Maasdam -- CODE RED

[Oceanwench]

I think there is so much misinformation out there about this virus.

 

It's not just about washing your hands after using the bathroom -- it's about washing your hands FREQUENTLY.

There are so many things we touch -- not just the handle to the bathroom door. There are handrails and armrests and buttons on the elevator ...

 

This is right from the CDC:

"People working with food who are sick with norovirus gastroenteritis are a particular risk to others, because they handle the food and drink many other people will consume. Since the virus is so small, a sick food handler can easily – without meaning to – contaminate the food he or she is handling. Many of those eating the contaminated food may become ill, causing an outbreak."

 

So it isn't necessarily the people who don't wash their hands who are getting the illness. There are plenty of people who pick up the virus in their food/drink.

[GOLFER3]

KK, sorry to hear that the Maasdam is in Code Red, Hopefully you and DH stay healthy. Unfortunately tis' the season:( I have spoke with several Las Vegas Hotel workers that say the same thing is happening here in Las Vegas. The only thing is you do not hear about it because the average person only stays 2 to 3 nights and are gone, they usually bring the noro home with them. Often they think they ate something bad or drank too much. I applaud HAL for doing what they do to try to contain the noro virus. The resorts here in Las Vegas do nothing and because no one stays long enough for them to have to report this to the CDC (at least not that often or not at all) because it is bad publicity. Basically the phrase of what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas well the little bit of info that it also has the noro virus also is kept a big secret.

I see you are going on a 7 day cruise on the Oosterdam 3/07. My wife and I just returned from our 7 days on the Oosterdam (3/3 to 3/10) and had a wonderful time. The ship was cleaned 24/7 etc. See my review under

Oosterdam reviews "Golfer3".

[Schplinky]

 

So it isn't necessarily the people who don't wash their hands who are getting the illness. There are plenty of people who pick up the virus in their food/drink.

 

That's true but in terms of preventing yourself from catching the virus, the CDC identifies hand-washing as the best means.

[Schplinky]

These are the CDC's recommendatins for staying healthy on a cruise.

1. Wash your hands!

 

Before and after

o eating,

o smoking,

After

o touching your face,

o going to the bathroom

* When your hands are dirty.

 

Learn more about handwashing techniques.

2. Leave the area if you see someone get sick (vomiting or diarrhea).

Report to cruise staff, if not already notified.

You could become sick if you ingest contaminated particles that travel through the air.

3. Take care of yourself.

Get plenty of rest, drink lots of water. Resting helps rebuild your immune system. Drinking water helps prevents dehydration.

4. Be considerate of other people’s health.

If you’re ill before taking a cruise, call the cruise line to determine if there are alternative cruising options.

Learn more about viral outbreaks aboard ships.

[Oceanwench]

I agree, washing your hands is the best means -- in your control.

 

You can't control if you pick it up from the food/drink. Unless, of course, you refrain from eating and drinking!

 

That is why the CDC says wash your hands -- take the precautions that are within your control.

It also has other recommendations which I don't want to get into!

 

The problem is, many people believe that washing their hands is the key to avoiding the virus, and conversely, that people who get it obviously do not wash their hands!

That is far from the truth.

It is not that simple.

 

Have you been on a ship under Code Red?

I have.

They don't shut down the public restrooms.

But they do shut down the thermal pool and hot tubs.

They don't let pax touch food in the Lido. Everything is handed to you by gloved crew members -- even from the salad bar.

There are no salt/pepper shakes on the table, in the Lido or dining room.

No bread baskets on the table in the dining room.

The shops all have their restrictions.

In the jewelry store, the staff shows you items but you can't touch them.

In the souvenir shop, you have to use Purell before you go in. I saw staff wiping down some of the items [boxes of perfume] with some sort of mixture.

 

Tells me it's a lot more than washing hands after using the bathroom.

It's about frequent hand washing, among other things.

[Oceanwench]

That's true but in terms of preventing yourself from catching the virus, the CDC identifies hand-washing as the best means.

 

I think if you reread what I wrote, you will see I mentioned the importance of washing hands FREQUENTLY. Yes, I used caps ... so someone would not overlook that.

 

The problem I see over and over on message boards is that people like to condemn those who get the illness, saying they did not wash their hands.

That is not necessarily the case.

You do what you can - you wash your hands FREQUENTLY.

But you still might get the virus.

[kh6275]

My grandparents just got off the Maasdam. My Grandmother noticed that her dining room attendant appeared ill (so much so that she asked him and he stated that he was just tired) and on Tuesday she became extremely ill. My Grandfather came down with it today. Probably from taking care of my Grandmother in the room.

 

Other than getting sick she said that the cruise was nice but that the crowd was "very" old. My grandparents are in their early 80's but could pass for late 60's and are very young at heart. They have been cruising for decades and are devoted HAL passengers but she did say that they will try another line for their next cruise...I'll try and get specifics from her when they are feeling better.

 

My Grandmother convinced me to go on HAL and I leave in one week. I'm hoping for a fabulous time.

[Mary Ellen]

I think there is so much misinformation out there about this virus.

 

It's not just about washing your hands after using the bathroom -- it's about washing your hands FREQUENTLY.

There are so many things we touch -- not just the handle to the bathroom door. There are handrails and armrests and buttons on the elevator ...

 

This is right from the CDC:

"People working with food who are sick with norovirus gastroenteritis are a particular risk to others, because they handle the food and drink many other people will consume. Since the virus is so small, a sick food handler can easily – without meaning to – contaminate the food he or she is handling. Many of those eating the contaminated food may become ill, causing an outbreak."

 

So it isn't necessarily the people who don't wash their hands who are getting the illness. There are plenty of people who pick up the virus in their food/drink.

You are correct, there is MUCH misinformation out there. Washing hand frequently is the best thing one can to prevent the noro, but the ORIGINS of the infection most likely came from someone NOT WASHING THEIR HANDS AFTER USING THE RESTROOM. They touch something, another person (who could very well wash their hands appropriately) later touches the same thing, they touch their eyes, mouth, food... before washing their hands -getting infected, they touch a surface, someone else later touches it - and the cycle continues and spreads.

 

IF the first person (IDIOT) took the 10 seconds needed to properly wash their hands after using the restroom the whole thing could have been prevented. The infection comes from fecal matter. I don't know about the rest of you and your practices, but I'm only around fecal matter in the restroom.

 

So washing your hands often is the really the only thing one can do to protect themselves from selfish idiots and what others have innocently spread.

 

From the Mayo Clinic website:

But in many cases, the virus is passed through the fecal-oral route — that is, someone with the virus handles food you eat without washing his or her hands after using the bathroom.

I don't believe anyone here has condemned those who get the illness, saying they did not wash their hands. They were most likely contaminated (easy as holding a menu or pushing their chair in at the table) by someone (who only knows how many victims ago) that did NOT was their hands thoroughly.

 

The Preventionarea on this subject from the Mayo Clinic is also helpful.

[billathome]

Does anyone know if the Maasdam left on time today?

 

Would that be a good sign of a clean ship?

 

(for those of us sailing on her next week)

[seniormiss]

Good grief! I just looked and 5 of the 9 cases reported so far this year are from HAL, on three different ships, with no other line reporting more than one incident. That certainly is bad luck for HAL. I still think this is more passenger-driven than line oriented but this doesn't look good.

 

Wash your hands, people!!!

 

I am very concerned about this. I am taking my first HAL cruise Saturday on the Oosterdam...and the more I read about this the more I am wondering if I made a mistake. I have been on about 10 cruises on different lines and never got sick. Why is this happening so much to Holland America? I doubt if the people on HAL wash their hands less than the people on other lines. I don't like the idea of going on vacation and one of my main concerns is not getting ill. Kinda puts a damper on things.

[Cloud9 Bob]

Other than getting sick she said that the cruise was nice but that the crowd was "very" old.

 

That's so funny, my Mom is 78 and really active and she just got off Maasdam and said exactly the same thing. :)

 

Does Maasdam have a reputation for this?

[Funny Daddy]

That's so funny, my Mom is 78 and really active and she just got off Maasdam and said exactly the same thing. :)

 

Does Maasdam have a reputation for this?

 

It's not the Maasdam, it's the new slobs that are cruising, they smoke ,they spit, they fart, while walking around the decks and then go for their hamburger and/or pizza, most of the time 'and'!. On the SS. Rotterdam we had class on board! Times have changed, and not for the better! But hang in there, I am in my early fifties and going on nr.17 with Hal, including 4 on the old SS!!! Just tell the slobs to go back to Carnivore, RCL , NCL, that's where

they belong!! Rgds, PD.

[sail7seas]

Does anyone know if the Maasdam left on time today?

 

Would that be a good sign of a clean ship?

 

(for those of us sailing on her next week)

 

Yes, I believe she left on time. She is on her regular itinerary right now.

[billathome]

Thanks sail7seas.

[Krazy Kruizers]

The Maasdam left about 1/2 hour late on Thursday -- we watched her from our balcony. That is not bad -- have left Ft Lauderdale late many times -- sometimes as late as 2 hours and we weren't even in Code Red.

[Krazy Kruizers]

They did something different on this cruise. They took all the sick passengers and their luggage off the ship first via the crew entrance/exit. We were suppose to have started disembarkation around 8:15 but with getting these people off first, we didn't get called until 9:05. As we were leaving we were able to see these people right outside the crew entrance/exit. There were about 30 people there with their luggage. They didn't even allow their luggage to go into the terminal with ours. Now -- that doesn't mean that all 30 were sick. Remember that usually there are 2 people in each cabin. When one is sick, the other one is suppose to remain in quarrantine as well. So they all had to leave together. There may have been 15 - 20 sick out of that group.

[jhannah]

That's interesting. I reckon that's the ultimate quarantine!

[boards]

What happens to these sick people now? Are they allowed to travel on flights if they are so sick? How do they travel back home, assuming they don't live in the arriving port? I want to know in case something happens on our cruise next month, how are these sick people handled?

[Crazy]

On the winter cruise to the Panama Canal (February 1) on the Volendam it was an hour wait to get on the ship. There was a camera crew from the local CBS station in Ft. Lauderdale at the pier interviewing people getting on the ship. Well I just had to find out what was going on and yes he was telling everyone that the "bug" was on the ship. When I got on the ship, I phoned my nephew and had him 'google"" and find out what the problem was because I had never had to wait an hour or so to get on a ship. 68 cases had been reported to the CDC -- we were on Red Alert for the first week on the cruise. To me it was bad, I was with my brother and his wife and we just made sure we washed our hands etc. They had cleaned the ship from top to bottom. One good thing the Spa wasn't closed because I do enjoy the Spa.

 

The cruise was great, my 8th with Holland America and I will continue to sail with my favorite cruise line.

 

Emily

[sail7seas]

sorry.......double. My fault!

[sail7seas]

I certainly call a ship leaving within 30 minutes 'on time'. There are many times when the ship is ready to leave but is held by port authorities due to other ships in line before them to leave the port. We've sometimes been 5th or 6th or whatever in line and wait our turn.

 

I think it awful the subtle implications here are that those who became ill should for some reason be scorned. But for the grace of God, as they say, it could be You.

 

I've gotten it and no one is more diligent about keeping my hands clean than me. No one uses Purell more than I do. Don't kid yourself into thinking those who became ill 'deserved it' because they didn't take care.

 

It's as simple as leaving the rest room with well washed hands, opening the door with a cloth so as to not touch the handle, going to the dining room and putting your hand on the arm of a chair. Who knows who touched it last and how dirty their hands were. Then you have a roll. Then you are among the ill.

 

Please don't give the attitude they got what they deserve here. I find that just plain wrong. Subtle or not!

 

[Nutrioso]

Just wanted to pass this along: It's not only the HAL ships which are visited by the noroviruses. We were on the Island Princess' Jan 26th sailing to Hawaii and were Code Red after only a couple of days at sea. The point of this story is -- the noroviruses hit everywhere. There would be no reason to cancel an HAL sailing because of Noro. It is everywhere so you just need to wash, wash, wash and do it thoroughly and ofter.

[hammybee]

What happens to these sick people now? Are they allowed to travel on flights if they are so sick? How do they travel back home, assuming they don't live in the arriving port? I want to know in case something happens on our cruise next month, how are these sick people handled?

 

That's a very good question and perhaps the crux of the problem, being "allowed" to continue their travel. Hotels and airlines are going to allow guests/pax to stay and fly.

 

I have had it twice, unrelated to cruising. At the worst of it, I cannot imagine boarding a plane because of the need to stay seated in your seat, if you know what I mean. I can think of fewer places I would rather not be, if I were to become sick. Hotels and airplanes do not go into code red and it's highly possible that the virus will persist, long after the person carrying it has moved on.

 

And I agree with Sails, just about anything you touch, anywhere, on land or at sea, might be contaminated, including money. The best way to deal with the risk anywhere is to wash your hands, keep your hands away from your face and realize that the vast majority of pax/crew on a ship, any ship, do not get it.

[boards]

If you are suggesting I am scorning these people you got it wrong, I am asking what do you do? You have just come a ship where you were quarantined in your cabin and now you want to get home. Will an airline readily take you if they knew what had just happened to you, how will you travel? It has been suggested that the virus might have been picked up on a plane and now you are going to fly. There no subtle implication made, it was a question of what to do.

[Krazy Kruizers]

It is a tough problem should you become ill at the end of the cruise and then must try to get home. I am not certain what I would do if it happened to one of us. Probably try to change air plans and fly home a few days later when we are feeling better. I know that many of you can't do that because you have to get back to work. Most of the people that we saw standing on the pier were older.