Cruise Ship Passengers Should Never Touch Rails For This Scary Reason

Cruises are a great holiday time and many treat cruise ship leisure as a great time for partying hair down. But amidst the glee, touching the staircase rails of a cruise ship with bare hands may end up spoiling the nice journey.

According to a veteran cruise, that “one thing” cruisers should never do if they want a pleasant cruise journey. It is a health tip.

Veteran cruiser Dave Dutton offers this rare tip in his book “How to be a Crafty Cruiser.” In the book, Dutton urges all cruisers to refrain from touching the cruise ship’s staircase rail for a nasty reason.

The reason is that it will put the health of a passenger at risk who may be covered under lucrative cruise deals.

“Healthwise, I avoid touching the staircase rail with my bare hands if at all possible - especially if there is an outbreak of norovirus on board,” said Dutton.

According to cruise news, Norovirus is a stomach virus known as the “winter vomiting bug.” This cruise ship sickness causes stomach pain, vomiting, and diarrhea.

As per the NHS advisory, symptoms of Norovirus start in a day or two of being infected and include giddiness, diarrhea and incessant vomiting. The temperature will also flare up with a crippling headache followed by aching of arms and legs.

Unhygienic touch

Adds Dutton: “I realize this will be difficult for lots of people and I am not suggesting that you do the same but it makes me cringe when I see people running their hands down the rail.”

Sounding out the risk warning, the veteran says “when you think of all the people who touched rail before you: people who may not have washed their hands after using the loo or people with colds; it makes sense to have as little contact as possible with the bare surface.”

However, Dutton adds that he does not apply this rule to lifts. “In a lift, I always use my knuckle to quickly tap the floor button,” the experienced cruiser wrote.

Royal Caribbean passenger airlifted

Meanwhile, a Royal Caribbean passenger was airlifted from the Anthem of the Seas on Sunday.

The ship's captain urged the U.S. Coast Guard station at Elizabeth City, North Carolina to arrange for an airlift to save an ill passenger.

A helicopter airlifted an elderly male patient along with his wife and the ship's doctor 60 miles southwest of Cape Hatteras on Sunday evening.

Per the Coast Guard news release, the patient faced internal bleeding and was admitted to Vidant Medical Center in Greenville aboard an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter.

According to details from CruiseMapper, the cruise ship was on a journey from Brooklyn, New York and sailing to Port Canaveral in Orlando, Florida. It had planned visits at CocoCay, Royal Caribbean’s private island in the Bahamas and Nassau before being back in New York on Saturday.