First Cruise in over 2 years, the Positive and Negative (Anthem of the Seas)

[loupana]

The Positive and Negative about our first cruise in over 2 years for all my Canadian Friends on CC. Sorry could keep this more brief.

 

This is my experience and my personal opinion and since I’m postings this on the Canadian board do not expect any negative comments.

 

After countless cancelled cruises we decided a couple of months ago to make things easier and take a cruise from New Jersey on Anthem of the Seas. Even though we’ve cruise on Anthem before we felt driving to port would be better than trying to fly somewhere (flying is still very unpredictable with cancelations and such).

 

We got pre cruise Antigen tests done at Shoppers Drug Mart. Negative as expected and drove to New Jersey on the March 19th a day early. Crossing into US we did not need to provide our negative test results, just the usual questions at the boarder and we were through nice and easy.

 

Embarkation day we had 11AM boarding time, arrived around 10AM and took a walk to the Teardrop Memorial to get some photos of NYC in the distance and the ship. About 10:20 we walk up to the terminal entrance and they were already letting people in with boarding times of 10:30 and 11. So we went inside to checkin. This was the fastest check-in we’ve ever done, they did not look at our vaccination records (I uploaded this during online checkin) so I was not too concerned about them not checking our Vax status. But they did NOT look at our Covid test results, we pulled out our folder and asked it they wanted to see the results and they so no that’s fine…hmm found that interesting.

 

We were only seated for a couple of minutes and we were allowed to board. By 10:35AM we were onboard and what a surreal feeling to be on a cruise ship again, took care of the muster asap to get it over with.

 

Since it was my 60th birthday on the 21st why not make this first cruise back a little more special and we booked a Jr. Suite. I tried for an upgrade but no luck we kept our Jr. Suite. Loved the room, nice having the extra space and loved having the two bathrooms (1 full bathroom with tub, the other with just toilet and sink). We were able to eat at Coastal Kitchen every night. Service was fantastic but I did not find the food better than main dining room. I do have another Jr. Suite booked on a future cruise, but not sure the minimal perks you get for a Jr. Suite are worth the extra cost.

 

Service was excellent throughout the ship. We were told there were just over 3200 guests onboard. Having said that it did feel crowed to me, even thought it was not max capacity. Unfortunately I did not get to see “We Will Rock You” the last two shows were canceled, no reason given, but assume I already know the answer. I was very excited that Led Zepagain (Led Zeppelin tribute band) were onboard and took in 3 performances and enjoyed them all.

 

No social distancing in any dining venue or theatre. Lots of events seem to be on again. We went to loyalty event and they said that was the first one since return to service. Lots of game shows/trivia going on. Most people were not wearing masks (we did not, maybe we should have…more to come on that). All crew were wearing the royal branded medical mask, and I think they said this was the first cruise in a while where they didn’t have to wear N95 masks.

 

Now since our cruise ended on Sunday the 27th we needed a negative covid test to come home. We brought a couple of boxes of the at home antigen tests they are handing out in Ontario Pharmacies so we could do random tests on ourselves throughout the cruise. We did take a couple of the home tests to make sure we were good. We also brought the Switch Health Antigen test to do via video for our return home test. Because we did the at home tests and on Saturday we were both feel fine we had no concerns about taking the Switch Health tests. Doing the online video tests on the ship was a real pain, the bandwidth of the ships internet was horrible and we got disconnected several times but eventually got the tests done. Results came in fast and I went to Guest Services to print them for us so we could show Boarder Agent coming back into Canada. Also On Saturday I completed the ArriveCan app after we got our test results. So I was happy all that was done, and we were off to enjoy our last day.

 

Everything was fine on Saturday. We were both feeling good and were not too sad about going home because we have B2B on Oasis in May. BUT….

 

On Sunday morning I woke up with a very sore throat and very congested. I was stunned, I couldn’t believe how just a few hours earlier I was fine and have passed multiple covid tests. So no time to take another test and have already gotten our negative test from the day before and ArriveCan filled out we headed home. Once we arrived a the Canadian Boarder, Landsdowne crossing (Thousand Island Bridge) we handed over our passports, agent asked how long we were gone, then asked if we have negative covid tests. We said yes, and pulled out our folder to show the test results, he saw one and said ok thats fine, you are good. So we never needed to scan our ArriveCan bar code. Oh funny story about ArriveCan app, we stopped for a bathroom break just before the boarder and I tried to load the ArriveCan app to get it ready to show the bar code and the App would not work or load. After some cursing I thought I would be fine since I had the bar code in an email. But like I said they didn’t want to see or scan the bar code from ArriveCan so no big deal.

 

I felt very sick the whole drive home and I did stop for bathroom breaks but took into consideration that I was not feeling well and was very careful and I only stopped at self serve gas stations. Once I got home immediately took another covid test because I was so sick and really need to get confirmation, well the result was Negative again. I did get a good nights sleep last night and do feel better this morning compared to yesterday. So this morning I took another test and there it is POSITIVE for Covid. My wife is still testing Negative.

 

Our kids live close enough to us that they will drop off anything we may need at our door. So we are fine at home, no issues. I will say I feel like a huge weight taken off my shoulders. Medical experts say everyone will be exposed and now I’m done with it (once I recover). Will keep monitoring my wife all week but will be shocked if she keeps testing negative.

 

Final thoughts, still glad we went. I’m lucky I was able to get home. I’m lucky I’m not deadly sick. I will still have no problem getting a forth vaccine in the future if it’s recommended in the fall. Once I fully recover I will be so happy not to have to worry about Covid again for a while.

 

As for Cruise lines removing all masking and social distancing. You be the judge for yourself. I thought it was fine because I wasn’t reading or hearing of anyone being stuck in quarantine on ships anymore. No we did not wear masks on the ship, if we did would I have still gotten sick… don’t know for sure, but I think it would have helped.

 

So I’m busy today letting everyone know that needs to know. Got a funny feeling cruise line may not care now that I’m home.

 

 

[DHP1]

Thank you for sharing this story.  

[broberts]

Great report.

 

Driving down turned out to be a great decision.

 

Have you tested again? It is possible that the one positive test was a false result.

 

It does appear that mask wearing may be an important mitigation practice on ships. I wonder if crew will go back to N95 masks. Since cruise lines are loath to mention anything that might be considered negative, we will have to depend on more first hand reports.

[loupana]

17 minutes ago, broberts said:

Great report.

 

Driving down turned out to be a great decision.

 

Have you tested again? It is possible that the one positive test was a false result.

 

It does appear that mask wearing may be an important mitigation practice on ships. I wonder if crew will go back to N95 masks. Since cruise lines are loath to mention anything that might be considered negative, we will have to depend on more first hand reports.

 

Yes, driving was my best decision. 

I have not tested again, I'm sick enough to know I do have covid and I want to keep all our remaining at home tests to continue testing my wife.

 

I do have 2 Switch Health RT-LAMP tests. If I tested negative again this morning I was going to use one of those. I may save them for Mid to late April to do a good test to know I'm in the clear for our May cruises.

[Fouremco]

Thanks for an excellent report. Sad for you that you caught it, but happy that you had a good cruise before coming down with it.

 

Driving does make a huge difference, and will definitely be a factor when deciding on cruise in the immediate future.

[MaddyandMax]

We are on the boat the week before you and already staff were starting to get sick.  I was a bit upset that they just told us it was technical issues and a lost voice.

 

The cruise director was gone by the third day with a "lost voice" and We Will Rock You was cancelled the last couple of shows for "technical issues". I wish I had been told the truth.  I would have wore my mask more.  But we were lucky.   So it sounds like the covid outbreak started the cruise before ours and carried through.

 

I also heard the current cruise so many are sick that ALL shows are cancelled.

 

[loupana]

1 hour ago, MaddyandMax said:

 

The cruise director was gone by the third day with a "lost voice"

 

 

Yep, the cruise director was no where to be found on our cruise. I actually thought Cici was the cruise director until I overheard someone say that Joff the CD got sick the cruise before ours so he must have been in quarantine.

[MaddyandMax]

1 minute ago, LouTheGlue said:

 

Yep, the cruise director was no where to be found on our cruise. I actually thought Cici was the cruise director until I overheard someone say that Joff the CD got sick the cruise before ours so he must have been in quarantine.

Yeah he showed up the second night for the 70's party jumping all over the place on the trampoline and throwing rings to everyone.  Then we never saw him again because he "lost his voice".  People are going to get sick, that's life now unfortunately.  But when you don't tell people the truth we can't do our own risk assessments and that's not fair.  I had immune compromised family onboard who probably would have worn their mask more if they had know.  My daughter caught one of his rings.  I mean that night you never would have guessed he was sick.  He was jumping and dancing all over the place.

 

So really my only complaint was all the lying and covering up.  At this point we can all assume someone is going to get sick onboard but we shouldn't be lied too.

[waiting2retire]

Thank you for reporting your experience. Glad you got home safely and took precautions against infecting anyone else on the way. Hope your wife remains Covid-free or at least asymptomatic. 
 

you may want to re-think using the RT-LAMP tests. My understanding is that they may show a positive result weeks or months after you are no longer contagious. You are much less likely to have a positive result on an antigen test prior to your next cruise. 
 

best wishes for a speedy recovery!

[Been There, Planning That]

I do appreciate your honest and detailed report.

 

For a pair of seniors it's all rather sobering.  We're comfortable wearing masks but they're not foolproof by any means.

 

I hope your recovery is speedy and your wife, like several friends under similar circumstance remains covid free.

 

Ruth

[ALD18]

Thanks for the information and hope you get well soon.  Interesting chain of events.  Per chance did you let RCL know you tested positive when you got home?  Would be interesting what their response was.  Understandably they will probably not do much about it, but may help them understand what may, or may not, have happened on the ship.  We're on the Anthem start of May for a trans Atlantic hopefully they have things cleaned up by then.  We'll be wearing masks more than not, personal preference.  Thanks again and get/keep well soon.

[tottenhamfc]

3 hours ago, MaddyandMax said:

Yeah he showed up the second night for the 70's party jumping all over the place on the trampoline and throwing rings to everyone.  Then we never saw him again because he "lost his voice".  People are going to get sick, that's life now unfortunately.  But when you don't tell people the truth we can't do our own risk assessments and that's not fair.  I had immune compromised family onboard who probably would have worn their mask more if they had know.  My daughter caught one of his rings.  I mean that night you never would have guessed he was sick.  He was jumping and dancing all over the place.

 

So really my only complaint was all the lying and covering up.  At this point we can all assume someone is going to get sick onboard but we shouldn't be lied too.

If your family were compromised, why would they not be preventative for themselves. I am not compromised and I plan to wear masks and social distance as much as possible. At this point we cant expect others to guide us. We have enough information to try and help ourselves.

[MaddyandMax]

13 hours ago, tottenhamfc said:

If your family were compromised, why would they not be preventative for themselves. I am not compromised and I plan to wear masks and social distance as much as possible. At this point we cant expect others to guide us. We have enough information to try and help ourselves.

 

Not that it is anyone's business or right to question our decisions but my family did take preventative measures.  We always have.  The people in question wore a mask indoors at all times but the rest of us only wore masks in crowded areas and elevators (and our entire outing in Florida).  We would have wore them at all times indoors.  This was a personal decision that was discussed by the entire family and agreed upon before hand.  We are not anti-maskers LOL

 

The point of my entire post is that Royal should not be lying to passengers.  We are all aware that covid is everywhere and if staff get sick, especially a staff member like the Cruise Director, they should be telling people the truth about the situation.

 

But back to the original poster who very kindly took the time to tell us about their trip.

[mom2miracles]

I hope you notified your TA to find out about notifying RCC about the positive test.

 

I'm sorry you got sick, I hope you're on the road to recovery by now.

[LuCruise]

On 3/28/2022 at 1:01 PM, MaddyandMax said:

We are on the boat the week before you and already staff were starting to get sick.  I was a bit upset that they just told us it was technical issues and a lost voice.

 

The cruise director was gone by the third day with a "lost voice" and We Will Rock You was cancelled the last couple of shows for "technical issues". I wish I had been told the truth.  I would have wore my mask more.  But we were lucky.   So it sounds like the covid outbreak started the cruise before ours and carried through.

 

I also heard the current cruise so many are sick that ALL shows are cancelled.

 

We were on your cruise.  We Will Rock You was cancelled the second last sea day due to "technical issues"....but they did add in a show the following day as DD and I went to that showing (second time seeing it that week).  Who knows though...maybe it was the start of it but didn't realize it and then cancelled shows going forward until everyone is well and done quarantine.  (Leads were all there).  And yeah, heard afterwards that the CD did in fact have covid.  (Otherwise didn't really hear of anyone having it)

 

OP thanks for sharing your experience.  We drove as well from Toronto and worked out well.  If it wasn't covid times then we would have flown, but with covid risk, we just felt safer in our own bubble vs a plane and airport of many people.

 

We found a mix of masking but more not wearing than wearing.  We wore it in crowded spaces due to the Canadian rule to return (yah for it now being removed).  We also did Switch Health tests from a hotel room as we split up the drive home.  Upon return, the border agent just asked us if we had negative tests and didn't even ask to see them.

 

Sorry OP ended up being sick .  Thank goodness it was post return test.  Hope you are feeling well now and back to yourself.  Hope you enjoyed Anthem.  It's a lovely ship!

Edited April 2, 2022 by LuCruise

[loupana]

Update...

I've been very sick this week, It got worse as the week went on. Today is my best day. For me it was much worse than just a cold, it was like a severe flu. Never had a fever, very sore throat, very congested, severe headaches. My wife continues to test negative, I started testing negative a couple of days ago.

I did notify Royal Caribbean in my survey. Wasn't sure  of any other way to let them know but honestly don't think they care once you're off the ship.

 

So Glad to be done with this #$%#, will have so much less to worry about in May when we cruise again.

[MaddyandMax]

On 4/2/2022 at 10:20 AM, LuCruise said:

We were on your cruise.  We Will Rock You was cancelled the second last sea day due to "technical issues"....but they did add in a show the following day as DD and I went to that showing (second time seeing it that week).  Who knows though...maybe it was the start of it but didn't realize it and then cancelled shows going forward until everyone is well and done quarantine.  (Leads were all there).  And yeah, heard afterwards that the CD did in fact have covid.  (Otherwise didn't really hear of anyone having it)

 

 

We heard from others that the "technical issues" were so the understudies who weren't sick could practice but who really knows. LOL

 

That's the problem when you don't tell the whole truth... The speculation runs amuck.  Though the people who told us this seems very sure of their information 🤷‍♀️

 

Either way it was a great cruise.  Still not sure how I feel about the ship. It beautiful - just not sure if I liked the layout. 🙂

[angela1044]

I hope you are feeling better. Thanks for sharing your report.  We are considering doing this cruise next year.

 

BTW - you commented that you were glad to get Covid over with but you can catch it again, over and over.  It’s not like the chicken pox where it’s one and done.