MERS Outbreak Alters Cruise Itineraries

Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS)

Courtesy: CDC

 Royal Caribbean Cancels

South Korean Calls

Since May 2015, the Republic of Korea has been investigating an outbreak of MERS. It is the largest known outbreak of MERS outside the Arabian Peninsula.

CDC does not recommend that Americans change their travel plans to the Republic of Korea or other countries because of MERS. More

 Strong Disease Control Recommended (WHO)

 "A joint mission by the World Health Organization and the Republic of Korea’s Ministry of Health and Welfare to review the outbreak of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (MERS CoV) in the Republic of Korea has recommended that continuing strengthening of contact tracing, monitoring and quarantine as well as expanded laboratory testing will prevent further spread of the virus."

There have been 138 confirmed cases of MERS CoV (including 1 confirmed case in China) reported in the current outbreak so far, with 14 deaths.  The World Health Organization has made recommendations to contain the disease in South Korea which include identification of contacts, quarantine, infection prevention, and travel restrictions for infected patients.

Cruise Line Response

Cruise lines that are sailing in the region are monitoring the situation and taking necessary actions.  The first to cancel ports of call in South Korea is Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.

Royal Caribbean's Mariner of the Seas, Voyager of the Seas and Quantum of the Seas will skip visits to Seoul until at least August 2015. Mariner of the Seas also will skip Jeju Island.  

Impacted cruises will substitute sea days or visit other ports including Kagoshima, Fukuoka, Okinawa or Nagasaki, Japan.

Passengers and crew are being screened and provided with information about the MERS outbreak and symptoms.  If passengers or crew members show symptoms, such as a fever, cough and shortness of breath, the ships' medical staff will isolate and treat patients using anti-viral medications onboard.

Princess Cruises' Diamond Princess also has scheduled stops in South Korea. Princess Cruises is monitoring the situation; we are not aware of any changes to itineraries at this time.   We will continue to provide updates as information is made available.

Protect yourself from Respiratory Illnesses

• washing hands often,
• avoiding close contact with people who are sick,
• avoiding touching their eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands, and
• disinfecting frequently touched surfaces.

Know Before You Go

Before leaving on any international travel, land or sea, we suggest visiting our International Travel tab.  The page contains information about passport & visa requirements, travel advisories, health information and much more.

Resources:

WHO recommends strong disease control to end MERS-CoV outbreak
Fact sheet on Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV)
FAQs on MERS‐CoV
Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) – Republic of Korea
Learn about MERS (CDC)

If you are traveling in the region impacted by MERS or any other infectious disease, please be sure to visit the WHO and CDC sites for current information.

We Are Going to Need More Bleach

Cruise Ships & Norovirus ...
Tis the Season

Celebrity Cruises Constellation is the latest ship to need to have a deep clean following an up tick in the gastrointestinal illness, known as Norovirus on it's 12-night wine tasting cruise to France, Spain and Portugal.   

What happened and who is to blame?

Sanitation Delays Departure

When Celebrity Constellation pulled into port in Southampton, England yesterday (Nov. 6th) the Southampton's Port Health Authority confirmed about 350 passengers had fallen ill with the vomiting and diarrhea bug out of the more than two thousand passengers.  Celebrity Cruises delayed the departure until 8 PM to allow the crew to deep clean 200 affected cabins, identified by the health authority, and all public areas of the ship.

The procedures, that Celebrity Cruises followed, adhere to the guidelines set forth by the international cruise industry.  A statement from Celebrity Cruises said: “A small number of guests experienced a gastrointestinal type illness. We therefore conducted extra cleaning and sanitizing onboard the ship and within the cruise terminal as preventative measures. As a result of the additional cleaning, boarding began at the revised time of 2:00pm yesterday. Our hygiene procedures on-board are comprehensive and always strictly adhered to.”

Who is to Blame

The first inclination when you hear about an outbreak would be to blame the cruise line. Clearly, they have let you down - you expected a healthy cruise, and you got sick.   In fact there's a group of passengers that were on sister cruise line's Independence of the Seas that are suing Royal Caribbean International for £500,000 after contracting norovirus while onboard the ship.

The cruise line is responsible - right?

The cruise line IS responsible  for cleaning the ship and providing the facilities for passengers and crew to maintain proper hygiene onboard the ship.   They do that - you'll notice signs posted in all the rest rooms and crew members pointing out sanitation machines, such as the one in the picture above posted outside the restaurant entrance.  

But, ladies and gentleman - I suspect that YOU are to BLAME.   Did you stop to wash your hands after using the bathroom?   Did you sanitize your hands every time you entered a restaurant onboard the ship.   Did you do so all but one time?   That one time would be enough to kick off this sort of outbreak.

We've just returned from two short cruises on Disney Dream and Carnival Sensation.  On both ships, we noticed the sanitizing materials and signs.  We also noticed many passengers disregarding the signs and avoiding the sanitizing of their hands before entering the restaurant. 

Working together, the cruise lines and passengers could Prevent Norovirus!

USEFUL LINKS ABOUT NOROVIRUS

Facts About Noroviruses on Cruise Ships  -  gastrointestinal (GI) illnesses can be prevented

Wash hands often. Wash hands after using the bathroom or changing diapers and before eating or preparing food.  Use alcohol-based hand sanitizer along with hand washing.

Norovirus outbreaks, when they occur on a cruise ship, always make the news.  The truth is these outbreaks can occur anywhere there are groups of people in a small area such as nursing homes, restaurants, catered events, hotels, and cruise ships.

Vessel Sanitation Program - prevention and control of spread of gastrointestinal (GI) illnesses on cruise ships