Norovirus Outbreak Hits Royal Caribbean Cruise Ship

[Irene7]

Most women dont touch as much of themselves as a man does when using the toilet, as they normally use toilet paper to cleanse themselves. Not saying its not disgusting to not wash ones hands afterwards, but some just dont care.

 

People that don't care are nasty people. My mom always told me when I was really young, if your at someones house and they offer you food watch to see if they wash their hands before handling the food. If they don't, then don't eat it - LOL. That stuck with me because I to this day pay attention to that. As far as going to the bathroom, it's going number 2 that is the main problem and not going number 1, although woman should wash their hands well regardless of using toliet paper when going number 1.

[orville99]

How come in their official statement for your reference they could not update how many more are sick since the CDC posting? and what their plans are for the rest of this cruise and the cruise on the 31st?

 

Some real information would have been alot better.

 

Jimbo:)

 

 

Because the first priority for a PR department in these circumstances is to contain the damage by reporting only what they can verify, not to exacerbate the damage by dribbling out incremental and often uncorroborated reports to uncontrollable outlets.

[styles27]

So the statement from RCCL doesn't mention the Jan 31st sailing being cancelled as was reported by a few on these threads earlier today.

 

 

Lesson learned...don't believe everything you read on a forum...a fact most of us already know anyway.:rolleyes:

[Jimbo]

Because the first priority for a PR department in these circumstances is to contain the damage by reporting only what they can verify, not to exacerbate the damage by dribbling out incremental and often uncorroborated reports to uncontrollable outlets.

 

Are you serious? I bet if you call Royal Caribbean in Miami right now and talked to someone there they couldn't even verify for you that they are aware that there is Noro on Explorer?

 

Some high officer on Explorer needs to let everyone know what is really going on, on the ship,but we know that isn't going to happen is it?

 

Jimbo:)

[rcclfanbp]

I am sorry folks are having this unfortunate experience. I seldomly hear about noro virus outbreaks on luxury cruise lines, but I assume their passenger volume is much lower.

[orville99]

Are you serious? I bet if you call Royal Caribbean in Miami right now and talked to someone there they couldn't even verify for you that they are aware that there is Noro on Explorer?

 

Some high officer on Explorer needs to let everyone know what is really going on, on the ship,but we know that isn't going to happen is it?

 

Jimbo:)

 

 

Absolutely serious. Not saying it's right, just that's the way it works. You'll know more when they tell you more, and they'll only tell you more after they have time to spin the heck out of the statement. Breath holding optional, but not encouraged:)

[roysmith99]

Cruise ships start to take on board precautions when about 3% of the crew and passengers are affected by the virus. We have seen Noro at all times of the year on cruises. You can tell when Noro is on board when salt and pepper shakers are removed . The staff starts to serve you around the food in the buffet restaurant. We have seen Noro on a cruise to Hawaii , Mexico , Panama , Caribbean and Alaska.

It can strike at anytime of the year.

 

I have to admit to not reading all the posts in this thread. The 3% level is, I believe, a CDC reporting level. When, on 2012 I was gripped by the Noro virus there were only 30 out of 2000 affected. I know where I got it, it was not contaminated food or water, it was from my whisky glass in one bar where the waiter may, I say may, in my opinion have been carrying the virus. During my interview with the doctor particular emphasis was placed on that bar.

 

My wife and I are very careful with hygiene - we work with children in a nursery environment. In the last 12 months we have both been subject to what is called Noro-virus symptoms. It is a fact of life that in any year hundreds of millios of people will contract some sort of Noro-type-virus.

 

In this instance it is very worrying that there are so few facts being disseminated. That 9% of passengers had so far been affected is very high and we both hope everyone gets well soon, our prayers are with you.

Edited January 26, 2014 by roysmith99

[eh270]

This happened fast. We got off the ship Tuesday and all was pretty good, heard of a few sick but not enough to worry. Glad we did not do b2b. Feel bad for all those who got sick, not the way to spend your vacation!

 

We were on the 12th to 21st sailing and my whole family is battling symptoms matching those of norovirus. At least I'm not stuck on the ship, though…

[pinkroses]

So according to this thread, reports are that passengers seems to be responding well to administered over the counter medication. Does anyone know if this is tylenol and gatorade as mentioned earlier? It would seem a good idea to include whatever has been given to the sick, in your own traveling medical kit.

[vermontvoyager]

Ship is leaving on schedule and when it gets back to Bayonne, all people doing a b2b are to be moved to checking terminal and wait while they perform a 3 hour cleaning before re- boarding.

Can't get a whole lot extra done in 3 hours time I wouldn't think.

[Feelin' Nauti']

The cruise line dispatched additional crew to help with the cleanup.

 

[JDinWA]

I am sorry folks are having this unfortunate experience. I seldomly hear about noro virus outbreaks on luxury cruise lines, but I assume their passenger volume is much lower.

 

It isn't that often that outbreaks make news, so I like to keep an eye on CDC's site of reports from cruise ships: http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/vsp/surv/GIlist.htm

 

2006 was a really bad year - 2013 was really good. And you can see that pretty much every line has had a reportable outbreak at one time or other.

[05mak05]

It usually causes a delay in sailing while the crew does a massive cleaning of the ship. That ship will be cleaner than its ever been after that virus outbreak..LOL.

When we were on the Mariner Christmas cruise out of Galveston in 2011, I had an allergic reaction to the sanitizing solution and ended up with a miserable sinus infection. However, none of us came down with Noro so things could have been worse. After and during Noro, the ship is slathered and lathered with disinfectant - tables, elevator buttons … everything. Everything is just a bit off as the crew is exhausted and passengers just a bit on edge. I agree that one out of ten having Noro is pretty significant.

[Julesben]

I just got this email from someone on the Explorer. She wrote it last night. Sounds dreadful to me.

 

The Captain cancelled the welcome back reception for tonite. There are over 200 who reported so far with the noro virus symptoms. We are not stopping at "Labadee" but continuing on to San Jaun. Will get there ard 8 pm and stay there til 10 pm the next day. The tables in the dining room were very sparse with diners.

 

Three at our table have it. They are offering free consultation at the medical office if you are sick. The pool deck is open today. The promenade is empty. Pushing the hand washing and the "washy-washy". Took the salt and pepper off the tables. Using paper packets. Serving food from the wind jammer - no self self. Doing a lot of cleaning and disinfecting. Hopefully they get it contained.

 

Back to the OP if we possibly can.

 

The personal hygiene of some people cruising has been nothing short of criminal.

 

On a cruise onboard Indy I went to use the WC near the MDR, as I was relieving myself of some well earn't drinks this guy walked out of a cubicle and straight past me without washing his hands, I quickly washed my hands "thoroughly" before following this guy straight into the MDR.

 

I quickly brought the incident to the attention of dining room staff located at the entrance to the MDR.

 

We don't think the staff onboard the ships can take care of this whole issue by themselves. A bit of care and common sense by the perpetrators would be nice too.

[05mak05]

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 :)

The folks on the Crown Princess thought the outbreak was directly tied to the crew and not to passengers. In some areas of the world, people don't wash their hands. The salad bar was highly suspect. On winter cruises, I stick to hot food. Just my theory …

[voyager70]

Holy claws, Batman! What is this absurd reaction to my post?

 

I thought that it was funny that there was info in there about Gaddafi's peccadillos. And there was incorrect information in the article that you posted, so I gave the correct information.

 

What is wrong with any of that, or with you???????????????

 

I got your post and completely agree. This whole thread has become just bizarre.

[uksimonusa]

Very ironic, we thought we'd hear from you.

 

About 4 months since we last looked on here and there you are lol!

 

Must be bored again eh, shame the kids won't buy you a tv.

 

Good to see your going strong :D

 

Funny how you always talk about having broad shoulders when placing your threads, but then want to amuse yourself when hijacking others!

 

Um, interesting:rolleyes:

 

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.

[Retiringworkingstiff]

It is what it is!

[PCWalton1]

Some posters were complaining about people coming on board when sick so they don't miss their vacation. I saw this on the CDC site which shows they may not have known they were ill.

 

Norovirus can be found in your stool (feces) even before you start feeling sick. The virus can stay in your stool for 2 weeks or more after you feel better.

 

Of course it still means they had bad hygiene habits if they spread it around. :eek:

 

http://www.cdc.gov/norovirus/about/transmission.html

[rere827]

One thing we always do is bring a ziplock bag for the tv remote in our cabin. Saw a special on 20/20 about the dirtiest items in hotel rooms - remote was top of the list!! And yes it works fine through the plastic bag!!

[moposh]

One thing we always do is bring a ziplock bag for the tv remote in our cabin. Saw a special on 20/20 about the dirtiest items in hotel rooms - remote was top of the list!! And yes it works fine through the plastic bag!!

 

Great idea! I hate touching remotes in hotel/cruise rooms. I will be doing this. Do the stewards leave the remote in the bag so you just have to have one bag and not one bag per day?

[Feelin' Nauti']

The folks on the Crown Princess thought the outbreak was directly tied to the crew and not to passengers. In some areas of the world, people don't wash their hands. The salad bar was highly suspect. On winter cruises, I stick to hot food. Just my theory …

The word is "thought"

 

There is no way they can possibly tell where or how the norovirus starts.

It could come from the food items prepared before it's loaded onto the ship.

[iuki]

All you have to do is be able to read. http://www.royalcaribbean.com/allaboutcruising/vacationProtectionPlan.do?cS=NAVBAR&pnav=1&snav=10 and http://media.royalcaribbean.com/content/en_US/pdf/RCICruiseCare.pdf

 

Yes, I can read, and I am aware of this website. But most people, that do not read this forum, have no idea what is covered when the cruise line asks if they want travel insurance.

[FedoraDi]

Most women dont touch as much of themselves as a man does when using the toilet, as they normally use toilet paper to cleanse themselves. Not saying its not disgusting to not wash ones hands afterwards, but some just dont care.

 

People that don't care are nasty people. My mom always told me when I was really young, if your at someones house and they offer you food watch to see if they wash their hands before handling the food. If they don't, then don't eat it - LOL. That stuck with me because I to this day pay attention to that. As far as going to the bathroom, it's going number 2 that is the main problem and not going number 1, although woman should wash their hands well regardless of using toliet paper when going number 1.

 

Irene,

Sorry, I should have made myself clearer regarding the toilet paper & ahh number 1. I wasnt sure how far I could reference things, some boards allow me to use the medical term, some say call it number 1 & 2, some boards allow me to use the vulgar term that starts with s & p. :confused: :p

As you can see I'm new here so didnt want to get tossed or warned in my first few posts. :eek: :)

 

And yes, I agree with using TP no matter what- if you are female, I'm not about to tell a guy what he should or should not do, LOL. And all should wash hands no matter what, well, I'll amend that to they should in public. You dont want too in your home, your choice, just make sure its only yourself you get sick. ;)

[vermontvoyager]

To anyone that cares...Just got confirmation from the Captain... Explorer is heading directly home and will be back on the 29th , 2 days early for deep cleaning and are to make arrangements for everyone to get home and will be compensated for there losses.