JDincalif

19 hours ago, SJD117 said:

Well, I spoke too soon. This morning I woke up with Paxlovid “rebound” — 10 days after I went on the med after being first diagnosed with Covid, and 5 days after ending the med and leaving quarantine. My symptoms today are actually worse than the first time, with a nasty cough and really bad nasal congestion. And of course, I tested positive again with the antigen test.

 

As a result, we have to cancel our DIY trip this Wednesday to Italy and Greece. If there’s a silver lining in this dark cloud, the rebound and resulting quarantine should allow us to cancel for medical reasons under our travel insurance policy (not Tripmate), meaning we’ll get money back to cover our nonrefundable trip expenses. 

So sorry to hear about your rebound infection. FWIW, researchers recently have found some evidence that rebound infection among those who have *not* taken Paxlovid may occur at rates similar to those who have - small comfort, of course, but may help to prevent "shouldn't have taken Paxlovid" regret. Wishing you a rapid and complete recovery.

23 hours ago, LHT28 said:

I think the policy has changed  since  2022

Oceania  I do not think gives  FCC  for covid

someone will correct me if not the case

Oceania did not offer us any FCC for COVID isolation in June/July 2022, in contrast to what others have reported here.

What cruise lines have itineraries focusing exclusively on multi day, multi island cruises in the Azores? We've identified some with Ponant and Fred Olsen - are there others? Would appreciate any information from those who've experienced such voyages.

6 hours ago, Suiteaft said:

Are any of the quarantine days refundable by Oceania or travel insurance?

Our travel insurance did reimburse quarantine days (up to a preset per day dollar amount) for the isolated passenger, but not for the healthy partner who was still able to enjoy all cruise activities and amenities 

5 hours ago, JDincalif said:

Azamara Quest, August 2016, from Amsterdam up the Norwegian fjords to Honnigsvag/North Cape, concluding in Bergen. Fourteen days of warm sunny weather, calm seas and spectacular scenery. 

Edit: strike "concluding in Bergen" - cruise was perfect but text input was less so 🙄

Azamara Quest, August 2016, from Amsterdam up the Norwegian fjords to Honnigsvag/North Cape, concluding in Bergen. Fourteen days of warm sunny weather, calm seas and spectacular scenery. 

39 minutes ago, SJD117 said:

Bummer! I tested positive this morning. So far the Big C feels like a mild head cold — I hope it stays that way.

 

We leave for Europe in 13 days. Keeping our fingers crossed that we can do the trip.

So sorry to hear this - wishing you a rapid and complete recovery!

9 minutes ago, DGHOC said:

I can't see the image or open it either J. I'm assuming it's of the arrival in Molde. I can honestly say that I'll never forget that welcome from the good people of Molde. They lined the Fjord as we limped in, cheering, singing and waving frantically. Lord it made my heart glad!

We still become misty-eyed as we recall that extraordinary welcome!

19 minutes ago, OnTheJourney said:

Huh...all I get is a question mark....

Ah well, good thing the caption explains it all.

Just now, OnTheJourney said:

Such a special moment. Very emotional I'd think. What a sense of relief it must have been. 

 

Wonder if which browser is being used affects whether or not the picture shows up. I'll have to try with Google instead of Safari. 

FWIW We're using Chrome for Android but we don't even pretend to understand the mysteries of this stuff

3 hours ago, OnTheJourney said:

Cheers to all of our "Viking Sky Survivors" family.....🥂

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One more to add to the gallery: Arrival in Molde, accompanied by vessels including the Vivax and its intrepid crew who stayed with us throughout that stormy night, assisted the Sky in its potentially hazardous turnaround, and saw us safely home.

(J has carried a small tugboat charm ever since in appreciation of the hope that the presence of those vessels and their crews provided that night)

1 minute ago, OnTheJourney said:

Absolutely!!!  Wishing both of you the best on this most unusual "anniversary" 😁

Warm good wishes to the two of you as well

Cheers! We're still here!

3 hours ago, Pushka said:

But even with daily testing, Covid spread on the ships because it was at least a 24 hour delay between testing and getting the positive result. Plenty of time to spread in that period. And subsequently illness and quarantine. 

On our Viking cruise last May, daily PCR test vials were collected around 0800 and those with equivocal or positive test results were notified by early afternoon; isolation was immediately arranged that same day for those with confirmed positive results. Because the PCR test can detect the presence of virus before one becomes contagious, additional spread, illness and quarantine most likely can be averted or minimized under this protocol.

13 hours ago, d9704011 said:

I can see how your count works.  Any idea how @Haqdeluxe comes up with a Saturday morning discharge?

Apologies for the wonkiness but wanted to respond.

Haqdeluxe may have had a different experience with the way the medical staff counted isolation days. In our two experiences last year on two different cruise ships with five day COVID isolation, the standard hospital calculation of length of stay as defined in the US and CDC and EU was used. The medical staff explained each time that the positive test/first isolation date is designated day 0, day after is day 1, and so forth until the morning of day 5, at which point an asymptomatic patient is released from isolation. 

9 hours ago, Haqdeluxe said:

Day 0 is followed by Night 0. So if Day 0 is Sunday, Monday night is Night 1 and so on. You have not served your "5 nights" time until Saturday morning. This is simply another example of how Americans and Europeans differ. 

Actually, this is consistent with how US hospitals calculate inpatient length of stay. Day of admission = day 0, so if one is admitted to a hospital on, say, Sunday January 1st and is discharged on Friday, January 6th, length of stay = 5 days. 

You may now return to your normal program...

When this happened to us last July, Oceania arranged for hotel rooms at a reduced rate in the disembarkation city for the remainder of the five day period (at our own expense, reimbursed by travel insurance). The healthy partner arranged own transportation to the hotel; those who were completing the five day isolation were kept separate from other passengers, disembarked last, and transported together to the hotel accompanied by Oceania staff.

Both are spectacular in distinctly different ways; neither is to be missed if the opportunity arises.

Each person in this (all-adult) household packs her/his own luggage and accepts individual responsibility for forgotten/overpacked items. 

3 hours ago, Carol28 said:

I looked online at the amenities for the suites and I did not see bathrobes listed.  Could someone please tell me.

 

Bathrobes are provided in all stateroom classes. And passengers are notified quite politely that these robes will be collected the evening prior to disembarkation 😉 

Viking Ocean ships: serene design; spacious public areas that still manage to provide uncrowded intimate spaces; the indoor spa (open to all at no additional charge) with pool, snow room, sauna and more, with plenty of lounge chairs and a "fireplace"; outdoor pool deck with retractable roof; infinity pool at the aft; and oh so much more...

28 minutes ago, GeezerCouple said:

 

😱

 

I'm a statistician.  Looks like someone set a random process loose on the ingredients!

 

GC

Ingredients representing the four basic food groups: Salt, sugar, fat and alcohol 😉

3 minutes ago, jackdeb said:

It looks like Humphry Slocombe focuses on odd ball flavours to try to set themselves apart, and not thinking of quality.

We found the HS ice cream quality equivalent to other O ice cream offerings. Whether these are surpassed by other brands or cruise line offerings could be a separate (contentious) discussion 😉

40 minutes ago, bradpole said:

some of my favorites are the corn flavored one, Elvis the fat years, Harvey Milk and cookies, Regatta Royale, and the lavender flavored one.  Personally I think it was a nice addition to regular flavors they offer.  

Other cheeky tasty flavors include "Secret Breakfast" (bourbon with cornflake cookie bits) and "After School Special" (chocolate-covered potato chip bits with caramel swirl). It was fun to try something different

In May 2022 Viking Ocean (Mars) did not carry Paxlovid. In July 2022 Oceania (Regatta) carried Paxlovid. Travel insurance covered the $800 charge for this medication.

6 hours ago, ontheweb said:

Good question, though it is more of a question for those in charge at cruisecritic than the cruise line CEOs.

Agreed; the question was intended for the Cruise Critic administrator whose original post was quoted to indicate that intention