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Your regular health insurance policy may or may not cover you when you're traveling outside the country — or will only cover some but not all of your expenses. Some insurance plans, like Medicare, won't cover you outside the U.S. except for a few specific emergency circumstances. A travel insurance policy with good medical coverage can make up the difference or reimburse you for medical bills your regular insurance won't. You'll be charged a fee for service if you need to visit a physician or nurse during your cruise. Cruise ships don't file insurance claims, so you'll have to do that directly with your insurance company once you're home.
Cruise Ship Norovirus Outbreaks
Passengers who experience norovirus symptoms like vomiting and diarrhea should notify staff and follow recommended precautions, per the CDC. According to the CDC, the most common settings for norovirus outbreaks are health care facilities, restaurants or catered events, schools, day cares and, of course, cruise ships. Norovirus — marked by diarrhea, vomiting, nausea and stomach pain — is to blame for more than 90 percent of diarrheal disease outbreaks on cruises, according to the CDC.
Norovirus outbreaks 2022 reports
The simple answer is that cruise ships are required to report cases of acute gastroenteritis to the CDC, even when the numbers are low. In contrast, other entities — schools, nursing homes, hospitals and restaurants — are not. On all three vessels, norovirus was determined as the cause of the illness.
Common Health Concerns During Cruise Travel and what You Can Do to Prevent Illness
Most recently, a norovirus outbreak in June on the Viking Neptune sickened 110 passengers (over 13% of the ship's guests) and nine crew members with vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal cramps, according to the CDC. The CDC has tracked outbreaks of gastrointestinal illness on cruise ships through its Vessel Sanitation Program (VSP) since 1994. In 2012, the number of reported illness outbreaks on cruise ships was 34. The total number of infected was 5542 (of those 5079 passengers and 463 crew). In 2013, the number of reported illness outbreaks on cruise ships was 22.
The outbreak aboard the 54,700-gross-ton Silver Nova, which just entered service in August 2023 and was officially christened in January 2024, is not the first illness reported to the CDC so far this year. Increased cleaning and disinfection protocols have also been implemented onboard, particularly for high-contact surfaces and public areas. It's advisable to bring emergency supplies with you when you cruise because you never know what might happen. You'll want to pack essential over-the-counter medications, such as ibuprofen, aspirin, antacids and allergy medications. If you think you may need any of these medicines during your vacation, you'll want to have them on hand, so you won't need to pay high prices on the ship or schedule a consultation with a doctor in order to get them. The trained staff at the ship's medical center can handle injuries, such as broken bones or deep cuts that require stitches.
As post-pandemic travel surges and millions of Americans return to cruise ships, an increasing number of cruise lines are reporting outbreaks at sea. The Vessel Sanitation Program (VSP) requires cruise ships to log and report the number of passengers and crew who say they have symptoms of gastrointestinal illness. Learn more about illnesses and outbreaks reported to VSP and find information about outbreaks of gastrointestinal illness on cruise ships. The CDC's "Vessel Sanitation Program" is for monitoring illness outbreaks on passenger ships carrying 100 or more guests on sailings from 3 to 21 days in length.
C.D.C. Investigating Gastrointestinal Illness on Luxury Cruise Ship
In cases where outbreaks are particularly severe, subsequent sailings could be canceled to allow for more thorough sanitization. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is monitoring a disease outbreak aboard Silversea Cruises’ Silver Nova, with a total of 29 cases reported during the current 16-night sailing. Silver Nova from Silversea Cruises has a gastrointestinal outbreak onboard but no delays have been reported for her next cruise.
Nearly 30 Silverseas cruise passengers fall ill with diarrhea at sea
They can also injure themselves or become ill enough that they need to return home. The ship left San Francisco for Honolulu on Wednesday and was traveling off the west coast of the United States on Thursday, according to the ship-tracking website Cruise Mapper. Get Reader’s Digest’s Read Up newsletter for more travel, cleaning, humor, tech and fun facts all week long.
How common is norovirus on cruise ships? Here’s why you shouldn’t worry
Princess' website clearly states that charges for medical services will be added to your shipboard account and that guests will receive an itemized bill to send to their insurance company. Holland America's medical centers are also well-equipped to care for guests that need immediate medical attention, much like an urgent care center at home. Their ships have X-ray machines, and the medical teams are trained to operate radiology and lab equipment. Most cruise lines, including those mentioned above, can perform various tests, as needed, as part of the medical services offered. These include testing for COVID-19, flu, strep or other suspected illnesses. One high-profile outbreak took place in 2014, when 595 passengers and 50 crew members aboard Royal Caribbean’s Explorer of the Seas fell ill with bouts of vomiting and diarrhea, forcing the ship to return early to New Jersey.
It hits 1 in 5 people annually and is the cause of ~50% of all foodborne illness outbreaks in the USA and for ~90% of all non-bacterial gastroenteritis worldwide. The following statistics show the number of cruise ship illness outbreaks in recent years. You can compare the number of reports (CDC and news media sources) and the total number of infected (passengers and crew). During that time frame, approximately 127 million passengers sailed on the 252 cruise ships under VSP jurisdiction. Of those 127 million cruisers, 26,450 reported symptoms of gastrointestinal illness while on board. It sounds like a large number, but it amounts to just 0.02% (two one-hundredths of one percent) of cruisers throughout those 14 years, with the total number of cases decreasing from 4,507 in 2006 to 1,201 in 2019.
This makes diseases on cruise ships more easily noticeable and traceable than in other areas. Shipboard hospitals as facilities and equipment vary by cruise line and vessel. Clinic's size usually depends on the ship's capacity (passengers plus crew). Generally, bigger and newer ships offer larger and better-equipped medical facilities and are served by bigger infirmary staff. "If the next group of travelers comes aboard with a substantial number of infected people, this can cause an outbreak all over again," he says.
Cruise passengers struck down by sickness bug on Silversea cruise - The Independent
Cruise passengers struck down by sickness bug on Silversea cruise.
Posted: Wed, 17 Apr 2024 18:11:34 GMT [source]
"The decision not to allow the cruise ship access to the quay was taken in order to avoid any health risks," the authority said in a statement. It can survive for long periods of time on surfaces and is resistant to common disinfectants. Read on to discover some common illnesses you can pick up on a cruise — and what you can do to help keep yourself healthy on your next getaway. It operates hospital ships since 1978 and also has currently the world's largest hospital ship (excluding navy vessels) - MV Africa Mercy.
Cruise Hive was established back in 2008 and among the earliest blogs in the industry. Since the start, it's been our aim to provide the latest cruise news covering all the major cruise lines. We make sure cruisers are fully prepared for their cruise vacation with tips on ships and ports.Millions of travelers rely on Cruise Hive in the United States, Europe, Australia, and around the world. Illnesses are a natural part of any group population, even on a cruise ship. If you do get sick, it isn’t the fault of the cruise ship or crew, as there are many health and sanitation protocols in place to keep cruise ships as clean and healthy as possible.
Newspaper headlines have blared the names of highly contagious bugs - most notably, the Norwalk virus - that most people had never heard of. And for anxious travelers who once thought of cruise ships as a welcome oasis from the fears and hassles of airline travel, they're now thinking twice, or at least taking a few more precautions before they stroll up the gangplank. Wherever there are large groups of people, there is the potential for any contagious disease to spread. This is true on cruise ships, and different outbreaks of norovirus, influenza, coronaviruses, salmonella, rhinoviruses, and other quick-spreading diseases do occasionally happen among cruise ships passengers and crew.
Nearly 30 people aboard a luxury cruise liner known for its phenomenal cuisine have fallen ill thanks to a gastrointestinal outbreak that swept through the ship. If you'd like to check out the outbreak information, you can find a detailed list of ships that have had acute gastroenteritis outbreaks (many of which were caused by norovirus), listed by year, about halfway down the CDC's outbreak page. Cruise lines employ crews dedicated to keeping public areas and high-touch surfaces clean. Galley crews and waiters receive extensive training on food safety and handling.
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