Masks not required

[nordski]

48 minutes ago, uktog said:

As an aside/update

 

When we were on Quest last week, we generally kept our masks on and used FFP2 masks on buses and on the flights.  We did note some coughing onboard towards the end of the cruise but previously had decided to ease off mask wearing a little until the point the Captain said we had a case onboard.  (we think it may actually have been cases given what an employee let slip).  At that stage we tried to be more careful with our mask wearing, but you have to have it off to eat and drink!

Anyway on the final morning I started to feel a bit off on the way to the airport.  Over the next 2 days I developed the worst cold and cough I have had for years.  (Until the cough came I thought it was early hay fever) I got myself tested both on Sunday and yesterday because I was convinced I had copped Covid.  All tests are back negative which really surprised us.  The tester said it may actually be the kind of cold/cough you get if you have been exposed to Covid but are fully vaccinated - being symptomatic but not showing traces of covid.  Boy do I feel rough but relieved it is not what I thought (and three years ago I would have said dratted ship/aircraft I have got that usual cold/cough)

Hoping your recovery is rapid and complete.

[Ayden]

50 minutes ago, uktog said:

As an aside/update

 

When we were on Quest last week, we generally kept our masks on and used FFP2 masks on buses and on the flights.  We did note some coughing onboard towards the end of the cruise but previously had decided to ease off mask wearing a little until the point the Captain said we had a case onboard.  (we think it may actually have been cases given what an employee let slip).  At that stage we tried to be more careful with our mask wearing, but you have to have it off to eat and drink!

Anyway on the final morning I started to feel a bit off on the way to the airport.  Over the next 2 days I developed the worst cold and cough I have had for years.  (Until the cough came I thought it was early hay fever) I got myself tested both on Sunday and yesterday because I was convinced I had copped Covid.  All tests are back negative which really surprised us.  The tester said it may actually be the kind of cold/cough you get if you have been exposed to Covid but are fully vaccinated - being symptomatic but not showing traces of covid.  Boy do I feel rough but relieved it is not what I thought (and three years ago I would have said dratted ship/aircraft I have got that usual cold/cough)

I'm interested in your report having just disembarked from the same cruise and agree completely that there were lots cases of coughs but recall that we noticed it earlier on in the cruise and we also attempted to keep ourselves safe with masking and distancing where possible.

We really wonder the extent of infection being a case or two and have our own thoughts that it could have been higher., ie.  Dining room seemed short staffed on last night as well as the sudden absence of room service on second last day.

In these times we must accept reasonable risk in order to travel and enjoy cruising.

We were impressed with Azamara's efforts to measure safety with enjoyment and appreciated the Captain's updates.

Uktog, we hope that you are on the mend in short order. 

 

[uktog]

Dont mention the dining room on the last two nights - Disaster is the best description!  Thanks for your good wishes, currently I have the worst cough I have had for years despite the mask efforts!

[Roel94]

I get coughs etc all the time traveling.

I was more careful on Royal and Azamara ..then celebrity was not.

paying the price. Be glad you do not have. Covid 

[Mackdogmolly]

1 hour ago, Roel94 said:

I get coughs etc all the time traveling.

I was more careful on Royal and Azamara ..then celebrity was not.

paying the price. Be glad you do not have. Covid 

I hope your case is mild and you will be better soon, Robin!

[travelberlin]

4 hours ago, uktog said:

Dont mention the dining room on the last two nights - Disaster is the best description!  Thanks for your good wishes, currently I have the worst cough I have had for years despite the mask efforts!

You might want to test once more. Apparently there are false negatives and positives…

In any case, I wish you a good recovery.

Ivi

[excitedofharpenden]

1 hour ago, Roel94 said:

I get coughs etc all the time traveling.

I was more careful on Royal and Azamara ..then celebrity was not.

paying the price. Be glad you do not have. Covid 

Not pleasant. Feel better soon. 

 

Phil 

[Grandma Cruising]

I hope you feel better soon

Are the tests you’ve taken lateral flow or PCR. I was talking to a nurse today during a routine hospital visit. She had just come back to work after having COVID. She said all her PCR tests were positive, but all her lateral flow tests were positive, and she tested positive over a period of 10 days.

[Roel94]

3 hours ago, excitedofharpenden said:

Not pleasant. Feel better soon. 

 

Phil 

Thanks!

problem not in states..stuck in San Juan with very little help..lack of Spanish and dr who never sees me but orders food along with meds not working.

my ins company worried about me flying with a cough.done it before.want to get home to my own dr and care. I know how Ann feels. I cough my way thru a few flights to get home.

[Baynanno1]

11 hours ago, uktog said:

Dont mention the dining room on the last two nights - Disaster is the best description!  Thanks for your good wishes, currently I have the worst cough I have had for years despite the mask efforts!

 

As @travelberlin said, you might want to test once more.

 

My daughter currently has covid and didn't test positive until her third symptomatic day.

 

I wish you a full and speedy recovery from whatever is the cause of your infection.

[mdpa]

Staying on topic, with mask mandates being removed for travel throughout the US, including crew who serve food/beverages on flights & trains, it should be imminent for other cruise related restrictions to be removed shortly.

 

This should have a positive outcome for most passengers on shuttle buses and restaurants. I look forward to seeing the smiling faces of the crew members soon.

[Ayden]

15 minutes ago, mdpa said:

Staying on topic, with mask mandates being removed for travel throughout the US, including crew who serve food/beverages on flights & trains, it should be imminent for other cruise related restrictions to be removed shortly.

 

This should have a positive outcome for most passengers on shuttle buses and restaurants. I look forward to seeing the smiling faces of the crew members soon.

Once again, I really think you are overly optimistic where cruise crew are concerned.  After bring locked down and virtually out of business for so long I can't see the cruise ships removing mask mandates for crew due to the inherent risk of exposure to so many passengers coming and going.  They want to stay in business and encourage those passengers who are wanting the best case scenario for a covid free vacation on one of their ships.

I for one found it comforting to know Azamara takes preventative measures seriously and will give a pass to any American airline options.

 

[mdpa]

3 minutes ago, Ayden said:

Once again, I really think you are overly optimistic where cruise crew are concerned.  After bring locked down and virtually out of business for so long I can't see the cruise ships removing mask mandates for crew due to the inherent risk of exposure to so many passengers coming and going.  They want to stay in business and encourage those passengers who are wanting the best case scenario for a covid free vacation on one of their ships.

I for one found it comforting to know Azamara takes preventative measures seriously and will give a pass to any American airline options.

 

I think the cruise line’s survival will depend on getting back to normal quickly. Covid initiatives are not a path to profitability on cruise ships. Trains, buses, and planes should not have any higher risk than the interaction within a restaurant or small cruise ship.

 

People are traveling for vacation to places with the least restrictions. Personally, Canada or China are not on my travel list this year. Good news for you…is that you are still allowed to wear a mask if you want (although this should be considered to reduce crime).

[Ayden]

8 minutes ago, mdpa said:

I think the cruise line’s survival will depend on getting back to normal quickly. Covid initiatives are not a path to profitability on cruise ships. Trains, buses, and planes should not have any higher risk than the interaction within a restaurant or small cruise ship.

 

People are traveling for vacation to places with the least restrictions. Personally, Canada or China are not on my travel list this year. Good news for you…is that you are still allowed to wear a mask if you want (although this should be considered to reduce crime).

Canada and China?....no words.

Not here to debate or waste time.

 

[travelberlin]

1 hour ago, mdpa said:

I think the cruise line’s survival will depend on getting back to normal quickly. Covid initiatives are not a path to profitability on cruise ships. Trains, buses, and planes should not have any higher risk than the interaction within a restaurant or small cruise ship.

 

People are traveling for vacation to places with the least restrictions. Personally, Canada or China are not on my travel list this year. Good news for you…is that you are still allowed to wear a mask if you want (although this should be considered to reduce crime).

The cruise lines survival depends of us, cruisers being willing to cruise again and of their personal being healthy. Most of us cruisers find that safety onboard is required which includes taking care that we are not unnecessary exposed to contagious diseases. When cruise lines have a large number of contagious cases, ports start closing their doors. Masks help to control the spread of Covid. 
 

Crew members depend of their work to earn their living. For guests, cruises are an option but for crew members are a way of living. They have suffered a lot with the stopping of cruising and as a cruiser, I have a lot of respect for the work they do. I will continue to wear masks to protect them, other cruisers and myself. We are all smiling with our eyes, with our words of recognition, and with our gratitude for being there.

Ivi

[nordski]

21 minutes ago, travelberlin said:

 

Crew members depend of their work to earn their living. For guests, cruises are an option but for crew members are a way of living. They have suffered a lot with the stopping of cruising and as a cruiser, I have a lot of respect for the work they do. I will continue to wear masks to protect them, other cruisers and myself. We are all smiling with our eyes, with our words of recognition, and with our gratitude for being there.

Ivi

Agree totally. 
 

One of the best ways to elicit the smiling eyes of the crew is to act in such a way as to demonstrate concern for their welfare.

 

At present, I think one of these ways is to wear a mask. 

[Mrs Skip]

On 4/19/2022 at 12:09 PM, uktog said:

As an aside/update

 

When we were on Quest last week, we generally kept our masks on and used FFP2 masks on buses and on the flights.  We did note some coughing onboard towards the end of the cruise but previously had decided to ease off mask wearing a little until the point the Captain said we had a case onboard.  (we think it may actually have been cases given what an employee let slip).  At that stage we tried to be more careful with our mask wearing, but you have to have it off to eat and drink!

Anyway on the final morning I started to feel a bit off on the way to the airport.  Over the next 2 days I developed the worst cold and cough I have had for years.  (Until the cough came I thought it was early hay fever) I got myself tested both on Sunday and yesterday because I was convinced I had copped Covid.  All tests are back negative which really surprised us.  The tester said it may actually be the kind of cold/cough you get if you have been exposed to Covid but are fully vaccinated - being symptomatic but not showing traces of covid.  Boy do I feel rough but relieved it is not what I thought (and three years ago I would have said dratted ship/aircraft I have got that usual cold/cough)

 

We had a very similar experience leaving Quest on 05 April. On arrival home, my husband was full of a cold and cough, but consistently tested negative for Covid.  Lots of grass cutting also lead to some conjecture on hayfever. He was kind enough to share his illness with me, and I also consistently tested negative for Covid (based on self administered LFTs).  The good news is after a week or so, we are both recovered so i do hope that the same timeframes apply to you UKTog.  

[uktog]

4 minutes ago, Mrs Skip said:

 

We had a very similar experience leaving Quest on 05 April. On arrival home, my husband was full of a cold and cough, but consistently tested negative for Covid.  Lots of grass cutting also lead to some conjecture on hayfever. He was kind enough to share his illness with me, and I also consistently tested negative for Covid (based on self administered LFTs).  The good news is after a week or so, we are both recovered so i do hope that the same timeframes apply to you UKTog.  

Thanks - such similar experiences.  And yes I have been generous, my husband is two days behind me in terms of the illness.  He too has tested negative. My cough is really annoying at night but otherwise, pre covid days I would just be saying cruise ship cough and getting on with life.  

[curmudgeon98]

7 hours ago, uktog said:

Thanks - such similar experiences.  And yes I have been generous, my husband is two days behind me in terms of the illness.  He too has tested negative. My cough is really annoying at night but otherwise, pre covid days I would just be saying cruise ship cough and getting on with life.  

It's an interesting point.  I recall early in the covid lockdowns some commentary that if we kept a high degree of isolation for an extended period of time, as things came back toward normal then waves of  colds and flu/URI would likely be significantly worse, because we wouldn't have our normal immunity.  We may be seeing examples of just that.

[wjfan417]

On 4/13/2022 at 2:52 PM, uktog said:

I see a lot more mask wearing in the last hour on Quest. We used to be very much the minority (our choice). However we’ve just been told by the captain we’ve a case onboard. I really applaud the openness sharing this information as soon as it was known so people can make choices. 

I noticed the increase in mask wearing once the captain made the announcement too. We had continued wearing our masks while walking through the corridors and during shows.

[Tuscany4]

We just got the email re testing for our May 13 Onward cruise.

That aside it states that mask wearing is now optional. When did this come in.Is this the case on all Azamara cruises now?

[Mackdogmolly]

On 4/20/2022 at 8:20 AM, travelberlin said:

The cruise lines survival depends of us, cruisers being willing to cruise again and of their personal being healthy. Most of us cruisers find that safety onboard is required which includes taking care that we are not unnecessary exposed to contagious diseases. When cruise lines have a large number of contagious cases, ports start closing their doors. Masks help to control the spread of Covid. 
 

Crew members depend of their work to earn their living. For guests, cruises are an option but for crew members are a way of living. They have suffered a lot with the stopping of cruising and as a cruiser, I have a lot of respect for the work they do. I will continue to wear masks to protect them, other cruisers and myself. We are all smiling with our eyes, with our words of recognition, and with our gratitude for being there.

Ivi

And since Azamara is so eager to make sure we are COVID negative before we board, I would think they would want to continue the precautions on board.

Betsey

[uktog]

This is the mask guidance we have just received from Azamara.  Based on this, you cannot be certain what the requirements will be.  Otherwise it is down to choice whether to go beyond the guidance - many did last week and we appreciated that

 

Face Masks and Physical Distancing 

• Following the guidelines as per the CDC's COVID-19 Voluntary Program, indoor mask wearing is optional, but recommended. Masks might be required in the terminals of the ports of call we visit and within cities and touristic sites.
• Certain countries we visit (such as Greece) require that masks are worn by cruise ship guests and crew members when indoors onboard the ship. We will keep you informed during the voyage when masking is optional, and when masking is required.