Celebrity Eclipse exposed passengers to Covid19

[Blackduck59]

1 minute ago, rugerdog said:

 

I really wanted to do this leg too, since it would be a quick flight to SD, and Vancouver is within driving distance.  

 

I kept watching each once of the cruises, trying to decide if I should pull the trigger and book since I knew it was going to be getting worse and worse.  I thought if I waited and just did the last leg, it would be okay by then.  Maybe it will be repeated next year.

 

I'm not sure it will be with Eclipse. At this point in time she will not be doing the South American run next year, she is going to be in Melbourne cruising New Zealand and the south pacific. I think the re-positioning will be via Hawaii.

[rugerdog]

To the OP or any others that were on this sailing : I have read there were many pax displaying symptoms whilst on board.  It has also been said that you were told no one on the ship was sick.  Do you have any knowledge if the Eclipse had C19 tests on board?  

 

I'm sure passengers had to be concerned, and no doubt it was widely discussed.  Every time someone coughed or sneezed, it would be impossible not to wonder.  Was the question ever directly asked to the staff or crew?  I'm thinking either at GS or maybe during one of the Q&A sessions.  

 

From most accounts I've seen, the ship's atmosphere was upbeat and happy, free internet, full refund, free beverages, etc.  I'm just putting myself on board and wondering if I would have been asking everyone with a name tag about how they could say the ship was healthy?

[hvbaskey]

15 hours ago, FOXTROT said:

I know this will be censured but have to say it anyway. A big thank you to the Capt., crew & Celebrity Management. Thank you for caring about your bottom line, not the health & safety of your passengers. Thank you for not protecting myself & wife. I now get to see her moaning in pain from the muscle pain. Can't go to the hospital she is not in a critical stage.

 

Very sorry to hear about your wife, best wishes for a full recovery.

[Va man]

From someone who was onboard, I can tell you that what we noticed was that there were fewer people coughing at the end of the trip than on any other cruise that we have taken. Passengers seemed to be using the hand sanitizer much more rigorously. I went down to the infirmary at day 17 and the waiting room was almost empty.  

We were convinced that we had not been exposed.  We did follow the news extensively and did not see any reported cases where we had been.   Late in the cruise I was aware that two Silverseas ships with infection had been at two of the ports that we had been to before we were there.  By the time we reached San Diego, we had been in the ship 17 days.  It was a real shock to find out 4 people tested positive.

[cruisin lady ca]

This update was posted by KUSI San Diego on April 6.  So sorry to read this news.  We sailed on Eclipse - Chile to San Diego - in March 2019.  Hard to believe how much the world has changed in just a few months.  Stay safe!

 

https://www.kusi.com/worldwide-covid-19-cases-linked-to-celebrity-eclipse-cruise-ship/

[TeeRick]

6 minutes ago, cruisin lady ca said:

This update was posted by KUSI San Diego on April 6.  So sorry to read this news.  We sailed on Eclipse - Chile to San Diego - in March 2019.  Hard to believe how much the world has changed in just a few months.  Stay safe!

 

https://www.kusi.com/worldwide-covid-19-cases-linked-to-celebrity-eclipse-cruise-ship/

Thank you.  Please keep us updated.  Horrible situation.

[hcat]

17 hours ago, FOXTROT said:

I know this will be censured but have to say it anyway. A big thank you to the Capt., crew & Celebrity Management. Thank you for caring about your bottom line, not the health & safety of your passengers. Thank you for not protecting myself & wife. I now get to see her moaning in pain from the muscle pain. Can't go to the hospital she is not in a critical stage.

So sorry for this.  You have our prayers and best wishes for your wife's speedy recovery! Keep us posted when you can

[FOXTROT]

Thank you everyone for the kind words & prayers. Wife' is doing a little better today. 

[Beachin2]

Eclipse just sailed from San Diego. Fair winds and following seas Eclipse - thanks for bringing us home!

[ddr]

13 minutes ago, Beachin2 said:

Eclipse just sailed from San Diego. Fair winds and following seas Eclipse - thanks for bringing us home!

Just watched the sailaway.  Never did hear what happened to the South American passengers that couldn't disembark here.  Perhaps they are still on board (?)

 

 

[Va man]

A prior post on hear or Facebook said all passengers had debarked and only crew was onboard and isolated in passenger cabins.

[Boatdrill]

On 4/1/2020 at 6:59 AM, hvbaskey said:

 

the worse part is that people now have scattered to the winds, potentially and very likely infecting hundreds, if not thousands.   .

Yes, just like flying on an airplane.

[Artquest]

It looks like Eclipse is heading north. Anyone know where she’s going?

[Va man]

I heard the pre March 15 plan was to cruise to Vancouver and then go into a short dry dock to do something with the hull.  Maybe they are still going to Vancouver.

[Blackduck59]

7 minutes ago, Va man said:

I heard the pre March 15 plan was to cruise to Vancouver and then go into a short dry dock to do something with the hull.  Maybe they are still going to Vancouver.

 

If she is heading in this direction the Dry dock is here in Victoria. If she shows up here I will be able to see the dry dock from the local beach. I will let you know.

[In_Steerage]

At 8 knots and tooling around off the coast of La Jolla, it appears she's got no immediate destination and is just keeping the engines running and the lights on.

[TeeRick]

8 hours ago, Blackduck59 said:

 

If she is heading in this direction the Dry dock is here in Victoria. If she shows up here I will be able to see the dry dock from the local beach. I will let you know.

Please keep a minimum of 6 feet away from the ship😀.  Sorry I could not resist!

[Petelang]

 

 

 

My wife and I were on the Eclipse for this cruise. Our tour began with a land tour starting in Rio for Carnival and then to the Falls at Iguazu, subsequently joining the ship at Buenos Aries. We were in a group of about 30 people from mainly UK but some from USA. Before setting out we had some concerns owing to the Diamond Princess situation but figured South America was as far removed from the virus as you could possibly get. All was going well until the day I joined the ship when I had a nasty case of the trots, first sign of it on arriving at the cruise port. Once aboard ship this continued and was bad and I had no alternative but to visit the ship medical centre. There, after an interview assessment, blood pressure, temps and pulse check they diagnosed a case of Gastro enteritis and issued me with meds and confined me to cabin for at least a day. I even had to be escorted back to my cabin by the cabin stewardess to ensure I went there directly. I was told to eat bland diet, only via room service and stop there. I had subsequent calls from nursing staff to enquire of my welfare and the next day symptoms had abated and after 18.00 I was released from quarantine to go about ship as normal. Two days later I started to suffer other symptoms, violent vomiting and shivering fever so a repeat visit to sick bay. This is where things get very interesting. I was subjected to numerous tests. A flu virus test (twin nasal Probes) urine, bloods and all the usual checks. I was placed in a ward and infused with a cocktail of antibiotics and saline transfusion, the diagnosis was a water infection. Further antibiotics given and whilst this time I was not enforced quarantine, I was not fit to roam about so self isolated in the cabin for a further 24 hr period. The attention in the medical bay took nearly four hours and during this time a lot was happening including one lady, elderly looking, being taken by wheelchair to x ray for a "check to see if you have double pneumonia" as I clearly heard said as they passed me in the corridor. There were quite a lot of patients reporting to sick bay. It was busy there and my suspicions were raised that perhaps quite a few people were starting to feel ill. After a couple of days I began to feel much better, indeed almost recovered except for appetite and digestion was still not right. Meantime the news worldwide was of the world closing down. Life around ship seemed normal and our port calls at Ushia and Porto Montt were no problem. Our regular waitress Yulia, a truly lovely person disappeared from duty and we were told she was poorly. A couple of days later her assistant also reported sick but only briefly. Yulia was not seen again right up to our departure. Then we were stuck aboard denied San Antonio shore and rerouted to Valparaiso and the announced Onward cruise to USA. We were completely informed by Capt Leo. One could not fault communication at all and I have seldom known such transparency which did build trust amongst passengers. There was however a marked increasing the sanitisation and cleaning. Everywhere you went, surfaces were being washed, disinfected and scrubbed. The daily messages about cleaning hands reinforced at every opportunity. I jested that if one stood still long enough, you would be sanitised (clearly not a bad thing in hindsight) but it must have impinged significantly on the crew duties to make such steps and it again hints that this may not have been just prevention. Towards the last week in theatre and quiet areas of the ship, the number of deeply rooted coughing incidents markedly increased and it cannot have gone unnoticed. Despite best intention of officers and crew, many passengers are their own worst enemy and we all witnessed people of questionable personal habits, in public food areas, washrooms, just everywhere not starting to take the situation seriously. But it is completely impossible to isolate yourself on a cruise ship. The lifts were packed, people queued, the buffet was like a market with jostling and shoulder to shoulder activity. Four days prior to docking my wife developed a full on cold like condition. Feverish, bad cough and totally washed out, aches and pains. We were naturally concerned that, if unwell, she could be denied a return home and be stuck in the US so I insisted she see the medics. I took her down to the med centre and was astonished to see rows of chairs in a makeshift enlarged waiting room at the lobby lifts. The small waiting rooms were crammed. A waitress was wheeled in after collapsing on the job by her manager and taken to a treatment room. My wife was there for two hours and I returned to see what was happening. One woman was hooked up on drips and a ventilator in a ward room in the dark (with the door wide open) many crew were waiting to be seen. My wife was given a flu test, antibiotics, cough medication (powerful stuff, made her feel hyper) and she too was confined to cabin for a 24 hr period. Her condition remained that way until we returned home and for several days after. We suspect it as be Corona but in the UK you can't get tested anyway.

I know there were some good reasons for the high activity in the medical area as they were issuing top up medications that had been taken on in Valparaiso but the evidence here suggests that much more was going on.  My overall opinion is that the ship had no way of knowing if this was covid 19 due to the inadequacy of the testing available. However they had taken all the possible precautions assuming it was not covid. Maybe that's a bit naive but Capt Leo would have been faced with the possibility of not being able to disembark the majority of well passengers and risk a greater outbreak with the lives of many more being at risk. With three doctors on board I'm sure there has had to have been discussion between all officers and Miami and find a route to gets many people off the ship as quickly as possible to safeguard the majority. One thing we all need to consider for the future. Many people who cruise are elderly, infirm and not in the best of health. Many have compromised immunity, yet a big ships like a big petri dish. If there is a sickness aboard it's going to spread by the air conditioning,  personal probity and the unfortunate habits of humans. I think the future is bleak and only those fit to go should be allowed aboard. Of our group of 30, at least a dozen have symptoms of what could be severe colds/flu or the dreaded covid. As we know, some only display mild symptoms, where's it will kill others. It's a lottery. We are lucky, we've come through it all and are now recovering. 

I still thank Captain and his crew. Hero is too strong a word but they certainly did the best by us all that could be expected. In his position, responsible for 4000 souls at sea, I cannot see he had any alternative but to maintain morale, drive his crew in a commitment to keep as many people well as it was possible to do. I think Celebrity were ethical and as generous as any US company could ever be in view of the risk of corporate legal action and whilst the outcome is not perfect, it's certainly better than the Titanic. The timing of the Celebrity announcement about the four affected was timely just as we were flying home but this could have been carefully planned, at least having got most people off ship, but I suspect this was conspired.

I hope this doesn't bore you all to sleep but you really could write a book about this cruise.

[TeeRick]

9 minutes ago, Petelang said:

 

 

 

My wife and I were on the Eclipse for this cruise. Our tour began with a land tour starting in Rio for Carnival and then to the Falls at Iguazu, subsequently joining the ship at Buenos Aries. We were in a group of about 30 people from mainly UK but some from USA. Before setting out we had some concerns owing to the Diamond Princess situation but figured South America was as far removed from the virus as you could possibly get. All was going well until the day I joined the ship when I had a nasty case of the trots, first sign of it on arriving at the cruise port. Once aboard ship this continued and was bad and I had no alternative but to visit the ship medical centre. There, after an interview assessment, blood pressure, temps and pulse check they diagnosed a case of Gastro enteritis and issued me with meds and confined me to cabin for at least a day. I even had to be escorted back to my cabin by the cabin stewardess to ensure I went there directly. I was told to eat bland diet, only via room service and stop there. I had subsequent calls from nursing staff to enquire of my welfare and the next day symptoms had abated and after 18.00 I was released from quarantine to go about ship as normal. Two days later I started to suffer other symptoms, violent vomiting and shivering fever so a repeat visit to sick bay. This is where things get very interesting. I was subjected to numerous tests. A flu virus test (twin nasal Probes) urine, bloods and all the usual checks. I was placed in a ward and infused with a cocktail of antibiotics and saline transfusion, the diagnosis was a water infection. Further antibiotics given and whilst this time I was not enforced quarantine, I was not fit to roam about so self isolated in the cabin for a further 24 hr period. The attention in the medical bay took nearly four hours and during this time a lot was happening including one lady, elderly looking, being taken by wheelchair to x ray for a "check to see if you have double pneumonia" as I clearly heard said as they passed me in the corridor. There were quite a lot of patients reporting to sick bay. It was busy there and my suspicions were raised that perhaps quite a few people were starting to feel ill. After a couple of days I began to feel much better, indeed almost recovered except for appetite and digestion was still not right. Meantime the news worldwide was of the world closing down. Life around ship seemed normal and our port calls at Ushia and Porto Montt were no problem. Our regular waitress Yulia, a truly lovely person disappeared from duty and we were told she was poorly. A couple of days later her assistant also reported sick but only briefly. Yulia was not seen again right up to our departure. Then we were stuck aboard denied San Antonio shore and rerouted to Valparaiso and the announced Onward cruise to USA. We were completely informed by Capt Leo. One could not fault communication at all and I have seldom known such transparency which did build trust amongst passengers. There was however a marked increasing the sanitisation and cleaning. Everywhere you went, surfaces were being washed, disinfected and scrubbed. The daily messages about cleaning hands reinforced at every opportunity. I jested that if one stood still long enough, you would be sanitised (clearly not a bad thing in hindsight) but it must have impinged significantly on the crew duties to make such steps and it again hints that this may not have been just prevention. Towards the last week in theatre and quiet areas of the ship, the number of deeply rooted coughing incidents markedly increased and it cannot have gone unnoticed. Despite best intention of officers and crew, many passengers are their own worst enemy and we all witnessed people of questionable personal habits, in public food areas, washrooms, just everywhere not starting to take the situation seriously. But it is completely impossible to isolate yourself on a cruise ship. The lifts were packed, people queued, the buffet was like a market with jostling and shoulder to shoulder activity. Four days prior to docking my wife developed a full on cold like condition. Feverish, bad cough and totally washed out, aches and pains. We were naturally concerned that, if unwell, she could be denied a return home and be stuck in the US so I insisted she see the medics. I took her down to the med centre and was astonished to see rows of chairs in a makeshift enlarged waiting room at the lobby lifts. The small waiting rooms were crammed. A waitress was wheeled in after collapsing on the job by her manager and taken to a treatment room. My wife was there for two hours and I returned to see what was happening. One woman was hooked up on drips and a ventilator in a ward room in the dark (with the door wide open) many crew were waiting to be seen. My wife was given a flu test, antibiotics, cough medication (powerful stuff, made her feel hyper) and she too was confined to cabin for a 24 hr period. Her condition remained that way until we returned home and for several days after. We suspect it as be Corona but in the UK you can't get tested anyway.

I know there were some good reasons for the high activity in the medical area as they were issuing top up medications that had been taken on in Valparaiso but the evidence here suggests that much more was going on.  My overall opinion is that the ship had no way of knowing if this was covid 19 due to the inadequacy of the testing available. However they had taken all the possible precautions assuming it was not covid. Maybe that's a bit naive but Capt Leo would have been faced with the possibility of not being able to disembark the majority of well passengers and risk a greater outbreak with the lives of many more being at risk. With three doctors on board I'm sure there has had to have been discussion between all officers and Miami and find a route to gets many people off the ship as quickly as possible to safeguard the majority. One thing we all need to consider for the future. Many people who cruise are elderly, infirm and not in the best of health. Many have compromised immunity, yet a big ships like a big petri dish. If there is a sickness aboard it's going to spread by the air conditioning,  personal probity and the unfortunate habits of humans. I think the future is bleak and only those fit to go should be allowed aboard. Of our group of 30, at least a dozen have symptoms of what could be severe colds/flu or the dreaded covid. As we know, some only display mild symptoms, where's it will kill others. It's a lottery. We are lucky, we've come through it all and are now recovering. 

I still thank Captain and his crew. Hero is too strong a word but they certainly did the best by us all that could be expected. In his position, responsible for 4000 souls at sea, I cannot see he had any alternative but to maintain morale, drive his crew in a commitment to keep as many people well as it was possible to do. I think Celebrity were ethical and as generous as any US company could ever be in view of the risk of corporate legal action and whilst the outcome is not perfect, it's certainly better than the Titanic. The timing of the Celebrity announcement about the four affected was timely just as we were flying home but this could have been carefully planned, at least having got most people off ship, but I suspect this was conspired.

I hope this doesn't bore you all to sleep but you really could write a book about this cruise.

Thank you so much for relaying your on-ship experience to us.  We were on Eclipse for 14 nights in early January.  Many people on board were suffering from cold-like symptoms but at that point in time there was no real awareness of COVID-19 and we all assumed we had the common cold or flu.  Probably that was indeed the case.  But who knows really? Normal for that time of year.  Our crew was very attentive and excellent.  I feel so bad for what has happened to all of you since then.

[heathermk57]

21 minutes ago, Petelang said:

 

 

 

My wife and I were on the Eclipse for this cruise. Our tour began with a land tour starting in Rio for Carnival and then to the Falls at Iguazu, subsequently joining the ship at Buenos Aries. We were in a group of about 30 people from mainly UK but some from USA. Before setting out we had some concerns owing to the Diamond Princess situation but figured South America was as far removed from the virus as you could possibly get. All was going well until the day I joined the ship when I had a nasty case of the trots, first sign of it on arriving at the cruise port. Once aboard ship this continued and was bad and I had no alternative but to visit the ship medical centre. There, after an interview assessment, blood pressure, temps and pulse check they diagnosed a case of Gastro enteritis and issued me with meds and confined me to cabin for at least a day. I even had to be escorted back to my cabin by the cabin stewardess to ensure I went there directly. I was told to eat bland diet, only via room service and stop there. I had subsequent calls from nursing staff to enquire of my welfare and the next day symptoms had abated and after 18.00 I was released from quarantine to go about ship as normal. Two days later I started to suffer other symptoms, violent vomiting and shivering fever so a repeat visit to sick bay. This is where things get very interesting. I was subjected to numerous tests. A flu virus test (twin nasal Probes) urine, bloods and all the usual checks. I was placed in a ward and infused with a cocktail of antibiotics and saline transfusion, the diagnosis was a water infection. Further antibiotics given and whilst this time I was not enforced quarantine, I was not fit to roam about so self isolated in the cabin for a further 24 hr period. The attention in the medical bay took nearly four hours and during this time a lot was happening including one lady, elderly looking, being taken by wheelchair to x ray for a "check to see if you have double pneumonia" as I clearly heard said as they passed me in the corridor. There were quite a lot of patients reporting to sick bay. It was busy there and my suspicions were raised that perhaps quite a few people were starting to feel ill. After a couple of days I began to feel much better, indeed almost recovered except for appetite and digestion was still not right. Meantime the news worldwide was of the world closing down. Life around ship seemed normal and our port calls at Ushia and Porto Montt were no problem. Our regular waitress Yulia, a truly lovely person disappeared from duty and we were told she was poorly. A couple of days later her assistant also reported sick but only briefly. Yulia was not seen again right up to our departure. Then we were stuck aboard denied San Antonio shore and rerouted to Valparaiso and the announced Onward cruise to USA. We were completely informed by Capt Leo. One could not fault communication at all and I have seldom known such transparency which did build trust amongst passengers. There was however a marked increasing the sanitisation and cleaning. Everywhere you went, surfaces were being washed, disinfected and scrubbed. The daily messages about cleaning hands reinforced at every opportunity. I jested that if one stood still long enough, you would be sanitised (clearly not a bad thing in hindsight) but it must have impinged significantly on the crew duties to make such steps and it again hints that this may not have been just prevention. Towards the last week in theatre and quiet areas of the ship, the number of deeply rooted coughing incidents markedly increased and it cannot have gone unnoticed. Despite best intention of officers and crew, many passengers are their own worst enemy and we all witnessed people of questionable personal habits, in public food areas, washrooms, just everywhere not starting to take the situation seriously. But it is completely impossible to isolate yourself on a cruise ship. The lifts were packed, people queued, the buffet was like a market with jostling and shoulder to shoulder activity. Four days prior to docking my wife developed a full on cold like condition. Feverish, bad cough and totally washed out, aches and pains. We were naturally concerned that, if unwell, she could be denied a return home and be stuck in the US so I insisted she see the medics. I took her down to the med centre and was astonished to see rows of chairs in a makeshift enlarged waiting room at the lobby lifts. The small waiting rooms were crammed. A waitress was wheeled in after collapsing on the job by her manager and taken to a treatment room. My wife was there for two hours and I returned to see what was happening. One woman was hooked up on drips and a ventilator in a ward room in the dark (with the door wide open) many crew were waiting to be seen. My wife was given a flu test, antibiotics, cough medication (powerful stuff, made her feel hyper) and she too was confined to cabin for a 24 hr period. Her condition remained that way until we returned home and for several days after. We suspect it as be Corona but in the UK you can't get tested anyway.

I know there were some good reasons for the high activity in the medical area as they were issuing top up medications that had been taken on in Valparaiso but the evidence here suggests that much more was going on.  My overall opinion is that the ship had no way of knowing if this was covid 19 due to the inadequacy of the testing available. However they had taken all the possible precautions assuming it was not covid. Maybe that's a bit naive but Capt Leo would have been faced with the possibility of not being able to disembark the majority of well passengers and risk a greater outbreak with the lives of many more being at risk. With three doctors on board I'm sure there has had to have been discussion between all officers and Miami and find a route to gets many people off the ship as quickly as possible to safeguard the majority. One thing we all need to consider for the future. Many people who cruise are elderly, infirm and not in the best of health. Many have compromised immunity, yet a big ships like a big petri dish. If there is a sickness aboard it's going to spread by the air conditioning,  personal probity and the unfortunate habits of humans. I think the future is bleak and only those fit to go should be allowed aboard. Of our group of 30, at least a dozen have symptoms of what could be severe colds/flu or the dreaded covid. As we know, some only display mild symptoms, where's it will kill others. It's a lottery. We are lucky, we've come through it all and are now recovering. 

I still thank Captain and his crew. Hero is too strong a word but they certainly did the best by us all that could be expected. In his position, responsible for 4000 souls at sea, I cannot see he had any alternative but to maintain morale, drive his crew in a commitment to keep as many people well as it was possible to do. I think Celebrity were ethical and as generous as any US company could ever be in view of the risk of corporate legal action and whilst the outcome is not perfect, it's certainly better than the Titanic. The timing of the Celebrity announcement about the four affected was timely just as we were flying home but this could have been carefully planned, at least having got most people off ship, but I suspect this was conspired.

I hope this doesn't bore you all to sleep but you really could write a book about this cruise.

Thank you for your post, I'm glad to hear that you are recovering. My husband and I did the Buenos Aires to Santiago leg last year on the Eclipse. We could hear someone in the adjoining cabin coughing for the majority of the cruise and towards the end my husband developed a bad cough. I was OK until I got home to the UK when I developed awful flu symptoms and took to my bed for several days, taking sick leave from work. If COVID-19 had been a 'thing' at that time I would certainly have believed that I had it. I remember coughing so much that I just wanted to stop breathing. We were due to join the Eclipse again in Vancouver on the 9th May this year but of course we will not be doing that now. But a cancelled holiday is nothing when we consider the terrible times that so many people are going through. I truly wish everyone speedy recovery, enduring good health and hope for the future. 

[ddr]

Eclipse today just staying offshore of San Diego area.  Millennium is again docked next to Disney Wonder this morning.

 

[chuly]

As I stated before 4 of our acquaintances who were on the ship have tested positive. One of them is critical in the hospital intubated and unfortunately the anti malaria drug has not worked. Yesterday the family did a massive appeal for a plasma donor recovered from Covid19 and with his blood type. This morning they said 3 persons had volunteered and were waiting to see if they matched. Please have him in your prayers. His wife was admitted today but she is not doing that bad and the other 2 so far are recuperating at home.  Hoping and praying that all of you that have been infected will recover promptly. Stay safe.

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

2 hours ago, ddr said:

Eclipse today just staying offshore of San Diego area.  Millennium is again docked next to Disney Wonder this morning.

 

The ships in the San Diego port area are rotating who is at dock and who is at sea.

[UnorigionalName]

3 hours ago, Petelang said:

 

 

 

My wife and I were on the Eclipse for this cruise. Our tour began with a land tour starting in Rio for Carnival and then to the Falls at Iguazu, subsequently joining the ship at Buenos Aries. We were in a group of about 30 people from mainly UK but some from USA. Before setting out we had some concerns owing to the Diamond Princess situation but figured South America was as far removed from the virus as you could possibly get. All was going well until the day I joined the ship when I had a nasty case of the trots, first sign of it on arriving at the cruise port. Once aboard ship this continued and was bad and I had no alternative but to visit the ship medical centre. There, after an interview assessment, blood pressure, temps and pulse check they diagnosed a case of Gastro enteritis and issued me with meds and confined me to cabin for at least a day. I even had to be escorted back to my cabin by the cabin stewardess to ensure I went there directly. I was told to eat bland diet, only via room service and stop there. I had subsequent calls from nursing staff to enquire of my welfare and the next day symptoms had abated and after 18.00 I was released from quarantine to go about ship as normal. Two days later I started to suffer other symptoms, violent vomiting and shivering fever so a repeat visit to sick bay. This is where things get very interesting. I was subjected to numerous tests. A flu virus test (twin nasal Probes) urine, bloods and all the usual checks. I was placed in a ward and infused with a cocktail of antibiotics and saline transfusion, the diagnosis was a water infection. Further antibiotics given and whilst this time I was not enforced quarantine, I was not fit to roam about so self isolated in the cabin for a further 24 hr period. The attention in the medical bay took nearly four hours and during this time a lot was happening including one lady, elderly looking, being taken by wheelchair to x ray for a "check to see if you have double pneumonia" as I clearly heard said as they passed me in the corridor. There were quite a lot of patients reporting to sick bay. It was busy there and my suspicions were raised that perhaps quite a few people were starting to feel ill. After a couple of days I began to feel much better, indeed almost recovered except for appetite and digestion was still not right. Meantime the news worldwide was of the world closing down. Life around ship seemed normal and our port calls at Ushia and Porto Montt were no problem. Our regular waitress Yulia, a truly lovely person disappeared from duty and we were told she was poorly. A couple of days later her assistant also reported sick but only briefly. Yulia was not seen again right up to our departure. Then we were stuck aboard denied San Antonio shore and rerouted to Valparaiso and the announced Onward cruise to USA. We were completely informed by Capt Leo. One could not fault communication at all and I have seldom known such transparency which did build trust amongst passengers. There was however a marked increasing the sanitisation and cleaning. Everywhere you went, surfaces were being washed, disinfected and scrubbed. The daily messages about cleaning hands reinforced at every opportunity. I jested that if one stood still long enough, you would be sanitised (clearly not a bad thing in hindsight) but it must have impinged significantly on the crew duties to make such steps and it again hints that this may not have been just prevention. Towards the last week in theatre and quiet areas of the ship, the number of deeply rooted coughing incidents markedly increased and it cannot have gone unnoticed. Despite best intention of officers and crew, many passengers are their own worst enemy and we all witnessed people of questionable personal habits, in public food areas, washrooms, just everywhere not starting to take the situation seriously. But it is completely impossible to isolate yourself on a cruise ship. The lifts were packed, people queued, the buffet was like a market with jostling and shoulder to shoulder activity. Four days prior to docking my wife developed a full on cold like condition. Feverish, bad cough and totally washed out, aches and pains. We were naturally concerned that, if unwell, she could be denied a return home and be stuck in the US so I insisted she see the medics. I took her down to the med centre and was astonished to see rows of chairs in a makeshift enlarged waiting room at the lobby lifts. The small waiting rooms were crammed. A waitress was wheeled in after collapsing on the job by her manager and taken to a treatment room. My wife was there for two hours and I returned to see what was happening. One woman was hooked up on drips and a ventilator in a ward room in the dark (with the door wide open) many crew were waiting to be seen. My wife was given a flu test, antibiotics, cough medication (powerful stuff, made her feel hyper) and she too was confined to cabin for a 24 hr period. Her condition remained that way until we returned home and for several days after. We suspect it as be Corona but in the UK you can't get tested anyway.

I know there were some good reasons for the high activity in the medical area as they were issuing top up medications that had been taken on in Valparaiso but the evidence here suggests that much more was going on.  My overall opinion is that the ship had no way of knowing if this was covid 19 due to the inadequacy of the testing available. However they had taken all the possible precautions assuming it was not covid. Maybe that's a bit naive but Capt Leo would have been faced with the possibility of not being able to disembark the majority of well passengers and risk a greater outbreak with the lives of many more being at risk. With three doctors on board I'm sure there has had to have been discussion between all officers and Miami and find a route to gets many people off the ship as quickly as possible to safeguard the majority. One thing we all need to consider for the future. Many people who cruise are elderly, infirm and not in the best of health. Many have compromised immunity, yet a big ships like a big petri dish. If there is a sickness aboard it's going to spread by the air conditioning,  personal probity and the unfortunate habits of humans. I think the future is bleak and only those fit to go should be allowed aboard. Of our group of 30, at least a dozen have symptoms of what could be severe colds/flu or the dreaded covid. As we know, some only display mild symptoms, where's it will kill others. It's a lottery. We are lucky, we've come through it all and are now recovering. 

I still thank Captain and his crew. Hero is too strong a word but they certainly did the best by us all that could be expected. In his position, responsible for 4000 souls at sea, I cannot see he had any alternative but to maintain morale, drive his crew in a commitment to keep as many people well as it was possible to do. I think Celebrity were ethical and as generous as any US company could ever be in view of the risk of corporate legal action and whilst the outcome is not perfect, it's certainly better than the Titanic. The timing of the Celebrity announcement about the four affected was timely just as we were flying home but this could have been carefully planned, at least having got most people off ship, but I suspect this was conspired.

I hope this doesn't bore you all to sleep but you really could write a book about this cruise.

 

This right here is the reason why cruising will take a long time to start up again.  No one will trust cruise lines to be upfront if there is a case of COVID aboard, and no passengers will be willing to speak up because they too don't want to get quarantined.  Communites already don't have the best impression of cruising in general, and these type of actions basically will basically gaurante that cruises will not start back up again until there is a vaccine.

 

No way will people trust cruise lines.

[downsmead]

9 minutes ago, chuly said:

As I stated before 4 of our acquaintances who were on the ship have tested positive. One of them is critical in the hospital intubated and unfortunately the anti malaria drug has not worked. Yesterday the family did a massive appeal for a plasma donor recovered from Covid19 and with his blood type. This morning they said 3 persons had volunteered and were waiting to see if they matched. Please have him in your prayers. His wife was admitted today but she is not doing that bad and the other 2 so far are recuperating at home.  Hoping and praying that all of you that have been infected will recover promptly. Stay safe.

Our heartfelt wishes go out to your acquaintances.