Illness on the Eclipse

[Butterfly999]

I am surprised that no one has mentioned the nasty virus that was circulating on the recent Eclipse cruise to the Med. (10th to 24th May).

 

We noticed lots of people coughing, then a few days before the end of the cruise, I went down with it with a vengeance - coughing, sweating, feverish! Hubby got it as soon as we got home and we are only just beginning to feel a little better.

 

Do these viruses circulate in the air conditioning systems? We are very fussy about hand washing and sanitising, and have managed so far to escape the dreaded Norovirus, but this virus was extremely unpleasant too. Several cabins on our deck had the Do Not Disturb notice on their doors, so I am wondering if the pax inside were ill.

 

We have felt so ill that it has put us off wanting to cruise on a such a big crowded ship again!

[shoreham01]

Sorry to hear you were unwell on your cruise. We are sailing on the Eclipse in a weeks time.

 

Over here in the UK there is a dreadful bug going around, cough and cold. You hear people coughing in the supermarkets and shops. I think what happens is that someone gets on board healthy and then it takes three days usually to come out, by this time they are on the ship passing it on to someone else. I don't think there is anything that could prevent it.

 

Hope you both feel better soon.

Edited May 30, 2014 by shoreham01
typo

[ORV]

I am surprised that no one has mentioned the nasty virus that was circulating on the recent Eclipse cruise to the Med. (10th to 24th May).

 

We noticed lots of people coughing, then a few days before the end of the cruise, I went down with it with a vengeance - coughing, sweating, feverish! Hubby got it as soon as we got home and we are only just beginning to feel a little better.

 

Do these viruses circulate in the air conditioning systems? We are very fussy about hand washing and sanitising, and have managed so far to escape the dreaded Norovirus, but this virus was extremely unpleasant too. Several cabins on our deck had the Do Not Disturb notice on their doors, so I am wondering if the pax inside were ill.

 

We have felt so ill that it has put us off wanting to cruise on a such a big crowded ship again!

 

You are not the first I've noticed that made this correlation. I usually think people mostly want to sleep in, or are doing things in the cabin and don't want to be bothered with the attendant coming in cleaning etc. Then again they could be sick and not wanting to be bothered. BUT, I wouldn't automatically come to the conclusion that the Do Not Disturb sign denotes someone being ill.

 

I myself have had a few bouts of the Scotch flu, but it goes away after a few hours. Odds are I might put the sign on the door then.

Edited May 30, 2014 by ORV

[TeaBag]

I think because we are all in an enclosed space, the virus spreads quickly. I've seen people cough without covering their mouth too. It was rampant on the Millennium, Asia cruise 2103 and I was sick for about 10 days, yes on the ship. I rarely left the cabin and eventually had to go to the Dr for nebulizer treatments. Med staff were great but I would rather not have met them! It's pretty frightening to be on a TP and not be able to breathe properly.

 

I feel sorry that you got this. A cruise is meant to be a good time. Glad you are better now.

Edited May 30, 2014 by YVR cruiser

[Jem 12]

I am surprised that no one has mentioned the nasty virus that was circulating on the recent Eclipse cruise to the Med. (10th to 24th May).

 

We noticed lots of people coughing, then a few days before the end of the cruise, I went down with it with a vengeance - coughing, sweating, feverish! Hubby got it as soon as we got home and we are only just beginning to feel a little better.

 

Do these viruses circulate in the air conditioning systems? We are very fussy about hand washing and sanitising, and have managed so far to escape the dreaded Norovirus, but this virus was extremely unpleasant too. Several cabins on our deck had the Do Not Disturb notice on their doors, so I am wondering if the pax inside were ill.

 

We have felt so ill that it has put us off wanting to cruise on a such a big crowded ship again!

 

Sorry to hear thet you were unwell, I can completely sympathise with you.

 

I got off the Eclipse after the transatlantic on the 2nd May, we flew out to Miami on the 16th April I was fine until the 28th April and then I went down with all the symptoms you describe, I felt dreadful couldn't eat a thing for 4 days. My husband was fine as was all other 6 of our tablemates.

 

I got off the ship saying I wouldn't cruise again, but have got over that now, The only thing I did differently to my hubby was the jacuzzi and the shower in the spa changing rooms, I have wondered whether it was a mild form of legionaires?

 

Hope you feel completely well soon.

[packedandready]

This "coughing bug" was on our recent Equinox trip. We stayed healthy, but I don't think I've ever heard so much coughing in one place. One of folks in the cabin next to us had it and we had to sleep with the balcony door open to drowned out the noise. Those poor folks didn't sleep for many days...

[kevinyork]

We were on the cruise too. Last year on Eclipse I got a bug. Had 24 hours of cold sweats then was left with a cough for weeks afterwards. Also on this cruise some cruise friends of ours got the exact same symptoms.

 

I read a bit about it after last years issue and a regular recommendation seemed to be to use saline nasal spray when onboard. Apparently the air con dries out your nasal passages so they become susceptable to bugs landing on them but not being cleared away. Yes you are in close contact with a lot of people but thats the same on any cruise, big or small.

 

We tried in on this years cruise and didnt catch anything.

 

Apparently an alternative is to wet and wring out a towel and leave it hanging in the room overnight to keep the air moist.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[cruiserhal]

We were on this ship last June to the Baltic. Many people came on the ship with nasty coughs which spread throughout the ship. (We could see and hear them the first night in the bars and show.) I caught it and came down with pneumonia which took almost a month to get rid of when I got home. The drugs the doctor gave me on the ship were too weak to help.

 

This March we were on the Eclipse and there were no obvious illnesses or coughs. Everyone seemed fine.

 

I don't have an answer and I'm not blaming anyone or any port - just telling you my story on the Eclipse.

[Redtravel]

I was on the Eclipse in January. Lots of coughing passengers. My husband and I both came home coughing. It was not terrible. It was a bit annoying. In any closed situation, if somebody arrives with a virus, it can spread quickly. I have picked up colds on cruises and planes.

[Jane2357]

I was on the Eclipse Feb 8 cruise and I became ill about mid-cruise. Started with a tickle in the throat that turned into VERY severe coughing fits - to the point of almost passing out. I was put on antibiotics (which I brought with me) and prednisone (from the ship Dr) - which I had a reaction to and caused lots of chest pain. Several others also caught the same illness yet we were never confined to our cabins.

 

I'm 56, drove to port, active and in good health. Dh never caught it. There was a small noro out break on our cruise and they were spraying chemicals every place and I've wondered about that. I do realize that I was burning the candle at both ends and perhaps was worn down a bit.

 

My cruise in 2015 is a 14 night, very port intensive British Isles and I'm already a bit worried about how to stay healthy with the additional air travel days involved. I'll be asking my Dr once again to send me with antibiotics in hand.

Edited May 30, 2014 by Jane2357

[rebeccalouiseagain]

You are in such a confined area that viruses seem to run rampant on cruise ships. Think about things like the buttons for the elevators. So many people touch them + hand rails+ sitting in the theater in chairs that a sick person may have just been in + the armrests of the chairs = germ city!

 

What I do wonder though- is could illness be spread by the vacuum cleaning from room to room? Could the rags they use to clean the previous room be spreading germs to your room? Probably.

 

The only defense on a cruise is making sure to get ample rest, plenty of water, limit alcohol consumption and take vitamins prior to cruising and while onboard... that and lots of warm soapy water hand washing and Purell when this isn't available. Use the Purell both when entering and leaving the buffet and theater.

[Clydesmom7865]

I got this same virus last December when I flew to Las Vegas. I have NEVER got so sick so fast. The fever was unrelenting, coughing until passing out, vomiting, NO sleep, sinuses clogged. A quick trip to a walk in clinic revealed: bronchitis, sinus and bilateral ear infections.

 

I went through EVERY towel in the room and the next day when housekeeping came by I simply asked for more linens and would NOT allow her to make up the room. I even put my dirty linens in the cart for her. She seemed distressed by the idea until I told her I was ill and did not want to pass it to her or anyone else. Then she was grateful.

 

Thankfully in Vegas there is literally nothing you cannot get from room service and I ordered chicken soup and ginger ale. The employee who took the order and asked if I was sick felt so bad for me as he listened to my plight that when the tray arrived it had two popsicles on it too!

 

It took me 2 months to recover and I hope I am never that sick again.

[rebeccalouiseagain]

Poor thing! My Aunt has not traveled at all lately and she came down with this horrible virus on dry land. It sounds just terrible. She felt better after getting on meds. I highly recommend calling the doc on board if you are ill before going to the medical center. Sometimes they want to contain you to your room depending on the illness. The doctor will often visit the cabin if necessary.

Edited May 30, 2014 by rebeccalouiseagain

[cb at sea]

Sounds like Flu! We had it in March....cough, fever, aches....lasted about a week. But, the good news, I lost 8 lbs! Not the ideal way to lose weight, but hey...whatever works!

[4cats4me]

This "coughing bug" was on our recent Equinox trip. We stayed healthy, but I don't think I've ever heard so much coughing in one place. One of folks in the cabin next to us had it and we had to sleep with the balcony door open to drowned out the noise. Those poor folks didn't sleep for many days...

 

Yep, that whole ship was a Petri dish. I never got it, amazingly , yet many, many people on our roll call did. I think I didn't get it because I'd had it twice the previous year and maybe was immune to that particular strain.

 

Last year both of us got it on the cruise and right after

[OBX-Cruisers]

I don't know what is with the air handling system on the Eclipse but on our 14 day cruise last year my wife got the same type of coughing bug you mentioned. In fact, several people we met also commented that they also had the same bug and that visits to the doctor on board only produced some pretty expensive cough medicine. They said that the doctor called the problem "ship cough" (whatever that means) but we think it is due to the enclosed air space that has a very low humidity...................even though you are in the middle of a lot of water the AC takes the moisture out of the air. It wasn't the flu only a never ending cough

 

I suggest anyone going on the Eclipse and possibly all of the S class ships to go prepared with cough drops and perhaps cough medicine.

Edited May 31, 2014 by OBX-Cruisers

[4cats4me]

I don't know what is with the air handling sys

:):)

I suggest anyone going on the Eclipse and possibly all of the S class ships to go prepared with cough drops and perhaps cough medicine.

 

 

Those are two items I always bring on every cruise. Always bring my Robitussen

There are also robitussen gel caps

Which are very convenient for travel purposes

 

On our last cruise someone was charged $17 for a bottle of syrup and I bought ours at Publix before boarding for $2 or $3:eek:

[sdjsnewmexico]

Goodness, all of this sounds very familiar. The coughing bug was on the Jewel of the Seas on our April 5 cruise out of San Juan and I caught it. So did our son and his wife. Husband remained well. Cough, fever, aches, chills.. It was absolutely awful. The ship and the airplane - everyone was coughing. We ended up with bronchitis. We feel like the likely culprit is the fact that most people fly to get to the cruise and are in a closed environment breathing recirculated air on the plane. Then u go into another environment where u r in close proximity to a lot of people and then it just spreads to even more people. It is probably a viral infection and the sanitation efforts are usually for bacterial situations. The bottom line is that it's miserable and it may not have originated on the ship but on the plane. Hope everyone is well and stays well!

[Keith1010]

I am surprised that no one has mentioned the nasty virus that was circulating on the recent Eclipse cruise to the Med. (10th to 24th May).

 

We noticed lots of people coughing, then a few days before the end of the cruise, I went down with it with a vengeance - coughing, sweating, feverish! Hubby got it as soon as we got home and we are only just beginning to feel a little better.

 

Do these viruses circulate in the air conditioning systems? We are very fussy about hand washing and sanitising, and have managed so far to escape the dreaded Norovirus, but this virus was extremely unpleasant too. Several cabins on our deck had the Do Not Disturb notice on their doors, so I am wondering if the pax inside were ill.

 

We have felt so ill that it has put us off wanting to cruise on a such a big crowded ship again!

 

Honestly large ship, medium ship or small ship will not make a difference when it comes to getting sick or having a virus spread around the ship. I have sailed on all sizes of ships and when you are sailing in close confines with others you have a far greater chance of this taking place.

 

Keith

[Butterfly999]

Thanks for all your good wishes and advice. Wishing everyone a happy and virus free cruise.

[Minoushka]

Upon my return from Emerald pPrincess last .jan i caught a massive chest cold which became bronchitis, .i had fever ,chills ,overheating .I was so sick I fainted in my bathroom one night banged my head and had a huge black eye to the bottom of my cheek as a result.

I coughed so much my ribs started to seriously hurt .I. Went to the hospitaldiagnosed with acute bronchitis but bacause it was viral got nothing for it ...so I self medicated with Tylenol and soup .I basically did not eat for over a week ...my tummy was very upset .it took close to a month to get rid of it completely ...i was very weakand felt horrible ...no fun

Maybe there is something wrong with the vents on ship .i would prefer to turn them off completely keep my balcony door open instead .I do not really care for AC and it is usually too strong for me .I hate being cold in summer !!

I hope I do bit get sick like this again but lately it has happened afew times. I get a massive cold the minute i get off ship

[susiecreamchs]

I'll be asking my Dr once again to send me with antibiotics in hand.

 

If it's a virus, which it probably was, antibiotics will not do a thing. Your doctor should not have given them to you. The over use of antibiotics is causing antibiotic resistance, a real health problem.

http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-living/consumer-health/in-depth/antibiotics/art-20045720

[Cruzinram]

We have had the exact same bug on three of the last four cruises. The latest was the Reflection Atlantic crossing April 26. We also had it on the Equnoix back in December.

[kevinyork]

Upon my return from Emerald pPrincess last .jan i caught a massive chest cold which became bronchitis, .i had fever ,chills ,overheating .I was so sick I fainted in my bathroom one night banged my head and had a huge black eye to the bottom of my cheek as a result.

 

I coughed so much my ribs started to seriously hurt .I. Went to the hospitaldiagnosed with acute bronchitis but bacause it was viral got nothing for it ...so I self medicated with Tylenol and soup .I basically did not eat for over a week ...my tummy was very upset .it took close to a month to get rid of it completely ...i was very weakand felt horrible ...no fun

 

Maybe there is something wrong with the vents on ship .i would prefer to turn them off completely keep my balcony door open instead .I do not really care for AC and it is usually too strong for me .I hate being cold in summer !!

 

I hope I do bit get sick like this again but lately it has happened afew times. I get a massive cold the minute i get off ship

 

 

That sounds awful. I agree there should be an option to turn off the AC in the cabins. There is only the option to adjust the temperature.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Christine Frances]

We were on the cruise too. Last year on Eclipse I got a bug. Had 24 hours of cold sweats then was left with a cough for weeks afterwards. Also on this cruise some cruise friends of ours got the exact same symptoms.

 

I read a bit about it after last years issue and a regular recommendation seemed to be to use saline nasal spray when onboard. Apparently the air con dries out your nasal passages so they become susceptable to bugs landing on them but not being cleared away. Yes you are in close contact with a lot of people but thats the same on any cruise, big or small.

 

We tried in on this years cruise and didnt catch anything.

 

Apparently an alternative is to wet and wring out a towel and leave it hanging in the room overnight to keep the air moist.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

 

The problem the A/C drying out your nasal passages is what I was told on the ship as well. If there is any type of virus going around it makes you much more susceptable as you no longer have that normal protection. I checked with my Pharmacist about nasal sprays and he was fully aware of the problem. What he recommended for us was a "nasal gel" which you apply every 4 hours. He said he sells it mainly to frequest flyers as it also helps protect you in that closed environment. The brand I have is called Secaris