Volendam came back with da' BUG yesterday

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/local/sfl-21cruiseshipsick,0,5529609.story

 

http://www.local10.com/news/10897467/detail.html#

 

on our favorite ship.. we were waitlisted on that Jan 22 Volendam cruise.. no cancellations so we luckily 'missed it.. don't know if they set sail yesterday for their scheduled Canal to San Diego.. 15 days then back to Laud... 15 days.. should be interesting to see what happens onboard..

 

we did an Amsterdam back 4 years ago-Nov when an outbreak occurred in the height of the Norwalk Virus problems.. we never got sick.. but sure was a mess for a lot of people and crew..

an outbreak occurred in the height of the Norwalk Virus problems.. we never got sick.. but sure was a mess for a lot of people and crew..

 

We had it go through here a few weeks ago. It was rampant in our elementary school. Far more than 112 cases. I didn't see 'sick school' headlines.

 

I was diagnosed with strep throat yesterday after my 16yo son and 18yo daughter were positive for it the day before. Today my fifth and first graders are home with it. We're off for tests shortly. I called the first grader's teacher this morning, and she said she has 'several' out with it today. Bet I don't see headlines about that either.

 

I feel annoyed when I see the 'sick ship' stories, no matter the cruise line. The only reason they make the news is the CDC requires them to report the illnesses. It's an easy and popular newstory. Just my opinion.

 

Just remember to wash your hands, wash your hands, wash your hands!

 

Robin

Da Dreaded BUG...a Volkswagon on the Helo Deck ? or Everyone on the Poopdeck ? A few issues back..I told everyone, they have to get THICKER toilet paper. That's whats causing all this on all the ships...they're just too cheap to fix the problem......

Jerry in AZ

 

What's causing it is people not washing their hands properly.

My parents boarded yesterday - if anyone gets any more scoop on this please pass it on.

 

Thanks,

 

Dave

Heard about this yesterday.

 

We were on the Amsterdam for a 22 day cruise in Oct 2002 when the Norvo broke out. Have been on several other cruises with virus.

My wife and I were on the 22nd cruise. They pretty much isolated the problem. There were about 60 sick passengers plus a few that may not of reported it. There were some sick crew but I don't know how many. It created a few minor inconveniences, but in general everything went normal. The passengers that were sick were quartantiened along with their cabin mates, but that probably was fine for them since they felt pretty lousy. Don't know about the next cruise, but I am sure they did a lot of sanitizing prior to allowing anyone to board.

Agree with poster,Mustang 349

My DH and I just returned from this cruise,ship shape.In our opinion HAL did an excellent job in limiting the outbreak,sanitizing stations at every possible strategic location and polite reminders to some passengers as needed to please use the stations!!!

As another poster stated ,it is as simple as washing your hands.....

Chalk up another great HAL cruise...except dress code pretty casual,IMO,time will tell what will happen with the new HAL dress code,but I digress.

 

Mary...now planning HAL cruise 2008

I didn't post it here when I noticed the article a couple of weeks ago but a Hilton, near Dulles International in the Northern Virginia area, had to completely close down because of a Noro outbreak. The number of reported cases was 125+ as I recall. The article said something about Noro typically being associated in the news with cruise ships but went on to explain not only the Hilton situation but other non-cruise ship outbreaks. I didn't take it as minimizing the cruise industry situation but as a bit of honest reporting that explained the virus and potential for outbreaks in several "closed" environments.

YES !!! After using the microscopic/thin/fragile toilet paper, one should wash ones hands....But thicker, stronger toilet paper would go a long way in reducing virus aboard ship....STOP the disease spread at the source....not everyone is going to scrup like a surgeon after each dump (smile).....:)

 

And that's the real poop!

The thicker paper sounds like a good idea...but I am not so sure the plumbing on a ship could handle it. They use special marine toilet paper?

 

Two unique discussions this week. Thread Count and Softness of sheets and now thiness of Toilet Paper. Higher Thread Count Toilet Paper?

We sailed on the Volendam last March and there had been a Noro like problem on the previous cruise. HAL said they brought onboard an outside contractor that cleaned the entire ship.

 

Initially there was no passenger handling of any food or related products. Crew would ladle (or tong or whatever) food onto your plate, offer bread at dinner and place it on your plate and offer seasonings. There were gel/alcohol hand wshers at the entry to all dining areas.

 

We felt they handled (pardon the expression) the whole incident quit well. After five days (of a ten day cruise) they returned to normal operating procedure. This was the first cruise I didn't return from with a cold in a number of years.

 

Kudos to HAL in the way they handled the situation.

 

Bodger

What's causing it is people not washing their hands properly.

 

 

Whats causing it is 3000 people crammed into a steel can. You can wash all you want but if someone brings it onboard its going to spread.. its way too contageous to eliminate completely.

What's causing it is people not washing their hands properly.

Not washing hands does call problems, but this isn't a new thing, it has been around as long as the earth has been around. It's just we are more aware of what is going on now, there are more people and of course, until about 10 or 15 years ago we didn't see so many cruise ships, nor did so many people cruise. It has always been in the schools, hospitals, even doctor's offices. Now it has a name.....NMNita