Liberty 4-6-13 - Need input from ppl on cruise

[Simplertimes]

Hello - want to start off by saying that I went on the Carnival Liberty on their 4-6-13 western Caribbean sailing and had a BLAST! This has been my favorite cruise so far! Did a Carnival excursion in Cozumel and a private one in Belize. Loved every minute of this cruise and it went by way too quickly! The crew was awesome!

 

That being said, one of the people in our large group (1st cruise) was sick the last day of the cruise (we stayed in Miami that Saturday night and came home the next day). After coming home, she ended up going to the ER and was treated for dehydration. The doctors told her that she had some type of bacteria in her system that came from either beef or chicken and she got it on her cruise (I forget the name of the bacteria, but can look it up through emails if people want to know). Other than a few people coming back and getting colds when they returned, no one else in our group experienced anything like that. I told her that I've looked through all the boards and have seen no one posting about getting sick from Carnival's food. Apparently, she has called Carnival to complain and they said they would note it and someone would get back to her. She's upset that no one has gotten back to her. I said I would post on this board to see if anyone else suffered any type of illness like this. The last stop on our cruise was Grand Cayman on Thursday of the week and she ate at Margaritaville. Apparently, the doctors told her it was whatever she ate the last night/morning (so we're talking Friday night/Saturday morning).

 

Though she said it will be her last cruise, I have made it clear that it will not stop me from cruising again. Others have told me that they also had a blast and would love to cruise again. In the future, I will also have nothing to do with anyone else in booking their cruise. I busted my hump getting info to people and walked them through everything and am a little p.o.'d. Live and learn I guess.

 

So, anyone on this sailing suffer any of the same issues?

[SouthernIllnoiscruisers]

My cousins cruised on the 13th on that ship and all four of them were sick. One got sick the last couple days of the cruise and the other 3 the day they left.

[adaptabl]

Hello - want to start off by saying that I went on the Carnival Liberty on their 4-6-13 western Caribbean sailing and had a BLAST! This has been my favorite cruise so far! Did a Carnival excursion in Cozumel and a private one in Belize. Loved every minute of this cruise and it went by way too quickly! The crew was awesome!

 

That being said, one of the people in our large group (1st cruise) was sick the last day of the cruise (we stayed in Miami that Saturday night and came home the next day). After coming home, she ended up going to the ER and was treated for dehydration. The doctors told her that she had some type of bacteria in her system that came from either beef or chicken and she got it on her cruise (I forget the name of the bacteria, but can look it up through emails if people want to know). Other than a few people coming back and getting colds when they returned, no one else in our group experienced anything like that. I told her that I've looked through all the boards and have seen no one posting about getting sick from Carnival's food. Apparently, she has called Carnival to complain and they said they would note it and someone would get back to her. She's upset that no one has gotten back to her. I said I would post on this board to see if anyone else suffered any type of illness like this. The last stop on our cruise was Grand Cayman on Thursday of the week and she ate at Margaritaville. Apparently, the doctors told her it was whatever she ate the last night/morning (so we're talking Friday night/Saturday morning).

 

Though she said it will be her last cruise, I have made it clear that it will not stop me from cruising again. Others have told me that they also had a blast and would love to cruise again. In the future, I will also have nothing to do with anyone else in booking their cruise. I busted my hump getting info to people and walked them through everything and am a little p.o.'d. Live and learn I guess.

 

So, anyone on this sailing suffer any of the same issues?

 

Maybe I would get a second opinion from another doctor. If it was a problem with the food she would not be the only one. The ships are very carefull with thier food. You would much more likely get sick from food at home than from the ship. It could just be a virus she picked up anywhere. We were on the same ship on the 13th and there were no issues.

[stargate fan]

Hello - want to start off by saying that I went on the Carnival Liberty on their 4-6-13 western Caribbean sailing and had a BLAST! This has been my favorite cruise so far! Did a Carnival excursion in Cozumel and a private one in Belize. Loved every minute of this cruise and it went by way too quickly! The crew was awesome!

 

That being said, one of the people in our large group (1st cruise) was sick the last day of the cruise (we stayed in Miami that Saturday night and came home the next day). After coming home, she ended up going to the ER and was treated for dehydration. The doctors told her that she had some type of bacteria in her system that came from either beef or chicken and she got it on her cruise (I forget the name of the bacteria, but can look it up through emails if people want to know). Other than a few people coming back and getting colds when they returned, no one else in our group experienced anything like that. I told her that I've looked through all the boards and have seen no one posting about getting sick from Carnival's food. Apparently, she has called Carnival to complain and they said they would note it and someone would get back to her. She's upset that no one has gotten back to her. I said I would post on this board to see if anyone else suffered any type of illness like this. The last stop on our cruise was Grand Cayman on Thursday of the week and she ate at Margaritaville. Apparently, the doctors told her it was whatever she ate the last night/morning (so we're talking Friday night/Saturday morning).

 

Though she said it will be her last cruise, I have made it clear that it will not stop me from cruising again. Others have told me that they also had a blast and would love to cruise again. In the future, I will also have nothing to do with anyone else in booking their cruise. I busted my hump getting info to people and walked them through everything and am a little p.o.'d. Live and learn I guess.

 

So, anyone on this sailing suffer any of the same issues?

 

We were on the 4/6 Liberty sailing also. None of us got sick and we ate anything, and everything. :eek:

 

Sorry to hear about your friend.

[loxley]

What is she wanting carnival to do?

[Anzac]

We were on the 4/6 Liberty and the 4 of us ate in the MDR and Lido Buffet and had no problems.

 

Sorry about your friend.

[ThisFemmeKat]

we were also on this sailing.. had both chicken and beef in MDR and lunch on LIDO and no problems.. sorry your friend is sick.. sucks that it soured her on sailing all together..

 

maybe one day she will reconsider.

[PaulMedik]

........The doctors told her that she had some type of bacteria in her system that came from either beef or chicken and she got it on her cruise ........?

 

 

Simplertimes,

 

Unless they tested her stool or emesis and had a culture grown there's no way that a specific bacteria can be determined. Regardless of what testing they do, theres NO WAY any ER can determine where or from what item they acquired the bacteria.

 

Note when she first had symptoms then have her recount what and where she ate at least two days prior to then to determine the best GUESS as to what she ate if she got it from food.

 

If she at any time touched ner mouth, nose, eyes, or ears with her hands then all bets are off when it comes to saying that food caused her illness.

[golfadj]

I would post this on the roll call for your cruise.

 

Some years ago I was sick the last night of the cruise and found out after we got home hundreds were also and the crew was up late the last night sanitizing all areas.

 

Was better a few days later but Carnival is not about to tell the world unless they had to.

[ThisFemmeKat]

did she eat or drink in port at all??

[greyx4]

My cousins cruised on the 13th on that ship and all four of them were sick. One got sick the last couple days of the cruise and the other 3 the day they left.

 

We cruised 4/13 and managed to eat anything and everything we could find. :)

No sickness whatsoever - and none from the other cruisers we met.

[cruisingonQ]

We were on the 4/6 sailing on the Liberty and had no problems. We ate in the Main dining room and in the Lido. Sorry this spoiled her trip.

[ch27088]

Maybe I would get a second opinion from another doctor. If it was a problem with the food she would not be the only one. The ships are very carefull with thier food. You would much more likely get sick from food at home than from the ship. It could just be a virus she picked up anywhere. We were on the same ship on the 13th and there were no issues.

 

To be honest, she could have picked up the virus any where; by that I mean, it could have been at any of the ports (did she eat while off the ship). Or, picked it up from someone on the ship. I seriously doubt it had any thing to do with the food, because you said that you didn't get sick, and if only a handful of other people got sick, I'm betting it was a virus.

[Simplertimes]

As far as what she wants Carnival to do, I have no idea. I've asked the same question. :(

 

As for eating at ports, the answer is yes - I know on the Tuesday of the week, she ate in Belize and on Thursday at Margaritaville in Grand Cayman.

 

Not sure what tests she got, but said the lab results show "campylobacter" is the bacteria she got.

 

I (and others in the group) have said she could have gotten it anywhere, but... Oh well, won't change my mind about cruising again. Had a blast and can't wait until the next one (though it may be a few years as I have 2 kids getting married next year)!

[sc4125]

I worked for several years on Carnival ships way back when. I will tell you the worst case of food poisoning any of us "crew" ever got was from eating at a restaurant in Grand Cayman. Now, does that mean I would never eat in Grand Cayman again?? Uh, no.

 

Gald you had fun - I'm hoping I'll be on the Liberty in September!!

[larkz]

Based on a single patient showing up with a food borne illness, no doctor can claim to know the meat source and the origin of the contamination.

 

When the CDC or local health departments assess where and how an outbreak started, they need lots and lots of information. You're on the right track looking for others who might have been sick, but on the wrong track assuming without further evidence that the source was the ship. Food borne illnesses can take a few hours to a few weeks before the symptoms appear.

 

I suspect that the majority of situations where cruisers consume bad food are on the islands. One extremely important thing to remember is that fresh fruit and vegetables are among the riskiest things to eat, especially from street vendors. This is because they are often not properly washed, and haven't been cooked, and may have been grown or harvested in contact with livestock. It's a romantic notion, going to the local markets and enjoying the foods of the region, but risky.

 

Even on Carnival excursions, I don't eat any fruits or vegetables that haven't been fully cooked.

[Bobblefrog]

According to the CDC:

http://www.cdc.gov/nczved/divisions/dfbmd/diseases/campylobacter/

it can take anywhere from 2-5 days. So she needs to take into account all the days before she got sick - so if she got sick the last night of the cruise she got it 2-5 days prior to that. Sounds like it's quite common (they say 47% of chicken has it), and the most likely source sounds like undercooked poultry or cross contamination with produce perhaps. Killed by oxygen so not easily spread person by person. Doesn't take much - a single drop of liquid apparently. Very common in underdeveloped countries, and since so far you haven't found a bunch of people talking about getting sick for this cruise, I'd bet she got it either in Belize or Grand Cayman.