Virus on Jade Jan-Feb '10+

Just got off the Jade. It has been having a problem prior to January with two types of infectious viruses. We were not notified until we were on board. They have had 3 general cleanings when the ship is in Barcelona.. The ship is constantly being scrubbed and sprayed while at sea and in ports, but the virus is still going strong and many passengers took ill. (some people got sick on bus tours, in the shopping arcade of the ship, and in the public areas) so no area of the ship is safe. The captain urges passengers to contact Medical, but many of the sick do not do so because they do not want to be quarantined and miss ports of call. Being a back to back passenger, mid cruise I was offered to get off at Barcelona and get a cruise credit certificate equal to the value of the rest of my cruise BUT there are no provisions for the costly airline flight change and transfer fees. Some ports are making it difficult for ships clearance for passengers to disembark because of the illness. Before you sail on the Jade, I suggest that you contact NCL otherwise be prepared to be sanitized to death and possibly get the infectious virus anyway.

Thanks for the heads up. I just booked a 7-day Western Mediterranean for my family at the end of June. I'm still able to get my deposit back. Wondering if I should? How long can a virus stay on board any one ship? We are taking this cruise for the itinerary. Would be a shame, even if we were all well, that the ship couldn't dock in various ports.

Thanks for the heads up. I just booked a 7-day Western Mediterranean for my family at the end of June. I'm still able to get my deposit back. Wondering if I should? How long can a virus stay on board any one ship? We are taking this cruise for the itinerary. Would be a shame, even if we were all well, that the ship couldn't dock in various ports.

Do not worry, there is much time between now and then. Any ship at any time can come down with a virus. You could cancel and book something different and still your ship could get sick.

Thanks for the heads up. I just booked a 7-day Western Mediterranean for my family at the end of June. I'm still able to get my deposit back. Wondering if I should? How long can a virus stay on board any one ship? We are taking this cruise for the itinerary. Would be a shame, even if we were all well, that the ship couldn't dock in various ports.

I hope you realize these viruses can pop up at anytime on any ship, any line. You can cancel today, book something else, get on board and bingo; the nasty old virsus comes to you...It is impossible to predict how long it takes to get rid of it or where it will turn up next. Everyday, everyone of us is exposed in some way. Remember the poster said this was just a week ago, there is a long time between now and June. That being said, of course you can cancel.

Nita

The captain urges passengers to contact Medical, but many of the sick do not do so because they do not want to be quarantined and miss ports of call.

It is the selfishness of these people who are making it almost impossible for the crew to eradicate the virus. A ship cannot get sick, it is a human who brings the virus on board and then spreads it around. If people would stay in their cabins when they are contagious it would very quickly disappear but folks don't seem to want to do that. Seems odd to me. I got norovirus at work a couple of years back and could barely move between bedroom and bathroom for 3 days....

I just got off the Jade as well (12 night Med cruise). Many people were sick with norovirus, including 50% of the people we took private tours with over the course of the cruise, causing them to miss ports. And these folks were scrupulous in their hygiene. I've been on other cruises, including with NCL, and have never experienced this many people being sick. My partner and I were two of the very lucky ones, we never got sick, but given what was going on, we were constantly worried that we'd fall ill too.

I'm not sure what can be done when a ship is constantly in use on turnaround sailings. Maybe the Jade needs to be taken out of service and sterilized in some way. All I know is that the sanitizing that NCL staff were doing did not manage to eradicate the virus, as people continued to get sick throughout the cruise. I felt really bad for them....

BTW, in Athens, the authorities delayed the ship's clearance for an hour (we were never told why), causing everyone to miss entering the Acropolis, which closes early in the winter. In Alexandria, the Egyptian authorities held the ship for FIVE hours while they sent food and water samples for testing to a hospital in Cairo (according to what someone told us). So we all lost a very precious half a day in Egypt. (The notion, though, of folks in Egypt being concerned about health problems from a western ship was pretty ironic when you saw the garbage floating in the harbor in Alexandria and the utter filth in Cairo and dead animals and garbage thrown into the Nile tributary in Giza. Perhaps the real reason for the delay was insufficient baksheesh.)

Despite all this, we had a GREAT trip, it was an adventure of a lifetime, but I am very sorry for those who did get sick and missed ports.

Thanks for the heads up. I just booked a 7-day Western Mediterranean for my family at the end of June. I'm still able to get my deposit back. Wondering if I should? How long can a virus stay on board any one ship? We are taking this cruise for the itinerary. Would be a shame, even if we were all well, that the ship couldn't dock in various ports.

I would cancel right away! There is no way they can get the virus cleaned up in over 4 months! :rolleyes:

I would cancel right away! There is no way they can get the virus cleaned up in over 4 months! :rolleyes:

Unfortunately, I can guarantee someone who reads this will not understand the meaning of the ":rolleyes:" emoticon, and at a later date will come back and say they read on Cruise Critic that it takes more than 4 months to rid a ship of the virus. :eek:

Unfortunately, I can guarantee someone who reads this will not understand the meaning of the ":rolleyes:" emoticon, and at a later date will come back and say they read on Cruise Critic that it takes more than 4 months to rid a ship of the virus. :eek:

Very true: most of us do understand these types of posts, but there are always a handful that can't tell facts from fun!!!!

Nita

I wonder how the crew is doing? Seems like they would be ill also.

We are on the 12 day Jade 2/14 - my doc gave me an antiobiotic and told me to take start taking it two days before getting on the ship - then for 3 days. Hope that does the trick. Anyone tried that?

I wonder how the crew is doing? Seems like they would be ill also.

 

We are on the 12 day Jade 2/14 - my doc gave me an antiobiotic and told me to take start taking it two days before getting on the ship - then for 3 days. Hope that does the trick. Anyone tried that?

Haven't tried that, but how can antibiotics work against a virus type of disease?

Will be sailing in March on Jade. The virus is most probably coming again and again from passengers who have caught it in a hotel or restaurant prior to board the ship. I remember reading a post mentioning saying that all passengers who had stayed at one particular hotel in Barcelona were quarantined because many of them got sick in the beginning of the cruise.

I wonder how the crew is doing? Seems like they would be ill also.

 

We are on the 12 day Jade 2/14 - my doc gave me an antiobiotic and told me to take start taking it two days before getting on the ship - then for 3 days. Hope that does the trick. Anyone tried that?

We, too, are sailing on the 14th. Which antiobiotic did you get? My doctor gave us a prescription for Cipro for the trip, but if there is something we can take before, we would like to try. It is too late to cancel the cruise now, with all the penalties with the airfare and I don't know if the insurance would cover the cancellation for this reason, it's not that we are ill.

All things said, we still have to be prepared for the possibility of some time lost at the ports.

We were on a HAL cruise last year with the Norovirus outbreak, and were sanitized every minute of the day, we did not get ill. However, upon return to the Caribbean (after a TA), we were diverted to Nassau instead of the private island. There was another HAL ship there and we guessed they didn't want to take the chance to contaminate it.

I do hope they get the ship cleaned up this week, I wouldn't want to miss any of the ports because of my, or others, illness.

Looking forward to meeting all the the Meet & Greet

Lorraine:)

I really hope that because NCL is making hand sanitizing liquids available in many places on the ship, it doesn't make passengers thinking that they can forget basic hand hygiene rules.

Why not give passengers a nice reminder of these rules just after the muster drill:

1) Wash your hands always when you have an opportunity for that, but at least everytime coming back to your cabin, when going to the toilets, before leaving for eating, after coughing and sneezing, touching unclean surfaces.

2) Hand sanitizing liquids are a complementary method to washing hands and not just a replacement.

3) Don't put your fingers into your mouth, nose, ears.

Got a confirmation by a doctor that antibiotics (Cipro, etc) don't work against virus type of diseases such as norovirus. If they would some major diseases would not be fatal.

I wonder how the crew is doing? Seems like they would be ill also.

 

We are on the 12 day Jade 2/14 - my doc gave me an antiobiotic and told me to take start taking it two days before getting on the ship - then for 3 days. Hope that does the trick. Anyone tried that?

First time I have heard of a shot, that is good news.

Nita

I really hope that because NCL is making hand sanitizing liquids available in many places on the ship, it doesn't make passengers thinking that they can forget basic hand hygiene rules.

 

Why not give passengers a nice reminder of these rules just after the muster drill:

1) Wash your hands always when you have an opportunity for that, but at least everytime coming back to your cabin, when going to the toilets, before leaving for eating, after coughing and sneezing, touching unclean surfaces.

2) Hand sanitizing liquids are a complementary method to washing hands and not just a replacement.

3) Don't put your fingers into your mouth, nose, ears.

 

Got a confirmation by a doctor that antibiotics (Cipro, etc) don't work against virus type of diseases such as norovirus. If they would some major diseases would not be fatal.

you are so right. The hand sanitizers that NCL has been using for about 5 years can only do so much. Everyone has to do their part, even that will not totally end the problems. It just takes one or two people to board with the virus, known or otherwise to start the spread..

Nita

Very true: most of us do understand these types of posts, but there are always a handful that can't tell facts from fun!!!!

 

Nita

I do not believe sarcasm is fun, it is the lowest form of wit.

:confused::confused::confused::confused::confused:

We, too, are sailing on the 14th. Which antiobiotic did you get? My doctor gave us a prescription for Cipro for the trip, but if there is something we can take before, we would like to try. It is too late to cancel the cruise now, with all the penalties with the airfare and I don't know if the insurance would cover the cancellation for this reason, it's not that we are ill.

 

All things said, we still have to be prepared for the possibility of some time lost at the ports.

 

We were on a HAL cruise last year with the Norovirus outbreak, and were sanitized every minute of the day, we did not get ill. However, upon return to the Caribbean (after a TA), we were diverted to Nassau instead of the private island. There was another HAL ship there and we guessed they didn't want to take the chance to contaminate it.

 

I do hope they get the ship cleaned up this week, I wouldn't want to miss any of the ports because of my, or others, illness.

 

Looking forward to meeting all the the Meet & Greet

Lorraine:)

Same as you - Cipro - He said take it one day before and then for 3 days and I wouldn't have issues with Egypt (if I'm careful, of course) or Noro. I always thought antibiotics were after the fact, but I'm positive he said take before. Maybe it helps your immune system. See you at the meet and greet!

First time I have heard of a shot, that is good news.

 

Nita

Sorry if I mislead you - it's not a shot. Cipro, a pill - so not sure if it will work or not but I'll be sure and follow up with a post when we get back on the 26th.

Sorry if I mislead you - it's not a shot. Cipro, a pill - so not sure if it will work or not but I'll be sure and follow up with a post when we get back on the 26th.

ok, glad it isn't a shot, I hate needles..

Have a great cruise.

Nita LOL

It is the selfishness of these people who are making it almost impossible for the crew to eradicate the virus. A ship cannot get sick, it is a human who brings the virus on board and then spreads it around. If people would stay in their cabins when they are contagious it would very quickly disappear but folks don't seem to want to do that. Seems odd to me. I got norovirus at work a couple of years back and could barely move between bedroom and bathroom for 3 days....

While I agree that people should quarantine themselves when ill, I think the cruiselines could increase the likehood of them doing this by doing something special for them. For example, some kind of care package with crackers, white soda, since you won't be dining out; pepto bismol or tums; a deck of cards, a word search book. Wouldn't cost much, all disposable so no cleaning or transfer of germs, but if you're sick on an expensive vacation, you're going to feel like you've been cheated out of your trip.

Like some of the other posters have said, its not the ship that is sick, it's the people onboard. Unfortunately it only takes one person to do the wrong thing and the germs can spread. I was on the Jan 3 cruise on the Jade and I was disgusted to see how many people would refuse the hand sanitisation from staff when entering restaurants/buffet etc, and then they would complain out loud about being "sick of being sanitised every 2 minutes".

No, the sanitisation won't stop the virus in its tracks but every little bit helps. Why anybody would berate the person who is simply trying to keep them healthy is quite beyond me.

Don't panic, take precautions and enjoy your cruise. If you ask me it's much easier to catch a bug on a plane than on a ship... talk about being stuck in close quarters with a bunch of strangers without any fresh air :eek:.

We just got back from 12 days on the Jade and having been on that ship, I can say the "passengers bring it on the boat" excuse is a cop out.

They know it too. If it's solely a viral outbreak why are they sending food for testing? Why are they giving antibiotics to passengers supposedly sick with a virus?

The food preparation is frivolous given the 2+ months they've been battling this. It seemed to me that some foods were deliberately undercooked with the assumption they'd finish cooking under a heat lamp. They have cautioning messages about the risks of raw and undercooked foods (at least their lawyers are on the ball) then serve alarmingly undercooked hamburgers for example??

The sanitizing charade they go through....if they really cared they'd use the strong batch before Cairo. They used the nice menthol and lower % alcohol sanitizers for the first week. Then when everyone had fallen ill they then finally came out with the almost pure alcohol batch. It smelled more harsh and was harder on our skin. Maybe they were getting tired of giving out free meds? I know they went through a lot.

Why do they have all the kitchen staff sanitizing only at the restaurants? Why not post them by the public bathrooms....you know...at the supposed source? Why not supply each cabin with a bottle? Speaking of sanitizing in the restaurants...why do they only sanitize table tops...but not chairs and arm rests? How do you sit down? You grab the chair and pull it out...then you grab the arm rests and pull the chair in. Lots of contact with the hands...but at least the table top is clean right?

Why is the selection of public areas with manditory santizing so random? You can not enter the buffet or the store without having your hands santized....They have staff at the doors making sure you sanitize...why the store? Why not the casino? Why not the dining rooms? The casino is filthy, not until the 2nd last day did I see any staff in the casino sanitizing the machines....but he was a bucket and rag guy.

Where are the managers and senior officers ensuring quality controls? We had to laugh at the staff with buckets and rags...and the half arsed way they moped around slopping the rags at surfaces. Going down the halls slapping the rag at the odd door handle. Or walking down the stairs dragging the rag down a hand rail. Not cleaning the railing....or making sure the whole surface is being sanitized....just dragging the rag behind them. The funniest, or saddest depending on your perspective, sight we saw on this topic was the two guys sleeping in a port hole window in the photogallery one day. They had put down their rags and were sleeping. We coughed...ahem...trying to wake them up and just got a dirty look when they looked up at us. Also when the rag trail dries...you can see all the spots they missed.

Finally...before I end this rant. The housekeeping staff are not cleaners, they are people that tidy up. There's a huge difference between making a bed, replacing towels, emptying a trash bin.....and cleaning something to the point that your disinfecting surface areas.

I threw up in my bathroom. The medical centre alerted housekeeping who sent 3 people with masks and gloves to clean up and sanitize the bathroom. It was a very big and impressive production....the impression soured though however when we both noticed that there was still dried vomit on the walls. how do you miss that? We ended up taking some of the sanitizing wipes we had brought with us and cleaned the bathroom ourselves.

We had read about the conditions on the Jade and thought we were prepared. We brought 4 bottles of purell....5-6 packages of wipes....I even bought the spray bottle of sanitizer. We wiped everything down before we unpacked, we washed our hands all day long over and over....and still we still got sick.

It`s true that when passengers board the ship they bring more than just their luggage with them...that does not excuse the gross inadequacies in both the procedures for dealing with the health of the passengers and their implemetation those procedures.

The Jade will be a sick boat for a very long time.

I wonder how the crew is doing? Seems like they would be ill also.

 

We are on the 12 day Jade 2/14 - my doc gave me an antiobiotic and told me to take start taking it two days before getting on the ship - then for 3 days. Hope that does the trick. Anyone tried that?

I would double check about that being for noro...CDC website list NO vaccine or antibotic:

"Is there a treatment for norovirus infection?

There is no vaccine to prevent norovirus infection. And there is no drug to treat people who are infected with the virus. Antibiotic drugs will not help if you have norovirus infection. This is because they fight against bacteria not viruses."

I found this as well:

http://www.norovirus-symptoms.com/

Let's not forget that noroviris is NOT lmited to shipboard contamination.... that the "flu" we get at home is just as likely the same bug as what we get on ship.

The importance is washing hands, being smart and thinking!

I was struck with the virus while on an Alaskan cruise. The two gf's I shared a cabain with were never impacted. Why? Because they immediately separated their towels from mine, I never used the buffet line after my first "bout", never using a public restroom on the ship, and washing hands, washing hands and washing hands.

I did go to see the ship medical and they provided medication free of charge. I was only asked to restrict myself to avoid the buffet and not use a public restroom. There was not a large outbreak on the ship at the time but you can bet that I was extra cautious. And to be honest I didn't feel like doing much but sleep.

I understand not wanting to miss part of a trip but having been throug this myself I would rather have missed a few days than infect others. I was very thankful that my illness did not get my roommies sick.

Be smart and use your best judgement.

This is my opinion. If I was to vomit and miss the toilet or miss a lined receptacle, I would clean up after myself. If I was too sick to do it, I would hope the family member I was cruising with would do it. If a steward had to clean up my vomit, I would be both thankful and apologetic. I would tip them extra, and I certainly would not be complaining if they missed a tiny bit. Am I the only one who feels this way?

My mother was sick on our transatlantic cruise. It was not GI, but she was sick as a dog and weak. She missed Naples, Crete and our few days in Athens. She was grateful for room service and didn't blame NCL. She became sick from someone seated at our table at dinner. He complained about being sick... Sneezed a wet one and wiped his grossness on his shirtfront, then handed the bread basket to my mom. I had the Maitre D' move us, but it was too late I guess.

Here's food for thought... Just watch people... They sanitize their hands, go in to eat and then touch things like tongs, breadbaskets, salt & pepper, etc. and then eat without re-sanitizing their hands. Also a swish-swish is not enough. People need a few squirts... In between fingers and up to the wrist.