Life in Quarantine

[Sheik]

You can do something about it, but there is still no vaccin. There is a relationship between a vaccination for preventing the Hep A virus and the Norovirus. It seems, I read this a couple oy years ago in a health magazine, that this vaccination build up the immune system for Norovirus too. It's a different kind of virus, but has the same symptoms and same causes as Hep. A.

 

Taking multi-vitamines is also good for building up your immune system. Forget anti-biotics, this doesn't affect your immune system for getting this nasty virus.

[jasm8449]

I've always been concerned about transmission of germs in the computer center or internet 'cafe' on board. I was my hands immediately after using it. Do they close it down or have any particular sanitation procedures in place with the computers that are used by hundreds of passengers during these breakouts?

[Cracker Ken]

Someone asked about Hep A or Flu Shots. I had my flu shot as soon as they hit the market, and well before the cruise. That only protects against certain influenza viruses, and noro isn't one of those. I haven't had a Hep A shot though. About 30 yrs ago, when I was a deputy sheriff, I had to pick up a woman on an involuntary mental health committment order, only to find out that she had hepatitis after spending about 6 hours with her through processing. I had some sort of shot for that, which probably doesn't provide long term protection. I think she had the bad kind (C?).

 

As for the Internet terminals - They do indeed sanitize those too, at least when the virus alert is going on. The folks in the computer lab sanitized keyboards and mouses after each class. They also had one of those sanitizer gizmo's at the door to the class room.

 

When all is said and done, this virus is spread by infected people who go to the bathroom and don't wash up. They touch things. Other people touch those same things, then they touch something that goes into their mouth (or put their finger in their mouth, bite nails, whatever), and pretty soon, the race is on! (to the bathroom). It isn't in the water. It isn't in the food (unless it's food someone picked up in the buffet and put back on the tray - and I've seen that happen). It isn't in the air (unless around fresh vomit). It IS ON things touched by people who have the virus. People speculate, rumors fly, but this is the way it spreads.

 

Yes, I certainly agree. It is pathetic that people who come down with this continue to circulate around the ship, try to keep it secret, and spread it to others. It's all about ME. It's inconsiderate, selfish, whatever. I missed the best port of call on my cruise due to quarantine. I didn't like it at all. But I had to do what is right.

 

I will rat out anyone who I think has the virus on a ship, it at all possible. If I got into a restroom and hear suspicious noises, someone is toast. I don't care if I have to follow them until they are close to a ship's officer or security, or to see which cabin they are in. I also believe that anyone else who cares about others should do the same thing. It could be YOU and your family who catches it from the person out and about spreading it. With that said, I understand that people have the virus and are contagious before they know about it. I also know that all of us, from time to time, have an urgent need to find the restroom.

 

It was big news last night that folks on the super luxurious QE2 have a noro outbreak. What I found refreshing, was that the person on the news made it a point to emphasize that the average of folks catching this on ships is 1% of cruisers, while it's 8% in the general populace. It was mentioned that it's everywhere, not just ships. She also said that it's carried ONTO ships by people.

 

Ken

[Sheik]

I do recommend the Hep. A vaccination, the flu vaccination is totally different in symptoms and causes. I don't say that you don't get the Norovirus when you're immune to Hep. A, but chances are slighty lower. I haven't researched the relationship between a vaccination and Norovirus, but I read it a long time ago in a health magazine in the Netherlands. Before I go on cruise in March, I take a Hep. A vaccination to extend the immune system for 15 years.

[Pisces11]

Sheik, since you seem to be so knowledgeable about the Norovirus, I have a question for you. Do you know if having the Norovirus provides your body any antibodies towards a future attack or doesn't it work that way since it's a virus?

[bpear1600]

Ken, I've been on 25 cruises and got the norovirus twice. I've never had it any other time.

 

I'm 68 and !/2. In 25 weeks on ships I've had the noro twice and in 817 weeks on land...never.

[cruisinjudy]

Hi again, Ken,

We are here on the Oosterdam and guess what. I got ill the first night and Jim and I were confined to the cabin! I called the med center in the morning and reported my condition. We were given Purell, Immodium and Gatorade, but no guides on what to order form room service. Our letter says we will be given shpboard credit of $100 each for each day we are quarantined. My symptons lasted for 12 hours, don't know if I had a fever, I was very cold! There does not seem to be an outbreak on board. We did stay at the Holiday Inn before the cruise.

 

At the moment we are anchored in Cabo and I seem to have a free internet connection from one of the hotels or something as I didn't sign in to anything.

 

Anyway we were released from our quarantine after 24 hours of no symptoms. I also had to fill out a form from the CDC. At lunch I noted that there were no code red conditions set up for the buffet and one of the purell machines was empty so apparently there is not a large contingent of noro sufferers on this ship. We did fill out a form on boarding, but I had no symptoms then.

 

The med center did not do any tests for the virus.

 

Just thought people might be interested in how HAL was handing it.

[bildef]

My wife and I just returned from an 11 nights on The Constellation and read with much interest Ken's posting as well as many of the others. Dr. Rosenbaun was on Fox News last Sat morn and reported that his son in Boston had it and that it was almost epidemic in the Northeast. Evidently doctors do not have to report it to CDC thus you dont' hear about it other than cruise ships.

 

My wife contacted it 2 days before we ended and was isolated (their terminology) me for 24 hours. Evidently a number of people of the ship were having problems as they went into a full sanitary mode about midway ie you couldnt use the tongs or get your own water, coffee,tea etc.

 

I commend Celebrity in their actions. The Doctor came immediately and also on the second day. Whatever we wanted except no mention was made about free pay for view. The compensation they have offered is more than fair. One last note is that my wife was ill off on on for about 10 days and only started eatin normally a couple of days ago.

 

If as other posts have noted people would report the problem and abide by the rules there would probably be much less of a problem.

[Sheik]

Sheik, since you seem to be so knowledgeable about the Norovirus, I have a question for you. Do you know if having the Norovirus provides your body any antibodies towards a future attack or doesn't it work that way since it's a virus?

 

Today I was in the hospital for a Yellow Fever vaccination. My girlfriend got a vaccination for Hepatitus A virus (immune for 25 years)

 

I asked the doctor for some tips and advice to prevent the Norovirus. He said that the worst thing you could do is getting paranoid and wash your hands or use Purel every single time. The reason is that this makes your immune system more sensative for agressieve viruses like Norovirus.

 

Ofcourse it's important to wash hands after a visit to the toilets, but use your commen sense.

 

Some people don't do anything to prevent that nasty virus and you know what? The most of them don't get it. People who take extreme precautions are much more sensative because of their weak immunesystem. Be aware of that.

 

The chance of getting the virus by eating infected food in the diningroom (prepared and touched by a lot of people) is much higher, than getting it by touching elevatorbuttons.

[Daphna101]

Thanks Sheik,

 

Interesting info. I am having my Hep A on friday..Ouch..I am a nurse, and do much better giving shots than getting them myself..LOL

 

 

Had my Diptheria and Tetnus vaccine last year, as well as all Hep B in 2002..(standard for medical professionals)

 

Daphna

[Wheely]

Howdy Neighbor (on Mercury Dec8 cruise). Remember Wheely? We have been reading the follow-up comments on this thread with great interest. I have even posted a comment on the thread for Mercury Dec 23 cruise to Ileina Makai (Elaine) who went back-to-back to see how pervasive the Noro was and how it was handled. No response yet.

 

We have also been watching our Dec 8 thread for signs of your posting of YOUR pics of the cruise. Do you remember writing the following on a Dec 24 posting:

 

I took a lot of really nice photos on the cruise. Once I've organized them and worked through them, I'll be posting them in a new album on my Yahoo photo page linked in my signature block. I'll come back and make a note when they are ready (in a week or so).

 

We went to both of your links and do not see your Dec 8 pics. Hmmmm.

Any comment?

[Wheely]

Howdy Neighbor (on Mercury Dec8 cruise). Remember Weely? We have been reading the follow-up comments on this thread with great interest. I have even posted a comment on the thread for Mercury Dec 23 cruise to Ileina Makai (Elaine) who went back-to-back to see how pervasive the Noro was and how it was handled. No response yet.

 

We have also been watching our Dec 8 thread for signs of your posting of YOUR pics of the cruise. Do you remember writing the following on a Dec 24 posting:

 

I took a lot of really nice photos on the cruise. Once I've organized them and worked through them, I'll be posting them in a new album on my Yahoo photo page linked in my signature block. I'll come back and make a note when they are ready (in a week or so).

 

We went to both of your links and do not see your Dec 8 pics. Hmmmm.

Any comment?

[Cracker Ken]

Wheely - Hi there. Sure, I remember y'all. I've been working on the pics. I had something like 1600 of them. I run them all through Photoshop and tweak them before posting them. That's why it takes a while. I started building my album on my Yahoo page a couple of days ago. There will probably be around 300 pics there. I might even set up a separate album with nothing but the Panama Canal in it. I'm going to post to the Mercury threads when I'm done. I might have them all done and the albums open by Saturday night.

 

Ken

[coloradoskier]

My husband and I both became ill on our Panama Canal cruise. We did not blame the cruise company (Celebrity) either. There were many coughing, ill people on board. We caught it, just like we might have had we been home.

What did impress us was the willingness of the cruise staff to bend over backwards to make us comfortable. They delivered room service several times daily and worked hard to keep our room sanitized. They genuinely seemed concerned for our welfare. Our tablemates also called us to see how we were. It's nice to feel cared for in a strange place when all you really want to do at the time is be at home in your own bed.

[nancy02882]

On January 8,2007 my husband and I boarded the ship Constellation for a cruise to Aruba and Central America. This was our second cruise with Celebrity and we were very excited to spend 11nights at sea.The seas had been rough so we were not allowed to tender in the Grand Cayman. After spending four nights on ship we were looking forward to our first stop in Aruba.My husband and I took a 2 hour bus excursion of the island and then stopped at the beach to spend a little time swimming in the Carribean.Once My husband stepped off the bus he was feeling very weak. He sat in the Hyatt lobby hoping to recover once he sipped some bottled water.However that was not to be the case. We immediately went back to the ship so he could rest.He stayed in the cabin as he had no appetite to join us for dinner. All night his symptons grew worse.The next morning we went to the ship doctor. After his examination we were informed that we were going to be quarantined.My husband had to stay in the room for three days and because I had no symptoms I would be quarantined for24 hours. This was all new to us but the doctor said we would be compensated.My husband ended up staying in the room for five days because the doctor did not think he was healthy to return to the ship's activities. Cracker Ken decribes life in quarantine. However the compensation we received was in the form of vouchers to be used on another Celebrity cruise within the year. I called Celebrity's personal rep and told her my husband did not want to go on another cruise.She did not care. This was their policy.Now we are stuck with these vouchers and will have to take out a loan to go on another cruise within the year. This does not seem fair. Has anyone else run into this problem?

[bubbie617]

Nancy:

 

Are the vouchers transferrable?

[nancy02882]

the vouchers are not transferable. They have our names on them :rolleyes:

[Smitty24]

Quite frankly, I don't understand why people assume the cruiseline HAS to compensate them because they took ill. If the ship did something to cause injury or illness, I could understand, but being sick happens. As long as you are treated with respect during the quarantine, I don't know why you want more. I guess I should demand a free flight from my airline because I caught a cold inflight.

[phoenix_dream]

The difference I see is that when you get sick the cruiseline imposes the quarantine on you. I am not saying I necessarily disagree with this policy (although an arbitrary three days seems extreme as not all cases are alike), but nevertheless you are being restricted from use of what you paid for. Again, not saying they are necessarily wrong in doing so. If you catch a cold on an airplane flight you are not restricted from anything.

 

One of my concerns is that you can become ill for other reasons unrelated to Norovirus but yet get caught in the quarantine. For example, once on a NCL cruise I got ill after eating at the midnight buffet which I am virtually certain was a mild case of food poisoning. I was 100% fine within 24 hours and no one else in my cabin got sick. Since this was in the days before quarantines, it was not an issue and I stayed away from public areas for that 24 hours just to be on the safe side. These days, I would have been stuck in that room for three days - an inside cabin. I think I literally would have been freaking out from claustrophobia. I also have relatives who occasionally experiencing vomiting from seasickness (sorry to be so graphic - but to make a point). Would they also, then, be stuck in their room for three days because they could not prove that's what it was? It's a difficult situation, and not quite as black and white as some would make it seem.

[Sheik]

@phoenix_dream

Well said! This is exactly how I look at the norovirus treatment on cruiseships.

 

I go even futher in my opinion about the treatment. The policy is unhuman and that is the main reason that many people don't visit the "doctor" anymore. A lot of people are afraid to be treated like a prisoner for 3 days.

[nancy02882]

It was no picnic to be quarantined for 5 days. We were told if you left your room you would be put off the ship. His room key was deactivated and the room attendandants were told to let ship personnel know if they saw you in the hallway.My husband missed all the ships' entertainment ' didn't get to see the islands that we paid to see. It was very depressing to say the least.I would have appreciated it if Celebrity had given us some money back instead of vouchers to be used on a cruise within the year.I just want to let all you cruisers know what happens when you go see the ship's doctor.

[Sheik]

That's what I said...it's unhuman, nothing more, nothing less. I feel very sorrry Nancy. I don't think you visit the doctor again when you have the norovirus. I wouldn't do it to be honest. I'll stay in my cabin and don't touch things, even after the norovirus left my body. Nothing wrong with that, my doctor told me. My doctor (and the man who vaccinate me) couldn't believe their ears when I told what the cruiseships policy is. Maybe a difference between the medical treatment in Europe and the US, who knows.

[YYC F/A]

This is a question for those whom were quarantined:

 

I know that Celebrity informs you that if you leave your accommodations, you will be removed at next port of call.

 

IF you have a balcony cabin, can you use your balcony when quarantined? I'm guessing at the very least you could leave the door open at times so that you could get some fresh air?

 

Curious minds are wondering - Thanks!

[Cracker Ken]

I think you could use your balcony. I wish I had a balcony when I was confined. For the most part, noro isn't airborne. It's spread by folks who have it, may or may not know it, and go around touching things without practicing good hygene. The only times it could be in the air is in, well... fumes off of fecal matter or vomit. I don't see this spreading to people when you are on the balcony. Seems like I've heard or seen something to the effect that people could still go out on the balcony with noro, and that makes sense to me.

 

Ken

[Smitty24]

Hmm..yeah. Good advice. If you have a highly contagious disease, make sure you don't go to the doctor because you'll have to stay in your cabin to avoid spreading it to everyone. Everyone else should suffer as much as you, of course. Also, don't mention it so your room steward can now become a carrier of it and spread it to the other cabins they clean. Again, why should you suffer alone?

People missing the ship's entertainment. Seems to me if you truely have noro, you'd not really want to go out and about. But hey...gotta infect as many people as possible!

There's a difference between seasickness, food poisoning and noro. Use a few of brain cells you were given.

A friend of mine & I went to Mexico. She got food poisoning from a restaurant (outside of the hotel) and missed dinner that was included (at the hotel). Breakfast the next day, too. We didn't get to go out that night either. Guess we should have demanded compensation.