The Start of Noro Precautions on the Island

[IECalCruiser]

We have been having a very good Panama Canal Full Transit cruise on the Island that departed FLL on Wednesday, January 9th. Today, Tuesday, January 15th was our stop in Fuerte Amador for Panama City and tours of the Canal. On our return to the Island this afternoon we went to the Horizon Court for a quick bite to eat. There was no silverware or anything else on the tables. Staff wearing gloves were handing out plates, napkins and silverware and packets of salt and pepper were being used rather than shakers. In addition, the doors to the public restrooms were propped open and there was a notice in the Patter recommending that passengers use their cabins rather than public restrooms. It appears that there may be 10-15 cases. Hopefully these precautions help and it spreads no further.

[Eagle Eye]

Thanks for the info - with 10-15 cases, sounds like they want to nip it in the bud.

 

Enjoy the rest of the cruise - stay healthy!

[triplejs]

sailing on the eastbound canal cruise, next week, Jan 23. any indications that there is more than a minor problem on the Island ?? :confused:

 

does anyone know if they plan to hold the ship in port to do a thorough cleaning ??

 

i wouldn't want to cruise, if noro is running rampant !!

 

thx

 

triplejs

[caribill]

What port were you in two or three days ago? It may have been acquired there.

[Pam in CA]

What port were you in two or three days ago? It may have been acquired there.

I'm assuming the previous day was the transit, the day before was Cartagena, and the day before that would have been Aruba. It's two sea days' sail from FLL to Aruba. So, it would have been brought onboard in either Aruba or Cartagena.

[bubba98]

With the way the flu is running rampant in the US this does not surprise me people go onboard sick and use poor hygenine and it causes stuff like this to happen. By no means is it Princess fault them seem to be taking the steps to prevent it.

[IECalCruiser]

I'm assuming the previous day was the transit, the day before was Cartagena, and the day before that would have been Aruba. It's two sea days' sail from FLL to Aruba. So, it would have been brought onboard in either Aruba or Cartagena.

Pam, those were the ports and probably where it was acquired. only about 15-20 cases this morning so not too bad yet. Will let you know if situation changes.

[Eagle Eye]

How long after bringing Noro onboard, does it take for others to show symptoms?

[pakarinen]

does anyone know if they plan to hold the ship in port to do a thorough cleaning ??

 

I wouldn't put a lot of faith in a "thorough cleaning". We were on the Crown Princess Noro Cruise to Nowhere last February and departed FLL quite late because the ship was being "disinfected". Didn't do much good. However that was a several hour cleaning, not a several day cleaning.

 

This is not a slam on Princess; Noro seems particularly difficult to eradicate, especially given the nature of cruising.

 

Good luck!

[highheel girl]

This is no surprise...

Noro is pretty much on every cruise, some more then others.

[caribill]

How long after bringing Noro onboard, does it take for others to show symptoms?

 

One to two days usually.

[Pam in CA]

I wouldn't put a lot of faith in a "thorough cleaning". We were on the Crown Princess Noro Cruise to Nowhere last February and departed FLL quite late because the ship was being "disinfected". Didn't do much good. However that was a several hour cleaning, not a several day cleaning.

 

This is not a slam on Princess; Noro seems particularly difficult to eradicate, especially given the nature of cruising.

 

Good luck!

I realize you're not slamming Princess but several things are possible if a 2nd cruise is infected. People don't report symptoms and if it's not known that a cabin needs deep cleaning, it can be missed. The other factor is that it can be brought onboard again. It's almost impossible to determine whether it's leftover or brought back onboard. People lie all the time about whether they are or have been sick. :(

[caribill]

I realize you're not slamming Princess but several things are possible if a 2nd cruise is infected. People don't report symptoms and if it's not known that a cabin needs deep cleaning, it can be missed. The other factor is that it can be brought onboard again. It's almost impossible to determine whether it's leftover or brought back onboard. People lie all the time about whether they are or have been sick. :(

 

Also, while the ship was being worked on between those two cruises, all of the new passengers were sent to the convention center near the pier. Thousands of people, some of whom were no doubt infected but did not know it yet, in close quarters. It probably spread like wildfire in that environment before boading the ship. No surprise it was rampant on the new cruise.

[izucker789]

NY Times science section this Tuesday had a blurb that hand sanitizers are worthless against

the noro virus check it out.