Flyonby

How our covid contingency plans worked out when actually put to the test. 1. We booked during what we assumed would be a lull in the covid numbers. Obviously that didn't happen as the US is in an Omnicron surge. Nothing that could have been done about this. Plan was solid, but can't control the path of the virus. 2. We booked adjoining balcony cabins. Booking a balcony cabin was a splurge from our normal ocean view cabin. Putting 3 people in 1 cabin was going to be almost as much as 2 separate cabins for 4, so getting 2 cabins was a no brainer. Our booking agent worked with us to get adjoining cabins knowing that we would put my daughter in the cabin with us and let my mother have her own space. This contingency plan turned out to be the most life saving. Opening the divider between the verandas made the space feel less confining. We were able to send my daughter from cabin to cabin when she needed a break. I would definitely book a balcony if quarantine was a possibility. 3. We did not book our excursions through Celebrity, but we did buy cancellation insurance. We notified the company as soon as we were quarantined that we needed to cancel. Despite this, we had the tour guides call us directly in 2 ports to see if we were going to show up. We are still working with the company to see what can be refunded. Bottom line, probably should have booked through Celebrity based on the possibility of quarantine. 4. We had a covid prep bag packed. This had the aforementioned medicines, extra crafts and books for my daughter, and some books for the adults. We were lucky to not need many of our meds. The medical office had some medicine available, but I like having my own selection, especially for my 5 yo. I did not pack enough books and crafts for my daughter. She is not a screen child, and her main entertainment is running around and playing and books. She is good about playing by herself, but this trip pushed her past that limit. Things that we did not plan for, but made the quarantine bearable. We carried on 8 bottles of wine, per the 2 bottles per person noted on the website. The screener tried to protest the amount, but my husband pointed out the policy. Not sure Celebrity planned on a 5 yo carrying on 2 bottles 🤪. Celebrity gave us each unlimited internet. My husband had already purchased an unlimited package for himself, but having unlimited internet really helped us all. Being able to order food not just from the room service menu. Guessing what might be on the buffet and seeing what arrived was always interesting. Getting to order from the main dining room and not missing lobster night was great. Room service brought us free waters, afternoon cocktails, and often wine with dinner. Definitely a nice break from the sameness

So disembarkation was pretty much a non- event. They asked that we leave the ship between 7:30-8. My understanding is that the ( non- quarantined) people who wanted to self carry off the ship gathered in deck 2 to exit. We were told to leave off deck 5. At our appointed time we just simply walked out of our cabin. We definitely mixed with the general population waiting for the packed elevators. We scanned our cards and rolled out the door. No one made any mention of covid as we left. We were among the first (assuming all others were also in the quarantine group) to go through customs. That was super fast ( and more than a little scary) due to the facial recognition scanners. I am not sure what the procedure would have been if we had not been quarantined for more than 5 days. That seemed to be a number they keyed in on.

Capt made an announcement. He said 1% of people on ship are in quarantine. He said they did contact tracing and no one had gotten sick from contact with the positive passengers

So the latest on our disembarking... We are kindly asked to leave the ship between 7:30-8 to avoid exposing the "general public". We must self carry all of our bags ( regretting the extra bags I packed and didn't need for quarantine!!). There is supposed to be a letter detailing all of this soon. It doesn't sound like we will be driven anywhere, or receive any assistance getting off. I assuming this must be because we tested positive so long ago (6 full days and counting)

I strongly believe we caught covid on the drive down ( which we naively thought would be safer than flying!!). We tested before we left the house and before getting on the ship, but obviously we missed it somewhere and brought it on board. 2 1/2 yrs with masks and every safety precaution we could reasonably take, and this cruise was supposed to be our reward. When we planned it, we were assuming that there would be a summer lull instead of the surge we are seeing. Bottom line is that life has risks. If you don't want to take any chance on quarantine on a cruise ship then this isn't the right time to sail. My guess from peeking at the nurse's paperwork when they come for their daily check is that there are maybe 30-50 other people in the same situation. Obviously quarantine on a ship isn't ideal, but it is a closed environment and it is important to protect those around you. Most people on this ship are fine, and statistically I'm sure sailing is safe, but there are of course risks. My husband refuses to try and gamble again and won't cruise until this pandemic is in the books. I think that the protocols are sound and that we just got unlucky, I'd be willing to try again sooner. Your mileage will vary of course

So the test was positive. For all of us 😭. They won't be testing again. The doctor called and asked about symptoms ( no fever, little residual sniffiness for some). She said we would be allowed to leave the ship. She asked if we were flying, we are not. She said we could drive home and needed to continue isolating for the full 10 days after the first positive test. She did not say what would be needed if we were flying. Obviously we are disappointed by the outcome. We will find out soon what the procedure is for getting off the ship. I'm sure it isn't just strolling off with everyone else

Good morning all! We got a knock on the door this morning at 6:30 to do our covid tests. Luckily with a 5 yo in the room we weren't sleeping 🤪 The temp/O2 checks had been coming at noonish, so this was unexpected. I don't know if they are just getting busy down in the medical office and moved up the schedule, or if they were trying to come at a less noticeable time for the other passengers. She said she was administering an antigen test, so we will see. I'd been told to expect a PCR, so my hopes are up right now. The results should be known to the medical office in about an hour she said. Then the results are forwarded to guest services who should email them to us. Fingers crossed!!!

I always travel with a thermometer and soft tissues so I didn't think to add that to my covid list! I have an Oximeter that I forgot to bring which would have been comforting. I also reger not bringing more covid tests. We took a home test before we left. Took the PCR 2 days prior at Quest, and took our last home tests on board when we became suspicious of our symptoms. I would have liked to do a few more home tests the last few days to see if they might go negative. Celebrity will administer a PCR on day 5 after positive which is very sensitive, in fact the CDC says can show positive up to 90 days after infection. I just want to know I'm not endangering others when we drive home.

So we had a whole covid contingency bag packed. Meds for the adults include Musinex, Tylenol, ibuprofen, DayQuil/nightquil, sudafed, ludens throat lozenges, saline nose spray and throat coat tea. I at first thought it was allergies, so I took 2 days of 1/2 Zyrtecs out of the noncovid bag which because my symptoms are so mild actually erased my symptoms. Meds for my 5 yo are children's Tylenol, children's ibuprofen, children's musinex for stuffy nose and chest congestion. All of our symptoms are mild. The only meds we've used in this room are ibuprofen for headache, my husband used Sudafed for congestion for 2 days and I used the Zyrtec because I thought it was allergies. We have both taken musinex to try and get the germs out faster. I also have been using the nasal spray to try and do the same. My daughter got 2 doses of children's ibuprofen and I give her the children's musinex before bed. My mother has used the nightquil, ibuprofen and musinex and additionally an antacid. The medical office offered us medicine if needed, but I think it would have been the same as we brought. I'm not sure they would have had children's formulations or not. We have been sooooo lucky to have only had a glancing blow with symptoms. 2 days of low fever (100) and mild head cold. This is a tricky virus and I was almost fooled to think it was just allergies. I have friends who were also vaxed and boosted and had much worse symptoms. So I wouldn't take my experience as gospel

Today's cocktail treat compliments of the room service team. Thank you Orma ( sorry about the spelling) and the rest of your excellent crew. We have been allowed to order lunch from the buffet instead of being limited to the room service menu. Complications include us not knowing what is on the buffet and having to order vaguely off what we think there might be, us giving the vague order to someone on the phone who then gives it to someone else, who likely gives it to someone else who then goes to retrieve what they think might be what we are talking about. There have been a few misses, but overall we definitely feel like everyone is bending over backwards to make this quarantine as pleasant as possible for us. One thing I've noticed though is that the nurses arrive in masks and face shields and take our temp and O2 stats through a crack in the door, and the room service attendants seem surprised when we won't let them into the room. We have asked them to instead leave the tray outside of the door and then we bring it in after they leave. I'm not sure if they know we are quarantined, or if they are just more focused on service than their own safety. We are trying to keep them safe

Thanks for this idea! I asked earlier and they were able to open up the divider for us. It really helps make the space feel less confining. It also helps my mom feel less isolated. It did take away the pleasure my 5yo had from crawling under the wall to visit grandma!!

Salvatore called to see if we liked cocktails. The answer yes please!

During our nurse check today we asked how many people had covid onboard. She said we were not the only ones, but that there were not as many this time. So doesn't sound like it is a widespread epidemic onboard.

A bit presumptive of them, but this is the letter celebrity gave us. The top has my name,bathe ships I'd and royal Caribbean group letterhead

So 2 days into quarantine we have received a letter officially explaining their policies. I included a copy of the letter, but have highlights below Tldr stay in room, eat in room, free movies, wifi and phonecalls. They will prorate a refund for quarantine days The nurse came by again today for temp and O2 sat rates. She says if we test negative on days 5 and 6 then we go into soft quarantine which means we could leave cabin masked. Seeing as day 5 and 6 of quarantine are the 10th and 11th and we dock on the 12th, this basically says we can home without being encased in a plastic bag I'm guessing. On the bright side we all still feel good. My 5 yo is bouncing off the walls, but she is healthy