Cruising when pregnant . . concerns about food or water?

[minniegirl]

Has anyone heard that when cruising while pregnant you need to be concerned about eating the fresh fruits and drinking the water?

I have an OB appointment three weeks before we leave, so I plan to ask my doctor as well, but I wanted to see if anyone else has ever been told this.

My sister, who does tend to be a little on the paranoid side , told me that when she was on a cruise just a year and a half ago she was told not to drink the water or even have ice in her drinks!

She also said that she wound up getting the Norwalk virus on the cruise and she read that it was found in the fresh fruit that was cut up. She said letting it sit out like that and having so many from the crew touch it and not knowing if they washed their hands or not just created tons of bacteria on it?!?!

I have never heard this and have done quite a bit of research about this to make sure the cruise would be safe. I am sooooo looking forward to the fresh fruit!!

Any input you have would be appreciated!

Thanks!

 

[kcashner]

Your sister is too paranoid.

DCL uses distilled water (the ship manufacturers the water from sea water.) It meets the same cleanliness standards as any US city water system, and is actually cleaner than most! The same goes for the fruit and all cooking on the ship.

However, DCL is very clear that you need to be careful in some ports of call. They did make a point of warning us about raw food and tap water in Mexico. I figure that if DCL warns us, it must be true.

The Norwalk virus (or any other) is not a particular cruise ship issue. The reporting differs for ships than for other places. A cruise ship must report to US health authorities if 2% of the people on board become ill. This includes cast/crew and guests, and means any/all illnesses. Some could have Norwalk, some could have whatever else. In contrast, a local school system doesn't have to report unless 10% of people are absent on any given day IN THE WHOLE SYSTEM, not just in one school. SO, one school could have 20% of the kids out, but if the other schools in the system had "normal" attendance, there would be no reporting.

The crew on the ships are very careful about hand washing. They wear gloves when handling food, and have a hand sanitizer that they are required to use. Your best protection against illness on the ship is frequent hand washing yourself, especially before meals. There are even hand sanitizer wipes outside the restaurants for your use if you don't want to make a trip to the restroom.

If your sister got Norwalk virus, she has no way of knowing where it came from. It was most likely from a hand railing, elevator button, or public restroom which she touched and then put a hand to her mouth without washing thoroughly. Most of us don't wash our hands nearly as carefully as we should.

 

[abitjaded]

kcshner is right, wash your hands, all sides of the fingers, especially under the nails. Then keep them away from your face. The most common method of spread of viruses like these is through the mouth or nasal passages or the eyes.

We were told that the drinking water is actually Florida water. The showers and pools are distilled sea water.

Your obstetrician will have his/her own opinion about what is safe. I know when I was pregnant, travel was absolutely forbidden to anywhere in Mexico (of course it was always my husband who got sick, not me). Hence our first trip to WDW and the beginning of an obsession.

Carla

 

[DMS_cruisers04]

minniegirl, the fruit, and especially the water and ice, can be bad IN Mexico, but you'll be fine aboard ship. Enjoy as much fruit as you can handle.
Just be careful on any excursions you might take. And keep those hands clean.

 

[frakers]

I've cruised before while pregnant and had no problems at all. Of course the cruise ship will be fine but I'd only drink bottled drinks in ports with no ice, particularly if you are somewhere like Mexico. Places like Key West and Grand Cayman should be no problem. Most ships offer bottled water for purchase before disembarking at a port. I can't remember if DCL does this or not but they likely do. I'm a pretty big "germaphobe" myself. It never hurts to wash your hands a bit more often and I'm never without anti-bacterial wipes. It's good to be cautious but I think your SIL might be a little overboard!