Blogging from the Ruby Princess

[PacnGoNow]

51 minutes ago, PescadoAmarillo said:

This is a report from the Caribbean Princess the cruise before the cancelled cruise and dry dock. she is replying to the lady with the report from the Ruby Princess (above). I am reading similar stories from the Sky also.  I really think it’s largely dependent on the length of the cruise. 
 

We were in a similar situation last week on  our ship things got so bad they were using two floors as quarantine and yes all our inside cabins were also filled but those where crew members 2 to a room. I actually would say hello to them when putting out our trays. We have been in isolation for 6 days now in a hotel so excited to be flying home tomorrow afternoon! Being in quarantine when the ship has lots of COVID is not fun as the room service is overworked and they tend to bring many meals at the same time so the trays can stack up making the meal cold by the time they head upstairs with them. I don’t fault Princess and it’s hard to blame the passengers walking around with this new variant spreading it as it usually presents itself with mild symptoms many shaking it off as allergies or a slight cold. It was horrible being in quarantine having to try getting food from room service for over 3 hours once where trying to order lunch ran into ordering dinner instead. I understand you not wanting to travel until this new variant gets under control they say it’s the most spreadable one to date.  I am so sorry you lost your vacation to this, try and stay positive…

So sad.  I wonder if the crew has been hit hard too on these ships?  Would really spread thin the room service requests.

 

So, PescadoAmarillo@, you are thinking, it’s best to do shorter cruises, to avoid the quarantine problems?

 

[ebeluga]

Hmm, I wonder why the ship color had never turned red if they were using two decks of cabins for quarantine, unless there were a lot of new crew quarantining w/o necessarily being (+)...

Edited April 9, 2022 by ebeluga

[PescadoAmarillo]

6 minutes ago, ebeluga said:

Hmm, I wonder why the ship color had never turned red if they were using two decks of cabins for quarantine, unless there were a lot of new crew quarantining w/o necessarily being (+)...

The ship has been at sea for four days leaving Hawaii. There shouldn’t be any new crew coming on board right now that need to quarantine. 

[PescadoAmarillo]

28 minutes ago, PacnGoNow said:

So sad.  I wonder if the crew has been hit hard too on these ships?  Would really spread thin the room service requests.

 

So, PescadoAmarillo@, you are thinking, it’s best to do shorter cruises, to avoid the quarantine problems?

 

Our cabin steward went into quarantine 3 days after my husband did, and got out 2 days later. Who knows who gave it to who? I very much tried to protect him, and asked Guest Services for further information about whether it was safe for him to clean (they said it was) and clear away dishes (never got an answer on that).

 

I do believe longer cruises are more problematic, but even shorter cruises that return to you a port where testing will be required to fly home are going to be an issue. Many people from the Ruby Princess March 12 Panama Canal cruise reported returning home and testing positive. You can do that if you’re flying from San Francisco to Seattle but international flights with testing mandates might pose problems. 

[PescadoAmarillo]

14 hours ago, Pamster said:

On FB someone on Discovery B2B reported that their between cruise instructions say nothing about being tested. No testing, no cases, no quarantine, I guess. 

I was just told that in transit letters on the Ruby Princess for the next 5 day cruise do not require testing. 

[tcdcruiser]

Live from the Ruby’s Lido Deck and what a report!
 

 Things are really tough today.  Lounge chairs are  hard to find. The wait for a delivered drink takes OVER 5 minutes. Movies under the Sun today is “Big” with a young Tom Hanks.  Someone send help soon.

 

Rumours are running wild….we are low on Corona Beer, but crew promises an emergency re supply when we dock in Mexico later today. 
 

From the doomed ship Ruby Princess

 

 

 

Edited April 9, 2022 by tcdcruiser

[coopco]

36 minutes ago, ebeluga said:

Hmm, I wonder why the ship color had never turned red if they were using two decks of cabins for quarantine, unless there were a lot of new crew quarantining w/o necessarily being (+)...

If you look at the definition for red status, it’s not that they have any more COVID cases than orange, but transmission needs to be sustained, the medical or public health resources overwhelmed, and a variant of concern identified. Offloading COVID patients makes it impossible to be red status, in my opinion, because you know the cruise lines would never test for variant strain and how do you have sustained transmission if sick passengers are offloaded regularly.

[PescadoAmarillo]

14 minutes ago, tcdcruiser said:

Live from the Ruby’s Lido Deck and what a report!

Weather looks great. Enjoy!

[ebeluga]

44 minutes ago, PescadoAmarillo said:

I was just told that in transit letters on the Ruby Princess for the next 5 day cruise do not require testing. 

Good to know!  Collecting data so I can make an informed decision re future cruising!

[CineGraphic]

Thanks to everyone for the updates.

Pam and I have been reading your comments with great interest, but we still plan on boarding on the 16th for two weeks. Thankfully, we were able to get our 2nd booster last Sunday.

To lessen the risk of exposure somewhat, we're flying in the day of, and arriving at the port after everyone has boarded. Once on board, we'll sanitize the cabin and avoid the elevators as much as possible. We've also discussed how we'll look out for each other in case something does happen.

We were OK when we sailed in November, January and February, and if all goes as planned, we'll enjoy this cruise as well.

[Steelers36]

2 hours ago, PescadoAmarillo said:

The ship has been at sea for four days leaving Hawaii. There shouldn’t be any new crew coming on board right now that need to quarantine. 

When does G disembark?

 

ETA:  Oh, I see Ruby returns to port on Monday.

Edited April 9, 2022 by Steelers36

[that]

3 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

When does G disembark?

 

ETA:  Oh, I see Ruby returns to port on Monday.

Ruby Princess arrived Ensenada

Safe Journey to G

🙏🏻and positive vibes

For healthy, happy reunion

next week

 

 

[that]

[PescadoAmarillo]

Another report from the family in quarantine on the Ruby Princess:

 

Things have gotten considerably worse for us. It is almost impossible to get food. My husband just spoke with the head of room service. He said they are overwhelmed with the number of sick people. Said They dont have adequate staff to serve all of us.

 

it’s hard to believe they haven’t reinstated the mask mandate as they did at the end of last cruise. 

 

[Pamster]

18 hours ago, Astro Flyer said:

 

We boarded Discovery on 3/27 and on the afternoon of the day before turnaround day on 4/3 all in-transit passengers were tested. I would be very surprised if it would be any different tomorrow for anyone who is in-transit for the next cruise.

 

Well, testing was not mentioned in their in-transit letter. I think directions would have been included had they needed testing. 
 

I have receipts. 

[Pamster]

This thread is quite depressing to me. I had thought that the cruise lines would protect their passengers because the last thing they would want is another severe outbreak like at the start of the pandemic because they might never recover from that. Now it seems like they are willing to make whatever money they can make now regardless of the risk. To see the number of cases rising and then doing nothing, not even reimplementing the masking, and doing away with between cruise testing, tells me otherwise. I don’t see it’s cruising again anytime soon, if ever. Vaccines do not prevent you from getting sick or from Long COVID. 

[RDAB08]

6 hours ago, tcdcruiser said:

Live from the Ruby’s Lido Deck and what a report!
 

 Things are really tough today.  Lounge chairs are  hard to find. The wait for a delivered drink takes OVER 5 minutes. Movies under the Sun today is “Big” with a young Tom Hanks.  Someone send help soon.

 

Rumours are running wild….we are low on Corona Beer, but crew promises an emergency re supply when we dock in Mexico later today. 
 

From the doomed ship Ruby Princess

 

 

 

Thank you! I keep oscillating between canceling and not... 

[PescadoAmarillo]

7 hours ago, PescadoAmarillo said:

I was just told that in transit letters on the Ruby Princess for the next 5 day cruise do not require testing. 

Correction:  some of them do, depending on whether a guest tested positive this cruise. 

[donswife]

2 hours ago, PescadoAmarillo said:

Correction:  some of them do, depending on whether a guest tested positive this cruise. 

That makes sense.  After we test positive at work, we are exempt for 90 days.  Then its back to our previous current schedule.

[Steelers36]

3 hours ago, PescadoAmarillo said:

 

it’s hard to believe they haven’t reinstated the mask mandate as they did at the end of last cruise. 

 

Yes, but also sounds a bit like shutting the barn door after the horses escaped.

[PescadoAmarillo]

15 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

Yes, but also sounds a bit like shutting the barn door after the horses escaped.

Aahhh, but there are more horses arriving on Monday. 

[Steelers36]

6 minutes ago, PescadoAmarillo said:

Aahhh, but there are more horses arriving on Monday. 

Correct - so there is a next chance.

Edited April 10, 2022 by Steelers36

[julia]

20 minutes ago, PescadoAmarillo said:

Aahhh, but there are more horses arriving on Monday. 

And....  as a "Monday horse", I will be very perturbed if the full contingent of in-transit paxs are not 100% tested!  We all just took our tests, and so should they!

[PescadoAmarillo]

26 minutes ago, julia said:

And....  as a "Monday horse", I will be very perturbed if the full contingent of in-transit paxs are not 100% tested!  We all just took our tests, and so should they!

I think the issue is that the in transits who tested positive this cruise or last aren’t likely to test negative so soon, which is what makes the whole “get sprung if you’re negative on Days 5 and 6” thing so unlikely. 

[PacnGoNow]

7 hours ago, PescadoAmarillo said:

I think the issue is that the in transits who tested positive this cruise or last aren’t likely to test negative so soon, which is what makes the whole “get sprung if you’re negative on Days 5 and 6” thing so unlikely. 

But, those would be in quarantine, most likely.  Why not test the b2b’s, who are not in quarantine, to keep the spread down, or quarantine, if they chose or offload them if they are positive as they have been doing?  Maybe too many would be positive?  
 

Bring back the mask mandate and you’ll cut it down significantly, before the outbreak.

 

What a mess!  What’s going to happen in the fall if we have another surge?

 

Edited April 10, 2022 by PacnGoNow