Curious about quarantine protocol on Oceania ships. Anyone with firsthand knowledge?

[gafnewyork]

I had an unfortunate experience being quarantined on another cruise line recently.  We have a European, including Turkey, cruise already booked with Oceania this summer.  Determining whether to keep the cruise or not depending on current protocols including - stateroom type assignments for those quarantined, level of service experiences while quarantined etc… 

 

Anyone with firsthand knowledge? 

[PhD-iva]

30 minutes ago, gafnewyork said:

I had an unfortunate experience being quarantined on another cruise line recently.  We have a European, including Turkey, cruise already booked with Oceania this summer.  Determining whether to keep the cruise or not depending on current protocols including - stateroom type assignments for those quarantined, level of service experiences while quarantined etc… 

 

Anyone with firsthand knowledge? 

I followed your thread as you were posting about your previous quarantine experience. I’m very sorry for what you went through. I am hopeful that we will hear that O has their act together and provides a better experience for any unfortunate passengers who are isolated/quarantined. However, I don’t think we can count on anything, as so much depends on the number of crew and passengers who are affected, the size of the ship, and the number of available state rooms.

[ohmark]

Questions for Oceania or the knowledgeable as to quarantines on Oceania:

 

1.  Will Oceania allow you to stay in our own room for quarantine?

2.  If husband and wife traveling together and one tests positive, can they choose to quarantine together?

3.  If you are quarantined onboard, is that part of the cruise given a pro-rated refund?

 

[gafnewyork]

1 hour ago, PhD-iva said:

I followed your thread as you were posting about your previous quarantine experience. I’m very sorry for what you went through. I am hopeful that we will hear that O has their act together and provides a better experience for any unfortunate passengers who are isolated/quarantined. However, I don’t think we can count on anything, as so much depends on the number of crew and passengers who are affected, the size of the ship, and the number of available state rooms.

thank you, and completely agree.  if anything, I'm hoping by shining a light on the passenger experience it may encourage cruise lines to address some of the gaps experienced and concerns we have. 

[LHT28]

53 minutes ago, ohmark said:

Questions for Oceania or the knowledgeable as to quarantines on Oceania:

 

1.  Will Oceania allow you to stay in our own room for quarantine?

2.  If husband and wife traveling together and one tests positive, can they choose to quarantine together?

3.  If you are quarantined onboard, is that part of the cruise given a pro-rated refund?

 

Probably questions  for your TA to ask Oceania

I am sure each situation will be different

 

 On one recent thread didn't they put some off in a port ?

[madera1]

I also would like to hear from those who have tested positive while on an Oceania cruise as to what they experienced. 

[Redtravel]

The killer for me was receiving the quarantine letter from O a week before sailing.  If you test positive at embarkation, you cannot just go home. You are put into a quarantine hotel for 5 days.  Sounds like Covid jail. No thank you.  We canceled.

[ohmark]

Please keep this thread on track. It's not about masking. It's not about quarantine before or after the cruise. Would like to hear info from people who know what an actual quarantine aboard on Oceania ship consists of. Appreciate it may differ depending on circumstances including where the ship is, and how many affected. 

Edited January 10, 2022 by ohmark

[PSR]

I wanted to bring this topic up again to see if there have been any updates about quarantining aboard some of the more recent Oceania cruises. 

[HaveDogWillTravel]

On 1/9/2022 at 8:02 AM, ohmark said:

Questions for Oceania or the knowledgeable as to quarantines on Oceania:

 

1.  Will Oceania allow you to stay in our own room for quarantine?

2.  If husband and wife traveling together and one tests positive, can they choose to quarantine together?

3.  If you are quarantined onboard, is that part of the cruise given a pro-rated refund?

 

Yes these are the burning questions we have. However, the poster who tested positive at the port and was not allowed to go home is of interest as well. 
 

I drive to the port. I would like to know if Oceania will stop me from driving myself home in the case of a positive test at embarkation.  
 

Hopefully those with recent experience will start posting. 

[comcox]

I will be following this thread as I'm cruising with O this summer.  My question centers around shore tours.  If someone on your tour bus should test positive in the days following a tour, will everyone who was on the same bus be quarantined?  That would be a big deciding factor in whether I booked any shore tours at all on my upcoming cruise.

[IWantToLiveOverTheSea]

I know the original poster is looking for actual experiences, but I haven't cruised on Oceania since the re-start so I have nothing to report.   However, many people don't seem to know that much of what is at least planned by Oceania to happen is documented in the Sail Safe Health section of Oceania's website.  I found the FAQs document dated Feb. 22, 2022 to very helpful in knowing what's required pre-boarding as well as what to expect after boarding.  If required to quarantine, I don't think it specifies whether you do that in your room or in a different room.  However, it is pretty clear about most Covid-related things -- terms of testing, possible denial of boarding, what happens if you test positive, what you may receive in compensation, how many days you may have to quarantine, and where (ashore or on ship). And of course it does mention that Oceania must abide by the laws of countries it visits, so that may change things, as it did in Iceland for another cruise line. 

 

There is also some information (very similar) on Covid in the contract you receive when you book.  If you haven't booked, I believe it's also available on Oceania's website. 

 

I'm on a couple cruise line Facebook pages (not administered by the cruise lines) and some people have indicated they've had to quarantine ashore, with varying degrees of "satisfaction" with where they did that.  But I've seen few reports of Oceania cruisers having to quarantine, which may or may not mean anything.  

[TFree]

This won't be much help, because it was not Covid related, but we were on Marina in October.  One evening, my wife didn't feel well, and ended up being sick to her stomach.  Overnight and in the morning, I was sick to my stomach 3 times.  We called the onboard medical department, and the ship doctor called back almost immediately, and several people came to our cabin in semi-hazmat suits and tested us for Covid.  A short time later, they called to say that we did not have Covid, but that we were confined to the cabin (our own cabin) for 24 hours, and the doctor prescribed something for me.  We could order food and drinks, but we could not leave the cabin.  After 24 hours we were fine, and were released from the quarantine.  There was no charge for any of the medical costs.

 

Incidentally, we are quite certain that we got food poisoning from hot dogs served at the poolside grill, because during the rest of the cruise we heard reports of 1 or 2 others who ate hot dogs there and got sick.  As one of our kids said, "you go on a fancy cruise and you eat hot dogs?"  But it seemed like a good idea for a snack at the time.  

 

We eventually got a call from the head chef, who was being a bit careful about exactly what he said, but basically apologized for what had happened.

 

Tom & Judy

[davencl]

2 hours ago, TFree said:

This won't be much help, because it was not Covid related, but we were on Marina in October.  One evening, my wife didn't feel well, and ended up being sick to her stomach.  Overnight and in the morning, I was sick to my stomach 3 times.  We called the onboard medical department, and the ship doctor called back almost immediately, and several people came to our cabin in semi-hazmat suits and tested us for Covid.  A short time later, they called to say that we did not have Covid, but that we were confined to the cabin (our own cabin) for 24 hours, and the doctor prescribed something for me.  We could order food and drinks, but we could not leave the cabin.  After 24 hours we were fine, and were released from the quarantine.  There was no charge for any of the medical costs.

 

Incidentally, we are quite certain that we got food poisoning from hot dogs served at the poolside grill, because during the rest of the cruise we heard reports of 1 or 2 others who ate hot dogs there and got sick.  As one of our kids said, "you go on a fancy cruise and you eat hot dogs?"  But it seemed like a good idea for a snack at the time.  

 

We eventually got a call from the head chef, who was being a bit careful about exactly what he said, but basically apologized for what had happened.

 

Tom & Judy

Yes this appears to be standard procedure.  The same issue happened to my wife on a NCL cruise.  Same protocol but before covid, so no testing.

[comcox]

17 hours ago, TFree said:

This won't be much help, because it was not Covid related, but we were on Marina in October.  One evening, my wife didn't feel well, and ended up being sick to her stomach.  Overnight and in the morning, I was sick to my stomach 3 times.  We called the onboard medical department, and the ship doctor called back almost immediately, and several people came to our cabin in semi-hazmat suits and tested us for Covid.  A short time later, they called to say that we did not have Covid, but that we were confined to the cabin (our own cabin) for 24 hours, and the doctor prescribed something for me.  We could order food and drinks, but we could not leave the cabin.  After 24 hours we were fine, and were released from the quarantine.  There was no charge for any of the medical costs.

 

Incidentally, we are quite certain that we got food poisoning from hot dogs served at the poolside grill, because during the rest of the cruise we heard reports of 1 or 2 others who ate hot dogs there and got sick.  As one of our kids said, "you go on a fancy cruise and you eat hot dogs?"  But it seemed like a good idea for a snack at the time.  

 

We eventually got a call from the head chef, who was being a bit careful about exactly what he said, but basically apologized for what had happened.

 

Tom & Judy

That's a bummer to hear as I often will treat myself to a hotdog on a cruise, whereas I don't normally eat them at home.

[LHT28]

5 hours ago, comcox said:

That's a bummer to hear as I often will treat myself to a hotdog on a cruise, whereas I don't normally eat them at home.

Could have been a bad batch on that sailing 🤔

Have heard of people getting sick from some of the sea food  so best not eat that either

[Pizzasteve]

While not direct experience, we were just on the transatlantic arriving in Lisbon 4/18. After pre arrival testing we observed one cabin on our floor with hazmat staff ouside door, and dining/breakfast order cards inserted in their slot of the door. We asked our cabin attendant and were told 3-4 cabins were under quarantine.  Prior Oceana letters suggest that it was likely for either 5 or 10 day period, depending on if symptomatic, or until land departure.

 

Sadly, for us, the minorty of passengers were masking at indoor venues like shows, elevators and art classes.   We were, noting several coughs/tissues among non maskers, including one we saw daily in our two hour art class (where permission was granted to make 'masks voluntary'). The policy exception on day 3 was not one we were happy about, though some folks werent fully complying anyway and it seemed unfair to ask an artist teacher to be an enforcement officer. Wont get into the wishful thinking behind the policy and behavior changes.  I note that I wasnt always consistent either.

 

It appeared to us that our ship had both a bit of covid and a non covid something buggy circulating around among those enjoying the newly relaxed policies.  The timing was exactly right for what one would expect given the new 'test 2 days out' vs 'test at boarding'.  That said, the percentages are less than the general population, but spead risk higher given how a ship works.  Some seem to think the March changes are inviting a 'welcome free for all'.

 

Added data point, our very nice neigbor spent the last night with the MDs with a flu like thing that did not seem serious, but she had joined the unmasked in the week long 2 hrs/day art class with a woman who coughed and sniffed occasionally, without mask.  She was covid negative, but if it was covid that is not a suprise given the timing and likely exposure (syptoms mirrored what an immunized person likely feels when immune system kicks in but is not shedding yet). I think vaccines are likely containing the spead pretty well, for a typical 2 weekish cruise. Regardless she likely had a viral something, but again, the percentage of folks sick or coughling was notable, but was small % or typical of a population in general.

 

I cant advise strongly enough that if you have symptoms, it is only fair to other passengers to wear a mask, even if you believe it is 'only allergies or the dry air in AC.'

Edited March 29, 2022 by Pizzasteve

[Cruzin Terri]

1 hour ago, Pizzasteve said:

While not direct experience, we were just on the transatlantic arriving in Lisbon 4/18. After pre arrival testing we observed one cabin on our floor with hazmat staff ouside door, and dining/breakfast order cards inserted in their slot of the door. We asked our cabin attendant and were told 3-4 cabins were under quarantine.  Prior Oceana letters suggest that it was likely for either 5 or 10 day period, depending on if symptomatic, or until land departure.

 

Sadly, for us, the minorty of passengers were masking at indoor venues like shows, elevators and art classes.   We were, noting several coughs/tissues among non maskers, including one we saw daily in our two hour art class (where permission was granted to make 'masks voluntary'). The policy exception on day 3 was not one we were happy about, though some folks werent fully complying anyway and it seemed unfair to ask an artist teacher to be an enforcement officer. Wont get into the wishful thinking behind the policy and behavior changes.  I note that I wasnt always consistent either.

 

It appeared to us that our ship had both a bit of covid and a non covid something buggy circulating around among those enjoying the newly relaxed policies.  The timing was exactly right for what one would expect given the new 'test 2 days out' vs 'test at boarding'.  That said, the percentages are less than the general population, but spead risk higher given how a ship works.  Some seem to think the March changes are inviting a 'welcome free for all'.

 

Added data point, our very nice neigbor spent the last night with the MDs with a flu like thing that did not seem serious, but she had joined the unmasked in the week long 2 hrs/day art class with a woman who coughed and sniffed occasionally, without mask.  She was covid negative, but if it was covid that is not a suprise given the timing and likely exposure (syptoms mirrored what an immunized person likely feels when immune system kicks in but is not shedding yet). I think vaccines are likely containing the spead pretty well, for a typical 2 weekish cruise. Regardless she likely had a viral something, but again, the percentage of folks sick or coughling was notable, but was small % or typical of a population in general.

 

I cant advise strongly enough that if you have symptoms, it is only fair to other passengers to wear a mask, even if you believe it is 'only allergies or the dry air in AC.'

What ship are you on?  April 18 has not happened yet. Just confused about what sailing you are talking about.  Could you please clarify. Thanks.

Terri 

[KS&JW]

2 hours ago, Cruzin Terri said:

What ship are you on?  April 18 has not happened yet. Just confused about what sailing you are talking about.  Could you please clarify. Thanks.

Terri 

The Riveria left Miami March 18th and arrived in Lisbon yesterday, the 28th.    I believe poster made a typo.

[ORV]

I thought he was a time traveler. 

[Pizzasteve]

5 hours ago, ORV said:

I thought he was a time traveler. 

Yes, 3/18 transatlantic. Great food, superb entertainment, a bit of a cough going around a week in. 

[Host Jazzbeau]

11 hours ago, Pizzasteve said:

The policy exception on day 3 was not one we were happy about, though some folks werent fully complying anyway and it seemed unfair to ask an artist teacher to be an enforcement officer. Wont get into the wishful thinking behind the policy and behavior changes.

We were on the Jan. 14-28 Riviera sailing with full pre-testing and mask-wearing protocols in place – and people still came down with Covid during the cruise [we saw the same hazmat suits in the hallway that you mention].  So I don't see evidence to support the idea that lax guidelines were responsible for the outbreak.

[PSR]

14 minutes ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

We were on the Jan. 14-28 Riviera sailing with full pre-testing and mask-wearing protocols in place – and people still came down with Covid during the cruise [we saw the same hazmat suits in the hallway that you mention].  So I don't see evidence to support the idea that lax guidelines were responsible for the outbreak.

 

Did you notice if the persons with Covid were moved to new cabins, or could they remain in their original cabins? On HAL ships they were moving all sick passengers to new cabins in a sectioned off portion of one deck that were all balcony cabins. I guess that might be hard to do on Oceania. 

[Host Jazzbeau]

6 minutes ago, PSR said:

 

Did you notice if the persons with Covid were moved to new cabins, or could they remain in their original cabins? On HAL ships they were moving all sick passengers to new cabins in a sectioned off portion of one deck that were all balcony cabins. I guess that might be hard to do on Oceania. 

They were on our hallway, so I assume they stayed in their original cabins.  In any case they were in PH3 or A1 veranda cabins on deck 10, not a sectioned off area.

[Pizzasteve]

8 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

We were on the Jan. 14-28 Riviera sailing with full pre-testing and mask-wearing protocols in place – and people still came down with Covid during the cruise [we saw the same hazmat suits in the hallway that you mention].  So I don't see evidence to support the idea that lax guidelines were responsible for the outbreak.

Obviously we dont have the contact tracing data to prove anything, though my wife and I wore masks in the art class all week and are both well, while our friend and cabin neighbor cruising solo didnt and got sick (we are assuming not covid, some other virus since tested neg).

 

Just sayin...

 

On topic, the cabins we observed were 9th floor veranda, concierge level cabins. Quarantine appeared to kick in day after pre europe arrival required testing.  We also observed senior staff waiting outside the evening show with photos of passengers obviously looking to pull them aside rather than any anouncements made that their attention was needed all day, so my guess is that at least 2 passengers attended meals and the evening show after their 7am to 10am test came back positive (we got our test results emailed in about an hour or two. Not judging that, just observing and again it seems we had maybe 4 cabins, at the time, of in total perhaps a few hundred.

 

Just more anecdotes, since people asked.

Edited March 30, 2022 by Pizzasteve