Just heard from the sapphire princess

[Coral]

I don't know how they can be any more forthcoming. There may be fewer pax with the virus than people who have reported being ill, like the people who mentioned their grandaughter here.

 

But, does it really make all that much difference if 100 vs. 200 people are tested positive for the virus? Just the fact the virus is present is enough for me to be more careful.

 

.

 

Yea - to me it does. I heard this spring that the Mercury had 22% - that is huge and yes, I would like to know that. I am going to be far more careful if it is 22% verses 6%.

 

If anything, reading the CDC website was somewhat of a relief to me to see that it was only 6%. By all the people wearing the Haz Material suits, the caution signs, the public rooms closed, etc... I though it was a lot worse then what it was.

 

By not mentioning more information - it makes the rumor mill run and it may not be as accurate as the truth.

[Chesie]

It's always surprised me how many passengers just walk right past the hand sanitizers and into the buffet. I've actually heard a few complain on the occaisions when there is a crew member present requesting them to use it!

 

Judy

 

Or the ladies room!! It is amazing the lack of cleaniness that some people exhibit. We were on the Sapphire last month and she was clean as a whistle then.

[Coral]

Here is a link from the Alaska board and they mentioned how many sick as per Princess's spokesperson:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1214516

[rdsqrl]

I don't know how they can be any more forthcoming. There may be fewer pax with the virus than people who have reported being ill, like the people who mentioned their grandaughter here.

 

But, does it really make all that much difference if 100 vs. 200 people are tested positive for the virus? Just the fact the virus is present is enough for me to be more careful.

Agree. I just sometimes think we here tend to obsess so much over every part of our cruises that we think we need to or deserve to know everything that's going on. And we don't. Precautions don't differ whether it's 2 people or 200 who are ill -- one should always wash one's hands and so forth. Even if no one else is sick.

I'm pretty much a buffet snob and have felt for years it is the worst place to get a meal. I just cannot stand the fact that dozens of people have already been handling the serving utencils.

I don't like buffets either, and if there were a way to get a big salad for lunch without going to the buffet, I would. I console myself with the imagined thought that nasty, skanky people who don't wash their hands are probably not the salad-eating types. This of course is a ludicrous generalization but it gets me over the ick factor!

 

I use the hand sanitizer when it is out, even though I already wash my hands before entering the dining room. That another cruiser would see me avoid it is enough of a reason for me, even though I don't really believe it prevents illness.

Me, too! My cousin, the infectious disease physician, and my mother, the RN, both say that hand sanitizer does not prevent Norovirus, but nevertheless some people continue to believe that hand sanitizer is the be-all and end-all of disease prevention. Apparently, Dr. Salk could have saved all that time searching for a polio vaccine and just invented Purell instead.

[Happy ks]

Yea - to me it does. I heard this spring that the Mercury had 22% - that is huge and yes, I would like to know that. I am going to be far more careful if it is 22% verses 6%.

 

If anything, reading the CDC website was somewhat of a relief to me to see that it was only 6%. By all the people wearing the Haz Material suits, the caution signs, the public rooms closed, etc... I though it was a lot worse then what it was.

 

By not mentioning more information - it makes the rumor mill run and it may not be as accurate as the truth.

 

 

No matter what the cruiseline says or doesn't say, the rumor mill will make something up ;)

 

But I truly don't care about statistics, that's just a number. If there is only 1 person with a case of Noro virus brought onto the ship it can be passed to anyone, no one is truly safe. Before anyone has heard any announcements or that one case is even known, it can be passed to a lot of unsuspecting persons. There are many times when the ship personnel don't know how many cases, or know until it's several days into the cruise. Since onset of symptoms takes a couple of days, you can even pick it up on the ship and take it home with you. You can get it at the grocery store in line with your smuggled soft drinks.

 

If you read CC long enough, people actually advise others not to report it so they won't be quarantined.

 

The best method of protection is to always follow precautions and hope for the best. I'm not going to do anything different if 1%, 5% or 20% of the ship is infected.