Would you go on a ship after a Norovirus outbreak?

[royal girl]

I would go! I'd be the first one on if I could! :D

 

I wouldn't hesitate one bit. You only live once. Life's too short!

[Jimnbigd]

Yes, I'd go, especially since the ship is undergoing an intense 2 day cleaning. I wash my hands more often though.

 

Maybe if this guy were the EOS, more people would have sanitized their hands. We had him on our December Navigator:

Seriously, RCI should have him make a video they could show on their channel 14 (or whatever is the RCI channel) on all RCI ships.

It would remind people to wash and sanitize their hands, yet be fun to watch.

Edited January 29, 2014 by Jimnbigd

[Janet524]

How many times have any of us checked into a hotel or resort where an outbreak may have occurred? Only difference is that an outbreak at a hotel or resort isn't easy to monitor and doesn't make news. Would it stop me...no way. That ship will probably be cleaner on its next cruise than it has been in weeks.

Edited January 29, 2014 by Janet524

[maggie cruises]

for us it would totally depend on the reason for the cruise.

 

when we become retired empty nesters that do not have to worry about of kids schedules then I would cancel if given that option and probably book a month or so later and in warmer weather

 

if it were like the cruises we currently take with our kids we would just go.

we are a healthy bunch and do seem to have certain immunities in our systems.. That must be because I do not run to the Dr for every sniffle and I do not demand antibiotics for my kids unless absolutely needed in which case I wouldn't need to demand them anyway. So what I am saying is less is more for me and mine. daily vitamins plus vitamin c have worked for us for the last 25 years.

 

however and fwiw my spouse and I already know that we do not want to cruise from December to March anyway and yes I am fully aware that ships get "sick" on a year round basis as well.

Edited January 29, 2014 by maggie cruises

[Beachdude]

How many times have any of us checked into a hotel or resort where an outbreak may have occurred?

 

So you checked into a hotel where you knew an outbreak had occurred? That is interesting.

 

I must admit, I'm not afraid of a lingering virus in public places, but I would not stay at a hotel with a known outbreak. Apples and oranges, the choice between boarding a ship or loosing a lot of money is a different discussion than driving down the street to find another hotel.

 

Burt

[jo24]

Personally, I don't think it would deter me. I think the staff work incredibly hard to prevent, contain and deal with these kinds of 'outbreaks'.

 

That being said, I am used to working in a call centre with staff who spread illnesses like there is no tomorrow so not a lot worries me!

 

Jo :)

[windjamming]

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.

 

These reactions are really horrifying. I had a similar situation years ago, when we used to have lunch delivered to us at work. (I'm talking YEARS ago.) After picking up my lunch, I caught one "lady" lifting up the tops of various lunches and poking the contents with her finger!! I confronted her, and she asked me what MY problem was because I had my lunch already.

 

I went back to my desk and told everyone I knew who ordered lunch what had happened.

 

 

 

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[Thetrail]

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?

wouldn't think or blink twice, I'd be on the ship!...K.O.:)

[windjamming]

And to go back to topic, I don't think I would be deterred from sailing a ship that had an outbreak in the past unless it had an ongoing or recurring issue. If anything, I'd probably make the emotional decision of sticking w the ship just to show support!

 

 

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[blueteam]

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 would go. Probably the cleanest ship at sea!

[S.S.Oceanlover]

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 was in the same boat(no pun intended) on a cruise I had booked. The previous cruise had noro and i called to cancel but Princess said no show, no money back.

 

We went and noro broke out again and we had our cruise canceled midweek. never made a port in 5 days.

 

Got all of our money back but lost a weeks vacation time. i only have 2.:(

 

Wasn't fun at all.

 

Bill

[lakelorain]

Yes, I'd go, especially since the ship is undergoing an intense 2 day cleaning. I wash my hands more often though.

 

Maybe if this guy were the EOS, more people would have sanitized their hands. We had him on our December Navigator:

Seriously, RCI should have him make a video they could show on their channel 14 (or whatever is the RCI channel) on all RCI ships.

It would remind people to wash and sanitize their hands, yet be fun to watch.

The Explorer has the famous "Washy Washy" guy at the entrance to the Windjammer.

Edited January 29, 2014 by lakelorain

[Beachdude]

We went and noro broke out again and we had our cruise canceled midweek. never made a port in 5 days.

 

Got all of our money back but lost a weeks vacation time. i only have 2.:(

 

Wasn't fun at all.

 

Bill

 

Yes, maybe the better question is

 

""If you have been on a cruise when noro was on the previous cruise, would you do it again?""

 

Burt

[SnappyNappi]

I would absolutely go! I am not going to stay home and miss out on the things I love to do like traveling and cruising because I MIGHT get sick. Heck, we all MIGHT get sick going to work or test driving a car, or going to a restaurant, or just hanging with friends at a bar. I love to cruise, I love to go to Destination Amusement Parks (Disney, Bush Gardens, Universal, etc), to beaches and I thoroughly enjoy vacationing with my family. I have wonderful memories from all of our trips that I am not willing to trade for anything or miss out on making new memories.

 

I have gotten horribly sick when traveling by airplane and what's worse, you KNOW who is sick on a plane, and I am usually sitting 2 rows behind him/her. You know who I am talking about, they are coughing and sneezing all over the place or excuging themselves to run to the bathroom 5 times during the flight. Then, there's the famous Destination Amusement parks... while it is the most magical place on earth (and I am definitely not saying that they aren't) but they are germ-infested messes, with kids drooling, wiping their noses and touching the rides, shaking hands or hugging characters who shake hands and hug about 500 other people every hour, and everyone helping themselves at the buffets. And I didn't even mention those Indoor water parks like Great Wolf - EVERYONE I know has either gotten sick at these kinds of places or have come home with sick kids... warm, moist air, enclosed areas where germs fester and spread. Don't get me wrong - I love kids and try to clean up after my own as best as possible, but not everyone cleans or pays attention to their personal hygiene or that of their children, the same way - no matter where they go.

 

... and yes, I continue to do ALL of the things that I just mentioned, but I am keenly aware that germs are everywhere, we all have them and we all spread them - some more harmful than others (germs not people.. LOL!), but we do the best we can to protect ourselves. The fact is that you are going to be exposed no matter what you do or where you go.

 

Enjoy your life, take care of yourself the best you can and stop giving yourself MORE to stress out and worry over.

[oakleys]

No, once the new people touch things even in port, that's it it's back on the ship. Going around with a few damp rags won't get rid of it. Should have steam washers.

[Mykitteh]

Yes-I would....I don't believe in living in a bubble.

[petel]

I would absolutely go! I am not going to stay home and miss out on the things I love to do like traveling and cruising because I MIGHT get sick. Heck, we all MIGHT get sick going to work or test driving a car, or going to a restaurant, or just hanging with friends at a bar. I love to cruise, I love to go to Destination Amusement Parks (Disney, Bush Gardens, Universal, etc), to beaches and I thoroughly enjoy vacationing with my family. I have wonderful memories from all of our trips that I am not willing to trade for anything or miss out on making new memories.

 

I have gotten horribly sick when traveling by airplane and what's worse, you KNOW who is sick on a plane, and I am usually sitting 2 rows behind him/her. You know who I am talking about, they are coughing and sneezing all over the place or excuging themselves to run to the bathroom 5 times during the flight. Then, there's the famous Destination Amusement parks... while it is the most magical place on earth (and I am definitely not saying that they aren't) but they are germ-infested messes, with kids drooling, wiping their noses and touching the rides, shaking hands or hugging characters who shake hands and hug about 500 other people every hour, and everyone helping themselves at the buffets. And I didn't even mention those Indoor water parks like Great Wolf - EVERYONE I know has either gotten sick at these kinds of places or have come home with sick kids... warm, moist air, enclosed areas where germs fester and spread. Don't get me wrong - I love kids and try to clean up after my own as best as possible, but not everyone cleans or pays attention to their personal hygiene or that of their children, the same way - no matter where they go.

 

... and yes, I continue to do ALL of the things that I just mentioned, but I am keenly aware that germs are everywhere, we all have them and we all spread them - some more harmful than others (germs not people.. LOL!), but we do the best we can to protect ourselves. The fact is that you are going to be exposed no matter what you do or where you go.

 

Enjoy your life, take care of yourself the best you can and stop giving yourself MORE to stress out and worry over.

 

Been there, done that, and would do it again. Wash my hands often, keep them off my face, and be careful not to put anything in my mouth that anyone else touches. :rolleyes:

[Beachdude]

Enjoy your life, take care of yourself the best you can and stop giving yourself MORE to stress out and worry over.

 

I think reasonable people live by this credence. But the question is if you had gone through this experience before, is it worth the hassle to do it again. Some folks will say yes, but we can't really answer that until we've experienced that hassle.

 

And I don't think fear of the unknown applies here. If you were warned before you sat down at the table of the restuarant that some of the patrons were suffering from the stomach flu, would you still continue to sit down? I certainly would consider missing my flight if I were given that same warning. Not stressing over the unknown is quite a bit different than making smart decisions from what you do know. Knowingly going to a motel that has a history of bed bugs is different than grabbing the first motel late at night because you are too tired to drive.

 

There is a difference between known risk and unknown risk.

 

Burt

[kahliasmom]

Going on EOS March 29th. I can't wait!!

[lady_cruiser]

Yes we would go.

 

December of 2012 we were going on a B2B. The ship coming in before we boarded had a Norovirus outbreak with 10% (300) passengers and crew getting sick.

 

Naturally we had delayed boarding while the ship went into their deep cleaning/disinfecting mode. While on the ship 23, I think that was the number, came down sick with this virus. But I honestly think that they were getting sick before boarding and just didn't realize it or didn't care.

 

The ship did a great job of making sure that the virus would not spread. We were not allowed to even dish ourselves in the Windjammer. Everyone from the maintenance people to the dancers dished our food and handed it to us. If I remember correctly, they were wearing gloves. We were not allowed to pick up a pre-packaged box of cereal in the mornings. We told a crew member what we wanted and he handed it to us.

 

All this time the Captain kept us well informed of what was going on and couldn't stress enough that if you felt like you were going to have "tummy troubles" to stay in your cabin, call the medical center and they would come to you. Apparently it worked because the virus did not spread to any more than that twenty or so people.

 

THE SECOND WEEK - when we were escorted off the ship to go through customs they made us wait for an hour or two while the ship was deep-cleaned again. That second week only 3 people were sick.

 

I have seen, first hand, how serious Royal Caribbean view is on this subject. Unfortunately people do come onboard sick; it is not Royal Caribbean's fault that this happens. Whether they knowingly do this or don't realize they are about to get sick. But I do know that I will have no problem stepping onboard a ship that is coming back into port after experiencing this dreaded virus.

[Robinola]

yeah baby....more over germs, i'm comin in

[quincytoo]

yes and I have

 

Same here One of our Caribbean Princess cruises had a delayed boarding by a few hours as the ship was returning as a *Hot Ship*.

Totally didn't mind the delay as we knew that the ship would be very clean and it was :)

[JimAOk1945]

In December of 2011 our ship had a delayed departure of several hours due to a noro virus outbreak on the previous cruise. It was a long wait before we boarded the ship, but we still enjoyed our cruise.

 

We noticed throughout the cruise, the crew members constantly wiping down railings, etc. and enforcing the hand sanitizer usage.

[navybankerteacher]

Given the apparent options: go on the cruise and take your chances, or cancel at the last minute and lose your vacation time and probable fare paid - the choice seems obvious. You go, you take particular care to minimize touching surfaces, you keep your hands clean and away from your face, and hope for the best.

[BruceMuzz]

Of course I would go. I always wash my hands and follow good hygiene at home and on my last two cruises there were no cases of Noro.

 

People read the media and get so afraid. The CDC is on the ball and doing their best to ensure good hygiene. I would highly recommend that you would continue to wash your hands onboard and to use the hand sanitizer in addition to washing your hands.

 

Let's have a Cruise Critic Campaign "Wash Your Hands For Better Health"

 

Wrong. There are ALWAYS cases of Norovirus on ANY cruise- especially if that cruise is leaving from a US Port or if there are many Americans onboard.

We just don't make a big deal of it unless the numbers suddenly spike upwards.

On the 1400 plus cruises I have worked, we never had a cruise where at least a few passengers did not report GI symptoms that resembled NLV.

 

My colleagues at CDC estimate that ANY cruise departing a US port has an average 60 passengers infected with NLV. Half of them know they have it, but most will not report it. The other half got infected on the airplane or in the hotel before the cruise and do not yet know they have it.

It is only because the ships are so careful with sanitizing that these infected people are rarely able to spread the contagion.