Friday, March 2, 2012

How to Stay Healthy on Your Spring Break Cruise



Everywhere I turn in the hallway today, I hear “I’m leaving tonight for my cruise!”. In the past few years, concerns about viral gastroenteritis, AKA stomach flu, have occurred in cruise ship travelers, and cruise lines have taken drastic measures to remedy these fears. Crew members constantly clean surfaces such as stair rails and door knobs, and hand sanitizer is available wherever the passenger may turn. However, if you are still concerned about the threat of the stomach flu on your cruise, the CDC operates the Vessel Sanitation Program to prevent viral gastroenteritis on cruise ships. Also, consider advice from the CDC about cruising healthily. The CDC recommends that passengers wash their hands frequently with proper technique, leave the area should they see someone become ill, and make sure to take care of themselves (get enough sleep, drink water, etc). But perhaps most important of all, if you suspect that you, or someone in your family, have stomach flu before embarking on your journey, call the cruise line to ask about changing your vacation dates. This allows you to not only have a more enjoyable cruise, but also prevents the spread of your illness to your fellow passengers. Bon voyage!

Image from http://freeaussiestock.com/free/New_South_Wales/sydney/slides/QEII.htm under Creative Commons

2 comments:

  1. Cool! I think that it was smart how you wrote about something that everyone is talking about in school. I also think that it is smart of the cruise's company to take extra precautions so people do not get sick. Getting sick on a vacation is the worst and having the cruise company take extra precautions is comforting.

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  2. I wonder how many people got stomach flu over winter break. There was a lot going around just before hand. Important question - will the cruise line let you change your tickets because of stomach flu? It is a good way of determining how concerned they really are about their passengers' health.

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