Covid on Eclipse

[Karen Lynn]

45 minutes ago, Kilroyshere said:

These Covid cruise stories are not encouraging and are of concern to us with a December X cruise booked.

 

Question: Does X provide masks if requested and if so, are they common paper/poly/cloth masks or NIOSH certified N95's?

 

In crowded ship interior spaces e.g.; elevators, tour buses, theaters, etc., it seems to us, prudent to mask up. A small effort and price to pay that might avoid a Covid infection...

the blue paper masks…

[NorthStarStateCruiser]

On 10/13/2022 at 10:45 AM, MISTER 67 said:

I agree, 400 people a day are still dying because of Covid. 

There should still be testing 2 days before sailing.

I appreciate the fact that you're concerned about the wellbeing of others, but I don't have the same viewpoint that pre-boarding testing should still be required for all sailings.

 

Certainly, people who are immunocompromised or at higher risk of severe illness need to make a decision whether they should go on a cruise.

[NorthStarStateCruiser]

11 hours ago, SusieAV8R said:

Guess we both have "herd immunity".

I'd like to say that herd immunity is not something that any one person can have. It's a concept that describes a population which has sufficient individual immunity to prevent the spread of a disease amongst the population.

[foodsvcmgr]

Travelwide - you may be correct, I’m 63 from New Jersey.

No indoor masks mandated since June 2021.

Not interested in taking a cruise to be forced to put one on.

 

[Jim_Iain]

9 hours ago, Kilroyshere said:

These Covid cruise stories are not encouraging and are of concern to us with a December X cruise booked.

 

Question: Does X provide masks if requested and if so, are they common paper/poly/cloth masks or NIOSH certified N95's?

 

In crowded ship interior spaces e.g.; elevators, tour buses, theaters, etc., it seems to us, prudent to mask up. A small effort and price to pay that might avoid a Covid infection...

Celebrity have masks available at many locations around the cruise.   They are the more common surgical masks and are not the N95.     After we tested positive in March they gave us KN95 masks for exiting the ship.

[Jim_Iain]

22 hours ago, PaperSniper4 said:

Wow, I think I'm glad I'm sailing on the Infinity rather than the Eclipse. Please, is anyone knows any covid horror stories about that ship, please keep them to yourself!😁😉

 

 Doug

 

Not criticizing but it is not the ship that is sick it is the passengers and their behavior that may be the risk factor.    All 9 of the cruises I have been on Summit, Millennium, Silhouette and Equinox had levels of Covid during the cruise that passed the 3% level and announcements were made asking all passengers to wear mask and requirements in the Casino  and Theater. 

 

I may just be an observation but it seems the longer the cruise the more cases are reported.   That may be that many test positive after the cruise.   Personally with the dropping of regulations everywhere we choose to wear masks in all Stores, Airplanes, Buses, Uber  and anyplace we are within 6 feet of others.   Even that did not prevent us from catching the Omicorn Variant.    Luckily mostly asymptomatic I believe because of our Vaccinations

[PaperSniper4]

29 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

Not criticizing but it is not the ship that is sick it is the passengers and their behavior that may be the risk factor.    All 9 of the cruises I have been on Summit, Millennium, Silhouette and Equinox had levels of Covid during the cruise that passed the 3% level and announcements were made asking all passengers to wear mask and requirements in the Casino  and Theater. 

 

I may just be an observation but it seems the longer the cruise the more cases are reported.   That may be that many test positive after the cruise.   Personally with the dropping of regulations everywhere we choose to wear masks in all Stores, Airplanes, Buses, Uber  and anyplace we are within 6 feet of others.   Even that did not prevent us from catching the Omicorn Variant.    Luckily mostly asymptomatic I believe because of our Vaccinations

Oh I agree, it's not the ship as much as the passengers with COVID, except perhaps with things like norovirus. Some ships do seem to have more of a history. Our behavior and inoculation history is pretty close to yours, so if we must catch the bug, I hope we also will be mostly asymptomatic. I really don't like being ill, even with the "common cold", which is one reason I probably offend folks by wearing a mask nearly everywhere I go in public when I cannot maintain that good ol' social distancing!😉 Nobody has ever said anything, but I do occasionally get a weird look....doesn't bother me at all; hell, my mask is probably protecting them more than me! For our cruise in a few days we are taking cold meds, ebooks, and hopefully the right attitude so we'll enjoy the week. We do plan on avoiding crowds as much as possible, including avoiding the MDR if we cannot get a table for two. We're already agreed that if we feel uncomfortable during the week we'll just stay in our cabin! I understand the turkey club is excellent. Only issues then of course is our beverage package......might have to sneak our to grab some Famous Grouse or Dewers and Cabernet from time to time. 😎

 

I agree about the longer cruises. That's why we canceled our two TAs we had planned. Paranoid perhaps, but we can enjoy ourselves on the shorter one week cruises also, and decrease those long range airplane exposures and transits. Those are still very much on on bucket list, and Lord willing we'll be able to take a few before our days are all gone.

 

PS - Please; no comments on our choices for our cruise, thanks everyone! We already know we are slightly weird....or maybe really weird. You enjoy your time your way, and we will our way, and we promise not to criticize your choices if you will do the same.😎

 

 Doug

[Woody14]

10 hours ago, Kilroyshere said:

These Covid cruise stories are not encouraging and are of concern to us with a December X cruise booked.

 

Question: Does X provide masks if requested and if so, are they common paper/poly/cloth masks or NIOSH certified N95's?

 

In crowded ship interior spaces e.g.; elevators, tour buses, theaters, etc., it seems to us, prudent to mask up. A small effort and price to pay that might avoid a Covid infection...

On our august sailing we were provided 2 paper type masks in dark blue

[Northern Aurora]

2 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

......

 

I may just be an observation but it seems the longer the cruise the more cases are reported.   That may be that many test positive after the cruise.   Personally with the dropping of regulations everywhere we choose to wear masks in all Stores, Airplanes, Buses, Uber  and anyplace we are within 6 feet of others.   Even that did not prevent us from catching the Omicorn Variant.    Luckily mostly asymptomatic I believe because of our Vaccinations

 

I agree that it seems more cases are reported on longer cruises, but also suspect that a number of folks test positive after 7 night cruises.  We also mask routinely.  It has become a habit at home and when traveling.  And on ships we wear our KN95 masks in elevators and so forth.

 

We are scheduled to board the Eclipse on March 10 for a B2B2B2B series traveling in Australian, New Zealand and South Pacific waters.  We will be the Americans with the supply of masks in our luggage.  We will also spend time in Micheal's Club avoiding large crowds.

[RichYak]

1 hour ago, PaperSniper4 said:

PS - Please; no comments on our choices for our cruise, thanks everyone! We already know we are slightly weird....or maybe really weird. You enjoy your time your way, and we will our way, and we promise not to criticize your choices if you will do the same.

I find nothing weird about your choices. Everyone should cruise within their own personal comfort zone.

[Jim_Iain]

35 minutes ago, Northern Aurora said:

 

I agree that it seems more cases are reported on longer cruises, but also suspect that a number of folks test positive after 7 night cruises.  We also mask routinely.  It has become a habit at home and when traveling.  And on ships we wear our KN95 masks in elevators and so forth.

 

We are scheduled to board the Eclipse on March 10 for a B2B2B2B series traveling in Australian, New Zealand and South Pacific waters.  We will be the Americans with the supply of masks in our luggage.  We will also spend time in Micheal's Club avoiding large crowds.

 

Agree 100% with strategy.   In the U.S. the Flu may more of a concern this year  than in the past.   We have already had our Covid Bivalent and our Senior Dose Flu shots -  hope that  combined with Masks and staying distant from others in Michael's Club we will be as safe as possible.    Like you we always wear KN-95's and I usually never use the elevators  -  Iain on the other hand does use them.

[Karen Lynn]

Just an FYI Michaels club  is quite small and feels packed in pretty quickly …..as cozy as it is. 🤷‍♀️

[Northern Aurora]

9 minutes ago, Karen Lynn said:

Just an FYI Michaels club  is quite small and feels packed in pretty quickly …..as cozy as it is. 🤷‍♀️

 

If this is directed to me I am well aware of the size of the M-class Michael's Clubs and have been on the Eclipse several times.  And the usage of the Micael's Clubs/Retreat Lounges varies significantly from cruise to cruise.

[dlh015]

1 hour ago, Northern Aurora said:

We will be the Americans with the supply of masks in our luggage.

LOL, that was us this past June in the Mediterranean...we brought...wait for it...75 masks (N95) for a 3 week cruise.

 

We used about 1/2 of them...mostly on the busses that were packed for excursions...

 

[Karen Lynn]

35 minutes ago, Northern Aurora said:

 

If this is directed to me I am well aware of the size of the M-class Michael's Clubs and have been on the Eclipse several times.  And the usage of the Micael's Clubs/Retreat Lounges varies significantly from cruise to cruise.

No, not necessarily you… just in general 

We found Michaels to be lovely actually, but tight when full as it was upon occasion JMO

Edited October 16, 2022 by Karen Lynn

[lexmiller]

13 hours ago, Northern Aurora said:

 

 

We are scheduled to board the Eclipse on March 10 for a B2B2B2B series traveling in Australian, New Zealand and South Pacific waters.  We will be the Americans with the supply of masks in our luggage.  We will also spend time in Micheal's Club avoiding large crowds.

Hey there, I believe I commented on one of your comments a while back, because we are also doing a multi B2B on Eclipse in the spring - and I am TERRIFIED of mandatory back to back testing, absolutely terrified - very seriously will cancel as we are not prepared to fly half way across the world and get caught in the b2b mandatory testing dragnet.  I can only imagine for instance having to miss going ashore in Tahiti because I am asymptomatic or have super mild symptoms but yet tested positive - I think I'd explode.  No amount of masking or distancing can prevent you from catching this super contagious yet super mild virus - mild if you are taking care of yourself by vaxxing and boosting.  My husband had it, had a minor sore throat, I never caught it and withholding the details, but we were as close as you can get for a few weeks.  Personally, I feel strongly that all testing must end, and I am pretty sure that the cruise lines feel the same way - since testing is mandatory, refunds are mandatory, lots of money lost.  And nowhere else is testing happening - land vacations are looking more and more appealing to us, as until testing stops for consecutive cruising, back to back cruising is incredibly risky.  

[Doubt It]

1 hour ago, lexmiller said:

Hey there, I believe I commented on one of your comments a while back, because we are also doing a multi B2B on Eclipse in the spring - and I am TERRIFIED of mandatory back to back testing, absolutely terrified - very seriously will cancel as we are not prepared to fly half way across the world and get caught in the b2b mandatory testing dragnet.  I can only imagine for instance having to miss going ashore in Tahiti because I am asymptomatic or have super mild symptoms but yet tested positive - I think I'd explode.  No amount of masking or distancing can prevent you from catching this super contagious yet super mild virus - mild if you are taking care of yourself by vaxxing and boosting.  My husband had it, had a minor sore throat, I never caught it and withholding the details, but we were as close as you can get for a few weeks.  Personally, I feel strongly that all testing must end, and I am pretty sure that the cruise lines feel the same way - since testing is mandatory, refunds are mandatory, lots of money lost.  And nowhere else is testing happening - land vacations are looking more and more appealing to us, as until testing stops for consecutive cruising, back to back cruising is incredibly risky.  

 

Agree. No cruising if there is testing period. There are other travel options.

[Disastersue51]

I was on the Eclipse Vancouver to Hawaii and my roommate got Covid. I was moved to another cabin and never tested again by the ship. I tested myself as I did not want to spread illness. I got Covid but not until I had been home for four days. I think the plane ride home may have been the culprit. Only about 10% wore masks and the woman across the aisle coughed continuously for 5 1/2 hours.

[lexmiller]

@Suzi66 are you out there?  Your input would be very valuable and interesting to hear on this thread.  For those that missed her informative posts, she was sailing from Alaska all the way home to her native Australia on the Eclipse but her husband got caught in the b2b testing dragnet.  I am going to copy/paste one of her original posts on the topic, but for the life of me, I cannot find the post where she explained how Celebrity had no record of her husband actually testing positive - they left the ship in Vancouver as they had apparently been instructed to do but when then following up with Celebrity, Celebrity said they had no record of his test being positive and it was all a bit of a mess.  I do apologize for not being able to find that post in my search, I tried - so I am really hoping that you see this post, @Suzi66 and let us know more of the details.  I am certain that Celebrity doesn't want to test us, they don't want us to self-report, they want this all to be over - the amount of money/resources it's costing them is outsized compared to this virus which simply is NOT THE BLACK PLAGUE.  No other social enterprise on earth is testing in order for a person to participate.  The anxiety ESPECIALLY for back to back cruising this is causing is outsized compared to the virus itself.  If you don't want to catch it, don't leave your house as you can catch it anywhere - testing to cruise has to stop. 

 

Here is what @Suzi66 posted on the Eclipse 9/22 roll call.  I do hope she can weigh in with an update - thank you!   

I can tell you that we were doing a B2B2B and are now no longer doing that as my husband was one of the ones that tested positive.  It meant that at short notice we had to find 10 days accommodation in Vancouver for his isolation (us not Celebrity) and we have been waiting for our TA to hear from Celebrity if we can get back on the ship in Honolulu for the leg home.  I can tell you that being 13,000km from home and what was supposed to be your transport back to Australia has sailed off without you is very stressful, when you have been given no other information other than you have to leave the ship in 12 hours and then radio silence for days on end.

Our TA has been working on a few different plans for us once quarantine finishes on Saturday, but I doubt we will have heard from Celebrity in the next 24 hours as they haven't bothered in the last 8 days.

[Suzi66]

On 10/16/2022 at 8:32 AM, lexmiller said:

@Suzi66 are you out there?  Your input would be very valuable and interesting to hear on this thread.  For those that missed her informative posts, she was sailing from Alaska all the way home to her native Australia on the Eclipse but her husband got caught in the b2b testing dragnet.  I am going to copy/paste one of her original posts on the topic, but for the life of me, I cannot find the post where she explained how Celebrity had no record of her husband actually testing positive - they left the ship in Vancouver as they had apparently been instructed to do but when then following up with Celebrity, Celebrity said they had no record of his test being positive and it was all a bit of a mess.  I do apologize for not being able to find that post in my search, I tried - so I am really hoping that you see this post, @Suzi66 and let us know more of the details.  I am certain that Celebrity doesn't want to test us, they don't want us to self-report, they want this all to be over - the amount of money/resources it's costing them is outsized compared to this virus which simply is NOT THE BLACK PLAGUE.  No other social enterprise on earth is testing in order for a person to participate.  The anxiety ESPECIALLY for back to back cruising this is causing is outsized compared to the virus itself.  If you don't want to catch it, don't leave your house as you can catch it anywhere - testing to cruise has to stop. 

 

Here is what @Suzi66 posted on the Eclipse 9/22 roll call.  I do hope she can weigh in with an update - thank you!   

I can tell you that we were doing a B2B2B and are now no longer doing that as my husband was one of the ones that tested positive.  It meant that at short notice we had to find 10 days accommodation in Vancouver for his isolation (us not Celebrity) and we have been waiting for our TA to hear from Celebrity if we can get back on the ship in Honolulu for the leg home.  I can tell you that being 13,000km from home and what was supposed to be your transport back to Australia has sailed off without you is very stressful, when you have been given no other information other than you have to leave the ship in 12 hours and then radio silence for days on end.

Our TA has been working on a few different plans for us once quarantine finishes on Saturday, but I doubt we will have heard from Celebrity in the next 24 hours as they haven't bothered in the last 8 days.

Hi, my internet has been very limited for the last couple of weeks and I have only just now found this post.

So the story is that we were doing a B2B2B as quoted with the first leg being an Alaska round trip from Vancouver and we were then going home (other than needing 2 flights from Sydney to get to our country town - this is relevant information BTW) to Australia on the Eclipse.
On the information day for the B2bers we were told there would be no testing, however on the following day there was a note on the door saying that all B2Bers would now be getting tested that afternoon which was our final day.  My husband had just come down with the sniffles that morning and he tested himself with the RAT tests that we had brought with ourselves and it was positive and he informed the medical centre who tested both of us.  I was negative.  The doctor told us that we had a decision to make, would I stay on for the next cruise if my husband had to leave and he could then meet us in Honolulu, or would we both go?  Or it was possible they would just put us both in quarantine as we had sea days coming.  We were escorted back to the room and then left for hours without any information, nor told what we could do for food for the day.  However at 8p.m we got the phonecall stating that both of us had to leave the ship the following morning and where were we planning on staying.  No offer to help us find somewhere, however there were continual calls throughout the rest of the evening demanding to know an address.  Trying to find somewhere to take us until the start of October in a place we knew nothing about was difficult.

Our TA then had to find out if they would allow us to rejoin the cruise as because my husband had tested positive we needed a Certificate of Clearance, but as they hadn't even bothered to register us with the Canadian government we never got one, nor did they have a record of his test when she was trying to find out about us getting our money back for the cruise.

October 3 which was the day we were supposed to rejoin the ship came and went and we still didn't get a definitive answer from them.  However we made other arrangements for ourselves and have continued our vacation in another way.  The headoffice did ask our TA for proof that my husband had Covid though which we thought was rather infuriating as they were the ones that supposedly made the decision to kick us (and many other B2Bers off as there were 200 people that were shuttled to accomodation, and others that were allowed to drive home if they were close by.

 

What we did get from the ship was an offer of paying $250 per day for accommodation and a $100 meal allowance and if we had booked flights through Celebrity they would rearrange our flights.  However Celebrity does not do flights from our town and we were trying to get them to acknowledge that they were our transport from Vancouver to Sydney so they should shoulder part of our costs of getting home.
 

[bucfan2]

40 minutes ago, Suzi66 said:

My husband had just come down with the sniffles that morning and he tested himself with the RAT tests that we had brought with ourselves and it was positive and he informed the medical centre who tested both of us. 

However Celebrity does not do flights from our town and we were trying to get them to acknowledge that they were our transport from Vancouver to Sydney so they should shoulder part of our costs of getting home.
 

Got the sniffles, so got tested.  And then expected a flight from Vancouver to Sydney on their dime.  Would imagine the cruise lines response was appropriate.

Edited October 19, 2022 by bucfan2

[lexmiller]

3 hours ago, bucfan2 said:

Got the sniffles, so got tested.  And then expected a flight from Vancouver to Sydney on their dime.  Would imagine the cruise lines response was appropriate.

Celebrity had no record of @Suzi66 husband even testing positive - Celebrity was the one that forced him to test, that forced him off the ship, and yet, Celebrity had no record of even having done so!  I think her story is enlightening and troubling for all of us.  Suzi and her husband were taking the ship HOME - they live in Australia.  They flew to Vancouver for their Alaskan cruise on Eclipse then they were continuing on the Eclipse as consecutive cruisers sailing home on the Eclipse.  Celebrity threw them off, gave them no direction about rejoining the voyage on Oct 3, a series of problems.  Hers is a cautionary tale for B2Bers......wow, there were 200 or so B2Bers that all tested positive in the testing dragnet!  @Suzi66 thank you so much for your report.  Very informative and definitely highlights how very risky B2B sailing is, if testing is required.    

[bucfan2]

17 minutes ago, lexmiller said:

Very informative and definitely highlights how very risky B2B sailing is, if testing is required.    

Absolutely....it's a risky world anywhere testing is required.  We choose to pass or play, according to the rules set forth.  Certainly a good heads-up for anyone doing a B2B, particularly for those that don't know what's expected going in.

[lexmiller]

11 minutes ago, bucfan2 said:

Absolutely....it's a risky world anywhere testing is required.  We choose to pass or play, according to the rules set forth.  Certainly a good heads-up for anyone doing a B2B, particularly for those that don't know what's expected going in.

For sure, but in her case, it is undeniable that Celebrity really dropped the ball - to me, highlights that Celebrity wants testing over with as much as we do - onerous for all, anxiety producing and a big financial drain on the company for all of the cash reimbursements that have to be made to those testing positive in the mandated tests, not to mention the personnel that have to be taken off their normal jobs to work on covid related problems - when the crew is notoriously understaffed to begin with.

[RichYak]

34 minutes ago, bucfan2 said:

We choose to pass or play, according to the rules set forth. 

Unfortunately, you don’t know the rules for B2B testing until the end of the first leg.