radtel

11 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

This statement is the one that has us cautiously optimistic. You would think the cruise lines would also appreciate the "motivation factor" behind getting more folks "up to date" on their vaccine prior to going on a cruise in the hopes to continually reduce the potential for severe cases being encountered while on the ship.

 

A possible option is for testing requirements to be maintained for unvaccinated passengers, or those who are not “up to date” on COVID-19 vaccines with the appropriate booster shots.

We went to Alaska on the Eclipse, a few weeks ago.  All 4 of us have been vaxed to the max.  All 4, even though all wore n95 mask when possible, got covid.  I am at day 14 and still testing positive. 

I think that cruise lines should make testing mandatory every few days.  That way it would be hard to hide the fact that one has covid on board.  But they won't (it advertises a problem).  We know for a fact that some people self tested (positive) and said 'the hell with it I am going to enjoy this cruise, with or without covid" and went about their normal day.

We were on a Oceania cruise in March were probably half the passengers and crew had covid and were confined to quarters (or escorted off the ship).  Moon suites where everywhere.

I vote for tougher restrictions and safer sailing!

1 hour ago, mjox32 said:

Do you know for sure they tested positive?  I just talked to a very good friend (crew)  on board Riviera now and he said all crew that tests positive are quarantined on board.  He thinks their contract is up and they will be heading home for a break.    

I happened to be standing on our balcony when it all started.  They were all escorted out by the folks in moon suites (along with others in PPE).  There was quite a ruckus.  The picture shows a few plastic bags (there were more).  These contain personal belongings of the dispelled crew members.  The bags were removed from the ship by the moon suite people.

There was a short break while the ousted members talked (some very loudly) about what had just happened (they were given “minutes” to pack and get off) and what would happen next.  The 2 officers in the photo as well as the person in the beige trench coat, explained that they would be taken care of in Marseille until they tested negative.

They were then escorted (some had to almost be dragged off) to awaiting vans and driven off.

This is my observation.  Perhaps I missed something but as a photo journalist, I try not to. 

Just to clarify, the Riviera was in Barcelona on April 4, 2022. 

We saw many people being taken off in Marseille the day before.  Attached is a shot of 6 crew that had tested positive for covid and were escorted off the ship.

We were on deck 11 and saw the moon suite folks visit several cabins close to us.

When I looked at the classic package for my upcoming Celebrity cruise it states "Includes drinks up to $9. A 20% service charge is added to each check".  I have been on Celebrity 8 times and never been charged extra.  Have things changed?

We sailed over Christmas 1991 on her. She had sustained a lot of damage from the previous week's major storm.

Why am I writing this now? We are docked in Aruba beside the Fairwinds and there is a lot of similarities between the 2 (including history).