300 become ill on cruise ship

[jsr]

Source: CNN

(CNN) -- More than 300 people on a Royal Caribbean cruise ship have become ill during a voyage, the Centers for Disease Control said on its website.

According to the statement, 281 of the 3,050 passengers and 22 of 1,165 crew members of Explorer of the Seas reported vomiting and diarrhea.

In a statement to CNN, Royal Caribbean International said those who fell sick have responded well to over-the-counter medication being administered on board the ship.

Janet Diaz, spokesperson for Royal Caribbean International, told CNN that the ship skipped a planned stop in Haiti on Saturday and sailed directly to San Juan, Puerto Rico, where it underwent an extensive sanitizing.

Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2014/01/25/travel/cruise-ship-illness/

[KoKo]

1. Sounds like Norovirus...

because they had to sanitize the ship.

It's a terrible thing....if one has ever experienced it... Ugh..

[daleo]

2. I think I had a touch of it once after a flight

That was enough.

[GP6971]

3. We won't do a cruise again

just because too many people in such a small place. Yes, many aspects of it were great, but overall it was a disappointment. We like to explore the local areas and cruises don't allow enough time to do that.

[tularetom]

4. Mrs t and I both had norovirus over Christmas 2008

We agreed that neither of us had ever felt worse although I've had kidney stones and she has experienced childbirth twice.

It was a miserable experience and we were at home where we each had a bathroom to ourselves. You had to decide whether to kneel or sit on the toilet because you were often needing to empty both ends at the same time. I can't imagine going through it in a tiny cabin on a cruise ship.

I lost 17 lbs in 5 days. Pedialyte got us through it.

[Frank Cannon]

15. My wife and I call that "bowling".

When you have to sit on the toilet with a large bowl in your lap.

I, myself, have gone bowling with the Norovirus.

[neverforget]

5. My family and I are just now getting over the norovirus. My wife got it on Monday

my daughter on Wednesday and myself on Friday morning. It's horrible.

[Laffy Kat]

6. Noro is terribly contagious.

Don't even think about going near the emesis (vomit) unless you have a mask. The virus becomes aerosolize above the throw-up for up to 30 minutes. Walk in the room with Lysol and spray the air ahead of you. Then shower immediately and change clothes. Seriously.

Glad you're on the other side of it, neverforget.

[du_grad]

8. Change your toothbrushes also if they're in a holder on your bathroom sink

http://www.cdc.gov/features/norovirus/

I am a microbiology technologist. I am reluctant to get on a cruise ship of any kind just for this reason. It's very easily passed from person to person.

[Laffy Kat]

10. Hey, du_grad. As in Denver?

I live in Boulder county.

[du_grad]

11. Nope - a small school in Ohio

But thanks for the wave

[neverforget]

9. Thank you. Luckily for me, I seem to have recovered much faster than my wife

and daughter. We're all better now and can go to work or school thankfully.

[MADem]

7. They pack those people in like sardines. It's just too many people! nt

[delrem]

12. Too bad they aren't on food stamps. If they were, they'd've been saved.

[davidpdx]

13. Another great reason never go to on a cruise

Puking your guts out doesn't sound like much fun.

[Ken Burch]

14. This is gonna lead to rich people "going Greyhound" isn't it? n/t.

[valerief]

18. Rich people are making so much money now they have their own jets and pilots. nt

[bucolic_frolic]

16. Rats in every port of call

make it onto ships and find the food supply

Wasn't that the way the Black Death spread?

The diseases are now treatable but they've not
changed rat behavior

[L0oniX]

17. Floating petri dishes!

[dembotoz]

19. soooo not carnival

guess it can happen anywhere

my best buddy and her daughter are doing a repositioning cruise in late april

up to this point i had been very envious--but alas, i stay here to feed their multiple cats....

oh hell i am still envious

[Herself]

23. they should get vacation insurance

anyone taking a cruise should do that.

[tofuandbeer]

20. I took an Alaskan cruise...

Alaska was an awesome sight, I enjoyed the weather (cold/cloudy), as well as the sea life; being on the ship was comfortable, but there was soooo much food and drink, it felt gluttonous.

I'd go to Alaska again, but will never take a cruise again—and now especially after reading above about sicknesses.

[Orsino]

21. Spartans!

Wait...it was the Persians who cruised on ships.

[lindysalsagal]

22. You couldn't pay me to get onto one of those giant human punchbowls.

Horrid.