Got COVID on April 9th-16th Apex sailing

[hooskydo]

On 5th day PM, The Captain announced that 9 passengers and 35 crew tested positive for covid. My husband who had been thinking he had some allergies decided it might be covid.

We brought a home test so he took it. It was positive. We are both vaccinated and boostered.

We went down to medical and he was tested. At first they weren't going to test me because I had no symptoms but after he tested positive they tested me, also positive. They asked us if we were traveling with anyone and which excursion we had been on. The friends we were traveling with came down to be tested as well but were sent to their room and told they would be contacted. They were not and the next day they went back down to medical and were told as long as they had no symptoms they were fine.

We were put in isolation in our room, concierge level, and told all room service, tv movies and internet would be available. We already had internet but still nice to know if we didn't we would be given it.

They checked on us 3 times a day. We could order from any of the main dining rooms, though food was often barely warm and the first night we learned to to order anything that could go bad, like Caesar salad. My husband got a minor food poisoning. Getting extra water turned into an unexpected hassle. All our food was served in disposable dinner ware and put in red biohazard bags. 

I immediately called to cancel our flight home and rented a car for a one way drive. I recommend doing this right away. We were told our remaining days would be refunded as well as they would cover cost for lodging and travel home.

After everyone debarked, they came and got us. Two guys in kinda hazmat suits escorted us off the boat, one guy sprayed disinfectant behind us. We got in a black escalade and we're driven to Avis to get our rental. The driver told us the prior day they had 40 drivers making about 4 trips each.

Our travel buddies said everyone was coughing or sniffling by the last day and one of them started coughing the morning of debarkation. They both tested positive for covid the next day.

We are all fine and decided we let our guards down. Right now might not have been the best time to cruise. We all caught flack from our kids.

While it wasn't great, it really wasn't horrible either. Live and learn.

[Crazy planning mom]

Glad that you are ok and not seriously ill. Just curious- did you mask up at all?

 

[schittenden]

Just now, Crazy planning mom said:

Glad that you are ok and not seriously ill. Just curious- did you mask up at all?

 

I can’t speak for the OP, but we masked up anytime we were outside the cabin, removing only to eat and drink and even replacing between courses/drinks. 

[hooskydo]

We masked up at first. Then kinda got relaxed. It was a bad call on our part

[KBAJ]

Also curious if you had trip insurance and, if so, was it through the cruise line or a private company?

[JFontaine]

Interesting (and good) that you were allowed to remain in your cabin. That seems to be the exception for Celebrity.   Thanks for reporting and sorry it happened to you. 

[hooskydo]

5 minutes ago, KBAJ said:

Also curious if you had trip insurance and, if so, was it through the cruise line or a private company?

We have trip insurance thru the cruise line but I am pretty sure the refunds are  companypolicy through the end of this month

[lv2cruisgrl]

April 2nd we cruised on same ship, on deck 7.  Day we left ship husband had cold. Tested positive that afternoon. Lucky for us we drove to port. I got it a day later. We used sanitizer as much as possible and didn't wear masks. Now we know better. Next cruise masking and hand sanitizer even more! This was our 4th cruise since October 2021. 

[judla]

We also were on the April 2nd Apex and the day we disembarked I began to feel like I had a cold coming on.  The next day (fortunately home by then) I ran a high fever and tested positive.  My husband tested positive 3 days later.  We were in concierge on deck 11.  We used hand sanitizer, but didn't mask.

[hooskydo]

43 minutes ago, judla said:

We also were on the April 2nd Apex and the day we disembarked I began to feel like I had a cold coming on.  The next day (fortunately home by then) I ran a high fever and tested positive.  My husband tested positive 3 days later.  We were in concierge on deck 11.  We used hand sanitizer, but didn't mask.

It's so easy to let your guard down! We started out masking but slowly got comfy.

[kevers35]

I was also on the April 9th Apex cruise with the VTG group.  We had about 4 or 5 known test positive during the cruise, and in the 4 days since we got back about 20 people from the the group, including me, have now tested positive.  

[hooskydo]

15 minutes ago, kevers35 said:

I was also on the April 9th Apex cruise with the VTG group.  We had about 4 or 5 known test positive during the cruise, and in the 4 days since we got back about 20 people from the the group, including me, have now tested positive.  

I'm sorry to hear that, I hope you all feel better soon. Did the people who got it on the cruise have to change rooms? I'm just curious.

[Julma]

On the Summit in March both my travel mate and myself got Covid shortly after getting off the ship.  We were not careful.  Didn't mask on ship.  We used sanitizer, but this virus is really spread through airborne droplets, so mask would have been our best defense. Don't beat yourself up too much for letting your guard down.  The Omicron variants are so contagious.  Much more than Delta.  While viruses tend to get more contagious, they also get weaker (can't keep killing their host or they'll have no place to live).  I hope you all feel better.

[kevers35]

31 minutes ago, hooskydo said:

I'm sorry to hear that, I hope you all feel better soon. Did the people who got it on the cruise have to change rooms? I'm just curious.

I’m not sure, but many of our group had their own cabins so didn’t need to move.  They could isolate in their own cabins. 

[Lilly-Ann]

6 hours ago, JFontaine said:

Interesting (and good) that you were allowed to remain in your cabin. That seems to be the exception for Celebrity.   Thanks for reporting and sorry it happened to you. 

I would hate to be the next one in a cabin if a covid positive had just left that morning. I wonder if they just clean it and the next group of passengers get that same room or are the room numbers changed? I would not want a room if a known  covid positive had just left that morning.  

Edited April 20, 2022 by Lilly-Ann
Spelling

[JFontaine]

6 minutes ago, Lilly-Ann said:

I would hate to be the next one in a cabin if a covid positive had just left that morning. I wonder if they just clean it and the next group of passengers get that same room or are moved before they board. 

A study released in January showed that after 20 minutes the airborne virus loses most of its potency. A few minutes with the balcony door open should eliminate any risk.  

[hooskydo]

23 minutes ago, Lilly-Ann said:

I would hate to be the next one in a cabin if a covid positive had just left that morning. I wonder if they just clean it and the next group of passengers get that same room or are the room numbers changed? I would not want a room if a known  covid positive had just left that morning.  

I'm sure they disinfect it. They escorted us out spaying disinfectant behind us. Also I'm sure there are a few rooms where the passengers had covid but didn't get tested till after they were off the boat. Better a known covid positive than an unknown covid positive, I should think. Regardless, they must have procedures in place to disinfect all the rooms regardless.

Edited April 20, 2022 by hooskydo
Forgot to add a thought

[Gracie115]

6 hours ago, JFontaine said:

A study released in January showed that after 20 minutes the airborne virus loses most of its potency. A few minutes with the balcony door open should eliminate any risk.  

 

 

Yes, and there are so many different products out now that disinfect whole rooms this is not an issue.  Hotels use it all the time.  

[Honolulu Blue]

@hooskydo, @judla, and @Julma:  Thank you for your reports and I'm sorry you had to experience this virus in the ways you did.  Get well soon.

 

P.S.  I have a cruise in 3 days (not on Celebrity).  I'm hoping I don't have a future date with Omicron or any of its nasty cousins while onboard. 🙏

[lv2cruisgrl]

10 hours ago, hooskydo said:

I'm sure they disinfect it. They escorted us out spaying disinfectant behind us. Also I'm sure there are a few rooms where the passengers had covid but didn't get tested till after they were off the boat. Better a known covid positive than an unknown covid positive, I should think. Regardless, they must have procedures in place to disinfect all the rooms regardless.

I would love to know if that is true. I doubt they completely disinfect all the cabins.

[TeeRick]

17 hours ago, hooskydo said:

On 5th day PM, The Captain announced that 9 passengers and 35 crew tested positive for covid. My husband who had been thinking he had some allergies decided it might be covid.

We brought a home test so he took it. It was positive. We are both vaccinated and boostered.

We went down to medical and he was tested. At first they weren't going to test me because I had no symptoms but after he tested positive they tested me, also positive. They asked us if we were traveling with anyone and which excursion we had been on. The friends we were traveling with came down to be tested as well but were sent to their room and told they would be contacted. They were not and the next day they went back down to medical and were told as long as they had no symptoms they were fine.

We were put in isolation in our room, concierge level, and told all room service, tv movies and internet would be available. We already had internet but still nice to know if we didn't we would be given it.

They checked on us 3 times a day. We could order from any of the main dining rooms, though food was often barely warm and the first night we learned to to order anything that could go bad, like Caesar salad. My husband got a minor food poisoning. Getting extra water turned into an unexpected hassle. All our food was served in disposable dinner ware and put in red biohazard bags. 

I immediately called to cancel our flight home and rented a car for a one way drive. I recommend doing this right away. We were told our remaining days would be refunded as well as they would cover cost for lodging and travel home.

After everyone debarked, they came and got us. Two guys in kinda hazmat suits escorted us off the boat, one guy sprayed disinfectant behind us. We got in a black escalade and we're driven to Avis to get our rental. The driver told us the prior day they had 40 drivers making about 4 trips each.

Our travel buddies said everyone was coughing or sniffling by the last day and one of them started coughing the morning of debarkation. They both tested positive for covid the next day.

We are all fine and decided we let our guards down. Right now might not have been the best time to cruise. We all caught flack from our kids.

While it wasn't great, it really wasn't horrible either. Live and learn.

How long before the cruise did you get your booster shot?

 

Others responding here who got sick- did you receive a booster before cruising?  Same question- how long before?  Anybody get a second booster and still got sick?

 

I am asking because we are eligible for our second booster now but want to get maximum effectiveness for our cruise end of August.

[hooskydo]

1 hour ago, TeeRick said:

How long before the cruise did you get your booster shot?

 

Others responding here who got sick- did you receive a booster before cruising?  Same question- how long before?  Anybody get a second booster and still got sick?

 

I am asking because we are eligible for our second booster now but want to get maximum effectiveness for our cruise end of August.

I had my booster in November, my husband in December. Our friend who was traveling with us got her second booster just prior to our sail date. She still got Covid but her symptoms were even more mild than ours and her husbands, who only had the first booster as well.

[Lastdance]

21 minutes ago, hooskydo said:

I had my booster in November, my husband in December. Our friend who was traveling with us got her second booster just prior to our sail date. She still got Covid but her symptoms were even more mild than ours and her husbands, who only had the first booster as well.

That is very interesting, but just so many variables.  I always ask people who have gotten Covid if they have an idea how it may have happened.  Surpriseingly, many have ideas and are willing to share.  Earlier on this was not the case; however, I believe we all keep learning a lot if we are open and care.

[Provence55always]

Thank you all for sharing and glad you all made speedy recoveries. We are due to cruise mid May our 1st since Covid. About a year before Covid I started wiping down all my area on the plane and as soon as we got on board I wiped ever surface in our cabin. Before that one of us always seem to pick up a virus/cold while traveling. I will continue to do all my sanitising plus wear mask at airport, on plane and on board. Not looking forward to long haul flight but we want to keep traveling, cruising and enjoying life as best we can while taking all the precautions to keep safe.  Hopefully we may be able to get our 2nd booster before we travel on the 12th May. We have taken out additional Covid travel insurance. 

[cangelmd]

2 hours ago, TeeRick said:

How long before the cruise did you get your booster shot?

 

Others responding here who got sick- did you receive a booster before cruising?  Same question- how long before?  Anybody get a second booster and still got sick?

 

I am asking because we are eligible for our second booster now but want to get maximum effectiveness for our cruise end of August.

Tee Rick, I had my booster the Friday before Thanksgiving and tested positive post-cruise on March 29 - you do the math. DH got boosted as soon as boosters were approved (he takes a mildly immunosuppressive medication), early Sept 2021 - he never tested positive or had a symptom.

I think depending on how you interpret the data, that measurable protection from boosters is 3 months at best (I saw an abstract from some Israeli data that made it sound like protection from multiple boosters went down with each booster and might only be a month).

BUT, that is measurable Abs I think, not cellular immunity and not protection from serious illness and death and possibly not even risk of infection.

Its all anecdotal, but my thought is that at best you will have enhanced protection for about 3 months.

The $64K question is do I have better immunity now that I have had Covid.