NOROVIRUS SEASON...Tis The Season Not To Be Jolly.....

[Sea King]

agree with Sail7Seas and others .. that there is no such thing as "NLV season"

 

wash, sanitize, santize and wash on every cruise and then be careful

 

quite frankly, there is no 100% guaranty you won't become infected if you sanitize and watch very carefully .. however, you definitely can reduce the odds

 

the most maddening thing I've seen is Pax who go through Lido and pick up something with their hands and then put it back .. it can be from bread, to cereal to fruit:mad: when it does happen, I have brought that to the attention of someone immediately and the entire set up has been removed

 

the "offending pax", however, usually has a nasty word or 2 to say to me like "what's your problem" (or usually stronger semi tractor truck language) and of course there's always the appropriate 4 letter words:)

 

if there is an outbreak like on Liberty, there's little you can do once you've crossed your fingers, knees, toes and legs;)

 

finally, an outbreak is the crew's worst nightmare .. 24 hour around the clock scrub time starts

 

hopefully, we'll all reap good fortune and won't be impacted

[GmaPajama]

I was on a domestic flight last week, and had a gal with the sneezes sitting behind me. I held my breath as long as I could each time she let loose, but had to breathe eventually. Yep - I have a miserable cold (or flu) now. I'm planning to pick up a couple disposable face masks and keep them in my carryon next time. I'll put one on at the first indication someone onboard is carrying germs. Don't even care what people think - I'll never see them again and not being sick is WAY more important than appearing polite. I feel pretty safe onboard a HAL Ship, as they do make a concentrated effort to keep things sanitized - but like so many of you, I do carry my purell.

[duck tune]

I carry a supply of Purell wipes in my purse, extras in the carry on and some in the checked luggage. When we get on the airline DH and I use one to wipe down the trays before we use them for any reason. If we read the magazines in the seat pocket, we use another to clean our hands as soon as we are finished. When we go to the hotel, I wipe down the remote, the telephone, the door knobs and the light switches. Do the same on the ship. When we eat out, we wipe down our hands after we give the menu back to the waiter. If we go to a buffet, we use one to wipe our hands after handling the tongs that other handle who may or may not have washed their hands. We always use the Purell machines on board the ship and am amazed at people who don't. I have seen many, many women not wash their hands after using the restrooms. So, after I wash my hands and turn off the water with a paper towel, I also use a paper towel to open the door to get out of the restroom. I am a registered nurse and practice good handwashing and have taught DH to do the same. It makes a difference to be proactive and have a healthy vacation but also every day when coming in contact with others who may or may not practice good handwashing. Compulsive? Maybe, but it keeps us healthy. Now I need to remember to pack those disposable face masks!

[Juanita462]

How often have you seen people in washrooms just let the water dribble over their fingers and then head out - I have many times. Maybe if they posted a sign saying that you must wash for as long as it takes to sing happy birthday, people might pay attention.

 

On the Statendam DH saw a waiter wash his hands but use the door handle to exit the washroom and then not use the hand sanitizer before going back on duty. He did report the incident to someone in charge so hopefully they covered this point with the staff.

 

I take those cotton glove liners with me and when there is a red alert for noro I use them if I have to go up or down the stairs. On the Statendam they actually gave every passenger a small bottle of purell to use. We carry some with us always.

 

Sometimes I wonder if certain ships have more incidences of noro than others. We have been on the Statendam 3 times and there was noro every time. Have also been on the Zaandam twice and volendam twice and there was no noro on either.

 

GmaPyjama - I had the same thing happen on a bus trip - why can't people cough into a kleenex and keep their colds to themselves. We take masks and also swab our noses with opthalmic polysporin. Since doing that we haven't picked up cold or flu on a flight - about 3 years now.

 

By the way, we always us the hand sanitizer as soon as we arrive for dinner - but I noticed that if we went in without using it again someone would frown at us so we use it twice now and avoid having people think that we didn't sanitize.

[hammybee]

but come on you cruises how do I get around my problem :-)

 

 

Also have you ever given any thought to the aircraft that you use to fly to join your ship, these are also not satitized very often?????????

 

I have had travel sickness ( before there was a name for the virus) twice and both times I attribute it to the aircraft. First time, DH and DD were hit with it about 8 hours after arrival at our hotel. I got it about 16 hours later.

 

Second time DD and I were in London, pre cruise and both of us were well beyond "sick as dogs", prior to boarding.

 

I never pass up an opportunity to wash-up.

[bethee]

We always take a large bottle of Purell as well as a couple of small ones so that we have refills available.

[Chivalrygirl]

However there is such a thing as being just too clean. You also run the risk of breaking down your immunity to germs. There has to be a balance, I think being really careful when travelling especially by air is very important, but during day to day life its probably just fine to wash your hands after normal procedings, after loo, before preparing grub etc. I do carry a small bottle of purell which I use after public loos or a visit to the DOCTORS, first thing I do on leaving the building.