Freedom Sickness: Sore Throat/Chronic Cough

[peteukmcr]

On returning from all our cruises we always get sick. Now whether its the plane, too much beer or the AC on the cruise we're not sure but my guess is definately the AC.

 

We're off in 3 weeks time on the Freedom of the Seas :D and this time I'm gonna pump myself up with vitamins before we go - hopefully this time I'll return feeling almost normal.

 

For me post cruise depression is the pits :( , but with flu symptoms as well, boy does it make it even harder getting back to normallity!!

Hi debs1204

 

I saw your group on the Roll Call for Freedom for 22nd Oct but didn't realise you're from the UK and even more very near us in Manchester. When do you leave the UK? We're on Virgin to Orlando on 20th and then onto Miami on 21st.

[BeachMartini]

Ah, the joys of placebo...

 

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Health/story?id=1664514&page=1&CMP=OTC-RSSFeeds0312

 

I think this is pretty common knowledge.... Airborne is to be used as a PREVENTATIVE immune system booster.

[clm101798]

If someone gets sick before the cruise they are still going to get on the boat, not waste all that money. This sick person touches handrails, elevator buttons, chairs, tables, slot machines, etc. Depending on the incubation period of whatever he has is, you might pick it up and get sick on the boat or not get sick until after you are home. 2,000 or so people in a relative small enviroment for a week or so, anything brought on board is going to spread. The ship cannot be held accountable for someone getting a cold or flu or other virus....

[trishalee]

I think pretty much ALL of the above are contributory to illness. Since planes became non-smoking, they no longer have industrial strength air cleaners in operation so germs are much more concentrated. We tend to party so much on the cruise that we become worn out and perfect targets for the germs brought on board by numerous sick passengers. Add to that the constant moving from heat to super cooled air, under water activities to work on the sinuses, etc., we are sitting ducks! OMG, should I stay home? NOT!!!:eek:

[debs1204]

Hi debs1204

 

I saw your group on the Roll Call for Freedom for 22nd Oct but didn't realise you're from the UK and even more very near us in Manchester. When do you leave the UK? We're on Virgin to Orlando on 20th and then onto Miami on 21st.

 

Hi Pete,

 

We also leave on the 20th from Manchester to Miami via Boston. So its 2 nights in Miami for us before boarding that beautiful ship !! There's 10 of us going to celebrate my sisters 25th Wedding Anniversary and mine and my hubby's 3rd. How many in your party.

 

I am actually Manchester born and bred, I was born in Chadderton and then worked in Manchester for about 8 years before moving away in 1988. So where about are you from?

[PH8]

Its just not the Freedom................I got the same thing a couple of days into my Mariner cruise this month............I know of others that did too..........wound up getting antibiotics and cough meds from the doctor when I got home......

It was no fun feeling sick............

 

Next time,Im gonna give AirBorne a try.,

[peteukmcr]

Hi Pete,

 

We also leave on the 20th from Manchester to Miami via Boston. So its 2 nights in Miami for us before boarding that beautiful ship !! There's 10 of us going to celebrate my sisters 25th Wedding Anniversary and mine and my hubby's 3rd. How many in your party.

 

I am actually Manchester born and bred, I was born in Chadderton and then worked in Manchester for about 8 years before moving away in 1988. So where about are you from?

Hi Debs

 

Perhaps we should continue this chat on the ROLL CALL thread, but briefly there's 2 of us, I was raised in Denton, and have just moved from the city centre after 11 years to Belle Vue. We'll have to meet up. I presume you're flying AA to Boston from Terminal 3, so we won't see your group on 20th as we'll be in Term 2. Staying at Intercontinental in Miami, how about you?

 

Hope this link works! http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=180822&page=24

[Leeser416]

See? I am not the only one who takes the Airborne! Nana's know best!:)

 

I have the same symptoms too---but haven't cruised since beginning of september. It is the time of year for colds - allergies have been bad and that could turn into a cold...as for airborne - i work in a special education preschool - I take it occasionally and it does reduce the length of some colds.

[mae]

MACE, I have read the previous thread you were referring to in your original post and most all of the replys were saying they got sick immediately after returning from the cruise. It is rather curious. I'm wondering if the type of room makes any difference. Maybe some of you who suffered from sore throats and colds could let us know. We have always had a balcony room therefore had plenty of fresh air in a small sleeping area. We will have a promanade in February and I'm now concerned about sleeping and breathing in stale air for 7 days without any way for fresh air to come into the room. Does anyone know?

[crusinmama06]

I am sick now too! I bet we are just spreading it through a computer virus. ;) (not going on FOS till April)

 

Actually, it's pretty common to get sick during this season after getting off of a cruise. You are being exposed to 4,000 other people and their germs in a close proximity.

 

Hope you all feel better.

[chubbycheeks]

I'm sick. I was on the Sept 17th cruise. I got a sore throat while on the cruise and lost my voice. I went to the doctor about it because some yucky stuff was coming up and my cough sounded really bad. Apparently I have an upper respiratory infection which isn't contagious. I truly believe that it was the smoke from hanging out at the Schooner Bar and in the Crypt. I don't tolerate it well. I usually get a stuffy head from going to a smoky club for one night so times that by 7 and it equals infection for me. I do know that a few other people from our group complained and my step-mom is also sick.

 

BTW-I live in Miami so I didn't fly...my step-mom did so it's not the plane.

[MACE]

MACE, I have read the previous thread you were referring to in your original post and most all of the replys were saying they got sick immediately after returning from the cruise. It is rather curious. I'm wondering if the type of room makes any difference. Maybe some of you who suffered from sore throats and colds could let us know. We have always had a balcony room therefore had plenty of fresh air in a small sleeping area. We will have a promanade in February and I'm now concerned about sleeping and breathing in stale air for 7 days without any way for fresh air to come into the room. Does anyone know?

 

For us, fairly immediately, got home late Sunday, by Tuesday, bad sore throat, Wednesday morning: some loss of voice and onset of the chronic cough.

 

What I find strange is that for the past 7 years, we have ALWAYS sailed and returned on Labor Day Weekend and NEVER had these symptoms and I'm unaware of any flu or

cold out there that leaves a persistent cough for about 4 weeks....go figure.

 

We had a balcony room (JS) but the A/C was really poor (seemed pretty weak throughout the ship as a matter of fact)...stale air could be a factor

 

Vitamin supplements probably wouldn't be a bad idea...hopefully no worries for you

 

-MACE-

[mommabean]

Ah, the joys of placebo...

 

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Health/story?id=1664514&page=1&CMP=OTC-RSSFeeds0312

Hey! Don't knock airborne. I use it before flying or going on a cruise and I haven't gotten sick.

 

Oh that's right. I haven't gotten so much as a little cold since January 2002 - cruise or no cruise, airborne or not. It is tasty stuff though.

[ckrobyn]

I am the General Manager of a retirement residence and many of my 130 residents have sore throats and coughs this week. None of them have been on a cruise ship lately :rolleyes:

[Merion_Mom]

I am sick now too! I bet we are just spreading it through a computer virus. ;) (not going on FOS till April)

 

Actually, it's pretty common to get sick during this season after getting off of a cruise. You are being exposed to 4,000 other people and their germs in a close proximity.

 

Hope you all feel better.

You have me laughing out loud, Michele!

 

And just try teaching in a school..........those kids are absolute germ factories! And no one seems to have taught some of them the etiquette of tissue usage and covering of mouth and nose when coughing and sneezing!!!!!!!!!!

 

 

(I know, I know....EEEEEEEEEEEEEWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW)

 

:D

[clm101798]

For us, fairly immediately, got home late Sunday, by Tuesday, bad sore throat, Wednesday morning: some loss of voice and onset of the chronic cough.

 

What I find strange is that for the past 7 years, we have ALWAYS sailed and returned on Labor Day Weekend and NEVER had these symptoms and I'm unaware of any flu or

cold out there that leaves a persistent cough for about 4 weeks....go figure.

 

-MACE-

 

With the millions and millions of bacteria and viruses there are in the world you are not going to be familiar with all of them. About 6 months ago I had the same symptoms as you. It started with a sore throat and progressed into a chronic cough and my voice would come and go. [DH was happy with that symptom :) ] After a few weeks of the cough just getting worse I finally went to the doctor who gave me something to take at night to calm the cough so I could finally sleep and an inhaler to reduce the inflamation in my throat which also helped the cough. I had some type of virus that just took a long time to get rid of. I was probably sick for about 6 weeks. It wasn't caused by traveling, I hadn't been on a trip for a year. I just got sick. It happens sometimes to people.

[AFT_LOVER]

we bought the 3 pack at BJ's & took a pill dissolved in water as we awaited borading the plane. Got to the ship & we were fine until we flew home again taking the Alka Seltzer type drink from Airborne & we fell asleep on the plane, too much partying last night, and next day we were SO SICK! Box reads to take every 3 hours, forget that..... but a 4.5 hour flight & we got sick?

[ArtieG]

I haven't been on any cruise yet, but I have all the symptoms previously described. It's probably just going around. I am, however, getting ready for our first cruise on the NCL Jewel in January out of Miami, so all your advice is really helpful, as we will be flying down to MIA from NY before the cruise. I will definitely stock up on the Airborne and the OJ. How soon before the flight should we start the remedies?

These posts have been a real help all around. You guys are great! I've discovered another new great sub-culture!!!

[Beetulz]

Maybe it is just that "time of the year"; however, you can not deny the coincidence.

There were two Carnival ships leaving Miami on September 10th when our Freedom cruise departed. I just did a quick search on the Carnival thread and I don't see any mention of passengers coming down with a sore throat and cough after their cruises. Maybe someone can do a better search over there. I'm sure there were Carnival ships leaving on September 17th, too. You would think someone would mention it.

Someone mentioned that the people that got sick may have gotten sick flying into Miami for the cruise. Again wouldn't that affect other cruise line passengers, too? In our group two flew into Miami and one in to FLL got the Freedom Cough.

Someone mentioned the "patch". None of the people that developed the Freedom cough in our group were using the patch.

I wonder how the crew of Freedom is doing? I don't recall any crew members coughing a lot. Anyone else notice anything?

Again, I think it will be interesting to see if the passengers on the current cruise have the symptoms, too. We should start seeing their reviews in 3 or 4 days.

[beancounterbeth]

I was on the 8/27/06 sailing and yes, I came home with a cold. Also, a friend that was sailing with us came down with the same thing.

 

I can't blame it on Freedom though since I came home with the exact same syptoms last year after going on Explorer of the Seas.

 

I blamed my cold on wearing myself out trying to do and see everything. I was completely exhausted!

[TNC010100]

Ah, the joys of placebo...

 

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Health/story?id=1664514&page=1&CMP=OTC-RSSFeeds0312

 

UM - I don't think most people thin it CURES a cold - but it certainly doesn't hurt to have a lot of vitamins in your system to help fight it off or keep it from getting worse...

[Little Feet]

We were on the Freedom of the Seas 9/17 and we did not get sick. We did not go in the pools, did enter one large hot tub briefly when it was not crowded, did not order room service, did have a balcony, did not go ice skating, but did watch the ice show. Every time that I have been sick while traveling I have suspected that it was contracted on the plane. The plane ventilation is horrid....really should be flushed with all fresh air instead of recirculated. The confinement on planes is closer than most public health guidelines for sleeping quarters in camps and dorms.

[CruiseAwayWithMe]

I didn't get sick on Freedom of the Seas. I went to Labadee and used the new bedding. I went to all the pools, flowrider, and I went to the H20 Zone once in the morning when no kids were there. I went ice skating once. I used the caltivated whirpools and they are great. :) We don't order room service. Yes, we have a balcony. (Grand Suite) We flew in an airplane too. Sail date was July 9, 2006.

[ladyspace74]

Ah the good ol' cruise cold. I get them everytime. I've taken all the precautions but one thing I notice is I always seem to swallow a little bit of salt water either on the beaches or the pools and that seems to set it off. My throat is irritated for hours after. I try to drink plenty of liquids to flush any bacteria out of my throat. I know it goes into my stomach. But there is so much food in there it has no place to settle.:D Usually the cold sets in about a day after I get back and I think it happens because, I don't know about you but I'm exhausted after a cruise and I think the immune system is worn out and any remaining germs and bacteria that I've been exposed to just take over. Just my two cents.

[MACE]

I didn't get sick on Freedom of the Seas. I went to Labadee and used the new bedding. I went to all the pools, flowrider, and I went to the H20 Zone once in the morning when no kids were there. I went ice skating once. I used the caltivated whirpools and they are great. :) We don't order room service. Yes, we have a balcony. (Grand Suite) We flew in an airplane too. Sail date was July 9, 2006.

 

Thanks for the feedback, was looking to see if someone on a earlier sailing came back with the Freedom Cough and you did not.

 

BTW, what was your opinion of the A/C in your cabin and throughout the ship?

 

-MACE-