Solstice Norovirus Outbreak

[dkjretired]

Ditto.

 

Ditto 3.....

[emileg]

Just off the Solstice today and they seemed to be taking pretty extreme precautions, ie staff serving food at the buffet rather than help yourself, all books removed from the library, daily crosswords/newspapers held behind the counter rather than on open stands, hand sanitising everywhere. We were told only around 2% of guests were sick. Still, some passengers don't comply, eg sneaking up to the water station and filling up their water bottle while staff aren't watching.

Nice to know. Thanks for the post. Safe travels home.

[emileg]

We plan on taking a box of disposable food handling gloves for our upcoming cruise! (You can buy them in bulk from SAMs or Costco.) We have always used hand sanitizer before and after getting our food from the buffet but this time we are going to use the gloves and the sanitizer and hope for the best! :eek:

Sounds like a good idea. The trick would be to remove the gloves in such a way so as not to reinfect ourselves.

 

About ten years ago we were on the Coral Princess for a Panama Canal cruise. During embarkation we were informed about the norovirus outbreak on the cruise prior. For much of our cruise, all public restroom doors were left open, people were required to sanitize almost everywhere, signs were put up to wash hands for 20 seconds after using the toilet, and there were the requisite tissues.

 

At dinner one evening, I made a comment that if one doesn't have OCD before the cruise (of which I had a little), one would have it by end of the cruise. We all cracked up. But, seriously, I have changed my habits since that cruise with respect to public restrooms and opening doors. To me, the gloves sound like a great idea.

[BayAreaBC]

Carvacrol (oregano oil) kills norovirus and can be purchased at health food stores or on amazon.com

 

Just eating food with oregano in it doesn't prevent norovirus but the concentrated oil apparently does.

 

http://www.medicaldaily.com/oregano-oil-fights-norovirus-carvacrol-shown-kill-foodborne-pathogen-hints-new-disinfectant-269123

[Ronin23]

It's clear that on the current Solstice cruise that Celebrity are taking no chances. No self service in the buffet, bar tenders wiping down benches when guests leave and sanitising all over the ship including the tender craft. Only see this as a good thing.

Agree that it would make life easier if everyone had the same level of hygiene standards but some choose to put themselves and others at risk.

[neverbeenhere]

Alcohol is said to kill germs of many types... I'm thinking: Free shots at the front of the buffet line might be the real solution?

[Adidas4fun]

Alcohol is said to kill germs of many types... I'm thinking: Free shots at the front of the buffet line might be the real solution?

 

Pun intended?

[demandpub]

We were guests on the Celebrity Solstice Cruise ship Auckland to Sydney in December and were advised by the Captain on 12 December 2014 by letter that a small percentage of guests on board had gastrointestinal illness thought to be Norovirus. The exact number was never relayed to guests on board. After this letter was received, many sanitation procedures were put in place, including all books in the library being removed, no self-service at the Ocean View buffet cafe, all salt and pepper shakers, candles and all other tableware removed from tables in all restaurants, including specialty, excursion buses sanitised by Celebrity staff before being boarded by guests. Celebrity did take this seriously with many extra cleaning procedures. My wife has been ill with a serious flu type virus which was caught when on the ship, and it has been very hard to shake off with antibiotics. Our local doctor felt that the virus was a "northern hemisphere bug" as we both get the Australian flu injection each year.

[Turtles06]

My wife has been ill with a serious flu type virus which was caught when on the ship, and it has been very hard to shake off with antibiotics. Our local doctor felt that the virus was a "northern hemisphere bug" as we both get the Australian flu injection each year.

 

I'm very sorry that your wife is ill, and I hope she feels better very soon!

 

Antibiotics, however, only treat bacterial illnesses, not viruses (including the flu virus).

[blindrid]

The hygiene standards of the passengers is a serious concern, we did not use the Ocean view cafe during a recent Eclipse cruise, it was too dangerous - the sooner they make it counter service the better for everyone.

 

IMHO, a bit of over reaction on this comment. I take typical precautions but the buffet just one area of a gazillion.

[cle-guy]

HAL only maintain counter service for the first 48hrs of every cruise in an attempt to isolate the Noro-carriers from others.

I wish Celebrity would go one step further and eliminate self-service altogether but that is expecting too much, isn't it......?

 

They experimented with something like this this summer on Summit, and people loudly hated it.

 

I was sad to see it not carried forward. I liked the pre-plated items that let us not have to scoop stuff from shared dish pans, and having a waiter hand us deserts instead of cut ourselves.

[zoncom]

After 50 cruises, got it in my home town. Probably at Senior Center. But who knows? I had racking abdominal pains for 3 days. Thought I had appendicitias(sp?)until I saw local article on Noro and flu. Some of worse pain in my life. Skin in area even tender.No cure for Noro, usually runs 3 days.

[vulcan1971]

IMHO, a bit of over reaction on this comment. I take typical precautions but the buffet just one area of a gazillion.

 

 

If you had seen some of the things that I've seen while on a cruise ship, you wouldn't think this was an overreaction either. On my most recent cruise of 16 days, I only ate in the Oceanview Café four times.

 

Spending even 15 minutes sitting in the café people watching is more than enough time to see some very disgusting and unappetizing things happen.

 

JMHO

 

 

Sent from my iPhone 6 Plus on the T-Mobile 4G LTE Network using Tapatalk Pro

[SFO-F/A]

Having cruised mostly NCL the past few years, there is NO WAY you can enter the buffet without 2 crew members there to spray you down with " washy washy"!

 

They even sing a song while doing it.

GREAT IDEA

 

No one gets by with a "no thanks"!

 

I'm surprised it's not required at Celebrity.

[blindrid]

Having cruised mostly NCL the past few years, there is NO WAY you can enter the buffet without 2 crew members there to spray you down with " washy washy"!

 

They even sing a song while doing it.

GREAT IDEA

 

No one gets by with a "no thanks"!

 

I'm surprised it's not required at Celebrity.

 

They do.

[Craftdee2]

We recently sailed on the Quantum of the Seas and as you enter the buffet you have the option of hand sanitizer or using a hand washing station off to the side. Great idea!

[RDC1]

We were guests on the Celebrity Solstice Cruise ship Auckland to Sydney in December and were advised by the Captain on 12 December 2014 by letter that a small percentage of guests on board had gastrointestinal illness thought to be Norovirus. The exact number was never relayed to guests on board. After this letter was received, many sanitation procedures were put in place, including all books in the library being removed, no self-service at the Ocean View buffet cafe, all salt and pepper shakers, candles and all other tableware removed from tables in all restaurants, including specialty, excursion buses sanitised by Celebrity staff before being boarded by guests. Celebrity did take this seriously with many extra cleaning procedures. My wife has been ill with a serious flu type virus which was caught when on the ship, and it has been very hard to shake off with antibiotics. Our local doctor felt that the virus was a "northern hemisphere bug" as we both get the Australian flu injection each year.

 

The strains of flu going around this year are different then what was expected when the flu shots were manufactured. Last estimate I heard was that a flu shot this year would only be 40% effective compared to the normal 60-70%. It is going to be a bad flu year.

[Aussie Jeep]

The key with a hand sanitizer is to use enough of it. Coat the front and back of your hands, getting them wet enough that they take at least 15 seconds to dry.

[itil4get09]

We were on the Celebrity Solstice in October for a S Pacific cruise. At breakfast in the Oceanview Cafe on Day 2, we voiced our concerns to the Buffet Manager that no small plates were provided to hold the tongs and these were left on top of food e.g. cut fruits, cheese, cold meat, etc. He quickly and personally went to remedy the situation. However, we noticed that for the remaining of the cruise, more often than not, no small plates were provided and tongs were often left on top of food. Yuk!

 

We decided to have all our meals in the MDR or the Mast Grill and also made a complaint to the Guest Relations Desk. The Assistant Guest Relations Manager followed up on our complaint a day or two later if things had been improved. We told her no. We gained the impression that she was only following up our complaint as part of procedures.

 

On the last sea day when we were having a cup of tea in the Oceanview Cafe, an assistant manager came around and asked us if we had been happy with things. You know it's toward the end of a cruise when senior staff are moving around and asking. We told him that although we had voiced our concerns right at the beginning of the cruise, we still found no small plates were provided to hold the tongs and these were left on top of food. His answer was, "We cannot tell people what to do!" That was when we decided to take a few photos, two of which are attached here. We also wrote about this in our post cruise survey. We never heard back from Celebrity.

[cle-guy]

in 95% of my buffets even on land, I never see tongs on a plate, unless there is a covered chafing dish involved which would cause the tongs to get too hot inside the covering or fall into the gloopy mess when the cover it closed by not allowing the handle to lay on the edge of the dish.

 

On a salad bar for example, with 30 different choices, its nearly impossible to then lay out 30 seperate plates and expect the tongs to remain with the item intended. On land, even when I have sen tong plates, it would be on a set up that wouldn't entail a 30 item salad bar, but rather 10 or so offerings for a simple dinner set up.

 

Leaving the tongs in/on the item they serve, also helps prevent cross contamination from people grabbing the tong of 1 plate and serving an item from a different bowl, which could be harmful to those with allergies or religious concerns.

[blindrid]

Carvacrol (oregano oil) kills norovirus and can be purchased at health food stores or on amazon.com

 

Just eating food with oregano in it doesn't prevent norovirus but the concentrated oil apparently does.

 

http://www.medicaldaily.com/oregano-oil-fights-norovirus-carvacrol-shown-kill-foodborne-pathogen-hints-new-disinfectant-269123

 

Not quite that simple: "Turns out oregano oil cut virus numbers by 10-fold. Carvacrol: 10,000-fold. In comparison, bleach achieves a million-fold reduction. The results appear in the Journal of Applied Microbiology. [D. H. Gilling et al., Antiviral efficacy and mechanisms of action of oregano essential oil and its primary component carvacrol against murine norovirus]"

[ellagirl]

Hi all cruisers! I am getting over some sort or noroviris and all I can think about is, I pray to god that I will never get this on a cruise!

 

So PLEASE people,, do not go on a cruise if you are sick!!!

And while your on the cruise, please use the hand sanitizer, it won't hurt but it will help other people!!

[vulcan1971]

I read comments by posters and threads like this one and I think to myself "why does everyone think it is somebody else's problem?" Your own health is a personal responsibility that starts with you. You cannot control what other people do. Knowing what you have done is all you can focus on. Starting with good hygiene and frequent handwashing.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone 6 Plus on the T-Mobile 4G LTE Network using Tapatalk Pro

[itil4get09]

in 95% of my buffets even on land, I never see tongs on a plate, unless there is a covered chafing dish involved which would cause the tongs to get too hot inside the covering or fall into the gloopy mess when the cover it closed by not allowing the handle to lay on the edge of the dish.

 

On a salad bar for example, with 30 different choices, its nearly impossible to then lay out 30 seperate plates and expect the tongs to remain with the item intended. On land, even when I have sen tong plates, it would be on a set up that wouldn't entail a 30 item salad bar, but rather 10 or so offerings for a simple dinner set up.

 

Leaving the tongs in/on the item they serve, also helps prevent cross contamination from people grabbing the tong of 1 plate and serving an item from a different bowl, which could be harmful to those with allergies or religious concerns.

 

We had done 30+ cruises. Solstice was the only ship which did not have plates for tongs in the buffet. We were on the Celebrity Century just 2 weeks before we boarded the Solstice. The Century had plates for tongs in the buffet. We also noticed quite often that the servers behind the counters would yell out “please use the tongs” to people who were not. The Century and its crew took the health issues very seriously.

 

We are not the passive aggressive type. We did take appropriate actions on board Celebrity Solstice, i.e. voiced our concerns with the Buffet Manager and made a complaint to the Guest Relations Desk. Both the Buffet Manager and also the staff member at Guest Relations agreed having tongs left in/on food items was a health issue. However, sadly very little and consistent efforts were made to improve things. Yes, a lot of things are beyond a ship’s control or at times nearly impossible but at least the ship should try and take precautions just like providing papers for people to open the public toilet doors. We are not surprised to hear of this latest Norovirus outbreak on board Solstice.

 

We totally agree with “vulcan1971” that we cannot control what other people do and our own health is a personal responsibility. We therefore ate all our meals on board Celebrity Solstice in the MDR or Mast Grill. We were not going to take the risks of eating possible contaminated food with tongs left in/on them by perhaps the same people who would not wash their hands after using the toilets or who would refuse to use hand sanitizers.

[dexsas]

I never touch the railing while using the stairs so why would I want to touch spoons and tongs that have been touched by others. I purchased a box of polyethelene gloves (500 for $4 at Staples) to use while getting my food and then just throw them away. They are the kind food servers use. I may look foolish but it beats getting sick.

 

Looking forward to a "healthy" cruise on the Silhouette this Sunday!