Getting sick after cruise

[Flatbush Flyer]

I often do but I think it is from the flight, not the cruise.

 

 

True - more likely air travel for things like Bronchitis (though cabin air is filtered.

 

 

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[bob brown]

Came home from the NCL Breakaway, 14 day cruise on 29 January...I got the symptoms that night...upper respiratory infection, sore throat, cough, migrating to left ear....

My friend on the cruise, as well as some other's on our roll call reported similar. The cough lingered a long time...just got over it about a week ago. I am glad of two things...first, that it was not the dreaded GI (norovirus) infection...and second, that it only began after the cruise.

 

I too am usually careful about hygiene, but on a ship packed with 4,000 plus, for two weeks, and several coughing and sneezing germs, it is hard to avoid....

[easyboy]

Just one time. Colds from allergies.

[Joal]

We got off of the Carnival Vista two weeks ago, and it was the first time I've come home without a cold.

This time I took antibacterial wipes and wiped the entire room down. Handles, faucets, knobs, remote, table surfaces. Then we took advantage of the new hand washing machines in the buffet, every time. Even if we'd just come from our room where we'd just washed our hands.

 

I swear my husband took me to the Lido deck just so he could play with the machines a couple of times. He couldn't have possibly been hungry! :D

 

We do the same. Think the buffet area is the worst. Yes, of course, you might get a little of the antibacterial gel when you enter the place; but then, unless they have crew members serving the food, you have to grab the same utensils that a hundred people have grabbed before. We also use the gel just before starting to eat . Most bacteria and some viruses do not survive that. Unfortunately, the flu virus is capable of surviving the hand gels.

[navybankerteacher]

Ordinarily people move within fairly narrow orbits-- interacting with family, fellow employees at place of work, and stores usually frequented. Then, they go on a cruise, sharing a fairly enclosed environment with a couple of thousand people from many different environments - additionally, they have some contact with totally foreign people and places.

 

Is there any doubt that they have exposed themselves to infections not routinely encountered? And this is without considering the fact that many have also been on planes: which are the ideal locations for cross infection.

[missholly24]

Yes the last two we have been quite sick. Even my husband who never gets sick. Respiratory nastiness. My son had an ear infection/cough/sinus thing for about 2 weeks. Could be from flying though. People may be right.

[Debala715]

My only cruise to date, I began to have a scratchy throat, cough, and congestion on our last full day on the ship. Got very little sleep that night because of my symptoms getting worse. I ended up with one of the worst viruses I've had in years. It stayed with me for weeks. I never felt well after that cruise, to the point of sending me to the doctor once again where they diagnosed me with Rheumatoid and Psoriatic Arthritis. They tell me that it could be triggered by a bad virus, which I had 2 months before diagnoses, so they think that was the trigger. That will not stop me from cruising again. I just hope we are able to get my RA and PsA under control before my next cruise, but this time I will go more prepared.

[Sandy Sails]

It's very common - from the airplane or the cruise.

 

My very first cruise was out of Seattle so I didn't fly - got sick on the second to last day.

 

Every single cruise since (had to fly to each one of them), I've gotten sick. Once though was from Disneyworld when a little girl coughed in my face - I ran to the ladies room to wash off but it was too late. Boarded the ship sick.

 

I've even taken up to 2 weeks prior everything I could find - an immunity booster, Airborne, etc - nothing worked.

[raven82]

We're both 61 and we pay even closer attention to getting to bed early, eating right and not missing our Vitamins about a week before we Travel and we are even more fanatical if we are going on a Cruise. So far it has worked. I think we have to be Travel/Cruise Athletes and prep ourselves to be as strong as possible before we take on these Trips thousands of miles from home.

[cat-tav]

I've never gotten sick on or just after a cruise, but I did break my ankle on the last port day of our cruise to Norway! I thought it was sprained since it was extremely swollen (like a baseball under my skin!) and very painful. I taped it with an ACE bandage, wore flip-flops and elevated/iced it as much as possible. Just kept going. A month later, when it was still very painful, I finally went to the doctor, had it X-rayed, and found out it was broken. A month in a surgical boot and I was fine. I never travel without an ACE bandage!

[FireStation46]

Never.

 

Plus, it would be hard to pinpoint one source unless there are multiple outbreaks attributed to a cruise. It can and does happen. When it does it becomes a media event.

[Denrog]

and I thought it was only me who got sick everytime I cruise...................I think one of the main problems is that people with obvious infections carry on as normal and spread their germs around rather than resting in their cabins for a couple of days and maybe visiting the doctor to see if anti-biotics are needed to 'kill' the infection.

[FireStation46]

We cant blame the boogie an, Trump or whatever. It could just be your consitution. See a Doctor for a full physical in lieu of speculation

[raven82]

One thing my wife just pointed out is that eating even a small amount of yogurt every breakfast can greatly reduce or eliminate stomach and GI problems. She is a Food Safety Scientist PhD so I take her advice plus we have never been sick while traveling all these years.

 

 

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[Sequim88]

About 50/50 on post cruise respiratory infections. Worst was just off-ship in London for several days an trying to do the planned touristing with fever/chills/difficulty breathing. Got home, got diagnosed with Bronchitis, got a Z-pack and got better. Had to be from cruise not flight to Miami because cruise was two weeks long so anything from flight would have shown up a lot sooner. I'm totally with the thought that it is not the ship itself but exposure to a wider range of people from other areas.

[Pepamom]

I got seriously sick with Acute Bronchitis within a week of getting off the carnival Valor on May 25, 2017. Am still sick and doctors aren't sure why I can't get better. Since I'm not sickly and got so bad so soon after the cruise we are starting to wonder if any connection. Can anyone offer suggestions?

[pris993]

I think getting sick has a lot to do with how rested you are before you leave home on a trip (i.e., if your resistance is down any way); plus one needs to constantly wash ones hands when in public areas... less likely to pick up germs; we always turn off the air conditioning, i.e., turn to the lowest setting for heat when we sleep on board, so we are not sleeping under cold air at night; plus we use a handy wipe to clean around our seat, tray table on board airplanes; we stay away crowds/shaking hands, as much as possible... this combination of actions helps us stay healthy... not full proof but works most of the time.

[wowzz]

There was a recent TV programme in the UK that measured the exhaust emissions on a cruise liner. While not exactly scientific, it did show that pollution downwind of the funnel was worse than in a city centre. I wonder if these exhaust particulates might be the cause of bronchitis related sicknesses.

 

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[Slugsta]

We are not as experienced as many of you here but have done 10 or so cruises and have not, yet, been ill. Unlike some here, we don't worry about 'germs' other than the mandatory hand washing after the bathroom and before meals. Don't even know what 'lysol' is, never mind travel with it. Happily mix with others, shake hands without a second thought.

 

We are both retired now but used to meet a lot of people in our lines of work. In particular, I was coughed and sneezed upon (and worse) most days, so I guess our immune systems are hardy enough to deal with whatever we meet.

[tbmrt]

Rarely get sick at home. We drive to port in FL so planes do not come into play enroute to cruise.

 

Came home with severe colds/bronchitis after many of our past cruises. I've been extremely cautious about wiping things down, washing hands often, etc. on recent cruises and was fine.

 

My doctor gives me a z pack to bring with me just in case. Don't want to overdo antibiotics, but nice to know it's with us if really needed.

[momoftwinteens]

I think everyone is missing the big picture. I am not a doctor (and don't even play one on TV):p It's just common sense, in my opinion. Think about it for a minute. When you are on a cruise, you are probably drinking more than you usually do. You are probably eating more than you usually do and the food is probably a different type of food than your body is accustomed to. You are probably on a completely different schedule for at least a week, staying up later and sleeping later. Not to mention all the packing and traveling people do just to get to the cruise. Guess what that stress is going to do to your immune system? And no matter how much fun you are having, it IS stress to your system. Add that to being in the company of 3000 to 4000 people with all of their germs and all you need is exposure to one little cold or flu bug and, BOOM! You're sick.

I fight it with Vitamin C at least 2 weeks before I cruise to bolster my immune system and, if I am cruising in the fall, I NEVER miss my flu shot.

[fallonboy]

The wife and I drove to Miami and took the 7 day MSC cruise to Jamaica and other ports in Aug 2017.

 

We are seniors.

 

We both came down with upper respiratory infections right after returning.

 

We have separate PCP doctors. Both of us were given ZPac. We have not recovered fully yet.

 

We drank the tap water provided with meals. I do the hand sanitizing thing often.

 

Next cruise I'm bringing lots of Lysol along....somehow.

[Azure Moon]

I've gotten sick during and after cruises a couple of times. Ended up with bronchitis and sinus problems. One illness went on so long I didn't think I'd ever get to feeling better :rolleyes:

I have problems with air vents and air conditioning blowing on me (in car, plane, hotel, home, ship, etc.). Causes nasal issues, makes me cold and miserable, dries out my throat, sometimes makes my eyes dry or itchy. So I turn off the airplane vent, in the car/hotel/ship cabin I turn vents away from me, change my position, adjust temperature, do whatever can be done to protect my nose and mouth.

I take cold medicine and throat lozenges with me anymore because we've been on a ship when there was a run on that stuff :eek:. I take individual travel packets of facial tissue because hubby and I needed so many tissues on that cruise and I couldn't find any in ports or on the ship. Sure didn't want to carry a big box or have lots of loose ones in pocket or tote bag :(.

[bluenosecruiser55]

Just returned from Carnival Horizen’s Inaugural Cruise. Brand new ship yet came home with respiratory infection which developed about 10 days into cruise. Noticed a lot of people coughing at Embarkation and throughout cruise.

Have been on 31 cruises with various cruise lines and have only been sick 4 times toward the end or after cruise. Always have a balcony and allow fresh air into the cabin periodically.

 

I am neurotic about sanitizing my environment on planes, hotels and cruise ships. I work in health care focusing on infection control and hand hygiene is paramount to me. Considering incubation period I am quite certain I picked this up on the ship despite my efforts. The people in the cabin next to us were constantly coughing. The majority of people STILL cough into their hands and contaminate everything they come in contact with. Blowing their noses into tissues and balling them up and stuffing them in their pockets. Yikes!!

 

I witnessed numerous people filling their personal water bottles at water and juice dispensers by placing the nozzle right into or at the very top of their bottles. I told one woman on that she couldn’t do that and she became aggressive and bilergant indicating she paid her money and could do what she liked and to mind my own business.

I tried to tell her it was unsanitary to fill it that way but she missed the point, still yelling at me. I saw so many disgusting behaviours that if I Cruise again, and it won’t be with Carnival but that’s another story, I will not eat at the buffet.

The soft ice cream, self serve area is another place to pick up germs. I saw kids taking cones and shoving them back when too many came out, touching the ice cream spout with fingers. I reported that to a crew member immediately who took care of the situation. This is what I saw in my brief visits to the buffet. Can only imagine what I didn’t see.

They have several Purell stands and even an excellent touch free hand washing area but not many people using either from what I saw.

 

There are lots of areas around the ship to be mindful of touching. I carry a pocket size hand sanitizer around with me. The public use computer and iPad stations are also teaming with bacteria and I would bet they are not sanitized.

Did you know that studies have shown personal mobile devices to have 18 times more bacteria than the flush handle of a public toilet?

Remember to wipe your devices regularly with Lysol wipes. It will not harm the screens.

 

No crew members were encouraging passengers to sanitize at dining areas. No signage.

I think Cruise Lines should make this a priority and post something daily in their bulletins about keeping healthy on board ship. Everyone is affected and can become infected in an environment such as a cruise ship.

 

Also unless your travel partner is as diligent as you are about hand hygiene, you are fighting a loosing battle.

Lots of good suggestions in the various threads. Good luck!

I am still sick in bed and missing work after my 17 day vacation . Guess it could have been worse.

Would love to know if anyone else on that cruise came back with a respiratory infection?