Live from NCL Bliss - what a mistake we made!!

[jbpinkie]

Hi all - greetings from my 30th cruise celebrating my engagement that just happened last week. Cruise started off very rough, as we were met at the embarkation pier with a notice that the Bliss had a noro-virus outbreak the week prior and offered us 100% FCC if we were concerned about sailing. Pre-pandemic I knew that this had happened and assured my fiancé all would be cleaned scrubbed etc. we had flown from TX to Seattle so we were going to continue. Embarkation was rough. Very packed terminal, maybe 10% in masks. We were fortunate that we got through the line quickly (45 minutes) and found a seat. Talked with a lady at dinner who shared she stood for 3 hours in line. 
 

Once on-board we were thrilled to see Roberto was the CD. Had sailed with him on the Star and he does a great job. There have been a lot of positives. I see an upgrade in food, and in service (except for our cabin steward) but I didn’t get the chance to complain so there is that. 
 

Yesterday, day 5 my fiancée developed a very slight dry cough. Maybe coughed 10 times through the day (minor). We are warm weather people and this trip has been cold for us, I always keep Tylenol sinus, gave him two, they helped some. We wanted to make sure and nip anything in the bud if you will if he was truly getting sick. So we called medical, they came to the cabin and tested him for Covid and strep and said they would call back in an hour. They called and said both tests were negative and offered him the ability to see the dr to get evaluation and medication. He went to the center was seen for a few minutes and the dr wanted to do blood work, ex rays etc and could not give him a fee schedule. Just said equivalent to a us ER. He called me in the cabin, as he thought this was over kill for a minor thing and I agreed. He declined the tests. The Dr gave him two large bottles of DayQuil and a 3 day Quarantine 😳😳😳 We were being overly cautious trying to do the right thing and will now spend the end of our cruise in quarantine. We bought insurance so it’s not about $, it’s about how trying to be vigilant and on top of things now cost us the end of our trip. 
 

We just wanted to do the right thing, and I feel like by reporting something very minor we are being penalized. 
 

Just thought I would share our story as we really wish we had just gone to bed (having taken another dose of Tylenol)

[FlGoodShips]

Ok.

A "mistake" was not made. What if he tested pos for covid??

Better to be safe than sorry. Just enjoy the rest of your cruise.

[CILCIANRQTS]

Sick bay is a profit center.

I went for a nosebleed, and the doc sat behind his desk and said “You’ll be fine” without examining me.

Bill for his “services” was $100.

[jbpinkie]

FLGoodShips- that was exactly what we thought. Better to be safe than sorry! But in doing that they have us confined to our cabin for the rest of our trip…. Hard to enjoy when we are being denied the last two ports, Jersey Boys (which I was really looking forward to) etc. 

[sassycruiser]

On our May 8th cruise on the Joy my husband dislocated his shoulder and the medical center drugged him and sent him to the hospital in Bermuda.  The medical staff asked what travel insurance we had and i had bought NCLs just out of laziness.  So I don’t know if that made the visit free but as of now we haven’t been charged for the X-ray or painkillers/iv they gave him

 

Now, hopefully the travel insurance or our regular medical will reimburse the $3500.00 the hospital charged.  They told me they wouldn’t release him without us paying.  I was curious what they would do with him if I didn’t pay but I figured being a smart ass wouldn’t help the situation.   

[jbpinkie]

7 minutes ago, CILCIANRQTS said:

Sick bay is a profit center.

I went for a nosebleed, and the doc sat behind his desk and said “You’ll be fine” without examining me.

Bill for his “services” was $100.

Dr took fiancé’s temp, BP, and O2 sat and that portion was $199. DayQuil $40. Again not about the money we were both just shocked to be quarantined over something so very minor

[njkate]

One of the reasons I have my emergency med kit with Tylenol Advil cold & flu meds plus pesto bismal to now include the home covid tests sent to me by government before I would step foot in their med center

[rjm11]

I think the frustrating part for the OP here is that they did all the right things, tested NEGATIVE and were still quarantined. Prior to covid did they quarantine all people who went to the medical center with a cough? I don't think they did- and I would think this should have been handled similarly.

[jbpinkie]

2 minutes ago, sassycruiser said:

On our May 8th cruise on the Joy my husband dislocated his shoulder and the medical center drugged him and sent him to the hospital in Bermuda.  The medical staff asked what travel insurance we had and i had bought NCLs just out of laziness.  So I don’t know if that made the visit free but as of now we haven’t been charged for the X-ray or painkillers/iv they gave him

 

Now, hopefully the travel insurance or our regular medical will reimburse the $3500.00 the hospital charged.  They told me they wouldn’t release him without us paying.  I was curious what they would do with him if I didn’t pay but I figured being a smart ass wouldn’t help the situation.   

Yes, they told us he couldn’t get off ship without a second clear Covid test…. Smart ass me thought great way to cruise for life 🥳. Thanks for the smile and hope DH is well recovered!

[njkate]

1 minute ago, njkate said:

One of the reasons I have my emergency med kit with Tylenol Advil cold & flu meds plus pesto bismal to now include the home covid tests sent to me by government before I would step foot in their med center. Of course if the home covid came back positive that would be another story but I want to know first

 

[rjm11]

1 minute ago, njkate said:

One of the reasons I have my emergency med kit with Tylenol Advil cold & flu meds plus pesto bismal to now include the home covid tests sent to me by government before I would step foot in their med center

THIS! I am packing my own rapid tests so that I know if I need to involve the medical team or not. If positive, I will do the right thing and let people know and quarantine, but if negative, it seems like overkill to quarantine, and I"m likely to take care of it myself if possible.

[jbpinkie]

2 minutes ago, njkate said:

One of the reasons I have my emergency med kit with Tylenol Advil cold & flu meds plus pesto bismal to now include the home covid tests sent to me by government before I would step foot in their med center

Exactly. Thanks for understanding!!

[njkate]

Just now, rjm11 said:

THIS! I am packing my own rapid tests so that I know if I need to involve the medical team or not. If positive, I will do the right thing and let people know and quarantine, but if negative, it seems like overkill to quarantine, and I"m likely to take care of it myself if possible.

Exactly!! 4 0f us on a 7 day cruise on The Bliss in July, I'll be taking 8 kits with me

[jbpinkie]

1 minute ago, rjm11 said:

THIS! I am packing my own rapid tests so that I know if I need to involve the medical team or not. If positive, I will do the right thing and let people know and quarantine, but if negative, it seems like overkill to quarantine, and I"m likely to take care of it myself if possible.

We just said the same thing. Added it to our “leave in the suitcase” list along with phase 10 which I am grateful for today!!

[SomewhereGirl]

On my last cruise I got severely ill for a day.  There was no way I was going to risk a trip to the medical center for the very risk of what happened to the OP.  I basically quarantined myself for a day.  Self-diagnosed as seasickness.  Happened once before in the same part of the ocean.  I was afraid to even ask for seasickness meds.  Just weighed the suffering with the risk.  Not worth the risk.

[CrazyTrain2]

It's cheaper (and better quality medical attention) to bring along your own EMT stocked with meds and IVs to keep the party going all night.

[tallnthensome]

You actually called medical for your fiancé that coughed just ten times the whole day? The Bliss wasn't the mistake.  The decison you made to call medical for that was the bad decision that was was the mistake . Now you have regrets ...... Poor decision. 

Edited May 19, 2022 by tallnthensome

[tallnthensome]

1 hour ago, FlGoodShips said:

Ok.

A "mistake" was not made. What if he tested pos for covid??

Better to be safe than sorry. Just enjoy the rest of your cruise.

Yes it was a mistake if they tested negative. Shall everyone who has a sniffle, a random cough, or a nose dribble run to medical now? I don't think so .....

[jbpinkie]

3 minutes ago, tallnthensome said:

You actually called medical for your fiancee that coughed just ten times the whole day? The Bliss wasn't the mistake.  The decison you made to call medical for that was the bad decision that was made by you and your husband. Now you have regrets ...... Poor decision. 

I understand this, we made a mistake to call. You are right it was a very poor decision on our part. 

[RRSeeker]

You did what you thought was right and honestly it was but unfortunate they quarantined you for no reason. I am leaving Sunday on the breakaway. I have my Covid tests packed and enough meds to make it through in case of Covid. I had Covid in October so I knew what to bring. Only problem is I have 5 pounds of meds in my suitcase so had to remove some clothes to make the 50 pound weight limit!

 

I am fully vaccinated, breakthroughed, and double boosted (last on being 14 days from today) and hoping for the best.

 

if I test positive on my Covid test I will let them know and do the right thing and quarantine.

[insidecabin]

Follow the cruise lines strategy.

 

Don't test anymore and the problem goes away.

 

In Europe it's the testing for US pax  to go home or a decision by a country to have the ship test(eg. dawn into Amsterdam) that is catching the lines out.

 

I have been following princess and NCL both have had big problems and I read from other following other lines they are not alone.

 

 

 

[vacation44]

15 hours ago, njkate said:

One of the reasons I have my emergency med kit with Tylenol Advil cold & flu meds plus pesto bismal to now include the home covid tests sent to me by government before I would step foot in their med center

This is exactly what we did in February and, fortunately,  we did not need any of it.  During our sailing, we met a lot of fellow passengers who did the same.   

[Homosassa]

For any of you bringing home test kites with you, be sure to maintain the storage conditions on the label. Do not pack in checked luggage that will be subject to temperature extremes; i.e,; car trunks, airplane holds, sitting in the hot sun on the tarmac.

 

You may otherwise have test kits that give inaccurate test results (positive or negative) or not work at all. 

[njkate]

2 hours ago, Homosassa said:

For any of you bringing home test kites with you, be sure to maintain the storage conditions on the label. Do not pack in checked luggage that will be subject to temperature extremes; i.e,; car trunks, airplane holds, sitting in the hot sun on the tarmac.

 

You may otherwise have test kits that give inaccurate test results (positive or negative) or not work at all. 

My emergency kit in checked, my home test covid kit in carryon

[Mlake09]

22 hours ago, rjm11 said:

I think the frustrating part for the OP here is that they did all the right things, tested NEGATIVE and were still quarantined. Prior to covid did they quarantine all people who went to the medical center with a cough? I don't think they did- and I would think this should have been handled similarly.

I understand why they may still ask for the quarantine if they tested with a rapid test only- when we got off the Gem last month, I tested positive when we got home on the rapid, but everyone else was negative, the next day, everyone still negative On the home tests, but went for PCR to be safe since we had been together the entire trip. Even with the negative home tests, they were all still positive. Luckily, my sister in law and nephew wore masks on Monday at school, otherwise they could have ended up exposing many others. 
 

Moral of the story is that covid sucks!