was back to normal. I recommend going to get a SHOT of gravol. That was the only thing that made me stop vomiting long enough to rest. don't other with pills, you can't keepwater down long enough for the pill to work, in my and my boyfriends case

I don't think they have Gravol in the US. At least they didn't when we lived there. My pediatrician had never seen it and it wasn't in stores. (For those who don't know, it's like Dramamine, but with something that stops diarrhea and vomiting)

 

I second what the poster said about not getting too bent out of shape. The chances of a child in school or daycare getting this are a lot higher than yours are on a cruise ship.

 

Viv

[IvesGrandmama]

We were on the Freedom 11-26-12-3. My husband was sick on Wednesday night and stay on ship until we got off in Miami on Sunday.

I had it starting early Friday night and thought I would die. They told us we couldn't leave cabin until it was time to get off. So our vacation we stayed in our cabin most of the time.

[on board]

I came down with it 2 weeks before Thanksgiving this year. It is not pleasant and it is painful! I have a Day Care and I wash my hands so much that they crack and bleed through the winter months. It started on a Monday night, I did not feel well just kind of tired so I went to bed early and woke up around 2 with a bad headache. I got up took 2 Advil and went back to bed. Got up around 6 and my stomach was a little unsettled, i though it was from not eating Dinner the night before and actually did not eat anything since about 11:00 a.m. previous day so I thought my stomach was upset because I took Advil on empty stomach. So I ate a slice of dry toast and about 30 minutes later is when it started. I did not know what end to put down first! :eek: I vomited for 2 days and decided to go to DR. and she gave me a shot and said it would help, she also gave me some pills but could not keep them down because I could not keep anything down. That Friday morning was my last bout of vomiting but my chest and stomach were very sore due to dry heaves. I lost 17 pounds in 4 days!

I only took off 2 days from the Day Care and not one child came down with it. Also my Dr. gave me some samples of Xifaxan to take with us in case we do get the virus.

[Gingee]

Isn't it basically like the flu?

[Cruising89143]

I got it back in 1995 while on the Sensation. It was about the third day into the cruise and I was in bed for two days sick as a dog. I didn't know if I should sit on the toilet or bend over it. Horrible feeling. This was before the INTERNET was big and not really heard of. That is the only time out of 29 cruises that I have been sick and hope that I never get it again.

[SPARKY12]

Of those of you who have had the virus, would you still go on a cruise?

[cusyl]

35 cruises, never got it...knock on wood!

[Sally Forth]

Of those of you who have had the virus, would you still go on a cruise?

Yes, and without a moment's hesitation. My DH is involved in medical research specializing in bacteria and virus identification, I am a librarian specializing in medical articles, and I'm pretty sensible about the risk factors. You can do a lot to protect yourself. You should be more worried about getting Hep A and B in tropical ports if you haven't been vaccinated.

Viv

[cntrydncr1]

Not sure how one knows they got norovirus. I get sick my first day on EVERY cruise I go on (except my very first.) Normally it happens right around dinner time and I am ok by the next morning but still not 100% for a day or so. I do not think this is seasickness as I can ride on small vessels in very rough water without getting sick. So is it norovirus??? And obviously it does not stop me from cruising, I love cruising. I did get quarantined once.

[KKB]

Isn't it basically like the flu?

 

Many call a gastrointestinal virus "stomach flu", but officially flu is high temp, chills, body aches for several days.

 

I'm pretty sure we contracted it on our Disney cruise. DS2 woke last day complaining of stomachache. Spent day in cabin, with it coming out of both ends. Steward was so sweet, finding us crackers & sprite. He threw up any liquid that went in until late afternoon, then stuck w/ crackers & sprite. Good to go next morning. We all washed hands religiously all week, especially Friday! I began to feel sick after eating a sandwich in O'Hare Sat noon...thought it was food poisoning. THANK GOODNESS I made it all the way home...but as soon as I got home, DD & I both had it. DS1 & DH had it Monday, and then I got it AGAIN Tuesday....I didn't know that was possible! Certainly an unpleasant experience, but short-lived.

 

And we head off on cruise #3 in less than 3 months!:p

[Texas_Diver]

My partner's father had an intestinal illness during our cruise lastb week. From every indication, it was a noro-like illness. He was ill from Friday morning until Sunday.

 

D.

[mygirlscats]

Check out the Celebrity postings board...there is a new post from someone describing his recent quarantine from Noro; it's been set up as a "sticky" near the start of the board...interesting to know exactly what to expect if the worst should strike!

[chasetf]

Check out the Celebrity postings board...there is a new post from someone describing his recent quarantine from Noro; it's been set up as a "sticky" near the start of the board...interesting to know exactly what to expect if the worst should strike!

Here is the link to get you there directly. Interesting reading.... ;)

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=458673