Norovirus on oriana

Just back from the worst 16 days of my life on X112 ORIANA and I want to know Just how offen does the ORIANA get the NOROVIRUS on board?

When I read the previous reports on Cruise Critic it seems to be every other cruise. Judging by the waiters having to double up it also seems to be rife amongst the crew aswell, but most are loyal to P.O. and will not talk about it to the passengers, but we got the nod from 1 or 2 of them. As a party of 6 that was 3 double cabins, I had to pay full fares for an 8 year old and a 9 year old to share with their Mum and Uncle as they would not allow 2 children to share with their Mum alone. This cruise was most longed for as it was a special birthday for me and the 1st cruise that we had all spent together as a family for 20 years. Between us we have done well in excess of 25 cruises with various companies and without exception none of us will be cruisings with P.O. again. The medical bills were waiting at the cabins before we got back from the Medical Centre, mine was £50.03 and my Grandaughters' was £27 and seeing as most Insurance policies carry an excess of £50 we will not be able to claim for something that we contracted whilst on board, as we were all fit an healthly before. I AM JUST TRYING TO GATHER EVIDENCE AS TO HOW MANY GET THE VIRUS ON ORIANA. Thanks for any help you might give.

So sorry you were ill on a cruise. I had Noro last winter I caught it via a local primary school where I go to do keep fit... At sea they take precautions... in local schools where the outbreak was they didnt think to tell people coming to evening classes... and although I had a shower on my return home from class I must have got the bug in me in the school... its that easy to pick up.

Its ghastly as I know .. but really you can catch it anywhere and somebody brought it on to the ship. hardly P&O's fault when we all know the precautions they take.

Firstly welcome to Cruise Critic. I am sorry your cruise was spoiled as a result of your illness.

However you talk of 'gathering evidence'. For what purpose? Norovirus is a sad fact of life in many enclosed environments - it has just claimed 6 victims in my office, but, as you will know as a seasoned cruiser, ships go to extreme lengths to try and avoid it, so I don't think you will have any success if you are aiming to try and bring a case against them.

I hope you have all fully recovered now.

Welcome to Cruise Critic. I was also on the same cruise and thankfully avoided contracting Noro.

There was no evidence of the virus on the previous cruise to ours so it was obviously brought onboard, knowingly or unknowingly, at the start of X112.

Unfortunately Norovirus is quite active in the UK at the moment and 3 wards in the hospital where my husband works were closed due to the virus in the week before we left for the cruise. I'm sorry that your holiday was spoilt by the virus but it is one of the hazards of cruising.

Debbie

My wife caught on Independence in January, free treatment and a cruise credit for the days confined to the cabin. I did not catch it but still got a cruise credit!

We were really well looked after, and it did not spoil our cruise, sorry it spoilt yours.

Richard

Really sorry to hear your story but what can P&O do about it?

We were on Venturas Xmas and New Year cruise and my husband came down with the dreaded virus on Xmas day - me on boxing Day. It really ruined our cruise for a few days but we were extra careful with hygiene and the couple we were on the cruise with didn't catch the virus from us even though they were in our cabin a lot.

We did not need any medicines - just drank bottled water and let the bug run its course.

It is so important that you keep washing hands and be careful what you touch on a cruise ship. I know you shouldn't have to be so wary but there are a lot of careless/thoughtless people around who spread the germs.

The person we saw go through all the plates on the self service until he found a hot one 12 plates down is one of the thoughtless ignoramusses. The annoying thing was that no member of staff stopped him. :eek:

Caryl

I think that I would have paid a call to the reception desk and on to the hotel manager if there was no response there, if I got a medical bill for treatment of NV.

I was on the previous cruise on Oriana and noticed that for the first couple of days there was always a guy at the entrance to the self service giving everyone a squirt of hand gell. After then nothing. Also not much sign of staff cleaning hand rails on stairways etc, which are prime places for spreading infections.

OK people do come on board with infections, often unknowingly, but the ship does have a duty of care to take basic precautions to prevent them spreading.

A few years ago I had a bout of NV aboaed a ship and there was no suggestion of a medical bill. Sign of the times?

David

NV happens, not just on ships. You were unlucky.

All that you needed to do was contact the medical centre to inform them, you would then have been isloated in your cabin for 48 hours or so, and had all your meals delivered to your cabin until you were well again.

What was the medical bill for?? Didn't you take any precautionary medication with you for sickness, the other (!) and rehydration?

I think that the 1st 3 replys mis-understood what I meant. As a family we have been on over 25 cruises, this was my 4th this year with 2 more booked, we are used to the hand gel, and all the precautions, and on most cruises their is a person on the entrances to dining rooms with gel. My problems are being charged for the pleasure of being ill and trying to find out how offen it happens on the Oriana. We have never been on a ship with it before, perhaps we've been lucky. One other factor I have worked in a large General Hospital for over 20 years and not caught it that way either. When there is an outbreak in a hospital, the ward is closed for deep cleaning. Oriana seems to have more than her fair share of outbreaks, why? this is what I'm trying to get replys from others who have also suffered spoilt holidays, and trying to find out if its from passengers or staying onboard with the crew.

Unfortunately, however careful we are there are others that simply dont care. They come on board whilst ill, or fall ill onboard and yet 'soldier' on, spreading the virus around instead of confining themselves to their cabin.

Also, others think the hand gel is for wusses and bypass it or if it is forced in their palm, wipe it off on a serviette. Often its the same people who have walked out of the toilet without bothering the wash their hands. After they have handled the serving utensils all who follow are at risk.

Cruise lines do a lot to try and stamp down on possible cross infection but I have to say P&O crew are not forceful enough with ensuring all use the hand gel whereas on RCI you had no chance of entering the buffet without using it. If someone refuses to use it then they should be asked to leave the buffet.

I would not agree that Oriana has any more outbreaks than any other ship. If you do a random search on Norovirus, Celebrity and Princess seem to top the list along the Fred Olsen's Boudicca.

As others have said, if a passenger brings it on board, either knowingly or unknowingly it will be hard to prevent a few people catching it. I know the ships vary as to whether hand gel is forced onto you or not, especially in the dining rooms, but in fact I have been told hand gel is useless against viruses anyway as it in only anti-bacterial, and the only real prevention is stringent hand washing.

I can't help with the novovirus survey, but I would like to congratulate you on such a fulfiled and healthy life, such that 2 days feeling ill and a £77 bill is the worst experience you have ever had. Frankly, many of us on this board have had worse days, and perhaps if you started counting your blessings you may become slightly less angry?

Best wishes for a contented future life, and don't let the little things get you down.

Sorry for your illness but unfortunately it is a common one and really, other than education there isn't much the ship can do.

There is also evidence that the squirt stuff does not do the job for the norovirus as it cannot kill viruses, only bacteria. Many cruises have now stopped using it because people assume they don't need to wash their hands if they use the gel. But that is wrong, you still need to wash with soap and water to stop the virus.

We sailed on the original Oriana in the '80's. It has taken us 30 years to venture back on another cruise as we disliked it so much.

Sorry you had Noro.

Surprised to hear that there was not continuous gel applications.

On Fred Olsen and Thomson they are there all the time not just when there is a problem

We use 12 hour protection gel which we buy before hand, it's very very expensive but we think worth it.

We do use lifts, public loos and have our own pen for signing for drinks.

Hope you are better now.

we ... have our own pen for signing for drinks.

I hadn't thought about that - but you're right, the waiters' pens must get touched by many, many people.

Medical treatment for stomach upsets has always been free on Thomson in my experience. They are also more vigilant with the hand gel, for what good it does. Must be better than nothing against the unwashed amongst us.

Carol x

The way we deal with this, is to pretend that no-one else bothers to wash their hands after going to the toilet or put on gel before entering dining areas. At home, we keep gel on the hall table and always use use it before leaving the house We also keep gel in the car and carry a small bottle on us, as well as keeping antibacterial wipes with us.

Onboard ship, we try to only use our own cabin toilet and again, we put on gel before leaving the cabin and every time we wash our hands. We also try not to touch handrails and use paper napkins to pick up utensils when we use the buffet area. These precautions may have helped us to avoid picking up a few nasty bugs over the years. 20 years ago, I would have scoffed at anyone who did that, but I value my health much more than I did then. Maybe we're being a bit over-the-top - but it's our life and we want to remain healthy enough to enjoy it. These precautions aren't expensive, nor do they take up much time and become automatic. People cannot go on blaming cruise lines for these problems, I'm certain most of them do their best to protect us. It's time all passengers started taking responsibility for their own health and the health of others. I don't want to go down with norovirus, just because another passenger has ignored "stay in cabin" advice or has wiped off gel at the restaurant.

Just back from the worst 16 days of my life on X112 ORIANA and I want to know Just how offen does the ORIANA get the NOROVIRUS on board?

When I read the previous reports on Cruise Critic it seems to be every other cruise. Judging by the waiters having to double up it also seems to be rife amongst the crew aswell, but most are loyal to P.O. and will not talk about it to the passengers, but we got the nod from 1 or 2 of them. As a party of 6 that was 3 double cabins, I had to pay full fares for an 8 year old and a 9 year old to share with their Mum and Uncle as they would not allow 2 children to share with their Mum alone. This cruise was most longed for as it was a special birthday for me and the 1st cruise that we had all spent together as a family for 20 years. Between us we have done well in excess of 25 cruises with various companies and without exception none of us will be cruisings with P.O. again. The medical bills were waiting at the cabins before we got back from the Medical Centre, mine was £50.03 and my Grandaughters' was £27 and seeing as most Insurance policies carry an excess of £50 we will not be able to claim for something that we contracted whilst on board, as we were all fit an healthly before. I AM JUST TRYING TO GATHER EVIDENCE AS TO HOW MANY GET THE VIRUS ON ORIANA. Thanks for any help you might give.

The information you require can be obtained from the following website:-

http://www.cruisejunkie.com/outbreaks2010.html

This site has information on NV for most cruise lines as well as other cruise ship incidents. They collect information from the USA government and from newspaper reports on this side of the Atlantic.

As you will see NV is found in all cruise lines.

However you will see that in 2010 P&O only had 2 incidents, neither on Oriana. It does not appear in 2011 either.

You will see that RCI, Holland America, Fred Olsen and Celebrity all have far more events than P&O. RCI leading with 10. Of course they have more ships but not 5 time more.

As they say I feel you are 'barking up the wrong tree'.

:):)Happy Cruising:):)

:cool:

Dai

I would not agree that Oriana has any more outbreaks than any other ship. If you do a random search on Norovirus, Celebrity and Princess seem to top the list along the Fred Olsen's Boudicca.

 

As others have said, if a passenger brings it on board, either knowingly or unknowingly it will be hard to prevent a few people catching it. I know the ships vary as to whether hand gel is forced onto you or not, especially in the dining rooms, but in fact I have been told hand gel is useless against viruses anyway as it in only anti-bacterial, and the only real prevention is stringent hand washing.

Sharon

The gel used is Purell which is anti-viral, so is effective against Noro. However, as you said in your post stringent and frequent hand washing is the best prevention.

To the OP: I didn't misunderstand your post but was merely trying to down play its 'where there's blame there's a claim' tone.

Debbie

Sharon

 

The gel used is Purell which is anti-viral, so is effective against Noro. However, as you said in your post stringent and frequent hand washing is the best prevention.

 

 

Debbie

Thanks for the information Debbie. I was going on what I was told by a biochemist on board Balmoral. It's good to know it does help then.

Sharon

 

The gel used is Purell which is anti-viral, so is effective against Noro.

Debbie

The data I've read says that it is not effective against viruses, only bacteria.

Mary

The data I've read says that it is not effective against viruses, only bacteria.

 

Mary

Hi Mary

That would be the case if it was only an anti-bacterial gel, however Purell is an anti-viral gel. However, in common with other viruses there is always the possibility that it may build a resistance to anti-virals. whether this has happened with Purell I can't say, but we would be unlikely to still utilise it in the NHS in the quantities we do.

To be honest anti-bac gels are about as much use as a chocolate fireguard and I'm really not sure why people bother using them. The best way to prevent the spread of the virus is to maintain a high level of personal hygiene (frequent handwashing etc.), avoid touching hand rails and suchlike (or if you can't avoid it then use a different part of your body where possible, for example use your elbow to press lift buttons), and stay clear of public toilets on the ship.

Debbie:)

Hand gels do work against norovirus specifically if used correctly. However I've never seen them used correctly on any ship

FYI take 3 ml ( which is 3 standard pumps) and spread over the entire surface of the hands ( which must be 'soil' free) This then must be allowed to dry completely...

I've never seen that done by anyone on any ship... So unless this is enforced having the gels is actually just helping in the production of super bugs really...

Now there is a point for discussion....

Hand gels do work against norovirus specifically if used correctly. However I've never seen them used correctly on any ship

 

FYI take 3 ml ( which is 3 standard pumps) and spread over the entire surface of the hands ( which must be 'soil' free) This then must be allowed to dry completely...

 

I've never seen that done by anyone on any ship... So unless this is enforced having the gels is actually just helping in the production of super bugs really...

 

Now there is a point for discussion....

Where do you actually get this information from ? Is this infromation actually available to people as I'm guessing noone has ever heard of this before...Seriously would love to hear more about this...

We have only been on Oriana once, and yes we had NORO onboard. I read the forums every day and would agree that Oriana seems to have the most outbreaks out of the P&O fleet of Noro. You rarely read of Aurora or Arcadia having it , it always seems to be Oriana. Why? Who knows.