seapals2

On 3/18/2021 at 10:40 PM, terrierjohn said:

How many shooters do you think were on the grassy knoll???🤣

Have no idea what your comment means.   🤷‍♀️

12 hours ago, terrierjohn said:

If you, and all other vaccinated passengers boarding, are not infectious when you board, and the crew similarly will have been tested to prove they don't have the virus; just who is going to infect these 15% of passengers?

A test prior to boarding will only be good for that day ..,in a hypothetical world the passenger could have got infected travelling to the ship.  Would not show positive for a day or so.  Probably the reason the cruises are only of short duration to begin.  Then before leaving the ship the passenger could have infected crew ... who would not test positive until a couple of days into the next short cruise but able to infect others.  There can be no guarantees. P&O are just cutting down the risks as much as they possibly can by asking passengers to be fully vaccinated. 

11 hours ago, the english lady said:

The details are also recorded on your health records. If you have the NHS appt you will see it on there a few days later. People lose or forge the cards, so you just open your app and it will show you have had it on there. Ofcourse if it doesnt show that ,then you havent.

I checked the app this evening.  My flu vaccine is there but not my first dose of Astra Zeneca vaccine.  Perhaps this is because i received the jab at a vaccination center although the appointment was generated from my GP surgery.  Something I will check on tomorrow.  However even a screen shot would not be sufficient proof as it would not show my name and date of birth or NHS number.  

10 hours ago, Adawn47 said:

No vaccine is 100% effective. Surely you're not going to worry about 7%?  It has a much higher efficacy than many other vaccines that we rely on, flu for example.

Avril

Against new variants the efficiency drops to around 85%.  This means for every hundred passengers 15 could be at risk.  Hopefully protected against serious illness but never the less will require quarantine should they become infected.  

On 3/3/2021 at 10:09 AM, Josy1953 said:

We have done 2 Round Britain cruises and I would recommend them to anyone who is not concerned about the restrictions that may be imposed on board.

Presumably your previous cruise had port stops.  Only one of the Iona cruises will put into Liverpool. The rest are coastal water sailings. 

We have spent most of the day off and on talking about this topic.  Do we ... don't we .. million dollar question.  Think we have decided to wait and see what Princess bring out as they have promised similar short UK cruises.  Below are the topics that came to mind today.

We feel its to all intents and purpose they are test cruises.  If we sail we will be the Guinea pigs for later sailings and at quite a high price given the short duration on the early Britannia sailings with no option to do back to back. 

Presumably they will save on luggage handling with most passengers opting to do carry on. This will save some time that will be needed for the additional testing and form checking. Even at reduced numbers this will be a lengthy process. 

Vaccines have been shown to be around 85% efficient. However this then means for every 100 passengers 15 are at risk of getting ill. Hopefully protected against serious illness but never the less requiring quarantine.  Some may even need to be put ashore. As yet there is no simple anti body test. you just don't know if you will be in the unlucky 15%. 

Trying to imagine sitting watching a show wearing a mask.  We love the Sanctuary/retreat area but that would be weather permitting and right there is our biggest dilemma. What if we were unlucky and got 3/4 wet days. 

On the plus side just to imagine walking up the gangway again.  Oh bliss. 

The jury is still out!  

I would have asked for compensation too.  Obviously over booked the cruise and not enough flight seats available to fulfil demand.  Part of the selling point with this Caribbean cruise is the fact you fly out on chartered flights.  We did it a couple of years ago and it worked really well.  Coaches met the plane on the tarmac and we were whisked straight to the ship in Barbados.  Onboard in less than an hour from landing.  Would recommend it to anyone doing a Caribbean cruise for the first time .. as there is no luggage handling.  

3 hours ago, alija1960 said:

Also what about quarantine hotels will you still be expected to stay at Southampton for 10 days at £1,700

Not unless ports visited are in countries on the red list.  Right now if you arrive in the uk from a country NOT on the red list you self quarantine for 10 days and have to pre pay before your arrival in the UK for a test package over £200 for a test kit for day 2 and 8 in quarantine.  You can quarantine at your home address or with family.  If you test positive then you have to self isolate for a further 10 days and so do the rest of the people in your household.  Unless these rules change once international travel is permitted you will have to purchase the test kit to bring home before being allowed to disembark.   
 

The excursion ‘bubbles’ is the factor that will prevent us cruising whilst in place.  Coach trips are just not our favourite ... we have done them in China  when independent travel was not the preferred option .. but in general unless they are a transfer only package we prefer to give them a miss.  Being herded from one place to another on a strict clock watching itinerary is not our idea of visiting new places.  

That’s new to me .. but could be the policy in recent times with many cruises being cancelled. 

This isn’t an option in the UK unless the price difference is sufficient to cover the cost of lost deposit on the original booking and rebook.  The best we have done is to complain and hope for a cabin upgrade at no cost.  

With scientists now discussing the likely hood of  booster vaccine (3rd dose) possibly being produced for the autumn to better fight the new variants we will be in a constant state of catch up.  So if vaccination is required will it specify which generation of vaccine you last received.  Impossible!  No one was ever asked if they had received a flu vaccine.  If you were older and sensible it was something you got each year to protect from the current circulating virus and so I guess it will be so for Covid in the coming years. Right now in the UK all flights are banned .. advised to not book any holidays ... cruising is constantly shifting its start up date.  Until we are allowed to visit other countries the only cruise likely is one to ‘nowhere’ a few days out to sea and back.  Wearing a mask 😷.  Don’t think that’s high on my list of holidays as much as I like being onboard a ship.  
Bookings are all about a feel good factor ... you had over your deposit and spend the time day dreaming of life at sea.   If that’s  worth it to you then companies will keep accepting your money on a pipe dream.  The reality might be far different. 

We only went on a couple of evenings.  Disappointed couldn’t just get a discounted glass of wine instead of reduced price cocktails.  The cocktail menu was very limited .. couldn’t even have a regular martini or G&T.  Not that well attended.  

We have had a cabin on D deck and enjoyed the extras but if I could choose would prefer the deck above as the space is outside rather than inside and you have the advantage of half your balcony being covered and not visible from above.  There is no shade on D deck when in full sun.  Always wary of a mug or glass being dropped from above.  Although never heard of any accident caused this way.  
Our worst balcony experience was a mini suite overlooked from the glass walkway on Royal.  ☺️☺️  You really did feel like being in a zoo.  

Reading back on old posts this topic is almost impossible to believe.  

in hindsight I wonder just how much infection was spread back then and we wonder why we are in the mess we are in right now. 
 

just unbelievable .. total negligence.  

Thankfully you are in the fortunate position of having very few cases and your government is swift to act to protect the rest of the community.  
Today the news here is the S African variant is now spreading and the current vaccine although works is probably only 60% effective.   We could soon be in a constant vaccination programme.  Cruising isn’t an option under these circumstances.  Someone could be vaccinated and still take a new variant onboard and crew will be exposed to  very mixed population.  

The whole basis of cruising is to visit different countries.  It’s too early to know if variants will emerge abroad that the current vaccine is not effective against.  Until all countries have got a vaccination programme to equal ours in the UK I am unlikely to risk far off shores.  Australia haven’t even begun a vaccination programme but I expect Australians will want to cruise.  
 

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/03/21/british-couple-felt-forced-go-coronavirus-stricken-cruise-refused/
 

seems it’s not just my thoughts on all of this.  
 

Those passengers were in effect confined to one vessel and as such ‘living with’ the passengers who were starting to show symptoms.  
Medical articles now show that had the Diamond Princess not quarantined passengers to their cabin hundreds more would have actually got infected.  The right thing would have been to have got all the Princess passengers and crew into land isolation but in that instance given the enormous task was not possible.  Even under quarantine conditions the virus spread probably by galley staff.  
In this instance Fred Olsen failed on both counts with their duty of care .. one .. they didn’t test passengers to find out the extent of the spread and two they didn’t confine the rest of the ship to cabins so allowing them to continue to live and eat alongside each other.  
As things stand here in the UK if you are living with somebody who shows symptoms you should isolate for 14 days.  All those passengers should be in isolation right now at home.  
Given a week to 10 days the numbers will speak for themselves.  Totally unacceptable given where we are at right now trying to get the message across to stay at home.  
The average age of passengers on this cruise will be high .. further adding to their risk.  
Had the company been forced to sail back .. possibly 10 day journey.. the medical facilities could not have coped.  The ship’s doctor already sick and in isolation. Probably not even one ventilator onboard.  It would have been sentencing some to possible death.  Have you seen where Italy is right now. 
This ship could be compared to a small town with an elderly population. No policy to keep passengers apart.  Just unbelievable.  

Thankfully passengers have now arrived back in the UK.  However they have not been advised to self isolate ... they will not receive any follow up calls with regard to their health nor have they been offered ANY compensation.  
The passengers should never have been allowed to board the ship.  The Dominican Republic were right in their assumption that it had infected crew onboard.  Passengers were flown to St Maarten and not given the option to return home. It wasn’t until Curacao that Fred Olsen disclosed the positive tests but only tested a handful.  More passengers and crew were isolated over the following days but NO testing.  
The final numbers were given as 20 passengers and 20 crew but almost certainly it would have been higher. 
Right now there has still been no testing of passengers ... !!!!  Totally irresponsible actions of this cruise line will put many more people in the UK at further risk.  
 

http://media.fredolsencruises.com/latest_news

4 of the original 5 positive cases were crew and will presumably stay onboard in isolation.  The other passenger could well be making a recovery and well enough to travel.  The other passengers who are in isolation are hopefully not too ill to travel.  
There has been no quarantine for the rest of the passengers since the first confirmed cases.  So to isolate them now is pointless they almost certainly have all been exposed to the virus and guess many will go on to get symptoms after returning home. 
The BA will try and put the passengers showing no symptoms on separate flights to those with symptoms at present.  There are a few other nationalities and as yet unsure what the plan is for them.  

You have to think this is costing the UK and Fred Olsen a huge payout. 

A huge sense of relief ... hopefully all passengers able to travel home.  No doubt many will find themselves with symptoms in the coming days and weeks but will have the reassurance of hospitals close to home.  Apart from needing transport they should spend little time in Cuba.  Four flights have been arranged with British Airways.  
Our friends onboard showing no symptoms at present but obviously will need to self isolate back at home.  It could have ended so much worse for many of them.  

I understand your point and can see that for the people who live in the Bahamas this ship on their doorstep is the last thing they would want.   I’m sure Japan didn’t relish the thought of aprox 700 cases to deal with in their hospitals.  Thank god they didn’t turn them away.  The world offers them a huge debt of gratitude.  I hope the UK would have responded equally as well.  
If flights were arranged when the ship arrived the majority of the passengers onboard could have been flown home .. they have not been in isolation so no concerns about separating them on the flight now.  I hope there are only a very few that are seriously ill enough to require hospitalisation the rest would require transportation only to the nearest airport.  The help they have offered so far has been the equivalent of throwing a cup of water on a forest fire.  How can any ship possibly take on enough supplies at anchor for a 1000 passengers and crew for a 10 day voyage.  They will be there a week. 
 

it looks like Cuba may be offering support .. the US has already closed airports to Incoming UK flights ... presumably could allow flights out.  

On 3/12/2020 at 10:42 PM, Lottie A said:

Braemar  has now been denied berthing at The Bahamas due to the Covid-19 positive passengers and crew onboard the ship. Sadly I expected this and I'm not sure if any Caribbean island would take the risk of letting passengers disembark the ship on their island now. 

 

If they had headed home across the Atlantic they would be half way here by now. As it is, they are sailing around The Caribbean with nowhere to go. I feel very sorry for the unfortunate passengers and crew onboard. 

Think the ship had to refuel and take on food supplies before being able to sail back.  At anchor that must be a logistical nightmare. 
Announced today latest numbers indicate 20 sick passengers and 20 sick crew which includes the ships doctor!  Extra medical staff to go onboard.  Saying it would take 10 days for this ship to get back.  That’s a long time for the virus to spread.  Additional measures are they have now stopped the theatre shows and they are on TV. Really!  

Why these passengers are not self isolating beats me.  Infection models indicate the spread in a confined environment increases from 2/3 to 14.6.  Ideally they would all be on the way home now to self isolate and have access to hospital care if needed.  
Has the government of the Bahamas really got to wait for a critically ill passenger to die before acting in the only humanitarian way acceptable.  They have benefitted by millions from the cruise industry in the past.  

Today announced there are now 20 ill passengers and 20 ill crew including the ships doctor.  Total 40.