How To Avoid Getting Sick On Your Next Cruise

Not all the vomiting on cruise ships is due to sea sickness. The floating hotels are in some ways a haven for illness.

The Royal Caribbean’s Explorer of the Seas is only the latest example of how quickly potentially serious illness can spread.

The Center for Disease Control is still investigating what caused nearly 700 passengers and crew members to become ill this week aboard the vessel. It was a record number — the highest reported on any cruise ship in two decades, according to CNN. Some, think the numbers were even misreported too.

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“They claim there were 600; I think there could have as many as 1,000” sick people on board, passenger Sal Panto Jr. told CNN. “Some people I know didn’t bother going down to the infirmary. They weren’t feeling well, so they went to the state room. They didn’t report it.” 

A makeshift infirmary was established for when the ship made port in Cape Liberty, New Jersey where some passengers waited three hours before being seen, according to CNN.

The cruise, which left the same port Jan. 21, was advised by the CDC to cut the trips short after an increasingly large number of individuals became sick. The trip was supposed to last 10 days.

No official cause or illness has been reported but multiple samples have been taken for testing. Norovirus is suspected to be the cause. The virus causes gastrointestinal, which results in vomiting and diarrhea, both symptoms crew and passengers were suffering from. 

“The number of reported new cases of gastrointestinal illness has dropped sharply after a spike in the first days of the cruise, and most guests who fell ill are up and about,” the cruise line said Monday. 

Still, there is frequently a second spike in cases similar to this one, another reason the trip was cut short.

Royal Caribbean said passengers will receive a 50 percent refund on this trip and a 50 percent discount on the next cruise they book with the company.

Since it made port yesterday the liner said in a statement that the ship will be cleaned “to make certain that any remaining traces of the illness are eliminated.”

Here’s how to avoid getting sick while on you’re next cruise:

Each year, norovirus leads to about 21 million illnesses, 70,000 hospitalizations and 800 deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, according to CNN. It’s nasty, so wash you hands with soap and warm water frequently. There are thousands of people on cruise ships, many of which are channeled through the same, small corridors. 

The virus can stay within the stoll of those infected for up to to weeks, according to the CDC. It is especially vital to properly wash your hands after using the bathroom.

Norovirus spreads most quickly directly from person to person, in addition to food and surfaces. Passengers who were sick were asked to quarantine themselves in their cabins, but keep your distance from those who are ill and about.

It is relatively resilient and can withstand temperatures of up to 140 degrees and quick steaming processes used to cook shellfish. To decrease your chances of infection, not just from Norovirus but other illnesses, make sure to clean and cook food thoroughly. 

If you do get sick, make sure to stay hydrated and introduce food slowly.

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