Covid Updates

[Itchy&Scratchy]

1 minute ago, hobbyfarmer2 said:

DW rips a strip off me if I don't cough into my sleeve or a kleenex.  That coughing woman in the elevator was just plain rude.  I exclusively used the stairs, DW about 90%.  Going from 8 to 16-18 was tough at first but not too bad by the end of cruise.  Use it or lose it is what my old GP always said.  We got our 5th vax (3'rd booster" 3 weeks before we left.

we were on 8 as well. 🙂 I can only do 3 flights of stairs up before I run out of juice (out of shape and very fluffy), but we routinely walked down from 16 just to avoid taking the elevator.

[PacnGoNow]

16 minutes ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

On the same cruise - lot of people coughing and sneezing. Some did it right in their hand. Some didn't bother covering up at all.

 

A woman on the elevator with us coughed without covering up - I was visibly taken aback. She was like - it's not covid. And I said - you still have to cover up, nobody wants your mucus all over them.

 

We wore masks indoors at all times, unless actively eating. We didn't get covid THIS time, but we got it on our last cruise in June. This time we were freshly boostered in addition to having it in June.

 

We also used plastic gloves at the buffet because I saw people sneezing into their hand and then touching public utensils. Otherwise, I'd have to wash my hands after every plate fill up. Which I occasionally did, when not wearing gloves. I did this because we touched a lot of foods with our hands - peeling hard boiled eggs, eating donuts and sandwiches, mcmuffins, etc.

Gross!  So since it wasn’t covid, who knows…

you don’t want to get her cold/flu or whatever either!  Very rude.  Always some like that no matter where you go.

[Buckeye10640]

On 12/8/2022 at 8:15 PM, wrongwaywatson said:

We got off of a 10 Day Cruise on The Enchanted Princess on November 29.   I didn't see people that were visibly sick.  I also didn't see people suddenly "disappear" aka go into isolation.  There was very little masking, but people were washing hands and using sanitizer in the buffet.  But, overall, it seemed a pretty healthy cruise.  We were cruising in the Caribbean.  

We got on  the 11/29 cruise when you disembarked and I observed the same. Most guests and crew not wearing masks, only once did we have someone noticibly  coughing near us in the Piazza. We were going to move but then she left. I really didnt give much thought to Covid this cruise, unlike the same cruise last year when we were under sip-n-cover.  Was there Covid on the ship and were some guests isolated? Almost certainly. But cruising felt pretty much back to normal to me. 

[Itchy&Scratchy]

1 hour ago, wrongwaywatson said:

Yes, I said WAS, not is.  In 2021 anyone who had any test done or who was hospitalized was tested for Covid.  Some places still do.  My neighbor goes to a hospital near Chicago with her sister, and they still test her when she goes up for any appointments/tests.

not in GA... In a very long time.

 

My mom actually had an emergency in June and an overnight hospital stay when we came back from the cruise with Covid, and I couldn't go with her to the hospital. But they didn't test her. They tested her for everything under the moon, even A1C for some reason, but not for Covid.

[Itchy&Scratchy]

3 minutes ago, Buckeye10640 said:

I really didnt give much thought to Covid this cruise, unlike the same cruise last year when we were under sip-n-cover.

we were on Harmony last Thanksgiving and also wore masks.

RCI didn't have a sip-n-cover rule. It was just masks indoors unless actively eating or drinking.  Everybody masked most of the time, crew did at all times, but quite a few cruisers ignored it outright, even in crowded places like theater and ice rink. However, we felt much safer covid-wise at that time, and that's the reason I booked a cruise for this TG.

[Daniel A]

1 hour ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

we were on 8 as well. 🙂 I can only do 3 flights of stairs up before I run out of juice (out of shape and very fluffy), but we routinely walked down from 16 just to avoid taking the elevator.

Did you use the bannisters when you were walking the stairs? 🤷‍♂️ 

[Itchy&Scratchy]

Just now, Daniel A said:

Did you use the bannisters when you were walking the stairs? 🤷‍♂️ 

no, of course, not.

And we are not as old as the majority of the cruisers were on this cruise. We are still under 50. 🙂

 

We even use knuckles to push elevator buttons. Paper towels to open doors. You know - regular precautions in public places.

[wrongwaywatson]

3 hours ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

On the same cruise - lot of people coughing and sneezing. Some did it right in their hand. Some didn't bother covering up at all.

 

A woman on the elevator with us coughed without covering up - I was visibly taken aback. She was like - it's not covid. And I said - you still have to cover up, nobody wants your mucus all over them.

 

We wore masks indoors at all times, unless actively eating. We didn't get covid THIS time, but we got it on our last cruise in June. This time we were freshly boostered in addition to having it in June.

 

We also used plastic gloves at the buffet because I saw people sneezing into their hand and then touching public utensils. Otherwise, I'd have to wash my hands after every plate fill up. Which I occasionally did, when not wearing gloves. I did this because we touched a lot of foods with our hands - peeling hard boiled eggs, eating donuts and sandwiches, mcmuffins, etc.

I only took the elevator a few times during the cruise.  We were on the 11th floor, so it was easy to walk down or up to where we needed to go.  I never noticed people coughing or sneezing.  Not saying that there wasn't, just that I didn't notice it.

[wrongwaywatson]

3 hours ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

not in GA... In a very long time.

 

My mom actually had an emergency in June and an overnight hospital stay when we came back from the cruise with Covid, and I couldn't go with her to the hospital. But they didn't test her. They tested her for everything under the moon, even A1C for some reason, but not for Covid.

Well, Illinois is a strange state.  One of the very last to lift regulations, Chicago was one of the last schools to send people back.   The hospital my neighbor takes her sister to for tests/visits, she still has to take a test beforehand and if my neighbor goes in with her, they test her.  It's a teaching hospital in downtown Chicago.

[startedwithamouse]

21 hours ago, SargassoPirate said:

Easy to tell who doesn't wash their hands before sticking their fingers in their mouth or touching food that's going into their mouth.  Noro is spread by the fecal - oral route.  Easy to prevent catching it. Just break the chain by washing your hands.

 

I have little sympathy for anyone who catches noro.

 

Just wash your dam hands.

yep, we wash our hands before and after touching any buffet utensils before eating. 

[SargassoPirate]

6 hours ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

 

 

We also used plastic gloves at the buffet because I saw people sneezing into their hand and then touching public utensils. Otherwise, I'd have to wash my hands after every plate fill up. Which I occasionally did, when not wearing gloves. I did this because we touched a lot of foods with our hands - peeling hard boiled eggs, eating donuts and sandwiches, mcmuffins, etc.

Which is why I always use hand sanitizer after I am seated and pulled my chair in before I touch anything on my plate.  I also refrain from laying my silverware directly on the table.

 

I recall the days when Princess would preset the tables in the buffet with cups and mugs placed upside down on the table - after I observed them use a used cloth napkin from the previous diner to wipe off the table and then - without any handwashing station in sight - grab fresh untensils by carrying four cups or mugs at once with their fingers down inside the vessel.

 

You have to take steps to protect yourself in the face of institutional ignorance and bad practices.

[deepcman]

7 hours ago, Buckeye10640 said:

We got on  the 11/29 cruise when you disembarked and I observed the same. Most guests and crew not wearing masks, only once did we have someone noticibly  coughing near us in the Piazza. We were going to move but then she left. I really didnt give much thought to Covid this cruise, unlike the same cruise last year when we were under sip-n-cover.  Was there Covid on the ship and were some guests isolated? Almost certainly. But cruising felt pretty much back to normal to me. 

We were on this same cruise but I must have been hanging out at different places than you, cause it sounded like the respiratory unit at Mount Sinai hospital with the coughing.  

Many of these coughing were just plain gross and had no consideration of fellow guests. They probably figure they paid for the cruise so screw everyone else. 

I kept thinking that if these coughers got Noro, then the ship would really hit the fan.  

[Jilliebean28]

On 12/9/2022 at 11:18 AM, DCThunder said:

I walked off Regal a week ago today feeling fine.  Sunday morning, I wasn't feeling so great any more so did a test Sunday afternoon and got the dreaded Double Lines.  Toughed it out on Monday and Tuesday, but finally went to an urgent care center on Wednesday. I had the body aches, serious fatigue (but difficulty sleeping), loss of appetite, and heavy cough, but only a mild fever.  The NP at urgent care wrote me a RX for Paxlovid and benzonatate which I've been taking faithfully. Today is the first day that I feel like I'm going to get over this WuFlu.

 

This was my seventh and last cruise of 2022.  While vaxxed and boosted, I seldom wore a mask, but did try to observe the social distancing recommendation as well as hand sanitizing.  For 2023 cruises, I doubt I'll do much different.

I was on the same cruise as you DCThunder and I got COVID a week and a half after boarding.  I was sent to COVID jail for 6 days (until I tested negative).  I was lucky in that my symptoms were no worse than a bad cold. 

[DCThunder]

1 hour ago, Jilliebean28 said:

I was on the same cruise as you DCThunder and I got COVID a week and a half after boarding.  I was sent to COVID jail for 6 days (until I tested negative).  I was lucky in that my symptoms were no worse than a bad cold. 

I wish I had been so lucky.  The Paxlovid did a great job, but the Covid fatigue is lingering.  And I wasn't aware of some of the weird dreams you could get during the time the Paxlovid is doing its thing.  Did you know that there is a secret simulation of World War Two (involving over 2billion participants) that is somehow linked to the Matrix movies.