Close Contact/Exposure from Positive Crew Members - No Notification

[hitch-04]

Not sure how to feel about balancing the medical privacy of the crew members versus awareness of exposure to guests:

 

Just got off a week on the Epic 22-29 May out of Barcelona. Enjoyed our trip. We had a great connection with the bartender at Shakers, let's call her N, and went there consistently the first three nights of the cruise. The last night we saw her, she was complaining of a headache and dry cough (!!!!) while continuing to serve and prepare drinks. The next evening, our waiter mentioned that he was up early as it was the day for the mandatory 100% testing of crew required by Barcelona every two weeks. Guess who wasn't at the shakers bar that night? There was nothing shared with the guests to warn that we might have been exposed, and I only confirmed N tested positive because here coworker verified when I asked her directly, and she was concerned that I not say anything to anyone that could get her in trouble.

 

I really enjoyed talking with N throughout the first half of the cruise, and I totally understand respecting her privacy as an individual. I don't think the ship should have announced that she specifically tested positive, but I did feel that there should have been something about a confirmed positive  - they know who swiped key cards at the bar in the time prior to her positive test. Especially knowing that so many guests were flying back to the US and would require a negative test the final day of the cruise, it seems like sharing exposure would be important.

 

Anyone had other experiences where NCL did notify of exposure? Is it worth providing formal feedback or is just the new age of COVID and cruising?

[Sailing12Away]

Just because you're near someone who has Covid doesn't mean that you yourself automatically also get Covid. I'm sure the crew member was wearing their mask the whole time (which is why even though we're allowed to be without them, they are not). And I'm sure you were being careful and diligent and washing your hands often, as well as not being right on top of the crew either (6 ft apart).

 

The unknown is scary (did I catch it from them or not?), but you also have to take a step back and think logically on this. Was I actually exposed (from a breach in safety protocol - no mask, close contact, not washing my hands, etc)? And if I was, how long before I'll actually test positive?

 

If you were potentially exposed on Monday, you won't be testing positive on Tuesday. For NCL to make a public notification about a crew member testing positive, everyone without medical backgrounds will be running to get a test immediately even if they have no symptoms and even if it's too soon to detect a positive result. So the majority of those folks would get testing and come up negative and think 'whew - dodged a bullet, let me go back to maskless anarchy' meanwhile 2 days later they start showing some symptoms and now it's too late. 

 

Just curious what exactly it is you feel they should have done, and for what end goal?

[Karaboudjan]

1 hour ago, hitch-04 said:

Not sure how to feel about balancing the medical privacy of the crew members versus awareness of exposure to guests:

 

Just got off a week on the Epic 22-29 May out of Barcelona. Enjoyed our trip. We had a great connection with the bartender at Shakers, let's call her N, and went there consistently the first three nights of the cruise. The last night we saw her, she was complaining of a headache and dry cough (!!!!) while continuing to serve and prepare drinks. The next evening, our waiter mentioned that he was up early as it was the day for the mandatory 100% testing of crew required by Barcelona every two weeks. Guess who wasn't at the shakers bar that night? There was nothing shared with the guests to warn that we might have been exposed, and I only confirmed N tested positive because here coworker verified when I asked her directly, and she was concerned that I not say anything to anyone that could get her in trouble.

 

I really enjoyed talking with N throughout the first half of the cruise, and I totally understand respecting her privacy as an individual. I don't think the ship should have announced that she specifically tested positive, but I did feel that there should have been something about a confirmed positive  - they know who swiped key cards at the bar in the time prior to her positive test. Especially knowing that so many guests were flying back to the US and would require a negative test the final day of the cruise, it seems like sharing exposure would be important.

 

Anyone had other experiences where NCL did notify of exposure? Is it worth providing formal feedback or is just the new age of COVID and cruising?

 

According to the CDC technical instructions if you were identified as a close contact you would have been tested and quarantined for at least 5 days.  That said, I don't think being a patron in a typical cruise ship bar situation would make you a close contact of the bartender.  

 

Apart from that I think it is the new age of cruising with COVID as you said.

[hitch-04]

1 hour ago, Sailing12Away said:

Just curious what exactly it is you feel they should have done, and for what end goal?

I live in Germany - and we are routinely notified if someone in our building/workplace tested positive. It does not require quarantine or testing if you are fully vaccinated and boosted, just encourages everyone to be extra vigilant about not dismissing any symptoms or cutting any corners. So I guess that's where I'm coming from, I think there should have been shared information to allow people to know where confirmed positives had occurred. 

 

And honestly, the part that was more concerning to me was her coworker being afraid of reprisal when I put 2+2 together and came up with 4 - she had been sick but still serving (that was a concern, because she did pull down her mask for coughing fits and to wipe her nose), and she disappeared after the crew had a 100% test.  It wasn't a significant leap in logic.

[hitch-04]

16 minutes ago, Karaboudjan said:

 

 I don't think being a patron in a typical cruise ship bar situation would make you a close contact of the bartender.  

Agree, I was more thinking of her coworkers in the bar - she was the only one not there.

My personal risk tolerance for the trip was high since it didn't require a test to travel back to Germany, and we had already had COVID after fully vaxxed and boosted after we did a trip to the Champagne cellars in Reims back in March.  The air of secrecy just seemed odd.

[ByThePond]

My experience with NCL Dawn in particular and COVID is that it is a four letter word not used by staff on the ship. We saw no evidence of contact tracing between COVID-positive passengers/staff other than cabin-mates. 

[ace2542]

1 minute ago, ByThePond said:

My experience with NCL Dawn in particular and COVID is that it is a four letter word not used by staff on the ship. We saw no evidence of contact tracing between COVID-positive passengers/staff other than cabin-mates. 

Very true the CRUISE DIRECTOR on the Bliss was in quarantine the very last day of the crew and no reference was made to this at all.

[ChiefMateJRK]

I just assume that I'm exposed to Covid on a daily basis when traveling.  I don't want notifications, contact tracing or any of that.  I want a fun time.  In the rare event that I become seriously ill, I also want some assurance that there is medical staff available.  I just got off the Encore on Sunday and it was great not hearing about Covid for a week.