CDC Ends Cruise Line Program as of 7/18/22

[Mary229]

33 minutes ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

respectfully disagree. I spent over 150 days on Maui in 2021 and just over 120 days on Maui in 2022. Completely covid free. What are the odds of spending 270 days aboard a cruise ship without Covid?

But did you test?  My very first test was April 2022, I never saw a reason to do otherwise.  If I felt bad I stayed in, pretty simple, right?  I guess it depends on the nature of your travel.  If you are in a condo on the beach you are outdoors and likely uncrowded.   That does not reflect many vacations. 
 

The biggest risk land based travel has is eating and many diseases are transmissible in a communal dining environment.  At least on a ship you are more or less eating with the same people daily and by the same kitchen. Not so in much of land based travel when you are eating in a new and perhaps untested venue for every meal.  As a road warrior I did pack much of my own food supply, the advent of the extended stay hotel with the full kitchen was a blessing.  And that is is the primary reason I say land based travel is more prone to illness. I did not specifically mention Covid.

[riverrat]

19 hours ago, AKJonesy said:

But, even 4 star I'm not willing to put up with any hassles that involve ALOT of hoops anymore.  I can go on vacation many places without being stressed if I'm going to end up in covid jail on the ship.

 

IMO, HAL has already decided to do away with Q. The whole back of the ship verandas opened up on the 4th floor on some Alaska cruises. Thinking....they are now booking those rooms they previously saved for Quarantine. 

 

Diana 

[BermudaBound2014]

2 hours ago, Mary229 said:

But did you test?  My very first test was April 2022, I never saw a reason to do otherwise.  If I felt bad I stayed in, pretty simple, right?  I guess it depends on the nature of your travel.  If you are in a condo on the beach you are outdoors and likely uncrowded.   That does not reflect many vacations. 
 

The biggest risk land based travel has is eating and many diseases are transmissible in a communal dining environment.  At least on a ship you are more or less eating with the same people daily and by the same kitchen. Not so in much of land based travel when you are eating in a new and perhaps untested venue for every meal.  As a road warrior I did pack much of my own food supply, the advent of the extended stay hotel with the full kitchen was a blessing.  And that is is the primary reason I say land based travel is more prone to illness. I did not specifically mention Covid.

I still respectfully disagree but in fairness my Hawaii trip isn’t a good comparison. I rent a villa for 4-5 months. We do go out to eat some, spend time hiking, we spend 2-3 days a week out on the ocean whale watching and of course the beach so not much different than home other than the long flight.

 

A better comparison is the 26 days we spent in Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons last fall. Here we rented 6 different  hotel rooms/cabins as we moved through the area. No kitchen so meals were eaten in restaurants. We spend a lot of time hiking which is virtually zero risk, but there were plenty of times we were in crowds. No covid.
 

I believe the odds of contracting covid (or anything else for that matter) are higher being on a ship for 26 days than trampsing through national parks . Ships have crowds. The theatre, comedy club, lido, etc are all opportunities to spend in crowds that I don’t experience when we do land vacations by the nature of what we like to do. So, for me, land vacations carry a lower risk. 

[Mary229]

1 hour ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

I still respectfully disagree but in fairness my Hawaii trip isn’t a good comparison. I rent a villa for 4-5 months. We do go out to eat some, spend time hiking, we spend 2-3 days a week out on the ocean whale watching and of course the beach so not much different than home other than the long flight.

 

A better comparison is the 26 days we spent in Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons last fall. Here we rented 6 different  hotel rooms/cabins as we moved through the area. No kitchen so meals were eaten in restaurants. We spend a lot of time hiking which is virtually zero risk, but there were plenty of times we were in crowds. No covid.
 

I believe the odds of contracting covid (or anything else for that matter) are higher being on a ship for 26 days than trampsing through national parks . Ships have crowds. The theatre, comedy club, lido, etc are all opportunities to spend in crowds that I don’t experience when we do land vacations by the nature of what we like to do. So, for me, land vacations carry a lower risk. 

I don’t disagree about Covid.  I have been out and about since June 2020, after all I am in Texas.  I was talking about disease in general.  I traveled for a living, 30 years. Not that I was often sick but i will stick by my point that land travel presents just as much opportunity to catch a disease, if not more because of the food issue, as cruise ships.  I just think food transmits more diseases than we know.  Indigestion? Maybe not, it I likely a mild case of food borne disease. 
 

there are worse things than Covid 

Edited July 21, 2022 by Mary229

[Florida_gal_50]

6 hours ago, Mary229 said:

They are not doing so, it is the honor system. No one is trying to nab anyone. On my longer cruises I know a couple who self isolated then tested in the medical center only to find out they had a cold!  I am glad they isolated as I don’t want to catch a cold either.  As far as leaving the ship, I also met a woman whose husband was quarantined and they requested debarkation and were allowed to do so.  Somewhere I read they attach a notice to your passport but I don’t  know if that is true.

 

PS. All of the reports are actually self-reported cases and crew.  Crew are required regular testing 

You've quoted my post but you seem to have glossed over what I said.  Self isolating means you don't leave your room, correct?  That would likely cause suspicion.  You need to fly home too or is that ok with covid?

[Mary229]

25 minutes ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

You've quoted my post but you seem to have glossed over what I said.  Self isolating means you don't leave your room, correct?  That would likely cause suspicion.  You need to fly home too or is that ok with covid?

I didn’t mean to gloss over.  There was no suspicious questioning.  Self isolated means you stay in your room just as is prescribed for Norovirus. The couple I mentioned stayed in their room for how many days I don’t know but went to medical to find out they only had a cold.  No one forced them to do that.

 

 I don’t know what happened to the person who disembarked, I only happened to be standing at customer service when she was there.  I was able to help customer service find her insurance on the web, she had left all of her insurance info at home.  That is where I left it until later I saw her and her sick husband disembarking early with the assistance of crew. 
 

I am simply saying that no one is being forced into isolation. No one is being singled out to take an onboard medical test. If you do test positive and inform the medical office you are given options.  One option is to spend 5 days onboard in a selected cabin, one is to disembark with a procedure in place for that.  However in many locations once you disembark you can choose your own course of action.  
 

I know you still work and these options don’t work for you but for me I would find what works for me and enjoy an extended stay being fed and housed.  

Edited July 21, 2022 by Mary229

[BermudaBound2014]

42 minutes ago, Mary229 said:

I don’t disagree about Covid.  I have been out and about since June 2020, after all I am in Texas.  I was talking about disease in general.  I traveled for a living, 30 years. Not that I was often sick but i will stick by my point that land travel presents just as much opportunity to catch a disease, if not more because of the food issue, as cruise ships.  I just think food transmits more diseases than we know.  Indigestion? Maybe not, it I likely a mild case of food borne disease. 
 

there are worse things than Covid 

 

Just for clarity, I'm not at all worried about Covid. I've been out and about traveling extensively since July of 2020. Gone for months at a time, not weeks. Even tossed in an all inclusive in Mexico. I wear a mask only if required to do so. Fear of covid has nothing to do with why I have yet to board a cruise ship.  I think I've made my rational clear. We shall just agree to disagree on the point of how one contracts an illness (not just covid). I believe population density is a greater risk than food transmission, but to be honest I haven't done extensive research in this arena to be certain. All I know is that I have done more than 365 days of land travel since covid and have yet to get sick. I don't think I'd have that same stretch of luck onboard a cruise ship. 

[AKJonesy]

23 hours ago, riverrat said:

 

IMO, HAL has already decided to do away with Q. The whole back of the ship verandas opened up on the 4th floor on some Alaska cruises. Thinking....they are now booking those rooms they previously saved for Quarantine. 

 

Diana 

It's not the 7 day trips which is far more unlikely to end up in Q; it's the longer trips that I am concerned about.