Noro Virus-Carnival Liberty

[mjbelen]

We were on the May 31st sailing on the Liberty. There was an outbreak of the Noro Virus on the ship, yet I have not heard anything on the boards about the outbreak. My husband took ill on the way home from the cruise. He has been very ill, and just called me from the doctor where they are going to place him on IV fluids.

 

There were quite a few people who took ill during the cruise, especially towards the end. The only changes I saw on board is that food was served at the buffet rather than being self service. We were not given any handouts advisng us that there was an outbreak of the virus. When you exit the ship at ports, the security personnel who took your card was not wearing any gloves. I watched as he took card after card from passangers, placed them into the machine, and then handed them back to each passanger. I think it would be a much better practice to allow each passanger to place their own card in the machine, to lessen the chance of spreading the virus.

 

Though we washed out hands quite a lot, and used hand sanitizer as well, unfortunatly my husband is now quite ill.

 

I just wanted to let those of you who will be sailing in the near future know about the outbreak on the Liberty.

[gsb]

We were on the May19th Liberty. All buffets were served --no self service. I thiink it's the new CCL policy--probably saves a bunch on the food bill--people won't get as much as if they were dishing it out themselves. Takes a little longer.

Good idea on the cards.

[mjbelen]

No, the buffets were all self service until the last two days. I also heard that there was an outbreak on your sailing as well, but not as severe.

[I Luv Crusin]

I was on the May 19th cruise too and didn't hear or see any sick people. Well, now that I think about it I took a Carnival excursion in Dubrovnik to the Winery and there was a lady sick on the bus. Her Mom said that she got motion sickness but she was "sick" at each stop....

 

I got sick but it was a breathing problem. Low temp and cough which I attribute to airplane air and cigarette smoke sensitivity.

 

So many people complained about being served at the buffet lines. It didn't seem to me to take that MUCH longer.

 

I hope your husband feels better soon!

[kelz66]

They can't determine what it is without a doctor seeing each sick person and doing tests on them. So rather than scare people with an assumption on why people were getting sick, they took precautions to avoid the spread of whatever it was.

[seamama1]

This virus is very common in the general population..sorry your hubby came down with it. You are wise to keep hands clean.

 

I personally would rather see the food served at the buffet instead of each person just digging in. I have seen people reach into a tray, pop something in their mouth and go back for seconds....disgusting!

 

Hope hubby is feeling better. :p

[gsb]

No, the buffets were all self service until the last two days. I also heard that there was an outbreak on your sailing as well, but not as severe.

 

NO--they were served our entire cruise--5/19-5/31

[petersonwith3]

we were a group of 15 on the liberty and 5 of us are very ill (all noro virus symptoms) .... this is serious stuff and very painful.

 

Tina

 

p.s. on the 8th day I saw crew members washing down walls and door handles with bleach--I was happy to see it, but also concerned that something was wrong...all of our illnesses came on day 10 or later...

[winewanderer]

We were also on the May 19th sailing. At check-in we were given a handout about the Norovirus and the prevention was constantly displayed on the TV. I had wondered if there was an outbreak on the prior sailing.

 

We were surprised to find crew serving at the buffet.

 

I had this virus on the Legend a couple of years ago. Believe me if you've ever had it you would appreciate being served in the buffet.

[Mikew0805]

Just my opinion but I would prefer the crew serve it all the time, rather than 1000's of people touching the same handle to serve themselves.

 

About that comment of someone sticking their hands in a popping food in their mouth, EWW that is just unsanitary, and I would have requested that the food in that dish be replaced immediatly. ( whether the person doing the deed heard me or not ) :eek:

 

 

-Mike

[ILuvCarnival]

IF, there were a virus outbreak on the ship or even if one is suspected, it gets 100% sanitized before the next sailing.

 

This is a hard rule. There are never exceptions.

 

However, like in any enviroment (work, school, home, etc), people always can bring on viruses. Always safest to wash your hands regularly while on board a cruise ship.

[gipper691]

We were on the May 31st sailing on the Liberty. There was an outbreak of the Noro Virus on the ship, yet I have not heard anything on the boards about the outbreak. My husband took ill on the way home from the cruise. He has been very ill, and just called me from the doctor where they are going to place him on IV fluids.

 

There were quite a few people who took ill during the cruise, especially towards the end. The only changes I saw on board is that food was served at the buffet rather than being self service. We were not given any handouts advisng us that there was an outbreak of the virus. When you exit the ship at ports, the security personnel who took your card was not wearing any gloves. I watched as he took card after card from passangers, placed them into the machine, and then handed them back to each passanger. I think it would be a much better practice to allow each passanger to place their own card in the machine, to lessen the chance of spreading the virus.

 

Though we washed out hands quite a lot, and used hand sanitizer as well, unfortunatly my husband is now quite ill.

 

I just wanted to let those of you who will be sailing in the near future know about the outbreak on the Liberty.

 

Just wanted you all to know, there were several virus outbreaks on the ship on the 5/31 sailing and not all sickness was Noro Virus! Everyone thinks they are an expert on viral infections and believe they are all related. Nothing could be further from the truth.

 

In my job, I am a food and environmental safety specialist. I have seen the inspection reports for the Liberty as well as being a passenger. There were some minor issues onboard but the crew did a good job of keeping the critical areas clean and free of contamination. Most of the outbreaks were caused by passengers bringing a virus back onboard from ports of call.

 

One of our group was very bad about eating cheese made from unpasteurized milk and unwashed raw fruit and vegetables onshore. He, his wife and their Aunt paid the price for his inattention to detail of food safety. He and his wife were taken sick the last three days of the cruise and he wound up in the hospital in Atlanta for weeks and his wife and aunt were sick (gastric distress) for a week.

 

Unless you are a Doctor or have formal training in viral containment, please don't group all illness into one category. As usual, there are always numerous reasons for contracting an illness. Don't blame the ship for passenger's stupidity! The ship was the cleanest place we went on our vacation.

[mjbelen]

Here's a link I found last night which lists the Liberty as having had an outbreak of the Noro virus on the May 19th sailing.

 

When we got on the ship, we went to see the ship's doctor as my husband has injured his knee. There was a female crew member who was sitting in the waiting room with who was not feeling very well. The doctor saw her first, and then examined my husband. I was sitting in front of his desk and he had a log of the patients he has seen. Being nosey, I did look at the log, which was upside down and difficult to read. I was able to read however, that he had written the word "quarantine" next to the last patient he had seen. As we left his office, I said to my husband that I hoped she did not have the Noro virus.

 

When we got home, my husband was so ill he was seen at an emergency clinic. He was told that he most definatly had the Noro Virus by the doctor on staff. Another person in our Cruise Critic group also took ill and missed a day of touring. She also went to see the ships doctor. On the last day of the cruise when we ported in Livorno, the crew attempted to keep her from leaving the ship when she used her sail and sign card at the exit. She had been flagged as having had the virus. She went to the doctors office which was full of ill passangers and was able to get a release to get off the ship.

 

Of course, not everyone who got sick on the sailing had the Noro virus. However, there had been an outbreak on the prior cruise, and Carnival owed us a duty to notify us, so we could have made informed choices.

 

Joan

 

 

 

 

 

www.cruisejunkie.com/events.html

[GoinCruisin]

There have been a number of ships with Noro the past couple of weeks, there was an RCI ship that was reported as having it last week, others as well.. just like there have been outbreaks lately at schools, nursing homes, etc. It happens, and certainly isn't confined to ships... you can generally assume when breakouts are happening on land, they are happening on ships... just take precautions as best you can. It's never fun having a virus, so just be prepared.

[tracyvansmith]

He is a link for you. If the people had GI illness they may not have said anything because it does not show up on this page.

 

http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/vsp/surv/GIlist.htm

[derf5585]

According to those onboard, many passengers (up to one-third) contracted gastrointestinal illness during the cruise 12 day cruise ending today in Civitavecchia. By the end of the cruise, all the dishes and silverware had been removed from the buffets and passengers had to be handed their plates with their food selections by the kitchen staff. Half way through the cruise, Carnival employees began scrubbing down all common area surfaces such as outdoor furniture, decks and walls while wearing masks and gloves. The crew all wore gloves to handle "sign and sail" cards, etc.

from

http://www.cruisejunkie.com/events.html

[Pokemomma]

Hi, I just returned from the July 18 Liberty sailing and up until the last night I didn't hear of anyone getting sick. The last night, one of my son's friends, a teenager was very sick for about 8-10 hours and then passed it to his sister who also was sick for a short period of time.

 

There are hand wipes at all the buffet stations and the ship seemed to be kept very clean but we served ourselves at all the buffet stations (with the exception of the carving stations, drinks and assorted things like pasta and thai barbeque.

[YogiDog]

According to those onboard, many passengers (up to one-third) contracted gastrointestinal illness during the cruise 12 day cruise ending today in Civitavecchia. By the end of the cruise, all the dishes and silverware had been removed from the buffets and passengers had to be handed their plates with their food selections by the kitchen staff. Half way through the cruise, Carnival employees began scrubbing down all common area surfaces such as outdoor furniture, decks and walls while wearing masks and gloves. The crew all wore gloves to handle "sign and sail" cards, etc.

from

http://www.cruisejunkie.com/events.html

 

Derf5585,

I don't see anything about this Carnival sailing on the link you provided. Since Liberty's capacity is 2,974 passengers, one third of the ship's passengers would be 981 people. That would be a lot of sick people! I will look at the link again later tonight - perhaps they will have an update by then.

[texas greeneyes]

The use of gloves by crew members while handling S&S cards is a protection only to that crew member. Does nothing to protect the pax, unless the gloves are exchanged for an unused pair between each card handled.

Anti-bacterial products, as it has been said before many times on these boards, are useless against the spread of viral infections.

Best preventive measures are the tried and true: Wash hands often, with hot water and soap. And don't touch your face unless you wash your hands immediately before and immediately after.

[nymshowdown]

June 24th sailing of the Liberty-

 

I didn't hear anything about people being sick. Although my son said that his friends brother was in quarantine for several days.

 

Carnival notified us about the possibility of an outbreak right when we got on the ship. We were given information on Noro Virus when we checked in and got our S&S cards. There were also information sheets in our cabin as well as a video begin played over and over on the TV in the cabin about Noro Virus.

 

Buffet was self-service. There were hand wipes at the begining of the line as well as pieces of tissue paper-like paper to use when opening the bathroom doors.

[QM2 Cruiser]

HOW TO AVOID ANY ILLNESS ON A CRUISE:

 

Prevenative measures against norovirus.

1. Take "Airborne" and "Vitamin C" lozenges beginning 10 days before sailing. Avoid contact with people that you suspect may have any type of illness, and wash hands on the hour with antibacterial soap, and before eating, drinking, touching face, and after leaving the restroom.

 

2. Use hand sanitizer liberally, and add additional hospital grade rubbing alcohol to the sanitizer to increase alcohol content. Norovirus can be killed with constant alcohol exposure of three to five minutes.

 

3. When boarding an airplane, wipe down your tray table, seatbelt, armrests, air vent, and reading light button with Clorox bleach wipes. Repeat this half way through the flight.

 

4. While on the airplane, avoid people around you that are coughing, sneezing, etc. if at all possible. Never directly face such a person to avoid them breathing on you. Do not shake hands. If someone tries to shake your hand tell them you are sick and don't want to give them your cold.

 

5. While on the flight, don't touch anything that is not sterilized, and avoid the lavatory. Sanitize hands with bleach wipes liberally before taking any food and beverage service, and minimize hand-to-food contact by not eating the part of the food you touch.

 

4. After landing, wash hands for at least one minute with antibacterial soap, and include arms and elbows, and face. Use paper towels only and use a paper towel to turn off the water and open the door.

 

5. Change clothes as soon as you reach your hotel, and place in a plastic bag. Do not wear these airplane clothes again until washed. Immediately take a shower.

 

6. After onboard the ship, sanitize everything in the cabin upon arrival:

 

A. Lysol spray all bedspreads, couches, carpets, and chairs. (Does not stain).

 

B. Bleach all bathroom surfaces including floor, shower walls, toilet, sink, faucets, and walls. Cruise ship bathrooms are usually waterproof because everything is plastic, so basically just soak the whole room with bleach or Lysol.

 

C. Use Lysol wipes for all wooden surfaces, table tops, night stands, lamps, TV remotes, telephones, light switches, thermostat, door handles (inside and out), and closet hangers.

 

D. Use a water and antibacterial soap solution to scrub balcony floor. Lysol wipe the balcony railing, and Lysol spray all balcony furniture.

 

E. Use Lysol wipes for plastic "Do Not Disturb" signs, ice buckets, mini-fridges, and other objects.

 

F. Lysol spray the bedspread daily and don’t sit on it. Bring your own pillow.

 

G. VACATE STATEROOM FOR FIVE HOURS OR UNTIL CLEANING ODOR SUBSIDES. LEAVE BALCONY DOOR OPEN AND BRING SMALL PORTABLE FAN TO AID IN AIR CIRCULATION.

 

7. Be sensible while on the cruise. Bring bottles of antibacterial soap for personal use, and use antibacterial bar soap for showering. Pour Listerine on your toothbrush before each use to clean. Wash hands before entering the buffet and again after putting your plate on your table before eating. Stay away from anyone that may be ill. Never touch handrails. Wash hands when entering and when leaving your stateroom, before eating, drinking, smoking, touching face, and before and after using the restroom. Use hospital grade hand sanitizers liberally and often. Use bleach wipes in the dining room or buffet before eating. NEVER USE HOT TUBS AND DO NOT SUBMERGE HEAD IN SWIMMING POOLS. Shower after swimming onboard or ashore. Shower at lease twice daily, especially after shore excursions.

 

8. Never use the public restrooms, and do not open doors to exterior decks or public rooms without a napkin, paper towel, or other barrier. Your elbow can be used as a last resort to open doors, but be sure to wash it. DO NOT PUSH ELEVATOR BUTTONS WITH HANDS OR USE HOUSE PHONES. Avoid touching objects in the public areas. Only your clothes should ever touch a chair or a lounge. Never wear the same clothes twice to avoid contamination.

 

9. If there is an outbreak onboard, limit your time in public areas. Eat only in the dining room. Before leaving the stateroom know your destination, and take the shortest route. Do not use elevators. Stay in your cabin and on open decks, instead of inside the ship. If necessary, use room service for all meals depending on degree of outbreak.

 

10. Have a great, germ free cruise vacation!

[salty dingo]

I do not think I would bother with trying to sanitize my cabin... I think if I just sanitize my hands before eating, that should prevent the norovirus. As I understand the virus, it does not remain airborne.

 

However, the most stringent handwashing will not help if some buffet buffoon touches the food or something that contacts the food. I would hope a European cruise would have less of these types of people but apparently not.

 

If someone has a bad habit like biting fingernails or picking their nose or something similar, that could also be a way to contract the virus. Manners exist for a practical purpose, you know!

[Pokemomma]

HOW TO AVOID ANY ILLNESS ON A CRUISE:

 

Prevenative measures against norovirus.

1. Take "Airborne" and "Vitamin C" lozenges beginning 10 days before sailing. Avoid contact with people that you suspect may have any type of illness, and wash hands on the hour with antibacterial soap, and before eating, drinking, touching face, and after leaving the restroom.

 

2. Use hand sanitizer liberally, and add additional hospital grade rubbing alcohol to the sanitizer to increase alcohol content. Norovirus can be killed with constant alcohol exposure of three to five minutes.

 

3. When boarding an airplane, wipe down your tray table, seatbelt, armrests, air vent, and reading light button with Clorox bleach wipes. Repeat this half way through the flight.

 

4. While on the airplane, avoid people around you that are coughing, sneezing, etc. if at all possible. Never directly face such a person to avoid them breathing on you. Do not shake hands. If someone tries to shake your hand tell them you are sick and don't want to give them your cold.

 

5. While on the flight, don't touch anything that is not sterilized, and avoid the lavatory. Sanitize hands with bleach wipes liberally before taking any food and beverage service, and minimize hand-to-food contact by not eating the part of the food you touch.

 

4. After landing, wash hands for at least one minute with antibacterial soap, and include arms and elbows, and face. Use paper towels only and use a paper towel to turn off the water and open the door.

 

5. Change clothes as soon as you reach your hotel, and place in a plastic bag. Do not wear these airplane clothes again until washed. Immediately take a shower.

 

6. After onboard the ship, sanitize everything in the cabin upon arrival:

 

A. Lysol spray all bedspreads, couches, carpets, and chairs. (Does not stain).

 

B. Bleach all bathroom surfaces including floor, shower walls, toilet, sink, faucets, and walls. Cruise ship bathrooms are usually waterproof because everything is plastic, so basically just soak the whole room with bleach or Lysol.

 

C. Use Lysol wipes for all wooden surfaces, table tops, night stands, lamps, TV remotes, telephones, light switches, thermostat, door handles (inside and out), and closet hangers.

 

D. Use a water and antibacterial soap solution to scrub balcony floor. Lysol wipe the balcony railing, and Lysol spray all balcony furniture.

 

E. Use Lysol wipes for plastic "Do Not Disturb" signs, ice buckets, mini-fridges, and other objects.

 

F. Lysol spray the bedspread daily and don’t sit on it. Bring your own pillow.

 

G. VACATE STATEROOM FOR FIVE HOURS OR UNTIL CLEANING ODOR SUBSIDES. LEAVE BALCONY DOOR OPEN AND BRING SMALL PORTABLE FAN TO AID IN AIR CIRCULATION.

 

7. Be sensible while on the cruise. Bring bottles of antibacterial soap for personal use, and use antibacterial bar soap for showering. Pour Listerine on your toothbrush before each use to clean. Wash hands before entering the buffet and again after putting your plate on your table before eating. Stay away from anyone that may be ill. Never touch handrails. Wash hands when entering and when leaving your stateroom, before eating, drinking, smoking, touching face, and before and after using the restroom. Use hospital grade hand sanitizers liberally and often. Use bleach wipes in the dining room or buffet before eating. NEVER USE HOT TUBS AND DO NOT SUBMERGE HEAD IN SWIMMING POOLS. Shower after swimming onboard or ashore. Shower at lease twice daily, especially after shore excursions.

 

8. Never use the public restrooms, and do not open doors to exterior decks or public rooms without a napkin, paper towel, or other barrier. Your elbow can be used as a last resort to open doors, but be sure to wash it. DO NOT PUSH ELEVATOR BUTTONS WITH HANDS OR USE HOUSE PHONES. Avoid touching objects in the public areas. Only your clothes should ever touch a chair or a lounge. Never wear the same clothes twice to avoid contamination.

 

9. If there is an outbreak onboard, limit your time in public areas. Eat only in the dining room. Before leaving the stateroom know your destination, and take the shortest route. Do not use elevators. Stay in your cabin and on open decks, instead of inside the ship. If necessary, use room service for all meals depending on degree of outbreak.

 

10. Have a great, germ free cruise vacation!

 

 

Well....that gave me a laugh! Are you serious? Why not just stuff yourself in a fresh and sanitary plastic bag and stay home?

[Kethry88]

A 10-step sanitary regime and slobs eating food directly out of the buffet serving trays. Sounds like "The Odd Couple" meets "The Love Boat"! :D

[Jolimont]

Though we washed out hands quite a lot, and used hand sanitizer as well, unfortunatly my husband is now quite ill.

It's a nasty virus indeed, it's redeeming quality is that one usually gets better quickly. The noro virus spreads like wildfire because it IS airborne (look it up!) Washing hands is great, but if you walk through a hall where an infected person just sneezed, you will get infected. If you breathe the same air as someone in an enclosed space, you will be infected. That is, unless you've been infected a few times before and have built a natural immunity to it. So keep on washing your hands, but it's no silver bullet.