Cruise Ships Aust Covid Rules

[lissie]

On 6/14/2023 at 10:18 AM, Zanny said:

Hi Was just wondering what peoples views are on when all the covid isolation and test rules could end for cruise ships in Australia..

I am not against the rules by any means but seeing in most parts of the world now on cruises there aren't  any restrictions to isolate etc if you test positive. Surely the rules can't  go on forever.This is mainly curiosity  on what others think

Thanks Zanny

Where did you read that ? We're cruising HAL return out of Boston next month and the requirements if you test postivie on board haven't changed 7  days isolation longer if you don't test negative - partner has to test everyday. 

[capriccio]

On 6/18/2023 at 7:54 AM, OzKiwiJJ said:

You are asked to verbally confirm you have a negative RAT. Then they do random checks on the proofs. 

 

I haven't heard anything about what happens if someone can't produce the required proof on request though.

On our cruise that departed Sydney on April 2nd, my sister and brother-in-law inadvertently (because they didn't listen to me much less read the instructions carefully) took the RAT more than 24 hours in advance.  They were flagged upon check-in and were given free tests to take right there.  Everyone was very kind and within 15 minutes they were walking up the gangplank.  I don't know if they would provide the free tests if someone hadn't at least made the effort to follow the rules.

[OzKiwiJJ]

13 hours ago, capriccio said:

On our cruise that departed Sydney on April 2nd, my sister and brother-in-law inadvertently (because they didn't listen to me much less read the instructions carefully) took the RAT more than 24 hours in advance.  They were flagged upon check-in and were given free tests to take right there.  Everyone was very kind and within 15 minutes they were walking up the gangplank.  I don't know if they would provide the free tests if someone hadn't at least made the effort to follow the rules.

That's good to hear. 

 

I imagine they would provide free tests regardless as denying boarding without proof of having Covid wouldn't be in the cruise line's interest. 

[sanne]

Pity they don’t test for RSV and flu since both are rampant at the moment and can be quite severe in older folks. 

[bazzaw]

On 6/20/2023 at 3:25 PM, lissie said:

Where did you read that ? We're cruising HAL return out of Boston next month and the requirements if you test postivie on board haven't changed 7  days isolation longer if you don't test negative - partner has to test everyday. 

Wife and I both tested positive for 14 days - so happy that only 4 days of that were in shipboard confinement. 

[lyndarra]

On my recent Alaska cruise there was no checking prior to boarding, it was business as usual.

Today there was this post on HAL roll call for our cruise.

 

"Message boards on another site are indicating many people got sick and tested positive for COVID-19 on our cruise or during a land portion afterwards. I personally felt there were a ton of passengers on our land portion to Denali who were sick and not masking. There was so much coughing and hacking on the train and bus tours, where we were stuck together for many hours, that it seemed inevitable to get sick from them. Alas, I tested positive for COVID-19 the day after my flight home. I'm thankful I wasn't sick during the trip. The most disappointing part was just seeing so many fellow travelers not care about getting others sick, not bothering to mask, etc."

 

This was a surprise to me as I did not notice anything untoward during the cruise. Our post cruise tour was independent but same itinerary. We were on the same train to Denali but different car and different bus for Denali Tundra tour. We were also in different accomodation as were some people we met off an X cruise.

[Hammer61]

Just off the Carnival Spendor, early on the trip was chatting with the room steward and asked about COVID, he told me they have had NO cases on board in previous trips 😕 but then laughed and said they also had NO testing on board and found it amusing and in his words, "if no one has been tested, then no one is positive then we have no COVID on board right?"

 

Made me do a double take i just heard that 🤯

 

Edit, we did have to show evidence of vaccination and pre cruise test before boarding though, but once onboard no mention of COVID which surprised me you would of at least thought they would say please test if you have symptoms etc, we also asked about masks, but none available our steward told us, again a bit shocked at this, but we are off now and didnt get COVID................Well not yet at least only just off😏

Edited June 21, 2023 by Hammer61

[arxcards]

1 hour ago, Hammer61 said:

Just off the Carnival Spendor, early on the trip was chatting with the room steward and asked about COVID, he told me they have had NO cases on board in previous trips 😕 but then laughed and said they also had NO testing on board and found it amusing and in his words, "if no one has been tested, then no one is positive then we have no COVID on board right?"

 

Made me do a double take i just heard that 🤯

 

Edit, we did have to show evidence of vaccination and pre cruise test before boarding though, but once onboard no mention of COVID which surprised me you would of at least thought they would say please test if you have symptoms etc, we also asked about masks, but none available our steward told us, again a bit shocked at this, but we are off now and didnt get COVID................Well not yet at least only just off😏

Funny, NSW health site has them regularly showing as tier 1, which confirms minor levels of covid aboard on most cruises (Splendor returned to Sydney as tier 1 this morning). If nobody presents with symptoms, nobody will test positive. It is driven by passenger attitudes to being tested, not any ship policy. Splendor also does lots of shorter cruises, so that also works in their favour.

 

I hope you are well and stay bug free, but give it a couple more days to be sure.

[sanne]

Having cruised for 25 years we have always dodged nasty respiratory bugs ( people coughing, sneezing and obviously unwell  ) particularly during the northern hemisphere winter, and not forgetting Norovirus and other GI infections. Nothing new. Covid is just another bug we will have to try and dodge on cruise ships. 

[arxcards]

25 minutes ago, sanne said:

Having cruised for 25 years we have always dodged nasty respiratory bugs ( people coughing, sneezing and obviously unwell  ) particularly during the northern hemisphere winter, and not forgetting Norovirus and other GI infections. Nothing new. Covid is just another bug we will have to try and dodge on cruise ships. 

Try it. It isn't the same. It is something new, a different beast that shut down the whole industry for over a year, which is something that norwalk and influenza never managed to do. Nowhere, ever has a ship had over 800 infected passengers on it as Majestic Princess achieved last November on a cruise to NZ. We also managed to avoid catching everything for a couple of decades, and with those lessons learned we still returned home from a cruise with covid.

 

Even with a big list of restrictions & protocols, it has already been a matter of dodging for over a year. Protocols are not about preventing the need to dodge, but to try and cap the overall numbers that aren't able to dodge it successfully.

[sanne]

11 hours ago, arxcards said:

Try it. It isn't the same. It is something new, a different beast that shut down the whole industry for over a year, which is something that norwalk and influenza never managed to do. Nowhere, ever has a ship had over 800 infected passengers on it as Majestic Princess achieved last November on a cruise to NZ. We also managed to avoid catching everything for a couple of decades, and with those lessons learned we still returned home from a cruise with covid.

 

Even with a big list of restrictions & protocols, it has already been a matter of dodging for over a year. Protocols are not about preventing the need to dodge, but to try and cap the overall numbers that aren't able to dodge it 

I understand what you are saying. But I’m not quite sure how we can continue to have protocols and restrictions for ever, since Covid is now endemic. What do you suggest?
 

We managed to cruise for 30 days earlier this year without catching Covid and nor did our friends. Plus a 10 day cruise last June with 4 other couples. 

 

 

[OzKiwiJJ]

I imagine the governments are keeping a close eye on Covid numbers on ships operating here. If there aren't any more big outbreaks then they'll probably relax the protocols and restrictions. In some ways I think this would be a mistake after having been on cruises pre-Covid where respiratory illnesses ran riot through the ship but most people just carried on mingling in public. Unfortunately from what I've seen on cruises in the past year most people didn't learn a thing from the pandemic and are acting the same way when they catch whatever viruses are being shared onboard.

 

Oh well, we'll continue to carry a supply of masks with us on cruises in case we need them! 

 

It's going to be interesting to hear what is happening on the current Coral Princess world cruise in this respect.

[bazzaw]

10 hours ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

I imagine the governments are keeping a close eye on Covid numbers on ships operating here. If there aren't any more big outbreaks then they'll probably relax the protocols and restrictions. In some ways I think this would be a mistake after having been on cruises pre-Covid where respiratory illnesses ran riot through the ship but most people just carried on mingling in public. Unfortunately from what I've seen on cruises in the past year most people didn't learn a thing from the pandemic and are acting the same way when they catch whatever viruses are being shared onboard.

 

Oh well, we'll continue to carry a supply of masks with us on cruises in case we need them! 

 

It's going to be interesting to hear what is happening on the current Coral Princess world cruise in this respect.

There are no mandatory restrictions in "real" life! Football season is in full swing with packed stadiums. 

[bazzaw]

Everybody used to panic about norovirus on ships. 300 cases onboard a ship was front page news! But I always used to wonder why "only" 300 people out of maybe 3000 passengers would get it. I believe I knew the answer to that and it has to do with personal hygiene. Neither my wife or I ever got it after several hundred nights on cruise ships. 

[bazzaw]

As regards to mask wearing - during the recent wildfires in Canada where the smoke travelled cross country to as far as New York, people were complaining that even masks was not keeping the polluted air out of their lungs  - I wonder if these were the same people who insisted that  masks were necessary to limit the transfer of the Covid virus by airborne virus particles. 🙂 

[Kristelle]

2 hours ago, bazzaw said:

There are no mandatory restrictions in "real" life! Football season is in full swing with packed stadiums. 

yes there are......Not in football maybe but in relevant areas of real life  - visiting/working in Aged Care facilities or hospitals or some other medical venues - one has to wear masks and/or do RATS tests.

[Kristelle]

2 hours ago, bazzaw said:

Everybody used to panic about norovirus on ships. 300 cases onboard a ship was front page news! But I always used to wonder why "only" 300 people out of maybe 3000 passengers would get it. I believe I knew the answer to that and it has to do with personal hygiene. Neither my wife or I ever got it after several hundred nights on cruise ships. 

 

 

I think that is unfair.

 

of course washing hands reduces the risk of spread - but it isnt as simple as everyone who caught it was inferior to me in personal hygiene

[Auscruisefam]

The only restrictions in place are be vaxxed from whenever ago and do a rat test at home, and people are not doing that correctly. Very few people are testing on board and crew are no enforcing it because I’m sure the cruise lines are well and truely over it. This is the same conversation that happened before they dropped the requirements every else in the world. NZ has dropped them. PO already have unvaxxed cruises to the islands from Auckland. I can’t see how they can keep dragging this along. I’m sure if the rest of the world managed we will be just fine. 

I think Sep/Oct they will drop the restrictions. Considering they pretty much don’t exist anyway. 


 

 

 

 

 

 

[MMDown Under]

13 hours ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

I imagine the governments are keeping a close eye on Covid numbers on ships operating here. If there aren't any more big outbreaks then they'll probably relax the protocols and restrictions. In some ways I think this would be a mistake after having been on cruises pre-Covid where respiratory illnesses ran riot through the ship but most people just carried on mingling in public. Unfortunately from what I've seen on cruises in the past year most people didn't learn a thing from the pandemic and are acting the same way when they catch whatever viruses are being shared onboard.

 

Oh well, we'll continue to carry a supply of masks with us on cruises in case we need them! 

 

It's going to be interesting to hear what is happening on the current Coral Princess world cruise in this respect.

Yes I agree it will be interesting to see what happens on current WC on Coral Princess with regard to number of passengers who get Covid.  

[OzKiwiJJ]

35 minutes ago, MMDown Under said:

Yes I agree it will be interesting to see what happens on current WC on Coral Princess with regard to number of passengers who get Covid.  

They're at the point where an outbreak would start to become apparent if people had brought Covid on, unwittingly or not, when they embarked and shared it around. 

 

Jo hasn't updated her blog in the last few days. 

[sanne]

As far as being vaxed is concerned. The only requirement on a cruise ship is to have had 2 x vaccinations or equivalent depending n where you are coming from in the world … J&J only required 1 vax. Since the vax only lasts a few months unless you have a booster just prior to going on a cruise, being unvaxed or vaxed would make no difference since most had their primary vax along time ago. Most now have some antibodies from having Covid. 
 

We are both up to date with vaccines, wear masks when we feel necessary ( on planes particularly) , use Enovid nasal spray, clean all surfaces on planes, hotel rooms and cruise cabins on entering and wash/disinfect hands constantly. It’s up to each and everyone now to look after yourself just as we have always done. 
 

The world has moved on from Alpha to Omicron.. it’s my opinion we do have to live with this and make the most of every day without living in fear of catching Covid. 

[johnkylie]

Well said.

[sciencewonk]

Just sharing my experience.  I got COVID on a 34-day cruise on HAL.  I was up-to-date with 5 vaccinations and wore a mask everywhere except outdoors, in my cabin, or while eating.  As a retired immunologist, I was a bit perturbed that my immune system let me down.  I isolated for 5 days and was free to go after testing negative on the 6th day.  I wasn't happy being isolated, but I had the satisfaction of knowing I wasn't infecting others.  I probably would have done something similar with a cold.  Interestingly, my wife, who isolated with me, never tested positive.

 

We're using the future cruise credit to cruise New Zealand this coming November.

[bazzaw]

8 minutes ago, sciencewonk said:

  I isolated for 5 days and was free to go after testing negative on the 6th day. 

Lucky you - wife and I both tested positive for 14 straight days! 😞 

[sciencewonk]

3 minutes ago, bazzaw said:

Lucky you - wife and I both tested positive for 14 straight days! 😞 

Yes, that can happen in about 10% of cases (including my nephew).  I feel fortunate that I had a mild case and tested negative so quickly.