Live(ish) report: First real cruise this year - Greece with TUI Cruises Mein Schiff 6 - 9/27

[Miaminice]

6 hours ago, ReneeFLL said:

Do you plan on taking another cruise soon or are you going to wait a while?

we are actually waiting if TUI Cruises comes up with any cruise for Christmas or New Year. Since we won’t be going to Miami, a cruise would be a good alternative.

[ReneeFLL]

52 minutes ago, Miaminice said:

we are actually waiting if TUI Cruises comes up with any cruise for Christmas or New Year. Since we won’t be going to Miami, a cruise would be a good alternative.

Good for you and I hope they do. Be sure to keep us informed. We have really enjoyed reading about your adventures. 🥂

[steamboats]

9 hours ago, ReneeFLL said:

I hope they do give passengers the boot when they don't comply with the rules. Unfortunately, some people think rules don't apply to them because they are better than the rest of us. So happy your cruise was a great one and hopefully other cruises will continue to go smoothly.

 

They already did... Some passengers thought they might need a beer on a tour and left the group... They were denied reboarding the ship.

 

Same happened to a family on MSC which walked away from the tour group in Naples.

 

steamboats

[ReneeFLL]

3 hours ago, steamboats said:

 

They already did... Some passengers thought they might need a beer on a tour and left the group... They were denied reboarding the ship.

 

Same happened to a family on MSC which walked away from the tour group in Naples.

 

steamboats

Thanks I read about those. I should have specified that I was thinking more about Royal and cruising out of the US. Sorry about that. Royal has a tendency not to enforce their rules, but for something like this I would hope they would be very strict. There are always so many Americans that think the rules don't apply to them and try to push the boundaries.

[Miaminice]

16 hours ago, johnnyswitzerland said:

Thank you, Miaminice, for the awesome thread!  Like so many others, I've really enjoyed going along with you!  🙏

 

I understand that the scare with the crew tests during the week was just that – a scare – and those initial results were false positives.  During the time between those results and the follow-up tests that confirmed no one was infected, was it business as usual?  You weren't confined to staterooms?  It didn't seem so from your account.

 

In the same vein, were you advised, prior to departure, what the protocol would be if an outbreak did occur on board?

 

Thanks again for taking us along!

 

Thanks!

 

Besides that the situation became a much talked about topic, it was business as usual. Nothing on board changed and of course we were not confined to our staterooms. We felt very much informed and always up to date. On the contrary, reading all the breaking news on international media and knowing that half of it wasn´t true, was kind of amusing.

DW and I did not get the feeling that anyone was really scared. We certainly weren´t! 

I can only speak for ouselves but this was my thought process. But I have to say that I can call myself well informed since I have to deal with the issue due to my job.
 

- 150 crew members were tested. 12 of them were alledgedly positive - that´s 8%. None of them showed any symptoms.
  If 8% out of 150 tested had been positive, it would not have been limited to those 12 in a crew of 600+. Yet, no other crew members showed any symptoms. It just did not seem plausible.

 

- PCR testing ist the most accurate testing available. Despite the rumors and mixing of information based on different kinds of tests, false positives are very rare with PCR tests. Plus, if German standards are applied, positive results need to be verified.
So when we received the initial information that 2 of the questionable twelve positive results showed negative on the onboard PCR, it sure led me to raise an eyebrow. When the number indcreased to 4 negative, then 6 negative... the initial results seemed even more implausible to say the least.

 

- Let´s say the 12 had actually been positive. Having experienced how thoroughly and strictly the guidelines were emplemented on board I was extremely confident that the risk of an infection of passengers (us) was extremely low and certainly lower than in any situation at home (or at work).

 

We had not been advised of the exact procedures and protocols in case of an outbreak prior to the cruise. To explain the exact protocol without knowing the number and situation just isn´t possible. However, we were advised and knew that one of the terms and conditions for cruises to start at all was that a Diamond Princess situation would not occur again. Agreements with the ports of call (in our case Greece) must be arranged to take care of passengers. The individual procedure depends on the individual case - possible contact, suspected case, confirmed case etc. and, if infected, of the severity of symptoms.

 

We all know a lot more about the virus now and the mistakes that have been made at the time of the Diamond Princess outbreak. So procedures would have been and will be different today.

 

But gain I have to emphasize that we weren´t worried about this at all. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited October 6, 2020 by Miaminice

[johnnyswitzerland]

Thank you very much for the thoughtful and thorough reply, @Miaminice.  Just can't wait to get back to sea, and this thread has been really encouraging.

[steamboats]

5 hours ago, ReneeFLL said:

Thanks I read about those. I should have specified that I was thinking more about Royal and cruising out of the US. Sorry about that. Royal has a tendency not to enforce their rules, but for something like this I would hope they would be very strict. There are always so many Americans that think the rules don't apply to them and try to push the boundaries.

 

Let´s say it´s easy to deny boarding here in Europe. Flights back home are available. You just have to pack all the stuff and get it to them.

 

Might be a bit more difficult in the Caribbean as you Americans tend to not to hold a passport. Within Europe our ID is sufficient for flying. But we have a full ID card (not DL).

 

steamboats

[Sea42]

6 minutes ago, steamboats said:

 

 

 

Might be a bit more difficult in the Caribbean as you Americans tend to not to hold a passport. Within Europe our ID is sufficient for flying. But we have a full ID card (not DL).

 

steamboats

That's true, it used to be we could travel from the tropics to the arctic without a passport.  I didn't get one until our first European trip 20 years ago.

[riredsox]

1 hour ago, steamboats said:

 

Let´s say it´s easy to deny boarding here in Europe. Flights back home are available. You just have to pack all the stuff and get it to them.

 

Might be a bit more difficult in the Caribbean as you Americans tend to not to hold a passport. Within Europe our ID is sufficient for flying. But we have a full ID card (not DL).

 

steamboats

Then maybe, just maybe, someone would think twice about leaving their excursion.  Fingers crossed those few will not mess it up for the rest of us who can’t wait to cruise again.  

[Travelexpert35]

Miaminice..Could you book this cruise if you weren’t German? I’m Canadian and could travel over in that region. All I would need to do is learn some German this winter with Rosetta Stone.

[Miaminice]

13 minutes ago, Travelexpert35 said:

Miaminice..Could you book this cruise if you weren’t German? I’m Canadian and could travel over in that region. All I would need to do is learn some German this winter with Rosetta Stone.

Well, I couldn’t find anything saying you are required to be a German citizen.

As long as you fulfill the requirements to enter Germany and Greece, I guess you could book the cruise.

[ReneeFLL]

2 hours ago, steamboats said:

 

Let´s say it´s easy to deny boarding here in Europe. Flights back home are available. You just have to pack all the stuff and get it to them.

 

Might be a bit more difficult in the Caribbean as you Americans tend to not to hold a passport. Within Europe our ID is sufficient for flying. But we have a full ID card (not DL).

 

steamboats

If an American was kicked off and they didn't have a passport then that's their fault. Let them have the hassle of dealing with the embassy. I never really understood why people wouldn't have one because you never know what will happen. We always carry ours and I've had one since I was in first grade. Moms from Germany so we traveled there a lot.

[Miaminice]

Covid Policy Cruise = Mein Schiff 6 - Debarkation

All good things must come to an end… so the dreaded day had to come. It was time for us to leave a beautiful ship and return to reality. 
 

 

Our flight back to Frankfurt was at 5:40pm and of course we had to leave the ship sometime in the morning. Since we didn’t feel like hanging around at the airport for hours, we had booked a transfer tour with the cruise line.

 

So after enjoying another breakfast out in the sun on the open deck of the buffet restaurant, we headed down to the gangway at around 10am. We picked up our luggage and went to bus #24 as we had been instructed on the excursion ticket.

 

 

Besides a member of the excursion team we were accompanied by a Greek guide named Maria. She explained the schedule of the tour to us as well as the guidelines which we all knew by now.

 

Our first stop was the Palace of Knossos. Once there, Maria led us through the ruins of the ancient Palace. Her explanations and some reconstructed sections gave us and idea of the incredible splendor over 3,600 years ago.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

She also gave us a lot of information about the Minoan culture, the later Greek era and how Greek mythology combined both. She was very pleasant to listen to and the information was really interesting. 

 

After her tour she gave us some free time. As long as we adhered to the guidelines, stayed within the area and did not enter or sat down in one of the restaurants we were allowed to shop, buy beverages etc. Just like during the previous tours we did not feel restricted at all.

 

At the time agreed before, we all met at the bus again and continued our tour to Heraklion town. Again Maria provided interesting information and led us through the streets of Heraklion – which were empty on a Sunday.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After a 15 minutes walk we reached the cathedral of Heraklion. Inside, Maria asked us to sit down and told us about the customs of Greek orthodox religion as well as the rules of design of Greek orthodox churches.

 

 

 

 

 

Another 15 minute walk through the streets of Heraklion took us to a castle at an old fishing port and the old Venetian arsenals. This was also where we were picked up by our bus again.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It wasn’t far to the airport from there. When we reached it 20 minutes later and waited in line to check in our luggage we knew that our cruise was definitely over.

 

Edited October 6, 2020 by Miaminice

[Spif Barwunkel]

Miaminice, you did yourselves and TUI proud through the words and pictures presented in this thread. Amid the food, the excursions, the information and explanations, you combined a little bit of Rick Steves and the late Anthony Bourdain with your own style. Nice job.

 

Thanks again. 

Edited October 6, 2020 by Spif Barwunkel

[Miaminice]

Thank you all for following along!

 

When we booked the cruise we had the same questions in mind as most of you. Maybe even more. It wasn’t just all the guidelines and regulations in place but also that sailing on an all German ship is something we never wanted to do. 

 

Being limited to do ships excursions only and fearing they would be restricted due to the guidelines was another thing.

 

And although this would not be the way we would like to do all our cruises in the future, I hope that we managed to let you know that despite of all the changes and circumstances we still very much enjoyed our cruise.

 

As much as we’d like, we can’t just press a button and make Covid disappear. So we will have to make do with what’s possible or not cruise at all. These first cruises are baby steps on a long way up the hill.
 

Cruises under the Covid guidelines can be done. Are they possible and responsible anywhere? My personal opinion is: no! Only if the risk was manageable and acceptable due to low numbers and if all passengers followed the rules.

 

I also hope that I managed to see and answer your questions. If I missed any, please feel free to ask again! 

 

Thank you for all your kind words!

 

Oliver

 

Edited October 6, 2020 by Miaminice

[Luckynana]

 

Thank you for giving us hope, Miaminice, that safe cruising is possible for those of us who are patiently (?) waiting to once again sail on a cruise ship!  Once again, I want to say how beautiful all of your pictures are and of how much I appreciate your taking us along with you and Briget on your trip and sharing all of your experiences.🙂

[Von & John]

Thank for taking us along Miaminice.

Fabulous photos, food & fun!

You did a great job expressing your insights, the possibilities & realities of cruising during C-19.

It's heartening to know you enjoyed your cruise and would cruise again.

Wishing you a Christmas/New Year Cruise with Tui & hopefully you'll be able to return to Miami next year.

Thanks again for taking your vacation/cruise time to share your experience with all of us to enjoy.

[CruiserFromMaine]

I’ll add my thanks to Miaminice for a great trip report. And a very encouraging one as well!

I enjoyed following along. 

[bunzini]

Thanks so much Miaminice!  The last week or so has me looking forward to every evening to follow you along on your journey.  I feel so much better about the possibility of cruising maybe sooner than later.  Again, heartfelt thanks!

 

[Issyalex]

Thanks for allowing us to cruise with you and Mrs Miaminice.

 

I loved all your photos and your writing style which made me feel I was there too. You have set my hubby’s mind at rest for our next cruise in April,  if it goes ahead 🤞🏻🤞🏻, on Oceania Sirena which is a much smaller ship than Mein Schiff. 
 

once again thanks for taking the time to post your wonderful blog. 

[riredsox]

Thank you MiamiNice for taking me on such a wonderful adventure!  I hope to cruise in January but not too hopeful.  Thanks again for an excellent live from report!!

[prish]

Thanks again for this fantastic live report Miaminice, not only did you get to cruise again but you also took us along for the ride. The ship looks very much like our S class and makes me feel homesick. And your photos make it all come alive for us...Thank you so very much for taking the time to tell us all about your vacation and the protocols TUI put in place, much appreciated!

[momof3cruisers]

Thanks again for sharing your experiences with us and taking the time to report what the changes are like.

[MandL]

Thank you for sharing your fantastic journey, photos, and information.

 

Feeling confident we will all be sailing safely again.

 

Cheers!

 

[FionaMG]

Thanks for the very interesting and informative review. It's great to see that you had a good time on your cruise.