Use these simple precautions on planes, trains, in hotels, on a cruise ship to stay healthy next time you travel:
With cruise season to Alaska and Europe hitting full-throttle, it brings with it the Norovirus (the 24-48 hour stomach flu with symptoms of vomiting, nausea, diarrhea, chills and weakness). Most ships sailing the waters off North America, and many in Europe, will have hand-sanitizer stations. Not all do and not everyone uses them.
Keep yourself healthy on your upcoming cruise by observing a few of the following germ-avoiding tactics:
- When you first arrive at your cabin, put on your rubber gloves.
- Spray or wipe everything down with a disinfectant product (such as Lysol or Clorox). Make sure to get door handles, walls, floors, ceilings, beds, shower curtains, phones, remotes, etc.
- Remove the bedspread and place in the closet. Leave the cabin steward a note to leave the bedspread off for the entire cruise (you’d be horrified with the nasty things on those bedspreads).
- Ask the cabin steward to put an extra sheet on the top of your blanket (who knows when it was last cleaned)—known as triple sheeting.
- If you go to the buffet, use one hand for handling the tongs and the other hand for eating food. You don’t know where other hands have been.
- Food that is cooked will typically be safer to eat than food that isn’t—remember that the Norovirus often comes from food-handling staff who don’t wash their hands properly (if at all) after using the toilet.
- Wash your hands frequently and keep them away from your mouth, eyes, and nose.
You may think these tips are over-much and paranoid, but think how much you spent for your cruise and why you’re there—you’re probably not on vacation to spend 2-5 days locked up in your cabin, only making friends with the toilet.
