Spend a little time on a cruise ship, and you’ll notice how germ-phobic the seafaring class seems to be. From the ever-present dispensers of Purell hand sanitizer to the employees offering antiseptic towelettes at the all-you-can-eat-buffet, they look as if they could show Howard Hughes a good time.
NORWALK VIRUS
The debut of two brand-new new cruise ships — Cunard’s Queen Elizabeth earlier this fall and Royal Caribbean’s massive 16-deck Allure of the Seas in December — coincides with the beginning of “wave period,” a time of year when most people book their cruise vacations.
I probably shouldn’t be writing this. I have a 102-degree fever, but I can’t sleep. That Peggy Lee song is going through my head. Over and over. You know which one.
No one wants to be stricken by a nasty gastrointestinal virus on a cruise. So to keep the traveling public informed, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention inspects ships and publishes the results. A score of 85 or lower is consider a “fail.”
Elliott is consumer advocate 
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