Did you test + for covid onboard?

[Momnipotent]

I am curious to hear how other cruise lines treat their guests who test positive onboard during a cruise. We recently were on Oceania, and we both tested positive about 3 weeks into our cruise. The Medical Center was efficient but outrageously expensive. We had a $5K+ bill for testing, some IV, two Paxlovid and Z-packs. We were escorted to our cabin and threatened to be disembarked if we broke our 5-day quarantine. We are lucky that our butler fulfilled a few requests, answered questions, and brought our meals. I was shocked that there was no written info provided for us to know how things would be handled. We had to figure it all out. Our housekeepers were replaced by two men in hazmat suits, changing our sheets while we cowered in the corner. I asked for a free 2nd wifi account (I had already paid for a 2nd account) but all they did was "upgrade" us to the premium account, which had no discernible difference from the regular. 

Then suddenly on the 5th day we were free to leave our cabin to go to the Medical Center to be released from quarantine. 

The first 12 day leg of our cruise was FULL of people coughing. We mostly stayed to ourselves, but it's difficult on elevators, tenders, dining rooms. We were fully vaxxed and had avoided covid until now. I feel that the exorbitant rates in the Medical Center discourage sick people from seeking treatment. I feel that placing hand sanitizing stations and a few signs around the ship is not sufficient to keep guests healthy. They frequently say they're keeping us "safe" by skipping ports, but what about keeping us healthy? Oceania is good about not letting guests serve themselves at the buffet; and a few days there was plastic wrap across the buffet openings. 

This Penthouse cruise cost us over $1300/day, I'm waiting to see if my travel insurance will reimburse us for those 5 days and medical expenses. 

Let me know your experience. 

[leaveitallbehind]

Each cruise line probably has a different process but friends of ours tested positively recently and were quarantined in their staterooms for a few days.  It isn't like it once was and so much has been done on the ships and remains in place to reduce the risks on board.

 

Not for anything, but to your thread title, we have been on 5 cruises since the restart and have not had any issues nor have contracted any illness on board. 

 

Edited September 2, 2023 by leaveitallbehind

[LHT28]

Why did you not just go on your balcony when they were cleaning the  cabin  no need to cower in the corner 🤔

 

1 hour ago, Momnipotent said:

 I feel that placing hand sanitizing stations and a few signs around the ship is not sufficient to keep guests healthy.

This  is probably why they put you under house arrest  so as to not infect others

 

Maybe they should start testing everyone   daily  at the pax expense

 

Did you read your ticket contract?

 

That said  I was looking forward to cruising again but now I wish  I could cancel 

 

With all the selfish people out there  spreading the germs  I will be masking up 

 

[Momnipotent]

16 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

Why did you not just go on your balcony when they were cleaning the  cabin  no need to cower in the corner 🤔

 

This  is probably why they put you under house arrest  so as to not infect others

 

Maybe they should start testing everyone   daily  at the pax expense

 

Did you read your ticket contract?

 

That said  I was looking forward to cruising again but now I wish  I could cancel 

 

With all the selfish people out there  spreading the germs  I will be masking up 

 

It was very cold outside, otherwise I would have loved to use our balcony. 

Exactly, selfish people. They don't know how to cover a cough, or choose not to be treated when they feel ill. So many coughing into their hands, then touching handrails, elevator buttons, etc. 

I think pre-board testing would be great, but realize that will never happen. 

So glad to hear you'll be masking, I wish healthy cruising for everyone. 

[LHT28]

Yes there was a thread on the O forum about the coughing & people not covering their  mouth  or not washing  after they did

 

Our last cruise in 2019  DH  got sick  he opted for the antibiotics  & not the IV treatment   many in the medical centre  getting the iV on the last night   which was about 2K 

our bill was about $600   insurance paid

but  we were not quarantined  so not sure  they cover that or not 

I would check your policy  & submit the amount  anyway

 I do not think O is giving any FCC for missed  days  now  during the return of cruising they were for those  that  were "Locked up"

 

Hope you are better now

[StollyBolly]

Testing daily?   Good grief.  

[mom says]

We've had 4 weeks of cruising and didn't have covid. But we did take personal responsibility for our health, with frequent handwashing and use of hand sanitizer, and always masking indoors in  crowds. Did you use masks at any time?

 

I would certainly hope the ships are scrupulous in enforcing their quarantine requirements. And of course you would be charged for any medications or tests. Not sure why you felt the need to cower in the corner. I doubt the room attendants were that fear inducing.

 

Your travel health insurance should cover your medical bills. Not sure about reimbursement  for your $1300/day stateroom. After all, you were in that stateroom the whole time, so certainly had full use of it.

[herbanrenewal]

On our first post pandemic cruise my roommate started coughing, achy, cold symptoms. Since we had brought test kits onboard with us she self-tested - negative for 3 days. But I wore n95 mask and sprayed everything we touched with microban24. She stayed in room, I brought her food, tea, etc.

Day 4 we returned home - and she self-tested positive for the first time. 

Since we were both negative onboard we were not subject to NCL covid protocols - just using our nursing experience to treat by symptoms. 

Even though i have insurance to cover medical I have travelled with several test kits, I also was able to get a RX for Paxlovid. Personally I would self-isolate until i was negative for 5 days if i was symptomatic, even with negative tests. But I'm in my 70s have copd, and have 50 years as a nurse as a background.

[ldubs]

9 hours ago, Momnipotent said:

I am curious to hear how other cruise lines treat their guests who test positive onboard during a cruise. We recently were on Oceania, and we both tested positive about 3 weeks into our cruise. The Medical Center was efficient but outrageously expensive. We had a $5K+ bill for testing, some IV, two Paxlovid and Z-packs. We were escorted to our cabin and threatened to be disembarked if we broke our 5-day quarantine. We are lucky that our butler fulfilled a few requests, answered questions, and brought our meals. I was shocked that there was no written info provided for us to know how things would be handled. We had to figure it all out. Our housekeepers were replaced by two men in hazmat suits, changing our sheets while we cowered in the corner. I asked for a free 2nd wifi account (I had already paid for a 2nd account) but all they did was "upgrade" us to the premium account, which had no discernible difference from the regular. 

Then suddenly on the 5th day we were free to leave our cabin to go to the Medical Center to be released from quarantine. 

The first 12 day leg of our cruise was FULL of people coughing. We mostly stayed to ourselves, but it's difficult on elevators, tenders, dining rooms. We were fully vaxxed and had avoided covid until now. I feel that the exorbitant rates in the Medical Center discourage sick people from seeking treatment. I feel that placing hand sanitizing stations and a few signs around the ship is not sufficient to keep guests healthy. They frequently say they're keeping us "safe" by skipping ports, but what about keeping us healthy? Oceania is good about not letting guests serve themselves at the buffet; and a few days there was plastic wrap across the buffet openings. 

This Penthouse cruise cost us over $1300/day, I'm waiting to see if my travel insurance will reimburse us for those 5 days and medical expenses. 

Let me know your experience. 

 

Sorry this happened to you.  When you ask about the cruise line keeping us healthy, what additional things do you think they should be doing?  

[Szt]

Maybe this is selfish, but I’d hate to see a return to masking requirements. I get claustrophobic wearing masks and am miserable. During Covid, I rarely went out because I hated the masks (though I did always wear them). I wouldn’t cruise if I had to. But if you are at high risk, it’s not a bad idea to voluntarily wear a mask. 
Our last cruise (10/22) my husband got Covid. He started feeling unwell 2 days before our cruise ended. Since we were fully vaxed, we thought it couldn’t be Covid. He stayed in the cabin because he didn’t feel well enough to do anything any way. He had a miserable trip flying home and did mask so as not spread whatever he had. When we got home he went to the Dr and tested positive. If we had thought it could be Covid, we never would have flown. We were told that he should have had a booster shot before traveling. He had his 2nd shot 9 mo prior. I had my 2nd shot 3 months before our cruise and was fine. 
We asked our travel agent if our insurance would have covered anything. She said if he had tested positive on the ship, they would cover medical expenses and all costs associated with having to stay in Italy for all of us until he could be cleared to fly.  They would not have covered missed work for our kids traveling with us or boarding expenses for our dogs. So it’s good to know how that would go. Now we know to get boosters every six months. 

[donaldsc]

7 hours ago, StollyBolly said:

Testing daily?   Good grief.  

Viking was doing that for a while.  You could not leave your cabin until the results of your daily test came back.

 

DON

[donaldsc]

To the OP - you were treated exactly like someone w Covid should have been treated.

 

DON

[StollyBolly]

8 hours ago, donaldsc said:

Viking was doing that for a while.  You could not leave your cabin until the results of your daily test came back.

 

DON

Why Viking will NEVER be on my list of possible cruises.   

[shipgeeks]

17 hours ago, StollyBolly said:

Testing daily?   Good grief.  

Temperature on forehead was very common when we resumed cruising in early 2022, at facilities near home, at boarding, and in shops and other venues in the ports.  So quick, painless, non-invasive; nothing negative about that kind of daily testing.

[shipgeeks]

19 hours ago, leaveitallbehind said:

 

 

Not for anything, but to your thread title, we have been on 5 cruises since the restart and have not had any issues nor have contracted any illness on board. 

 

Same here.  About to do cruise #7 since the restart, and have not had any problems.  Passengers out and about seem to be sensible, and crew require hand sanitizing before entering buffet.

[new_cruiser]

Several in our family group, including granddaughter who was my cabinmate, tested positive on board a Royal Caribbean cruise this summer.

 

The medical center would have charged ($175 IIRC) for the COVID test if you took it and tested negative but waived the charge if you tested negative. They were given symptomatic medicines (cough syrup for my granddaughter and acetaminophen without charge). They were all younger without complications so didn't need Paxlovid or IVs and I don't know if the medical center would have charged for those. (I was sorry that I hadn't brought some home tests kits along - I did for some earlier cruises but didn't think about it for this one. I bought some home test kits in a port because those in our group who hadn't tested yet wanted to be able to test without the hassle of the medical center's limited availability.)

 

Those testing positive were quarantined in their cabins for 5-days, but assymptomatic untested cabinmates had no restriction. No threats were issued about violating the quarantine though of course we all complied. This was a 7-day cruise so the 5-day quarantine really meant until the end of the cruise. Debarkation was kind of a mess. They wanted to debark each room separately, but two the two minors were rooming with other family members and the younger one would have been extremely upset and confused if debarked without parents. Also we felt that they should be with their parents when leaving the ship and the parents were holding their passports. Communication was poor. Cabins with positive tests were debarked after the rest of the ship - it was a quite a few people, maybe several dozen. We were directed through a different route that bypassed customs and had us in an area for a while where baggage handlers were moving big carts of bags - the baggage handlers weren't happy about us being in that area.

 

Those who tested positive got free room service (normally Royal charges for room service other than continental breakfast) and internet. Once one tested positive, the stewards couldn't enter the room so there was no servicing of the room. The steward was good about bringing fresh towels, ice and anything else needed to the door on request. We put used room service trays outside the door and he was good about clearing those away too. They were also supposed to get some future cruise credit based on how much of the cruise they missed.

 

We were all vaccinated with boosters kept current. Except for me, those in our group who didn't test positive on board, tested positive shortly after. I never tested positive but developed similar symptoms shortly after debarking. I suspect I had a very mild case but a recent booster kept viral load low enough that antigen tests didn't pick it up. 

 

I've been on 4 other cruises since the restart of cruising without getting COVID, but those were all on much smaller ships (Windstar with a max capacity of 312 passengers). 

 

[CunucuMom]

1 hour ago, Szt said:

If cruises get a reputation for being a breeding ground for infectious diseases, ports will stop letting them in and people will stop cruising.

Hasn't this ship already sailed (pardon the pun) with regards to Norovirus?  Rapid/at-home tests that pax carry on board ie, the free kits Medicare was pushing, come with a high risk of giving false negative results so I choose to not test and practice vigilant hygiene (same as pre-covid days) and self-quarantine if feeling symptomatic regardless if it's a cold, flu or covid.

[JDincalif]

On 9/2/2023 at 9:10 PM, donaldsc said:

Viking was doing that for a while.  You could not leave your cabin until the results of your daily test came back.

 

DON

Clarification needed here: Last year on Viking everyone submitted saliva tests each morning but were otherwise free to wander the ship and go ashore without limitation (except for precautions required by a specific port or tour operator). These test results were normally not available until early afternoon. At that time only if a test came back inconclusive or positive was a passenger requested to remain in cabin for confirmatory retesting. In our experience no passenger was dispatched to isolation based on a single positive test result.

[JDincalif]

On 9/3/2023 at 5:56 AM, StollyBolly said:

Why Viking will NEVER be on my list of possible cruises.   

Clarification: In 2022 Viking did *not* require passengers to remain in cabin until test results were available. 

[donaldsc]

22 minutes ago, JDincalif said:

Clarification needed here: Last year on Viking everyone submitted saliva tests each morning but were otherwise free to wander the ship and go ashore without limitation (except for precautions required by a specific port or tour operator). These test results were normally not available until early afternoon. At that time only if a test came back inconclusive or positive was a passenger requested to remain in cabin for confirmatory retesting. In our experience no passenger was dispatched to isolation based on a single positive test result.

 

My mistake but my point was that they tested every day.

 

DON

[Kristelle]

52 minutes ago, CunucuMom said:

Hasn't this ship already sailed (pardon the pun) with regards to Norovirus?  Rapid/at-home tests that pax carry on board ie, the free kits Medicare was pushing, come with a high risk of giving false negative results so I choose to not test and practice vigilant hygiene (same as pre-covid days) and self-quarantine if feeling symptomatic regardless if it's a cold, flu or covid.

 

 I agree it doesn't matter if you test if you are going to self quarantine anyway.

 

It is people who have symptoms but don't test and don't isolate that are the issue. 

[JDincalif]

On 9/3/2023 at 5:59 AM, K32682 said:

I have no intention of getting tested unless I am so sick that five days of incarceration in my cabin seems like an appealing prospect.

Happy hour from "incarceration", May 2022. Requested only a martini but, as usual, Viking service went above and beyond 

[JDincalif]

5 minutes ago, donaldsc said:

 

My mistake but my point was that they tested every day.

 

DON

That point was accurate

[Dbs944]

Your plane ride is probably far worse than the cruise WRT catching da cobid.  That's the only part that worries me (and really not that much).