RCCL -sickness on ship last week

[beshears]

If you are planning on cruising (like us) in the near future on one of the RCCL, are you concerned about the sickness or possibly again sickness,being on the ship that you will be crusing on?

[bazzaw]

If you are planning on cruising (like us) in the near future on one of the RCCL, are you concerned about the sickness or possibly again sickness,being on the ship that you will be crusing on?

 

No - not really. Norovirus is something that afflicts all cruiseships and cruiselines. We have had 15 cruises over the past 6 years - and either we have been very lucky , or whatever we do, keeps it away from us.

 

We regularly wash our hands in our cabin (and elsewhere) - not for any particular reason - just because we do. We make a point of washing EVERY time we enter our cabin - morning , noon and night - and make a point of washing before eating or drinking anything. I have a thought that those who do get Norovirus are people who do not wash their hands often enough - only washing after toileting is NOT ENOUGH!!!!!! And do not rely on the antibacterial gels that the ships put out -- I believe that they are something of a "Trojan Horse" , in that people think it will protect them from Norovirus -- apparently, it does not!!!

 

Barry

[Sandielle]

Not a bit worried. You can get sick anywhere. Soap and water is your best defence. You can now also get an alcohol-free foam sanitiser which does the same as soap and water. The ship's sanitisers are just an extra defence.

[MS52]

No, not worried.

 

I did have norovirus two years ago while on the Enchantment. While I always did do the hand washing thing, now I probably look like I'm going into surgery when I wash my hands in a public restroom. Extremely diligent now. Three cruises since and I haven't had a problem. Knock on wood!

[FLACRUISER99]

If you are planning on cruising (like us) in the near future on one of the RCCL, are you concerned about the sickness or possibly again sickness,being on the ship that you will be crusing on?

Sure I'm concerned, no one wants to be sick. Guess what? Anyone can get sick no mater what precautions are taken. However I'm not going to change any plans.

[bethc1952]

Not worried. I had Noro about four years ago on a cruise. It was awful, but it's a risk you take going in closed-in spaces where people are packed together. My husband got Noro on a train trip last year, although I didn't get it that time.

 

We're scheduled to sail on Explorer of The Seas on 2/9. It should be the cleanest, most sanitary ship afloat by then.

 

We're not germophobes, we don't wipe everything down, we don't take unnecessary antibiotics, we wash our hands properly and frequently, and use tissues when we sneeze or cough. That's all we can do. We can't (and don't want to) live in a bubble!

 

If I had a weakened immune system I'm sure I would handle things differently, but we're in excellent health for an older couple, and do everything we can to stay that way.

 

Beth

[kevinsgirl88]

RCL is not the only ships you can pick up Nero :rolleyes: you can also get it on land. The media blows things out of proportion

 

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[leaveitallbehind]

No - not worried. Have cruised for 21+ years with RCI and have never contracted a virus such as that on board. Doesn't mean it can't happen, but in realty when you consider the great number of passengers on board all the cruise ships at sea each week, the percentage of incidents and number of people affected is quite low.

 

I'm far more concerned with getting something on the more confined and less clean environment of an airplane than on a ship.

[PuterMonkey]

Any place where people congregate in close quarters has the opportunity to become a pit of contagion. You run just as much risk of contracting something by visiting an airport (how often do you think those plane seats get thoroughly sanitized?), a subway system, a taxi cab, your office elevator. My husband brought a cold home from his business trip just last week. The only difference is that on a cruise ship the people are around long enough that you actually see them get sick so you know exactly where it was contracted.

 

That's the logical truth but many people don't see these things logically. I can tell you that among my aquaintances there are many who see something like this and are going "This is why I'll never cruise!"

[ryano]

I dont have a cruise planned at the moment but absolutely no would be my answer.

 

In fact, Id like to be on the very next cruise on a ship that had an outbreak the cruise before I got on. There probably wouldnt be a cleaner ship sailing the oceans.

 

In fact, this happened on my last Radiance cruise. You could smell bleach for a day or so but it wasnt that bad.

[ryano]

Not worried. I had Noro about four years ago on a cruise. It was awful, but it's a risk you take going in closed-in spaces where people are packed together. My husband got Noro on a train trip last year, although I didn't get it that time.

 

We're scheduled to sail on Explorer of The Seas on 2/9. It should be the cleanest, most sanitary ship afloat by then.

 

We're not germophobes, we don't wipe everything down, we don't take unnecessary antibiotics, we wash our hands properly and frequently, and use tissues when we sneeze or cough. That's all we can do. We can't (and don't want to) live in a bubble!

 

If I had a weakened immune system I'm sure I would handle things differently, but we're in excellent health for an older couple, and do everything we can to stay that way.

 

Beth

 

Very well said! :)

[squadron]

No, not worried.

 

I did have norovirus two years ago while on the Enchantment. While I always did do the hand washing thing, now I probably look like I'm going into surgery when I wash my hands in a public restroom. Extremely diligent now. Three cruises since and I haven't had a problem. Knock on wood!

 

I agree with the hand washing but think we have all used "sketchy" restrooms on excursions with cold water washing facilities and in some cases no soap. Also, I avoid excursions that provide lunch - especially in certain countries. On board use your cabin washroom instead of a public one- should cut down on some of the risk.

[Cindy]

No, I'm not. Noro is everywhere, and more the spread of the illness is most prevalent in enclosed spaces where large numbers of people gather. I'm not going to let the possibility of an outbreak keep me from something I love.

[stones902]

If you are planning on cruising (like us) in the near future on one of the RCCL, are you concerned about the sickness or possibly again sickness,being on the ship that you will be crusing on?

 

Cruising in less than 3 weeks without any reservations whatsoever. We understand and are willing to accept the risks. Fortunately, we have done quite a bit of cruising and have never had to deal with a widespread outbreak.

 

I'll add that I have more concerns about becoming ill on the airplane flying down or back than I do on the ship.

Edited January 28, 2014 by stones902

[Barb Nahoumi]

Neither will any of us. Six of us are booked on the Explorer very soon, and we're all going.

[davy jones]

If you get overly concerned about things like that, you wouldn't go anywhere in public. There are outbreaks in schools, workplaces, and other places that the public gathers that happen far more often than cruise ship outbreaks. In most of these cases, the public gathering has scattered before symptoms appear, making it difficult to identify a common area.

 

Outbreaks on cruise ships make the news because of the fact that all of the affected exhibit their symptoms in the same place, the ship. That makes it easy for the CDC to track and the media jumps on it because they need something to fill their airwaves 24/7.

 

Cruise lines are constantly cleaning and disinfecting, generally more than most public places. The only thing you can really do is be diligent about the hand washing habits that you were taught to do as a child.

[lady_cruiser]

If you are planning on cruising (like us) in the near future on one of the RCCL, are you concerned about the sickness or possibly again sickness,being on the ship that you will be crusing on?

 

No, not really. One of the Royal Caribbean's ship we sailed on in 2012 experienced a Norovirus outbreak the week before we board. Over 3,000 people were sick. The ship went into a deep cleaning mode before we boarded. When we boarded we made sure that we washed our hands constantly, more than usual. Touch elevator buttons with the eraser of a pencil I kept in my pockets, didn't touch any railings, used a clean paper towel to open the bathroom door when exiting and even wiped down our door handles, counter tops, remote control, phone, etc with Clorox wipes in our cabin every other day.

Edited January 28, 2014 by lady_cruiser

[travelbuddies]

I also wipe down all handles, light switches, the remote,the phone, tablet,coffee pot the first time I enter my cabin.

[CotonSocks]

I am going in the Jewel on March 1st. I am not worried at all. I will just be washing may hands more often. Too bad they say alcohol does not kill it as I was just going to drink a bunch so it dies when it touches me. Looks like that won't work but ill try it anyway!

 

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[lakelorain]

Noro is everywhere. I've had it twice. Wasn't on a cruise either time. Been on ships with noro and RC contained the spread of it very well.

There is a limit to what you can do to prevent noro, but we all need to do the best we can to keep our ship healthy.

[cruzin lady]

Not a bit worried. You can get sick anywhere. Soap and water is your best defence. You can now also get an alcohol-free foam sanitiser which does the same as soap and water. The ship's sanitisers are just an extra defence.

 

I cannot use the sanitiser on the ship's or anywhere else. Could you please

tell me the name of the foam alcohol-free kind, and where one can purchase it?

 

I have heard that they almost force everyone to use it in the entrances to

the food venues; one use, and my hands will be cracked open and welcoming germs to enter.

 

Thank you!

 

Cruzin Lady

[lakelorain]

I cannot use the sanitiser on the ship's or anywhere else. Could you please

tell me the name of the foam alcohol-free kind, and where one can purchase it?

 

I have heard that they almost force everyone to use it in the entrances to

the food venues; one use, and my hands will be cracked open and welcoming germs to enter.

 

Thank you!

 

Cruzin Lady

 

 

Try Gold Bond Ultimate Hand Sanitizer. It is a cream in a tube. We use it all the time. Very gentile on your hands.

[frog_dude]

I cannot use the sanitiser on the ship's or anywhere else. Could you please

tell me the name of the foam alcohol-free kind, and where one can purchase it?

 

I have heard that they almost force everyone to use it in the entrances to

the food venues; one use, and my hands will be cracked open and welcoming germs to enter.

 

Thank you!

 

Cruzin Lady

 

BabyGanics Moisturizing Formula Alcohol Free Foaming Hand Sanitizer. Available on Amazon.

[m*u*g*]

Yeah, but percentages are way high in this incident with over 14% of passengers on board being sick (3,114 pass +1,180 crew=600+)?

 

If those numbers were on land, over 44,000,000 people in the US alone would have noro. Not likely.

Edited January 28, 2014 by m*u*g*

[TubbyMrT]

I try to find the good in everything. I have sailed 12 times. I got sick once. 2-3 days of pure hell. But, I lost a lot of weight and felt great afterwards. On my next cruise I will try to do things differently to help prevent getting sick. But, if I do, I look forward to loosing some more weight. :)