Live from the Crown; 'Norovirus' precautions in full swing

[redtogo]

Sorry for the typo. The percent is 2%.

[stocks]

Just made Fox news

[chengkp75]

The percentage is 3% or more of the passengers or crew for the more severe reporting to the CDC. I still had my letter that we received on the Crown. I threw it away last week. Wish I had it now as it explained all of the reporting.

 

There was an outbreak on the Crown - 1/28/2012 to 2/4/2012 u days out of Ft. Lauderdale.

 

Another that you listed 2/4/2012 to 2/0/2012 364 passengers fell ill and 30 crew members

 

Another during December, 2012 which was a 20 day cruise from Venice to Galveston

 

In 2011, there were two cruises on the Crown. 12/3/2011 to 12/17/2011 and

12/17/2011 to 12/24/2011.

 

At 2% of pax and crew, the initial "special" report must be made, along with a 24 hour update. At 3%, a second "special" report is made, and this is what is listed on the CDC website for "outbreak followup". You may be correct that there were others, they're just not listed on the CDC website.

[senior lady]

love your attitude............... Makes me smile:D

[scampi]

This is a management problem!! .... Don't get me wrong, we have cruised 20 times with Princess, we were really looking forward to having the Crown here on the West Coast, now were not so sure.!!!

 

It is not fair to flame rtlk. He is voicing his concerns for his family. My family is boarding the same day as rtlk. Our large group includes 4 infants/toddlers & DH & I are joining them 4/26 in a Bon Voyage Day to see them off. My family is also very concerned due to the news reports. I have been busy assuring them that all is in control on the ship. That opinion of mine is based on the much appreciated "live" posts from those cruise critic passengers on the Crown & from those others giving informative links about the situation. These posts have helped me to feel that all the procedures of protocol are being handled dilligently and that my family will have a wonderful safe cruise. Those links have included information that the number of Noro cases are declining (something the news reports haven't included). It's a pity that the news sources are inflaming the public - reporting facts is one thing, but leaving out important information or embellishing is another thing....

scampi

[lady_cruiser]

Hello from the Crown,....

"hmmm".. and who was taken off the ship in handcuffs in San Diego? Walking down the gang plank. What could they have done.. obviously they could not 'escape completely' but perhaps they will 'come back new'. :)

 

"Missing" rare to hear a page ship-wide looking for a crew member, before sailaway from San Francisco. The crew member was a waiter - and he needed to report to the Matri'de immediately. The page was twice about 1/2 hour aparts at 8:30pm - 9:00pm. Perhaps they needed to announce ship-wide to shame or embarrass? I found that a bit concerning as the ship staff should have a better communication amoung themselves for their ears only.. now we can only wonder..and adds to elevator gossip.

.....

Hmmm, mysterious. Maybe they are one and the same?!

Edited April 11, 2014 by lady_cruiser

[pascalburns]

looks like you had a fun time.:)

[MauiLvrs]

The ship has been enjoyable.. and is VERY VERY Clean.

She shold be extra super duper very very clean when we board tomorrow aftee an extra 5 hours of cleaning :)

 

Lets hope that cleaning the terminal keeps the bugs off the ship.

 

Thanks for the update.

[DrivesLikeMario]

Bummer about the navy blouse!! :mad: I guess if that's the worst thing to happen amidst Noro, you did pretty well.

 

LOL about the shoe height! I find that to be pretty accurate! ;) Thanks for the entertaining review & have a safe journey home.

[Quenby]

I think the inappropriate "flaming" was by rtlk when he/she stated that "heads should roll" and people should lose their jobs.

 

We repeatedly get persistent outbreaks of different diseases in schools, nursing homes, senior residential facilities and jails/prisons, no matter how hard staff work to prevent the outbreaks. Who would ever want to work in those places if folks like rtlk wanted "heads to roll"????

[scampi]

For those on the next cruise, for my daughter & her family who might be reading this & for rtlk, the news, according to a Princess rep via phone a few minutes ago is that there has now been a decline to something like 85 cases from 137 cases and that there will be a 4 hour marathon of continued deep cleaning before the oncoming passengers board.

 

Santa

[rtlk]

Thank you SCAMPI for understanding our concern about the situation on the Crown, sometime folks need to realistically look at the history and agree that the Cruise line and its misinformation to the paying customers and failure to solve this major problem particularly with this ship being new to the L A market, shows a failure of management both in the Ivory tower and the ship board folks.

Edited April 12, 2014 by rtlk

[BruceMuzz]

:(:confused::(:confused: We are very concerned about going on the 4/26 Cruise, does not seem like this ship has been able to clean up its act, the history of these problems is of great concern, heads should roll over these persistent problems some folks in leadership rolls on and off this "SICK SHIP" should be held accountable.

 

To get a bit of perspective on this issue:

 

The USA is where Norwalk Virus developed and was discovered; Norwalk, Ohio.

Every year the USA has a higher number and a higher percentage of people sick with this illness than any other country in the world.

The CDC is estimating between 20 million and 30 million Americans have it EVERY year. Most people who get it at home do not report it, so numbers could be far higher.

That's at least 10% of the American population - compared to 2% on Crown Princess.

The history of these problems is of great concern. It has been going on for decades now, and the US Government is doing nothing about it.

 

 

Is the American Government going to do anything about this?

Are they warning visitors from abroad?

When is America going to "clean up it's act"?

How about hand sanitizers at US immigration?

Have you heard any public service announcements in America, warning of this terrible problem?

Heads should roll over these persistent problems, and American leadership should be held accountable.

Edited April 12, 2014 by BruceMuzz

[rtlk]

We are all at fault for not holding people responsible, if that was done more often, perhaps folks in charge would pay more attention & we would not have all these problems..!!

Edited April 12, 2014 by rtlk

[Salacia]

To get a bit of perspective on this issue:

 

The USA is where Norwalk Virus developed and was discovered; Norwalk, Ohio.

Every year the USA has a higher number and a higher percentage of people sick with this illness than any other country in the world.

The CDC is estimating between 20 million and 30 million Americans have it EVERY year. Most people who get it at home do not report it, so numbers could be far higher.

That's at least 10% of the American population - compared to 2% on Crown Princess.

The history of these problems is of great concern. It has been going on for decades now, and the US Government is doing nothing about it.

 

 

Is the American Government going to do anything about this?

Are they warning visitors from abroad?

When is America going to "clean up it's act"?

How about hand sanitizers at US immigration?

Have you heard any public service announcements in America, warning of this terrible problem?

Heads should roll over these persistent problems, and American leadership should be held accountable.

 

To state the the Norwalk virus originated in the US is incorrect: the strain was first identified in the US, it did not originate in the US. The virus existed in other parts of the Globe long before it was identified in 1972. For decades prior, it was described as "the winter vomiting disease".

 

I've found no evidence that the US has a higher percentage of people stricken with noro virus than any other country. Could you please cite your source for that statement?

 

Hyperbole is counter productive when discussing disease outbreaks. For factual information, please see this article on the Center for Disease Control website: http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/11/5/04-1090_article.htm

 

-Salacia

[Kingofcool1946]

Sorry, but hand sanitizer won't kill Noro Virus.

 

Do not share food or utensils with people who are sick. Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water, especially before preparing or handling food and after using the toilet. Alcohol-based hand sanitizer doesn't kill norovirus and should not be a substitute for old-fashioned soap and water.

 

BTW: how about passengers who, whilst standing in the buffet line, repeatedly use their fingers to eat food off their plate, , and then pick up the serving tongs, and do it again. Yuck!

[BruceMuzz]

To state the the Norwalk virus originated in the US is incorrect: the strain was first identified in the US, it did not originate in the US. The virus existed in other parts of the Globe long before it was identified in 1972. For decades prior, it was described as "the winter vomiting disease".

 

I've found no evidence that the US has a higher percentage of people stricken with noro virus than any other country. Could you please cite your source for that statement?

 

Hyperbole is counter productive when discussing disease outbreaks. For factual information, please see this article on the Center for Disease Control website: http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/11/5/04-1090_article.htm

 

-Salacia

 

I agree completely. Anyone who states that the illness originated in the USA would be wrong. I stated that it DEVELOPED in the USA. Although it has probably been around for centuries or longer, it needed large numbers of people with poor hygiene to allow it to thrive and develop. Thank you Ohio.

If you Google "Norwalk by country" - or some other similar reference - you can read thousands of studies done by national, international, and regional health groups -as well as universities - who all seem to agree that the good old USA is "Norwalk Central". But Germany, UK, and Australia are quickly catching up at this point.

 

When I worked for the CDC, they conducted a study at International Airports around the world, checking passengers exiting airport bathrooms. After determining if they had washed their hands after using the facilities, they were asked which passport they carried. ( I am very glad I was not assigned to work on that study) When the numbers were tallied, the Mainland Chinese were the worst offenders on handwashing. Americans came in second worst.

 

Q: Which is the most common and effective method to spread NLV?

A: Failing to wash your hands after using the toilet.

 

Q: Where do most cruise ships have outbreaks?

A: On itineraries leaving from US Ports, where the majority of passengers are from the USA.

 

Q: Where do cruise ships have the lowest number of outbreaks?

A: On itineraries away from the USA, where the number of American passengers is very low.

Edited April 12, 2014 by BruceMuzz

[Salacia]

I agree completely. Anyone who states that the illness originated in the USA would be wrong. I stated that it DEVELOPED in the USA. Although it has probably been around for centuries or longer, it needed large numbers of people with poor hygiene to allow it to thrive and develop. Thank you Ohio.

If you Google "Norwalk by country" - or some other similar reference - you can read thousands of studies done by national, international, and regional health groups -as well as universities - who all seem to agree that the good old USA is "Norwalk Central". But Germany, UK, and Australia are quickly catching up at this point.

 

When I worked for the CDC, they conducted a study at International Airports around the world, checking passengers exiting airport bathrooms. After determining if they had washed their hands after using the facilities, they were asked which passport they carried. ( I am very glad I was not assigned to work on that study) When the numbers were tallied, the Mainland Chinese were the worst offenders on handwashing. Americans came in second worst.

 

Q: Which is the most common and effective method to spread NLV?

A: Failing to wash your hands after using the toilet.

 

Q: Where do most cruise ships have outbreaks?

A: On itineraries leaving from US Ports, where the majority of passengers are from the USA.

 

Q: Where do cruise ships have the lowest number of outbreaks?

A: On itineraries away from the USA, where the number of American passengers is very low.

 

I don't understand - where did that Q&A come from? Could you cite a source please?

 

Regarding your statements about the "development"- others call it the identification - of Norwalk virus, please see http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10804141

 

The identification of that virus had more to do with the electron microscope than poor hygiene in Ohio. [Reference: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2772359/

 

I really have to wonder where you're getting your information.

Edited April 12, 2014 by Salacia

[BruceMuzz]

I don't understand - where did that Q&A come from? Could you cite a source please?

 

Regarding your statements about the "development"- others call it the identification - of Norwalk virus, please see http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10804141

 

The identification of that virus had more to do with the electron microscope than poor hygiene in Ohio. [Reference: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2772359/

 

I really have to wonder where you're getting your information.

 

I get nearly all my information from the CDC.

I do training for/with them when I am not managing cruise ships.

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