Nieuw Amsterdam May 15 Sailing - from Quarantine

[Kamfish642]

Just got off a Viking river cruise from Budapest to Amsterdam with a pre-cruise stay in Prague.  EU countries definitely have move lags COVID requirements now in a return to normal philosophy, so don't be surprised.  We and several other passengers had people walk up to us in Prague, Budapest and other cities politely telling us that we didn't need to wear masks and almost no one did, especially outdoors even in crowds.

[lderochi]

I got a nice letter from the medical office assuring me that all Covid related services are free of charge. But the charge is still on my statement, guest relations is “still working on it”

[Florida_gal_50]

27 minutes ago, lderochi said:

I got a nice letter from the medical office assuring me that all Covid related services are free of charge. But the charge is still on my statement, guest relations is “still working on it”

Oh yes, the night auditor must be involved 😛😉😔.

[lderochi]

Disembarkation procedures for us: we will be escorted off by Medical/Housekeeping after everybody else has left, so around 9:30-9:45 I guess. Nobody ever told me, I had to ask. 

[mightycruisequeen]

Thank you for sharing your experience with us, and I hope all goes well for you.

 

[lderochi]

After another attempt to tell me that my on board Covid test wasn’t covered by HAL’s Worry Free Promise, despite ALSO providing a letter stating that “Please be assured that onboard Covid-19 related visits and testing of suspected Covid 19 cases are free of charge”, my account was finally credited. With an apology for the inadvertent error. 
 

They also confirmed that I would receive some FCC for my missed days, which is fine, but we are very occasional cruises so I doubt we will ever use them. 

Edited May 22, 2022 by lderochi

[lderochi]

And kudos where deserved. I was wondering whether I would be able get something to eat for breakfast, as room service is not available on the last day. But room service called me to say that people in isolation could get service this morning, and took my order. 👍

[everbeentoseabilly]

On 5/20/2022 at 7:13 PM, lderochi said:

So I’m in quarantine in the NA as of today. Some quick thoughts. 
 

TBH there are more masks than I expected but fewer than I would have liked. Maybe 35-40% of passengers. We were diligent, but not 100% always masked. We definitely masked up in the hallways and the elevators. Wife is negative. 
 

I felt just slightly “off” yesterday and went ahead and took a self test to make sure, and if it was positive, I wanted to make sure it happened on the ship. Bingo. 

frankly, it’s been a s**t show - things may be getting away from them after the two port stops. I was tested around 7:30 AM, got confirmation around 8:15. The medical office said I could stay in the room, but my wife would need to move. I was told that housekeeping and guest services would be in touch re next steps. Neither of them contacted me. Medical office called around 9:45 and he was surprised and clearly angry that my wife hadn’t been moved. But he said that since she hadn’t been moved yet, they could let her stay in the suite and move me instead. Ok, fine. Guest Services called 15 minutes later and said oopsie, we BOTH have to move, but my wife could return 24 hours later  (last day) to the original suite after they sterilized it . She said pass, she had already packed. Fine, housekeeping would be up very shortly to move us. About 2 hours later, nothing. Called guest services, who were surprised we hadn’t been moved. Passed on to a supervisor who apologized and said housekeeping was very busy because “there are a lot of new cases being reported”. 
 

Housekeeping showed up about 15 minutes after that call, but tried moving both of us to the quarantine cabin (Deck 11 Balcony for those curious). We said no, my wife was being moved to a different cabin. A few phone calls later, they whisked her off to her new cabin (Deck 7 balcony). 
 

Was again told that guest services would be in touch to discuss next steps. That was 2 hours ago. The only person to call was the Neptune concierge who offered to send up some coffee and snacks later (kudos!!). She also said she would contact guest services herself. Have not heard anything since. 
 

my wife texted me and said that she saw a crew member being yelled at because she was scared to go back to her cabin in the crew quarters. So that’s not ideal. 
 

so that’s where I stand. I mean, Hubbard, Glacier Bay, the White pass RR and especially the Mendenhall flightseeing and dog sledding were spectacular. Sorry to see it ending on such a down note. 
 

Really curious to hear from Guest Services, I will add on when things happen. Nothing else to do. 
 

oh, here’s a shot of quarantine row, or my slice of it. 

Hello.  Sorry you are in isolation. We went through a similar thing on the koningsdam.   We were escorted off ship by stewards in full on hazmat suits. We ended up in a Vancouver airport hotel for 8 days, 2 days quarantine on ship. We have since heard nothing from HAL and don’t see the FCC on our account yet. We have been home for two weeks.   We had the exact same letters as you did. 
hope you have a speedy recovery and get home soon

[Boatdrill]

15 hours ago, Kamfish642 said:

 EU countries definitely have move lags COVID requirements now in a return to normal philosophy,... 

What does "move lags COVID requirements" mean ? 

[lderochi]

Things went pretty sideways today. Still sitting and waiting to disembark at 10:45, and that’s the least of it. When guest relations offered to arrange a private car to Seattle, I specifically asked if they would be okay knowing I tested positive 3 days earlier. They said yes, as long as I was masked. But the service called me this morning and cancelled. So now guest relations tells me they have arranged a shuttle for me (and I guess other Covid positive people?), and that doesn’t make any sense. I’m not crazy about being in proximity to my wife until I’m negative, I certainly don’t want to put her on a shuttle with a bunch of us. So I found another limo company that are ok with me so long as I am masked. Of course, we set a 11:00 pickup which I thought would give plenty of time. Not so much. My wife is going to meet him at 11 and tell him to stick around until can leave the ship. 

[lderochi]

Off the boat at 11. The shuttle they arranged apparently had separate buses for positive cases and their companions, so that’s good. Still, it was just too last minute, and I had already arranged another ride. They had me on a list of the positive cases as they checked my name off. It was a long list, just FYI. 

[john2003]

We are due to board on the 12th.  Both if us currently have Covid from another recent trip. At the moment have no idea what the right course will be. Cancel because we can't face all the hassles or assume we will have greater protection and proceed.

[Florida_gal_50]

What a hassle.  You’d think this was hal first time dealing with this 🙄.

[albingirl]

The long list of covid cases would concern me.  Sorry anyone has to go through this.  We are pausing on cruising in the meantime.  Uptick in our area.  Even if it's like a bad cold, as some suggest, I just don't need that dreary feeling.

[rj59]

On 5/20/2022 at 5:43 PM, IPB4IGO said:

Arg! We will be on the NA nine days from now. Here on the Noordam I have heard of no covid cases, and, walking all the decks, I have found no quarantine spaces. We were booted off the Zuiderdam in January when I came down with covid the day we arrived in Florida in the middle of a back-to-back, and I don't wish quarantine on anybody.

The Noordam had Covid on its trip from Florida to San Diego,  so those who got on in SD had to mask up on the way to Vancouver, which was mostly stupid covid theater, especially with only 1100 on board. Most followed the OPs practice of masking religiously in hallways and elevators, when you don't have enough time or people to spread Covid, but then sat near strangers for hours without masks in bars, restaurants, and trivia events. A packed tour bus is also a good way to spread covid, regardless of mask wearing, unless there's adequate ventilation and perfect N95 mask seals on everyone. I also didn't see many people with me on the promenade on the Noordam, which is the safest place to avoid exposure (and to get the best whale and porpoise sightings). Just realize that ships and ports will be full this summer, so there will be covid, so it's not realistic to expect that each ship will handle it well, so you want to be safe then you should avoid areas where people are unmasked for long periods of time, or together with masks in enclosed spaces for extended periods (like the train out of Skagway). I know people are eager to travel,, but to me it's not a good time for bucket list cruises to the Panama Canal, Hawaii, Europe, or the overcrowded, overbooked tours in Alaska (I saw there will be up to 12,000 passengers next Monday when I'm in Ketchikan). Personally, I'm not comfortable with masking again, so I'm going on Carnival to Alaska this week, on a small ship for 6 nights, and I live near Seattle so can drive home if I test positive, and I'll use distancing, no excursions, and many hours outside to minimize infection risks. 

[Iamthesea]

Curious if your wife was tested every day after you tested negative?  She could very well already be positive.  

[lderochi]

I am surprised at how disjointed the process was. You would think that dealing with positive cases would be the one thing that they would have trained endlessly on. But there was so much miscommunication and lack of communication. 
 

my wife remains negative, she has been self testing. 

[JudithLynne]

"It was a long list, just FYI."

 

I am having a hard time understanding why so many passengers, all vaccinated and some boosted too, could contract COVID in spite of all the ship's precautions!

The only thing that I can come up with is the ports.

We cruise on the Eurodam July 2nd and Iderochi's experience with the "long list" is making me nervous.  We are both vaccinated and twice boosted which are hoping will give us protection.

[Kamfish642]

7 hours ago, Boatdrill said:

What does "move lags COVID requirements" mean ? 

Sorry, should have checked spelling; typing to fast.  ...EU countries definitely revised COVID requirements now to return to normal philosophy, so don't be surprised.  Definitely now look at need to live with COVID like the severe flu/pneumonia.  This surprised us.

[goldie099]

17 hours ago, JudithLynne said:

"It was a long list, just FYI."

 

I am having a hard time understanding why so many passengers, all vaccinated and some boosted too, could contract COVID in spite of all the ship's precautions!

The only thing that I can come up with is the ports.

We cruise on the Eurodam July 2nd and Iderochi's experience with the "long list" is making me nervous.  We are both vaccinated and twice boosted which are hoping will give us protection.

...because, let's be honest, the protocols in indoor areas of the ships are 100% not COVID safe. The vaccines never prevented infection, they prevented severe infection. Masks aren't perfect, but they, like the vaccines, offer a layer of protection. Unmasking in spaces where ventilation has not been changed and nor has occupancy/capacity (dining rooms, theatres, etc.) remains risky. Sure, passengers' activities in ports are also a factor, but it spreads anywhere with enclosed spaces and a lack of proper ventilation to address the airborne nature of the virus.

[albingirl]

Well, this decides future cruises for us.  We are Florida, so can drive to port and not worry about flights, hotels and so on.  So sorry for those herded off ships to hotels to quarantine for a while.  What a nightmare.  

[julia]

19 hours ago, lderochi said:

I am surprised at how disjointed the process was. You would think that dealing with positive cases would be the one thing that they would have trained endlessly on. But there was so much miscommunication and lack of communication. 
 

my wife remains negative, she has been self testing. 

After reading your post from the start, all I can say is HAL's onboard covid protocol is a hot mess!  The lack of timely and consistent communication is absolutely APPALLING!!  These ships have had more than enough time to define and execute covid procedures so that it's not a damn three-ring circus!

[mlgb]

18 hours ago, JudithLynne said:

"It was a long list, just FYI."

 

I am having a hard time understanding why so many passengers, all vaccinated and some boosted too, could contract COVID in spite of all the ship's precautions!

The only thing that I can come up with is the ports.

We cruise on the Eurodam July 2nd and Iderochi's experience with the "long list" is making me nervous.  We are both vaccinated and twice boosted which are hoping will give us protection.

Most people take their masks off to eat and drink. Even when you have a private table, how close are you to others and how long are you inside those spaces with  your masks off?  In the pre-COVID days, cruise crud was pretty common aboard ships and one could hear the coughing increase as the cruise progressed. 

 

To stay on topic, thank you for the informative posts to the OP. 

I have only cruised from my home port, and did that so that I could drive myself home. And this was during the 'don't cruise' scenario when ships were at 25-30% capacity. 

Glad I got those in so my cruise fever has abated. And I don't have any certificates/FCC etc burning a hole in my pocket.

 

 

Edited May 23, 2022 by mlgb

[bennybear]

1 hour ago, goldie099 said:

...because, let's be honest, the protocols in indoor areas of the ships are 100% not COVID safe. The vaccines never prevented infection, they prevented severe infection. Masks aren't perfect, but they, like the vaccines, offer a layer of protection. Unmasking in spaces where ventilation has not been changed and nor has occupancy/capacity (dining rooms, theatres, etc.) remains risky. Sure, passengers' activities in ports are also a factor, but it spreads anywhere with enclosed spaces and a lack of proper ventilation to address the airborne nature of the virus.

This, it’s airborne. 

2 minutes ago, mlgb said:

Most people take their masks off to eat and drink. Even when you have a private table, how close are you to others and how long are you inside those spaces with  your masks off?  In the pre-COVID days, cruise crud was pretty common aboard ships and one could hear the coughing increase as the cruise progressed. 

 

 

Yes, and people went to the dining rooms  and the entertainment coughing up a Lung.   After contracting a serious influenza onboard a B2B and spending 9 nights in Anchorage I have been very cautious and avoid those situations as much as possible.  
 

I wish they would continue to follow basic precautions until things improve.  

[riverrat]

On 5/20/2022 at 5:43 PM, IPB4IGO said:

Arg! We will be on the NA nine days from now. Here on the Noordam I have heard of no covid cases, and, walking all the decks, I have found no quarantine spaces. We were booted off the Zuiderdam in January when I came down with covid the day we arrived in Florida in the middle of a back-to-back, and I don't wish quarantine on anybody.

 

Did you end up getting FCC for the days in Q? We were in for 8 days around the same time as you and received ~$30 day