> Cruiselines F-P > P&O Cruises > Norovirus on Aurora!

Let's face it....ALL cruise lines have the bug.......We are in Greece on the early stages of a world cruise on P&O Aurora.

Already the buffet restaurant has been closed for four days and the Captains party has been postponed twice.

I wonder if the ports in Cairo and Mumbai will bar our entry and put us all in quarantine??

What a great opportunity! Most British tourists going to these ports develop "Tutankhamen's Revenge" & "Delhi Belly". This is your chance to return the complement!!

Well, I don't know about that...

How come we don't get news of American-run Carnival ships getting Norovirus
down here in the Caribbean?

What is Royal Caribbean doing right?
I don't hear about RCI ships being struck down.

Holland America too is full of olde pharts,
yet we never hear about them coming down with it (do we?)

.

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You have to ask yourself...
why is it that the very first thing they do.. is close the buffet restaurant.


What is it about the buffet restaurant?
Why don't they close the dining rooms instead?
.

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Of course Carnival run ships have their share of bugs. As an olde phart[sic] who enjoys Holland America cruises, I know they have had the norovirus a few times. Have a look at the CDC Sanitation website.

Hi Aplmac
I'm afraid i'm going to disagree with you here.
Don't know where you got your in formation from but it's not at all accurate. See table below for plenty of american ships.

Also from my experience of the hygiene standards practised on some of the Caribbean islands. Some are third world standard and leave a lot to be desire. Could this be the source for passengers pcking up various bugs?

Cruise Ships and GI Illness Risk Management
Almost 80% of all cruise ship voyages that dock at U.S. ports have at least one passenger or crewmember with a confirmed diagnosis of gastrointestinal illness by the ship's medical staff. Several forms of GI Illness including Norovirus are highly contagious and may cause severe diarrhea, headaches and, at times, projectile vomiting. Over the last 8-years, over 147,000 passengers and crew have been diagnosed with some form of gastrointestinal illness.

2008 Voyage GI Illness Outbreaks by Cruise Ship


Artemis
Azamara Quest
Caribbean Princess
Carnival Spirit
Celebrity Constellation
Dawn Princess
Dawn Princess
Diamond Princess
Grande Caribe
Holiday
MV Explorer
Noordam
Norwegian Dream
Norwegian Jewel
Norwegian Spirit
Norwegian Star
Ryndam
Seven Seas Mariner
Spirit Of Endeavor
Spirit Of Nantucket
Spirit Of Oceanus
Veendam
Volendam
Zaandam
Zuiderdam
( http://www.cruisinghealthy.com/ )

What I wrote wasn't from information, rather a general feeling
and sensing what the mind had acquired from various media sources
mostly this (non-American,admittedly) forum!

I still have the general impression that American ships somehow suffer less.

Your long and helpful list mentions one ONE Carnival ship, for example.
Not that Carnival are any shining example
-just a very popular line, particularly with Middle America.


Remember what I said earlier, in another thread
about how American-run ships clean madly, every time they return to Puerto Rico or other USA port
in preparation for a random US Health Service inspection that could come at any time!


Does this random health inspection prevail
at Southampton, Dover, Harwich and other UK ports?


I'm probably wrong (again!) but..
my impression is that the Americans are ahead of the rest of us, in matters like this.

For example:You'll notice that in most worldwide airliner crashes
somehow the American N.T.S.B. is there...stuff like that....
not that I love them any more than you do.
.

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Aplmac, I see your a wee bit 'selective' in what you highlight and reply to. Viz. "One Carnival ship". What you cleverly omit is that ships from: RCI, Celebrity, Princess, NCL, HAL to a few - all American ships - have also had the Norovirus bug.

So it's certainly not confined to British ships but is a global problem. (Although it also seems to be a predominantly F.Olsen problem of late.)

The American NTSB are there after crashes normally because most aeroplanes are built in the USA so they have a vested interest.

By the way - I really like Americans. My favourite line is Celebrity where the majority of passengers are American.

Most ships sail with the sun so in winter few are sailing from Northern European ports so the ones that do get the bug and it makes the news. I wonder if it's the same if we look at ships sailing from ports such as New York in the winter months?

The evening of the day the norovirus news was posted, the captain announced a relaxation of the rules! - The buffet is now open again (but we are not allowed to touch the serving tongues! - we have to be served at the 'self service counter)'.
We are docked in Port Said and the weather is getting warmer at last.
The topic of conversation on the decks is dominated by those who have been laid low by the bug and large medical bills that P&O have been added to their cabin accounts! - These are supposed to be covered by their travel insurance (which all have excesses) - The charging system doesn't seem to incentivise people to come forward to be treated for the bug in the early stages BEFORE it really takes ahold.
Closure of the buffet must mean there are mountains of food still in the stores - The restaurant dining serves portions that are probably better for us health wise but restricts our freedom.
Any way..... here's hoping for better times ahead.

Just have to worry now about possible Pirate attack as we come out of the Red Sea - Glad I have an inside cabin!!