Quantum/Ovation/Luminosa quiet on Covid reports

[JohnGc]

I have been watching for reports on Covid from passengers on the above ships , but have not seen many reports regarding the situation. I will soon have to make a decision on canceling a cruise owing to my wife being immunocompromised and our ages. Not looking good so far seeing several of our members have been unlucky enough to have caught covid. The reports of pax not being responsible is disappointing. Its a very disappointing situation but it obviously is not going to improve soon. My attitude has always been go for it, but as I am not the only one to think about  I am now re-thinking . Its all very well saying you only live once and all that and I hate to start being sensible ( never have been before ) 😄  but the Majestic with 800 pax with Covid  has not helped. I wonder how many others are now thinking  of putting a cruise on the back burner for now. There is no doubt if the wife and I were both fit we would take our chances and go.

[NSWP]

Perhaps the ships you mentioned have a few but not reached tier 1 or not disclosing them.  I commend the Carnival Australia Gurus for being up front and disclosing the numbers..800 on Majestic Princess.  Perhaps the other lines should also be upfront.

 

It is a personal choice whether to cruise in these times. I made the choice in Sept and went on Coral Princess, perhaps I dodged a bullet.  The older you are the bigger impact Covid can have and we all know it can be life threatening.

 

Good luck JohnGc.

Edited November 13, 2022 by NSWP

[OzKiwiJJ]

My thoughts ...

 

The numbers/Tiers can be misleading. Coral Princess reached Tier 3 during our cruise. Tier 3 on that ship kicks in at around 300 passengers and crew. Tier 3 on Majestic Princess doesn't kick in until around 500 passengers and crew. The bigger the ship the higher the number of cases needed to trigger each tier.

 

On Coral Princess it was easy to see how much Covid was onboard as tables were placed in front of isolating cabin doors. Other cruise lines may not do this so passengers may not be aware of how much Covid is onboard.

 

Covid is again spreading rapidly in the community with this new wave. Numbers in NSW increased significantly last week - around 50% more than the previous week. In an article in the Sun-Herald yesterday Professor Catherine Bennett of Deakin Uni reckoned that only a fraction of the cases on Majestic Princess would have been detected had they been onshore, and that probably only 10% of cases in the community are being counted. In other words the current wave is ten times worse than we are seeing reflected in the weekly stats.

 

So the points to consider are:

 

- how bad are the current variants of Covid? In my case it was milder than a normal head cold and I recovered quickly with the help of anti-virals, although I did get even milder rebound symptoms for two days later on.

 

- will you feel safer at home or on a cruise? That depends on your lifestyle, I guess. If you have an active social life you could be as much at risk at home as on a cruise. Some people will be just as likely to ignore symptoms ashore as they would onboard a ship, and almost certainly would not isolate or wear masks ashore. 

 

- if your cruise is still a few months away this current wave may be over by then. Plus cruise lines may learn to be stricter with onboard Covid protocols.

 

 

 

 

[MMDown Under]

If I was immunocompromised,  I would seek advice from my doctor who knows my medical situation best.  You can always delay your cruise for a year, hoping the Covid situation might have improved by then.  

[fairywren]

Our cruise on Ovation is 12 days away and we have a couple of days in Sydney beforehand. Husband is making noises about cancelling after the Majestic news and numbers up in NSW.

We are both fit for our ages, he is 80 and rides a bike every day, I am 74 and walk every day, but we live in a semi rural area and would definitely be safer at home than travelling around the country and overseas.

I don't know what to do.

[NSWP]

9 minutes ago, MMDown Under said:

If I was immunocompromised,  I would seek advice from my doctor who knows my medical situation best.  You can always delay your cruise for a year, hoping the Covid situation might have improved by then.  

Back in Sept my GP advised me not to go on Coral Princess, my immunity system is low, I catch anything, but went anyway.

[NSWP]

6 minutes ago, fairywren said:

Our cruise on Ovation is 12 days away and we have a couple of days in Sydney beforehand. Husband is making noises about cancelling after the Majestic news and numbers up in NSW.

We are both fit for our ages, he is 80 and rides a bike every day, I am 74 and walk every day, but we live in a semi rural area and would definitely be safer at home than travelling around the country and overseas.

I don't know what to do.

I do not think anyone on here should sway you whether to cruise or not. Personal decision, just weigh up the consequences if you do go and get crook.

 

Good luck.

[Galesa]

Westerdam is currently on the same itinerary as Majestic was, more or less.

 

Obviously much smaller ship but would still be interesting to see the prevalence of Covid on that ship in comparison. 

 

And of course Westerdam completed the TP immediately prior to heading to NZ.

[adelaidefc]

My Mum has been quite unwell, has a bunch of comorbidites for Covid and got through pneumonia (non-Covid related) earlier in the year. 

We spent a lot of time talking about it but decided that it's no point in just surviving if you're not living. To manage the risk a little we've booked a big ship (Quantum), on a shorter cruise (5 nights), and outside school holidays, so I'd be surprised if it's full (especially the way Brisbane sailings are selling atm). 

Having something to look forward to has really brightened her mood, she's started getting out more, trying to do more movement and activity so she can be ready for the cruise. 

Odds are good she'll be able to get an Omicron specific booster in January before the cruise. So it's all just calculated. 

[NSWP]

1 hour ago, Galesa said:

Westerdam is currently on the same itinerary as Majestic was, more or less.

 

Obviously much smaller ship but would still be interesting to see the prevalence of Covid on that ship in comparison. 

 

And of course Westerdam completed the TP immediately prior to heading to NZ.

Hope I don't get hammered again for negativity, but I just checked the current roll call for Westerdam - Transpacific and NZ as quite a few are doing the TP/NZ back to back.  One pax reports there are 13 cases as confirmed by the Captain.   Not going to requote the roll call comments.

Edited November 14, 2022 by NSWP

[Hammer61]

We got off the Ovation on 29^th October after the transpacific and COVID was on board, we did hear at one point that “unofficially” around 100 guests and 2 crew had been positive.

 

The ship was quite open about their being COVID on board and was asking for people to be aware and to mask up when they could and wash hands, social distance etc, but nothing was mandatory however most people followed these guidelines, personally I thought RCI handled it very well, treated everyone like adults, didn’t panic and were open and honest, all the guests we spoke with said similar and just got on and enjoyed the cruise, masking up in the theatre and when gatherings took place.

 

We got off on the Saturday then on the Sunday morning my wife tested positive, mild symptoms and now back to normal after staying home, luckily, I never got it!

 

Think like other aspects in life COVID is something we are going to have to live with, hopefully not for too long but in the meantime just need to be aware stay up to date with vaccinations, mask up in social settings and be aware to wash hands etc frequently but otherwise just get on with life which includes holidays and going on cruises!

[boeckli]

1 hour ago, NSWP said:

Hope I don't get hammered again for negativity, but I just checked the current roll call for Westerdam - Transpacific and NZ as quite a few are doing the TP/NZ back to back.  One pax reports there are 13 cases as confirmed by the Captain.   Not going to requote the roll call comments.

 

Not sure what you're implying ...

[NSWP]

1 hour ago, boeckli said:

 

Not sure what you're implying ...

Well I sometimes get criticized by a couple of my enemies on here for quoting covid case numbers by making 'sweeping comments.'   But I don't really care. I am about to disembark from CC.

Edited November 14, 2022 by NSWP

[OzKiwiJJ]

15 minutes ago, NSWP said:

Well I sometimes get criticized by a couple of my enemies on here for quoting covid case numbers by making 'sweeping comments.'   But I don't really care. I am about to disembark from CC.

Don't you dare! I'll come and haunt you if you do. 

[JohnGc]

Thank you for all the replies. As you say it is up to the individual circumstances. I don't think our doctor would commit to saying go, knowing our history. We are monitoring the situation closely and hoping things will improve in the not too distant future.Selfishly I am hoping cruise ships will clamp down on pax doing the wrong thing, how they are going to police the rules I don't know. Seems unfair for the crew to be expected to enforce them and end up being abused by the minority idiots.

Cheers guys, just being in touch on this forum keeps me in a cruising mood.😁

 

 

 

[bretts173]

26 minutes ago, JohnGc said:

Thank you for all the replies. As you say it is up to the individual circumstances. I don't think our doctor would commit to saying go, knowing our history. We are monitoring the situation closely and hoping things will improve in the not too distant future.Selfishly I am hoping cruise ships will clamp down on pax doing the wrong thing, how they are going to police the rules I don't know. Seems unfair for the crew to be expected to enforce them and end up being abused by the minority idiots.

Cheers guys, just being in touch on this forum keeps me in a cruising mood.😁

 

 

 

They have to be breaking the rules to clamp down on them. Mask wearing on most ships at the moment is recommended in certain circumstances but certainly not compulsory.

[JohnGc]

11 minutes ago, bretts173 said:

They have to be breaking the rules to clamp down on them. Mask wearing on most ships at the moment is recommended in certain circumstances but certainly not compulsory.

I must have misunderstood other post, I thought it was compulsory to wear a mask in the theatre and in lifts, from what I understand even if recommended it does not appear to be happening.  

[OzKiwiJJ]

1 hour ago, JohnGc said:

Thank you for all the replies. As you say it is up to the individual circumstances. I don't think our doctor would commit to saying go, knowing our history. We are monitoring the situation closely and hoping things will improve in the not too distant future.Selfishly I am hoping cruise ships will clamp down on pax doing the wrong thing, how they are going to police the rules I don't know. Seems unfair for the crew to be expected to enforce them and end up being abused by the minority idiots.

Cheers guys, just being in touch on this forum keeps me in a cruising mood.😁

 

 

 

They should hire a few ex-rugby players! Big ones! 🤣🤣🤣

[vozzie]

Enforcement...not easy. However, airlines have been enforcing the rules for some time. I know its easier when all your customers are confined to a small area , for a small amount of time...but even so, all it takes is for the Law to recognise a lawful instruction from a Maritime Officer...as they do for Airline Crew. But then you have jurisdiction issues......

[OzKiwiJJ]

18 minutes ago, JohnGc said:

I must have misunderstood other post, I thought it was compulsory to wear a mask in the theatre and in lifts, from what I understand even if recommended it does not appear to be happening.  

It was mandatory on Coral Princess in theatres etc. Unfortunately at the start of the Round Australia cruise a lot of people didn't wear masks properly if at all. And too many people don't understand that their noses have to be covered as well as their mouths. 😡

 

[JohnGc]

1 minute ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

It was mandatory on Coral Princess in theatres etc. Unfortunately at the start of the Round Australia cruise a lot of people didn't wear masks properly if at all. And too many people don't understand that their noses have to be covered as well as their mouths. 😡

 

That is so unfortunate.I feel that it could make such a difference if people did the right thing . As annoying as it can be to wear a mask, I feel in the earlier days when compulsory, it cut down the high waves of covid to a reasonable rate.The latest wave of Covid will be of interest to see if mask will be introduced, even though the Queensland Health stated it wont come to that.

[NSWP]

30 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

They should hire a few ex-rugby players! Big ones! 🤣🤣🤣

In the 1970’s and early 80’s, the Greek and Italian lines coming out here employed off duty NSW police as security. The Commish stopped that. They got paid a few dollars beer money but got a free cruise. Back then a few football teams went on end of season cruises and played up, hence the additional security.

[MicCanberra]

Just of a flight, Madrid to Athens, mandatory mask wearing, many kept taking them off and being earned again and again but what can the hosting do? They cannot kick them off mid-flight can they.

[Tripmode33]

Just off Luminosa on Sunday. No obvious signs of Covid on board. It was a seven nighter. We were one of the very few wearing masks in public areas. 1% at most wearing masks. A few more masks seen last two days as news of Majestic outbreak filtered through. 

I usually sail Princess and I found Luminosa had significantly less insistence on using hand sanitizer at MDR and buffet, and certainly no hand washing sinks at buffet. Rarely saw guests using hand sanitizer though it was provided at all points. 

Hot foods were served by wait staff (except at BBQ station located on aft deck just outside buffet). Cold selections self service.

I wore masks except when outside or seated for dining. I had extra incentive to do so as I board Majestic this coming weekend for a five night Tasmania, followed six days later by a round NZ cruise on Princess.  Feeling slightly nervous with them so close with the new wave in the community.

[Relaxing Robbies]

1 hour ago, Tripmode33 said:

 

I usually sail Princess and I found Luminosa had significantly less insistence on using hand sanitizer at MDR and buffet, and certainly no hand washing sinks at buffet. Rarely saw guests using hand sanitizer though it was provided at all points..

We are currently cruising on Grand Princess. There is no encouragement or insistence to handwash or use sanitiser on entering the buffet or other venues on the ship. We spoke to the buffet supervisor and expressed our disappointment, pointing out that norovirus still exists as well as covid. He said he would take our comments onboard, but nothing has changed.

 

Covid cases onboard continue to increase, and masks changed from recommended to strongly recommended to the current required. Announcements from the captain inform us that we must wear n95 masks, but they only gave us 1 surgical mask each, telling us to change them every 3 or 4 days. Lucky we brought our own supply.