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Ever get sick at the end or just after?


dyslexic pirate
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I try to avoid the rich foods on board and drink only bottled water but I always wind up with stomach flu like syptoms at the end or just after a cruise.

 

Anyone else experience this? If so what have you don't to lessen your symptoms or avoid a recurrence on your next cruise?:(

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  • 4 weeks later...

I find washing your hands often and not touching the railings has helped in me not getting sick.

Two years ago on a cruise to Norway Hubby was so sick for 4 days I was not ....I did not touch the doors, railings etc...and if I did I washed my hands asap.

over 200 people were sick on the cruise

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  • 3 weeks later...

I get land sickness for about 4-5 days after. It usually sets in about an hour after we are off the ship. Last year my doctor told me to take ginger suppliments for a month before our cruise and it did help.

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  • 3 months later...

DH and I got sick toward the end of our first cruise. It was a flu-type virus. The next cruise I got my doctor to give me a just-in-case Rx for an anti-viral. We also bought a water purifier, and only drink water that's been through it.

 

But the best thing is washing hands frequently--with soap, about 30-60 seconds. We also carry small bottles of hand sanitizer and use them. Be aware that it isn't the touching of contaminated surfaces that makes you sick, it's touching your eyes or nose afterward that gives the virus entry to your system. Washing your hands frequently, especially after having touched a public surface, lessens the chance that the next time you rub your eyes you'll be giving yourself a nasty virus. Jury is out on whether putting something in your mouth after touching a contaminated surface is a problem. To be sure, we wash hands before eating anything.

 

Have been on 9 subsequent cruises, and never gotten sick like that again. I don't bring the anti-virals anymore; I feel confident that I can make it home.

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I have been ill just after my cruise. It's most likely because of being in the hot climate for 2 weeks then coming back to the cold, snow and ice. I recommend, as others already have on this thread, to wash your hands often. I also take with me some anti-bacterial hand lotion.

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OMG!. I started feeling a little sick at the end of the cruise and one or two days after the cruise I had the worst case of tonsillitis. Barely had enough room to swallow or breath. Of course, I went to the doctor and they gave those great antibiotics and all was well after about a week and a half.

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Airborne is great, so is Emer'gen-C - the are both immune system boosters. I take them whenever/wherever I travel, and usually take some a few hours before flying. Guess I'm germ-phobic.

 

On my first cruise, which happened to be my honeymoon, I got sick with a respiratory infection the first day of the cruise, then after snorkeling in Grand Cayman, ended up with a UTI - had to see the ship doctor on the last port day of the cruise because I was SO sick. He could only treat the UTI, as I am allergic to penicillin and some other meds, and I had to wait until I was home to get the respiratory infection treated.

 

Now I make sure I bring antibiotics and other OTC meds with me *just in case*......anyone who is prone to a particular type of illness would be wise to do the same.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I have gotten cold like symptoms several times on cruises. Sore throat, sinus, cough, tired. I have tried washing my hands repeatedly/almost religously on the trips and it still happens. Perhaps an allergy? Always disappointing but if you're going to be sick, bundled up on a deck chair on the promanade with a good book is the way to go.

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  • 1 year later...

What do you mean by land sickness? When I was on a cruise I developed vertigo/dizziness that lasted for several weeks.

 

I get land sickness for about 4-5 days after. It usually sets in about an hour after we are off the ship. Last year my doctor told me to take ginger suppliments for a month before our cruise and it did help.
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My partner and myself are recently off the Sapphire Princess around NZ/Aust. He went down with a flu-like illness on arrival in Hobart and it hit me in Melbourne. About 80% of the group (16 people) we were hanging with came down with it too along with many other PAX before the end of the cruise. We spent our 1st weekend home in bed doing nothing but it took over a week before it cleared up completely.

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I just feel the house rocking for a day or so...that and a "food hangover"!

 

 

I have the same problem for several days post cruise........thought it was just me!! Did you do anything for it?

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The first three times I went to the Caribbean on a cruise, I came down with a cold on the final day. (Remember, with a coupla thousand strangers and a thousand more crew all crammed into a few hundred feet, no matter how gleaming and shiny-new your ship may seem, they're all just big floatin' petri dishes!) This has become less of a problem in recent trips, both because I'm more conscious and careful about frequent hand-washing and because the ships have alchohol-based hand sanitizers strategically placed all over, in an effort to cut down on norovirus transmission etc.

 

My first cruise to the Caribbean was in Jan of '02 aboard the late lamented SS Norway (former transatlantic liner SS France.) After flying home, my cold morphed into a cough so horrible I thought it was bronchitis. (The friend I shared the cabin with also caught a cold, and hers turned into an ear infection!) My doctor doubted my self-diagnosis and suggested I hang in there for a few more days, and take whatever made me feel better.

 

I quickly exhausted my third of a bottle of Irish whiskey (for comparison, it had taken me over a year to sip my way through the first two-thirds) and I headed to the liquor store in search of more relief. I saw that for the same price as a new full-size bottle, I could get a sampler of six mini-bottles of various single-malt scotches, something I'd never really tried. My healing process was thus an enjoyable learning experience as well.:p

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  • 2 months later...

On all three cruises! :( On this last cruise, I was curious to see if I would again get a bad cold on my last night. To my dismay, I actually got sick on the NEXT to the last night, instead of the last night. The worst head-cold you could imagine. I've always assumed it was the changes in temp. I'm definitely thinking of trying that Airborne to see if that helps next time!

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I also have a little trouble after a cruise with feeling like I am still on the ship - the house is rocking for 3 or 4 days. I never have gotten seasick. So I think this is a result of accomodating your equilibrium to the ship's movement (aka getting your "sea legs"), which maybe prevents sea sickness. So then I guess you have to get your land legs back.

 

After port stops in Mexico, I usually get a bit of a lower GI illness, no matter how careful I am. Usually remedied with OTC medications. One time I went ashore and didn't eat or drink anything (went back to the ship for lunch) - and no illness.

 

To avoid the illnesses passed around aboard ship, I wash hands after touching public surfaces, and this has seemed to prevent picking up infections that occur when people are in such close quarters.

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  • 1 month later...

While I can't comment on cruising in particular (we're just about to head out on our first one!), I have travelled extensively and lived abroad. I've found a few things can cause me to get sick:

 

Being flat-out busy in the lead up (usually with work) (worse was my honeymoon - sick on the 3rd day of our 6 days away. Worked a heap of overtime in order to get time off for the wedding, worked right up to the day before which was a public holiday. Completely crashed on the HM)

 

Change in climates/temperatures etc

 

Eating habits - when you travel, normal eating patterns can go out the window

 

Crossing multiple time zones

 

Washing hands is good - I especially do it before meals; and I now travel with a backup supply of things like nasal spray and soft tissues just in case I start coming down with something.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I've done back-to-back cruises a few times, and always seemed to pick up a cold while visiting shore in between the sailings and be miserable for the second week. Now I always take Cold-Eze.

 

Have also suffered Montezuma's Revenge with a vengeance after eating one piece of raw potato that was an appetizer at Carlos & Charlie's in Cozumel. Now I never go without Immodium.

 

Another time I became deathly ill (fever, chills, diarrhea) about 2 days after returning from a cruise. Don't know if I picked it up on the ship or in the airport, but I suspect it was norovirus. Lasted 4-5 days.

 

This year my father started getting a cough toward the end of our week in Bermuda that got increasingly worse. He couldn't shake it even after we got home.

 

So after all the weird little tummy/bladder troubles, sinus attacks, headaches, cuts, bug bites, etc., I and companions have sustained on cruises, I have assembled a little medicine kit that's a virtual OTC drugstore, with more in it than I keep in my own bathroom!

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  • 9 years later...

I will literally never go on a cruise again. I was told I was positive for flu but discovered the test is not that valid. Now after spending tons of money I have to wait to see if they will release me from my prison. Since I have been on this cruise for a week I either got it from another passenger or on the airplane. If I were on my own, I would get the meds and be able to go where I want and not be jailed. This is my 11th cruise and I sincerely will never put myself in this position again. I am not wealthy enough to take a long cruise like this to miss things I planned to see for over 3 years.

Oh yes, they told me I get my laundry done for free..I don't allow anyone to do my laundry. Like that will make up for anything. I was well enough to go on an excursion today and thought I might be developing bronchitis due to a cough. So once again, I don't trust the test being accurate but it is probably exciting for them to report it. When I walked in, they were so unconcerned with my symptoms they offered me over the counter meds but stupid me believed, and still do , that I had bronchitis, and said I'd see the doctor.

Edited by sparkle57912
left out something
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I was very sick after I got home from the first five cruises even though I frequently washed my hands and used airborne. I then stopped eating at buffets and carried my own hand sanitizer to use after using handrails. The last two cruises I have been fine both during and after.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

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  • 7 months later...

So its not just me? After nearly every cruise I get a cold and chest infection. The worst one was when we picked a lovely quiet spot for sunbathing under a grille/air outlet of some sort on the top deck. I've been blaming flying. However the jury is still out and I have to say the only times I haven't had a problem is when we sail from the UK. We stopped flying for some time and decided to give it a go. Guess what? I,m laid out with a cold and chest infection at the moment.

It needs looking into though because the on cost to the economy when it is unavoidably spread to others on return must be colossal. I,m wondering if it starts on the cruise and is exasperated by the cabin pressure on the plane. Whatever it is I would really like to know. I used First Defence this time. Didnt make any difference. I should also mention we are scrupulous with hand washing and sanitising and my wife doesn't get it. Well not for a few days later anyway!!

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  • 1 month later...

I can usually feel the ship rocking back and forth for a couple of days after a cruise. And if I take a train back home (like when using the New Orleans port), that throws another motion into the same mix. My co-workers all look at me funny, until I explain.

 

I have found that the salty sea air helps to kill off and clear up respiratory infections. And the salty wind and sea spray on deck helps me to truly feel alive! Perhaps it's also the excitement of a cruise that helps to stave off infections.

 

The worst illness I got on a cruise was the last night of the cruise, when I got food poisoning from what was some undercooked eggs or chicken, I think. I was shaky and weak going through the airport all next day on the way back home. But I made it.

 

I agree with others in that I almost never take a chance consuming the native food/drink while in cruise ports, and have never had a problem as a result.

 

In 2003, I sailed on the SS Norway, about a month after she had a major noro-virus outbreak in the news headlines. We had no significant problems, but if you looked carefully you could see the crew cleaning and hosing everything down. Kudos to NCL!

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  • 4 weeks later...

I took my dad on a 10 day for christmas after my mom died. We both became sick with the worst uppe r respiratory infections either of us have ever had! A week and half to get over it. I blame it on an "exotic" virus to us. You are with people from all over the world and have maybe not been exposed to their "strains" of colds, etc. It is a rather local thing as far as exposure and immunity goes.

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