Cruise ships must be huge petri dishes.

[graciegirl]

I saw on the news last night that another cruise ship had an outbreak of a stomach virus and people were being quarantined and they had to be "sanitized" after by passing a stop somewhere in the Caribbean.


Wonder why? Their inner systems for water and refuge must be very difficult to keep safe?


We have had two sets of friends in the last year who have come home from cruises being very sick.

[manaboutown]

That they are, Gracie. I have been onboard a few where some very serious bugs were going around. Helicopter evacuations, CDC coming aboard. It seems we rarely hear about it in the news considering the number of times it happens.

[CFrance]

Did you see the size of that cruise ship? I can imagine disease would spread easily with that many people clustered in that space.

[Bonny]

That's what happens when you have 6,000 people on a cruise ship. It only takes a couple of people to come on board sick and the germs spread very quick. Just took our 52nd cruise and we have never gotten anything.

[NIPAS K-9]

That's what happens when you have 6,000 people on a cruise ship. It only takes a couple of people to come on board sick and the germs spread very quick. Just took our 52nd cruise and we have never gotten anything.
Whats your secret, anything you do different than anyone else? Any tip may help all of us.

[JB in TV]

...washing your hands and keeping your hands/fingers away from your face/eyes. We have cruised 20 something times and never caught anything..and once on a ship that was so call "infected"

The big reason you hear about it on ships is that the guests stay there a week, or so. If they get infected on day one, by day two or three, they are still on the ship. You can also catch it from being on an airplane for 2 hours, many folks may show symptoms the next day after flying, yet they are now all over the country...hard to make a newsworthy point of where it started.

[graciegirl]

We cruised a few times until Sweetie realized there were no championship golf courses on board.

[BarryRX]

On cruises I have been on recently, there are hand sanitizing stations all over the place, and crew members with spray bottles of hand sanitizer just waiting to spray you as you come aboard or enter the dining rooms. While I like cruising, being shoulder to shoulder with 4,000 other guest and being tempted to overeat constantly is not always my number one vacation choice. Add to that the occasional incidents of bacterial and viral infections, a cruise moves even further down my list.

[Rollie]

People spread this virus not the ships. I've been on 20 plus cruises and have never gotten this illness. (knock wood) What I have seen is men in the restrooms not washing after. It makes me sick to see this, and it's older men that should know better. As the poster said above, keep clean and don't touch eyes, nose, and mouth.

Rollie

[BarryRX]

People spread this virus not the ships. I've been on 20 plus cruises and have never gotten this illness. (knock wood) What I have seen is men in the restrooms not washing after. It makes me sick to see this, and it's older men that should know better. As the poster said above, keep clean and don't touch eyes, nose, and mouth.

Rollie

While the ill passengers aboard the Royal Caribbean ship haven’t been officially diagnosed yet, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the 577 passengers and 49 crew members who are sick to their stomachs, vomiting and experiencing diarrhea are likely infected with norovirus. The virus affects the stomach and intestines and can be ingested from contaminated food or water; contact with an infected person can also spread the infection (and that carrier may not even know he is spreading the disease, since it can take up to two weeks for symptoms to appear). Once they do, they aren't pretty. And the virus can spread quickly, especially in small, contained spaces like a cruise ship.

In some cases, it can spread through unsanitary bathroom practices, since the microbe resides in the feces. But the CDC says it’s nearly impossible to determine if outbreaks were caused by infected people who board a ship, or by contaminated food or water. The agency has a task force called the Vessel Sanitation Program that requires any ship visiting foreign ports and carrying more than 13 passengers to submit to two random sanitation inspections per year. When outbreaks occur, the CDC responds, sending a scientist on board to take samples for testing and to monitor sanitation procedures.

[LoriAnn]

Ships can and do spread the virus. Waterborne outbreak of norovirus is common. Can include water supply, pools and even the ice for drinks. Anytime you are in close proximity to 5000 other people there will be transfer of bacteria and virus. Norovirus is incredibly hard to contain and very easily transmitted. For most people it only lasts a couple of (terrible) days. Won't keep me away. I'm planning a cruise now!

[JourneyOfLife]

The last cruise we were on they had those hand sanitizers everywhere.

That can help if people use them.

IMO, the biggest problem is in the buffet where people are handling the spoons and such to serve themselves food.

What I do is to sanitize my hand before I go through the buffet and then again after I get my food, before I eat. It is a little hassle. But I did not catch any sort of cold or other ailment on our last cruise.

One other thing. This is gross. But I suspect it happens more people realize.

I had to go to the restroom just outside the buffet, before my wife and I enter the dining area.

Just as I was walking in to the restroom some guy exited the commode stall, no hand wash no nothing and walked out. I thought to myself.... I hope that a##hole is not going to the buffet.

Just so you know, that guy looked to be well into his 60s. I guess he learned nothing about basic hygiene in life. Some people are just selfish idiots!

[Bonny]

Whats your secret, anything you do different than anyone else? Any tip may help all of us.
Washing the hands is a big thing and keep your hands away from your face when you are out and about.

[rubicon]

Well the virus clings to everything so even if some one washes their hands continually they still have the exposure by touching a doorknob elevator button stairway railing, etc I wonder if any of these cruises had problems with super bug as they do in hospitals?

We planned a cruise this spring but this latest fiasco killed it

[KayakerNC]

Washy, washy, happy, happy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JngI_TBVUuA

https://i1.ytimg.com/vi/iBhxKmDM9nU/hqdefault.jpg

[In awe of TV]

It's really sad that this is happening. Cruising is such a wonderful, fun experience. To get so sick while on vacation is just horrible. And horrible press for the cruise lines and truly magnificent ships.

I guess I've been lucky and have not gotten sick on any of my trips, neither have my kids. It must be very scary for the passengers. Once they get off the ship, in most cases they would have to fly home. What a mess, poor passengers, I really feel for them.

Unfortunately this is happening quite frequently now. I would think twice before booking again.

[tucson]

Does anyone think it's food poisoning, I've had it 2x and I had all the same symptoms that they're having on the ship. Both times I was very sick, couldn't even walk from being so weak! I was on a vacation both times, but not on a cruise. Eating out in restuarants, and one of them was at a buffet by the pool for guests of the hotel in Cancun. I had to go to the ER b/c I was so sick, found out I had salmonella from eating a cheeseburger from a very popular restuarant in So.Fla.

[TexaninVA]

Each time we think about taking a cruise ... this type story pops up which makes us think maybe not.

Another thought ... don't think it would be good to use a hot tub or sauna onboard a ship this big.

[kaydee]

Germs spread whether it here or there. Been on 20 plus cruises & so far never have gotten ill. Hopefully my luck will continue. I find it very hard to believe that the cruise line is responsible for any negativity. Why would they want their reputation marred in any way. Every crew member stresses sanitizing and sanitizers are surely provided. It is the passengers responsibility to take precautions by using those sanitizers and wash their hands often. In the meantime, since we love cruising, we will continue to book. We are sailing in Sept & Nov.

[BarryRX]

...

[Happydaz]

I think the cruise lines do every thing they can to limit outbreaks like this on their ships. We love to cruise and will continue doing so. Being out on deck and watching the ship cut through the water is exhilarating. Visiting foreign ports is exciting as well. Staying home is not an option for adventurous people. Listening to some of the posters one would think that almost every single ship has a cholera outbreak. Let's see, how many cruise ships go out each year and how many had to return to port because of an illness outbreak? That would be an interesting fact to know.

[travelguy]

we have cruised many times and have not experienced any of the viruses and other intestinal problems that others seem to think run rampant on all cruise ships. unsanitary people spread these germs, plain and simply. didn't your parents teach you to wash your hands? and not cough on the food?

[BarryRX]

we have cruised many times and have not experienced any of the viruses and other intestinal problems that others seem to think run rampant on all cruise ships. unsanitary people spread these germs, plain and simply. didn't your parents teach you to wash your hands? and not cough on the food?

Please read some of the earlier posts on noroviruses. Anyway, on a ship with 6,000 people, one must assume that there are a bunch of people not washing their hands and coughing on the food. On my last cruise aboard the Norwegian Epic, one very sick 5 year old was throwing up on the floor in the middle of a very crowded buffet. The crew immediately marked off that area of the floor and in minutes cleaned it up, but who knows how much of that stuff got aerosolized when it hit the floor. Norovirus is the most common cause of gastroenteritis in the U.S., with between 19 to 21 million cases a year and more than 56,000 hospitalizations.
Once an infected person gets onboard a ship, the virus can be spread quickly, mainly through hand contact with ship railings, bathroom doors, and especially buffet food.
The industrial-size servings of food on a cruise ship with hundreds of passengers can be particularly worrisome, since once the virus enters the food it can spread rapidly. Food can also get more easily contaminated with the virus if it sits out for several hours, as is often the case with buffet-style meals.
And so many people being in one place eases the virus's spread. In close quarters it doesn't get away, everything's concentrated.

[OBXNana]

We were in Puero Rico when this ship came to port. Our hotel notified the guests if we had gone around the town (we had) to be aware the cruise ship was in the area. Not only does this affect the people on the cruise ship, but also when they port and the guests walk around the town buying from local merchants or seeing the sites, the germs don't stay on the cruise ship.

Our hotel was 15 minutes from the area of the ship. They were pro active, but not in a way that would scare the guests. They simply made us aware of how the germs can come to port.