Princess response to Covid on last day of cruise. Ruby Panama Canal 2/25-3/12

[Coral]

I think the best thing they could do is go back to requiring masks.

 

I agree about tables - those tables are way too close. Re-thinking my future cruise. Not sure what I will end up doing for food. I am ok with wearing my mask all day.

[iamaqt2]

6 minutes ago, Coral said:

I think the best thing they could do is go back to requiring masks.

 

I agree about tables - those tables are way too close. Re-thinking my future cruise. Not sure what I will end up doing for food. I am ok with wearing my mask all day.

I'm not advocating for anyone to cancel their cruise due to my unfortunate situation.  But I DO want people to be informed about what to expect.  I had a fantastic cruise.  I knew the risk factors going in, and still chose to go.  We used reasonable precautions, but at the end of the day, you're still in a sealed environment without the ability to be masked and socially distanced 24/7.

 

[Coral]

Just now, iamaqt2 said:

I'm not advocating for anyone to cancel their cruise due to my unfortunate situation.  But I DO want people to be informed about what to expect.  I had a fantastic cruise.  I knew the risk factors going in, and still chose to go.  We used reasonable precautions, but at the end of the day, you're still in a sealed environment without the ability to be masked and socially distanced 24/7.

 

Your posts have been very balanced. I appreciate hearing your experience. It helps us all be better educated/prepared. I appreciate your posts.

[Coral]

4 hours ago, Spudd said:

Why would a stay in Canada be more expensive? I thought prices were pretty comparable between the two countries. 

IMO - Vancouver is just expensive.

[LACruiser88]

32 minutes ago, iamaqt2 said:

Yes, I'm paying out of pocket and will file for reimbursement.  But as previously stated, I do NOT have Princess insurance.  I'm not sure how Princess is handling hotel quarantine cost on their plan.

We had Princess Platinum insurance.  We paid for everything, except for the transportation from the ship to the hotel.  We saved receipts and submitted claim online and uploaded all receipts with the claim.

 

Receipts were not required for meals (we kept them in case).  We were allotted $100 per person, per day for meals.

 

We were told we would be reimbursed for hotel, transportation to and from airport, flight change fees and any other related expenses.

 

We filed a week ago.  We were told it would be around 15 days before we hear from an adjuster.

Edited March 15, 2022 by LACruiser88

[PescadoAmarillo]

1 hour ago, Coral said:

I think the best thing they could do is go back to requiring masks.

 

As many of us remarked when the unmasking rules first were announced, this could be a temporary change. 

[Thrak]

6 hours ago, Spudd said:

Why would a stay in Canada be more expensive? I thought prices were pretty comparable between the two countries. 

 

Looking at hotel prices in Canada they are higher than I see in the US. They are, of course, initially listed in CAD but one can simply click the check box to show the prices in USD.

 

Night before flight. Holiday Inn Express Sacramento Airport Natomas: $156.66 USD

 

Night after disembarkation. Holiday Inn Express Vancouver Airport Richmond: $233.14 USD

 

Not a huge difference - $76.48 per night but well over $1k USD more than the US hotel if you look at a 14 day stay. (Some days will be higher as well since pricing tends to fluctuate according to day and date.)Then, of course, there is the cost of sustenance.

 

All in all I am definitely not interested in a Canadian quarantine. Spending more than $3,400 USD plus food and sundries is definitely more expensive than doing a quarantine in my own home.

Edited March 16, 2022 by Thrak

[Spudd]

12 hours ago, Thrak said:

 

Looking at hotel prices in Canada they are higher than I see in the US. They are, of course, initially listed in CAD but one can simply click the check box to show the prices in USD.

 

Night before flight. Holiday Inn Express Sacramento Airport Natomas: $156.66 USD

 

Night after disembarkation. Holiday Inn Express Vancouver Airport Richmond: $233.14 USD

 

Not a huge difference - $76.48 per night but well over $1k USD more than the US hotel if you look at a 14 day stay. (Some days will be higher as well since pricing tends to fluctuate according to day and date.)Then, of course, there is the cost of sustenance.

 

All in all I am definitely not interested in a Canadian quarantine. Spending more than $3,400 USD plus food and sundries is definitely more expensive than doing a quarantine in my own home.

 

I compared Vancouver vs Seattle and they seemed more comparable. I think it's not so much a country difference as an individual market difference. But clearly, quarantining in your own home is the best bet! I totally get why you wouldn't want to be stuck in Vancouver. 

 

On the bright side, I think guidance has changed from the 14 day quarantine to 10 days (or 5 days if you are symptom free). 

[Yehootu]

14 hours ago, iamaqt2 said:

Yes, I'm paying out of pocket and will file for reimbursement.  But as previously stated, I do NOT have Princess insurance.  I'm not sure how Princess is handling hotel quarantine cost on their plan.

Mahalo, I was thinking the Princess Cruise with Confidence program would cover the hotel cost regardless of the insurance coverage. Bummer of a way to end a cruise. Thank-you for sharing, made alot of us think as to what could happen.

[Yehootu]

14 hours ago, LACruiser88 said:

We had Princess Platinum insurance.  We paid for everything, except for the transportation from the ship to the hotel.  We saved receipts and submitted claim online and uploaded all receipts with the claim.

 

Receipts were not required for meals (we kept them in case).  We were allotted $100 per person, per day for meals.

 

We were told we would be reimbursed for hotel, transportation to and from airport, flight change fees and any other related expenses.

 

We filed a week ago.  We were told it would be around 15 days before we hear from an adjuster.

Mahalo, between your posts and the OP's posts have helped clear up any questions I had. Now for the new strain to burn out before May, or April.

[Flipchild32]

17 hours ago, dickinson said:

I wonder why I don't see Regal Princess at all on the list.

They may not have re-entered service... but in that case I would think they would go with CREW-ONLY

[azbirdmom]

10 minutes ago, Flipchild32 said:

They may not have re-entered service... but in that case I would think they would go with CREW-ONLY

 

Both dickinson and I were on the ship last month and the Regal has been on the CDC list for some time.  It's really weird that it's not listed now.  It's got to be a glitch.

[Babr]

1 hour ago, Yehootu said:

Mahalo, I was thinking the Princess Cruise with Confidence program would cover the hotel cost regardless of the insurance coverage. Bummer of a way to end a cruise. Thank-you for sharing, made alot of us think as to what could happen.

The Cruise with Confidence program allows you to cancel and receive FCC. It applies to cruises through September.

 

The Covid Assistance program, which also ends in September, provides for medical care and a meal allowance as well as a contact person to assist with logistics and insurance claims.  I’d be curious to know if the Princess insurance covers all expenses since the trip delay portion is capped at $1,500.

[Flipchild32]

22 minutes ago, azbirdmom said:

 

Both dickinson and I were on the ship last month and the Regal has been on the CDC list for some time.  It's really weird that it's not listed now.  It's got to be a glitch.

 

After posting that I did go and see where it was at to see if maybe it's because it wasn't going around close to the US, but then remembered other ships are listed that aren't cruising around the US. But it is still not listed today either. I am guessing glitches

[ssbeagle]

On 3/13/2022 at 9:30 PM, iamaqt2 said:

It was an amazing cruise.  So sorry for your trip delay.. can totally commiserate. 

Not sure where he caught it.. onboard is a possibility, but we did get off the ship in ports.

I have a question for you.  We’re you both wearing masks when in port and on the ship?  We were on board with you and heard so many people coughing.  We always had our masks on except when eating/drinking or in our cabin.  The worst of our trip was at the airport.  We didn’t get home until 3:30am Sunday morning and had to change airports dragging bags from FLL to MIA.

[Ombud]

17 hours ago, iamaqt2 said:

Those only go so far when you're seated 2 feet away from the next table in the MDR.  That's no exaggeration.  And the whole dining room is unmasked, and dinner takes 1.5 hours.  This picture is from the day I went to tea.  Look at the distance between tables.

That's how it was on the Emerald Princess in December BUT they sat people in every other table. Not every table. Just sayin!

[cvpends]

On 3/14/2022 at 9:23 PM, iamaqt2 said:

I saw that as well.  Sounds like smoking in the casino is now also allowed.  I'm pretty sure there's going to be more reports in the near future.

And you can smell it all over the Piazza. 

[Thrak]

The casinos in California seem to be doing a booming business and I don't think they allow smoking in the gaming areas.

[DavidsNana]

17 minutes ago, Thrak said:

The casinos in California seem to be doing a booming business and I don't think they allow smoking in the gaming areas.

I only go to one of the local casinos here in San Diego and they definitely allow smoking but do have separate smoking and non smoking areas.  There is some spillover into the nonsmoking area when close to the divide between the two.  The restaurants are all nonsmoking in the casinos as are all in CA.  But there is a snack area that is right in the smoking area and another restaurant that is open to the smoking area so definitely one does get smoke in there.

[sfaaa]

3 hours ago, cvpends said:

And you can smell it all over the Piazza. 

The bright side is if you can smell it, you have no COVID.

[Barter123]

23 hours ago, iamaqt2 said:

Those only go so far when you're seated 2 feet away from the next table in the MDR.  That's no exaggeration.  And the whole dining room is unmasked, and dinner takes 1.5 hours.  This picture is from the day I went to tea.  Look at the distance between tables.

On the Sky in February the tables were this close but people were only sitting at every other table.  Felt very comfortable for the entire 3 weeks we were onboard. We were tested every turnaround day and at disembarkation in order to fly home to Canada and we remained negative the entire time. Positive experience and remained negative!

[san diego sue]

5 hours ago, sfaaa said:

The bright side is if you can smell it, you have no COVID.

Not so. I never lost my sense of smell.

[coopco]

On 3/14/2022 at 7:49 AM, iamaqt2 said:

I wanted documentation for insurance if his illness progressed as we were only covered through the last day of the cruise.  And I didn't want him exposing anyone in the airport and plane on the return home.  Lots of people for various reasons are still unvaccinated

 

Thanks for posting your experience. I am so sorry for your troubles. Pretty scary. I had never thought of the end date of travel insurance with a cruise. We are on a cruise in a couple of weeks and thankfully booked a timeshare after the cruise so if something like that were to happen to us, we would be covered for a few more days. It's certainly something to keep in mind for the future. Thanks for sharing and I wish you the best of luck recovering and getting home.

[coopco]

On 3/14/2022 at 1:45 PM, sfaaa said:

After reading this thread, an abundance of N95 masks, self test kit and disinfectant wipes are must bring items on my cruise check list.

What a good idea! I have a couple of rapid tests (courtesy of Uncle Sam). I think I will throw them in my suitcase for good measure.

[boltnut55]

 

On 3/13/2022 at 7:55 PM, AZjohn said:

Regardless, the most important thing I got out of this is to have 14 days extra meds in carryon after trip.

Yes, I'm planning to do this too... plus other meds in case we get it such as cough meds, inhaler, etc. <sigh>

 

On 3/14/2022 at 1:05 PM, CalLuvsCrusingToo said:

And 90 mins inside a Hot van is horrible.  Sounds like asking for trouble.

Makes me rethink upcoming cruises.

Yeah, I almost freaked out when I read that!😡

 

On 3/14/2022 at 1:10 PM, ebeluga said:

Yep, I am rethinking my upcoming cruises - the ones that would disembark at a non-home port...

Our June one is from SF to Alaska to SF, so we'll be fine.  Our Dec is from Ft. Lauderdale to LA, but I guess we can rent a car one-way and drive back (unless we all feel really sick)... ugh

 

On 3/14/2022 at 1:45 PM, sfaaa said:

After reading this thread, an abundance of N95 masks, self test kit and disinfectant wipes are must bring items on my cruise check list.

Yup, I was just thinking of the same last night too <sigh>

 

On 3/15/2022 at 4:14 PM, iamaqt2 said:

I'm not advocating for anyone to cancel their cruise due to my unfortunate situation.  But I DO want people to be informed about what to expect.  I had a fantastic cruise.  I knew the risk factors going in, and still chose to go.  We used reasonable precautions, but at the end of the day, you're still in a sealed environment without the ability to be masked and socially distanced 24/7.

Thank you so much for sharing your awful experience.  I hope Norm is recovering well.  The treatment of getting COVID is my biggest concern about cruising even though we booked two for this year.  I keep hoping w/experience that the cruise lines will be more organized.  I might take that 2nd booster just in case🤦‍♀️

I happen to come across your post while I was searching for something complete different but very glad I did.