Would you wear masks survey

[drsel]

Don't worry SARS and MERS are not troubling us any more

[Gracie115]

2 hours ago, Doubt It said:

Will not cruise if masks are required, or mandatory cruise line only shore excursions.

 

 

 

 

Right now we would be happy to do both....we would be happy to cruise to nowhere and back right now......;😊

[true45]

I do wear a mask when shopping etc but with all the precautions ( masks, distancing, lower occupancy in dining and entertainment venues, elevators, port issues, security enforcement) not to mention (oh, I just did, right?) the possibility that passengers/crew don’t follow protocols and/or COVID invades the ship anyway — cruising just doesn’t seem much like a vacation until this is over.  

 

No matter what good intentions the Cruise lines have or individuals have, people are people and don’t always follow the rules and accidents happen.  I wish it were different and we had a great, long lasting vaccine that everyone took advantage of, but it’s too chancy.

[drsel]

Don't worry, a covid test is done before allowing any passenger or crew member to board the ship

[drsel]

Anyone leaving the ship at any port is only allowed to do so with the ship sponsored shore excursion, so they are protected in a bubble

[drsel]

MSC and TUI restart Cruises have been a grand success

[npcl]

5 hours ago, drsel said:

Don't worry SARS and MERS are not troubling us any more

MERS still exists, but not much of an issue unless your profession is herding camels.  Incidence is low, thus the cost is too high to fund an actual test of the vaccine.

[onlyslightlymad]

5 hours ago, drsel said:

Don't worry SARS and MERS are not troubling us any more

I hate to state the obvious but they are different diseases.

SARS had the advantage of making people feel ill when they caught it, so they were more likely to stay home and in bed.  COVID is successful in that some of the people who catch it are asymptomatic so feel perfectly okay and are out and about sharing the virus.  MERS has a death rate of 35% as opposed to COVID's approx 1%.  COVID is a clever wee virus in that it is highly contagious and harnesses a lot of happy active symptom free spreaders.  Also, we dodged a bullet with SARS in that it mutated itself out of existence.  We would be very lucky to see that happen again but I don't think we should count on it.

[Cruise Raider]

I'm looking at this from a completely different vantage point. 

The precautions that the cruise lines (well, even the airlines, grocery stores, home depot, etc) are taking MAY make it safer than it was before.  Think about previous times when noro was present and there were still people that refused to wash their hands or use the sanitizer.  I don't think we will see that in the near future.  And then, how many times did you go on a cruise and someone was seated at your table just coughing away or your waiter was sick.  Oh, they have a cold or flu or even pneumonia, but, they didn't want to miss their cruise or a day of work.  It may actually be safer to go now than it was in the past.  This is a big MAYBE because it is a novel virus but, some of those viruses we've been exposed to on a ship before were novel to us as well.  So many precautions are taken to weed out those with other infectious illnesses now where as they weren't before.  It actually makes me feel safer...maybe misguided but, I do think I make a good point.  Even the medical experts are expecting a much less severe cold and flu season due to the precautions that are being taken for CoVid.  

[K.T.B.]

6 hours ago, drsel said:

Don't worry SARS and MERS are not troubling us any more

 

Covid is a variation of SARS.  Its actual name is SARS-CoV-2.

 

2 hours ago, drsel said:

Don't worry, a covid test is done before allowing any passenger or crew member to board the ship

 

Is the cruise line going to guarantee that all the tests are 100% accurate?  (FYI:  Even the most accurate test has about a 20% false positive failure.)  I'd hate to be the passenger who gets a false positive and is kicked off the ship.

[true45]

11 minutes ago, K.T.B. said:

 

Covid is a variation of SARS.  Its actual name is SARS-CoV-2.

 

 

Is the cruise line going to guarantee that all the tests are 100% accurate?  (FYI:  Even the most accurate test has about a 20% false positive failure.)  I'd hate to be the passenger who gets a false positive and is kicked off the ship.

I was thinking the same thing - tests are notoriously inaccurate.  The precautions would take a lot of the fun out of the trip and the possibility of a quarantine just adds to my pause.  And there are a few cruise lines that have started operating finding cases onboard.

 

I have been on a Celebrity excursion seated next to someone who was added on a little jumpseat coughing and sneezing - yes, I caught the flu.  Last sailing, the table next to us at dining was coughing etc like crazy and they asked the Maitre D for tissues - yes, on the way home in the car started getting sick.  Was on a noro sailing - didn’t get sick but the precautions were inconvenient although Celebrity tried hard to accommodate needs.  So no cruising for me for the foreseeable future, maybe never.  
 

I just don’t see how it can be enjoyable with a mask.  If others can enjoy, great, but there will be a lot more changes to cruising to try to make it safer.  I hope it is possible.

[Gracie115]

20 hours ago, Cruise Raider said:

I'm looking at this from a completely different vantage point. 

The precautions that the cruise lines (well, even the airlines, grocery stores, home depot, etc) are taking MAY make it safer than it was before.  Think about previous times when noro was present and there were still people that refused to wash their hands or use the sanitizer.  I don't think we will see that in the near future.  And then, how many times did you go on a cruise and someone was seated at your table just coughing away or your waiter was sick.  Oh, they have a cold or flu or even pneumonia, but, they didn't want to miss their cruise or a day of work.  It may actually be safer to go now than it was in the past.  This is a big MAYBE because it is a novel virus but, some of those viruses we've been exposed to on a ship before were novel to us as well.  So many precautions are taken to weed out those with other infectious illnesses now where as they weren't before.  It actually makes me feel safer...maybe misguided but, I do think I make a good point.  Even the medical experts are expecting a much less severe cold and flu season due to the precautions that are being taken for CoVid.  

 

 

I think you make a good point too.  Your last sentence however will be dependent on people continuing to use those precautions throughout the cold & flu season.

[Cruise Raider]

2 minutes ago, Gracie115 said:

 

 

I think you make a good point too.  Your last sentence however will be dependent on people continuing to use those precautions throughout the cold & flu season.

 

You are so very right ... but, considering how things are going in the county in which I live, I see no end in sight.  

Aside from the masks, I really hope that these safety precautions remain in place!!  We've always been on the germophobe side anyway so, this puts me right into my comfort zone.  

[Gracie115]

6 minutes ago, Cruise Raider said:

 

You are so very right ... but, considering how things are going in the county in which I live, I see no end in sight.  

Aside from the masks, I really hope that these safety precautions remain in place!!  We've always been on the germophobe side anyway so, this puts me right into my comfort zone.  

 

My DH is a microbiologist so you might imagine how he is about germs...😱

 

Thankfully Florida's new positives have gone down significantly over the last 2 weeks and reached lows we haven't seen in months over the last couple of days, hopefully a trend that will continue.  But certainly not low enough for anyone to not continue using precautions.  

[Cruise Raider]

6 minutes ago, Gracie115 said:

 

My DH is a microbiologist so you might imagine how he is about germs...😱

 

Thankfully Florida's new positives have gone down significantly over the last 2 weeks and reached lows we haven't seen in months over the last couple of days, hopefully a trend that will continue.  But certainly not low enough for anyone to not continue using precautions.  

 

I could kind of tell you are knowledgeable about infectious disease.  My sister and brother in law are both microbiologists, as well.  When I started working with the infection control preventionists at the hospital where I was employed, I too, became so very careful about being around germs.  I saw too many organisms that scared the bejesus out of me.  I was the poster child for hand hygiene and wiping down my work area there.  I always amazed me when people would come up and want to shake my hand when we met.  Yikes ... I politely decline that every time.  And yes, it carried over onto my cruises.  I have mini Lysol spray that goes with me and the Lysol wipes and I clean my cabin after the steward has been in our room.  I also carry my hand sanitizer with me throughout the ship.  We would try to request a table for two most times.  If we had a shared table and someone started coughing or sneezing, we would simply get up, excuse ourselves and ask to be reseated.  I would be in my happy place if they reduced capacity on ships for years to come.  I know that is unrealistic, though.  

Hopefully, your CoVid cases stay way down out your way.  I think we are a lost cause here in the San Francisco area.  Too many variables that make that seem like an impossibility.  And, we've had a strict lockdown since mid-march, mask mandates, no indoor eating (some patio seating just recently opened up), no bars, social bubbles of 10 people (the same 10 people) were just recently granted ... but, when you have so many breaking the rules and they are doing just that, I feel like going on a cruise, even with all those restrictions, is far more freedom that what we have here.  

[drsel]

I would definitely wear a mask whenever required in order to cruiee by October 2020

 

 

[TeeRick]

18 hours ago, Cruise Raider said:

 

I could kind of tell you are knowledgeable about infectious disease.  My sister and brother in law are both microbiologists, as well.  When I started working with the infection control preventionists at the hospital where I was employed, I too, became so very careful about being around germs.  I saw too many organisms that scared the bejesus out of me.  I was the poster child for hand hygiene and wiping down my work area there.  I always amazed me when people would come up and want to shake my hand when we met.  Yikes ... I politely decline that every time.  And yes, it carried over onto my cruises.  I have mini Lysol spray that goes with me and the Lysol wipes and I clean my cabin after the steward has been in our room.  I also carry my hand sanitizer with me throughout the ship.  We would try to request a table for two most times.  If we had a shared table and someone started coughing or sneezing, we would simply get up, excuse ourselves and ask to be reseated.  I would be in my happy place if they reduced capacity on ships for years to come.  I know that is unrealistic, though.  

Hopefully, your CoVid cases stay way down out your way.  I think we are a lost cause here in the San Francisco area.  Too many variables that make that seem like an impossibility.  And, we've had a strict lockdown since mid-march, mask mandates, no indoor eating (some patio seating just recently opened up), no bars, social bubbles of 10 people (the same 10 people) were just recently granted ... but, when you have so many breaking the rules and they are doing just that, I feel like going on a cruise, even with all those restrictions, is far more freedom that what we have here.  

Strict lockdown?  Since March?  Not anywhere in CA or in any state in the US.  Pseudo-Lockdowns with many exceptions maybe.

[Cruise Raider]

5 hours ago, TeeRick said:

Strict lockdown?  Since March?  Not anywhere in CA or in any state in the US.  Pseudo-Lockdowns with many exceptions maybe.

 

https://townhall.com/tipsheet/bethbaumann/2020/03/16/residents-in-the-bay-area-are-now-under-the-strictest-lockdown-orders-in-the-nation-n2565076

 

https://khn.org/news/is-the-bay-areas-unprecedented-lockdown-the-first-of-many/

 

Yes, I believe ours were the first and they haven't eased up all that much since March.  Call it whatever you will ... and I know you will!  Whatever!!  

[TeeRick]

18 hours ago, Cruise Raider said:

 

https://townhall.com/tipsheet/bethbaumann/2020/03/16/residents-in-the-bay-area-are-now-under-the-strictest-lockdown-orders-in-the-nation-n2565076

 

https://khn.org/news/is-the-bay-areas-unprecedented-lockdown-the-first-of-many/

 

Yes, I believe ours were the first and they haven't eased up all that much since March.  Call it whatever you will ... and I know you will!  Whatever!!  

Sorry Cruise Raider.  I was not trying to upset you but it appears that I did so.  I was just trying to offer my opinion that lock downs in the US are (were) not the strict type that were applied in China or South Korea.  In my home state of PA we were ordered on Lock Down on March 13th.  For my county it lasted until June 30th. One of the earliest in the US.  But a list of exceptions was pretty extensive all falling under life-sustaining businesses or activities.  And there was a lot of politics as well. So many people were still out and about.  Not a true strict lock down in my opinion.  

[Cruise Raider]

1 hour ago, TeeRick said:

Sorry Cruise Raider.  I was not trying to upset you but it appears that I did so.  I was just trying to offer my opinion that lock downs in the US are (were) not the strict type that were applied in China or South Korea.  In my home state of PA we were ordered on Lock Down on March 13th.  For my county it lasted until June 30th. One of the earliest in the US.  But a list of exceptions was pretty extensive all falling under life-sustaining businesses or activities.  And there was a lot of politics as well. So many people were still out and about.  Not a true strict lock down in my opinion.  

 

I understand ... thank you for explaining.  You are correct, not the strict type as applied to China.  It just feels that way as we haven't made much progress.  We are still relatively closed down here without many businesses that have been able to reopen.  And yes ... so much politics involved here, too.  It's encouraging to see some cruiselines successfully sailing, albeit, not here in the states.  

[UnorigionalName]

On 8/23/2020 at 7:22 AM, drsel said:

Don't worry SARS and MERS are not troubling us any more

 

The black death doesn't bother us anymore either. But tell that to the 30-60% of europe that didn't see the tail end of it.

[ldubs]

On 8/24/2020 at 11:14 AM, Cruise Raider said:

 

I could kind of tell you are knowledgeable about infectious disease.  My sister and brother in law are both microbiologists, as well.  When I started working with the infection control preventionists at the hospital where I was employed, I too, became so very careful about being around germs.  I saw too many organisms that scared the bejesus out of me.  I was the poster child for hand hygiene and wiping down my work area there.  I always amazed me when people would come up and want to shake my hand when we met.  Yikes ... I politely decline that every time.  And yes, it carried over onto my cruises.  I have mini Lysol spray that goes with me and the Lysol wipes and I clean my cabin after the steward has been in our room.  I also carry my hand sanitizer with me throughout the ship.  We would try to request a table for two most times.  If we had a shared table and someone started coughing or sneezing, we would simply get up, excuse ourselves and ask to be reseated.  I would be in my happy place if they reduced capacity on ships for years to come.  I know that is unrealistic, though.  

Hopefully, your CoVid cases stay way down out your way.  I think we are a lost cause here in the San Francisco area.  Too many variables that make that seem like an impossibility.  And, we've had a strict lockdown since mid-march, mask mandates, no indoor eating (some patio seating just recently opened up), no bars, social bubbles of 10 people (the same 10 people) were just recently granted ... but, when you have so many breaking the rules and they are doing just that, I feel like going on a cruise, even with all those restrictions, is far more freedom that what we have here.  

 

Do you think shaking hands will be a thing of the past?  I actually think that would be a good change.   

[ECCruise]

12 minutes ago, ldubs said:

 

Do you think shaking hands will be a thing of the past?  I actually think that would be a good change.   

Well, relating just to cruising, no one has shaken hands on Azamara for years.  Always the "Azamara Fist Bump" but not sure even that is OK going forward....

[ldubs]

2 minutes ago, ECCruise said:

Well, relating just to cruising, no one has shaken hands on Azamara for years.  Always the "Azamara Fist Bump" but not sure even that is OK going forward....

 

I'm actually hoping that everyone will have become uncomfortable enough to disregard the custom of hand shake greetings.  Hopefully it will be a thing of the past.   If someone offers their hand in the future I wonder how to politely decline.  

[Cruise Raider]

19 minutes ago, ldubs said:

 

Do you think shaking hands will be a thing of the past?  I actually think that would be a good change.   

 

I think there will be many good changes since the pandemic, encouraging no hand shaking, hugging, etc.  Some people can't seem to abide by basic hygiene and common sense measures (stay in your cabin if you are sick, touch food in the buffet or from the bread basket in the MDR and put it back ... I've even seen people taste it and put it back, etc).   So, I like the idea of the staff serving us at the buffets, at the PES event, etc.  

There will be things I will miss, of course, too.  But, give me my balcony and I think I will be just fine.