Very Interesting Isolation Account

[teacherman]

I just read a long (many pages) entry on the Holland America board concerning a person in isolation on the Zuiderdam.  It appears that different cruise lines and different ships are doing this in so many different ways.   But what I found very interesting was that everyone on board had tested negative in order to cruise.  But then everyone had to retest prior to their Panama Canal transit, and that is when cases were found.

[cdn_tbird]

1 hour ago, teacherman said:

I just read a long (many pages) entry on the Holland America board concerning a person in isolation on the Zuiderdam.  It appears that different cruise lines and different ships are doing this in so many different ways.   But what I found very interesting was that everyone on board had tested negative in order to cruise.  But then everyone had to retest prior to their Panama Canal transit, and that is when cases were found.

It's not surprising. It is very possible that if you test during the incubation period you could get a negative result, or you could get infected after testing.

[bama4cruisin]

2 hours ago, teacherman said:

I just read a long (many pages) entry on the Holland America board concerning a person in isolation on the Zuiderdam.  It appears that different cruise lines and different ships are doing this in so many different ways.   But what I found very interesting was that everyone on board had tested negative in order to cruise.  But then everyone had to retest prior to their Panama Canal transit, and that is when cases were found.

I don’t find this surprising.  We sailed on the Apex TA last October, Barcelona to Ft Lauderdale.  We were tested at the port before boarding, then tested a few days later before reaching the Canary Islands.  We were then tested the day before arriving in Ft. Lauderdale (required since arriving from Europe).  All 1200~ passengers and 1100 crew tested negative.  However, this was before Omicron.

[mom says]

3 hours ago, teacherman said:

what I found very interesting was that everyone on board had tested negative in order to cruise.  But then everyone had to retest prior to their Panama Canal transit, and that is when cases were found.

If you found that surprising, or even interesting, then you haven't been paying attention to cruise news for the past several months. What would have been interesting was if NO ONE  had become positive since embarkation.

[teacherman]

What I found interesting was that everyone on board had to be tested before making a transit of the canal.  Someone said it is because the pilots want to know how many infections there are before they come on board for the transit.  I was not surprised that they found cases.  I have been paying great attention, as we are scheduled to cruise next week.

[SbbquilterUT]

Unfortunately the latest data on Omicron shows an incubation period as short as 2 days so preboarding testing is only a baseline.  In communities around the US we are seeing positivity rates of over 30% with little serious illness in vaccinated/boosted patients.  Currently here in Utah the policy is if you have symptoms, self quarantine for 5 days then mask fully for 5 more, no need to test as the testing sites are overrun.  

Edited January 15, 2022 by SbbquilterUT
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[Lastdance]

30 minutes ago, SbbquilterUT said:

Unfortunately the latest data on Omicron shows an incubation period as short as 2 days so preboarding testing is only a baseline.  In communities around the US we are seeing positivity rates of over 30% with little serious illness in vaccinated/boosted patients.  Currently here in Utah the policy is if you have symptoms, self quarantine for 5 days then mask fully for 5 more, no need to test as the testing sites are overrun.  

Basically the same as what my MDVIP doc is recommending...the situation has really changed with Omicron and our response and attitudes need to change accordingly.  

Edited January 15, 2022 by Lastdance

[RichYak]

I think we're straying from what I believe is the original point being made by @teacherman that EVERYONE on a particular HAL sailing was being tested on board DURING the cruise. That would be an automatic no go for me.

[LGW59]

11 minutes ago, RichYak said:

I think we're straying from what I believe is the original point being made by @teacherman that EVERYONE on a particular HAL sailing was being tested on board DURING the cruise. That would be an automatic no go for me.

But what if you were already on-board, and they decided they would be doing this?

[sanger727]

That may have been an itinerary specific requirement. For example, carnival doesn’t do any required cruise testing - except they are doing to prior to entering hawaii. Because hawaii requires it. This may be a situation where it’s a good idea to be away of requirements for less common cruises. They may be different than the typical closed loop caribbean.

[RichYak]

1 hour ago, LGW59 said:

But what if you were already on-board, and they decided they would be doing this?

I'd be pretty pi$$ed. But now I know it's a possibility for a panama canal transit cruise, so all of those are off my to-do list for now.

[Julma]

19 minutes ago, RichYak said:

I'd be pretty pi$$ed. But now I know it's a possibility for a panama canal transit cruise, so all of those are off my to-do list for now.

Curious as to why a test during the cruise would bother you?  I would think it may start happening as more and more countries are requiring negative Covid tests within a certain timeframe to enter.

[jagoffee]

Clearly is anyone would be really upset if they are forced to test on board a cruise or if they are required to wear a mask when inside, they should definitely not cruise at this time.  It could not be clearer IMO.  Guaranteed no masks/or no forced Covid testing cruises. do not exist. 
 

[canderson]

1 hour ago, Julma said:

Curious as to why a test during the cruise would bother you?  I would think it may start happening as more and more countries are requiring negative Covid tests within a certain timeframe to enter.

Because at this point, the objective of maintaining a zero-COVID style testing policy in the face of the easily transmissible omicron is a fool's errand.  

 

While an abject failure with the more serious earlier variants, perhaps it is past time to reconsider the original concept of protocols sufficient only to avoid overrunning the ship's medical services with serious cases.  

 

TeeRick sees the handwriting on the wall that others seem to be missing.  With asymptomatic positive numbers becoming very high even amongst the vaccinated population thanks to omicron, cruise 'interruption' due to additional testing of asymptomatic individuals becomes a great deal more likely.

[canderson]

Sorry - that should have been RichYak, not TeeRick.  Too many Ricks to keep track of today.

 

FWIW, RichYak's concerns also explain why I think we'd not bother with another B2B right now.  It will be interesting to see how many B2B cruisers are not just getting caught up in contact tracing with additional positive results aboard, but actually test positive themselves and wind up being dropped off at the turn.

 

[RichYak]

2 hours ago, Julma said:

Curious as to why a test during the cruise would bother you?  I would think it may start happening as more and more countries are requiring negative Covid tests within a certain timeframe to enter.

What @canderson said. Every test is one more possibility of isolation on board. For the same reason, I wouldn't consider a B2B at this time.

[Turtles06]

4 hours ago, RichYak said:

I think we're straying from what I believe is the original point being made by @teacherman that EVERYONE on a particular HAL sailing was being tested on board DURING the cruise. That would be an automatic no go for me.

 

4 hours ago, sanger727 said:

That may have been an itinerary specific requirement.

 

Yes, the testing was on board during the cruise, and it was required by Panama for the full transit of the Canal.  Many folks don't realize that a number of locals, including the pilot, come on board for the transit.  Clearly, this was done to protect them.

 

It's unclear exactly when Panama imposed that testing requirement, and it seems that the guests may not have known about it in advance.  (I'm not certain, and happy to be corrected if I'm wrong.)  It certainly would be good for anyone booked on or contemplating a full transit to know if they might be tested on board, so they could determine whether to run the risk of being sent to isolation. 

 

BTW, the thread the OP referenced is absolutely fascinating.  It's this one, in case anyone is interested:

 

 

[Essiesmom]

If you read that thread, you will see that not only Panama was requiring testing - which has been in place for several months for full transits.  It caught Emerald Princess a couple of months ago.  But they had their port call in Cartagena changed to a technical stop because Colombia’s decided they wanted the entire ship tested before anyone would be able to go ashore.  There just was not time enough to do that, get the results and have enough hours for tours, etc.  EM

[bunzini]

We were not tested during our transit on the Milli in November.  I do believe I read about a HAL ship prior to that who they were made to test all of their crew (not passengers).  I can say when we stopped in Panama, you were not able to go on excursions unless they were Celebrity excursions (staying in the bubble).