Does covid affect your cruise decision?

[KyleClark]

I am thinking about this, I wouldn't want to miss the ports on a 10 day crusie or longer.

[craig01020]

I've been on five cruises since the pandemic, and I caught covid on one of them. Fully vaxxed (5x) and am so over it. I have four more cruises booked for this year.

[phillygwm]

I've been on 3 cruises post-COVID, ranging from 3-10 days.  I'm vaxxed to the hilt and when they tell me I'm eligible for the next boost I'll be in line.  A friend (equally vaxxed) caught COVID on the last day of his cruise.  He said it was no worse than a mild cold.  

 

If there's a particularly lethal variant that evades the vax, I'd feel differently but, given what we're dealing with today, I won't hesitate.

[hannibal54]

I am not scared. So far I haven't had any symptom & hope to keep this up.

[BubbaJo]

I'd like to say it doesn't affect me, but I literally just got off the phone with my NCL rep after calling to cancel my Jan 8th cruise due to testing positive for covid today. 😔 Symptoms are very minor (I'm triple vaxxed), but going on this cruise would be irresponsible.

 

That being said, were I not personally dealing with Covid, I wouldn't let the possibility of contracting Covid impact the length of my cruise.

Edited January 7, 2023 by BubbaJo

[wcook]

If Noro didn’t keep me from cruising, Covid isn’t. 

[BirdTravels]

9 post restart cruises with no problems. That includes both RCCL and NCL first restart cruises when vaccination rates were in the single digits in some ports. No problems. 

[masterty]

I drink covid with breakfast just to keep my immune system firing on all cylinders. Ain't skeered!

[HBCcruiser]

Doesn’t influence my decision at all. There are worse viruses and bacterial infections out there IMO. I have been on many cruises since the COVID shutdown with no issues. I got COVID and other illnesses while on land, not sea. 

[jean95404]

I developed covid on a two week Panama Canal cruise.  I cannot say that I caught it while on the ship.  Fortunately my friends and I had a two bedroom two bath suite so I self quarantined. In the evenings I would take a beach towel and to up to the top deck (fully masked) and used a lounge chair to be out in air.  I boarded the ship with three vaccines and the booster.  It was chills, fever and fatigue.  I just asked out room steward to not bother if my bedroom door was closed.  My suite-mates never tested positive during this time or since we left the ship.  I did everything possible - frequent washing of hands, Purell, avoiding touching handles without tissue or paper towels.  But, thinking back, I did use handrails on stairs and from time to time used utensils in the buffet.  Any little slip....     I do plan to go on another cruise this year and will be more diligent.

[KeithJenner]

Covid affects my cruising decisions as much as it does any other aspects of my life these days. Not at all.

 

The only time I ever even consider or mention covid is when I see questions like this, or occasionally I use the term pre or post covid to describe when something happened. Other than that, it’s done now, time to move on.

[vacation44]

No, it does not.  Took two since restart and have four more on the books.

[CptBoatface]

Got it this summer just after the jewel Alaska trip. 2 shots only and just like a regular cold. No impact on cruising 

[njkate]

Does not influence my decision. While no one wants to get it, if it worries me that much I’d never leave the house as you can get it anywhere, grocery stores, post office, shows, movies etc etc 

[Red-Sol]

The one thing that Covid does do to affect my cruising  decision today...is that the insurance I carry might be a little bit more comprehensive...other than that not really anything.

[Treasure Hunter]

We have been on three Celebrity cruises, two NCL cruises, a RCCL cruise, two American cruise line cruises and one long Princess cruise since start up. We are triple vaccinated and boostered. I wear a mask in the airport and on the plane and in the casino ( especially if people are blowing smoke) . To our knowledge, we have not gotten Covid. I’m a little nervous when I go anywhere but we are well into our 70s and I don’t want to miss my favorite thing in the whole world ( except my grandkids). We are taking one set in February on NCL from NY to Bahamas and the other to Greece in June on the Celebrity Constellation. Everyone in our extended family has had Covid despite Being fully vaccinated. The ten year old got walloped last month with combo Covid and flu. I think this is the world now, and with reasonable protection we can still enjoy life.

[eileeshb]

Been on 2 cruises since the restart, on the first I was fully vaxxed but hadn’t had to booster, on the second I’d also had the booster. Avoided covid both times. I did catch covid months later just before I was eligible for a second booster and it was not like a mild cold. It started like a cold but then turned to full on flu/bronchitis level misery for 3 days which then left me completely wiped out and I was testing positive for almost 2 weeks. 

 

However, on my very first cruise (long before covid) I was just after a respiratory virus which made my first excursion extremely limited as it was a snorkel excursion and I couldn’t swim any distance at all so had to stay next to the boat. But a further snorkel excursion late in the cruise I was fine. 
 

suffice to say my immune system does not react well to respiratory infections so my approach when travelling is to bring a full selection of any medication that might be required.  After my experience with covid, a portable nebuliser will be added to my packing list if I won’t have had a recent vax booster. 

[Treasure Hunter]

I too bring a ton of medical. But I always have. Especially important now that the ships don’t sell you even Tylenol without seeing the doctor. We bring Tylenol, Advil, Aleve , thermometer, bandaids, cortisone cream, bacitracin, pepto in chewable and , liquid, Bonine, Glyoxide, Aquaphor, Zyrtec-D, Benadryl, Chestall ( a great homeopathic cough medicine) and Chloroseptic throat lozenges. Just in case. 

[julig22]

10 cruises on NCL since restart, so obviously the possibility of catching covid not limiting my travel plans.  Fully vaccinated/boosted.

Came home from Alaska with covid last spring, pretty sure it was from the last-day excursion in Vancouver.  Came home with a cold from Europe last fall, guy on the airport transfer bus was obviously sick, good chance that was the source.  Cold was worse than covid for me...

 

[macewank]

I probably caught COVID on my Encore sailing in late December (18th thru 23rd) which sucked, but it wasn't a consideration when I booked the cruise and hasn't been for booking future ones.

At this point, I've put myself in the best position possible to deal with it and I'm mostly done letting it impact my plans

[sprint180]

Got covid on my last cruise, along with a zillion other people.  Booked another as soon as I was home.

[sfaaa]

I still shy away from crowded elevators, eat outside whenever I can, wash hands often and mask up when I am outside my cabin. So far, it works as I am Covid free after 5 cruises in 2022. No plan on changing for the foreseeable future.

Edited January 7, 2023 by sfaaa

[PatandStu]

About 50% of the time I travel, both on cruises or to a resort, I come home with either a respiratory infection or gastro.  They didn’t stop me from travelling. I’m vaxxed & boosted and caught Covid in September (was at a Cuban resort but my 3 travel partners didn’t get it). I’ll take reasonable precautions & continue travelling. 

[Travelling2Some]

We are vaxed, boosted and not young.  Recently retired and will not live forever.  Got to go on with our lives!  Have taken several cruises and finally caught it on the last one, which was 18 days long.  Zero regrets.  It was very mild and now, having had it, it adds to our immunity and is even less likely to impact our future travels.  We are all going to get it sooner or later, no point in hiding under the bed. 

[phoenix1181]

I'm vaxxed & boosted but got Covid after a cruise last July.  When I cruised last month, the only thing I did differently was to avoid the buffet. Many folks on the cruise disembarked with Covid or a chest infection of some sort.  During the cruise I saw more people masking and more cleaning.  I also was initially mistaken for a quarantined cabin when I called room service one night.  Obviously, there was illness onboard.

 

Fortunately, I came home healthy and, although I could be wrong, I attribute that to not going to the buffet.  I really missed the made to order omelets and grabbing a quick lunch on sea days but, staying healthy was the goal and I was successful.

 

I have two cruises booked this year and will more than likely do the same thing.  Covid wasn't awful for me but my doctor put me on Paxlovid (I'm old and high risk) and that medication is just awful!  I'll do anything not to have to take it again LOL.