Zuiderdam Quarantine

[arijsky]

5 hours ago, notladjr said:

Wow! I just discovered this thread. I have read all of the OP's posts and most of the others. I am sailing on a 14 night Panama Canal cruise on Zuiderdam January 30th. Oh, and will be on deck 4!!!! This assumes of course that the cruise will not be cancelled. I have a feeling we are about to have a four to six week "pause" in cruising until the Omicron variant burns out.
 

Also I was surprised to see they are quarantining you in a balcony cabin. A cruiser on another line who tested positive were moved from their balcony cabin to an interior cabin and given the explanation that the inside cabins were "negative pressure" cabins like hospital rooms designed for contagious patients. This makes sense since you can't control a balcony cabin like that. However I am gladt o know that if I get quarantined while on Zuiderdam it looks like I would get a balcony cabin. That would make a world of difference I think.
 

This thread makes me glad I have a bazillion unread kindle ebooks downloaded to my phone. I also will make sure I have a lot of movies / tv shows downloaded from Netflix and Amazon prime before I leave.

My thoughts and prayers are with the OP!!!! Hang in there. Your thread here has been invaluable to us about to cruise on Zuiderdam. 

I sincerely hope that a fleet wide pause isn’t on the horizon.  We sail on Rotterdam in 40 days, and I’d gladly take quarantine on a cruise ship over 7 days at home in MA in mid-February!

[johnnyswitzerland]

How are you doing today, @NMCruiser123?  I, like many others here, feel for you.

 

Is tomorrow canal day?

[0106]

Hi NM- 

Haven't heard from you today.  I am  thinking about you and hoping you have been released and are swimming in the pool.  If not,  I hope you are on your balcony enjoying fresh air and sunshine.  

 

Have you tried the Wordle activity suggested by a previous poster?  I just did and would become addicted except it appears you can only play once a day.  Give it a try.

 

Let us know how you are doing.  Know that we admire your positive attitude throughout this experience.

[rothbury]

I can't help but ask this question.  Do they give you another test to confirm the result?  I guess I'm thinking if this is based on just one test who or what is to say that it is not a false positive?

 

Been keeping up with this thread.  I'm rooting for you!

[NMCruiser123]

55 minutes ago, 0106 said:

Hi NM- 

Haven't heard from you today.  I am  thinking about you and hoping you have been released and are swimming in the pool.  If not,  I hope you are on your balcony enjoying fresh air and sunshine.  

 

Have you tried the Wordle activity suggested by a previous poster?  I just did and would become addicted except it appears you can only play once a day.  Give it a try.

 

Let us know how you are doing.  Know that we admire your positive attitude throughout this experience.

 

 

2 hours ago, johnnyswitzerland said:

How are you doing today, @NMCruiser123?  I, like many others here, feel for you.

 

Is tomorrow canal day?

Hello hello…get the champagne ready.  I’m officially past the halfway point of my isolation!  Today I celebrated by requesting new bed linens, which I self- changed.  Hopefully a portion of my daily crew appreciation gratuity will go to my onboard account!  Other than that I read for hours on the balcony and enjoyed watching large brown birds fly alongside the ship and occasionally dive into the water for a snack.

 

The internet has been very sluggish today, and it seems I can’t access many websites, but I finished day 2 of Wordle.  I couldn’t figure out yesterday, but I got today’s on the 4th attempt.

 

Has the Holland America website been down all day?  Or is that just my WiFi?

 

[NMCruiser123]

2 tests originally.  Antigen and then PCR to rule out false positive.  No further testing.  I went to College at William and Mary btw

17 minutes ago, rothbury said:

I can't help but ask this question.  Do they give you another test to confirm the result?  I guess I'm thinking if this is based on just one test who or what is to say that it is not a false positive?

 

Been keeping up with this thread.  I'm rooting for you!

 

[NMCruiser123]

2 hours ago, johnnyswitzerland said:

How are you doing today, @NMCruiser123?  I, like many others here, feel for you.

 

Is tomorrow canal day?

Tomorrow is indeed canal day!

[seaoma]

20 minutes ago, NMCruiser123 said:

 

 

Hello hello…get the champagne ready.  I’m officially past the halfway point of my isolation!  Today I celebrated by requesting new bed linens, which I self- changed.  Hopefully a portion of my daily crew appreciation gratuity will go to my onboard account!  Other than that I read for hours on the balcony and enjoyed watching large brown birds fly alongside the ship and occasionally dive into the water for a snack.

 

The internet has been very sluggish today, and it seems I can’t access many websites, but I finished day 2 of Wordle.  I couldn’t figure out yesterday, but I got today’s on the 4th attempt.

 

Has the Holland America website been down all day?  Or is that just my WiFi?

 

 

Yes!!!! I will use any excuse to pop a bottle of Champagne, so we will toast your halfway point tonight.

 

A clean bed will feel fantastic and you bring up a good point about the gratuities. Canal day is special but a long day if you were up for the first lock. I hope you enjoy it. 

 

You did better than me at my own game. It took me 5 tries. 

[canadianbear]

So good to hear an update NM.  Sounds like you’ve gotten into a routine now to pass your time.   Bet you’re looking forward to the locks tomorrow.  Clean sheets will be so nice for you even though you had to do it yourself.   Maybe ask for extra towels & try your hand at making towel animals! 

[Btimmer]

1 hour ago, NMCruiser123 said:

 

 

Hello hello…get the champagne ready.  I’m officially past the halfway point of my isolation!  Today I celebrated by requesting new bed linens, which I self- changed.  Hopefully a portion of my daily crew appreciation gratuity will go to my onboard account!  Other than that I read for hours on the balcony and enjoyed watching large brown birds fly alongside the ship and occasionally dive into the water for a snack.

 

The internet has been very sluggish today, and it seems I can’t access many websites, but I finished day 2 of Wordle.  I couldn’t figure out yesterday, but I got today’s on the 4th attempt.

 

Has the Holland America website been down all day?  Or is that just my WiFi?

 

The internet has been sluggish all day with frequent disconnects.

 

The brown birds are brown boobies and are very common in this area.  Here's a close up photo from a prior cruise in October.

 

I posted a number of dock side photos on my thread for your enjoyment.

[rothbury]

1 hour ago, NMCruiser123 said:

2 tests originally.  Antigen and then PCR to rule out false positive.  No further testing.  I went to College at William and Mary btw

 

Don't know when you were here but if it has been a while, you probably wouldn't recognize our "little town" these days.  Overdeveloped big time.

[Essiesmom]

As I suggested a couple of days ago, try to be on your balcony waving something when your cabin area  passes through the gates from the first lock at Miraflores to the second.  Hopefully you will be in the starboard lane.  There are two other ships in the canal tomorrow.  Eurodam doing a partial, and Silver Whisper doing a westbound transit.  Unfortunately, Whisper will likely pass you on the port side, and eurodam will probably have locked back out by the time you get to Gatun locks.  EM

[notladjr]

6 hours ago, NMCruiser123 said:

Tomorrow is indeed canal day!

Glad you are halfway through your solitary confinement! When you do get out let us know if you hear any news or rumors from the crew about the status of future Zuiderdam cruises coming up soon. I am supposed to be on her January 30th Canal cruiseand between the spike in Omicron Covid cases and the number of ports turning away ships I am worried it may be cancelled.

[travellovers2]

On 1/8/2022 at 8:33 AM, NMCruiser123 said:

It is a tough call!  I think the chances of it happening are individually low and I just drew one of the short straws this time.  Would I go on this cruise again?  Probably, but perhaps not during the middle of a COVID surge.  Things may be improving by mid-February.  

Hi NMCruiser... I've been reading your post from the beginning. So sorry you had to go through this. Hopefully this will end soon for you!! How many days are still left on your cruise? I hope you can enjoy the rest of the cruise very soon!! I love your toes picture. I have one with my feet crossed and the Miami skyline that I always post on FB to let my friends know that we're cruising. 🙂

 

We're thinking about cruising mid Feb. We have not booked yet, we're waiting to do it last minute in case things change. Our last cruise was on the Edge in Feb 2020. We thought about booking our first inside cabin,  but maybe it will be best to get a balcony where we can go to if we feel crowded. Although it seems that many ships are only sailing with 50-60% capacity? Does it feel that way?

 

What recommendations do you have for those that want to cruise now? I know they say that you have to wear a mask in the restaurants and bars, except when eating and drinking, but then people start talking without a mask on during the entire time they're in there. We saw this on our trip to Europe last month. It was easy to choose another bar/restaurant, but it might not be so easy to do that on a ship.

 

I've been wanting to ask this question to get the final push to reserve our cruise. What would you do different or what do you recommend that we do if cruising during the pandemic? Thank you.

 

[carnivaljunkie]

15 hours ago, 0106 said:

Hi NM- 

Haven't heard from you today.  I am  thinking about you and hoping you have been released and are swimming in the pool.  If not,  I hope you are on your balcony enjoying fresh air and sunshine.  

 

Have you tried the Wordle activity suggested by a previous poster?  I just did and would become addicted except it appears you can only play once a day.  Give it a try.

 

Let us know how you are doing.  Know that we admire your positive attitude throughout this experience.

Wordle archive allows you to access old puzzles.  devangthakkar.com/wordle_archive/

This site allows/causes addiction.

[Essiesmom]

Passing by Cocoli Locks

 

 

 

[happywandering]

16 hours ago, NMCruiser123 said:

 

 

Hello hello…get the champagne ready.  I’m officially past the halfway point of my isolation!  Today I celebrated by requesting new bed linens, which I self- changed.  Hopefully a portion of my daily crew appreciation gratuity will go to my onboard account!  Other than that I read for hours on the balcony and enjoyed watching large brown birds fly alongside the ship and occasionally dive into the water for a snack.

 

The internet has been very sluggish today, and it seems I can’t access many websites, but I finished day 2 of Wordle.  I couldn’t figure out yesterday, but I got today’s on the 4th attempt.

 

Has the Holland America website been down all day?  Or is that just my WiFi?

 

I think we can guarantee a crew appreciation rebate if you clean your shower too.

[RSWBADGER]

Zuiderdam in the Miraflores locks per Marine Traffic website.

 

MarineTraffic: Global Ship Tracking Intelligence | AIS Marine Traffic

 

 

 

[Rowsby]

Webcam...now

 

https://multimedia.panama-canal.com/Webcams/miraflores.html

[leerathje]

And there she is!

 

L.

 

[Essiesmom]

I tried...is this you waving something white?

 

 

[Essiesmom]

Off to Pedro Miguel

 

[Cruise Suzy]

I didn't get here as soon as @Essiesmom but I did get some screen shots of Zuiderdam in Miraflores Locks, including being raised and the lock closed behind her. Just in case you want some photos to add to your journal.

 

 

[RSWBADGER]

Nice, 4 Cruise Ships in the Canal today. Silver Whisper, Carnival Pride, and the 2 Dam Ships, Zuiderdam and Eurodam.

 

MarineTraffic: Global Ship Tracking Intelligence | AIS Marine Traffic

Edited January 12, 2022 by RSWBADGER

[leerathje]

Waiting as the Pedro Miguel locks fill now.

 

L.