IMPORTANT - Pearl - VIRUS

[bjtravelnews]

Norovirus is very common on cruise ships. It especially seems to be a problem from about January to March or April, though it can occur at any time of the year. There are also a lot of other stomach and respiratory ailments that can spread rapidly when there are a lot of people in a confined area - not just cruise ships, but planes and schools as well. Right now in my area there are some nasty stomach bugs hitting people of all ages, but especially school-aged children, teachers and their families. We've also got some respiratory bugs and several cases of the flu still lingering. Viruses become airborne in respiratory droplets and land on surfaces, where they can survive for a very long time (I believe it is up to 72 hours in some cases). So they can be on handrails, counters, door knobs and walls. Frequent and thorough hand washing with soap and hot water is the best way to reduce your risk of getting sick.

[tunaman2011]

Greetings

 

Palm Beach County in Florida (a fairly wealthy area) just had 2 elementary schools that required complete cleaning due to noro. It is quite common. Cruise ships often get singled out but the virus spreads anywhere people are in close contact. I'm sure this will make all the news wires, always does.

 

Good Sailing

Tom

Edited April 4, 2015 by tunaman2011

[Cruisercl]

You can have GREAT hygiene, but still get noro...it's EVERYWHERE...and if you have kids, your odds are better than normal at getting it....schools, churches, hospitals, nursing homes, hotels...anywhere lots of people congregate are RIPE for norovirus!

 

Yes..you should wash your hands frequently and do NOT touch your face (eyes, nose and mouth are the entry points)...but this is a VERY contagious virus....if someone throws up and you walk past that, the "droplets" in the air can give it to you...

 

So don't think it's because folks are "dirty" or something...that's not the case.The virus can defeat your best attempts at cleanliness. You can be contagious BEFORE you even know you have it. THAT'S how it gets on the ship so easily! If you have it and are exhibiting symptoms, I guarantee you will NOT feel like traveling!

 

I am thinking you didn't quite understand what I was saying on my post. Good infection control practices/advice per the CDC is good hygiene and frequent hand washing. It really only takes one person with poor hygiene or thinking it doesn't matter to spread this. This is why everyone should be diligent with hand washing etc.....you never know.

The fact is that it is transmitted by fecal contamination...........from people NOT washing after they go to the bathroom.

 

You seem to be sensationalizing this and so people will be afraid; the best thing a person can do to protect themselves is to wash their hands after they go to the bathroom..............even if they aren't exposed to the norovirus. No one can control what other people do as far as washing their hands etc. but you can try to protect yourself...........use soap and vigorously wash your hands for at least 20 sec; the friction of hand washing helps rid of microorganisms.

 

Stay safe and clean everyone......if it wasn't preventable no cruise ship would ever cruise. :)

Edited April 5, 2015 by Cruisercl

[garycarla]

THIS IS SERIOUS and not just a reason to tell people to not come to terminal before 1:00.

 

Per cdc.gov - the Pearl has a serious virus on board - for those boarding 4/6 (which I am) the ENTIRE SHIP will be CLEANED UP AND DOWN and boarding will be delayed. The ship will arrive early with this week's passengers and get the passengers off early. There are a lot of details on this website.

 

I am sure future cruisers appreciate your warning.

 

But, just so you know, this is not that unusual.

 

Sadly, the average human just does not use common sense.

[L-in-CLT]

According to the cdc alcohol based hand sanitizers do work in reducing norovirus. Washing hands is MORE effective not because of the soap but because of the friction in the length of time spent washing and rinsing.

[rbrugler]

For many years I organized annual four day winter teen retreats at a church camp in Michigan. Teens attended from Indiana, Ohio, Michigan and even as far away as Maine and California. During more than one of these retreats, our time together would come to be referred to as Barf-aramas. Our retreat center was clean. The food was prepared in sanitary conditions. We urged proper hand washing, but it was difficult to monitor. Local drs referred to it as a Bug. I am sure that today it would be called Noro. Following each retreat all linens, bedspreads, walls, floors, carpets, etc. were cleaned. NCL will do the same.

[kcwingwalker]

FYI washy washy has ZERO impact on noro.

 

You might be correct, but "washy washy" won't hurt anyone and is a good reminder to do all you can to protect yourself and others.

 

The Pearl will dock Monday am and we have not heard anything about docking early or any other changes.

 

Still having a great cruise and lots of smiling faces aboard:)

[tiggerfan616]

The nero/gastro virus is running rampant right now, not just on cruise ships. My son's school had over 30 kids out sick with it Wednesday and another 20 or so sent home during the day. Its an extremely nasty 24 hr virus trust me I know since despite the hand washing and cleaning my house with bleach I still picked it up Friday night.

 

Bright side I needed to lose a few pounds for my cruise in 3 weeks, just didn't want to do it that way :eek:

[Budget Queen]

I worked in infection control, and most people, simply are clueless, what their habits are doing to transmit all kinds of viruses and bacteria.

 

I will mention a few- so flame away. :)

 

How many of you- eat with your bare hands? A LOT of people (I don't). So now think about it- buffet lines- yep all those spit swappers, eating their food in line, oh it's just a taste- :) Lick my fingers- then go and pick up the next utensil with the same, licked hand. At your table, add the salt, pepper, ketchup etc- then use your hands to eat. You've now exposed yourself, to everyone else who has touched those items, and licked their fingers.

 

The drink dispensers- all those wonderful people who ignore the "use clean" cups for filling. Their slobber splashes back on to the spigots, or worse- are too large and cover the spigots. Yep, sure it's claimed it's "clean" etc, sorry no, and most do NOT clean - EVERY time they finish a drink. Oh I'll just have a little refill.

 

So, those sanitizers really do nothing. There is so much contamination going on AFTER the sanitizers.

 

My habits- ALWAYS wash my hand, AFTER I get my food, and before I eat- touching nothing. (another "funny" I see, is all those hand washers in the bathroom- turning the sink off AFTER they wash, without a paper cover. This is the DIRTIEST part of the sink) I run beverages at least 5 seconds before I fill any clean cup.

 

Nope, I haven't eliminated the problems, but, I have greatly reduced my exposure.

[Barb Nahoumi]

We are booked on the Pearl in March, 2016. Should we cancel?

 

No, of course not.

[kgymn]

You might be correct, but "washy washy" won't hurt anyone and is a good reminder to do all you can to protect yourself and others

 

I disagree, because people think they're safe because the used the spray when otherwise they'd have washed their hands which is a far better and more effective method.

 

~Katy

[Cubechick]

Off of the ship this morning. Normal times for disembarkation. However they segregated those of us leaving the ship by having us exit all the way forward into terminal C. All of us without symptoms left via deck 7, while those who were known to have symptoms left by deck 4. Incoming passengers will board through terminal B. They had contained the spread of the illness by today. Everyone boarding today should be fine after the ship is sanitized.

Edited April 6, 2015 by Cubechick

[Aturnee]

Thanks for posting the Pearl information. We will be on our way to the Port around 1pm.

[ColinIllinois]

I am sure future cruisers appreciate your warning.

 

But, just so you know, this is not that unusual.

 

Sadly, the average human just does not use common sense.

 

And remember that 50% of humans are below average. :D

[nbsjcruiser]

Thanks for the update - the questions are what else happened to (or, did not) Washy Washy, Happy Happy and beyond that NCL is known for ?? Norovirus can happened anywhere, but the vigilance ... (never mind, bite my tongue)

 

Pulled the recent CDC inspection cards before we sailed & shared it among our Roll Call members as FYI. The Pearl did quite well with 95, whereas the BA we're on got just 91 an GA scored 92 - the Jewel and the Sky had a perfect score of 100.

http://wwwn.cdc.gov/InspectionQueryTool/InspectionSearch.aspx

 

Not good PR with Spring Break, and the recent wave of negative publicity with what's left of its media/public relations staff on a Friday ...

 

Don't be so quick to point the finger at NCL. Not too long ago we were travelling to Florida 8 days before our cruise and 2 people in our party picked up Noro on the way down. They didn't even know until it hit them on day 1 and 2 in Florida. People could be happily walking on the ship with no awareness at all that they are going to be sick. Next thing you know, you have a breakout of the "cruise ship illness" even though it was picked up on an Airplane, washroom or a hotel. In fact, anyone who has had to use a public washroom in an Airport or other such public place has probably witnessed the slob beside you use the washroom and walk out the door. I recall being in the Atlanta Airport in March and seeing a guy help his small child use the urinal and the two of them walked straight out the door. You'd like to reach out and kick the guy in the butt. You're a slob and you're teaching your kid to be a slob. Nice. Real nice.

[insidecabin]

And remember that 50% of humans are below average. :D

 

50% are below median.

 

no idea where those that think it is below average fit

[ColinIllinois]

50% are below median.

 

no idea where those that think it is below average fit

 

 

Thank you Lucy Literal.

[sunpuppy]

Hey Cubechick--

 

Thanks for posting such positive, helpful information! Have a safe trip home.

[ute_fan]

As mentioned, Norovirus can hit anywhere. There was a big outbreak last summer in Yellowstone just before we went, with many of the food workers in the park restaurants being afflicted. It wasn't the kind of place I'd expect Noro to be an issue, but it did.

 

Our last NCL trip was on the Jewel, and they had a Norovirus outbreak shortly before we boarded. One thing we noticed is that they were serving you at the buffet rather than letting passengers handle serving utensils, and that condiments at the tables (even in the MDR) were single-serve packets, rather than salt and pepper shakers or a bottle of ketchup. NCL has always done a pretty good job at cleaning up after these kinds of events, and I don't remember a ship that had problems on multiple weeks.

 

Not going to worry about it affecting my upcoming trip on the Pearl at all.

[Madmariner7]

We just debarked Pearl. It's unfortunate (and never completely avoidable) that this happened but NCL did everything right in response and it didn't lessen the experience for anyone who wasn't ill (my thoughts go with those who were). It says a lot that only 7 out of 1100 crew members got sick. you're really concerned about illness on a cruise ship, wash your hand - a lot - and stay away from the buffet. That's by far the #1 transmission vector. The HD confirmed as much during our CC wrap up yesterday. The Pearl hadn't had an outbreak since last June, BTW, which is a pretty good record considering the music charters it carries.

[RiotAct]

 

My habits- ALWAYS wash my hand, AFTER I get my food, and before I eat- touching nothing. (another "funny" I see, is all those hand washers in the bathroom- turning the sink off AFTER they wash, without a paper cover. This is the DIRTIEST part of the sink) I run beverages at least 5 seconds before I fill any clean cup.

 

Those are great suggestions - especially the last one, I had never thought of that!

[dave.s]

We just debarked Pearl. It's unfortunate (and never completely avoidable) that this happened but NCL did everything right in response and it didn't lessen the experience for anyone who wasn't ill (my thoughts go with those who were)...

 

I agree that the crew of the Pearl did a good job containing the outbreak for the most part, but I think they could have done a better job informing passengers about what was going on. They started making visible changes to sanitation procedures a couple of days before any announcement was made, and there was only one announcement that I know of, which couldn't be heard everywhere on the ship. I would have expected a letter delivered to each cabin telling us what was going on, what passengers should do about it, and what changes were being made on the ship to help contain the outbreak (removal of items from cabins, shutting down some of the outdoor dining venues, etc.). Everything I learned about the virus came from this thread and other passengers.

 

With all the concern about passing the virus to fellow passengers, I'm also surprised that they didn't shut down the hot tubs by the pool.

[Vyhanek]

The virus will have to make it's rounds thru the crew before it can be contained.

 

The kitchen staff stacking the dishes are now exposed to noro. No amount of passengers washing their hands will make the crew immune. The crew in the kitchen prepping the food may have washed their hands at the beginning of their shift but a few coughs, hacks and sneezes later and that prepped food is contaminated.

 

The Epic staff who unload the glasses out of the dishwasher and stack them in the bars, these people may have washed their hands at the beginning of their shift but again, a cough, a sneeze, a wipe of the face.....now they are stacking hundreds of glasses on the lido deck.

 

Hand washing might be the best option but we are talking about a lot of people on a cruise ship and eating at a buffet line and drinking drinks around the pool. There are not banks of sinks and soap! What is available as people walk into the restaurant is hand sanitizer.

 

Hand sanitizer does work at killing most of the germs, maybe not all the germs but it will get most.

 

This will be a bad week for the Epic. The virus can't get under control until it's made it's way thru the crew population.

Edited April 6, 2015 by Vyhanek

[CruisinMaterial]

We just debarked Pearl. It's unfortunate (and never completely avoidable) that this happened but NCL did everything right in response and it didn't lessen the experience for anyone who wasn't ill (my thoughts go with those who were). It says a lot that only 7 out of 1100 crew members got sick. you're really concerned about illness on a cruise ship, wash your hand - a lot - and stay away from the buffet. That's by far the #1 transmission vector. The HD confirmed as much during our CC wrap up yesterday. The Pearl hadn't had an outbreak since last June, BTW, which is a pretty good record considering the music charters it carries.

 

much of a foothold on the ship before the passenger count is reset again. Having a music charter doesn’t necessarily equate to a higher case of norovirus. However, having people shooting their immune systems to heck by being up all night does contribute to spreading illness of all kinds that may be brought onboard.

 

I do agree about staying away from the buffet or thoroughly washing your hands again prior to consuming your foods and avoiding all finger foods at the buffet in favor of using utensils. That way the method of transmission never actually reaches your mouth.

[jackg962]

This will be a bad week for the Epic. The virus can't get under control until it's made it's way thru the crew population.

 

Why will it be a bad week for the Epic, if this incident was on the Pearl?