Norovirus Disney Dream 9/20-9/23

[jdjd2004]

Thought I would start this thread to see if anyone else from our cruise was suffering. After a fun Saturday on Castaway Cay, lunch at Cookies Too and dinner at Royal Palace, my husband became gravely ill with repeated bouts of vomiting and diarrhea, chills, fever, and muscle aches. Almost 20 hours after it started, he is still suffering. We called the Health Center at 1 a.m. on Sunday morning and were told it would be $220 to be seen. Since he knew would be off the ship in the morning (and home within and hour), my husband declined. Since my husband's illness was not "tracked" by the health center, I wonder how many other unreported cases might be out there.

Aside from the illness, and the rather snarky nurse at the health center, it was a really great cruise!

 

[mmouse37]

Thought I would start this thread to see if anyone else from our cruise was suffering. After a fun Saturday on Castaway Cay, lunch at Cookies Too and dinner at Royal Palace, my husband became gravely ill with repeated bouts of vomiting and diarrhea, chills, fever, and muscle aches. Almost 20 hours after it started, he is still suffering. We called the Health Center at 1 a.m. on Sunday morning and were told it would be $220 to be seen. Since he knew would be off the ship in the morning (and home within and hour), my husband declined. Since my husband's illness was not "tracked" by the health center, I wonder how many other unreported cases might be out there.

Aside from the illness, and the rather snarky nurse at the health center, it was a really great cruise!

Sorry to hear your husband was ill...but how do you know it was norovirus and not just the flu or something else. Also sorry you had a snarky nurse.

MJ

 

[kcashner]

My thought was the same as MJ's. Even with a trip to the health center, they could only make a "presumptive diagnosis." They are not equipped to do viral identification. They would check out the guest and end up with "yes, it looks like XYZ." In reality, there is little reason to do viral IDs as long as the person is getting better.

Yeah, we had a rather snarky nurse on the Magic once too...but the doc was great. Sorry for your experience. I hope your DH is better.

 

[jdjd2004]

Our diagnosis is also presumptive based upon symptoms, timing and circumstances and the fact that norovirus is one of the most common causes of gastroenteritis among cruise passengers. I'm taking him to the ER in an hour if he's not feeling better, so I will let you know what the confirmed diagnosis is.

 

[Callymum]

I hope he starts to feel better soon.

 

[disneyholic family]

i hope he feels better soon!!! please do let us know how he is!

if he's still not keeping in fluids, you really need to get him to medical care to get him hydrated.

 

[magrudersmakes3]

Sorry to hear he was sick. We just got off the same cruise and had a large DIS group and none of us were sick.

 

[disney1990]

So sorry that your DH got sick. Hope he is feeling better now.

 

[jdjd2004]

Thanks to all for the good wishes. He's definitely feeling better, but by no means 100%. From the lack of responses, I'm getting the sense that this is an isolated case. So glad. I wouldn't wish this on anyone.

 

[disneyholic family]

Thanks to all for the good wishes. He's definitely feeling better, but by no means 100%. From the lack of responses, I'm getting the sense that this is an isolated case. So glad. I wouldn't wish this on anyone.

i hope it's isolated!! we'll be on the oct 21 cruise and one of the things i've worried about is my mom and sister being exposed to something on the ship.
That's really the reason i picked a 4 day cruise rather than 7 days. I figured less time to be exposed.

by the way, the description sounds a bit like food poisoning. A bad case of food poisoning can knock you our for about 3 to 4 days and feels like THE most intense case of flu you'll ever have.
Did your husband eat any tuna fish while he was on board? That's one of the more notorious causes of serious food poisoning. But it can be many things.

 

[MickeyAB]

We can understand. Last summer we were on the Dream with the same senario. We had snorkeled at CC, lunch on CC and dinner at RP. During the evening show, my DH started feeling bad. Before the night was out, he was having the same symptoms. He was the only one in the group. We had tasted some things (but not all from his dinner) and had thought about food poisioning, but disregarded it and no one else came down with anything. He stayed in the room while we were in our next port and felt somewhat better by the next evening and was better the following day. It seems to be a shorter time than you experienced. We were wondering if there was something in the snorkel, or if he got into something while in the water. Hope everyone is feeling better.

 

[Keggy]

I am so sorry to hear that your DH is sick, what a way to end a cruise!

I had Norwalk on a Wonder cruise about 9-10 years ago and will never, ever forget it. Definitely not something you would ever wish on someone else.

I too had a snarky nurse, but the DR was amazing!

 

[lmhall2000]

We can understand. Last summer we were on the Dream with the same senario. We had snorkeled at CC, lunch on CC and dinner at RP. During the evening show, my DH started feeling bad. Before the night was out, he was having the same symptoms. He was the only one in the group. We had tasted some things (but not all from his dinner) and had thought about food poisioning, but disregarded it and no one else came down with anything. He stayed in the room while we were in our next port and felt somewhat better by the next evening and was better the following day. It seems to be a shorter time than you experienced. We were wondering if there was something in the snorkel, or if he got into something while in the water. Hope everyone is feeling better.

Me, too!! I did ingest some water while snorkeling. The only thing I ate different than family was the shrimp cocktail...but on the 9/8 cruise I became very ill...chills, body aches, nausea, intense intestinal cramping...lasted 24 hours but stayed very weak...it has been 10 days now and my gut still feels tender...it was really horrible.

 

[Bonniec]

Me, too!! I did ingest some water while snorkeling. The only thing I ate different than family was the shrimp cocktail...but on the 9/8 cruise I became very ill...chills, body aches, nausea, intense intestinal cramping...lasted 24 hours but stayed very weak...it has been 10 days now and my gut still feels tender...it was really horrible.

Do you think that's only related to cruising? In January we stayed for a week at WDW in a resort and I came down with the same thing. Very intence flu symptoms. In fact, I didn't make it out of Epcot in time. But it was gone within 24 hours and I was able to carry on with the vacation. At the time, we only lived an hour away so it couldn't have been the water or anything.

 

[argomANIA]

My husband and I just got off the same cruise as OP and we're both fine.

Glad your hubby is starting to feel better.

 

[mammacaryn]

Do you think that's only related to cruising? In January we stayed for a week at WDW in a resort and I came down with the same thing. Very intence flu symptoms. In fact, I didn't make it out of Epcot in time. But it was gone within 24 hours and I was able to carry on with the vacation. At the time, we only lived an hour away so it couldn't have been the water or anything.

Anyplace where you are around hundreds of other people your chances of catching a stomach virus are great. Sometimes one person,sometimes nobody, sometimes everyone in your group. So NO not just on cruise ships.

 

[Bonniec]

That's my thought as well. I imagine you have to be a bit more careful on a cruise but obviously those things can happen anytime, anywhere. It was wierd for me because no one else had any problems in my party. I'll just be carrying hand sanitizer in my bag on the ship. The only thing I really worry about it what my son may be picking up in the kid's club.

 

[disneyholic family]

Me, too!! I did ingest some water while snorkeling. The only thing I ate different than family was the shrimp cocktail...but on the 9/8 cruise I became very ill...chills, body aches, nausea, intense intestinal cramping...lasted 24 hours but stayed very weak...it has been 10 days now and my gut still feels tender...it was really horrible.

Shrimp is another common cause of food poisoning...

 

[kcashner]

That's my thought as well. I imagine you have to be a bit more careful on a cruise but obviously those things can happen anytime, anywhere. It was wierd for me because no one else had any problems in my party. I'll just be carrying hand sanitizer in my bag on the ship. The only thing I really worry about it what my son may be picking up in the kid's club.

They are pretty good in the Oceaneer's Club. They actually do hand washing lectures and demos, and when a kid comes out of the bathroom the CM will ask them if they washed and then plunk some sanitizer in their hands.

 

[armywife2001]

They are pretty good in the Oceaneer's Club. They actually do hand washing lectures and demos, and when a kid comes out of the bathroom the CM will ask them if they washed and then plunk some sanitizer in their hands.

Thats good to know!