Noro on Ruby sailing March 3-10

[bookmama22]

thanks for the CDC link.

 

I am a bit surprised at the lack of follow-up by Princess.. no communication since disembarkation other than standard evaluation questionnaire and marketing piece to try to sell you another cruise....

 

it will be a very long time before I consider going on another cruise.

[Belle]

You said be a long time before you go again

because of Noro.

 

Think again..you can get this any place.

Stores. schools, hospitals, homes ect.

Any place people go..noro goes.

 

The ship had only 8% sick, not fun if

your one of them but that is so few

out of thousands on a ship.

 

No one wants to get sick..don't blame

the ships..it's what can happen.

 

WASH YOUR HANDS OFTEN EVERYONE!

[caribill]

it will be a very long time before I consider going on another cruise.

 

Americans have about 20,000,000 norovirus cases a year (http://www.cdc.gov/features/norovirus/).

 

Over 19,995,000 of those cases are not on a cruise ship.

[Iamcruzin]

This thread reminds me of when my kids were young and they got sick. My mother would spend the entire time they were sick trying to figure out how they caught whatever they had at the time. It would just grate on my nerves. I would tell her to give it a rest because if medical science can't figure it out I doubt that a stay at home mother of the 60's and 70's could. I doubt that any passenger or crew member would be able to tell where, when and how they got noro. If they could it wouldn't be wide spread. Trust me if there was a way to prevent this the pharmaceutical companies would be all over this like white on rice for pure profit.

[gingera]

I have often wondered how it spreads as DH caught it a few years ago on the IP, and I never got it (we were an inside cabin so I really couldn't get away either) and my friend caught it a year ago on a cruise and her DH didn't get it either. So much for being in close proximity with someone with the virus.

 

I have had it but rest of family did not...it was probable Noro, I wasn't cultured for it....If you look the Noro up on the CDC website, it says it is spread by contact and washing hands is the best way to prevent spread of the virus....Noro is all over, in daycare, hospitals, schools...

[gingera]

Imodium ( loperamide 2mg) is recomended . 2 capsule to start, and then one after each loose stool. Maybe in the Medical Center there are other options but fortunately I don't know about them. In fact this was the first cruise I've been with a noro outbreak . Made me nervous.

 

there are antiemetics, that help the nausea; ondantestron(spelling? also called zofran), compazine, droperidol and some other, but need prescription. Eat bland diet, or mostly liquids...some drs say gatorade or some similar product if there is a lot of vomiting and diarrhea. Some people need IV fluids if they become dehydrated. Children and the elderly are the ones who are most at risk for complications. The immodium is for the diarrhea.

[gingera]

I'm sorry, I am not sure that I understand your question . Noro outbreak was announced Sunday morning as we were getting ready to desinbark.

 

Sorry if you didn't understand my question..I was wondering if the Noro virus was confirmed in any way, that is, by a culture, or was it diagnosed by symptoms..When I had the Noro(suspected by my symptoms), my health service didn't want to even see me at the clinic. They diagnosed it by my symptoms only...is that what the ships do?

[FritzG]

Are you sure it was Noro? Ruby and other lines aren't stopping at Grand Turk as they suspect that is where passes enters are getting sick, possibly from the water.

[CleoV]

When you wash your hands, you're not KILLING noro. You're washing it off. Hence, at least 20 seconds of good scrubbing (wrists too). No soap kills noro. Hot water doesn't kill noro. You are only washing it off.

[CleoV]

thanks for the CDC link.

 

I am a bit surprised at the lack of follow-up by Princess.. no communication since disembarkation other than standard evaluation questionnaire and marketing piece to try to sell you another cruise....

 

it will be a very long time before I consider going on another cruise.

 

Don't make noro the reason you don't cruise. You can get it from the cart at the grocery store, the pump handle at the gas station, your icky workplace, restaurant menus. Going to stop going to those places, too?

 

It's really simple: wash your hands before you eat, and avoid touching your face if you've touched other things. Wash, wash, wash.

 

Noro is transmitted by feces/vomitus entering your digestive system via mouth/nose/eyes (yuck, huh?), but it only takes a TINY TINY TINY (microscopic) amount. And it's shed for up to 7 days by those who have recently had it. So...WASH WITH SOAP AND WATER BEFORE YOU PUT YOUR HANDS TO YOUR FACE. It's that simple.

[Sadie Star]

My wife and I were part of a group of 8 who sailed with the Ruby Princess on Mar 3-10. Three members of that group including my wife and I came down with something we believe was Noro virus overnight Saturday in to Sunday morning. We did not report to the dispensary so it is possible infection was higher than the 8% or so mentioned elsewhere. We are not, however, blaming Princess. An illness like noro virus spreads quickly in a closed environment. Our sons were both exposed while at university a few years back and the outbreak shut down the campus for a week.

 

From what I saw the crew of the Ruby responded very quickly with a coordinated effort to control and eliminate the outbreak. We were in Grand Turk on the Friday and had drinks at the Margaritaville. We drank only bottled water there and elsewhere though the ice in the drinks may have been contaminated. We were fine all day Saturday but were stricken during the early morning hours of Sunday morning.

 

I think the chance of encountering a virus on a cruise is higher than in many situations and you need to take precautions to keep yourself safe. My wife and I were astounded by the number of people who belligerently refused to use hand sanitizer. I guess they consider it an infringement on their rights or some other silly idea. Anyway I am ready to cruise again despite this occurrence!!

[Pansy2801]

This thread reminds me of when my kids were young and they got sick. My mother would spend the entire time they were sick trying to figure out how they caught whatever they had at the time. It would just grate on my nerves. I would tell her to give it a rest because if medical science can't figure it out I doubt that a stay at home mother of the 60's and 70's could. I doubt that any passenger or crew member would be able to tell where, when and how they got noro. If they could it wouldn't be wide spread. Trust me if there was a way to prevent this the pharmaceutical companies would be all over this like white on rice for pure profit.

 

I'm sorry if the thread I started irritated you. If you read other posts you know already that Princess determined that the outbreak started for this sailing in Grand Turk. Which makes sense as it was reported more than 24 hours from that stop.

Since you were probably not on this cruise, the subject was not important to you. For me , it was , since I was on this cruise with my family including my little grandson only 18 month old. This was his first cruise and I was very worried for his safety. None of us got sick but knowing what caused it was a factor in cruising again with him.

After reading about the responsible measures taken by the captain by avoiding Grand Turk I feel confident that if you follow strict hygiene rules and avoid eating /drinking ashore ( which I know is important for many but not for us) and in the buffet , you can have a nice cruise with a higher chance of not getting sick

[caribill]

Sorry if you didn't understand my question..I was wondering if the Noro virus was confirmed in any way, that is, by a culture, or was it diagnosed by symptoms..When I had the Noro(suspected by my symptoms), my health service didn't want to even see me at the clinic. They diagnosed it by my symptoms only...is that what the ships do?

 

The ship does not have the facilities to do the culture test, but will (and did in this case) send samples to the CDC for later confirmation.

 

All the ship's onboard communications will say "gastrointestinal illness" or "noro-like symptoms" as they do not know the cause for sure.

[e71465]

I think this post is something everyone should read! Yes, it happens on cruise ships but like some others have mentioned, you can get it any where! Discussing it and prevention is part of learning how to prevent it. It doesn't matter to me how you get it but it does matter to me on how to prevent it. I work in the forensic field and we use the wipes that kill everything. The thing is, you would have to use an entire box of them to wipe down a cabin and yes they are very expensive and are paper thin and smaller than the palm of your hand but they work! I think the main thing is wash, wash, wash those hands! Interlock your fingers and move your hands back and forth, wash your wrists and use a good soap! Oh and don't forget your fingernails, make sure not to neglect them! They can hold all kinds of nasty things!

[gingera]

The ship does not have the facilities to do the culture test, but will (and did in this case) send samples to the CDC for later confirmation.

 

All the ship's onboard communications will say "gastrointestinal illness" or "noro-like symptoms" as they do not know the cause for sure.

 

Thank you, Caribill, for your explanation, I was wondering if there was confirmation.

:)

[gingera]

good soap! Oh and don't forget your fingernails, make sure not to neglect them! They can hold all kinds of nasty things!

 

In my line of work, we cannot work with fake nails at all...nor can we have our own nails over a certain length. I am waiting for my company to outlaw our wedding bands next!

[NCLbigfan]

In my line of work, we cannot work with fake nails at all...nor can we have our own nails over a certain length. I am waiting for my company to outlaw our wedding bands next!

 

 

I am wondering....I used to work for a national supermarket company that had a lot of strigent rules like that? Would you be working for them?

[bookmama22]

This shouldn't degenerate into a contest between how many times people wash their hands. Trust me, I am a very thorough hand washer. I also avoided touching the handrails on the staircases and pressing the elevator button myself. On Grand Turk, we sat on a lounge chair, did not go into the water except to dunk our toes- did not eat or go in the pool in Margaritaville.. did have one drink brought by waitstaff.

I am not an idiot, I perfectly understand people can get sick in many environments. I work in large office building in Manhattan where I only press elevator button with gloved hand, never touch the bathroom door handle, only use a paper towel to open door, frequently wash my hands.

I have gone on 4 cruises.. each different experience. The one I liked the best was the Princess cruise to Alaska, just because it is Alaska and seeing the glaciers was an amazing experience. The reason I would not run to do another cruise is this was the second cruise in a year... there are many other ways to travel.. usually spend some time every summer in rental condo in NH, this year will be going to Sagamore Hotel in Lake George for conference followed by trips to Israel for family wedding possibly with stop most likely this time in Paris and oh yes... the December trip to Maui.. so with this on my calendar, another cruise is not high on my agenda. I would at some point like to take a cruise out of NY to Bermuda as well as Viking River Cruise on the Danube....

[CleoV]

Not sure I see any hand-washing "contest" going on. Just good advice, since there are people who don't make the connection until they're told (even then, some don't seem to care; ever watch people leave the restrooms without bothering?).

 

Not looking to make it a debate, but since many, many people don't know how noro is transmitted or incubated (witness the comment about it being airborne), it's valuable info for keeping everyone healthy. :)

 

Rub blue chalk all over your hands for a day, then see how often you touch your face without knowing it. It takes time to learn not to, so the more reminders to wash, the better. JMO, of course.

 

BTW, you touched your lounge chair, you touched the glass your waiter brought for you, you probably touched other things between hand-washing, so....there ya go. If you don't wash RIGHT before you eat, chances are you touched something. Noro can be transmitted for up to "8 touches" after someone's hands are infected. So again...wash, wash, wash!

[bookmama22]

Back again... personally I thought it might have been the steak served for dinner on Saturday night. Prior to that steak, I cannot remember the last time I had eaten red meat...probably not in the month prior. The Saturday night dinner menu was not especially appealing, as the primary choice they were pushing was Thanksgiving dinner. I had fish every other night...so decided to try the steak.....

 

But my issue was really with the disembarkation. We had reported to the doctor, but had to vacate our room by 8 AM and sit in a public lounge with other passengers until we could disembark at 10 AM. That was two hours of spreading germs to all around us, even though we sat on a couch as far away from others as we could, not to mention the couch we were sitting on. There was someone on our floor whose wife was so sick she was incapable of leaving her cabin so I don't know how they got her out. We were not that bad.. just extremely dehydrated and exhausted from being up sick the whole night. Maybe it was the timing of the outbreak and communicating with people-hard because the public announcement system did not work inside the cabins but should they have directed all sick people to wait in one specific area rather than spreading more germs all over? I do understand that everyone had different travel arrangements and plans.. so probably not easy to plan.

[Pansy2801]

Back again... personally I thought it might have been the steak served for dinner on Saturday night. Prior to that steak, I cannot remember the last time I had eaten red meat...probably not in the month prior. The Saturday night dinner menu was not especially appealing, as the primary choice they were pushing was Thanksgiving dinner. I had fish every other night...so decided to try the steak.....

 

But my issue was really with the disembarkation. We had reported to the doctor, but had to vacate our room by 8 AM and sit in a public lounge with other passengers until we could disembark at 10 AM. That was two hours of spreading germs to all around us, even though we sat on a couch as far away from others as we could, not to mention the couch we were sitting on. There was someone on our floor whose wife was so sick she was incapable of leaving her cabin so I don't know how they got her out. We were not that bad.. just extremely dehydrated and exhausted from being up sick the whole night. Maybe it was the timing of the outbreak and communicating with people-hard because the public announcement system did not work inside the cabins but should they have directed all sick people to wait in one specific area rather than spreading more germs all over? I do understand that everyone had different travel arrangements and plans.. so probably not easy to plan.

 

Noro has incubation 24-48 hours so the stop in Grand Turk fits the time frame. If noro outbreaks were on other ships after this port, I have no doubghts that it is the cause. Since you had a drink served by someone who maybe was infected, or maybe was the ice, who knows? It does not make a difference now.

I agree that Princess should have a special place for disembarkation for all those affected. Someone mentioned a conference room, but I don't know if this was a place to wait or something else.

[Horsebum63]

This was a food issue at Grand Turk. We sailed March 10 and had no issues. Princess is remarkable and was awesome. We didn't stop at Grand Turk and you all probably see its a canceled port for all cruise lines. Big cheer for how the Ruby handled it for us.