Silly Question - What Precautions Do You Take to Avoid Getting Sick on Cruise

We just got back from Escape on Saturday. By Wednesday my hubby had sore throat and it got worse as the week went on. He's going to the doctor tomorrow because he thinks he has a sinus infection.

We always use the hand sanitizer before we eat our meals and we always wash our hands thoroughly in the restroom. But we are constantly handing our key card to the waitress for drinks. And we don't wash our hands each time we get the key card back.

There are so many people on these ships. I'm just curious what you do to try to stay healthy while on board.

Thanks

Sorry but I have to say, drink a lot.

I start using Zicam oral mist a few days before I travel, throughout the duration of the cruise, and for a few days after.

It happens. When u r in close quarters with so many people diseases will spread. We also wash our hands often but there’s only so much you can do. I think that eat right, exercising, and sleeping enough on a regular basis to keep your immune system at its peak is the best you can do.

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I use vitamins and a travel ultrasonic diffuser. I use "Immune" from a company called Saje. I travel A LOT, and have not got sick once in almost two years of using it. I roll it on while on flights, in public spaces, before I go to sleep and use it in my diffuser.

I also only cruise in a balcony cabin as I air out my room a few times per day, ocean view and inside cabins are similar to living in an airplane for a week, no fresh air.

We just got back from Escape on Saturday. By Wednesday my hubby had sore throat and it got worse as the week went on. He's going to the doctor tomorrow because he thinks he has a sinus infection.

 

We always use the hand sanitizer before we eat our meals and we always wash our hands thoroughly in the restroom. But we are constantly handing our key card to the waitress for drinks. And we don't wash our hands each time we get the key card back.

 

There are so many people on these ships. I'm just curious what you do to try to stay healthy while on board.

 

Thanks

I also wash my hands often,use sanitizer use paper to open jons door.I avoid the buffet during rush hours. Six of us got off the BA and all of us had sore itchy throats with a bad cough the last day for two and two days later for the rest of us. We thought maybe the cold to warm then back to cold was the cause. Besides some rain it wasn't as cold as it could have been. The two that felt sick first got Z pac's and are fine. Nothing serious.

Other than ship hand sanitizer and lots of soap and water, nothing. Luckily my wife and I have had few real problems on our cruises health-wise. We hope it continues, we are careful in general though when it comes to handling anything that others have handled.

I don't hand my key card to anyone, saves health and money.

We wipe the room doors handles, etc, with disinfectant wipes as soon as we enter the room - it seems to help.

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Use the hand sanitizer and don't touch my eyes while out in public, wash my hands as soon as we get back to our room. If someone is coughing a lot, get away fast.

Last sailing on the BA, I requested that my straws NOT be opened and placed in my drink. They used to leave the paper end on, but not on our last sailing. I did not appreciate the bartenders fingers on my straw. Reported to f&b manager who was going to inservice the staff-again.Bartender had a cold, and many people caught it.

Safe sailing

We wipe the room doors handles, etc, with disinfectant wipes as soon as we enter the room - it seems to help.

 

 

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I do too and also wipe the remote control, light switches, shower door knobs etc.

Tracy

I don't hand my key card to anyone, saves health and money.

We were on the beverage package and needed to see it each time we ordered a drink.

Thanks for the great tips! We are cruising again in January with our 3 adult kids and their spouses so I want to be as careful as we can to avoid getting sick. Thanks again.

Thanks for the great tips! We are cruising again in January with our 3 adult kids and their spouses so I want to be as careful as we can to avoid getting sick. Thanks again.

I take the same precautions as I do around home. Wash my hands well regularly and avoid hand to mouth or eyes.

Do people catch colds, flu or whatever at home....yup, do they travelling....yup.

I think your risk is just as high out shopping at home as when you are on a ship and maybe more. On the ship crew are continually washing things like stair banisters, elevator buttons, door handles etc. Yes there is your keycard you pass back and forth getting on and off the ship or when purchasing things. But only one person at a time and you could wipe it off with sanitizing wipes each day if you are paranoid. But I think handling things like money or debit/credit card buttons, shopping cart handles escalator/stair bannisters, door handles at home, that rarely get cleaned, leaves you at a higher risk.

Did you fly to and from your departure port? You can pick up a lot of germs on an airplane! I always take Airborne a few days before I fly, and I also use saline spray (and sometimes saline gel) to keep my nasal passages moist. The air in an airplane is very dry and recirculated, and dry nasal passages are simply an invitation for germs to intrude. Also, clean surfaces such as your tray table and armrests with an antibacterial wipe.

Do the same thing in your stateroom aboard the ship. Wash your hands frequently, especially after using handrails on the stairs.

Wishing you healthy future travels!

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The best way to avoid getting sick is to be around lots of people all the time and build up your immune system. All of the things mentioned above make you feel better psychologically but have little to do with avoiding illness. It is almost impossible to avoid airbone illness which include the sore throats, upper respiratory and sinus infections. The threat of contact illnesses, like noro, can be minimized with hand washing.

Sore throats that only last a day or two are often a result of dehydration, so make sure to drink lots of water every day on your cruise.

We wipe the room doors handles, etc, with disinfectant wipes as soon as we enter the room - it seems to help.

 

 

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I do this too. BUT I order my Clorox wipes online. The ones in the stores do not kill Norovirus. I also load up on vitamin C before and during my trip, not by pill but by nutrition. Pill form only gives you expensive pee.

We just got back from Escape on Saturday. By Wednesday my hubby had sore throat and it got worse as the week went on. He's going to the doctor tomorrow because he thinks he has a sinus infection.

 

We always use the hand sanitizer before we eat our meals and we always wash our hands thoroughly in the restroom. But we are constantly handing our key card to the waitress for drinks. And we don't wash our hands each time we get the key card back.

 

There are so many people on these ships. I'm just curious what you do to try to stay healthy while on board.

 

Thanks

I’ve been in dozens of cruises and never got sick once. I rarely wash my hands even after going to the bathroom so I must be immune to it.

We just got back from Escape on Saturday. By Wednesday my hubby had sore throat and it got worse as the week went on. He's going to the doctor tomorrow because he thinks he has a sinus infection.

 

We always use the hand sanitizer before we eat our meals and we always wash our hands thoroughly in the restroom. But we are constantly handing our key card to the waitress for drinks. And we don't wash our hands each time we get the key card back.

 

There are so many people on these ships. I'm just curious what you do to try to stay healthy while on board.

 

Thanks

I think that is going a bit too far to be honest. There is nothing you can do to keep from being sick unless want to wear a face mask. People will always get sick and people lie to get onboard as well.

To all of you who have "never become sick on a cruise ship": your day will likely come.

I also had never become ill while cruising. I follow all of the suggestions mentioned, including pushing buttons with my knuckle/wrist and hovering over staircases while not actually touching any railings, avoiding the buffet, etc.

I became ill on a 22-day cruise with that "cruise cough" that is especially prevalent on longer voyages. There are so many people who have been traveling either on back to back cruises or flying. Most of these folks who are ill just suffer through the symptoms while being medicated and would never consider canceling a cruise because of a URI. And so they bring the illness on board a new cruise sailing.

I'm pretty sure I caught the virus on a bus tour in Hawaii where a couple sitting behind us were so ill and sneezing and coughing. They weren't about to cancel!

My recommendation is to carefully consider your over the counter medical kit. Be sure to include things like Nyquil and remedies for bronchitis. Our doctor always prescribes an antibiotic for us and this is the first time I used it.

I think that is going a bit too far to be honest. There is nothing you can do to keep from being sick unless want to wear a face mask. People will always get sick and people lie to get onboard as well.

Face masks aren’t meant to keep you from getting sick. They are meant to keep you from spreading and illness that you have. From what I’ve heard I think they have almost become a fashion statement in japan but that’s because they value hygiene, not to avoid themselves getting sick.

If OPs husband has just a sore throat and no other symptoms that can just as easily be caused by the ship’s air conditioning, different levels of moisture in the air than they are used to, allergies, etc. In my experience, nasal drip by itself isn’t going to be a sinus infection. That can happen for many different reasons.

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Thieves spray! I get it from Amazon.

We wipe the room doors handles, etc, with disinfectant wipes as soon as we enter the room - it seems to help.

This is our method as well. We also do the airplane tray table, armrest and other surfaces you can touch.

Then we take the precautions we take nearly everywhere: We avoid using our finger tips to push the elevator buttons and use our knuckles instead, try not to touch handrails on stairs and if we do touch them wash our hands asap, and use paper towels to open the door after washing our hands in a public restroom (many men do not wash their hands after urinating).

Cruises not only pack a lot of people into a small space, but also lead some of us to change our eating and drinking habits. The sudden increase in blood sugar can suppress your immune system.

We just got back from Escape on Saturday. By Wednesday my hubby had sore throat and it got worse as the week went on. He's going to the doctor tomorrow because he thinks he has a sinus infection.

 

We always use the hand sanitizer before we eat our meals and we always wash our hands thoroughly in the restroom. But we are constantly handing our key card to the waitress for drinks. And we don't wash our hands each time we get the key card back.

 

There are so many people on these ships. I'm just curious what you do to try to stay healthy while on board.

 

Thanks

the precautions I take all the time: "happy happy, washy washy" thy stay away from people sneezing or coughing, get enough sleep and not ruin my vacation by worrying about maybe getting sick. My opinion is: too many people worry way to much about germs: use common sense and just enjoy your cruise.