Vancouver Quarantine

[1pinehurst]

We are currently in Covid Quarantine at the Vancouver Sheraton Airport hotel for 10 nights. My wife tested positive (I was negative) the day before our Nieuw Amsterdam  8-7 cruise ended in Vancouver. HA moved her  to a quarantine room 6006 for the one night.She was treated very well and was able to order off the main dinning room menu. I was given the choice to return home, stay in the hotel room with her and be under quarantine, or get a seperate room at my own expense and not be able to see her. I chose to stay with her. We left the ship last and were taken to a bus with about 50 people with positive and negative covid tests. The bus ride took about 30 minutes and we checked in to a balcony room. Be prepared to put the $500 a night hotel on your credit card as Holland America will reimburse you after submitting expense voucher.You also have a $100 pp food allowance. This will also be submitted with hotel bill. We are in our second night with 8 more to go. Thank goodness for door dash. The ship carried approximately 1500 passengers, More couples had one test positive and not both. I am sure a lot more people on ship had covid symptoms but would not get tested out of fear of being quarantined. We had a beautiful land tour and cruise before our bad luck.

[AKJonesy]

8 minutes ago, 1pinehurst said:

We are currently in Covid Quarantine at the Vancouver Sheraton Airport hotel for 10 nights.

Sorry to hear it.  

[Alberta Quilter]

So sorry this happened to you!  But the bright side is that you got to enjoy your land tour and most of the cruise!  I hope your wife feels better soon and you stay negative!

[Gray Lady]

Yes, COVID is still strong in Alaska. So glad you were able to enjoy your land tour and most of your cruise. You also did the right thing by reporting your illness. So many won’t and don’t. Be grateful you have a room with a balcony where you can get fresh air! Speedy recovery wishes to your wife. Fingers crossed you won’t contract it, as I did in quarantine when my husband tested positive. Proximity and outside air, will help you avoid catching it. FYI….if you have trip insurance HAL will have you submit your expenses to them first before they pay anything. I am sure you have already changed your flight home. HAL and or trip insurance will also help if you incur any expenses there. We quarantined for five days and were SO ready to go home, so I can only imagine 10 days! Hope you have a good view and a good variety of TV channels, books, puzzles, etc. to occupy your time. Kudos to you, also, for staying with your wife!!

[Lorabelle]

We were also on that sailing.  A guy on our transfer bus was going home alone as his wife was heading to quarantine in a Vancouver hotel.  I guess he opted not to stay for whatever reason.  

 

I thought it was interesting that from the beginning of the cruise, there was only a male piano player in Billboard Onboard in the evenings.  On past sailings there has always been a male and female playing together.  Hubby and I talked about it and surmised that possibly she had Covid.  Then lo and behold about halfway into the cruise, the male piano player also vanished.  Instead there was music trivia held in there every single evening.  It was lively and fun, but that has not been our typical experience with the Billboard Onboard's evening schedule.  On our Westerdam sailings a month ago as well as the Nieuw Amsterdam in the Caribbean in March, there was piano entertainment in there nightly.  

 

Masks were required, not just highly suggested, and I witnessed people stopped before entering the buffet and told to put on a mask or they could be provided one, so I think Covid is an issue on that ship right now. 

 

Prior to this cruise, we were also on a land tour.  It was a 7 day one that began in Skagway, went through the Yukon Territory, then to Fairbanks and through Alaska before boarding Nieuw Amsterdam on Aug 7.  Our bus tour had about 45 people in our group.  We had to Covid test in Anchorage the day before embarkation on our cruise, and 5 people from our bus tested positive, so 10 folks did not make it onboard the ship.  

 

I'm sorry that your wife was affected.  I'm glad you are able to stay together and I hope the 10 days goes by quickly!

Edited August 16, 2022 by Lorabelle

[rajkr74]

I spent 10 days in the same Sheraton Hotel near the Vancouver airport after testing positive with covid in Victoria after our Panama canal cruise in April.  At that time a test was needed to fly back to the US.  My wife tested negative so she flew home on May 1st so she didn't get covid and start the 10 day quarantine clock over.  I registered, by phone, with the Canadian health authority but no one stopped by my room to verify that I was staying in the room as I was told they would.  I did a lot of walking back and forth in the room...boring.  The restuarant on site was good but had a limited menu so my kids had to teach me how to use Uber Eats.  Worked with Flightease to rebook my portion of my flight home.  Originally booked to fly into Portland OR with a 2 hr drive south to Springfield after daughter was to pick us up.  Wife did that and drove home May 1st.  Flightease changed it to Eugene at no extra charge, nice so my wife did not have to drive 2 hrs to Portland to pick me up on May 11th.

 

At check out May 11th I paid for the food ordered on site but got no bill for the room???  They said HAL would pick it up.  Two months later I got a $3,000 charge on my on my credit card bill.  Reread the fine print on all the paper work I got from HAL and it said I needed to submit to my travel insurance and if denied I could send it to HAL for pmt.  My ins covered the food bill within a month of submission but am now waiting again for my travel ins to pay room bill.

 

Overall, not a terrible experiance but just a lot of time wasted.  My symptons were very mild with sniffles and a cough which were mostly gone 5 days into quarantine.  It acted like any cold I'd ever had.

[PACD_JG]

11 hours ago, 1pinehurst said:

My wife tested positive (I was negative) the day before our Nieuw Amsterdam  8-7 cruise ended in Vancouver.

Serious question and not trying to be glib...why did you even test?

[silversneakers]

Why is the quarantine still 10 days since the CDC guidelines state 5 days. Evidently there are new guidelines that say if exposed to positive person and you have no symptoms, wear a mask, test after 5 days but no quarantine.

 

Is the 10 day quarantine Canadian guideline or HAL guideline??

[rajkr74]

14 minutes ago, silversneakers said:

Why is the quarantine still 10 days since the CDC guidelines state 5 days. Evidently there are new guidelines that say if exposed to positive person and you have no symptoms, wear a mask, test after 5 days but no quarantine.

 

Is the 10 day quarantine Canadian guideline or HAL guideline??

Canadian rules.

[jphks]

3 hours ago, PACD_JG said:

Serious question and not trying to be glib...why did you even test?

 

I'm hoping because they wanted to make sure not be a possible spreader... Kindness? 

 

We've been told we will have to test before boarding the ship on a Land first cruise. 

[BermudaBound2014]

I'm sorry for your situation and hope this 10 day quarantine goes by quickly. 

[1pinehurst]

Some people are wondering why we tested? My wife had developed a cough and it sounded like developing bronchitis to me,, so she went to get a Z pac and cough medicine. Covid symptoms and now TEST required. ! Negative test but they required her to stay in room and be tested again next day. Positive next day for her but still negative for me. Our friend with the same symptoms didn’t test and is now at home. We are now in day 3 and will probably never hear from HAL or the Canadian gov. If you are going to be quarantined for 10 days  I recommend you both be about twenty and madly in love.😀

[silversneakers]

1 hour ago, 1pinehurst said:

Some people are wondering why we tested? My wife had developed a cough and it sounded like developing bronchitis to me,, so she went to get a Z pac and cough medicine. Covid symptoms and now TEST required. ! Negative test but they required her to stay in room and be tested again next day. Positive next day for her but still negative for me. Our friend with the same symptoms didn’t test and is now at home. We are now in day 3 and will probably never hear from HAL or the Canadian gov. If you are going to be quarantined for 10 days  I recommend you both be about twenty and madly in love.😀

We always get a Z pack from our HCP before we sail.....just in case.

[Bethcb]

On 8/15/2022 at 7:43 PM, 1pinehurst said:

We are currently in Covid Quarantine at the Vancouver Sheraton Airport hotel for 10 nights. My wife tested positive (I was negative) the day before our Nieuw Amsterdam  8-7 cruise ended in Vancouver. HA moved her  to a quarantine room 6006 for the one night.She was treated very well and was able to order off the main dinning room menu. I was given the choice to return home, stay in the hotel room with her and be under quarantine, or get a seperate room at my own expense and not be able to see her. I chose to stay with her. We left the ship last and were taken to a bus with about 50 people with positive and negative covid tests. The bus ride took about 30 minutes and we checked in to a balcony room. Be prepared to put the $500 a night hotel on your credit card as Holland America will reimburse you after submitting expense voucher.You also have a $100 pp food allowance. This will also be submitted with hotel bill. We are in our second night with 8 more to go. Thank goodness for door dash. The ship carried approximately 1500 passengers, More couples had one test positive and not both. I am sure a lot more people on ship had covid symptoms but would not get tested out of fear of being quarantined. We had a beautiful land tour and cruise before our bad luck.

Exact same scenario with us in May. We were tested after 5 day coastal cruise to Vancouver to then board another ship to Alaska. Husband tested positive. We chose not to quarantine because if I stayed in hotel with him and later tested positive to fly, 10 day clock starts again at my own expense. 
So, we rented a car in Vancouver and drove home to Southern California. No vaccine requirement to drive over the border.  We submitted our gas, taxi and hotel expenses along with $100/day food per diem. We submitted expenses which was less than if we had stayed in hotel. Just got reimbursed by HAL. It took 3.5 months. We got credit from airline to use in the future. 
interesting, I never got Covid from him despite sharing  5 days in cruise cabin and 3 days in car driving home. 

[Laughing Angel]

So sorry this happened to you 1pinehurst, and to all those in a similar situation.

My sister and I experienced this exact same situation right off the Koningsdam a couple of weeks ago. Bus ride from the port to the Sheraton in Richmond, BC (at least you're near the airport and the shuttle runs every half hour when you're ready to leave). We were able to Instacart some groceries (fresh fruit and veggies, yogurt, snacks, etc, along with some disinfectant spray and wipes). We did room service from Harold's a few times to mix things up a bit--nice restaurant (try the Alfredo and the Butter Chicken). The room was well equipped with a refrigerator and microwave, and the balcony helped a lot for getting fresh air and sunshine.

The thing that surprised me the most is that the Canadian government has an office of compliance. There are officials who may contact you (mainly by phone, but possibly a visit) to see if you are adhering to the proper protocols for quarantine. The call may show up on your phone as a Toll Free Service Line, or random number from another province. Always answer this call, as they are verifying your location. The government will occasionally choose a random person in quarantine to take a DAY 8 Covid test (which happened to me). Unsure why, but it probably has to do with update or contact tracing. Everyone was kind, empathetic and professional. The government is SERIOUS about Covid-19, and the new variants out there.

Sorry for your extended stay, 1pinehurst. I hope your wife has a rapid recovery, and the rest of your quarantine is uneventful.
 

[PACD_JG]

On 8/16/2022 at 10:29 AM, jphks said:

 

I'm hoping because they wanted to make sure not be a possible spreader... Kindness? 

 

 

 

On 8/16/2022 at 12:33 PM, 1pinehurst said:

Our friend with the same symptoms didn’t test and is now at home. We are now in day 3 and will probably never hear from HAL or the Canadian gov.

 

First comment implies that your friend is unkind?  If so, then these must be true - no good deed goes unpunished, and nice guys finish last.

[sunviking90]

On 8/15/2022 at 3:43 PM, 1pinehurst said:

. Be prepared to put the $500 a night hotel on your credit card as Holland America will reimburse you after submitting expense voucher.

I am so sorry to hear you are going through this. At least it sounds like you’re being well taken care of. $500 a night for the Airport Sheraton sounds like a major price gouge to me though. That’s at $250 a night hotel at best! We’ve paid less for the Airport Fairmont! Sort of adds insult to injury.

[Ottawa traveller]

2 hours ago, sunviking90 said:

I am so sorry to hear you are going through this. At least it sounds like you’re being well taken care of. $500 a night for the Airport Sheraton sounds like a major price gouge to me though. That’s at $250 a night hotel at best! We’ve paid less for the Airport Fairmont! Sort of adds insult to injury.

Just back from 26 days in BC and on the Zuiderdam.  Hotel prices in BC are outrageous.  For 4* and above you can expect posted rates of $800 to $900.  Someone I met said that BC means Bring Cash.

[1pinehurst]

Some people are wondering why we tested? My wife had developed a cough and it sounded like developing bronchitis to me,, so she went to get a Z pac and cough medicine. Covid symptoms and now TEST required. ! Negative test but they required her to stay in room and be tested again next day. Positive next day for her but still negative for me. Our friend with the same symptoms didn’t test and is now at home. We are now in day 3 and will probably never hear from HAL or the Canadian gov. If you are going to be quarantined for 10 days  I recommend you both be about twenty and madly in love.😀

[1pinehurst]

Hotels are very expensive and after checking Marriott’s  Bon Voy our $500 price per night is the going rate. The Canadian Gov office of compliance did try to call us but they called our home phone number and told us we needed to pickup our phone. We changed our answering machine introduction to say we are quarantined in Canada and gave our cell phone # if they call again. Tried to call the number that called us but did not work for reaching anybody. Tried several other numbers to no avail. It would seem they would have our quarantined hotel name and location and would call the hotel to reach us. If we had to do it over again I am not sure we would go to the ship clinic for cough medicine.😀

[Laughing Angel]

6 minutes ago, 1pinehurst said:

Hotels are very expensive and after checking Marriott’s  Bon Voy our $500 price per night is the going rate. The Canadian Gov office of compliance did try to call us but they called our home phone number and told us we needed to pickup our phone. We changed our answering machine introduction to say we are quarantined in Canada and gave our cell phone # if they call again. Tried to call the number that called us but did not work for reaching anybody. Tried several other numbers to no avail. It would seem they would have our quarantined hotel name and location and would call the hotel to reach us. If we had to do it over again I am not sure we would go to the ship clinic for cough medicine.😀

 

The number they use to call out does not allow for contact or messaging (you would think they'd have a method for call back if you're indisposed or in the bathroom). I missed the call the first time, which is why I think I was asked to do the Day 8 test. The second and third calls just asked questions about my current health, location and expected last date of isolation.

[Laughing Angel]

4 hours ago, sunviking90 said:

I am so sorry to hear you are going through this. At least it sounds like you’re being well taken care of. $500 a night for the Airport Sheraton sounds like a major price gouge to me though. That’s at $250 a night hotel at best! We’ve paid less for the Airport Fairmont! Sort of adds insult to injury.

 

Agreed. It was clean and comfortable--not a bad place to stay, but it did seem overpriced. Thank goodness for travel insurance!

[Gray Lady]

47 minutes ago, Laughing Angel said:

 

Agreed. It was clean and comfortable--not a bad place to stay, but it did seem overpriced. Thank goodness for travel insurance!

I am sure it is much better than the Aptel Suites in Anchorage overlooking the Home Depot parking lot in the “questionable” part of town for $550 per night!

[Gray Lady]

Just wondering if you are now at home. Hope everything went well for you getting there!