The Cruise Ships With the Best and Worst Sanitation Scores in 2023

Table Of Content

• What is Norovirus and how is it spread?
• Hotel Reward Programs
• How to prevent seasickness on cruise ships (tips)
• Ingenuity’s Final Transmission: NASA’s Mars Helicopter Team Says Goodbye … for Now
• COVID, Bird Flu, Monkeypox – A Virologist Explains the Surge of Virus Outbreaks Around the World
• Outbreaks 2019 reports
• How to avoid Norovirus on cruise ships?

There’s no specific treatment or antiviral for norovirus, according to Ostrosky, but most cases can be managed at home with supportive care like hydration and rest. Sick people should also isolate until their symptoms resolve, the experts emphasize. However, as travel surges this summer, travel-related illnesses are expected to surge, as well. “I think our travel frenzy after COVID is partially fueling this continued spread (of norovirus),” says Ostrosky. On most vessels, the medical facilities are located midship on a lower deck (for easier access and better stability) and usually among other crew facilities.

What is Norovirus and how is it spread?

Whilst quarantined in your cabin, you can order from room service free of charge. There is a specially planned menu to assist with recovery, which includes bland items such as toast, porridge, soup, sandwiches, grilled chicken breast, salad and chips. They will advise you about what to do next and arrange a phone call with one of the ship’s nurses, who can give you medical advice.

Hotel Reward Programs

In short, the math points to it being an unlikely scenario for you to encounter. All cruise ships participate in the CDC's Vessel Sanitation Program, which has been in place since the 1970s to conduct random, unannounced inspections of ships if they wish to visit a port in the United States. Another big step Royal Caribbean Group made in improving the health of guests and crew members on its ships was to invest more in its public health inspection program. Within Royal Caribbean Groups' environmental stewardship report for 2023 is a section that details what the company is doing to improve public health on its ships. This is particularly important at mealtimes, as this is when it’s easy to transfer any virus from your hands to your mouth. This has resulted in norovirus being incorrectly called ‘the cruise ship disease’ or the ‘cruise ship illness’.

How to prevent seasickness on cruise ships (tips)

Royal Caribbean Blog - Unofficial blog about Royal Caribbean cruises - Royal Caribbean Blog

Royal Caribbean Blog - Unofficial blog about Royal Caribbean cruises.

Posted: Mon, 22 Apr 2024 15:00:00 GMT [source]

Most cruise vessels are equipped with either basic infirmary (a small clinic) or larger hospital where sick or injured passengers are treated and cared for by contractor physicians and nurses on 24-hour duty. Some of the world's most famous passenger ships are listed in the virus outbreak statistics, yet one hears so little of it in mass media news. And there is no surprise in that since the "cruise illness" news are nothing but bad publicity for the companies - which is bad for a prosperous multi-billion dollar sea travel vacation business. All major cruise line companies will do their best to keep quiet about virus outbreaks on their ships.

A large group living and eating in proximity, he said, can serve as a breeding ground for the disease. "The health and safety of our guests, crew and communities we visit are our top priority," a spokesperson from Royal Caribbean International told CNN in an email. "To maintain the highest levels of health onboard our ships, we implement rigorous safety and cleaning procedures, many far exceeding public health guidelines." There have been 13 outbreaks of norovirus on cruises this year, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That's the highest number of norovirus outbreaks on cruises recorded since 2012, with almost half of the calendar year left to go. MIAMI - Whether from Miami, New York, Seattle or more, millions of Americans pack aboard cruise ships on vacation.

In the following table, you can see all 2019-reported Norovirus outbreaks on cruise ships. It shows the number of sick passengers and crew (with the respective percentage to all), along with the corresponding CDC report pages (if available) as outgoing links. Among 410 reported cases during November 2022–January 2023 (voyages 1–5), 356 (87%) occurred in passengers and 54 (13%) in crew members. The index case likely occurred in a food and beverage crew member sailing on a crew-only voyage (voyage 1). In general, crew members with AGE reported to onboard medical personnel in a timely manner and were isolated until 48 hours after symptoms subsided.

Outbreaks 2018 reports

There are no internationally specified regulations governing ship infirmaries and medical staffing. Each company has its own standards provided for its passengers' healthcare. In February 2020, the shipowner cruise company Lindblad Expeditions announced the "Premium Purity" program with a shipwide cleaning system based on ACT CleanCoat technology.

Outbreaks 2019 reports

Royal Caribbean offered a full refund to passengers on an Oasis of the Seas sailing that returned to its homeport early due to a Norovirus outbreak onboard. Public Health Service Act; its mission is to prevent the introduction and spread of communicable diseases in the U.S. More specifically, it runs the Vessel Sanitation Program, which monitors illness outbreaks on ships carrying more than 13 passengers. Beyond that, crewmembers distribute information to passengers onboard offering precautionary tips, as well as a heads-up memo at embarkation to travelers boarding a ship that had previously seen a high percentage of illness.

How to avoid Norovirus on cruise ships?

Every passenger stateroom has the Infirmary's number - posted or by the cabin's phone. Seasickness manifests in different ways and is always a result of the body's attempt to correct for the conflicting inputs received from its senses. Common symptoms are cold sweat, dizziness, drowsiness, headache, nausea. When such symptoms are noticed, passengers should take precautions to prevent intensifying the disorientation. Major (in some cases epidemic) illness outbreaks are among the "biggies" that can bring down the brand's reputation on the market. Cruise illness issues often result in lower booking rates and cheaper prices - which is bad for the business.

Nearly 100 Holland America cruise passengers become ill in norovirus outbreak - USA TODAY

Nearly 100 Holland America cruise passengers become ill in norovirus outbreak.

Posted: Tue, 12 Mar 2024 07:00:00 GMT [source]

VSP may also post information on gastrointestinal illness outbreaks of public health significance that do not necessarily meet the above criteria. However, unlike on land, most basic travel insurance policies don't cover medical treatments on cruise ships as they are not from the patient's primary caregiver. Purchasing cruise travel insurance with health coverage (medical clauses) is highly recommended. A cruise ship's medical facility can treat only passengers experiencing minor health issues - seasickness, scrapes, sunburns, etc. More severe medical emergencies can't be handled on the ship and usually require medevacs.

Quarantining the ill passengers and crew to their cabins is mandatory (at least for 48 hours) to slow the outbreak's spread. Failing to comply with the crew's orders results in fines or even discharge from the ship. Even before this new initiative was put into place, the CDC acknowledges that risks are quite low on cruise ships compared to your chances of catching it elsewhere on land.

Coast guard helicopter teams fly to the ship, hoist the passenger (accompanied by a spouse/relative and a crew nurse) and fly them to the nearest land hospital. VSP (abbrev "Vessel Sanitation Program") monitors CDC's observations on illness patterns for GI (gastrointestinal) outbreaks on passenger shipping vessels (ferries and cruise ships). Norovirus on ships is spread through contaminated water, foods and surfaces (public restrooms, railings, doorknobs, handles, board games-cards-puzzles-toys, etc). Norovirus withstands chlorine, prolonged exposure outside the body, as well as temperature extremes.

To see how your specific cruise line performed on its VSP inspections, you can visit the CDC website and search their portal. This site also lists any corrective actions taken to remedy any issues. According to Shah, norovirus spreads rapidly anywhere there are large groups of people, like school classrooms, family gatherings, and weddings. Meanwhile, Florida had 31,758 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, breaking a record for the most cases in a single day since the start of the pandemic in the U.S. in March 2020, according to data from the U.S. VSP inspectors board ships and conduct thorough checks to ensure compliance, and the standards are high. You can find a list of the most recent inspection scores and lists of violations for each ship on the VSP website.