Swine flu updates from Cruise Critic

[halos]

Unfortunately it is spread by sneezing and coughing so if you are in a confined space (elevator for example, or a plane) with someone who is infected then it is much easier to catch...:)

 

That's why flying sucks. :( I would think that air travel would be my concern with this issue.

[melissa@cruisecritic]

Thanks, everyone, for posting their comments and insights. Cases have now been confirmed in 19 of the country's 32 states, according to the World Health Organization. The Associated Press reports that cases have been confirmed in Baja, where Cabo San Lucas is located -- this is a rapidly developing story. At this point, still no change to cruise line itineraries.

[CRUISING71]

Winni,

 

They have those machine at most of Asia airport due to the bird's flu. We seen it all over China's airports and HKK too.

[Elaine515]

Thanks, everyone, for posting their comments and insights. Cases have now been confirmed in 19 of the country's 32 states, according to the World Health Organization. The Associated Press reports that cases have been confirmed in Baja, where Cabo San Lucas is located -- this is a rapidly developing story. At this point, still no change to cruise line itineraries.

 

 

Melissa,

 

Although I realize that at this time there is no change to cruise line itineraries, where do you think the ships would take us to. if indeed. they have to pass up Mexico, any idea? We are suppose to stop in Cozumel in a couple of weeks, and as much as I love it there, I have no problem "skipping" it. Thnx..

[floridacruzin]

Melissa,

 

Although I realize that at this time there is no change to cruise line itineraries, where do you think the ships would take us to. if indeed. they have to pass up Mexico, any idea? We are suppose to stop in Cozumel in a couple of weeks, and as much as I love it there, I have no problem "skipping" it. Thnx..

 

I agree, and would love to find this out as well, although I guess we are speculating a bit at this point. We head to Cozumel on the Valor in a few weeks, and I as much as we love it as well....we have been there done that and would rather not chance it if it continues.

 

Appreciate this post and look forward to updates

[rtfnl]

Floridacruzan, I feel the same way as you. I'm on the Valor May 3, 2009 (Western) and went to Cozumel in '07. I will not be upset if Carnival cancels Cozumel and make it a sea day or a stop in Montego Bay, since I've been to Ocho Rios twice in the last two years.

[melissa@cruisecritic]

Elaine515 and others -- that's a great question that's impossible for me to answer. Similar to when a cruise line has to alter an itinerary due to an impending storm, it would really all depend on the day of the week, where the cruise line is able to make last-minute arrangements, etc. It could very well be an extra day at sea. I know that was the case on an RCI trip in the past when a call at Grand Cayman was canceled due to poor weather. I have to say, I rather like the extra time to relax onboard!

[melissa@cruisecritic]

I just spoke with LauraS, who says that the mood onboard is jovial. Passengers are in a party mood, walking around with buckets of beer -- nobody is thinking or talking about swine flu. In fact, some are cracking jokes such as "don't sneeze on me."

 

The ship hasn't made any mention of swine flu at all, though ironically passengers were advised how to avoid Norovirus during the muster drill.

 

The ship is scheduled to call at Cabo San Lucas on Tuesday; we'll see what if any guidance staffers will provide regarding swine flu -- LauraS intends to ask at the desk.

[maxamuus]

Your on the Valor the week before me. If you look at Google earth Jamaica is way too far out of the way to still be able make it back to Miami in time.

 

My best guess is if they canceled Cozumel that they would either add another Fun Day at Sea or stop at Key West since its on the way to Miami. In fact the Freedom did just that last week when they skipped a port in Mexico.

[maxamuus]

The ship is scheduled to call at Cabo San Lucas on Tuesday.

 

Are sure about that? I thought it went to Puerto Vallarta on Tuesday and Cabo on the way back?

[cathyz]

Sorry to say it is more then just Mexico City. In fact the sick high school kids in NYC were spring breaking in Cancun.

 

And the test results have not yet been returned from the CDC, and aren't expected for a few more days, so their specific cases are still speculation.

[melissa@cruisecritic]

That could be -- we were starting to lose our cell connection as the ship steamed away from land! Definitely Cabo at some point this week :)

 

Are sure about that? I thought it went to Puerto Vallarta on Tuesday and Cabo on the way back?

[poobears]

Thank you for posting this. Hopefully now we can get all the facts and not teh wild speculations and assumptions. We plan to continue our cruise as scheduled but would be fine with missing the ports if they were deemed unsafe.

[melissa@cruisecritic]

Thanks for the correction. Here is the actual itinerary:

 

Sunday - Ship departed from Los Angeles

Monday and Tuesday - Sea Days

Wednesday - Puerto Vallarta

Thursday - Mazatlan

Friday - Cabo San Lucas

Saturday - Sea day

Sunday - Back in Los Angeles

 

You may be onto something, poobears, re: "wild speculations." The media is on fire with stories about the swine flu, but travelers, at least on this ship, are less concerned. Member Wennfred is posting live from the ship on this forum, and today's really in-depth (10 plus paragraph!) missive was all about the cabin with no mention at all of swine flu worries....

[maxamuus]

That could be -- we were starting to lose our cell connection as the ship steamed away from land! Definitely Cabo at some point this week :)

 

yeah im pretty sure its on Friday it calls on Cabo. Friends from my cruise last year are also onboard with the CC group.

[Theresa72]

We sail Saturday on the Glory and are going to Cozumel and Costa Maya and am very concerned about this outbreak. My whole family got the Hong Kong flu with the last pandemic in 1968. I was a teenager then and in bed for a whole week. My fever was so high that I was delirious from it. It was the worst I've ever felt and don't ever want to go through something like that again. Also my brother almost died from the Asian flu pandemic in 1957.

 

I do hope that Carnival decides to skip going to the Mexican ports to keep its passengers safe and well. I would rather do an extra day at sea and/or another port than risk getting the flu. While this may turn out to be a lot of hype by the media and not much comes of this (and I sure hope nothing does), I'd rather be safe than sorry.

 

Just my $.02.

[DG2004]

We sail Saturday on the Glory and are going to Cozumel and Costa Maya and am very concerned about this outbreak. My whole family got the Hong Kong flu with the last pandemic in 1968. I was a teenager then and in bed for a whole week. My fever was so high that I was delirious from it. It was the worst I've ever felt and don't ever want to go through something like that again. Also my brother almost died from the Asian flu pandemic in 1957.

 

I do hope that Carnival decides to skip going to the Mexican ports to keep its passengers safe and well. I would rather do an extra day at sea and/or another port than risk getting the flu. While this may turn out to be a lot of hype by the media and not much comes of this (and I sure hope nothing does), I'd rather be safe than sorry.

 

Just my $.02.

 

 

I agree about skipping mexico as a port, and I love mexico

 

 

the alarming thing to me is the rate that this seems to be spreading, the goverment seems to be going into crisis mode over it as well.

 

I think we will just have to wait and see how this all plays out, but at this point, I want no part of mexico

 

it does respond to anti-virals...so thats a plus

[Theresa72]

I agree about skipping mexico as a port, and I love mexico

 

 

the alarming thing to me is the rate that this seems to be spreading, the goverment seems to be going into crisis mode over it as well.

 

I think we will just have to wait and see how this all plays out, but at this point, I want no part of mexico

 

it does respond to anti-virals...so thats a plus

 

And that's a good thing. However, if I or anyone comes down with it on the ship, will we be able to get anti-virals in time? The doctor I was watching on TV just now said that it is most effective within the first 24 hours of getting a fever. I'm going to call my dr. tomorrow to see what she says and if there is any way I could get some Tamiflu. I doubt that she would prescribe it, but I'm at least going to call to see what advice she has to give.

[nolaAlive]

Please, please, please realize that all of the cases in the US, and as far as I know, the rest of the world except for Mexico, have been MILD. Only 1 in the US was hospitalized, none have died, ALL expected to recover, ALMOST ALL already have. From the exact same virus soup.

 

A virus does not know what zipcode you live in.

 

There is obviously some immunity present in the occupants of the US, Canada, and other countries. There are a number of reasons why this is.

[mking8288]

This is Alert #3 that I received since Friday, intended for medical professionals & others on the HAN (Health Alert Network) and this is not business as usual here NYC. I'm just posting the PDF file as distributed this evening around 10 p.m. via email to subscribers in the NYC Dept of Health's registered database (also, for us also as trained Medical Reserve Corp. (MRC) volunteers, that, when activated - will perform assigned duties in a major incident such as a pandemic flu by doing mass vaccination and/or prophylaxis. The potential is out there for this to turn into one if we do not respond quickly and the public health response is scalable as more facts become available around the clok.

 

The info in this document is a bit technical but has useful, uncensored information for the average person that the media tend to filter out or distort, so read it for what it's worth & share if you wish.

 

The 8 reported cases in NYC are confirmed by CDC but they are mild and based on the guidelines, treatment isn't necessary as it's also pass the 48 hours window to start antiviral meds based on the timelines.

 

The NYC O.E.M. (Emergency Management) is staffed 24/7/365 and its health desk has been busy & inside the bunker, activities has been escalated & the "Pandemic Flu" brochure has been released on posted on its website linked via www.nyc.gov. I've attached the color flyer as it has very helpful & interesting information. Again, read it for what it's worth & share if you wish.

 

Updated information will be published & released around the clock - the media will "spin" this & the FEAR factor among the general public will kick in.

DOHMH Alert 4-25-2009 Swine Influenza Update.pdf

Pandemic Flu Guide- NYC OEM Apr 2009.pdf

[Nicole721]

We're sailing out of NYC next month...and with all of the cases being reported there, we're a little worried.

 

That said, avoiding this seems to be the same as avoiding Noro...wash your hands frequently (and realize that antibacterial gel is not effective in killing or removing Noro or swine flu...it may make you feel better to use it, but it's not nearly as effective as actually washing your hands), cough or sneeze into the crook of your arm instead of your hands (this is a biggie...I think most seaborn illness are spread by people coughing into their hands and touching elevator buttons, food serving handles, slot machines, etc), we bring a travel-sized Lysol spray and spray down handles, remotes, etc in our room, etc.

 

I think this time, we might use an extra napkin to touch the food serving spoon handles on the Lido deck, but that might be a little too paranoid of us.

 

When we were on the Miracle in January, a few people coughing at embarkation turned into a ship full of coughing, hocking people with respiratory infections and sore throats (a nurse at the medical center told us they were getting many calls of people getting coughs and sore throats when we went down to buy cough medicine). Hopefully, it won't be the case this time around :)

[Windy56]

For the last two or three years scientists, based on their research, have been reporting that the world is due for a major flu epidemic. I can't help but think that if their worst fears come true, it won't simply be a matter of whether the cruise ships will skip Mexican ports of call but instead whether there will be severe restrictions on cruise travel, period. If that turns out to be the case, and I sure hope it doesn't, all of these discussions about missing a day at the beach in Cozumel will be pretty insignificant in the greater scheme of things.

[BetteBoop57]

We're sailing out of NYC next month...and with all of the cases being reported there, we're a little worried.

 

Just jumping in here...I just got back from NYC. All is well there. The cases they are talking about are on Long Island. Of course, Long Islander's do go on cruises too.

 

:cool:

[MrPete]

 

Member Wennfred is posting live from the ship on this forum, and today's really in-depth (10 plus paragraph!) missive was all about the cabin with no mention at all of swine flu worries....

 

Someone should pry Fred out of that 4A cabin, get out there, meet and mingle, and get some pictures posted.

[halos]

Secrets of the Super Healthy

(I'd call it 'common sense strategies to stay as healthy as possible')

 

http://www.webmd.com/cold-and-flu/features/secrets-super-healthy-people