You're kind of both right. The virus isn't airborne in the same way that the influenza virus is when you cough or sneeze. Not to be too graphic here but...you gotta be in the same room a someone who is actively projecting the virus...from either end...if you catch my drift...
So if you're in the bathroom with someone who has noro and has the runs and/or is throwing up, then the contaminated liquid can splash or being aerosolized with a flush, and then someone can be infected by actually ingesting the virus particles.
It's not true inhalation, it's actually ingestion, and it's unlikely that you would get an airborne infection from, say, walking through Cabana's while a sick person is in there. But if you walk into a bathroom where someone is throwing up, there's a potential to get sick. And, as always, surfaces are the most likely culprits.
I used to always use the wipes that they had by the drink stations in the buffet to wash up after getting my food and before eating (& also after touching the drink dispenser also), but they had removed these on my recent Wonder cruise. They had also removed the wipes at the outside drink station, but when I mentioned to the hotel officer that I missed them, they appeared back (at least for the rest of the cruise)! I also mentioned that I missed them inside the buffet, but they never returned there so I used my own that I carry with me.
