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Would you go on a ship after a Norovirus outbreak?

Rolla4fun

By Rolla4fun,
in Ask a Cruise Question

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BruceMuzz

BruceMuzz

Posted
Posted
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?

 

Why would you think that contagious crew would be working?

First, very few crew get NLV.

When they do get it, they MUST report it to avoid being fired.

 

If they do report illness, they are paid to isolate themselves and they get room service in their cabins. Why would any employee risk losing his job while working sick, instead of getting paid to tell the truth and get time off with room service?

 

EVERY cruise line isolates sick food handlers longer than recommended by the CDC to ensure that they cannot be contagious any longer.

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BruceMuzz

BruceMuzz

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The OP asked if we would take a cruise on a ship that previously had one outbreak of NLV.

We are talking about a few hundred people with a virus.

 

In the USA - every year - Norovirus outbreaks affect between 20 million and 30 million people (According to the CDC).

 

Would you visit a country, or live in a country, where so many people are sick with Norwalk Virus EVERY year?

 

Seems like a very silly question, don't you think?

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JAYRAY1259

JAYRAY1259

Posted
Posted
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?

 

Let's put it this way. I read where the dirtiest thing that you can touch that can make you ill is believe it or not, the handrail on your shopping cart at the food market. Every type of bug and virus known to man is laying in wait for you to touch it. How many times do you see someone with a baby or small child sitting in the carrier section of the cart and the child is mouthing the hand rail, in addition to having his or hers little hands all over it. So make sure that you bring your Clorox or Lysol wipes with you, to wipe it down and put something over the handrail to put up a barrier for child. So I think that you are in much more danger going to the supermarket than going on a cruise. Make sure you take all the sanitary precautions when you go on a cruise or anywhere for that matter. I do know that I feel much more susceptible to contracting some kind of illness on a plane than on a ship. So go on your cruise and enjoy yourself.

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Krazy Kruizers

Krazy Kruizers

Posted
Posted
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?

 

 

Yes

We have gotten on ships that were infected -- several times.

We have also been on ships when the Noro virus broke out.

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deladypilot

deladypilot

Posted
Posted
We will be there. Can't wait.

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

 

^ This

 

This ship is going to be fine. It is already in dock and passengers are gone. The virus only survives a few days anyway. By the time the new passengers are ready to load up this weekend, it will be long gone

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navybankerteacher

navybankerteacher

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There is always a silver lining: whenever a risk gets publicity (travel of any sort after 9/11, cruise ships breaking down at sea, large outbreaks of noro) cruise prices tend to go down as the lines seek to offset the reluctance of panic-prone potential customers to book.

 

On "Morning Joe" , MSNBC's opinion show this morning, all the talking heads piled on with comments questioning the intelligence of people willing to cruise after this latest outbreak.

 

That sort of negative PR has to have an impact on the impressionable.

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RickT

RickT

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We were on a HAL cruise a few years ago that had NORO issues the previous two sailings (nothing as big as the latest RCCL problem). We had no concerns about sailing but did find some major changes for the first few days:

 

1) No self serve in the buffet. All food items were served to you by HAL staff, you were not allowed to pick items from the various stations.

2) No salt/pepper shakers on any table (buffet or main dining room)

3) White residue (bleach?) everywhere

 

After the 3rd day things started to return to normal. I'd prefer to sail after an outbreak then be on the ship when the outbreak happens.

 

Not a big deal. In fact it seemed more passengers were conscious of the need to wash your hands and such.

 

I feel bad for those who just got off the RCCL ship.

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gra2172

gra2172

Posted
Posted
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?

 

Sure. Id probably be more careful about touching stuff, but I wouldnt cancel just because some people got sick.

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obnurse

obnurse

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We sailed on Sun Princess after a noro outbreak. Our embarkation was delayed so they could sanitize the ship prior to our sailing. I felt safer than ever from noro. There was no outbreak on our cruise as far as we knew.

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gatormom108

gatormom108

Posted
Posted

Yes, I would definitely go! I am in the healthcare field and each and every year our facility goes on precautions. I have never gotten sick despite many people getting the virus. Keep your hands washed. Use hand sanitizer if you must, but hand washing is your best bet! Have fun!

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RJ2002

RJ2002

Posted
Posted
We were on a HAL cruise a few years ago that had NORO issues the previous two sailings (nothing as big as the latest RCCL problem). We had no concerns about sailing but did find some major changes for the first few days:

 

1) No self serve in the buffet. All food items were served to you by HAL staff, you were not allowed to pick items from the various stations.

2) No salt/pepper shakers on any table (buffet or main dining room)

3) White residue (bleach?) everywhere

 

After the 3rd day things started to return to normal. I'd prefer to sail after an outbreak then be on the ship when the outbreak happens.

 

Not a big deal. In fact it seemed more passengers were conscious of the need to wash your hands and such.

 

I feel bad for those who just got off the RCCL ship.

 

Actually the no self serve in the Lido for the first 48 hours is SOP (standard operating procedure :) ) on all HAL ships. There is a thread over on the HAL forum right now asking if anyone was aware if other cruise lines had a similar restriction. The consensus is that no other lines do this. There is agreement that this practice might be helpful.

 

To answer the OP, I would not hesitate to board the RCI ship. As others have stated, it's probably going to be cleaner than any ship on the seas. I would imagine also that their guidelines for the affected crew members is fairly strict (i.e., confined to their cabins) since they obviously don't want a repeat of what just happened.

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beachbum53

beachbum53

Posted
Posted

Yes! I would go. I wonder if there'll be a giant paper band around the ship that says "Sanitized for your protection."? :rolleyes: If you're worried about any off the staff being infected, easy solution. Don't kiss any of them.:D Have a great cruise!

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stompy

stompy

Posted
Posted

We were on the 3rd voyage of Liberty of the Seas. The day before the cruise C&A contacted us and said our departure would be delayed and we wouldn't be boarding till 6PM. They had the convention center in Miami set up for us for the day and offered us the choice of doing that our a credit for what we paid off a future cruise.

 

As most folks have said, the vacation is all planned and tickets purchased, time off work, etc. so cancelling is pretty disruptive.

 

We opted to take the cruise and it was the worst one we've ever been on. During the Voyage the crew were all on double shifts. When they weren't doing their regular jobs they were scrubbing down EVERY surface with bleach. As it dried it formed a white cruise and ate into all the metal surfaces. We saw so many destroyed tuxes and ruined articles of clothing. The lines at the Windjammer were about an hour long since they were serving everything. Most days our room wouldn't get made up till very late in the afternoon due to all the extra cleaning that was being done.

 

They tried their best to compensate us onboard but so many venues were just closed altogether that it made the whole reason for paying a premium for Liberty non-usable. If I had it to do over again I would have taken the credit for the next cruise.

 

When we got home we wrote RC and they responded with a very generous credit off a future cruise.

 

I don't really worry about Noro-that wasn't a problem. This is solely a case of the cure being worse than the disease. They seem to be doing it right now-coming back early and doing the deep cleaning BEFORE the new batch of folks get on board.

 

Best of luck and best wishes to all those folks impacted by the latest outbreaks.

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sjn911

sjn911

Posted
Posted (edited)
I'd go. Been when outbreak happening and immediately after big outbreaks. So far never got it at either time.

 

Like your photo...I think ranchers are really as aware as doctors and nurses ...what stays clean..how to sanitize and wash..and how to navigate the crowds and use best case scenarios while living..wish we cruised as a family on my family's ranching years instead of putting it into a cabin in many ways..but we had watersports and wonders and a small town college kid summer camp theater..just another way..and hopefully can pass something on...Sarah

 

Yes OP I would go and use hospital job type hand wash precautions and eat carefully in Lido..much more when they serve..run liquids a bit before i fill a cup..wash hands, hand sanitizer, and hit my cabin with chlorox wipes..just for my peace of mind...Sarah

Edited by sjn911
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CruiseAddict1982

CruiseAddict1982

Posted
Posted
Unfortunately, no matter how well they clean the ship, all it takes is for one person to use the toilet and not wash his hands and have traces of fecal matter on them and the entire sickness spread all over again.

 

 

I've been on plenty of cruises where guys will walk in the bathroom, use it, not wash their hands and walk right out! Disgusting! Then on the way out they touch the door and who knows what else around the cruise.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

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Gunner22aa

Gunner22aa

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Because you have a greater chance of picking it or a lot of other things up at a North American Hospital then on the ship. The ship could be perfectly sanitized and not one virus cell left on board and it will only take one carrier getting on your cruise for it to start again. You can't stop this from happening on the ship or in your own home. You just need to be religious about the personal precautions you take.

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