Our Secrets To Preventing Getting Norovirus or Any GI Infection

[castle701]

some great suggestions... thanks for tip!

[Shanafan]

:o

Are you by any chance a guy? I'm guessing you are if you think a swipe of a clorox wipe is housekeeping.

 

I thought the same thing. I give the room a once over.....toilet, sink, remote before we unpack. I am going to "live" there then next week or so, I don't want to sit on a toilet day after day that may not have been properly cleaned. I am not a clean freak but rather just know what to do and not to do to lessen the possibility of catching some nasty virus not only on a ship, but in my day to day life. Why would I go wash my hands at a restaurant only to grab the door handle that everyone and their brother has grabbed on the way out without using my towel I dried my hands?

 

OP.....thanks for sharing. I guess the reason some of this do these things is because of those that don't.

[Shanafan]

If you are going to take all these precautions, then be prepared to go to the same lengths once you step off the boat, because those same germs are all around you, in shops, restaurants, public toilets, tourist attractions etc.

 

 

Of course those germs are all around on a daily basis. Duh. But I don't spend thousands of dollars for a weeks vacation only to go and not take precautions that may protect me from getting some nasty stomach bug! Wow....people just don't get it. The OP was sharing some great ideas and apparently many people appreciated it. No one is saying to be Howie Mandel or Michael Jackson, just giving some pointers on how to protect yourself or TRY to protect yourself. There are no guarantees, but if it saves one person from sleeping with the ty-d-bol man hugging the porcelin throne and wasting all those hard on dollars for a vacation you can't enjoy......I am all for it.

[KatieGator]

Of course those germs are all around on a daily basis. Duh. But I don't spend thousands of dollars for a weeks vacation only to go and not take precautions that may protect me from getting some nasty stomach bug! Wow....people just don't get it. The OP was sharing some great ideas and apparently many people appreciated it. No one is saying to be Howie Mandel or Michael Jackson, just giving some pointers on how to protect yourself or TRY to protect yourself. There are no guarantees, but if it saves one person from sleeping with the ty-d-bol man hugging the porcelin throne and wasting all those hard on dollars for a vacation you can't enjoy......I am all for it.

 

EXACTLY! Whew, thank you. When you spend thousands on a vacation--you better believe I'm going to go beyond my usual steps to keep myself healthy for that week! I'm no clean freak or germaphobe, but I do not want to get sick on my vacation. I'm not sure why people are so up in arms about the thought of some cruisers taking 5 minutes to do potential damage control. At least some people get it :p

[Shanafan]

EXACTLY! Whew, thank you. When you spend thousands on a vacation--you better believe I'm going to go beyond my usual steps to keep myself healthy for that week! I'm no clean freak or germaphobe, but I do not want to get sick on my vacation. I'm not sure why people are so up in arms about the thought of some cruisers taking 5 minutes to do potential damage control. At least some people get it :p

Exactly....you get it! I don't carry a can of lysol in my purse, nor do I take airborne everyday but when I am on vacation or going on vacation I do! When I am going on vacation or on vacation I pay more attention to the little details, so to speak. I figure it can't hurt!

[nellydean]

EXACTLY! Whew, thank you. When you spend thousands on a vacation--you better believe I'm going to go beyond my usual steps to keep myself healthy for that week! I'm no clean freak or germaphobe, but I do not want to get sick on my vacation. I'm not sure why people are so up in arms about the thought of some cruisers taking 5 minutes to do potential damage control. At least some people get it :p

 

mind you don't disappear up your smug little arse

[Reijo]

Have your children press the elevator button with their knuckles. That helps.

[gullivertx]

So . . . how do you clean the food? that was touched by all kinds of people in all kinds of ways. What about the napkins you use at the table that were placed there by human hands?

 

Do you follow these procedures when you eat at McDonald's, shop at Walmart, etc.?

 

Maybe if you left your children at home, then they would not get those nasty germs . . . and they would not spread those nasty germs to the rest of us.

 

Just curious . . . and BTW, I am female and I do consider it housekeeping. I've worked as a housekeeper in a tourist resort, and there are slobs on both sides of the door. Balance and common sense are the key.

 

But, thanks for raising awareness.

[shelby_36]

Do you follow these procedures when you eat at McDonald's, shop at Walmart, etc.?

 

.

 

Actually I do not eat at Walmart. I do think they are nasty as well but I just make sure I don't put my hands near my mouth or go home and eat before thouroughly washing my hands.

 

At McD I wash my hands before I eat and they use plastic utensils and no buffet so it is not really the same thing.

[janabm81]

2 years ago when we went on Majesty there was a break out of NORO on the cruise before us. For our whole cruise they insisted we use the provided sanitizers and every time I saw a steward cleaning a room they ended by spraying the whole room with Lysol. It was nice to know that the cruise line was doing every thing in their power to keep the outbreak to that one cruise and under control.:)

[J & G]

I have been cruising for 20 years and have never done any of the things you say. I have never been ill on a cruise.

 

In my opinion, just normal precautions like washing your hands after using the bathroom is all that is necessary. Sounds to me like your cruise is not relaxed and enjoyable if you are always worrying about who has touched what.

 

I have often found it is the people who sanitise everything all the time are the ones that get sick as their bodies are not used to battling against everyday germs.

 

Lucky you.....I am quite healthy, but still a hand-washer. Despite that, I still had a night (in St. Lucia) of "worshipping the porcelain god" last spring.......:(

 

I will disinfect the entire room and carry hand wipes everywhere if it means the difference between staying well and having the "creeping crud" again. It cost us a valuable part of our vacation, as I couldn't be much fun when I had to constantly know the location of the next bathroom for a couple of days! :eek:

[luvscruising2007]

The true test is if there is a NORO outbreak and you don't get sick.

[sleepless]

Have your children press the elevator button with their knuckles. That helps.

 

 

How does that help? The person who touched it before you or your child may have touched it with their fingers. And you or your child may then rub their nose or eye with the back of their hand. The exposure is still the same. Knuckles are not a germ free area of the hand.

[English_in_Spain]

Lucky you.....I am quite healthy, but still a hand-washer. Despite that, I still had a night (in St. Lucia) of "worshipping the porcelain god" last spring.......:(

 

I will disinfect the entire room and carry hand wipes everywhere if it means the difference between staying well and having the "creeping crud" again. It cost us a valuable part of our vacation, as I couldn't be much fun when I had to constantly know the location of the next bathroom for a couple of days! :eek:

 

If you were sick then what were you doing out and about to have to worry about where the bathroom is? You should have been quarantined to your room.

[JJPacer]

I do all of that, and I am happy to see that I am not considered crazy~ I also use hand sanitizer quite frequently when we travel. The same conditions exist in the airplane terminal, on the airplane, bethrooms, etc. We have to protect ourselves from the ones who do not use proprer hygene. As a result of our vigulance, we have never suffered from this cruise halting horrible disease.

[lovetocruise99]

Have your children press the elevator button with their knuckles. That helps.

 

Or their sleeve or bottom of their shirt.

[Johnnyflatstick]

I have cruised 21 times and did catch the noro virus once. I have changed a few things since then:

 

Now, starting 10 days prior to the cruise, I take vinegar/lysol colonics twice daily. This way I save time as I don't have to wipe down anything. Anything I touch is immediately disinfected by the vinegar/lysol combination oozing from my pores.

 

I like to play craps, so when at the table if I see anyone blow on the dice I immediately call "NO ROLL" and ask for the dice so I can rub/disinfect them.

 

I feel safe at the dinner table, and have learned to live with the taste of vinegar/lysol in my wine, since the glass touches my fingers. This is the price we pay i guess....lately I have been strapping a washtub to my fiance's back when we go to dinner. i figured she could give everything a good cleaning before we eat or drink from it. She gets tired of standing though so I am looking for an improvement to this.

 

The other nuisance is that I constantly have to get new sea pass cards. it seems the combination of vinegar/lysol tends to dissolve the magnetic strip on the card.....who knew??

 

Seriously folks, wash your hands a lot, stay off the hand rails, use common sense, and most of all enjoy your vacation rather than be obsessed with this. I had the virus (obviously this was prior to implementing any of the above) and know first hand that it sucks. Much of it is luck, you can only do what you can do without being obsessive and over the top.