Live from the Baltic Scenic cruise on MS1

[Germancruiser]

I also just learned that TUI is now doing Anti- Gen Tests at embarkation day. So no visit at lab prior cruising necessary. I don´t know- is that better? Traveling to the port in anticipation and full of joy for the cruise to start and then learning that the test turns out positiv - so no cruise at all- and one can go including packed luggage into quarantine.

I prefer to know before even packing starts.

 

[bunzini]

Thank you for your wonderful review!  Oh how it makes me miss cruising!  

[Germancruiser]

I missed it so much- i took the first possible ship that sailed out of Germany - at the end of July- I loved despite all new regulations- so booked again. Just couldn´t help myself- and did not regret for one minute!

[Roger88]

I wonder how long it takes to check 900 people for Covid.. and then check their blood tests or whatever. I think there must be some huge medicine center with like 1000 workers doing all those checks, otherwise it sounds unrealistic to finish it in one day

[Miaminice]

47 minutes ago, Roger88 said:

I wonder how long it takes to check 900 people for Covid.. and then check their blood tests or whatever. I think there must be some huge medicine center with like 1000 workers doing all those checks, otherwise it sounds unrealistic to finish it in one day

 

Not really... Up until last week TUI had a cooperation with Helios Clinics in Germany for all cruises.
Passengers could choose any of the brand´s hospitals to be (PCR) tested within a specified window of time.

 

Since last week this is still the case for all TUI cruises departing from Greece since Greek authorities require a PCR test for immigration (regardless of cruising or not).

For all other cruises departing from Germany passengers are tested with a rapid test (swap). Results take 20-30 minutes.
As much as I heard, positive tests - which can be false with rapid tests - are retested with the onboard PCR machine. Results take 70 minutes. 

 

MSC cruises do the same with a higher number of passengers.

Since passengers are given time slots for embarkation, this seems to work without congestion.

Edited October 12, 2020 by Miaminice

[steamboats]

10 hours ago, Miaminice said:

As much as I heard, positive tests - which can be false with rapid tests - are retested with the onboard PCR machine. Results take 70 minutes.

 

TUI Cruises confirmed that a second test will be a Antigen test too not a PCR test (check here). The 70 min machine can only process 2 samples at a time. So it would take way too much time if you have more than two positives.

 

steamboats

Edited October 12, 2020 by steamboats

[Germancruiser]

I was just wondering how many tested passenger turned out positiv and could not go- wether with TUI oder MSC- we never get aware of those.

Of course the drive to a Helios Clinic near by is also a bother- but at least then one knows before hand.

The time slots for embarkation with both of my TUI Cruises where a pit theoretical- to say the least- all passengers seemed to have arrived at the same time.

[steamboats]

@Germancruiser at least one made it into media. A French passenger was tested positive and he and the group which he was in (a total of 13 people) were denied boarding the MSC Grandiosa.

 

So there are positive cases. I´d say the switch from PCR to Antigen regarding TUI Cruises is also because of the price. PCR tests are much more expensive than Antigen (you can get a test kit for app. 10 Euro - 25 are 250 Euro - but ordering the amount you need for a cruise ship the price might be even lower).

 

A lot of people were not happy about Helios as in some cases you had a 200 or more km drive (single) and needed to take off another day just for the test. I saw a map in a video HL posted and you could see that there are wide areas in Germany where there´s no Helios hospital close by. Here in Bavaria there are two in Munich and three more in Franconia close to Hessen or Saxonia but nothing in the Eastern  or middle part of Germany (nothing in the Nuremberg area). So being from Passau or Regensburg you had quite a drive to get a test.

 

TUI Cruises did a test with crew in Hamburg - they did a mass test with app. 100 crew members to check how this works out (it was in BILD).

 

Greece still requires a PCR test and the time slot is pretty narrow... for the Sunday departure you can go Thursday afternoon. But you still have to check your flight time as it has to be within less than 72 hours upon arrival in Greece (and don´t mix up with the one hour they are ahead of us).

 

steamboats

[TeeRick]

PCR can be run on pooled samples from groups of passengers. If any group is positive it is broken out for individual testing.

[Roger88]

20 hours ago, steamboats said:

 

TUI Cruises confirmed that a second test will be a Antigen test too not a PCR test (check here). The 70 min machine can only process 2 samples at a time. So it would take way too much time if you have more than two positives.

 

steamboats

TUI is like one of those  "budget" companies that actually does something about the pandemic and takes care of all its clients in the way of providing this kind of care. I believe that many will follow its example 

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

10 hours ago, steamboats said:

@Germancruiser at least one made it into media. A French passenger was tested positive and he and the group which he was in (a total of 13 people) were denied boarding the MSC Grandiosa.

 

So there are positive cases.

 

steamboats

 

Onboard?  Sounds as if this was detected prior to boarding, which is the whole purpose of the protocol.

[Germancruiser]

Thanks steamboat- I did not hear about the " negativ- postiv" outcoming- those poor people who where in the group with the positiv tested passenger..! I quite understand that some people where not that happy to have that long drive to the next Helios Clinic. My own test day started at around 6 am - in the Clinic by 7.30am- tested at 8 am- and back home at about 10am.

 

10 hours ago, Roger88 said:

TUI is like one of those  "budget" companies that actually does something about the pandemic and takes care of all its clients in the way of providing this kind of care. I believe that many will follow its example 

 

The will have to - if they want go back to cruising.

[steamboats]

12 hours ago, Happy Cruiser 6143 said:

 

Onboard?  Sounds as if this was detected prior to boarding, which is the whole purpose of the protocol.

 

No, not onboard. But Germancruiser was asking for those detected prior to boarding. Once onboard the passengers don´t get tested anymore  - except those on the MSC Grandiosa who were on a shore tour in Malta (but that ended on the last cruise).

 

steamboats

[Germancruiser]

I really cross fingers, that on all further cruises - no matter what cruise line- everything goes well with all those new positiv cases  spikeing up again here all over Europe! May hap that we Europeans look on with envy , when the US restarts and we- heaven forbid- are have to stopp cruising again.

TUI has new cruises on offer - for the winter season-  then with almost the complete fleet running again.

Edited October 14, 2020 by Germancruiser