Help---current Covid procedures and status on Holland America.

[Mountainduo]

This is the first I've opened these pages in two years.  I used to read here all the time, but, like so many things, it all changed with Covid.

 

We are 5-star Mariners who have enjoyed many years of wonderful Holland America cruising.  But, for the past two years, we have chosen to stay as safe as possible.  We are healthy, fully vaccinated and boosted, yet we still avoid large crowds and still wear masks in most indoor situations.  Now, friends and family are saying "it's time to get out and live again".  That, combined with January temperatures in the northeast, has us very tempted.  We are seriously considering a February cruise out of Fort Lauderdale.

 

We have many questions.  I'm sure I could read dozens and dozens of pages of dozens of posts and eventually find all the answers.  But, I'm hoping to shortcut that process here, with the help of those more current with the situation.

 

Quick questions (quick answers are fine)---

 

Are some, or all, Holland America cruises for vaccinated passengers only?

Is testing required at the port on the day of embarkation?

Is there any further testing (of all passengers onboard) during the cruise?

Are masks required indoors on the ship?  

Are passengers required to wear "contact tracers" to determine close contacts among passengers?

If a passenger tests positive once the cruise in underway, what type of cabin is used for quarantine?  Specifically, are there verandas for fresh air and sunshine??

Is it known how may passengers have tested positive on specific January cruises.  A lot?  A few?  Are actual numbers announced? Rumored?

How full are most ships?  Does Holland America limit total numbers?

 

Many, many thanks for any help.  We wish you all safe cruising!!

 

 

 

 

[CruiserBruce]

All the info is here, explained and discussed thoroughly, and on the HAL website.

 

[HALrunner]

36 minutes ago, Mountainduo said:

This is the first I've opened these pages in two years.  I used to read here all the time, but, like so many things, it all changed with Covid.

 

We are 5-star Mariners who have enjoyed many years of wonderful Holland America cruising.  But, for the past two years, we have chosen to stay as safe as possible.  We are healthy, fully vaccinated and boosted, yet we still avoid large crowds and still wear masks in most indoor situations.  Now, friends and family are saying "it's time to get out and live again".  That, combined with January temperatures in the northeast, has us very tempted.  We are seriously considering a February cruise out of Fort Lauderdale.

 

We have many questions.  I'm sure I could read dozens and dozens of pages of dozens of posts and eventually find all the answers.  But, I'm hoping to shortcut that process here, with the help of those more current with the situation.

 

Quick questions (quick answers are fine)---

 

 

Many, many thanks for any help.  We wish you all safe cruising!!

 

 

 

 

I understand.

My answers are not fool proof, but I hope they will at least help give you an idea of the situation. 

 

1) All HAL ships are 100% vaccinated (someone may pipe up and say 99.something percent, but that is the exception and very rare)

 

2)  Everyone must have a medically supervised test with in two days of boarding.  .

 

3) There are a few situations where ALL passengers are tested on board, when required by a port/Panama Canal, or on longer journeys. Crew is tested weekly.

 

4)Masks are required in all public spaces except when eating or drinking, Currently N95/Kn95 for all crew and encouraged for guests. These are provided onboard. Our experience on NS and Eurodam over the past few months has been very good to excellent mask compliance by guests and crew.

 

5) No contact tracers currently on HAL. Although while on HAL excursions, bus seating arrangements have been document presumably for this purpose. 

 

6) Currently there are sectioned off areas of decks with verandah cabins that are used for quarantine. Yes, fresh air and sunshine on your private verandah.  

 

7) Exact numbers are unknown and not shared. 

Most ships are at 40%-60% occupancy, some much lower. 

 

 

[VMax1700]

11 hours ago, Mountainduo said:

This is the first I've opened these pages in two years.  I used to read here all the time, but, like so many things, it all changed with Covid.

 

We are 5-star Mariners who have enjoyed many years of wonderful Holland America cruising.  But, for the past two years, we have chosen to stay as safe as possible.  We are healthy, fully vaccinated and boosted, yet we still avoid large crowds and still wear masks in most indoor situations.  Now, friends and family are saying "it's time to get out and live again".  That, combined with January temperatures in the northeast, has us very tempted.  We are seriously considering a February cruise out of Fort Lauderdale.

 

We have many questions.  I'm sure I could read dozens and dozens of pages of dozens of posts and eventually find all the answers.  But, I'm hoping to shortcut that process here, with the help of those more current with the situation.

 

Quick questions (quick answers are fine)---

 

Are some, or all, Holland America cruises for vaccinated passengers only? That is what HAL state is required on their website.  No reason so far to doubt it.

Is testing required at the port on the day of embarkation? Seems to depend on embarkation port and destinations

Is there any further testing (of all passengers onboard) during the cruise? Seems to depend on length of cruise and pax requirements for returning home.

Are masks required indoors on the ship?  Yes except when eating or drinking

Are passengers required to wear "contact tracers" to determine close contacts among passengers? Not currently

If a passenger tests positive once the cruise in underway, what type of cabin is used for quarantine?  Specifically, are there verandas for fresh air and sunshine??  Current reports are that Verandas are used.

Is it known how may passengers have tested positive on specific January cruises.  A lot?  A few?  Are actual numbers announced? Rumored? not known

How full are most ships?  Does Holland America limit total numbers? Occupancy seems to be about 50% plus crew (plus possible quarantining new crew)

 

Many, many thanks for any help.  We wish you all safe cruising!!

 

 

 

 

 

[Mountainduo]

11 hours ago, HALrunner said:

I understand.

My answers are not fool proof, but I hope they will at least help give you an idea of the situation. 

 

1) All HAL ships are 100% vaccinated (someone may pipe up and say 99.something percent, but that is the exception and very rare)

 

2)  Everyone must have a medically supervised test with in two days of boarding.  .

 

3) There are a few situations where ALL passengers are tested on board, when required by a port/Panama Canal, or on longer journeys. Crew is tested weekly.

 

4)Masks are required in all public spaces except when eating or drinking, Currently N95/Kn95 for all crew and encouraged for guests. These are provided onboard. Our experience on NS and Eurodam over the past few months has been very good to excellent mask compliance by guests and crew.

 

5) No contact tracers currently on HAL. Although while on HAL excursions, bus seating arrangements have been document presumably for this purpose. 

 

6) Currently there are sectioned off areas of decks with verandah cabins that are used for quarantine. Yes, fresh air and sunshine on your private verandah.  

 

7) Exact numbers are unknown and not shared. 

Most ships are at 40%-60% occupancy, some much lower. 

 

 

HALrunner---

 

Thank you so much for taking the time to succinctly provide the general information I was looking for....your answers are very helpful.  Clearly, you did understand and appreciate our situation.

 

 

Edited January 20, 2022 by Mountainduo
correct wording

[HALrunner]

19 minutes ago, Mountainduo said:

HALrunner---

 

Thank you so much for taking the time to succinctly provide the general information I was looking for....your answers are very helpful.  Clearly, you did understand and appreciate our situation.

 

 

I'm happy to help a fellow Mariner! The world is overwhelming enough right now without having to search through hundreds of posts!

[Caribbean Chris]

We felt quite comfortable with HAL’s protocols onboard when we sailed on Rotterdam in November but we drove to/from Ft. Lauderdale. And the omicron variant now apparently is far more transmissible. HAL is doing its best to adapt with stepped up testing which can increase without notice.
 

You may find the most hazardous part of the vacation to be the flights to reach the ship. Is driving a possibility?
 

Obviously, others flying may not be vaccinated and some people play games with a cookie or Coke on their tray for the entire flight so they can leave their masks off “while eating or drinking.” There may be people flying in the same or nearby row despite knowing they tested positive hours before. Even on these forums a HAL passenger who tested positive at the pier last weekend has quite openly discussed ignoring HAL representatives’ instructions to proceed to the quarantine hotel and decided to fly home.

 

So it’s a bit of a jungle out there…if you go, keep staying safe with all the precautions you’ve carefully taken, and hopefully you’ll have a wonderful, uneventful cruise.

 

[SJSULIBRARIAN]

Health Protocols & FAQs | Holland America Line Cruises

 

In addition to what others have posted, here is what HAL's official policy is as of January 3rd.

 

I believe anyone cruising now must have back up plans for any possible situation that could come up due to Covid. If one is nervous, one should wait awhile. 

[KroozNut]

7 minutes ago, SJSULIBRARIAN said:

Health Protocols & FAQs | Holland America Line Cruises

 

In addition to what others have posted, here is what HAL's official policy is as of January 3rd.

 

I believe anyone cruising now must have back up plans for any possible situation that could come up due to Covid. If one is nervous, one should wait awhile. 

 

I continue to struggle with what 'a while' means in this context. It seems so vague and ambiguous. Does it mean a few weeks, a few months...years, or?

[idiebabe]

5 hours ago, HALrunner said:

I'm happy to help a fellow Mariner! The world is overwhelming enough right now without having to search through hundreds of posts!

My thoughts exactly! 😃👍

[tupper10]

We sailed on the holiday cruise in December and felt quite comfortable but we were happy to get off the ship since we saw the rate of infections skyrocketing in the USA and South Florida. The past few weeks the % of infections has been very high which I believe is reflected in how many more people are being quarantined on board as well as the various ports turning away cruise ships.  What we are doing, is waiting until the numbers go back down - which seems to be happening right now in most places in the USA.  We don't want to be quarantined for the entire cruise we are taking, and we would like to visit the scheduled ports. In these trying times I think that everyone needs to make their own decision about the risk vs benefit of cruising right now.  

[Katioe210]

We were on the Eurodam last week.
 

We were required to have a negative Covid-19 test within 48 hours of embarkation, which was challenging since everyone was trying to get a test after the holidays.

 

In our veranda cabin the left us paper masks that did not seem to fit well and I was glad we had n95 masks. I asked about the HAL masks I saw people wearing and was told they ran out and were not ordering more. 

 

All of the crew had n95 masks. 
 

There was no further testing on board and no testing done at the end of the cruise. I was quite surprised by this as we were coming back into the country. 
 

Most passengers were very compliant with wearing masks. Of course there were some who felt like wearing it under their nose was sufficient. In BB King there were often many without masks. Masks are required on the dance floor and once a crew member did ask the dancers to put on their masks. 
 

Our cruise had only 660 passengers and was very tame. At times we were the only ones around. The dining room on many nights had very few passengers. Not sure how long they can survive with so few passengers. 

[cruzin4us]

I think that cruise ships are probably one of the safest places you can be, everyone has been vaccinated and been tested.   The flight and your Uber/taxi ride is probably the most dangerous portion of you cruise.    Even with that, there is no guarantee you won't get it.   But you can get it at the grocery store, or from your family/friends that you think are covid free.   At least the Omicron isn't statistically as deadly as the prior 2 covid strains.    I probably know 25 people that have had omicron and while not pleasant, it was nothing like the first 2 strains.     I went on a cruise in October (Princess) and I felt safer on the ship than I did being out in public.   That's just my 2 cents 🙂

 

[Riversedge]

Take it from a person who is experiencing this now, cruise ships are not a safe place to be.  I tested positive yesterday.  There is no one more careful than me.  I barely came out of the house for 2 years except for a cruise in Europe in the fall when I felt safe.  There were only 800 people onboard. This cruise has about 1,500 and people are everywhere.   I would have cancelled this cruise if we had purchased the cancel for any reason policy. There are several cases onboard the Koningsdam and more all the time, both passengers and crew.  We are not informed how many but they have been steadily moving into my quarantine hallway.  We have worn our mask constantly, not ridden an elevator and mostly kept to ourselves.  I still got it.  Believe me, quarantine is not fun.  

[SJSULIBRARIAN]

5 hours ago, KroozNut said:

 

I continue to struggle with what 'a while' means in this context. It seems so vague and ambiguous. Does it mean a few weeks, a few months...years, or?

Sorry I was ambiguous. In my view if anyone has qualms about cruising now, I would wait a year and reevaluate the situation.

[Caribbean Chris]

47 minutes ago, Riversedge said:

Take it from a person who is experiencing this now, cruise ships are not a safe place to be.  I tested positive yesterday.  There is no one more careful than me.  I barely came out of the house for 2 years except for a cruise in Europe in the fall when I felt safe.  There were only 800 people onboard. This cruise has about 1,500 and people are everywhere.   I would have cancelled this cruise if we had purchased the cancel for any reason policy. There are several cases onboard the Koningsdam and more all the time, both passengers and crew.  We are not informed how many but they have been steadily moving into my quarantine hallway.  We have worn our mask constantly, not ridden an elevator and mostly kept to ourselves.  I still got it.  Believe me, quarantine is not fun.  

I’m so sorry for what you are experiencing on Konigsdam. Take care of yourself and hang in there.

[Mountainduo]

Thanks for all your responses....clearly a range of points of view.  Each helpful.   This gives us a lot to think about.

 

Best wishes for health and safety to all!

[FlorenceItaly]

17 hours ago, Riversedge said:

Take it from a person who is experiencing this now, cruise ships are not a safe place to be.  I tested positive yesterday.  There is no one more careful than me.  I barely came out of the house for 2 years except for a cruise in Europe in the fall when I felt safe.  There were only 800 people onboard. This cruise has about 1,500 and people are everywhere.   I would have cancelled this cruise if we had purchased the cancel for any reason policy. There are several cases onboard the Koningsdam and more all the time, both passengers and crew.  We are not informed how many but they have been steadily moving into my quarantine hallway.  We have worn our mask constantly, not ridden an elevator and mostly kept to ourselves.  I still got it.  Believe me, quarantine is not fun.  

I am very sorry to hear this.  We appreciate you sharing your experience with us.  Best wishes to you.  I am assuming you need to isolate for ten days?

[Riversedge]

3 hours ago, FlorenceItaly said:

I am very sorry to hear this.  We appreciate you sharing your experience with us.  Best wishes to you.  I am assuming you need to isolate for ten days?

Yes, but Holland counts day one as day ZERO.  So it’s actually 11 days.  

[FlorenceItaly]

1 minute ago, Riversedge said:

Yes, but Holland counts day one as day ZERO.  So it’s actually 11 days.  

I feel so bad for you.  Staying in that small space would be tough for me.  Are you in a balcony?

[Riversedge]

25 minutes ago, FlorenceItaly said:

I feel so bad for you.  Staying in that small space would be tough for me.  Are you in a balcony?

Yes, thank goodness.  I’m looking forward to Hawaiian breezes.  

[sailawaygirl]

so what happens if you test positive and are staying in a Neptune suite? do they still move you? If just one of the couple tests positive, do both of you get quarantined? thanks...

 

[FlorenceItaly]

6 minutes ago, sailawaygirl said:

so what happens if you test positive and are staying in a Neptune suite? do they still move you? If just one of the couple tests positive, do both of you get quarantined? thanks...

 

I believe NMCruiser posting live from the Zuiderdam was in a Neptune and he was moved out to a balcony.  His partner remained negative and stayed in the Neptune Suite.  ETA:  I many be confusing this with Celebrity.  There have been several live isolation reporting across all the cruise lines.

Edited January 22, 2022 by FlorenceItaly

[boze9999]

1 hour ago, FlorenceItaly said:

I believe NMCruiser posting live from the Zuiderdam was in a Neptune and he was moved out to a balcony.  His partner remained negative and stayed in the Neptune Suite.  ETA:  I many be confusing this with Celebrity.  There have been several live isolation reporting across all the cruise lines.

You are correct @FlorenceItalyNMCruiser did get moved from a Neptune to a Verandah Balcony. A non-positive traveling partner can remain in the Neptune or choose to move into the quarantine room.

[Riversedge]

Just now, sailawaygirl said:

so what happens if you test positive and are staying in a Neptune suite? do they still move you? If just one of the couple tests positive, do both of you get quarantined? thanks...

 

We were given a choice to have my husband move with me or stay on deck 8.  We decided to separate so that he didn’t catch it from me. He had to move to a new room 2 doors down so they could sanitize our first room.   We weren’t in a Neptune but all the quarantine cabins are not in a hallway with others. You would not be able to stay in a Neptune if you test positive.