Norovirus- Norwegian Jewel

[Ronin23]

Currently on the Jewel and safe to say there is something of a norovirus outbreak right now. 

 

Seems to be all most people are talking about, a number of repeated announcements about sanitation practices. My wife was struck down yesterday and now in quarantine. 

 

Hard to get a read read on the numbers but suspect it’s a reasonable amount. 

 

Crew trying to get it under control, if it gets worse I suspect they will move to more stringent measures.

 

Medical staff nothing short of fantastic I must say, support has been first rate. 

[mpk112782]

Hand washing with soap and water is the best way to prevent the virus. Hand sanitizes will have little impact. When I cruise I wash my hands before I enter the buffet and again right before I eat. The food might be served in a sanitary manner, but did the person in front of you wash their hands? What about the 20th person in front of you? The virus is spread by the oral route, so make sure to keep your hands clean!

 

[newmexicoNita]

We have only been on one cruise where NORO was a problem and it had been on the sailing prior to ours, but did carry over to ours with some being affected. The safety measures that were used, were  a pain in the you know what but well worth not coming down with NORO. I think all of us know the importance of washing our hands as often as possible. The wipes and spray do little to prevent the germs from spreading but a little is better than nothing. 

[kochleffel]

8 hours ago, mpk112782 said:

I wash my hands before I enter the buffet and again right before I eat.

 

 

This is a good idea, but where do you find to wash your hands once you've taken food from the buffet?

[CruiseGal999]

3 minutes ago, kochleffel said:

 

This is a good idea, but where do you find to wash your hands once you've taken food from the buffet?

 

Especially on NCL ... they have people at the entrances/exits with bottles spraying sanitizing gel for you.  They also have sanitizing gel dispensers throughout the buffet area. 

[kochleffel]

8 minutes ago, CruiseGal999 said:

 

Especially on NCL ... they have people at the entrances/exits with bottles spraying sanitizing gel for you.  They also have sanitizing gel dispensers throughout the buffet area. 

 

The whole problem is that common hand sanitizers, based on alcohol, are ineffective against norovirus. Hand sanitizers and wipes containing benzalkonium chloride or benzethonium chloride are also ineffective, and are less effective than alcohol against other microorganisms, according to the CDC.

 

There are a few hand sanitizers that claim to work against norovirus; here is a link to information about one. Research on norovirus is difficult because it is very hard to grow in a laboratory; most of the research is done with a surrogate virus that is structurally similar.

[mpk112782]

Once we get food we will take turns and go to a restroom by the buffet to rewash our hands with soap and water. 

 

   

[kochleffel]

12 minutes ago, mpk112782 said:

Once we get food we will take turns and go to a restroom by the buffet to rewash our hands with soap and water.

   

 

That's the problem for me - if I'm alone and set my plate down, a crew member may well clear it away before I get back.

 

[IrieBajan54]

46 minutes ago, kochleffel said:

 

That's the problem for me - if I'm alone and set my plate down, a crew member may well clear it away before I get back.

 

 

I seldomly eat in the buffet anymore but I still carry a laminated card I made about 3 years ago. It's the size of a credit card. It states:

 

Do not touch (red ink)

Will be right back (black ink)

 

As a solo, it works for me every time. No disappearing food.

 

 

[Captain-John]

1 hour ago, IrieBajan54 said:

 

I seldomly eat in the buffet anymore but I still carry a laminated card I made about 3 years ago. It's the size of a credit card. It states:

 

Do not touch (red ink)

Will be right back (black ink)

 

As a solo, it works for me every time. No disappearing food.

 

 

 

What a fantastic idea! Even as a couple, we like to eat together, so two of us will be up at the buffet at the same time and we often worry about whether our table 'looks' occupied, so we'd spread out napkins and move the cutlery about a bit so no-one took the table or anything on it that wasn't finished.

[newmexicoNita]

14 hours ago, IrieBajan54 said:

 

I seldomly eat in the buffet anymore but I still carry a laminated card I made about 3 years ago. It's the size of a credit card. It states:

 

Do not touch (red ink)

Will be right back (black ink)

 

As a solo, it works for me every time. No disappearing food.

 

 

great ideal would never have thought of anything like that. 

[got2havefun]

The Jewel has sinks in the Garden cafe where you can wash your hands after the refurbishment. Also there was a gastro outbreak on our cruise on the Jewel December 1 through the 13th. I wonder if it is more of a crew member passing it instead of a passenger. You couldn't get your own drinks or your plate your own food in the Garden Cafe. All the condiments were off the table. It made dining take a lot more time and was very inconvenient. It is a horrible situation on a cruise.

[newmexicoNita]

17 hours ago, got2havefun said:

The Jewel has sinks in the Garden cafe where you can wash your hands after the refurbishment. Also there was a gastro outbreak on our cruise on the Jewel December 1 through the 13th. I wonder if it is more of a crew member passing it instead of a passenger. You couldn't get your own drinks or your plate your own food in the Garden Cafe. All the condiments were off the table. It made dining take a lot more time and was very inconvenient. It is a horrible situation on a cruise.

sounds like the breakout they are experiencing now or last week is a carry over from the one you are talking about. It seems to take about 2 or 3 sailings to get an outbreak completely under control, Yes, the whole thing is a nightmare, but they do try their best: no salt and pepper, menues washed between each handling, don't touch this, don't touch that, etc.