Covid on cruiseships!!!

[bazzaw]

30 minutes ago, arxcards said:

We are still booking cruises and prepared to accept the T&C's and doing short cruises to take away the risk of cabin isolation.

Our cruise was only a short one of 8 days - we were really looking forward to it after 4 years. We shared your anxiety about the possibility of testing positive before departure - we actually did a test before we flew to Sydney - no point in even flying down there if tested positive. Wouldn't even dream of doing a cruise from a foreign port. Our last cruise(es) were a 3 Queens package out of Southhampton including transatlantic to New York. This time We booked a balcony cabin just in case we got Covid - but we did not fully understand how we would not cope with being locked in our cabin for even such a short time as 4 days. I have no idea how long they keep people in isolation on a longer cruise and the thought of a 10 day isolation ( seems to be about the average time to test negative again) is horrendous to me. The balcony for the duration of the cruise was mostly wasted - too cold and windy down south.- so the only place to comfortably watch TV for the 4 days/ 24 hours per day was in bed. Nope - we have loved our cruising around the World - lost count at 400 nights - but no more for us. People need to FULLY realise and understand what they are exposing themselves to - most get away with it without any difficulty.  BUT!!!!!

[Pushka]

All this testing and masking is only happening on cruises in the Southern Hemisphere. Even super cautious Viking has ditched the masks for everyone including crew on their non Australian - NZ cruises.  No more testing unless asked for. Isolation onboard for 5 days if positive. And this was the cruise line that had its own PCR labs onboard some 18 months ago and were the first cruise line to cancel cruises at the start. Yet there has not been reports of surges of infections nor a rise in emergency evacuations.

Edited January 29, 2023 by Pushka

[onlyslightlymad]

49 minutes ago, bazzaw said:

People (especially older people like me) die everyday of all kinds of causes. Many of these causes are avoidable ( smoking, obesity, car crashes,etc)  and as a Society we generally dont get too worried about the odd death here and there. So it is a form of paranoia to continue to treat Covid as an exceptional case (especially now that we know much more about it and we are all vaccinated)  and attempt to maintain zero Covid deaths. 

Paranoia is a fear of something that is not real.  It's okay to disagree with the protocols and think they are over the top but it's still not paranoia.

[MMDown Under]

33 minutes ago, bazzaw said:

Our cruise was only a short one of 8 days - we were really looking forward to it after 4 years. We shared your anxiety about the possibility of testing positive before departure - we actually did a test before we flew to Sydney - no point in even flying down there if tested positive. Wouldn't even dream of doing a cruise from a foreign port. Our last cruise(es) were a 3 Queens package out of Southhampton including transatlantic to New York. This time We booked a balcony cabin just in case we got Covid - but we did not fully understand how we would not cope with being locked in our cabin for even such a short time as 4 days. I have no idea how long they keep people in isolation on a longer cruise and the thought of a 10 day isolation ( seems to be about the average time to test negative again) is horrendous to me. The balcony for the duration of the cruise was mostly wasted - too cold and windy down south.- so the only place to comfortably watch TV for the 4 days/ 24 hours per day was in bed. Nope - we have loved our cruising around the World - lost count at 400 nights - but no more for us. People need to FULLY realise and understand what they are exposing themselves to - most get away with it without any difficulty.  BUT!!!!!

You must have been disappointed to not be able to use your balcony because it was too cold and too windy.  Maybe isolation would have been more bearable if you could have used your balcony.  I was shocked to learn that the lady I sat next to each night at dinner tested positive when she disembarked from our GBR Luminosa cruise.  Fortunately, the other five didn't catch Covid, but it is difficult to avoid exposure on a cruise.  

[LittleFish1976]

1 hour ago, bazzaw said:

Yes - but not for up to 10 days ! 

 

More than 10 days actually. Do you know where the word 'quarantine' comes from? It comes from the Italian for 40! 'Quarantina' - the forty days that a ship would have to stay off-shore to ensure less risk of the crew and passengers bringing disease to the port.

 

I stayed in hotel quarantine in Auckland for 10 days at the start of last year. !0 days in a small, unattractive hotel room being served very ordinary food (sometimes inedible) three times per day while they made sure I wasn't bringing covid to their shores. Enjoyable - no. Tolerable - yes. I didn't even have a window that opened - would have loved to have a balcony to step out onto to breathe some fresh air now and then.

 

Like it or not, the world has changed. THIS is what we are reduced to. If our governments are not requiring more stringent measures on land against covid, that doesn't make it right, it just makes it different from what the cruise ships are doing.

 

Personally, I'd rather the cruise ships were being more stringent rather than less. I can't understand why you wouldn't have wanted the person who gave YOU covid to have been found positive and isolated earlier, before they had a chance to infect you.

 

30 people a day are dying in Victoria alone - every day - from a disease you accuse people of being 'paranoid' about! It's not paranoia to be concerned about a disease which can disable and kill.

 

 There are many of us for whom covid is a very serious health emergency and we don't appreciate being called paranoid.

 

 

Edited January 29, 2023 by LittleFish1976

[OzKiwiJJ]

Headline in today's SMH.

 

In the article it quotes Burnet Institute Director Brendan Crabb: " I have absolutely no doubt that Australians don't know that Covid is putting 50 times more people in hospital than the flu, that it's killing 50 to 100 times more people than the flu, that 5 per cent of them, if they get infected, even if they're vaccinated, are likely to get long Covid."

 

Yes, we have to live with Covid but in my opinion most Australians have gone from over-cautious to under-cautious, especially in crowded situations. We'll be lining up for a booster shot as soon as it becomes available, and will still continue to wear masks indoors in shopping malls, supermarkets, theatres etc. It's no big deal to us.

[lissie]

13 hours ago, pully8 said:

In NZ do people get PCR tests and if positive self report to authorities?

Are they checked or is it up to people to act responsibly? 

There is some doubt in Australia that some people are testing at all.

Probably to avoid having to isolate. 

Albeit it is necessary to get antivirals, to have a positive result.  

 

Not PCR tests - the standard are RAT tests - available free in lots of place. Apparently 7.5million people tested in the last week Testing for COVID-19 | Ministry of Health NZ 

 

Obviously no everyone with symptons will test - but Iread somewhere that according to estimates of infection based on the standard waste water testing the testing is around 40% underreported - which I thought was pretty good actually. 

 

obviously if you go to hospital for anything you'll have to test - if you have any symptoms my Dentist will ask me to test (I just got his standard email) so do most doctors. 

[lissie]

1 hour ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

Headline in today's SMH.

 

 

Yes, we have to live with Covid but in my opinion most Australians have gone from over-cautious to under-cautious, especially in crowded situations. We'll be lining up for a booster shot as soon as it becomes available, and will still continue to wear masks indoors in shopping malls, supermarkets, theatres etc. It's no big deal to us.

The boosters are tricky - there is some evidence that increased boosters can dampen down the immune response when you actually get exposed to infection - not a good thing. We have had our first booster - then had a dose of Covid so couldn't get our next booster before travelling last winter. At the moment we are waiting for the omicron specific booster to arrive in NZ  so probably in the autumn before we go overseas again we will be boosted 

[lissie]

4 hours ago, Pushka said:

All this testing and masking is only happening on cruises in the Southern Hemisphere. Even super cautious Viking has ditched the masks for everyone including crew on their non Australian - NZ cruises.  No more testing unless asked for. Isolation onboard for 5 days if positive. And this was the cruise line that had its own PCR labs onboard some 18 months ago and were the first cruise line to cancel cruises at the start. Yet there has not been reports of surges of infections nor a rise in emergency evacuations.

That's only because cruising hasn't started in Japan yet -  they still require masking indoors on land 

[OzKiwiJJ]

2 hours ago, lissie said:

That's only because cruising hasn't started in Japan yet -  they still require masking indoors on land 

The Japanese wore masks long before Covid was ever heard of. They are a very polite culture, housing is small, and public transport is often overcrowded. Anyone with any illness would always wear a mask to avoid infecting other people. 

[Wombat706]

23 hours ago, NSWP said:

You were lucky on Luminosa. Carnival Splendor and Queen Elizabeth are listed as tier 1 today by NSW Health.

 

The site states that Tier 1 is 'No - low impact to vessel'.  Are all incoming ships listed on this site ? Or only those with more than zero cases?

[pully8]

16 hours ago, bazzaw said:

In Australia , nobody HAS to isolate after testing positive. Welcome to the new World of "living with Covid" - the Worlds of "Covid exceptionalisn" and "zero Covid" are now gone.  But the paranoia engendered in those Worlds remain amongst many. 

People we know have all isolated when positive for 7 or so days.

Most were able to get antivirals asap to mitigate and reduce symptoms.

For some it was to protect vulnerable or at risk people in their familiy/friend circles and/or workplaces.

Some have family in agedcare settings and do RATs prior to enable safe visiting.

Many are locked down with multiple cases sadly. 

Some may choose other decisions.  

[pully8]

How are cases of Covid on cruise ships discovered? 

People self report symptoms and positive RATs? 

[Aus Traveller]

24 minutes ago, pully8 said:

How are cases of Covid on cruise ships discovered? 

People self report symptoms and positive RATs? 

The protocols vary. On our recent Princess cruise everyone was required to wear a mask unless they were eating or drinking and all passengers had to undertake a RAT test on the morning of day 3. They were not relying on people reporting symptoms. When passengers were given the test strips, their names were marked off and marked off again when the steward saw the test result. The very small number of people who tested positive had to isolate. I was told that the crew take the test every three days.

[bazzaw]

9 hours ago, pully8 said:

How are cases of Covid on cruise ships discovered? 

People self report symptoms and positive RATs? 

I had a RAT test after I explosively covered the entire walls and floor of our bathroom with vomit 😞 

[arxcards]

15 hours ago, Wombat706 said:

 

The site states that Tier 1 is 'No - low impact to vessel'.  Are all incoming ships listed on this site ? Or only those with more than zero cases?

Only those with a confirmed positive aboard.

Even then, if there is no reason to test anyone, there can be no confirmed covid aboard.

[By The Bay]

2 hours ago, bazzaw said:

I had a RAT test after I explosively covered the entire walls and floor of our bathroom with vomit 😞 

Too much information. 😱

[joejoe 59]

8 hours ago, bazzaw said:

I had a RAT test after I explosively covered the entire walls and floor of our bathroom with vomit 😞 

Sounds nasty 🤮

Did you give yourself the rat test because you brought some onboard with you & then reported your positive test?

[bazzaw]

5 hours ago, joejoe 59 said:

Sounds nasty 🤮

Did you give yourself the rat test because you brought some onboard with you & then reported your positive test?

No - my explosive vomiting/diarrheal incident which lasted for several hours resulted in a major cleanup requirement by the "team" and then resulted in the Nurse giving me a RAT test followed by a PCR test the next day. No more tests required after those results. I was practically unconscious after this. 

[pully8]

16 hours ago, bazzaw said:

I had a RAT test after I explosively covered the entire walls and floor of our bathroom with vomit 😞 

Sounds unpleasant.

 

[NSWP]

14 hours ago, bazzaw said:

No - my explosive vomiting/diarrheal incident which lasted for several hours resulted in a major cleanup requirement by the "team" and then resulted in the Nurse giving me a RAT test followed by a PCR test the next day. No more tests required after those results. I was practically unconscious after this. 

With your reaction to the lurgy, If I were you I would put my cruise lanyard in the bin and say goodbye to cruising forever.  

[LittleFish1976]

On 1/31/2023 at 6:09 AM, bazzaw said:

I had a RAT test after I explosively covered the entire walls and floor of our bathroom with vomit 😞 

 

Your vomiting and diarrhoea is reason alone for isolation. There's an exclusion period of 24 hours after all symptoms of those finish.

 

I'm sorry to read you say you won't ever wear a mask again and that you ripped off the N95 (?) mask Cunard gave you as soon as you could. The way you phrase it makes it sound like you flew without a mask.

[joejoe 59]

18 hours ago, bazzaw said:

No - my explosive vomiting/diarrheal incident which lasted for several hours resulted in a major cleanup requirement by the "team" and then resulted in the Nurse giving me a RAT test followed by a PCR test the next day. No more tests required after those results. I was practically unconscious after this. 

Sound's bloody awful. We caught it on a Blue lagoon cruise in fiji last year, we did feel very unwell but nothing like your symptoms. We have cruised twice since & have another next month, fingers crossed we don't get it again. 

[bazzaw]

4 hours ago, LittleFish1976 said:

 

Your vomiting and diarrhoea is reason alone for isolation. There's an exclusion period of 24 hours after all symptoms of those finish.

 

I'm sorry to read you say you won't ever wear a mask again and that you ripped off the N95 (?) mask Cunard gave you as soon as you could. The way you phrase it makes it sound like you flew without a mask.

We flew with our own new KN95 masks. Not wearing masks now because we are isolating at home and still testing positive after 8 days.  Once we start testing negative, we will do what everybody else in Australia is doing - not wearing masks. 

Edited February 1, 2023 by bazzaw

[OzKiwiJJ]

46 minutes ago, bazzaw said:

We flew with our own new KN95 masks. Not wearing masks now because we are isolating at home and still testing positive after 8 days.  Once we start testing negative, we will do what everybody else in Australia is doing - not wearing masks. 

If the mask you were supplied with was anything like the ones that were supplied on Westerdam then I'm not surprised you ripped it off as soon as you could. The Westerdam ones were extremely uncomfortable - a weird shape and the ear elastics were too short so both pulled the mask uncomfortably tight as well as hurting the ears. Luckily we had an ample supple of our own very comfortable P2 masks.