In quarantine on Equinox. Ask me anything. I’m bored.

[Susanb10567]

7 minutes ago, Kevinb1176 said:

Spoke too soon. It used to say unvaccinated. Now it shows all guests. 
 

we’re planning on going apex this weekend. It’s too much. Not anyones fault but I’m not rebooking. We had the first cruise cancelled on edge 3/15/20 a day before departure, it’s been rebooked 4x already and with my wife being due in July, we can’t cruise by the end of the year. 
 

Stress is the amount of ifs. Have to hope the CVS has tests we’re scheduled for Thursday, have to pass the tests, then have to hope the flight isn’t cancelled, then worry about being quarantined if we get Covid. 
 

We’ll stay on the ship, try and distance in the outdoor retreat area, and hope for the best. I don’t think this will be enjoyable until it’s over and we’re hopefully back home and done with 3 years of planning this. 

I don’t see this section on my Ap for my 2/6 Edge sailing…

[GB08]

15 hours ago, Parkerson said:

Who is this “Panderson” you speak of!?!?

 

Parkerson, you have benefited so many with your posts.     Good health to you and your wife!

 

You made the best of a difficult situation!     Bravo and thank,you!

[Kevinb1176]

Here are step by step from app

click on Health button on app on bottom 

healthy cruising

scroll down to masks section. 

[Pinboy]

Enough already about " masks required, masks not required " ? 

If you are willing to cruise at this time , bring some friggin masks.

The rules on board could change at any time during the cruise, so, what's the point of posting questions about it on CC.

Also, " should I go, should I cancel , what would you do ? " posts .

By now , (  as mentioned recently to me ) , isn't it " Obvious " that everyone has different " risk " levels?

So, what's the point of continuously posting the same old , same old.

And besides, it's more fun reading about dress code , gratuities , lounge hogs , slobs at the buffet , and, and.

 

[LGW59]

9 minutes ago, Pinboy said:

Enough already about " masks required, masks not required " ? 

If you are willing to cruise at this time , bring some friggin masks.

The rules on board could change at any time during the cruise, so, what's the point of posting questions about it on CC.

Also, " should I go, should I cancel , what would you do ? " posts .

By now , (  as mentioned recently to me ) , isn't it " Obvious " that everyone has different " risk " levels?

So, what's the point of continuously posting the same old , same old.

And besides, it's more fun reading about dress code , gratuities , lounge hogs , slobs at the buffet , and, and.

 

Totally agree here Pinboy!!!  The should I or should I not really get my goat.  If you have to come on CC to ask someone you have never and most likely will never meet, if you should go on a cruise, (insert incredulous look) you got problems and CC is not the place to solve them.

Edited January 4, 2022 by LGW59

[WhiteSoxFan]

1 minute ago, kearney said:

Don't read the posts if you don't like the topic.   But if they are going to require masks..require the more effective masks.. if cloth masks are only 11% effective for covid.. they are, as someone said ..just face decorations or virtue signaling... worthless in protecting health.

Agreed, they should specify the 3 layer masks as the minimum standard. They should also crack down on the people who can't seem to cover their nose and mouth at the same time.

[canderson]

1 hour ago, sasset said:

Everybody should be packing masks. They don't take up any space.

They're supplied by Celebrity and waiting in your cabin if you like.

[Julma]

1 minute ago, canderson said:

They're supplied by Celebrity and waiting in your cabin if you like.

From experience I can tell you these are lousy masks and one mask being worn all the time for 7+ days is not sanitary.  If you're heading on a cruise, I would suggest N95 masks.  

[esther e]

2 hours ago, Sunny Pearl said:

Nice to know so many of you are right in my own back yard. You rock, North East Florida peeps! 

Everyone else is wonderful too😘

We have a New England/Canada planned for 9-21-23 on the Summit.Ya'll should think of joining us.

 

I would definitely, but living in Florida I'm petrified of 'canes and try not to go anywhere from June-Nov.  Last time on the Summit we hit a hurricane in Canada and it wasn't fun!!  It was in Sept of some year.

[Parkerson]

51 minutes ago, canderson said:

Agreed.  I would much rather hear from those who were quarantined (the topic) as to how things are being handled now that they're off the ship.  They did a great job getting us to the pier.

I would also like to hear from those that had planned to fly home and how their experience was/is when they disembarked. I had the luxury of being home 5 hours after stepping off the ship. 
 

I’m currently quarantined to the upstairs while the Mrs and the dog have run of the downstairs. Waiting on my Dr to call now for a virtual visit. Fever is down and blood ox is at 97. Just ready for a long nap after this call. 

[Parkerson]

29 minutes ago, kptbylorraine said:

Hi Pinboy

Totally agree. It’s time to move on. We need to have more posts like Paterson’s to help us make informed decisions. 
Hoping to sail on February 11. 
 

Lorraine 

🙄

 

 

[azbirdmom]

16 minutes ago, Parkerson said:

I’m currently quarantined to the upstairs while the Mrs and the dog have run of the downstairs

 

I have a question.  How is the room service working out for you now that you're home? 🙂 Hope you and the others who took the time to post get better soon.

[#55worktoplay]

37 minutes ago, Parkerson said:

I would also like to hear from those that had planned to fly home and how their experience was/is when they disembarked. I had the luxury of being home 5 hours after stepping off the ship. 
 

I’m currently quarantined to the upstairs while the Mrs and the dog have run of the downstairs. Waiting on my Dr to call now for a virtual visit. Fever is down and blood ox is at 97. Just ready for a long nap after this call. 

I have enjoyed following your thread and your attitude throughout your ordeal was a breath of fresh air.  It was very kind of you to assist Dolly who was in a fit of terror which was probably caused by her nil responses from cruise staff. I believe you helped her immensely.

 

From your posting during your quarantine you seemed to be pretty good health wise, did your health progressively get worse?  Have you had additional struggles since getting off ship?  
 

Wishing you the best recovery!

[duke052]

On 1/1/2022 at 9:02 PM, Barb1403 said:

I am also in isolation on the Equinox.  My husband was also tested and he was negative.  I had a slight cough and nothing else.  I have been here since late on 1/30.  There must be a lot of people using room service as it takes forever to get through.  I also have a balcony room.  We did wear masks unless we were eating or drinking.  I am hoping I get more information regarding disembarkation tomorrow.  Luckily we also drove but we were supposed to transfer to the Apex for another 12 days of cruising, but I canceled those cruises yesterday.

Were you able to get a full refund when you canceled your 2nd cruise.

[barb-ottawa]

Excellent and informative thread and glad that everyone is okay. My husband and I are avid cruisers and our last cruise was January 2020 before the sh*t hit the fan. We love cruising as it is a relaxing vacation. This thread has reinforced our decision to put off cruising for a while. Being both vaccinated and boosted, we are not concerned about getting seriously ill while on a cruise, but it hardly registers as a relaxing vacation if you have to worry about (1) your flights not being cancelled; (2) enough healthy crew to take care of your cruising needs; and most of all (3) being exiled to the covid ward and being quarantined in your room. No thank you - we'll gladly wait until we can cruise without masks and no concern about who we've been in contact with. Each to his own, I guess.

[luv2cruise0611]

On 1/2/2022 at 10:49 PM, canderson said:

I don't imagine that LLP reads Cruise Critic, but this is one thread that her staff needs to bring to her attention.

 

As TeaRick pointed out, a UTI is nothing to screw around with.  Left untreated, it can put you in a hospital a lot faster than omicron.

 

I'm astounded that no one ... just one ... person wasn't TASKED with communications with quarantined passengers on a ongoing basis. There should be someone in Medical (to avoid HIPAA issues and to provide necessary expertise) to triage actual emergent situations and to handle periodic virtual wellness checks.  Leaving COVID positive patients without any communication for extended periods of time isn't acceptable.  From a patient perspective, it seems that X has completely dropped the ball with their COVID-positive patient management procedures.  And from what you good pax have been describing to us, that's exactly what has happened here.

 

Moreover, as you're at the mercy of the phone response, one small team of 2 or 3 should also have been TASKED with managing the incoming food and drink issues using a separately provided phone number.  Being unable to reach a live body under these circumstances isn't acceptable.

 

 

 

 

@canderson Your suggestion is absolutely right ... a person or a team plus a telephone line needs to be designated just for the quarantined passengers and I felt it needed to be heard from the 'powers that be'. 

Just want to let you know that I sent an email to LLP (Lisa Lutoff-Perlo) just yesterday (with the link to this thread) ... and this afternoon, I received a phone call from her office.  Her assistant thanked me for the email and bringing it to their attention.  She said they always look for ways to improve and assured me that they are looking into the matter.  She also told me that my email was immediately sent to the Equinox ... and they will be looking into the situations that came up in this thread.  They also like the suggestion and will look into that more as well.  

WOW ... was I surprised to get a response so quickly.  To be honest, I didn't think I would get any response.  I commend LLP's office.

Just thought I would report back to you all.  Wouldn't it be nice if changes are made?  Your voices needed to be heard.

@Parkerson ... Thank you again for creating this thread, for being so invaluable to so many and for your positive, upbeat attitude.  I'm sure you got a lot of people through this difficult time.

 

Edited January 4, 2022 by luv2cruise0611

[Sunny Pearl]

On 1/2/2022 at 10:44 AM, dollyd said:

Hi there... I just found your post... I tested pos last night and we are still in cabin waiting for medical... and for hubby to get tested. I am going to read this whole chat and get right back to you so I don't ask anything that you have already answered. Really needing more info regarding tomorrow... brb

Hey, Dollyd, hope you and hubby got home okay, also hope you're feeling better.  Thank you for sharing about your person experience.  I actually canceled our cruise for the 9th.  It's okay we'll cruise later😀

-Sunny

[Parkerson]

31 minutes ago, luv2cruise0611 said:

 

@canderson Your suggestion is absolutely right ... a person or a team plus a telephone line needs to be designated just for the quarantined passengers and I felt it needed to be heard from the 'powers that be'. 

Just want to let you know that I sent an email to LLP (Lisa Lutoff-Perlo) just yesterday (with the link to this thread) ... and this afternoon, I received a phone call from her office.  Her assistant thanked me for the email and bringing it to their attention.  She said they always look for ways to improve and assured me that they are looking into the matter.  She also told me that my email was immediately sent to the Equinox ... and they will be looking into the situations that came up in this thread.  They also like the suggestion and will look into that more as well.  

WOW ... was I surprised to get a response so quickly.  To be honest, I didn't think I would get any response.  I commend LLP's office.

Just thought I would report back to you all.  Wouldn't it be nice if changes are made?  Your voices needed to be heard.

@Parkerson ... Thank you again for creating this thread, for being so invaluable to so many and for your positive, upbeat attitude.  I'm sure you got a lot of people through this difficult time.

 

 

Wow!  Thank you so much for sending the email. I am also surprised that you got such a quick response!  Please keep us posted if you hear anything else from them.  

 

I guess I should've filled-in all of the timelines and delays from the time I took my covid test until they called to take me to Medical.  Same with the delays after my wife took her test.  Everything about the entire situation screamed that they were drowning and figuring it out as it worsened. 

 

I've been shocked by the number of people that have thanked me and said what a good thread this has been and how it stayed on point.  I really didn't understand that until the last 12 hours or so.  I've seen a few examples already of how quickly a thread could go south. 

[Boytjie]

7 hours ago, chucknmarilyn said:

Our 1/24 and 2/4 sailings on Silhouette have also been updated on the App.

 

Also for our charter cruise on the Millennium 1/10.

[Parkerson]

Mrs. P has been busy downstairs. 
 

 

[luv4cruises]

On 1/3/2022 at 12:09 PM, Parkerson said:

Private vehicle for each family. They were lined up waiting. 
 

They were staggering our departures so we didn’t bunch up inside or out. We were able to watch a bit while they retrieved one on my wife’s bag from inside the terminal. 

That is what I would have expected from Celebrity !  Thank you for your posts! 

 

I hope to hear from the guests who had to quarantine in hotels and then fly home.  How did Celebrity handle that situation?   I read about reimbursements but would like to know if a good hotel was found for guests who didn’t want to book their own, if new flights were arranged for them to get home? 
I would hope that Covid patients weren’t left to fend for themselves, especially after the stress of quarantine.   I had great faith in Celebrity’s Cruise with Confidence policy. I hope they live up to their stellar reputation.  X has been my favorite cruise line. 

[phoenix_dream]

2 hours ago, luv2cruise0611 said:

 

@canderson Your suggestion is absolutely right ... a person or a team plus a telephone line needs to be designated just for the quarantined passengers and I felt it needed to be heard from the 'powers that be'. 

Just want to let you know that I sent an email to LLP (Lisa Lutoff-Perlo) just yesterday (with the link to this thread) ... and this afternoon, I received a phone call from her office.  Her assistant thanked me for the email and bringing it to their attention.  She said they always look for ways to improve and assured me that they are looking into the matter.  She also told me that my email was immediately sent to the Equinox ... and they will be looking into the situations that came up in this thread.  They also like the suggestion and will look into that more as well.  

WOW ... was I surprised to get a response so quickly.  To be honest, I didn't think I would get any response.  I commend LLP's office.

Just thought I would report back to you all.  Wouldn't it be nice if changes are made?  Your voices needed to be heard.

@Parkerson ... Thank you again for creating this thread, for being so invaluable to so many and for your positive, upbeat attitude.  I'm sure you got a lot of people through this difficult time.

 

That is great to hear!  It is definitely a great idea to have one contact line (with back-ups as needed) for people under quarantine.  I spent much of my career as a project manager and manager of junior project managers, and I can tell you without a doubt that project planning is definitely a skill, and far fewer people possess it than you would think.  Celebrity needs a few good project managers to help them plan this out better!  The number of cases onboard this ship were not at all so extreme that the handling should have been such a mess.  

[kearney]

9 minutes ago, phoenix_dream said:

That is great to hear!  It is definitely a great idea to have one contact line (with back-ups as needed) for people under quarantine.  I spent much of my career as a project manager and manager of junior project managers, and I can tell you without a doubt that project planning is definitely a skill, and far fewer people possess it than you would think.  Celebrity needs a few good project managers to help them plan this out better!  The number of cases onboard this ship were not at all so extreme that the handling should have been such a mess.  

I had the same thought. I was thinking that if you could find the right passenger who is in quarantine with nothing to do...perhaps a group could be ombudsmen dividing up areas...one could handle contact with other quarantined passengers for food service needs..another for plans on exiting the ship.. that sort of thing. That way one person could call into room service making for fewer calls ... and help organize information flow. I would suggest a crew member but if they too are sick.. I was thinking that someone who is in isolation but not ill...might be a good person.. the problem is identifying those who would be good at doing this. Equinox seems to have been overwhelmed and any plan they had did not factor in either large numbers or perhaps ill crew into their calculations. I understand passenger frustration...particularly if impacted early in the cruise...but I am also sympathetic to a likely overworked and stretched crew.  I was a product manager... involved in managing projects for my brand... and these things are tough to do on the fly. 

[Sunny Pearl]

WOW,  PHOENIX_DREAM, THAT IS AMAZING!!!!  What great feedback for Celebrity to be able to provide better service and care for passengers. 

 

LOVE IT! Thank you for putting it out there.

-Sunny

 

 

[H2OH!]

Since everyone had great ideas I thought I would share mine---sorry if duplicative- have not read t he last 4 pages...yet

 

* Have all quarantined passengers complete menus the day before (paper/ipad/etc)- that would help with prepping and planning. All meals served within a 60 minute window so the cooks could batch them to the quarantined areas. Food would be hot and folsk would not have to fight the phones to order and then get cold food

* First day placed in quarantine, they need to give passengers and their loved ones, if  not staying together,  a one page fact sheet "here's what you need to know and who to contact and signs of symptoms of when/where to call for an emergency" contact sheet. This sheet should include verification of muster stations etc-  with all the moving of cabins and couples separating- this is a disaster waiting to happen-

* They can have a separate number for a medical emergency for quarantined areas- an extension for emergencies that is manned 24/7- calls the radio like it does with the butlers

*  Love the idea of an ombudsman... maybe have a quarantine concierge with a separate extension to that person- like they have with the butlers - anyone in quarantine needs anything they call that person. Maybe that person can have a PAPR (powered air purifying respirator) so that person can actually interact with guests in quarantine- if needed.

* Each day they should get another one pager that describes procedures and what to expect next.

*  Figure out a way to conduct daily touch base/phone triage with each passenger in in isolation/quarantine.

* Internally they need a daily or even a shift huddle to make sure they know what is happening. Celebrity corporate should have daily or every other day huddles with medical on ship and ship captains to keep track of what is happening and make adjustments as they go. Maybe this happens...

 

Happy sailing!