Carnival Vista COVID Outbreak

[Heidi13]

CBC is reporting that Carnival Vista docked in Belize on Wednesday with 27 COVID cases aboard the vessel - 26 crew + 1 pax. With that many cases, it is proof that Viking's daily testing is working.

[Azulann]

Would not want to be in Belize when a outbreak occurs on a cruise ship. 

10 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

. With that many cases, it is proof that Viking's daily testing is working

 Yes!! I would also add that the ventilation system  on board and the  constant cleaning of common areas  are also great mitigation protocols for Viking ships. 

I watch on the morning of disembarkation (Bermuda cruise), from my perch from second floor of Living Room the constant cleaning being done . They even wiped down the chair legs after passengers left their comfortable  chairs or couch area!

 

 

[Twitchly]

Sounds like a bunch of their crew weren’t vaccinated. That’s tough … crew members are packed in so closely together, I can’t imagine how quickly the virus would spread among them. Cruise companies should make sure all their crew are protected with vaccinations before they’re asked to sail. 

[FirstTimeFreddy]

Vaccinated or not it feels like all bets are off with regard to the Delta variant. Of course the vaccination was never a cure, but I've been surprised at how quickly the Delta variant has taken hold.

 

Regardless of vaccination status, Carnival has introduced a mask policy inside its ships now, as well as PCR testing. It seems like Covid is not going away any time soon, so the cruise lines have just got to work with it. 

 

I feel reassured that Viking has done everything possible to mitigate risk, especially after experiencing it first hand on the Venus in July. Though the possibility of being removed from the ship and placed in 14 day quarantine or sent home seems to be on increase in both Malta and Iceland. 

[LindaS272]

6 minutes ago, Twitchly said:

Sounds like a bunch of their crew weren’t vaccinated. That’s tough … crew members are packed in so closely together, I can’t imagine how quickly the virus would spread among them. Cruise companies should make sure all their crew are protected with vaccinations before they’re asked to sail. 

News reports said all were vaccinated and %age for crew was 99.8%—pax more like 96%.

[Heidi13]

3 hours ago, LindaS272 said:

News reports said all were vaccinated and %age for crew was 99.8%—pax more like 96%.

Unfortunately the crew come from places that vaccine is not readily available. Viking vaccinated the crew on board so that they knew they were all done. Not all ship take as good care with their crews.

[Cienfuegos]

Documentation and chain of custody for vaccines is becoming an issue in some places. Vaccination materials which haven't been properly stored, or are past the use-by date, are still in circulation.

[Twitchly]

17 minutes ago, Cienfuegos said:

Documentation and chain of custody for vaccines is becoming an issue in some places. Vaccination materials which haven't been properly stored, or are past the use-by date, are still in circulation.

And some, like Sinopharm, have proven much less effective. Unfortunately Sinopharm has been one of the main vaccines offered in some of the countries where cruise staff are more likely to live. 

[DaveSJ711]

17 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

CBC is reporting that Carnival Vista docked in Belize on Wednesday with 27 COVID cases aboard the vessel - 26 crew + 1 pax. With that many cases, it is proof that Viking's daily testing is working.

As to the value of daily testing, this comment from the Iceland thread stands out:

 

"I work in a hospital. We must wear masks and be vaccinated. We DO NOT get tested unless symptomatic. 
we take care of the sickest and most vulnerable patients. If daily testing was a good idea, we’d be doing it."

[DaveSJ711]

26 minutes ago, DaveSJ711 said:

As to the value of daily testing, this comment from the Iceland thread stands out:

 

"I work in a hospital. We must wear masks and be vaccinated. We DO NOT get tested unless symptomatic. 
we take care of the sickest and most vulnerable patients. If daily testing was a good idea, we’d be doing it."

And a follow-up from the same commenter (Chilicatx) on the live Iceland thread:

 

"As I said above, if everyone is vaccinated ALL infections will occur in vaccinated people. However, those infections so far very rarely result in hospitalization and incredibly rarely in death. The vast majority are asymptomatic. 
Testing asymptomatic vaccinated people is stupid if they will only interact with other vaccinated people"

[bluesea777]

2 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

Unfortunately the crew come from places that vaccine is not readily available. Viking vaccinated the crew on board so that they knew they were all done. Not all ship take as good care with their crews.

 

Spoke to some crew members while on Bermuda Escape cruise last week ... they all received both doses of Pfizer vaccine from Bermuda Gov't (who in turn received them from the UK) as soon as they arrived in Bermuda. They said to us in union they are so thankful to the Bermuda Government for giving them the vaccine and they (crew) have been pleading with their families back home to go and get vaccinated.

 

 

Edited August 14, 2021 by bluesea777

[Heidi13]

45 minutes ago, bluesea777 said:

 

Spoke to some crew members while on Bermuda Escape cruise last week ... they all received both doses of Pfizer vaccine from Bermuda Gov't (who in turn received them from the UK) as soon as they arrived in Bermuda. They said to us in union they are so thankful to the Bermuda Government for giving them the vaccine and they (crew) have been pleading with their families back home to go and get vaccinated.

 

 

 

Thanks for the update. The crew member we know on Orion had mentioned he was vacinated, but didn't mention how. Nice touch by the Bermuda/UK Govts.

[IWantToLiveOverTheSea]

Apparently a Windstar ship in Greece has a positive Covid case.  But no outbreak.  And I don't believe Greece or Windstar required anyone but the positive person and travel partner to quarantine. 

[rbslos18]

I don’t believe there is much we can learn from the Carnival outbreak. Viking is way ahead of Carnival in providing safety. The Carnival board reports lax mask wearing and smoking in the casino. And children under 12 are present in big numbers.

 

Viking’s approach is outstanding. It just needs tweaking. Given the 100% vaccination rate and mandatory indoor mask requirement, the daily testing doesn’t accomplish much. Viking also needs to work out a much better arrangement with Iceland’s bus policy of mandatory quarantine if one person tests positive. 

[Twitchly]

Just read in the Las Vegas Sun that all who tested positive on the Vista had mild or no symptoms. Good.
 

Also, the ship has “over 1,400 crew and nearly 3,000 passengers.” So 27 positives out 4,400 people — that’s 0.6% — all with mild to no symptoms. 
 

A far cry from what cruising looked like at the beginning of this pandemic. 

[jtwind]

18 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

Unfortunately the crew come from places that vaccine is not readily available. Viking vaccinated the crew on board so that they knew they were all done. Not all ship take as good care with their crews.

We were under the impression that the crew was vaxed in its home port, Galveston.

[Azulann]

Crystal Cruise ship  ending their 7 day sailing rt Nassau ,reported that three passengers tested positive.  They tested before boarding, 3 tested positive   on board for return to US by air for passengers. 

I  like the  way Viking does its testing  protocol. 

Edited August 15, 2021 by Azulann