Edge Transatlantic Testing positive for Covid

[bananavan]

12 hours ago, hcat said:

I believe  there is a misplaced reliance upon masking..esp the plain paper styles.

Yes, we wear them..but do they really stop the spread?  Social distancing, handwashing probably good ideas,  Wish someone had all the answers !

I think that there is a need for a reevaluation of the entire cruise response. 
All of us have been on other cruises where people have become ill. 
The intelligent and empathetic passengers self identify. 
When I had influenza onboard Cunard in 2018, I was given Tamiflu (onboard Edge right now all my husband has been offered is sinus medication. We have that as part of our normal travel planning) 
They made an effort to make me well . Twice daily visits by the medical staff. My suite was cleaned by a separate team of trained medical cleaners. 
Within five days of isolation, my temperature was checked and I was deemed healthy-(ish. )
My husband is upstairs on his own on his separate cabin. HE has nobody to reassure him. 
I am in my suite, alone, eating meals by myself while also dealing with a stress related gastritis and hiatal hernia attack. 
Yes, he has the ability to open the window, except he is directly below the smoke stacks. 
Last night we refueled in Gibraltar. The refuelling started around midnight and ended around 5 am.
This happened on the Port side of the ship. Guess where the sick bay is?
We have spent the last year missing our usual cruising, dealing with his cancer diagnosis and subsequent surgery and the emotional toll that takes on anyone.
I dont expect any sympathy. We chose to take this chance, but if I am able to let others know the reality of all of this then I am glad to share. 
I wish that we had not taken the risk. 
And we are totally in the dark as to next steps. 

 

Edited May 2, 2022 by bananavan

[bananavan]

11 minutes ago, 360Guy said:

It is messy…we are in quarantine waiting to fly home hopefully this week….my thoughts:  

1. Pray (if you do) that the US drops the test to return policy by the end of your cruise.

2.  Bring lateral flow test kits to test on board or once you are off ship.   Extras…not cheap in UK and hard to find.  These are not the proctored version you use to fly. We used them when my partner thought he had a cold.  He was positive and we called medical. Quarantine till disembarkation.  Some chose to ignore symptoms and continue to go out and about unmasked.  The British have moved on and have zero mask, quarantine or return to travel…some reported sick and others did not. Reality.

3.  Read up on peoples experiences in quarantine.  Decide if you can tolerate that or not.  Medical was very good IMHO but partner had mild symptoms.  They may move you to deck 3 no veranda. Depends on case count and symptoms.  Not consistent by ship.

4.  Read all you can about COVID Recovery Certificate.   If you test positive and need to return to the US soon after disembarkation you may have to get the airline or your TA to adjust your flight(s).  Negative test or the certificate is the only way to get home at the moment.

 

Not trying to do anything other than share our experience…to date.  Will deal with Celebrity on refund, hotel and meals when we get home and will be so thankful and grateful when we do.   London is not a bad place to hang out in at all and from my perspective this is all 1st world problem stuff.  Crew were wonderful on Silhouette.  Will cruise again eyes wide open.

Oh, totally agree. 
I have the antigen tests as well. That is how we determined that we needed to contact medical. 
I am testing myself every morning before going down to be tested. I figure that I can at least get a head start  on the packing. 
As I mentioned above, we have not had any information for next steps. 
Praying for you that you get home with few obstacles. 

*** as an aside, I cannot eat anywhere but in my room .
I called for room service as I have not eaten yet today. 
I would be happy to go upstairs and get my own food but am not permitted to do so. 
I ordered their soup of the day and chicken skewers. 
I was told 40 minutes. I have no other option. *****

Edited May 2, 2022 by bananavan

[360Guy]

4 minutes ago, bananavan said:

I think that there is a need for a reevaluation of the entire cruise response. 
All of us have been on other cruises where people have become ill. 
The intelligent and empathetic passengers self identify. 
When I had influenza onboard Cuanrd in 2018, I was given Tamiflu (onboard Edge right now all my husband has been offered is sinus medication. We have that as part of our normal travel planning) 
They made an effort to make me well . Twice daily visits by the medical staff. My suite was cleaned by a separate team of trained medical cleaners. 
Within five days of isolation, my temperature was checked and I was deemed healthy-(ish. )
My husband is upstairs on his own on his separate cabin. HE has nobody to reassure him. 
I am in my suite, alone, eating meals by myself while also dealing with a stress related gastritis and hiatal hernia attack. 
Yes, he has the ability to open the window, except he is directly below the smoke stacks. 
Last night we refueled in Gibraltar. The refuelling started around midnight and ended around 5 am.
This happened on the Port side of the ship. Guess where the sick bay is?
We have spent the last year missing our usual cruising, dealing with his cancer diagnosis and subsequent surgery and the emotional toll that takes on anyone.
I dont expect any sympathy. We chose to take this chance, but if I am able to let others know the reality of all of this then I am glad to share. 
I wish that we had not taken the risk. 
And we are totally in the dark as to next steps. 

 

I continue to hope for a speedy recovery for your DH and your current symptoms.  Upon disembarkation make certain they provide a copy of the positive lab results as you will need them to obtain a recovery certificate in order to travel if your DH continues to test positive.  If you can locate and purchase the self test lateral flow kits they are helpful if you remain in quarantine prior to travel and you can self test.  If you should test positive and I certainly hope up you do not seek a confirmation test by a test center or proctored test asap if you brought them to return to the US.  This is important as the clock starts the day you test positive with a formal test with a written report for purposes of the recovery certificate. There are many online certificate of recovery websites that will do this for $80-$100 GBP but not sure which country you are finishing in.   I continue to wish you both well and a safe journey home.  These are my thoughts and others may have suggestions!  

[360Guy]

10 minutes ago, bananavan said:

Oh, totally agree. 
I have the antigen tests as well. That is how we determined that we needed to contact medical. 
I am testing myself every morning before going down to be tested. I figure that I can at least get a head start  on the packing. 
As I mentioned above, we have not had any information for next steps. 
Praying for you that you get home with few obstacles. 

*** as an aside, I cannot eat anywhere but in my room .
I called for room service as I have not eaten yet today. 
I would be happy to go upstairs and get my own food but am not permitted to do so. 
I ordered their soup of the day and chicken skewers. 
I was told 40 minutes. I have no other option. *****

Sorry just replied to your earlier post.  Recommend calling way ahead of time even if not hungry.  Wait times on the Silhouette ranged from an hour to 3 hours FYI.  May be different on your ship based on passenger count and # of folks in quarantine.   Room service staff were lovely but stressed.

[bananavan]

1 minute ago, 360Guy said:

I continue to hope for a speedy recovery for your DH and your current symptoms.  Upon disembarkation make certain they provide a copy of the positive lab results as you will need them to obtain a recovery certificate in order to travel if your DH continues to test positive.  If you can locate and purchase the self test lateral flow kits they are helpful if you remain in quarantine prior to travel and you can self test.  If you should test positive and I certainly hope up you do not seek a confirmation test by a test center or proctored test asap if you brought them to return to the US.  This is important as the clock starts the day you test positive with a formal test with a written report for purposes of the recovery certificate. There are many online certificate of recovery websites that will do this for $80-$100 GBP but not sure which country you are finishing in.   I continue to wish you both well and a safe journey home.  These are my thoughts and others may have suggestions!  

Our situation promises to get complicated. 
We are supposed to board the Regal Princess on May 7, after disembarking the Edge May 6 in Civitavecchia. 
We insured each cruise with the cruise line separately .We have very good health insurance etc.  We also purchased MedJet Horizon. The one scenario we did not consider is the one we are probably bogged down in right now. 
The Flight home is attached  to the Princess cruise. 
That cruise will be easily canceled by us due to the situation, but that might be a moot point. Princess might (probably will) deny us boarding. 
Supposedly Celebrity will pro rate the time that we have not been able to be together in the suite etc. but my time being in a suite has not been stellar either. 
I am waiting to hear back from my travel agent. 
Hugs to you. 

[360Guy]

2 minutes ago, bananavan said:

Our situation promises to get complicated. 
We are supposed to board the Regal Princess on May 7, after disembarking the Edge May 6 in Civitavecchia. 
We insured each cruise with the cruise line separately .We have very good health insurance etc.  We also purchased MedJet Horizon. The one scenario we did not consider is the one we are probably bogged down in right now. 
The Flight home is attached  to the Princess cruise. 
That cruise will be easily canceled by us due to the situation, but that might be a moot point. Princess might (probably will) deny us boarding. 
Supposedly Celebrity will pro rate the time that we have not been able to be together in the suite etc. but my time being in a suite has not been stellar either. 
I am waiting to hear back from my travel agent. 
Hugs to you. 

Hugs (socially distanced of course) back to you!  You will get through!  Your TA will become your BFF if not already since they can help with the air deviation, etc.  All the back end stuff regarding refunds (promised in letter..retain all written communication from them about what they will do!) can be sorted out once home.  I have ideas and experience with how to get timely response but will share via personal email exchange if you wish.

Inquire about Celebrity arranged/paid transfer from port to wherever you booked your hotel.  They paid for our transfer from Southampton to London and that was worth some $$$.  If they say they will…reconfirm at least twice with the “COVID Concierge”.  Disembarkation went pretty much according to plan but there were zero Celebrity staff once off the ship to direct or help in any way FYI.  Your experience may be different.

[bananavan]

12 minutes ago, 360Guy said:

Hugs (socially distanced of course) back to you!  You will get through!  Your TA will become your BFF if not already since they can help with the air deviation, etc.  All the back end stuff regarding refunds (promised in letter..retain all written communication from them about what they will do!) can be sorted out once home.  I have ideas and experience with how to get timely response but will share via personal email exchange if you wish.

Inquire about Celebrity arranged/paid transfer from port to wherever you booked your hotel.  They paid for our transfer from Southampton to London and that was worth some $$$.  If they say they will…reconfirm at least twice with the “COVID Concierge”.  Disembarkation went pretty much according to plan but there were zero Celebrity staff once off the ship to direct or help in any way FYI.  Your experience may be different.

That email exchange would be fantastic. 
I can be reached at my handle here (AT) Aol dot com. 

Thanks so much 
Evana 

[360Guy]

46 minutes ago, bananavan said:

That email exchange would be fantastic. 
I can be reached at my handle here (AT) Aol dot com. 

Thanks so much 
Evana 

Hi there…just sent an email.  
Bob

[MDTrip]

On 4/30/2022 at 11:20 PM, VitaminSea53 said:

So glad to hear Celebrity has heard us and is allowing quarantined passengers a breath of fresh air. Mental health is an important factor to be considered in caring for the Covid positive passengers. If this continues ( quarantining in a balcony cabin), I will reconsider my fall cruise out of Rome. 

I wonder if they are quarantined on a balcony cabin because they were suite passengers. Just a thought.

[360Guy]

21 minutes ago, MDTrip said:

I wonder if they are quarantined on a balcony cabin because they were suite passengers. Just a thought.

On ours we think (can’t confirm) that by day 6 they were close to full and were doing triage of more acute to deck 3…or home office read social media and decided to allow people to stay in their staterooms…we were on 11.  Who knows….

[RichYak]

25 minutes ago, MDTrip said:

I wonder if they are quarantined on a balcony cabin because they were suite passengers. Just a thought.

Per my recollection, they weren't. It was an IV cabin, not a balcony cabin.

Edited May 2, 2022 by RichYak

[delondin]

3 hours ago, bananavan said:

Oh, totally agree. 
I have the antigen tests as well. That is how we determined that we needed to contact medical. 
I am testing myself every morning before going down to be tested. I figure that I can at least get a head start  on the packing. 
As I mentioned above, we have not had any information for next steps. 
Praying for you that you get home with few obstacles. 

*** as an aside, I cannot eat anywhere but in my room .
I called for room service as I have not eaten yet today. 
I would be happy to go upstairs and get my own food but am not permitted to do so. 
I ordered their soup of the day and chicken skewers. 
I was told 40 minutes. I have no other option. *****

I’m surprised they don’t let you collect stuff from the buffet to bring back. If you’re allowed out with a mask I don’t understand why they can’t let you collect food. Are there any passengers on board who could bring you stuff. 

[delondin]

Interestingly on the silhouette negative partners in original cabin are allowed to buffet 

[bananavan]

3 hours ago, RichYak said:

Per my recollection, they weren't. It was an IV cabin, not a balcony cabin.

Correct. 
But it does have a semi window which allows air to come inside, which is better for the whole ventilation thing. 
According to the Science, fresh air is beneficial to people who are dealing with Covid. 
We had not realized the psychological impact of the forced lockdown. 

[delondin]

9 minutes ago, bananavan said:

Correct. 
But it does have a semi window which allows air to come inside, which is better for the whole ventilation thing. 
According to the Science, fresh air is beneficial to people who are dealing with Covid. 
We had not realized the psychological impact of the forced lockdown. 

I believe as a boss you shouldn’t expect your staff to do something you can’t or won’t do yourself. I feel it is the same with fare paying passengers. Perhaps if they confined Lisa Lutoff -perlo to a window cabin for 10 days, with up to 3 hour waits for sometimes cold food, then things might change. 

Edited May 2, 2022 by delondin

[Covepointcruiser]

If I paid to have a balcony with a verandah then learned someone with COVID was out on a nearby

balcony getting fresh air I would be very angry and concerned.   My right to disease free fresh air has now been violated.    I am all for isolation to keep the COVID virus from spreading.   If virus positive passengers are put into a balcony I would hope it is isolated down wind from healthy passengers.

[delondin]

23 minutes ago, Covepointcruiser said:

If I paid to have a balcony with a verandah then learned someone with COVID was out on a nearby

balcony getting fresh air I would be very angry and concerned.   My right to disease free fresh air has now been violated.    I am all for isolation to keep the COVID virus from spreading.   If virus positive passengers are put into a balcony I would hope it is isolated down wind from healthy passengers.

Some cruise lines have an isolation deck of balconies. 

Edited May 2, 2022 by delondin

[bananavan]

2 hours ago, Covepointcruiser said:

If I paid to have a balcony with a verandah then learned someone with COVID was out on a nearby

balcony getting fresh air I would be very angry and concerned.   My right to disease free fresh air has now been violated.    I am all for isolation to keep the COVID virus from spreading.   If virus positive passengers are put into a balcony I would hope it is isolated down wind from healthy passengers.

It is all fun and games until it affects you. 
On a transatlantic there are very few days that you will enjoy the balcony. 
They have the isolation patients in the same area. And the Infinite balcony cabin is one in name only. That is not really a balcony.
And wind changes. 
My husband is on Deck 12 beneath the smoke stacks. Yesterday the wind took the smoke into his room. Today the people on the Starboard side were the lucky ones. 
 

[the penguins]

3 hours ago, delondin said:

I believe as a boss you shouldn’t expect your staff to do something you can’t or won’t do yourself. I feel it is the same with fare paying passengers. Perhaps if they confined Lisa Lutoff -perlo to a window cabin for 10 days, with up to 3 hour waits for sometimes cold food, then things might change. 

Please don't tell her IV cabins are not balcony cabins she thinks they are. However your idea of letting her experience the full Celebrity Covid Isolation Experience in an OV cabin on Deck 3 is a great one. I suggest you email her and suggest it.

[mimbecky]

9 hours ago, 360Guy said:

 Read all you can about COVID Recovery Certificate.   If you test positive and need to return to the US soon after disembarkation you may have to get the airline or your TA to adjust your flight(s).  

Can you give a synopsis? How long after first symptoms can this be acquired? 
 

[Covepointcruiser]

I do know IV cabins are not true balcony cabins, but do have a window that opens up the top part of the IV “ balcony”.    Other posters on this thread wrote about wanting to be out on their balcony so they could have fresh air.

[360Guy]

8 hours ago, mimbecky said:

Can you give a synopsis? How long after first symptoms can this be acquired? 
 

Can’t speak to anything other than once you test positive.  Where, when, how is pointless IMHO.   You must learn all you can.  Read up online “COVID Recovery Certificate.”  You cannot presently return to the US without either a negative test (antigen or PCR…must be supervised with a report..like Abbott BiNax proctored antigen test you can do via internet) OR a Covid Recovery Certificate.  Suggest you purchase a “boat load” of antigen kits…like Flowflex at Costco or wherever you can find them.  Not easy to find in London (at our present location) for your cruise..we did and when my partner felt ill on day 6 we tested and he was positive and I was negative.  We called medical…”stay in your room”. 1 hour later nice Dr. appears and tests both, partner PCR positive.   Day 6 effectively end of cruise.   Best of all and most grateful..mild cold like symptoms.  Both triple “jabbed” as they say. Won’t go into details on quarantine experience as there are many posts already.   Our experience very similar.  We love the crew…but they were short staff and the ship ran 90% full with 98% unmasked.  Some chose to report to medical…others did not.  
 

We moved flights..thank you Celebrity Air to tomorrow and heading to LHR to check in 24 hours and provide documents…none of which could be uploaded on VeriFly FYI.  Calling British Air is impossible…long hold times and we only really know if we can fly by going to airport hotel and heading over to see what happens…new reality.  All 1st world problems…partner feeling fine but still testing positive on LFT.  This has been our experience.

 

If you or others are cruising soon and just catching up on this blog start from the top is my suggestion so you get it all and can make informed decisions and do your research.  Wish you well!

[mimbecky]

11 hours ago, 360Guy said:

We moved flights..thank you Celebrity Air to tomorrow and heading to LHR to check in 24 hours and provide

Good luck! Hope partner gets a negative! Yes, I have packed several home tests. Found a place to test in Naples day before departing home from Rome. That way don’t have to deal day of testing or ship WI-FI . Glad to hear Flights by Celebrity was helpful!

M

***Also, I see you live in AZ. If you email me mimlauff at aol dot com I have some info for you.

Edited May 3, 2022 by mimbecky

[VitaminSea53]

1 hour ago, mimbecky said:

Good luck! Hope partner gets a negative! Yes, I have packed several home tests. Found a place to test in Naples day before departing home from Rome. That way don’t have to deal day of testing or ship WI-FI . Glad to hear Flights by Celebrity was helpful!

M

***Also, I see you live in AZ. If you email me mimlauff at aol dot com I have some info for you.

Test in Naples - that is a good idea - is it near the port?

[mimbecky]

47 minutes ago, VitaminSea53 said:

Test in Naples - that is a good idea - is it near the port?

About half hour walk (flat). They charge 20E each. I found it through testfortravel 

and made an appointment with LifeBrain on Via Cesare Rosaroll