Changes in Onboard Behavior & Procedures after Cruises restart sailing again...

[NavyCruiser]

Even way before this current cruise line shutdown, we have observed numerous questionable guest behaviors & onboard procedures.  Pls don't take this personally if you still enjoy these activities, but just for us, we don't get into the hot tubs, pools, steam rooms, etc. anymore, since my spouse considers them cesspools for germs & other nastyness.  There are numerous guest behaviors that grossed us out, esp in the buffet, gym, theater, & other large gatherings.  For example:

- buffet:  both adults & kids directly touching food items then put it back, without using tongs;  how many people touch those tongs...?

- gym:  walking away from sweaty equipment without towel wipedown, spitting in water fountain

- theater:  openly coughing & sneezing, etc

Sorry, these are just a very few examples of gross behaviors that really need to change, esp after this shutdown is done

So what do you think new procedures the cruise lines will implement once they restart sailing again for better sanitation purposes?

I would guess:

- mini health inspection, ie: temperature scanner for fever, at embarkation, instead of just paper form stating you are fever free & no flu-like symptoms

- retrofit all ships with full hand washing stations instead of just Purell dispensers at buffet entrance

- staff will serve you food items from behind the counter in the buffet, instead of you self-serve food items with tongs

- limit number of persons in hot tubs, & must shower before entering

- eliminate steam rooms

- more antiseptic wipes in the gym

- no more self serve ice cream dispensers, only served by staff at certain hours

 

What are your ideas...?

[joeyancho]

I'm staying home. 

[MsTabbyKats]

People need to cough and sneeze....hopefully they do it in a sanitary way.  And, there won't be a hot tub police.

People needed to be reminded to take personal responsibility. 

 

Elevators....WALK up and down if it's just a deck or 2 (not to mention exercise).

If you see someplace is crowded....go back later.

 

 

 

 

 

[1city@atime]

I agree that these ships are old and this would be a great time to add features. I always say there should be water bottle filling stations around the ship, like the airports have. A lot of people travel with refillable bottles now, the buffet is not a sanitary way to fill them. We did see handwashing stations in buffet on the panorama. 

[leaveitallbehind]

2 hours ago, NavyCruiser said:

Even way before this current cruise line shutdown, we have observed numerous questionable guest behaviors & onboard procedures.  Pls don't take this personally if you still enjoy these activities, but just for us, we don't get into the hot tubs, pools, steam rooms, etc. anymore, since my spouse considers them cesspools for germs & other nastyness.  There are numerous guest behaviors that grossed us out, esp in the buffet, gym, theater, & other large gatherings.  For example:

- buffet:  both adults & kids directly touching food items then put it back, without using tongs;  how many people touch those tongs...?

- gym:  walking away from sweaty equipment without towel wipedown, spitting in water fountain

- theater:  openly coughing & sneezing, etc

Sorry, these are just a very few examples of gross behaviors that really need to change, esp after this shutdown is done

So what do you think new procedures the cruise lines will implement once they restart sailing again for better sanitation purposes?

I would guess:

- mini health inspection, ie: temperature scanner for fever, at embarkation, instead of just paper form stating you are fever free & no flu-like symptoms

- retrofit all ships with full hand washing stations instead of just Purell dispensers at buffet entrance

- staff will serve you food items from behind the counter in the buffet, instead of you self-serve food items with tongs

- limit number of persons in hot tubs, & must shower before entering

- eliminate steam rooms

- more antiseptic wipes in the gym

- no more self serve ice cream dispensers, only served by staff at certain hours

 

What are your ideas...?

 

A few comments:

• While not a bad idea, not sure how practical it would be to have temperature scanners for all passengers during the boarding process.  That also is not a sure diagnosis of the flu, etc.  But as a first signal for further checking it may work.
• There are several RCI ships today, as example, that have washing stations at the entrance to the buffet in place of Purell dispensers, which if you google it you will see are of limited benefit.  But it would be difficult to retrofit all ships with this. If done, however, it would only likely be done at a scheduled dry dock, which typically is every 5 years.  So that would take a while.
• The staff serves the buffet on many ships, and almost always when there is a concern for noro.
• You are supposed to shower before entering the hot tubs already and there are shower stations next to them in our experience.  And they already have a capacity statement.
• Every ship I've been on has several antiseptic wipes stations in the gym - how many are you suggesting?
• Several ships also already have crew dispensed ice cream at the self serve stations, which is a good thing.

As to some of your behavior observations, most of those rest with individuals or parents supervision of children.  Not sure how the crew can police all of that. Some passengers will just display poor behavior.  And I for one have no problem suggesting to someone who failed to wipe down gym equipment that they should do so.  Or just proactively do it myself prior to using the equipment as well as afterwards. And openly coughing or sneezing - really?  You have never coughed or sneezed in public?  There are also those with allergies that will display these symptoms but who are not contagiously ill.

 

Not being critical but just reacting from personal experience to your comments.

Edited March 27, 2020 by leaveitallbehind

[mom says]

2 hours ago, NavyCruiser said:

I would guess:

- mini health inspection, ie: temperature scanner for fever, at embarkation, instead of just paper form stating you are fever free & no flu-like symptoms

- retrofit all ships with full hand washing stations instead of just Purell dispensers at buffet entrance

- staff will serve you food items from behind the counter in the buffet, instead of you self-serve food items with tongs

- limit number of persons in hot tubs, & must shower before entering

- eliminate steam rooms

- more antiseptic wipes in the gym

- no more self serve ice cream dispensers, only served by staff at certain hours

- temp scanners at embarkation. Possible, but may depend on the             willingness of the port facility or cruise line to pay to equip and staff for this

-hand washing stations at buffet entrance. Already in place on some ships.     However, enforcement would have the same problems as the Purell   dispensers. 

-food served by staff in buffet- already in place on some ships. However this   requires additional staff, therefore higher payroll costs, so some lines may   remain primarily self serve.

- hot tubs- I can't see any line hiring hot tub police

-eliminate steam rooms- depends on their popularity. If they are heavily used

 I can't see them being eliminated. They aren't inherently unhealthy. Feel free   to avoid them if you disagree.

-more antiseptic wipes in the gym. I've personally not found them to be in   short supply, but perhaps additional dispensers and signage regarding their   use may be helpful.

-ice cream dispensers- on this I agree. Get rid of them or put them behind a   staffed counter.

Edited March 27, 2020 by mom says

[ger_77]

Re: temperature scanners - my step-daughter would be eliminated almost immediately, as she has frequent hot flashes.  They seem to be more frequent when she's stressed, and that would certainly be the case if she was boarding a ship, hoping not to have one!

 

Smooth Sailing!  🙂🙂🙂

[chengkp75]

Short of any changes mandated by the USPH VSP, I would not expect any of your suggestions to take place.

[clo]

5 minutes ago, chengkp75 said:

changes mandated by the USPH VSP,

Well then, let's look forward to some of those. Change is good. Remember when we didn't wear seat belts. And all sorts of other GREAT things. Did I say "change is good"? LOL.

Edited March 28, 2020 by clo

[Aquahound]

People are always going to be stupid, and I think they're getting dumber as time goes on, so I think what needs to change is the corporations' growing tendency toward quantity over quality (crowding).  Carnival is building a new ship with a space ratio in the 20s, for goodness sake.  Not that anyone would listen to me, but I think it should be illegal to build ships with ratios below 40.   

Edited March 28, 2020 by Aquahound

[chengkp75]

58 minutes ago, clo said:

Well then, let's look forward to some of those. Change is good. Remember when we didn't wear seat belts. And all sorts of other GREAT things. Did I say "change is good"? LOL.

Fine, but will the USPH/CDC decide that any changes are needed?  That is the question, not whether the changes are good or not.  Frankly, they are the experts on infectious disease, and sanitation, so it's really up to them to decide if changes are needed, but don't expect the cruise lines to voluntarily make any of these changes.

[clo]

3 minutes ago, chengkp75 said:

don't expect the cruise lines to voluntarily make any of these changes.

Heavens, no. It might cost money. I hope that they make changes. It's clearly appropriate. What those changes could/would be? I'll let them be the arbiters.

[clo]

1 hour ago, Aquahound said:

People are always going to be stupid, and I think they're getting dumber as time goes on, so I think what needs to change is the corporations' growing tendency toward quantity over quality (crowding).  Carnival is building a new ship with a space ratio in the 20s, for goodness sake.  Not that anyone would listen to me, but I think it should be illegal to build ships with ratios below 40.   

Please give me a simple education. I have no idea what these ratios are about.?

[Aquahound]

1 hour ago, clo said:

Please give me a simple education. I have no idea what these ratios are about.?

 

Simply put, it's the measure of a ship's crowding.  Take the gross tonnage and divide it by the number of passengers.  If the number is in the 40s or higher, it's a great score.  Upper 30s is pretty good.  Lower 30s is quite crowded.  20s is just ridiculous.  

[chengkp75]

23 minutes ago, Aquahound said:

 

Simply put, it's the measure of a ship's crowding.  Take the gross tonnage and divide it by the number of passengers.  If the number is in the 40s or higher, it's a great score.  Upper 30s is pretty good.  Lower 30s is quite crowded.  20s is just ridiculous.  

A rough measure.

[sanger727]

OP; I can see the temperature scanners. When we went to Japan last year, they have scanners you must go through as you walk through customs that take your temperature. Didn’t even realize it was happening until we were through and looked back at them. Seamless and easy

 

I like the buffet idea but agree that it’s an increased staffing cost so might be done intially but then phase out over time.

 

a majority of your suggestions refer to the staff policing the guests behavior; and as seen by the fact that people walk past the sanitizing stations to get into the buffet, chair hogging, and seat saving practices - staff policing behavior is an unpopular idea. They may ‘make rules’ but they won’t enforce them. 
 

as in most things in life the only persons behavior you can control is your own. So  if certain things like hot tubs, gyms, and buffets make your uncomfortable because of other people’s behavior; all you can really do is choose not to use them yourself.

Edited March 28, 2020 by sanger727

[babs135]

14 hours ago, NavyCruiser said:

  openly coughing & sneezing, etc

 

Do you mean not covering their mouths and noses?  I have a hiatus hernia and as a by-product of this I sometimes can have a prolonged coughing fit.  I am not contagious and I cover my mouth but where would I fit in with your thoughts, well intentioned as they may be

[ontheweb]

7 hours ago, chengkp75 said:

Short of any changes mandated by the USPH VSP, I would not expect any of your suggestions to take place.

 

And what would it take for them to mandate changes? Is the present crisis enough to bring about mandated changes?

[ontheweb]

7 hours ago, clo said:

Well then, let's look forward to some of those. Change is good. Remember when we didn't wear seat belts. And all sorts of other GREAT things. Did I say "change is good"? LOL.

Seat belts is an interesting comparison. Pretty much all of us now put on our seat belts without a second thought, but it was not always this way.

 

My wife was once rear ended. In the questioning by the insurance company's attorney, he asked if she was wearing her seat belt. (This was probably the late 70s or early 80s.) When she said yes, he went off the record and said he rarely if ever heard that answer. I still did not wear a seat belt until our son (this must have been sometime in the 80s) asked why and I could not come up with a good reason not to wear the belt. And then later on, they passed laws about wearing belts. There was still resistance, but eventually most people came around to just doing it by habit.

[sparks1093]

I don't think much will change once this pandemic passes. People will revert to who they were and life will go on.

[d9704011]

8 minutes ago, sparks1093 said:

I don't think much will change once this pandemic passes. People will revert to who they were and life will go on.

Agreed.  As mentioned earlier, it will take regulatory changes to ensure different ‘behaviours’.  Whether any of the proposed changes I’ve seen (i.e. no more self-serve buffets) would have been an effective deterent to the spread of coronavirus remains to be seen.

 

For the record, I did not start wearing my seatbelt regularly until I was fined $53.75 by the Ontario Provincial Police in 1984.

Edited March 28, 2020 by d9704011
Seatbelts

[Reina del Mar]

Concerned by number of people who leave restrooms without washing hands....do we really need someone 'standing guard' to remind them?

 

Also refilling personal bottles at buffet..there are signs but some refuse to heed them. 

 

Some people just don't accept rules apply to everyone and they are not 'special'!

 

 

 

 

[sparks1093]

18 minutes ago, d9704011 said:

Agreed.  As mentioned earlier, it will take regulatory changes to ensure different ‘behaviours’.  Whether any of the proposed changes I’ve seen (i.e. no more self-serve buffets) would have been an effective deterent to the spread of coronavirus remains to be seen.

 

For the record, I did not start wearing my seatbelt regularly until I was fined $53.75 by the Ontario Provincial Police in 1984.

And even regulatory changes won't necessarily lead to better behaviors, especially if there's no deterrent. I've seen plenty of people force their way past the hand sanitizer stations (and the sinks before the buffet on Anthem). 

[leaveitallbehind]

2 hours ago, ontheweb said:

 

Is the present crisis enough to bring about mandated changes?

Maybe, maybe not. What specific changes to you suggest?  Or is it just change for change sake? It's one thing to say that changes need to be made but quite another to define what effective measures not presently in place need to be mandated that would specifically mitigate the risk of the current crisis.  Certainly I for one don't know what that might be.  Do you?

 

If the USDH / CDC determine specific actions that should be implemented that would address this directly, then by all means they should be considered.  But to just say changes need to be made at this point has little value IMO as this is all still unfolding.

Edited March 28, 2020 by leaveitallbehind

[leaveitallbehind]

3 hours ago, ontheweb said:

 

And what would it take for them to mandate changes? Is the present crisis enough to bring about mandated changes?

 

To be clear, I'm not intending my last post to be critical of you with your question, but more of a generic commentary regarding the idea of changes that could be made in the industry resulting from all of this.  I was just using your post as the platform. Sorry if it comes across as more directed since I quoted you - it wasn't intended that way. 

Edited March 28, 2020 by leaveitallbehind