Another Ship Illness In The News! What's Going On?

[missmulan]

I just read this:

About 230 people aboard a cruise ship fell ill with a gastrointestinal illness while on a Caribbean voyage, forcing the trip to end early.

About 200 of the 1,220 passengers aboard the Holland America ship Veendam got sick on the voyage, which ended Friday evening in Tampa, about 13 hours early.

About 30 of the ship's 572 crew members also became sick.

Sick passengers were quarantined to their rooms while crew members scrubbed banisters, elevator knobs and other areas to eliminate the virus, which spreads easily in close quarters.

Passengers said they were warned of the virus after about 70 other people became ill aboard the same ship on a two-week cruise that returned Jan. 15. Passengers arriving for the next cruise were offered a refund if they wanted to cancel.

Passengers who took the trip will get partial refunds ranging from $125 to $250, Holland America spokeswoman Rose Abello said.

The illnesses aboard the Holland America ship came a week after more than 250 people aboard a Royal Caribbean cruise ship fell ill with a stomach virus while touring the western Caribbean.

What's going on? I know DCL is very conscientious about clean hands and washing thoroughly....I would assume the other cruise line follows the same precautions. How can this happen? This bothers me.

 

[*Fantasia*]

I notice before entering the dining rooms, there's a big bowl filled with wipees (disposable wet napkins) and yes we do take some and use them. Also there's a note in the stateroom bathroom that it is important to wash hands to minimize the spread of bacteria (something to that effect).

Anyways...what a tragic story. I hope that will never happen on DCL. Knock on wood (knock-knock).

 

[anlashokna]

They were talking about how lower your chances of catching Norwalk on the news a few days ago.

Wash hands frequently and avoid buffets were two of the biggies they talked about. Already kinda figured on doing both anyway. You're kinda out of luck though if your server contracts and spreads it by delivering food to your table. Who knows...its kinda a hope for the best scenario. I know I've read where ice in a ice machine was a contributor to one major outbreak in the past. Too many little hands in that thing.

Not sure what's going on with the two lines. Can only hope DCL is vamping up its protocals. People tell me they clean a couple times a day? and they deliver your ice. I think these are a couple of good measures. And of course the cleaning regiment can't hurt.

I really just think it comes down to the luck of the draw. Too many variables with this. Just hoping my cruise in April goes well. Hate to have it cut short and end up trying to find a place to stay while I wait for the WDW participants who wont be in until the night before I'm suppose to get back.

Here's to smooth sailing for all.

 

[sunkissed212]

I just saw this on the local news. I'm not so sure I'd have wanted to be in the group of passengers that left tonight on that ship! I know how easy it is to pick up germs and bacteria in public places but for that many people to get sick, it had to be something more...I wonder if we'll hear any more about it?

 

[tvguy]

Anyways...what a tragic story. I hope that will never happen on DCL. Knock on wood (knock-knock).

Already has happened on DCL. Not much you can do about it. You have a couple thousand people in tight quarters and it is flu season.
Yep, all four of us had little bottles on hand sanitizer with us on our cruise.
It is very common on cruise ships, in college dorms and in nursing homes.

 

[poconoboatniks]

I read somewhere else on this forum that DCL has stepped up their hand washing policy. I seem to remember someone saying that before boarding you had to wash your hands with antibacterial soap. I'm not sure how much that protects you.


We'll be washing frequently on our next cruise.

Poconoboatniks

 

[ivanova]

I know how easy it is to pick up germs and bacteria in public places but for that many people to get sick, it had to be something more...

Not really ... when you have 1,800 people (crew & guests) in a realitively small area, it's not surprising that 10-15% of them could get sick with an intestinal virus.

 

[budwmn]

Okay, I'm ready to get flamed here, but oh well. In my opinion, the problem is not the cruise companies, but the passengers. DCL has signs everywhere about washing hands and reporting illness to the health center. Yet, most people don't do either.

We were lucky (or unlucky depending on how you see it) to take two cruises recently: one in December, one in January. On both trips I saw many children AND parents going to the bathroom and not washing their hands. Unfortunately, my son developed norovirus symptoms on day 2 of the first cruise. I'm not saying that he got it on the ship -- he could have picked it up anywhere. We took him to the health center and were put in isolation for 3 days. It was depressing, but no other cases of norovirus appeared on our cruise. Sure, I hated being stuck in the cabin, but why would I send my sick son out to infect the whole ship??? We purchased cruise insurance through DCL and should receive compensation for the 3 days we missed.

On our second cruise, I witnessed obviously sick kids and adults (we're talking coughing/sneezing/looking miserable) attending shows and other activities. Sure enough, my son picked up one of those viruses and was sick by the time we got home. At least this time it didn't ruin the cruise, he simply missed a week of school.

I'm just tired of people spreading their germs to everyone else. If you're sick, have some respect for the other people on the ship. Don't send sick kids to the clubs and arcade. Don't drag yourself into the shows when you're obviously miserable. Do the responsible thing. Yes, I know that's hard. It's your big vacation and it's not fair. True, but it's not fair to give your illness to everyone else either.

Okay, I'm stepping off my soapbox and putting on flame resistant clothing. Go for it!

 

[missmulan]

budwmn: Jenny, I totally agree with you. DCL takes cleanliness very seriously. It's the passengers who need to be more germ-conscientious. DCL has those nifty signs in all the restrooms that says wash your hands thoroughly for 20 seconds under warm soapy water. Even the kids club skirt soap (to be washed off) on every hand before they are allowed to enter the play area.

Recently went to see Playhouse Disney Show. There was a little boy sitting behind me who kept on coughing & coughing for the entire 20 minutes. Instead of taking him outside, the mother just kept asking "are you alright?". Meanwhile, he's coughing right between me and my kids.

 

[dwkwootton]

As tvguy stated, it already has hit DCL. There were two cases I know of on the ship a couple weeks ago. But it him them especially hard a couple years ago and they withdrew the ship from service for a week for a heavy duty sanitizing. That's not to say that they don't regularly clean extremely well, they do. I'm an early riser and I can tell you, for example, that they wash the entire deck 9 area everyday before sunrise, flooring and all. But as the other posters stated, it really only takes one sick person boarding the ship to get the ball rolling. They do ask you upon check-in if you or anyone in your party has any symptoms of this type, but that does not guarantee that everyone is entirely forthcoming with the info. This time of year when outbreaks are likely, its a good idea to avoid the buffets and keep a liquid hand sanitizer bottle in your pocket to use anytime you touch anything, handrails, doorknobs, pingpong paddles ......

 

[LuvThatMouse]

When I go to restaurants, I usually do not like to order salads because of germ transmission. Not because a server is necessarily sick but they deal with lots of other customers who might be sick too. If they pick up someone's napkin who wiped their face and then they deliver your food plate...need I say more? I order things that will arrive hot, on a hot plate as opposed to a cold dish served on a cold plate where germs can survive. Now, it seems that might be a good idea on the cruise ships as well. We also carry the anti-bacterial hand gel with us wherever we go. Think I'll pack some Imodium as well, just in case...

 

[smchan]

I had the some experience as Jenny; too many people not washing their hands after using a public restroom. That's a recipe for disaster. When I saw that, I wouldn't even touch the door handle. I'd use a paper towel or push open with my shoulder. Sometimes, I just went back to my stateroom and avoiding using the public restrooms. It's over the top cautious, but I got sick on my first cruise with a virus and that was a VERY miserable experience.

My family and I also use the hand wipes that are available in the dining room.

Sam

 

[4formickey]

If you see me with rubber gloves on dont say this guy went over board. People are not keeping themselves clean. We know that folks don't wash when they leave the wash room and it just isn't men. lets just put all of the nasty people on a cruise to nastyville and let them have fun. My wife work in a lab,They test blood and urine for the hospital. They have a coworker that has told them that she has not wash dishes in 3 months. This lady knows the danger of germs, viruses and other diseases but she is not a clean person.I'm calling Monk and ask him to sail with me. :

 

[nuke]

THen think about how many of those 250 sick people are going to get on airplanes and spread their germs there.

I'm always grossed out getting on airplanes anyways because of the close quarters. When my son was little I used to use a baby wipe and wipe off the arm rests. I'm not as diligent now but we all seem to have a pretty good immune system.

Buffets are gross too in my opinion. I don't eat at them unless it's absolutely necessary. I've seen too many people pick up food, look at it, smell it even and then put it back. Blech!!

 

[mmouse37]

DCL has some of the best protocols out there for keeping germs from spreading.

I witnessed a little boy up at the Deck 9 drink station lick something off his fingers and then proceed to put his hand in a cooler full of ice to fill his cup. A CM was right there and told him he could not do that....the CM took the entire cooler away and brought out a fresh one. I think this is also one of the reasons DCL did away with the refillable mugs....too much opportunity for the spread of germs when people put their mug back up to the spigot and refill.

In every public bathroom DCL has instructions on how to properly wash your hands...you would think that in this day and age people would know how to wash their hands...but obiviously many don't and don't choose to follow the procedures.

MJ

 

[firsttimemom]

budwmn: DCL takes cleanliness very seriously.

I was just on the 1/22 Magic and my sister and I both found empty soap dispensers in the public bathrooms on several occasions. Hard to wash your hands when there's no soap...

Liz

 

[smchan]

I was just on the 1/22 Magic and my sister and I both found empty soap dispensers in the public bathrooms on several occasions. Hard to wash your hands when there's no soap...

Similar observations from the 12/11/04 Magic. Sometimes the restrooms looked more like one from a gas station. Very disappointing.

However, I didn't have this experience while sailing on the 2/28/04 Magic.

Sam

 

[Talking Hands]

While soap is preferable there is research that shows that what really gets rid of the germs is the actual physical movement of washing your hands. Soap just helps it along. I prefer soap but in a pinch use water as hot as you can stand on rub well

 

[invaderzim]

When we sailed last August we noticed a definite difference from our November 2003 cruise -- more crew wearing gloves, washing down elevator panels and stair rails and bowls of anti-bacterial wipes at all restaurants and hand dispensers in all kids clubs. So, they are trying. However, if they are not filling soap dispensers in the bathrooms, then that's disappointing!

 

[bobbiwoz]

We were on the Wonder in November, and I was surprised that Disney's servers got everything for you from the buffet and even the drink fountains. If this is what they have to do to help keep passengers healthy, I'm thankful and grateful that they do it.

We're going on a Carnival cruise in March. Until I read this thread, I didn't give a second thought to eating buffets then (we always have, we usually cruise during my spring break), but now I think I just may keep to the dining rooms.

Bobbi