I am going on 7 day cruise in July. Any tips to avoid the virus that spread on these ships?

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someones friend

My spouse suffered with Norovirus. I would recommend not touching anything and if you do wash constantly. Also, carry the waterless hand santizer. With what my spouse went through for 4 days was terrible and I hope never to see that again. Watch the buffet lines also as everyone and their brother has touched that spoon prior to you.
Have Fun....

JDH

The best answer for this is never to touch your mouth/nose/eyes after you have touched anything or shaken someones hand, but, try to avoid shaking hands in the first place. Always use the anti bacterial hand soap before entering a ship's restaurant or buffet line and use it again after you finish eating. If possable, try to avoid crowded places [may be difficult on a ship] and steer clear of sneezing coughing people.

ctelly22

Practice good handwashing, after getting your food from the buffet, but before you eat, use hand sanitizer.

Diane A

You could try any of the immune booster herbs out there, although most have not been scientifically proven to have benefit. You will benefit from keeping hydrated, limiting alcohol and getting sleep. Most of these viruses are passed by contact or in food. The food you can't control (although use common sense--don't eat it if its been sitting out and not kept cold or hot); but contact you can control--wash your hands frequently; take those antibacterial wipes and use them on your cabin door knob etc; take hand sanitizer & use it frequently, don't swim in a murky pool etc. Have fun!

kim_gary_s

I agree with the others--good hand hygiene. Wash your hands and then wash them some more. Soap and water is the best but use hand sanitizers when it is not available.
Have fun.

realestateemt

The availability of an answer depends on which cruise line you will be on. Some are definitely better in the cleanliness department than others.....

beachgirl5628

You are referring to the Noro-Virus and yes, it does spread on these ships. We were recently on the Radiance of the Seas with Royal Caribbean a few months. Luckily, we had no outbreaks on that ship. I saw the workers constantly wiping down the hand rails and elevator buttons, etc. They also had the hand sanitizing gel at several different places on the ship the main areas being right before you enter the dining room and Windjammer. Just wash your hands alot.
Some people on the plane ride home had been on another ship and they were telling us that the virus was on that ship and many of the staff members became ill and had to be quarantined so that really slowed down dining in the dining room. I also read that if you do get it, that they make you stay in your room the remainder of the time so that you don't pass it on to other guests. That would suck after paying a lot of money to go and then being confined to your room.

worldsowide

Get Immune Alert!!!

This is a great, all-natural immune booster that will keep you system ready to fight off all germs. Yes, hand washing is essential to good health but that can't protect from all illnesses. You need to keep your body strong.

My family takes this supplement and we love it. We are frequent international travelers (we live in Italy but travel back to the states frequently) and have really seen the difference that this supplement has made for us when traveling in closed environments. And it has been a lifesaver for our 2-year-old who started going to day care this year and has been thankfully healthy all year! His pediatrician has been shocked at how healthy he has stayed with all the germs that get passed around in that environment.

Go to www.immunealert.com to learn more about it and get a free trial!! You'll be happy you did!

Bon Voyage!

Nancy P

As everyone has said - WASH YOUR HANDS (or use hand sanitizer) asap. I recently cruised on Norwegian Cruise Lines and was pleasantly surprised by hand sanitizers outside of every restaurant on board.

Be especially cautious after going thru the buffet line. You are all handling the SAME serving spoons. I think this is one of the worst culprits.

Here's a link to pix of the hand sanitizers: http://www.mycruisejournals.com/NCL_cruise_pix.asp (5th row, second pic)

Gma

My husband and I went on a cruise in Dec. and they had the virus on the ship. They were able to eradicate it in a few days by serving every one at the buffet and closing the pool. They also isolated the people that had it and disinfected their rooms. The most important thing you can do is keep your hands scrupulously clean. Get some kind of disinfectant hand cleaner and keep it with you at all times. They have it in little packets that go in your pocket or purse. Don't touch the handrails on the stairs or in the elevator. When you sit down to eat, use a hand wipe before you touch your silverware. Try to keep your hands away from your face. Boosting your immune system won't help. The virus is highly contagious. Unless you can persuade your doctor to give you a shot of gamma globulin.

ricrossfireclub

Wash your hands constantly and keep some of the purel that comes in little squeeze bottles with you. The virus is not present in the food but on the patrons, once one gets ill the transfer begins rapidly, mostly through contact of the virus through various things that are touched.
Good luck and be safe.
Rick

indybubbe

WASH YOUR HANDS!! Actually, general healthy guidelines should be observed. Use antibacterial wipes if you can't get to a bathroom. I think if you keep your hands away from your mouth and eyes, and wash them often, you should be fine.

kevrigger

Keep your head over the side of the boat and only breath while in this position at all other times old your breath and stay in our room. Or you could just go and enjoy all the money your spending.

tbugs

Really nothing is going to protect you from the Norovirus found on cruise ships. The posting above mine said ships are thouroughly cleaned if they have a problem with the virus. That is not true. Celebrity Mercury had the virus hit the ship on 4 cruises in a row before they cleaned the ship.

Ships are crowded with people. A great majority of the people do not wash their hands after using the bathroom. This is especially true for the crew of the ship including the ones who serve your food. All it takes is one person and the chain reaction occurs from there.

If you or the person in your cabin get the Norovirus, you will be confined to your cabin for 72 hours. Security will check every couple of hours to assure you are still in the cabin.

The Norovirus is like the worst stomach and intestinal flu you have ever had.

Frequent handwashing is recommended but that is common sense. If someone handles your food and has not properly washed their hands, you WILL get the Norovirus.

Universally Relevant

The Norwalk virus is the most common type reported on cruise lines, but when I say common, if you follow the cruise industry, you rarely hear of any mass problems. Your chances of getting it are really pretty low. Alot of big local papers print sanitary ratings in their travel sections for most cruise lines and the major (most popular) ships. It is a score that goes from 1 to 100 and you will find most cruise ships receiving a rating of somewhere between 75 and 97 with a few potentially higher or lower. Obviously, higher scores mean better sanitation and less chance of illness or food poisoning (what the Norwalk virus will feel like). However these ratings are based on a surprised (involuntary) inspection on a given day and could go up or down the next day.

When a ship gets hit by mass illness like this, it is detained in port and the entire ship is thoroughly cleaned almost to the point where you're safer going on the ship after its last cruise had problems then you would be otherwise.

But as I mentioned, there are very few cases a year, and there are millions of people who cruise, only a fraction of which get sick even if they happen to be on an affected ship at the time.

To help limit your chances of catching/spreading something on board: wash your hands alot, and try to avoid shaking hands with others, cover your mouth when you sneeze, if you see food that doesn't look good/safe (which is also rare) don't eat it, if you're really concerned, or if you hear of problems while you are on the ship, avoid enclosed public spaces and using ship equipment (in the gym, stair rails, or around the pool) after someone else.

I have been on several cruises and the only real problem I have noticed is people getting sea sick, and even this generally doesn't affect alot of people (unless there is a bad storm coming) because the ships are pretty large and stable. Get a cabin in the middle of the ship (from front to back) and if possible about halfway, or higher, up. Get seasickness patches OR pills (start using them before you get on the ship and continue until you get off if you think you'll need them at all). Staying busy also is one of the best things you can do because it will take your mind off of it.

Jackie F

Yes, the number one thing you can do to prevent the norovirus is to use instant hand sanitizer before and after every trip through the buffet line. Buffets are the number one place norovirus is spread.

Tbella

Ive been on a cruise before and I dont kno what virus your talking about but you can get motion sickness.

I am going on 7 day cruise in July. Any tips to avoid the virus that spread on these ships? pic 1

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