I was able to tour Jewel of the Seas yesterday, and again noticed no hand sanitizer when we got on the ship, and none at entrances to the Windjammer. We were being escorted by a RCI sales rep from Miami. I asked him about the change in the last year. He said he didn't know why RCI took away the sanitizers, but they did so from the offices in Miami, as well. Interesting.
I can't begin to tell you how many times I've seen guys come out of the stalls & leave the bathroom without washing. There the same people who serve themselves at the buffets. Disgusting. I'm all in favor for the force use of the hand sanitizers for everyone no matter how little good they do.
Well, Rich, apparently it is your gender who is largely to blame for the spread of Noro. A study published in Minnesota just indicated that 50%+ of men do not wash after bathroom adventures. This study reiterated that Noro spreads primarily through stool of those infected, and that if everyone washed their hands it would lose its ability to spread to a new host and die out. We could literally wipe out Norovirus if everyone washed. (apparently most women do wash)
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1993 Nordic Empress
1994 Nordic Prince
2003 Explorer of Seas
2004 Navigator of Seas
2005 Explorer of Seas
2006 Mariner of Seas
2007 Navigator of Seas
Originally posted by Cortney:
I was just reading some reviews on another web site by other people who were on the Explorer of the Seas at the same time I was (2/3-2/15) and I was surprised to find that the other two authors had been horrified by what they perceived as a lack of sanitation procedures on the ship.
My husband and I thought the crew seemed to be on top of things in that regard. A few days in, the crew started handing out hand sanitizing wipes at the dining rooms, buffets, gangway, etc. We figured there were people with noro...sure enough, after a day or so, the captain announced that an unusual number of people had complained of gastrointestinal distress and advised us to wash our hands regularly and use the wipes. For the rest of the cruise, everywhere we went, crew members were handing out the wipes, and we constantly saw them wiping down the railings, cleaning the public areas, etc.
I guess I don't know how many people ended up coming down with noro, but it seemed to me like they were doing a good job. But some of the reviewers noted there was a lack of hand sanitizing dispensers...I guess I don't remember whether there were such dispensers on previous ships.
Just curious to hear other people's thoughts, and wondering if anyone heard any numbers about norovirus patients on the 2/3-2/15 sailing of Explorer.
Cruise ships in general have several levels of alerts when multiple passengers report with stomach illness. I am more familiar with Carnival who will start with encouragement to wash, and then actually start serving at the buffet rather than self serve, and more rigouous cleaning with different chemicals. However I havn't seen any response in this thread yet that points out NoroVirus is a Virus not a bacteria, and thus antibacteria soap and sanitizers are ineffective against it. Washing with soap, any kind of soap, is what is important. So the "sanitizers" come and go because it is mostly just for show when it comes to Noro.
However I havn't seen any response in this thread yet that points out NoroVirus is a Virus not a bacteria, and thus antibacteria soap and sanitizers are ineffective against it. Washing with soap, any kind of soap, is what is important.
Well I said the following in an earlier post,
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and certainly the point that noro is a virus and not a bacteria bears pointing out.
Originally posted by spoheating:
Well, Rich, apparently it is your gender who is largely to blame for the spread of Noro. A study published in Minnesota just indicated that 50%+ of men do not wash after bathroom adventures. This study reiterated that Noro spreads primarily through stool of those infected, and that if everyone washed their hands it would lose its ability to spread to a new host and die out. We could literally wipe out Norovirus if everyone washed. (apparently most women do wash)
I don't know...I have seen plenty of women bypass the sinks after leaving the stall. The mirror seemed to be more important.
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