Currently Onboard Zuiderdam. Requiring Negative Covid Test to Be Taken Onboard Today In Order to Transit Panama Canal

[SailorMarg]

Received notice this morning via printed sheet in our “mailbox” outside the door.  They will call passengers by floor to a meeting room where we will self swab for a Covid test.  Then we are to go back to our cabins for 30 minutes while we wait for a phone call with results.  No word on what will happen to those that test positive, or for that matter, to any of us if anyone tests positive.  Will the ship be denied transit if *anyone* tests positive?  Will update as I go though the process.

Edited January 5, 2022 by SailorMarg

[*Miss G*]

Good luck!  I guess transiting the canal is risky given the situation at the start of the pandemic where they refused entry.  I can’t imagine there won’t be some who test positive but I am interested in the threshold for refusal.

[lupaglupa]

Boy you gotta be ready for anything on a cruise ship these days!

[SailorMarg]

NOTE: Just reread notice. It states that a “screening” test is required, not a “negative” test. We shall see.

 

Edited January 5, 2022 by SailorMarg

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Thanks for sharing.

[KirkNC]

Not sure I understand the point since transiting the canal doesn’t pose a Covid risk to Panama.  I guess there could be an emergency that requires interaction with those on shore?

[seagarsmoker]

2 minutes ago, KirkNC said:

Not sure I understand the point since transiting the canal doesn’t pose a Covid risk to Panama.  I guess there could be an emergency that requires interaction with those on shore?

I was thinking the same way Kirk.

[Playin Pickleball]

I'm surprised they're referencing that it's because of the canal too. I thought the general protocol was to test us every couple of days regardless of where we're going.

[wdw1972]

7 minutes ago, KirkNC said:

Not sure I understand the point since transiting the canal doesn’t pose a Covid risk to Panama.  I guess there could be an emergency that requires interaction with those on shore?

Someone - I think it may have been Copper or Chengk (sorry for getting the screen names incorrect) during the 2020 portion of the pandemic explained that crossing the canal involves a dozen or so people boarding the ship, who are interacting closely with the ship's crew.  Hopefully someone with a more specific memory than mine will chime in!

 

Sue/WDW1972

[BarbinMich]

FWIW, I did a partial transit of the PC on Eurodam in late November and they weren't doing testing at the time even though we anchored in Gatun Lake and could get off for excursions (which I did).  I guess testing is a moving target these days.

[OlsSalt]

WSJ op ed today:  "I  got covid on a cruise. I'd take another.  ..It's a delightful way to travel, and you can still get sick at home."  

 

(WSJ: 1/5/22, p.A-13)

[cruzingnut]

37 minutes ago, wdw1972 said:

Someone - I think it may have been Copper or Chengk (sorry for getting the screen names incorrect) during the 2020 portion of the pandemic explained that crossing the canal involves a dozen or so people boarding the ship, who are interacting closely with the ship's crew.  Hopefully someone with a more specific memory than mine will chime in!

 

Sue/WDW1972

 

There are indeed a number of people that get on the ship.  I took video of them getting off at the end of a transit once and it was like watching a clown car unload!  I counted 13 people!  They are most likely stationed all over the ship to watch the lines, etc., so they aren't all up on the bridge the whole time they are onboard.

 

Linda R.

Edited January 5, 2022 by cruzingnut

[bcummin]

I would guess that Captain Albert posted the details about testing to enter the Panama Canal.

Barbara

[Florida_gal_50]

I'm pretty sure those on a full transit of the Nieuw Amsterdam back in Oct 2021 got tested a few times.

[nocl]

2 hours ago, KirkNC said:

Not sure I understand the point since transiting the canal doesn’t pose a Covid risk to Panama.  I guess there could be an emergency that requires interaction with those on shore?

A number of people such as the canal pilot come on board the ship during passage.  The Emerald Princess got delayed a couple of months ago because Bridge crew tested with antigen, Panama required that they all test negative with PCR before pilot would come aboard and passage allowed.

 

I expect in addition to the bridge crew having to test negative they probably have criteria for the entire ship as well.

[0106]

Looking forward to your update Sailor Marg.  We will be transiting East to West on the same ship in February.  Hope all went well with your test.

[SailorMarg]

We have now waited the 30 minutes in our cabin post testing with no telephone call. We were told if no call within those 30 minutes we were free to go about our business. Testing was pretty straight forward. A short line outside one of the meeting rooms where they have a table setup with a lap top and they give you a numbered sticker on your key card and a second numbered sticker for the person at the testing table inside the meeting room. Once at the testing table you were given a swab and asked to swab both nostrils. They make certain that you do a thorough job  . You then place the swab in a tube that they then close and attach your numbered sticker. You then leave the meeting room to go wait in your cabin for 30 minutes.  Easy Peasy.  Very organized and efficient.  Other than this little blip it’s been a wonderful Sea Day as it’s been a wonderful cruise.  Only 900 passengers.  We rarely ever pass anyone in the hallways and have almost never shared an elevator.  

 

Edited January 5, 2022 by SailorMarg

[Boatdrill]

7 hours ago, KirkNC said:

Not sure I understand the point since transiting the canal doesn’t pose a Covid risk to Panama.  I guess there could be an emergency that requires interaction with those on shore?

In March 2020 during the pause in cruise operations,  HAL asked for and was granted special permission for the Zaandam and Rotterdam to transit the canal to return passengers (both healthy and ill) to Ft Lauderdale.  At the time, Panama's Ministry of Health  didn't allow any ship with COVID-19 positive passengers to transit the canal. It was certainly a maritime humanitarian issue - four people had died on the Zaandam during the voyage northward from the tip of South America.  Ultimately the Ministry of Health gave the go ahead, and the ships were allowed through, at night. Canal employees boarded the ships in hazmat suits. 

 

Panama was one of the very few countries to help these ships get home. 

Edited January 6, 2022 by Boatdrill

[tuolumne couple]

hi there, so glad you are on your cruise, and hope you are having fun. This is off topic, but can you tell me how Happy Hour is going on the Zuiderdam? Are they still doing one drink reg. price the 2nd drink a dollar? I forget, it has been a few years since we cruised, but we are heading out to sea next month on this same vessel. If you could let me know, I would love it 🙂

 

[br111]

Wow... Thanks for posting! This seems to be a rare case in which EVERYONE on board a ship is tested. Not that we'll probably ever know, but it would be very interesting to find out how many test positive, given that this could easily pick up a large number of asymptomatic passengers that would be missed by the usual "test only if there are symptoms" policy. And that would mean a lot more people in quarantine.

 

Please let us know if there is any intel on the overall numbers on board!

 

Is the itinerary I'm seeing online correct that you're doing a partial transit on Jan. 9? (Asking because we're booked on Eurodam on the 26th and wondering what to expect.) Thanks!!

Edited January 6, 2022 by br111
Edited to correct presumed itinerary

[SailorMarg]

2 hours ago, tuolumne couple said:

hi there, so glad you are on your cruise, and hope you are having fun. This is off topic, but can you tell me how Happy Hour is going on the Zuiderdam? Are they still doing one drink reg. price the 2nd drink a dollar? I forget, it has been a few years since we cruised, but we are heading out to sea next month on this same vessel. If you could let me know, I would love it 🙂

 

So sorry I can’t help you.  We may have one drink every couple days in the afternoon while enjoying the sun, then a glass of wine with dinner.  Other than that, we aren't ordering drinks so I wouldn’t know.  But I have not seen anything such as what you mention advertised.

[SailorMarg]

12 minutes ago, br111 said:

Wow... Thanks for posting... This seems to be a rare case in which EVERYONE on board a ship is tested. Not that we'll probably ever know, but it would be very interesting to find out how many test positive, given that this could easily pick up a large number of asymptomatic passengers that would be missed by the usual "test only if there are symptoms" policy.

 

Please let us know if there is any intel on the overall numbers on board!

 

I see you're doing a full transit of the canal - do you by chance have any idea if this would be required for a partial transit? (Asking because we're booked on the Jan. 26 Eurodam which includes a partial transit from the Caribbean side).

I really don’t know what is required for partial transits and I’m not sure this testing for full transit was known very much prior to the notification.  Seems like it’s a very fluid situation with changes daily.  But, partial transits usually have port stops within Panama whereas our full transit does not so that would lead me to believe that recent testing would be required by Panama before allowing passengers to disembark within their Country if they required it for a ship in transit.  But that’s only a guess.

 

Edited January 6, 2022 by SailorMarg
Added information.

[br111]

Ahhh - thanks. I saw conflicting info for your itinerary when I was looking online. When do you actually transit? (Wondering how far in advance they're testing.) Thanks again for this first-hand info!

 

[SailorMarg]

3 minutes ago, br111 said:

Ahhh - thanks. I saw conflicting info for your itinerary when I was looking online. When do you actually transit? (Wondering how far in advance they're testing.) Thanks again for this first-hand info!

 

We are scheduled to transit in 7 days on January 12!  I thought today’s testing seemed incredibly early for that.  I’m half thinking we may have another round of testing before the 12th?  We shall see and I will update here should that happen.  

[br111]

Thanks! Will be waiting to see how this goes!