No code orange?

Because there are people who refuse to sanitize their hands and do not use proper etiquette for serving themselves buffet food ... I would vote for Code Orange every day. :eek:

 

That's just me.

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We returned from our first HAL cruise a couple of weeks ago and I was really surprised by the Lido which everyone calls a buffet, was in fact, a cafeteria. I could not find much difference between the first two days and the rest of the cruise. The only items you could help yourself to were salads. :confused:

Perhaps some facts might be helpful.

 

2014

Cruise Line Cruise Ship Sailing Dates Causative Agent

Princess Cruises Crown Princess 4/5 - 4/12 Norovirus and Enterotoxigenic E. coli (ETEC)

Royal Caribbean Cruise Line Grandeur of the Seas 4/5 - 4/12 Norovirus

Royal Caribbean Cruise Line Grandeur of the Seas 3/28 - 4/5 Norovirus

Holland America Line ms Maasdam 3/2 - 3/28 Unknown

Holland America Line ms Veendam 2/8 - 2/22 Norovirus

Princess Cruises Caribbean Princess 1/25 - 2/1 Norovirus

Royal Caribbean Cruise Line Explorer of the Seas 1/21 - 1/31 Norovirus

Norwegian Cruise Line Norwegian Star 1/5 - 1/19 Norovirus

Interesting. Do you see any Celebrity ships listed? Costa? Carnival? MSC? And what those lines all have in common is they do not have a "Code Orange" program. But they all stress handwashing...in a big way.

Hank

Hiltner,

That was the entire list for 2014.

Cruise ship outbreak updates are posted when they meet the following criteria:

Fall within the purview of VSP

Are sailing on voyages from 3-21 days,

Are carrying 100 or more passengers,

Are cruise ships in which 3% or more of passengers or crew reported symptoms of diarrheal disease to the ships medical staff during the voyage, and

Are gastrointestinal illness outbreaks of public health significance.

Now I think about it, we had a modified code orange two weeks ago on Rotterdam. Drinks were all serve yourself but you couldn't get your own pastries/bread but the salad fixings were DIY.

I would find statistics helpful in this discussion. I know I'm pretty fanatical about hand washing, though I am not a fan of hand sanitizer, and I have not had norovirus, even living with my husband who had it.

I found it interesting that this conversation went from code orange for health to code orange as a means of saving money very quickly. What a cynical bunch we are.

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This gets my vote

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Because there are people who refuse to sanitize their hands and do not use proper etiquette for serving themselves buffet food ... I would vote for Code Orange every day. :eek:

 

That's just me.

I agree.

I get turned off by buffets and try to avoid them as much as possible.

I have watched too many people pick up rolls, bread, etc., change their minds and put it back down -- using their hands.

A number of years ago, we watched a man pick up a glass of juice, drink it and put it back down. Within a few moments the man in charge of filling the juice glasses, filled that glass up again not knowing that someone had drunk from the glass. UGH

 

 

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A number of years ago, we watched a man pick up a glass of juice, drink it and put it back down. Within a few moments the man in charge of filling the juice glasses, filled that glass up again not knowing that someone had drunk from the glass. UGH

You watched this happen? :eek: That's definitely UGH !

We're not crazy about Code Orange, it just makes for more confusion as people are learning their way around the ship anyway, and everything takes just that much longer. We usually have most of our meals in the MDR the first couple of days, until things settle down.

If they cancel the Code Orange, we would probably do the same thing!:)

Personally I'm in favor of anything that keeps pax from pawing and mauling the food.

We did a behind the scenes tour on the Zuiderdam a couple of weeks ago. We were told that they would be starting a modified code orange in the near future where the coffee/beverage station would be self serve from the beginning, but the food service would still be served by staff for the first 48 hours.

We did a behind the scenes tour on the Zuiderdam a couple of weeks ago. We were told that they would be starting a modified code orange in the near future where the coffee/beverage station would be self serve from the beginning, but the food service would still be served by staff for the first 48 hours.

I think that is a perfect solution.

We did a behind the scenes tour on the Zuiderdam a couple of weeks ago. We were told that they would be starting a modified code orange in the near future where the coffee/beverage station would be self serve from the beginning, but the food service would still be served by staff for the first 48 hours.

That does sound like a big improvement. Would also like to see the salt/pepper shakers (or a bowl of individual packets) put back on the Lido tables during Code Orange.

Hank

Interesting website here…shows that PERHAPS the Code Orange might work if you look at the infrequency of HAL vs some other lines at this websitehttp://www.shipcruise.org/cruise-ship-accidents/

It's also just an interesting website to peruse every now and then.

The moment you touch the back of your chair and pull it out, there is a chance of being exposed.

Precaution is good... Elimination is doubtful.

I often take paper napkins from ice cream station and use them in as many ways as possible to avoid touching anything after I have washed my hands before eating.

That site makes interesting reading. Shocking to read that someone was sexually assaulted and beaten by a crew member.

That site makes interesting reading. Shocking to read that someone was sexually assaulted and beaten by a crew member.

It was an awful story that got some play in the US news. The woman was attacked inside her cabin, raped, nearly beaten to death, but somehow managed to escape (when another passenger knocked at the cabin door) and get out into the hall (naked) where she was helped by other passengers. At one point he actually tried to toss the woman victim overboard to cover up his crime. The crew member (who was Indonesian) was arrested and later confessed to Federal authorities in Florida.

Hank

I often take paper napkins from ice cream station and use them in as many ways as possible to avoid touching anything after I have washed my hands before eating.

I do the same :)

Usually in the Lido I stick to the Asian section or foods that cannot be picked up by hand.

I've spent a lot of days on ships and other than the obligatory cold now and then have never caught anything. Really all it takes is common sense, washing hands, and keeping hands away from the face to stay healthy anywhere.

Code Orange is defeated if any surfaces (railings, doors, etc) are touched on the way to the Lido. Purell is fine for bacteria but does nothing to stop virus. I hear some of the new ships are installing high tech hand washing stations at restaurant entrances- much better idea.

I do the same :)

 

Usually in the Lido I stick to the Asian section or foods that cannot be picked up by hand.

 

I've spent a lot of days on ships and other than the obligatory cold now and then have never caught anything. Really all it takes is common sense, washing hands, and keeping hands away from the face to stay healthy anywhere.

 

Code Orange is defeated if any surfaces (railings, doors, etc) are touched on the way to the Lido. Purell is fine for bacteria but does nothing to stop virus. I hear some of the new ships are installing high tech hand washing stations at restaurant entrances- much better idea.

I've never caught anything but a cold on ships. I go overboard washing my hands, not touch my face, etc, there and at home. I wish it was that easy to stay well. I've had 4 colds this year, 2 in the last 6 weeks or so. Sometimes it's impossible to avoid. My mom rarely gets sick but she is rarely around anyone but us "kids". If you are around a lot of people, it makes it much more difficult.

I do the same :)

 

Usually in the Lido I stick to the Asian section or foods that cannot be picked up by hand.

 

I've spent a lot of days on ships and other than the obligatory cold now and then have never caught anything. Really all it takes is common sense, washing hands, and keeping hands away from the face to stay healthy anywhere.

 

Code Orange is defeated if any surfaces (railings, doors, etc) are touched on the way to the Lido. Purell is fine for bacteria but does nothing to stop virus. I hear some of the new ships are installing high tech hand washing stations at restaurant entrances- much better idea.

Veendam had two of the hand washing stations at the Lido Pool port side entrance to Lido. I'm not sure if there were any starboard side. I was skeptical and after day two or three tried one and liked it more than I expected.

One of the problems, too, is the total LACK of people paying attention to the Purell and washing stations. My husband, a doctor, usually points out to the person who is at the entrance of the Lido, etc. that there are people going around him…they need to insist that they use it. Defeats everyone else's efforts if only a few use the precautions.

The "Cruise Crud Colds" are a different thing…see people hacking away in the library, Lido, MDR, etc…they need to try to stay in their cabins when they are actively sneezing, hacking, etc. We have no ability to prevent getting colds from that.

Some of the excuses for not using the hand gel are strange. We were behind one man who ushered his whole family through past the hand gel machines saying "we have all just showered." I felt like asking him how many elevator buttons and handrails he had touched since then.