What I Did To Stay Safe On My Cruise.

[dreams_of_travel]

16 hours ago, mikewomb said:

I think we are on the same cruise… solstice May 6???

*waves*  I'm on that cruise, too. 

[lhsail]

We have done 9 cruises since restart. Have only masked when required, have socialized and met some new friends, did the ports, etc.  Got Covid when we were home in January, fortunately very mild. I have been religious about Vitamins D and C since the onset. DH not so much. 🤷🏻‍♀️

[rjrpar]

23 hours ago, mikewomb said:

I would really enjoy reading some positive posts how most of you went on a cruise, and DID NOT get covid. It is getting depressing.

 

We have not cruised since Jan 2020. We did go to Hawaii for a week in November. Had a great time, they had very strong requirements on covid, and felt safe, and enjoyed ourselves. 
 

Now we are going on the Solstice Seattle to Seattle, and would love to hear how other cruisers have managed their cruise experience, and stayed safe. We are vaxed and double boosted, plan to wear masks. Fortunately our move up offer for a Celebrity suite was accepted, so spending more time in a cabin will mean more space and great views. 
 

‘’feedback is appreciated. 

Got off the Wonder of the Seas 2 weeks ago.  Ship had 5300 guests.  We did not wear masks at all, made some( very little) effort to social distance, wore no masks at 4 port stops and did not get Covid or hear of one case onboard. Don’t fall for all the scare tactics, lead your life as normal as possible. 

[Snowey88]

21 hours ago, mikewomb said:

I think we are on the same cruise… solstice May 6???

Yes we are!  My biggest stressors is that my parrots and plants survive and that we test negative.  Will probably do a test before the test.  When we were suppose to leave for Peru and it was cancelled for the 4th time, my DIL tested + so she could not fly from Pucallpa to Lima.  We were within hours of leaving for the airport!

[mikewomb]

1 hour ago, Snowey88 said:

Yes we are!  My biggest stressors is that my parrots and plants survive and that we test negative.  Will probably do a test before the test.  When we were suppose to leave for Peru and it was cancelled for the 4th time, my DIL tested + so she could not fly from Pucallpa to Lima.  We were within hours of leaving for the airport!

I have cancelled a few appointments for this week just not to have anyone in my face. We do our test at Walgreen on the 4th and fly on the 5th, and board on the 6th. We love South America and know how disappointing not being able to do your Peru trip. Have you done the 2 weeks around the Horn. We have done that several times and it was just as enjoyable each time. Is someone watching your parrots? Our dog sitter is so good about keeping my plants healthy…it really is a lot of work to get ready to go somewhere..more now than ever. 

[MDTrip]

On 4/23/2022 at 4:52 PM, Ken the cruiser said:

We're getting ready to go on an 18 day Princess cruise and they allow CC Roll Call functions, such as  Meet & Greets and Sailaway gatherings. Infact there are over 100 passengers signed up for the M&G on our cruise, which we won't be going to. On our past 9 Celebrity cruises since cruising started back up, Celebrity did not allow them. Has their policy changed or are they still a no-go? 

Celebrity just reinstated meet and greets.

[DWhit]

We’ve been on five cruises since cruising resumed.  We have been very lucky to hit the Covid low points on every one.  
 

We never had to wear a mask onboard, and didn’t really change any of our normal cruise behaviors except more/longer hand washing before eating.  

 

No Covid issues, other than the ones associated with changing testing requirements, etc.

[Katarina5391]

Has anyone sailed on any of the Princess ships lately? I'm going on the Ruby on B2B cruises this fall and worry about how full these ships get. I've heard anywhere from 1000 to 3000. Does that seem close? I have a health issue that keeps me from wearing masks for long periods of time. Do you feel that it would be safe to not wear a mask most of the time?

[Katarina5391]

An additional question related to the Ruby Princess is: are the tables in the MDRs and buffet placed far apart?

[abbydancer2003]

I've done 5 or 6 (one was a b2b) since the restart.  3 on X 2 on Princess.  No masks required on any except the Xmas cruise on Princess.  No covid.  That said on our recent b2b on Princess earlier this month, no masks were required, but we wore them except when eating or dancing, outdoors or when noone else was around.  They did recommend them in elevators, but most people ignored that.  We would get out or ask people not to join us.  (To be fair, you're not in them long enough to get covid).

 

However, in the 3 months between or last two cruises,  we had dinner with  friends, all of us unmasked.  Next day we got an email from one that he felt sick after dinner, and next morning tested positive for covid.  We tested, and didn't get it.  The other person with us did.  I can't explain it.

[TeeRick]

5 hours ago, Katarina5391 said:

Has anyone sailed on any of the Princess ships lately? I'm going on the Ruby on B2B cruises this fall and worry about how full these ships get. I've heard anywhere from 1000 to 3000. Does that seem close? I have a health issue that keeps me from wearing masks for long periods of time. Do you feel that it would be safe to not wear a mask most of the time?

Did you ask this on the Princess board?  If you cannot wear a mask due to a health issue, is it safe to cruise for you?  What if they announce a mask mandate for your ship due to cases that week?

[mfs2k]

16 hours ago, rjrpar said:

and did not get Covid or hear of one case onboard. Don’t fall for all the scare tactics

Glad you didn’t get sick.

 

Saying “Don’t fall for all the scare tactics” is as biased as comments by those with real and genuine fears of Covid.  
 

It’s not a “scare tactic” if you test positive and are denied boarding.  It’s not a scare tactic if you’re required to quarantine in your cabin. It’s not a “scare tactic” for those of us who lost loved ones to Covid. 

Consider yourself lucky, not smart or brave. 

[Ukigirl]

What kind of drugs or supplements do you bring? I’ll be cruising in a few weeks, vaccinated and vaxxed and so far packing vitamin C, D, Tylenol and Mucinex which I always do. 

[tulok]

22 minutes ago, Ukigirl said:

What kind of drugs or supplements do you bring? I’ll be cruising in a few weeks, vaccinated and vaxxed and so far packing vitamin C, D, Tylenol and Mucinex which I always do. 

Allergy medicine, and saline nasal spray. I have a lot of allergies and one of the testing protocols is if you have a runny nose. That is my every day life. Do not want  to be called to sick bay with a runny nose. Plus I will take a self-test kit as I have 20 on hand at any time. Work provides 10 a month and never used them. 

 

Speaking of self kits, I see there are companies now using self test kits to proctor online for $20.00. Has anyone used this service?  Smart business start up as many of our CVS and Walgreens have stopped drive thru testing in the city. Now only a few starting May will offer the service.  The service includes the necessary email for travel. At least according to their website.

[Ukigirl]

Thanks for the saline info as I have a drippy nose all spring due to allergies. I’m doing the proctored test before next cruise through IHealth, heard it’s very easy and you receive email results in 15 minutes 

[tulok]

55 minutes ago, Ukigirl said:

Thanks for the saline info as I have a drippy nose all spring due to allergies. I’m doing the proctored test before next cruise through IHealth, heard it’s very easy and you receive email results in 15 minutes 

Let me know how it goes. This is probably what we will be doing in July.

[Snowey88]

19 hours ago, mikewomb said:

I have cancelled a few appointments for this week just not to have anyone in my face. We do our test at Walgreen on the 4th and fly on the 5th, and board on the 6th. We love South America and know how disappointing not being able to do your Peru trip. Have you done the 2 weeks around the Horn. We have done that several times and it was just as enjoyable each time. Is someone watching your parrots? Our dog sitter is so good about keeping my plants healthy…it really is a lot of work to get ready to go somewhere..more now than ever. 

Our kids are evangelists.  They have been living close to the Brazilian boarder.  We spent one week in Lima and another in Pucallpa.  They have been there for 3+ years.  One of our grands were born there! and we just got to see him just before his 1st birthday.  My DIL tested + and just had a scratchy throat!  Our usual parrot sitter does not do stairs anymore and my new substitute has to go to a graduation in Tucson.  I am having a neighbor who is a nurse (man) who has never been in my house! take care of them. Wow, 2 weeks around the Horn, no we have not done that!  2 weeks in Peru was the longest of any vacation, well maybe our transatlantic years ago was 14 days.  My neighbor has a garage that is all organized, not us!  Hope he does not get lost in our house!  LOL

 

[mikewomb]

Put the Horn on your list…great trip Buenos Aires to Santiago or reverse. Probably our favorite. Our first trip was on NCL…, then Celebrity, and the last one was a real deal on NCL. I couldn’t say no. Would love to go again. 

[PaperSniper4]

On 4/23/2022 at 6:45 PM, deliver42 said:

We were on the Ovation last September, and didn't do anything special. We aer both boosted and had no covid before or after. Don't forget, the highest reported cases so far as been .03%. That means for every 1000 people, passengers and crew, there were 10 cases. I'll take those odds anytime. The media jumps on it if there is one case.

I think your math is a bit off....😉. But yes, it's still a small number.

 

 

 Doug

[Peggy Tuten]

I was on a Summit charter last month.  I kept a mask clipped to my cabin key holder.  I prefer to use the stairs when possible but when I used an elevator, I put on the mask.  Also in any area that got crowded, like walking through the dining room or buffet areas.

[Honolulu Blue]

13 hours ago, Katarina5391 said:

Has anyone sailed on any of the Princess ships lately? I'm going on the Ruby on B2B cruises this fall and worry about how full these ships get. I've heard anywhere from 1000 to 3000. Does that seem close? I have a health issue that keeps me from wearing masks for long periods of time. Do you feel that it would be safe to not wear a mask most of the time?

I'm on the Majestic Princess RIGHT NOW. We have about 2600 passengers onboard, which is a bit over 70% of capacity. About 25% of the passengers I see out and about are wearing masks. It's still universal among crew, of course. We're on day 3 and are at our first port - San Francisco. I did a brief exploration of the port area, mostly outside. Few masks were worn by tourists or locals.

 

I haven't heard any COVID-19 related announcements yet.

 

As for mask wearing in the fall, that's too far away for me to take a guess on. You should do what's best and most comfortable for you at that time.

[sakigemcam]

What we did: we washed, we masked when not required to, we sanitized, wiped down cabin, took homeopathic immunity supplements twice a day, didn’t touch handrails or buttons, spent 80% of our time outdoors and distanced, masked on two excursions w transport, masked during cab rides. We were triple vaxxed. 

 

What we didn’t do: avoid every conversation w new people though we were usually outside or distanced.  Didn’t have an empty table next to us in MDR and enjoyed our dining neighbors.l tremendously. We did check if they were boosted.  We didn’t avoid chatting “inside” our catamaran trip or out on the catamaran deck. We didn’t avoid chats at the bar. 
 

My husband still got covid. He survived. It was depressing and sad but we very much enjoyed 8 out of our 10 days aboard. He was taken to a cabin and pretty much ignored but by the ot was day 9. 
 

I think you have to look what can happen in the eye, accept the risk, bring otc meds and lots of reading, and enjoy every minute without fear (unless you are high risk, that would change things) but knowing there is a chance. Like Noro, Covid is going to be around us for a long time. Be prepared and enjoy every beautiful moment. 
 

An aside: we ourselves are off cruising for a while. After our March experience and our 2020 experience (not covid related but a crazy experience) we need some time for the cumulative ptsd to heal. On all counts, Celebrity did they very best they could and we have nothing bad to say. We will miss it but there’s plenty of terra firms for us to enjoy. An all-inclusive is next! 

[Katarina5391]

2 hours ago, Honolulu Blue said:

I'm on the Majestic Princess RIGHT NOW. We have about 2600 passengers onboard, which is a bit over 70% of capacity. About 25% of the passengers I see out and about are wearing masks. It's still universal among crew, of course. We're on day 3 and are at our first port - San Francisco. I did a brief exploration of the port area, mostly outside. Few masks were worn by tourists or locals.

 

I haven't heard any COVID-19 related announcements yet.

 

As for mask wearing in the fall, that's too far away for me to take a guess on. You should do what's best and most comfortable for you at that time.

Thanks! And enjoy your cruise! The Majestic looks like a very beautiful ship. I'm going on 2 B2B Coastal cruises this fall on the Ruby, which I think is a little smaller. I'll see how things play out in the fall. If I end up going with my mom, we're prepared to spend most of my time in my cabin with a balcony if the ship feels too crowded, but I hope to find those less frequented spots where I can get a mask break every now and then.  

[Honolulu Blue]

Just now, Katarina5391 said:

Thanks! And enjoy your cruise! The Majestic looks like a very beautiful ship. I'm going on 2 B2B Coastal cruises this fall on the Ruby, which I think is a little smaller. I'll see how things play out in the fall. If I end up going with my mom, we're prepared to spend most of my time in my cabin with a balcony if the ship feels too crowded, but I hope to find those less frequented spots where I can get a mask break every now and then.  

So far so good. I'm enjoying myself quite a bit. The Majestic is lovely inside and out, IMHO. I hope you enjoy your time on the Ruby, regardless of who you're with or what you do or don't have to wear.

[adonisr]

Cruised the Western Caribbean in early March on Carnival, right before the mask mandate was lifted.  We used our basic cloth mask indoors on the ship, didn't wear it out on the decks.

 

Got off in Cozumel where at the time mask wearing indoors was still pretty strict.

Did a tour in Belize and Roatan - again where masks indoors or inside taxis / busses were pretty strict.

 

No issues, had a great cruise.

 

Already planning another for next spring.