Mercury passengers ill

[FinelyCruising]

Policy is probably keep 'em comin'....They put an extra doc on yesterday's sailing, so that'll make the difference I am sure....:o I am just not going to touch anything or breathe the whole time I am on board.

[franko]

what i was hoping for was free beer if 1/2 my party gets sick

[FinelyCruising]

If 1/2 your party is in-laws...and they get sick...I think you are eligible for the 1/2 my party is in laws who got sick free beer for me rule.

[FinelyCruising]

No wait....if its the in-laws it might be the Celebration Champagne....if it's freinds, it might be the beer....it's been so long since I have been sick with the noro on a ship I can't recall....

[frchteaze]

Just out of curiousity here since I'll be on the Mercury in about two months....When an outbreak of this size occurs, do they clean the bedspreads in the cabins too?

 

The previous post suggesting not to pull the covers up to your face is a good idea, but I just can't control myself when I'm sleeping. :o

[Everydaymatters]

Do Pepto Bismol and Immodium help, or does it just have to run its course?

[Fblack]

I usually have the cabin steward remove the bed spreads for the entire trip. Who knows when they are really cleaned. Does anyone really think they clean the sofa or chairs in the cabins? Or any pillows on the sofa. How about the remote control, hair dryer, etc. I bring lots of Lysol spray and hand cleaner.

[tangerinebunny]

These are the suggestions from the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta:

 

Can norovirus infections be prevented?

Yes. You can decrease your chance of coming in contact with noroviruses by following these preventive steps:

• Frequently wash your hands, especially after toilet visits and changing diapers and before eating or preparing food.
  
• Carefully wash fruits and vegetables, and steam oysters before eating them.
  
• Thoroughly clean and disinfect contaminated surfaces immediately after an episode of illness by using a bleach-based household cleaner.
  
• Immediately remove and wash clothing or linens that may be contaminated with virus after an episode of illness (use hot water and soap).
  
• Flush or discard any vomitus and/or stool in the toilet and make sure that the surrounding area is kept clean.

Persons who are infected with norovirus should not prepare food while they have symptoms and for 3 days after they recover from their illness. Food that may have been contaminated by an ill person should be disposed of properly.

[FinelyCruising]

I will not get nervous...I will not get nervous....

[wvufan]

How do y'all like Finely Cruising in her hot new bathing suit?:D

 

 

OOOEEE:D :D Bob and Phyl

[wvufan]

OOPS-tried to post a cute picture of her bathing suit, but it wouldn't cooperate:( Here's FC's new formal:

 

 

OOOEEE:D :D Bob and Phyl

[romet]

We are just back from the Mar 6 - 17 Mercury cruise, having successfully evaded the Norwalk virus.

I am posting this message to alert people about the Norwalk virus which was lurking around the ship, and apparently put over 100 passengers in bed.

I do not believe that the cruiseline warns passengers on board adequately when there is an obvious outbreak of a virus that is so debilitating. A generic letter advising to wash hands appeared in our stateroom when they knew there was a problem. No specific warnings were given that the virus was spreading on board. This would have made people more alert, and hopefully got them to wash hands regularly to protect themselves and others.

There were not enough wash stations (nothing visible at the pool grill), and not enough policing to persuade the lazy to wash hands.

The crew on this ship were excellent, and never short of a smile and greeting. They worked hard to disinfect the handrails etc in communal areas, and no doubt their efforts minimized the outbreak. A stronger effort in policing hand washing, such as we saw on Princess ships in the dining area, would probably help.

An outbreak such as this on a ship is very disconcerting, and that may be why the ship does not want to advertise the outbreak. However, my opinion is that they should.

Good cruising everyone, and wash your hands!

[FinelyCruising]

wvufan - That will be me in a metallic bathing suit....:) What a babe!

 

sssshhhh everyone....You should see what he is wearing to Hawaii next week! Nothing but maybe a gee-tar and a hat that says OOOEEEE! The hat I am sure about ....;)

 

romet -- Washing hands is so important. Unfortunately, as I travel through restrooms day in and day out few ever use soap and only rinse their just their finger-tips for split second with what ever temp comes out of the spigot....count one, two, three...and they are done :o.

[Mercruiser]

I just noticed the following text from the CDC Vessel Sanitation Program web page on the Mercury 3/6 Sailing.

"CDC is monitoring the ships response to control the spread of illness. The ship is providing daily updates to CDC throughout the current voyage (sailing dates 3/17/2006-3/27/2006)."

Because I am going on the 3/27 Mercury cruise, I am rather interested in the outcome of these updates. I will be checking back to their web site for any information on these updates.

All of the CDC reports for all ships can be found at this link ->

Updates of Gastrointestinal Illness Activity Aboard Cruise Ships

[cruznduo]

My husband and I are considering booking a last minute trip on the Mercury (April 28 or whenever that last cruise is at the end of the month). Does anyone know how long these outbreaks usually last on a cruise ship. Like how long it takes to get the virus under control on a particular ship? We would have to pay our trip off by this Wednesday (March 22nd), so I would appreciate any opinions, facts, etc., anyone could share! Thanks...Linda

[MiataKath]

Hi,

 

We sailed on the Galaxy 11-night out of Galveston on Feb. 2 - 13. Out of our table of 3 couples, all three of the ladies had suffered "distress" the night before we sailed to and through the Panama Canal. Otherwise we were okay.

 

Also, one of the suggestions I made on the questionnaire that we left prior to disembarking was to have a hand sanitizer station by the computer area on board the ship. We were shocked that there was nothing in that immediate area. It was an extremely busy and it occurred to us that Celebrity overlooked this completely. We hope that it has since rectified the situation and that not only Galaxy, but all other Celebrity ships have done this as well.

 

Regards,

 

Don and Kathie

[cruzky]

Last Novemeber as part of the embarkation process to board the Sea Princess, everyone was required to sign a letter stating if you had been ill in the last 7 days and what the symptoms were. They also had someone standing at the beginning of the buffet line insisting that you use the hand sanitizer. The staff had on rubber gloves and they were handing out the plates and the utensils. As far as I know no one became sick from any virus. Hope everyone booked stays well and has a good time.

[FinelyCruising]

If this current sailing has an escalating number of passengers who are affected, I sure wouldn't mind leaving a day later for 3/27 sailing for the the cruisline to take the time to douse the ship with whatever they use to kill the germs. I am so uncomfortable about this....

 

Thanks for the link, I'll be watching and waiting too.

[cruznduo]

I appreciate your repsonses, but am still wondering...how long does an outbreak on a ship keep it sick??? A month, or does the virus affect passengers on a particular ship even longer (e.g. more than 3 or 4 sailings after the initial outbreak)??? Hoping someone has some idea...I know that posters on these boards have all kinds of useful information! Thanks, Linda

[wah382]

My wife is a RN in charge of infectous (sp?) disease control for a long term care facility. Since I travel alot in my work, she has conditioned me to do the following:

 

I try to always have in my pocket a small bottle of hand sanitizer, alcohol based. I usually use Purex because they offer a set of five very small travel bottles in a package. Your hands will be "cleaner" using hand sanitizer than by washing your hands in soap and water. Then before opening that restroom door (if that's where your using the sanitizer at the moment), take a unused portion of paper towel, open the door with the towel between your hand and the handle, throw away the towel as you exit.

 

When cruising we always use the hand sanitizer before food or have a small bottle with us.

 

2500 plus people in a small area can transfer a bug quickly.

 

Oh yes, and if you feel ill, don't mingle with others.

[Michele Noel]

Try to stop shaking hands. We told the Captain on the Mercury that we don't shake hands. He agreed with us but said in his job he had to shake hands. One night the Maitre'D shook our hands. We had to go to the restroom in the middle of dinner to wash our hands. The Mercury is very clean, as I have been on it 6 times in the last 1 1/2 years. They are always cleaning something. One very strange place is the ice dispenser machines in the buffet. Some people toss their old soda ice in this machine and some people scoop their ice out of the old ice in the bottom of the machine. I stopped people from scooping out the old ice but I couldn't stay by the machine all day. Every day I saw people using this contaminated ice.

[RLM77]

We were also on the 3/6 Mercury cruise, and I completely agree that the crew did everything possible to contain the outbreak. IMHO it's simply a losing battle when many of your fellow passengers don't practice good hygene.:( Well after the outbreak was in progress and the stepped up cleaning was in place -- and very visible -- we rode an elevator with a passanger who had her finger in her mouth and then used the same finger to push the elavator button. Sheesh! The crew can't clean every surface every minute.

 

X (or any other cruise line) can place sanitizer stations every ten feet in every corridor but if some of the pax aren't willing to use them, what's the point? To quote Pogo (just showing may age!), "we have met the enemy and they is us!"

[bostom]

"we have met the enemy and they is us!"

 

More like "and they is them."

 

We too were on the MERCURY's 3/6 cruise and questioned the "official" tally in the article shown above from last Saturday's San Diego Union. The upper dining room was half-empty many nights on second seating with missing passengers, including two from our table. One, a woman in her late 60's, was down for a week.

 

I mean, the ship started showing what we called the "Handwashing Channel" on the TV and at a few ports (Acapulco is one I specifically remember) requiring returning passengers to sanitize their hands before reboarding the ship. But good personal hygiene isn't enough when (other) people are sneezing. And "don't touch the handrails"? You try getting upstairs on a rough night.

 

I cannot fault the MERCURY staff but do question both the low tally and the lack of urgency the managers seemed to attach to publicizing the epidemic as it unfolded. On the other hand, I personally saw both the hotel and housekeeping managers dealing decisively with problems as they happened. On one occasion, the Martini Bar was closed to clean up after a guest had vomitted.

 

Perhaps the medical tally was lowered by some reporting criteria that may not be as stringent as you or I might expect; only, let's say "confirmed" cases being repported, although confirmed by what means I don't know - just speculating. But infected? My guess was more than 400 before seeing the 200 or so figure in the newspaper.

 

Affected? Everyone on the cruise.

 

And yes, I missed the illness on the ship only to spend Friday evening in my lovely and spacious bathroom at the Grand Hyatt. I'm well enough today to write, having spent most of the last four days in bed.

 

You pays your money and takes your chances but it was both frustrating and scary. I haven't been this sick for a long time and don't wish it on anyone. At least I didn't require an IV...

 

I'll be interested to read what the numbers are from the current cruise.

 

PS: Otherwise a nice cruise. Not the best, not the worst. I think the food's declined a bit (since December on the Galaxy) but that could be one ship vs another. The service was great but the drink prices seem to keep creeping up. Overall passenger tally was older than I'd expected, but for the most part lively. Our cabin was neat and clean but the mattresses and pillows (especially the pillows) could use replacement.

 

But great value for money, good weather, a congenial (and skilled) Captain, nice ports, etc. I'm glad we went.

[FinelyCruising]

Oh gee whiz this is so not what I wanted to hear. I am packed... and tonight coming home from work would be just as OK not to go knowing what I know about what may face us.

 

Here's the dealio...if I see someone get sick at the Martini Bar I will get sick too and not because of Noro.:eek:

 

I was hoping to find something here tonight about the status of the ship that would inspire me, so tomorrow morning I will start calling the cruiseline to hear some random dumbness or skating of the issue.

 

This is so not something to look forward to when taking a vacation. Hope everyone on the current sailing is doing well and all this apprehension is all in my doom and gloom imagination.

[Fblack]

Does anyone know if you can catch the Norwalk virus more than once? Or if you get sick once you build up an immunity to future cases.