Well, that didn't last

[Cruise Critic Chris]

Hi all. We are continually updating our stories, as we have a freelance writer onboard (Sue Bryant). This am, the count is seven positives. Five are from a family group traveling together and then another couple. The crew and the rest of the passengers are negative, after two tests (one from the ship and the other by the Barbados authorities). 

 

We will be updating these two stories as we get more information: 

 

Live from SeaDream: When Your Caribbean Cruise Has a COVID-19 Case

SeaDream Yacht Club Cuts Short First Caribbean Cruise Back

 

[CruzRamirez]

I wish everyone on the ship the best outcomes possible, pax and crew.

[farmersfight]

On 11/12/2020 at 6:34 AM, farmersfight said:

Well, if you have to be isolated in your cabin at least you're on a luxurious "super yacht" so I'm sure the accommodations are pretty "suite".

 

Another "suite" perk;

 

"and getting gourmet meals delivered to our rooms."

 

But it's not all roses because;

 

"Bars were closed".

 

 

 

[BermudaBound2014]

7 passengers now. The only good news I see from this story is that passengers will be allowed to go home starting tomorrow (Saturday). With the new stipulations from the cdc that “non-commercial” travel must be provided if covid is detected onboard, had this sailing originated in The USA I’m not convinced passengers would be heading home tomorrow. 
 

Imo- if SeaDream couldn’t pull this off with their extended resources and more crew onboard than passengers, I’m not at all convinced the big three stand a chance. If you read the article by Sue from cruise critic, it seems SeaDream had even more strict regulations for boarding.

 

The public perception of cruising continues to deteriorate. Even in Europe where there have been cruises, the demand is extremely low and the prices are rock bottom to try to attract passengers. 
 

I have never been in the camp that believed a vaccine would be needed to board a cruise ship, until today. I’m afraid this incident maybe yet another nail in the coffin. 

[seaman11]

From what i understood, they did testing but no facemask protocol on board.  Now being under 200 pax they do not have to adhere to the CDC order.  

 

 

I think it shows that look cleaning the ship and testing isn't enough to stop it as you could have gotten it while traveling to the ship and it shows up days later. 

 

Open it up in a few months for big ships , have ppl sign the waivers and lets go, we know we can catch any virus around others. 

[cmh]

On 11/12/2020 at 6:51 AM, wdsted said:

Unfortunately, this is exactly the problem with resuming cruises.  Until a vaccine is available and required of all passengers, cruising ain’t gonna happen.

I agree.  I have a cruise the end of March, but unless there is a vaccine by then, I will cancel. it just shows that even if everyone tests negative, the virus can still be present and spread.

[CruiseMH]

It is interesting how this happened. Cause for example in Europe, TUI cruises is operating with 2-3 ships since July, has carried over 40.000 passengers and so far not a single case reported. So this prooves that cruising is possible and can be safe. Is it only the discipline of the passengers ?Is it the consequent following of the protocols by the crew?

[hamrag]

10 hours ago, DCGuy64 said:

April 2, 2021. When's yours?

Do you really believe it will sail?

[farmersfight]

13 hours ago, CruiseMH said:

It is interesting how this happened. Cause for example in Europe, TUI cruises is operating with 2-3 ships since July, has carried over 40.000 passengers and so far not a single case reported. So this prooves that cruising is possible and can be safe. Is it only the discipline of the passengers ?Is it the consequent following of the protocols by the crew?

 

Wow, with the recent flare up in cases in Europe, I'm surprised by this. The behavior of this insidious virus is mysterious, to say the least. With the success TUI cruises is having, the protocols they have implemented should be the template for the other cruise lines to follow. Maybe there is hope for cruising pre-vaccine but obviously it will be better for cruising when a safe & effective vaccine is rolled out to the general public in 2021, hopefully sooner rather than later in 2021.

Edited November 14, 2020 by farmersfight

[dam64]

Why would anyone even want to cruise during a pandemic?! I will not go near a cruise ship or airplane or travel until there is a vaccine!

[PhillyTravelBug]

No face mask protocol? How dumb can you possibly be? It just goes to show how little we have learned. I will wait until I’m vaccinated.

[Level six]

17 hours ago, seaman11 said:

 

 

Open it up in a few months for big ships , have ppl sign the waivers and lets go, we know we can catch any virus around others. 

Yeah, but the waiver should be that the cruise line is not liable for ANY problems related to covid, including:

1. Quarantine in state room for any amount of cruise

2. Being infected and getting sick( no free treatment or transportation from ship)

3. Missing any/all ports

 

 No reimbursement, no future credit, no free care, no transportation, etc.   Absolutely no compensation at all.  You board the cruise and if any, or all of these things happen, you lose all your money. 

 

Do you actually think people would do that?  Maybe, but the way everyone always wants compensation for anything,  I don't see it.  But, if people would still cruise knowing that any and all of the above can happen........happy sailing. 

[pcakes122]

17 hours ago, seaman11 said:

From what i understood, they did testing but no facemask protocol on board.  Now being under 200 pax they do not have to adhere to the CDC order.  

 

I think it shows that look cleaning the ship and testing isn't enough to stop it as you could have gotten it while traveling to the ship and it shows up days later. 

 

Open it up in a few months for big ships , have ppl sign the waivers and lets go, we know we can catch any virus around others. 

They did do rigorous testing (2 tests prior to boarding) and then they were testing temps and oxygen levels daily.  Cruise vloggers  Ben & David are on the ship and have posted a vlog detailing all of the precautions that have been taken along the way.  They are astonished this happened in spite of all the prep.  Check out their video:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4CNM98JgXw

[HowardK]

On 11/12/2020 at 6:34 AM, farmersfight said:

Well, if you have to be isolated in your cabin at least you're on a luxurious "super yacht" so I'm sure the accommodations are pretty "suite".

Some of the people didn't have balconies though i read- I am sympathetic to them but it was still soon to cruise.

[HowardK]

2 hours ago, PhillyTravelBug said:

No face mask protocol? How dumb can you possibly be? It just goes to show how little we have learned. I will wait until I’m vaccinated.

I agree- I think I am going to have to wait until I am vaccinated as well as a hopeful drop in cases. I am in the Philly area as well - in NJ and haven't been out of the state since March- won't be going to any concerts or sporting events either until then.

I think they rushed this cruise. 

[KirkNC]

5 minutes ago, HowardK said:

Some of the people didn't have balconies though i read- I am sympathetic to them but it was still soon to cruise.

None of the cabins have balconies.

[zqvol]

3 hours ago, HowardK said:

Some of the people didn't have balconies though i read- I am sympathetic to them but it was still soon to cruise.

There are no cabins with balconies on either Sea Dream ship.

[CruiseMH]

6 hours ago, dam64 said:

Why would anyone even want to cruise during a pandemic?! I will not go near a cruise ship or airplane or travel until there is a vaccine!

Why would anybody let the pandemic control their life?

People go to bars and restaurants(if they are open), they go in amusement parks and on beach holidays in hotels,they try to make their life as normal as possible. If cruising is safe (and TUi shows that it is safe !) then why not? If we all wait for an effective vaccine then there won`t be any cruise lines left we can use for cruising ! And even if the vaccine exists,it would takes years to get the whole population vaccined.

 

 

[GettotheSun]

3 minutes ago, CruiseMH said:

Why would anybody let the pandemic control their life?

People go to bars and restaurants(if they are open), they go in amusement parks and on beach holidays in hotels,they try to make their life as normal as possible. If cruising is safe (and TUi shows that it is safe !) then why not? If we all wait for an effective vaccine then there won`t be any cruise lines left we can use for cruising ! And even if the vaccine exists,it would takes years to get the whole population vaccined.

 

 

 

Wow. Just wow.  

 

[farmersfight]

4 hours ago, HowardK said:

Some of the people didn't have balconies though i read

 

4 hours ago, KirkNC said:

None of the cabins have balconies.

 

48 minutes ago, zqvol said:

There are no cabins with balconies on either Sea Dream ship.

 

A luxury cruise ship with no balcony cabins? What kind of luxury is that? Doesn't seem very yacht club-ish...

[farmersfight]

5 hours ago, pcakes122 said:

They did do rigorous testing (2 tests prior to boarding) and then they were testing temps and oxygen levels daily.  Cruise vloggers  Ben & David are on the ship and have posted a vlog detailing all of the precautions that have been taken along the way.  They are astonished this happened in spite of all the prep.  Check out their video:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4CNM98JgXw

 

Kind of ironic that after describing the covid nightmare they are experiencing on board, Ben & David end the video with their signature sign off, "happy cruising". They didn't look too happy to me.

[farmersfight]

7 hours ago, dam64 said:

Why would anyone even want to cruise during a pandemic?!

 

I think @seaman11would;

 

23 hours ago, seaman11 said:

Open it up in a few months for big ships , have ppl sign the waivers and lets go

 

[farmersfight]

5 hours ago, pcakes122 said:

They did do rigorous testing (2 tests prior to boarding) and then they were testing temps and oxygen levels daily.  Cruise vloggers  Ben & David are on the ship and have posted a vlog detailing all of the precautions that have been taken along the way.  They are astonished this happened in spite of all the prep.  Check out their video:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4CNM98JgXw

 

Quarantined in your cabin for days...I would be hitting that alcoholic drink menu pretty hard...

[mek]

1 hour ago, CruiseMH said:

Why would anybody let the pandemic control their life?

People go to bars and restaurants(if they are open), they go in amusement parks and on beach holidays in hotels,they try to make their life as normal as possible. If cruising is safe (and TUi shows that it is safe !) then why not? If we all wait for an effective vaccine then there won`t be any cruise lines left we can use for cruising ! And even if the vaccine exists,it would takes years to get the whole population vaccined.

 

 

All it will take is a few cases on the mass lines here in North America and if nothing else, the bad press will kill cruising for a long time.  

Good heavens, why would it take years to get the people who want to be vaccinated to be able to get it?

I can see it taking longer for underdeveloped countries, but not most of the world.

[CruiseMH]

22 hours ago, mek said:

 

Good heavens, why would it take years to get the people who want to be vaccinated to be able to get it?

 

 

1. You need to be able to produce enough vaccine.Sounds simple,but it isn`t.

2. Almost all vaccines need to be injected twice within a specific period of time to be effective. One injection usually is not enough.

3. Simple mathematics.In the US there are 2,6 doctors per 1000 citizens. You will need a lot of doctors for the regular medical care of the population.On the other side you do have have medical assistants. So lets use this no. of 2 medical staff per 1000 citizens. Makes a total medical staff of 660.000. But realistically only 50-60% of the staff is qualified to vaccinate people.(it is a bit more thatn just giving an injection)

Makes 350.000 available people. If every person of this staff can vaccinate 6 people per day(sounds little but is realistic) that would make it 2 million people per day. So for the total population of the US you would need mathematically art least 165 days for ONE injection. But as i already mentioned all experts say that you will need at least 2 injections. Makes it 330 days net. And this is the theory.

In practice you need to keep in mind that not all medical staff is available at the same time.

vacation , free days, other medical care and the bureaucracy are factors that will reduce the max. number of daily possible vaccinations significantly.

 

So, in practice it would take one to two years to finish the vaccination of the population.

And even if there are people who don`t want to be vaccinated there will be most likely an order of which people will be vaccinated first.(e.g. all the medical staff, fire fighters,policve officers, all other people at high risk). People who want to get vaccination because they need it for a cruise will not be the ones with top priority.

So thats why you should calculate with at least 1,5 years between the release of a vaccine and an effective effect.