Novo Virus on the Island

[Kamloops50]

Currently sailing on the Island Princess S/B to Vancouver.

 

Suspect that the Nor walk virus is on board.

 

Suddenly overnight salt/pepper/sugar containers have

 

been removed from the tables. At lunch all the food is

 

served by the staff and no self serve.Even in the pizzia

 

area.:confused:

[Duck Duck Cruise]

Sounds like it. Your cruise can still be awesome. Just be sure to wash your hands thoroughly and enjoy the rest of the cruise.

[CanuckCurlers]

You are likely right. Try not to use the public washrooms and avoid holding onto the railings as well. Not to worry though if you are careful. They have to start taking precautions when a very small percentage of people have become ill.

[Sauvignon]

You are likely right. Try not to use the public washrooms and avoid holding onto the railings as well. Not to worry though if you are careful. They have to start taking precautions when a very small percentage of people have become ill.

 

Yes, remember that the actual numbers affected will likely be very low. From recent experience it seems that the personal hygiene regime ( or lack of it) of fellow passengers can be a huge factor in this situation.

[ONT-CA]

We are curious as to the designation Island Princess S/B to Vancouver. We sailed the Island from Vancouver to FLL in the fall and again from FLL to Acapulco with a b2b to FLL just a few months ago. Nary a thought of Norwalk. So where did this cruise begin?

[Shogun]

Hi There,

 

It is the first signs, having done a few cruises where it was at highest Level eg contractors brought on board to assist in cleaning and not been ill, so just wash your hands do not touch your month, and avoid touching all those common things .

 

However do not let it spoil your cruise.

 

yours Shogun

[caber]

A friend of mine is just off the Grand and reported that norovirus was onboard there. They were ok.

[uppitycats]

Yep. Sounds like it. That's one nasty bug...I speak from experience. :o I hope you manage to avoid it, and still enjoy your cruise.

[rdsqrl]

Currently sailing on the Island Princess S/B to Vancouver.

 

Suspect that the Nor walk virus is on board.

 

Suddenly overnight salt/pepper/sugar containers have

 

been removed from the tables. At lunch all the food is

 

served by the staff and no self serve.Even in the pizzia

 

area.:confused:

Well, if you're currently sailing southbound to Vancouver, I think you have bigger problems than Norovirus -- you're lost, as Vancouver is north of L.A. . . .

[Duck Duck Cruise]

Well, if you're currently sailing southbound to Vancouver, I think you have bigger problems than Norovirus -- you're lost, as Vancouver is north of L.A. . . .

 

I think they are southbound from Alaska to Vancouver. The Island is doing her Alaska runs now, I believe.

[Pam in CA]

This is not at all unusual. Expect to have rolls and butter served to you as well as no salt or pepper on the table at dinner. While annoying, it's for your protection.

[SeattleCruiselover]

We are curious as to the designation Island Princess S/B to Vancouver. We sailed the Island from Vancouver to FLL in the fall and again from FLL to Acapulco with a b2b to FLL just a few months ago. Nary a thought of Norwalk. So where did this cruise begin?

 

Whittier AK.

[Sunnystone]

We are on the Island currently and the Captain announced a short time ago we have a norvirus outbreak. Lots of procedures in place but we are still having a great time!

Some of us are hoping that we need to be "quarantined" for a few additional days at sea :)

 

Seriously, does anyone know issues we may encounter trying to come into Vancouver? Also, how many people need to get sick before they make the announcement they made today? After having been on more cruises than I can count, I have never heard an announcement like this before. Still, we are having a ball!

[sunsetbeachgal]

MY DH unfortunately contracted Noro on our Panama Canal cruise on the Island this past November. We felt that we practically had bathed in hand sanitizer, but to no avail-actually I think the germs are airborne. Believe me, you do not want to be quarantined for a few more days-quarantine is exactly that-you do not leave your cabin and his case it was 48 hours. Food is delivered, a special crew cleans your room (they all wear surgical masks and were called the Hit Squad) and the nurse calls every few hours. I saw the list of cabins being cleaned by the hit squad and it looked like about 30 at that time.

[spongerob]

Seriously, does anyone know issues we may encounter trying to come into Vancouver? Also, how many people need to get sick before they make the announcement they made today? After having been on more cruises than I can count, I have never heard an announcement like this before. Still, we are having a ball!

It's actually pretty common although how the message is communicated is not always the same. We have had notices in our cabin concerning possible outbreaks, seen the response teams in action to clean up cabins where the occupants were infected, and once or twice have had boarding delayed so the crew could do extra cleaning. We haven't had any problems at disembarkation fortunately.

[Coral]

We are on the Island currently and the Captain announced a short time ago we have a norvirus outbreak. Lots of procedures in place but we are still having a great time!

Some of us are hoping that we need to be "quarantined" for a few additional days at sea :)

 

Seriously, does anyone know issues we may encounter trying to come into Vancouver? Also, how many people need to get sick before they make the announcement they made today? After having been on more cruises than I can count, I have never heard an announcement like this before. Still, we are having a ball!

 

They have to report to CDC when it reaches 3%. Depending on the Captain and how quickly it is spreading (new reports are reported) - they can make the decision at any time to notify people. I almost think anytime they get more then a handful of cases, they should report it so that people take extra precautions.

 

I have been on ships with 6% and it was a weird feeling. Sort of scary - thankfully I stayed healthy.

 

Here is a recent report of a Celebrity cruise reporting to CDC: http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/vsp/surv/outbreak/2010/may06zuiderdam.htm

 

Here is a report of a March cruise with 22% of the passengers ill - I thought 6% was huge: http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/vsp/surv/outbreak/2010/march19mercury.htm

[ceilidh1]

MY DH unfortunately contracted Noro on our Panama Canal cruise on the Island this past November. We felt that we practically had bathed in hand sanitizer, but to no avail-actually I think the germs are airborne. Believe me, you do not want to be quarantined for a few more days-quarantine is exactly that-you do not leave your cabin and his case it was 48 hours. Food is delivered, a special crew cleans your room (they all wear surgical masks and were called the Hit Squad) and the nurse calls every few hours. I saw the list of cabins being cleaned by the hit squad and it looked like about 30 at that time.

 

Hand sanitizer has no effect on noro virus. The virus particles are so tiny that all sanitizer does is wedge them deeper into the grooves of your fingerprints. It does not kill it. hand washing with soap and water is the only truly effective measure - soap and water does not kill the virus either, but it washes it off your hands. Also, as others have stated, avoid touching your mouth, nose, or eyes. It's only airborne when you have direct contact with vomit from an infected person (which is why there are special measures/protective clothing used to handle any clean up).

[Sauvignon]

They have to report to CDC when it reaches 3%. Depending on the Captain and how quickly it is spreading (new reports are reported) - they can make the decision at any time to notify people. I almost think anytime they get more then a handful of cases, they should report it so that people take extra precautions.

 

I have been on ships with 6% and it was a weird feeling. Sort of scary - thankfully I stayed healthy.

 

Here is a recent report of a Celebrity cruise reporting to CDC: http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/vsp/surv/outbreak/2010/may06zuiderdam.htm

 

Here is a report of a March cruise with 22% of the passengers ill - I thought 6% was huge: http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/vsp/surv/outbreak/2010/march19mercury.htm

 

While I agree that figures such as 22% sound and indeed are a little alarming, it is worth remembering that this represents the total number of people affected over a period of time and not those infected at any one time.

[psyfi]

hand sanitizer is an anti-bacterial, not an anti-viral. I think the belief that it will kill the virus actually increases it's spread as it is often used in place of good handwashing practices. I'm on the Island next week so I hope they get this under control--sigh...

[need2travel]

Some of us are hoping that we need to be "quarantined" for a few additional days at sea :)

 

 

They won't quarantine you after your cruise is over, they'll put you in the nearest hospital until you recover. On your dime. At least that's what the nurse told me when I had the dreaded noro.

[DrivesLikeMario]

Currently sailing on the Island Princess S/B to Vancouver.

 

Suspect that the Nor walk virus is on board.

 

Suddenly overnight salt/pepper/sugar containers have

 

been removed from the tables. At lunch all the food is

 

served by the staff and no self serve.Even in the pizzia

 

area.:confused:

 

:confused: The pizza is always served to you. It's not self-serve in Poseidon's. Do you mean the square-cut pizza in the HC? :confused:

[Katie333]

There was norovirus on our Panama Canal cruise, starting from Day 2 and lasting until the end of the voyage. The 6 of us travelling together did not succumb but we were fairly militant about precautions. Our room steward told us (the last day!) that his was the only section on the ship that did not have at least one case.

 

The captain also indicated - and near the end he was sounding extremely angry each time he came on the PA system - that passengers were not observing their quarantine and this was preventing containment. I completely get how being quarantined would be so disappointing but it was very frustrating for the rest of the passengers.

[Sunnystone]

All appears to be on track on the Island and we are due for an on time arrival in Vancouver in the morning. I am however going to buy stock in hand sanitizers after the amount that I have seen used in the past 2 days!!!

The sick are quarantined and while rumors are running to actual numbers of people there is no credible report of the Island's %. They sent a letter to all cabins but it was mostly reinforcing sanitary procedures.

Just another cruise story to add to the history....

[Kamloops50]

The virus was confirmed on Sat by the Captain.

 

A passenger? brought it on board at Whittier AK:eek:

[VegasPier]

We are on the Island currently and the Captain announced a short time ago we have a norvirus outbreak. Lots of procedures in place but we are still having a great time!

Some of us are hoping that we need to be "quarantined" for a few additional days at sea :)

 

Seriously, does anyone know issues we may encounter trying to come into Vancouver? Also, how many people need to get sick before they make the announcement they made today? After having been on more cruises than I can count, I have never heard an announcement like this before. Still, we are having a ball!

 

You do NOT want to be quarantined on the ship, at sea or in port. Being isolated in your small cabin is not any fun whatsoever. Even if you have a balcony room it’s like a prison cell.

While it would be irresponsible for someone to hide a contagious illness, you should avoid unnecessary quarantine at all costs. If you have any kind of gastrointestinal upset I would be very careful about reporting to sick bay. The CDC says that Norovirus symptoms may also include “a low-grade fever, chills, headache, muscle aches, and a general sense of tiredness.” Without something other than loose bowels I’m not going to report my discomfort as Norovirus.

 

It’s my opinion that 50% of the diarrhea reported as Norovirus is due to the drastic change in diet, and rich diet, that many passengers are suddenly exposed to on a cruise. Those of us that have tried the ice cream on Princess know how rich it is.

 

As others have said, avoid public bathrooms, don’t touch anything that you can avoid, use the hand sanitizers that are placed all over the ship. You shouldn’t have any problems.

 

My wife developed a habit on a cruise that we took in 2008 that had an Norovirus outbreak; she will not push an elevator button with her finger tip, it’s always with a knuckle.

 

Cheers, VegasPier