Norovirus Outbreak Hits Royal Caribbean Cruise Ship

[Barb Nahoumi]

my $.02

 

I was on the sailing prior (1/12/14). Apparently, many were affected on our sailing. Of my party of 4, 3 were past passengers. One whom was not, was constantly reminded of hand washing/sanitizing. He took it seriously because we did. None of us were sick then, or there after. We were lucky, unlike many of our fellow passengers who apparently became ill after sailing.

 

Now, this has been a topic of discussion in the office lately, many of us are cruisers. A fellow coworker is taking a cruise in just a few short weeks, and working in the medical field, has access to some serious virus killing products. She will be taking cavi-wipes with her. This is an expensive yet super effective product, it DOES kill Noro, along with many other horrible things.

 

I came home unscathed from this wonderful cruise, back to work. Within 10 days, a coworker came to work ill, with noro-like-symptoms.

Someone will always be sick, and not stay home, and unfortunately spread it. I'll definitely cruise again, asap. I'm more concerned that I will fall ill from a contagion at work (I work with children and adolescents) then taking a vacation. It's common cleanliness. If your super paranoid, avoid the Windjammer (tongs go from peoples hands and right back into the food:mad:) and keep your hands out of your mouth and eyes. Protect yourself, and others.

 

It might be a good idea for the crew to continue serving the food in buffets. This will avoid the problem of unwashed hands on the serving tongs. The staff would be wearing gloves, or they should be.

 

Where can you buy those cavi-wipes?

[Barb Nahoumi]

Huh?

 

if you read my post I suggested that if you asked the waiter would hold the menu for you.

 

He wouldn't have time for that, given the numbers of passengers to be waited on. However, disposable paper menus could be printed, handed out, and tossed after the passengers leave the table. This might be expensive, albeit helpful.

[RoamingRetirees]

He wouldn't have time for that, given the numbers of passengers to be waited on. However, disposable paper menus could be printed, handed out, and tossed after the passengers leave the table. This might be expensive, albeit helpful.

 

If someone is that worried about the menus, they can look at the menu posted outside the dining room and decide what they want before ever going in. Then no need to take a menu at all.

[styles27]

the WOW was because you feel dirty after handling the menu.. how about the chair and almost everything else? do you handle the menu's when you go to a land based restaurant? I suspect if you asked your waiter to hold the menu so you wouldn't need to touch it they would.

 

Wow you read all that from my one statement.

 

My POINT was....you can use sanitizers before entering the MDR and restaurants but they're worthless because once you handle the menu FOR EXAMPLE...and yes the "chair and almost anything else" you are once again contaminating those very hands they (the crew) made you "sanitize".

 

MY point is that those sanitizers outside the MDR and restaurants are worthless.

 

And yes....some cruise lines under code red don't hand out the menu...the waiter reads it to the table.

 

Wow...I wonder why they would do that?:confused:

[styles27]

Wow to your wow.

I also worry about the cleanliness of the menu holder. I worked as a kitchen manager and pretty much everything

was kept clean and (to the best of our abilities) sanitized.

Menus were not. This was not a unique situation. Styles27 is right to be concerned with germs on the menus.

 

I have never seen them cleaning the menu holder on any ship. Have you ?

Perhaps its time to take the menus out of the holders.

 

Thanks...some people on these boards do a real good job making others comments seem stupid...and it gets old.

 

Everyone has a right to their opinion...some forget that.

[janetz]

This thread is so productive. I think it needs another 1000 posts debating the subject.........:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

 

And your post was a great contribution to the thread. ;) :)

Edited February 1, 2014 by janetz

[richstowe]

He wouldn't have time for that, given the numbers of passengers to be waited on. However, disposable paper menus could be printed, handed out, and tossed after the passengers leave the table. This might be expensive, albeit helpful.

Perhaps they could use the back of the paper on all the auction notices, shop "sales" and the various other important notices they keep giving me.;)

Edited February 1, 2014 by richstowe

[Wh0amelli]

 

Where can you buy those cavi-wipes?

 

 

I did a quick search on the internet and they are available for purchase. Its actually called cavicide, but I think the wipes would be easier for a traveler.

[TheMiz]

Do you know if these are for the hands or just to clean surfaces with?

 

 

I purchased some of the Lysol wipes with hydrogen peroxide but they're not for the hands. Too harsh for skin I suppose...so I wonder if these are safe.

 

Those are for surfaces.

 

You need the Clorox for hands spray.

[TheMiz]

I just ordered from Amazon...Clorox 02174 Bleach free hand sanitizer 6-pack 2 oz. bottles....Kills Norovirus. It also has premium emollients to prevent drying out of hands. $33.95 w/o shipping.

 

Can only rely on what they say. I'll use it anyway.

 

Gwen :)

 

Gwen

 

Please don't take this the wrong way but that price is outrageous

they are taken advantage of the current outbreak. The going price is $3.99 per 2 oz spray bottle.

[JHU]

It could just as easily have been an agent checking people in, handing them their sea passes and passing it on. An agent at the port would have checked in at least 200 passengers as there are usually at least 10-15 working. But, it is very common this time of year and there could have been several people carrying it without even knowing it. It's not like we'll ever know, but there are multiple ways it could have spread.

 

I'm beginning to wonder about the Cape Liberty facility itself. The October 21 sailing of Celebrity Summit had a major outbreak of norovirus and now the Explorer.

 

We were on the October 5 Summit sailing; the ship was heavily sanitized for our sailing; shrink wrap at the buffet line. However, once the shrink wrap was removed, passengrs went back to their old habits of unprotected sneezing, handling plates/glasses/utensils and putting them back in the stack. We create our own problems.

[TheMiz]

Wonder how many people wash their hands after slipping on their shoes etc.

[cruiseecuree]

The product below has been used by others and seems to be highly recommended in other conversations.

 

http://thetravelaccessories.com/product_info.php?products_id=68&osCsid=f46ce72a4a5e519721526043dba6b9be

[Sherlock43031]

And your post was a great contribution to the thread. ;) :)

 

any contribution to the OP were days ago.

[knitter]

Missing from the discussion of the origin of noro has the condition of planes- they are so dirty these days. On recent flights I have encountered tray tables with dirt encrusted in the cup holder and soap dispensers that are filthy. And we wno't even consider seat back pockets! And they are taking out lavs to add a few extra seats, so more people are using each one. So if some throws up or such on the plane lots of people can be infected, taking the lovely buggers with them to where they go! They get on the ship, or goto the resort buffet, and bingo, an epidemic. While this going on there I got put up at a resort hotel due to a cancelled flight that has been having a GI virus outbreak, and they appeared to be doing little to improve sanitation. Thankfully I didn't like the buffet offerings and ate outside the resort, found out about the outbreak when I looked at resort reviews onTA out of curiosity.

[styles27]

Missing from the discussion of the origin of noro has the condition of planes- they are so dirty these days. On recent flights I have encountered tray tables with dirt encrusted in the cup holder and soap dispensers that are filthy. And we wno't even consider seat back pockets! And they are taking out lavs to add a few extra seats, so more people are using each one. So if some throws up or such on the plane lots of people can be infected, taking the lovely buggers with them to where they go! They get on the ship, or goto the resort buffet, and bingo, an epidemic. While this going on there I got put up at a resort hotel due to a cancelled flight that has been having a GI virus outbreak, and they appeared to be doing little to improve sanitation. Thankfully I didn't like the buffet offerings and ate outside the resort, found out about the outbreak when I looked at resort reviews onTA out of curiosity.

 

I completely agree with you about the filth in airplanes. We've flown Jetblue, Southwest and US Air all in the last 12 months and each plane we were on was so disgustingly dirty that I wouldn't use the bathrooms. The smell of urine was so strong in all of them I opened the door, smelled it and decided I could wait until we landed.

 

One flight on Southwest the air sickness bag had been used by a previous passenger and was under the seat back in front of me. When I tried to put my bag under the seat I saw it.

 

That tells me they're not doing enough cleaning in between flights and it's so gross.

[cruzinlady1947]

Gwen

 

Please don't take this the wrong way but that price is outrageous

they are taken advantage of the current outbreak. The going price is $3.99 per 2 oz spray bottle.

Thanks Miz for the info. I have been taken advantage of from time to time.....:rolleyes::p The trouble is, finding it. Plus, I have a long drive to get to anyplace that may have it, so I would spend almost the difference in gas getting there. But, I will check it out when I do go into the "city".

 

Gwen :)

[TheMiz]

Thanks Miz for the info. I have been taken advantage of from time to time.....:rolleyes::p The trouble is, finding it. Plus, I have a long drive to get to anyplace that may have it, so I would spend almost the difference in gas getting there. But, I will check it out when I do go into the "city".

 

Gwen :)

 

 

FWIW

 

You can stay home and order 6 2 oz. bottles of it from OfficeMax and shipping is free on orders over $20 so you are looking at $23.94 .

[cruzinlady1947]

FWIW

 

You can stay home and order 6 2 oz. bottles of it from OfficeMax and shipping is free on orders over $20 so you are looking at $23.94 .

Thanks, I will do that the next time and down average my first order. I am sure I will be buying more, especially if I like it and don't have a bad reaction to it.

 

Thanks again.

 

Gwen :)

[midwestchick]

I completely agree with you about the filth in airplanes. We've flown Jetblue, Southwest and US Air all in the last 12 months and each plane we were on was so disgustingly dirty that I wouldn't use the bathrooms. The smell of urine was so strong in all of them I opened the door, smelled it and decided I could wait until we landed.

One flight on Southwest the air sickness bag had been used by a previous passenger and was under the seat back in front of me. When I tried to put my bag under the seat I saw it.

 

That tells me they're not doing enough cleaning in between flights and it's so gross.

 

 

Not an easy thing to do on a 10 hour flight though. Yes, the planes are filthy...I won't even walk in my house with my shoes on after a flight :eek:...honestly...can't people hit the toilet?:mad:

[eamcclen]

Clorox® Healthcare™ Hydrogen Peroxide

Cleaner Disinfectants

• Wipes and sprays EPA registered to kill Norovirus

in 3 minutes (wipes) and 1 minute (sprays)

• No harsh chemical odors or fumes

• Kills 41 pathogens, including Norovirus,

TB and 13 antibiotic resistant organisms

 

 

Clorox® Healthcare™ Bleach Cleaner Disinfectants

• Wipes and sprays EPA registered to kill

Norovirus in 1 minute

• Trusted by more hospitals than any other

ready-to-use bleach products

• Kills 51 pathogens, including C. difficile Spores,

TB and 12 antibiotic resistant organisms

 

I bought the wipes and the travel size hand santizers last week. Sailing in March and trying to keep us healthy.

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[styles27]

Not an easy thing to do on a 10 hour flight though. Yes, the planes are filthy...I won't even walk in my house with my shoes on after a flight :eek:...honestly...can't people hit the toilet?:mad:

 

10 hours would be tough...especially when they say we should hydrate ourselves on a long flight.

 

I agree about the shoe thing!

[CTBabyB00mer]

CDC out with it's findings 634p and 54c :eek:

 

The gut bug that cut short a Royal Caribbean cruise last week and sickened nearly 700 passengers and crew is a new strain of norovirus that has become something of a scourge of the seas — and everywhere else.

Federal health officials on Thursday confirmed that the norovirus that infected passengers and crew on the Explorer of the Seas is the GII.4 Sydney strain, a notorious germ first detected less than two years ago.

"This particular strain emerged in late 2012 and quickly became the predominant strain causing outbreaks not only on cruise ships but also in land-based outbreaks," said Bernadette Burden, a spokeswoman for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

That may help explain the illness that swept rapidly through the 1,000-foot cruise ship that left New Jersey for a tour of the eastern Caribbean on Jan. 21 — and had to return two days early. When it was over, 634 of the 3,071 passengers and 55 of the ship’s 1,116 crew reported being ill, typically with classic norovirus symptoms of vomiting and diarrhea, according to a CDC report.

The new strain was first discovered in Australia in March 2012 and has quickly circled the globe, said Dr. Jan Vinje, the head of the CDC lab that tests for norovirus. It emerged because, like the virus that causes the flu, norovirus mutates quickly, resulting in new strains every few years. When that happens, people who've already had previous versions of the bug can get sick again.

"Three years before that, we had a strain we dubbed New Orleans because that's where it started," he said.

The GII.4 Sydney strain was blamed for an outbreak last year on the Queen Mary 2. During a voyage that ended in early January 2013, 220 passengers and crew were sickened by the germ.

 

 

 

The bug doesn’t just affect cruise ships, of course. Last year, CDC officials said that the GII.4 Sydney bug had quickly become the leading cause of all norovirus cases in the U.S., including outbreaks in other close quarters such as nursing homes.

Norovirus is the leading cause of gastroenteritis in the U.S., causing about 21 million infections each year and 800 deaths.

The virus spreads very easily, often carried in the air after vomiting, or lingering on surfaces to infect the next victim. The best defense is frequent handwashing and thorough sanitation after people have been ill, CDC officals say.

First published February 6th 2014, 2:10 pm

[Mom.to.2]

Have 'we' heard anything from the current cruisers? Maybe no news is good news and they've got things under control now?

[anchor81 anchor81]

Im cruising out of Bayonne, NJ on March 11th EOS. This is my first cruise. Hopefully all this sickness crap is under control!

 

Sent from my VS980 4G using Tapatalk

Edited February 7, 2014 by anchor81 anchor81