Covid Outbreak on Regatta - 50 Cabins Quarantined After Cruise

[RJB]

12 hours ago, osandomir said:

Daily testing, KN 95 masks and high probability of being quarantined for the most part of the cruise… I’m not sure many people will continue to sign up and invest their money into vacations like that if all requirements last for much longer.

+ 1

[LHT28]

13 minutes ago, Robjame said:

The point I was trying to make is that if I am vaccinated and boosted, I know I may still contact Covid but am confident that it will be mild and I am ready to accept the risks as should everyone else who goes on a vaccinated cruise. 
 

Everyday I see people wearing single layer cloth masks, adjusting them, wearing them below their noses. This may be less effective than not wearing a mask at all.
 

Well it seems the recent cruise   people were fully vaccinated & some boosted  but are still sick 

The new variants  do not care if you are fully vaccinated

 

[RJB]

3 hours ago, LHT28 said:

Well it seems the recent cruise   people were fully vaccinated & some boosted  but are still sick 

The new variants  do not care if you are fully vaccinated

 

I guess you need to get lucky.  On our Dec. 10 day cruise on Regent from Miami we were tested before boarding, then NO MASKS for entire trip and no sickness.  Just like old times.

[LHT28]

4 minutes ago, RJB said:

I guess you need to get lucky.  On our Dec. 10 day cruise on Regent from Miami we were tested before boarding, then NO MASKS for entire trip and no sickness.  Just like old times.

Dec  was different time in the Covid world  plus I am sure the ships were at less capacity  then

[Kate-AHF]

4 hours ago, LHT28 said:

Well it seems the recent cruise   people were fully vaccinated & some boosted  but are still sick 

The new variants  do not care if you are fully vaccinated

 

 

No, they don't.  Or boostered.  But the ultimate outcome of being sick is hugely improved.  I just don't see how any entity (cruiseline, airline, hotel) can prevent infections when you can be asymptomatic and not even know you are shedding the virus.

[Cruzin Terri]

5 hours ago, Robjame said:

The point I was trying to make is that if I am vaccinated and boosted, I know I may still contact Covid but am confident that it will be mild and I am ready to accept the risks as should everyone else who goes on a vaccinated cruise. 
 

Everyday I see people wearing single layer cloth masks, adjusting them, wearing them below their noses. This may be less effective than not wearing a mask at all.
 

Don’t be so confident that it will be mild.  I was really sick for 10 days.  i didn’t even test positive for the first three days but was really sick with a high fever.  And I am vaccinated and boosted.  The virus does not care.  My husband did not get as sick as I, but he was sick as well.  

You take a risk, just don’t be so cavalier that you feel that it will be mild and you can go about your merry way once it is over.  I am suffering from terrible fatigue that i can’t shake and it has now been three days since I tested negative.

You will not know until you get it how you will feel and what effect it will have on you even after it is over.

Terri

[oskidunker]

Ugh

[vlthom]

We were on this same cruise as well as the one preceding it.  During the earlier cruise, there was not a cough to be heard onboard.  We had to undergo mandatory testing at the conclusion as we arrived back into Papeete.  Through word of mouth, we heard that there were a handful of positive cases and those passengers disembarked and went to quarantine in Papeete.  From there, no further testing was done except at the conclusion of the cruise for those who were traveling onwards to international destinations.  Any other tests that were performed were done by Medical staff at passengers' request.  I think that everyone was aware that if they went in for a test and were positive that they'd essentially be "jailed" so I suspect that many refrained from getting tested.  I suspect too, that there were a lot more cases than those quoted by the OP here.  And in fact, both my husband and I tested positively upon our return home.  We were part-time mask wearers onboard and did not do much in terms of socializing onboard.  We did not go to Martini's for Happy Hour.  We did not go to any of the performances.  We did dine in the Grand Dining Room and in the Specialties and also in the Terrace off and on, though we did not sit with others.  Despite all of this, we did test positively and I am now symptomatic.  I don't blame Oceania -- the staff were wearing masks, though many did have their masks below their noses at times.  I didn't observe a lot of use of the hand sanitizer stations around the ship.  And although the use of masks by passengers increased as the cruise progressed, those wearing them were definitely in the minority.   All that said, we've been on longer voyages like this previously and there's usually a lot of coughing and sniffles by the end of it.  If COVID becomes a less severe endemic virus, this type of outcome would probably be accepted (aside from the quarantines and hazmat suits, of course).  

[LHT28]

1 hour ago, Cruzin Terri said:

 I am suffering from terrible fatigue that i can’t shake and it has now been three days since I tested negative.

You will not know until you get it how you will feel and what effect it will have on you even after it is over.

Terri

Hope in time you will have a full recovery

I agree  some that do not get sick do not understand the after effects

Feel better soon

[Queen of DaNile]

2 hours ago, Cruzin Terri said:

Don’t be so confident that it will be mild.  I was really sick for 10 days.  i didn’t even test positive for the first three days but was really sick with a high fever.  And I am vaccinated and boosted.  The virus does not care.  My husband did not get as sick as I, but he was sick as well.  

You take a risk, just don’t be so cavalier that you feel that it will be mild and you can go about your merry way once it is over.  I am suffering from terrible fatigue that i can’t shake and it has now been three days since I tested negative.

You will not know until you get it how you will feel and what effect it will have on you even after it is over.

Terri

Thank you so much for sharing your experience. Hope that you feel much better soon.

[drkitkat123]

9 hours ago, Debbers said:

But it's nothing like a normal cold, and we can't pretend it is!  More than 6 million people have left the Earth because of Covid.  And many formerly healthy people are living with long-Covid in a seemingly endless battle with fatigue, pain, and organ deterioration.  We can't wish it away.  We must all remain vigilant and take the measures proven effective, for all our sakes.  

I totally agree it has been nothing like a normal cold so far. My point was about the future when we may be able to manage it as a normal cold in fully vaccinated people. 

[CaptainR]

6 hours ago, vlthom said:

Through word of mouth, we heard that there were a handful of positive cases and those passengers disembarked and went to quarantine in Papeete. 

A minor correction to the record in that not all the passengers who tested positive at Papeete disembarked as I was one who did test positive and then, along with wife, was placed in COVID jail for 6 days for the start of the 18-day leg of the cruise.  Believe we were the only ones in COVID jail.  During this time was treated great by my cabin attendants, dining room staff regarding room service, medical staff who visited me twice a day for temperature checks and wellness visits, and Head Concierge called every day to check on me.  Was relieved that my encounter with COVID was very, very mild. At conclusion of cruise, I felt very lucky as no doubt the Regatta staff had a large COVID issue to deal with and when I was in COVID jail it was only us. 

 

CaptainR

[edgee]

On 4/27/2022 at 8:28 AM, Debbers said:

How can you tell?  I am curious about our upcoming cruise.

You can also go to one of many large on line cruise travel agencies and do a dummy booking. Deckplans will show up with blinking dots over each available cabin for the category you are considering.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[jondfk]

Hi Greg:

 

I did wonder at the start of the April 6 if you were affected as the active chatter dropped away and we never had an opportunity to meet onboard - yes I, as promised, monitored the beer temperature on your behalf finding it cool and refreshing, the Hinano ran out mid your time in jail, a coincidence?

 

Meanwhile, DW developed a cough the day after we disembarked and has since tested positive.  Her symptoms are probably medically moderate (cough, headache, but no labored breathing).  So far, I continue to test negative though it's difficult to imagine I can duck it given we drove home Sunday, 7 hours in the car.

 

If 50 cabins went to quarantine my personal guess would be 50 additional cabins had or developed positive symptoms upon their arrival at home - that seems conservative given the cough fest we witnessed in the debarkation lobby / luggage hall.

 

Very much hope everyone recovers fully and swiftly, we have final payments for the September coastals due in about a month and, if it were now, there's no way DW would allow me to pay.  My only hope is a swift recovery for her and my assuring her we can walk away at the turnaround day if we don't like the situation onboard.  Fingers crossed.

 

We did have a lovely first experience with Oceania but it is muted by how they handled what clearly was a severe outbreak on board.  We'd probably feel differently even if they did nothing more than strongly encouraging wearing of masks.  

[gdlamberth]

2 minutes ago, jondfk said:

We did have a lovely ... experience with Oceania but it is muted by how they handled what clearly was a severe outbreak on board.  We'd probably feel differently even if they did nothing more than strongly encouraging wearing of masks.

+1

[drkitkat123]

10 hours ago, LHT28 said:

well until then  let's still mask up & take precautions  so  we be safe from covid  until  that day come in the future 

 

 

totally agree,  and one of the precautions I will take is reassessing high risk situations (I do have a cruise booked)

[Clutj]

Does anyone have info on what happened to those who went to the hotel to quarantine?  If they are still testing positive, are they still there, now 6 days later?  Not sure how that “vacation” extension would have fit into my plans…

[Traveller321Go]

2 hours ago, Clutj said:

Does anyone have info on what happened to those who went to the hotel to quarantine?  If they are still testing positive, are they still there, now 6 days later?  Not sure how that “vacation” extension would have fit into my plans…

They leave after 5 days total quarantine time - ship plus hotel. Really six days as first day is day zero. No testing as we will be positive for some time. Some seemed quite sick so hopefully they can return home. Not sure how it works for the Canadians and Brits returning home with their countries requirements for entry. 
 

The hotel was very nice, the food was good and it was ocean front with a big balcony so it wasn’t too bad!

[su-arizona]

Back in the stone ages, we cruised on a Renaissance ship (R3) from Papeete.  For a bit of history, when Renaissance went out of business those ships became the first Oceania R-class ships, including the Regatta.

 

During that cruise, I and a number of other passengers became ill with a virus, probably norovirus though I had never heard that word at the time.  I was too sick to leave our cabin, but no one was quarantined in those days.  Many passengers were ill on the cruise, and my husband became ill on the flight home.  As we all know, back in pre-pandemic days outbreaks of noro became more frequent, and passengers were quarantined.  But pre-pandemic, that was accepted as a risk of cruising, hand sanitizers started appearing everywhere, and the Oceania buffet was no longer self-service (Yay!).

 

As we all continue to debate the need for masks and the risks for cruising (and just generally going back to living) it reminds me that viruses have always been with us. I worry as much as anyone about the risks of Covid on our cruise next month.  But we chose to continue cruising after Tahiti, and we've chosen to accept the risk and continue to cruise now.  And I bet there will still be cruises where norovirus outbreaks occur.

 

But we got our second booster last week and ordered a bunch of KN85 masks from Amazon🙃

 

 

[Mura]

Interesting reading ... which is reinforcing our decision NOT to cruise for a while.  We are wait listed on Vista's August 2023 London-NYC cruise but are doubtful we'll get a room since we are far down on the list.

 

My sympathies to all who were affected.  I remember being on a norovirus cruise several years ago -- while we weren't confined to jail, all the washing down of surfaces was a real downer!  We were okay but not everyone was.

 

Mura

 

[HiFi43]

Certainly an interesting and, for some, frustrating series of unfortunate events. We have taken four Oceania cruises in the past 6 months without encountering or seeing any significant Covid events…two cruises on Marina and two earlier on Riviera. None of the cruises have been totally full which made distancing a bit easier and, certainly, getting into the specialty restaurants much easier. We had mask rules in some situations  and masks optional in others. And, yes, we had a few port adjustments at the last minute.
 

We’ve  had our vaccines and two boasters which gives us some peace. Our next cruise is on Regatta in late September and we’re hopeful by that time the Covid situation will be a bit more clear. We did note this week, which was final payment week for that somewhat longer cruise,  many decided not to make the final payment and virtually every cabin type is now available. That was not the case two weeks ago. 
 

Life is short and every life decision during these times has to be calculated. But we love cruising on Oceania and for us the risk/reward calculation is to continue cruising while we can. We realize that will not be everyone else’s calculation and certainly understand why it is a different one for them.

 

 

[Traveller321Go]

49 minutes ago, HiFi43 said:

Certainly an interesting and, for some, frustrating series of unfortunate events. We have taken four Oceania cruises in the past 6 months without encountering or seeing any significant Covid events…two cruises on Marina and two earlier on Riviera. None of the cruises have been totally full which made distancing a bit easier and, certainly, getting into the specialty restaurants much easier. We had mask rules in some situations  and masks optional in others. And, yes, we had a few port adjustments at the last minute.
 

We’ve  had our vaccines and two boasters which gives us some peace. Our next cruise is on Regatta in late September and we’re hopeful by that time the Covid situation will be a bit more clear. We did note this week, which was final payment week for that somewhat longer cruise,  many decided not to make the final payment and virtually every cabin type is now available. That was not the case two weeks ago. 
 

Life is short and every life decision during these times has to be calculated. But we love cruising on Oceania and for us the risk/reward calculation is to continue cruising while we can. We realize that will not be everyone else’s calculation and certainly understand why it is a different one for them.

 

 Good points . I think for many of the people affected - who mostly had manageable symptoms (minor to moderate cold) or were asymptomatic the biggest issue was the confinement to the room. Especially those with inside cabins. And those who had a ten day confinement and missed almost every port. The vaccines and boosters have made the disease less threatening but it sure messes up a cruise!

 

[gwenmarie]

13 hours ago, su-arizona said:

Back in the stone ages, we cruised on a Renaissance ship (R3) from Papeete.  For a bit of history, when Renaissance went out of business those ships became the first Oceania R-class ships, including the Regatta.

 

During that cruise, I and a number of other passengers became ill with a virus, probably norovirus though I had never heard that word at the time.  I was too sick to leave our cabin, but no one was quarantined in those days.  Many passengers were ill on the cruise, and my husband became ill on the flight home.  As we all know, back in pre-pandemic days outbreaks of noro became more frequent, and passengers were quarantined.  But pre-pandemic, that was accepted as a risk of cruising, hand sanitizers started appearing everywhere, and the Oceania buffet was no longer self-service (Yay!).

 

As we all continue to debate the need for masks and the risks for cruising (and just generally going back to living) it reminds me that viruses have always been with us. I worry as much as anyone about the risks of Covid on our cruise next month.  But we chose to continue cruising after Tahiti, and we've chosen to accept the risk and continue to cruise now.  And I bet there will still be cruises where norovirus outbreaks occur.

 

But we got our second booster last week and ordered a bunch of KN85 masks from Amazon🙃

 

 

My husband and I may have been on the same Tahiti 10 cruise around the islands as you 21 years ago on the R 3. When we booked the recent Regatta cruise from Tahiti to LAX I was not aware it was this same ship. We have gone full circle I guess and enjoyed both cruises and were not I’ll, so yes that makes a big difference. We were 10 days on Moorea prior to this last cruise and it was also the same Hilton resort from 21 years ago. Many fond memories of the islands. We plan to return to Tahiti in the future.

[piper28]

FWIW, R3 I think is actually with Azamera, not Oceania.  Regatta is R2.  (At least according to wikipedia).

[susiesan]

Reading on the Princess boards about big covid outbreaks on 2 of their ships. Apparently covid cases are going around on all lines, not just Oceania.