MarkNH

Just a reminder that Covid is still out there... All our family had successfully avoided Covid for 2.5 years despite making a cross-country move (Boston->Seattle), wife working in the office around other people, kids attending school in person, etc. Last week we cruised for the first time since Covid started, we wore masks in crowded areas, stayed in the Haven so not around many people, but we took the kids (7 and 10) to the Splash Academy a few times and they had capacity controls (max 60 kids) so people were lining up in the hallway with no distancing for 30 minutes or more to guarantee a spot. 2 days before the end of the cruise my son lost his voice which we assumed was due to all the yelling he had been doing then the last day of the cruise both kids were tired which we assumed was due to letting them stay up a lot later than normal. We got home and all took rapid tests and both kids were positive, I tested positive the next day (immediately got prescribed Paxlovid as I am older and high-risk) and my wife tested positive the day after that. We are all symptomatic but the kids are mostly feeling better and my wife and I are just tired with typical cold symptoms and aches. It makes me wonder how many people are catching Covid on the ships and not realizing until they get home?

Encore doesn't have tenders, I was on the last cruise and they had to borrow tenders from other ships. It would have been a shame to miss Skagway as it was my favorite port of the cruise, we took a private tour into the Yukon and for once the weather cooperated and we had amazing views.

This is great news but don't go thinking it means there's no Covid on the ships. We just got off the Encore yesterday, everyone tested negative before the cruise, my son developed a cough on day 5, son and daughter tested positive yesterday (30 minutes after leaving the ship) and I tested positive this morning. (It is what it is, and we still had a great cruise)

I was on the Encore and saw the rockslide from deck 8 aft. All the passengers on the way back to the ship were safe but it was scary and everyone ran. The rockslide was contained by the wire netting put in place after the previous slide. Police responded within a few minutes and the dock was closed temporarily, some passengers had a long wait for a tender from another ship, and there was some friction when Haven passengers were given priority. The dock was reopened before Encore's departure time and the last few passengers got to board via the dock. We met the the cruise director in the Haven restaurant and he said this week's sailing will call at Icy Strait Point instead of Skagway. MVI_0425.MP4

I was just talking to a local about a tour and she thinks everything should be repaired in another 1-2 weeks.