mahasamatman

I think Antarctica is still COVID-free (and my favorite cruise destination of all).

Mike Jacoubowsky

Given the small size of the ship, with only 136 passengers on board, having 23 crew currently testing positive sounds like a failure of protocols and standards that shouldn't be extrapolated as the norm.

Always Flyin

I was on the Sky Princess for the past 16-days on a trans-Atlantic repositioning cruise.

While crew-members were all masked, passengers were not required to wear masks anywhere on the ship.

On the last sea day, however, we received the following notice mandating masks. There was no disclosure of how many infections there were on board.

Looks like the Ruby Princess had the same problem: https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/...s-17032386.php

747FC

Got my 4th jab today in preparation for my May cruise! 😀

mahasamatman

We've been priming ourselves with Sanotize in preparation for back-to-back cruises starting Sunday. No fourth shot option here.

Mike Jacoubowsky

Same ship, different itin? I know people who enjoy doing the exact same cruise back-to-back and really enjoy it but think I'd rather see something different on the second. And that's coming from an idiot that used to do mileage runs...

I finally put down the deposit for NCL Rome-Lisbon 11 days on Epic, Nov 24th. No fancy cabin this time; my wife was seriously spoiled by the Aft mini-Penthouse suite last time. No second thoughts about safety either, although ironically I'm guessing we were safer this past November than we will be this year, due to relaxed standards and a likely full ship.

This wasn't our original scheduled cruise though. We were doing Baltic Sea with St. Petersburg.

mahasamatman

Yes. The first cruise goes up the California coast, and the second one goes down the Baja Peninsula.

747FC

So, over two years after starting this thread, Ms747FC and I leave next week on our first post-pandemic cruise. It is an amazing act of preparation for this event, including:

1. Reading and re-reading entry requirements that include or don't include vaccinations and testings, with time intervals specified to the hour or day.

2. Researching and deciding on testing options and locations. Finally decided on observed self-testing. We are bringing six tests for the expected four that we will need. Also bringing six tests for non-observed testing, just in case we are feeling under the weather. The boxed testing materials we are taking, along with our N95s, KN95s, and KF94s, and Clorox wipes, will fill the space of a carry-on luggage.

3. Making up our minds about what we will be willing to do or not do on our cruise in an attempt to avoid COVID and getting booted off the ship. Right now, we are leaning to mostly eating outdoors or in our suite. We got a penthouse suite as a way of staying apart in case we wanted to do that. Will see how comfortable we feel with doing things like Trivia, where people congregate in a relatively intimate setting. Don't see us doing that as that is too close for comfort. Sad.

As the thread title refers to having second thoughts due to fears of a pandemic, I have to admit that, yes, we have concerns. We are doing it, trying to plan for safety, and crossing our fingers.

gretchendz

Bravo. You are being careful, but still not letting it stop you. My husband and I still take careful precautions--I wish everyone did around where I live where a new wave is beginning to rise. Truth be told, he is even more risk adverse than me....yet we have managed to travel (carefully!) several times in the past few months--and are off to Iceland next week. I always check the per 100k Covid rates and we go to places with rates lower than those around us. Iceland's current Covid rates are much lower than those in our state so I choose to think of it as fleeing to safety Certainly safer than going to the grocery around here

I did a cruise in November where masks were still required indoors, everyone vaccinated and crew always wore masks. I felt very safe. One time I looked in one venue and it was too close for my comfort so I departed

It is complicated now, knowing the rules and suggestions, but it sounds like you are very on top of it.

Always Flyin

That doesn't sound like much of a cruise vacation to me.

747FC

It certainly will be a unique cruise vacation, with altered expectations and experiences. Will see whether we find a comfort zone, and if at the end of the cruise, we judge the time and money well-spent.

Boggie Dog

We took two cruises last year and two so far this year. Passenger complement has risen from about 60% back to 100%. Mask requirements have been relaxed from mask required indoors to masks recommended in some settings. I've never concerned myself with getting sick and so far neither of us have. At some point a decision has to be made to resume normal activities or remain isolated. I choose to resume normal activities.

mahasamatman

I guess some people will hate cruising no matter what. It sounds like a perfect cruise vacation to me.

sfvoyage

I thought I'd share with you my recent experience on Seabourn Ovation (in March & April). Despite my vigilance, I got covid on the ship towards the end of the crossing. I had very minor symptoms: mild sniffles for a couple of days, then a slight cough for a couple of days. When we reached our last port, we bought some self test kits, and I tested positive with a light line. Two days later, I tested negative. My husband tested negative consistently.

The timeline meant that I was infected a few days into the crossing, no doubt by another (non-American) couple: the wife is a born-again Christian who was having daily conversations with the Lord, who was telling her that he was protecting her, so she truly believed that she did not need to wear a mask. She tested negative while her husband tested positive and was put into quarantine on the ship. They also infected the other American couple in our "bubble", both of whom tested positive and had to go into quarantine as well.

By the time I self-tested positive, it was at the end of the cruise, and I had practically no symptoms; but still, we further increased our precautionary measures: both of us wore a mask even in our own suite and while sleeping overnight, and we only ate and drank by ourselves and outdoors.

What's ironic and unfair was that of all the passengers, we and our other 2 American friends were probably the most cautious and paranoid, always wearing our mask even outdoors, unless we were eating and drinking, and yet we caught covid. This demonstrated that any "bubble" is an illusion and that any of us is only as safe as the weakest link, which in our case was the non mask-wearing couple in our burst bubble. By the way, many passengers and crew tested positive on the cruise.

As you know, the vaccines were designed to minimize hospitalization and serious illnesses and death and are not so effective in preventing infection in the first place. Moreover, the vaccines were designed based on the original variant and are even less effective against Omicron, let alone its sub variants. Therefore, our real line of defense against getting infected is the vigilant and proper wearing of masks. And a lot of guests were not wearing masks on the ship.

Seabourn didn't help, because their mask protocol changes all the time, and their staff does not enforce it. They also play games with and fudge their statistics. For instance, we have two other friends, one tested positive 3 days prior - and the other 5 days prior - to our arrival in Lisbon. They both had moderate symptoms (fever, aches, cold, flu). But they were declared recovered and released from quarantine, without any additional testing, on the day of our arrival. They even got the ship doctor's note that they have recovered from covid, when in fact we saw them on that day, and it was obvious that they were still feeling and looking ill.

It was strange and unpleasant to cruise with covid all around us. We ran into many Seabourn friends whom we had not seen for several years, and instead of catching up with them with meals and drinks, we had to stick to ourselves and not socialize with anyone, and socializing is our favorite activity on Seabourn.

OTOH, friends currently on Seabourn Encore have been reporting zero cases and that all is going well. So, stay vigilant and have a wonderful cruise!

747FC

sfvoyage , many thanks for your detailed report. Hope you, your husband and your friends are doing well!