Food poisoning at sea

[happy daze john in oz]

I thought about this when reading another posting.

Modern shipping in particularly cruising always has stories in the news of 'ill health' at sea.
Nor Virus is the biggest virus around on such ships.
Very often brought onboard by bloods who have gone ashore and eaten or drunk id some very suspect establishments.

But I think back to our time at sea and some of the things that happened in the hospitality side of liners.

On UCL tourist bloods only got one clean cloth serviette per day, put out at lunch.
There was a ring into which the serviette was put at the end of the meal ready for the next meal.

But how many times did they get mixed up. A guy opens his to see lipstick on it, or curry stains when he or she did not have any

Then the practice of 'fixing' food for bloods that were considered to be a pest.
Silver plate cleaning powder in Tomato soup, steaks pissed on or kicked around the galley deck.

Food spat on, piss in the coffee pots, but for all of this there were never any viral outbreaks.

Were the people fitter then, or so immune to disease it made no difference to them?

Maybe personal hygiene was better then, amazing the number of females who do not wash their hands coming out of the Loo.
But for you guys on deck or engine you had none of this frivolity!!!!!

[Johnny Kieran]

We've just come back from a cruise that had this bad belly thing going around. It's been about the forth cruise that we've seen it, and I hate it. I think we've finished with cruising now after our next one in August, already paid for.
I think there's so much hand washing going on, that people are losing the immunity they acquired during their lives.
Up until the covid thing, I'd never experienced this bad belly thing before on ships and I've been on plenty of cruises over the last twenty years. Even back in the MN days there were never so many people in one ship, all living so close to each other.
On the last cruise, my Mrs had a bad tummy one night, after eating some crap for dinner. To be safe I rang the medical to report it, just in case. They immediately told me we were to isolate for two days and not to leave the cabin. I told them it may not be the virus thing, but they said it was them that diagnose it and that's how it is.
They phoned our cabin every bloody hour to see we were not escaping. My Mrs had no more tummy problems, but we stayed in like good people anyway.
I was aware of lots of people also isolated, so it was a bit like being in the nick at times.
Before this happened to us, I observed in the buffet, the staff touching certain things that were not cleaned, things like those tapes that they pull out to shut off certain sections of the buffet. It was like a habit, they all grabbed it as they walked by, or stood talking together.
Anyway, that's my moan done about cruising. I just hope our last one is OK. Think I'll buy a caravan for holidays.

[Doc Vernon]

Certainly not disputing your Post John, but things must have changed a wee bit then, as when i was at Sea , we had to put out New and Clean Hand Napkins at each Meal in those Rings .
Would have been shot if caught using the same ones more than once. In recall this especially when there were the 2 Sittings of 14 Bloods at each sitting, it was at times a nightmare running around trying to get new clean Napkins!
Cheers

[Des Jenkins]

Hi Johnny
If you buy a caravan go down to Three Cliffs on the Welsh coast, loveliest place in the UK.
On saying that, Covid came into Sydney via a cruise ship which the stupidest woman Premier ever to sit in our Parliament allowed to berth , the ship was a hot bed of a decease she knew nothing about, but she allowed it to berth before it was inspected, the Covid spread like wildfire after she let the passengers go home. all around Australia and overseas.
Des

[happy daze john in oz]

Yes Vernon, but in the tourist gallop there was not enough time to check all the very small details.
Too many scrub outs, and all the other stuff. Made even worse by the second steward who made us think it was out of his pocket that the cost for food came.
Some bloods were just too much for some of the lads, rude, come late for first sitting meals making it hard to set in time for second?
Then some of the cooks in tourist were not always helpful when you had a bloody infuriating blood at your table.

But overall kit was only a few who were subject to the 'rough' food treatment.

AASs to cruising now we only go with 'Princess' and since the pandemic have become very strict with a number of things.
Now a wash basin as you enter the self service, try to enter without using it at your peril. Not just a crew member on your back and any of the other bloods will be after you.

[Johnny Kieran]

We're off on the Sky Princess in August, been on it before and found it better than P&O. P&O have gone down the pan over the last few years. We've done about 25 cruises with them, could be more, but I think there'll be no more, unless they offer us a freebee of course.
There used to be something nice about cruising, sort of luxury, being looked after, nice food, all those kind of things. But P&O have become a bit like Butlins, but not quite as good.
I suppose most cruise lines are going the same way, due to the numbers of passengers they squeeze in. When I'm having a moan, and telling other people we meet how it was while cruising 10 years ago, they seem quite shocked at the changes. Mind you, it's the same with most things these days, the fatcats have got to make loadsamoney at any cost.

[James Curry]

Something I always made sure of at sea, never upset the man that feeds you, if you enjoyed a meal only took a few seconds out of my day to thank the cook and catering staff, If it rubbish just keep your gob shut.
Only time I ever got really bad food poisoning was when my Ham & Mushroom omelette got special attention.
Put me in hospital for 10 days in Trinidad. I flew up to rejoin the ship at Perth Amboy in the States.
The cook met me as I came up the gangway and appolgised, stupid bastrad told me the one I got was meant for the Chief Officer.
I got my own back as the Trini crew thought it was funny. They were not laughing for long. The Trinis love what they call fish tea. Amazing what a good squirt of Silver Nitrate into the big ern of fish tea will do.
The cook pleaded to get off as the crew told him he was going for a swim.
Someone must have left a bottle of silver nitrate beside the ern in the massroom

[John Arton]

Never been on a cruise and most likely never will, just not my cuppa tea.
Regarding food poisoning, I was on the empress of Canada in the early 70's and as part of night rounds with the master at arms at 02:00, we had to pass through the galley and the state of it made me wonder how the whole ship wasn't down with Delhi belley. Ranges covered in burnt on grease, soup urns never cleaned, just topped up daily, pastry chef stores with sacks of flower open and broken eggs all over the place. The entire area was a health hazard even before the staff turned in.
Rgds
JA