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Solstice Jan. 23 Norovirus Numbers

Wavedance

By Wavedance,
in Celebrity Cruises

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aliasyoshi

aliasyoshi

Posted
Posted
Sure they do; many antibacterial wipes have sufficient alcohol concentration that they are effective against many viruses as well. There are plenty of hand sanitizers that are effective against noro; even the CDC recommends they be used. Washing with soap and warm/hot water is generally better, but hand sanitizers are useful as well.

 

 

Yes and no. Most commercial products available for hands do not have a sufficient concentration of alcohol to eliminate the virus. Also, people need to actually use a decent amount and not just a drip or two. And as you said, hand washing is the best as it involves a detergent, (hopefully) hot water, and sufficient time for agitation of the hands.

 

EDIT: I do not want to come off as a jerk. I just want people to know that a couple drops and two swirls of the palms will not suffice. Just wash your hands, please!

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Mr. Luckytoo

Mr. Luckytoo

Posted
Posted

Actually alcohol disinfectants aren't that effective against the norovirus due to the composition of the virus's exterior coat; it doesn't have a lipid envelope.

 

Most effective are chlorine based products - that's why you have the crew using 'chlorox' cleaning and the areas smell like bleach. :(

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aliasyoshi

aliasyoshi

Posted
Posted
Actually alcohol disinfectants aren't that effective against the norovirus due to the composition of the virus's exterior coat; it doesn't have a lipid envelope.

 

Most effective are chlorine based products - that's why you have the crew using 'chlorox' cleaning and the areas smell like bleach. :(

 

 

It isn't even an enveloped virus, right??

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Gonzo70

Gonzo70

Posted
Posted
Yes and no. Most commercial products available for hands do not have a sufficient concentration of alcohol to eliminate the virus.

 

Actually most commercially available hand sanitizers currently have 62% Ethyl Alcohol - the concentration necessary to be effective against many viruses. As I said in my other post, there are hand sanitizers that are effective specifically against norovirus. Yes, you do need sufficient concentration of hand sanitizer as well as to thoroughly rub the sanitizer throughout your hands in order for it to be effective.

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lmmn

lmmn

Posted
Posted
Sorry if anything like this has been posted, but I did not read all 7 pages.

 

We were on the 1/9-1/16 cruise on Solstice and my dad ended up with (most likely) noro on the last night. Not sure if any others did since it was the last day. Also not sure how he got it, but my guess is something from the Oceanview Cafe on Saturday lunch. (Maybe, maybe not).

 

Also, anti-bacterial wipes or sanitizer will do nothing for noro since it is a virus. :D

 

Interesting, we were also on that cruise and my husband got REALLY sick. He was only sick for 1/2 day though, so it probably was not the noro. He thought it was from the tuna he ate during Select Dining the night before.

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BluenoseCaper

BluenoseCaper

Posted
Posted

Greetings from the Solstice. It is Friday, February 11, 2011 and we are at sea heading back to Ft. Lauderdale. So far the cruise has been wonderful with only a few minor inconveniences. Our waiter told us yesterday morning that they need to go 72 hours without any signs of ilness before the restrictions are eased. I doubt whether these restrictions will ease for us but possibly the cruisers on the Feb 13th sailing might luck out. One of the activities staff said they were about 2 hours from the "all clear" when there was a case of illness yesterday morning. There is no way of knowing what that illness was but I gather it was some sort of gastrointestinal bug. According to this staff member, this week's cruise was nothing remotely similar to the conditions on board the previous two cruises. We heard an announcement on board at breakfast time on the 10th and apparantly this was the code for a case of illness on board. The page was for "Mr. Purell" to report to a particular cabin. We have not heard of anyone being sick and know no one who has heard of anyone being sick. There is still lots of hand cleansing and at meals you are not allowed to handle anything yourself. At the buffet you must ask for everything - nothing is laying out to be taken by passengers. At dinner, butter, bread, cream and milk for coffee, salt and pepper are all being handed out by the waiters. It may seem like a nuisance, but really, it is nothing. We are having a wonderful time and although some people are irritated by it, most are just taking it in stride and are not letting it interfere with an otherwise super cruise. Unless things change drastically in the next few days, I would not consider changing my plans if I were scheduled to sail within the next few weeks. In previous reports from cruises on Jan 23 & 30, people mentioned being able to smell bleach in the hallways etc. There is no evidence of any of that on this cruise. The crew members are cleaning constantly - we were in the Ensemble Lounge for trivia a few days back and while waiting, they were cleaning the bar and all the chairs very thoroughly. We were in the same lounge a few hours later and they were cleaning again. The crew are doing an amazing job to ensure the health and safety of passengers, so don't bitch and complain because there is no salt shaker on the table. Everything that is being done is being done for us. If the greatest problem we have is that there is no pepper on the table, we are pretty darn lucky in life. I hope upcoming cruisers on the Solstice have a marvellous vacation. I will post another message only if I hear of things turning more in the negative direction. I don't anticipate that happening. Bon Voyage!

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Craig_K

Craig_K

Posted
Posted

Thank you so much BluenoseCaper for taking time away from your wonderful cruise to update us on this! It is good to hear that is sounds like things are settling down a lot. Hopefully this will continue and by next week will be completely back to business as usual.

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BluenoseCaper

BluenoseCaper

Posted
Posted
BluenoseCaper, Thank you for your report. We sail this Sunday so we were anxiously waiting for a good report. Is the library open?

 

 

Library is open but there are no books available.

 

Casino is in full swing - nothing else appears to be off limits. There was no "Brunch" on any of the sea days. It was a tad disappointing but it's not like we had nothing to eat. :-)

 

My disembarkation is at 9:40 AM so it doesn't look like they are ushering everyone of the ship quickly.

 

Have a great cruise all - can't wait to sail the Solstice or a sister ship soon again.

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letsgoaway

letsgoaway

Posted
Posted
Greetings from the Solstice. It is Friday, February 11, 2011 and we are at sea heading back to Ft. Lauderdale. So far the cruise has been wonderful with only a few minor inconveniences. Our waiter told us yesterday morning that they need to go 72 hours without any signs of ilness before the restrictions are eased. I doubt whether these restrictions will ease for us but possibly the cruisers on the Feb 13th sailing might luck out. One of the activities staff said they were about 2 hours from the "all clear" when there was a case of illness yesterday morning. There is no way of knowing what that illness was but I gather it was some sort of gastrointestinal bug. According to this staff member, this week's cruise was nothing remotely similar to the conditions on board the previous two cruises. We heard an announcement on board at breakfast time on the 10th and apparantly this was the code for a case of illness on board. The page was for "Mr. Purell" to report to a particular cabin. We have not heard of anyone being sick and know no one who has heard of anyone being sick. There is still lots of hand cleansing and at meals you are not allowed to handle anything yourself. At the buffet you must ask for everything - nothing is laying out to be taken by passengers. At dinner, butter, bread, cream and milk for coffee, salt and pepper are all being handed out by the waiters. It may seem like a nuisance, but really, it is nothing. We are having a wonderful time and although some people are irritated by it, most are just taking it in stride and are not letting it interfere with an otherwise super cruise. Unless things change drastically in the next few days, I would not consider changing my plans if I were scheduled to sail within the next few weeks. In previous reports from cruises on Jan 23 & 30, people mentioned being able to smell bleach in the hallways etc. There is no evidence of any of that on this cruise. The crew members are cleaning constantly - we were in the Ensemble Lounge for trivia a few days back and while waiting, they were cleaning the bar and all the chairs very thoroughly. We were in the same lounge a few hours later and they were cleaning again. The crew are doing an amazing job to ensure the health and safety of passengers, so don't bitch and complain because there is no salt shaker on the table. Everything that is being done is being done for us. If the greatest problem we have is that there is no pepper on the table, we are pretty darn lucky in life. I hope upcoming cruisers on the Solstice have a marvellous vacation. I will post another message only if I hear of things turning more in the negative direction. I don't anticipate that happening. Bon Voyage!

Thanks so much for the encouraging report. We are also from Nova Scotia and sailing in March. Feel much better after reading your comments.

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illusion

illusion

Posted
Posted

Another great Celebrity cruise. Never heard one mention of Noro. Our group of 8 did everything we had hoped to do. The staff were as usual, friendly and smiling. The cleaners did a great job of wiping down all the table and chairs, railings, mirrors ... every where you looked they were wiping something.

 

Food was wonderful. We dined in the dining room each night except for 1 late night when in San Juan and the other for Murano. I must say my only downer was I did not especially enjoy my meal in Murano, again in our group of 8 there were probably 3 who felt that way. Service was very good though.

 

Anyone on future cruises will have a wonderful experience.

 

Enjoy.

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Cruise Raider Great Review Rare

Cruise Raider

Posted
Posted
"...some things are out of a cruise line's control and just have to be chalked up to bad luck."

 

Bad luck... and sick passengers. Who do you think brings this onboard?? Passengers do! Yet the cruise lines take all the responsibility. LOL

 

Bottom line... if you're sick or just getting over being sick, stay home. I know, some people don't know yet that they are about to come down with it... but some do know and board anyway.

 

I did see one young man denied boarding in FLL. He made the mistake of throwing up in a trashcan in the terminal. He said (and those with him said) that he was hungover... but they still wouldn't let him onboard. The cruise lines TRY to keep noro off their ships, but passengers have to do their part.

 

This is exactly what I had been thinking the entire time reading this thread. We sailed a couple of times right after a norovirus breakout and no worries here...those ships were probably never so clean as they were right after those sailings. We did encounter one cruise a couple of years ago that sailed, had a breakout of norovirus, was deep cleaned, sailed, had another outbreak of norovirus and we were delayed in our boarding due to the next deep cleaning...and actually had two more outbreaks while we were onboard. It was actually probably only one but they lifted the restrictions and then had to put them back in place. We enjoyed this cruise immensely but were very careful of washing, washing, washing!! The captain did plead with everyone to wash their hands, go to the medical center if something was brewing and please not to use the public restroms if it could be helped.

So, we were pretty convinced that someone brought it onboard in that initial cruise, whether it was the crew, staff or passengers, it was someone. It didn't just develop from the furnishings of that ship. My guess is that the crew / staff members also became sickened as they cannot escape it having to clean rooms and public restrooms of those that are ill....so, it was probably spread around much like that....and from cruise to cruise. I suppose this is the exact same way that you might become ill in a nursing home, in church, hospital, restaurants, office areas....everyone touches the same things and shakes hands, etc, etc....this is not unique to cruise ships. It occurs everywhere that people gather. Then, people don't want to miss their long awaited vacation....figure they will be better someday during the cruise...and bingo!! It spreads like wildfire.

It might be of interest to you that one this same cruise that was struck by a norovirus that we were on, we had thought the room next to us was vacant until about 9 days into the cruise, when we saw somebody open the door. We commented on this and the pax mentioned that he had pneumonia so wasn't leaving his room much. MUCH??? He shouldn't have been leaving his room at all. He knew about it when coming onboard ...as he mentioned. Good night....come on....he knowingly had pneumonia and it just didn't matter to him. I do work with infection control in a hospital and know that certain types of pneumonia are just not contagious....but some are and he may have been putting others at risk but thought the relaxation would do him good. Are we serious here??? This is the attitude some people take because it is all about them. Who cares if someone else gets sick because it is all about them. Well, I am sure his immune system was already somewhat compromised so he was a prime candidate for also contracting the norovirus.......OMG....just surprises me when people are rather selfish like that. Plus, I have seen so many pax that leave the bathroom without washing their hands after being in one of the stalls....ew...gross!! Just think about touching that knob to flush the toilet...and where your hand was right before you touched that knob to flush the toilet. OK....and the person before you...where was their hand before they flushed that toilet. AND -- you don't wash your hands after that....yuk! yuk! yuk! And then, I have seen them walk right into the dining room...probably pick up the salt and pepper shakers, sides of the chair, the menus, etc. and then leave that table for the next unsuspecting guest.

I can only hope that someone with TB that didn't bother to inform anyone when boarding did not occupy my room before I board. Now we are talking about a serious health threat, aren't we??

 

One more item....not all hand sanitizers are effective against norovirus. I am sure the cruise ships are onto this and hopefully they only use ones that are effective. But, it still goes without saying that washing your hands is absolutely the best defense. Then, try not to touch anything that others have touched.

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