Gem 4/15-4/22 illness??

[Young@heart25]

We just got home yesterday afternoon. The cruise was great, I'll be writing a review in a few days. But I have an immediate question for anyone who was onboard our sailing, or possibly the previous one? Does anyone have details of the illness that was going around? Apparently it was bad enough to alter the buffet process not only once but twice (a couple days in, they stopped letting us get our own plates/silverware). We managed to avoid it until this morning, when my teenage son woke up violently ill. I'm sure he has whatever was going around the ship, because he hasn't been anywhere else and we've only been home for a little over 12 hours. Was it your basic GI "bug" or was it something more severe? :confused:

[russianmom]

It's Norovirus....

I got off Jewel Saturday morning and about 10 hours later had violent gi systems. Feeling better this am. No one else in my family got sick:(

[camz]

Yuck the Noro bug is nasty. However, on the upside, if there is one, you were at least at home when you got the bug. Having that nasty bug while on the ship must be horrible. Not to mention, if you happen to get it the last day and have to get up and out of your cabin early the next morning. How is that even possible when you are that sick?

[Laszlo]

Ugh

We sail the Gem in June. I really hope they have it cleared up by then. I had the Norovirus once, its worse than a colonoscopy prep:eek::eek::eek:

[shof515]

Ouch, that sucks. Hopefully NCL does a good job of cleaning the ship so it is ready for me to cruise

[Pokeraddict]

Unfortunately this is what happens when pax don't do proper cleansing or none at all which I've witnessed on numerous occasions leaving the men's washrooms on board.

Coughing into their hands then handling food, dishes and some put things back. Kids picking their nose and the list goes on.

 

People need to face the music and realize it can happen. I think NCL does a very good job at keeping it contained where possible.

 

And lets not forget those that board not feeling well, possibly pickup food poisoning or a bug along the way and then lie on the form about not showing symptoms when boarding.

[fergusonvt]

Unfortunately this is what happens when pax don't do proper cleansing or none at all which I've witnessed on numerous occasions leaving the men's washrooms on board.

Coughing into their hands then handling food, dishes and some put things back. Kids picking their nose and the list goes on.

 

People need to face the music and realize it can happen. I think NCL does a very good job at keeping it contained where possible.

 

And lets not forget those that board not feeling well, possibly pickup food poisoning or a bug along the way and then lie on the form about not showing symptoms when boarding.

 

 

Yes but someone coming aboard with food poisoning is not going to spread it around to anyone else however Noro is very spreadable.

[Halls12]

UGH - we leave Sunday on the GEM :confused:

[brennan5!]

Hi there - we're just back from that sailing. We were with a group of 18 people and 2 of them (hubby & wife) came down with noro on Tues evening. She was quarantined for 24+ hours - horrible, horrible virus.

 

I have never been on a ship with that standard of prevention measures. There were not any condiments on any table the entire cruise nor could you put your own ketchup, etc., on your food. You could not serve yourself any food or beverage what so ever. I found the buffets really difficult to manage with the stations roped off and the servers waiting on guests individually. The "paths" were blocked constantly since only one line of people could move through and it took forever to get a dessert or fruit item from the garden buffet because they only had one or 2 attendants stationed there for the entire row and not a concise way to queue.

 

We sailed last year in March and none of these measures were taken - is the "no self serve" a new measure for NCL or is this just for this particular sailing/ship? At first, I thought it might be preventative due to the high number of kids on board - but it was big time "hands off"!

 

Sorry your son is sick - hopefully my 3 will be ok ....

 

Brennan5!

[russianmom]

I was so careful. I wash my hand about 100x day. I always use the hand sanitizer. I even wiped EVERY surface of our room down upon boarding with Clorax wipes and Lysol....

 

Only I got sick not my son or husband.

 

What's funny(or strange) is after 10 cruises the only 2 times I have had Noro I was on Jewel BOTH times????:confused::confused:

[TaraNevins]

We were on that sailing, there were 9 of us in total. My son got sick the last day of the cruise, since we have been home two others in my group have gotten sick. They did take alot of preventative measures but I feel like the ship should have been more thorougly cleaned after the last sailing. Anyone else have any issues with the service? I thought it was very poor, none of the dinner staff seemed friendly, we could not even get wine at dinner.

[rigramma]

We were on the jewel on March 24th sailing and norovirus was on that sailing too. It would seem in a month it would be eradicated. That is not encouraging news for future sailings. We took all precautions and we were lucky not to come down with it.

[brennan5!]

Anyone else have any issues with the service? I thought it was very poor, none of the dinner staff seemed friendly, we could not even get wine at dinner.

 

We, too, had problems with service. On the first night in Magenta not one staff member came to our table for a drink order - and I asked for drinks and was forgotten/ignored. The server looked bored and unhappy. Thankfully, our next 2 trips to Magenta we had better service/staff, but overall I was disappointed with the service. Our cabin steward didn't turn down our room 2 nights (we weren't in the cabin all evening eihter).

 

So, not only did NCL loose our $$ for drinks with dinner, we also recruited 2 families to come with us and they were really disappointed with the service having not been on a cruise before and having listened to us rave about cruising. I'll be surprised if they book another cruise in the near future :-( with the lacking service (wait staff and steward's - they had a really bad one).

 

Yeah - now that I think about it, the poolside waiters weren't even bothersome as they can sometimes be!

 

b5!

[Pikaia]

I think NCL does a very good job at keeping it contained where possible.

Agreed.

 

This is perhaps little known, but a large percentage of those infected with norovirus show no symptoms. Furthermore, those who have recovered may shed virus for quite some time. For these reasons, recovered and/or asymptomatic crew members are probable reservoirs of norovirus infection on cruise ships. Deep cleaning is important, but it won't stop outbreaks if asymptomatic/recovered crew members are still shedding virus.

 

How to protect yourself on a ship? Never fail to apply hand sanitizer before eating (at the table, not just as you enter!), avoid self-serve buffets when there are reports of stomach bugs on board, and use hand sanitizer throughout the day, especially after touching or using railings, door handles, bathroom fixtures, etc.

[Pokeraddict]

Agreed.

 

This is perhaps little known, but a large percentage of those infected with norovirus show no symptoms. Furthermore, those who have recovered may shed virus for quite some time. For these reasons, recovered and/or asymptomatic crew members are probable reservoirs of norovirus infection on cruise ships. Deep cleaning is important, but it won't stop outbreaks if asymptomatic/recovered crew members are still shedding virus.

 

How to protect yourself on a ship? Never fail to apply hand sanitizer before eating (at the table, not just as you enter!), avoid self-serve buffets when there are reports of stomach bugs on board, and use hand sanitizer throughout the day, especially after touching or using railings, door handles, bathroom fixtures, etc.

 

Agreed! We only eat at the buffet in the mornings and were so early we feel safer. We stopped eating dinners many years ago as we just couldn't take what was going on so now it's specialty restaurants all the time or the blue Lagoon's.

[Mrdell]

My Family of 10 were on this sailing and this was not a very good cruise!! The resturant service was awfull!! The waiters just about looked at you to take your order and service was extreemly slow and the food was nothing to write home about. When asking the waiters what was wrong, the staff would blame the kitchen. Two out of ten of us got the noro bug also. Even after spraying the living daylights out of you when you enter the dinning rooms this nasty bug lives on! After so many nice ncl crusises in the past, this was a big disapointment. My wife and I always purchase a future cruise certificate for the $100.00 OBC, but this time we decided not to....thinking of trying another line. I must say the weather was beautiful and the seas were very calm. Most of the children were very well behaved!

[fergusonvt]

DS got it two days after we arrived home from our first cruise and he could have gotten it on the ship or picked it up in the airport. If you encounter this bug after you get home you can't automatically assume you picked it up on the ship because it's rampant in any area where there are lots of people traveling through.

[Young@heart25]

DS got it two days after we arrived home from our first cruise and he could have gotten it on the ship or picked it up in the airport. If you encounter this bug after you get home you can't automatically assume you picked it up on the ship because it's rampant in any area where there are lots of people traveling through.

 

Considering the code red on the sailing that returned the day ours left and the increase in precautions (no self-serve buffet, no touching plates or silverware, no self-serve beverages) throughout the entire cruise we were on, it's safe to assume there was a lot of illness going around. Also considering he was pulling a suitcase in one hand and had his carry-on in the other, as he walked off the ship and directly to our vehicle parked in the port parking area, he was not in contact with anything else. If no one on the ship had been ill, then I would think he possibly picked it up some other way. But after 7 nights on a cruise ship on high alert for health issues, I think its a very safe assumption that he contracted it onboard.

 

We had a great cruise, sickness happens. I'm a teacher, and I know how it travels through a school. When you're stuck on a cruise ship with 4,000 people (passengers and staff) it's bound to happen now and then. I hope they get this cleared up so other cruisers don't have to deal with it though. I know they were trying hard, I think it's just difficult to fully sanitize with back-to-back cruises. And the staff (especially in the restaurants) seemed to be annoyed by it. We didn't let it affect our good time, but we definitely did not receive good/pleasant service for the majority of our meals. Most the servers seemed irritated and were terse or completely silent. Not at all what I expected from what I'd read about NCLs great service.

 

Like I said, I'll post a full review when I have more time. We loved our first cruise and can't wait for the next one....most likely with NCL :)

[lgfromdg]

I was also on the 4/15 sailing. Not being able to serve yourself at the buffet was a precaution taken after the prior week's Noro cases; it won't continue after the Noro is eradicated.

 

Unlike some of the posters here, we had very good service in the MDRs. I was surprised at how upbeat the crew stayed during this time. They were working longer and harder and still managed to stay upbeat and pleasant. A few might not have been as friendly as the rest, but they might not have been feeling well or were just tired.

 

Re; poolside waiters - so many cruisers complained in the past about being bothered constantly, that the waiters now don't come back if you say no once; if you change your mind, all you have to do is wave and they'll come right to you.

 

We had a great cruise and I can't wait to sail the Gem again.

[Young@heart25]

Thanks for all the responses! Hope everyone who experienced/is experiencing this feels better! My son is already feeling a little better. I'm pushing water and he's keeping that down. Very glad this happened today instead of during the cruise.

[Traveller20074]

Glad that the illness is getting better, and that it didn't happen on the cruise!

 

 

A question. Someone above said that hand sanitizer doesn't prevent noro.

 

So...what ARE they trying to prevent with it? Colds? *thumps head*

 

If hand washing helps prevent noro, wouldn't sanitizer? :confused:

[murr202]

If hand sanitizers didn't work then why are the hospitals and doctors offices using them on the walls??

 

Most sanitizers contain alcohol, and rubbing alcohol acts as a hand cleaner.

They don't want you to believe that only the product will do the trick, wash hands and then use the sanitizer. Don't rely on the sanitizer.

[bahamasbabe65]

If hand sanitizers didn't work then why are the hospitals and doctors offices using them on the walls??

 

Most sanitizers contain alcohol, and rubbing alcohol acts as a hand cleaner.

They don't want you to believe that only the product will do the trick, wash hands and then use the sanitizer. Don't rely on the sanitizer.

 

Actually hand sanitizers are effective in killing bacteria but not viruses. Noro is a virus and resistant to such treatment. Using hand santizer is a great idea in general especially on a cruise or after being in a public setting of any kind, however the suggested prevention for avoiding catching Noro is diligent hand washing with soap and hot water for at least 3 minutes. The new and improved Lysol is said to be effective, but the old version will not be. Also Lysol wipes are ineffective as well. There is a great deal of information on the internet regarding this; just be sure to cite from a reputable website.

[Northern Bear]

Only I got sick not my son or husband.

 

i·ro·ny [ahy-ruh-nee, ahy-er-]

noun, plural i·ro·nies.

an outcome of events contrary to what was, or might have been, expected.

[russianmom]

i·ro·ny [ahy-ruh-nee, ahy-er-]

noun, plural i·ro·nies.

an outcome of events contrary to what was, or might have been, expected.

 

of course! When we travel abroad am I am so careful about what I eat etc and my husband and son eat everything and everywhere and who do you think is always sick???:rolleyes: