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P&O Pacific Explorer wow what a boat full of flu


rossad
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I dont normally and cannot be bothered to go to the lengths of of posting stuff but after my first experience on the Pacific Explorer with P&O I just have to share what i believe is the situation.

A 12 day cruise was excellent weather excellent food excellent ports great but there was just one thing that really bugged me. The ship was riddled with flu. 300 people where quarantined with flu. But i think well over a 1000 people had flu symptoms. I got the flu on the last day and past it onto my wife whom then past it onto my child 3 weeks after the cruise. Ok you may say that is the way the cookie crumbles but really...... well over 1000 people with flu. The doctors on the boat said it was an epidemic. It was insane. 2000 people got off that ship on a Saturday and then another 2000 people got on within 7 hours. The ship was contaminated. The air conditioning was full of bugs. everything that people would touch sneeze over was contaminated. It was insane. The medical centre was a business within itself. Charging exorbitant prices for just a visit and more for the drugs which in today's world antibiotics should not be prescribed. Wow i gotta say that because of this serious problem P&O must be thinking how much of this can they actually hold down... before it effects the actual cruise business.

Everyone on the board i spoke to had sickness or k:(:(new of someone terrible sick. It was insane.

I advise those whom are going on a cruise get a flu jab. Get your immune system as high as you can with certain food. And wash wash wash your hands every 2 or 3 hours while on the ship. Get a balcony so that you can have natural air with the door open. Riding lifts pushing buttons touching hand rails tables chairs wash wash wash your hands. I met families with members spending over half the cruise on their backs. Sick. 4 people got taken off on stretches.

this is not a complaint it is a warning for those that dont know about contaminated ships.

Take nasal spray.

your own hand sanitiser to use more regularly

A mask for certain situations.

Watch the food though it all looks very nice .... eat healthy

Will i cruise again? i really dont know. The flu bug i got off the vessel was as bad as you can imagine.

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  • 2 months later...

It is unfortunate when a vacation is badly affected by sickness. At the same time, it is recognized by most cruisers that this is a risk that comes with this type of vacation due to the population density onboard. I do know P&O take the task of sanitizing surfaces very seriously. I'd be surprised if they held much blame. The nature of the flu is that it's passed on, even when no longer on the ship, as illustrated in the case of your family.

 

I agree that much can be done with preventative measures by passengers. My wife and I have now been on 10 cruises. In that time, I've had just one day where I felt so weak I had to lay down. The rest has been fine. While we know we're not 100% protected from problems, I don't doubt our hygiene habits have gone a long way in protecting us. This is what we do:

 

1. On the first day, we spray our room with Glen 20 and wipe down all surfaces.

2. We don't put our hands on our faces (including things like rubbing our eyes with fingers).

3. We avoid using fingers to touch any surface around the ship.

4. We wash our hands frequently.

 

On point three above, it may seem like a task-and-a-half to remember. But, in no time, it's habit. Going up and down staircases, we hold the rail with the inside of our wrists for support instead of the palm of the hand. To operate the lift, we use our knuckles. To pull open a door, we hook the thumb-side of our index finger around the handle. To "address" a facial itch, we use the back of the hand rather than fingers.

 

Like in any public place, it's a sad fact that you'll observe people with poor hygiene such as not washing their hands after going to the toilet and re-entering a public area, then touching everything that can be touched! It's these ones that do so much to successfully spread disease.

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I have a low immune system (kidney failure / was on dialysis up to 6 weeks ago when I got a transplant) and I've done 3 P&O cruises, 1 Carnival cruise (which I did in 2013 when I had a kidney transplant), not once have I ever gotten sick because as soon as I board I sanitise, as soon as I get into my cabin I wipe it all down with antibacterial wipes ESPECIALLY the bathroom (ewww), every time I see a hand sanitiser I use it regardless where I am or what I am doing, wash my hands regularly, don't use hands to press buttons or open doors (especially public toilets/bathrooms), don't eat with my hands, always use a knife and fork no matter what I am eating -- I don't care if I look "ridiculous" it is about my health and safety so what others think abot me eating a burger with a knife and fork doesn't concern me at all.

 

I was on the Jewel last November when a small gastro outbreak happened, people in the two cabins next door to us got sick, no one from my party of 7 did.... because we sanitise and wash our hands like mad people.

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  • 4 weeks later...

As mentioned in another post, just off The Explorer Christmas cruise. It was noted by those I spoke to that there did not appear to be any coughs and colds as on previous cruises. I think that The Pantry set up has a lot to do with this. No food handling by passengers. No alerts for gastro either. Someone is doing a good job. Pity the Waterfront menu and food was so poor.

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