[ 06-07-2006: Message edited by: tazza ]

When I asked them about my recent episode of the virus on Oriana I said if you cant tell me the names of the passengers who brought it on, can you tell me the port they brought it on and the approxamite time and date. Obviously they could not answer this at all and I ended up with more than $1500 off my next cruise because of this and more un named reasons.

I defy anyone who blames passengers for bringing it on.

Are the crew perfect? is it possible that the crew may have brought it on? Cruise lines are too often blaming poor and sometimes innocent passengers. The crew are just as likely to bring it on considering some of the countries they are recruited from and the hygeine standards in those countries.

[ 06-07-2006: Message edited by: tazza ]

My major problem is the company ALWAYS laying blame on passengers - their main source of income!

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Originally posted by Sutho:
The crew are just as likely to bring it on considering some of the countries they are recruited from and the hygeine standards in those countries.

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Many of the crew will have been aboard for months, and if they are responsible most likely picked it up somewhere ashore in exactly the same places as any passenger. I find your comment rather 'off' and demeaning to any crew member.

I suggest you read this, especially the 2nd to last paragraph. Most passengers boarding will refuse to admit they may have been ill a couple of days before the cruise as they don't want to miss the trip... they are the ones bringing it aboard.

Anyway this virus is far more prevalant on land the world over, including Aus. Schools, hospitals etc all get closed from time to time becasue of it. 15 schools at once in Birmingham in the UK earlier this year. When people pick it up from malls, libraries, public transport and so on, no-one knows where from as each of those people disappear off their separate ways home. On a ship you are all together so it appears worse.

Cruise ships do their best; ban all pax & crew who have been ill within a week of departure of vessel and things may improve. I doubt many would be happy about that. The more some people of this world try to move themselves into a sterile environment, the less chance their immune system has a chance to prove itself, and they will end up sick all the time when they step out of their bubble and mingle with others. Eat a little dirt from time to time

Pam

[ 06-07-2006: Message edited by: PamM ]

I am a passenger and I take offence when companies persist in blaming passengers without even circumstancial evidence.

The point I am trying to drive home is that crew members are not immune to diseases and they are also likely to pick it up and bring it on. If the crew member is in food service the chances of catching it increase. Crew members are reluctant to report sick as they lose pay and are sent home after a few days.

I know what ships crew members are like and what they get up to. I know from experience as I was a former sailor with the RAN.

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1. They live in communal living spaces and their recreation spaces are far more crowded than passengers.
2. Countires they come from are generally high risk countires for disease. Remember SARS?. I have been to those countries and seen it myself. They are filth ridden countries where people bath in the sewers and eat from the gutters. Diseases no longer around in Western society still exist in those countries. It is not discrimination it is fact.
3. Crew members are under far greater stress and high workload. That hampers the immune system when it comes to virus and infections and leaves the over worked more vulnerable.

Opposed to Passengers.
1. Most come from civilised places where the health system is second to none. Why do refugees try to come to our countries?
2. Most are in top health. The elder ones who require insurance need a medical examination and anything serious would be picked up. People who are diabetic in wheel chairs should not be discriminated against and despite their difficulty they can still be healthy.
3. Most passengers get immunised before they go away as not to ruin their holiday and have standby medication in case of emergency.
4. Rich passengers who can afford world voyages can afford the best private health care and are in better health than a crew member on trivial salary.

Sorry to be this way, but people who persist in stating crew members are saintly and immune to diseases asked for this and they got it. How dare we discriminate against passengers and say all these nasty things about them bringing diseases on without any proof.

Well two can play this game and now the shoe is on the other foot. For everyone who blames a passenger on no evidence, I will blame a crew member.

People blaming passengers and turning a blind eye to the possibility of the crew being responsible are simple minded and easily fooled by company propaganda similar to the propaganda that the nazis used to convince the world that the jews were bad.

The two posts above me are correct anything is possible with viruses and there is no way of proving it one way or another.

Most passengers are upstanding decent people and I defy anyone who criticises a passenger without looking at the whole picture.

I am just being difficult to the simple minded people who persist in blamaing a passenger that they cannot name, cannot prove did it.

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Originally posted by Frosty 4:
It has been well known that kids bring home all sorts of illness from school.

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One thing is for certain it is impossible to catch it through air conditioning on board. As ships are confined spaces fresh air is pumped into the ship and old air pumped out. Recycling of air is not allowed.

One thing I fail to grasp is if one passenger comes on with it then how to up to 100 get it? Everyone has their own thing to do and place to go and not everyone will come into contact with everyone else on the ship.

I suspected crew members as high because they serve food and drinks and the statistics of how many passengers crew members deal with opposed to the number of passengers coming in contact with other passengers is far greater for the crew. It makes more sense to me anyway.

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P&O cruise ship to be sanitised
June 9, 2006

P&O says its cruise ship 'Pacific Sun' has docked in Sydney and will be sanitised after an outbreak of gastroenteritis on board.

Within days of starting a 10-night cruise, more than 60 passengers had to be quarantined after suffering gastroenteritis, which causes vomiting and diarrhoea.

P&O says it has intensified on-board sanitation, and given passengers free medical treatment.

But passenger Michael Wanless is unhappy because he was quarantined when he was simply hungover.

"Quarantine me, that's fair enough, but I think that I'm entitled to be reimbursed for that part of the trip," he said.

On the other hand, Betty Wilson says she had a great time even when quarantined.

"The crew were absolutely fantastic," she said.

P&O says it is most likely a passenger unknowingly carried the norovirus onboard.

ABC News Online

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Originally posted by Woodwerm:
The one thing the virus confirmed was my first cruise was also my last.

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That's a sad statement. It's pretty rare, we have people here that have taken 30, 40 -100 cruises and never caught it.

You could have caught a similar virus on a train or plane or even in a hospital. Best NEVER leave home again.

[ 06-09-2006: Message edited by: Malcolm @ cruisepage ]

How Do People Become Infected with the Norwalk Virus (Norovirus)?
Noroviruses are found in the feces or vomit of infected people. People can become infected with the virus in several ways, including:

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Originally posted by Frosty 4:
It would be interesting to find stats on what itineries seem most affected. Is it the Carribean or Europe ,which are the most popular destinations??

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It probably happens more in the Caribb simply because there are more ships and people cruising than anywhere else.

From my observations, I though that it tended to happen more in the winter monnths. I also though that it tended to strike ships with older pasengers, but I have no proff or figures.