Is Aurora sailing tonight

[Mollag]

I hope Les isn’t one of the unlucky ones who tested positive today prior to arrival in Barbados and was told there’s a 2-3 day wait for an isolation cabin

[Megabear2]

Fingers crossed... joking apart how many cabins are actually earmarked for quarantine of crew/guests.  Also if there are so many what will happen post Barbados- aren't a lot of islands saying no entry above a certain percentage  ?

[Mollag]

9 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

Fingers crossed... joking apart how many cabins are actually earmarked for quarantine of crew/guests.  Also if there are so many what will happen post Barbados- aren't a lot of islands saying no entry above a certain percentage  ?

No idea what’s going to happen QV at a rough guess

[Megabear2]

8 minutes ago, Mollag said:

No idea what’s going to happen QV at a rough guess

Sounds like she might get busy then. Good job Azura and Britannia are coming home and she will only have this one and the QM2 sailings to deal with after that.

 

Cruise mapper shows her about to be passed by Ventura going the other way.  I assume all is well with her at least.

 

Is it tomorrow Aurora gets to Barbados?

Edited March 9, 2022 by Megabear2

[Mollag]

23 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

Sounds like she might get busy then. Good job Azura and Britannia are coming home and she will only have this one and the QM2 sailings to deal with after that.

 

Cruise mapper shows her about to be passed by Ventura going the other way.  I assume all is well with her at least.

 

Is it tomorrow Aurora gets to Barbados?

No idea about Ventura not aboard her

[sogne]

as she has not appeared to have turned back to UK like the SoA it would seem that any outbreak is below the Caribbean threshold for non entry

[tring]

1 hour ago, sogne said:

as she has not appeared to have turned back to UK like the SoA it would seem that any outbreak is below the Caribbean threshold for non entry

 

No, the difference is that Carnival have Queen Vic hanging around near Barbados and people testing positive are being transferred to her from different cruise brands.

 

At this time a larger cruise company is at an advantage with that.

 

Edited March 10, 2022 by tring

[Streamline]

We have been in isolation since tue. Due out on sun, but being transferred to QV tomorrow, will rejoin Aurora on 21st, wont have dipped my toes in the Caribbean. Only fcc offered on non booked cruise! 

[Megabear2]

12 minutes ago, Streamline said:

We have been in isolation since tue. Due out on sun, but being transferred to QV tomorrow, will rejoin Aurora on 21st, wont have dipped my toes in the Caribbean. Only fcc offered on non booked cruise! 

So sorry to hear this. Hope you are not poorly.  Reading this do you have to stay on QV the whole time and await Aurora returning for you or are they taking you somewhere to rejoin .  Sounds most difficult for you. I assume you are not alone ?

[Streamline]

We will be in isolation for the whole time. Although we have already done 4 days. We are not allowed out of the cabin 

Both well. Wife has not tested positive. So we miss the whole Caribbean. Rejoin at St Lucia just in time to sail home 

[Cpt Pugwash]

On the subject of Covid outbreaks Scotland now has the highest figure of people in Hospital in 13 months. So looks like it's still all around us though not as serious.

[Megabear2]

1 hour ago, Cpt Pugwash said:

On the subject of Covid outbreaks Scotland now has the highest figure of people in Hospital in 13 months. So looks like it's still all around us though not as serious.

There's also the news that there has been a big increase in over 65s being hospitalised as their boosters are now running down.  It will be interesting to see if these new figures affect the protocols after April which have yet to be announced.  Some cruise lines are still stating double vaccination is sufficient while others have followed land based holidays and asked for three doses.

 

Clearly with very few people in the UK expecting a fourth dose the situation will be being watched very closely by those making decisions within cruise lines.  If the trend continues in this manner quarantine cabins will most probably be required at the current level for the foreseeable with the resultant issues being faced on the other CC thread about cabin changes. 

 

From a UK point of view the adult only ships may start to offer a few clues on the impact to cruise lines of these waning inoculation effectiveness worries, particularly as they tend towards having older passengers on longer journeys.  

 

 

[Angel57]

8 hours ago, Streamline said:

We have been in isolation since tue. Due out on sun, but being transferred to QV tomorrow, will rejoin Aurora on 21st, wont have dipped my toes in the Caribbean. Only fcc offered on non booked cruise! 

I’m so sorry to read this post from you. What a shame.
I hope there are not to many of you in the same boat (so to speak).

Thank you for posting.

Gill

[Dermotsgirl]

5 hours ago, Megabear2 said:

There's also the news that there has been a big increase in over 65s being hospitalised as their boosters are now running down.  It will be interesting to see if these new figures affect the protocols after April which have yet to be announced.  Some cruise lines are still stating double vaccination is sufficient while others have followed land based holidays and asked for three doses.

 

Clearly with very few people in the UK expecting a fourth dose the situation will be being watched very closely by those making decisions within cruise lines.  If the trend continues in this manner quarantine cabins will most probably be required at the current level for the foreseeable with the resultant issues being faced on the other CC thread about cabin changes. 

 

From a UK point of view the adult only ships may start to offer a few clues on the impact to cruise lines of these waning inoculation effectiveness worries, particularly as they tend towards having older passengers on longer journeys.  

 

 

The summer season will be interesting to observe.

Having QV based in the Caribbean has helped the winter season stay mostly on track, but, as far as I am aware, there is not going to be the luxury of a support ship based in the Med or Canaries. This will mean that the ships will have to manage all of their own cases - or will countries like Spain insist on mass offloadings.

 

What with the possibility of waning protection from the vaccines and a chunk of the population who have been lead to believe that ‘it’s over / it’s mild now / just gotta live with it’, it could get very interesting indeed. 
 

[BouncingWheel]

7 hours ago, Dermotsgirl said:

The summer season will be interesting to observe.

Having QV based in the Caribbean has helped the winter season stay mostly on track, but, as far as I am aware, there is not going to be the luxury of a support ship based in the Med or Canaries. This will mean that the ships will have to manage all of their own cases - or will countries like Spain insist on mass offloadings.

 

What with the possibility of waning protection from the vaccines and a chunk of the population who have been lead to believe that ‘it’s over / it’s mild now / just gotta live with it’, it could get very interesting indeed. 
 

2nd booster time for all in the summer then

[Les_ldh]

Here’s my take on the current situation onboard. Enhanced protocols were put in place last night which meant you had to wear a mask anywhere indoors when not actively eating or drinking. Higher protection FFP2 masks were issued to all passengers. Prior to arrival in Barbados all isolation cabins were occupied, and some passengers (with balcony cabins) were isolating in their own cabin. Some passengers, and I assume crew, are transferring to Queen Victoria today. Any speculation on the number infected is just that, speculation, as no information is being given, even when officers and crew are “interrogated’, but I think it must be significant. I feel very sorry for those affected, but for those of us unaffected the cruise is going ahead as planned with only minor inconvenience and I am having a fantastic time. Hope this helps clear up any confusion.

Les.

[Bazrat]

25 minutes ago, Les_ldh said:

Here’s my take on the current situation onboard. Enhanced protocols were put in place last night which meant you had to wear a mask anywhere indoors when not actively eating or drinking. Higher protection FFP2 masks were issued to all passengers. Prior to arrival in Barbados all isolation cabins were occupied, and some passengers (with balcony cabins) were isolating in their own cabin. Some passengers, and I assume crew, are transferring to Queen Victoria today. Any speculation on the number infected is just that, speculation, as no information is being given, even when officers and crew are “interrogated’, but I think it must be significant. I feel very sorry for those affected, but for those of us unaffected the cruise is going ahead as planned with only minor inconvenience and I am having a fantastic time. Hope this helps clear up any confusion.

Les.

Have a great holiday Les and don't forget my rum

[Les_ldh]

22 minutes ago, Bazrat said:

Have a great holiday Les and don't forget my rum

Too late as I’ve drunk it 😉, along with Andy’s Peroni. 😂 

And thanks, I will. 🍺 

[Astrajet]

Les, may I just ask if there is Club Dining onboard or is it only Freedom? 

Good to know you are enjoying your cruise - stay safe.

[Megabear2]

57 minutes ago, Les_ldh said:

We haven’t been given any information at all, so no I don’t know. Contacts are being told to isolate in their cabin (source - contacts themselves posting on fb). I will enjoy my holiday, thanks. I’m going to lose WiFi in 2 hours, and won’t be back on here until next weekend.

Les.

Have a great time Les. Thank you for your updates. Stay well and keep safe.

[Megabear2]

I though that the islands had strict "percentage quotas" of passengers/crew allowed? If anything will cancel the cruise would it not be that rather than the volume of passengers?

 

I can't recall her exact itinerary but apparently Aurora's not due to St Lucia until 25th as apparently the QV evacuees are rejoining her there. 

 

How many people are actually onboard at present, do we have figures.  I believe it was stated 6.5%  offloaded earlier on this board but no idea about crew who assumedly count in the figures.

[Megabear2]

32 minutes ago, Mollag said:

Usual P&O veil of secrecy and hope it’ll all go away. 

Can't see this going away if the islands won't take the ship. 80 people offloaded will take a lot of gagging orders as well!

[Mollag]

47 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

I though that the islands had strict "percentage quotas" of passengers/crew allowed? If anything will cancel the cruise would it not be that rather than the volume of passengers?

 

I can't recall her exact itinerary but apparently Aurora's not due to St Lucia until 25th as apparently the QV evacuees are rejoining her there. 

 

How many people are actually onboard at present, do we have figures.  I believe it was stated 6.5%  offloaded earlier on this board but no idea about crew who assumedly count in the figures.

There’s just over 2000 passengers and crew, the 80 mentioned previously were all passengers don’t know if there was any crew moved but their shore leave was cancelled before Barbados. We’re in St Lucia on the 21st. One of the group members conducted a bit of a poll to see how many cases there were in it and there were 25 positive out of 300 although a lot of the members don’t post any probably only around 150 at most so going by that gives a percentage of around 16% that’s without all the close contacts as well

[Megabear2]

10 minutes ago, Mollag said:

There’s just over 2000 passengers and crew, the 80 mentioned previously were all passengers don’t know if there was any crew moved but their shore leave was cancelled before Barbados. We’re in St Lucia on the 21st. One of the group members conducted a bit of a poll to see how many cases there were in it and there were 25 positive out of 300 although a lot of the members don’t post any probably only around 150 at most so going by that gives a percentage of around 16% that’s without all the close contacts as well

Good lord!!  That's going to be a problem for the islands, not wishing you further problems but they have been turning away ships with more than 1% infection rate all winter.  I note you are heading to the ABC islands on Cruisemapper. Is Bonaire on the itinerary - they have been exceptionally strict on testing and temperature checks.  

[Mollag]

3 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

Good lord!!  That's going to be a problem for the islands, not wishing you further problems but they have been turning away ships with more than 1% infection rate all winter.  I note you are heading to the ABC islands on Cruisemapper. Is Bonaire on the itinerary - they have been exceptionally strict on testing and temperature checks.  

Curaçao and Aruba next I think kind of lost track as we don’t even get the Horizon mag and even had to rely on the passengers not in captivity to let us know when the clocks were changing it really is as bad as is being made out. They tried tendering alongside QV out of Barbados using a rhum runner as the tender and I was genuinely thinking someone was going to be hurt, able bodied people would have struggled in the conditions to jump over couldn’t believe they even attempted it needless to say they aborted after one attempt and done the rest from the harbour with QV moving in closer. So wouldn’t be surprised to see QV rendezvousing with us somewhere else shortly if it carries on like this