Anyone recently come home sick from a cruise?

[Mimimommy]

We have a cruise just two weeks out and my excitement is slightly turning into concern. With everything going around I’m getting really nervous and we’re at the point where it’s too late to cancel. I understood the risk of Covid when I booked 6 months ago but I in no way expected that to be piled on with Flu, RSV and Pneumonia

 

[Cheburashka]

We have a cruise just two weeks out and my excitement is slightly turning into concern. With everything going around I’m getting really nervous and we’re at the point where it’s too late to cancel. I understood the risk of Covid when I booked 6 months ago but I in no way expected that to be piled on with Flu, RSV and Pneumonia

Do you go out in public regularly? If so, your chances of getting sick there are the same as on the cruise.

 

[Mimimommy]

Do you go out in public regularly? If so, your chances of getting sick there are the same as on the cruise.

Absolutely, I used to think this way too! We’ve been traveling just fine during the entire pandemic and stayed safe but this season things seem to be a little more escalated. It’s got me a little paranoid that’s all

 

[Chipmunkmaniac]

I read it as homesick from cruising lol. Seriously I have cruised 6 times last year. I never caught COVID though there were plenty in my cruisegroups. I did catch bad colds on about half of those cruises (and tested every time to be sure)

 

[Clarkson U]

Absolutely, I used to think this way too! We’ve been traveling just fine during the entire pandemic and stayed safe but this season things seem to be a little more escalated. It’s got me a little paranoid that’s all

Based on what you wrote - you could take basic precautions:

1. Wear a mask indoor at all times unless eating/drinking/taking a picture
2. Wash hands regularly and for at least 20 seconds
3. Eat outdoors when possible for breakfast or lunch
4. Stay well rested, well hydrated and eat plenty of fruits and vegetables leading up to and on the ship to help give your body natural immunity boosters.
5. Get vaccinated for anything you can that your haven’t yet.

If you have insurance you might be able to cancel for any reason and get your money back or credit for a future sailing.

 

[Mimimommy]

Thanks for the advice guys! We’re all vaccinated and will definitely be masking. I just need to get out of my own head and try to have a good time

 

[Flying Fish]

We hadn't cruised since November of 2019 when we finally went again last November. We watched a lot of friends and neighbors come home sick from cruises. We missed it so much, we decided that if getting sick was the price to pay we would just get sick. We went and came home healthy as can be. We're going next week for another. We're all so programmed to worry about getting sick on cruises that I think the fear just gets in our heads as you say. Wash your hands, live your life, have some fun. If you're too worried, you'll ruin the fun even before you have a chance to get sick.

 

[yowcruiser]

I definitely understand your question and concern.... not trying to be funny but the simple answer to your question is that for as long as cruising has been around... I am pretty sure that at least one person got back home sick.... but then again, a lot of people don't.

Case in point... we sailed 4 times in 2022 and even though there were people around us, especially in August, that weren't feeling well... we were just fine... Yet, when we sailed in 2018, 2019 and 2020 someone in our party would always come back home with a little something (and for all we know, 2020 could have been COVID).

All that to say, there are pretty good responses above around measures one can take while on the ship, in the cruise terminal, in planes and airports and so on, to minimize the odds of getting something.

I know people over the last few weeks who sailed who got sick... and some who didn't

 

[0FF TO NEVERLAND]

If it makes you feel better, I cruised a week ago with Disney. Nobody on the ship had a mask cept maybe 10 people. I didn’t mask. Vaccinated but never boosted. Didn’t get sick from the ship and it was full. Neither did my partner. Same vaccinated but never boosted

I went in 100 percent confident I probably would ( cold, flu, covid ) and accepted that, but didn’t.

Go into the situation excited. Have a great time. Don't worry about sickness the entire time. If you get sick, you'll deal with it like every other time you have been sick, and you'll have a great memory of the cruise trip in the end.

No stress. Enjoy yourself.

 

[CampbellzSoup]

Do you go out in public regularly? If so, your chances of getting sick there are the same as on the cruise.

Agreed.

 

[OKW Lover]

Just to provide some amount of comfort to the OP, my wife and I did 6 cruises in 2022 and did not get sick on any of them.

 

[MomOTwins]

I’ve cruised 4 times since 2021 and got sick once. Though whether it was from the cruise or the pre-cruise flight/hotel stay I couldn’t say for sure. Any vacation you go on, especially, cold and flu season, there is always a risk of getting sick. All you can do is wash hands a lot, wear a mask if you are so inclined, and hope for the best.

 

[RysMomma]

I went cruising back in August and I was petrified that I would come back with covid or that my mom would too. It was all I could think of as we were getting closer to it. But, we masked up indoors and really had SUCH an amazing time. My kids are 12 and 14 and they still can't stop talking about it and it's been four months! Sadly, my son did come home with covid, but we did go to Universal for three days after it and I'm guessing he got it from there. No one else in our cruising party got it!

 

[Princesca]

Not sure if it counts but my SIL and her family came home sick from a cruise, and we visited with them and now we have COVID, and we're pretty sure we got it from them. So it's a real possibility. (But we didn't get the bonus of at least having been on a cruise!)

 

[CisforCookie991]

I'm with you on the sick nervousness. We pushed back this cruise 3 times and we're finally now going. We're fully vaxxed and boosted. In 2022, we finally started traveling again and did a lot of small trips. We got on an airplane 22 times. We masked up everywhere. We did not get covid or anything else on any of those trips. But we did get covid - from the school concert. Also got a couple of other really nasty bugs that the kids brought home from school. My point being that you can get anything anywhere. Like everyone else is saying, try not to think about it and enjoy the trip. I'm certainly going to!

 

[Princesca]

I'm trying to look at our current COVID as a nice shot at hybrid immunity for our spring cruise. Fingers crossed. Not that that helps us with RSV, flu, or any of the other garbage floating around in the air...

 

[Disney mac]

Do you go out in public regularly? If so, your chances of getting sick there are the same as on the cruise.

That is just not true due to the forced indoor space. That being said, live you life and go on the cruise. People get sick all the time. I just got off a cruise and have a sinus infection and would not have changed my experience at all. Just be smart. I was disappointed in Disney for not having more hand sanitizers on board. I would also have liked them to encourage more hand washing before cabanas for sure. There was a LOT of coughing by the end of the cruise going on.

 

[NephieRN]

Our whole family of 6 came home sick from our September cruise. Not covid but another respiratory virus. It started with my 9 month old who I’m almost certain picked it up in the nursery as 2 of the cast members there were visibly sick. Spread through the rest of us over the next few days. But those are the risks we take when traveling even prior to covid. Hasn’t stopped us from traveling multiple times since then.

 

[tvguy]

To OPs question, seems my Facebook feed is full of people in the past 6 weeks or so who have come home sick from a cruise. But no way to know if they were exposed on the ship, the plane (all flew) the airport or tours.
OP, you also left off a very common cruise illness, norovirus. Handwashing, hand sanitizer social distancing and masks certain won't hurt.

 

[RedHead0186]

That is just not true due to the forced indoor space. That being said, live you life and go on the cruise. People get sick all the time. I just got off a cruise and have a sinus infection and would not have changed my experience at all. Just be smart. I was disappointed in Disney for not having more hand sanitizers on board. I would also have liked them to encourage more hand washing before cabanas for sure. There was a LOT of coughing by the end of the cruise going on.

Agreed. Cruise ships were known for being 'petri dishes' well before COVID. I'm not saying don't go on a cruise, that's everyone's personal choice. But saying going on a cruise is the same as going out in public isn't really correct (and what does "in public" mean? Going to the grocery store? Walking down the street? Visiting with friends?).

DCL does a good job of trying to stop the spread of germs, COVID or otherwise, but it's still a risk due to the nature of cruising. People need to decide for themselves (and also decide what precautions to take). (And FWIW, cast members did encourage hand washing at Cabanas when I cruised in September).