Thaxted333

Hello everyone 

I don’t know if anyone will pick up on this post. I’ve just been rereading this thread and thought I would update you all almost a year on from the fateful cruise. 
It turned out that I did have COVID in Brazil and am still recovering. It’s turning out to be a really long haul. 
silversea were amazing and I am still really grateful for all that they have done for me. 
my cruise from Tokyo-Vancouver has been cancelled as was the December 2020 cruise Lima-Miami. I have rebooked that one for December 2021. 
I hope that you have all remained well. So much has changed in our World and I fear that things will never be the same again. I miss giving and receiving hugs from friends and get quite lonely at times. Lockdowns are hard to tolerate. 
hoping to meet you all in a future cruise. 
stay well and take care. 
Roma

1 hour ago, Ozzibroad said:

Hi Roma,

What an  epic  journey. You must be exhausted.  Everyone will be so  happy  to find you  made it. We  were beginning to expect the  worst  when you suddenly dropped out.

My, you came down  quickly. I recall seeing you beside the pool  a day before you went  to  hospital.

Now you  must look after yourself- no Covid, no flu.

Have  you anyone to do your  shopping? I  hope so.  You will need the most  nutritious food you can  get. Wish  I could send  you  some oranges. My trees are loaded this  year.

 

Did  Silverseas  pay  for your  return?  They did  ours,  all the  way. 24  passengers on  2  flights  Recife to Santiago, about 200  seats ,then  Santiago to Sydney, around 400  seats on    a  Boeing 787-8 , for 24 people. They are  refunding  the  whole cruise as I  outlined [same as  you] and have promised  incidentals. I don't  know how   or what  yet but was informed  that there  was a maximum of 2 nights  hotel accommodation, if that  helps.

 

All the other providers  are offering  credits- hotels, Amtrak, Southern Airlines Air  New  Zealand. These have to be  used within 12  months  so  I doubt  their  usefulness. United has offered  a refund. I did all my own bookings with  6 days  in US  I cannot use now as  we  never got there- and  who would want  to  go  now?

Thanks ozzibroad and everyone else. I kept saying to myself that I must get online and look at messages but I just didnt have the energy. Yes SS paid for all my transport and they had a tough time as airlines were dropping routes at random and the itinerary changed several times, so they did a great job there. All but one of the flights was business  class and that really did make a massive difference to me, I'm really grateful.

There are some things I'm not too happy about but I'll speak to them directly. 

I came down really quickly, within 90 mins. If I can manage to attach some photos here you can see how well I was at dinner that night! I really do appreciate the support from all of you in this forum. It means a lot. IMG_1609.HEIC

IMG_1610.HEIC IMG_1611.HEIC IMG_1615.HEIC IMG_1622.HEIC IMG_1626.HEIC IMG_1629.HEIC

Hi everyone. I'm so sorry that I have been silent for so long and for worrying you unnecessarily. After discharge I had to spend 3 days in a place in Recife,  it was t great but apparently it was the only 'hotel's taking bookings. I then had a really onerous journey home, consisting of;

Recife-Sao Paulo 3,5 hours stop overnight

Sao Paulo-Houston 10.5 hrs

Houston - Charlotte  1.5 hrs

Charlotte  - Boston 2 hrs 

Boston- Dublin 7 hrs 

Dublin - home 2.5 hrs

The last four flights were completed within 24 hrs so no chance of food or water. After arriving in USA I was escorted by a nurse for the rest of the journeys so she did manage to get a snack and a bottle of water for me. Fair play to SS, they sent me business  class most of the way as the drs asked for me to be away from other passengers. They also organised a car to take me the 120 miles home from Dublin airport.

My oxygen levels dropped dramatically on the Sao Paulo  - Houston sector and I needed oxygen most of the way. By good fortune, one of the cabin crew was a nurse so he kept an eye on me and monitored things throughout. Since arriving home I have had to deal with a lung infection in my left lung, thankfully that has cleared up now. 

I was affected really badly by the news that the Canadian man had died. When I said to my doctor that I knew he said that they hadn't wanted to upset me  and was very saddened himself by the death.

The nurses and drs in ICU were amazing, many thanks to them. I'm slowly beginning to feel like a normal person again though I tire very quickly.

I'm interested to hear about the refund for the cruise. I have been offered the 125% credit or 100% refund but nothing about incidental, I'd be interested to hear more about that.

I thank all you for your prayers and good wishes, it has meant an amazing support for me.

I haven't decided yet on the refund options. How can we find out the value of the refund as I had an extra day in Brazil so I'd don't really know what they will be refunding.

Thank you to all of you sending me best wishes and love. I am out of ICU again and drs are aiming at a Friday discharge. I don't know if I'll be flying home that day or whether a need a few days in fresh air. I guess I'd have to wait for suitable flights first. What route did fellow Britons take? As I  travelling alone it wont be a charter flight so don't know how they will deal with social isolating. The entire world has changed since I left home on 5th March! I'll keep you all informed about what us going on, please keep your messages coming too. 

We should set set up a "We survived Match 2020 with SilverSea group" and then arrange times when we can be online to chat with each other". 

3 hours ago, Lois R said:

Happy to see people are getting home.  Anyone have more news about/from Roma?

Hi there. I'm still in ICU so I'm having a challenging time. I hope that my luggage and passport is taken off the ship before she sails. 

4 hours ago, englishusa said:

Did I miss something? What about the Brits, Moss included?

And me, in ICU 

On 3/19/2020 at 1:43 PM, Daveywavey70 said:

A Wave from Sunny North Wales hear Roma. Keep your chin up. Any idea when you'll be allowed home yet?

Thanks Daveywavey70. Where abouts in N Wales are you from? I used to live in Llandudno and my sister was born and raised in North Wales. No idea when I'll get home as I've moved back to ICU,  drat. 

On 3/19/2020 at 12:51 PM, Tothesunset said:

Chin up, Roma. Good to hear your recovery progresses. 

 

You'll be grand yourself, so you will. 🙂

So you're Irish then?? Or doing a reasonable impression of one 😄 sad to  say but I'm back in ICU after going a wee bit downhill, so I did! Don't know when I'll get home. Safe travels

On 3/19/2020 at 9:48 AM, spinnaker2 said:

Hello Roma from South Florida USA! Keep getting better!

:-)))

Thanks Spinnaker2, once this is all over we shall meet up and have a good old 'yarn' about it.

On 3/18/2020 at 8:55 PM, Ozzibroad said:

Roma,

I am so sad  that you have been left  out. Rest assured however  that our Captain has kept up to date with  your progress and  several  times  announced how you and the  positive gentleman  are going.

It is  a pity  you did not  know this.

 

 

Thank you for letting me know about that, it's very touching. Did he tell you that I have been readmitted to ICU? I had a lot of chest pain and my O2 levels were low so I needed a higher level of care. I'm still in ICU so I don't know when I'll be heading home. Hope you've all got home safely 

12 hours ago, Ozzibroad said:

Roma,

I am so sad  that you have been left  out. Rest assured however  that our Captain has kept up to date with  your progress and  several  times  announced how you and the  positive gentleman  are going.

It is  a pity  you did not  know this.

 

 

I'm so sorry to say that I will not be joining you all today as you disembark. I'm quite sad about this and my Dr understands that I'm feeling quite low. Please, please do keep your messages on this forum so that I can pretend that you are still with me.

I hope you all, from whichever country, get home quickly and safely and that none of you gets ill on your return home. You will be in my thoughts and my prayers and I humbly ask that I can remain in yours.

God speed

Roma

19 minutes ago, Ozzibroad said:

I certainly agree. Our Captain  started ring each passenger  last  night. At  about 3  minutes per  passenger and  4-500 passemgers  this is  a formidable  task. He also has the ship too run. he woul d never get a sleep if he tried to do this  repeatedly, however,  a newsletter to  the  major   National  groups  outlining what has  been done   and what  we are waiting on  would be  very  helpfu

l  We have about 3  announcements per day from the Captain   and  a few from  Moss but  they are  not detailed.

Most people on  board are quite intelligent and  understanding of the problems so it would not  hurt to divulge  a little mor of what is going one.

I have to say that perhaps a 3 minute call from the captain to me would have meant a great deal, thexship has my phone number after all. I certainly am a sensible person, but I am being excluded from the information that you are all getting. I have seen on other social media that you have all received a note signed by the captain.

I do know that I am just one person out of several hundred, but I am one of the two people in hospital and it hurts to not be given information and those little personal touches that makes Silversea special. While you are getting laundry done, I am washing my one change of underwear in the bathroom basin in my room (sorry to be a bit intimate with that, but I think it needs to be said).

I will continue to sail with SS and am already booked on a cruise on the Muse in May 2021 but I'm a little disappointed to be 'left out'. Sorry for 'butting in' on this thread but I was reading it and just getting really upset. 

Roma

1 hour ago, englishusa said:

My apologies to a sweet Colleen!

No problem. 

11 minutes ago, englishusa said:

Top o'thr Morning to you sir!

 

Ha ha, I'm female 😄

May the road rise to meet you,

May the wind be always at your back,

May the sun shine warm upon your face,

The rains fall soft upon your fields and,

Until we meet again,

May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

3 hours ago, englishusa said:

Roma: Just to let you know that, when you get back to Ireland, all the pubs have been closed! ( Even on St Paddy's day!)

Tee hee 😄😄. Its a good job I'm a secret drinker then isn't it! 😂😇

17 hours ago, spinnaker2 said:

Roma

Yippeee.

Coffee!

Chocolate must be next.

 

Glad you are better.

Believe it or not a friend of the manager of my travel agent (got that?) lives in Recife and he came in to visit me today and brought............chocolate! So, I've never met this chap before. Wasnt it wonderful of him to come in to visit? He originates from a town about 15 miles from where I live so it was great to hear a local accent. 

44 minutes ago, Ozzibroad said:

Hi Roma,

I am so  glad to hear that you are out of  ICU and  on the  mend.

It is wonderful that you  can get hot coffee. As an  addict  I was very sympathetic to  you.

Sadly  though, you are not enjoying the  room service we  have  here on the Shadow!  You  are missing th e copious  Heidsieck  supplied.   Maybe the coffee is better though.

Over the  last 24  hours we have been advised  only 1  bottle of  champagne  permitted  per meal session  ! 

I wonder who could drink  more?

You know, I saw you  beside the pool the day before you were taken  ill and you seemed OK, It must have taken you down so quickly.

Keep  improving  and  I hope you are home soon.

Cheers

Wendy

Yes wendy, my temp went from normal to 40 C in about an hour, I wasnt feeling too well at that point, actually I remember little of it. I recall have icy cold cloths on my head, throat and under arms as paracetamol was not bring my temp down. Until around 10.30 pm I felt perfectly ok! Just one bottle of champagne!! Do send your leftovers to me please. 

Hi all, I want to thank each one of you for your support, best wishes and hugs. It has really helped me. I'm pleased to inform you that I am now out of ICU, still in a private room. I even got hot coffee with my meal tonight! 🙂. The Consulate are being really helpful to me so I hope that all the other British passengers and crew are being helped too.

Do keep your messages coming on here, it's good for me to still feel part of the Silversea family (does that sound really silly?).

5 hours ago, Peter&Kathy said:

Here is the text.  

The more than 600 passengers and crew on a Bahamas-flagged cruise ship, isolated since Thursday in the port of Recife due to a case of coronavirus, will begin to return to their countries by plane, the Ministry of Health said.

"We are going to solve the problem of the ship that is in Recife. We have two Uruguayans and two Argentines inside the ship (...) We will receive these South Americans and continue their isolation in Recife before sending them to their countries of origin". said the ministry's executive secretary, João Gabbardo, at a news conference.

"This is the position of Brazil, we will receive these people. The others will leave by plane from tomorrow (Tuesday) and return to their countries of origin", he added, without specifying the duration or details of the Operation.

According to press reports, the people on board the ship are 18 nationalities, most of them from the United States and the United Kingdom.

Recife officials last Thursday ordered the vessel to be quarantined with 608 people on board - 317 passengers and 291 crew members - after a 78-year-old Canadian was considered a coronavirus suspect for having a fever, cough and breathing difficulties.

Soon after, authorities confirmed that the passenger, who is being treated at a private hospital, tested positive for Covid-19.

In Brazil, 234 cases of coronavirus were registered until Monday, with no fatalities, and 2,064 suspected cases.

Thank you. I'm guessing you are all still on board?

12 hours ago, Lois R said:

I am from The USA...…..I live in the state of Florida.

Thank you, you must be dreadfully worried about the changing situation in USA. I'm hoping that when I'm allowed to fly that I will have no problems getting home, though it will be a 30 hr journey!

6 hours ago, Lois R said:

Roma, I always sail solo and would love to meet you on a cruise one day! Hopefully our posts have helped a bit

and I do hope you get well very soon.

Hi Lois R

I always travel solo therefore it would be good to meet up at some stage. What country are you from?

Hi all, is there an english version of that link? I do hope that it means some of you will get home soon. 

Thank you all so much for your messages, hugs and humour. Yes I am the Roma from the solos group, I doubt there are two on board 😄. That's why I put my name on the end, so that you would recognise me. I do understand that life on board is pretty limited. Mind you, a glass of anything alcoholic would be great just now. It was very strange going taken into an ambulance by space men, but they had to be careful. 

I managed (well, my sister in the UK managed) to get in touch with the Embassy here. I have received the letter sent to all Britush passengers but it is unlikely that I will ge able to return home at the same time due to the pneumonia. It depends how long you have to wait for. The Embassy phoned me this afternoon so it was good to be in touch with them directly. 

I am being well looked after medically speaking. I too thought there was a lot of coffee in Brazil but I'm pleased to say that one of the drs arranged for me to get a cup of hot coffee, yum!

Please take care all of you, try not to be too frustrated by the curtailment of our holiday. We will all hopefully have another cruise with SS at a later date. I have one booked for next year. Stay in touch with me, my prayers and the prayers of my church at home are with us all. 

Roma

Hello all, I am the 2nd passenger that was taken off ship. Reports and results have been very confusing. The ship told me my test results before the drs did!! I'm very shocked at that. I did not have appendicitis symptoms. I had high fever and abdominal and chest pain.

An earlier message said that if they had had temp of 40 C they would not have been able to lift a finger let alone sed a message.i can ay that at that point I was hallucinating and it took several days before I was able to send a message and then it was to the first person in message list. She then got information to others and they were then able to contact my sister. 

I am sorry that the ship is in lockdown but at least you have food etc. I have only meals that have gone cold before I get them, no coffee, no tea. Just bottled water to drink and it is room temperature. I'm getting IV antibiotics and they make me feel sick and I'm alone. Few nurses speak english so it's a lonely time for me. I'd love to hear Moss's voice. 

Now that I've found this forum I'll check in regularly. Best wishes to all of you, esp the lovely people on our trivia team. 

Roma

Thank you.