Covid on the Breeze

[Barrycat]

I’m not involved but we were booked on the SanDiego to Puerto Vallarta portion of this Breeze series but cancelled but still interested.

Passenger currently on the Breeze in Cabo was just informed that the rest of that cruise to San Diego and the following up to Vancouver have been cancelled and they have been asked to disembark half way through the scheduled itinerary.

A few passengers were infected on the way down and now it’s the crew.

 

[Babr]

The CDC was showing it as Orange, which I thought was a quick change in status since this is only the second sailing into/out of San Diego. Perhaps they will reinstate the required PCR prior to boarding and masking.

 

What a mess for people trying to get home and those scheduled to sail next.

[Babr]

Windstar has removed its April 22 update from the website this morning. I wonder if they are reworking their protocols.  If you are cruising soon, keep an eye out for changes.

[Westley and Buttercup]

I was on this cruise.   We had been informed that there were some crew in isolation due to testing positive. There were also a few guests that had become  infected in Cabo San Lucas, on the previous sailing. At that time they offered free antigen tests.  Just after we left La Paz, the announcement came that they were  canceling the rest of our cruise. Windstar was kind enough to give us $300 per per person to help with the change in airfare costs, and free internet/phone service to make it easy to get home. Yes,the food was not up to par and unfortunately a lot of the things that we enjoy doing on a Windstar cruise were not available. Windstar  also arranged for our luggage to be transferred to the airport and a very comfortable shuttle ride. We were given the option of staying thru Saturday,  to give us time to arrange transportation home.   Luckily, we disembarked at cabo San Lucas,  where they have a very large International airport with several airlines serving it, so was very easy to get a flight change. Now we can look forward to another wonderful cruise. The staff that was not sick were absolutely phenomenal. They worked so hard. It was difficult watching them work so hard while people were walking around without masks. It was kind of surprising really , seeing 90% of the guests unmasked while the staff was wearing double masks. Even after the announcement of our cruise being cut short, guests still refused to wear masks. The entitlement runs deep. 

[Babr]

Thanks for posting. I was wondering what happened. I’ve been trying to piece it together from posts here and there. The cancellation notice we received said there were a number of staff and crew in either isolation or quarantine. Apparently it was enough to impact service and threaten continued spread so the cruise was cancelled.

 

The notice said one passenger tested positive as well, but that has not been mentioned by people on the cruise. I wonder what happened to that person - whether he was disembarked to quarantine in Mexico or whether he was allowed to stay on board until he could fly home. 
 

One person on the earlier cruise reported being given the option to stay on board for $100pp per day because the resort they had booked post cruise in Mexico would not accept them. That person tested negative in time to leave.

 

It is interesting that passengers continued to go maskless in spite of the obvious consequences. I expect that more will test positive in the coming days. Windstar had no choice but to end it when they did and get people out of there before they had a real disaster on their hands.

 

It is bad enough that my cruise is now cancelled with only a few days notice. At least I do not have to worry about getting sick or testing positive so that I could not get home in a timely manner. We’ll get a refund, but there is no offer of anything else as a goodwill gesture for the inconvenience. Nevertheless, I count myself lucky. The itinerary had been altered to eliminate the highlight, and covid had become a real threat with quarantine hanging over it all and the logistics complications that involves.

As I noted earlier, the covid update has been removed from the website and not yet replaced. We’ll see if protocols are strengthened. One thing is for sure. They can’t keep going like this.

 

[minidonuts85]

On 5/7/2022 at 5:48 AM, Babr said:

Windstar has removed its April 22 update from the website this morning. I wonder if they are reworking their protocols.  If you are cruising soon, keep an eye out for changes.

Good catch and I’d bet they are. We’ve got our final payment coming up soon for Tahiti in August and I think we’re going to postpone again. I saw that masks on board were still required for Tahiti anyway and who knows if it will still be in place in August. I was optimistic but guess it’s still not a good time for us .

[Nearpost345]

Westley and Buttercup, we were on the repositioning cruise where guests were told masks were no longer needed (once we left French Polynesian jurisdiction.) Sounds like a stupid question, but after the outbreak did the Captain specifically instruct the guests to once again mask up? I’m having difficulty believing that most went unmasked if they were told otherwise. No disrespect implied there W&B

 

I echo your comments about the crew, I simply love them.

Edited May 9, 2022 by Nearpost345

[Westley and Buttercup]

Hi, Nearpost345.  The cruise director that first announced  staff were being quarantined, due to positive covid tests, recommended people wear masks in indoor spaces.  Sadly, people chose not to, even after our cruise was canceled. 

[Mommomcruiser]

Hmmm, we were on that cruise also. In fact we had crew quarantined next to our cabin. From what we heard….only the crew had been infected with Covid. And….there was no announcement made about masking up indoors…people need to keep living their lives without fear. If your compromised with your health… then wear a mask . And stop criticizing other people.

[Babr]

7 hours ago, Mommomcruiser said:

Hmmm, we were on that cruise also. In fact we had crew quarantined next to our cabin. From what we heard….only the crew had been infected with Covid. And….there was no announcement made about masking up indoors…people need to keep living their lives without fear. If your compromised with your health… then wear a mask . And stop criticizing other people.

I’m not talking about fear. I got my cruise cancelled out from under me. I was supposed to be embarking today, but I am not because people would not abide by common sense or common courtesy.There are consequences beyond your pleasure.

 

The cancellation notice we received said a passenger did test positive. There may be more by now who are sick at home.

 

Do you think it is OK as long as only crew is involved?

Edited May 10, 2022 by Babr

[Strenz]

People need to live their lives with the Golden Rule a universal ethic that crosses all religions and those with no religion. Do unto others as you would do unto them. Masking is simple and  it protects everyone. If more people had followed that common sense rule more people would be alive, more people would be having a wonderful cruise!  It is not about living in fear it is about doing what is right, very simple. Happy Sailing

[Nearpost345]

Westley, thanks for your response. I don’t understand why the captain did not order guests to mask up , unless seated etc. A recommendation from the cruise director, we couldn’t understand most of what he said anyway, is inadequate imo.

 

 

 

 

Edited May 10, 2022 by Nearpost345

[Strenz]

Correction: The Golden Rule, Do Unto Others as You Would Have Them do Unto You. 

Sorry I was in a mad rush this am. Happy Sailing

[Babr]

I’m not in a mad rush anymore because I’m not going anywhere. I’m just mad.

 

The idea that the captain has to order people to mask up strikes me as odd. While it does carry the weight of authority, it suggests people don’t have the sense to do it in the face of an active, ongoing infection. The results speak for themselves.

 

The Breeze shot to CDC Orange status right away - one cruise to get to Orange, one cruise aborted, and one cruise cancelled. Not a propitious start to US cruising. 

[avalong]

18 hours ago, Mommomcruiser said:

Hmmm, we were on that cruise also. In fact we had crew quarantined next to our cabin. From what we heard….only the crew had been infected with Covid. And….there was no announcement made about masking up indoors…people need to keep living their lives without fear. If your compromised with your health… then wear a mask . And stop criticizing other people.

This attitude right here is why we're all in the pickle we're in right now. 

[flygod]

I am now just about to cancel my 17-days in Tahiti, partly because of this experience.

I have no desire to be turfed off the ship in Polynesia, on the other side of the planet from home here in Scotland, because of a Covid case or two. And then have to try and find hotels, re-arrange trips, flights etc.

And there will be more Covid cases onboard! I caught Covid about six weeks ago when the numbers in Scotland were one-in-eleven infected. Knocked me out for weeks, still at around 95% strength. The new variants are super-transmissible and a mask won't save you.

 

That's the other reason for cancelling. The French Polynesians still want masks worn on board ships. Sorry, just not what I'd spend so much time and money on - a holiday in paradise, with a mask.

Fingers crossed for next year.

[minidonuts85]

40 minutes ago, flygod said:

I am now just about to cancel my 17-days in Tahiti, partly because of this experience.

I have no desire to be turfed off the ship in Polynesia, on the other side of the planet from home here in Scotland, because of a Covid case or two. And then have to try and find hotels, re-arrange trips, flights etc.

And there will be more Covid cases onboard! I caught Covid about six weeks ago when the numbers in Scotland were one-in-eleven infected. Knocked me out for weeks, still at around 95% strength. The new variants are super-transmissible and a mask won't save you.

 

That's the other reason for cancelling. The French Polynesians still want masks worn on board ships. Sorry, just not what I'd spend so much time and money on - a holiday in paradise, with a mask.

Fingers crossed for next year.

We just rebooked for next year as well. Fingers crossed! 

[avalong]

1 hour ago, flygod said:

I am now just about to cancel my 17-days in Tahiti, partly because of this experience.

I have no desire to be turfed off the ship in Polynesia, on the other side of the planet from home here in Scotland, because of a Covid case or two. And then have to try and find hotels, re-arrange trips, flights etc.

And there will be more Covid cases onboard! I caught Covid about six weeks ago when the numbers in Scotland were one-in-eleven infected. Knocked me out for weeks, still at around 95% strength. The new variants are super-transmissible and a mask won't save you.

 

That's the other reason for cancelling. The French Polynesians still want masks worn on board ships. Sorry, just not what I'd spend so much time and money on - a holiday in paradise, with a mask.

Fingers crossed for next year.

I really empathize. We're toying with cancelling our Tahiti cruise in September for the very same reasons. 

 

[Zukini]

57 minutes ago, avalong said:

I really empathize. We're toying with cancelling our Tahiti cruise in September for the very same reasons. 

 

We were supposed to be on Wind Spirit in Tahiti for the May 5th cruise. We cancelled at final payment for just these reasons as well. Ironically, I just came down with Covid here at home on the 7th (vaxxed and boosted).  Would have been a real challenge if we actually WERE in Fakarava that day as planned! 

[avalong]

9 minutes ago, Zukini said:

We were supposed to be on Wind Spirit in Tahiti for the May 5th cruise. We cancelled at final payment for just these reasons as well. Ironically, I just came down with Covid here at home on the 7th (vaxxed and boosted).  Would have been a real challenge if we actually WERE in Fakarava that day as planned! 

Wow. You dodged a bullet there. Hope you're feeling better very soon.

[LewiLewi]

On 5/8/2022 at 12:18 PM, Westley and Buttercup said:

I was on this cruise.   We had been informed that there were some crew in isolation due to testing positive. There were also a few guests that had become  infected in Cabo San Lucas, on the previous sailing. At that time they offered free antigen tests.  Just after we left La Paz, the announcement came that they were  canceling the rest of our cruise. Windstar was kind enough to give us $300 per per person to help with the change in airfare costs, and free internet/phone service to make it easy to get home. Yes,the food was not up to par and unfortunately a lot of the things that we enjoy doing on a Windstar cruise were not available. Windstar  also arranged for our luggage to be transferred to the airport and a very comfortable shuttle ride. We were given the option of staying thru Saturday,  to give us time to arrange transportation home.   Luckily, we disembarked at cabo San Lucas,  where they have a very large International airport with several airlines serving it, so was very easy to get a flight change. Now we can look forward to another wonderful cruise. The staff that was not sick were absolutely phenomenal. They worked so hard. It was difficult watching them work so hard while people were walking around without masks. It was kind of surprising really , seeing 90% of the guests unmasked while the staff was wearing double masks. Even after the announcement of our cruise being cut short, guests still refused to wear masks. The entitlement runs deep. 

Were you tested at the airport for Covid before being allowed to fly home?

[J&MSails]

We were tested on the ship the night before we arrived in Cabo San Lucas.  We received the results in a form stating we were negative.  When we arrived at the airport in Cabo, we had to fill out an attestation form on line saying we have tested negative.  No one at the airlines checked to make sure we were telling the truth.  No one at the airport checked our vaccination cards either.

[Babr]

9 hours ago, J&MSails said:

We were tested on the ship the night before we arrived in Cabo San Lucas.  We received the results in a form stating we were negative.  When we arrived at the airport in Cabo, we had to fill out an attestation form on line saying we have tested negative.  No one at the airlines checked to make sure we were telling the truth.  No one at the airport checked our vaccination cards either.

Interesting. I thought airlines flying into the US were required to verify a negative test.

 

No one seems to know what happened to the passenger who tested positive on the ship.

[minidonuts85]

2 hours ago, Babr said:

Interesting. I thought airlines flying into the US were required to verify a negative test.

 

No one seems to know what happened to the passenger who tested positive on the ship.

Yea they’re supposed to. I know from our experience when we’ve flown back in from Puerto Vallarta this year southwest and Alaska both reviewed our test documents in depth, asked us questions too. I wonder if it just depends on who you get. They did not check vaccine cards nor did I expect them too as it isn’t a condition to return. 

[Babr]

21 minutes ago, minidonuts85 said:

Yea they’re supposed to. I know from our experience when we’ve flown back in from Puerto Vallarta this year southwest and Alaska both reviewed our test documents in depth, asked us questions too. I wonder if it just depends on who you get. They did not check vaccine cards nor did I expect them too as it isn’t a condition to return. 

 The testing requirement seems to be causing a lot of problems already for people trying to return from Europe. Several threads on the Celebrity board.

 

Let’s see what happens when the Alaska season gets in full swing with people testing positive in Canada. It will be interesting to see what Windstar does since the government of Canada requires the cruise line to arrange and pay for quarantine for passengers who test positive during the cruise regardless of the cruise line’s policy for assistance. They are likely to have fewer who are willing to stay on board to recover even at $100 per person per day that was offered to people on the Mexico cruise.