Cruise Ship Illness - Travel Article

By:Reginald E Niles

Every year hundreds of people get sick on cruise ships. The cruise ship illness that scares most people is the one associated with the norwalk virus.
Why? Because the norwalk virus causes diarrhea and vomiting for about 2 to 3 days....not a fun-filled experience.
What you need to know about this illnes is that it also occurs on land. Actually about 23 million Americans are affected by a norwalk type virus every year. Norwalk type illnesses are reportedly only second to the common cold.
The reason you hear about it on the cruise ships is because the cruise lines have to report an outbreak if more than 3% of the passengers become affected. And, of course, when they do, it makes news.
You can get the norwalk virus from hand to mouth activity or from contaminated food.
As you probably know, the cruise lines are doing everything to make sure their food is not contaminated and their passengers don't get sick. Sick passengers and bad news will kill their business.
So you don't have to worry about the food. That's pretty much handled. However, you do have to worry about getting infected from already sick or infected passengers.
See, if an infected passenger touches a handrail, for instance, and you touch it afterward, you are now potentially infected. If you then touch your mouth, or eat hand-held food before washing your hand, you'll then actually get infected.
Any surface other people touch can be an infection source for you.
This does not only apply on cruise ships, but back home on land in any public place. Door handles, elevator buttons, chairs, tables, hand shakes, etc., all can be sources of infection. So before you touch food or your mouth, always wash your hands.
It can be tough following this rule on a curise ship where there is so much activity going on and you may not always be close to a sink and soap. So one thing you can do is always carry a small bottle of Purell Hand Sanitizer with you. Use it before touching any food or your mouth.
If you follow this rule of always washing or sanitizing your hands before touching food or your mouth, you should avoid getting ill.
To learn more about cruise ship illness, the norwalk virus, or staying well on your cruise, you can visit the Center for Disease Control's website at http://www.cdc.gov/travel/cruiships.htm

About the author:

The author, Reginald Niles, is the owner of The Discount Cruise Advisor which shows you how to get the best cruise discounts, how to stay within your vacation budget, and what mistakes to avoid when buying a discount cruise. You can visit The Discount Cruise Advisor at and learn how to figure your total cruise cost at
Also:
Get a free copy of our Cruise Cost Table to help in figuring out your total cruise cost at
Learn how to prepare for your cruise at
Learn about alternate ways to get cheap cruises, like at auctions, at

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