mcloaked

QV will be going to Belfast for drydock: https://www.harland-wolff.com/news/po-and-cunard-double-cruise-ship-drydock-win/

Presumably everyone is enjoying their Canaries voyage so much that they haven't had time to post about it here!

Doesn't she look lovely? She will be even more beautiful after her refurb.

2 hours ago, LittleFish1976 said:

 

In the case of a true medical inability to have a vaccination some countries (for example) accept a doctor's certificate saying as much, in lieu of your presenting the proof of vaccination. Might be worth having that discussion with Cunard to see if the letter or certificate from your doctor would suffice.

 

I guess you can see the problem for Cunard regarding having a passenger on board, who for valid reasons as quoted is unable to have the booster - if that passenger is given an exemption, for good reasons, that passenger would present a risk to Cunard, since that passenger is at much higher risk to themselves if he/she should become infected (whether on board or elsewhere), and is more vulnerable to Covid.  If the passenger does become infected and need to be isolated on board, then a FCC payment would be due for the days of isolation on the ship.  So any passenger who is at increased risk whilst on board also then presents an increased risk to other passengers in terms of infecting others, as well as a higher financial risk to Cunard.  So you can see why Cunard might be less inclined to accept passengers who are not fully vaccinated, no matter that the reason for not being boosted has valid origins.  Cunard will have a need to minimise its financial losses, as well as give those passengers who do satisfy the vaccination requirements, the best possible experience so that they will be more likely to book future cruises with Cunard.  So it is juggling a set of difficult decisions.

1 hour ago, caravan12 said:

It doesn’t answer the question that Cunard are still saying every passenger who tests positive in Spain must be disembarked when this is clearly not a requirement any more. 

Can you quote where Cunard requires this?

2 hours ago, watsonbeau said:

As someone already has said, coughs and sniffs don’t have to be Covid. I have mild asthma and I know that sometimes I will cough because I probably haven’t had enough inhaler.
 

Also plenty of people, certainly my husband, and probably myself as well, will almost certainly get the Cunard cough within a day or two of boarding - again not Covid, but we’ve had it everytime we’ve been onboard, more so on QE and QV as for some reason the cabin air-con seems harsher than on QM2 so affects us more.

 

I have a quick comment about the Cunard cough - which we also used to get regularly on almost every cruise we took (not just on Cunard!).  A few years ago we had what in the UK is an easily available 'pneumococcal vaccination'  - a single jab that protects against between 13 and 23 of the most common respiratory bugs that go around most years. That jab is a once off and no boosters are needed, and if you have had the one that protects against 13 strains, then when eligible for the over-65's one that protects against a total of 23 strains it is safe to have that as a second pneumococcal jab too.  Ever since we had those jabs we have not had a single instance of Cunard cough on board! It might be just chance that we have remained free of the Cunard cough, but it would be surprising to us if it wasn't the jab that protected us, and continues to do so - and indeed we have rarely had any typical winter respiratory illnesses during the winter season at home either since having that jab.  Anyway just thought I would mention it as for us it has made our lives more free of respiratory illnesses that would have been expected each year like before we had those vaccinations.

5 hours ago, Host Hattie said:

Do you have a link to this document ?

 

Saga have offloaded passengers in Spain this week so it's still a possibility.

It is possible that the Saga policy of testing 'every' passenger and crew member at certain dates during a cruise, will lead to higher numbers (i.e. percentages) of confirmed cases on their ships than if onliy symptomatic passengers are tested, and that would ne more likely to then go above the trigger threshold of 3.5% when Spain requires passengers who are positive to disembark and isolate.  If only symptomatic passengers are tested, then the percentage isolating, and confirmed numbers (percentages) will naturally be rather lower than with the Saga policy.  So the Cunard policy looks like a better way to do on board swab testing of both passengers and crew.

It would seem that slowly people are easing into the endemic phase of Covid.  Most people will become infected at some point in time, and for the most part those who do who are triple jabbed, or more, will likely not be seriously ill. Of course it remains highly infectious, and the main advantage of being fully vaccinated is to stave off the chance that when you do get infected it will lead to the need for hospital treatment.  Those of us who have had all the available vaccine jabs, as well as then becoming infected with any of the variants, will likely not get infected again within at least a period of several months.  So it is certainly no guarantee to be able to avoid becoming infected if you have had all the jabs, whether on board or on land at home, but if you have had Covid as well as the jabs then you are a lot less likely still to be infected on board. 

There will always be a risk that someone will have been infected within a few days of embarkation, and then become both infectious and/or symptomatic a few days into a cruise, and then potentially infect others.  The mask wearing policy does limit the spread but experience shows that masks or not, some fraction of passengers will still get infected during their cruise as Rakkor and others on this forum have testified.  Of course having to isolate whilst on a well earned holiday at sea is no fun, but actually being in your stateroom on a Cunard ship, with room service for all meals, and not having to lift a finger, is better than being at home having to make your own meals, and looking out on the same view from your bedroom window as you will have been seeing for a long time usually!

It certainly looks like Cunard is managing the response to limiting the transmission of embarking passengers very well, and also managing the experience of passengers on board extremely well in the circumstances too.  Certainly from reading the experience of passengers on other cruise lines it would appear that Cunard is doing a lot better than most, and also allowing the majority of passengers on board to continue to enjoy a lovely holiday even when a small percentage of passengers are on the same ship but having to isolate.  Certainly when we were on board the same cruise as Rakkor, we were continuing to have a fabulous time, without being bombarded by constant new information about others being infected and isolated even though the captain did make appropriate occasional announcements that a few protocols did need to change due to the increase in case numbers at the time. I feel confident that Cunard management will continue to adapt policy to optimise the overall cruise experience of passengers, and by all accounts those currently on QE in the Canaries are having a lovely voyage. Long may that be the case.  We are in the new post-Covid world where we live with Covid in the community now, whether on board or at home. New variants will certainly emerge in the future, just like new flu strains each year, and in a few years people will largely not be discussing Covid, just as we don't worry about annual flu on a day to day basis either, nor do we discuss norovirus on a day to day basis either, despite knowing it is a risk on any cruise we take.

That is a complete contrast to when we checked in for the Northern Lights cruise on QE only a few weeks ago - a short queue waiting for the test booths, with about 6 or so operating. So getting the swab was fairly quick, and then walking round to the terminal only a minute or so. Then waiting for the swab test result was a bit of a lull, but then the rest including security was the fastest I have ever known to get on the ship.   Maybe as you say, it was just a day when factors conspired to make it somewhat tedious.  However hopefully life on board is now as nice as we all would hope.

If anyone in the forum is on QE currently getting to the Canary Islands, it would be good to hear how the voyage is going?

The policy can change for voyages beyond those dates listed at present. It would certainly seem a sensible precaution to be up to date on vaccines in case updated policy is published in the period before reaching the end dates in the current vaccination policy on the Cunard site. If you are in the position where you haven't had the booster, it might be a good idea to talk to Cunard directly and ask about likely policy for voyages beyond the middle of May. After all QV is not back in service until later, so the current policy doesn't really cover QV voyages on her return to service.

58 minutes ago, 2BACRUISER said:

QV's current destination is listed as GBTYN which is The Port of Tyne up here in the North-East England, would she have a dry dock there? I know they do the Norsk Veritas accreditations there for shipping? 

I'm hoping so as its possible i could have a day trip up to see her. 

I was told by a crew member on QE two weeks ago that QV will be going for a wet-dock/refurb rather than dry-dock/refit - but I am sure she will be looking spic and span on her return to service - and be a lovely ship to join for the summer voyages.

17 minutes ago, rakkor said:

The only theme nights recently have been Black and White, Red and Gold and Roaring 20's - We're not dancers, and we definitely enter the spirit of the theme.

That is nice to hear.  I suppose masquerade balls are not quite as exciting at the moment since mask wearing has had rather different connotations the past two years!

36 minutes ago, Bell Boy said:

The immediate past sailing has only been a quick four/five day sailing to Amsterdam, I expect no time for feedback.  However , read the constructive posts from rakkor ( and Jane) 18th March  

and maybe also less likely there were cases during such a short voyage too.  On the Norway voyage the cases numbers did not rise much until after the first four or five days.

7 minutes ago, Kristal Blade said:

Yes, I’m up for getting back to “normal “. We are fully vacced and boosted, plus had Covid. I know immunity lasts for only 35 days but what if I test positive in a couple weeks, when I’m ready to fly/cruise? I would be chucked off the flight, even though I’m not infective. 
In an ideal world we stop testing!!
 

If you had Covid less than three months ago you would be very unlikely to become infected and test positive even if you were exposed to people who are currently infected. Over a period of months immunity will gradually wane.  However the way we see it, having had Covid, if we are exposed to others who are infected then it will likely just make our immune system 'top up' the immunity level! Of course it is possible to do your own lateral flow test before travelling to check that you are negative, if you can get hold of a set of LFT test kits. If you have just done your own test then it is unlikely any test done by the travel company, whether for a flight, coach trip or a cruise would then be different within a day or so.

Quite a few people notice that when on board trousers tend to shrink over time!  It must be the air on the ship!! (Now removing tongue from cheek!)

Some of the pre-tied ones can be a challenge to put on with fiddly clips and can take as long as tying a bow yourself, once tying the knot and bow has been learned (and there are a number of different ways of tying a bow tie!)

47 minutes ago, Kristal Blade said:

I’m just worried we show positive on a test, even though we are immune. 

It is a concern that everyone has.  Having had a full set of vaccine jabs including the booster does not offer 100% guarantee of being immune from being infected.  It is the same as having had an annual flu jab does not guarantee you won't get flu.  However it substantially reduces the chance that you will get infected - and in the case of Omicron it is not a guarantee you won't be infected and test positive - but if you have had the full set of vaccines then if you do get infected there is a high probability the symptoms will be mild unless you are unlucky.  If you have had the full set of vaccines and then get Covid then once recovered there is very low chance you would be infected again with the same variant for some months at least. But just like colds and flu, as new variants emerge then you can get the new strains. So it is a balance of risk and we all have to make decisions about whether we are prepared to go out and do things in life, and accept the level of risk of getting Covid, or we can isolate permanently and never go out or be anywhere near anyone else. Clearly enough people are prepared to 'go for it' and book a cruise and take that chance and hope we are not going to be one of the small percentage of unlucky ones.

2 minutes ago, jimbo1683 said:

Dumbing down? Would you prefer a room full of gents who have badly tied bows having attempted to follow a Youtube tutorial or a set of neatly pre-tied ones?

There are many ways of looking smart and in theme, and just as many ways of looking untidy and out of theme. It is really nice to see a room full of people who have all decided to dress up and join in with the more formal elegance of the Gala nights, and clearly a lot of people still feel the same way.

58 minutes ago, BigMac1953 said:

...but every "Gala" night is black and white (for the men).

 

As has been often mentioned the themes are specifically aimed at the ballroom dancers. The vast majority just tart themselves up as normal.

There are always plenty of passengers who are not dancers who also dress in theme and enjoy participating in the atmosphere - and some also enjoy watching the ballroom dancing in the Queen's Room, having a cocktail, and being part of the themed evening. The spectators also are part of the nice atmosphere in the ballroom even if it is other passengers dancing on the dance floor.

In case for any reason the link I posted does not work here is the text copied from Cunard's web page a minute ago:

Whilst we highly recommend that guests wear masks on board, they are only required in the theatre, cinema, or if you visit the medical centre. Your mask must cover your nose and mouth and be of good quality (ideally medical grade). Re-usable masks should be washed regularly, and visors and face shields aren’t accepted as a substitute for a face mask.

Off the ship, masks are required during embarkation, disembarkation, and when using tender boats*. Some destinations may also require you to wear masks when ashore and we recommend taking one with you whenever you disembark the ship.

All guests will need to comply with this face mask policy in order to travel.

For more information on Cunard's return to sailing, visit our Covid-19 hub.

*Applies to Cunard voyages sailing on or after 27 March 2022 on Queen Elizabeth and departures from 18 April on Queen Mary 2. If sailing before these dates, please refer to our previously communicated policy, which can be found in emails relating to your voyage.

2 minutes ago, Victoria2 said:

 

Crikey, I'm just happy a bow tie is worn. Hand or pre tied, it matters NOT one jot to those who value the fact folk are still complying with a formal mode of dress and I think I have an inkling I  might be speaking for more than just myself.

There is a huge difference between a man wearing a lovely smart dinner suit with a pre-tied bow tie, and a man who is in slacks and a t-shirt!  In any event I could not find a red and gold bow tie that wasn't pre-tied and one that is on theme and looks neat and classy is perfectly acceptable for a Gala night!

15 minutes ago, netpj said:

It  would be appreciated if someone could post the link to the latest Cunard announcement about masks.  I was not able to find this latest information.  Thanks.

Go to the web page https://www.cunard.com/en-gb/frequently-asked-questions.sailing-with-confidence.faq610.summary" and click the + sign on the question:  "Will the guests be expected to wear face-masks on the ship and on shore?" if it is not already visible.

2 minutes ago, Reggiefan said:

I am one who currently opposes a mask mandate, especially on a Transatlantic crossing. I have no issue with--and indeed welcome--any requirements of vaccination and proof of a negative Covid test before boarding. But I am booked on a Transatlantic crossing in 2023--I have pushed it back more than once--and will push the crossing back again if there is a mask mandate. My reasons: 

 

1. The appeal of a TA crossing for me is its ambience and elegance and reminder of the past. Wearing a mask undermines that appeal.

 

2. Requirements such as vaccination and a negative test should dramatically reduce the chances of catching Covid. 

 

3. Those wanting to wear a mask can wear one.

 

4. The protection provided by a mask seems especially small when in many settings passengers can be seated next to one another for extended periods--restaurants and bars--without wearing a mask.

 

5. My position does depend on the circumstances. If a new variant emerges that is highly contagious and is too often causing hospitalization, that would be totally different. In that instance, one should not be cruising regarding of the mitigation measures taken. But it seems that going forward, we may have to accept Covid as a one more health concern and get on with life.

 

Note my purpose is not to initiate a debate on Covid mitigation measures. But I did want to say that a mask mandate (except for medical facilities) defeats my reasons for sailing, and I will cancel or push back my sailing rather than wear a mask on board.

Of course any potential passenger is entitled to cancel if he/she does not wish to cooperate with a Cunard mask mandate.  However there is still some fraction of folk who don't appreciate that the primary purpose of wearing a mask is not to protect the wearer from being infected by others, but to protect other people from catching it from that person if they should be infected and possibly unaware of it. Any one person can in principle infect an awful lot of other people whilst they are infected.

1 hour ago, ace2542 said:

How come you are still positive after ten days? I thought most tested negative again around about day 7?

All the people I know who have had Covid have still tested positive at day 9 or later - I don't know anyone who tested negative as early as day 6 or 7.  Maybe some do but that seems to be an exception rather than typical.