QE in the Canaries April 2022

[Host Hattie]

Sorry to hear about your experience, I hope you're feeling better now.

Were you given the choice to stay together ? How long did you have to self-isolate if you were testing negative ?

We've had previous reports from couples who opted to stay together and those who were tested as close contacts and released. Yours is a different situation from the sounds of it.

[mcloaked]

7 hours ago, acc1956 said:

I have to say that we had a horrendous time on the Queen.  We, as many other people, I hope, self isolated a week before the cruise, taking a flo test the day before travel which, as the embarkment pcr test was negative. We are of those passengers that wore masks at all times in all common areas and sanitised our hands at all times. We had a flo test ( just for our own satisfaction ) two days into the cruise which were negative.  My wife became unwell the evening we left Tenerife and was tested the following day and was found to be Covid positive... I was negative.   We were taken from our cabin, within an hour of the test results, separated, and my wife re-accommodated at the front of the ship, and I at the back.....we were held in these cabins for the the remainder of the cruise, with no human interaction at all, out meals left outside the room on the passage-way floor following a knock on the door....  We were disembarked sometime after all other guests, and I am sorry to say left us feeling like Lepas with all members of the crew keeping a good 6.0m away from us and sanitizing everywhere we had been.  We could only have contracted the virus on the ship........this has been a truly memorable cruise, which was supposed to be a once in a lifetime only trip for our 45th wedding anniversary. !!!!!!!!!

 

 

I am sorry to hear that your wife had Covid on the day you were in Tenerife. Unfortunately it is entirely within the known timescale that if you, and your wife, were near someone on the day of embarkation in the crowded terminal, or elsewhere that day, you may have been infected at that time, and continue to then incubate the virus and only then become symptomatic and test positive 5 days later.   It is also possible your wife may have been near someone in the first few days of the cruise and then become symptomatic a few days later. Wearing a mask, as has oft been said, does not offer good protection against being infected, but primarily protects others if the mask wearer has Covid.  So if you are wearing a mask but someone near you is infectious but not wearing one, or perhaps just covering the mouth with the nose exposed, then all it takes is a cough to transmit virus laden droplets to you and inhale them through the sides or even the material of the mask.  It is also within the know transmission data that a partner of someone who has the virus may or may not themselves become infected.  Either way, at least being on board would have been a better option than being disembarked to a hotel for quarantine, and then have to arrange to get home independently of the ship. It is also understandable that crew members would have taken sufficient precautions to try to avoid being infected by being close to someone who is known to have the virus.  I have every sympathy with your 45th anniversary being a lot less celebration than you had planned, but perhaps the FCC will allow a delayed alternative celebration cruise that you will be able to enjoy to the full.

[D&N]

8 hours ago, acc1956 said:

We were disembarked sometime after all other guests, and I am sorry to say left us feeling like Lepas with all members of the crew keeping a good 6.0m away from us and sanitizing everywhere we had been.

 

 

 

 

I was waiting for my wife at Nice Airport Arrivals last Monday night. Mask requirements have been relaxed recently and I was in a clear minority in wearing one.  Whenever any potentially Covid ridden folk walked anywhere near me I would move out of their path! (that's anyone not wearing a mask of course).

One of my favourite Billy Connolly jokes was; Have you heard 'The Leprosy Song by Patsy Cline? .... 'I Fall to Pieces'.  We can be on a dance floor and the band starts to play/sing it, I gleefully tell my wife we're dancing to the Leprosy Song. 🤣

[LittleFish1976]

10 hours ago, mcloaked said:

 

I am sorry to hear that your wife had Covid on the day you were in Tenerife. Unfortunately it is entirely within the known timescale that if you, and your wife, were near someone on the day of embarkation in the crowded terminal, or elsewhere that day, you may have been infected at that time, and continue to then incubate the virus and only then become symptomatic and test positive 5 days later.   It is also possible your wife may have been near someone in the first few days of the cruise and then become symptomatic a few days later. Wearing a mask, as has oft been said, does not offer good protection against being infected, but primarily protects others if the mask wearer has Covid.  So if you are wearing a mask but someone near you is infectious but not wearing one, or perhaps just covering the mouth with the nose exposed, then all it takes is a cough to transmit virus laden droplets to you and inhale them through the sides or even the material of the mask.  It is also within the know transmission data that a partner of someone who has the virus may or may not themselves become infected.  Either way, at least being on board would have been a better option than being disembarked to a hotel for quarantine, and then have to arrange to get home independently of the ship. It is also understandable that crew members would have taken sufficient precautions to try to avoid being infected by being close to someone who is known to have the virus.  I have every sympathy with your 45th anniversary being a lot less celebration than you had planned, but perhaps the FCC will allow a delayed alternative celebration cruise that you will be able to enjoy to the full.

 

Can I just clarify that wearing a mask does indeed offer good protection against contracting covid; the better and best protection comes from properly wearing a well-fitting, N95 mask or your local equivalent. You can then cover that with a disposable surgical mask as an added protection and to keep your N95 cleaner. It can be done. It is a shame that many people wear loose-fitting masks or have them below their noses and mouths - most of the limitation is in the user error rather than the limitation of masks.

 

 

 

[Victoria2]

49 minutes ago, LittleFish1976 said:

 

Can I just clarify that wearing a mask does indeed offer good protection against contracting covid; the better and best protection comes from properly wearing a well-fitting, N95 mask or your local equivalent. You can then cover that with a disposable surgical mask as an added protection and to keep your N95 cleaner. It can be done. It is a shame that many people wear loose-fitting masks or have them below their noses and mouths - most of the limitation is in the user error rather than the limitation of masks.

 

 

 

I agree.

I have been volunteering in a Kitchen/dining situation where  a few of our customers have  contracted Covid. Particular groups of people who regularly sit together, maskless of course to eat and drink and then linger for company.

 

I am sort of triple masked up. One well fitting mask and  two excellent filters. I am amongst those who have contracted Covid, probably from each other and I think my mask regime, has prevented me from joining them.

 

It's very uncomfortable to wear for a couple of hours [yet another tick on my admiration chart for medical staff who worked long hours in protective equipment] but it has worked for me and so my mask regime will be coming onboard with me to  where I think it's most needed eg lifts, the theatre, lifts, library and generally walking around the ship, inside.

 

[mcloaked]

Yes it true that protection from infection is largely possible if using a full N95 (or in the UK the equivalent FFP3) mask with surgical PPE - but for most people a loose fitting poor quality mask.or one worn inappropriately, that we see typically every day, does not offer that level of protection at all.   It is also the case, that if you are one of the growing band of people who have had Covid, and recovered, then the level of worrying about getting it again is significantly down, if you were unlucky (or possibly lucky!) enough to get it again many months later, it is likely to be less problematic in terms of symptoms.  As time passes more and more people will be post-Covid in the sense of having had the virus. Of course new variants will come along but we are largely going to be living with the virus among us, and not worrying about it on a day-to-day basis - just like we live with annual flu even though thousands die from flu every year.

 

Also by being regularly exposed to some level of the virus after having been fully vaccinated, as well as having had the virus and recovered, means that your immune system is being challenged on a regular basis - and the body then has time to build its new defences against the virus in terms of adapting the existing B--cells and T-cells that develop in the body after exposure to the vaccines and the virus initially. As time passes more and more people will have had Covid and after all in the UK at the moment around 1 in 13 of us are infected at any one time so over a period of months very few will be in the position that they haven't had Covid but at least being maximally vaccinated it is less serious when you do get it compared to if you are not vaccinated. So in the coming months those of us onboard a cruise will likely be less and less in need of worrying about being infected during the voyage.  Of course some people will be unlucky and be especially vulnerable due to pre-existing medical conditions - and they will be vulnerable on land or on a cruise. However hopefully the protocols needed for travel, and cruises in particular, will no doubt continue to evolve over the coming year.

Edited April 17, 2022 by mcloaked
typo

[Victoria2]

Catching Covid onboard a ship is a whole different ball game from catching it at home if only down to quarantine arrangements.

 

I wear a mask when in close proximity to others or if in a small airless area  when out and about but in truth, am not too concerned catching it.

 

Onboard, no thanks.

[BouncingWheel]

On 4/16/2022 at 1:16 PM, acc1956 said:

I have to say that we had a horrendous time on the Queen.  We, as many other people, I hope, self isolated a week before the cruise, taking a flo test the day before travel which, as the embarkment pcr test was negative. We are of those passengers that wore masks at all times in all common areas and sanitised our hands at all times. We had a flo test ( just for our own satisfaction ) two days into the cruise which were negative.  My wife became unwell the evening we left Tenerife and was tested the following day and was found to be Covid positive... I was negative.   We were taken from our cabin, within an hour of the test results, separated, and my wife re-accommodated at the front of the ship, and I at the back.....we were held in these cabins for the the remainder of the cruise, with no human interaction at all, out meals left outside the room on the passage-way floor following a knock on the door....  We were disembarked sometime after all other guests, and I am sorry to say left us feeling like Lepas with all members of the crew keeping a good 6.0m away from us and sanitizing everywhere we had been.  We could only have contracted the virus on the ship........this has been a truly memorable cruise, which was supposed to be a once in a lifetime only trip for our 45th wedding anniversary. !!!!!!!!!!

 

 

 

 

So sorry to hear of your bad experience and for it to happen on your once in a lifetime trip was extremely unfortunate. I hope that the affects of Covid have left your both feeling not too unwell and that you feel better and test negative again very soon.

 

I can only say that we were literally in the same boat a few weeks earlier than you and our experience was totally different. The arrangements for moving us were well organized and the delivery of items such as food etc.. was superb. We did not have food left outside the door - it was handed over - but could understand if that had happened. We were offered to stay together and we did which was a great help - I tested positive but my wife was not at that time. We did not feel like we were viewed as lepers by crew but we did feel extremely unlucky.

 

Going onboard we knew the risks and accepted them and that probably helped with accepting the arrangements when they occurred to us. We had even discussed if we would separate or stick together if our situation did occur. Although I certainly expected some people to catch Covid whilst onboard & end up in the quarantine cabins (as it was a 12night cruise) the numbers appeared to be higher on our cruise compared to yours - based on the limited Covid quarantine news we have heard from your cruise - maybe ours being a cold weather cruise contributed to that.

 

Nobody would want to end up in quarantine but I just wanted to highlight that I felt Cunard managed our situation very well. I fully understand those that don't want to cruise at the moment due to the risk of quarantine just as I fully understand those that do. 

 

 

[lissie]

On 4/17/2022 at 12:16 AM, acc1956 said:

 We were disembarked sometime after all other guests, and I am sorry to say left us feeling like Lepas with all members of the crew keeping a good 6.0m away from us and sanitizing everywhere we had been. 

I'm sorry you got sick - but at its Omicron - the crew were doing the right thing to prevent it spreading to them and then infecting others.  You'd  have been isolating at home anyways surely. 

 

Did you get compensated for the days you were in quarantine? 

Edited April 17, 2022 by lissie

[rakkor]

8 hours ago, lissie said:

I'm sorry you got sick - but at its Omicron - the crew were doing the right thing to prevent it spreading to them and then infecting others.  You'd  have been isolating at home anyways surely. 

 

Did you get compensated for the days you were in quarantine? 

 

We have had been compensated with pro rata FCC approx £1300 each for 5 days in quarantine. I'd also echo @BouncingWheel and his comments above, once the initial chaos of the move to quarantine was over and we'd got over the disappointment of being moved to Britannia from PG we found the service to be very good if a little slow sometimes.