Cruise ships must be huge petri dishes.
 

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.

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.

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

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.

...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.

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

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.

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.

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!

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!

Washing the hands is a big thing and keep your hands away from your face when you are out and about.

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

Washy, washy, happy, happy!

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

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