Silly Question - What Precautions Do You Take to Avoid Getting Sick on Cruise

[Cruise a holic]

Wash-wash and wash. I try not to hold onto any railings walking down the stairs. I used a knuckle to push elevator buttons- never my finger. Also try to be the first people at buffet, before the serving utensils are handled by others- or the food is contaminated by hand pickers.

 

And when that all fails, bring antibiotics with me!

[eileeshb]

Try not to be too paranoid. I used to travel lots for work, I just up the doses of my immune boosting meds. Bottom line, know your own immune system, because I get an allergic reaction to colds/sinus/flu bugs I make sure to bring all my just in case asthma medication. Unfortunately for the paranoids on my first cruise I had a bug a few days prior to the cruise so I was still suffering the allergy after-effects when I boarded. I was no longer infectious but I probably sounded like I was. Just because someone is coughing or sniffling don't assume they have a cold, they could be like me and battling an allergy.

[jcCruiserNYC]

Try not to be too paranoid. I used to travel lots for work, I just up the doses of my immune boosting meds. Bottom line, know your own immune system, because I get an allergic reaction to colds/sinus/flu bugs I make sure to bring all my just in case asthma medication. Unfortunately for the paranoids on my first cruise I had a bug a few days prior to the cruise so I was still suffering the allergy after-effects when I boarded. I was no longer infectious but I probably sounded like I was. Just because someone is coughing or sniffling don't assume they have a cold, they could be like me and battling an allergy.

 

How am I supposed to tell which coughing-sniffling person has an allergy and which one has a cold?

(I suffer from Springtime hay fever allergy, so I know what you meant.)

 

Regardless, I stay away from anyone exhibiting such symptoms because I don't want to take the chance.

[Cruise a holic]

Especially during flu season. Best to be paranoid!

[Dany6]

Good nutrition, emergen-c, and LOTS of hand washing and hand sanitizer....I probably overdo it on the washing, my hands get so dry, but I'm a dental hygienist so I'm exposed to lots of people's germs, and I rarely get sick

[offtopic]

I work in a hospital and the #1 way to prevent getting sick is to not touch your face with you hands directly, ever, unless you have scrubbed them thoroughly. Especially don't touch your lips or mouth. Don't eat any handheld items, use a fork and knife for them (including pizza and french fries by the pool).

[Peachypooh]

I move away from anyone coughing and sneezing and if someone passes me in the buffet line and coughs or sneezes in my direction (3 feet or so away) I ditch the food and get another plate. I have only gotten sick once in all these years of cruising and it was from a person sitting in front of me on the airplane and then I had the bad luck of standing next to him on the Atlanta people mover thing (skytrain?).

[vllygrrl]

For as long as I can remember I have come home from every vacation with an upper respiratory or sinus infection. Cruises, hotels... even after two nights I would be sick. I began bringing my own pillow with me and that stopped it... I haven't been sick on the last five trips. I'm not certain what it was... maybe something in the industrial cleaner they use for bedding that doesn't agree with me.

 

 

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[BostonGal35]

did you guys fly to the cruise? i always get sick when i fly. are you sure it was the ship that made him sick?

 

otherwise, we drink a lot of booze, eat as healthy as we can while still indulging in some fave items, have one night wehre we crash early, and exercise. the only time we got sick was the first time we cruised Alaska and that was because we were very wet adn very cold all week. that was the longest flight home (anchorage to boston) with head colds...

[marktwothousand]

I get sick often before trips because I'm so busy the couple of weeks before, preparing for them that I get run down. In January, I caught the worst cold (my doctor suspects flu actually) before my one week on the Excape. It was pure hell, but I still managed to have a good time.

 

Unfortunately, for me, the key is...assume you WILL get sick, and bring as many medications you need to sustain you. Polysporin and bandaids, pepto, loperamide for diharreoa, gravol, antacids... painkillers: advil and tylenol. Benzocaine lozenges for sore throat. If you are susceptible to cold sores during stress, bring those meds/creams too.

 

Also, because you're not going to be eating the food you usually eat at home, your digestive system might not be used to it. So a kit for hemmorhoid treatment (including rubber gloves) is never a bad idea.

[gracef]

We also wipe our cabin down after the room steward has been in cleaning. 2 yrs ago our room steward missed one night and had a replacement. He had come down with pink eye. The day before we got off the ship my husband came down with pink eye. NCL would not take responsibility even thou cabin steward had it. Coincidence my husband came down with it??? I don't think so. They denied cabin steward had it. His replacement told us so and it was obvious when he came back. We didn't want to get his replacement steward in trouble so we couldn't say how we knew.

[foxgoodrich]

We also wipe our cabin down after the room steward has been in cleaning. 2 yrs ago our room steward missed one night and had a replacement. He had come down with pink eye. The day before we got off the ship my husband came down with pink eye. NCL would not take responsibility even thou cabin steward had it. Coincidence my husband came down with it??? I don't think so. They denied cabin steward had it. His replacement told us so and it was obvious when he came back. We didn't want to get his replacement steward in trouble so we couldn't say how we knew.

 

Geez, there's something new to think about. I do bring along the obligatory package of clorox wipes and do a thorough wipe down of stuff like all light switches, door pulls, cabinet/closet knobs, toilet handle, sink handles, phone, remote, pen and pad, etc. on the day we arrive. It hadn't occurred to me that we might catch a bug from our cabin steward later in the cruise. But oh yeah - that had to be the source of the pink eye. (Unless your DH and the cabin steward both had direct contact with some other person with pink eye.) I suspect the cruise line would never voluntarily accept responsibility for a crew member infecting a guest, though. You know it to be true, and you certainly convinced me, but no NCL rep will ever accept responsibility unless forced to do so in court. :rolleyes:

Judy

P.S. I don't mean to single out NCL. Most likely NO cruise line would admit responsibility unless forced to do so.

[HokiePoq]

This last cruise we brought elderberry tablets and were fortunate not to become sick. We also carry hand sanitizer and use it frequently. I hand sanitize when entering the buffet and also after using the serving pieces. We only eat there at breakfast and are among the first to go there. We avoid the public restrooms as much as possible and carry our own pens. I do the wipedown on airplane trays and in the cabin when we get there. We also carry a variety of otc meds with us and this last time we brought Tamiflu since our area is under a flu epidemic. This helps against a lot of things but in close quarters you are at the mercy of those who cough and sneeze without covering adequately.

[HokiePoq]

LOL...sorry but you have now been diagnosed as germaphobic along with several others in this thread. Apologies for breaking the news to you. ;p

 

Guilty. Not so much before I began cruising. Now I hate passing the peace at church and sneak into the hand sanitizer afterward.