Ebola

Do you know how the Norwegian Breakaway is keeping the ship safe from Ebola? Cleaning , santitation, etc?:)

I believe that all ships have enhanced their cleaning efforts. They are also screening passengers at embarkation and not allowing those showing symptoms to board.

I think they have changed their questionnaire. This is from the CDC website: "Ebola is spread through direct contact with blood and body fluids of a person already showing symptoms of Ebola." So as long as one takes ordinary precautions it would appear that the risk of getting infected is low.

Thanks Paul. There are 13 of our family members travelling on December 14th on Breakaway and my daughter in law is nervous about this.

this is from Carnival-

October 24, 2014

Greetings folks!

We know there has been considerable media coverage about the Ebola virus, which has raised concerns among the public in general. We'd like to take this opportunity to provide you some important information in an effort to ease any concerns you may have.

At Carnival Cruise Lines, the safety, health and welfare of our guests, crew, and staff is always our number one priority. Therefore, we have implemented strict screening and boarding procedures following collaboration with federal and international health authorities.

At embarkation, all guests, visitors, and crew boarding our vessels must complete a mandatory health screening questionnaire prior to embarking. Those individuals who answer positively to any of the screening questions will be asked to submit to further medical screening prior to being allowed to board.

As part of our screening process, guests are asked to disclose if they have visited or traveled through countries with a US CDC Level 3 Travel Warning (any of the West African countries of Liberia, Sierra Leone, and/or Guinea). Guests must also disclose if within 21 days of their cruise departure date they have been in contact with, or helped care for someone known or suspected to have the Ebola virus, or is currently subject to health monitoring for possible exposure to Ebola. Any individual who answers positively will be denied boarding.

Carnival and other cruise lines continue to monitor the situation closely, along with Cruise Lines International Association and our colleagues in the rest of the travel industry. We remain in close contact with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) for updates and guidance. Guests seeking more information on Ebola can visit the World Health Organization's website at http://www.who.int or the CDC website at http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/.

We greatly appreciate your understanding and cooperation in our efforts to safeguard our guests and crew.

Most importantly, we look forward to having you sail with us.

Now we all know that unfortumalety people do lie, so wouldn't checking passports at point of entry be smarter?

Thank you for the information~ I will pass it along~

Do you know how the Norwegian Breakaway is keeping the ship safe from Ebola? Cleaning , santitation, etc?:)

Probably better than the public areas of airports and the ground transportation that serves airports and cruise terminals. :eek:

Probably better than the public areas of airports and the ground transportation that serves airports and cruise terminals. :eek:

Exactly. I'd be more concerned about getting to the ship IF I WERE CONCERNED AT ALL, which I'm not.

Do you know how the Norwegian Breakaway is keeping the ship safe from Ebola? Cleaning , santitation, etc?:)

It's not cruising to West Africa.

That's the only extra precaution that's needed. :rolleyes:

JB :)

Unless the line changes it's requirements for boarding documentation to "passports only" and go through the pages of everyone's passport, there is no way to verify that someone has been through one of the countries in question. A questionnaire and taking a temperature is window dressing. Given the chance to lie about where they have been, some will do so. Just like people lie on Customs forms, tax returns, they hope they don't get caught.

If you relative is nervous about cruising with a few thousand people because one may have Ebola, I would recommend she stay home. There is no guarantee...

Key is the initial screening.

Keith

Unless the line changes it's requirements for boarding documentation to "passports only" and go through the pages of everyone's passport, there is no way to verify that someone has been through one of the countries in question. A questionnaire and taking a temperature is window dressing. Given the chance to lie about where they have been, some will do so. Just like people lie on Customs forms, tax returns, they hope they don't get caught.

 

If you relative is nervous about cruising with a few thousand people because one may have Ebola, I would recommend she stay home. There is no guarantee...

Since I don't have a passport it's rather unlikely that I've been to one of the countries in question.;)

Since I don't have a passport it's rather unlikely that I've been to one of the countries in question.;)

Well, if they were to put the passport requirement in place for everyone (the way to determine where someone has been), you won't have to worry since you won't be cruising. ;)

It wouldn't have to be the government issuing that requirement - any cruise line can ask for more stringent requirement to board their ships.

Well, if they were to put the passport requirement in place for everyone (the way to determine where someone has been), you won't have to worry since you won't be cruising. ;)

 

It wouldn't have to be the government issuing that requirement - any cruise line can ask for more stringent requirement to board their ships.

Yes, the cruise lines could do that, but they would be shooting themselves in the foot because so many cruisers cruise without passports on closed loop cruises. (And FWIW if it were required for me to have a passport to cruise then I would have one, but since it's not a requirement I do not.)

Yes, the cruise lines could do that, but they would be shooting themselves in the foot because so many cruisers cruise without passports on closed loop cruises. (And FWIW if it were required for me to have a passport to cruise then I would have one, but since it's not a requirement I do not.)

I agree with you. But, if the hysteria continues, it would be possible for a cruise line to require those passports on closed-loop cruises. If you are one of those without a passport, you would have 2 clear choices - get the passport or not cruise. Just sayin'… (And, FWIW, I'm one of those who believe a person should have a passport if they leave the US and expect to get back in, regardless of whether or not it's a closed loop cruise. It's an economic "loophole" in the law that has the potential of being exploited, just like we used to be able to travel to Canada without a passport and then some nasty people did that and came back to the US via Boston in 2001. )

slidergirl said "I agree with you. But, if the hysteria continues, it would be possible for a cruise line to require those passports on closed-loop cruises. If you are one of those without a passport, you would have 2 clear choices - get the passport or not cruise. Just sayin'… (And, FWIW, I'm one of those who believe a person should have a passport if they leave the US and expect to get back in, regardless of whether or not it's a closed loop cruise. It's an economic "loophole" in the law that has the potential of being exploited, just like we used to be able to travel to Canada without a passport and then some nasty people did that and came back to the US via Boston in 2001. ) " (not sure why it wouldn't let me quote your post directly).

The DHS determined that a US citizen traveling on a closed loop cruise presents a low risk to the national security. DHS realized that the chances of someone sneaking into the country in order to sneak out of the country for a cruise vacation in order to sneak into the country at the end of the cruise are slim.;)

You are of course entitled to your view that everyone needs a passport but the security experts that wrote the regulations saw differently.

And hysteria is a very good word and an apt description of what is happening. Requiring everyone to have passports for any type of travel would do nothing to prevent anyone from catching anything.

Thanks Paul. There are 13 of our family members travelling on December 14th on Breakaway and my daughter in law is nervous about this.

What is the daughter in law doing to prevent the flu? Have all 13 had there flu shots?

Ebola has never been on a cruise ship, but flu has.

What is the daughter in law doing to prevent the flu? Have all 13 had there flu shots?

 

Ebola has never been on a cruise ship, but flu has.

Yup, one person in the US has died of Ebola. 40,000 die of the flu in the US every year. Why is everyone so worried about ebola and not the flu?

Yup, one person in the US has died of Ebola. 40,000 die of the flu in the US every year. Why is everyone so worried about ebola and not the flu?

Because of the mortality rate, which is anywhere between 50% and 90%. That makes it scarier to most people.

Thank you everyone for your responses. I am not worried at all. I know if you are going to catch some flu or illness it is meant to be. Yes, people die from the flu and yes they die from Ebola but know one is for certain you won't catch either when you are anywhere! I am trying to reassure her that her daughter's will be perfectly fine. :)

Thanks Paul. There are 13 of our family members travelling on December 14th on Breakaway and my daughter in law is nervous about this.

Paul is right. It is not that easy to catch the Ebola virus. Avoid bodily fluids of other passengers, and you should be fine. On my last cruise on the Independence of the Seas (Feb 2014), I brought several little bottles of hand sanitizer with me, along with antiseptic wipes. I was worried about Noro virus at the time, but my worry--and all my little bottles of hand sanitizer--were not needed, as there was a hand sanitizer station outside every venue, and you could not enter any dining room or Wind Jammer, unless you sanitized. RCCL was ahead of the game in infection control. And, as always, good handwashing is always your best prevention (at least 30 seconds--sing happy birthday twice)

BTW--if you haven't guessed--I am an RN. LOL!! (germa phobe!!)

Because of the mortality rate, which is anywhere between 50% and 90%. That makes it scarier to most people.

It's not the mortality rate that is the main concern, but the total number of people who get it. Only two people in the US have gotten Ebola without traveling to an outbreak area (note that I did not use the word "epecimic"), and both were caring from the only person who died here after visiting one of the affected areas. The flu, however, is easily spread and millions get it each year, resulting in the deaths of tens of thousands. These two diseases, and their risks, are as different as apples and oranges.

The odds of a person who isn't caring for an Ebola patient contracting Ebola are less than the odds of being hit be lightening. People who are in panic mode about this disease are severely lacking in common sense.

People will lie on the health questionnaire, just like they have for years about GI illnesses.

If the cruise lines changed their documentation requirement to passports only, what would they do for the multitude of people who have already booked their cruises based on DL/BC? I don't foresee this happening.

Many countries don't even stamp passports anymore, so that's not a foolproof way to screen people either.

So, the cruise lines ask questions, look for symptoms, and that is about all they can do, realistically.

And to put things into perspective, 43 people who had contact with the infected man in Dallas have been cleared, including the woman who shared a bedroom with him and cared for him while he was sweating and had diarrhea without taking any hazmat precautions.

All the cruise lines will be taking extra cleaning procedures.

I wouldn't worry -- the chances of what happened on the Carnival Magic are extremely slim.

 

I wouldn't worry -- the chances of what happened on the Carnival Magic are extremely slim.

Absolutely nothing happened on the Carnival Magic, except some panic. And putting a USCG flight crew at risk for an insane reason.