Norovirus Outbreak Hits Royal Caribbean Cruise Ship

[UNV-IT!!!]

I might have missed it, but I cannot find it anywhere on the news sites that 2 passengers died from the Norovirus. The only place where it is mentioned is here on CC.

 

So is RCL holding back on the truth or is it just a rumor. In today's social media world it does not seem possible.

 

I haven't heard this either.

[UNV-IT!!!]

Being a guy and on our 16th cruise.........ALL men should WASH THEIR HANDS..............do you know how many don't............women...........SMACK them......they are probably the same ones that throw the tongs back into the salad and other items on the salad bar and food trays............PLEASE, place the tongs in their proper place and consider your hands as deadly items..................people

 

And I've seen just as many women do the same thing.

[Feelin' Nauti']

Why is the percentage of crew getting sick so much smaller than the percentage of passengers??

.

Passenger capacity of 3,114 and a crew capacity of 1,180, giving a total number of 5,020 on-board.

According to CDC 564 passengers and 47 of 1,165 crew members reported being ill.

Not sure why there's a discrepancy in the amount of crew members. :rolleyes:

But by the number of ill...it clearly shows it has to be the food served to "passengers".

Crew eat their own separate food.

 

If a guest is quarantined, their sea pass would alert the security at the gang way preventing in disembarking.

Maybe those still ill will be hospitalized?!?!

[SpokaneDan]

How can we assume that this illness was brought onboard by passengers rather than the crew that work behind the scenes in the kitchen? Think about the fact that many of the crew that work on these ships are from 3rd world countries and particularly don't care if they wash there hands after using the restroom.:confused:

 

Yes, food handlers from "Third World" countries cannot be excluded as the original carriers, but logic would suggest they are thoroughly trained and scrutinized by their "First World" employer. As we should surmise Norovirus is bad for cruising business.

 

And please don't assume First World citizens are any better hand washers than others, in published medical literature, American doctors' hand washing rate was abysmal (barely over 50% after visiting a sick patient in hospital room).

[SpokaneDan]

Passenger capacity of 3' date='114 and a crew capacity of 1,180, giving a total number of 5,020 on-board.

According to CDC 564 passengers and 47 of 1,165 crew members reported being ill.

Not sure why there's a discrepancy in the amount of crew members. :rolleyes:[/quote']

 

It is simply b/c the crew has basic hand washing/good hygiene practice drilled into them. Some still got sick b/c interact with "unsanitized" pax.

Edited January 27, 2014 by SpokaneDan

[caribill]

I can't imagine being quarantined in an interior room. I could just about handle it with a balcony.

 

When youy come down with noro, you do not want to leave the bathroom. Makes no difference if the bathroom is in an inside cabin or a grand suite with a balcony.

 

And if you do leave the bathroom, it is only to stagger to the bed and sleep.

[need2cruisesoon]

Seems funny that that many people got sick so quickly. Maybe it was something in the food. I know I got sick once on the Explorer after dinner. Of course I was better the next day, but sometimes the food poisoning lasts longer.

 

Anyway, I sure hope they get it contained quickly. Must be an awful way to spend a vacation.

 

Gwen :)

 

Yes, it spread quickly. But very easy to understand how it did.

Imagine if just one of the food handlers didn't wash there hands properly (or not at all) after a restroom break. Then continue to handle and prepare food for hundreds of people eating in one the many main dining rooms, thus spreading the Noro virus to all in contact with the contaminated plates of food. Then you have a good portion of the ship exposed to the virus.

[Julesben]

Who's hijacking a thread???, your copy and paste article, posting of which is against forum rules and copyright, contained not only material completely irrelevant to the discussion, but also incorrect information, a fact that MM was kind enough to point out to the other members of this forum, although considering the source of the article a lot of members should have figured this out for themselves.

 

Most members use this site because they can read themselves. :confused:

[midwestchick]

Yes, food handlers from "Third World" countries cannot be excluded as the original carriers, but logic would suggest they are thoroughly trained and scrutinized by their "First World" employer. As we should surmise Norovirus is bad for cruising business.

 

And please don't assume First World citizens are any better hand washers than others, in published medical literature, American doctors' hand washing rate was abysmal (barely over 50% after visiting a sick patient in hospital room).

 

I, for one, concur on this. I worked in the medical profession for years and I can't tell you the number of times I saw physicians going from one patient to another without washing their hands...it was totally disgusting. And we wonder where MERSA comes from....I wonder how much of a part this plays.

I've read this entire thread...I heard about this outbreak last week. It does seem Noro happens in winter and spring months...yes, during flu season. While it is not influenza, I know several people who have had GI illness who have not cruised. How many others have had it that cruise? It's anyone's guess and people are not honest....they book a cruise...get sick...figure they're going to be okay and board a ship anyway.:mad: They DON'T CARE about anyone but themselves. And, for the lady who cancelled her cruise, kudos to her...sad she lost a lot of money, but had the decency to stay behind. Most people would not do that.

As far as bathrooms......don't even get me started. I cannot believe the number of women that do not wash their hands :eek:...it sickens me and yet they'll stop at the sink, fluff their hair and apply more lipstick but won't wash their hands :rolleyes:....there is absolutely no excuse for this. On our last cruise, I asked my husband to try and notice how many men leave without washing their hands...he could not believe most of them did not wash after using the urinals...pretty disgusting.

Do cruise lines need to put up signs or have a bathroom police person and not allow someone to leave unless they washed their hands properly...maybe so. Although it requires more staff, how much money does RCCL and other lines lose when they cancel or shorten cruises and have to somehow compensate the pax...I think in the long run, it would be better to have more staff monitoring the restrooms.

When we board a ship, we detail our stateroom down with clorox wipes and lysol spray...it takes a little while but it makes me feel better. I do the same if we stay at a resort in the Caribbean.

Let's face it...some people are total slobs and until we can change that, these outbreaks will continue.

My girlfriend's daughter's family became ill on an RCCL cruise last year and received some compensation...I guess that's why I've been watching this story.

[Trainman-2]

 

 

Nothing beats common sense basic hygiene! And it is Free too!

[mugtech]

Passenger capacity of 3' date='114 and a crew capacity of 1,180, giving a total number of 5,020 on-board.

[/quote']

 

3,114 + 1,180 = 5,020?

Must be that new math I heard about.

Could help explain the national debt.

[whirlybird3]

Passenger capacity of 3' date='114 and a crew capacity of 1,180, giving a total number of 5,020 on-board.

According to CDC 564 passengers and 47 of 1,165 crew members reported being ill.

Not sure why there's a discrepancy in the amount of crew members. :rolleyes:

But by the number of ill...it clearly shows it has to be the food served to "passengers".

Crew eat their own separate food.

 

 

Maybe those still ill will be hospitalized?!?![/quote']

 

We are very fortunate to have a good medical staff onboard who provide good care onboard to guest and crew onboard. If a guest needs to be hospitalized, the medical staff would arrange for medical transport upon arrival at the next port... However if emergent, air transport would be arranged at sea.

[compuryan]

Why is the percentage of crew getting sick so much smaller than the percentage of passengers??

I've see a lot of passengers not wash their hands or even cover their mouth when the cough or sneeze.

 

 

The difference is a combination of the training crewmembers receive upon joining a ship for the first time, and the fact that crewmembers have more of a vested interest in not spreading the illness since they themselves will be the ones cleaning the entire ship.

 

Having been part of the cleaning and prevention proceedures myself, it is not fun. During Outbreak Prevention Plan level 2 (OPP2, or the official name for the status of a ship with more than 1% of passengers infected and/or more than 0.5% of crewmembers), crew are often not permitted to go ashore at all or not until the ship has received its top-to-bottom barrier clean for the day. This most often happens at turn-around ports but as has been the case for this voyage, can happen at any other port of call as well.

 

Beyond OPP2 is OPP2 Code Red. This is where Explorer currently sits. At Code Red, all person to person contact is discouraged, entertainment and other staff serve food in the windjammer, and all crewmembers regardless of title are involved in cleaning the ship on a continous basis. Think sanitizing every single seat, arm rest and railing surface in the theatre between each and every show; and that is just the theatre.

 

So yes, crewmember infection rates are usually drastically lower because they are more likely to wash their hands and avoid touching things, since life onboard can become miserable for weeks on end and they want to avoid it.

[Aquahound]

Think about the fact that many of the crew that work on these ships are from 3rd world countries and particularly don't care if they wash there hands after using the restroom.

 

Failing to wash hands is not a third world problem. It's a laziness problem, and I'd say the passengers are much larger offenders than the staff.

[OBX-Cruisers]

When youy come down with noro, you do not want to leave the bathroom. Makes no difference if the bathroom is in an inside cabin or a grand suite with a balcony.

 

And if you do leave the bathroom, it is only to stagger to the bed and sleep.

 

I think I must have had Noro early on in our cruising career because of the comments from others on symptoms. I can verify your description that you could be in the Presidential Suite and not even notice...........death seemed like a good alternative to me for at least 36 hr....:eek:......fortunately I did not have the vomiting part and could move again after the second day in the cabin

[OBX-Cruisers]

Failing to wash hands is not a third world problem. It's a laziness problem, and I'd say the passengers are much larger offenders than the staff.

 

Amen to that! Blaming the crew is lame. Look at your fellow passengers leave the restroom without washing their hands and grabbing railings, elevator buttons, going to the Lido and grabbing tongs and tossing them in the middle of the food..........disgusting passengers is the main problem.

On our very first cruise in 2006(HAL Maasdam) one of the passengers in the buffet in front of me refused to use the hand sanitizer and was shouting insults and obscenities at the crew member about "keep that crap away from me"...:confused:....not knowing proper etiquette to ignore this like most would........I would not touch any utensil that this idiot touched and then went down to the Hotel Manager's office and reported what I had seen and how this passenger was berating his staff and endangering the health of all................I believe something was done as this did not happen again.

It's the passengers who have no common sense or care for others except themselves.............not the crew

[knittinggirl]

Why is the percentage of crew getting sick so much smaller than the percentage of passengers??

I've see a lot of passengers not wash their hands or even cover their mouth when the cough or sneeze.

I wondered this myself. I also suspect they live in much tighter quarters than the passengers.

 

It is a painful process due to long lines, but RCCL should consider in adopting a policy from HAL. For the 1st 48 hrs., there is no self serve in the buffet. The crew serves the guest. This prevents spreading any potential illness from guest who may have embarked while being ill.

 

 

 

If a guest is quarantined, their sea pass would alert the security at the gang way preventing in disembarking.

This is true. I was quarantined for a day, and they said they'd lift the quarantine at 8:00 pm. The next day, I tried to disembark and the alarms went off. We had to return to medical and get them to remove the quarantine in the computer before they'd let me leave. I was also compensated for the day I was quarantined. Actually, I was quarantined for 36 hours, but I got only one day toward my next cruise, usable w/in a year.

[Aquahound]

Why is the percentage of crew getting sick so much smaller than the percentage of passengers??

 

I don't know the answer, but my assumption would be a combination of age and immunity.

[knittinggirl]

I don't know the answer, but my assumption would be a combination of age and immunity.

On our last cruise, our cabin steward told us to be wash our hands frequently, and use an object to touch things like the elevator buttons. Our doctor once said to avoid self serve lines.

[Galveston Cruiser]

Failing to wash hands is not a third world problem. It's a laziness problem, and I'd say the passengers are much larger offenders than the staff.

 

100% agree.

[cruzinlady1947]

I know they are talking about a thorough cleaning of the ship, but I sure hope they do a thorough cleaning in the cruise terminal in Bayonne too. Wouldn't make sense to do one without doing the other.:rolleyes: People could have gotten the illness in the terminal and not on the ship itself, then spread it once on board.

 

Gwen :)

[styles27]

Amen to that! Blaming the crew is lame. Look at your fellow passengers leave the restroom without washing their hands and grabbing railings, elevator buttons, going to the Lido and grabbing tongs and tossing them in the middle of the food..........disgusting passengers is the main problem.

On our very first cruise in 2006(HAL Maasdam) one of the passengers in the buffet in front of me refused to use the hand sanitizer and was shouting insults and obscenities at the crew member about "keep that crap away from me"...:confused:....not knowing proper etiquette to ignore this like most would........I would not touch any utensil that this idiot touched and then went down to the Hotel Manager's office and reported what I had seen and how this passenger was berating his staff and endangering the health of all................I believe something was done as this did not happen again.

It's the passengers who have no common sense or care for others except themselves.............not the crew

 

 

This passenger probably knew that hand sanitizer doesn't kill Noro anyway and had properly washed his/her hands before entering the dining facility.

 

 

It seems many are misinformed and think that using hand sanitizer means they're virus free...it doesn't.

 

Thorough and proper handwashing is the best defense.

 

 

BTW....I wouldn't touch those communal hand sanitizers on cruise ships, hospitals or anyplace else they push them on the public, with a ten foot pole.

 

I wash my own hands and keep my own private sanitizer in my handbag.

 

So I will be one of those people telling the crew to please keep those public germ infested sanitizers away from me. (this person's berating of the crew...well that's a whole other topic)

Edited January 27, 2014 by styles27

[styles27]

I know they are talking about a thorough cleaning of the ship, but I sure hope they do a thorough cleaning in the cruise terminal in Bayonne too. Wouldn't make sense to do one without doing the other.:rolleyes: People could have gotten the illness in the terminal and not on the ship itself, then spread it once on board.

 

Gwen :)

 

 

I was thinking the same thing. I also hope it includes all of the life jackets (that could have been worn or touched by an infected person) and those nasty bed coverings that are most likely not laundered after every voyage.

[OBX-Cruisers]

No Excuse for berating a crew member doing his job. I hope you are not trying to defend the type of passenger in the example described.

BTW the restrooms on the Maasdam and sister ships in that class that this example refers to are right smack at the back of the Lido right where the buffet line starts....

However, I will agree with you that using hand sanitizer provided by the ship or your own brand is an extra precaution and not a cure to washing

 

You are a true optimist about people handwashing for the required amount of time ......Read the posts about the numbers of men/women that have seen people NOT Wash hands.....and those are probably also hand sanitizer avoiders I would bet

Edited January 27, 2014 by skiron

[jakenashleysmom]

This passenger probably knew that hand sanitizer doesn't kill Noro anyway and had properly washed his/her hands before entering the dining facility.

 

 

It seems many are misinformed and think that using hand sanitizer means they're virus free...it doesn't.

 

Thorough and proper handwashing is the best defense.

 

 

BTW....I wouldn't touch those communal hand sanitizers on cruise ships, hospitals or anyplace else they push them on the public, with a ten foot pole.

 

I wash my own hands and keep my own private sanitizer in my handbag.

 

So I will be one of those people telling the crew to please keep those public germ infested sanitizers away from me. (this person's berating of the crew...well that's a whole other topic)

 

BTW the "communal hand sanitizers" on cruise ships are hands free....you don't actually "touch" them. I for one would like to set a good example for Joe Blow behind me that DIDN'T wash his hands, a little hand sanitizer is better than nothing IMHO.