Do not underestimate how awful it is to be in quarantine on board for 10 days....

[busymumofthree]

Hi All

 

I am a long time poster - I think I've been here for over 10 years and we've now done 11 cruises with Celebrity, Royal Caribbean, P&O and Princess.  We love cruising.  The time allowed for me to complete my Celebrity survey has expired and I want to share some thought son our experience on the ship - both as a warning to other passengers and as feedback to Celebrity - I'm sure you're reading this. 

 

We were on the Celebrity Reflection out of Rome on 13th June, for 11 nights.  Everyone had to provide proof of a negative test from within the last 48 hours and I'm sure you all know the rules about vaccinated/ up to date etc - so all of the right precautions were taken by everyone on board.

 

Before we sailed we were aware that if you tested positive while on board you had to isolate, but I think we didn't know the details.  We knew that Covid rates on all ships according to the CDC's list of 94 ships under their watch were running on average at 1 to 2%.  So with a passenger cohort of around 2000, just less on our sailing, the chances of catching it were very small and not at a high enough risk for us to consider cancelling - it was very unlikely to happen to us.  

 

But although the chances are small, the consequences are HUGE.

 

Each day the captain makes an announcement at some point about health and safety on board.  His typical comment would be ' we have 2 passengers tested positive today and they are fine and they are being looked after'.   At no point does he say exactly how many in total have Covid and how many are in isolation.  Latterly, we understood that 19 passengers from the previous cruise were positive and had to stay on for this cruise, and the most we heard about was 50 at one time in isolation (both passengers and crew).  This came directly from one of the medical team who visit each 'isolatee' each day.  At the change over of our cruise, we understood that there were 35 passengers in isolation needing to stay on - this comes from observation in the venue were all of the partners were gathered on disembarkation day to find out our new cabin assignments for the next cruise.

 

Our sequence of events was that on day 7 of the 11 night cruise, my husband had a sore throat and a headache and thought he might have Covid.  The instructions given to passengers are very clear - if you have any Covid type symptoms phone the medical centre - it is the right thing to do and we still think that.  We are certain that not everyone on board followed this - there were many coughers and sneezers around the ship.  We went to the medical centre, my husband tested positive and was told, nicely and professionally, that he had to pack immediately and would be escorted to isolation.  Within 10 minutes 2 crew from housekeeping arrived to take his luggage and he was taken down via the crew access corridors to deck 6, to a cabin with a balcony, where he did not leave the cabin for 10 whole days.  

 

Under the balconies of deck 6 is the promenade deck so depending on the location of your partner along that deck you could be lucky and be able to have a chat.  Not so for us - my husband's cabin was above some kind of big blue engineering structure which meant we could see each other at a distance but could not talk - we relied on speaking on the phone.  So at least I saw him most days, at a distance of maybe 30 feet.  I say most days as the access to that deck was on occasion, seemingly frequently, blocked for maintenance, disembarkation, the chance of winds....  

 

For both the 'isolatee' and their partner, Celebrity immediately upgraded the Wi-Fi from basic to premium - this was much appreciated as it was then possible to keep in touch with family back home on video calls.

 

The quality of meals delivered to my husband was brilliant if sometimes entertaining - eg 4 boiled eggs for breakfast one day! - but the dining room menu was available to him.

 

The standard spiel from Celebrity is that all movies including pay for view movies would be available.  Reflection had the worst TV and Movie options of any ship I've ever been on and there were no pay for view movies.  And even the premium Wi-Fi is nowhere near good enough to stream on your Netflix account.

 

The CDC protocols changed during my husband's isolation - it was the case that you need TWO negative tests on consecutive days after day 5 to be 'released' but it changed to being ONE negative test after day 7.  In any event, it didn't matter to us as my husband never did test negative - freedom came at day 10 no matter what the test result.  As it did for most people.....

 

As a partner of someone in isolation you are also restricted.  The requirement was for me to be tested for 5 consecutive days and I remained negative throughout.  All of the partners were tested in the same place at the same time each day - so we got to know each other a bit - that is why I can say of the group of us on that cruise, most did not test negative before day 10.  But for partners, restrictions were also in place - we were not allowed to use the dining rooms for 10 days and had to wear a mask anywhere out of the cabin.  Wearing a mask was not hard, but 10 days of room service, alone, was no fun.  I admit that I preferred to lunch up at the open air burger bar on deck where I thought I was no danger to anyone - especially after 5 days of consecutive negative tests.  And a group of us did towards the end of the 10 days (all of our husbands were within 1 or 2 days of each other going into isolation) meet at the open air end of the buffet for an evening meal where we would again be no danger to anyone.

 

But partners can and did get off the ship at the ports - we were not that restricted.  Personally, I choose to be as far away from others as possible whilst still going to the theatre and the game shows - that was allowed. So I could participate to a certain extent - but I would describe it for me as being 'lonely in a crowd'.

 

However, having been in a changing group of maybe 20 partners and talking among ourselves for a few days it was obvious that the rules were not enforced - some never had the letter saying they should have room service and so carried on as normal.  So it is clear that those rules were never 'policed'. 

 

For those actually in locked down isolation, 10 days is a long time to be in one small room - no walking up and down the corridor was allowed and even if you wanted to you could not get past the big bulk head door which locked off both side of deck 6 from the rest of the ship - that's a lot of cabins with people in isolation.  My husband commented that even if he was in jail, there'd have been access to an exercise yard.  It took 11 paces to walk from the door to the edge of the balcony - and there's only so many reps of that walk you can do each day.  If you were minded you could of course do some strength and floor exercises but nothing aerobic.  

 

It was particularly harsh for couples were the second partner tested positive a few days after the first partner - they would be placed in separate cabins - not necessarily near each other.  I only found this out after someone who had been in isolation came 'out' and said his wife was still 'in' in a different cabin.  

 

When it got to our scheduled disembarkation day, which was only day 5 for my husband so he was not yet free to leave isolation, we were given the choice to continue isolation together in an Italian hotel (were we would be escorted by guards) for a minimum of another 5 days.  We would lose the chance of getting out on day 7 (which didn't happened anyway but it was still a chance at this stage).  I don't know of anyone who took that option. 

 

Celebrity did many, many things right on this trip.  I imagine they have no choice but to follow the CDC rules.  We stayed on the ship at no cost (except gratuities and drinks of course) until after the 10 days isolation and then onto the most sensible port for getting home (which was Naples for us, on our day 20,  - flight timings from Dubrovnik and Kotor were impossible with the ships docking and tender times).  

 

But the non financial cost for us was huge.  Once my husband was in isolation my holiday was damaged too - OK I could see Athens, but not the way we hoped to do it together; I could go to the theatre but with no one to share it with.  And I dined in my room alone.  But for him, the physical impact was horrible too - he was a only bit poorly for just a few days (for which we are thankful of course) but with no way of getting any exercise and with very little mental stimulation or entertainment.  

 

He was well supported by the medical team and the food and beverage service but there were quite a few things which went wrong which were not in themselves overly significant - and for those things which he reported, he'd like to thank Antoinette for her attention.

 

For those partners who found themselves unexpectedly alone - which left me tearful once or twice in public - it was a lonely time trying to navigate through a changed  holiday alone.  I would not have expected there to be any support in place for me in those circumstances so I am grateful to 3 people in particular who went out of their way to check in on me once they knew the circumstances - thank you Byron, Annadulce and Cranston - I really appreciated someone thinking to ask me how I was doing.

 

With all that in mind, under the same circumstance, knowing what the real consequences would be, would we have gone to the medical centre and self reported?  And especially knowing that others were obviously sick around the ship.  My answer is - we can't honestly say.  We'd like to think we'd still do the right thing and get tested but we certainly wouldn't want to do that again.  For sure though, we won't be cruising again until such time as the isolation requirement on board is removed or significantly reduced.  Different countries are different and we know Italy is strict and the CDC rules are strict.  I think our next trip will be here from the UK where there is no legal requirement to isolate, just a common sense duty to isolate if you're obviously poorly. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[TeeRick]

Thank you for taking the time to write this.  We typically do not hear the perspective of the partner to the person in isolation.  Your post should be required reading for people about to cruise and worried about the isolation procedures.  Yes there is a definite chance this could happen to any one of us.

[canderson]

The upside was that he was at least placed in a veranda cabin.  That has not been the case on some Celebrity ships.  Access to the outside is certainly better for morale than a lousy porthole.

 

Thanks for your report.

[jelayne]

Thanks for sharing your experience.  I was surprised to read that a partner who tested positive was isolated in a different cabin.  Other accounts I read when the 2nd tested positive they were moved into the cabin with their partner.!

 

Glad to hear Cranston still at his bar and taking care of his guests- one of the best crew we have met in 38 Celebrity cruises.

[busymumofthree]

17 minutes ago, jelayne said:

Thanks for sharing your experience.  I was surprised to read that a partner who tested positive was isolated in a different cabin.  Other accounts I read when the 2nd tested positive they were moved into the cabin with their partner.!

 

Glad to hear Cranston still at his bar and taking care of his guests- one of the best crew we have met in 38 Celebrity cruises.

Cranston was lovely to me - I really appreciated his kind approach - made me feel welcome

[john2003]

Thanks for this. We just made our final payment on our October cruise. I had some uncertainty but mostly about the impact on our post cruise travel. I think if I had read this first it might have tipped me to cancel.

[runningtide]

Excellent article, especially from a partners point of view. One comment I’ll make, the CDC ratings are a joke. We sailed on Equinox last May on a 9 night ABC out of Port Everglades. The trip was all we hoped it would be. We are frequent cruisers on Celebrity and RCI. Upon leaving the ship, we learned there were over 200 cases reported. This came from a confidential crew member in the medical facility, as well as other passengers, one who cancelled his back to back after hearing the infection rate. Also, three days later, both of us tested positive at home. 
My point is, neither Celebrity or the CDC reports actual numbers. Equinox was rated Orange, but that rating only indicated if I remember, 1% or greater reported infection rate. The “or greater” line means, our cruise if reported 10% , would still be rated Orange. 
There have been so many previous cruises that clearly indicates a much larger infection rate, than 1 or 2%. And with the new strain now, the infection rate will only grow, regardless of vaccination and testing protocols. 
So for the foreseeable future, cruising is on hold for us. All the best my friends. See you on the next tack !

[travlr21]

Sorry to hear. Thanks for sharing from your perspective. 

 

I also believe there are many more cases than one would think. Just 2 days after disembarking the Eclipse in June my husband started symptoms and tested positive, and I did about 5 days later. In the past 2 months, 3 other couples we know, one on Celebrity and the others on 2 different cruise lines also tested positive. What are the odds?

 

We drove to the port for our cruise, never took an elevator and wore masks except while eating and drinking. We also thought with the percentages and just a 7 night cruise that we might escape it. Not to be.

 

Given that your cruise was in Europe, and CDC reporting was not applicable, no way of knowing how good or bad the situation is over there.

[Loracpin2]

I was just starting to feel comfortable about our back to backs on the January 3rd & 8th Beyond sailings and the OP's detailed post has me, once again, re-thinking about the safety measures in place to finally feel confident about cruising again!!!

 

Edited July 24, 2022 by Loracpin2
spelling

[Virginia100]

16 minutes ago, Loracpin2 said:

I was just starting to feel comfortable about our back to backs on the January 3rd & 8th Beyond sailings and the OP's detailed post has me, once again, re-thinking about the safety measures in place to finally feel confident about cruising again!!!

 

I pushed out my Rome cruise from this  August to next September for same reasons. Going in February out of Ft Lauderdale as more comfortable with 7 months out and in the US. That one is 9 days. 14 days cruising  in this environment may be a little long.

[RichYak]

45 minutes ago, runningtide said:

There have been so many previous cruises that clearly indicates a much larger infection rate, than 1 or 2%

1 or 2% is the number of people actually who report to medical. I suspect the actual percentage is some multiple higher than that. 5 to 10% wouldn't surprise me at all, but there's no way to know for sure.

[mahdnc]

Thank you for your well written summary of your experience.  And thank you for doing the right thing and self reporting when your husband came down with symptoms.

[RichYak]

2 hours ago, busymumofthree said:

But for partners, restrictions were also in place - we were not allowed to use the dining rooms for 10 days and had to wear a mask anywhere out of the cabin... But partners can and did get off the ship at the ports - we were not that restricted. 

Covid protocol logic. You don't have covid but you can't dine in any public areas. However on port days, feel free to go wherever you want on shore.

[suzyluvs2cruise]

@busymumofthree thanks for sharing your experience. Here's a link to mine from my experience in May. From what I know the CDC was not monitoring covid rates on ships sailing from Europe. We were told the ship had reached the 3% rate but I'm convinced it was higher than that. 

 

 

[NutsAboutGolf]

It's always very informative to receive such a detailed experience; there are usually pros and cons, no everyone always shares both

[lexmiller]

Most passengers do not self-report, because as has been discussed on several threads, the issue is - self-report what, your cold? Many are cruising with their free government issued at home tests and if they feel a scratchy throat, self-testing in their cabin and then if positive,  taking care to isolate and keep distance from others (hopefully anyway, in order to be considerate because you don’t knowingly want to pass on ANY virus).  Passengers are all vaxxed, boosted, and should be taking good care of themselves if they are at a high risk of significant illness from covid - ie, immunocompromised, etc. Those at high risk are aware of the risks to their particular personal health issues should they get covid and are probably not cruising - nor are they going to the grocery store, church, planes or buses, sports stadiums, theaters - any place where there are people in groups.  The covid strains of today are not the strains of January 2020.  About a month ago, the mother of a daughter with cystic fibrosis posted an amazing post on CC, it was so nice of her to share - basically, she said that she spent 18 years watching out for her daughter’s health, she never once expected others to change their life/habits, to accommodate her daughter.  Her point was - same for covid.  That if you are a compromised individual, you need to practice self-reliance and not expect the world to change for you.  This is where we are at today in 2022 regarding covid.  And this is also one of the reasons why testing to cruise is being dropped by cruise lines, some altogether, some based upon debarkation countries, etc., but the policy is definitely changing, as it should.  As I and others have said, the testing, the restrictions, are all now for theater.  The cruise lines are hemorrhaging money having to give cash reimbursements to people who test positive before the cruise or for those that pick up the phone and call medical and self-report their sore throats.  The emotional heartache of isolation, when this is not the black plague, it’s just so absurd and not necessary.

Thank you for sharing your very unfortunate experience and I wish you both only the best moving forward.

[lhsail]

Thank you for your post. You have reinforced our decision to cancel our Med/Greece cruise this September. This is exactly the kind of thing we were concerned about. 

[carlmm]

What an informative post - thank you very much.

Disturbing and reassuring at the same time.

[Loracpin2]

46 minutes ago, Virginia100 said:

I pushed out my Rome cruise from this  August to next September for same reasons. Going in February out of Ft Lauderdale as more comfortable with 7 months out and in the US. That one is 9 days. 14 days cruising  in this environment may be a little long.

It's a 5 nighther and 7 nighter back to back and the 12 nights is what is so concernining. 

[Merly]

Both my dh and I tested positive few days before we were due to sail. We were very disappointed at having to cancel. But I am glad we got it before boarding rather than whilst on the cruise.

[OttawaJohn]

I'm fine with being quarantined, though would prefer not to move cabins.  But if they insist, fine.  But if they try to separate my wife and I, that will not go well.  We've barely spent a night apart in 14 years and don't intend to start anytime soon.

[jagoffee]

Thank you for sharing your experience.  
For many of us Isolation and separation from our cabin mates is more of a concern than the health risk of Covid itself. 

 

Based on previous reports, I am very surprised that you were not given the option to isolate in your partner’s cabin and that even if you both tested positive you had to be in two different cabins.  Perhaps a misunderstanding?
 

Good luck to you both.  

[lv2cruisgrl]

Thank you for telling your story. We are rethinking our cruise next spring to Greece. May push it out further as the last thing I want to do is get covid while so far from home. We both got covid this April after our Apex cruise. Don't want to deal with getting it again. 

[Honolulu Blue]

@busymumofthree:  Thank you for sharing your story.  The details of the quarantined partner of an isolated patient were especially interesting, as those rarely get reported.  Get well soon, as appropriate.

 

P.S.  The U.S. CDC has recently trashed its cruise line requirements and released some new recommendations.  Changes are possible for all cruise lines to make things less punitive in the future.

[raudacruise]

Just want to note that on a BTB on Silhouette in March I spent 8 days in quarantine (balcony cabin).  Solo cruiser.  I wasn’t miserable, just bored. I’ll be on a 10 night cruise on Silhouette in January.  If I get symptoms I’ll self-report again.