Noro happens but...

[golfer1966]

I constantly see them ( rci ) cleaning and asking you to Washy Washy and they have the hand sanitizers all over the place. People need to wash their damn hands after going potty. They should cattle shoot everyone into a single line before going into any eating place and MAKE people use the hand cleaner. It may not kill 100% of the gems, but I'll take 99% any day over some moron who didnt wash their hands after going potty.

 

Also, if I see someone not wash their hands, I follow them out and embarrass them and tell them to go wash their damn hands.

[reallyitsmema]

I don't know between splendor and the poop cruise, their putting generators on their ships was just because.

 

It was to point out that when things happen a couple times, sometimes some healthy questions aren't well out of the question.

Have you looked at the historic data of noro outbreaks? Unfortunately, noro happens. Someone carried it onto Explorer this year. It happens. Here is a link to help you see what happens every year.

 

http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/vsp/surv/gilist.htm

[DreamingBig1]

I constantly see them ( rci ) cleaning and asking you to Washy Washy and they have the hand sanitizers all over the place. People need to wash their damn hands after going potty. They should cattle shoot everyone into a single line before going into any eating place and MAKE people use the hand cleaner. It may not kill 100% of the gems, but I'll take 99% any day over some moron who didnt wash their hands after going potty.

 

Also, if I see someone not wash their hands, I follow them out and embarrass them and tell them to go wash their damn hands.

 

Agreed. It's the common stomach flu/virus. The point of the question was really to understand what Royal does to keep their ships clean, and also asking the question is there anything else they can do, as a result of progress and technological changes?

 

Am I going to stop from cruising Royal? Not remotely. This stuff happens.

[DreamingBig1]

Have you looked at the historic data of noro outbreaks? Unfortunately, noro happens. Someone carried it onto Explorer this year. It happens. Here is a link to help you see what happens every year.

 

http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/vsp/surv/gilist.htm

 

Please read my previous responses. I think you will find that I agree with you .

[travelplus]

I'm a nurse case manager and was actually thinking about this outbreak today as I walked through the hospital. The number one way to stop this is for people to have good hand washing. The other thread has talked at length about how people do not wash their hands. Some countries may not be as big on hand washing and the people don't know. This is why I use a towel to open a handle and elbow to push open a door. I carry hand sanitizer with me that is not toxic to me. I try never to hold on to a rail, etc. I do not use pens at the store unless I absolutely have to but will use the finger so I don't get my entire hand. Any cruise line can only do so much and perhaps it should have happened quicker. At this point it doesn't matter as everyone's cruise is cut short. Glad I'm not on it!

 

DaNana I agree with you 150 percent. I use warm water and soap and wash my hands singing the ABC song to myself twice just to be sure. Then I take a paper towel and use it to turn off the faucet and open the door.

 

In addition I use Purell Hand Sanitizer but not too obsessively and so far this year when other people around me were sick I have not gotten any cold or bug. I also get my annual flu shot as well.

 

Also I found out that drinking Kefir in the weeks prior to the cruise helps build up my immune system as well. I have felt so much better after drinking Kefir.

[NJcruisenewbie]

I posted this on another thread about noro with regard to handwashing. Even if every person scrubbed their hands until there wasn't a trace of viral or bacterial matter on them they would still have matter on their clothes, bags, and general person. It would have gotten there when putting clothes back in place after using the facilities but before washing.

 

Now imagine after washing that person touches their clothing, bag etc and now has the viral/bacterial germs back on their hands.

 

The ship can do all the cleaning possible, people can be as diligent as possible but the fact is some are going to get sick.

[cruiselvr04]

According to some reading I did on the cdc website this is one nasty bug. It can live on fabric for up to 12 days and hard surfaces for 28 days. If you have this bug in your house anyone who visits in the next month could pick it up long after you forgot you had it. No wonder it is passed around so much.

 

Hand washing is your best defense, using the public restrooms as little as possible on board is good too. Always wash or sanitize just before eating and especially if you used tongs from the buffet. However if a cabin down the hall is getting it and the steward brings it down to your room you may get sick. I think they should use gloves when cleaning the cabin bathrooms and remove them before they leave that cabin AND use some kind of santizer on their hands between rooms. Not too much to ask - nurses do such things in hospitals all the time.

 

There is some immunity for six months to a year but not lifetime.

 

It will not go away folks...figure out how to protect yourself the best way you can and then enjoy your vacation. It would be awful to get this on a cruise when you have planned and saved for a vacation but it is not the cruise lines fault. If you want to blame someone, blame whoever brought it on board and did not wash their hands after using the bathroom.

[BecciBoo]

Actually, there appears to be a relationship between blood type and immunity/resistance to NORO:

 

QUOTE]

 

I'm an O+ and for 16 cruises now I have never been sick, not even for a minute with Noro or anything else. I have an autoimmune condition however. But the rest of me is pretty non disease prone. Thank God.

 

I don't do much special, just wash EVERY pit stop and don't skip the sanitizers. I think there was one time where I took Clorox wipes and wiped down the cabin, but other than that nuttin honey.

 

I'm sure RCCL does EVERTHING humanly possible to keep these outbreaks from happening, it is in their best interest to do so. Stuff happens, but it would never prevent me from sailing, in fact I'd sail Explorer this week since she has been detoxified to the extreme!

 

Hey we both caught a viral something or maybe even allergy thing a couple weeks ago, we probably caught it from the Super Market...no telling where....do you suppose your local market does as good a job as RCCL? NOT!

Edited January 28, 2014 by BecciBoo

[m*u*g*]

Could time of year or cold weather departure port play a role into this being a wider spread?

Edited January 28, 2014 by m*u*g*

[mbjboyle]

Could time of year or cold weather departure port play a role into this being a wider spread?

 

Yes, additional factors include age, existing immunodeficiency, cleanliness & personal hygiene, fatigue, exposure to contaminates during pre-cruise travel, general health, diet, and many more...... Noro, or the Norwalk virus is more prevalent during colder weather due to people congregating in large numbers within confined spaces. Cruise ships are a terrific breeding area for contaminates as there is a large number of hosts who share confined spaces for several days. Because symptoms do not present until about 12 to 24 hours following exposure/infection, the host rapidly & easily transmits contaminates and infects others, unknowingly. Many people on this board have expressed concern for the **perceived** escalated risk of infection aboard a ship. This perception is due to a number of factors including the dissemination of information regarding infection to the CDC, the speed and amount of information released to the public, and the mere fact that (as mentioned) the sheer number of available hosts within a combined space create a ideal breeding area for contamination. Your risk of infection aboard a ship is the same as any area one visits where many people congregate (school, business, mall, plane, train, bus, restaurant, church, etc).

 

Stay diligent, informed, and practice good hygiene to protect one's self from contamination......

Edited January 28, 2014 by mbjboyle

[LBeeE]

I'm a little surprised by the number of responses on this thread calling those of refusing to use the sanitizer going into the WJ as "nasty". I always wash my hands with soap and water in the bathroom before entering the WJ, therefore, I have no need for the sanitizer. I don't appreciate other passengers looking at me NOT using the sanitizer and thinking I'm "nasty", and I certainly wouldn't appreciate being followed and harrassed about it either.

Edited January 28, 2014 by LBeeE

[boscobeans]

THE PRODUCT IS ALPET D2

 

For the past several years or so my wife and I have been using a product that is effective against the noro virus. It is an alcohol based spray that is used in the food processing industry as well as many hospital environments. It is a spray that once dry requires no rinsing and the dry surface is FOOD SAFE.

 

We have been bringing it on all of our cruises (very convenient spray bottle) and use it to spray our stateroom as soon as it is ready to enter. It can be sprayed on glassware, silverware as well as plates or anything else that we feel we will use during the cruise.

We have been on several cruises where there were outbreaks and this product along with proper hand washing and the use of hand sanitizers has always worked for us. Maybe luck or who knows...

 

I have sent the specs on this product to all the major cruise lines in the past, but for whatever reason they seem to feel that using chlorine products that stink, damage the surfaces they are applied to as well as whatever clothing comes in contact with it.

 

http://bestsanitizers.com/products/surface-sanitizers

 

Although I am retired from the medical profession and my wife is still employed in it, we are in NO WAY affiliated with the product or the manufacturer or any of the sales outlets.

 

IT JUST WORKS

 

bosco

Edited January 28, 2014 by boscobeans
forgot to give the product name

[LindaAndBillTravel]

I'm a little surprised by the number of responses on this thread calling those of refusing to use the sanitizer going into the WJ as "nasty". I always wash my hands with soap and water in the bathroom before entering the WJ, therefore, I have no need for the sanitizer. I don't appreciate other passengers looking at me NOT using the sanitizer and thinking I'm "nasty", and I certainly wouldn't appreciate being followed and harrassed about it either.

I'm in agreement with you. I can't use the ship's hand sanitizer because it causes me a horrible, painful rash. I wash my hands in the restroom before entering a dining venue and I carry my own hand sanitizer and use it right before I eat, which quite frankly is the time to use it to avoid getting sick yourself. Using the hand sanitizer as you go into the WJ and then touching all of the tongs and utensils everyone else has been touching isn't protecting you.

[cruiselvr04]

Using sanitizer does help those who do not wash their hands as well as some of us. It keeps their germs from spreading to us via the tongs etc used in the windjammer. Washing your hands before eating is great but if you touch ANYTHING between the bathroom sink and eating you have just gotton germs back on your hands. They may be harmless germs as many are but germs none the less. Did you touch a handrail on the stairs or an elevator button on the way, or the bathroom door on your way out? Did you touch your cabin door? Have you touched your face, nose or mouth on the way to eat? The only clean hands are hands that have not touched anything except a paper towel. And once you touch those serving utensils in the windjammer your hands would grow germs in a Petri dish. Just saying.

 

Best advice is to wash or sanitize before going to the buffet and then when you sit down to eat again use a little hand sanitizer.

[G85 SS]

I'm a nurse case manager and was actually thinking about this outbreak today as I walked through the hospital. The number one way to stop this is for people to have good hand washing. The other thread has talked at length about how people do not wash their hands. Some countries may not be as big on hand washing and the people don't know. This is why I use a towel to open a handle and elbow to push open a door. I carry hand sanitizer with me that is not toxic to me. I try never to hold on to a rail, etc. I do not use pens at the store unless I absolutely have to but will use the finger so I don't get my entire hand. Any cruise line can only do so much and perhaps it should have happened quicker. At this point it doesn't matter as everyone's cruise is cut short. Glad I'm not on it!

 

Couldn't agree more.

 

And OP, I'm not flaming you at all as I think it is a genuine question one would and should ask. Especially if they are thinking about taking their very first cruise.

 

But that being said, a cruise line can only do so much as far as cleaning is concerned. The only thing they might be able to do to aid in the prevention of this specific virus is to up the cleaning they do during a given cruise vacation. But I constantly see people cleaning so I don't know if that is even possible. Ships are among the cleanest places I stay at while on vacation.

 

I also believe winter months are at a higher risk of "outbreaks" like this because peoples' immune systems may be weaker due to a recent cold or the flu. That is just my opinion though and it should be known I am not a doctor. lol. But again, ships can only do so much. The rest depends on us as guests aboard to practice good hygiene. On top of using purell every time I see one on board a ship, my girlfriend also brings plenty of travel size containers of sanitizer and we are always washing our hands.

 

And I suppose something that goes under the radar too is the magnitude of cultural backgrounds on board a ship. While the majority of us make the statement of "I can't believe people don't practice good hygiene". Just bear in mind there are cultures out there who you do not shake their right hand for reasons that do not need discussing.

 

In short, whether the Explorer of the Seas and Majesty of the Seas are the only two RCCL ships that will have outbreaks or it spreads to many more across the fleet. I will continue to cruise, enjoy every moment of it and make sure I continue to practice good personal hygiene to reduce the risk as much as possible of me catching the bug.

Edited January 28, 2014 by G85 SS

[funfamilyfun]

I do wonder if they did completely rule out the food causing the outbreak. When I read all of this information, it looks like that could have been a cause.

[oneputt18]

I do wonder if they did completely rule out the food causing the outbreak. When I read all of this information, it looks like that could have been a cause.

 

 

Don't listen to all the speculation,both here and in the news, the CDC has not released any news as to what it was or what they believe the cause to be.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[eamcclen]

I have recently learned that Clorox and Lysol wipes, hand sanitizers do Not kill the norovirus. You must get the medical or hospital grade. I found these items on Amazon and ordered them last night.

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00F45J8TK/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

Or, you can google to find various companies that sell the.

I'm not paranoid but just being realistic.

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[DaNana]

When a patient at our hospital is identified as having this virus, we have specific "rules" to follow with gown, gloves, etc. We also are to use hand washing prior and after being in the room.

 

As I have read all of these posts (thank you OP for this string!), I don't believe anyone was flaming those, like me, who will not be using the sanitizer. I have very delicate skin, and have to medicate at work to keep from having the skin eaten off by the toxics. I believe though there are probably some that don't wash or use the sanitizer. Worse is when they leave the restroom without washing their hands! :eek::eek:

 

Food can be a source for noro virus. Lettuce is a big one. A healthcare organization I previously worked for had the Holiday Party at a very high end resort. Over 100 out of about 650 people got sick and I was one of them. It was determined to be the lettuce. When you have it this way, it gets mixed across a vast area. I have a daughter who attended a wedding last year and 100 people got sick, again from the lettuce. All the wiping in the world would not have stopped these outbreaks.

 

I like the remark about the ABC song while washing. The other is to sing Happy Birthday. Whatever works for you. Sound like most of us have been doing it pretty right to stay healthy!

[NeoVega]

 

Food can be a source for noro virus. Lettuce is a big one.

 

Based on the posts in related threads and in the Roll Call for the Previous EOS Cruise (1/12 sailiing), it seems to me that something brought the virus onboard a day or so before the end of the 1/12 cruise -- maybe the lettuce or another food source? A number of people from the January 12 sailing reported getting sick immediately after the end of their cruise. That then carried over to the 1/21 EOS sailing.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1712507&page=24

 

hapycruzr

That bug was on our ship too. We had some clues that we didn't pay attention to.. but wife and I both came down with it within 24 hours of getting home. We had contact with no other people other than shipmates the whole time. Glad it didn't get bad while we sailed. Lots of news about other RCCL problems too.

__________________

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eh270

I , too, am sick…it started about 2 days after I got home…still feeling yukky. we even bring small lysol sprays and lysol wipes , along with the hand sanitizer. My husband is fine…as of last night.

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JKSYNDER1

I , too, am sick…so far my Husband is ok…on our floor the Cabin stewards were sanitizing each and every cabin door handle. We kind of smiled and joked by saying "keeping all the bugs at bay" they just smiled and went about dousing all the door knobs / handles …

 

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Hi everyone,

I came with a group of 100. Looks like 1/2 came down with symptoms immediately after we returned. 2 of the kids in my group were sent to the hospital with symptoms. Has anyone contacted RCL about this? I have with no response.

Steve

[Barb Nahoumi]

Actually, there appears to be a relationship between blood type and immunity/resistance to NORO:

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norovirus

 

 

http://www.mnn.com/health/healthy-spaces/stories/norovirus-and-blood-type-whats-the-connection

 

interesting----

[Barb Nahoumi]

What time is the ship due back today?

[lakelorain]

It is close to port now. http://www.nyharborwebcam.com/

[lady_cruiser]

Brings to question whether Royal is wiping down their boats enough to help stop the spread of the virus?

 

Before people jump on me, I recognize that noro is a very fast moving and contagious virus, and that it happens on every cruise line. In the last couple weeks there have been major (some would consider more than major) outbreaks on Royal ships.

 

When Carnival ships kept breaking down, people were asking why aren't they doing anything about it, or what are they doing?

 

It's safe to ask questions for the sake of future cruisers.

 

Royal is my favorite line by the way.

 

I love Royal Caribbean too and have been on a B2B where the week before we boarded 300 people got sick with the Norovirus.

 

I saw first hand how well Royal Caribbean takes this Norovirus serious.

 

For RCL to wipe it down as you suggested they would have to have one crew member, per passenger, following them around with a spray bottle of disinfected and paper towels to wipe down everything they touch, the minute they touch it.

 

I rather not be followed around like that. :p

[DreamingBig1]

"Rick O'Shea from Miami-based ByoPlanet was at the dock to greet the ship. His company was going to use sprayers that produce electrically charged droplets to help sanitize the ship. He said it would take eight to 12 hours to complete the job." ABCNews

 

Interesting. Never heard of this. This company is sanitizing the Explorer.

 

And no if there are those wondering. I don't think Royal should engage this company after every single cruise.

 

There is other technology out there.