Covid on Iona

[Mrs Wally]

On 10/12/2021 at 9:22 AM, Rebjon said:

I asked P&O several weeks ago what would happed if you tested positive on a ship. After several attempts at waffle on their part this is what they said :- 

'Hi Lesley, if there is an outbreak on board,

our comprehensive new protocols are designed to protect the health and well-being of all our guests and crew. We have plans in place, tailored for each ship, to manage medical needs including dedicated cabin capacity for isolation should this be required.'       NO MENTION OF BEING OFFLOADED TO SHORE.

 

[Mrs Wally]

I have enquired via my T A about this only last week and p&o confirmed that in the Caribbean the decision as to whether you were permitted to remain in isolation on the ship or be offloaded into a quarantine hotel would be made by the next port of call post isolation, so in effect if you were isolated on a Sunday and Monday you docked in Antigua it would be at the decision of the Antigua port authorities if you remained onbaord or offloaded.  At which point P&O would no longer assist in your onward journey home, their response was that you would need to speak to your insurer's to arrange payment for the hotel and your repatriation to the UK and this would be the same circumstances if you had tested positive or were isolating as a close contact of another passenger who was positive. Huge concern in the Caribbean islands when a lot of airlines are not currently offering direct flights to UK airports (my flight is from Manchester) you could very well ends up having to take a number of connecting flights just to get back home which to me is not what I would seem to be a relaxing holiday experience! 

[Daedalus50]

Just back home after disembarking from Iona on Saturday (13th) after 2 week Spain & Portugal cruise.

No information regarding any Covid cases on board but at one Port we could not disembark via the aft gangway. We were told there was a medical emergency and we saw two crew members in Hazmat suits and spray packs going down the stairs.

Our temperature was taken before we were allowed to disembark at the Spanish Ports but not Lisbon. On the coach at the Spanish ports our cabin numbers were noted on a sheet relative to our seat positions. This did not happen at Lisbon.

Salt, Pepper and butter all available on the tables for dining although I did have to ask for the salt cellar to be refilled a number of times ! The tables for couples are very close together. I didn't measure the distance but it looked less than the suggested minimum to me. We shared a large table with 8 others one evening after we were asked if we would like to. Toilets (male at least) were locked and opened by placing a hand next to a sensor, both in and out. Saw a lady with a spray pack every day going along the corridors.

Iona is a beautiful ship, very spacious and modern looking. Loved the little booklet we got in the cabin showing all the decks and what was were, very useful but different bars had different range of spirits and beers and it's a long walk from stem to stern!

On sea days the venues were very crowded, especially around the Atrium. I was told that there were 3200 passengers on board so I wouldn't want to go on a full capacity cruise on Iona. They ran out of Orange Juice and thick cut chips about day 10/11.

However the worst thing about the ship was our cabin on deck 9. Very nicely furnished with a lovely, petit, bathroom BUT it creaked all the time, day and night when we were sailing. I also noticed that in heavyish seas the stairways also creaked as well. Somewhat disconcerting for a brand new vessel.

This was our 1st P&O cruise and we were disappointed in the range of entertainments, particularly on sea days compared to our other cruises (14) although that could be Covid related and we might experience the same when we return to our favourite Cruise Line next May

 

[molecrochip]

On 11/13/2021 at 10:53 AM, daiB said:

The two people going home was on a group i am not allowed to mention.

 

And perhaps the lady saw 2 people after all. And not the extra 10 sneaking off the ship. If it were more than 2 there would be rumours around the ship, there were none at all.

Why would there be rumours around the ship? The approach to Covid is very different to that of norovirus.

 

There is a well established view that the knowledge of positive cases on board ship could cause  significant passenger concern therefore the crew are told not to discuss it (if they have been made aware).

 

I think the original comment was that two people were seen getting in an Ambulance. That doesn't mean that others did not debark the ship. If the ship was alongside for three hours, there will have been 5/6 locals pier side to bring the ship alongside, an Immigration official, a public health official. There then would have been a number of ships security and hotel staff, all just to debark two passengers, or to debark more.

 

 

[Dermotsgirl]

6 hours ago, molecrochip said:

.

 

There is a well established view that the knowledge of positive cases on board ship could cause  significant passenger concern therefore the crew are told not to discuss it (if they have been made aware).

 

 

 

 

Interesting you should say that, as I've formed the impression that the cruise companies are trying to keep quiet about any Covid cases on board.

 

Personally, and this might be just me, it causes me more concern that I wouldn't be told about positive cases if I was onboard. We're still in a global pandemic, so I think people should be informed about the situation on the ship.. 

 

Normally,  I use the information that is available to us to inform my choices - I don't see why this should be any different onboard the ship

 

[wowzz]

1 minute ago, Dermotsgirl said:

Interesting you should say that, as I've formed the impression that the cruise companies are trying to keep quiet about any Covid cases on board.

 

Personally, and this might be just me, it causes me more concern that I wouldn't be told about positive cases if I was onboard. We're still in a global pandemic, so I think people should be informed about the situation on the ship.. 

 

Normally,  I use the information that is available to us to inform my choices - I don't see why this should be any different onboard the ship

 

Even if I knew there was a case of Covid aboard, I would not change my behaviour.  Indeed, apart from locking myself in your cabin, there is not really anything you can do as an individual. 

Therefore, I am quite relaxed about being kept in the dark, rather than an announcement being made, and people over reacting.

[terrierjohn]

14 minutes ago, Dermotsgirl said:

Interesting you should say that, as I've formed the impression that the cruise companies are trying to keep quiet about any Covid cases on board.

 

Personally, and this might be just me, it causes me more concern that I wouldn't be told about positive cases if I was onboard. We're still in a global pandemic, so I think people should be informed about the situation on the ship.. 

 

Normally,  I use the information that is available to us to inform my choices - I don't see why this should be any different onboard the ship

 

The problem with too much information is that you would get lots of Corporal Jones's running around shouting dont panic, and private Frasers claiming we're all doomed.😊

[bbtablet]

43 minutes ago, wowzz said:

Even if I knew there was a case of Covid aboard, I would not change my behaviour.  Indeed, apart from locking myself in your cabin, there is not really anything you can do as an individual. 

 

I found this information very frightening.

How long has your normal behaviour involved locking yourself in other people's cabins, wowzz?

[Dermotsgirl]

16 minutes ago, bbtablet said:

I found this information very frightening.

How long has your normal behaviour involved locking yourself in other people's cabins, wowzz?

If that’s likely to happen, I’ll take my chances with Covid ! 😂

[Dermotsgirl]

50 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

The problem with too much information is that you would get lots of Corporal Jones's running around shouting dont panic, and private Frasers claiming we're all doomed.😊

Or people quietly keep themselves to themselves 

[wowzz]

Just now, Dermotsgirl said:

If that’s likely to happen, I’ll take my chances with Covid ! 😂

Hopefuly you can get insurance against it happening !

[Dermotsgirl]

1 hour ago, wowzz said:

Even if I knew there was a case of Covid aboard, I would not change my behaviour.  Indeed, apart from locking myself in your cabin, there is not really anything you can do as an individual. 

Therefore, I am quite relaxed about being kept in the dark, rather than an announcement being made, and people over reacting.

The trouble with me is, I’m not a mushroom by nature 

[Son of Bare]

9 hours ago, Daedalus50 said:

Just back home after disembarking from Iona on Saturday (13th) after 2 week Spain & Portugal cruise.

No information regarding any Covid cases on board but at one Port we could not disembark via the aft gangway. We were told there was a medical emergency and we saw two crew members in Hazmat suits and spray packs going down the stairs.

Our temperature was taken before we were allowed to disembark at the Spanish Ports but not Lisbon. On the coach at the Spanish ports our cabin numbers were noted on a sheet relative to our seat positions. This did not happen at Lisbon.

Salt, Pepper and butter all available on the tables for dining although I did have to ask for the salt cellar to be refilled a number of times ! The tables for couples are very close together. I didn't measure the distance but it looked less than the suggested minimum to me. We shared a large table with 8 others one evening after we were asked if we would like to. Toilets (male at least) were locked and opened by placing a hand next to a sensor, both in and out. Saw a lady with a spray pack every day going along the corridors.

Iona is a beautiful ship, very spacious and modern looking. Loved the little booklet we got in the cabin showing all the decks and what was were, very useful but different bars had different range of spirits and beers and it's a long walk from stem to stern!

On sea days the venues were very crowded, especially around the Atrium. I was told that there were 3200 passengers on board so I wouldn't want to go on a full capacity cruise on Iona. They ran out of Orange Juice and thick cut chips about day 10/11.

However the worst thing about the ship was our cabin on deck 9. Very nicely furnished with a lovely, petit, bathroom BUT it creaked all the time, day and night when we were sailing. I also noticed that in heavyish seas the stairways also creaked as well. Somewhat disconcerting for a brand new vessel.

This was our 1st P&O cruise and we were disappointed in the range of entertainments, particularly on sea days compared to our other cruises (14) although that could be Covid related and we might experience the same when we return to our favourite Cruise Line next May

 

I also disembarked Iona on Saturday and agree with most of what you say. This was my 9th PO cruise though so I have the advantage when comparing to previous PO offerings. 

Regards the entertainment I was pleasantly surprised, it was better than I was expecting!

Regards restaurants I would say the select restaurants have taken a dive in quality (we ate in all of them over the two weeks) with only the new Cow and Keel impressing me. That said, the the choice in the Horizon has improved since my last cruise in 2019, and the Quays will become a real success I think. The food in the MDR was on a par with what I have had previously in the evenings but I felt there has been a drop off in choice at lunchtimes and breakfast. 

There have been lots of little annoying changes though. Too many to mention all but no turn down, no flower, no cabin stewards name plate, no nibbles in crows nest, terrible TV reception when in port, several drinks on the menu were unavailable.

 

I was told we were at 3,600 capacity. I have to say that for those reading this who are still wary of cruising during these Covid times then you really should not even consider jumping aboard (irrespective of being fully insured...belted and braced). You will not feel comfortable in my opinion. It is impossible to socially distance independently unless you isolate in your cabin for the entire cruise. You could spend twenty minutes waiting for a lift that only has 2/3 people inside only to have another 6 people join you on the next deck. You could find seating 2 metres away from anyone else only to have someone immediately come and sit within a yard of you. 

 

Regards Covid aboard, we were on deck 10 towards the pointy end on starboard side and two cabins within 50 feet of ours were suspiciously cleaned and sealed for 48 hours mid way through the cruise, but I heard nothing of any actual cases. Temperatures were also being taken outside some of the restaurants.

I don't think I had one 'Covid conversation' with any other passenger or member of staff in the entire fortnight though.

The three excursions we went on also had seating plans which I thought was  farcical given the general behaviour aboard. There was no such thing in the theatre (freedom to sit anywhere) or clubhouse (where no masks were required) or the Horizon all three of which were generally fairly busy.

It seems people just want to forget things and enjoy themselves in a manner as close to the old ways as is possible.

Regards the creaking, I thought that was just me!

[Megabear2]

Hi, for those still interested on the Covid insurance clause on this link who have not moved to the Caribbean Quarantine section, I though that it might be of interest that i have just spoken to my CEO contact and the meeting to discuss the issue/policy was being held 12.00pm today, with hopefully an announcement and new terms and conditions soon after.  They apologised for the delay.  Once anything is forthcoming I will of course let everyone know.

 

Meantime I'm off to book my new QE Itinerary for next year, I'm that confident it will be okay!

[Rebjon]

2 hours ago, Megabear2 said:

Hi, for those still interested on the Covid insurance clause on this link who have not moved to the Caribbean Quarantine section, I though that it might be of interest that i have just spoken to my CEO contact and the meeting to discuss the issue/policy was being held 12.00pm today, with hopefully an announcement and new terms and conditions soon after.  They apologised for the delay.  Once anything is forthcoming I will of course let everyone know.

 

Meantime I'm off to book my new QE Itinerary for next year, I'm that confident it will be okay!

Thank you for all your hard work. Let's hope it's positive and clearly states the position. We go on Ventura on Tuesday so have a keen interest in this.

[zap99]

On 11/15/2021 at 4:46 PM, wowzz said:

Even if I knew there was a case of Covid aboard, I would not change my behaviour.  Indeed, apart from locking myself in your cabin, there is not really anything you can do as an individual. 

Therefore, I am quite relaxed about being kept in the dark, rather than an announcement being made, and people over reacting.

If locking in a cabin was deemed prudent, I would lock myself in my own cabin.😁

[jeanlyon]

deleted

Edited November 18, 2021 by jeanlyon

[emam]

9 hours ago, Megabear2 said:

Hi, for those still interested on the Covid insurance clause on this link who have not moved to the Caribbean Quarantine section, I though that it might be of interest that i have just spoken to my CEO contact and the meeting to discuss the issue/policy was being held 12.00pm today, with hopefully an announcement and new terms and conditions soon after.  They apologised for the delay.  Once anything is forthcoming I will of course let everyone know.

 

Meantime I'm off to book my new QE Itinerary for next year, I'm that confident it will be okay!

 

Thank you, hopefully it will give us some news which would encourage us to still take our cruise next year. I wonder if those of us that wrote to them will be updated by email. I haven't seen the Caribbean as it's not a place that I'm interested in going to.

[Interestedcruisefan]

On 11/15/2021 at 10:15 AM, molecrochip said:

 

 

There is a well established view that the knowledge of positive cases on board ship could cause  significant passenger concern therefore the crew are told not to discuss it (if they have been made aware).

 

 

I'm sorry but I've got to take you up on that comment. It's a total cop out

 

Covid kills people 

 

That's why it quite rightly causes significant passenger concern

 

Cruise lines have a duty to protect our health.

 

Immediately a cruise line knows they have positive cases on board they should inform passengers. We are all grown ups

 

It would focus passengers to take more care on board with social distancing and hand sanitation etc. It doesn't have to spoil the holiday. Passengers knowing to take more care would reduce any spread and save lives

 

Pretending it's not there is not the answer

 

Simple as that

[Interestedcruisefan]

On 11/15/2021 at 4:41 PM, Dermotsgirl said:

Interesting you should say that, as I've formed the impression that the cruise companies are trying to keep quiet about any Covid cases on board.

 

Personally, and this might be just me, it causes me more concern that I wouldn't be told about positive cases if I was onboard. We're still in a global pandemic, so I think people should be informed about the situation on the ship.. 

 

Normally,  I use the information that is available to us to inform my choices - I don't see why this should be any different onboard the ship

 

Entirely agree

 

I have no doubt the reason cruiselines are keeping the world in the dark about Covid cases on board is entirely self interest and to the detriment of the health and safety of their passengers

 

Nothing to do at all with trying not to spoil the cruise experience

 

 

 

 

[ROBYNARCHROY]

2 hours ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

Entirely agree

 

I have no doubt the reason cruiselines are keeping the world in the dark about Covid cases on board is entirely self interest and to the detriment of the health and safety of their passengers

 

Nothing to do at all with trying not to spoil the cruise experience

 

 

 

 

Completely agree here. My own experience on a recent Marella explorer 2 cruise we saw ambulances queued at Almeria taking off passengers. We were told 10 people were disembarked by ambulance. The ambulances were escorted out of the port by a police car with blue lights flashing. We also saw the hazmat suited escort as pax were escorted to the ambulance.

My wife felt a little unwell on the last day and tested covid positive on our return. I followed swiftly after.

I have tried to communicate with TUI via social media, post holiday feedback form, and raised a complaint about some of the things we saw while on board. TUI will not communicate in any way with me regarding the covid on this cruise. God knows how many people tested positive after. There was a last night lateral flow test for all passengers. After the farce of close queuing for over an hour the "tester" barely waved a swab up our nose and that was that. I suspect they can't afford to actually show mass infection on a ship.

It seems an obvious conclusion that they are trying to hide behind a wall of silence.

Yes, it's always about personal risk, but I'd like to have all the facts before I take my life chances and not what a cruiseline wishes their paying passengers to know.

We'll certainly be waiting a while before cruising again. 

 

[Bertie Doe]

26 minutes ago, ROBYNARCHROY said:

 

My wife felt a little unwell on the last day and tested covid positive on our return. I followed swiftly after.

 

 Sorry to hear that and trust you are now both fully recovered. It looks like booster jabs are going to be around for some time to come.

[Megabear2]

1 hour ago, ROBYNARCHROY said:

Completely agree here. My own experience on a recent Marella explorer 2 cruise we saw ambulances queued at Almeria taking off passengers. We were told 10 people were disembarked by ambulance. The ambulances were escorted out of the port by a police car with blue lights flashing. We also saw the hazmat suited escort as pax were escorted to the ambulance.

My wife felt a little unwell on the last day and tested covid positive on our return. I followed swiftly after.

I have tried to communicate with TUI via social media, post holiday feedback form, and raised a complaint about some of the things we saw while on board. TUI will not communicate in any way with me regarding the covid on this cruise. God knows how many people tested positive after. There was a last night lateral flow test for all passengers. After the farce of close queuing for over an hour the "tester" barely waved a swab up our nose and that was that. I suspect they can't afford to actually show mass infection on a ship.

It seems an obvious conclusion that they are trying to hide behind a wall of silence.

Yes, it's always about personal risk, but I'd like to have all the facts before I take my life chances and not what a cruiseline wishes their paying passengers to know.

We'll certainly be waiting a while before cruising again. 

 

I'm sorry to hear of your experience and hope you are now fully recovered.  When you say recent is this in the past few weeks?  May I also ask were Marella testing throughout the cruise and this is how the cases were picked up?  I am intrigued that some cruise lines (including P&O) do not offer any tests or checks unless required by the ports for entry and yet these cases are appearing.  My own thought going into another winter of Covid is that if the itinerary is one which does not require tests to go ashore, undetected cases may cause infections such as your own.  We had another poster on this thread a few pages back who contracted Covid and had no idea as neither he nor his wife felt unwell.  Fred offloaded him along with others and he had to find his own way back home.

 

Whilst following the common sense approach and being cautious is the best we personally can do, I can't help wondering if testing on board is showing up more cases than expected and perhaps as little testing is being done on board by some lines they are able to mask the number of infections, albeit numbers are small when looking at the number who have sailed since the restart.

 

 

[ROBYNARCHROY]

16 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

I'm sorry to hear of your experience and hope you are now fully recovered.  When you say recent is this in the past few weeks?  May I also ask were Marella testing throughout the cruise and this is how the cases were picked up?  I am intrigued that some cruise lines (including P&O) do not offer any tests or checks unless required by the ports for entry and yet these cases are appearing.  My own thought going into another winter of Covid is that if the itinerary is one which does not require tests to go ashore, undetected cases may cause infections such as your own.  We had another poster on this thread a few pages back who contracted Covid and had no idea as neither he nor his wife felt unwell.  Fred offloaded him along with others and he had to find his own way back home.

 

Whilst following the common sense approach and being cautious is the best we personally can do, I can't help wondering if testing on board is showing up more cases than expected and perhaps as little testing is being done on board by some lines they are able to mask the number of infections, albeit numbers are small when looking at the number who have sailed since the restart.

 

 

Thank you. Yes very recent. We were on a weeks cruise around Spain and flew home on 31st October.

My wife is still suffering breathing difficulties and off work. I fared better but am a little wiped out still and struggling with work, but as self employed have to try to soldier on.

We're both fully jabbed, in our fifties, and sensibly cautious in life. We've been to Greece and Turkey through the pandemic and have been fine. We were "unlucky" on the cruise.

Marella had a pre departure lft  taken at home, which means nothing in my experience as lft's mostly only show the most severely infected not those that could be asymptomatic at the time of testing/boarding.

Marella had a temperature check every day and if you didn't take it your cruise card was blocked. 

It was only the last day everyone was required to take a lateral flow test, but IMHO this was just box ticking.

I do hope cruises survive this opening up, but think it's important that if we feel there's a suppression of information we all share our experiences with facts rather than leaping around shouting "We're all doomed."

As mentioned, TUI will not engage at all about this. I draw my own conclusions.

[mercury7289]

43 minutes ago, ROBYNARCHROY said:

Thank you. Yes very recent. We were on a weeks cruise around Spain and flew home on 31st October.

My wife is still suffering breathing difficulties and off work. I fared better but am a little wiped out still and struggling with work, but as self employed have to try to soldier on.

We're both fully jabbed, in our fifties, and sensibly cautious in life. We've been to Greece and Turkey through the pandemic and have been fine. We were "unlucky" on the cruise.

Marella had a pre departure lft  taken at home, which means nothing in my experience as lft's mostly only show the most severely infected not those that could be asymptomatic at the time of testing/boarding.

Marella had a temperature check every day and if you didn't take it your cruise card was blocked. 

It was only the last day everyone was required to take a lateral flow test, but IMHO this was just box ticking.

I do hope cruises survive this opening up, but think it's important that if we feel there's a suppression of information we all share our experiences with facts rather than leaping around shouting "We're all doomed."

As mentioned, TUI will not engage at all about this. I draw my own conclusions.

Just viewed the Infinity pool over spill on Iona, got sorted very quickly apparently. However wondered why a man in a hazmat suit walked through the shot? Also feel as you do that incidences are being hushed up. Does not give me any confidence to book