I'm not a germ snob...but quit filling up your water bottles right from the dispenser

[WinterSky]

So I guess it's okay for me to just swing on by your table while you're eating and spit in your food, then watch you eat it. Because there is literally no difference. It's the same germs in my spit as what ends up being transmitted from water bottles. No less gross or disgusting.

 

Now imagine 10 people doing this? How about 20 or 30 or more? Still interested in eating your dinner? Oh, and don't complain about noro or other illnesses spreading like wild fire either, or blame the cruise lines when it happens.

 

So seriously, if you have a problem with this, then you should have exactly the same problem with people filling their water bottles at the drink dispenser.

 

Yes! You are so right. Thank you!!!:)

[chloemonkey]

I dont get the soda card thing? After spending so much money to cruise, people smuggle in alcohol and bring their own water on board. To me a soda card is a minimal expense considering what you are paying for the actual vacation., JMO

Hopefully one day doing what it takes to get the most out of your cruise doesnt come back to bite you in the butt :rolleyes:

 

I too have often wondered WHY on earth anyone would bother to carry on water, etc! And as for this bottle thing, why don't people just BUY the water bottles from the ship and be done with it?

 

Most of what I have read seems to indicate that most "bugs" onboard are picked up from handrails, etc. But I haven't seen many walking around with gloves on yet....

[WinterSky]

I too have often wondered WHY on earth anyone would bother to carry on water, etc! And as for this bottle thing, why don't people just BUY the water bottles from the ship and be done with it?

 

Most of what I have read seems to indicate that most "bugs" onboard are picked up from handrails, etc. But I haven't seen many walking around with gloves on yet....

 

It is interesting that you suggest, those of us who have legitimate concerns about the unsanitary habits of some passengers, buy our water, rather than suggest that those passengers follow the posted 'do not fill water bottles' signs posted at the water dispenser.

 

I am not sure where you got your information about 'most bugs' being on handrails, but I do agree the handrails are a point of risk, as are all public surfaces and even more so, things like shared tongs and any beverage dispenser with a lever etc. That is why some of us with compromised immune systems have to wash our hands constantly and use hand sanitizer when soap and water is not available.

 

In the case of people like me, it is extremely serious. If we do go to the buffet, I select from the back of the trays or when taking meat etc., I use the tongs to turn over the pile of meat to take from underneath. After I get my food to the table, my husband and I re-sanitizes our hands before opening our napkin wrapped cutlery and again after opening the napkin. We do not use that napkin and before we touch the exposed cutlery, we re-sanitize our hands again. I carry clean napkins in my purse to use.

 

In my case, if I am exposed to bacteria, fungi or viruses, I can end up in hospital fighting for my life. I get tired of all these constant precautions, but I do what I have to do to protect myself. In the case of the water dispenser, all I ask is that fellow passengers follow the posted signs including the one that says not to fill your water bottle at the dispenser. I can protect myself from germs on the lever by sanitizing my hands but I have no way to deal with bacteria someone may have left on the faucet when the mouth of their water bottle touched it, or when water hitting the inside bottom of their bottle splashes up and hits the faucet.

 

After my most recent septic shock and time in Intensive Care as a result of bacteria, I do plan to buy my water on our next cruise, but your suggestion that this is the 'solution' is insulting. I am not the one doing wrong. The people ignoring the posted sign to NOT fill their water bottled (or other personal beverage cups/containers for that matter since water hitting the bottom can splash up) are the ones at fault. If everyone obeyed the rule, it would be perfectly safe for me to use water from the dispenser.

 

Be assured that there are people like me on your cruise too.

[mesci14]

Your concern about this is well founded, and I for one, would like to express appreciation for your efforts to draw much needed attention to this issue.

 

I would suggest that those persons who have responded to your post by 'poo pooing' this as something trivial have little experience with serious illness, and are ignorant of the dangers. People forget so quickly about the outbreaks that have often affected large numbers of passengers, and required specialized decontamination protocols.

 

For some of us, it doesn't even have to get to that level in order to put our lives at risk. We have to be vigilant and constantly protecting ourselves from the unclean habits of others. In my own case, I have a serious illness for which I receive two different chemo therapies. The disease itself, as well as these medications, compromise my immune system, making me vulnerable to bacteria, fungi and viruses.

 

I am very careful at home and in public. I am constantly washing my hands. I always use a sleeve to open all public doors, not just washroom doors. I use a paper towel to turn off the taps in a public washroom (if I have to use one) and to open the door. I take care to never touch my face with my hands unless I have just washed them, whether at home or in public. I quickly move away when I find myself in a public place where someone is sneezing or coughing. When we bring our groceries home, we take the time to wash all bottles and cans before putting them away. On a cruise ship, we never eat dinner on embarkation day in a dining room where a muster drill wash held because the tables are set for dinner before the muster drill. Have you ever noticed how many people play with the cutlery and dishes on the tables to entertain themselves during muster drill?

 

I bet by now you are thinking that I am crazy and overly cautious, right? You would not be thinking that if you had been in the Emergency Department six months ago when my husband rushed me in with a fever of 104.7 which came on in a matter of a few hours. I was in a state of septic shock as a result of some bacteria I had come in contact with. It took them seven hours to stabalize me enough to be moved to the Intensive Care Unit where I stayed for several days before being moved to a medical unit where I stayed for quite some time.

 

People would not treat things like disobeying posted signs to 'not fill water bottles' at the dispenser so lightly if they had to endure, while conscious, having a surgeon make an incision in their shoulder and push a central line under their collar bone and thread it directly into their heart, or having the doctor tell you that if they have children, that they should be called in. A few days later, that doctor told me that they did not think I would make it through the night. Why? Because of a bacteria believed to have been contracted in a public place. For healthy people, those germs are no big deal, but for some of us they are.

 

For people who refill their water bottle at the dispenser despite being directed by the cruise line not to... I say, how selfish and thoughtless of you. I would bet that you don't even bring dish detergent from home to properly clean that refillable water bottle during the cruise. I would also say to those same people... be assured that on virtually every cruise there is someone like me, perhaps several people like me, whose health and life can be seriously impacted by the lack of cleanliness and compliance to posted food and beverage protocols of some passengers.

 

I know that my illness is likely to eventually claim my life and that may be inevitable, however, it boggles my mind that so many people are so uneducated about the dangers associated with such behaviors, and so freely express little interest in the concerns others express on this issue.

 

 

Wintersky I would have been the one poo-pooing it a bit earlier (if I had commented). I would have followed the rules, but would wonder why when the type of water bottle we have, we would remove the mouth part before filling up. I have always felt I have been considerate in the past about buffets, etc. But given the situation you have just described to me, I certainly understand your need and will not be poo-poing any such suggestions or comments in the future. Best of luck with your health.

[che5904]

Wintersky I would have been the one poo-pooing it a bit earlier (if I had commented). I would have followed the rules, but would wonder why when the type of water bottle we have, we would remove the mouth part before filling up. I have always felt I have been considerate in the past about buffets, etc. But given the situation you have just described to me, I certainly understand your need and will not be poo-poing any such suggestions or comments in the future. Best of luck with your health.

 

mesci14 I think you hit the nail on the head with this comment. That some people are not being gross, icky, lack manners etc but just don't realize that they are doing anything that would hurt anyone else, because they didn't lick their fingers before touching the tongs, they didn't put a bottle to the dispenser that touched their mouth etc. But they are still all lumped in the same category as people who do lack proper cleanliness. And chastized just as harshly.

 

I think since those squeeze in your mouth water bottles are an extremely popular water bottle that that part of refilling is probably the one that is most done.

 

Yes there are signs at the buffet and yes NCL has rules about this. But hey folks I read on a daily basis on CC of people encouraging others to break NCL's rules, whether it booze smuggling, putting teens or children in their own cabin across the hall, or breaking chair holding rules. These 2 comparisons are not remotely the same as this one has to do with health however, I write this in defense of anyone that will come back against what I said above by just stating that their are signs and rules and shoud be followed.

[knmm08]

I understand the germ issue here and yes it is completely wrong when people fill up their bottles with the mouth piece directly next to the dispenser.

The water dispensers on our cruise ship poured out slow and in a small stream, as long as the bottle wasn't too large you would be able to set it down and let the water fill into it without the mouth piece being anywhere near the dispenser.

And as stated before, this really isn't any different than a soda fountain in a restaraunt.

[WinterSky]

[quote name='mesci14']Wintersky I would have been the one poo-pooing it a bit earlier (if I had commented). I would have followed the rules, but would wonder why when the type of water bottle we have, we would remove the mouth part before filling up. I have always felt I have been considerate in the past about buffets, etc. But given the situation you have just described to me, I certainly understand your need and will not be poo-poing any such suggestions or comments in the future. Best of luck with your health.[/quote]

Thank you so much for your reply. I know that people just don't understand the risks some of us face because they have had no reason to become familiar with these risks. That is why these discussions are so great. We can share information with each other. I personally have learned a great deal from these boards.

With the water bottles, and and other reusable personal cups and containers, when the water hits the bottom of the bottle, cup or container, there is splash upward that can contaminate the spout.

Thank you for listening and caring. It means a lot to me. :)

[DGP1111]

[SIZE=3][COLOR=darkred]February 2011 - - [I]Norwegian EPIC[/I][/COLOR][/SIZE]

[IMG]http://dgp1111.smugmug.com/Vacation/Cruise/Norwegian-EPIC-0211/Water-Bottle-Sign/1215565853_icEYV-L.jpg[/IMG]
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[WinterSky]

[quote name='DGP1111'][SIZE=3][COLOR=darkred]February 2011 - - [I]Norwegian EPIC[/I][/COLOR][/SIZE]

[IMG]http://dgp1111.smugmug.com/Vacation/Cruise/Norwegian-EPIC-0211/Water-Bottle-Sign/1215565853_icEYV-L.jpg[/IMG]
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Nice photo!

[C Cruise Dude]

[quote name='WinterSky']Thank you so much for your reply. I know that people just don't understand the risks some of us face because they have had no reason to become familiar with these risks. That is why these discussions are so great. We can share information with each other. I personally have learned a great deal from these boards.

With the water bottles, and and other reusable personal cups and containers, when the water hits the bottom of the bottle, cup or container, there is splash upward that can contaminate the spout.

Thank you for listening and caring. It means a lot to me. :)[/quote]

[SIZE=4][B]When I was on the Pearl last November, they had a person stationed at the dispensers filling cups with water and juice so that passengers did not have access to the dispensers. She would also give you ice. I purchased the NCL mug and filled my mug with their cups, no contact.[/B][/SIZE]

[SIZE=4][B]I observed a woman on the Sky putting her bottle against the dispenser and mentioned to her the spreading of germs by doing that and she looked at me like I was from another planet.[/B][/SIZE]

[WinterSky]

[quote name='C Cruise Dude'][SIZE=4][B]When I was on the Pearl last November, they had a person stationed at the dispensers filling cups with water and juice so that passengers did not have access to the dispensers. She would also give you ice. I purchased the NCL mug and filled my mug with their cups, no contact.[/B][/SIZE]

[SIZE=4][B]I observed a woman on the Sky putting her bottle against the dispenser and mentioned to her the spreading of germs by doing that and she looked at me like I was from another planet.[/B][/SIZE][/quote]

Now what they were doing on the Pearl would be nice for all of the NCL ships. The response you got from the woman on the Sky is similar to what I get from people all the time. I often wonder if it is a generational thing. I am 56 years old and I know that when we were kids, there were no discussions of gems. We shared food and beverage containers with family, schoolmates and friends. As I got older, there was the odd time when 'germs' were given attention and everyone thought that the person talking about it was just a bit deranged. There is much more knowledge and understanding of these risks today, and hopefully, children are being educated about these in school. In the meantime, I understand that the biggest problem is lack of knowledge and understanding on the part of people and not overt malice.

What is really wonderful to hear is accounts from people like yourself who demonstrate that you understand the risks and do care, not only about your own well-being, but the well-being of others as well. :)