Having been on dozens of cruises over the past couple of years, I generally only get sick in one circumstance. When I cruise with friends who have a young child, I tend to get a cold when I get off the ship.
I suspect that has nothing to do with the cruise but everything to do with me being exposed to germs that adults who do not have a child in school do not generally experience.
Related: Why it's harder to win in Royal Caribbean and Celebrity casinos
In November, however, on the first sailing of Celebrity Equinox out of Port Canaveral, I had my first-ever onboard illness. I still think it was food poisoning, but the cruise line treats anything gastrointestinal pretty much the same way.
Overall, the onset of my illness was part of a comedy of errors. I went to the coffee shop late in the afternoon to dictate a story on my phone. In order to not disturb other passengers, I picked a table that was somewhat remote.
In dictating my story, I got quite animated. I was holding my phone in one hand and waving it around quite a bit. That, of course, led to me knocking over an entire hot latte.
My pants were soaked, my thighs were mildly burned, and thankfully enough, coffee had splashed on my shirt that it was fairly clear that I had spilled something on myself and had not wet my pants. After alerting a staff member to the mess, I returned to my room and put on a new pair of pants.
I then returned for a second coffee and decided to move to the martini bar for something a little stronger. It was late afternoon or early evening, and my work day was done.
That seemed like a reasonable time for a gin martini, which I ordered and sipped slowly.
After I finished my drink, I went back to my room, planning to get my wallet so I could hit the casino. As I got close to my cabin, my stomach began to feel a bit off.
I had just barely entered the room and gone to the bathroom when I threw up for the first time in roughly 18 years. (I remember the previous time because it was tied to a Super Bowl trip where my wife and then 2-year-old were home battling a horrible stomach bug that I caught the second I got back).
Sign up for the Come Cruise With Me newsletter to save money on your next (or your first) cruise.
Image source: Dan Kline/Come Cruise With Me
What happens when you get sick on a cruise ship?
After that unpleasant episode, my body overall seemed to decide that no food should stay inside of me. I will spare you the details, but I am glad I was not sharing a cabin with anyone else.
For a few hours, I was kind of a prisoner of the bathroom and threw up two more times. The third was by far the worst, and after it happened, I felt about 90% better.
I drank a very large, very expensive bottle of Room Service Evian slowly and decided to self-quarantine for the rest of the night.
In the morning, I felt better but needed to alert the cruise line that I was not going to be able to come to a ceremony the next day, which would’ve meant leaving the ship and getting back on. That requires a special pass, and you have to say that you have not had any gastrointestinal issues within the past 24 hours.
Even though I now felt fine and was pretty sure it was a food poisoning episode, my email to the cruise line set off a chain of events.
The medical office called my cabin and insisted that I come in for a visit. I did, and they took my blood pressure, which was actually good even though it can sometimes trend toward being a little high, and gave me an antibiotic as well as a generic version of Imodium.
I was also given a Covid test, which, since they never mentioned it again, I have to assume was negative.
Celebrity Cruises asked me to isolate
Even though I did not believe I was ill and had not had any symptoms since the previous night, I was asked to isolate for the final day of the cruise.
That might be a big deal for someone taking a once-in-a-year vacation, but given that I had multiple cruises booked before the end of the year, I wasn’t overly upset.
A member of the crew called me to see what I needed and sent up a large box of water and ginger ale. I wasn’t overly hungry, but they kept calling and offering me Room service, so eventually, I ordered some rice and some chicken soup, both of which stayed in the right place.
I was told that someone would call me that night to arrange escorting me off the ship the next morning. That never happened, and I was told when I called the next morning to just see myself off.
That was the only part of the process I found a little bit frustrating because if the goal was to actually prevent exposure for other passengers, my standing in the self-debarkation line most certainly did not accomplish that.
Overall, the cruise line was very accommodating, and actually, my only complaint (aside from the chicken soup not being very good) was that they called too often. Every time I tried to rest, it seemed like someone else had called to offer me something for free.
ALSO READ: Top travel agents share how to get the best price on your cruise
That was very generous, but at a certain point, I just wanted to go to bed. If you get sick on a cruise ship, please visit medical in order to be respectful of your fellow passengers.
Yes, that might mean spending some of your vacation in isolation, but the cruise line is protecting you, your fellow passengers, and itself as all steps are taken to prevent spread.
Are you taking a cruise or thinking about taking one? Visit our Come Cruise With Me website to have all your questions answered.
