Don’t Get Covid on Princess

[Knickearth]

With  my little story, I am not surprised at the Royal Princess.  I have gotten the flu twice onboard. Once on the Caribbean Princess and the other two years later on the Royal.  Both time I went to the medical facilities.  On the Caribbean Princess, daily two men were sent to sanitize morning and evenings and they always asked if I wanted clean sheets.  Royal no such luck.  Morning only and not daily.  On CP I ordered food from the room service menu and was allowed to order from MDR food that day.  No such luck on Royal.  Daily a nurse showed up to ask how I felt and took my temp on CP, not on Royal.  I can only guess that each ship runs it the way they want.  But I loved the Royal but lost a lot of respect for it.  Just my two cents.

[Princessfan20]

1 hour ago, LawDog61 said:

Since it is pretty widely known among passengers that if you report systems, you go to isolation and are treated badly, I got to think a lot of people are not reporting, just self isolating in their cabin.   This of course, greatly reduces the number of reported cases and the need to set aside (and not sell) cabins for isolation purposes- which is probably OK with princess.

 

This is how how family wish we had handled it.  

 

We could have taken much better our family members if they were in the cabin and still isolated somewhere with very little support.  Not to mention trying to get refunds for surplus on their folio,  money from casino account and lost luggage because passengers in isolation have their luggage handled differently.

 

 Would have saved so much hassle and cost to have just stayed quiet the way Princess handles Covid cases in our experience.

[geocruiser]

This is how I see Covid on board Princess for me.  I know that a cruise ship inside is more of a closed environment than outside.  The crew and staff are wearing masks to help keep them safe from Covid.  Which makes me think, why would I not want to be as safe as the crew and staff?  I would want to be as safe as I can be.  For me, If all PAX are not wearing masks I would not go.  I have not gone on a cruise since the restart because I don't safe .  Cruising has changed so much from what I have read on these boards, that I think that I would not have the cruise experience that I want. I am enjoying life at home in  my town.  I have hobbies to keep me busy and while it would be nice for me to go on a cruise, I can live without it for now, enjoying being on land.  What is right for me may not be right for others.

[Guest ldtr]

3 hours ago, LawDog61 said:

Since it is pretty widely known among passengers that if you report systems, you go to isolation and are treated badly, I got to think a lot of people are not reporting, just self isolating in their cabin.   This of course, greatly reduces the number of reported cases and the need to set aside (and not sell) cabins for isolation purposes- which is probably OK with princess.

probably not even self isolating. If symptoms are minor many would just continue as if nothing is wrong.

[Yehootu]

We figure my wife got it about day 12 out of 14 on the Royal from Vancouver.. Our room steward disappeared around that day also. We didn't test as all she had was a scratchy throat that we attested to her snoring from her dinner Bellini's. Test at home before seeing the grandkids and poof, she was positive. An example of someone not knowing they're sick and still out and about. We did have masks on in crowded areas. I escaped with not getting it.

[Steelers36]

45 minutes ago, ldtr said:

probably not even self isolating. If symptoms are minor many would just continue as if nothing is wrong.

Guest might be asymptomatic and so they would carry on as normal and not even aware they have it.

[Steelers36]

1 hour ago, geocruiser said:

This is how I see Covid on board Princess for me.  I know that a cruise ship inside is more of a closed environment than outside.  The crew and staff are wearing masks to help keep them safe from Covid.  Which makes me think, why would I not want to be as safe as the crew and staff?  I would want to be as safe as I can be.  For me, If all PAX are not wearing masks I would not go.  I have not gone on a cruise since the restart because I don't safe .  Cruising has changed so much from what I have read on these boards, that I think that I would not have the cruise experience that I want. I am enjoying life at home in  my town.  I have hobbies to keep me busy and while it would be nice for me to go on a cruise, I can live without it for now, enjoying being on land.  What is right for me may not be right for others.

You made a personal decision for your own comfort level based on knowing what to expect traveling and your personal risk tolerance.  Much better than going and expecting everyone to be acting like it's 2020.

[Barter123]

Our experience on the Majestic in July was completely different. My husband and I tested positive on the second day of the cruise after having been on a land tour first.  Staff were very helpful, Medical called every day to check on us and inquire if we needed anything more than they had already given us.  Passenger services called every day to inquire if we needed anything. They also explained regarding the isolation days we would have to do in Anchorage and gave us the choice of booking our own hotel or they would book one for us.  We choose to book our own. I contacted Ez-Air using the Enroute number and had our flight re-booked for the first day we were allowed to fly back to Canada. Room service delivered anything we ordered including breakfast, lunch and dinner off the dining room menus, never waited longer than 20 minutes for anything to arrive. If we required our garbage emptied, clean towels, kleenex or TP they were left within 30 minutes of calling. We would have preferred not to have gotten COVID but we have no complaints of how we were treated. I told my husband that he's lucky that we got sick on the ship because he wouldn't have eaten that well at home!

[Renmar]

Covid on the Royal is probably going on for longer than we think.  This is a letter I send to Princess. I left the name of our travel agent out and also from the town we live. So far not a single reply from anybody.

One thing I like to mention though; The crew we had on the Covid deck was fantastic and so were the people at Passenger Services.

 

 

 

CC:  Mrs. Jan Swartz

CC:  Mr. Collin Steinke -Director, Customer Relations

CC:  Mr. Mario Siebaldi -Senior Vice President Guest Experience

CC:  Mrs. *********** – Travel Agent ****** Travel

CC:  Customer relations Princess Cruises

 

We are presently on board the Royal Princess.  We embarked on August 6th, and are in the midst of a 2 week cruise between Vancouver – Whittier - Vancouver.  There are two guests in our party, my wife and myself.

Shortly after arrival and on a number of occasions since then, we have listened to the Captain as he welcomed guests on board.  We particularly appreciated the part where he encouraged people to wear a mask at all times when not in their stateroom.

My wife and I are very passionate about mask wearing. Unfortunately not all people are the same and during our first week on board we noticed more people NOT wearing a mask than people that did.

Of particular concern is that it is very evident that Princess was making absolutely NO attempts to enforce their own policy which reads;

“Masks are recommended, but not required, in the majority of onboard venues, though you may need to wear them in select venues or certain situations. Please note that until further notice masks are required in all indoor locations on northbound and southbound Alaska voyages between Whittier and Vancouver, B.C., in an abundance of caution”.

 

We are loyal Princess customers, we haven't cruised since before COVID and we booked this trip with great anticipation, and trust that Princess would make every effort within their power to keep customers safe.

Sadly this has not been our experience.

I tested positive for Covid.  I feel the blame for this lies between the ignorance of the majority of passengers and the lack of enforcement by Princess.

I have spent the past few days in isolation/quarantine by myself.  My wife has now had a positive COVID test and will be joining me.

     When I first felt cold symptoms, I took a COVID test.  I then followed up with onboard medical.  I was under no obligation to do this.  My actions likely resulted in many others not ending up with COVID.   I will not get into all the details but suffice to say it was a traumatic experience in that I was immediately taken to quarantine and had no means by which to contact my wife to let her know.  This added to my anxiety and upset.  

Today is my birthday; my wife's birthday was last week.  We are on this trip to celebrate both.  We are both of advancing age and with circumstance and life challenges this could very well by our last trip.

I have been advised that we are to quarantine 10 days from the outset of the positive test.  It is our intention to do that from the comfort and safety of our home in ***********, BC.

What we need from Princess, the company that we have trusted for many many years and spent many happy journeys with:

-Confirmation and specific details surrounding the disembarkation process and transport.  We are seeking transport provided by Princess to our home on the morning of disembarkation.  I anticipate a secure taxi in which we will both be masked.  Please confirm.

-A refund for all monies spent.  Had Princess enforced their policies I feel confident that we would not have ended up in this situation

-A credit for a future cruise for all of the guests in our party.  Assuming we have a fulsome recovery and our other health concerns remain at bay we would like to travel to Alaska again in May or June of 2023.  I am willing to give Princess another opportunity to regain our trust and faith in them.

In closing, we did the right thing by masking, sanitizing and testing.  Princess did not do the right thing, and this negligence is likely what caused us to get COVID after avoiding it for two years.  Princess's failure to enforce policies has put my health, my spouse's health and the health of other travellers at risk.  I need Princess to do the right thing now.

Thank-you,

 

Theo **********

 Andrea **********

[wowzz]

13 minutes ago, Renmar said:

I tested positive for Covid.  I feel the blame for this lies between the ignorance of the majority of passengers and the lack of enforcement by Princess.

As a matter of interest, how can you categorically state that you contracted Covid on board ship ?

[Princessfan20]

53 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

You made a personal decision for your own comfort level based on knowing what to expect traveling and your personal risk tolerance.  Much better than going and expecting everyone to be acting like it's 2020.

 

We are making decisions based on what Princess is advertising as "Cruise With Confidence" and "We Want To Make Sailing With Princess Cruises As Easy, Hassle-Free and Safe as Possible."  

 

They are doing a bait and switch because they advertise that their ships are safe to travel on but the reality, which has been reported on CC many times, is that they are not in regards to Covid and they are not enforcing their own health protocols even when the Captain requests it of all passengers.  It is a joke.

 

They just need to say if "You Want To Catch Covid Cruise With Us."   That is reality.

[Renmar]

Never a dull day in ********

4 minutes ago, wowzz said:

As a matter of interest, how can you categorically state that you contracted Covid on board ship ?

How can I not?

We are fully vaccinated - have both booster shots - have been tested negative for the 10 days prior this cruise (tested every other day) - was tested negative on the 7th day and positive on the 8th day of the cruise - we have not been ashore in any of the ports because of the caution that was going around. We have done this cruise many times and the ports are not too much of interest anymore. we cruise for the scenery and the ship.

 

Theo

[geocruiser]

1 hour ago, Steelers36 said:

You made a personal decision for your own comfort level based on knowing what to expect traveling and your personal risk tolerance.  Much better than going and expecting everyone to be acting like it's 2020.

Thank you.    Reading Cruise Critic gave me some of the info that I needed to make this personal decision.  I will some day cruise again, but I can't say when.

[Renmar]

I kept a little bit of a log about what happened on this cruise.

August 17, 2022

While we are here in Covid prison we are actually well taken care off. We can interact with a few of the crew members once in a while (at a distance). We can order pretty well anything we please either by phone or through the medallion app. The only thing we have to pay for up front is any medication we need/want but that will be reimbursed by Princess at a later date, we hope.

Every day there are more people joining us on this deck. It is a very sad sight to see people with all their belonging, carried by the crew, walking past our cabin to their new destination. Almost every time we open our door there are new couples or singles brought here. Sad, sad. sad.

 

August 19, 2022

Never a dull day in *********** Land. This afternoon we found out that we will not be cruising to England on the QM2 because they won't allow passengers on board who were tested positive in the 14 days before sailing (no exceptions apparently). We are missing that timeframe by only a few days. I guess an other black mark on the Princess list.

We will now try to change our flight from Vancouver  -  New York to Vancouver -  London. Our travel agent ***** is working on that.

 

August 20, 2022

After the unpleasant information of yesterday we are now happy to get off this ship. Apart from a few days in the beginning of the cruise and the fun time we spend planning this it has been one of the worse cruises we ever did. 

The ship is actually way to big to be nice. The venues are too far apart, not that we see many of them, and most of the music is way to loud. I know, because we had the setback with Covid everything seems to be off but  next time we cruise it will be on a smaller ship.

Our disembarkation went not too smooth either. We had to be ready by 10:00 AM so the "men in the white coats" could escort us to the Crooners bar. They were right on time and here we went with about an other 150 or so isolation passengers. It was not until about 12 noon before we were escorted to the holding area at the terminal. Here we had to wait an other hour before we were called to tell us the taxi was there to bring us to **********

The guy at passenger services was right when he said we won't get off until after 12. Anyway, $ 300.00 and 2 hours later we were home. They told us on board the ship that we will be reimbursed for all the cost related to the Covid issue, we'll keep our fingers crossed.

There was one big plus with this cruise, the crew we had serving us was fantastic. Doing that kind of work in these "contaminated" area's takes some guts. It is the one thing we let Princess know on the positive (no pun intended) side.

An other small glimmer of hope for our trip to Europe; our TA is talking with Cunard to see if the rules can be bent for that 1 day (I thought it was a few days but it is only 1 day). We might find out on Monday.

 

Theo

[Steelers36]

12 minutes ago, Princessfan20 said:

 

We are making decisions based on what Princess is advertising as "Cruise With Confidence" and "We Want To Make Sailing With Princess Cruises As Easy, Hassle-Free and Safe as Possible."  

 

They are doing a bait and switch because they advertise that their ships are safe to travel on but the reality, which has been reported on CC many times, is that they are not in regards to Covid and they are not enforcing their own health protocols even when the Captain requests it of all passengers.  It is a joke.

 

They just need to say if "You Want To Catch Covid Cruise With Us."   That is reality.

Okay, but it should be expected that original published protocols would change over time - and will continue to change.  Unless booking to sail a week ahead, it seems unrealistic to expect things to remain the same.  As an example, we booked for October/November 2022 a long time ago expecting the pandemic to be over and protocols to perhaps be all gone.  From my perspective the pandemic is now endemic and not all protocols have been erased.  But enough were to make us commit to Final Payment.  And, I will admit, I don't think we will ever see the deals we got again for these itineraries, so dealing with a small number of remaining protocols isn't going to ruin the fun.  And it might change again before we actually board.  Other than cruising, we can pretty much travel unfettered (except when we return to Canada and have to to the stupid ArriveCAN which shouldn't really hurt us).

[Renmar]

7 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

dealing with a small number of remaining protocols isn't going to ruin the fun

Oh yes it is especially  if one of those required protocols are not enforced. I don't wish on anybody to be quarantined for any length of time in a cabin you can't leave. It is awful.

 

Theo

[Renmar]

18 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

dealing with a small number of remaining protocols isn't going to ruin the fun

 

 

Oh yes it is especially  if one of those required protocols are not enforced. I don't wish on anybody to be quarantined for any length of time in a cabin you can't leave. It is awful.

 

And the Arrive CAN did not matter with our disembarkation, we did not get checked by anybody. Not even immigration or customs.

 

Theo

 

Probably double post🤔

[memoak]

57 minutes ago, Renmar said:

I kept a little bit of a log about what happened on this cruise.

August 17, 2022

While we are here in Covid prison we are actually well taken care off. We can interact with a few of the crew members once in a while (at a distance). We can order pretty well anything we please either by phone or through the medallion app. The only thing we have to pay for up front is any medication we need/want but that will be reimbursed by Princess at a later date, we hope.

Every day there are more people joining us on this deck. It is a very sad sight to see people with all their belonging, carried by the crew, walking past our cabin to their new destination. Almost every time we open our door there are new couples or singles brought here. Sad, sad. sad.

 

August 19, 2022

Never a dull day in *********** Land. This afternoon we found out that we will not be cruising to England on the QM2 because they won't allow passengers on board who were tested positive in the 14 days before sailing (no exceptions apparently). We are missing that timeframe by only a few days. I guess an other black mark on the Princess list.

We will now try to change our flight from Vancouver  -  New York to Vancouver -  London. Our travel agent ***** is working on that.

 

August 20, 2022

After the unpleasant information of yesterday we are now happy to get off this ship. Apart from a few days in the beginning of the cruise and the fun time we spend planning this it has been one of the worse cruises we ever did. 

The ship is actually way to big to be nice. The venues are too far apart, not that we see many of them, and most of the music is way to loud. I know, because we had the setback with Covid everything seems to be off but  next time we cruise it will be on a smaller ship.

Our disembarkation went not too smooth either. We had to be ready by 10:00 AM so the "men in the white coats" could escort us to the Crooners bar. They were right on time and here we went with about an other 150 or so isolation passengers. It was not until about 12 noon before we were escorted to the holding area at the terminal. Here we had to wait an other hour before we were called to tell us the taxi was there to bring us to **********

The guy at passenger services was right when he said we won't get off until after 12. Anyway, $ 300.00 and 2 hours later we were home. They told us on board the ship that we will be reimbursed for all the cost related to the Covid issue, we'll keep our fingers crossed.

There was one big plus with this cruise, the crew we had serving us was fantastic. Doing that kind of work in these "contaminated" area's takes some guts. It is the one thing we let Princess know on the positive (no pun intended) side.

An other small glimmer of hope for our trip to Europe; our TA is talking with Cunard to see if the rules can be bent for that 1 day (I thought it was a few days but it is only 1 day). We might find out on Monday.

 

Theo

We are having an opposite experience here in our Covid hell. Once we got our Paxlovid prescription we never heard from Medical again. Passenger service will not answer any questions and has stopped answering any of our calls now. We have no idea of how tomorrow will play out but I can tell you one thing how are they going to make me wear a mask ??

[dweeb]

1 hour ago, Renmar said:

 

 

August 19, 2022

Never a dull day in *********** Land. This afternoon we found out that we will not be cruising to England on the QM2 because they won't allow passengers on board who were tested positive in the 14 days before sailing (no exceptions apparently). We are missing that timeframe by only a few days. I guess an other black mark on the Princess list.

We will now try to change our flight from Vancouver  -  New York to Vancouver -  London. Our travel agent ***** is working on that.

 

 

 

Theo

Renmar,

 

I am sorry to hear that you caught Covid.   Hopefully you will recover quickly.  I'm surprised you did not research this about QM2, prior to booking the princess cruise.  I hope that you purchased travel insurance that covers your loss.  I know that I would not have taken the chance of trying to cruise for 14 days on one cruise line then cruising again on the QM2 so soon afterward.  

[cr8tiv1]

11 minutes ago, dweeb said:

Renmar,

 

I am sorry to hear that you caught Covid.   Hopefully you will recover quickly.  I'm surprised you did not research this about QM2, prior to booking the princess cruise.  I hope that you purchased travel insurance that covers your loss.  I know that I would not have taken the chance of trying to cruise for 14 days on one cruise line then cruising again on the QM2 so soon afterward.  

 

I second this comment.  I am sure Theo did not expect to get covid on a Princess cruise.  But I put myself into isolation 10-14 days before any cruise.  Too much at risk.  I am surprised that QM2 will not accept a letter of recovery as proof that you have done your time.  

 

Wishing @Renmarthe very best.  

[cruzsnooze]

3 hours ago, Renmar said:

Covid on the Royal is probably going on for longer than we think.  This is a letter I send to Princess. I left the name of our travel agent out and also from the town we live. So far not a single reply from anybody.

One thing I like to mention though; The crew we had on the Covid deck was fantastic and so were the people at Passenger Services.

 

 

 

CC:  Mrs. Jan Swartz

CC:  Mr. Collin Steinke -Director, Customer Relations

CC:  Mr. Mario Siebaldi -Senior Vice President Guest Experience

CC:  Mrs. *********** – Travel Agent ****** Travel

CC:  Customer relations Princess Cruises

 

We are presently on board the Royal Princess.  We embarked on August 6th, and are in the midst of a 2 week cruise between Vancouver – Whittier - Vancouver.  There are two guests in our party, my wife and myself.

Shortly after arrival and on a number of occasions since then, we have listened to the Captain as he welcomed guests on board.  We particularly appreciated the part where he encouraged people to wear a mask at all times when not in their stateroom.

My wife and I are very passionate about mask wearing. Unfortunately not all people are the same and during our first week on board we noticed more people NOT wearing a mask than people that did.

Of particular concern is that it is very evident that Princess was making absolutely NO attempts to enforce their own policy which reads;

“Masks are recommended, but not required, in the majority of onboard venues, though you may need to wear them in select venues or certain situations. Please note that until further notice masks are required in all indoor locations on northbound and southbound Alaska voyages between Whittier and Vancouver, B.C., in an abundance of caution”.

 

We are loyal Princess customers, we haven't cruised since before COVID and we booked this trip with great anticipation, and trust that Princess would make every effort within their power to keep customers safe.

Sadly this has not been our experience.

I tested positive for Covid.  I feel the blame for this lies between the ignorance of the majority of passengers and the lack of enforcement by Princess.

 

.  We are both of advancing age and with circumstance and life challenges this could very well by our last trip.

 

In closing, we did the right thing by masking, sanitizing and testing.  Princess did not do the right thing, and this negligence is likely what caused us to get COVID after avoiding it for two years.  Princess's failure to enforce policies has put my health, my spouse's health and the health of other travellers at risk.  I need Princess to do the right thing now.

Thank-you,

 

Theo **********

 Andrea **********

The blame lies with someone of advancing age (I am in that category) choosing to cruise who is aware of the risk.  I tested negative two days before disembarking. I got off the Caribbean Princess Aug 31 and tested positive today so obviously contracted it on board. I haven't been out of the house so believe I contracted it on board. The captain announced a major outbreak and many still chose not to mask. I made the choice to cruise so take responsibility for the consequences. I am glad I made it home at least. I had both vaccines and THREE boosters, the third booster 3 weeks before sailing. I have very mild congestion symptoms. 

  Even if everyone masks they are not full proof. The surgical blue masks are close to worthless after 20 minutes but people wear them repeatedly. Only an N95 mask worn properly by all would reduce the risk and even then we take them off to eat and drink. A second choice mask would be a KN95. 

  Princess offered a service and  you don't have to take advantage of it. What did they do differently then any other service industry like a movie or restaurant, hotels, buses etc etc......

   I's unfortunate so many people have been disappointed and quarantined. I feel for that but don't blame the cruise company.

[antsp]

5 hours ago, geocruiser said:

This is how I see Covid on board Princess for me.  I know that a cruise ship inside is more of a closed environment than outside.  The crew and staff are wearing masks to help keep them safe from Covid.  Which makes me think, why would I not want to be as safe as the crew and staff?  I would want to be as safe as I can be.  For me, If all PAX are not wearing masks I would not go.  I have not gone on a cruise since the restart because I don't safe .  Cruising has changed so much from what I have read on these boards, that I think that I would not have the cruise experience that I want. I am enjoying life at home in  my town.  I have hobbies to keep me busy and while it would be nice for me to go on a cruise, I can live without it for now, enjoying being on land.  What is right for me may not be right for others.

Thoughts and prayers 

[geocruiser]

4 minutes ago, antsp said:

Thoughts and prayers 

Thank you.

[Nuka]

2 hours ago, memoak said:

We are having an opposite experience here in our Covid hell. Once we got our Paxlovid prescription we never heard from Medical again. Passenger service will not answer any questions and has stopped answering any of our calls now. We have no idea of how tomorrow will play out but I can tell you one thing how are they going to make me wear a mask ??

So sorry to read about your ordeal - lack of communications and next steps is unsettling for a time that was supposed to a wonderful holiday.  Take care and let us know how you fare.

[alanasgpa]

Has anybody that was isolated received any type of FCC for the missed cruise days while in isolation??