Carnival hit by virus!

[rae519]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20040215/ap_on_re_us/sick_cruise_3

 

[Luv2Dream]

Yes, how awful for those cruisers. Let's hope our cruise is virus-free, but not shrimp free

 

[KYCruiseCrazy]

when looking at that link just remember this......this is what happens when you going on a cruise and you or your family is sick and you cant afford to stay away for a week or 2. never fails. but i hope my cruise is virus free. PLEASE IF YOUR SICK PLEASE DONT GO. IF YOU GO PLEASE STAY IN YOUR STATEROOM. THANKS

 

[rae519]

And remember to not only wash your hands, but open the door to leave with your papertowel - imagine the germs from those who don't wash!!!

Makes me realize how insects and germs have taken over the world - almost as bad as cockroaches!

Rae

 

[MrsPete]

<<<Makes me realize how insects and germs have taken over the world - almost as bad as cockroaches!>>>>>


One thing we all need to do to improve this situation is QUIT USING ANYTHING THAT SAYS ANTI-BACTERIAL on the bottle. Seriously, soaps, hand washes, dishwashing liquids -- don't use them. Those products kill off the easy, weak bacteria. The end result is that our bodies will no longer have the ability to fight off little bacteria -- kind of like, use it or loose it. Then along comes a big, bad virus, and we have NO ABILITY TO FIGHT IT OFF. Even if you don't personally use the products, they still affect you; the residue is in the run-off, which affects our environment. The chemistry teacher at my school has convinced me that this is serious, serious stuff. He says it'll be 5-10 years before it's a serious problem; thus, people don't want to hear it now. Nonetheless, it's coming.

 

[rae519]

MrsPete - You are absolutely right - my 80+ Aunt predicted this many years ago. Same with antibiotics - if our body isn't able to fight the small infections on their own, then the overuse of antibiotics will make us susceptible the bigger ones. (This is not to contradict your physician's advise!)

Plain old soap and hot/warm water will kill most germs - but wash thoroughly and dry!

Rae

 

[AnnaS]

That is awful and unfortunate. You plan, wait, get all excited. Things can happen all the time, no matter how careful one is. What a shame.

 

[CRSNDSNY]

Hubby was telling me about this last night. It must be really really awful!!!

 

[siily047]

gee that is so terrible it makes me wonder has this ever happened on a disney cruise? the reason I ask is that some friends of ours are taking a cruise in march with a group and all the kids in the group are HIV positive and for them to get sick could be very dangerous. I heard that disney was the cleanest of all the cruise ships and had never heard of any virus on it. thanks for your input

 

[seastar]

What happens if you are sick? Do you call DCL and have them reschedule? Are there any charges for this? I assume "sick" means a fever or severe vomiting not just a common cold.

 

[rae519]

Yes, it has happened once on the Magic. The Thanksgiving Cruise of 2002 was cancelled - DCL and DVC had difficulties in notifying passengers and many were not only greatly disappointed, but inconvenienced by this virus and the late decision made by Disney in cancelling the cruise.

There were multiple problems with compensation for passengers during this time, also rescheduling issues. It was a horrific time for those involved in this and became a huge issue for many who were unable to "let it go" once it was resolved. Some did get better compensation than others and that led to a great many more complaints after.

As Spock once stated on an old Star Trek, "The needs of the many outweight the needs of the few or the one." Although this cruise was full to capacity, the virus germs outnumbered the guests and staff, so the Magic was docked and disinfected during that week.

Rae

 

[WMILLER86]

reports about the Magic Thanksgiving 2003 Cruise, and there was no mention of Norwalk Virus or cancellations. This was the cruise with 2 stops at CC. Could you have meant a different year? I think I heard that it was 2002? Then former President Bush went on a December cruise to prove it was safe?

Willie

Will be sailing 2004 Thanksgiving Magic with CC X 2!!

 

[HLFDZN]

I just cruised last week on another cruise line, no not the one that was sick. Since my roomate came down with severe diarheah (sp) and I had no desire to share it with her, I used my little bottle of Antibacterial gel religiously. I have no idea if what she had was bacterial, or viral, or just the rich food, but I know I avoided the plague, even though I was sharing a bathroom with her. I always clean my hands BEFORE AND AFTER I sit down at the table...when you are touching all the handles of the spoons on the buffet, there have got to be tons of germs on them. I was diligent in washing my hands and making sure i didn't use her towell also. I feel bad she was so miserable, but I also feel like I proved my point about cleaning your hands...Besides, the active ingredient in most of those gels is alcohol anyway. I agree with you about the overuse of antibiotics. Many people insist on using them for viruses, which they don't work for. MY friend DID get Cipro from the doctor and it helped, so perhaps it was bacterial.

I cruise again in a month and all the kids will have wipes to use before they eat..tacky or not...Melissa

 

[rae519]

Thanks for mentioning the date - I changed the year in my post!

It was all a nightmare....
Rae

 

[tezb]

Siily.....viruses can happen anywhere and on any ship, even Disney (and it has). It doesn't really matter how clean the ships are, the viruses are spread by people who come on the ship and once that happens, it's hard to stop. It's the people who have to learn how to stop spreading the illness...or at least try. All the crew members do is try to contain it once it starts. Such a contagious virus...wish they could come up w/ a vaccine for Norwalk!

 

[HLFDZN]

I agree that it is the people who spread the viruses. People who refuse to stay away from the public when they are sick and people who send their kids to kids clubs when they still have "only a little diarhea". I have relatives like that who bring their kids over hours after they have thrown up.....to say..oh it's nothing. Then I end up with my kids getting it. NOw I quarantine my own kids when they have that nasty virus and I have not had it spread to another family member in years. We put the sickie in their room and designate a bathroom for only their use. Until they are well and the bathroom has been disinfected, nobody else can go near them or use the bathroom....try it..it works and it beats having 6 sick kids. Can't wait till my first Disney cruise in 32 days!!!!!!!! Melissa

 

[minniegirl]

We were on the Magic in November 2002 the very first time people got sick with the Norwalk virus on a Disney ship. In fact, every member in my family (8 of us) got sick. My sister was pregnant, so it was especially hard for her.

The day that we docked was the day that they canceled the next cruise to disinfect the ship. I'll never forgot seeing us dock and watching the CDC literally run onto the ship to start testing everything!

Anyway, we leave in 11 days for our next cruise so I am going to beg anyone who is on that ship to stay in your room if you are sick and be very diligent about washing your hands!!!!

I couldn't believe when I read the news about the outbreak on Carnival. It was only a couple of weeks before we went on the Magic in 2002 that we were reading about other ships where hundreds of passengers contracted a virus. I really hope that this is not history repeating itself!!!

 

[HLFDZN]

Think positive, I will pray that it does not happen to you a second time. I think everyone is a lot more educated in keeping germs contained, it is just the selfish people who don't stay out of public places that spread it around. Take with you the little bottle of hand gel. MAKE everyone use it frequently. After touching elevator buttons...railings.....spoons in the buffett, spiggots for drinks, door handles, anything that anyone else could have touched. Try to tell the kids not to touch their faces. Having survived a sick roomate without catching it I believe in my methods. Do not share towells or washclothes either. I was putting my towell under my pillow so I knew that she had not used it. Also keep from sharing food, and drinks. Have a great time!!!! I have to start getting stuff together for our cruise..it is going to take me a month to pack all these kids!!!!! Melissa

PS: Pixie dust is on the way.....you will have a wonderful time this time!!!

 

[hilltopfamily]

here's a link about what Carnival is doing to help out all the persons involved with the "dreaded" illness. Hopefully this helps a little for all those persons affected.

Still can't replace a planned vacation ruined by sickness, but it certainly is a very good gesture by Carnival.

http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=1058

 

[tezb]

HLFDZN....I totally agree w/you about quarantining siblings, etc when someone is sick. My sister in law also brings her kids over when someone is sick and just puts them in another room. She should at least ask first...I would rather they just stay home. It also takes away from the party or event if you know there is someone in another room feeling ill. Anyway, I was sick w/ some intestinal/nausea but after xmas. I stayed in my room and only used our master bath and no one else got it...not even my husband and he still slept in our bed. Or maybe it was a food poisoning,?? Anyway, it does help to only use one bathroom and clean it too. I feel like such a fanatic!