virus on celebrity equinox

[gdpups]

Walking down the hall on our way to depart the Equinox on Oct. 2nd I did notice a room steward in a hazmat suit. I was wondering if that was just standard procedure after the issues with norovirus on the ship or if it was for cleaning specific cabins where there was a problem.

[hcat]

Seems like the Oct 2nd reports better than previous ones...but hazmat suits sound serious..

hope those on board now can update on status....

[Jchivers]

On a Constellation cruise which had a serious outbreak of noro, I returned to our cabin after breakfast on the day I was released from quarantine, to find a guy in a hazmat suit cleaning MY cabin!:eek:

 

Jeez, I thought I was kidding about quarantine and hazmat!

[basil1]

My question is...why does someone have to tell adults to wash their hands? People are so gross.:mad:

[Pushka]

My question is...why does someone have to tell adults to wash their hands? People are so gross.:mad:

 

 

Indeed. But many people still dont.

[Cruiseline Virgin]

On the September 19th sailing in the man's room almost no one I saw in there washed their hands the time suggested.

 

And no, Deck 7 was not under quarantine, we were in 7318 ;).

 

In Barcelona they turned all cabins upside down in their Bio hazard suits to do a deep clean.

[Pushka]

In Barcelona they turned all cabins upside down in their Bio hazard suits to do a deep clean.

 

 

They did this on our embarkation day on August 1st but two cruises later it was back.

[Cruiseline Virgin]

They did this on our embarkation day on August 1st but two cruises later it was back.

 

Sure, because you will always find one or more of those "in the man's room almost no one I saw in there washed their hands the time suggested."

 

According to my better half the woman's rooms were not much different

[alinnj]

Found this online:

The active ingredient in Purell hand sanitizer is ethyl alcohol (70%).

 

From a New York Times article dated January 14, 2013 (emphasis mine):

 

 

In 2011, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention studied 91 long-term care facilities. During the winter of 2006-07, they identified 73 outbreaks, 29 of which were confirmed to be norovirus. The facilities where staff members used alcohol-based sanitizers were six times more likely to have an outbreak of norovirus than the facilities where the staff preferred using soap and water.

 

So, no, I'd say Purell is not so effective against norovirus.:eek:

[Northern Aurora]

Seems like the Oct 2nd reports better than previous ones...but hazmat suits sound serious..

hope those on board now can update on status....

 

We boarded on October 2nd for the first leg of a B2B2B. When we boarded (delayed boarding for a deep cleaning) there were no cloth towels in the public restrooms, no newspapers in the stand near Guest Relations, no salt and pepper shakers on the buffet tables (paper packets of salt and pepper in the cutlery/cloth napkin rolls), no books in the library (shelves empty), no umbrella in our stateroom (stateroom attendant told us they were removed for sanitizing). The shops were open, but employees were directly outside the shop entrances with the sanitizing sprays. Several staff members and one of the "stripes" confirmed to me that there was a noro problem on several of the prior cruises.

 

But several days into the October 2nd cruise the cloth towels reappeared in the public restrooms as did the salt and pepper shakers on the buffet tables. Newspapers are now in their normal stand outside of Guest Relations, and the library books have been returned to their bookshelves. The in-room Bible and magazines have re-appeared in our stateroom as has the black binder outlining on-board services. While the staff are still using strong cleaning products (my allergies are responding to them as well) I haven't heard of any noro cases since we have boarded, and the ship is in a happy mood.

[hcat]

Anything new?

hoping no news is good news.....

[westcoastcruiser]

We boarded in Barcelona. No delay, no extra precautions. Have not seen or heard of any issues. Staff is wonderful, ship is amazing.

[Canadian1]

We boarded in Barcelona. No delay, no extra precautions. Have not seen or heard of any issues. Staff is wonderful, ship is amazing.

 

Phew! Thank you for the info

[hcat]

Thank you....just what we wanted to hear...have a wonderful cruise...Equinox is a great ship...can't wait for our turn!