Fear of Quarantine

[sgmn]

9 hours ago, handbellplayer said:

 How do they determine “close contact”?  Can you be tested and go back to normal if you test negative? Just to be clear – we have no fear of COVID infection – we’ll all have it at some point, probably.  And we are willing to roll with the punches and follow protocols.  Our biggest fear is being quarantined (basically imprisoned) against our will and without testing.

I haven't been on a ship recently but from what I have read on these boards, one pax was deemed close contact because they had sat near a covid infected person on a excursion.

Otherwise, I guess cctv cameras, and key card usage, ie in the casino maybe or bars or shops.

I would think you would of had to of been close to someone for more than 15 minutes to qualify , for instance using gym equipment.  On a Celebrity cruise last Summer someone wanted to share the multi gym/weights machine and got insistent when I said 'no, we are meant to be maintaining distance.' In the end I walked away and left her to it. 

Edited January 11, 2022 by sgmn

[jean87510]

8 hours ago, Painter4me said:

Scheduled for the 1/30 Harmony sailing. My husband is severely claustrophobic and suffers from anxiety. My fear (and his) is he’ll end up testing positive and ending up in the red zone. We book a jr suite for the balcony and extra a space. We’ve been on over 20 cruises and this was never an issue before. I have a feeling this isn’t in the cards for us this time. Upset, but….

Do the test required before your boarding.  Schedule a rapid test for the day before boarding if possible.  If not boostered, do it now!  Self quarantine for 2 weeks prior to cruise.  Use an N95 mask onboard.  

 

I did all of the above and did not get Omicron, nor did my husband for our December 26th cruise.  We came home to reports from family and friends of positive covid tests at all the holiday events we avoided.  You should be ok.  I understand as it was a big fear of mine to test positive while on ship.  

[Biker19]

10 hours ago, handbellplayer said:

Our biggest fear is being quarantined (basically imprisoned) against our will and without testing.

Cancel for a refund since anything can happen in the COVID era.

[Keksie]

Let's see you are paying to:

Wear a mask

Test

Possibly not go to the ports advertised

Possibly not be able to take the excursion you planned

Possibly be deemed a close contact and confined to your cabin

Possibly at some time be tested positive and be confined to a lesser value cabin with limited entertainment, food, drink etc.

Possibly be confined in a hotel at the end of your cruise

Possibly be tested multiple times until you can "pass"

 

Does not sound like a good value to me when you can vacation on land without any of that.

[firefly333]

8 minutes ago, Keksie said:

Let's see you are paying to:

Wear a mask

Test

Possibly not go to the ports advertised

Possibly not be able to take the excursion you planned

Possibly be deemed a close contact and confined to your cabin

Possibly at some time be tested positive and be confined to a lesser value cabin with limited entertainment, food, drink etc.

Possibly be confined in a hotel at the end of your cruise

Possibly be tested multiple times until you can "pass"

 

Does not sound like a good value to me when you can vacation on land without any of that.

Or

 

Possibly go to all your ports. The ports out of Galveston never been missed

Possibly go on a excursion. I went, up to you, or stay aboard

Odds are low I'd be a close contact, I socially distance. Dont mind but odds are very low for me I'd be quarantined to my cabin, but ok

Possibly test positive. I will be tested mk way b2b, so might. If I was positive I'll be kicked off the ship, and drive home. 

 

If I'm positive and cant cruise I'll lose my hotel, parking. Get a refund on the cruise, drive home and isolate.

 

Weigh the pros and cons. I dont fly there. I would lose the low rates I'm booked at. Cant be replaced. It would cost me money to cancel. Lose double pts etc. 

 

 

[TYinPalmSprings]

13 minutes ago, Keksie said:

Let's see you are paying to:

Wear a mask

Test

Possibly not go to the ports advertised

Possibly not be able to take the excursion you planned

Possibly be deemed a close contact and confined to your cabin

Possibly at some time be tested positive and be confined to a lesser value cabin with limited entertainment, food, drink etc.

Possibly be confined in a hotel at the end of your cruise

Possibly be tested multiple times until you can "pass"

 

Does not sound like a good value to me when you can vacation on land without any of that.

Yes, and if you fall prey to COVID on dry land, you at least have your home and access to  medical facilities and hospitals. Cruise med folks do their best but will be first to admit that they have neither the staff nor the medical equipment or facilities for major issues. I feel the worse for people who have saved for their first cruise and face this. Sure, if you cruise every few weeks you can go with the flow, and  care little about the shows and ports that you ay have seen or visited multiple times, and connect  with your regulars.

 

[ace2542]

10 hours ago, Sunshine3601 said:

There are only 2 reasons vaccinated  Adult passengers get tested on board

So unvaccinated adult passengers get tested daily?

[firefly333]

Just now, ace2542 said:

So unvaccinated adult passengers get tested daily?

Unless they got a medical exemption all pax 12 and over are vaccinated on my cruise. No kids dont get tested daily. 

 

For the post above of course I feel for first time cruisers, though they probably also paid rates they couldnt get before. No one wants to test positive and get isolated. 

[TYinPalmSprings]

1 hour ago, firefly333 said:

Unless they got a medical exemption all pax 12 and over are vaccinated on my cruise. No kids dont get tested daily. 

 

For the post above of course I feel for first time cruisers, though they probably also paid rates they couldnt get before. No one wants to test positive and get isolated. 

Umm. I don't know about that. I've been cruising since the early 1970s, and, relatively speaking, I find it more expensive, especially for the new folks. Used to be one price once onboard, and better food, that you now only see in the specialty restaurants..and for a price. There's whole host of extra costs adding to the overall expense of the cruise that did not exist before. If you are Diamond, Pinnacle, Ambassador, Elite, Captain Circle etc, you get bargains,  perks, special rates, at  even free cruises. Those people now starting to cruise do not.  Great for us and other people at those upper tiers but not so good for the new folks who have to wait at the back of the line, told their level places others first,  and they find the best seats reserved for levels, or experience the inability to get a seat to a show at all, or are pushed out of the way when boarding, tendering, or disembarking. 

Edited January 11, 2022 by TYinPalmSprings

[Sunshine3601]

1 hour ago, ace2542 said:

So unvaccinated adult passengers get tested daily?

I have no idea if they are granting exemptions for unvaccinated adults on any sailings right now nor do I know how they handle testing for them. 

I suspect they would be handled like unvaxxed children which I think get tested in the middle of each cruise.

[Maitaivegas]

11 hours ago, FireEMT978 said:

On our Oasis Jan 2nd cruise, they moved EVERYBODY off of the 6th deck. That, was designated the "COVID DECK" for our sailing.

So glad I booked a room on deck 10 for my upcoming Oasis cruise.

[Maitaivegas]

9 hours ago, John&LaLa said:

 

Try again. An actual covid quarantine passenger got a beer a few days ago

I actually read several reports where they were able to order booze if they had the UDB. I’m sure they had to clear it thru Guest Services first.

 

[ace2542]

1 hour ago, cruisingguy007 said:

Hopefully, a lot of this changes soon with the CSO expiring

I think the CSO - Conditional Sailing Order - will be extended or turned into the Permanent Sailing Order. CDC might even start testing for Flu.

[cruiselvr04]

Just don’t sail on Viking right now.  They test passengers everyday. I couldn’t stand the pressure of that.  They may be the safest at sea but it’s not worth the stress to me.  It’s bad enough getting the pre cruise test.

[Morecruisesplz]

13 hours ago, John&LaLa said:

 

Try again. An actual covid quarantine passenger got a beer a few days ago

One beer he didn't and can not order. It's called a mistake. 

[Babr]

4 hours ago, cruisingguy007 said:

Hopefully, a lot of this changes soon with the CSO expiring. With folks being allowed to work covid positive, as long as they are asymptomatic, I don’t see pre-cruise testing and quarantine nonsense sticking around much longer. It’s inconsistent with what’s being done elsewhere. Nothing else requires testing in order to do something (fly, concert, large events, amusement parks, land vacations, schools etc). The lines are smart not to capitulate to testing at each port. No need to dig in deeper when everything else is moving in the opposite direction and easing. The inconsistencies are getting harder to hide and justify to the public. Folks are waking up to the nonsense and double standards. Covid will eventually align with other ailments like colds/flu. 

 

The problem is that cruise ships are sailing to ports that set their own rules. Caribbean ports turn away ships on a regular basis, and other international destinations are not entirely open to travelers yet. Seems there will still have to be some limitations until the world can come to terms with this disease.

[John&LaLa]

4 hours ago, Maitaivegas said:

So glad I booked a room on deck 10 for my upcoming Oasis cruise.

 

Interior section of deck 10 is blocked off on Harmony

[davekathy]

18 minutes ago, fredmdcruisers said:

One beer he didn't and can not order. It's called a mistake. 

Why? 

[Morecruisesplz]

26 minutes ago, davekathy said:

Why? 

Can not order booze in quarantine. They refund your drink package. 

[teacherman]

Go on Celebrity.  Bottles of champagne delivered to your isolation room.🍾🍸

[Babr]

2 hours ago, davekathy said:

Why? 

Could be because it is inconsistent with medical advice for someone recovering from an illness.

 

Or maybe they just don’t want guests who are isolated for an extended period spending their days getting sloshed in their cabins. Could cause other problems.

[Keksie]

8 minutes ago, Babr said:

Could be because it is inconsistent with medical advice for someone recovering from an illness.

 

Or maybe they just don’t want guests who are isolated for an extended period spending their days getting sloshed in their cabins. Could cause other problems.

Most of the people are having mild symptoms if any so for them maybe they can just drink the NyQuill they are given in quantity.  Might have the same effect.  

 

So much better that guests get sloshed in public places or the cabins they paid for in the first place.  

 

[xpcdoojk]

We cruised a lot back the first decade we cruised in inside cabins.  I didn’t find them at all claustrophobic. Being confined to any room and knowing I can’t leave may make me a bit crazy in any kind of cabin.  I mean I think it is the loss of freedom that would be the challenge.  Not the cabin type.  That said, I am sure I would survive.

 

jc

[vacationlover_mn]

20 hours ago, handbellplayer said:

Up until today, my husband and I have been optimistic about our Harmony 1/16 cruise.  We are prepared to mask, miss entertainment, etc. and generally make the best of things.  Now we have seen several reports (Including here and on the national news) and are afraid of being quarantined in a small inside cabin for a portion of our cruise.  Apparently the cruise line can decide you have been “in close contact” with an infected person and force you to quarantine for the remainder of your trip, maybe even without being tested or having any symptoms (and with no compensation).  How do they determine “close contact”?  Can you be tested and go back to normal if you test negative? Just to be clear – we have no fear of COVID infection – we’ll all have it at some point, probably.  And we are willing to roll with the punches and follow protocols.  Our biggest fear is being quarantined (basically imprisoned) against our will and without testing.

That might happen.  You just have to weigh the risk/reward.  My DH is super nervous.  But also, we really need to get away.  At this point, we are leaving into the risk.  It might change.  I feel you- it’s a tough decision!

[cruisingguy007]

3 hours ago, Babr said:

 

The problem is that cruise ships are sailing to ports that set their own rules. Caribbean ports turn away ships on a regular basis, and other international destinations are not entirely open to travelers yet. Seems there will still have to be some limitations until the world can come to terms with this disease.

 

Fair point.