Norwalk Virus Still on Magic?

[tezb]

I doubt that so many people got sick from being on a bus w/ one person who vomited. The illness is contagious but it is thru direct saliva contact, hand touching, cross contaminating mouth, not washing hands after using the bathroom, etc. Just from being in the same room as someone who vomited does not necessarily mean you will catch it...especially if you are not anywhere near that person on the bus. That would suggest that just breathing the same air is contagious...like air borne chicken pox. Once I drove my son's friend home who was ill w/ the stomach flu and he threw up in my car! My 3 boys were in the car at the time and none of them caught it...I even had to help clean up our car and his backpack, etc... Also, I was w/ my son once when he was vomiting and I didn't catch it....I just always wash my hands well..

 

[disneybets]

Went on the 2/15 Western magic. Friday night someone threw up outside of Lumineer's. We arrived home 2/22. At 5:00 am on 2/23 my 9 year old son woke up with serious chills, fever and was quite ill for 24 hours. My mother always told me to fight these kinds of viruses you need sunshine and fresh air. Since he used the club (I think he got it there). They made the kids wash and use wipes but they need fresh air and sunlight to rid the virus. Just my opinion.

 

[Cindyluwho]

Originally posted by tezb
"I doubt that so many people got sick from being on a bus w/ one person who vomited. The illness is contagious but it is thru direct saliva contact, hand touching, cross contaminating mouth, not washing hands after using the bathroom, etc. Just from being in the same room as someone who vomited does not necessarily mean you will catch it...especially if you are not anywhere near that person on the bus. That would suggest that just breathing the same air is contagious...like air borne chicken pox. "

Here's a quote from a Seattle Times article,
"There are stories of people traveling on a bus when someone vomits," said Mary Estes, director of the Texas Gulf Coast Digestive Disease Center at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. "Although the people on the bus didn't have direct contact with the vomit, 50 percent of them came down sick."

The link is : http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/northwestlife/134593425_cruise11.html

I'm not going to argue with you, I was just trying to remember what I'd read. I know I read it on a link from the CDC's website, if you read the link I posted earlier, you'd see that the CDC considers it contageous through particles in the air.

 

[tezb]

Who's arguing?? I was just stating my opinion as everyone does on this board for various topics. My opinion was based on my own personal experiences at home and work...(I work in a hospital). People vomit for various reasons and there is no way of knowing if all those people got sick from one sick person on the bus or not. They could have already been exposed and it was coincidental. No one really knows for sure...

 

[sitchu2]

I think Disney handled this virus issue with the top notch service and class that only Disney could!!!

I have heard nightmares from folks that sailed on other cruise lines were quarrintined and had to pay for the room service they recieved.

Those families that chose to disembark in cozumel did just that they chose. Disney gave them the choice to disembark , fly home from cozumel on disney, and get a free cruise later in the year, or stay on the ship and stay in their room.

I had lunch with a nice couple at cookies on castaway cay and their family members were in the disembarking group and they told us about the choices their son was given.

I do not think any other company could match that. Subsequently, I have been priceing cruises for next year and the Magic is sooooo much more expensive than other lines. I suppose the consumer is going to absorb the cost of all those free cruises.

 

[Laura24]

Originally posted by nurseb
I am very much aware that the flu shot will not protect against Norwalk. I was refering to the previous posts of people describing "flu-like" symptoms. From what I have seen in our practice, Norwalk will usually resolve in 72 hours. The description of DIS'ers missing several weeks of work sounds like the flu...which promted my question of the flu shot?

No, I had not received a flu shot....as I had mentioned I hadn't been this sick in 20+ yrs. Actually I hadn't even had a cold for the last 5 yrs. I may be rethinking the flu shot however next season. This is the odd part of this story...dh and I traveled with another couple. They did not become sick at all, we did. DH had amilder case of it. I guess it is just the luck of the draw. We were diligent in washing hands...I even cloroxed the room upon arrival. (packaged wipes.) If we went to the buffet, (maybe 3 times whole trip) I made sure we asked for handwipes, I also used a cloth napkin to handle the serving utensils. The buffet became self serve by Wed. or Thurs. I honestly don't think I picked up the bug on the ship. I don't know how the flu spreads or incubates. I am into week three now of not being able to go to work. My vacation seems like a blur...but we sure had a wonderful time.

 

[peg2001]

Originally posted by nurseb
Just curious... had any of you had a flu shot?

Nurseb,

We have a family of four and we all came down with the flu-like symptoms after our cruise. Only I had received the flu shot this year but I was just as sick. It wasn't Norwalk as we did not have the vomitting and diarrhea.

We may have picked it up at our hotel or on the airplane though. It's just the season.

Peggy

 

[MagicMouseketeers]

I this a winter thing ? Up her in the great white north we deal with the flu more in the winter. Mainly because there tends to be more people wheezing and coughing (a whole lot of germs floating around).

Just curious

 

[tecdavidt]

Yes, I would say this winter is a bad one for sickness. I had the Norwalk when we took our Ft. Lauderdale trip to the boat show. We were with another couple in a two bedroom suite. Close quarters and I was the only one ill. I know it is suppose to be highly contagious but go figure that one.

Three weeks back our daughter missed an entire week of school due to influenza. The stuff you do take a "flu" shot for if you are an adult. She was one sick little girl. No one else came down with it in our home.

The people posting they have been sick for three weeks or more, are you sure you aren't just getting another virus? I would imagine you would be susceptible since your immune system is weakened. I was always told by my doctor that a virus runs it coarse in a week to ten days. When our daughters fever broke she just had to stay inside for one more day then she was fine. Her cough lingered for a few more days but even that is now gone.

As I posted earlier, I dread that plane trip down. I hope the viruses calm down soon. This has been a long winter. Kathy

 

[Laura24]

I have pretty much gotten over the flu part, but we must remember that there is a complication to think of as a result of the flu...pneumonia. Just my luck. What a wonderful winter this has been! I am just thankful we were not ill on the cruise. Spring is only 17 days away! I can't wait. I'm watching for those Robins at the bird feeder.

 

[dvarallo]

I was one of the parties that Disney flew home from St. Martin on the January 25th cruise on the Magic. We had seen people throwing up on the first night of the cruise and my friends daughter ended up with the virus the next day. I truly believe that the virus is airborne as we were constantly wahing our hands and our childrens hands. Even the Club has the kids wash their hands as soon as they come into the club. My friends daughter started throwing up on Sunday and by Wednesday, my friend had the virus, probably due to the fact that she was quarantined with her daughter from Sunday until we flew home on Tuesday. Her son had it on Thursday.
My son was sick on Monday, but the doctor felt it was because he had been on antibiotics for a strep throat the previous week and wasn't eating on the ship as he is a picky eater. The doctor told me to stop the antibiotics, which I did, and my son ended up with pneumonia 10 days later as a result.
Yes, Disney flew us home. We felt it would be better than being quarantined for most of the week. We were told we would be able to cruise again in the same stateroom category, same itinerary. When we got home, we were given a refund for what we had paid for that cruise and that's it. In other words, they lied to us. There's no way we would be able to take the same cruise for waht we paid for the last one as we had booked in August for January. We'd be lucky to get a category 12 during hurricane season. They just wanted to get us off the ship. Disney was concerned over the amount of people on the January 25th cruise that had come down with symptoms so early in the week. This virus spreads like wild fire. You can take all the precautions you want, but when you're confined to enclosed areas for long periods of time, you're going to get it.

 

[AnnMorin]

Maybe they are going to send you a voucher for the free cruise?

 

[mcnuss]

dvarallo -- I am so sorry to hear of your situation. Please know that I am offering this advice for future reference, not to tell you that you handled something improperly. Anytime you are offered any kind of compensation by a travel provider, you need to get it in writing. If you don't, then it becomes your word against theirs. Having said this, I think you should try to hold DCL to its promises. If you have the names of the people who you spoke to, that will help. Check out the Ombudsman at CN Traveler - they give great advice.
http://www.concierge.com/cntraveler...r&args=/base/articles-45/1044645301325283.xml

 

[nurseb]

So very sorry to hear about your ruined vacation.... The line I found to be most interesting was the one describing passangers "vomiting the FIRST NIGHT". They did not get sick from the Magic....hence the theary that passangers are bringing the virus onboard....

 

[dvarallo]

Originally posted by AnnMorin
Maybe they are going to send you a voucher for the free cruise?

That's what we were told before we disembarked. We even had a letter that said we would receive a voucher in the mail for a future cruise. We did receive the voucher and the voucher was a credit of what we paid for the January 25th cruise. Since we booked early (August for January) we had early booking discounts applied and could never match that price on a future cruise. We also booked our airfare separately, so we would have to pay the airfare on top of the cruise. We paid almost $6,000 for the 5 of us (2 adults, 2 four year olds and a 6 year old), not including airfare or transfers. My friend was quarantined beginning Sunday morning and my son was quarantined beginning Monday morning. We left the ship on Tuesday. We wouldn't have gotten off if we didn't think we would have gotten to take the same cruise again.

Nurseb - I agree that passengers are bringing the virus on the ship and I don't blame Disney for that. They are trying to get this thing under control. If only people would stay home if they are sick instead of getting on the ship and spreading it. We saw several people rush kids back to their staterooms after they threw up in public areas so they wouldn't be caught.

McNuss - Thanks for your info. My travel agent is doing her best to get us what Disney promised us. All I want is to be able to take the cruise we had planned without spending another couple of thousand dollars.

 

[sjm]

Originally posted by nurseb
[The line I found to be most interesting was the one describing passangers "vomiting the FIRST NIGHT". They did not get sick from the Magic....hence the theary that passangers are bringing the virus onboard.... [/B]

Yes, some passengers are bringing the virus on board, I don't think that has been denied. It is from these passengers, that others are getting sick.

I think Disney is working very hard to keep the ship clean and on the 1/25th sailing you could smell cleaning chemicals all over the ship.

sue

 

[sjm]

dvarallo,

Just wanted to say hello neighbor(grin). I am so sorry that we didn't get to meet. I hope everyone is feeling fine by now and that Disney will come thru for you.

sue

 

[tezb]

Also, some people/kids you may see vomiting on the ship may also be seasick...they may not all be flu related. Time will tell...

 

[dvarallo]

Originally posted by tezb
Also, some people/kids you may see vomiting on the ship may also be seasick...they may not all be flu related. Time will tell...

I agree with the seasickness part, but Disney isn't taking any chances. My son had only one episode of diarreah and he threw up once within 5 minutes of taking his antibiotics which he had been taking for 5 days, but upset his stomach because he wasn't eating properly. The doctor felt the same way, but because the symptoms were gastrointestinal, he had to be quarantined for 72 hours. My niece who was also quarantined ended up having an ear infection that caused the vomiting because of the fluid in her ear and the rocking of the ship. The doctor diagnosed this on Wednesday when he examined her prior to letting her out of quarantine. So, it turns out that my son and my niece didn't have the virus and weren't contagious. I don't have a problem with the fact that we were quarantined and I agree that Disney is doing their best to get this virus under control. After my son threw up in the cabin, it was like a scene out of Monster's Inc. when the CDA comes in to clean up after a child is spotted, yellow suits, masks and all. My argument is that Disney promised us that we would be able to re-take the same cruise if we flew home before Wednesday and they are not keeping that promise.

 

[disneyfreak1]

I don't blame you at all for being upset. I sail in 2 1/2 weeks and I can tell you, if anyone in my family gets sick, we absolutely can not sail again for what we paid this time around. We got a Florida Residents special and although they may have specials again within the next year, they will probably not be during a time that my son can sail due to school. I am praying we do not get sick. It seems like the perfect way to ruin a great vacation!