11/30 has now been given the option of cancelling - note added to DVCers

[dmadman43]

85 people out of a possible 2400? That's 3.5% of the population. I find it hard to believe that over the course of 7 days, on ANY cruise there's not around that percentage sick at some point.

 

[imgoingtodisney]

Hopefully will see everyone on board Sat. And already told DH if we cant do Palos (hoard entering that ship at 2pm or whenever) that we can still have a good cruise. I may stay at the Radisson until they kick us out. When will you be arriving at the port if they delay till 2pm? any idea when they'd even let us in the terminal?

 

[LarryC]

My sympathy goes out to all who have been sick, and to all of you on the 11/30. The worry you are now going through must be heartbreaking.

But I agree with Lori - I would also cancel if I was booked on the 11/30.

If I was travelling only with my wife, I would go on the cruise, and take reasonable precautions. We have had slight illnesses such as this in many foreign countries, because of our desire to sample the local fare outside of the "sanitized" hotels.

But there is NO WAY I would KNOWINGLY place my children in a situation where I knew BEFOREHAND that an epedemic illness is occuring. This is irresponsible parenting at best, and child endangerment at worst.

Disney is offering full and complete refunds. I would be 1st in line.

(flame suit on - fire away )

 

[Buckaroo's Dad]

Darlene - lol!!!

As I posted on another thread, wouldn't this be a good reason to purchase trip cancellation/interruption insurance? If you happened - unfortunately - to be in the small percentage of those being struck by this illness, you could cancel the cruise as of that point and not have to hope DCL offers any compensation. Just a thought...

 

[Michelemouse]

LarryC -

I respect your opinion and you won't get flamed by me, but "child endangerment"? That seems a bit of an overreaction. We will be boarding the Magic this Saturday with DD10, DS7 and DD's Friend10 and have had no second thoughts about it.

IMO, it is dangerous to throw out words like "epidemic" (which, according to Webster's, means "affecting or tending to affect a disproportionately large number of individuals within a population, community, or region at the same time"). As of the last count only about 2.5% of the people on board the Magic were sick and the last count I heard for last week's sailing was only at 8% or so...hardly an epidemic, particularly at this time of year. This isn't the plague we're talking about, it's a stomach virus. Also, I am guessing that people who would not normally report being sick are reporting it this time, simply because of what happened last week.

So there has been no crisis of conscience here. We will be boarding the Magic on Saturday with no worries and no second thoughts.

 

[nedleycan]

I sounds like Disney took care of anyone who got sick last week, and insurance didn't matter.
Okay Larry... here is the flame.... haha... 3.5% is probably better percentage than our kids have at their schools, daycares and indoor playgrounds that they visit throughout the winter. But do we keep them home? No. Getting sick is a fact of life. Sometime you get hit, sometimes you don't. If the numbers stay as they are, I would think that this is just an average cruise with an average amount of people sick. Also, I still wonder how many people are saying they are sick, but actually aren't... they are looking for compensation. Last week the people who got sick were offered a free 3 day cruise... not bad for pretending to be sick? I am not saying that there are people on the cruise who are forsure faking it, but I wonder if some seasickness or other stomach problems will be called Norwalk...

 

[SC Minnie]

GO, be cautious, and HAVE FUN!

If 80 people on this week's cruise reported they got sick then about 2320 people were NOT sick.

I have had a stomach virus before and there was a point I asked God to take me then if that was his will! I do not wish that kind of sick on anybody. I could not keep food down or in for a week. That said, I would still go on the cruise. If my child was too young to understand the importance of handwashing, keeping hands away from the face, etc. I would really think twice but my child is 8 and old enough to understand.

Barb- calm down, your vacation will be great no matter what happens

 

[JennSaint]

I have no plans on cruising in the near future. But if I did I'd still go. I cannot stress enough about handwashing. My 2 DS's and my DH this past weekend were very ill with a stomach virus and I somehow managed to not get it. I give credit to the constant handwashing and cleaning I was doing. So my advice is to keep washing, use different hand towels, and keep some antibacterial gel handy and enjoy your cruise!! .

 

[4cruisin]

WOW, Larry C:

I wish my parents had the money to be irresponsible or endanger me by taking me on a cruise where on average 2 to 3% of the passengers got sick.

I beg to differ but I think accusing parents of irresponsible parenting or child endangerment is pretty harsh. I believe each person makes the best decision at the time based in the info they have and it is a PERSONAL choice. Just my ever so HUMBLE opinion.

 

[Family of LGM's]

My 2 Kids Have Been Off the Wall For Months Waiting to Cruise With MICKEY MOUSE . For The love of pete if the boat leaves the docks on saturday we WILL BE ON IT . My kids are only 2.9 and 4 we have plenty of antibacterial soap , Rubber gloves & sergical masks . hay if we get sick we get sick . we could all get sick just sitting at home with out MICKEY and Friends . So For my kids sake Lets Get the " Runs " With Mickey and Friends ...

SEE YOU ON SATURDAY WHEN EVER WE BOARD
Jim






LETS GO ENJOY THE MAGIC

 

[tlens]

If this is the Norwalk virus, you can avoid it by being careful. It's going to be difficult as there are so many places where it could be. All it takes is someone not washing his hands well enough after using the bathroom. But, because you know it's there, you are going to think about things like touching door knobs and washing hands more often. It's the dangers that you don't know are there that are the ones that will get you. That's why almost 300 poeple got it the first week. The next group knew what they were dealing with and that's part of the reason the numbers are down.

Last year the Norwalk virus was all over my area of Ontario. About 20% of children were out of school. Should the other 80% have stayed home from school? Should they have closed the schools and therefore made people miss work as they stayed home with healthy kids? In another case, a food worker at a nearby restuarant had Norwalk and the entire graduate faculty and students of one of the engineering departments in the university in which I work contracted Norwalk from this person. My point is, you can't protect yourself from everything. Norwalk is NOT life threating.(Unless you have a chronic condition, diabetes etc). It's just really really unpleasant.

As others have said, 2.5% is not an epidemic.

 

[vbfamily]

Norwalk isn't bacteria, it's viral. Anti-bacterial soap won't due one bit of good.

I just want to make sure people understand that and don't start stocking up on everything anti-bacterial and antibiotics because that won't help and if people take antibiotics when they don't need them then they are more likely not to work when they really do need them.

Most people will be just fine but special consideration should be given to the elderly, young children and people with compromised immune systems. They really need to decide if it is okay for them to cruise.

In an earlier post, a woman said her daughter has had a fever for 2 days and was going to cruise soon. She should take into account that her daughter's immune system is not where it should be right now and may make her more likely to get sick aboard the ship.

I have little ones and I just don't want to see any more people get sick. This is all MHO.

 

[LarryC]

Those were pretty mild flames! LOL! Thanks for taking it easy on me.

BUT......If lots of children in your school all came down with the SAME illness at the SAME time, and it it reasonable sure that they ALL were infected at school, you wouldn't be concerned and keep your child at home? You would KNOWINGLY send them in to possibly be infected? Sorry if you disagree, but THAT is irresponsible parenting.

Although I hope NO ONE get sick, think about your vacation if your young child DOES get this PREVENTABLE sickness. You or your spouse is going to be stuck in your cabin for 3 days. You will not be going to dinner as a family. One of you will be running up to Topsiders and bringing down a tray of food or ordering room-service while staring out the window or sitting on the veranda. One of you will go see Dreams while the other watches TV. One of you will be cabin-bound the entire time your child is ill. You will be second-guessing yourself the entire time about causing the suffering for your child. And this is a nasty little "bug".

Having microbiologists and epidemiologist flown aboard the ship, having the Center for Disease Control personnell aboard, and seeing cast-members in surgical masks spraying Clorox bleach everywhere doesn't make you think twice??????

(3.5% I personally think that this number is way low. In most epidemic (and this DOES meet the definition) illnesses, the number reported is low because there are many people who got sick and did NOT report it.)

 

[MemereMouse]

Yes Larry this is a small flame! I'm a senior citizen going on the 11/30 cruise with my family (including children) and just wanted to say that I think people "fan the flames" -- no pun intended -- making incidents like this into major events. If DCL decides to sail I will have no qualms about sailing with them. I can get the flu at the local malls too but I don't go around worrying about it. I could also get it at home when visitors or grandchildren come in. Life is too short to worry about everything. Enjoy!!!!

 

[Michelemouse]

LarryC -

If my child were in a classroom of 20 and 2 of them came down with this illness (that's 10%) I would definitely still send my kids to school. No question about it. And I certainly would not consider it child abuse. I would, of course, stress the proper precautions to take (hand washing, etc.) but they would still go.

And let's be completely honest here...nobody knows where this infection started. It may have originated on the Magic but it also could have come from passengers who were sick before boarding. And let's remember that we're talking about a couple of days (max) of stomach upset...nobody is dying from this. IMO this whole issue has been blown way out of proportion.

Panic serves no purpose other than to cripple normal society.

T minus 79 hours, 50 minutes & 45 seconds until we sail!

 

[imgoingtodisney]

7hrs 50mins and 1sec till vacation starts!!

 

[tlens]

Larry C- I should have been more specific. It wasn't just one school. It was 20% of the children in the 125 public schools we have in my region.

My daughter did contract it from a another child. My child is in daycare but she could have contracted it just as easily from a mall. Or, conversely, I could have been the one to bring it home unknowingly (24-48 hour incubation) and could have given it to her. I wouldn't consider myself irresponsible for getting ill? Should we sit inside everytime the flu is in the area?

Last year a large ER in Toronto was closed down and it took 2 weeks to get rid it of Norwalk completely. It came down to the ER from the 17th floor of the hospital. Right now, another Er in Toronto is closed due to it. Should the whole hospital be closed? Things in life happen. People get stomach viruses.
One thing about Norwalk though. It hits hard and fast. There is no warning leading up to it. At 5 pm I was feeling fine, at 6:30 I was very ill. By 6 am the next morning, most of the horrible stuff was done I was just weak. By the next morning, I was ok again.

Barb. Whatever you decide to do, have fun. Your vacation is what you make of it.

 

[Laura24]

that maybe the DCL is not going back far enough to find the source of the virus.......what percentage of these people have flown possibly the same airline as well as going through MCO? I know it sounds a little too far fetched, but we all know the air quality in a plane is full of all sorts of yuckies. It's hard to make the connection back to the HAL, but it's a thought.

 

[tlens]

Laura24: I don't think that's far fetched at all. Many of the people who have been getting off the boat, both on HAL and Disney have used the same facilities, planes, hotel rooms etc. Some people who got off were still sick. I actually thought it odd when HAL took people off the boat and flew them home. Wouldn't the plane then be contaminated as well? It's really easy to see how these things can spread.

 

[LarryC]

Everyone needs to educate themselves on the Norwalk Virus.

From the CDC:
Norwalk gastroenteritis is transmitted by the fecal-oral route via contaminated water and foods. Secondary person-to-person transmission has been documented. Water is the most common source of outbreaks and may include water from municipal supplies, well, recreational lakes, swiming pools, and water stored aboard cruise ships.

The PRIMARY source of contamination is WATER. Person-to-person is SECONDARY. THIS IS NOT THE FLU! Any talk about it coming aboard from another outside source (airplane) is not true. It is NOT an airborne transmittable diease!

(My theory is that this was caused by the selfish parents who insist that little Sally or little Johnny must be allowed to get in the pool in a diaper. Being a pool and spa owner, I am VERY aware of water sanitation and what it takes to keep it clean and safe.)

Most are still missing my point. When you bring up schools or hospitals or 2 out of 20, you are talking about occurences and situations where the cause is unknown. Yes, on any given school day 10-20 kids may be out sick. But are they all out sick with the same thing, and did they all contract it from the same place?

Disney says on any given cruise, 10 people will become ill. That is a far cry from the 275 last week, or the (so far) 85 reported this week. At what point do you feel is "too many?"

IMO, they should cancel the cruise. There is no way that they can eliminate the source when the source may be the VERY SAME PEOPLE WHO ARE DOING THE CLEANING!

Take the ship out of service for a week, bring aboard a complete cleaning crew from outside of the ship's crew, dispose of all food and water aboard, and start fresh.