In the latest case of a virus outbreak on a cruise ship, nearly 400 people fell ill on the world's largest cruise ship.
We asked you, our readers, if the threat of getting sick on the high seas would make you less likely to set sail. Below are some of your responses.
Yes, Yes, Yes! I would go in a minute!
I love to cruise. I have had the time of my life on cruises. (Four and hoping to go on more!) What is not to like? . ...
Maiden voyage was a blast
I have taken only one cruise (so far) on the ship Mercury out of Seattle. It was plagued with onboard sickness in the past. At least one from our group canceled out because she thought it may happen again. It did not — we all had a super time. I know some of this is real illness. Maybe people were just a little run down and were just waiting to catch something. ...
First was the worst
I have only gone on one cruise. We scrimped and saved and planed for years to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary. We both came down with the Noro virus. We were on a Carnival ship and close to 400 passengers and crew were sick. We were lied to repeatedly about the seriousness of the condition. At the debarktation talk the Captain had the nerve to make the remark that there was a small problem with a few of the passengers but nothing major. I was so mad that he blew it off as nothing important. ...
Riding out Rita
Went on our first cruise last year, which happened to be in the middle of Rita. Royal Caribbean took the best of care of us for the 10 days we were out there waiting to get back to port. ...
This wasn't my first cruise
[On the] second day out, without being in port, I became violently ill and spent a day in the infirmary with an IV up my arm and even after I was feeling a bit better, I couldn't eat for the rest of the cruise. This cruise was real firm about hand washing since other cruises from Fla. had already been through this but I personally feel it is from drinking water from the ship's holding instead of bottled water. ...
Heck yeah! I've been on 3 cruises
Two on Carnival's Victory, and one on Royal Caribbean's Explorer of the Seas - and they have all been great. Where else can you vacation where you unpack your clothes once but get to visit several different locations, eat as much as you want, drink and not have to drive anywhere and have other people plan your activities? I can't wait for my next one. ...
Done it before, and will do it again
It just requires taking precautions. It's a closed quarter with 3,000 people closed in for days, getting on and off at ports — germs are inevitable. Cruises are fine if people use common sense. Getting drunk with strangers in the middle of the sea — not smart. That's how you end up robbed and going overboard. Getting infatuated with some foreign crew member and running off alone for adventure, that's how you get raped. Not washing hands, not using anti-bacterial gels, not using napkins to hold food tongs/spoons, etc, holding on to railings that are touched a thousand times, that how you get sick. ...
We'd cruise again in a heartbeat
Just got back from the Caribbean Princess a few weeks ago. We've been on Carnival, Royal Caribbean and Princess, a total of 10 cruises now between them. You just taper your expectations depending on which line and which ship you sail on. People bring the illness onboard with them and we can bet that most of the time it's a passenger. ...
Don't drink the water
Traveling is getting bad all over. Never, ever drink the water on any airplane. Don't drink coffee or tea. The water doesn't get hot enough to kill the bacteria in the water. Water on aircraft is put into a tank from a large hose. That hose in in a container rolled up under the gate area. The water IN the hose might be there for days before it is put on a plane. You wouldn't drink water out of your garden hose after it sat outside in the hot sun for a week? The airlines know the water is not good but won't do anything to clean it up because that would cost money. Same with the cruise ships. That water on board the boat was put there with a large hose. ...
Falling ill
I cruised on the Carnival Liberty from Rome, May 7-19 this year. Half of our supper table of eight caught the Norwalk virus. I estimate about one-third of the ship had the virus although the numbers were probably underreported. For instance on one bus in Barcelona, four people threw up. If they had reported to Sick Bay they would have been confined to the ship.
Part way through the cruise Carnival changed the buffet lines from self serve to being served. The explanation was that we were in "European Waters" and it was a European regulation. I guess in Carnival's mind Rome, Naples, Dubrovnik and Venice aren't in Europe.
We made an emergency detour to offload a passenger to an Italian Coast Guard ship. He had caught the virus and the vomiting caused his heart rate to go so low he had to be given an emergency pacemaker implant. ...
Last-minute illness
I just returned from a cruise to Aruba, Curacao, St. Thomas, San Maarten. It began on 5 November from Puerto Rico and lasted 7 days. Royal Caribbean Adventure of the Seas. Tuesday night the passengers began to get sick. Stomach virus possibly, they were all quarantined until we docked on Sunday. The management admitted to about 200 ill, but many of us suspected that was a low number. Disinfectant procedures were implemented immediately. ...
Cruising is great! But getting sick is not!
And health is paramount for a healthy and happy life. Even if cruising is very nice it is not a necessity in order to achieve happiness. In fact it might be destructive to health and happiness. Cruising can be an indulgence as nearly anything can, if prudence is left home. Indulgence is never good. How often do we know when too much is just too much? Cruises are intended to be enjoyable and should provide good memories for a lifetime. Much of the responsibility is with the cruise passenger, consideration towards: fellow passengers, service staff, ship's officers and shore staff in order to make it a great cruise. Cruising has become today more and more processing from one "cattle coral" to another. You start with a possibly arduous trip to an airport, herded through security to check-in, then a gate, boarding, seating, feeding, drinking, discharge, baggage carousel, transfer to port, security again, waiting in annoying crowded terminals with poor service, finding your cabin and then being lost in the megacrowds on megaships with insufficient staff to provide personal service. ...
As a seasoned cruiser at Royal Caribbean's Diamond level
I can tell you that the norovirus is extremely common in the general populace, and is brought aboard ship by individuals infected shore side. If you are serious about cleaning you hands with either your own sanitizing gel or that provided at many locations onboard, you will effectively prevent exposure to any potential virus, since contact with a contaminated surface is the means of transmission. The risk to someone who takes active precautions is minimal to nil. ...