What are the actual odds of getting sick on a cruise ship?

[juliesVacation]

Was telling my in-laws about our upcoming cruise, and my FIL made a crack about how it's a great vacation except for everyone getting norovirus. (Which is kind of funny criticism since he's been on several cruises himself). But it did make me think a little. Out of all the passengers who cruise each year, what percentage of them actually get sick? Is it more or less than get sick doing any other type of travel? Does it depend on your cruise line or where you are sailing? (We can make a pretty obvious assumption that there would be more in the winter). Cruise ships with viral outbreaks are certainly sensationalized, but has it been actually studied? Anyone have some stats to link?

[mexico8]

I don't have any stats to share about cruise lines but I do know that I have had pneumonia twice and both times it was on a cruise ship. One time it cost me $12,000 and the other time (last month) it cost me over $5,000 to be treated in the ships hospital. NCL charged me over seven times the price for antibiotics (on the ship it was fifty dollars per pill versus forty dollars for 7 pills in Canada where I live).

 

I would not take a cruise without having medical insurance because the charges are exhorbitant.

[mjkacmom]

I don't have any stats to share about cruise lines but I do know that I have had pneumonia twice and both times it was on a cruise ship. One time it cost me $12,000 and the other time (last month) it cost me over $5,000 to be treated in the ships hospital. NCL charged me over seven times the price for antibiotics (on the ship it was fifty dollars per pill versus forty dollars for 7 pills in Canada where I live).

 

I would not take a cruise without having medical insurance because the charges are exhorbitant.

A ship is not Canada. We have a high deductible insurance, which means we pay oop until we meet it. Dd got into a car accident. Totaled the car and was taken by ambulance to a trauma center where they did a CT scan and sent her on her way. Total cost was $20,000 (including the ambulance ride of 4 miles). It cost me $350 for a generic steroid ointment to treat eczema.

[cb at sea]

The "odds" are about the same as anywhere else. Anyplace where "crowds" gather is a hot-bed of germs.....churches, hotels, SCHOOLS, especially, nursing homes, grocery stores, etc....

 

If you're not used to being around other's germs, you are more likely to "pick up" something, somewhere!

[lovesthebeach2]

We just got back from a 13 night British Isles cruise and it seems that the second week everyone was sick with colds or bronchitis or worse. It’s the first time we ever got sick on a cruise. People were hacking and sneezing all over the ship, it’s no wonder most people got sick. Luckily I got the cold as we were flying home so it didn’t ruin my trip. Out of our group of 6 we ALL got sick!

[mag19]

Never been sick on a cruise but I constantly wash hands or use washy washy

 

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[TeeRick]

Was telling my in-laws about our upcoming cruise, and my FIL made a crack about how it's a great vacation except for everyone getting norovirus. (Which is kind of funny criticism since he's been on several cruises himself). But it did make me think a little. Out of all the passengers who cruise each year, what percentage of them actually get sick? Is it more or less than get sick doing any other type of travel? Does it depend on your cruise line or where you are sailing? (We can make a pretty obvious assumption that there would be more in the winter). Cruise ships with viral outbreaks are certainly sensationalized, but has it been actually studied? Anyone have some stats to link?

 

Norovirus can happen anywhere, not just on a cruise ship. Restaurant buffets and salad bars are common sources. Also- just traveling in airports, on planes, on buses, in elevators, etc., anywhere you are exposed to many people in enclosed spaces increases your odds. So you might get sick before you actually board the ship and after the specific incubation period for whatever you were exposed to, you come down with something. That being said- after 20+ cruises I have not ever been on a ship with norovirus - knock on wood! I hope that trend continues.

[ryano]

We just got back from a 13 night British Isles cruise and it seems that the second week everyone was sick with colds or bronchitis or worse. It’s the first time we ever got sick on a cruise. People were hacking and sneezing all over the ship, it’s no wonder most people got sick. Luckily I got the cold as we were flying home so it didn’t ruin my trip. Out of our group of 6 we ALL got sick!

 

That happened to about 60 of us out of a social media group of about 250 on our last cruise :( My cold turned into acute bronchitis that required an ER visit after I got home, a breathing treatment and a steroid shot. Total bill was a little over 6 grand. Thankfully, I have great insurance.

 

On the other hand, I just got over confirmed norovirus in the last day or so. Roughest 72 hours of my life and I was just ready to die to be honest. I havent been on a cruise since October.

[ryano]

Norovirus can happen anywhere,

 

Exactly. I just got over it myself. :') Havent been on a cruise since October.

[geomancer]

This is what the CDC has to say (about Noro):https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/vsp/pub/norovirus/norovirus.htm

 

From 2008 to 2014, 74 million passengers sailed on cruise ships in the Vessel Sanitation Program’s jurisdiction. Only 129,678 passengers met the program’s case definition for acute gastrointestinal illness and only a small proportion of those cases (1 in 10) were part of a norovirus outbreak.

 

This page has a list of outbreaks on cruise ships. If you click on the dates it gives you more details, like the percentage of passengers affected.

https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/vsp/surv/gilist.htm#2018

[kknorr0320]

I've been sick once out of 12 cruises. No one else I've ever travelled with has been sick. Our last group was 18 people. On the other hand, last year my son brought home Noro from school and it hit all of us in a matter of 3 days.

 

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[chengkp75]

This is what the CDC has to say (about Noro):https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/vsp/pub/norovirus/norovirus.htm

 

 

 

This page has a list of outbreaks on cruise ships. If you click on the dates it gives you more details, like the percentage of passengers affected.

https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/vsp/surv/gilist.htm#2018

 

Yep, and those figures work out to be 0.017% of cruise passengers got noro. (175 in every million passengers).

 

And if you go to the CDC's page on noro virus, for the US population in general, noro causes 19-21 million cases each year, in a population of 326 million, or a 5.8%-6.4% chance of getting noro.

[rmf11699]

Although not norovirus, my wife did have a bout with an intestinal issue on our 1st day on last months cruise. The ship did not sell immodium or pepto and we forgot to bring with us so she had to go to medical. She was quarantined to the room for 24 hours and then released with no further issues.

[island lady]

We don't seem to get the Noro...(thankfully so far) but seems one out of every three cruises we go on...one or both of us end up going home with a cold. Sometimes it's very bad and lasts weeks. :(

 

We don't catch the colds at any other time. And we are extremely careful by using the washy washy and sanitizers. Just too many ways to catch the colds to be 100% safe.

[jpcello]

My sister and I cruise once a year and neither of us has never been sick.

[island lady]

My sister and I cruise once a year and neither of us has never been sick.

 

You have been lucky...hope you did not jinx yourself. I am worried I did that when I mentioned I have not suffered the Noro. :eek:

 

 

Murphy's law.

[Qstrom]

All you can get is anecdotal information .....in our case we've taken around 20 cruises and never gotten sick while on board, if you don't count normal queasy stomach from motion occasionally. We always practice good clorox wipe down in the cabin first thing.

[juliesVacation]

This is what the CDC has to say (about Noro):https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/vsp/pub/norovirus/norovirus.htm

 

 

 

This page has a list of outbreaks on cruise ships. If you click on the dates it gives you more details, like the percentage of passengers affected.

https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/vsp/surv/gilist.htm#2018

 

Now that's what I'm looking for! (Somehow the CDC didn't feel like an obvious place to look for this, maybe because cruise lines are international).

[juliesVacation]

Yep, and those figures work out to be 0.017% of cruise passengers got noro. (175 in every million passengers).

 

And if you go to the CDC's page on noro virus, for the US population in general, noro causes 19-21 million cases each year, in a population of 326 million, or a 5.8%-6.4% chance of getting noro.

 

So it really is a quite small percentage despite all the sensationalism. (Although I suppose neither of these statistics can account well for unreported illness).

[Joebucks]

Yep, and those figures work out to be 0.017% of cruise passengers got noro. (175 in every million passengers).

 

And if you go to the CDC's page on noro virus, for the US population in general, noro causes 19-21 million cases each year, in a population of 326 million, or a 5.8%-6.4% chance of getting noro.

 

There's your answer. If we concerned ourself with everything that had odds that low, we wouldn't leave our houses.

[chengkp75]

Now that's what I'm looking for! (Somehow the CDC didn't feel like an obvious place to look for this, maybe because cruise lines are international).

 

The reason the CDC is involved, is that another of the department of HHS, the USPH Service, which is mandated with preventing the introduction of infectious disease into the US, reports to the CDC on foreign ships (all types not just cruise ships) entering the US as to the health of the crew and sanitation of the ship. For cruise ships, in order to preclude USPH inspectors boarding the cruise ship every week, and inspecting the ship and interviewing passengers and crew, the USPH, in conjunction with the cruise lines, came up with the VSP (Vessel Sanitation Program), whereby if a ship meets the construction and operation requirements of the VSP, then the USPH will limit their inspections to 2 random ones each year. Data from the USPH inspections are forwarded to the CDC for compilation with their general disease data.

[MaiseyM]

Years ago, I found a link that listed every report that was made. It seems like the link posted previously and what i can find online are only reporting some of the outbreaks. Maybe it's a report of when you reach a certain threshold or a certain percent of passengers. My son got it on the cruise a few years ago; I really think he didn't hand wash enough. By the time his 2nd cruise came around, he was washing a lot more. We all did. We saw how bad it hit him. Thankfully, we had two rooms, so we pushed everyone, minus the sick one, into the healthy room and he was quarantined. It sucks but we know it happens. While it does happen anywhere, Cruise ships are great breeding ground, hence the reason they over emphasize washing your hands. If you are really good about hand washing, you will be better off for it. Here are some links I found, trying to find the one I looked at a few years ago.

 

 

http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2017/12/cdc-reports-cruise-ship-outbreaks-mostly-norovirus/#.WxG8YC-ZOFU

 

 

http://www.newsweek.com/cruise-lines-most-virus-outbreaks-2017-750838

[chengkp75]

Years ago, I found a link that listed every report that was made. It seems like the link posted previously and what i can find online are only reporting some of the outbreaks. Maybe it's a report of when you reach a certain threshold or a certain percent of passengers. My son got it on the cruise a few years ago; I really think he didn't hand wash enough. By the time his 2nd cruise came around, he was washing a lot more. We all did. We saw how bad it hit him. Thankfully, we had two rooms, so we pushed everyone, minus the sick one, into the healthy room and he was quarantined. It sucks but we know it happens. While it does happen anywhere, Cruise ships are great breeding ground, hence the reason they over emphasize washing your hands. If you are really good about hand washing, you will be better off for it. Here are some links I found, trying to find the one I looked at a few years ago.

 

 

http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2017/12/cdc-reports-cruise-ship-outbreaks-mostly-norovirus/#.WxG8YC-ZOFU

 

 

http://www.newsweek.com/cruise-lines-most-virus-outbreaks-2017-750838

 

The CDC gets a report from every cruise ship, every time it enters the US from a foreign port, even if it is just to report "no GI illness". These reports are not made public. When the number of reported cases reaches 2% of passengers or crew, another "special" report is made immediately. These reports are not made public. If the number of reported cases reaches 3% of passengers or crew, the ship makes another special report immediately, and the CDC issues an "outbreak update". This is the only report that is made public. The ship must list its remediation plan on both the special reports, and if the outbreak reaches the 3% level, there will usually be a USPH inspector sent to monitor the ship during turn around.

 

I'm not sure why these are made public, unless there was a Freedom of Information request, as no other entity, whether college dorm, elementary school, nursing home, or whatever, who all have to make reports to the CDC, none of them are made public. Many people think the USPH/CDC's job and reason for publishing these reports is to safeguard the health of passengers, but that is not the case. The USPH's mandate is to prevent these illnesses entering the US, not in informing the public that a ship has had a problem outside the US and some passengers are ill.

[ONECRUISER]

Never have. Wash hands frequently, don't touch railings/surfaces. Been cruising 30 yrs with 400+ nites on cruise ships. My luck is probably running out...

[Trainman-2]

I suspect that a lot of the people who get sick on cruise ships already had the sickness when they boarded.