Feedback and Observations From Recently Ended Trip

[JHLH821]

We recently completed a Mediterranean cruise on the Riviera- I posted a review the evening prior to disembarkation and wanted to share our experience as passengers who tested positive for covid during the cruise. As my husband tested positive the morning of day 3, and me on day 6, we were unable to participate in most ship activities and port visits. We felt that the medical team provided excellent care but the services fell apart in the final day.
 

For disembarkation, the medical staff told us not to leave our room until our tag color was called as they wanted us to be the last people off the ship.  We waited and it was never called-the announcement confirmed that all tags had been called. We contacted reception services and we were told we could leave. With masks on we left and stood in line with others. We felt that all of the precautions taken throughout the week were now thrown out the window, increasing exposure, not limiting it. I do plan in providing feedback to Oceania. 

[pjsportsmom]

Did you voluntarily go to get tested at infirmary or did you have a home test with you

and tested yourself? I’m tying to find out if you feel sick is it now more on the

honor system of getting tested for Covid and being quarantined or what is Oceania’s 

protocol?

 

thanks

[JHLH821]

19 hours ago, pjsportsmom said:

Did you voluntarily go to get tested at infirmary or did you have a home test with you

and tested yourself? I’m tying to find out if you feel sick is it now more on the

honor system of getting tested for Covid and being quarantined or what is Oceania’s 

protocol?

thanks

My husband called the infirmary because he wasn't feeling better (he thought at first it was jet lag), they sent a physician/medical personnel immediately to our room and tested him. We received a call within 30 minutes that he tested positive. Then they returned to do a PCR test, which was also positive- then they offered the Paxlovid. I was offered to move to another room and opted to stay, though I was not quarantined. I figured I would get it, though it took another 4 days.  I think your assumptions are correct- people will bring self-tests on board, test if they aren't feeling well and decide to either contact the infirmary or "continue on as normal". Not the most ethical scenario as no one was wearing masks and you have no idea who may or may not be contagious.

We were able to order meals through room service from the MDR and any specialty restaurant we wanted. Staff could not enter our room so when room service came, we reminded them we were in quarantine and brought our trays out to them. Our cabin attendants were wonderful- they checked on us repeatedly and replenished towels and other bathroom supplies as needed. Until I tested positive, I would go to the concierge lounge and bring back cookies and snacks. It can get claustrophobic quickly when you're stuck in your room (luckily we had a veranda) and honestly, by week's end I was happy to get off the ship and fly home.

We could not imagine a scenario where we were sick and continued as normal, possibly seriously infecting fellow passengers. I can sleep at night knowing we did the right thing, even though we forfeited most of this vacation.

 

[pjsportsmom]

27 minutes ago, llhillman said:

 

Thanks for your response, I can see it will be a crap shoot if people aren’t feeling

good, to get tested and be honest or not. I do agree with you about being honest and

able to sleep better at night 🙂  I do have another question, do you know around about

if there were a lot of Covid cases on board?

[JHLH821]

18 minutes ago, pjsportsmom said:

Thanks for your response, I can see it will be a crap shoot if people aren’t feeling

good, to get tested and be honest or not. I do agree with you about being honest and

able to sleep better at night 🙂  I do have another question, do you know around about

if there were a lot of Covid cases on board?

Sorry, I do not have that information. I did not see any info that Oceania shares this with passengers. But, based on our disembarkation messaging, we noticed approx. 10-15 pieces of luggage with "yellow tags" when we picked up our luggage in Barcelona, only assuming these belonged to other covid positive passengers.  With an almost full cruise, no one masked and opening up travel to non vaccinated passengers I would think there were active cases.

 

[Segmentersfloattheboat]

Actually we were among the very few who DID mask up at all times unless eating and even then we chose most of the time to dine outside on the back deck of the Terrace Cafe and kept ourselves pretty much to ourselves.  Quite a few staff wore masks as well.  Even taking all the precautions we did, we have both tested positive since we returned home.  There was lots of coughing (hacking) and sneezing going on, we were quite shocked by the behaviour of many.  Sad to say I would like to say a few behaved like this, but no.  llhillman I am sorry you missed most of the cruise.  

 

I say the following with some trepedation as I fear some on these boards will simply not get it, but the last week from Rome to Barcelona was simply not what we were used to on an Oceania ship.  Even the crew and staff were saying this.  Apparently, and I wish we had known this before we had booked the cruise (made up of a 12 night plus a 7 night) that the 7 night cruises attract a totally different crowd.  Even the onboard Cruise consultant dreaded that her first cruise back was a 7 nighter!  Never again for us.  However, the rude behaviour by some was evident on both segments - I mean, how desperate are you for ice-cream to shove in front of folk waiting patiently in the queue?   

 

I would like to add here that the service we received on board was very good to excellent;  from the waiting staff, serving staff (who put up with such rudeness and bad manners from some guests who should know better in the Terrace Cafe), to our lovely stateroom attendants.   Officers non existent (usual for O) and the most annoying cruise director - I suppose since we were last on Oceania (2016) we have been on other cruise lines where we are treated as adults and don't need that day's currents read out to us line by line every morning just after 0800!  So if you plan a lie in, forget it!   

 

Hope you're feeling better llhillman!  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ORV]

1 hour ago, Segmentersfloattheboat said:

Actually we were among the very few who DID mask up at all times unless eating and even then we chose most of the time to dine outside on the back deck of the Terrace Cafe and kept ourselves pretty much to ourselves.  Quite a few staff wore masks as well.  Even taking all the precautions we did, we have both tested positive since we returned home.  There was lots of coughing (hacking) and sneezing going on, we were quite shocked by the behaviour of many.  Sad to say I would like to say a few behaved like this, but no.  llhillman I am sorry you missed most of the cruise.  

 

I say the following with some trepedation as I fear some on these boards will simply not get it, but the last week from Rome to Barcelona was simply not what we were used to on an Oceania ship.  Even the crew and staff were saying this.  Apparently, and I wish we had known this before we had booked the cruise (made up of a 12 night plus a 7 night) that the 7 night cruises attract a totally different crowd.  Even the onboard Cruise consultant dreaded that her first cruise back was a 7 nighter!  Never again for us.  However, the rude behaviour by some was evident on both segments - I mean, how desperate are you for ice-cream to shove in front of folk waiting patiently in the queue?   

 

I would like to add here that the service we received on board was very good to excellent;  from the waiting staff, serving staff (who put up with such rudeness and bad manners from some guests who should know better in the Terrace Cafe), to our lovely stateroom attendants.   Officers non existent (usual for O) and the most annoying cruise director - I suppose since we were last on Oceania (2016) we have been on other cruise lines where we are treated as adults and don't need that day's currents read out to us line by line every morning just after 0800!  So if you plan a lie in, forget it!   

 

Hope you're feeling better llhillman!  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So who was your Cruise Director?

[LHT28]

1 hour ago, Segmentersfloattheboat said:

- I suppose since we were last on Oceania (2016) we have been on other cruise lines where we are treated as adults and don't need that day's currents read out to us line by line every morning just after 0800!  So if you plan a lie in, forge

 

 

Did they have the announcements in the cabin??

 I usually miss them   I hear some chatter in the hall but not loud enough to wake me  some days  🙂

 

[JHLH821]

3 hours ago, Segmentersfloattheboat said:

Actually we were among the very few who DID mask up at all times unless eating and even then we chose most of the time to dine outside on the back deck of the Terrace Cafe and kept ourselves pretty much to ourselves.  Quite a few staff wore masks as well.  Even taking all the precautions we did, we have both tested positive since we returned home.  There was lots of coughing (hacking) and sneezing going on, we were quite shocked by the behaviour of many.  Sad to say I would like to say a few behaved like this, but no.  llhillman I am sorry you missed most of the cruise.  

 

I say the following with some trepedation as I fear some on these boards will simply not get it, but the last week from Rome to Barcelona was simply not what we were used to on an Oceania ship.  Even the crew and staff were saying this.  Apparently, and I wish we had known this before we had booked the cruise (made up of a 12 night plus a 7 night) that the 7 night cruises attract a totally different crowd.  Even the onboard Cruise consultant dreaded that her first cruise back was a 7 nighter!  Never again for us.  However, the rude behaviour by some was evident on both segments - I mean, how desperate are you for ice-cream to shove in front of folk waiting patiently in the queue?   

 

I would like to add here that the service we received on board was very good to excellent;  from the waiting staff, serving staff (who put up with such rudeness and bad manners from some guests who should know better in the Terrace Cafe), to our lovely stateroom attendants.   Officers non existent (usual for O) and the most annoying cruise director - I suppose since we were last on Oceania (2016) we have been on other cruise lines where we are treated as adults and don't need that day's currents read out to us line by line every morning just after 0800!  So if you plan a lie in, forget it!   

 

Hope you're feeling better llhillman!  

 

Sorry to hear you both tested positive upon returning home and are on the mend. We only ate dinner once in the MDR and 2 days of lunches in the Terrace Cafe. After that it was "quarantine dining". As this was our 1st Oceania cruise, we didn't have previous cruises to compare, but we did decide to forego Europe for a destination closer to home: next cruise is Honolulu to Vancouver. It was no fun being sick so far from home.

 

3 hours ago, Segmentersfloattheboat said:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[pete_coach]

17 hours ago, Segmentersfloattheboat said:

Actually we were among the very few who DID mask up at all times unless eating and even then we chose most of the time to dine outside on the back deck of the Terrace Cafe .....

 

I say the following with some trepedation as I fear some on these boards will simply not get it, but the last week from Rome to Barcelona was simply not what we were used to on an Oceania ship.  Even the crew and staff were saying this.  Apparently, and I wish we had known this before we had booked the cruise (made up of a 12 night plus a 7 night) that the 7 night cruises attract a totally different crowd.  Even the onboard Cruise consultant dreaded that her first cruise back was a 7 nighter!  Never again for us.  ...

 

.....

 

Hope you're feeling better llhillman!  

 

Really curious about your statements regarding a 12 day and 7 day cruise and that you as well as the cruise consultant had concerns about the "totally different crowd" and dreaded the 7 day cruise crowd?

What is the concern and why?

[oskidunker]

If you don’t change masks every few days it’s possible they were contaminated. No one except a very few wear them on current Serena cruise  . No one sick that I know of except one entertainer. 

[ORV]

55 minutes ago, oskidunker said:

If you don’t change masks every few days it’s possible they were contaminated. No one except a very few wear them on current Serena cruise  . No one sick that I know of except one entertainer. 

Of course it's hard to know. It's not like they put the sick numbers in Currents. When we were on Regatta the only way to know was if you saw medical people in hazmat suit entering a room, or if a highly visible staff member goes missing for a few days. 

[ToxM]

Are we opening a book on who the CD was? 

 

I would imagine a 7 day Carib cruise would have a very different demographic than a longer one. 

 

I hope my Xmas cruise doesnt have a 7 day vibe. 

 

Sorry you caught covid 😞 I am going to treat it as either an excuse to do the lottery more if I don’t get it while away in December or a nice way to get through if I get it on board. 

[Robyn2]

Just off Riviera, had a wonderful cruise, only a few glitches!

The cruise director was Paul Baya, almost invisible, we saw very little of him.

[PhD-iva]

4 hours ago, ToxM said:

I would imagine a 7 day Carib cruise would have a very different demographic than a longer one. 

 

I hope my Xmas cruise doesnt have a 7 day vibe. 

In late Sept 2024 I have a 20 day Mediterranean cruise on Vista. The first time I realized it was a seven day and a 13 day cruise, or maybe it was 2 10-day cruises, packaged as a 20 day cruise was when I had to put down a double deposit.

I’m a little nervous about that, we’ll see how it rolls out. 

[Ride-The-Waves]

We always cruise 10 days or longer, avoiding the shorter cruises like the plague (or like COVID).  Seven days cruises are more intense, people "needing" to vacation hard since they work hard (their perspective) and try to cram as much into the 7 days as possible.  Doesn't work.

 

[PhD-iva]

8 minutes ago, Ride-The-Waves said:

We always cruise 10 days or longer, avoiding the shorter cruises like the plague (or like COVID).  Seven days cruises are more intense, people "needing" to vacation hard since they work hard (their perspective) and try to cram as much into the 7 days as possible.  Doesn't work.

 

I hope you are right. I just checked, and my 20 day Vista cruise in September 2024 is also sold as 2 10-day cruises

[MEFIowa]

2 hours ago, Robyn2 said:

Just off Riviera, had a wonderful cruise, only a few glitches! The cruise director was Paul Baya, almost invisible, we saw very little of him.

Paul was great on Riviera 12/13-23/21 in the W. Caribbean. I never forgot the Veterans Group he hosted early on the cruise. There were about 33 or so of us. After we introduced ourselves by name, branch and said a bit, he then started from the 1st and went to the last name by name! Got them all correct in order. When I mentioned we didn't have a guest speaker on the mid-cruise comment, he called my room to tell me how to access the recorded guest speakers. Every time I'd see him on deck or inside I'd mention one or the other to him, thanking him.

[tvmovielover]

Although the ship staff and food were as good as ever, our Sept/Oct 7 day Riviera cruise was a disappointment due to a missed port and revamping of times for the remaining port due to weather, events not accounted for, etc.  I would not sign up for a 7 day cruise again or less than 10 probably-I do like 1 scheduled sea day if possible.  All 4 specialties were very good and our cabin attendants were great.  Some people were a little annoying but I think some of that is due to everybody being happy and anxious to get back to cruising.  I think there were some with covid but as said above-we are given no info about it.

[ORV]

3 hours ago, Robyn2 said:

Just off Riviera, had a wonderful cruise, only a few glitches!

The cruise director was Paul Baya, almost invisible, we saw very little of him.

Did you go to the evening shows? Did you play team trivia? Did you watch for him on the morning show on the tv? If he was missing from these things odds are he was probably in quarantine. 

[Robyn2]

Yes we did go to some of the shows, they were very good but we didnt see the CD. We dont do Trivia but it was hosted by the  crew in the evenings, not sure about day time. Saw him a few times on the tv too but not around the ship.

The cruise was so good for us that it didnt matter, the main thing was the standards were very high  and the crew seemed very happy. 

[KS&JW]

Currently on Riviera and Paul is hosting the daytime trivia,  as expected. 

[Segmentersfloattheboat]

A bit late to reply - no no announcements in the cabin - other than the captain - but we must have had a speaker right outside our door as it was very intrusive!