Ovation March 13th and Covid

[mskatiemae]

Just to be clear I do appreciate the wide variety of ideas people shared on this thread (aside from the person who suggested perhaps I should stay at home). I share my experience because it allows learning and growing to be better at making the cruise experience suited to each of our individual needs.

 

On my first time sailing luxury I brought my own teabags so asked how to get boiling water and the housekeeper said "I can bring you a kettle, but don't tell everyone or we will run out of kettles." On Seabourn I asked for a kettle ftom my suite attendant and she said she had to check with her supervisor, then voilá, a kettle with a cup and saucer and spoon appeared. I think that it is an easy one to give me the kettle since I did bring my own tea. The problem is (and I learned it the hard way) is that some teabags are made with enough of my allergen to make me quite sick.

 

I came in with the idea of asking for $ credits completely as my own idea after being told by upper mgmt that the mistake I had reported should not have happened, and each time I asked (6 times total) I have received the exact amount requested. I put lots of thought into exactly how much $ to request and usually I will go lower in $ amount to make a negotiation unnecessary.

[AtA]

2 hours ago, mskatiemae said:

Yes but I do pretty tightly control my privacy settings. For trusted people like you whom I have met and have mutual friends with you I will gladly go to your FB presence and connect with you if you want to share your FB name. I don't follow cruiselines FB pages any more.

I don't want to leave my name here. Have one of the guys give you my name. 🙂

[texanaust]

12 hours ago, Raiders4Life32 said:

 

How reckless and insensitive of you to walk anywhere in a public space on a cruise ship without an N95 mask and your own private oxygen supply!?!?!  You don't catch COVID that way anyway!  You would need to spend more than 15 minutes in close proximity to that person, share a drink, hug/kiss them, etc. to catch it.  I guess this builds your case for your day of reckoning with Seabourn so you have that going for you.  

 

I don't understand some people.  These luxury cruise lines are barely making it after 2 years of the pandemic.  They are still sailing under capacity and losing money on nearly every voyage.  Yet people are still going to go after them demanding refunds and credits.  Don't complain in a year when your only choice will be Carnival and Royal Caribbean and sailing alongside 15,000 other passengers.  

Frankly after reading 4 pages of this, I have to agree with Raiders.  Wear a mask if you are really concerned, but Seabourn is not going to change moving forward.  In fact I suspect the EU cruising rules will be relaxed shortly too. 

[mskatiemae]

13 hours ago, mskatiemae said:

Other than the Sommeliers lunch and one Earth and Ocean dinner with Tom and Terry and new friend Gary, I ate all dinners by myself to keep attention on the food issues for my safety. I was getting lots of visits though from staff and management who were checking that everything was going okay for me (and Sommeliers taking my premium wine orders) and I did not return to the dining room for dinner after the fateful chef's dinner. I found the Patio staff (thanks Alina) took great care of me at lunchtime and Sushi or Keller Grill were truly safe for dinner for me. So we now should stay in touch for a future cruise (on another line probably) to get to have some dinner together! My biggest problem was there were so many staff/management new to me visiting me at dinner and so hard to try to remember all their names!

I remember now I did go back to the Restaurant the night after the chef's dinner debacle. It was unfortunately not so enjoyable due to the effects of the mistake the night before. Anyone who understands autoimmunity or has a similar health issue can easily sense what I am talking about in terms of symptoms. I have in addition to the autoimmune condition a true food allergy, also uncommon, so making sure things are safe is not very easy - thus I always forgive and allow people to make amends if they are willing.

 

To those still trying to hate on me here I really don't care about your insults. It is actually unbecoming to observe your wimpy way of showing your misogyny. 

[AtA]

8 hours ago, texanaust said:

Frankly after reading 4 pages of this, I have to agree with Raiders.  Wear a mask if you are really concerned, but Seabourn is not going to change moving forward.  In fact I suspect the EU cruising rules will be relaxed shortly too. 

And because they didn't want to change is why the one case turned into 8 cases plus those who tested positive once they got home on our cruise and why the cruise to Europe now has quite a few cases of covid too.

Maybe if on our cruise they let passengers know so they could decide if they wanted to mask or not, then maybe Seabourn wouldn't have as many cases as they did and do right now. From what I can see, Carnival has a bad habit of trying to bury their heads in the sand hoping health issues will just go away.

[Raiders4Life32]

8 hours ago, texanaust said:

Frankly after reading 4 pages of this, I have to agree with Raiders.  Wear a mask if you are really concerned, but Seabourn is not going to change moving forward.  In fact I suspect the EU cruising rules will be relaxed shortly too. 

We have family in England and they have made mask wearing and other defensive measures voluntary in their country. Many other countries will soon do the same. 
 

Listen…I’m not trying to minimize COVID or pretend it hasn’t killed millions of people, but there is a huge difference today vs. two years ago in terms of treatments and vaccines. Two years ago we had no other defensive measures other than lock downs, masks and washing hands. Now we have modern medicine and previous virus exposure to minimize the effects. 
 

If you’re still terribly scared or have a weakened immune system like my friend the Cat Lady, why are you traveling on any airplanes or cruise ships? Use your own common sense and quit waiting for the CDC to save the day. The rest of society has had enough of the mandate approach. 

Edited April 2, 2022 by Raiders4Life32

[SLSD]

1 hour ago, mskatiemae said:

 

 

To those still trying to hate on me here I really don't care about your insults. It is actually unbecoming to observe your wimpy way of showing your misogyny. 

Most of the people who post on this board are very kind, but every once in a while someone forgets to put themselves in the shoes of others and posts something very harsh.  I'm sure they regret it later. 

Edited April 2, 2022 by SLSD

[koalagurl]

3 hours ago, mskatiemae said:

To those still trying to hate on me here I really don't care about your insults. It is actually unbecoming to observe your wimpy way of showing your misogyny. 

 
As a woman I would be hesitant to use the word misogyny in this case. 
 

Cruising is a voluntary activity, and with a food allergy / current pandemic I still make the choice to cruise.  I accept the risks that come with that choice; all of the risks.  I trust the green light when crossing the street, but I also keep my head on a swivel. 

[Raiders4Life32]

40 minutes ago, koalagurl said:

 
As a woman I would be hesitant to use the word misogyny in this case. 
 

Cruising is a voluntary activity, and with a food allergy / current pandemic I still make the choice to cruise.  I accept the risks that come with that choice; all of the risks.  I trust the green light when crossing the street, but I also keep my head on a swivel. 

I appreciate your perspective as a woman. I think what I have said is most likely on the minds of many others, but they just don’t want to say it. Cruising right now is still an “early adapter” activity that is not for the feint of heart. There are some who are up for being a beta test while others should wait until all the kinks have been worked out. Any early adapter looks silly when they complain that procedures are not 100% when they signed up voluntarily for this. Thankfully most of we beta testers are up for it, assume all risks and are enjoying getting back out there after 2 years of lockdowns. 
 

On a side note, I spoke to my parents today who are onboard and they gave me a COVID update. They were aware of several cases, but all those infected have had minimal symptoms and made full recoveries. Nobody has died, been hospitalized or had prolonged recoveries to their knowledge. When they’ve asked the crew about possible COVID exposure, they’ve been extremely open and transparent about things. Hats off to Seabourn for running a 100% vaccinated cruise as this was the intended purpose. 

[lincslady]

1 hour ago, koalagurl said:

 
As a woman I would be hesitant to use the word misogyny in this case. 
 

Cruising is a voluntary activity, and with a food allergy / current pandemic I still make the choice to cruise.  I accept the risks that come with that choice; all of the risks.  I trust the green light when crossing the street, but I also keep my head on a swivel. 

 

Very well  put.  I was trying to think of a polite response, but you  beat me to it.

[2SailingNomads]

We too are on this cruise.   

1) Was disappointed no pier-side testing;

2) Even in the terminal there were, despite it being a Federal law, people who thought mask rules only apply to others;

3) Boarding was delayed so several hundred standing close - some too close IMO - to others and again not all wearing masks;

4) Note delivered to suite on I think 2nd night about wearing a mask when indoors, but no comment from CD or Captain;

5) Captain did finally 2 days ago add at the end of his announcement masks are to be worn;

6) Some are very diligent about wearing mask, others think it holds up their chin, the people across from us think the rules only apply to others;

7) No noticeable extra effort in cleaning tables / chairs when a party departs (a not high-end restaurant we frequent at home has someone run over with disinfectant whenever the prior occupant leaves, now we know if is mostly transmitted via the air but with the BA.2 variant who really knows);

😎 Crew members with a couple of exceptions are always wearing a KN95 correctly. 

 

Good friends who are on, and have been for weeks, are now in isolation - we interacted with them multiple times but always outside.  Luckily we have no symptoms and it has been 4 days since we saw them.  There are people in isolation on multiple floors, at least 3 suites where we are and we are not on 5 or 6.  The Square does have KN95 you can request.

 

Yes the decision to take a cruise now is very personal and dependent on how much risk one wants to take, but I do not see how dining indoors on a cruise ship is any more of an at risk event than at a land-based one.  And food and service has, a week into the cruise, been very good! 

[Txcotn]

7 minutes ago, 2SailingNomads said:

Even in the terminal there were, despite it being a Federal law, people who thought mask rules only apply to others;

Federal law? Really? Because it is a port facility?

[Raiders4Life32]

7 minutes ago, suzeluvscruz said:

Federal law? Really? Because it is a port facility?

Not a federal law. Florida has gone maskless since the beginning. 

[jsea]

On 4/1/2022 at 2:29 PM, geoffieg said:

Cornet or anyone on Ovation now.  Have you heard any explanation of why they have changed the itinerrary for the departure from Lisbon next Saturday?  We received an email from Seabourn this morning with a new itinerrary which cancels both stops in Morocco.  Any insight would be appreciated.

Seabourn Source was updated to reflect the new stops at Gibraltar and Malaga, but now it’s reverted back to Casablanca and Tangier again. No shore excursions listed.

 

Curious if this is a glitch or if the itinerary truly has been restored.

[purpleally]

On 3/31/2022 at 11:16 AM, gwesq said:

Your comments echo our view exactly - although our first Seabourn cruise was enjoyable, the crew was fabulous, the best CD and ACD at Sea, the food sometimes terrific, and many other positives, it is the fact that we had to learn about health issues on the ship from Social Media that turned us off to Seabourn.  From our discussions with crew, these actions seemingly came from upstairs - Corporate, not the onboard management.  Communication is so important, and that's where they really fell down.  

 

BTW - on our sailing, I'd venture maybe 40 people wore masks, if that many (But the last 2 days, when word started leaking of Covid onboard, we saw that number rise a bit).   But on shore excursions, the operators made sure everyone was masked at all times.

Were you one of the 40 people wearing masks?  We sure were.  Also, another couple who masked said on their excursions people did not wear masks on the busses.  Bet that’s where it came from.  Or in the theatre with all the coughing.  We only went twice, one show and the gathering of gold, platinum etc

Edited April 2, 2022 by purpleally
Auto correct incorrect

[purpleally]

On 4/1/2022 at 11:30 AM, markham said:

Do you really, I mean REALLY, think that Seabourn is gonna fulfill your demands for cash as compensation for some notion that you have been stressed over staff performance? And you are not a manager working for the Hotel Department. This is a first for me, and I have been on lots of cruises. Come to think of it, was this standard practice on the defunct line? If so, and either way, no wonder they failed.

 

Good luck with that.

 

 

Edited April 2, 2022 by purpleally

[2SailingNomads]

5 hours ago, suzeluvscruz said:

Federal law? Really? Because it is a port facility?

On January 29, 2021, CDC issued an Order that required face masks to be worn by all people while on public transportation (which included all passengers and all personnel operating conveyances) traveling into, within, or out of the United States and U.S. territories. The Order also required all people to wear masks while at transportation hubs (e.g., airports, bus or ferry terminals, train and subway stations, seaports, U.S. ports of entry, and other locations where people board public transportation in the United States and U.S. territories), including both indoor and outdoor areas.

 

[Txcotn]

Thanks. But to clarify, it’s a CDC order not a law, Federal laws can only be made by Congress. I don’t think they passed such a law. 

Edited April 3, 2022 by suzeluvscruz

[mskatiemae]

20 hours ago, 2SailingNomads said:

We too are on this cruise.   

1) Was disappointed no pier-side testing;

2) Even in the terminal there were, despite it being a Federal law, people who thought mask rules only apply to others;

3) Boarding was delayed so several hundred standing close - some too close IMO - to others and again not all wearing masks;

4) Note delivered to suite on I think 2nd night about wearing a mask when indoors, but no comment from CD or Captain;

5) Captain did finally 2 days ago add at the end of his announcement masks are to be worn;

6) Some are very diligent about wearing mask, others think it holds up their chin, the people across from us think the rules only apply to others;

7) No noticeable extra effort in cleaning tables / chairs when a party departs (a not high-end restaurant we frequent at home has someone run over with disinfectant whenever the prior occupant leaves, now we know if is mostly transmitted via the air but with the BA.2 variant who really knows);

😎 Crew members with a couple of exceptions are always wearing a KN95 correctly. 

 

Good friends who are on, and have been for weeks, are now in isolation - we interacted with them multiple times but always outside.  Luckily we have no symptoms and it has been 4 days since we saw them.  There are people in isolation on multiple floors, at least 3 suites where we are and we are not on 5 or 6.  The Square does have KN95 you can request.

 

Yes the decision to take a cruise now is very personal and dependent on how much risk one wants to take, but I do not see how dining indoors on a cruise ship is any more of an at risk event than at a land-based one.  And food and service has, a week into the cruise, been very good! 

There is a new manager as of March 27 in the Restaurant. Don't remember his name but he came over to my table at The Grill to let me know of his role.

[mskatiemae]

On 4/2/2022 at 9:07 AM, SLSD said:

Most of the people who post on this board are very kind, but every once in a while someone forgets to put themselves in the shoes of others and posts something very harsh.  I'm sure they regret it later. 

Sadly I don't think they ever regret it as this is a feature of their humanity (or lack therof). People lacking empathy are everywhere so I try to steer clear.

 

Thanks for speaking up for humanity!

[rucrazy]

17 minutes ago, mskatiemae said:

Sadly I don't think they ever regret it as this is a feature of their humanity (or lack therof).

I don't understand it either...And yet life goes on....

[AtA]

20 hours ago, Raiders4Life32 said:

Not a federal law. Florida has gone maskless since the beginning. 

You are still required even in Fl to mask up in busses, airports and planes, and in cruise terminals.

[AtA]

15 hours ago, purpleally said:

Were you one of the 40 people wearing masks?  We sure were.  Also, another couple who masked said on their excursions people did not wear masks on the busses.  Bet that’s where it came from.  Or in the theatre with all the coughing.  We only went twice, one show and the gathering of gold, platinum etc

Yes he and I were one of the 40 wearing masks. Thankfully on our excursions people masked in the busses.

We did go to shows masked but also made it a point to sit away from others.

[Hlitner]

On 4/2/2022 at 3:10 PM, jsea said:

Seabourn Source was updated to reflect the new stops at Gibraltar and Malaga, but now it’s reverted back to Casablanca and Tangier again. No shore excursions listed.

 

Curious if this is a glitch or if the itinerary truly has been restored.

This is all a mystery.  DW spoke to two Guest Relations folks this morning and the current “line” is that “we no longer know where we are going.”   Two days ago those same folks and a very senior officer told me we were not going to Morocco because of “unknown reasons.”   At this point we figure SB will tell us where we are once docked somewhere in Europe or Africa :).  
 

DW sums it all up by saying that SB does not communicate with passengers and we will likely be the last to know just about anything.  But we are enjoying the cruise and have met lots of very nice passengers.  
 

Hank

[Txcotn]

I think we'll cross SB off our list!