Silver Cloud and Covid

[hoya68]

I am on Silver Cloud Antarctica cruise  Two days ago I was feeling  lousy and went to the clinic' and   tested positive for COVID. and was   told to quarrantine in cabinat different times and are meals do not arrive at the sanme time. for five days, Dear wife  tested  negative but agreed to quarrantine. Feeling like I have a bad headcold. Unfortunately the only treatment is for symptoms. I find it amazing that there is no  Paxlovid on board. Thank God I have had all vaccines and boosters which tend to result in less serious symptons. Apparently Silversea's definition of fully vaccinated is one shot and one booster. Clearly insufficient. Don't know if there are other cases but there was a lot of coughing ans sneezing. Protocols are hit and miss. When I was escorted from the clinic thera was crew member following me in a hazmat suit spraying the hallway behind me, The nurse who has visited our cabin only wears a mask.. For the first few days our butler wore an apron and mask until last night when he sheepishly came in a full hazmat suit. We are getting room service three times a day, although if we order from the restaurant and the room service menu  we have to order  at different times and do not receive our meals at the same time.

All in all we cannot fault the service staff who are trying to make this ordeal more comfotable. However the COVID protocols leave much to be desired. fom inadequate vaccination requirements to lack  of essential medication. I do not know if there are any other cases on board, but a person with serious COVID may be toast given lack of nedication and remoteness of any treatment facilities.

 

[Lirio]

1 hour ago, hoya68 said:

I am on Silver Cloud Antarctica cruise  Two days ago I was feeling  lousy and went to the clinic' and   tested positive for COVID. and was   told to quarrantine in cabinat different times and are meals do not arrive at the sanme time. for five days, Dear wife  tested  negative but agreed to quarrantine. Feeling like I have a bad headcold. Unfortunately the only treatment is for symptoms. I find it amazing that there is no  Paxlovid on board. Thank God I have had all vaccines and boosters which tend to result in less serious symptons. Apparently Silversea's definition of fully vaccinated is one shot and one booster. Clearly insufficient. Don't know if there are other cases but there was a lot of coughing ans sneezing. Protocols are hit and miss. When I was escorted from the clinic thera was crew member following me in a hazmat suit spraying the hallway behind me, The nurse who has visited our cabin only wears a mask.. For the first few days our butler wore an apron and mask until last night when he sheepishly came in a full hazmat suit. We are getting room service three times a day, although if we order from the restaurant and the room service menu  we have to order  at different times and do not receive our meals at the same time.

All in all we cannot fault the service staff who are trying to make this ordeal more comfotable. However the COVID protocols leave much to be desired. fom inadequate vaccination requirements to lack  of essential medication. I do not know if there are any other cases on board, but a person with serious COVID may be toast given lack of nedication and remoteness of any treatment facilities.

 

I hope you get well soon!

[hoya68]

Thank you.

[cruiseej]

Best wishes for a speedy recovery. Is your quarantine for a fixed number of days, or until you test negative? I'm curious what the current protocols are. (We'll be on the Cloud next month.)

 

Do you have any idea how many other Covid cases (guests and/or crew) there are currently on the Cloud?

 

In terms of vaccination protocols, my only comment is that at this stage with the COVID, boosters don't keep you appreciably safer from getting the virus, they keep you from having more severe symptoms if you get it. Earlier in the pandemic, it was essential for SS to require passengers be vaccinated in order to cruise, because it helped keep Covid off the ships. But now, I'm not sure that requiring a 4th or 5th shot does much, if anything, to keep passengers and crew safe from each other. I know many people who have gotten COVID recently who were completely up-to-date (5 shots). I think anyone who is not medically-advised to avoid booster shots should get all the protection they can, but I feel that's for protecting oneself from serious illness rather than to avoid catching it or transmitting it to others. So I'm not sure I'd fault SS for not requiring people to have more boosters.

 

I'm a little surprised they don't have Paxlovid onboard. It's not recommended for everyone who gets Covid, only for people considered at high risk of severe illness — but considering the typical age of SS passengers, I'd think it would be a useful tool for them to have, especially on expedition ship in Antartica which can't get people to a hospital quickly if their condition gets worse. But it's expensive: above $500 per 5-day course of the drug. If you're at home in the US, it's free or nearly-free to you because the US government paid for 20 million courses of the drug — but Silversea would need to purchase it directly. (That assumes there's enough available for a company to buy it directly.) It also requires people to stop taking certain other drugs they may be taking, so it's more complex to prescribe than giving people an aspirin and sending them to their suite. 

Edited November 14, 2022 by cruiseej

[hoya68]

I believe they will test after 5 days. Very unclear and inconsistent responses and info. They really should have paxlovid. Costs would be covered by most insurance. I am doing fine without it, although my doctor may have recommended it. 

[Ltt13]

We were onboard the Explorer this September/October.  We brought our own paxlovid prescribed by our MD as my husband is immunocompromised.  There was quite a bit of Covid on board. He did get Covid and took the paxlovid and his case was mild.  The medical team on board told us it was wise to bring it ourselves as it was not available from Silversea.  I would highly recommend bringing your own if you are at high risk.

[AtA]

When we sailed in Sept. we brought our own Paxlovid. Thankfully we didn't need it but glad we had it if we did need it.

[cruiseej]

2 hours ago, hoya68 said:

They really should have paxlovid. Costs would be covered by most insurance.

 

No, Silversea can't buy it and have the US government cover the insurance costs. The government covers the cost for individuals, not for corporations, let alone a non-US corporation. 

[Port Power]

This is a reply from a doctor on another forum.  I won’t name him because I don’t have his permission, but he is a long time SS cruiser.
 

“Silverseas requires you to be fully vaccinated as per the rules of any country you visit. The ships now go from Chile. Chile has no formal requirements for what constitutes fully vaccinated but do require you to be fully vaccinated under the rules of the country where you were vaccinated.
So if the traveller was American, and it does sound like it, then the USA considers you to be fully vaccinated after 2 mRNA shots plus 1 booster or 1 shot of J&J plus one booster. So in this case SS is almost certainly following USA rules.”

[Tex1]

@Port Powerthat would make sense being owned by a US company.

[les37b]

7 hours ago, Ltt13 said:

We were onboard the Explorer this September/October.  We brought our own paxlovid prescribed by our MD as my husband is immunocompromised.  There was quite a bit of Covid on board. He did get Covid and took the paxlovid and his case was mild.  The medical team on board told us it was wise to bring it ourselves as it was not available from Silversea.  I would highly recommend bringing your own if you are at high risk.

 

I'd not even heard of Paxlovid until this thread. It is available in the UK by prescription  but will only be available to those considered at very high risk. That rules me out. 

 

Be interested to learn what the quarantine period SS are using. In January it was 10 days even if you'd been testing negative a few days into it and no way to avoid this unless disembarking and in to a quarantine hotel. 

 

 

 

[LouChamp]

Best wishes for your recovery 

[Fletcher]

@hoya68 Sad to hear this.  South Georgia coming up tomorrow . . . terrible if you are confined to barracks. Great scenery though from the ship.  

[pmcer]

9 hours ago, Port Power said:

So if the traveller was American, and it does sound like it, then the USA considers you to be fully vaccinated after 2 mRNA shots plus 1 booster or 1 shot of J&J plus one booster.

No boosters are required to be "fully vaccinated" in the US.

[hoya68]

I believe they will test after 5 days. Very unclear and inconsistent responses and info. They really should have paxlovid. Costs would be covered by most insurance. I am doing fine without it, although my doctor may have recommended it. Wife tested positive this morning.  Another 5 days of quarantine. 

[cruiseej]

13 hours ago, hoya68 said:

They really should have paxlovid. Costs would be covered by most insurance.

 

Paxlovid costs about $500 per person. In the US, individuals can get it for free or near free because the US government purchased and paid for 10 million courses of the drug. But Silversea would need to secure it directly, and pay for it. (I don't know if various government purchases have captured all the available Paxlovid which has been produced or if it is readily available for purchase by a company.)

[hoya68]

Heard from reliable source that one other couple on board tested positive.  Hope they are doing OK. 

[Nuka]

1 hour ago, hoya68 said:

Heard from reliable source that one other couple on board tested positive.  Hope they are doing OK. 

Take care. Thinking of you and your wife.  Hope you are 100% soon!

[hoya68]

Thank you. Things are destined to get better. Right now not even much of a view because of thick fog.

[kimanjo]

From our Nov 2021 Cloud Antarctica experience. Free advice if anyone wants it....

 

Because this cruise was A.  VERY expensive and B. Probably a once--in-a-lifetime trip we tried to give us our best shot at NOT contracting Covid ( and hence being quarantined!!!) and missing everything.

 

Starting 2 weeks before the flight, we practically went into hermit mode.  Curbside pickup for everything.  If we had to go inside, n95 masking and all hyper vigilant.

 

Had ordered Envovid ( SanOtize) and started using day of flying, at least 2X per day, everyday.  Now, here is where most will say " no way".  We masked from arrival at our departure airport to arrival at the hotel in Santiago.  9+ hours. Especially in crowded airport.  I brought straws and stuck them up from the bottom of our N95 masks to have water on the flight.  Did NOT eat. 

 

Masks around everyone, and only off outside.  Once we got on the ship, masks in the hallways,  during the daily briefings,  ate outdoors as much as possible.  Paranoid?? We saw it as hyper vigilant.  Was NOT going to skip any part of this trip.

 

We ended up being tested for a total of 9 times for this trip, and negative.  We KNOW there was Covid onboard.  Big  unceremonious offloading incident.  Our butler "dissappeard" for 4 days.

 

 

[hoya68]

Now at least 10 cases on board. Hopefully none serious.

[Silver Spectre]

19 minutes ago, hoya68 said:

Now at least 10 cases on board. Hopefully none serious.

Is the Captain giving a daily update?

[zqtchas]

On 11/17/2022 at 4:43 AM, kimanjo said:

From our Nov 2021 Cloud Antarctica experience. Free advice if anyone wants it....

 

Because this cruise was A.  VERY expensive and B. Probably a once--in-a-lifetime trip we tried to give us our best shot at NOT contracting Covid ( and hence being quarantined!!!) and missing everything.

 

Starting 2 weeks before the flight, we practically went into hermit mode.  Curbside pickup for everything.  If we had to go inside, n95 masking and all hyper vigilant.

 

Had ordered Envovid ( SanOtize) and started using day of flying, at least 2X per day, everyday.  Now, here is where most will say " no way".  We masked from arrival at our departure airport to arrival at the hotel in Santiago.  9+ hours. Especially in crowded airport.  I brought straws and stuck them up from the bottom of our N95 masks to have water on the flight.  Did NOT eat. 

 

Masks around everyone, and only off outside.  Once we got on the ship, masks in the hallways,  during the daily briefings,  ate outdoors as much as possible.  Paranoid?? We saw it as hyper vigilant.  Was NOT going to skip any part of this trip.

 

We ended up being tested for a total of 9 times for this trip, and negative.  We KNOW there was Covid onboard.  Big  unceremonious offloading incident.  Our butler "dissappeard" for 4 days.

 

 

did you buy insurance for this cruise?

[kimanjo]

3 hours ago, zqtchas said:

did you buy insurance for this cruise?

We did.  But, to us, being denied boarding, quarantined, missing parts of the cruise didn't warrant "oh well, the insurance will cover it" mindset.  Not only that SIlversea was refunding pax at the time who tested positive.  That was still no reason for us to not take the extra serious measures we did in order to stay negative and enjoy this trip of a lifetime.  We missed nothing!!

[hoya68]

Captain announced ship exceeded 2% threshold, that crew must wear masks and that passengers are encouraged to wear masks.