Is it safe to cruise right now?

[slidergirl]

With all the tourists who come to my town and stay in my condo project that I work with, I'm more likely to get re-infected in town or at work than out on a cruise.  Yes, someone infected me (and a lot of our town) before they really had COVID on the radar.  Thousands of people running around town maskless in cold weather - perfect conditions...

 

I wear a mask at work - all 5 of us do.  The boss' husband is undergoing cancer treatment so we want to do our best to not catch and transmit anything - COVID, cold, or flu.  

[navybankerteacher]

It is probably safer than going to the mall -- but is that sufficient reason?

 

Going to my dentist is also safer than going to the mall -- but that is a fairly low hurdle.  I have sufficient imagination (and options) to be able to find better ways of spending my time and money than to need to cruise under current conditions.

[sverigecruiser]

7 hours ago, ontheweb said:

I have an internet friend who also does cruises that just loves typos that totally change the meaning. I am sure you do not want a cruise with NO TASTING. The food would be quite boring.

 

I actually wholeheartedly agree with you about NO TESTING.

 

Probably not a typo. My guess is autocorrect!

[cruisemom42]

17 hours ago, ontheweb said:

I have an internet friend who also does cruises that just loves typos that totally change the meaning. I am sure you do not want a cruise with NO TASTING. The food would be quite boring.

 

I actually wholeheartedly agree with you about NO TESTING.

 

Of course, if one is recovering from COVID, there may well be "no tasting". A friend who had COVID lost her sense of taste for quite a long period afterwards...

[ilikeanswers]

20 hours ago, sverigecruiser said:

and no reduced capacity.

 

You are the first complaint I have seen about having less people on a ship😮. All the other other posters and reviews seem to be loving the lack of crowds. 

[ontheweb]

2 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

Of course, if one is recovering from COVID, there may well be "no tasting". A friend who had COVID lost her sense of taste for quite a long period afterwards...

That is true. And the ports better be extra special if there is no tasting. 

[sverigecruiser]

5 hours ago, ilikeanswers said:

 

You are the first complaint I have seen about having less people on a ship😮. All the other other posters and reviews seem to be loving the lack of crowds. 

 

I want it to be like it used to be. Haven or Yacht Club is not crowded without reduced capacity so thoose places are never crowded and that is enough for me.

[natlew99]

I personally would not want to cruise after holidays with pandemic and new variants. I would get refund and wait until after April or next year if you enjoy Jan/ Feb holiday. Think of spending all the time, $ to have to sit in room or worse get sick. Even with vaccines and testing there is to many people in the mix, also if you are flying, the chances of getting sick or someone on ship having virus are to high. Take a weekend getaway and save cruising for 6 months to a year from now once cases are not rising daily 

[evandbob]

I felt it was safe to cruise and did so in September, October and November.  The virus situation is very fluid though, and omicron presents new challenges.

 

We have a sailing at the end of January, and I haven't yet decided if I will go - perhaps our cruise at the end of March may be a better time if omicron fizzles out by then?  More will be revealed.

[Sea Hag]

We sailed twice in 2021 and plan to sail twice in 2022. Since we live in that wacky little Northern California town where the city council declared us a "constitutional republic not subject to government overreach (and yes, I do know that's utter nonsense), I feel safer on a ship than I do around town here with the unmasked anti-vaxers.

[Aquahound]

I thought it was somewhat safe up until recently.  I very much enjoyed my October cruise and felt safe.  However, I'm seeing this Omicron variant spread fast through my work and community; all of who are vaccinated.  I know more people who are sick now than previously through this whole pandemic.  Personally, I do not feel cruising is safe at this moment.  

[Markanddonna]

1 hour ago, Aquahound said:

I thought it was somewhat safe up until recently.  I very much enjoyed my October cruise and felt safe.  However, I'm seeing this Omicron variant spread fast through my work and community; all of who are vaccinated.  I know more people who are sick now than previously through this whole pandemic.  Personally, I do not feel cruising is safe at this moment.  

 

This is also our current thinking and situation.  Just brought homemade chicken soup to tripple vaxxed friends with COVID.

[navybankerteacher]

3 hours ago, Markanddonna said:

 

This is also our current thinking and situation.  Just brought homemade chicken soup to tripple vaxxed friends with COVID.

We are doing grocery shopping for three of our neighbors currently home-bound with fairly moderate COVID symptoms.   It is good that the illness seems less severe than previous manifestations, but it is disturbing that it is so transmissible - even to fully “immunized” people —- and, while death rates are down, hospitalizations are soaring.   It is unfortunate that so many, seemingly tired of the game, do not take it seriously:  resisting masking and distancing.

[sfaaa]

Don't feel safe. I recently cancelled my March and April 2022 cruise due to Omicron outbreak. Leaning towards canceling my May cruise as well.

[ldubs]

8 hours ago, sfaaa said:

Don't feel safe. I recently cancelled my March and April 2022 cruise due to Omicron outbreak. Leaning towards canceling my May cruise as well.

 

In another thread I mentioned we are canceling both our 2022 cruises.  The first was to her in April.  The second cruise is in August.  We could continue to wait to see how things shake out for the August one, but are kind of tired of doing that.  It just doesn't feel like something we will enjoy.  Instead, we will hopefully be able to plan some land travel.   

[Toofarfromthesea]

I would feel perfectly safe, cruising.  I've had COVID and have confidence in my acquired natural immunity.

 

But I won't pay good money for a vacation where "protocols" rob the vacation of much of the enjoyment.

[cruisemom42]

Word just in on the NCL forum that a current cruise on NCL has been canceled due to COVID cases among crew members.

 

The ship will return to Miami tomorrow but the cruise was scheduled to last until Jan 14th.  Passengers are getting full refunds or full reinstatement of FCCs (if used).

 

Interestingly they provide no numbers in their very carefully worded letter to passengers, which can be read here:

 

 

[ldubs]

I was listening to Mrs Ldubs cancel our August cruise.  Guy asked why she wanted to cancel. Mrs Ldubs says because she is uncomfortable with what is happening with the pandemic, and we would reconsider cruises in 2023.  Guy says that isn't a valid reason for a refund.  Mrs Ldubs says that is nice to know but since our payment is fully refundable she doesn't care.  Guy pauses then says we will see a full refund on our CC.    Sounds like the poor guy was dealing with so may "cancel with confidence" calls he just assumed this was another.    

[Markanddonna]

Last week when I spoke with an agent, it was obvious she sincerely had no clue about the number of positive cases, canceled islands and ports, etc.

[ilikeanswers]

9 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

Word just in on the NCL forum that a current cruise on NCL has been canceled due to COVID cases among crew members.

 

The ship will return to Miami tomorrow but the cruise was scheduled to last until Jan 14th.  Passengers are getting full refunds or full reinstatement of FCCs (if used).

 

Interestingly they provide no numbers in their very carefully worded letter to passengers, which can be read here:

 

 

 

Another one to add to the list :

Passengers leave COVID-hit cruise ship after 5 days stuck in Lisbon

[navybankerteacher]

11 hours ago, Markanddonna said:

Last week when I spoke with an agent, it was obvious she sincerely had no clue about the number of positive cases, canceled islands and ports, etc.

Perhaps she was just very, very good at seeming to be sincere in spouting her assigned pitch covering awkward questions which might make her sales job more difficult --- on the other hand, she might have been just so stupid that it would be a mistake to consider dealing with her under any circumstances.

[SelectSys]

3 hours ago, navybankerteacher said:

Perhaps she was just very, very good at seeming to be sincere in spouting her assigned pitch covering awkward questions which might make her sales job more difficult --- on the other hand, she might have been just so stupid that it would be a mistake to consider dealing with her under any circumstances.

 

I would expect that agents in the call center have little if any operational information outside what is available to the public via the news.  I would expect that this lack of real time information is intentional on the part of the lines for a variety of reasons.

[ldubs]

50 minutes ago, SelectSys said:

 

I would expect that agents in the call center have little if any operational information outside what is available to the public via the news.  I would expect that this lack of real time information is intentional on the part of the lines for a variety of reasons.

 

Of course that is correct.  A call center person is not going to be made aware of anything beyond what is needed for them to assist with bookings.   

[cruisemom42]

Almost more concerning to me than reports of COVID and quarantining on ships is what is happening to COVID-positive passengers at disembarkation. Several (including on Celebrity and HAL cruises) have posted that the cruise lines don't exactly have their acts together when it comes to making and sharing post-cruise plans. If you can drive home it seems to be okay. However, if you have to fly you'll be quarantined at a local hotel (or motel) that is not necessarily of equivalent quality to cruise accommodations; little information is being shared until the last minute and it appears the cruise lines are scrambling to find rooms at places willing to take COVID-positive guests.

 

Wasn't it one of the CDC requirements that cruise ships would have agreements in advance to house such passengers?  Oh wait -- we don't need all that regulatory oversight; just let the ships handle it on their own, I'm sure they'll follow through appropriately. 🙄

 

This, for example, was just posted on the HAL forum:

 

"My family sailed on a recent Zuiderdam cruise and still got Covid.  Isolation had to continue off ship after disembarkation at a hotel that was less than stellar accommodations because it was the only hotel, actually MOTEL, willing to take Covid patients.  No room service.  Find food delivery on your own.  So, you should consider that if you decide to cruise.  This could be the grand finale to your cruise vacation."    

[navybankerteacher]

I’d feel fairly “safe” if we are talking about my health — but if it is a question of whether the cruise is likely to be an enjoyable experience, I would not consider that a “safe” bet at all.