Mandatory Masks indoors while onboard - Questions

[Hlitner]

14 minutes ago, TheLizardHouse said:

This has already been covered, I know, but Hank I want to point out, that cruising now involves the very real risk of not even getting on the ship in the first place! This is my greatest concern. After a 14 hour flight, many thousands of dollars spent, and many hours of planning, if that second line comes up on the pre cruise rat test, then it’s all for nothing. 

And I dare ask the question, "when will this ever change?"

[WeLoveCruising]

We just boarded the Rotterdam today in Amsterdam.  On embarkation, we were given a note saying indoor masks are mandatory except when eating or drinking, due to a few crew members and guests testing positive on the last cruise.  
 

Our stateroom had four N95 masks in it (for the two of us) and our cabin steward said he would give us new ones every third day, or sooner upon request. 
 

The Chief Health Officer was in the embarkation area to answer questions, as this mask policy is different than the official posted policy - and different than when we sailed on the Rotterdam just last month in the Caribbean, when masks were optional.  

[dockman]

Recent 3 week cruise on Princess..  First 15 days masks recommended and mostly ignored. Day 10 Mask required notice goes out and usage increased a lot.  Day 15 ship docks and several busloads of positive people are sent to land quarantine.  Start of leg 2 mask required goes back to recommended and usage dropped big time.  Day later i tested positive and got to spend most of leg two in quarantine missing all the ports.  Also got to go through uncertainty of when i would be allowed to fly back to usa.

 

Those who think covid is no big deal might feel a bit differently if YOUR vacation gets ruined and you get to go through the stress of being in another country  filled with uncertainty and worry as to when you will be tested again, if you will negative or positive, where and how long will you have to stay  before being cleared, trying to change flights etc etc.  It is not a lot of fun.  I will continue to take all protocol seriously in the hope that my, and others, risk might be mitigated somewhat.

[Calnev1]

On 5/20/2022 at 8:21 AM, quack2 said:

Indoor mask mandates are about reducing COVID risks.  There is a segment of the population that just can't figure that out.

Agree one hundred percent.  But I have noticed on a couple of post-COVID cruises that even when there is an indoor mask mandate many folks don't wear them properly.  So my wife and I have taken to wearing N95 masks, and only N95 masks, when in indoor spaces with lots of people close by (like the casino).  Unlike most masks, a properly worn N95 will protect the wearer even if no one else around is wearing a mask or wearing it properly.  Of course, the N95 doesn't look very stylish.  But I don't worry about what others are doing, or not doing, when I have my N95 on.

[Florida_gal_50]

1 hour ago, HappyInVan said:

 

N95 masks? That's the type used by hospital professionals! 😲

 

Must be serious. Possibly spooked by what happened to NCL Dawn! 🤧

Kn95 likely.  I’ve made the same mistake myself.  Surely you could guess that 🙄.

[Florida_gal_50]

1 hour ago, Calnev1 said:

Agree one hundred percent.  But I have noticed on a couple of post-COVID cruises that even when there is an indoor mask mandate many folks don't wear them properly.  So my wife and I have taken to wearing N95 masks, and only N95 masks, when in indoor spaces with lots of people close by (like the casino).  Unlike most masks, a properly worn N95 will protect the wearer even if no one else around is wearing a mask or wearing it properly.  Of course, the N95 doesn't look very stylish.  But I don't worry about what others are doing, or not doing, when I have my N95 on.

Yeah it’s amazing that people can’t figure out the chin mask does nothing 2 plus years into this.  I wonder how people can do simple tasks daily when they can’t manage that.

[cowmilker]

23 hours ago, Hlitner said:

And even this would have likely been refunded by Chase under our credit card trip interruption coverage.

 AH, good point and one I had forgotten. I use our Sapphire card for travel stuff, and yes, we have coverage.  Thank you for the reminder.

[NSWP]

Re masks etc,  both Noordam and Westerdam are working the Australia/NZ region later this year and early next year. I am on Westerdam from/to Sydney in November. I reckon the mask protocols will still be happening on board, as they are in some places on land, dependent on State.  Our Federal and State Governments will insist on it I reckon.

[strickerj]

Here on Eurodam out of Seattle, masks have been recommended in the dining venues but not required anywhere, including in the terminal during embarkation. All the crew that I've seen have been wearing them.

[MountainsAndRivers]

I have been waiting 920 days since we booked our first Alaskan cruise.  In 5 days seven of us have to pass a covid test before we can board in Vancouver.  We have all been wearing masks everywhere for over a week and will continue to do so.   I firmly believe in the right of someone NOT to wear a mask, and for someone TO wear a mask.   Do what you are comfortable with, we will comply with whatever we are asked to do, and we will be grateful to be on vacation 🙂

[albingirl]

7 hours ago, MountainsAndRivers said:

I have been waiting 920 days since we booked our first Alaskan cruise.  In 5 days seven of us have to pass a covid test before we can board in Vancouver.  We have all been wearing masks everywhere for over a week and will continue to do so.   I firmly believe in the right of someone NOT to wear a mask, and for someone TO wear a mask.   Do what you are comfortable with, we will comply with whatever we are asked to do, and we will be grateful to be on vacation 🙂

There's the rub.  If we all do what we want to do, and neglect the mask, it's possible that you may be more comfortable, but you could cause the covid spread.

[SUESEABE]

We were on Nieuw Statendam from May 8th until yesterday, May 22nd. Masks were a requirement from May 8th until Thursday, May 19th when mask wearing changed to recommended.

[WeLoveCruising]

Today was our first port date on this leg of the Rotterdam cruise.  Last night we received a letter in our stateroom requesting that passengers wear masks onshore, on both ship-sponsored and private excursions, as well as when visiting any local shops or crowded areas.    
 

The letter, from the Chief Health Officer, also reminded us that guests are subject to Covid testing at any time during the cruise.  
 

I don’t know if that means something has worsened (I’ve not heard that officially or via onboard talk amongst passengers) - or if it’s a standard letter before the first port of call.  
 

 

[*Miss G*]

1 hour ago, WeLoveCruising said:

Today was our first port date on this leg of the Rotterdam cruise.  Last night we received a letter in our stateroom requesting that passengers wear masks onshore, on both ship-sponsored and private excursions, as well as when visiting any local shops or crowded areas.    
 

The letter, from the Chief Health Officer, also reminded us that guests are subject to Covid testing at any time during the cruise.  
 

I don’t know if that means something has worsened (I’ve not heard that officially or via onboard talk amongst passengers) - or if it’s a standard letter before the first port of call.  
 

 

 

I may have missed it… what port are they requesting this for?

[Florida_gal_50]

2 hours ago, WeLoveCruising said:

Today was our first port date on this leg of the Rotterdam cruise.  Last night we received a letter in our stateroom requesting that passengers wear masks onshore, on both ship-sponsored and private excursions, as well as when visiting any local shops or crowded areas.    
 

The letter, from the Chief Health Officer, also reminded us that guests are subject to Covid testing at any time during the cruise.  
 

I don’t know if that means something has worsened (I’ve not heard that officially or via onboard talk amongst passengers) - or if it’s a standard letter before the first port of call.  
 

 

I did not see such a comment on either of my Koningsdam cruises in November or March.

[latserrof]

On 5/21/2022 at 9:37 AM, Hlitner said:

 

For those who are unable or unwilling to "move beyond COVID" I would pose the same question I have been asking here for more than a year.   What do you think is going to change in the next couple of years (or longer)?

 

 

Some possible changes:

 

More folks get vaccinated, and more folks (including maybe me) weather Covid, moving toward herd immunity.

 

More and better Covid treatments become available.

 

The cruise lines learn to do a better job at handling Covid.

 

(BTW, I have been on four cruises this year -- did I "move beyond Covid"?  I'm probably more cautious now).

 

Edited May 24, 2022 by latserrof

[HappyInVan]

15 hours ago, WeLoveCruising said:

Today was our first port date on this leg of the Rotterdam cruise.  Last night we received a letter in our stateroom requesting that passengers wear masks onshore, on both ship-sponsored and private excursions, as well as when visiting any local shops or crowded areas.   
 

 

 

My apologies. Did not intend to ridicule your report. Be safe, and enjoy your cruises.

[Tampa Girl]

On 5/21/2022 at 5:56 PM, cowmilker said:

 

My concern doesn't have anything to do with actually catching Covid.  I am vaxxed X4. There's nothing more I can do about that at this point.  I'll get another booster if/when it's recommended.

What sort of keeps me anxious is the fact that we are booked on 4 back to backs in the fall.  It's a big, expensive trip. Flights are expensive. It's all expensive.

We debated and meditated and waited and thought about even doing this, but every year we delay is another year lost, and we don't have forever left to us.  So I booked the latter two cruises (Australia and New Zealand, a total of 85 days).

Then I decided that neither one of those cruises was really going to happen because Omicron, so I thought, "Hell, I'll just see what Noordam is doing before".  This is ALWAYS a mistake.  🙂 She's doing her last round up to Alaska and then a short cruise down the West Coast to San Diego.  I thought, "Well, those two might actually happen," so I booked them. This makes a total of 105 days.

My absolute nightmare is testing positive during the turn arounds, and getting left behind.  We would survive, but I would not be happy.  If I thought that all I'd have to deal with is just being quarantined for a few days, I'd be fine with that (I've done it before with the flu, albeit only for two days).

So, it's not "Covid phobia," rather, it's "being left behind in port in some godforsaken hotel while everyone else sails off into the sunset and then trying to figure out how to rejoin the ship --- phobia."

 

Those are my fears, as well.  The idea of being booted off the ship somewhere, halfway around the world, simply does not appeal to me.  I am not expecting much to change, however, and I hate to think that my cruising days may be over.  If they are, so be it; but I hate the thought.  I have such fond remembrances of the unique closeness of our ship's community on the long cruises, and I cannot picture the same feeling in this uncertain environment.  Will masks be made mandatory at various times during the cruise?  Will DH and I be separated and quarantined and for how long?  Will we be required to disembark? 

 

I will be very interested to hear the reports from the 2023 WC'ers.  Until then, our booking for the 2024 cruise will remain intact and our fingers crossed.

[happyglobetrotter]

On 5/21/2022 at 8:04 PM, Kamfish642 said:

Not against masks and definitely COVID testing; however, tt just seems illogical when you are seated at a crowded restaurant or at one of the music venues which provides a venue for COVID spread and no one wears masks, yet wearing in hallways.  Just doesn't make sense and appears to be simply for show.

And this is why most people who test positive believe that it was during a meal that they were contaminated. You are right, IMO meals (without masks) is when it happens !!!!

 

 

[Tracey/Thom]

We just got off the Nieuw Amsterdam May 15, 2022 in Whittier, Alaska. We wore masks inside, but they were not mandated and only a few other passengers were wearing them. All the staff wore masks, all the time.

 

[Dismomx5]

On 5/22/2022 at 2:48 AM, TheLizardHouse said:

This has already been covered, I know, but Hank I want to point out, that cruising now involves the very real risk of not even getting on the ship in the first place! This is my greatest concern. After a 14 hour flight, many thousands of dollars spent, and many hours of planning, if that second line comes up on the pre cruise rat test, then it’s all for nothing. 

We are weathering this at the moment. Flew to Vancouver to join the Koningsdam with family. I tested -ve and hubby tested +ve. We had pretty much been hermits but for a family birthday party (all part of our bubble), but it seems as though one of the munchkins was asymptomatic. 5 days of quarantine here at the hotel, and then we will go home. Not the way things ere planned. 😞 On the positive side, my sisters/brothers-in-law are experiencing why I love HAL. 

[kazu]

36 minutes ago, Dismomx5 said:

We are weathering this at the moment. Flew to Vancouver to join the Koningsdam with family. I tested -ve and hubby tested +ve. We had pretty much been hermits but for a family birthday party (all part of our bubble), but it seems as though one of the munchkins was asymptomatic. 5 days of quarantine here at the hotel, and then we will go home. Not the way things ere planned. 😞 On the positive side, my sisters/brothers-in-law are experiencing why I love HAL. 

 

Aww, I am really sorry to hear this 😞 I know you were looking forward to our time on board 😞 

[BermudaBound2014]

4 hours ago, Dismomx5 said:

We are weathering this at the moment. Flew to Vancouver to join the Koningsdam with family. I tested -ve and hubby tested +ve. We had pretty much been hermits but for a family birthday party (all part of our bubble), but it seems as though one of the munchkins was asymptomatic. 5 days of quarantine here at the hotel, and then we will go home. Not the way things ere planned. 😞 On the positive side, my sisters/brothers-in-law are experiencing why I love HAL. 

 

Thank you for sharing your story. I'm convinced short of extreme measures like full hazmat gowns,  n95 masks at all times, face shields, gloves, etc... there is absolutely nothing we can do to avoid the virus with any degree of absolute. Those who feel they can control Covid by masking up and washing hands have not been keeping abreast of the most current literature on Omicron and it's variants.

 

I'm sorry you are doing 5 days quarantine in a hotel. I think I may have gotten a touch of claustrophobia following David Ables blog from Japan on the Diamond Princess back in Feb/March of 2020. I miss cruising sooooo much, but I just can't bring myself to pull the plug with so many stories like yours unfolding daily. Luckily there is still much I have left to explore right here in the USA. 

 

My best to you! 

 

 

[*Miss G*]

3 minutes ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

Those who feel they can control Covid by masking up

 

I don’t think they feel they can “control” it so much as reduce the risk.

 

@Dismomx5, I am sorry to hear your plans went askew and you have missed your cruise.  I hope your husband is soon on the mend.

[BermudaBound2014]

25 minutes ago, *Miss G* said:

 

I don’t think they feel they can “control” it so much as reduce the risk.

 

 

I respect this view, and acknowledge that we can always do better at reducing the risk.

 

However; these Omicron variants are so very contagious, that the typical efforts to reduce risk (hand washing/masking/distancing) are significantly less effective. Yet, I read story after story of people who seem to think their risk is extremely low just because they partake in initial protocols.

 

If Omnicron is onboard a ship, hand washing and mask wearing is not going to offer the same level of protection that these same protocols offered during the Delta variant.