Has the new Omicron variant delay the restart of cruising?

[Chiliburn]

18 minutes ago, Porky55 said:

Just for interest - have been following the Viking Star WC - left FL on 24 Dec to LA, have had up to 19 cases of Covid on board so far, but the ships protocols of isolation have managed the outbreak superbly. As of yesterday only 6 cases remain in isolation.

 

They expect an up tick on these numbers when the next group of passengers board in LA today, they have separated these pax from the passengers who have been on board. This separation will continue until all the new pax RAT test results return. 
 

Every morning they all have to leave a completed RAT test in their room for the room steward to collect (Vikings are saliva tests) and they get their results each evening. ‘IF’ a positive, the pax and close contacts are all hustled off to the isolation deck. I think they only quarantine them for 5 days and a negative test. There are temperature screens at the entrance to all dining venues and hand sanitisers all over the ship.

 

I have been watching with great interest how they manage Covid, because there is so much bad press again about cruises being cancelled because they can’t manage. At least ONE cruise line needs to show that it’s possible!!

There are Aussies on board as well 🤠

 

It’s interesting how the cruise lines are managing the pandemic and the shortage of crew.

I have been following Royal Caribbean.

They have their private island in the Caribbean called Coco cay.

It seem they are using a smaller ship for quarantine.

The larger ships come in and put infected crew off and pick up cleared crew.

Passagers hardly notice.

[Porky55]

1 hour ago, MicCanberra said:

Interesting, especially with the use of RAT tests each morning and how they are using them. I would have thought a positive result would  have them isolate immediately rather than that evening.

You are probably right Mic, the blog writer has so far only had negative tests.
Would assume as soon as the medical staff see a positive result the passengers & friends would be rounded up and herded into isolation. 
 

Must add, he is taking some wonderful photos 👍
 

link:

https://kolbsontheroad.blogspot.com/
 

 

[By The Bay]

14 hours ago, Porky55 said:

Just for interest - have been following the Viking Star WC - left FL on 24 Dec to LA, have had up to 19 cases of Covid on board so far, but the ships protocols of isolation have managed the outbreak superbly. As of yesterday only 6 cases remain in isolation.

 

They expect an up tick on these numbers when the next group of passengers board in LA today, they have separated these pax from the passengers who have been on board. This separation will continue until all the new pax RAT test results return. 
 

Every morning they all have to leave a completed RAT test in their room for the room steward to collect (Vikings are saliva tests) and they get their results each evening. ‘IF’ a positive, the pax and close contacts are all hustled off to the isolation deck. I think they only quarantine them for 5 days and a negative test. There are temperature screens at the entrance to all dining venues and hand sanitisers all over the ship.

 

I have been watching with great interest how they manage Covid, because there is so much bad press again about cruises being cancelled because they can’t manage. At least ONE cruise line needs to show that it’s possible!!

There are Aussies on board as well 🤠

 

The World Cruise has become a Trans-Atlantic, IMHO. 

[Porky55]

On 1/12/2022 at 8:13 AM, By The Bay said:

The World Cruise has become a Trans-Atlantic, IMHO. 

Many on Viking Star would agree, however cancellations are virtually nil. It seems that any direction right now is acceptable to most currently on board. Can’t say I blame them 😏

[onlyslightlymad]

An article in the Guardian today on the challenges faced by cruise ships in The Age of Omicron.  I am feeling less confident about my December cruise (but still hopeful).

 

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jan/12/cruise-covid-cases-ship-industry

[NSWP]

With the Covid occurrences happening in cruise ships overseas, I think our Federal and State Governments will be very nervous about green lighting cruise operations in this region.

[getting older slowly]

3 minutes ago, NSWP said:

With the Covid occurrences happening in cruise ships overseas, I think our Federal and State Governments will be very nervous about green lighting cruise operations in this region.

I think is issue is Les  that they one have the Big Red Button of Doom...

no Green lights in sight......

 

Green  ??? we will have to wait until St Patrick Day.. to see what happens

 

Don with Coffee

[portcbob]

30 minutes ago, getting older slowly said:

I think is issue is Les  that they one have the Big Red Button of Doom...

no Green lights in sight......

 

Green  ??? we will have to wait until St Patrick Day.. to see what happens

 

Don with Coffee

What's going to change in the future maybe?? for many years to come. So if the government has that attitude cancel cruising altogether.

[MicCanberra]

There were plenty of signs and warnings to heed. Sometimes people are blindsided by others with influence they shouldn't really have and now everyone has to suffer the consequences.

[ollyoeno]

 

Frank Del Rio today to Cruise Critic:

 

"COVID-19 On Cruise Ships Has Been Sensationalized for "A Cheap Headline"

 

During an hour-long call, Dr. Gottlieb spoke about COVID-19 and the spread of the omicron variant, giving reason people should be optimistic about the year ahead. He also spoke honestly about cruise, and the perception the industry faces even as it continues to be among the only travel-related industry to report COVID-19 infections onboard.

 

"Let's face it - at the outset of this entire ordeal, it was one or two cruise ships that personified the spread of this virus," said Gottlieb. "And I don’t' think that's an easy thing to shake. It is a congregate setting where the risk is always going to be apparent, and that's why we've taken the measures we've taken."

Gottlieb stated, however, that any form of travel carries the risk of COVID-19 infection, as do many non-travel-related activities.

 

"The reality is if you're going on vacation, no matter what you're doing, you're going to be put in congregate settings," said Gottlieb, mentioning airports, restaurants, and airplanes as examples. "You're going to be around people. I don't think the cruise environment is much different than that -- the only difference is we're taking measures to provide assurances people are vaccinated, we're testing, we're masking."

 

Del Rio spoke bitterly about the fact the data the industry reports to the CDC -- as defined by the agency's Conditional Sail Order -- is used against the industry that is abiding by it.

 

"The media, and even some politicians, turned to this hard data that we provide," said Del Rio. "And they take this news, and they sensationalize it for a cheap headline.

 

"We're the only industry they can pick on because we report cases. So, it's something we have to live with, but not something we like."

 

"Pandemics don't last forever," said Gottlieb.

 

"If you look historically at past pandemics, they last two to five years. We're now three years into this. Given the fact this has spread more quickly around the world, given the fact we've been able to hasten the immunity in the population through vaccinations, you would expect this to be the final year of the pandemic.

 

"I think this is going to be the year we start to transition out of the pandemic phase and into more of an endemic phase."

 

Dr. Gottlieb pointed to declining case numbers on the U.S. East Coast, in the UK, and in South Africa, where the omicron variant was first identified and reported in late November 2021.

 

"It's peaking right now," said Dr. Gottlieb of omicron's spread. "If you look at the epidemiology on the East Coast, certainly -- Florida, New York, and the Tri-state region, New England, Boston and Rhode Island -- you're seeing cases come down week over week. And that's now visible. It has peaked and it's coming down, and that trend is going to continue."

 

Asked to look into his crystal ball to see how the pandemic ends, Dr. Gottlieb presented a more realistic vision of how COVID-19 could cease to be a daily disruptor in people's lives.

 

"I've said before I think the pandemic's not going to end with a bang but with a whimper," Gottlieb said. "It's going to end when the prevalence declines, when the individual impact of infection is substantially reduced, when consumer confidence is regained.

 

"When will that point in time arrive? I think you're already seeing that transition. When we get past this wave of infection, I think we're going to see people want it to change. We're seeing people feel more secure -- many are vaccinated, some have already been infected -- but we want it to change. We want to get back to our normal lives."

Edited January 14, 2022 by ollyoeno

[NSWP]

Sounds like the US CDC is a toothless tiger, advisory, not regulatory.

[OzKiwiJJ]

Princess just rereleased their cancellation notice about the three Autumn Coral Princess cruises being cancelled. The only change in the notice was the bit that said that new itineraries for Autumn would be released sometime or other. That changed to Spring so we won't be seeing Coral here until around September. No winter cruises. 😪

[Aus Traveller]

17 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

Princess just rereleased their cancellation notice about the three Autumn Coral Princess cruises being cancelled. The only change in the notice was the bit that said that new itineraries for Autumn would be released sometime or other. That changed to Spring so we won't be seeing Coral here until around September. No winter cruises. 😪

It's not surprising that Princess have cancelled their autumn Coral Princess cruises. Maybe P&O will start up before Princess, but even so, it won't be for many months.

[NSWP]

1 hour ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

Princess just rereleased their cancellation notice about the three Autumn Coral Princess cruises being cancelled. The only change in the notice was the bit that said that new itineraries for Autumn would be released sometime or other. That changed to Spring so we won't be seeing Coral here until around September. No winter cruises. 😪

Once they canned the cruises before the Worldie then the worldie, that was then of the season. So now we wait to see if she arrives in September for the season inc the 2023 Worldie.  One hopes it will not be a repeat scenario of 2022.  She is a lovely ship, been on her twice, Alaska and Panama Canal, just the right size and good facilities.

[OzKiwiJJ]

1 hour ago, Aus Traveller said:

It's not surprising that Princess have cancelled their autumn Coral Princess cruises. Maybe P&O will start up before Princess, but even so, it won't be for many months.

No it's not surprising given our governments won't give the cruise industry any firm indication of when they might be able to restart here.😡

[OzKiwiJJ]

Still, it's probably a blessing in disguise that they haven't restarted yet with this Omicron outbreak. Imagine the panic in the governments if passengers or crew tested positive on a cruise. 😲😒

[Aus Traveller]

23 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

Still, it's probably a blessing in disguise that they haven't restarted yet with this Omicron outbreak. Imagine the panic in the governments if passengers or crew tested positive on a cruise. 😲😒

I agree. We could say the same about NSW - reduced restrictions then Omicron hit and Q'ld, opened the border just in time for Omicron. ☹️ In USA there are more problems for the cruise ships now that Omicron has hit.

Edited January 15, 2022 by Aus Traveller

[MMDown Under]

On 1/15/2022 at 5:12 PM, Aus Traveller said:

I agree. We could say the same about NSW - reduced restrictions then Omicron hit and Q'ld, opened the border just in time for Omicron. ☹️ In USA there are more problems for the cruise ships now that Omicron has hit.

I think the Qld. Govt. decision to open the border mid December in the middle of the school holidays was a bad one.  WA was smart going alone, announcing opening early Feb after school holidays.  Many Local people on the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast are just lying low, not going out, not spending much money.  When the current Omicron outbreak passes, we'll be ready to shop and travel again.  

[Aus Traveller]

2 hours ago, MMDown Under said:

I think the Qld. Govt. decision to open the border mid December in the middle of the school holidays was a bad one.  WA was smart going alone, announcing opening early Feb after school holidays.  Many Local people on the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast are just lying low, not going out, not spending much money.  When the current Omicron outbreak passes, we'll be ready to shop and travel again.  

I agree with your comments. However there was a lot of pressure for Anna to open the border before Christmas so families could be together. When Omicron started raging through NSW, maybe she should have reversed the decision, but that would have brought even more derision down on her head.

 

We are also lying low at the moment and many others are as well. We usually go the gym three mornings a week. The carpark that holds more than 60 cars is usually fairly full, but last Monday there were eight cars only and on Wednesday and Friday there were 20-25 cars at the time we usually go. Instead of the gym we go to our daughter's home (quite isolated) for a personal training session.

[Russell21]

Personally I think that the WA Premier is making a mistake in isolating the state, he is only postponing the inevitable, as has been seen in the other states on the relaxation of restrictions.

[Aus Traveller]

9 minutes ago, Russell21 said:

Personally I think that the WA Premier is making a mistake in isolating the state, he is only postponing the inevitable, as has been seen in the other states on the relaxation of restrictions.

While Queensland was isolated, people had the chance to get vaccinated. Since the border opened in December, we have had an enormous increase in cases in the community. Previously they were in quarantine. We haven't had the massive explosion that occurred in NSW.

[Russell21]

3 minutes ago, Aus Traveller said:

While Queensland was isolated, people had the chance to get vaccinated. Since the border opened in December, we have had an enormous increase in cases in the community. Previously they were in quarantine. We haven't had the massive explosion that occurred in NSW.

You haven't got the population either.

 

[NSWP]

13 minutes ago, Aus Traveller said:

While Queensland was isolated, people had the chance to get vaccinated. Since the border opened in December, we have had an enormous increase in cases in the community. Previously they were in quarantine. We haven't had the massive explosion that occurred in NSW.

I thought Qld is having around 15,000 new cases a day, that is an explosion given the population.

[MMDown Under]

On 1/17/2022 at 7:45 AM, Aus Traveller said:

I agree with your comments. However there was a lot of pressure for Anna to open the border before Christmas so families could be together. When Omicron started raging through NSW, maybe she should have reversed the decision, but that would have brought even more derision down on her head.

 

We are also lying low at the moment and many others are as well. We usually go the gym three mornings a week. The carpark that holds more than 60 cars is usually fairly full, but last Monday there were eight cars only and on Wednesday and Friday there were 20-25 cars at the time we usually go. Instead of the gym we go to our daughter's home (quite isolated) for a personal training session.

I understand and felt sorry for her.  There was enormous pressure from the Tourism Sector.  It takes true leadership to reverse a popular decision for the better good.  As Omicron started spreading throughout NSW, she could have compromised by letting people waiting at the border through first.  I was amazed how many people had applied to visit/shift to Queensland.  I guess a lot of people wanted a change.  

 

Yes no trouble finding close car parks.  Good idea to go to your daughter's isolated home for your exercise.

 

Watching Sam Stosur's last attendance at the Australian Tennis Open.  1-1.  She was a personal favourite doubles player.  Sam is a Queenslander.  Sam played her first professional singles tennis match in 1998.  

 

Marion 

[MMDown Under]

22 minutes ago, MMDown Under said:

I understand and felt sorry for her.  There was enormous pressure from the Tourism Sector.  It takes true leadership to reverse a popular decision for the better good.  As Omicron started spreading throughout NSW, she could have compromised by letting people waiting at the border through first.  I was amazed how many people had applied to visit/shift to Queensland.  I guess a lot of people wanted a change.  

 

Yes no trouble finding close car parks.  Good idea to go to your daughter's isolated home for your exercise.

 

Watching Sam Stosur's last attendance at the Australian Tennis Open.  1-1.  She was a personal favourite doubles player.  Sam is a Queenslander.  Sam played her first professional singles tennis match in 1998.  

 

Marion 

What do you do when the score is so close and you want someone to win desperately?  I sort my cutlery drawer.  My friend looks away.  Pat Rafter's mother used to go outside.