Norovirus

theggs4ever

Mouseketeer
Joined
Aug 1, 2012
How often is it on the ships? This cruise is a big vacation for my family and I'm scared one of us will get it. With a 2 year old and a 7 year old, it would be quite a trip ruiner.
 
On our August 5 Dream voyage we were a party of nine, ages 8 to 74. Basic handwashing and many multiple hand wash towels(often served up by CM's at the restaurant entrances) seemed to keep the buggies at bay. There's always a risk being confined with that many people, but I think a little common sense will go a long way to keeping everyone healthy.
 
How often is it on the ships? This cruise is a big vacation for my family and I'm scared one of us will get it. With a 2 year old and a 7 year old, it would be quite a trip ruiner.

You probably won't get it if you wash your hands often. I hope you have a great cruise!
 
I have been on 5 cruises with large Noro outbreaks and no one in our party has ever gotten sick. I am usually not much of a germaphobe, but I am extra cautious onboard. Lots of handwashing for everyone and try to limit what we touch especially around meal times.
 


Lots of hand washing, and using the hand sanitizers whenever you run across them works. Also, be extremely cautious about touching stuff. Elevator buttons (use your elbow), handrails, door handles, chairs all have been touched by someone else before you.

Unfortunately, I have to use the handrails (or I'd be toes over nose at the bottom of the stairs), so I'm (possibly) over-zealous with the hand sanitizer/hand washing onboard.

:cutie:
 
As PPs have said constant hand washing and sanitizing especially before meals. If you are really concerned you can bring hand sanitizing cloths for your little ones since they are usually the ones touching everything and more likely to get sick. I recommend the ones from Babyganics (they sell them everywhere Babies R Us, Bed Bath and Beyond, Target). I am a germaphobe too and would take wipes from the buffet entrance even if I was just getting a drink.
 
Just an FYI, the wipes do not kill noro (since it's a virus), only hand washing will remove germs so make sure you don't replace hand washing with using the wipes. Use the wipes in addition to regular hand washing.
 


Just an FYI, the wipes do not kill noro (since it's a virus), only hand washing will remove germs so make sure you don't replace hand washing with using the wipes. Use the wipes in addition to regular hand washing.

That is a very important difference as the wipes and hand sanitizers are antibacterial - NOT antiviral. I constantly remind our travel party to wash their hands frequently and not rely only on the wipes. That being said, I had a pretty nasty 24 hour stomach virus last August on our Med. cruise. Fortunately, no other member of my travel party got it.
 
FYI the wipes I recommended- BabyGanics Hand Sanitzing Wipes- contain Benzalkonium Chloride which is effective in killing the norovirus. Skylarr may be referring to alcohol based wipes?
 
Been on many cruises and haven't had a problem yet. Our only exposure to norovirus was from a dance competition where my daughter got it. It then hit both my wife and I about the time my daughter started feeling better. She recovered much quicker than we did....ah to be young again!

Jim
 
theggs4ever said:
How often is it on the ships? This cruise is a big vacation for my family and I'm scared one of us will get it. With a 2 year old and a 7 year old, it would be quite a trip ruiner.

My DH, DD4, DD 6 and I had norovirus on a Carnival cruise in 2011, on top of lost luggage. It wasn't a great vacation to say the least but it didn't stop us from cruising again in 2012. We were smarter about things like packing more into carryon's and lots of hand washing. We even booked our cabin so it was an easy to get to, we tried to never use public bathrooms. Didn't let the kids touch elevator buttons etc. i also sanitize our cabin first thing, every surface we touch was cleaned. we didn't get sick so it was worth the extra effort.
 
There was an outbreak on the Dream cruise I took January of this year. My family didn't get it; we washed hands a lot and took care to keep our hands to ourselves! (No touching handrails on the stairs, for example.)

The crew was working overtime trying to contain the illness. The drink stations were no longer self-serve, palo brunch buffet was not self-serve, salt and pepper shakers were removed from tables. The crew was wiping down elevators, stairwell handrails, and were busy cleaning up after sick passengers.
 
while all above is great advice BUT... you either will or wont get it.... period!!!
We ARE germ freaks , did the sanitizers , hand washing and no touching of the buttons and handrails and I still got it !! Shared smoothies with the entire family 2 hours before I got sick and the rest of the family got nothing.
Moral of the story ..... use your brain , do all of the suggestions above and don't worry about it. The doctor on the boat said himself they have no idea how it starts :scared1: , why it spreads and why some get it and others don't .
Chill out and have a great cruise is all you can do !!!

:banana::banana::banana::banana::banana::banana:
 
The dirtiest thing in any hotel room is the TV remote control. I bring zip lock bags with us and the remote goes in there - I turn the bag inside out, grab the remote and seal up the bag. You can use the remote through the zip lock bag.

I'm a germ freak too so everything in our hotel room or cabin gets sanitized before anyone touches it. Sounds obsessive but since I've been doing this we have been much heathier when we travel.
 
Another thing to be cautious of is touching your mouth, nose and eyes after you've touched other surfaces. Don't touch your face unless you've just washed your hands thoroughly.

 
A tip from my long-time TA: avoid the buffets. There's a lot of nasties from dirty hands on the serving pieces.
 
A tip from my long-time TA: avoid the buffets. There's a lot of nasties from dirty hands on the serving pieces.

On the Disney ships, they change out the serving utensils quite often for this very reason.

Another thing, always open the bathroom doors with a paper towel. When we were on the ship, they even had signs in the bathrooms suggesting that you do this.

5 cruises and we have never gotten sick - as others have said, wash your hands often, use the wipes they give you when you go to dinner.

Somebody said that hand wipes do not kill the virus and they are right. However, washing your hands does not kill the virus either. Washing you hands removes the virus from your hands, which is what the wipes also do. So use them.
 
FYI the wipes I recommended- BabyGanics Hand Sanitzing Wipes- contain Benzalkonium Chloride which is effective in killing the norovirus. Skylarr may be referring to alcohol based wipes?

I don't know if they contain the same ingredient you mention above, but the wipes they hand out on board are definitely the non-alcohol based ones. Hopefully, if there is a product out there that will kill norovirus, DCL has the wherewithal to use that kind.

I don't like the advice to not use the handrails, as you can get seriously injured from a fall that might be prevented by using the handrails. I think the best advice is: use the wipes whenever provided, wash hands thoroughly and frequently, and avoid touching face with dirty hands. To minimize the elevator button issue, I've gotten into the habit of using a knuckle instead of a fingertip, as I'm much more likely to use a fingertip to touch my face if I forget about the rule.
 

GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE

Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.

Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!







Top