Cruising sick

[suec12]

"unasked for advice is criticism" - I think that prompts some of the responses. Plus IMO she is unrealistic in the modern world - even if 100% healthy upon leaving home, how many coughing people are you likely to encounter on your flight. Travel involves some risk - exposure to other people, some that have become ill along the way, is one of them. I sincerely wish the OP, and all of us, healthy travels but when we travel, we are not in hermetically sealed bubbles.

[lolane1]

Whoa OP, where is this coming from? Did I miss something?

[TracieABD]

There are certain maintenance chemotherapies that cause a dry hack. This does not mean that a person is contagious. To imply that all coughs are contagious is an erroneous assumption. And to ask people to stay home with their cough is presumptious.

 

Condescend much?

[OzKiwiJJ]

And not all sneezes are contagious.

 

Sometime I sneeze, twice and no more, when moving out into bright sunlight from a dimmer area. I call them sun sneezes. ;)

[MrMan]

Thank you but I already have a mother and don't need a second

[WupperAV]

My wife has had Lyme disease for 11 years. She would have missed 4 cruises by not traveling sick. I flew home from Bali, via Singapore, Seoul, SFO and SDA with a horrible case of Chinese Chicken Flu or something. Maybe I should have stayed in Bali longer.

Edited April 5, 2016 by WupperAV

[Cruisin' Chick]

I've had hay fever kick in during a cruise by exposure to burning of trash in Puerto Vallerta and to some sort of plant life in the Bahamas. That's a major reason why my carry on contains a ziplock bag of medication.

[dianef]

Anyone have experience with trying to collect with travel insurance if you had a cold or sore throat and did not go to doctor.I am under the impression that you would need a doctors note to collect,but normally I would not go to doctor for just a cold.

 

Most cruises leave on a weekend.If you got up on a Saturday morning and did not feel well and wanted to cancel would that be covered?Just curious.

[mrs and mrs]

I am doing a study on a new illness,its called end of cruise diatribe,some good,some bad, a sort of depression,where the patient tries to impart all sorts of knowledge onto seasoned and new cruisers.It usually meets with a response(some good,some bad) from other cruisers,who don't know they are suffering from the same illness.There is no known cure ,symptoms are instantly relieved when said sufferer steps on board a cruise ship,only to return again once the sufferer returns home.This is baffling doctors the world over,a simple short term solution is to prescribe the patient to days of pouring over threads on cruise critic and examining every conceivable fact about cruise ships.Planning fake journeys,calculating costs,comparing this food to that,a favourite is the old best cabin search as a patient pours over cabin selections. Unfortunatly a new strain has broken out,called,the Im on board and heres my blog syndrome,this appears to be driving most land based patients to distraction making them even more envious and frantic to book their next cruise.The illness is called.

I LOVE CRUISING;):eek::cool:

[riclop]

Very good advice.

[A.stew12305]

I caught the flu a few days before a cruise. After one day in hell feeling like death I got a tamiflu prescription, and medicated up. I was cleared to go on the cruise by my doctor two days before, hadn't had a fever since 5 days before and was NOT contagious. Because of my asthma, chest infections start at the drop of a hat. I brought a lot of cough suppressant for the day, and expectorant for the night, anti-inflammatory meds, and an extra inhaler.

 

I did my best to be aware and respectful for other passengers and my husband and I sat at tables for 2 only.

 

Frankly, if you (or anyone else) was bothered by my presence, that your problem.

[CZEE]

[quote name=floridalover5623;49616444

If I'm sick & still able to get to the ship' date=' I'm going. Short of having walking pneumonia if I've paid for the cruise I'm not staying home simply to avoid passing it to other people.

I've gotten plenty of coughs & colds being on a ship so I'm sure most other people have the same view.

Oh and btw- I'll be doing the tours I've paid for also so don't sit next to me.

Sorry about that.[/quote]

 

Having never gotten sick on a cruise, DH and I got the flu on our last cruise. It was horrendous. We missed a lot of the excursions because we were too ill to do the activities, snorkeling, for instance.

 

Respiratory viruses are uncontrollable. You can practice good hygiene and avoid noro. Not so with respiratory viruses. Once they're airborne, you're toast. How sad it has gotten to this attitude of I'm doing in irrespective of the outcome on others. Y'all better suck it up. And, no I don't agree.

[LoriPhil]

I interpreted the OP as meaning "allergy" posers - those who claim allergies rather than admitting they are sick because they don't want to miss the cruise. I agree that if you find yourself down with a bug during your cruise for whatever reason, stay in your cabin rather than spreading it around as an unwelcome souvenir for your fellow cruisers.

Edited April 5, 2016 by LoriPhil

[cruisequeen4ever]

OP, aside from the allergy part, I too wish people would stay home and stop infecting others when they're sick! It's disrespectful and inconsiderate to knowingly expose thousands of others to a contagious illness. I can't tell you how many times I've experienced people hacking on me in the theater, open air coughing on the excursion bus, and walking through Horizon Court with a used Kleenex in hand and skipping the Purell.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[floridalover5623]

Having never gotten sick on a cruise, DH and I got the flu on our last cruise. It was horrendous. We missed a lot of the excursions because we were too ill to do the activities, snorkeling, for instance.

 

Respiratory viruses are uncontrollable. You can practice good hygiene and avoid noro. Not so with respiratory viruses. Once they're airborne, you're toast. How sad it has gotten to this attitude of I'm doing in irrespective of the outcome on others. Y'all better suck it up. And, no I don't agree.

 

OP, aside from the allergy part, I too wish people would stay home and stop infecting others when they're sick! It's disrespectful and inconsiderate to knowingly expose thousands of others to a contagious illness. I can't tell you how many times I've experienced people hacking on me in the theater, open air coughing on the excursion bus, and walking through Horizon Court with a used Kleenex in hand and skipping the Purell.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

 

OK then. Who is to going to determine which passengers are to sick to board?

Maybe we can get some volunteer passengers to scan each & every person boarding & vote on it. LOL :D:D

[LoriPhil]

My opinion - it's the individual passenger who should determine if they are ill and should not travel (or self quarantine if they become bugged during a cruise). It takes courage to walk away from a dream-cruise but sometimes it's the best solution for all (hence trip insurance). In all reality, I'd probably be one of those rationalizing my symptoms and hiding-out in the cabin for a week...

Edited April 6, 2016 by LoriPhil

[floridalover5623]

My opinion - it's the individual passenger who should determine if they are ill and should not travel (or self quarantine if they become bugged during a cruise). It takes courage to walk away from a dream-cruise but sometimes it's the best solution for all (hence trip insurance). In all reality, I'd probably be one of those rationalizing my symptoms and hiding-out in the cabin for a week...

 

Sort of reminds me of when I was working.

If I showed up at the office with a bad cold, some people thought I should have stayed home for their protection while the company would be evaluating the employees attendance records in determining which people to let go for bad attendance if cutbacks were eminent.

btw- Trip insurance doesn't cover sickness unless a doctor has examined the patient & determines them unfit for travel.

Always answer question #2 truthfully on the Health Questionnaire if you're sick and see where it gets you. :rolleyes:

[hansi]

Here is some unsolicited advice about cruising while sick.

 

Do not go on a cruise sick. Truly, it's no fun to be on a cruise while sick. When I'm sick, I want to be home in my own bed. It's tough to find chicken soup on the ship. Princess Cruises doesn't stock diet ginger ale. If you don't have access to shore, the gift shop only stocks minor remedies like travel packs of aspirin and DayQuil.

 

Buy travel insurance when you book, use it and stay at home with the sniffles or "allergies." Because once you're on board it'll turn into a sore throat and runny nose and you'll pass it to the person on the elevator or buffet line or tour bus. Pretty soon you'll see sick people everywhere you look. And what you'll hear at night is sick people coughing non-stop through the cabin walls.

 

If you're well when you board, practice intensive hygiene. Wipe down all the surfaces in your cabin with something like Clorox wipes as soon as you get into your cabin. Wash your hands every chance you get. Keep your hands away from your face. Try not to touch railings or elevator buttons. But even so, you might be sick because other passengers don't care about you. (I can attest to that - you can't stop that sick person from sitting next to you on a tour bus.)

 

If you get sick or (ignoring me) came aboard sick - stay in your room.

You look like hell anyway. Nobody wants to see that.

Don't sleep it off in a public area. I know you want out of the room but be kind to the other passengers.

 

Don't go on an excursion sick - write it off. I know you paid good money but your head will hurt, you won't be able hear because your ears are blocked, and you won't be able to smell the flowers anyway. And you guessed it, the people on the bus will start out well but surprise surprise they'll be infected by the end.

 

Don't go to any show sick, we've all heard the poor comedian, singer, instrumentalist contending with the sycopated rhythm of the audience collecting coughing out their lungs. Stay in, you didn't pay for the performance. Google the performer and watch them on YouTube.

 

The medical center is not a treat. You really don't want to go there. But you face the fact that you're really sick and shuffle down to the medical center. What do you find there? A large crowd of passengers who are already there sick with the exact same thing you have. Several hours later you shuffle back to your room with some standard remedies, cough syrup, uncoated Tylenol, throat lozenges. But what you really want is to just be home.

 

I probably can't convince you to heed my advice, but I wish I could.

 

 

Is it being that cheerful that keeps you going.:eek: Hope I'm not on a cruise with you!. Of course you don't cruise if you're sick. Who would do that?

[jchris1230]

Good Grief! Are you the same person telling John Heald of carnival that people with a cold should stay home?

 

If you are vomiting and have diarrhea, stay home. If you have allergies or a sore throat or small cough with no fever, not that big of deal. Bring some medicine most all people are carrying around something. Germs and bacteria live on our bodies, you can't escape it.

 

Wash your hands regularly and don't sneeze on anyone.

This paranoia is getting out of control thanks to the media blowing everything of of proportion

[CruisinCadie]

Dear SIL and I both would start out on a cruise in very good health. After about 3 days, we would both start with stuffy noses and sneezing. We finally determined it was a reaction to the feather pillows. Now I automatically ask my steward to remove anything with feathers. Most ships have memory foam pillows now so it is becoming less of a problem.

 

Kathy

[iceleven]

This winter I got a terrible bronchitis that lasted three long weeks. Initially I felt tired and weak but that passed quickly. What didn't pass was a cough that I could never get under control. I called to see if my doc would call in a prescription for a stronger cough suppressant than what my hubby could get OTC. The nurse called back and said I would have to come into the office and see the doc first. I told her that was impossible and a terrible imposition to put on the other patients because I could not control my cough and I knew I was still contagious. So I suffered for three long weeks with unrelenting coughs and yet I never left the house during that time. I was so miserable that I couldn't imagine passing it onto other people. I often thought about how awful to have been on a cruise with it. Our cabin neighbors would have thrown me overboard.:p

[CZEE]

OK then. Who is to going to determine which passengers are to sick to board?

Maybe we can get some volunteer passengers to scan each & every person boarding & vote on it. LOL :D:D[/quote

 

Seems to me a little hygiene and courtesy is called for, something like self policing. However, neither is practiced anymore. It's Animal Farm. Everyone for him or herself.

[cruzsnooze]

I know, huh? :rolleyes:

 

 

 

What a weird assumption, right.? Oh, and the ACE inhibitors--yep--been there.

 

What motivated this little lecture anyway, OP?

 

It was a sarcastic remark back at the OP because we all know allergies aren't contagious but the OP wants us to stay home anyway.

 

Did you all know that GERD (gastric reflux) which is a super common malady causes coughing and sore throats? Maybe the OP wants to screen us all for that to be sure it's not a cough she wants us to go with instead of boarding our cruise ship. Maybe that cough is from COPD or Emphysema or other lung maladies.

OP you didn't answer my question of where you got your medical degree from??

Edited April 6, 2016 by cruzsnooze

[floridalover5623]

 

Seems to me a little hygiene and courtesy is called for, something like self policing. However, neither is practiced anymore. It's Animal Farm. Everyone for him or herself.

 

That's pretty much the way it is on a cruise ship....everyone is looking out for themselves.

When's the last time anyone held the elevator door if they saw you coming or picked up their towel off the chair at the pool when they left for lunch?

Edited April 6, 2016 by floridalover5623

[cruzsnooze]

That's pretty much the way it is on a cruise ship....everyone is looking out for themselves.

When's the last time anyone held the elevator door if they saw you coming or picked up their towel off the chair at the pool when they left for lunch?

 

Although there is validity in what you say, there is the other side of the coin. I don't use the pool so the towel situation doesn't occur in my world.

The elevators are another situation. There are usually 4 or 6 six elevators in each bank of elevators. The promenade has two different systems so when you push the button for an elevator you're calling on two different systems of which one will be a pointless stop. The quantity of people on a cruise and the lack of resources has caused many to be self sufficient to meet their own needs since no one else will do it for you.

I have found that on the small ships like Viking, Azamara and National Geographic which I've sailed to name a few, people seem to have manners and are more considerate. With 200 - 600 passengers on board it is a whole different atmosphere. I've been booking at least one of these smaller ships every year and fill in with the mass market lines due to cost factors.