cruising for little old ladies.

balmaiden

Gawd!!!!!!!!

muskoka

I've been on Ocean Village twice and the majority of passengers are older - 50/60+ yrs old. Note - That once you check in at the airport you don't see your bags at all until you get to your cabin. Once past check-in at the airport, your bags are delivered direct to your cabin. Also, there is a doctor on board with a mini-hospital and if anyone is sick, they just give you a jab for the sickness. Sorry, but I found them absoutely fab

Errata

It's always worth doing a bit of google research about any cruise line to fully understand its norovirus, Legionairres disease, MRSA etc sickness outbreaks.
They are all very common in closed communities such as ships carrying hundreds or thousands of passengers.

kindofagilr

I can recommend Carnival, but they are fly-cruises, I went on a crusie from Miami, but mine was a rock and roll crusie called the rock boat where there are bands on board (I went to see Hanson) and there is music played live 24/7 concerts everwhre

But as a crusie ship carnival were great and a woamn from work goes on hols every year with them

sagalout1954

Fred Olsen. Yes, some of their ships have had the Norovirus outbreak.........as have MANY other cruise lines, though most try to keep it as quiet as possible - FO isn't one of them. I defy ANY cruise line to claim they've never had Norovirus on board, so don't be too swayed by newspaper headings.

There were a SMALL handful of cases on the cruise we were on, but it didn't spread like wildfire though some passengers were clearly doing their best to 'pass it on'. You can't blame the cruise line for selfish travellers. Didn't want to fully admit when they were ill because they knew they'd be 'confined to cabins'.

For older travellers I'd pick FO every time. Though most are a lively bunch regardless, the crew were particularly helpful and friendly to those who needed a little more company and assistance.

In the airport queue for our flight the woman in front of us was throwing up, had the trots, sweating and shaking - and boarding our flight. Her hubby had NV on board, she'd clearly got it and was happily boarding the flight to pass it on! I still feel bad that I couldn't quite bring myself to point her out to airport staff to prevent her flying.

margaretclare

Norovirus is preventable. All that is required is normal hygiene, hand-washing after toilet and before eating. It is disgraceful that people who can afford to go on cruises cannot afford to keep their hands clean.

There is a TV advert which shows how easily any virus can be passed on.

newleaf

There was a Norovirus outbreak on the Boudicca the week before our cruise, but there were no problems whatsoever during our stay on the ship.
Handwashing and general good hygiene is paramount, as margaretclare says.
During our voyage Crew were stationed outside every restaurant with hand sanitising foam and passengers were given a squirt prior to entering the restaurant, but Norovirus is an airborne virus and present everywhere so hands must be washed very frequently - not just at mealtimes.
Norovirus is a vile thing to have and I wouldn't wish it on anybody. It spreads like wildfire in any community where people are in close proximity. The problem is, you can wash your own hands as often as you like, but if someone else has the virus and doesn't attend to their own hygiene with the same vigilance, then everyone is at risk.
Sagalout - It must be very irritating to see people, who are obviously unwell, selfishly refusing to stay in their cabins - and I read on the cruise forum that this was a major factor in the outbreak of the week prior to my own voyage.

sagalout1954

A Thompson cruise we went on had DiY hand sanitising pumps, amazing how many dirty guests were happy to bypass these without 'washing' their hands.

On Fred Olsen the crew gave guests little choice but to be 'squirted' (quite right too) also, in the loo's they had tissue boxes screwed to the wall next to the door with a sign advising you to use a tissue to open the door then drop it into the pedal bin. Bit of a contortionist act to keep the self closing door open with your foot whilst operating the pedal on the bin with the other! Our favourite bar waitress even used to sanitise the pens the guests used to sign their bar tabs.

Margaretclare is right, good hygiene is the key and it should be second nature to everyone - sadly it isn't, some people are disgusting.

margaretclare

The idea of using a tissue on the door-handle is a good one - I hadn't thought of that. I would take a small packet of wipes with me for cleaning my hands in between hand-washes. You wouldn't believe how many bugs there are in residence on door-handles, especially those in and out of toilet facilities.

sloan

So reassuring, kindofagilr, to hear your recommendation for Carnaval cruises. We wanted to add a cruise to the end of our week in New York and Las Vegas, and it had to go on a specific day, so our Carnival cruise found us rather than the other way round. We sail from Long Beach, California down the west coast of Mexico on 11th April for our first cruising experience on the Carnival Splendor. I am really looking forward to it.