Quick note from Breakaway for people with asthma ... at 3 AM

Hi all. It's 3 AM here aboard the BA and I'm sitting up in bed praying for the minutes to fly by so we can disembark. I will do a full review in the next few days, but wanted to write this quick note first. Let me preface by saying we have cruised BA 5 previous times and love her. Granted, we stay in the Haven, but I think its important to know we never have any complaints aboard - we are on a cruise after all!

Last Sunday, my family of 4 embarked the BA in clean health - not one sniffle to be found! Monday morning at 5 AM I was awoken to my 6 year old son barking like a seal and crying he could not breath. He has asthma, however he hasn't had an attack or any issues in over a year and is not on a daily inhaler regimen. However, I did pack an arsenal of medicine "just in case". Thank God I did - turns out he would spend the ENTIRE WEEK wheezing and coughing non stop. This has never, ever been a problem for him before and we have sailed at various times of the year. Let me point out, he wasn't sick - no other symptoms other than asthma attacks. I believe there is something different/drier/something with the air on the BA this time around. Monday night we ended up having him sleep right beside the open balcony door - it offered a tiny amount of relief. Let me tell you why I think it was the ships air. When we reached Nassau, we struggled with deciding if we should get off the ship to at least take a 20 minute walk - we had barely left the room all cruise at this point. We decided yes, let's take a quick walk. We were not off the ship for 10 minutes - 10 MINUTES- when he stopped wheezing and coughing, his color came back, he was his normal self. If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I would never have believed it!! We ended up having a great day and he was 100% symptom free all day .... until we went back on the ship and it instantly came back.

Needless to say, we are happy to be disembarking in a few hours (never thought I'd ever say that). It is beyond scary and anyone's worst nightmare to watch your child struggle to breath.

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Having asthma myself, I can understand how you were feeling for your son. So sorry it has to happen while on a cruise.

I first thought of allergies to detergents used to wash the bedding but this would not affect him when he wasn't in the cabin. The other thought I had was of particles from the engine, I recently had problems in London due to air pollution, a large part of it is from diesel engines. I've never had a problem on a cruise ship myself, I generally find my asthma improves at sea.

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A very recent German research;

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/cruises/news/air-pollution-levels-200-times-higher-on-cruise-ships/

A very recent German research;

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/cruises/news/air-pollution-levels-200-times-higher-on-cruise-ships/

Thanks for this, very worrying, especially for cities with large numbers of ships in port.

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Did you notice other people in the ship with similar symptoms as your son?

If the issue is the ship's air, then more people would be affected too, no?

I have allergies and a tendency to asthma too and am hoping not to have any issues in June on the Epic. I am scared now :-(

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Having asthma myself, I can understand how you were feeling for your son. So sorry it has to happen while on a cruise.

Thank you

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I first thought of allergies to detergents used to wash the bedding but this would not affect him when he wasn't in the cabin. The other thought I had was of particles from the engine, I recently had problems in London due to air pollution, a large part of it is from diesel engines. I've never had a problem on a cruise ship myself, I generally find my asthma improves at sea.

 

 

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Sea air is usually fine for him as well. Thank you

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Did you notice other people in the ship with similar symptoms as your son?

If the issue is the ship's air, then more people would be affected too, no?

I have allergies and a tendency to asthma too and am hoping not to have any issues in June on the Epic. I am scared now :-(

 

 

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To be honest, we didn't venture out much. I did notice some people with colds but nothing like the fits he was having.

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A very recent German research;

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/cruises/news/air-pollution-levels-200-times-higher-on-cruise-ships/

I will read this on our ride home this morning. Thank you

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Looks like you are docking now. Hope your son feels better. Let us know how it turns out when you get home.

Welcome to CC by the way.

Looks like you are docking now. Hope your son feels better. Let us know how it turns out when you get home.

 

Welcome to CC by the way.

Yes, pulling in right now. Thank you, I will report back later today!

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My dh has severe asthma and lung issues I've sailed the ba with just my daughters....and when we sailed the ba we all looked at each other and said...dad absolutely cannot sail on this ship..

In oct 2016 dh and I sailed the gem....while he was still recuperating from pleural effusion he had over the summer and while still on a severe regimen of prednisone...

Not one issue at all with his breathing!!!!

I doubt that would have been the case with the ba. There is just not enough ventilation and that casino smoke is everywhere and that enclosed smoking capsule next to the pool just condenses the smoke and when it sifts out the openings it's worse than ever and can been smelled everywhere

Spice allows smoking by the bar area too which of course means the non smoking area smells smoke

Think of the smoking and non smoking areas of planes restaurants and movie theaters of the 1970's....same effect

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To the op: while my suggestion will not go over well with posters....if it were me I would do something to bring Ncl's attention to your plight

There isn't much you can do but you can remove the dsc

Yes I know all the arguments against it...but it will get Ncl's attention and you basically didn't get the use or service from the ship you had paid for

To other posters: I know you will debate this tactic but I'm offering it as probably the only way the op can get Ncl's attention regarding this matter

The op is on to something here...trust me,..the ships air is awlful and Ncl needs to figure this out soon

If they would just realize that the casino is probably most of the problem they would be on the right track

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To the op: while my suggestion will not go over well with posters....if it were me I would do something to bring Ncl's attention to your plight

 

 

There isn't much you can do but you can remove the dsc

 

Yes I know all the arguments against it...but it will get Ncl's attention and you basically didn't get the use or service from the ship you had paid for

 

 

To other posters: I know you will debate this tactic but I'm offering it as probably the only way the op can get Ncl's attention regarding this matter

 

 

The op is on to something here...trust me,..the ships air is awlful and Ncl needs to figure this out soon

 

 

If they would just realize that the casino is probably most of the problem they would be on the right track

 

 

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Thank you for your suggestion. I luckily brought prednisone I had in my medicine cabinet from the last time he was prescribed it and gave him a 5 day course (called his pedi to confirm when we were in Port Canaveral). My husband also took an uber to CVS while there and picked up a cool mist humidifier. I will never travel without one again. Luckily, I also packed his nebulizer and both inhalers. Never thought I would actually have to use them [emoji20]

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What are his triggers? Can be stress, exercise, or irritants. Was he stressed or anxious? Stressed induced asthma can start spiraling when others begin focusing attention and taking action. I hope he can get a handle on managing his asthma - I'm in the same boat so to speak

Oh so sorry this happened. My dh has severe asthma and uses a nebulizer daily. I've sailed the Ba without him and that's exactly why when we sail together out of NYC that we sail the gem

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To the op: while my suggestion will not go over well with posters....if it were me I would do something to bring Ncl's attention to your plight

 

 

There isn't much you can do but you can remove the dsc

 

Yes I know all the arguments against it...but it will get Ncl's attention and you basically didn't get the use or service from the ship you had paid for

 

 

To other posters: I know you will debate this tactic but I'm offering it as probably the only way the op can get Ncl's attention regarding this matter

 

 

The op is on to something here...trust me,..the ships air is awlful and Ncl needs to figure this out soon

 

 

If they would just realize that the casino is probably most of the problem they would be on the right track

 

 

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Be careful here. My guess is that you posted with helpful intent, but to post unsubstantiated claims as this could be considered libel or actionable defamation. 4000 pax on the ship and one person has a bad reaction to something on board, possible one of the many cleaning chemicals in use, but it could be anything. 4000 pax sailing each and every week and one person has a bad reaction does not point to "bad air" but more likely to an individual reaction to a single specific substance.

Hi all. It's 3 AM here aboard the BA and I'm sitting up in bed praying for the minutes to fly by so we can disembark. I will do a full review in the next few days, but wanted to write this quick note first. Let me preface by saying we have cruised BA 5 previous times and love her. Granted, we stay in the Haven, but I think its important to know we never have any complaints aboard - we are on a cruise after all!

 

Last Sunday, my family of 4 embarked the BA in clean health - not one sniffle to be found! Monday morning at 5 AM I was awoken to my 6 year old son barking like a seal and crying he could not breath. He has asthma, however he hasn't had an attack or any issues in over a year and is not on a daily inhaler regimen. However, I did pack an arsenal of medicine "just in case". Thank God I did - turns out he would spend the ENTIRE WEEK wheezing and coughing non stop. This has never, ever been a problem for him before and we have sailed at various times of the year. Let me point out, he wasn't sick - no other symptoms other than asthma attacks. I believe there is something different/drier/something with the air on the BA this time around. Monday night we ended up having him sleep right beside the open balcony door - it offered a tiny amount of relief. Let me tell you why I think it was the ships air. When we reached Nassau, we struggled with deciding if we should get off the ship to at least take a 20 minute walk - we had barely left the room all cruise at this point. We decided yes, let's take a quick walk. We were not off the ship for 10 minutes - 10 MINUTES- when he stopped wheezing and coughing, his color came back, he was his normal self. If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I would never have believed it!! We ended up having a great day and he was 100% symptom free all day .... until we went back on the ship and it instantly came back.

 

Needless to say, we are happy to be disembarking in a few hours (never thought I'd ever say that). It is beyond scary and anyone's worst nightmare to watch your child struggle to breath.

 

 

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Maybe he was allergic to something in the cabin. Maybe the prior passengers had a cat or something? I always ask for clean bedspreads before boarding (by sending an email to ncl) for that reason.

To the op: while my suggestion will not go over well with posters....if it were me I would do something to bring Ncl's attention to your plight

 

 

There isn't much you can do but you can remove the dsc

 

Yes I know all the arguments against it...but it will get Ncl's attention and you basically didn't get the use or service from the ship you had paid for

 

 

To other posters: I know you will debate this tactic but I'm offering it as probably the only way the op can get Ncl's attention regarding this matter

 

 

The op is on to something here...trust me,..the ships air is awlful and Ncl needs to figure this out soon

 

 

If they would just realize that the casino is probably most of the problem they would be on the right track

 

 

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OH good grief :rolleyes: that'll show them!

OH good grief :rolleyes: that'll show them!

It will get their attention and it will cost ncl $$$ to refund the op dsc for 4 pax

I agree with the poster who suggested this simply because ncl should know about this and removing dsc will let them know and hurt them in the pocketbook

Btw did you read the link in this thread about ship air quality ?

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There isn't much you can do but you can remove the dsc

 

OP, if you really think something on the ship had something to do with your son's problem, a well written letter to the cruise line, along with a letter from your pediatrician, would be the best way to go about alerting NCL to your issue. Removing the DSC would just show them that you never intended to pay it.

Hopefully your son will be okay and you can find out what triggered this attack.

Aw, I am sorry that happened. And I am glad to know he is better now. I know some people with asthma are triggered by marine paint and varnishes. Do you remember smelling paint or varnish at any time?

Got my coffee and donuts, now ready to watch this thread go off the rails.

It will get their attention and it will cost ncl $$$ to refund the op dsc for 4 pax

 

I agree with the poster who suggested this simply because ncl should know about this and removing dsc will let them know and hurt them in the pocketbook

 

Btw did you read the link in this thread about ship air quality ?

 

 

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This article was about one single ship. Somehow it is extrapolated to include all cruise ships? It also points out that this issue is corrected with pollution control devices, such as scrubbers. The Breakaway has scrubbers.

https://www.ncl.com/br/pt/press-releases/norwegian-cruise-line-install-scrubbers-green-tech-marine-six-ships