How to avoid the Norovirus on a cruise ship

This is one of those subjects that tends to gain and lose prominence in the media and the public consciousness depending on what else is going on. However for some reason I’ve had a lot of passengers calling me lately worried about it on their cruise ship. They have been, quite rightly, worried about catching this and not being able to enjoy the cruise. The funny thing is with just a few simple precautions there really isn’t any reason for this to spoil your cruise holiday.


First of though, what is the Norovirus?

The norovirus isn’t actually one virus. It is a group of viruses that are the most common cause of gastroenteritis in the UK. Symptoms can include nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea and in a small number of cases fever, headache, stomach ache and aching limbs.

Cruise ships can get a bit of bad press when it comes to the norovirus but I think it’s important to point out it’s not the cruise lines fault. It’s not that cruise ships are ‘dirtier’ than other holidays, (in fact the opposite is true), it’s just that in any enclosed environment people are going to be at a higher risk of catching and passing on the norovirus.

The norovirus is spread very easily from person to person, from handshakes, body contact or even touching a surface that someone else with the virus has touched. The pity is that with a few simple steps is fairly easy to avoid.

So how to avoid it....
First of all it should go without saying you need to wash your hands as often as you can. You don't need to go overboard, (no pun intended), just before and after dinner and obviously after you go to the toilet will be fine.
The second big step is you can take in prevention is to bring along some alcohol gel. Bring one of the little travel bottles with you and use it whenever you feel it's appropriate; after the toilet perhaps, or after using a railing going down the stairs. I've one past passenger who tells me she uses it every time she shakes hands with someone.
Not sure how popular you'd be if you kept doing this but she's got a point - She's never been ill on a cruise ship.
The last thing to consider is your environment. As I've said cruise ships are always kept spotlessly clean, but if you're worried about something mention something to the head steward. They wont be offended it's what their there for and they'll be quite happy to send some along for you. After all they don't want  norovirus on the ship either, they have to live there!

So have any of you any experiences of the norovirus on a cruise ship? Were you looked after? Or are you one of the lucky ones who have never caught it? If so what steps do you normally take?

Happy cruising