Would you go on a ship after a Norovirus outbreak?

[Rolla4fun]

The Explorer of the Seas is coming back to her home port two days early because of a Norovirus outbreak. Royal Caribbean is working with the CDC to clean and sanitize the ship prior to the next sailing. Question is - would you go out on the next sailing? I'm sure that the ship would be sparking clean and disinfected. My concern would be the crew members that are still contagious are going to be working on the ship. But I would hate to cancel a cruise that I have been looking forward to. What are your thoughts on this?

[SamFritz]

I'd go. I'd probably be considerably more careful about what I touch. I don't usually think about that stuff at all.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk, please excuse all the typos.

[kruzerci]

The Explorer of the Seas is coming back to her home port two days early because of a Norovirus outbreak. Royal Caribbean is working with the CDC to clean and sanitize the ship prior to the next sailing. Question is - would you go out on the next sailing? I'm sure that the ship would be sparking clean and disinfected. My concern would be the crew members that are still contagious are going to be working on the ship. But I would hate to cancel a cruise that I have been looking forward to. What are your thoughts on this?

 

I'd go. I have too much time and energy invested in a cruise to do otherwise. I would think after a couple of days out of service, things would be under control by the next sailing. If I get sick, I get sick, but still have a couple of days of vacation and generally some kind of compensation.

[cb at sea]

Of course you'd go....you would lose all your money otherwise. I guess, if you were that afraid, and could afford the monetary loss, you would cancel. Otherwise, you'd go, wash your hands A LOT, and hope for the best.

 

The SHIP isn't sick....it's the people on it that carry the virus.

[red devil]

We will be there. Can't wait.

The Explorer will be the cleanest in the fleet. I doubt any crew would be sick.

[Mapleleafforever]

Heck yeah I'd go. The ship will be cleaner than ever right after an outbreak.

[MommaBear55]

Yes, absolutely. Every day I go to work there is either Noro, the flu, strep, pneumonia, c diff, MRSA or something icky present. I wash my hands, use a mask if there are airborne illnesses around and get sick only a couple of times a year. Life happens!

[NorbertsNiece]

Yes.

[ChristieNJ]

I would definitely go. I agree with the comment that the ship would be the cleanest in the entire fleet. You can catch anything from anywhere, including the handle of a public bathroom or door leading into any store. But with the ship going through the cleaning that it will be going through, I would think that it would be one of the safest ships to be on at that time.

 

 

***Christie***

[dacsmom]

Absolutely! No cruise line is going to risk their reputation by having back to back outbreaks of noro.

[BND]

Yes, just like I go to church, work, shopping, etc where the chances of catching noro are much higher than onboard a ship.

[viper548]

I would. I fly for an airline and the cleanest plane is way worse than the dirtiest ship. After a noro outbreak I'd make sure to wash my hands more frequently and bring hand sanitizer and use it before eating.

[sjb317]

Of course I would still go! I don't worry about things like that, I wash my hands & take care of myself. I am probably more likely to pick up noro at the hospital I work at than on a cruise ship.:D

 

Sherri:)

Edited January 29, 2014 by sjb317

[dibh1129]

We are going! I bought medical grade cleaning supplies just incase :)

 

 

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[alexkrn46]

yes and I have

[Ashland]

Of course I too would go...can't live life in a bubble :D

[G85 SS]

Yes. Without question.

[Valchie]

I would. I fly for an airline and the cleanest plane is way worse than the dirtiest ship. After a noro outbreak I'd make sure to wash my hands more frequently and bring hand sanitizer and use it before eating.

 

My thoughts exactly Don't get me wrong - it's not the ideal situation - but unless you are willing to forfeit all that $$ - you have no choice but to be MORE ATTENTIVE to your surroundings and your own habits. I was on a cruise about 3 years ago, when noro was in the recent news, and witnessed someone leaving the restroom stall, checked themselves out to be sure they looked all CUTE AND PRETTY, and started to walk out w/o hand washing. I COULDN'T HELP IT. I said 'CUSE ME - AREN'T YOU GOING TO WASH UP? and (basically) she told me to mind my own business. I wanted to deck her. Or report her. But she didn't care. And they walk among us. There was nothing else I could do but be more attentive to my own surroundings. And protect myself. I love cruising. Too bad there are a lot of people (not everyone) that has to ruin it.

[printingchick]

In 2007, we arrived at the pier in San Juan to board the Carnival Destiny. They let us check our bags and complete our paperwork, but wouldn't let us board. They said boarding had been delayed until the afternoon. (Remember, ships out of San Juan don't depart until 8PM.) We walked across the street to a little pub where we had a leisurely lunch and killed some time before we could board.

 

It seems they'd had a significant outbreak of norovirus among the passengers who had disembarked that morning and they needed the extra time to sanitize the ship. The buffet was not self-serve for our cruise. You asked, they served. Other than that, there was no difference. To my knowledge, there was no illness reported on our sailing.

 

Other than boarding a little later than usual, it was a cruise like any other. We were careful to wash our hands a lot. We always are.

 

No big deal.

Edited January 29, 2014 by printingchick

[A&L_Ont]

Yes, and I would be just as careful as I always am. Which is very careful.

[ariawoman]

Yup, I did. I boarded the Celebrity Summit on 10/5/2013. Ship was best it's been ever I'm sure. :-)

[princesstori]

I was on the Independence of the Seas last year after it's TA that was plagued with Noro. No problems, was a little more diligent about making sure I kept my hands washed, etc, not much more I could do. I liken it to having to sit in the "sick kids" area at the doctors office. The flu and stomach bugs have been very bad nation wide, so it really doesn't surprise me that there was an out break.

[gerif]

Absolutely, without question. We were booked on Voyager some years ago immediately following a large outbreak - just washed hands a lot but never considered not going.

[Redtravel]

I went on a ship last year that had the noro virus. Prior to the cruise, I got an email that the ship would not be open for boarding until 2pm...and to not come to the pier. We arrived after 2pm to find a football size building full of guests. We could not board until the deep cleaning was completed. When we were allowed to board, we were only allowed on the pool deck and in the buffet areas. Everything became over crowded quickly. If you had a chair you stayed there. Buffet area was piled high with dirty dishes. Not enough staff to clean up tables. They were still deep cleaning. After waiting for hours, we were finally allowed to go to our cabins at 6pm. Cabins were supposedly cleaned. Mine was not the cleanest. The pillows, glasses, brochures, spreads, etc. had been removed. The bed had linens. Later in the cruise, the missing items did come back. For several days, we could not touch anything. Waiters wore gloves and held menus, use tongs, and didn't let us touch anything. When I reached into a basket for a packet of sugar, I was yelled at by the waiter..."Don'T touch that!" Restrooms had signs telling us to use toilet tissue or paper towels to touch faucets or door handles. It was very tense. After 3 days, we were told that there wasn't any virus on the ship. Men in hazmat suits were seen cleaning out cabins. There were still sick guests and staff. Since the ship was short on staff, there were people doing jobs that didn't know what to do. Guest relations was adamant that there was NO VIRUS. It was the worst cruise that I have ever taken. I will never go on that ship again. After that cruise, it took me a long time to decide to take another cruise on a different ship. My last cruise was virus free and very nice. Would I take another cruise? Yes. I realize that illness on a ship can happen. However, on a vacation I would like to be able to relax and enjoy without worrying about touching things.

[Antonintassie]

yes it will have been deep cleaned