Bed bugs are a menace because once you have them, they spread quickly.
And for the hospitality industry, even when incidents are minor and well-contained, the publicity is bad because nobody wants to risk bringing the pesky critters home.
That's why multiple reports of bed bugs on the Las Vegas Strip led to a wave of bad press, even though the casino operators that had the incidents actually did a really good job controlling the problem.
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In the case of the Las Vegas incidents, it was four reported cases over three months where each of four hotels had a single case. So the bed bugs most likely came with the travelers rather than the hotels.
But even a single bed bug is a bit like someone having a coughing fit on a cruise ship. The person coughing may know that they swallowed a pretzel that's scratching their throat, but many nearby passengers assume covid, the flu or norovirus.
Bed bugs on a cruise ship would be a significant problem because cabins are very tightly spaced and people generally are in close quarters. Just like the very rare cases where norovirus has spread on a cruise ship, the problem can go from an isolated incident to infestation very quickly.
Like bed bugs, however, rumors spread very quickly. That's why Carnival Brand Ambassador John Heald addressed some concerns he has seen on various message boards and social-media sites.
Image source: Shutterstock
Bed bugs are everywhere
Bed bugs are a global problem, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"Bed bugs are in five-star hotels and resorts. How clean a place is does not determine whether bed bugs are present," the federal agency says.
Bed bugs, based on their long, flat shape, are very good at hiding, and they can go long periods without feeding on blood (like a sort of mini-vampire).
"Bed bugs bite people and animals at night while they sleep, feeding on their blood. ... Bed bugs are not known to spread diseases to people. However, they cause irritation, itching, and loss of sleep," the CDC added.
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In rare cases, when people are allergic, more serious reactions can occur.
Carnival tries to shut down passenger concerns
"There's very few things that get my hair itchy. One of those is when people post things, never on my page, but on other pages, that are simply not true," Heald shared in a Facebook video.
When a false post goes up, Heald gets hundreds of emails and Facebook messages asking if the news is true.
"Some of you write to me and say, it's disgusting, how do you let this happen? One of those things that I'm talking about is how someone posted about something that was allegedly on one of the ships," he said.
Heald declined to share the name of the ship in question.
"Apparently, according to this person, the ship had, and I quote, 'an infestation of bed bugs and 150 of you wrote to me saying 'is it true?' and 'Why aren't we doing anything," he continued.
Heald said that none of the messages came from people actually on the ship in question saying that they had a problem.
"Before I say anything, let me say this, we have protocols in place, the strictest protocols," he explained. "If anybody makes an allegation, our brilliant housekeeping staff, our public health officers, do what they do, and nine times out of 10 nothing is found and there is no problem. If there is, we have protocols in place to take care of it immediately."
In this case, that's not what happened.
"Somebody alleged on another cruise Facebook page that on the ship they were on was, and I quote, 'infested with bed bugs," Heald added.
The brand ambassador explained that he wrote to the hotel director, who shared three things with him.
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"Number one, there is no guest of that name currently nor has there ever been on that ship. Secondly, here is what the hotel director wrote to me 'We do not have any issues with bed bugs onboard,'' he said.
The hotel director also said that the pictures that were part of the post were not taken on a Carnival ship.
"It's my job to set the record straight," Heald added. "Please, take a look, think, before you accuse me or anybody of this kind of thing happening."
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