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Live from Equinox 8/27/21 Sailing


Beba-Beba
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23 hours ago, Mark_T said:

Hoping for gelato in your very near future!

 

I was wondering if the sheer numbers being tested had caused that '2 hour' estimate to be so badly missed.

 

No excuse though for not communicating that they were running late if that was the case.

First of all to Beach Mike and Goofy’s Mom - so glad you got out ok! I’m still catching up, so I hope you have remained well! That’s most important.

As for the TAT, if they are doing PCR, 2 hours is quite reasonable for a negative test - you feel like the clock started when you got swabbed, but the reality is the nurse may have swabbed another cabin before heading downstairs where the testing is done. Then when the swab gets down to the lab, there is a little prep work and always paperwork, then it’s an hour to an hour and half just on the instrument for a negative result. The antigen tests are a lot faster, but it would be a waste of time to do an antigen test 24-48 hours after exposure, not enough time to be accurate.

Enjoy the rest of your cruise, wish I was back there!

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12 minutes ago, Mark_T said:

This feels like a case of 'be careful what you wish for...'.

 

Would you prefer that passengers were quarantined in their cabins for 7 days, then allowed to continue on a B2B if they had one...?

 

A strict 7 day quarantine with negative testing seems like a reasonable compromise to allow a return to work whereas passengers have a much lighter quarantine requirement but need to leave the ship just to be safe.

I didn’t “wish” for anything. I said it didn’t seem logical, and it still doesn’t. On a longer cruise, affected passengers would have had at least seven days of testing before the second leg of their b2b. Regardless of quarantine length, both crew and passengers would have tested negative for seven days. 

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2 minutes ago, cangelmd said:

First of all to Beach Mike and Goofy’s Mom - so glad you got out ok! I’m still catching up, so I hope you have remained well! That’s most important.

As for the TAT, if they are doing PCR, 2 hours is quite reasonable for a negative test - you feel like the clock started when you got swabbed, but the reality is the nurse may have swabbed another cabin before heading downstairs where the testing is done. Then when the swab gets down to the lab, there is a little prep work and always paperwork, then it’s an hour to an hour and half just on the instrument for a negative result. The antigen tests are a lot faster, but it would be a waste of time to do an antigen test 24-48 hours after exposure, not enough time to be accurate.

Enjoy the rest of your cruise, wish I was back there!

I'm still OK with how this has played out.  BUT, someone was tested 2 hrs after I was and got called within 2 hrs.  Didn't have to chase it down.  But since crew and "close contact" pax were both being tested, that WAS a lot of tests!  And I'm m not cranky about it anymore. 🤓

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5 hours ago, goofysmom99 said:

I had scrambled "eggs" this morning.  One bite.  Thanks for the fresh egg hack.  I usually order poached or fried and didn't know the scrambled stuff was so tasteless until today.

I don’t eat eggs, but I know that last year at the height of the lockdown toilet paper shortage when all sorts of random things disappeared, they ran out of eggs at the hospital. The explanatory sign said that normally they used eggs that were pasteurized in the shell (pasteurized eggs required for food service) and only used the liquid stuff for baking or incorporating into casserole, meat loaf, etc. But there were only liquid pasteurized eggs available, so the pans of scrambled eggs turned a very odd bright yellow with a very uniform texture - I don’t think the cafeteria has been able to go back.

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12 minutes ago, goofysmom99 said:

I'm still OK with how this has played out.  BUT, someone was tested 2 hrs after I was and got called within 2 hrs.  Didn't have to chase it down.  But since crew and "close contact" pax were both being tested, that WAS a lot of tests!  And I'm m not cranky about it anymore. 🤓

Glad you aren’t cranky, didn’t mean to imply you were. 

Just responding to some other comments. The inexcusable part is that they never called you, you had to call them, that should not have happened

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4 minutes ago, cangelmd said:

Glad you aren’t cranky, didn’t mean to imply you were. 

Just responding to some other comments. The inexcusable part is that they never called you, you had to call them, that should not have happened

Oh, I was definitely cranky at the time.  But 24 hrs later, a shaded balcony, a perfect day with the ocean gliding by....life is good. 🤗

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3 minutes ago, goofysmom99 said:

Oh, I was definitely cranky at the time.  But 24 hrs later, a shaded balcony, a perfect day with the ocean gliding by....life is good. 🤗

 

 

Ruth:  So glad to learn that you tested negative.  And you are such a positive person I doubt that you were too cranky!

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8 minutes ago, goofysmom99 said:

Oh, I was definitely cranky at the time.  But 24 hrs later, a shaded balcony, a perfect day with the ocean gliding by....life is good. 🤗

I'd take the credit card refund over fcc

Enjoy the rest of your vacation..thanks for sharing your story

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22 minutes ago, goofysmom99 said:

Oh, I was definitely cranky at the time.  But 24 hrs later, a shaded balcony, a perfect day with the ocean gliding by....life is good. 🤗

What a lovely person you are @goofysmom99.  You handled this entire unfortunate situation you found yourself in with grace.

 

Thank you for taking us along as your quarantine unfolded.

 

Enjoy what is left of the cruise and count your blessings.

 

Mary

Edited by Beba-Beba
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2 hours ago, goofysmom99 said:

And I received a call this afternoon regarding compensation which was quite fair and based on fare. 

Choice of credit card refund (2-3 weeks) or FCC delivered tonight/tomorrow.

 

1day worth of fare for being confined a day?

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2 hours ago, goofysmom99 said:

I've noticed a whole lot of crewmembers are double masked, with a light blue disposable beneath the dark blue X version.  Maybe I wasn't paying attention before my quarantine though.   

On the Summit, I noticed that much of the crew had disposible mask under their branded ones.

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2 hours ago, Beba-Beba said:

What a lovely person you are @goofysmom99.  You handled this entire unfortunate situation you found yourself in with grace.

 

Thank you for taking us along as your quarantine unfolded.

 

Enjoy what is left of the cruise and count your blessings.

 

Mary

Yes she is.  We met Ruth many years ago on Cruise Critic, have visited and cruised together and have loved her ever since.  We don't get to see each other much but we're thankful for our friendship, keep in touch, and are looking forward to cruising together on the Summit September 30th.

 

Garry

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3 hours ago, goofysmom99 said:

I've noticed a whole lot of crewmembers are double masked, with a light blue disposable beneath the dark blue X version.  Maybe I wasn't paying attention before my quarantine though.   Also, I was told by several crewmembers, when I asked, that all crew were tested Wednesday and that they get tested as often as twice/week.  And I received a call this afternoon regarding compensation which was quite fair and based on fare.  Choice of credit card refund (2-3 weeks) or FCC delivered tonight/tomorrow.

Great for you that they gave you a choice. We weren't given a choice. Got FCCs for our flight changes since we had to fly home on 8/15 rather than 8/27 because we could not stay for our subsequent sailing.  Highly doubtful we will use them. Too many already and too many problems redeeming them! 

 

 

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We were in a celebrity suite on the Equinox on the 8/15 cruise and Luminae was open for breakfast, lunch and dinner everyday.   Interesting that they changed that on port days.  I am sorry for those of you who had to go through the covid testing and quarantine.  We found the ship to be very safe and thoroughly enjoyed our cruise and thought the service rivaled any luxury ship out there.  We are looking forward to getting back on her soon but I do have a quick question for anyone on her right now - we want to take my mother-n-law on the Equinox but we are unable to get an accessible cabin.  The main issue is the toilet height.  Can anyone tell me what the height is on  a regular bathroom toilet on the ship?   The website says that the ada ones are 18 inches tall.    Also if you haven't visited Lido and Hero in craft social you are missing out.  They are wonderful bartenders and willing to go to a great effort to make you happy.

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4 hours ago, goofysmom99 said:

I'm still OK with how this has played out.  BUT, someone was tested 2 hrs after I was and got called within 2 hrs.  Didn't have to chase it down.  But since crew and "close contact" pax were both being tested, that WAS a lot of tests!  And I'm m not cranky about it anymore. 🤓

Your positivity and uplifting reply is amazing.   You're my type of cruiser.      I got a kick out of your last word.

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14 hours ago, goofysmom99 said:

I've noticed a whole lot of crewmembers are double masked, with a light blue disposable beneath the dark blue X version.  Maybe I wasn't paying attention before my quarantine though.   Also, I was told by several crewmembers, when I asked, that all crew were tested Wednesday and that they get tested as often as twice/week.  And I received a call this afternoon regarding compensation which was quite fair and based on fare.  Choice of credit card refund (2-3 weeks) or FCC delivered tonight/tomorrow.

I got the same call yesterday as well to offer the compensation. Since my wife was technically not quarantined, but did so out of caution because we have been everywhere together, they did give her a FCC as well. I am very happy with how they handled this, and so now we are looking for our next cruise! 

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10 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

Your positivity and uplifting reply is amazing.   You're my type of cruiser.      I got a kick out of your last word.

I have to agree 100% and Jim you are also someone we would love to cruise with as well.

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7 minutes ago, Tortu31 said:

Thanks to all who have contributed helpful information regarding testing, masks, reimbursements, etc. Can anyone comment on pool decks?  Social distancing?? Masks?  Hot tub capacity?  Tx.

No mask required for adults any where on the ship. Plenty of chairs and lounges availability at all times around the pool so naturally social distancing.  I think the hot tubs are supposed to be limited to 3 or 4 at one time but no clue if it is enforced. You need to realize you are safer on this cruise ship than walking into a grocery store or restaurant at home.

Edited by terrydtx
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