Serving Methods

[sail7seas]

Non-compliants are easily identifiable!

 

 

No, they are not, I beg to differ.

 

I leave Ocean Bar or whichever lounge where we have pre-dinner cocktails, I stop at a restroom and wash my hands well. I touch nothing and proceed to MDR or Pinnacle for dinner. I am not going to put that sticky goo on my meticulously clean hands I have just washed. I hate the feeling of the gop that does nothing to prevent Noro. More than once, to avoid a scene, I have used the gop on my freshly washed hands, turned around and left and rewashed them so I could enjoy the feeling of clean hands again. ;) When I return, I bypass the gop machine.

 

But I am not a 'non-compliant'. ;)

 

[jtl513]

No, they are not, I beg to differ.

 

But I am not a 'non-compliant'. ;)

 

I think s/he meant non-compliants to frankc's suggestion:

 

Require every passenger to jump in a pool before eating!! Towels on the MDR and Lido seats will absorb the excess water and chlorine.

[sail7seas]

I think s/he meant non-compliants to frankc's suggestion:

 

 

Open to interpretation...... ;) :D

 

There was conversation about the gop dispensers and Randy's comments.

 

Whichever, I had a different point to make and attempted to do so. :)

 

 

 

[jtl513]

Open to interpretation...... ;) :D

Yes ... but she quoted frankc ...

[arewethereyet]

No, they are not, I beg to differ.

 

I leave Ocean Bar or whichever lounge where we have pre-dinner cocktails, I stop at a restroom and wash my hands well. I touch nothing and proceed to MDR or Pinnacle for dinner. I am not going to put that sticky goo on my meticulously clean hands I have just washed. I hate the feeling of the gop that does nothing to prevent Noro. More than once, to avoid a scene, I have used the gop on my freshly washed hands, turned around and left and rewashed them so I could enjoy the feeling of clean hands again. ;) When I return, I bypass the gop machine.

 

But I am not a 'non-compliant'. ;)

lol - I do pretty much the same thing when possible. I wash my hands thoroughly immediately before going to dinner. I don't touch anything until I'm seated in the restaurant. I don't want Purell residue on my hands. Sometimes, if there is a person doing the "squirting", they are insistent enough for me to go along with it. My first reaction to having Purell on my hands, is to wash my hands again. :)

[sail7seas]

Yes ... but she quoted frankc ...

 

Okey Dokey!!!! :eek:

 

Is that how it is spelled?

 

I guess my point got lost in the details. :o

[bcd2010]

If your b2b was also sold as a Collectors Cruise, the 28 days would mean that it would not have to be reported.

 

Yes it was a collectors cruise for 65 of us but the other 1200 pax were on 2 week cruises - how does that affect what needs to be reported?

 

Cruise ships participating in the Vessel Sanitation Program are required to report the total number of gastrointestinal (GI) illness cases (including zero cases) evaluated by the medical staff before the ship arrives at a U.S. port, when sailing from a foreign port. A separate notification is required when the GI illness count exceeds 2% of the total number of passengers OR (caps mine) crew onboard.

 

As has been discussed here before, some people don't report their GI (and don't quarantine themselves, either), and so, are not evaluated by the medical staff. Makes me suspect that if there is an outbreak, that % can be "fuzzy". And the OR bothers me - I thought it was AND.

[TiogaCruiser]

I think s/he meant non-compliants to frankc's suggestion:

 

You got it. As Frank jokingly suggested, I only added that those who had not taken the plunge would be obvious.

[cruz chic]

Another thing to think about. What about the people that don't wash their hands or use the goop. Then they touch the menu. Then you touch the menu. I always like to sanitize my hands after touching menus.

[sail7seas]

Another thing to think about. What about the people that don't wash their hands or use the goop. Then they touch the menu. Then you touch the menu. I always like to sanitize my hands after touching menus.

 

 

Good point,,,,,

but don't forget the chair arms, the butter dishes that are used from first seating to second. How about bread baskets? I feel confident the contents are discarded at the end of a meal but are the baskets washed before put back on the table? Salt and pepper shakers?

Etc

 

[Krazy Kruizers]

Outbreaks only need to be reported if a certain number of pax + crew have it (a %, I think). On my B2B Panama Canal trip we were in code red 26 of the 28 days but the number of cases was small enough that it did not get reported.

 

That is right -- the CDC gets the report once a ship has hit a certain %.

We have been on quite a few HAL cruises that did not hot that certain % but we were still kept in Code Red for quite a few days.

[OVgirl]

Good point,,,,,

but don't forget the chair arms, the butter dishes that are used from first seating to second. How about bread baskets? I feel confident the contents are discarded at the end of a meal but are the baskets washed before put back on the table? Salt and pepper shakers?

Etc

 

 

Just be extra vigilant not to put your hands in or close to your mouth, nose, eyes etc.

 

We haven't done this, but I have seen people bring a purse size sanitizer and use it just before they start to eat.

[whogo]

Just off an Oceania Cruise where every item in the Buffet, breakfast, lunch and dinner was served to you throughout the cruise by staff wearing plastic gloves.

We are now booked on Zuiderdam and I see that the staff serve for the first 2 days only and the reason is to cut down on illness !!!

Who on earth can guarantee that passengers will wash their hands regularly and in particular prior to using any serving spoons etc. This must surely be a recipe for disaster. Has HA a good reputation for cleanliness and an absence of Sickness from cross- contamination ?

 

Brian

Good reputation? Holland America is recovering from the years when they had the worst reputation for gastrointestinal outbreaks. The 48 hour "code orange" seems to have helped. The Purell is theater and probably does more harm than good. You may have noticed how few people realize that Purell is not effective against viruses.

 

I try to avoid self service buffets. Watch them and you will see people grab a sticky spoon and lick the stickiness off their fingers before grabbing another spoon. You will also see people handle food without taking it and my favorite, the people who dip a finger into an item for a taste.

 

You may be better off staying with Oceania, but I am skeptical of every cruise line's sanitation after the recent Silversea incident.

[sail7seas]

If we go to the buffet and I get a salad for lunch, I never use communal serving pieces. I serve with my own clean spoon and fork I get just as I head to the salad bar. I will not touch the ones in place that everyone has used. :eek: (I have a few other 'stay safe' buffet methods I use to try and keep DH and me healthy but yet enjoy the few things we like in Lido.)

 

[Taxguy77]

We have very strict hospital rules and must wash or use hand sanitizers between patients but we also know it has little to no impact on Norovirus. Norovirus is not susceptible to alcohol based sanitizers. Chlorine or bleach based sanitizers and extreme heat are really the only effective methods to kill Norovirus. So why bother? Well, on a cruise it does help contain or control mostly other bacteria and maybe more importantly it is a constant reminder to crew and passengers to pay closer attention to proper personal hygiene.

 

Nice to see good practices in a hospital so close to home. Down here (Weslaco) forget it.

[Typhoon1]

Code Orange makes no guarantees. It is just another of the many precautions HAL is taking.

[sevenseasnomad]

You don't have much choice about using the Purell when someone is squirting it on your hands.:D:D They do this when you are coming on board from port as well:D

 

If it is a huge concern, the other option is not to eat in the Lido, but rather the main dining room, Pinnacle, Canaletto, wherever you are formally served and no one else touches anything but your waiter:) (you'll get squirted there as well:D). Most people know the importance of the purell. It is emphasized on board and from what I have seen, people use it.

 

Unfortunately the CDC has said that the only real deterrent against the virus is to wash hands thoroughly with warm water & soap. While the hand sanitiziers help, they don't completely kill this virus. Several doctors we know have confirmed this.

[sevenseasnomad]

lol - I do pretty much the same thing when possible. I wash my hands thoroughly immediately before going to dinner. I don't touch anything until I'm seated in the restaurant. I don't want Purell residue on my hands. Sometimes, if there is a person doing the "squirting", they are insistent enough for me to go along with it. My first reaction to having Purell on my hands, is to wash my hands again. :)

 

Oops. Sorry, guys. I posted the CDC part before reading further into the thread. Should have known someone would have jumped on the fact that hand sanitizers aren't effective.

 

After we order from the menu, both DH, DS, and I go to the men's & ladies to wash our hands. I'm sure we look like a parade marching out of restaurants & MDR. Those menus carry germs too.

[Boytjie]

It is not a matter of serving foods that do not need to be cooked, it is about the passengers actually using the purell and then handling the serving spoons etc.

 

Brian

 

Purell is pretty much useless against viruses.

[Boytjie]

All too often we have seen people walk right by the Purell machines and never stop to use them. Sad.

 

What is sad is the false sense of security Purell gives.

[Boytjie]

No, they are not, I beg to differ.

 

I leave Ocean Bar or whichever lounge where we have pre-dinner cocktails, I stop at a restroom and wash my hands well. I touch nothing and proceed to MDR or Pinnacle for dinner. I am not going to put that sticky goo on my meticulously clean hands I have just washed. I hate the feeling of the gop that does nothing to prevent Noro. More than once, to avoid a scene, I have used the gop on my freshly washed hands, turned around and left and rewashed them so I could enjoy the feeling of clean hands again. ;) When I return, I bypass the gop machine.

 

But I am not a 'non-compliant'. ;)

 

Same here! I prefer not to smell/taste the sanitizer when eating.:D

[erewhon]

If we go to the buffet and I get a salad for lunch, I never use communal serving pieces. I serve with my own clean spoon and fork I get just as I head to the salad bar. I will not touch the ones in place that everyone has used. :eek: (I have a few other 'stay safe' buffet methods I use to try and keep DH and me healthy but yet enjoy the few things we like in Lido.)

 

 

That's a very good idea.

[sammygoose]

I did hesitate to jump into the foray but for what it's worth I wash my hands like crazy when cruising. Thanks to threads like this I am much more educated than I was before and luckily I haven't gotten sick but...........I did feel uncomfortable handling the MDR menus that I knew other passengers had used previously. I know the inserts that that they use are new for every evening but the spines- sorry I don't have a better word-maybe the outer parts in some cases felt sticky and somewhat dirty. I don't know what the cleaning procedure is for them but I know I'd just feel better getting a preprinted sheet with that night's selection if they truly wanted to curb illness.

JHMO- no one needs to agree.

[brian_uk]

If we go to the buffet and I get a salad for lunch, I never use communal serving pieces. I serve with my own clean spoon and fork I get just as I head to the salad bar. I will not touch the ones in place that everyone has used. :eek: (I have a few other 'stay safe' buffet methods I use to try and keep DH and me healthy but yet enjoy the few things we like in Lido.)

 

 

Having started this thread and read all the various posts I actually feel that the above was the most sensible suggestion of all. I have made a careful note about Purell being virtually useless against the Norovirus. I also do take exception to the suggestion that I stick with Oceania.

We tend to choose itineraries that interest us and hope that the cleanliness will be on a par with other lines that we have used.

Thanks for your input.

 

Brian