Will you still wear a mask?

[bigbenboys]

We have still been wearing our masks inside restaurants and stores. I just dont see a reason not to at this time. No one has said a thing here in the Pacific Northwest about wearing a mask inside or outside. We leave tomorrow for a land vacation to England. We will wear our masks in the airport and on to the plane. Once settled into our ponds we will remove our masks. We will continue to wear a mask when in larger crowds.

We were in NYC end of last month. I wore my mask outside. Why because it was very cold outside. I had to by a hat to keep my ears warm.

[terrydtx]

30 minutes ago, zdad59 said:

I was on the April 2 Apex sailing.   A couple dozen, including my wife and I, tested positive within three days of the cruise ending.    Yes we had symptoms.    It was a moderate flu with no fever.   Aches, stuffy, and a hacking cough.    I am over it now, 10 days later.    From what we have heard, several crew members of one of the close up shows tested positive at the end of our cruise, and several more along with passengers tested positive on the following cruise.   That includes folks I know trying to do a B2B.  

 

My guesstimate is that something around 2% (30-40 people out of 2110 passengers) of thepassengers came up positive.   Again,   thats a guess based on conversations with other Apr 2 and Apr 9 passengers.

 

All that being said, to answer the basic question of this thread, there are still prudent places to be wearing a mask.   Note we are both vaxxed and boosted and we'll get the 2nd booster by the end of the month.  If I were to sail again in the near term, I would definitely mask up in elevators, the casino, and on tenders.   Any spot with crowded and cramped quarters.   Open air, walking around the ship, dinner and shows...I'm fine being unmasked.   That's just me, but having had this "flu" and hacking cough for a week, I'd rather not have it again.

Almost every cruise pre pandemic we returned from with some kind of upper respiratory illness. Our first Celebrity cruise was in 2008 on the old Century in the Western Mediterranean I came home with Bronchitis so bad that it developed into pneumonia two days later. My wife and parents who were with us also got sick on the ship. By the end of the cruise many many of the passengers were coughing and wheezing on the ship. Not much has changed and this is something we have to get past to return to some form of normalcy in our lives. If anyone feels safer and chooses to wear a mask, I say do it and if you don't that is your personal choice and fine too. I read on another cruise line CC thread that people want to cancel their cruises this summer because they refuse to fly with unmasked passengers, that is their right, but I doubt the cruise line will refund their trip costs for that excuse.

Edited April 19, 2022 by terrydtx

[zdad59]

8 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

Almost every cruise pre pandemic we returned from with some kind of upper respiratory illness. Our first Celebrity cruise was in 2008 on the old Century in the Western Mediterranean I came home with Bronchitis so bad that it developed into pneumonia two days later. My wife and parents who were with us also got sick on the ship. By the end of the cruise many many of the passengers were coughing and wheezing on the ship. Not much has changed and this is something we have to get past to return to some form of normalcy in our lives. If anyone feels safer and chooses to wear a mask, I say do it and if you don't that is your personal choice and fine too. I read on another cruise line CC thread that people want to cancel their cruises this summer because they refuse to fly with unmasked passengers, that is their right, but I doubt the cruise line will refund their trip costs for that excuse.

I know there are some that are ultra careful, and that's their call.    As for flying, I'm wearing a mask, at least for the near term.   Easy to do.   I fall a sleep on most flights anyway so no worries.     I would expect to see cruise line refund policies adapt to new and current mask and CoVID guidance, which in my mind means sseing the phasing out of cruise with confidence at some point.

 

[Lena11033]

I'm not going to cancel by may wear a mask in small spaces with people. Last summer I went on holiday to go hiking to a place that had no mask mandates (where I am just removed the mandate), I wore a mask on the plane and for the first time ever I made it back from a plane trip with no respiratory viruses, so yeah the mask is looking pretty good.

[drarill]

5 hours ago, rotoal said:

Airlines are having enough problems staffing their planes.   With the mask mandate dropped, the crew will have more exposure to the virus.  We could expect more and more flight cancellations as the airlines scramble to find enough healthy pilots and cabin crew to safely fly the planes.

 

 

you are right... already happening https://news.sky.com/story/easyjet-cancels-hundreds-of-flights-due-to-covid-related-staff-shortages-12581961

 

[schittenden]

1 hour ago, PTC DAWG said:

With or without symptoms? 
 

 

All of them are symptomatic. My wife and I are both symptomatic. So far, nothing too concerning (we’ve both had three doses and are under 50), but the expected: cough, fever, chills, body aches, congestion, sore throat, etc. Others in the group sound similar. 

[weregoingcruising]

2 hours ago, terrydtx said:

I do the same when I see the masked walking by themselves outdoors. The only place I wear one is at my doctors office. I was harassed once for not wearing one in the local HEB Grocery store days after the State of Texas eliminated the mask mandates in early 2021. We have a family vacation to St Thomas the end of May and a 5 hour flight from DFW so now we do not have to wear a mask.

Now there called face masks.

[clojacks]

4 hours ago, TxnAquarian said:

I'm a flight attendant who was working when the mandate ended, and as soon as we got the email that masks are no longer required, we all took them off. We were so giddy with excitement!   I miss smiling at my passengers and having that personal interaction. And I've been so tired of wearing it everyday, 16 hours a day, for two years. I, of course, will respect any mask requirements when I travel. And we all need to respect each other's choices. 

If your airline is working you 16 hours a day, everyday, it might be time for a change of lines. I'm sure you are exaggerating a little, but regardless of how often you work, and what you folks have had to endure from immature, unruly passengers, I'm pleased to hear you will respect any mandates. I have to admit, seeing the few reports of Pilots coming out of the cockpit to make mandate removal announcements, left me somewhat disappointed, as I don't believe the CDC, TSA, WHO, or whoever was involved, enjoy implementing them , but I fully believe they were doing it for what they felt was the good of all of us. To see Pilots basically lead the passengers in cheers, was insensitive to those that would have not been here without mask mandates and other mitigation measures. 

[clojacks]

1 hour ago, terrydtx said:

Almost every cruise pre pandemic we returned from with some kind of upper respiratory illness. Our first Celebrity cruise was in 2008 on the old Century in the Western Mediterranean I came home with Bronchitis so bad that it developed into pneumonia two days later. My wife and parents who were with us also got sick on the ship. By the end of the cruise many many of the passengers were coughing and wheezing on the ship. Not much has changed and this is something we have to get past 

Comparing your past experiences with URI's and Bronchitis to COVID is comparing apples to oranges. The rate of mortality from basic URI's and Bronchitis is ridiculously lower than COVID's impact. Granted, the COVID mortality of Omicron and the following BA.2 is much lower, but even then, there is NO guarantee that future strains or variants will continue this trend. 

[TxnAquarian]

51 minutes ago, clojacks said:

If your airline is working you 16 hours a day, everyday, it might be time for a change of lines. I'm sure you are exaggerating a little, but regardless of how often you work, and what you folks have had to endure from immature, unruly passengers, I'm pleased to hear you will respect any mandates. I have to admit, seeing the few reports of Pilots coming out of the cockpit to make mandate removal announcements, left me somewhat disappointed, as I don't believe the CDC, TSA, WHO, or whoever was involved, enjoy implementing them , but I fully believe they were doing it for what they felt was the good of all of us. To see Pilots basically lead the passengers in cheers, was insensitive to those that would have not been here without mask mandates and other mitigation measures. 

My flying time is more like 12-13 hours, but I'm speaking of time in the airport before flight, time between flights and transport to the hotels and mask wearing to the hotel and my room. It's a sweaty mess. And I am happy not to have to speak to 60 year old men anymore, as if they are a 5-year old, when they start screaming at me because I ask them to wear a mask. It's made  an enjoyable job completely miserable. I have been a huge supporter of mask wearing and vaccines, but we've reached the point that we need to get back to some semblance of normalcy. And, again, we all need to respect each other's mask-wearing or non-wearing at this point.

[GottaKnowWhen]

15 hours ago, Super_Tuscan said:

Stan, do you remember when this virus first started? Doctors and nurses were wearing fully body Hazmat suits and respirators. If a virus is that small and dangerous, why are we being told to only wear a paper mask? What about our eyes? The particles can easily enter our bodies through our eyes. I'm an adult as well, but at some point science and good old common sense has to take precedence. 

Science is a process, not a frozen body of fact. Early in the pandemic, extreme precautions were taken; better safe than sorry. Early indications were that touching a contaminated surface was going to make you very ill Etc. Over time it became clear that 1. Yes this is a deadly virus that has killed millions and will kill many thousands if not millions more, 2. That vaccines help, and 3. That masking helps mitigate the spread, as does maintaining distance and limiting extended contact. A bandana is better than nothing, a paper mask is ok, a properly designed mask is better.

 My good old common sense tells me to trust the accumulating body of scientific knowledge about this disease, to vaccinate, to avoid crowded places (particularly where the others are ignoring precautions), to mask up as needed, and to ignore fairytales and what-about arguments. I have done one cruise this year, five cruises booked for the rest of 2022, five in 2023, three so far in 2024. I intend to stay healthy and enjoy those cruises. 
Suntan oil is a nuisance, wearing masks can be a nuisance, taking medication for chronic conditions can be a nuisance, an overcooked steak can be a nuisance. I have learned to cope with all of these minor “problems”. Hopefully others will be able to cope with life’s little challenges as well.

Safe travels!

[TeeRick]

16 hours ago, clojacks said:

Comparing your past experiences with URI's and Bronchitis to COVID is comparing apples to oranges. The rate of mortality from basic URI's and Bronchitis is ridiculously lower than COVID's impact. Granted, the COVID mortality of Omicron and the following BA.2 is much lower, but even then, there is NO guarantee that future strains or variants will continue this trend. 

What you say is very true if unvaccinated.   But the current mortality rate and hospitalization rate for COVID if you are vaccinated and boosted is very low.  That is what we are going to live with for decades to come.  

[Dolebludger]

Vaccination is the #1 defense against serious Covid. At the first of this year we were vac’d and bolstered and caught Covid (not travel related).  What we had is called Omicron breakthrough. It was basically a cold with no fever and fatigue for a week. 
 

If we have to fly we will certainly wear masks. Airlines and airports have no vaccination requirements and distancing is impossible. Thus they are the most dangerous places to regarding Covid. Masks are the only defense there.

[sgmn]

On 4/19/2022 at 2:21 PM, cangelmd said:

This is a super important point. The much derided mask is what may allow you to board that ship. Wearing a mask on the ship may keep you out of quarantine.

Stopping blanket testing is what will allow cruising to approach normal, and a reduction of virus being brought on board so that staffing can stabilize.

I don’t think that is going to happen soon, though, because testing protects the crew who are living in a bubble

I use to work at the very busy international terminal 3 at Heathrow.  Pre covid it was common to see passengers from the Far East wearing masks in the terminal and presumably on aircraft.  If nothing else it will stop the transmission of colds and other bugs. Just came back from a 7 hour flight from Dubai, 99% had masks on. No big deal

[PTC DAWG]

21 hours ago, schittenden said:

All of them are symptomatic. My wife and I are both symptomatic. So far, nothing too concerning (we’ve both had three doses and are under 50), but the expected: cough, fever, chills, body aches, congestion, sore throat, etc. Others in the group sound similar. 

Here's to your recovery...

[5:00_Somewhere]

19 hours ago, sgmn said:

I use to work at the very busy international terminal 3 at Heathrow.  Pre covid it was common to see passengers from the Far East wearing masks in the terminal and presumably on aircraft.  If nothing else it will stop the transmission of colds and other bugs. Just came back from a 7 hour flight from Dubai, 99% had masks on. No big deal

 

I'm glad you mentioned this. I have also noticed this trend in the US, and when we were in Japan specifically asked a tour guide about it. Interestingly, her answer was that it was felt important to wear masks if one wasn't feeling primarily to protect others as well as oneself. I found that perspective unexpected but interesting. And I have noticed that over the past 2 1/2 years I have had exactly 1 cold, and have not gotten a cold or other malady after flying, as has been common for me for many, many years. For that reason, I have determined that, going forward, I will continue to wear masks in many more public settings than I had ever imagined before all of this. The minor inconvenience seems a very small price to pay to help both protect others and myself.

Edited April 21, 2022 by 5:00_Somewhere

[PatC]

Simple - NO