Quirky Cruiser

We traveled on the Harmony last month and my youngest son tested positive on the re-entry test for unvaccinated children on our last sea day. He was completely asymptomatic. If you test positive on the ship, as of today's policies (I will say this because I think they are very fluid at this point) you would be quarantined in a different location on the ship. You do not disembark with the regular passengers. You are escorted off the ship with the rest of your party onto the dock along with the rest of the isolated passengers and family members. Immigration is on the dock and they do have a list of people, but they don't ask anything (or at least in our case) about how you are traveling home. Royal will provide you with a letter that explains what they will cover as far as lodging, transportation, meals, etc and how you will be reimbursed. We lived within driving distance, so we were escorted to the parking garage, but nobody really follows you once you are off the ship. At that point, it is up to you to figure out what you will do and when you will travel. I guess it would be the honor system. Also, we have cruised many times in the past and while we used to have to put our information as to how we were traveling to and from the port, we didn't have to on this last cruise. Try to take a deep breath and realize that Covid is everywhere now and not just on cruise ships. You have just as good of a chance catching it at the supermarket. It's just a risk you have to assume, but don't let it ruin your cruise thinking about it. September is two months away and honestly, lots can happen in that timeframe...

If this is the case, then why would he expect Royal to help them? Had he tested positive onboard you are handed a letter upon disembarking that has all the info and phone numbers to handle post cruise expenses and accommodations. Also, probably shouldn’t jump to conclusions saying there were ambulances that met the ship at the port because of Covid patients. There are many other reasons ambulances can be there. On a cruise prior to Covid, we sadly lost a passenger (according to friends sailing with the family) due to a heart attack. An ambulance met the ship when we docked to disembark because it happened on one of our last sea days. 

Also, just a heads up - since they are not considered fully vaccinated, they will need to be tested to re-enter the US on your last sea day. The ship will provide you the time and location for this test. Just keep your fingers crossed they come back negative at that point! 

2 minutes ago, Love2cruisewkids said:

For those sailing with unvaxed kids. How long did it take to get the PCR test back prior to cruising? Also, where did you get the test?

We went to Walgreens and did rapid NAAT tests for all of us. Kids need to be done 3 days prior to sailing and vaccinated adults need to be done two days prior. It was quick and easy and done at the drive-thru. We tested the kids. We had results within 2 hours and they were emailed to us. You can schedule appointments 5 days prior. 

2 minutes ago, ReneeFLL said:

I was referring to when you said you wouldn’t let them test you. They probably didn’t feel like arguing with you so they let it go. Their ship their rules and you agreed to it when you booked the cruise. 🙄

It’s not in the rules to have me tested. I had no symptoms, nor did I even get it. I have had it twice before. I tested prior to cruising per their rules and was negative. There is no such thing as a close contact anymore since we were close contacts with 5900 passengers as well. The only people they test are unvaccinated children and those who report symptoms to them. Get off your soapbox of thinking I didn’t follow the rules. 

20 minutes ago, ReneeFLL said:

 

If you didn’t like the rules you shouldn’t have agreed to cruise with Royal. Their ship, their rules.

 

Good grief. We sail with them all the time. Gave an account to the OP of what it was like when my asymptomatic son tested positive on day 7. It will all be irrelevant soon enough since Covid jail will come to an end like all the either mandates. 

19 minutes ago, topnole said:

Respectfully, I’ve never heard a doctor say fresh air and vitamin D is the best thing when one is sick.  Vitamins don’t do much once your are sick.  They are preventative at best.  And only if you are vitamin deficient.  And fresh air?  Unless you are breathing uncirculated or contaminated air, I doubt it matters

one bit.  Sleep/rest and hydration is what I’ve heard most from doctors.   

Respectfully, we will agree to disagree. 

1 minute ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

like go full Karen on them? Surely, they'll leave you alone then.

Thankfully we didn’t even need to do this, lol. Just said no, we are vaccinated. Made a phone call and then told us we are all set. Easy peasy! 

8 minutes ago, topnole said:

I know that you don’t know what I think because that isn’t what I think at all.  I’m well aware that Covid exists in folks beyond the quarantine area.  In fact we too had several interactions with guests and crew who ended up having Covid on our last cruise.   All the same, if you have a quarantine area where Covid positive guests are confined, it is ridiculous to have other passengers coming and going at their will.  

Exactly why the whole thing is laughable. Besides, any doctor will tell you that when you’re sick, the best thing to do is get fresh air and vitamin D. We had a balcony cabin and if my son was indeed sick, he should have been able to sit out there. But instead they put you on a room that offers  none of that. In the end my husband didn’t end up there with my son until almost 3pm (6 hours after testing) and we were off the ship by 7 the next morning. The family next to us on the dock got in a van and went to the airport - no questions asked. Again, they satisfied their protocols by checking the box. Once you are down there or off the ship, they look the other way. 

9 minutes ago, topnole said:

The other women coming and going.  Geez.  Well that certainly can’t be good for containment (which is the purpose of quarantine).  

I know that you think these are the only people on board that have Covid, but there had to be tons of others. I know two people who we met at one of the bars who said they were fighting head colds and had bad headaches. My kids were in adventure ocean with kids who were sick. We were surrounded everywhere we went by people coughing and sniffling. Elevators were full of people who were. Honestly, I don't even flinch when I hear it because the normal cold still exists. By putting people in quarantine, they have "checked the box". They can say that they followed the protocols set forth. But to think there are people down there monitoring those rooms or even checking in on them is a pipe dream. 

4 minutes ago, topnole said:

My kids had Covid (not on a cruise) several months back and were also almost entirely asymptomatic.  We only tested them because my wife was sick and tested positive.  Seems to be pretty common among healthy kids.  My wife and I were the only ones who had any symptoms and we were the only ones vaccinated.  
 

As far as the ship’s red zone, was this the general red zone or just for kids.  Seems crazy that they had non-quarantining parents in the hall visiting or bringing stuff.  That does makes zero sense.  Why are they quarantining if they allow others to visit.  If you are worried about spread, that does make zero sense.  
 

 

I think people have this misconception that the red zone has security or something. They are regular staterooms behind a watertight door. There is a button that opens and closes that door. Medical told me to go up to my room and pack a few things for my son and husband and then my husband called and let me know what room he was in. I walked down, the stateroom attendants opened the door (several times) and I went back and forth. None of it makes sense and this is why they are probably moving away from this and moving back towards quarantining in your own room. Not one person asked myself or others why we were down there. Heck, the woman in the room next to my son with her son had been there for a few days and she even left and went back. My husband called the nurse with a question and never even heard back. Once you're back there, you're on your own. 

2 minutes ago, kitkat343 said:

Could you please explain a little more about how you have the right to refuse a covid test if the ship asks you to take it?  I hadn't heard this before and would like to be able to research it further before I take my next cruise.  

I told them I am vaccinated. She made a phone call and said that I no longer needed to be tested. We obviously tested prior to getting onboard and were negative. My husband was down in the red zone and they asked him to test and he told them he was vaccinated and she walked away. It was not confrontational at all. The only people they are required to test are unvaccinated children. 

8 minutes ago, hollionthebeach said:

Thank you for posting. We are going in July and I was wondering what would happen. I would’ve reacted just like you did. 
 

People need to use common sense and if someone is worried about  COVID, then a cruise is the last place to be. My whole family had Covid at Christmas time and we all had minor cold like symptoms. People need to start treating this like any other virus. 
 

I also don’t understand wanting to know who is vaccinated…even the vaccinated can get COVID and spread it. 

I agree 1000%. If a person is even remotely nervous about catching Covid, going on vacation in general, whether it be on a cruise, to Disney, to the Grand Canyon (neighbors just came home from there with Covid), or some other place, is probably not the best thing you can do right now. We had Covid in 2020 and we have all had Covid in 2022. It is what it is. We have to learn to live with it. Like the Flu, Norovirus, etc. We lived with all of them before! 

Just now, topnole said:

When our kids were test onboard last month we watch closely for the email they send you.  It took less than an hour for the results to come back.  They obviously offer the courtesy of not holding everyone until results come in, but I just assumed we were supposed to keep an eye for the results and act accordingly if they were positive.   I certainly wouldn’t have gone hours without looking.  If anything I would want to know asap so I could start packing and preparing for quarantine.  

I'm on vacation, so we don't connect to Wi-fi. I don't walk around with my phone and I'm certainly not checking my email. They never even told us we could get results that way. Why would I even think he would be positive? He was running around, playing, not even a sniffle. I didn't have the slightest concern. Even when we went to medical, they asked us why we were there! Told us we needed an appointment later in the day. The whole thing was comical. There was no packing for them. I brought things back and forth to them in the red zone, while also talking to other parents standing outside rooms in the red zone. My husband said somebody donned a hazmat suit to bring them down to their room, but then after that, the people in the hallways were all just regular employees with just a face mask. No hazmat suits, no face shields. No biohazard bags everywhere. They would have been better off in our own cabin. By the time we take our next 7-day cruise, this testing will be long gone. 

2 minutes ago, 3yorkies said:

Sorry, but whether the child had any symptoms or not is immaterial.   If he is positive, he can infect others.    And only in the quarantine area can they monitor and be sure people don't leave and that their waste is properly handled.    

It was laughable at how it was handled. For three hours after the test he was playing in areas with tons of others. He also went to adventure ocean and on two separate nights, children left sick - one with a fever and one who threw up. Medical called both families (we talked to the families) and asked if there were any other symptoms and then stated “oh, they are vaccinated, so they are good to go!” Completely laughable at this point. People hacking all over the place last week. I’m just giving the OP a synopsis of our events. Don’t really care if somebody thinks it was correctly handled or not. My husband and I have to work even if we are positive, so life is moving on. 

We just got off Harmony last week and my 7 year old was asymptomatic and tested positive on the last day (our last day was a sea day). His brother tested negative. They were tested at 9am and they sent us on our way. For the next three hours we went to breakfast, swam, went rock climbing, went down the abyss slide, went on the climber, and we were waiting for the aqua show when guest services paged us. They asked us to report to medical and despite our son not having one single symptom, they refused to let him quarantine in our room. They made him go to the red zone with my husband. They asked me to quarantine with our other son in our room. I will warn you, if this happens to you, just know your rights. My son was given a room in a hallway filled with sick people. They had no towels and their toilet didn’t work. My other son and I spent the afternoon going back and forth and bribing them towels, food, clothing, etc. one of the stateroom attendants showed me how to get in and out and we were so grateful. They did page me later that afternoon because they wanted to test my husband and I, but we refused. You are allowed to do this. I needed to stay with my other son and pack. They never checked on us after that. Guest services ushered us off the ship last Sunday and we did immigration on the dock. They handed us a letter detailing how many days we were being reimbursed for and what to do if we were flying home. We drove so they sent us on our merry way. My son never had a single symptom. 
 

I spent a long time arguing with guest services and medical over why my son wasn’t allowed to come back to our room and they kept quoting the CDC. I will say, they do believe this is coming to an end soon. They all thought it was rediculous to put him in the red zone. They also think this portion of the testing may be ending soon too since it was more a US requirement and the airline requirement just ended. 
 

Hopefully you will never need to go through this, but just know that the results aren’t instant. Had we been at the pool, we would have never heard the page. And no, they don’t send people out to look for you. They paged people all day - same names over and over. They are just checking the box and moving on….

2 hours ago, rudeney said:

There is a vast difference between "testing positive" and "being sick", and that is the problem I have with mandatory testing.  Putting people in quarantine due to a positive test but without sickness is just as bad as people who are sick continuing to socialize with others and communicate their infection, whether it's a cold, flu, Noro, Monkey Pox or the plague. 

^^THIS!^^ we just got off the Harmony yesterday and my children had to be tested on the last day for re-entry into the US. We tested and went on our merry way to swim, ride the carousel, go to breakfast, go rock climbing, and while we were sitting for the aqua show, they paged us to guest services. Our youngest tested positive despite not having even one symptom. Not even a sniffle. We demanded a re-test and they told us it was against policy. He was told to go into the red zone (7 years old so my husband went with him) while they tried to tell myself and my other son to quarantine in our room. Not happening. He was negative and I was fine. I was livid because we learned two years ago that you don’t put perfectly healthy people in with sick people - it’s a recipe for disaster. I entered the red zone many times to bring them food, drinks, towels (they weren’t given any and their toilet didn’t even work), and clothing. It is like a prison down there behind two water tight doors that beep constantly. After seeing the conditions they were in, I would never report anything to the medical unit. People were sick all over the boat, but my poor child who had to be tested was punished. Got off the ship yesterday, threw the mask away, and off we went. 

I received mine Tuesday for our April 20th Navigator....despite it being cancelled in the last wave of cancellations. Sorry to say it’s an automated system that sends them out and with the new CDC guidelines, your cruise will most likely be cancelled in the next wave. Sorry!!!!

We are scheduled to sail tomorrow and we decided to walk down the beach to see the ships leave. It was VERY rough in the channel. We watched a catamaran try to navigate into the channel and then lose control while the Coral Princess was leaving, causing him to turn around and get out the way of the ship. We saw the first three ships leave and then nothing - we were already back at our hotel by the time Harmony left, so we knew there was an issue somewhere. Just hope that all the affected people are safe and getting cared for. The pilot boats were being tossed around pretty badly when we saw them - only makes a very hard job that much more risky....

I found information posted on the Facebook page "What's Going On In St. Thomas". They have had links to different island reports and they mentioned contaminated runoff from roads and also fuel contamination from the boats that were destroyed in the water. My assumption is that there will be water testing and Royal would never send ships in knowing the water is unsafe - but then again, they might just put it as a disclaimer on the front of the daily planner and expect people just to shop. Who knows!

The interesting thing is that I saw on a Facebook page for locals on the island that none of the beaches were open for swimming due to high bacterial levels. Not sure what Royal can do to remedy that in three weeks...

We love these islands and know how much they rely on tourism dollars, but after reading that article and seeing that Great Bay is still unsafe makes me wonder if bringing a 6000 pax cruise ship in three weeks is really worth it. I have no doubt that as the weeks pass, the waters will improve. The other interesting part to our itinerary is that st Thomas was already replaced with San Juan because of propulsion issues. The ship can only go so many places because of its size so it will be interesting to see if they try to keep an eastern itinerary or just go west...

We are scheduled to sail next month on the Nov. 12th Allure cruise. At this point, we don't know if our itinerary will be changed from Eastern to Western and I'm thinking they are just waiting to see how things go in the next few weeks to make their decision. We have been to the islands many times and honestly, at this point, we are fine with going anywhere and even just staying on the ship, but wanted to ask if anybody has heard whether the beaches/waters are unsafe? I heard today that they have not cleared the beaches in St. Thomas for swimming. Apparently there are high bacteria levels because of the rain and the hurricanes. There is a chance of catching Staph. Is this something Royal will be checking into before they bring ships in? We have two little ones who love the beaches on both islands, and we would love to help support their local economy during this time, but if it's dangerous, we might just stay on the boat. Anybody with any insight on this?

Hi! We (along with our good friends) utilized the in-room babysitting two years ago on the Allure. They come in pairs and we had three kids total. It was fantastic - they came to our room at 8pm and put the kids to bed. We tried to get in-room sitting this past year and despite being the first family to request it, we didn't get any nights. We knew going into it that there was a chance we wouldn't and we were still ok with sending them to the nursery and kids club at night. I would tell you not to bank on any in-room sitting and consider it a huge plus if you get it. Even if you can get it, you might only get one or two nights. The reason we didn't get it this past year is because our sailing followed a busy school vacation sailing and they didn't have any crew members volunteer for the opportunity our week since they were so busy the week before. They are crew members who are the babysitters - we had one of the girls from shore excursions and one of the male divers. If none ask for the hours, they don't offer the service. As soon as you get onboard, run, don't walk, to guest services and put in the request. It can take up to 24 hours for them to get back to you. Once you do that, go up to the nursery and put in a backup request for the hours you need at night. That way, if you don't get the sitter, you still have a place for the child so that you can go out. Hope this helps!!!!

Very nice upgrade!:)

Once in a lifetime! We are thrilled and beyond excited to get to stay in one! We normally do connecting balcony cabins (we have two small children and believe it or not, it can be cheaper to do two rather than have all of us in one). The price of this cruise has been dropping and the suites were less than what balcony rooms sometimes cost "in season". We initially were upgraded from a suite guarantee and then upgraded again. Looking forward to experiencing the ship in a different way! We will still pay for a drink here and there, but with the added perk of the happy hour and beer/wine from 11am to 11pm, I'm not sure we would break even on the package (hubby might, but doubtful for me!). Thank you all for the insight - this is all new to us even though we've been lucky enough to have been on all the oasis class ships several times!

We actually moved to a crown loft suite! :D So coastal kitchen and the suite lounge will be nearby! We are on an eastern cruise on November 12th and have no idea which ports we will now be going to (and honestly, we will be happy with whatever they decide) so we figured that we might have more time to enjoy the room this time around!