Cruising in January Should we stay or should we go? . Opinions please

Take emergency undies supplies in case you end up stranded at sea! Oh and extra prescription meds too......

Having been on cruises before I know how hard the crew work to keep everything clean and passengers healthy BUT - you can't MAKE the passengers follow the rules! Going into the restaurants there are numerous sanitising hand sprays to use, however the number of people who don't use them is awful, as is leaving the public washrooms without washing hands! If there are children on board then there is the problem of breathing over food in any eating place. It amazes me there are not more outbreaks of ill health on the huge cruise ships. Much as I like cruising, as a single oldie I think it is a safe way to holiday, I certainly won 't be doing it in the current covid situation.

I am in the same position as you. We fly to Dubai in two weeks and join a cruise around UAE. The itinerary has been changed and basically, we will spend 4 full days and nights on board the ship, as two ports of call have been cancelled. I am feeling totally overwhelmed by the entire process of arranging tests, Gov UK guidance, downloading apps. updating Covid test certificates et al...not to mention all of the extra costs involved in having tests both in UK and Dubai, before, during, and after the cruise......wondering if it is all going to be worth it. If we hadn't been travelling with a dependent friend, I might have cancelled by now.

We went on a cruise during October half term and it felt very safe. Everybody had to be double jabbed, and extra tests were carried out before embarking. Masks had to be worn while walking about inside on board, and lots of hand sanitising. The forms and tests necessary were a bit onerous but I think that's going to be the norm going forward. Go and enjoy!

We were on on in October and thoroughly enjoyed it. Yes masks had to be worn inside but only until you sat down. Lots of sanitizers about and temperature checked every morning. Felt safer on there than I do in the local supermarket.

We cancelled our 4 week Queen Mary 2 cruise 2 weeks ago, due to sail on January 14th. We lost our (considerable) deposit obviously. Too much of a risk to test positive while on board and then be taken off the ship. Ten passengers were taken off the QM2 in New York this week. If only one of us tests positive, the other is not covered by insurance.
At least it means we can eat normally at Christmas.

I would really want to go, but there are so many obsticles I think I would be thinking twice about a cruise at the moment. Imagine being isolated in a cabin for days, at least if there is a lock down you will have more space at home.

Definitely don’t go,far to risky,imagine being locked down in your cabin,what do your family think ?

I have never been on a cruise or wanted to do so preferring dry land. My sister and husband after retiring went on at least three a year and quite often had tummy trouble which affected most of the passengers.
I expect most of the excursions on land will be cancelled anyway.
I wouldn’t go if they paid me.

Not in a million years

Unless they have upgraded the air con system, I wouldn't go near a cruise. People not able to have fresh air, breathing recycled air - not for me. I suffer with asthma, have cruised a number of times and when there is a cold on board, I always seem get a chest infection, this is because of the recycled air and if you are in a non-balcony cabin, it is much worse.

We have recently returned from a cruise to the med. We tested several times in the week before departure and avoided any unnecessary contact so that we tested negative at the departure port before boarding. All precautions were in place onboard and we felt very safe. Make sure that you are fully insured (including Covid cover) for repatriation to the mainland if necessary and quarantine costs etc, Covid precautions on ships are much better than on land and we felt very safe. I would suggest you check with your cruise line what happens if you test positive whilst away though. On the basis of our experience I wouldn’t hesitate to go again.

Sorry couldn’t think of anything worse, can you imagine if covid swept through a cruise liner at sea. I’d cut my losses if it was me.

Friends in the States are going to go on the Eurodam (one of the Holland America Line ships) after Christmas and are looking forward to it. They just want to have a reasonably normal life now - they are tired of endless restrictions, etc. They know the risks - as with anything in life, but realise they can't be kept in cotton wool, so are stepping out of their comfort zone to start living again.

I wouldn't go. Can't you reschedule it to next year or a later date? Some companies are letting you move your holiday forward if you feel uncomfortable.

Oh no...a floating metal prison with covid as some of the guests! Not for me. I wouldn’t go at the best of times, but if I’d booked a holiday for January, I definitely wouldn’t be going.

NO WAY

No way would I be travelling in a floating petri dish.
DH designed and built ships for a living and he would never go on a cruise

At the beginning of Covid a couple of cruises were in the news - if I remember rightly there was one in Japan with loads of ill people and another in Central & South America.

A colleague was on the latter with a group of friends - it was a disaster. Predictably there were outbreaks on the ship, and as the world was in a panic with this newly-emerging pandemic most of the fabulous ports of call wouldn't allow passengers to disembark.

In the end they were confined to their cabins - can't remember all the details but they ended up being quarantined in Florida before being flown home.

Funny you should say that harrigran. My husband used to build and race catamarans. He winces at the sight of tall modern cruise ships and talks about ‘windage’. No way would he go on one (suits me fine).

We have been on a cruise in Nov/December.
Face masks worn inside at all times except when eating or drinking.
Hands washed before all meals
Hands sanitised before entering any public rooms
Sanitiser at every lift and staircase.
All excursion drivers tested the morning of the trip

We had a lovely cruise. Ok it wasn’t as good as some as we weren’t allowed off independently.
The mask wearing was annoying but correct
It wasn’t a mega ship and we sailed from the UK so no flying involved.

P.S. someone mentioned the ships were rife with norovirus. True it is a problem but on our 12 cruises we only had one where norovirus occurred and the ship crew dealt with it efficiently and firmly.

TanaMa we go on Saga cruises.
On the one trip we had where there was an outbreak of Norovirus, the Captain stationed crew in the doorway of every public toilet and no one was allowed out without washing their hands. Also no one was allowed into any public rooms without sanitising their hands and no one was allowed in the dining rooms until they’d washed their hands in the basins provided in every restaurant. All closely supervised by the dining room staff. I suppose a lot depends on which cruise line you use as to how they deal with viruses.

The virus is so transmissible right now. If you get it, and the risk of that where there are lots of people climbs higher, then you won’t feel well and you won’t enjoy yourself. On balance I would defer for a while and go when the risk has fallen . I’ve now had omicron for a week. I’m triple jabbed, in my sixties and ok but exhausted. I’d be resting somewhere all the while. And presumably stuck in a cabin once positive, which would be dreadful. Postpone x

From BBC - 29th Dec.

CDC reports Covid outbreaks in dozens of cruise ships

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has said it is investigating or observing 89 cruise ships with Covid outbreaks onboard.

In an update on Tuesday, the public health body said it had begun investigating an additional 38 ships, and 48 others were "under observation".

Those under investigation include ships from Carnival, Disney, Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Line.

Three more ships are being monitored by the CDC due to reports of Covid infections, but case numbers are below the agency's threshold to begin an investigation.

In a statement the Cruise Lines International Association, an industry body, says its members "[continue] to have very productive dialogue and are working together with the CDC in the interest of public health and safety".

I wouldn't.