Have viruses been a problem on other cruises?

[kajohn]

I have been reading all the reports of the viruses on the last two cruises on the Magic and am getting a little paranoid.

We are cruising next February 8, 2003. This is our first family cruise, and we are already excited and it is a year away! However, after reading about all the illnesses, I'm rethinking the time of year to take this cruise!

Has anyone who has sailed in January or February in the past on the 7 day trips seen this problem before? I have 3 kids, and it is almost impossible to make sure they are not touching their mouths/noses and making sure their hands are washed, espeically if they are in the kids areas without us.

I would hate to end up like the family who had someone sick all but 2 days! I feel so bad for them!

Any imput would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Gretel]

I dont know wht everyone had, but most of the kids did not have the flu. They had ear infections and pink eye. These are things you can pick up anywhere, and especially if you flew, ears have a way of plugging up and not draining. I would not panic! Enjoy your cruise!

 

[Señor Ferrari]

I got a nasty cold or flu on the 12/1 Magic trip. It seemed like half the ship was sick that week. Everywhere we went, we could hear people coughing. I slogged my way through it and still had a great time, but had to take two sick days from work when I returned.

Of the 7 days on the trip, I felt good on Saturday and Monday, horrible on Sunday, and somewhere between mediocre and poor the rest of the time. The good thing is that the warm sun makes you feel better, and makes it tolerable to be up and around. I wished I had brought some vitamin C tablets, but there's plenty of fresh fruit on board.

I think that this is bound to happen during flu season whenever you get a large bunch of people together. You're probably more likely to catch a bug on the plane ride than on the ship, since you're so tightly packed on a plane, with only re-cycled air to breathe.

 

[TravelMom]

We were on the 12/1 Magic and didn't notice anyone sick. I did hear that there was one whole family who were knocked out with some bug.

But if you took 2 or 3000 random people at any given time, a significant portion of them will be sick or getting sick. I don't think it's anything connected to the ship, or to cruising. (Other than seasickness.)

I agree with the airplane comment. It helps to put vaseline or other lubricant in your nostrils before flying because the dry, recycled (germy) air can get into cracks in your nasal lining. Then a few days later - Bingo! You're sick!

I wouldn't arrange my cruise around trying to avoid the cold & flu season.

 

[Michelle]

I am going to copy my response to the other thread and post it here as well:

Ships are like ANY confined atmosphere this time of year. If there are sick people onboard they will most likely get other people sick. The same is true if you fly on an airplane, go to a movie theatre, go to a mall, etc.

There is nothing ON the ship that is causing people to get sick other than other sick people. If there were, there would be health officials all over the place trying to find a cause.

I know how miserable it is to be ill when on vacation, and I do sympathize, but I also do not want to lead people to believe through the various illness posts that disease runs rampant on the Disney ships.

 

[dis4me]

We went on the Magic last year 2/3. My husband got strep throat,However I think he was coming down with something before he got on the boat.He stayed out of the pools to avoid contaminating others. He saw the ship doctor who was wonderful The kids club sent a notice around saying that chicken pox was found among the kids but nothing likethe flu or hand foot and mouth.
It is no different than going to workor school. If someone is sick youmay or may not get it. Just have a great cruise and don't worry about it.

 

[kshabare]

...people are sneezing on land too. DS7 had a high temp for 2 days here in CT. Weather changes have made people not cruising sick. Offices are filled (or not filled) with sickly people. Nature of the seasons I guess. I didn't notice any problems when we sailed 2/2000. Just keep the Lysol going. lol

Kim ºOº

 

[Señor Ferrari]

TravelMom, I'm envious of you! Not only did you not get sick on our cruise, but didn't even notice it. I hadn't missed any work time due to illness since 1994, but needed those two days off after our trip. When we were sitting in the Walt Disney Theatre on Wednesday morning waiting to pass through immigration, there was a chorus of coughs! I don't know how many times I heard someone say, "Everyone on this ship has the flu!"

Well, I'm glad that you didn't get sick. It's interesting how people on the same voyage always have such different experiences. I agree that the problem isn't isolated to cruising or to the Disney ships. People get sick, no matter where they are. There's nothing to be done about it really, and it's certainly not a reason not to take a trip.

 

[Annie]

I got strep throat on one of my Disney cruises. I caught it from my server. It didn't make me enjoy my cruise less, but it did upset me that no one told me I had been exposed. Our server didn't show up one night and we were just told our server was sick and couldn't serve. He didn't make it to dinner the rest of the cruise. However, I was never told what he had. I didn't recognize that I had strep throat because I'd never had it before and I waited a long time to go to the doctor. I thought my throat was just sore, but if I knew I had been exposed to strep throat I could have dealt with it a lot sooner (on the ship). My doctor was upset that I waited so long to get treated and was shocked that I flew with it. I also unknowingly exposed a lot of other people to it.

But... I still love Disney. I've cruised with them since and haven't gotten sick again. Being in a closed environment does make it more likely to be sick, but this is exactly the same as it is at home. There may be slightly more illnesses as there are viruses from all over (and it's more likely you'll be exposed to something you haven't developed immunity to) but it's still not anything to worry about.

 

[Gretel]

I was trying to say what Michelle said..................only she said it better than I....................

 

[Thumper1]

I was on the 12/1 cruise on the Magic and heard rumours that a lot of kids were coming down with something. We went to the afternoon showing of Disney Dreams where there were a lot of kids from the clubs and the next day after going to Castaway Cay I felt like a sledgehammer hit me. For the rest of the cruise and the next week at WDW I had a very bad cough, was really weak and feverish. I stopped in at the first aid department at the Odyssey at EPCOT and they gave me a throw-away thermometer and my temperature was 101. High considering I usually have a temp of 97.6. They gave me some cold medicine. It took several weeks before I felt better. It developed into bronchitis.

I have to figure that this could happen anywhere though.

Was wondering if any others felt this way?

 

[BWVDenise]

Thumper1, you just described what both my parents, my m-i-l, my s-i-l, and my b-i-l all just had/or are still getting over. It's really bad! And none of them have cruised recently, it's just something that is going around (and I am trying to avoid!).
Hope you are feeling better!

 

[ducklite]

The daughter of a girl I work with had this bug a couple weeks ago. But it's NOT the flu. I had "true" influenza" in 1999, caught it at WDW--I had spent ten days there and was symptomatic twelve hours after arriving home.

True influenza doesn't involve the digestive system, and there's usually not a lot of coughing either. You feel like you've been beaten with a bat. You'll run a high fever, and be extremely fatigued. It's a major effort to move from bed to use the bathroom.

You don't feel better in a couple days. It can actually take up to three weeks to fully recover, generally after a week you're feeling better but not entirely up to snuff.

I wouldn't wish Influenza on my worst enemie.

Anne

 

[Joe & Joanne]

Hi
Have not been on a cruise ship lately, if fact I have not been anywhere in a congregation of folks save the very early mass the past few Sunday's. Maximum # of 6 very spread out in a very large church. I am sicker than a dog (even got a flu shot). Is anyone else out there sick??????????????????????? Give me a break.