Don’t let shipboard viruses put family cruise plans in dry dock

Youan’t miss them on cruise ships. Cleaning crews silently make the rounds, using disinfectants to wipe down elevator buttons, handrails, doorknobs, bathroom counters and other places identified by public health officials as “high-touch.”

“These places are cleaned several times an hour, sometimes every 10 minutes,” says Michael Sheehan, a spokesman for Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises. “For some crews, this is all they do.”

Pool staffers politely remind parents that toddlers in diapers and other children who aren’t potty trained can’t go in the water. On turnaround days, additional members of the cleaning staff come aboard.

“The ships are cleaner than they’ve ever been,” says Disney Cruise Line spokesman Mark Jaronski.

All of this is part of the continuing effort, coordinated by public health officials, to combat widely publicized outbreaks of gastrointestinal illnesses aboard cruise ships. In recent months, hundreds of people have come down with a highly contagious stomach virus on more than 20 cruise ships. Vessels operated by Carnival, Disney and Holland America have been among those hit.

Parents are starting to wonder whether it’s safe to cruise with children.

More than 700,000 children a year go on cruises, the Cruise Lines International Assn. reports. That number has doubled in the last few years. Carnival alone expects to host 400,000 kids this year. Disney typically carries 1,000 kids on each cruise, and those children push every elevator button they see, run their hands across railings and grip controls in the ships’ sprawling arcades.

The good news is that public health officials give the cruise industry high marks for its efforts to stem the spread of illness, from carefully sanitizing toys in the children’s centers each day to steam-cleaning carpets and replacing pillows.

“There’s no question it’s safe to cruise and to take kids on a ship,” says David Forney, chief of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s vessel sanitation program. “I’d take my family.”

Public health officials are also quick to note that the outbreaks aren’t the cruise industry’s fault.

“You’re as likely to get this on land as on a ship,” says Dr. Elaine Cramer, the CDC epidemiologist who wrote the agency’s most recent report on the outbreaks. (Visit www.cdc.gov/nceh/vsp for updates.)

There have been recent outbreaks of the virus, which is characterized by vomiting, diarrhea and cramps, in hospitals and day-care centers, resort areas and military facilities -- wherever crowds congregate in close quarters. There also have been outbreaks in Canada and Europe.

The bad news is that the virus, which typically runs its course in a few days, spreads easily from person to person and through indirect contact, from surfaces touched by someone who has it. That’s why it’s so important for those who are sick to isolate themselves and for everyone (especially kids, who put things in their mouths and touch anything they can) to wash their hands frequently, even every couple of hours.

Antibacterial hand sanitizers won’t do the trick. “Our choice is soap and warm water,” Forney says. “Parents should be vigilant about hand washing wherever they take their kids, on land or on ships.”

Kids aren’t any more likely to get sick than adults, says Dr. Leonard Weiner, a spokesman for the Academy of Pediatrics and a pediatrics professor at the State University of New York at Syracuse. But he says that any time a young child suffers a gastrointestinal illness, he can be more at risk for dehydration.

“When babies don’t feel well, they don’t want to eat or drink,” Weiner says. “It’s easier to reason with older kids.”

If you’re traveling with a young child, stash some Pedialyte or another oral rehydration solution in your luggage, Weiner suggests. And seek medical attention as soon as the baby gets sick.

If someone in your gang catches this bug just before you’re supposed to leave, postpone the trip, health officials urge. Travel insurance, always a good idea when heading out of the country, will guarantee you a refund. In other cases, work with your travel agent to get one. Remember: The cruise ships don’t want you to bring the virus on board.

Disney Cruise Lines now distributes letters at the pier asking passengers not to board if they’ve had symptoms. Passengers are offered a comparable vacation at Disney theme parks or on a future cruise, Disney’s Jaronski says.

Check with the CDC or your cruise line the week before you sail to see if there have been any recent outbreaks on your ship.

Taking the Kids appears twice a month. E-mail Eileen Ogintz at eileen@takingthekids.com.