ARCADIA - Reassurance needed!!

[vodkatonic1961]

Having just returned from a cruise on Oriana and having picked up a flu like bug I am researching our next cruise which we have already booked (and paid for) on Arcadia in July.

 

I am horrified at the reviews I have read regarding illness on Arcadia. I would cancel but it will cost me 50% of the cost of the cruise which I cannot afford to do.

 

Can anyone PLEASE allay my fears about holidaying on Arcadia?

[majortom10]

I am afraid that on any ship when there are 2000-3000 people in a tin box (sorry ship) then it only takes 1 or 2 to have an illness and especially with air conditioning it spreads very quickly. We have just returned from Britannia maiden and have both suffered flu for last couple of days of the cruise and ever since.

[the english lady]

Having just returned from a cruise on Oriana and having picked up a flu like bug I am researching our next cruise which we have already booked (and paid for) on Arcadia in July.

 

I am horrified at the reviews I have read regarding illness on Arcadia. I would cancel but it will cost me 50% of the cost of the cruise which I cannot afford to do.

 

Can anyone PLEASE allay my fears about holidaying on Arcadia?

 

Last year we were on Arcadia for nearly 50 days and were not ill in any way shape or form.

Just be sensible, get lots of fresh air. Leave a flannel drying overnight in your cabin. This will get moisture in the air.

[Vampire Parrot]

I have spent hundreds of days on Arcadia & other ships and never had a problem.

 

Take sensible precautions (e.g. thoroughly washing hands before meals, don't shake hands after washing your hands until you've finished eating, etc) and you are very unlikely to catch norovirus or similar. This isn't just a shipboard precaution, it's something that should be daily practice.

 

Flu and colds are mostly spread by touching a contaminated surface and then transferring the virus to yourself by touching your nose, mouth or eyes. So pressing elevator buttons with your elbow or knuckle is a good idea, and again washing your hands thoroughly before eating or drinking will help.

 

VP

Edited April 8, 2015 by Vampire Parrot

[cruisekap]

Basically most outbreaks have absolutely nothing to do with cleanliness on the ship. Norovirus and influenza are brought onto the ship by people and it is virtually impossible to contain. Your only defense is good hand hygiene. I work in health care and that is our mantra. Works like a charm. You actually infect yourself via your hands. WASH WASH WASH. Enjoy your cruise.

[kersh]

We have cruised over 500 nights in the last few years and have only been ill once on an Aurora Christmas cruise.

 

Arcadia is a fabulous ship and if you follow the precautions advised you will gave less chance of contracting any virus. We always have our flu jab in October and have been absolutely fine. There are always lots of coughs and colds on board but we get plenty of fresh air.

 

Sue

[BalkanCruiser]

Last year we were on Arcadia for nearly 50 days and were not ill in any way shape or form.

Just be sensible, get lots of fresh air. Leave a flannel drying overnight in your cabin. This will get moisture in the air.

 

We were on Arcadia four years ago this month for 72 days and were never ill but there was some virus for part of the cruise which affected a few people. Can't really be avoided when so many are confined in the same area for days on end.

[majortom10]

I have spent hundreds of days on Arcadia & other ships and never had a problem.

 

Take sensible precautions (e.g. thoroughly washing hands before meals, don't shake hands after washing your hands until you've finished eating, etc) and you are very unlikely to catch norovirus or similar. This isn't just a shipboard precaution, it's something that should be daily practice.

 

Flu and colds are mostly spread by touching a contaminated surface and then transferring the virus to yourself by touching your nose, mouth or eyes. So pressing elevator buttons with your elbow or knuckle is a good idea, and again washing your hands thoroughly before eating or drinking will help.

 

VP

 

Flu is not caught by touching a contaminated surface its an airborne virus usually caught by being in the vicinity of somebody who has the virus when they cough or sneeze.

[Dorset Cruiser]

Got off Arcadia a couple of weeks ago and it was rife with coughs - everyone seemed to be coughing. My husband went down with a cold as did the rest of our MDR table of 6 with the exception of me. No signs of Noro on our 23 day sector though.

 

Have to say I come off a lot of cruises ill but was lucky this time.

 

 

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[tring]

Flu is not caught by touching a contaminated surface its an airborne virus usually caught by being in the vicinity of somebody who has the virus when they cough or sneeze.

 

Actually, as a micro biologist, I can assure you that touch is a very common way of catching respiratory illnesses. You may recall a lot of publicity about one of the big flu fears over the last few years, (poss bird flu - but I am not sure which), when there was a suggestion that the whole thing could have been transmitted by a named infected person touching a lift call button.

 

Of course if someone sneezes and does not use a tissue that would send virions into the air, but ones that rest on surfaces after that could easily transmit the disease just as well as someone inhaling the airborne particles. Many more virions could be passed on by touch if someone's hands are not washed after each nose blow, which would never happen of course.

Edited April 9, 2015 by tring

[the english lady]

Still think most of it comes down to common sense.

Get moisture into the air in your cabin, to counter the air con. Do not spend all day inside in the air con (I have seen people who are in the same seat inside late pm, that they were in when we went to breakfast), get fresh air.

Anti bac and anti viral hand gels.

Wash hands wash hands wash hands.

[Wiz201]

I'm currently harbouring a cold/flu virus and never been near a cruise! working in an office is just as bad. Trying to get rid of it before the cruise on Ventura in 2 weeks.

[CCFC]

Boots do a good anti-viral hand foam, I don't know if it works well or I have been lucky but I have not been ill since using it. The stuff they use on the ship to sanitise your hands is just anti-bacterial, it wont stop norovirus or flu.

[cruisefan2012]

I`ve got a cough and cold that I`ve had for two weeks now and I havent been on a cruise since October 2013

[Pauly1]

We have just returned from Arcadia, we cruised Hong Kong to Dubai. There were a few coughing but no more than usual.

[john watson]

Amazingly the huge majority of cruisers who go on their various voyages and return home fully fit do not post their successful accomplishment on any forums. Why? because there are hundreds of thousands of them and their stories would be totally boring. "I went on a cruise with P&O and came home well" who would read that? It is the minority who post and I would suggest they will nearly always provide an account of their illness and misfortune. This gives people a completely false impression of the likelihood of it happening to anyone. Any outbreak is always bigged up by the press with graphic stories from people trying to get compensation or a discount off their next cruise.

 

Regards John

Edited April 9, 2015 by john watson

[daiB]

Amazingly the huge majority of cruisers who go on their various voyages and return home fully fit do not post their successful accomplishment on any forums. Why? because there are hundreds of thousands of them and their stories would be totally boring. "I went on a cruise with P&O and came home well" who would read that? It is the minority who post and I would suggest they will nearly always provide an account of their illness and misfortune. This gives people a completely false impression of the likelihood of it happening to anyone. Any outbreak is always bigged up by the press with graphic stories from people trying to get compensation or a discount off their next cruise.

 

Regards John

 

 

Exactly, I have come home 26 times and never been ill ( I have done some B to B) well not unless you count depression at having to leave the ship.

 

Dai

[Dryce]

Amazingly the huge majority of cruisers who go on their various voyages and return home fully fit do not post their successful accomplishment on any forums.

 

And there was me sitting back watching the posts thinking what a great immune system I must have compared with just about everybody else.

[Dorset Cruiser]

We have just returned from Arcadia, we cruised Hong Kong to Dubai. There were a few coughing but no more than usual.

 

We were on from Sydney to Hong Kong. There were dozens of 'coughers' on board whilst we were on there but they must have all got off with us 😉

 

 

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[Triplalot]

I did my first cruise in the Caribbean during the Millennium on NCL Majesty (now a Thomson ship I believe) and myself, husband and daughter (and everybody on our table for dinner) took it in turns to catch a nasty 24 hour stomach bug (this was pre the norovirus hysteria). Basically we just stayed near a bathroom and the violent sickness soon subsided and only spoilt one day of the cruise. I actually started feeling unwell during an excursion from Nassau to Atlantis island which was very spectacular, I particularly liked the gold fittings in the bathrooms all of which I visited, however I didn't make it to dinner that evening :) It never crossed our minds to complain to NCL either during or after our cruise, we didn't feel they were responsible. This was nothing compared to the Salmonella poisoning that my husband and I contracted at our hotel in Tunisia a few years earlier, that took weeks to get over and yet we didn't complain to the Tour Operator on that occasion either.

[BrisbaneGran]

we got off Arcadia a couple of weeks ago, after being on for a month. There were 6 of us, 5 of us were ill most of the time, my husband escaped somehow! Two of the group are still ill, 2 weeks after getting home. The "cough" was everywhere, could especially hear it in the theatre or any other quieter area. Don't know of any way of stopping this sort of a bug in a confined area though......would be impossible!

[the english lady]

we got off Arcadia a couple of weeks ago, after being on for a month. There were 6 of us, 5 of us were ill most of the time, my husband escaped somehow! Two of the group are still ill, 2 weeks after getting home. The "cough" was everywhere, could especially hear it in the theatre or any other quieter area. Don't know of any way of stopping this sort of a bug in a confined area though......would be impossible!

 

And there you have the problem..stick a lot of people in the same area, anywhere-school-hospital-college, not just a ship , and what starts with a couple of people not feeling 100%, soon starts spreading.

I think these sort of bugs are just an additional thing at this time of year.

In the summer months people are out and about more and not so confined.

[Clodia]

Only once had a minor stomach upset on 17 cruises. Could have happened anywhere. As others say, wash hands, get plenty of fresh air and keep active. I'm sure my gym workouts have protected me even on ships where everyone seemed to be coughing. And if you DO get a minor stomach upset, just stay in your cabin and don't eat for a day; it soon heals itself and you don't infect others.

[supermouse]

We have been on a number of voyages, sometime we pick up whats flying around, sometimes not, just like at home or work. My main bugbear which i have seen on countless occasion, even when norovirus has known to be doing the rounds, is seeing women not washing their hands after visiting the toilet !!!

[Dorset Cruiser]

we got off Arcadia a couple of weeks ago, after being on for a month. There were 6 of us, 5 of us were ill most of the time, my husband escaped somehow! Two of the group are still ill, 2 weeks after getting home. The "cough" was everywhere, could especially hear it in the theatre or any other quieter area. Don't know of any way of stopping this sort of a bug in a confined area though......would be impossible!

 

After Pauly1's post, I thought I must have been imagining the huge number of 'coughers' - they seemed to be everywhere but especially in the theatre and on the tour and shuttle buses. I don't think you can stop it though - too many in confined spaces.

 

 

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