Covid on Iona

[tring]

1 hour ago, Dermotsgirl said:

It's hardly chicken licken to provide information about scenarios that people may not have considered previously, to enable them to consider all factors when they are making their decisions. After all, the cruise companies are tight lipped about everything, so it's up to us to share information.

 

In this case, it seems that the person's decision to join a bubble caused them to be classed as a close contact of a person who  tested positive, and ultimately resulted in them being offloaded from the ship.  Don't people need to know this sort of information.

 

Regarding the offloading, I tend to think they didn't have a choice in the matter.  But that is conjecture on both our parts 

 

Do people really need to be told joining a bubble means just that!   In fact Fred have been extremely up front regards the covid situation and the effect on cruises, particularly the itineraries, which I sadly find very lacking for our forthcoming Princess cruise.

[Megabear2]

12 minutes ago, funinhounslow said:

You’ve missed my point. 
 

While I appreciate the chances are small I don’t want to be offloaded halfway through my holiday because of a positive COVID test. Nor anyone I’m travelling with. 
 

That’s what I meant by “risky”. Just not worth the hassle at the moment. 

You are right, I did misunderstand.  Personally unless there's clarification about this quarantine if no positive test, I wont be sailing and will cancel/move accordingly.  I'm particularly concerned about the cruise with my octogenarian aunt. Due to her age we can't have the same insurance.  She really wants to go - a very large number of immediate family are booked - as she and her late husband completed 10 world cruises with P&O before he died last March. She wants to organise to scatter his ashes from the ship and for her it has to be Aurora or Arcadia as they were "their ships". 

 

I really dont want to disappoint her, but equally I dont want her offloaded somewhere in the Canaries to be possibly alone while I'm sick, or god forbid the other way round.

[kirtihk]

7 minutes ago, lancashire_cruisers said:

I've been following this thread with interest and I sympathise with the very real concerns and worries that people have and also with the cruise companies who are trying to restart cruising against a backdrop of continuing changes to guidance and requirements.

 

We were very close to booking a Canaries cruise on Iona in February but having read that people are being offloaded to quarantine on shore has changed the game for us completely as one of our party refuses to fly. The prospect of potentially being left behind is a stress that you just don't need on holiday!

 

We will cruise again but only once the incidence of the virus has reduced substantially.

 

 

Some people claim they actually relish it.

[Son of Bare]

29 minutes ago, funinhounslow said:

You’ve missed my point. 
 

While I appreciate the chances are small I don’t want to be offloaded halfway through my holiday because of a positive COVID test. Nor anyone I’m travelling with. 
 

That’s what I meant by “risky”. Just not worth the hassle at the moment. 

Nope, I didn't miss your point at all!!

[funinhounslow]

7 minutes ago, Son of Bare said:

Nope, I didn't miss your point at all!!

Sorry. That was the impression you gave by asking about passenger “demographics” on a cruise ship. 

[Son of Bare]

35 minutes ago, Dermotsgirl said:

I hope this doesn't break the rules.

 

On the social media site with the blue bird, see posts by user @Jon41287916Max 

 

He is the person who reported being offloaded at Funchal due to being a close contact of someone who tested positive.

 

He is reporting his experiences. It sounds pretty grim

He sounds a right miserable git to me. What does he expect for heavens sake? Why would anyone go out of their way to make an isolation hotel anymore comfortable than is absolutely neccessary. It's not like the management will be going for good reviews on trustpilot is it?

I suspect the poor fella's going through withdrawal 😄

[Megabear2]

Regardless of the hotel, he seems to have been quarantined on the ship for a couple of days before Madeira. There's a comment about black water, a picture of something he says fell from the air con, and also a half hour exercise on deck. That being the case with 10 days in his hotel it's going to be considerably longer before he gets home.  There's no mention of any testing procedures either in either quarantine. Assumedly he is not at this point unwell.

 

Mind you he did say the ship/cruise was lovely before it all went up the swanee....

[Manx buoy]

18 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

Regardless of the hotel, he seems to have been quarantined on the ship for a couple of days before Madeira. There's a comment about black water, a picture of something he says fell from the air con, and also a half hour exercise on deck. That being the case with 10 days in his hotel it's going to be considerably longer before he gets home.  There's no mention of any testing procedures either in either quarantine. Assumedly he is not at this point unwell.

 

Mind you he did say the ship/cruise was lovely before it all went up the swanee....

He said he was going on a Med cruise so how are they in Madeira🤷‍♂️

[terrierjohn]

1 hour ago, tring said:

I see absolutely no relationship between the Iona case and the quote of mine which you responded to, or indeed the post to which my quoted post was made in response to in the first instance.

 

 

Since this thread is specifically about the covid case on Iona, then you will have to forgive me for not realising your post did not relate to this incident.

[Megabear2]

5 minutes ago, Manx buoy said:

He said he was going on a Med cruise so how are they in Madeira🤷‍♂️

Perhaps he's geography is really poor .  Funchal is apparently where he is.

[Dermotsgirl]

The Vesselfinder website says that Borealis is currently en route to Gibraltar …… from Funchal

[Megabear2]

It also shows:

 

07 Oct    Departing from Liverpool, England hotels

08 Oct    Belfast, Northern Ireland

11 Oct    Gibraltar, UK

12 Oct    Cadiz, Spain, Sevilla

13 Oct    Portimao, Portugal

14 Oct    Lisbon, Portugal

15 Oct    Porto-Leixoes, Oporto, Portugal

18 Oct    Arriving in Liverpool, England

 

So where did Funchal come from?  

[Megabear2]

Apparently she arrives Gibraltar 5.00am tomorrow (2 days late according to this itinerary)

07 Oct	Departing from Liverpool, England hotels
08 Oct	Belfast, Northern Ireland
11 Oct	Gibraltar, UK
12 Oct	Cadiz, Spain, Sevilla
13 Oct	Portimao, Portugal
14 Oct	Lisbon, Portugal
15 Oct	Porto-Leixoes, Oporto, Portugal
18 Oct	Arriving in Liverpool, England

 

If our friend on the bluebird site spent two days quarantined on the ship before Funchal docking yesterday we seem to have his bubble testing positive very soon after embarkation and the ship detouring quite a lot. I'm not an expert on trip planning but this does seem very weird. Anyone with more expertise able to make any suggestions on what  may have caused this?

[tring]

57 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

Since this thread is specifically about the covid case on Iona, then you will have to forgive me for not realising your post did not relate to this incident.

 

Yes I am very happy to understand you were mistaken, it is very easily done. 

 

I would just like to add that I was responding to a comment, which I realised was not completely within the scope of this thread, though I do see why it was mentioned by the person who wrote it, so did feel it was worth while clarifying something which may have seemed less clear to some people, due to procedures used on another cruise line. 

 

However if we (personally) were to be asked to quarantine by any cruise line because we had been in contact with another passenger who had tested positive, it would still stand that we would likely prefer to disembark in most cases, unless perhaps the ship was soon to return to it's home port.  I can, however, to an extent, understand that some people may well prefer to stay on the ship and be confined to a cabin, as that would likely be the most straight forward and perhaps also the cheapest option.

 

I can certainly see that would very likely be the preferred position for yourself and your wife, due to her unfortunate disability, which I do realise must be very difficult to manage, even in very straight forward times.  I was extremely sorry to hear about you having your cruise booking cancelled because of that need and hope you do manage to go on holiday without any further problems in the future.

 

Barbara  

[tring]

52 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

It also shows:

 

07 Oct    Departing from Liverpool, England hotels

08 Oct    Belfast, Northern Ireland

11 Oct    Gibraltar, UK

12 Oct    Cadiz, Spain, Sevilla

13 Oct    Portimao, Portugal

14 Oct    Lisbon, Portugal

15 Oct    Porto-Leixoes, Oporto, Portugal

18 Oct    Arriving in Liverpool, England

 

So where did Funchal come from?  

 

I seem to remember something about the Portugese mainland ports being cancelled a few weeks ago on one Fred cruise, because of problems with docking there, though Madeira was added to that itinerary.  I cannot be sure this was the cruise in question, but sounds like it probably is.  I have heard of Portugal being cancelled from other cruises as well, but I have also heard they are opening up more now.

 

Same applied to Spain in a recent cruise cruise we have taken as Spanish ports have been opening up one by one - I had been watching what was happening over the summer.  Luckily for us all our ports, some quite small, were open by the time we sailed, though one of our ports was changed for a non-covid reason.

Edited October 12, 2021 by tring

[tring]

29 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

Apparently she arrives Gibraltar 5.00am tomorrow (2 days late according to this itinerary)

07 Oct	Departing from Liverpool, England hotels
08 Oct	Belfast, Northern Ireland
11 Oct	Gibraltar, UK
12 Oct	Cadiz, Spain, Sevilla
13 Oct	Portimao, Portugal
14 Oct	Lisbon, Portugal
15 Oct	Porto-Leixoes, Oporto, Portugal
18 Oct	Arriving in Liverpool, England

 

If our friend on the bluebird site spent two days quarantined on the ship before Funchal docking yesterday we seem to have his bubble testing positive very soon after embarkation and the ship detouring quite a lot. I'm not an expert on trip planning but this does seem very weird. Anyone with more expertise able to make any suggestions on what  may have caused this?

 

Not so sure about expertise, but please see my previous post.

[Megabear2]

Thank you.

[anniegb]

48 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

Apparently she arrives Gibraltar 5.00am tomorrow (2 days late according to this itinerary)

07 Oct	Departing from Liverpool, England hotels
08 Oct	Belfast, Northern Ireland
11 Oct	Gibraltar, UK
12 Oct	Cadiz, Spain, Sevilla
13 Oct	Portimao, Portugal
14 Oct	Lisbon, Portugal
15 Oct	Porto-Leixoes, Oporto, Portugal
18 Oct	Arriving in Liverpool, England

 

If our friend on the bluebird site spent two days quarantined on the ship before Funchal docking yesterday we seem to have his bubble testing positive very soon after embarkation and the ship detouring quite a lot. I'm not an expert on trip planning but this does seem very weird. Anyone with more expertise able to make any suggestions on what  may have caused this?

AIS data states Funchal 1st POC after departing Liverpool.

 

Was their testing done prior to embarkation at Liverpool??

 

Annie

[tring]

6 minutes ago, anniegb said:

AIS data states Funchal 1st POC after departing Liverpool.

 

Was their testing done prior to embarkation at Liverpool??

 

Annie

 

They will have been tested at embarkation as with all cruises, but if the parson had tested positive then, they would not have been on the ship.  They may have had tests for a port visit, or perhaps the person reported ill, a day or two after embarking the ship.

[terrierjohn]

35 minutes ago, tring said:

 

Yes I am very happy to understand you were mistaken, it is very easily done. 

 

I would just like to add that I was responding to a comment, which I realised was not completely within the scope of this thread, though I do see why it was mentioned by the person who wrote it, so did feel it was worth while clarifying something which may have seemed less clear to some people, due to procedures used on another cruise line. 

 

However if we (personally) were to be asked to quarantine by any cruise line because we had been in contact with another passenger who had tested positive, it would still stand that we would likely prefer to disembark in most cases, unless perhaps the ship was soon to return to it's home port.  I can, however, to an extent, understand that some people may well prefer to stay on the ship and be confined to a cabin, as that would likely be the most straight forward and perhaps also the cheapest option.

 

I can certainly see that would very likely be the preferred position for yourself and your wife, due to her unfortunate disability, which I do realise must be very difficult to manage, even in very straight forward times.  I was extremely sorry to hear about you having your cruise booking cancelled because of that need and hope you do manage to go on holiday without any further problems in the future.

 

Barbara  

Thank you Barbara, I must try and read posts more carefully  rather than just skim reading them.

I have just had confirmation from P&O that our cabins on our next 4 bookings are not in a quarantine area, at least not currently. So hopefully we will get to experience Iona in February, but I need to get confirmation from Staysure that we would both be covered for any covid costs we incurred, including any forced disembarkation and quarantine and repatriation costs, before we pay the balance.

[Megabear2]

She doesn't appear on Belfast's roster so assumedly no call there. Reporting ill after embarkation must therefore seem most likely.   That would be an interesting option as they must have been carrying the illness when boarding.  

What is Fred's testing type, assumedly lateral flow at the terminal?

[anniegb]

28 minutes ago, tring said:

 

They will have been tested at embarkation as with all cruises, but if the parson had tested positive then, they would not have been on the ship.  They may have had tests for a port visit, or perhaps the person reported ill, a day or two after embarking the ship.

Or a false negative test result??

 

LFTs are not the most reliable test.

[tring]

22 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

Thank you Barbara, I must try and read posts more carefully  rather than just skim reading them.

I have just had confirmation from P&O that our cabins on our next 4 bookings are not in a quarantine area, at least not currently. So hopefully we will get to experience Iona in February, but I need to get confirmation from Staysure that we would both be covered for any covid costs we incurred, including any forced disembarkation and quarantine and repatriation costs, before we pay the balance.

 

I hope all turns out well for you and you enjoy all of them, I can see an unscheduled disembarkation would be particularly difficult for you.

[tring]

14 minutes ago, anniegb said:

Or a false negative test result??

 

LFTs are not the most reliable test.

 

Yes, could have been a false result, but that would only have been apparent if re tested for some reason, or if the person reported feeling unwell.

 

In practice there are going to be people on all cruise lines who test positive and I am sure there are a lot of cases we are not aware of, but then medical details are considered a personal matter which can be kept private.  As all cruise companies are following the same guidelines, they will all be doing similar things, though different ports will also have a bearing on that.  It seems silly to me to make such a fuss about occasions when people become known to have covid.  As Moley has said previously, that is what the covid procedures are meant to deal with and, of course are meant to protect the safety of both anyone testing positive, but also other passengers on the ship.

 

We do need to learn to live with covid in all circumstances, unless people want to hide away from the world and isolate for the rest of their lives.  Everyone has the right and choice to assess their own risks and decided which risks they are prepared to live with and which they prefer to avoid. 

[Megabear2]

10 minutes ago, tring said:

It seems silly to me to make such a fuss about occasions when people become known to have covid.  As Moley has said previously, that is what the covid procedures are meant to deal with and, of course are meant to protect the safety of both anyone testing positive, but also other passengers on the ship.

In fairness I don't actually think the fuss is all about those unfortunately found to have Covid. Certainly the main discussion here has been the forced removal of people not testing positive but being forced to quarantine ashore with no clue who will pay. If the cruise lines and insurers sort out that position I doubt you'll hear much more "moaning". It's not the procedures per se but this one aspect which was unknown until the Iona Cadiz situation arose.