Covid policies on board MSC divina

[Markanddonna]

Just now, Fredric22 said:

Here we go again with the rumors.  "I heard"  "Someone said"  "Cruising is canceled" ... Does anyone actually have a real source for this?  This is starting to get out of hand now, honestly. 

Dear Fredric,

Everyone who has an upcoming cruise is scrambling for information. I have discerned that even listening to people who say they are on the ship isn't always helpful. There were up to 200 in quarantine or isolation on the last Divina cruise that just ended. Many who weren't affected gave incomplete or misleading information because they were the ones NOT locked in their rooms. They weren't aware of what was truly going on or they were oblivious to it. Anyone who has cruised knows that you rarely find out the inside scoop on major incidents or deaths unless you were privy to the situation.

 

It appears that the cruise lines are all in crisis mode right now. They are trying to survive by continuing to sail and give the naïve false information. If you call the day before your cruise, you are told "everything is scheduled as planned."  Then, you get onboard and find out it is entirely different story.  I would rather read some unverified information than rely on someone reporting "everything onboard is great."  Me thinks the later person is a bit pickled.

[FrostyJoe]

@Markanddonna Nicely put.  Can't blame folks on these forum for trying to do their homework unlike I presume many others who don't spend time on these forums......

 

Too bad there's no mandate to reveal exact daily number of number of tests, number of positives/negatives, and number of pax/crew across all the ship.  That way folks can make better informed choices....  But all of us are really working blind besides the traffic light system on CDC.  I wish the breakdown of colors were grater vs. up to yellow being almost nothing...and red being no more cruising and not much in between in between.  

[CruiseSDwise]

29 minutes ago, styles27 said:

@CruiseSDwise could you please embellish on the “random people, like me” part of your post to clear up the post cruise port authority Covid test you had? 
 

Were you told you were going to be tested beforehand or did they pull you out of line and tell you they’re testing random passengers?

 

Thanks!

They put everyone thru a facial recognition and if you got a green light you got off ship didn’t even have to show passport. 
 

if you got a red light like I did they put you in another line

 

show passport, vaccine card to port authority and get Covid tested. 
 

Can’t tell you if it’s legal or not or what they did with positive testers other then they took them another way.  But when an officer is telling you what you have to do to come into USA I did it. I had already stood in line for an hr to get thru customs. 

[CruiseSDwise]

Just now, CruiseSDwise said:

They put everyone thru a facial recognition and if you got a green light you got off ship didn’t even have to show passport. 
 

if you got a red light like I did they put you in another line

 

show passport, vaccine card to port authority and get Covid tested. 
 

Can’t tell you if it’s legal or not or what they did with positive testers other then they took them another way.  But when an officer is telling you what you have to do to come into USA I did it. I had already stood in line for an hr to get thru customs. 

My husband got green light and went out, got car and all luggage loaded and then waited for me. 

[sidari]

2 hours ago, CruiseSDwise said:

Yes that’s what she means. You wait with about 20 people

If that is correct why were those people not re tested having been around a person who tested Positive?

In Europe if you show up with a group of people or family members and one of them tests positive none of them are allowed to board the ship!

[FrostyJoe]

8 minutes ago, CruiseSDwise said:

They put everyone thru a facial recognition and if you got a green light you got off ship didn’t even have to show passport. 
 

if you got a red light like I did they put you in another line

 

show passport, vaccine card to port authority and get Covid tested. 
 

Can’t tell you if it’s legal or not or what they did with positive testers other then they took them another way.  But when an officer is telling you what you have to do to come into USA I did it. I had already stood in line for an hr to get thru customs. 

Oh man.....we're def going to get a red light with our infant..........But perhaps not--we'll be getting global entry for him this weekend, so hopefully his recent face is the Big Brother's IT.....

[Markanddonna]

21 minutes ago, sidari said:

If that is correct why were those people not re tested having been around a person who tested Positive?

In Europe if you show up with a group of people or family members and one of them tests positive none of them are allowed to board the ship!

The one situation I am aware of on the Divina was the last sailing. The family came aboard with all negative tests that were administered 2 days before sailing. The son tested positive on the mandatory day two COVID test. The father accompanied his young son into quarantine while the mother and daughter were in isolation for five days. She requested a retest during that time and was refused. 

 

In the USA, everyone has to be vaccinated and provide a test. I think it is the same policy as in Europe. If you arrive at port with positive tests, no one in your travel group can board. 

[Markanddonna]

27 minutes ago, CruiseSDwise said:

My husband got green light and went out, got car and all luggage loaded and then waited for me. 

I think Frosty Joe was referring to the CDC website's coloring coding system not the metaphorical green light to board. As of now, every single ship sailing out of the USA is yellow, meaning every ship has at least one case of COVID. I agree that it is rather useless now.  Interesting that the green light red light is used in the testing procedure. 

[FrostyJoe]

5 minutes ago, Markanddonna said:

I think Frosty Joe was referring to the CDC website's coloring coding system not the metaphorical green light to board. As of now, every single ship sailing out of the USA is yellow, meaning every ship has at least one case of COVID. I agree that it is rather useless now.  Interesting that the green light red light is used in the testing procedure. 

Yes I was.  And to put it in simplier, there isn't enough gradition from green to orange to yellow.  Yellow is a fairly low threshold and not much different to go from green to yellow.... It's odd how green through yellow is objective hard percentages whereas red is very subjective.   Red means: "Sustained" transmission of covid, and "potential" to "overwhelm" medical resources.  What the **** does that mean in reality---can't prove transmission happened anywhere unless one does DNA sequencing to compare the strain to strain anyway...  But perhaps CDC wrote red on purpose like that so they're not "forced" to designate a status as red.

 

Common sense tells me, even without DNA sequencing of covid tracing--that there are sustained transmission of covid from sailing to sailing on some ships already.  Thankfully, MSC seems to be the most stringent from what I'm reading on protocols......

[styles27]

This is the reason we postponed the  Seashore cruise we were to leave on tomorrow 😭😭😭

 

We here on CC are at least getting some first hand reports from folks on board or just off the ships which is so generous of you all to share with us. 
 

Can you imagine people who haven’t heard these reports?  
They show up at the pier not knowing about the pre board Covid test being given this week.
Not knowing that you could be put in quarantine if you contact trace with a Covid positive person who happens to be in the same public room with you or a family member…even if you test negative. 
 

I wish the cruise lines were more transparent about their onboard Covid protocols so people could make an educated decision about cruising or postponing. 
 

I’m forever grateful to the members of this site who have helped us make that decision.

 I feel sorry for the folks who are going into their cruise in the next few weeks without any knowledge of the on board protocols mentioned. 

[FrostyJoe]

1 minute ago, styles27 said:

I wish the cruise lines were more transparent about their onboard Covid protocols so people could make an educated decision about cruising or postponing. 

 

Cannot agree more.  Cruises are different animal vs. other types of lodging---in that one can't exactly leave if things are not exactly what they expected or up to their standards...  So it would be nice if cruise lines are more transparent, even without any sort of a governmental mandate....

[Markanddonna]

1 hour ago, sidari said:

If that is correct why were those people not re tested having been around a person who tested Positive?

In Europe if you show up with a group of people or family members and one of them tests positive none of them are allowed to board the ship!

I got the following from MSC's website. Let's say you show up at the terminal with negative tests for a family of four. Then, at the port testing (this is a new policy) , one of you is COVID positive. Reading their policy, MSC would deny you boarding due to point number one: you've been exposed to a positive case in the last 14 days. So, the USA sailings have the same policy as in Europe.

 

You will be denied boarding if you:

• Have had potential exposure to a suspected or confirmed case of of COVID-19 within 14 days of embarkation.
• Have a fever >99.5 F / 37.5 C, cough, shortness of breath, chills, muscle aches/body aches, fatigue, headache, sore throat or loss of taste/smell within 14 days of embarkation.
• Have temporary travel restrictions based on local circumstances. For example, certain countries may deny visas or prohibit entry based on travel history & nationality.
• Are not able to provide the proof of mandatory COVID-19 vaccine proof and negative COVID-19 test result(s) from pre-embarkation testing and, if applicable, embarkation testing.
• Are not able to provide proof of mandatory COVID-19 insurance policy, (only required for non-U.S. and Puerto Rico residents), in the following languages: English, Italian, German, French or Spanish.

Edited January 7, 2022 by Markanddonna

[Cruisomaniac]

On 1/6/2022 at 3:16 PM, girli565 said:

Our paperwork said 11:30 but then got a text to arrive at 3:30 instead. We got here at 12pm. We are just now clear from testing and waiting to get our passports checked and checked in. 

Thanks for reporting on this. I board on the 16th so any other updates on your experience onboard will be greatly appreciated.

[girli565]

On 1/6/2022 at 8:26 PM, Fredric22 said:

1,000 still isn't bad considering the circumstances.  They are lucky to have that many!  How are things on the ship?  

So we just got back this morning, I had wifi on board but was barely on so sorry for forgetting to post live.

 

Things were fine. It almost felt, dare I say, normal?! Except that we had to wear masks unless we were eating or drinking, and if we were in the pool or hot tub. The pools were empty, the jacuzzis were pretty full and usually one party per whirlpool so the lines would get a bit long but not impossible. Our dining room was empty, the table around us were almost empty, maybe one party per table but many were empty. 

 

I felt safe, the crew were attentive, and they were cleaning, sanitizing and disinfecting constantly. I guess because it was a three day cruise they didn't seem to be contact tracing as diligently but we did encounter a temp check and card scan every morning at our breakfast venue. And we did get contact traced at a bar we sat down to have a drink at on our last day but that was it.

 

It truly felt normal and I felt safe and feel fine. Let's see how we feel in a few days.

[girli565]

On 1/6/2022 at 11:26 PM, FrostyJoe said:

One thing I’m really curious is why is the port folks testing anyone coming back?  The CDC order about testing prior to coming back only applies to air travel not cruise or land travel….

 

what will CBP do if one’s positive….Deport you back to….?

I don’t believe CBP has the authority to quanratine you involuntarily. Their options are to deny entry into the USA. So then what???

 

also , is this sailing out of port canaveral?

We were not tested upon return/disembarkation today. Only tested on embarkation.

[girli565]

On 1/7/2022 at 6:56 AM, sidari said:

When you say your waiting in your "pod" Did you mean the area where a certain number of people are held while waiting for the test results and this person was with you all ?

Yes, we are grouped by numbers while we wait for our test results. It's random, I guess a group of 10-20 people per pod it seemed. 

[girli565]

On 1/7/2022 at 10:00 AM, sidari said:

If that is correct why were those people not re tested having been around a person who tested Positive?

In Europe if you show up with a group of people or family members and one of them tests positive none of them are allowed to board the ship!

We were not retested. We weren't sitting near the person, they were 3 rows away from us. Anyone In that person's traveling party was flagged and removed. And their checked luggage was removed from the ship. 

Edited January 9, 2022 by girli565

[girli565]

On 1/8/2022 at 5:33 AM, Cruisomaniac said:

Thanks for reporting on this. I board on the 16th so any other updates on your experience onboard will be greatly appreciated.

Hey, you're welcome! I posted a bit of a summary above. We just disembarked this morning, I"m already home, we live in Miami so it was a quick drive. If you have any specific questions I'll be happy to answer. 

[ISLABONITA]

22 minutes ago, girli565 said:

Hey, you're welcome! I posted a bit of a summary above. We just disembarked this morning, I"m already home, we live in Miami so it was a quick drive. If you have any specific questions I'll be happy to answer. 

 the itinerary was it changed? thanks

Edited January 9, 2022 by ISLABONITA

[girli565]

23 hours ago, ISLABONITA said:

 the itinerary was it changed? thanks

No, we were scheduled for Nassau and Ocean Cay and we went to both. 

[Markanddonna]

16 hours ago, girli565 said:

No, we were scheduled for Nassau and Ocean Cay and we went to both. 

I imagine that MSC offloaded the positive crew cases and brought back their staff who have been in Q or I. Then, they could declare all their passengers negative since anyone with positive COVID tests were not allowed onboard. I'm glad you made it to the ports!

 

[Explorer525]

How do they alert you that you were contact traced? Do they announce your name on the loudspeakers?  Do they lock you out of your cabin when you come back and leave a note?  Curious as to the procedure.  Can you grab a bag with your medicines from the cabin before being put in the quarantine cabin? 

[dandee2]

If you became positive and inquarantine/isolation, did MSC offered refunds or prorated FCC? Or did you need to buy their covid insurance to get those? Can't find the info on their website. Thanks

[brandy3415]

 I hope someone who was also on the Jan 9 sailing can enlighten me more about the events re Covid.  I was in YC and no tests, screenings or constraints placed on us.  Tested at port.  People win YC extremely compliant with masks, social distancing and sanitary procedures, like using sanitizer.

 

Due to the numbers infected on previous cruise, many people cancelled this sailing (and MSC  sent email stating this was an option)   Given the extreme cleanliness of the ship, plus remarks from these boards I felt confident MSC was looking out for us and we sailed,   I hope to write an extensive review later.

 

They were not, however, open about what was happening overall.   I wondered about the "contact tracing" scanners that I had not seen earlier in the trip.   Sounds like from what I have read here that many more people got positive tests than we could know about.

 

I think MSC has done a far better job with mitigation than Royal Caribbean and Norwegian.  They are determined to maintain their USA presence. 

Blame the extremely infectious Omicron--not the cruise lines.

[Markanddonna]

On 1/14/2022 at 11:29 AM, dandee2 said:

If you became positive and inquarantine/isolation, did MSC offered refunds or prorated FCC? Or did you need to buy their covid insurance to get those? Can't find the info on their website. Thanks

I thought I read just this morning that they will give you assistance in providing paperwork for YOUR insurance.