Cruise and Covid

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I have had Covid twice, once before I became ill and once recently (a close friend asked us over when not feeling brilliant and tested positive the next morning with us following on four days later. Grrrr.).

I just wanted to advise that in our case, we tested positive for 11 days with each infection (and I had an anti-viral infusion in hospital which I assumed would have shortened the length of my infection), so don't necessary expect a quick negative result.

I think you are a star in not travelling when Covid-positive and just wish there were more like you!

Thank you!

Thank you Candelle. I notified the cruise line to tell them I was testing positive with a view to cancelling the cruise. As a retired nurse, I could not believe that I could still board with Covid. As time goes on, it seems more cruise lines are relaxing their regulations. I will not be rushing to cruise again any time soon. I am hoping to test negative on Monday or Tuesday.

BlueSapphire thank you for advising that Saga test at the port before embarkation. Very interesting.

Lynker thank you for naming the company and for being brave and 'doing the right thing' by not going. You may well have saved someone from becoming very ill.

I heard that a month or so ago there was a ship which had 500 Covid-stricken passengers, of course all confined to their staterooms. If... this is true (it was hearsay) I did not see anything about it in the press or on television. If correct, this had been hushed up.

I love cruising but couldn't consider it at the moment as I am immunosuppressed. Many people are not ill with Covid and may not even know that they carry it; they are asymptomatic which is why the onus is on people such as myself to keep away as much as possible. However, when people do know they are Covid-positive it is mind-boggling to that they could allowed to board a ship. They will likely affect someone and there is no knowing who will and will not become ill and let's face it, most cruise passengers are not in the first flush of youth, so more vulnerable!

I hope your travel insurance will cough up and that you will soon be able to take another cruise. I wish you better (should you feel unwell, I think you are OK so far...!).

No testing at all for Virgin, says my friend boarding today.

Thank you for that info, BlueSapphire. Reassuring. Enjoy your cruise.

I'm on a Saga cruise, by the way.

I am on a cruise at the moment and we were given a test (which was administered under supervision) in the car at the port; it had to be negative before we could board, so everyone who's on the ship has tested negative. They were very thorough.

Of course. Life goes on. I'm glad I'm not stuck in any more and am enjoying travel, eating and drinking in public places among which are cruise ships.

We don't all go to bars or restaurants.
Some of us consider those places to be an unacceptable infection risk, likewise cruise ships.
We are entitled to have that opinion, as you are to have yours.

I do chat to others on the bus and sit in closer proximity to strangers there than at any other time! Plenty of space on cruise ships. By all means trot out the cliche of 'floating Petri dishes' if it makes you feel safer. Good luck in bars and restaurants btw. People eat and drink in them on land too!

Fleurpepper...no.
Granny....thank you.

Aveline

Every bus is a 'petri dish'!

You don't eat, drink and chat to others generally on a bus, do you? Gel before, wear mask, gel after. Not the same at all.

Lynker

Fleurpepper.....I tested because I had covid like symptoms and was due to board a cruise liner with 4000+ potentially vulnerable people on it. Would you have tested? As a result I am now at home, while 6 family members are enroute to the airport. I stand by my decision to test...but I wonder whether I am in the minority under the circumstances......my original question was 'would you go?'...........let me now ask....would you test?

Definitely, you did the right thing, and the right decision not to go. But have the other members of the family been with you last few days?

Lynker it must be such a disappointment and you should be commended for your responsible attitude and consideration for others. I hope your symptoms remain mild and that you are able to treat yourself to something nice while you’re stuck at home. Fingers crossed for you to receive a refund or alternative dates. ?

Not quite the same as a cruise, but I didn't test earlier this month to sail 12+ hours to France with Brittany Ferries, carrying capacity around 3000 people.
I went on board with a supply of masks because the CEO had sent emails to say they were re instating them to protect their staff. Fair enough. However, less than 5% of people were actually wearing them. It seems like a thing of the past.
On a long cruise I probably wouldn't have tested beforehand unless I felt ill, but reading this thread maybe I now would.

Fleurpepper.....I tested because I had covid like symptoms and was due to board a cruise liner with 4000+ potentially vulnerable people on it. Would you have tested? As a result I am now at home, while 6 family members are enroute to the airport. I stand by my decision to test...but I wonder whether I am in the minority under the circumstances......my original question was 'would you go?'...........let me now ask....would you test?

Some friends who live here in France went on a 4 or 5 day cruise on the Gironde estuary. They returned on the Friday morning and were supposed to come to lunch the next day. That morning they received a call to tell them that one of the other people on the cruise, with whom they'd become friendly, had got covid. They had already cancelled lunch because they had flu like symptoms and didn't feel too well.

So, not a good idea to go if you have covid.

Until the end of lockdown I knew of nobody who had covid. Now I now more than a dozen people who;ve become ill, some not too bad but others quite severely.

I wouldn’t exactly say that the comment offends but it is incorrect and inappropriate. A cruise ship is like a large hotel except with a much higher standard of cleanliness and hygiene. You can catch covid or any other contagious illness anywhere. As I said before it’s my belief that a negative test should be necessary before boarding a cruise ship. I know that some people on GN may wish to make comments about outbreaks of norovirus or other problems. These are rare which is why they get into the papers. Also cruises have got a bad reputation because of what happened in Japan at the beginning of the covid outbreak. If some cruise lines aren’t asking for tests then this is because their industry guidelines must have changed. I believe this to be a mistake but it’s the authorities who are at fault here.

Every bus is a 'petri dish'!

I asked friend who are going on a cruise today, around the Med. They said no testing required. But as you say, FarNorth, in this case the clients tested, for whatever reasons, and were positive.

I am sorry if the 'petri dish' comment offends- but for me, it is a perfectly apt description in the current circumstances.

Although other passengers aren't being asked to test, I think they'd assume that the company would not allow someone to travel whom they know has tested positive.

Please update us about any refunds. What will the policy be if it is your decision, rather than theirs? How complicated!