What I Did To Stay Safe On My Cruise.

[mikewomb]

9 minutes ago, morpheusofthesea said:

That's called camping out. One used to see this all the time around the country at many Walmarts. Pre-covid I recall one gentleman wrote in that he could have had a better time in his garage than he experienced on his cruise. It all depends on how many times one has experienced the same itinerary. We now go for the ship experience and hardly ever get off the ship, unless to stretch our 'sea legs'.

That is correct. We have been many times, and have no desire to go on a bunch of tours. I even lived in Fairbanks at one time. Just feed me and enjoy the view. 

[Z0nker]

On 4/23/2022 at 12:10 PM, 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. 

We just got back from 7 days and 4 ports of call on the Ruby Princess. Tested negative when we got back before returning to work. Like you, we are fully vaxxed and boosted. Other than that, we wore KN95 masks when around large crowds (like the slot pull that 42 of us did the casino). Also, no tour busses - got out and walked around on our own in port. It was a fun cruise, everyone was in good spirits, and we're looking forward to doing another.

[floralscent]

I follow many of the mentioned safety tricks mentioned and in addition I will add that I do not eat the part of a piece of food in my hand. For example, if eating nachos and you can’t eat them with a fork, I pick up a small corner of the chip with my hand and do not bite anywhere near the finger and just set that piece aside. Has kept me safe for many cruises

[TeeRick]

49 minutes ago, floralscent said:

I follow many of the mentioned safety tricks mentioned and in addition I will add that I do not eat the part of a piece of food in my hand. For example, if eating nachos and you can’t eat them with a fork, I pick up a small corner of the chip with my hand and do not bite anywhere near the finger and just set that piece aside. Has kept me safe for many cruises

Hey whatever works for you!

[floralscent]

On 4/26/2022 at 2:33 PM, MagCynic said:

Are people STILL wearing masks everywhere despite being vaccinated? Is there a medical reason for this? 

Fully vaccinated here and I say due to the number of people coughing often and openly without covering is immense and honestly shocking to me. I am not a germaphobe at all but with COVID on the brain and my noticing of others coughing without covering…I am masking up. It’s honestly shocking to me of the coughing and clearing of throats and the utter disrespect for others. I’m On the Eclipse right now and I’m just in awe after all everyone has been through these last 2 years.

[D C]

On 4/27/2022 at 5:54 PM, mfs2k said:

Not exactly. 

Where, beyond isolation from others, is safer? 

A hermitage? Safer 

A crowded bar? Not safer 

Which 'not exactly' do you have in mind? 

[D C]

5 hours ago, floralscent said:

Fully vaccinated here and I say due to the number of people coughing often and openly without covering is immense and honestly shocking to me. I am not a germaphobe at all but with COVID on the brain and my noticing of others coughing without covering…I am masking up. It’s honestly shocking to me of the coughing and clearing of throats and the utter disrespect for others. I’m On the Eclipse right now and I’m just in awe after all everyone has been through these last 2 years.

And those same people, when in conversation on the topic, will likely deride others who do exactly as they do. People are clueless as to their own behavior and habits. It's just how people are, I'm afraid. 

[floralscent]

3 hours ago, D C said:

And those same people, when in conversation on the topic, will likely deride others who do exactly as they do. People are clueless as to their own behavior and habits. It's just how people are, I'm afraid. 

I agree that people are clueless and that’s what makes things so dangerous. Maybe I shouldn’t be so careful and considerate of others. I tend to always think of others and how my actions could affect them negatively. Sigh…

[Inside Cabin Cruiser]

Cruised out of Baltimore in February 2022 on the Carnival Legend. Wore masks in elevators and walking around inside when required. In our 70's, we follow the I-MASK+ protocol to boost our immune system. Caught Covid months later in Florida. Mild sore throat for 3 days, Advill liquid gel caps was the treatment. Glad to have the natural immunity.

[PaperSniper4]

23 hours ago, LarryF said:

That's like going to Disney World and sitting in your car in the parking lot!

Not for me, I'd NEVER want to go to Disneyland, but I sure wanna go cruising! Even if "parked" in my cabin!😉

 

Just another joke; I know there is a lot more to it than just the chance of quarantine in a different cabin; especially for a European cruise.

 

 Doug

[morpheusofthesea]

54 minutes ago, Inside Cabin Cruiser said:

Glad to have the natural immunity.

That appears to be the prevailing wisdom.

[goodies4u119]

In the past 6 months we’ve been on the Celebrity Apex and the Celebrity Reflection.   We only wore masks in ports that required them.   Never on the ships.     We are both senior citizens, double vaxed and boosted.   We did nothing special besides hand sanitizing and didn’t feel the least bit unsafe!

[sgmn]

So I have no idea if this will do any good,  I'm not medically trained. But when my DH gets the beginning of a cold he swears by 'First Defence' by Vicks 

Its a nasal spray that is meant to kill the cold virus before it gets into your system. (Yes I know covid virus is different from cold virus)

Will use it every evening. Maybe it'll help, maybe it won't, but can't do any harm 

Edited May 2, 2022 by sgmn

[Salt Lifer]

We just got back from the April 23rd Apex sailing.  Here's what we did to try to stay Covid-free:

 

1.) Almost NEVER took the elevators.  We took the steps the majority of the time.  Figured it was good for avoiding Covid and burning some calories.

2.) Used the hand sanitizer stations every time we saw one.  Thankfully Apex had these everywhere, including at the bottoms of the stairs on every floor so after using the railing I could kill any germs I picked up.  They were also wiping down the stair railings constantly.

3.) Avoided crowds (we watched the silent disco from afar, for instance, but did not join the crowd).

4.) Left an empty seat between us and other passengers when sitting in the theater.

5.) Our tours on the islands were all in open air vehicles and boats.  

6.) Kept alcohol to a manageable level, tried to eat a few healthy things with each meal, and got plenty of rest in order to keep our immune systems strong.

 

We did not wear masks.  Very few passengers on our ship did.  We did not hear of any Covid cases among passengers on the cruise itself - I am sure there were some but it was not publicized.  There have since been a few cases among our FB roll call group but they were all identified after disembarking.  

[spammie]

11 hours ago, sgmn said:

So I have no idea if this will do any good,  I'm not medically trained. But when my DH gets the beginning of a cold he swears by 'First Defence' by Vicks 

Its a nasal spray that is meant to kill the cold virus before it gets into your system. (Yes I know covid virus is different from cold virus)

Will use it every evening. Maybe it'll help, maybe it won't, but can't do any harm 

I hear great things about this. 
 

Xlear Natural Nasal Spray With Xylitol, 0.75 Fluid Ounce https://www.amazon.com/dp/B009I07CP4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_KCZD157B73GAKGCPGXGH

[ymncruise]

I’ve been on two cruises and spent 2 weeks in Seattle since mask requirements were dropped. Didn’t wear a mask, but kept my hands clean and moved whenever someone was around me coughing and sneezing. So far, no covid. 

[Virginia100]

The healthiest thing you can do is get your second booster shot within two week of your next cruise. After 4 weeks your back to square 1.

[JimVB]

53 minutes ago, Virginia100 said:

The healthiest thing you can do is get your second booster shot within two week of your next cruise. After 4 weeks your back to square 1.

Got my second booster just over two weeks ago, boarded full flight surrounded by maskless passengers last Monday and tested positive three days later.  Thankfully this time I wasn't flying to get on a cruise.

[davekathy]

1 hour ago, Virginia100 said:

The healthiest thing you can do is get your second booster shot within two week of your next cruise. After 4 weeks your back to square 1.

We had all three Pfizer shots in 2021. Did a B2B cruise March 2022 out of San Juan. We both are still covid free. 

[PaperSniper4]

12 hours ago, Virginia100 said:

The healthiest thing you can do is get your second booster shot within two week of your next cruise. After 4 weeks your back to square 1.

Sounds pretty good, but do you have evidence of that? Many of us are trying to decide when to get that second booster, and there doesn't seem to be much empirical data to help us. I suppose there are not a lot of data on that yet.

 

We would all probably like to hear more about the treatment of COVID also. Sure would be nice to toss a few "COVID pills" in the shaving kit before setting off on an ocean journey!😎

 

Doug

[PaperSniper4]

11 hours ago, JimVB said:

Got my second booster just over two weeks ago, boarded full flight surrounded by maskless passengers last Monday and tested positive three days later.  Thankfully this time I wasn't flying to get on a cruise.

Horror story. Hope your case was very mild?

[bananavan]

30 minutes ago, PaperSniper4 said:

Sounds pretty good, but do you have evidence of that? Many of us are trying to decide when to get that second booster, and there doesn't seem to be much empirical data to help us. I suppose there are not a lot of data on that yet.

 

We would all probably like to hear more about the treatment of COVID also. Sure would be nice to toss a few "COVID pills" in the shaving kit before setting off on an ocean journey!😎

 

Doug

We are currently on The Edge. 
We did all the right things, 
I actually stand at any sink and wash my hands religiously because I have a medical background and this makes sense to me. 
We were at sea for 8 days before we saw land, 
We do not go to the bars, we do not go to the casino, we do not go anywhere near pools or hot tubs. 
I am allergic to the sun and as a result spent most of my time in our Sky suite. 
Guess what happened? 
My husband got Covid on Day 8. 
We are vaccinated and boosted. 
Read the threads of other Transatlantic cruise passengers who developed Covid while onboard. 
Prior to these TA's Celebrity was doing 7 day cruises. 
Read the. threads of people who disembarked and developed Covid when they got home. 
It seems that it is fairly common to develop it on Day 7-8. 
There is no anti Covid medication onboard. 
The covid positive passengers are treated like they have Ebola. 
Their partners are not much better except we are permitted to leave the stateroom if wearing masks and ewe have to wait for erratic room service to show up with whatever we try to order. 
Until you stay in a Suite to celebrate your 70th birthday and 50th Wedding anniversary and the successful course of treatment for cancer and then have to be alone you will not understand the full impact. 
I did not have a clue as to the Isolation experience . That is because any threads on here were relating to US based trips of  days. 
If we were to have done this over again, we would have tried to fail  the test prior to embarkation. 
I have one more negative test hurdle to overcome before I can eat in a dining room again. 
We are three days out of Civitavecchia and have no information as to what is going to happen. 
We have no idea how we are getting home Or if we can. 
If I sound bitter, I actually am. 
I am not getting any information from Celebrity Concierges as to next steps. 
So , to everyone right now waxing lyrical on how they stayed healthy, wax on, wax off, 
We did all the right things too. 
 

 

[macaroni]

So that seems to point to the dining room or your cabin staff. Jim-liam said that they lost the service of several room stewards/butlers along the way and they both got covid….

Wish  you the best!

[PaperSniper4]

45 minutes ago, bananavan said:

We are currently on The Edge. 
We did all the right things, 
I actually stand at any sink and wash my hands religiously because I have a medical background and this makes sense to me. 
We were at sea for 8 days before we saw land, 
We do not go to the bars, we do not go to the casino, we do not go anywhere near pools or hot tubs. 
I am allergic to the sun and as a result spent most of my time in our Sky suite. 
Guess what happened? 
My husband got Covid on Day 8. 
We are vaccinated and boosted. 
Read the threads of other Transatlantic cruise passengers who developed Covid while onboard. 
Prior to these TA's Celebrity was doing 7 day cruises. 
Read the. threads of people who disembarked and developed Covid when they got home. 
It seems that it is fairly common to develop it on Day 7-8. 
There is no anti Covid medication onboard. 
The covid positive passengers are treated like they have Ebola. 
Their partners are not much better except we are permitted to leave the stateroom if wearing masks and ewe have to wait for erratic room service to show up with whatever we try to order. 
Until you stay in a Suite to celebrate your 70th birthday and 50th Wedding anniversary and the successful course of treatment for cancer and then have to be alone you will not understand the full impact. 
I did not have a clue as to the Isolation experience . That is because any threads on here were relating to US based trips of  days. 
If we were to have done this over again, we would have tried to fail  the test prior to embarkation. 
I have one more negative test hurdle to overcome before I can eat in a dining room again. 
We are three days out of Civitavecchia and have no information as to what is going to happen. 
We have no idea how we are getting home Or if we can. 
If I sound bitter, I actually am. 
I am not getting any information from Celebrity Concierges as to next steps. 
So , to everyone right now waxing lyrical on how they stayed healthy, wax on, wax off, 
We did all the right things too. 
 

 

Let's face it, to an extent life is a crap shoot. There are things we can do to minimize our risk, but much if beyond our control.

 

Thanks for telling your experience. No, I don't blame you at all for feeling very disappointed. We are your age or a little older, have been married a few more years, and we're scheduled for a TA in October. I'd be very upset also.  I hope at least physically you are okay, understandably emotionally you are not.

 

Hope you get that negative test so you can enjoy at least some time on the ship with your spouse.😎

 

Doug

Edited May 3, 2022 by PaperSniper4

[RichYak]

44 minutes ago, bananavan said:

We did all the right things, 

I've seen countless posts saying exactly this. I can only conclude that doing the "right things" might make one feel better but isn't really effective.