Cruise Bruise Blog
April 28, 2009
April 28, 2009
Was The Cruise Ruined By Swine Flu Or Norovirus?

Many passengers just seem to take it in stride. Yes, Norovirus is a very real possibility on a cruise, but that is just another of the many risks of cruising. No big deal, right?

I am not aboard on that train of thought. When the flu is cruising this town, picking up passengers at every stop along the way, I avoid the places the flu likes to hang out, in crowds.

I shop late a night, or first thing in the morning when there are the fewest people in the store. I fill my panty and freezer early in the season, so flu season shopping can be minimized.

On more than one occasion in my lifetime, I can trace back my infection with the flu to somebody sneezing or coughing on me in the check out line at the grocery store, three days before life became miserable for me, then one by one every member of my family.

I simply do not throw caution to the wind any more, and just willingly rub shoulders among the masses during flu season. It would be the reason I have stayed well so much in recent years, at least when it comes to the flu.

Now, there is the potential pandemic of the Swine Flu. I thought it would be good to take a real close look at the Swine Flu and compare it to Norovirus, since both are running rampant in Mexico.

Take a look at major Norovirus outbreaks aboard cruise ships and you will see many of those cruises went to Mexico. This really is not surprising to those of us who have been to Mexico hundreds of times. Mexico, in general is a very dirty place. Coming home without catching something would be the big surprise.

Don't get me wrong, I am not completely against Mexico nor Mexicans. God knows one of the best times I had my life was in Mexico with a sophisticated,  highly educated, well-spoken, gorgeous, tall, dark, handsome Mexican, with a very unique claim to fame. many, many years ago. Fast forward to 2009.

The symptoms of Norovirus are:
  • Nausea
  • Abdominal pain
  • Abdominal cramps
  • Diarrhea
  • Fever
  • Fatigue

The symptoms of Swine Flu are:
  • Nausea
  • Body Aches
  • Diarrhea
  • Fever
  • Fatigue
  • Cough
  • Sore Throat

Other symptoms associated with the Swine Flu have been runny, gooey eyes and runny nose. Since this is allergy season with all the pollens floating about in full swing, it can be confusing to figure out what is making a person feel so ill.

Last week my toddler grand-daughter had all those symptoms. Was it Swine or allergies and the reaction from the antibiotics for the eye, nose and throat infection? It could be either.

The symptoms between Norovirus and Swine Flu are close enough, that I predict the cruise industry will have ship's doctors telling passengers they have Norovirus when they actually have Swine Flu. Norovirus has become so common place on cruises that the nickname is the "Cruise Ship Virus".

While normally the industry tries to cover up and deny that there was Norovirus aboard, if word gets out that a ship came back into port with Swine Flu cases, given all the publicity about the deaths associated with it, people will be canceling cruises left and right. So, saying it is "only" Norovirus might avoid the bad publicity associated with the Swine Flu.

I am not only person thinking that the cruise industry could very well be a major contributor to the spread of Swine Flu. Carnival Cruise Line stock slid yesterday 13.51% upon fears that potential or already booked passengers on Caribbean cruises will be staying home instead, fearing that infection with the Swine Flu could be fatal.

Apparently, the perception is that not everybody will want to risk life and limb for a few laughs on the high seas. Royal Caribbean Cruise Line stock sank a whopping 16.32% yesterday.

As long as the numbers of the ill stay low, below 3% of passengers, the CDC will not investigate cruise ship illness and the problem stays quiet. The responsible thing for passengers to do is report it. Report it to the ship's doctors, your doctor at home and report it to Cruise Bruise.

The only way to stop a potential pandemic, is to isolate it before it builds up steam. Only the spread of information can do that. Denial is a very dangerous approach, one we can fully expect from the cruise industry.