Covid protocols, what to expect currently

[suzyed]

42 minutes ago, eclue said:

Gloves do absolutely NOTHING - any germs are still on the gloves and you are ingesting them...wake up people - Unless you are a medical professional and actually know how to wear gloves , just forget it.

 

I AM. 🙋‍♀️
The important part is knowing how to take them off after wearing them.  😉

[suzyed]

12 hours ago, SargassoPirate said:

I know your handle is "love to cruz' but with your record with covid, why continue to place yourself in harm's way?

 

The other side of the coin is I have still not had covid, have had so many shots and boosters that my card is filled up, and never wear a mask anywhere unless required to.

 

I don't worry about Noro either because I wash my hands before I touch my food.

 

 

 

Just an aside....I believe DH contracted NORO in the market in Tahiti.  We both ate sandwiches but only he got sick....There are also food trucks lined up and down the pier in Tahiti and lots of people ate there.
We had around 500 onboard with it (passengers and crew).  We had the CDC board the ship before we all could disembark.   So, I'm thinking washing our hands before eating is not necessarily fool proof.

Here's the thing....we all have to do what we are comfortable with and not go overboard  (pun intended) to the point that it's not fun any more and we're worried about everything. 
Have fun and be careful!

[eclue]

34 minutes ago, suzyed said:

I AM. 🙋‍♀️
The important part is knowing how to take them off after wearing them.  😉

Absolutely and then there are those that continuing wearing them , thinking they are somehow protected.

[antsp]

On 6/6/2023 at 6:43 PM, love to cruz said:

We were on the Emerald. The doctor did not tell us what strain we had.  This is our third time getting Covid. My husband had a booster last June. I am double vaccinated. Guess that doesn't matter.

The doctor wouldn't know, unless the ship has a onboard lab were they can gene sample the virus

[antsp]

10 hours ago, suzyed said:

Just an aside....I believe DH contracted NORO in the market in Tahiti.  We both ate sandwiches but only he got sick....There are also food trucks lined up and down the pier in Tahiti and lots of people ate there.
We had around 500 onboard with it (passengers and crew).  We had the CDC board the ship before we all could disembark.   So, I'm thinking washing our hands before eating is not necessarily fool proof.

Here's the thing....we all have to do what we are comfortable with and not go overboard  (pun intended) to the point that it's not fun any more and we're worried about everything. 
Have fun and be careful!

You catch covid from Spittal, not from food

[ninka26]

On 6/5/2023 at 7:04 PM, pink845 said:

Been on a couple of cruises now since Jan 2023.  Last one was Majestic, Alaska a few weeks back.  Our procedure with respect to Covid is as follows. We wear our masks in crowds; we wear our masks collecting food at the buffet.  We tell our room steward on day 1, not to enter our room for the entire cruise. We leave our dirty towels at the door and he drops off new ones in a clear plastic bag.  We do not need cabin service at all. We book a mini suite balcony so we have plenty of space to roam. Mini suites have a large sofa bed as well and we let the fresh air enter the cabin upon our arrival and several times during the day.   In the dining room, we have always had no issue getting a table for two in a more far way spot so not to have to interact with other passengers too much in that dining space.  We have found there is more space in the specialty dining rooms, so we ate in those 4 out of the 7 nights...

First cruise ever in 28 days...this is wonderful advice. Thank you very much for sharing. 

[Nicole&Pete]

Just now, suzyed said:

I AM. 🙋‍♀️
The important part is knowing how to take them off after wearing them.  😉

I might wear gloves to handle the tongues at the buffet and then take the gloves off when I’m at the table because my hand sanitiser is 57% alcohol so I don’t think that will kill noro??? 
 

Is there a special way I should take them off properly then?

[SargassoPirate]

11 minutes ago, Nicole&Pete said:

I might wear gloves to handle the tongues at the buffet and then take the gloves off when I’m at the table because my hand sanitiser is 57% alcohol so I don’t think that will kill noro??? 
 

Is there a special way I should take them off properly then?

I generally avoid handling anyone's tongue at the buffet, or anywhere else for that matter. 😜

 

(sorry, couldn't help myself after I almost blew coffee out my nose reading your post)

 

 

[Keksie]

My favorite image was during the height of the pandemic.  A gentleman was standing in the store with his mask under his chin, one of his gloves held in his teeth , texting on his phone.  Now when someone mentions gloves that is all I think of.  

[Nicole&Pete]

Just now, SargassoPirate said:

I generally avoid handling anyone's tongue at the buffet, or anywhere else for that matter. 😜

 

(sorry, couldn't help myself after I almost blew coffee out my nose reading your post)

 

 

I just read what I put lol!!!!

[SargassoPirate]

11 minutes ago, Keksie said:

My favorite image was during the height of the pandemic.  A gentleman was standing in the store with his mask under his chin, one of his gloves held in his teeth , texting on his phone.  Now when someone mentions gloves that is all I think of.  

One image that I can't unsee was during the height of the pandemic a woman driving through town, in a car by herself, wearing a pair of kitchen gloves and a dual cartridge respirator.

 

[mtnesterz]

1 hour ago, Nicole&Pete said:

...hand sanitiser is 57% alcohol so I don’t think that will kill noro??? 
Is there a special way I should take them off properly then?

Short answer, not very well.

Long answer, hand sanitizer is not like a light switch, it doesn't suddenly become effective at a certain percentage, but increases effectiveness with strength. At very effective strength, it also becomes expensive and hard on the hands. Alternatives acidic or chlorine solutions, are also hard on the hands. Anything to break the protein capsid protecting the virus' RNA (in the case of Noro) 

The best and most cost effective way is to simply wash your hands.

Removal? Pinch from the outside at the wrist on the first glove, finger underneath the wrist for the second.

[Nicole&Pete]

Just now, mtnesterz said:

Short answer, not very well.

Long answer, hand sanitizer is not like a light switch, it doesn't suddenly become effective at a certain percentage, but increases effectiveness with strength. At very effective strength, it also becomes expensive and hard on the hands. Alternatives acidic or chlorine solutions, are also hard on the hands. Anything to break the protein capsid protecting the virus' RNA (in the case of Noro) 

The best and most cost effective way is to simply wash your hands.

Removal? Pinch from the outside at the wrist on the first glove, finger underneath the wrist for the second.

Thank you I shall practise that!

[1160451]

I came off the Regal Princess two weeks ago and tested positive 4 days later.

Somebody  4 cabins down from us had been quarantined in their own cabin for a good number of days of the cruise.

I didn’t see any difference between a cruise before Covid and this one.

I had Covid 12 months ago but felt worse for three days with this bout.

My opinion is that if you know you have it you should not mix with people.

That is not tho the opinion of many people.

 

[SargassoPirate]

24 minutes ago, 1160451 said:

 

My opinion is that if you know you have it you should not mix with people.

That is not tho the opinion of many people.

 

One cannot depend on others to do the right thing.  I've made it this far by treating everything in the world and everyone in it as if they are infected with something, and then I simply break the chain of contamination.  For example, if I'm riding a subway and grab the handhold, I don't go sticking my fingers in my mouth or touch any food without a good hand washing.  Same thing if I shake hands with someone.  If there's a vaccine available, I take it.

 

 

[1160451]

25 minutes ago, SargassoPirate said:

One cannot depend on others to do the right thing.  I've made it this far by treating everything in the world and everyone in it as if they are infected with something, and then I simply break the chain of contamination.  For example, if I'm riding a subway and grab the handhold, I don't go sticking my fingers in my mouth or touch any food without a good hand washing.  Same thing if I shake hands with someone.  If there's a vaccine available, I take it.

 

 

Wise words 👍

[suzyed]

5 hours ago, antsp said:

You catch covid from Spittal, not from food

Right...I was talking about noro.

[suzyed]

4 hours ago, Nicole&Pete said:

I might wear gloves to handle the tongues at the buffet and then take the gloves off when I’m at the table because my hand sanitiser is 57% alcohol so I don’t think that will kill noro??? 
 

Is there a special way I should take them off properly then?

I'm sure youtube has a video that you could watch to learn how to take off gloves properly

 

[memoak]

4 hours ago, SargassoPirate said:

I generally avoid handling anyone's tongue at the buffet, or anywhere else for that matter. 😜

 

(sorry, couldn't help myself after I almost blew coffee out my nose reading your post)

 

 

If you don’t play with others tongue’s you are missing out on so much fun on a cruise 

[mlgb]

You are also very much at risk on the way to and from a cruise. Especially standing in lines at airports and customs, as well as boarding and leaving planes with unmasked passengers sniffling and coughing their way past your seat.

 

At least two friends came down with the latest muy infective strain shortly after flying to noncruise vacations. I wear masks in airports if there are a lot of people around (sometimes there are uncrowded spots with good ventilation), on buses, and when the plane isn't moving. If there is someone hacking or sneezing near me on the plane, I wear a KN-95 mask during the flight. Otherwise, no.

 

Re COVID protection when cruising, you cannot depend on anyone else to protect you. A few crew members do mask as do very few passengers. On a recent early season Alaska cruise (repo San Diego to Vancouver, fly home Anchorage mid May) I would keep a mask on hand and use it selectively (such as in elevators) or while waiting for dinner service or in crowded buffet areas (the Grand is especially bad).  I tried to find outside tables or uncrowded areas for buffet meals. I allowed the crew to make up my room. The steward I had wore a mask. 

 

As far as Noro I follow the rule of not touching food with my own hands and hand washing before and then again after I put my plates down.  Usually you can tell when Noro is spreading, they start the extra cleaning.

Edited June 8, 2023 by mlgb

[memoak]

58 minutes ago, mlgb said:

You are also very much at risk on the way to and from a cruise. Especially standing in lines at airports and customs, as well as boarding and leaving planes with unmasked passengers sniffling and coughing their way past your seat.

 

At least two friends came down with the latest muy infective strain shortly after flying to noncruise vacations. I wear masks in airports if there are a lot of people around (sometimes there are uncrowded spots with good ventilation), on buses, and when the plane isn't moving. If there is someone hacking or sneezing near me on the plane, I wear a KN-95 mask during the flight. Otherwise, no.

 

Re COVID protection when cruising, you cannot depend on anyone else to protect you. A few crew members do mask as do very few passengers. On a recent early season Alaska cruise (repo San Diego to Vancouver, fly home Anchorage mid May) I would keep a mask on hand and use it selectively (such as in elevators) or while waiting for dinner service or in crowded buffet areas (the Grand is especially bad).  I tried to find outside tables or uncrowded areas for buffet meals. I allowed the crew to make up my room. The steward I had wore a mask. 

 

As far as Noro I follow the rule of not touching food with my own hands and hand washing before and then again after I put my plates down.  Usually you can tell when Noro is spreading, they start the extra cleaning.

How do you eat sandwiches, burgers, hot dogs , pizza etc without using your hands ?

[mlgb]

 I don't normally eat that kind of cr*p nor do I eat the bread rolls at sit down.  I save my junk food calories for ice cream in the MDRs. If there is something like that needs to be hand held I do wash my hands (second choice sanitize) before picking it up.  I picked up the no hands habit when traveling in places where many do come down with GI problems. I can eat pizza with a knife and fork if necessary, or just hold a corner of the crust and discard that. Pizza is often one of the safest available choices in countries with poor sanitation. Sometimes you can't trust the knife and fork either, LOL.

 

In the morning I would get an almond croissant or a smoked salmon open faced sandwich from the International Cafe to bring back to my room, which has a sink and soap.

 

People are just too nasty, and you can pick up Noro on other surfaces like handrails. 

 

PS I also learned the trick early on, use the knuckle instead of fingertips for elevator buttons etc.

Edited June 8, 2023 by mlgb

[brisalta]

6 hours ago, SargassoPirate said:

One image that I can't unsee was during the height of the pandemic a woman driving through town, in a car by herself, wearing a pair of kitchen gloves and a dual cartridge respirator.

 

 

Maybe she had just spray painted the interior of her car? 😉

[Nicole&Pete]

Just now, memoak said:

If you don’t play with others tongue’s you are missing out on so much fun on a cruise 

Oh dear I have a bad image in my head now!!!

[msmarian]

On 6/8/2023 at 4:57 AM, Nicole&Pete said:

I might wear gloves to handle the tongues at the buffet and then take the gloves off when I’m at the table because my hand sanitiser is 57% alcohol so I don’t think that will kill noro??? 
 

Is there a special way I should take them off properly then?

Another reason why hand washing is superior to alcohol sanitizer is that c diff won’t be killed by hand sani.

 

 

I realize that c diff isn’t as common as noro or COVID (altho with COVID surface/fomite transmission is super rare so respiratory protection remains first line of defense), nevertheless the prospect of contracting c diff grosses me out enough to wash my hands like a little raccoon before I eat.