You know there is Covid onboard Virtuosa when ……….

[hamrag]

2 hours ago, riverotter said:

By your response it doesn't sound like this subject is anything you feel people should be concerned about.  So perhaps that's my answer.  This turn of events isn't something the average cruiser feels should concern them in making decisions.  Just life as usual, nothing to discuss here.  

I can assure you that is far from the case, there is much to discuss so keep it on one thread....that was my point! 😉

 

May I refer you to my posts # 10, 11, 13 and 17 on this very thread.

 

There is also a little discussion on the rollcall for the cruise I was on (boarded 1st September) more or less, where I 'discuss' my views on the most recent page 5....here is the link:

 

To summarise, MSC allowed the horse to bolt and tried to get it back in the stable. By the time they realised this, there were waaaay too many passengers being non-compliant.....and some proud of it.

 

MSC haven't covered themselves in glory by any means, and the fact passengers were allowed to be non-compliant lies squarely at the door of MSC Headquarters. I have a feeling this has a long way to run, and will not end well for them!

[HappyInVan]

Well, I'm glad that my next MSC cruise is in August 2022. I suppose that this qualifies as a mass outbreak, and the ship as a superspreader!

 

You'll not get me onboard the Virtuosa. I wonder who's the captain and staff staff captain? 🙄

[Essiesmom]

3 hours ago, HappyInVan said:

Well, I'm glad that my next MSC cruise is in August 2022. I suppose that this qualifies as a mass outbreak, and the ship as a superspreader!

 

You'll not get me onboard the Virtuosa. I wonder who's the captain and staff staff captain? 🙄

Whoever they are, I’m sure they are practicing social distancing…

[zekekelso]

13 hours ago, riverotter said:

 

I was just starting to feel like maybe those who are cruising were correct, that cruising would be one of the more safe environments to be in. 

 

I think it depends upon what you compare it to. Staying home at avoiding contact with people is safer than cruising. But if I’m going to go out shopping or to a restaurant or to a show, I personally still think ships are safer. 

[riverotter]

3 hours ago, zekekelso said:

I think it depends upon what you compare it to. Staying home at avoiding contact with people is safer than cruising. But if I’m going to go out shopping or to a restaurant or to a show, I personally still think ships are safer. 

The real question may be how to distinguish a safe ship from an unsafe ship now that we know even vaccinated and tested ships can be super spreaders.  

 

I think the first question we'd need to examine is why did this happen.  We can say that clearly ship protocols were not adhered to. But it seems to me we won't be able to determine this from the latest sailing since previous sailings had well-enforced protocols.  So how does one approach that as a passenger who realizes too late that they are stuck on an unsafe ship? 

 

Are we all too afraid to go to a crew member when we see someone struggling to breathe or coughing excessively more than allergies or asthma?  And if that crew member gives us a cold shoulder do we demand the next up the chain until someone does something? 

 

Another question is can we trust the captain or those in charge.  We know that cruise lines are corporations and as in the case of the captain that took a ship into a deadly hurricane, sometimes financial loss can come before human lives no matter how dedicated our captain may be.  We have now seen Carnival not admitting to an outbreak until the UK news broke the story.  We see that MSC has not admitted to its outbreak and instead says the reason they upped their protocols was because of news from land, not from their ship.  So that's another set of odds we would need to take into the equation.

 

Then there are the passengers who are not willing to abide by ship protocols, some of who have brazenly spoken up on this forum.  They would ignore one person, so would we need to try to get a group of fellow passengers together to enforce minor transgressions?  And should it even be the crew's job to confront the many disobedient passengers that will be on every ship?  

 

Then we have passengers who although sick are not about to turn themselves in for testing.  We know, according to the news, family members of the man who died who had Covid symptoms themselves but decided it wasn't Covid and didn't get tested.  How do we go about taking into account human nature in the form of passengers who aren't willing to ruin a multi-thousand dollar adventure by admitting to illness?

 

I understand that several of these problems would have to occur simultaneously before we get the perfect storm that leads to outbreak, but I'm not at this point able to justify taking on all of these potential dangers simply to satisfy my admitted addiction to cruising.

[showingdiva]

I'm on Virtuosa at the moment, about to disembark in the morning. Had a test at embarkation and another yesterday. I've been temperature zapped every morning, sat very socially distanced at meal times and in the theatre, often been the only one in a lift.  Staff serving in the Marketplace. I've had a fantastic time on a ship / cruise line I wouldn't ordinarily have considered. Definitely people who think they're a bit entitled and / or things don't apply to them.  Am I immune to covid, despite being one of the first fully vaccinated?  Nope.  But I don't feel like that at work either (NHS), nor do I think I have an invincibility cape.

 

Yes, some things need improved, from important things like protocols down to the trivial (cherry jam with scones .. really?), but thank you to the crew of the beautiful MSC Virtuosa, and safe journey on your travels after leaving the UK.

 

 

[HappyInVan]

To be fair to the cruise companies, its not entirely their fault.

 

The big problem is that there are not enough passengers willing to undergo the full protocols onboard. During the test cruises (at 30% capacity), there were enough dedicated cruisers willing to follow full protocols.

 

It is now evident that as the companies expand capacity on recent cruises, many passengers resist the mask mandate etc.

 

This is the conundrum facing the cruise companies. Below 30% capacity, they're bleeding cash. At 50% capacity, passengers will infect each other. The ships tighten enforcement, and bookings drop.

 

As long as the full protocols are required and being enforced, I doubt that the companies can fully deploy their entire fleets, or fill their ships.

 

 

[ditmar2007]

44 minutes ago, HappyInVan said:

Below 30% capacity, they're bleeding cash. At 50% capacity, passengers will infect each other.

If they only let fully vaccinated passengers on board, the risk would be vastly reduced. 

Yes, you can still be infected as a vaccinated person, but mostly you don't thereby reducing the risk of the virus spreading.

I live in Denmark. 73% of the population is fully vaccinated - this percentage includes everyone - even babies. We have just been able to eliminate ALL remaining restrictions yesterday, as the pandemic is under control with the high number of vaccinated. 

[tring]

Thank you for the information on this thread.