Who has had noro...who is afraid?!

[jami98]

With all the stuff happening on the NCL Pearl this week - huge noro outbreak if you haven't heard I am just interested to find out how many of the long time (or short time) cruisers have contracted Noro. If you haven't...are you afraid that you might. I am thinking of cruising but am getting nervous that I could get really ill, and spend a lot of money doing so!

[Silvery Seas Cruiser]

My husband and I both caught noro-virus on a cruise in the early summer this year. His was much milder than mine. I ended up being quarantined four days with the affliction. At the time I had serious doubts about ever cruising again, but have already cruised once and have three more cruises booked.

 

But you could say that I am much more careful now about handling things lots of people touch such as salt and pepper shakers or stair rails. I really think about what my hands are touching. Of course, hand washing is a must. I did before, but now I wash longer and use lots of soap.

 

If there is a massive outbreak on the ship, the ship pays for your care, but you WILL BE quarantined and you'd better co-operate because I've read here that some folks had paper strips pasted over their doors to keep them from leaving (and spreading the disease to others.) My guess is that if anyone broke the paper strips, they were not compensated for their days in quarantine.

[Amlee]

UGH! It's the sickess I have ever been in my life. Thankfully, I was at home when I came down with it. I had recently been on a ship. I called my mother the first time I was able to do anything that didn't involve the bathroom. I told her what I wanted buried in and the color of my coffin.

 

My doctor put me on a b.r.a.t diet. Bananas, rice, apple sause, and toast. I could do the rice and the toast, but nothing else. I did add a very plain baked potato a few days after things settled down. I stayed with the potato for over a week before I ate anything else.

 

What shocked me the most was how quickly it spread. Two days before I came down I had flown home. I didn't even go into my parents house, but went to the door to get my puppy. My mother stood at the door and talked to me for a moment. I hadn't seen her since. The two day after I got sick, my mother came down with it. It was Thanksgiving weekend and she attended our families dinner. I didn't. The whole family came down with it. Years later it's now a family laugh.

 

My uncle said he would have gone to the hospital but couldn't get out of the bathroom long enough to make the drive. He thought about pulling his camper so he would have a bathroom close to him. :)

 

 

All that being said, I don't let the fear of it keep me from cruising. I now travel with phenergan just in case. Matter of fact, this past cruise on X's Constellation I was hit with something the first night. While we had ruff sea's it wasn't motion sickness. I took a bit of a sausage ball and was sick with in a matter of seconds. I took the phenergan and didn't stray from my altered brat diet the first few nights.

[wieslaw]

.......... I am just interested to find out how many of the long time (or short time) cruisers have contracted Noro. If you haven't...are you afraid that you might. I am thinking of cruising but am getting nervous that I could get really ill, and spend a lot of money doing so!

 

Hi,

we have been on cruises since 1990, around 20 cruises.

The one in November was a first one that wife and I got some sort of virus that resulted in gastroenteritis Wife got dehydrated and required medical treatment ( $1000 worth of IV and medical care), I was not as bad but also sick. Medical facility did run some tests in their lab and did say it was a virus, but did not specify what virus. They did not confine us to the cabin. The symptoms were not pleasant and showed up after about 4 days of cruising - " johnny' became my best friend. Being sick is / was not much fun - but things do happen.

There were about 3300 people on board and evidentely not many got that virus or symptoms of sickness while still on board the ship. The worse possible time to be sick or just started getting sick would be on the debarkation day, I was just barely getting over the sickness on that day. I feel really sorry for the ones that had the symptoms on the way home.

It took few days of the diet described above to get back to normal.

We were very careful: we washed hands frequently and used the sanitizers a lot - this time must have been our turn to be sick. I did book another cruise while on board the ship - so I guess that did not prevent us from cruising again - although wife dose not want to talk about cruising right now.

I do know that a lot more people get the stomach flu virus on land than they do on ships - so no one knows for sure where one gets sick.

 

Yes, you can / may get sick on your cruise ...... but most people do not.

 

Wes

[wrp96]

I suffered from norovirus the weekend before Thanksgiving. Got sick while I was at work - longest drive home from work in my life!! Haven't been near a cruiseship in months, maybe if I'd been on a cruise, I wouldn't have caught it.

[basawasa]

phenegrim?

[cb at sea]

The spelling was wrong, but it's a medicine that stops vomiting.

 

I had it once (noro, that is!)--kids brought it home from school--HORRIBLE!!! It's not just a "cruise ship" illness!

[iheartbda]

Got it second day on one cruise but fortunately, compared to some, it was mild. My husband did not get it. What's ironic was after knowing more about Noro I thought I was taking extra precautions on this particular cruise and still got it.

 

One shouldn't spend too much time worrying about it on a cruise because it IS NOT specific to cruising. There could be an outbreak on a plane and it would never hit the news because everyone goes their separate ways after a few hours. There's no way of knowing who got sick or, if and when others got sick days later.

[Amlee]

One shouldn't spend too much time worrying about it on a cruise because it IS NOT specific to cruising. There could be an outbreak on a plane and it would never hit the news because everyone goes their separate ways after a few hours. There's no way of knowing who got sick or, if and when others got sick days later.

 

 

So true! It seems that when I had it, I can't say for sure if I got it from the ship or not. As the ER was out of phenergan, due to a major out break of a "stomach flu" in my area.

[cruiserbryce]

Haven't had it...hope not to...we doo all we can to prevent it...but in the end there's no way to be 100% sure you wont get it and no reason to ruin trips by being scarred

[dforeigner]

The odds of one getting the Norwalk Virus on a ship are smaller than out on dry land. In the US, 18-23 million people become sick with the Norwalk Virus every year. This is the 2nd most common transmitted illness. First place goes to the Flu virus.

 

Visit www.cdc.gov and do a search.

[BruceMuzz]

I have been (worked) on over 1300 cruises so far, shaken hands with thousands of infected passengers, and never contracted NLV on a ship.

 

But I have contracted NLV ia few times in hotels and on airplanes.

[gypsyrose]

My Dh and I had it last week. He was sick Mon and Tue, I was sick Tue nite till Fri. We both said it was the sickest we have ever been. And the 1st time I was too sick to eat or even think about food. Not sure where we contracted it but heard a lot of people were sick the week before. Awful!! I would have hated to be that sick on a ship.

[JWestShuh]

A lot of people on the NCL boards seem to think that the buffet played a large part in it. What do you guys think about this theory? I don't think the buffet is the only thing to blame by any means, but I DO know that I probably won't eat anything that can be easily handled by a fellow passenger and then replaced into the buffet - apples, bread, etc.

[Spikesgirl]

I've had Noro half a dozen times and never on a ship. It's something that will run through a school like a wildfire and you always seem to get it just when you think you're safe. I've had my class attendence cut by half at times because of it, especially at this time of year when more and more folks are staying inside.

 

By practicing good hygiene, you reduce the chances of getting Noro tremndously. Do not rely solely upon those hand gels - nothing can take the place of good old fashioned (proper) hand washing.

 

Noro is, by no means, solely a cruising disease, it just seems to get a lot of attention when it does hit a ship. We recently had three nursing homes in our area temporarily closed down because of it. Anywhere you mix with people, be it the office, school, church, you can contract Noro. I would be more concerned about staying healthy before the cruise.

 

Charlie

[henepup]

I got it from work, I work at a Riverboat Casino. So I guess I did catch it on a ship!!LOL That was only time I ever called out sick in 5 yrs. Dh ended up with it too!!

[amapola]

I've never had it (knock on wood) and don't overly worry about it, but I do wonder if the 2 people (or more) in a cabin get it at the same time, the competition for the bathroom must be something fierce!:eek: At least at home we have 2 bathrooms for 2 people. I'd hate to spend my vacation $$ and time being sick :(

 

I know the odds are immensely in my favor, I do all that I can regarding hygiene, but ultimately it's kind of a lottery.

[RetireeWannabee]

Not afraid.

 

sailed on a ship whose previous sailing "had it" and there were signs that some on our ship "had it" but I went about my merry business, getting squirted with the sanitizer at every turn and being quite diligent about washing my hands.

[sea*siren]

We just returned Sunday night from cruising and by 3am Monday morning DS (10 yrs old) was very sick. He could not get out of the bathroom for 24hrs. He even asked to go to the hospital he was so miserable. Luckily nobody else in the family got it (yet). My DH and I stressed handwashing to our DS and DD all throughout our trip, but 10 year old boys aren't known for their handwashing skills...

[Silvery Seas Cruiser]

A lot of people on the NCL boards seem to think that the buffet played a large part in it. What do you guys think about this theory? I don't think the buffet is the only thing to blame by any means, but I DO know that I probably won't eat anything that can be easily handled by a fellow passenger and then replaced into the buffet - apples, bread, etc.

 

 

People often forget that the crew can have and pass noro too. They think that it spreads in the buffet, but just think how many crew and passengers handle silverware, napkins, trays, dishes, chiairs, table linens, salt and pepper shakers in the main dining room.

 

It can be spread in the gym, in the spa, in the various cafes, on deck chairs, elevator buttons, stair rails, lounge chiars, theater seats, any bar or lounge, public bathrooms,and so on. Even a sick steward who is cleaning the rooms not yet knowing he/she is contagious can spread the virus because they have to touch so much.

 

It is easy to blame the buffet because that is the first place we think of, but noro virus can lie in wait any place on a ship. I caught it from my Hubby on a cruise, but I don't know where he got it. We had eaten in the Portofino restaurant the very night he came down with it!

[wieslaw]

I have been (worked) on over 1300 cruises so far, shaken hands with thousands of infected passengers, and never contracted NLV on a ship.

 

But I have contracted NLV ia few times in hotels and on airplanes.

 

 

Hi Bruce,

I have to know: what is your secret ?

 

The odds are not in your favor - not in 1300 cruises and 30 years being on cruise ships....... and you can not be that lucky ( unless you made some 'secret pack with the ... lets say virus - " the virus will not get you and you will not get rid of it forcefully at the next stop" ).

 

You are not immune to it ( whatever version) because you posted that you did get it in other places......so what is it that you do different than the 'rest' of us, while you are on the ships.

 

No question that the noro or whatever version of it, is often present on ships..... the same as the hotels and airplanes ( and you do catch it there) ......... but you seem to be immune to it on the ships ....... please tell me what 'am I doing wrong" - ( and 'no' I never eat while using the toilet .... read some of your other posts).

Wes

[kathyanddick]

I am coming up on my 20th cruise. I have never been sick and none of the people that I have ever traveled with have ever been sick. None of the cruises that I have been on had any reports of any break-outs of illnesses.

 

So, I guess I have been pretty lucky. I do take a couple of precautions when traveling. Not just cruises, but any kind of travel. Wash hands, don't shake hands, don't use buffet unless they have someone doing the serving for you, and hope that most people do the same thing.

 

This will not guarantee you not catching some airborn illness. No way around that. I do take anti-diahrea (?) pills and anti-nausea medication with me. Have never had to use either.

 

 

I do not go thinking that I might catch something. I think that would ruin the whole vacation for me. Whatever happens, you sometimes have no control.

The worst thing that has happened to me on a cruise is a bad sunburn. That is something that I should have controlled.

kathyanddick