Live From Koningsdam Quarantine

[Coyote Chris]

32 minutes ago, dchip said:

EXACTLY. I talked to DH about this yesterday. Our masks aren’t coming off our nose and mouth until we get in our hotel room. Luckily we have a short flight but there is still time in the airports on both ends. 

Good for you!  When I was a radio tech for our state patrol, we were given N100 masks and tested on their use, for dealing with hanta virus, which has a 40 percent mortality rate.  3M 8233s are available on ebay for $10. they have a wide neoprene seal all around and wide adjustable straps. The are comfortable.  Watch the flight attendant's hands. They touch the hands of 50 other people and then put their fingers on the lip of the plastic cup they give YOU to drink out of with your mask OFF. Rubbish. And anyone who believes that the air is replenished every 3 minutes hasnt sat back in their seat at night and watched the dust particles floating around the reading lights. The Pilot and copilot on Boeing aircraft get fresh air from the HVAC packs. YOU get half fresh and half recirculated flatuance with decreased O2 and increased C02.  If it gets too stuffy, the flight attendants tell the capt and he/she turns off the two recirculation fans so that everyone gets fresh air for awhile (costing the company a few bucks) Here is another tip. Omicron and especially BA.2 love the upper respritory passages. Think about squeeze bottle nasal rinsing every so often with the provided saline packets.  Is it disgusting and takes technique? Yes. But its worth it.

[Joanne G.]

11 hours ago, GeezerCouple said:

 . . . (I do find it difficult to comprehend that some of this couldn't have been anticipated better.  We had some vacation rental properties for a few years, and either we planned ahead for assorted snafus, or we really tried to figure something HELPFUL out asap... and we tried to overcompensate for any inconvenience our guest encountered.  Some of it was really rather predictable if one just tried to think about it.  And "what to do on the run"... it just doesn't sound like there was much effort put into some of that by HAL, and that's really unfortunate.  They are IN the "hospitality business", after all!  </rant>) . . . 

 

I absolutely agree.   These may be unprecedented times, but that's when competent management steps up, makes plans, finds solutions, and stays on top of changing circumstances.   And we do have more information on how the virus spreads than we did at the time of those ill-fated early 2020 cruises, including the difference between airborne transmission and transmission from surfaces.  

 

The reports of lukewarm or even cold food are particularly galling to me.   For someone who is not feeling seriously ill, as appears to be the case of many of those reporting from quarantine, I imagine a meal is a welcome event in light of the boredom.   I bet if a top-loyalty-tier top-suite-dwelling passenger orders room service, it arrives hot.  

 

I am very grateful to all who have reported from quarantine.  Based on reports from several of the major cruise lines, if this is the best the cruise lines can do, it's not good enough for me.   I have pushed my cruises into 2023, wanting to see months of near-normal experiences before cruising again.  (For the record, I am not hiding in my basement, which those of us who pass on cruising are often accused of LOL.  There are other vacation and recreation options.)  

 

To those who are cruising now, I know the chances of testing positive on board are extremely low, and I fully understand the desire to get on a ship, especially when it appears the crowds are less than normal.  I wish you happy and healthy cruises.   

 

Edited February 2, 2022 by Joanne G.

[Riversedge]

11 hours ago, Teresa! said:

@Riversedge, We are sailing the K'dam the first week of April in cabin 5124, which seems to be in the same block as your 5157, but on the other side of the ship. I haven't received word of a cabin change. Do you know if the rooms on the other hall were also used for quarantine?

 

 

Yes, both sides used for quarantine on this cruise.  They still have entertainers, crew and passengers testing positive.  The passengers are being moved to a hotel. I have no idea how many or the amount of covid on the ship.  The most I could get anyone to say was “a lot”. 

[Coyote Chris]

1 hour ago, Riversedge said:

Yes, both sides used for quarantine on this cruise.  They still have entertainers, crew and passengers testing positive.  The passengers are being moved to a hotel. I have no idea how many or the amount of covid on the ship.  The most I could get anyone to say was “a lot”. 

No one is going to tell us anything.  If they are indeed vaxing and boosting their crew, who live in close quarters, then we can expect asymptomatic (50%) and symptomatic  covid to race through them...In fact, in two weeks, their positivity rate will probably drop dramatically, depending on what tests they are given.  Right now, screening in the US population ...for instance the entire Seattle school system and people going to hospitals for child birth, etc, is showing a population wide positivity rate from 4-10 percent.  But that is vaxed, vaxed and boosted and unvaxed.  

 

If you are a pax who has been very careful on your flights and in airports and hotels before the cruise, and get on board SARS2 virus free, yes, you can still pick up the virus from a crew member or pax. There will be a 3-7 day incubation period (no one knows for sure) and then you have a 50 percent chance, if you are vaxed and boosted, of having symptoms.   

 

But you can sway the odds in your favor.

1. Sail HAL. The pax are in general a bunch of old people who remember polio and have been successful in life due to their intelligence.  The are mostly vaxxed AND boosted.  Stay away from any spring break cruises full of college kids who use their college loan money to party and puke in the hallways.

2.  Stay in your room or outside as much as possible and when you have to be inside, wear a quality mask.  Yes, a 3M 1830 is not that much fun to put on....but they work.  The are surgical rated for squirting blood.  

3. Pick you fights.  I am not eating in a crowded MDR where crew are rushing hither and yon making air currents carrying carrying the virus.  Early on, there were reports that this is how covid was spread in aircraft (SARS1)  and in dining establishments in Korea, for instance.  

4. Dont live your life in fear.  But dont be stupid. 

[Coyote Chris]

This is a great thread. I am going on the Mighty K Feb 20th for a week.  I dont care for concerts and I have been to many Capt's lectures....right now, I just want to get away from 43 days of gloom, cold and snow and sit out on the fantail smoking section in the warmth and talk with other "looked down upon" smokers.  And drink. Thanks to this thread, I know know I need powdered gater aid and a container to drink it out of and smuggle fluids out of the lido.  At the dollar store, there are many containers with cheep meds or metamucil that make dandy 8 oz water bottles you can put in your man pouch or purse.

I know to bring my nose rinse squeeze bottle and blast any viruses out of my nasal passages twice a day..  or at least limit my viral load.....

Chris who doesnt inhale

[Hogladyrider]

1 hour ago, Coyote Chris said:

No one is going to tell us anything.  If they are indeed vaxing and boosting their crew, who live in close quarters, then we can expect asymptomatic (50%) and symptomatic  covid to race through them...In fact, in two weeks, their positivity rate will probably drop dramatically, depending on what tests they are given.  Right now, screening in the US population ...for instance the entire Seattle school system and people going to hospitals for child birth, etc, is showing a population wide positivity rate from 4-10 percent.  But that is vaxed, vaxed and boosted and unvaxed.  

 

If you are a pax who has been very careful on your flights and in airports and hotels before the cruise, and get on board SARS2 virus free, yes, you can still pick up the virus from a crew member or pax. There will be a 3-7 day incubation period (no one knows for sure) and then you have a 50 percent chance, if you are vaxed and boosted, of having symptoms.   

 

But you can sway the odds in your favor.

1. Sail HAL. The pax are in general a bunch of old people who remember polio and have been successful in life due to their intelligence.  The are mostly vaxxed AND boosted.  Stay away from any spring break cruises full of college kids who use their college loan money to party and puke in the hallways.

2.  Stay in your room or outside as much as possible and when you have to be inside, wear a quality mask.  Yes, a 3M 1830 is not that much fun to put on....but they work.  The are surgical rated for squirting blood.  

3. Pick you fights.  I am not eating in a crowded MDR where crew are rushing hither and yon making air currents carrying carrying the virus.  Early on, there were reports that this is how covid was spread in aircraft (SARS1)  and in dining establishments in Korea, for instance.  

4. Dont live your life in fear.  But dont be stupid. 

You are joking of course correct?

[Sea42]

3 hours ago, Coyote Chris said:

right now, I just want to get away from 43 days of gloom, cold and snow and sit out on the fantail smoking section in the warmth and talk with other "looked down upon" smokers.  And drink.

🤣

[Coyote Chris]

4 hours ago, Hogladyrider said:

You are joking of course correct?

About what?

[Riversedge]

22 hours ago, Coyote Chris said:

Here is another tip. Omicron and especially BA.2 love the upper respritory passages. Think about squeeze bottle nasal rinsing every so often with the provided saline packets.  Is it disgusting and takes technique? Yes. But its worth it.

I wish that would have worked for me.  I have done a nasal rinse 2x a day for 2 years.  Unfortunately it didn’t help me keep from getting Covid.  I even carry a water purifier with me so I can use it on cruises.  

[12cruise2]

Teresa, re room change.  We sailed last Nov-Dec. for four weeks on the NA.  We got on the ship and went to our cabin--no keys in an envelope at the door.  We knew the stewards from a cruise the month earlier, so they let us in to drop off our bags, then we headed to Guest Relations.  Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap into the computer--finally they said, oh, you have been moved to this new cabin and that's where your keys are--I went to the newly assigned cabin, found the keys.  There was never any apology, any explanation, nothing.  Then, of course, it turned into another hassle after I asked if we could stay in this new cabin for the second two weeks--I was told yes right away, the second day of the first two weeks, we could.  But oh, no, a hassle at the end of the first two weeks because they didn't want us to stay--I think it might have been sold to someone else in the process, so that couple got upgraded and we, after hassle after hassle, got to stay in the new cabin for the full four weeks.  I think they moved us because our original cabin, while not a balcony, was near the isolation cabins or something--we were never told anything.

[Ellen495]

I read this entire thread last night. I'm so glad you're out of quarantine and you weren't too sick. But what a horrid experience!

I called HAL yesterday (before reading your thread, but reading someone else's who was taken off the ship). The HAL agent told me no one is ever taken off the ship. They said there is no testing on board (but maybe it's different as we are going to Alaska vs. Hawaii. How would they know someone was sick unless they test regularly on board - it makes me nervous that they don't test. Seems to me it would be easy to simply keep your stuffy nose, slight fever to yourself and continue on your way on the cruise while infecting others - NOT saying this is right, nor would I do this - though I can understand people not going to the doctor for a stuffy nose........ So how will they know if anyone has Covid after boarding unless there's mandatory testing during the cruise?). 

I'm seriously considering cancelling as I don't want to risk quarantining.  I certainly don't want to get others sick.

I also think it's rotten that HAL wasn't clear. They told me (when I phoned yesterday) that the negative person is not allowed to join the positive person in quarantine. Furthermore, the guy I spoke to had no statistics as to how many people have been quarantined. Seems to me there should be some public data. I found some for other companies. https://www.cdc.gov/quarantine/cruise/cruise-ship-color-status.html

Take care and THANK YOU for sharing your experience. 

Ellen

[ger_77]

6 minutes ago, Ellen495 said:

I read this entire thread last night. I'm so glad you're out of quarantine and you weren't too sick. But what a horrid experience!

I called HAL yesterday (before reading your thread, but reading someone else's who was taken off the ship). The HAL agent told me no one is ever taken off the ship. They said there is no testing on board (but maybe it's different as we are going to Alaska vs. Hawaii. How would they know someone was sick unless they test regularly on board - it makes me nervous that they don't test. Seems to me it would be easy to simply keep your stuffy nose, slight fever to yourself and continue on your way on the cruise while infecting others - NOT saying this is right, nor would I do this - though I can understand people not going to the doctor for a stuffy nose........ So how will they know if anyone has Covid after boarding unless there's mandatory testing during the cruise?). 

I'm seriously considering cancelling as I don't want to risk quarantining.  I certainly don't want to get others sick.

I also think it's rotten that HAL wasn't clear. They told me (when I phoned yesterday) that the negative person is not allowed to join the positive person in quarantine. Furthermore, the guy I spoke to had no statistics as to how many people have been quarantined. Seems to me there should be some public data. I found some for other companies. https://www.cdc.gov/quarantine/cruise/cruise-ship-color-status.html

Take care and THANK YOU for sharing your experience. 

Ellen

I'll bet if you called today and spoke with a different rep, you'd get a different answer.  They aren't all on the same page.

 

[Hogladyrider]

I believe this quarantine situation is a "learn as you go" situation with all cruise lines.

[julia]

4 hours ago, ger_77 said:

I'll bet if you called today and spoke with a different rep, you'd get a different answer.  They aren't all on the same page.

 

Absolutely!!  You could call a dozen times and get a dozen different answers. The reps have no clue what protocols are actually happening on the ships.  The various quarantine threads here on Cruise Critic are first hand accounts.

[Coyote Chris]

15 hours ago, Riversedge said:

I wish that would have worked for me.  I have done a nasal rinse 2x a day for 2 years.  Unfortunately it didn’t help me keep from getting Covid.  I even carry a water purifier with me so I can use it on cruises.  

What we dont know is....did the nasal rinse lower the Omicron viral load and keep you from getting even sicker?  Nose rinsing would have probably been low effective against Alpha and Delta cause they LOVE lung tissue...which did you have?  Research is now ongoing about nose rinsing and Omicron but I have had very good luck using it and zinc lozenges for colds in the past.  

[atexsix]

On 1/28/2022 at 8:48 PM, Riversedge said:

Some thoughts on my last night.  I’ve tried to be positive and upbeat but let me leave you with some realities.  This is not fun, not a relaxing 10 and a half days of leisure.  Many of you will say you are going to cruise because, well heck, you could get this from the grocery store, post office, etc.  

 

So ask yourself:

 

Could I manage the stress of getting sick on a ship where you would have no access to a ventilator or advanced care?  Would you put your spouse in that position? You might not get very sick but we don’t get to choose that part. 
 

Can you handle days on end where the only people you talk to are the dining room crew that takes your meal order?  And a traveling companion if you are lucky enough to not be traveling alone.  And remember, they are not having fun either.  
 

Can you handle living in a room where the toilet is disgustingly dirty, the trash is overflowing, the food is lukewarm and the tv channels are limited to political stations? Where food is served heaped in paper boxes, drinks are out of paper cups and you’re expected to eat off from wooden utensils? For days on end. 
 

Are you able to handle the exhaustion and the worry that maybe you will get worse, not better, and don’t have the comforts of home such as your own bed, hot drinks and your own choice of comfort food?  
 

What about the stress of flying back home across the country or the possibility of getting off and quarantining in a hotel?  
 

I have formed a friendship with the 4 cabins to the left of me.   We have supported each other as well as we can when it’s hard to hear each other across a long outdoor space.  Every one of us has said if we had known this was going to happen to us we would never have boarded this ship.  And everyone of us has said an overwhelming NO to cruising again any time in the near future.  I would have to drag my husband on another ship kicking and screaming at this point.  I am still exhausted and although I am looking forward to getting out I know I will tire easily. And I’m the person who was climbing mountains before this cruise.  
 

I hope I have helped you with quarantine decisions to make.  Maybe some day I will reconnect with the friends I had made on other cruises and get to meet those of you who have helped me through this time.  It won’t be right away because this is not for me for awhile.  
 

I think that Koningsdam’s  guest services has tried.  I commend them for the special touches.  The decision to cruise is yours alone to make.  Choose wisely what is best for you and happy sailing if you decide to do so.   And thanks for making my days more bearable 
Linda

 

 

Wow.  I'm so sorry this happened to you.  I can remember asking the forum these same questions when we cruised last September but it hadn't happened to anyone yet, so nobody knew and the cruise lines weren't telling.  Now that the little secret has been spilled we'll surely be rethinking our vacation plans this year. 

[Coyote Chris]

On 2/3/2022 at 11:29 AM, atexsix said:

Wow.  I'm so sorry this happened to you.  I can remember asking the forum these same questions when we cruised last September but it hadn't happened to anyone yet, so nobody knew and the cruise lines weren't telling.  Now that the little secret has been spilled we'll surely be rethinking our vacation plans this year. 

ITA. People have some hard decisions to make. I am still booked for the Special K on the 20th. I will be alone, I am retired and frankly dont care when I get home if I am someplace warm.  What are they going to do to me?  Make me an old man with medical conditions? They are too late!   I wont be getting off the ship at ports of call and will be avoiding any entertainment other than drinking on the fan tail.  Personally, I think the whole crew and pax should be vaxxed and boosted. You may laugh but my biggest concern is the HVAC system...I dont care how many filters they put in the ducts....when I go to a hotel, I always  look for rooms that have individual HVAC systems.....if I get sick, I get sick....

[Storylady]

On 2/2/2022 at 11:19 AM, Coyote Chris said:

No one is going to tell us anything.  If they are indeed vaxing and boosting their crew, who live in close quarters, then we can expect asymptomatic (50%) and symptomatic  covid to race through them...In fact, in two weeks, their positivity rate will probably drop dramatically, depending on what tests they are given.  Right now, screening in the US population ...for instance the entire Seattle school system and people going to hospitals for child birth, etc, is showing a population wide positivity rate from 4-10 percent.  But that is vaxed, vaxed and boosted and unvaxed.  

 

If you are a pax who has been very careful on your flights and in airports and hotels before the cruise, and get on board SARS2 virus free, yes, you can still pick up the virus from a crew member or pax. There will be a 3-7 day incubation period (no one knows for sure) and then you have a 50 percent chance, if you are vaxed and boosted, of having symptoms.   

 

But you can sway the odds in your favor.

1. Sail HAL. The pax are in general a bunch of old people who remember polio and have been successful in life due to their intelligence.  The are mostly vaxxed AND boosted.  Stay away from any spring break cruises full of college kids who use their college loan money to party and puke in the hallways.

2.  Stay in your room or outside as much as possible and when you have to be inside, wear a quality mask.  Yes, a 3M 1830 is not that much fun to put on....but they work.  The are surgical rated for squirting blood.  

3. Pick you fights.  I am not eating in a crowded MDR where crew are rushing hither and yon making air currents carrying carrying the virus.  Early on, there were reports that this is how covid was spread in aircraft (SARS1)  and in dining establishments in Korea, for instance.  

4. Dont live your life in fear.  But dont be stupid. 

The crew are vaccinated, sometimes twice if they were vaccinated in their home country. They also have had the booster shot. We have quite a few friends among the crew who have shown photos of being vaccinated. Even so, breakthrough cases do occur. As for the percentage of passengers and crew getting COVID. It was slightly more than 1%, but not as much as the Captain on the Zuiderdam expected. It must be less than one percent on the recent cruise of the Zuiderdam as they were allowed to dock in Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala. On our recent sailing of the Rotterdam, we made all our ports so the COVID count was under 1%. 
 

On the website we aren’t to mention, a passenger has been doing a daily posting of her experiences with being Quarantined. She tested positive and her husband was negative. She made herself a routine and has been handling being quarantined very well. Also, everyone need to look at Bill and Mary Anne’s blog and experiences of being quarantined in a quarantine hotel. Fortunately for them, they were taken off in Ft Lauderdale were they were quarantined for 5 days, but stayed an extra five days so they could rejoin the Nieuw Statendam when it returned to port. If quarantined in San Diego, it would have been 10 days. You only quarantine as long as there is a quarantine hotel where they can disembark you. Obviously on the Hawaii cruise, HAL didn’t have a quarantine hotel so quarantine was in the ship.

Edited February 8, 2022 by Storylady