January 26, 2014. Norwegian Star. Cleanliness.

This ship is making extraordinary efforts to keep people healthy, and for good reason. A sister ship of the Norwegian Line, came into port last week with 100 ill guests and the Caribbean Cruise Line arrived in Fort Lauderdale today with 300 guests with the flu. The cruise industry is working hard to try and keep us safe. Before entering any restaurant, the staff sprays each person’s hand with a disinfectant. Every elevator has containers to have guests use the anti bacterial cleanser. The Market Café is a buffet serving food breakfast, lunch and dinner, but now the staff spoons the food onto the plates. Guests are not allowed to handle the utensils. The same is true in the salad bar in the Brazilian steak house. Even the coffee must be given to us, even though the drinks are all designed to be self service. The increase in the staffing must be enormous for the cruise line but for the guest it means we must wait a bit. Every time the ship is in port, the whole ship is disinfected, from top to bottom. Ken and I have our own system. We never use the gym. We try to stay away from crowds or people. And we wash our hands frequently. So far we are healthy, and so is the ship, even though Ken and I are a bit anti social. Our efforts are working.