"COVID-19 overwhelmed a cruise ship that docked in Seattle yesterday. Passengers say more than 100 people tested positive aboard a Carnival ship whose crew was unprepared for the chaos that ensued. Now some are quarantining at local hotels. This comes as new variants pop up "out of the blue," likely reinfecting omicron survivors."

I know sickness outbreaks have always been common onboard, but come on.

I don’t understand it either

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Cruises--especially the mega-cruise ships--appeal to a personality type that has been the center of being 'done' with the pandemic. MRF folks tend to be in the small pocket of 'covid is not done with us' group, and if there were MRFers cruising we would be in the 'go on a small boat with National Geographic' personality grouping.

I am generalizing of course =)

I should add that the 'done' types are also quite quick to blame someone else for their choices. Cruise company. Fellow cruisers. etc.

I have some friends in this group who just flew home from Paris after testing positive because they 'had to get home.' Thoughts about fellow travelers were not important.

People feel that they can use pure will to wish the virus out of existence. I am hearing from people in my community that are catching C19 multiple times despite vaccination. One person (teenager with No preexisting conditions) has caught it 3 time (PCR tested). Each time she has had longer battles to get well again. I am going to continue to chill on the socializing and not masking for a while longer. Would rather not find out how many times it will take to wear me down:

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Ways to improve web conference image and sound quality. [forums.macresource.com]






Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/04/2022 10:00AM by pRICE cUBE.

I was wondering that before the pandemic.

Quote
DeusxMac
I was wondering that before the pandemic.

Same.

I guess people want to escape. In hindsight, they may want to choose a different vacay where they aren't locked in with 5,000 other possibly infected people.

What a fuster cluck.

One 76 year old woman was locked in her cabin with her Covid positive cabin mate. The cruise staff wouldn't test her or give her separate accommodations.

Another man had his medical test results posted at the elevator entrance to his deck section along with about 20 others. HIPAA violation much? There is a good chance they will get free cruises for life if they sue.

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In tha 360. MRF User Map

I don't think HIPPA would apply on a cruise ship. You are not in the US when at sea, the captain rules.

i just returned from working two Rhine Riverboat cruises. Nowhere near as large as the mega-cruises. 160 passengers for each week long trip. Also, the cruise is chartered from Avalon by a company that specializes in trips for lesbians/women so a different sense of community than a typical cruise trip.

Covid protocols were in place. You had to be fully vaccinated and you were tested again before boarding. Masks were required in all common indoor spaces and people were fairly good about that. Ships crew were always masked. The chartering staff (which I was part of) were asked to be aware and if any passengers exhibited symptoms to report it and that person would be asked to test themselves. Passengers were tested again before disembarking.

The first week we had no Covid outbreaks. Yay! The second week there was an outbreak and about 10 cabins quarantined including those that had one person positive and the other not. go figure. The quarantined passengers were extremely cooperative, felt well taken care of, and got off in the first city with a hotel that would accept guests for quarantine.

These passengers had trips scheduled in 2020 and 2021 that were canceled and rescheduled multiple times. They really, really want to get going again and motivated to do what it took to be as safe as possible. I think the company is extremely mindful and responsible on how these trips are conducted.

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"Success isn't about how much money you make. It is about the difference you make in people's lives."--Michelle Obama



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 05/04/2022 11:12AM by graylocks.

I've always wanted to take a sea cruise.

Prior to the pandemic, people I've known have had great and bad cruise ship experiences.

Considering the cost and the shortness of most cruises, the number of bad experiences tempered my desire for one, significantly.

Now, with the pandemic, I'd be very hard pressed to take a cruise, and doubt I ever will.

That leaves me more than a bit sad.

---

I am that Masked Man.

Your boos mean nothing to me, I've seen what you cheer for.

Insisting on your rights without acknowledging your responsibilities isn’t freedom, it’s adolescence.

I've been to the edge of the map, and there be monsters.

We are a government of laws, not men.

Everybody counts or nobody counts.

When a good man is hurt,
all who would be called good
must suffer with him.

You and I have memories longer than the road that stretches out ahead.

There is no safety for honest men except
by believing all possible evil of evil men.

We don’t do focus groups. They just ensure that you don’t offend anyone, and produce bland inoffensive products. —Sir Jonathan Ive

An armed society is a polite society.
And hope is a lousy defense.

You make me pull, I'll put you down.

I *love* SIGs. It's Glocks I hate.

Quote
numbered
I have some friends in this group who just flew home from Paris after testing positive because they 'had to get home.' Thoughts about fellow travelers were not important.

How could that happen? I just flew home from Mexico and couldn't get on the plane without a negative covid test. This regulation applies to all air travelers entering the US.

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"In science it often happens that scientists say, 'You know that's a really good argument; my position is mistaken,' and then they would actually change their minds and you never hear that old view from them again. They really do it. It doesn't happen as often as it should, because scientists are human and change is sometimes painful. But it happens every day. I cannot recall the last time something like that happened in politics or religion." (1987) -- Carl Sagan

If you're looking for a small cruise experience, try Lindblad Expeditions.

Small ships, various routes.

Full disclosure: I used to work for them. Did the Baja one with the whales - pretty neat.

Antarctica and Alaska are on the bucket list.

They are doing more US coast routes I noticed.

Quote
davester
How could that happen? I just flew home from Mexico and couldn't get on the plane without a negative covid test. This regulation applies to all air travelers entering the US.

Good point. I probably got the sequence wrong. They went to visit a daughter who became symptomatic (and tested positive.) They passed a negative test even though they were exposed. Flew home.

Then tested positive and were symptomatic at home.

I was irritated because they knew they were exposed but you are right that they passed a test to fly.

Before Covid and after I started RVing, I took three cruises (the last running from 2/14/2020 ~ 3/1/20). Before that last cruise I was considering an Around the World Cruise. SINCE Covid hit, there's NO WAY I get on a "floating petrie dish", even for a short duration cruise. I know I got VERY lucky on that last cruise where, after setting sail from Miami, FL and docking in Los Angeles, CA (it was a Panama Canal cruise), I then had to fly back to FL to retrieve my RV. Of course the Red Eye flight was fully booked.

Fortunately I did NOT become infected and since then, have found a safe place in which to "Isolate In Place" in TN. Just a few days ago, NBC news reported that Covid numbers were RISING in 47 states. As long as people keep thinking that they can "return to normal" (ie pre-Covid behavior), Covid WILL continue to "boomerang" and sadly for those of us who DO act responsibly, the danger continues.

Quote
testcase
SINCE Covid hit, there's NO WAY I get on a "floating petrie dish", even for a short duration cruise.

"Floating petri dish" is an apt description. Well before Covid, cruise ships were fairly regularly hit with nasty epidemics of things like norovirus that sickened a large portion of the passengers.

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e pluribus unum

The food is pretty good for us ‘all-you-can-eat’ folks. Also, Minnesota is some 600 miles from the nearest ocean (Hudson’s Bay) so the ocean air, etc. is a nice change in the winter. But our one cruise about 10 years ago was enough.

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Saint Cloud, Minnesota, where the weather is wonderful even when it isn't.

I've only gone on one cruise, and I'm not a cruise type, but it was awesome. We've had a cruise (Greece, Turkey, etc.) scheduled and paid for since before the pandemic, and we're talking thousands of dollars. That's some definite pressure to do the cruise, and like a lot of the people who do cruises, my Mom is older and who knows how long she'll be able to do something like this? Covid is bad, but dying safe in a bunker isn't awesome either. We'll go if we can. It's my Mom's choice and she'd rather die living than die lonely in her home, and I think that's alright. She's actually going on a cruise next week that sounds incredible. Hope it goes well, but if not, that's ok.

Quote
kj
I've only gone on one cruise, and I'm not a cruise type, but it was awesome. We've had a cruise (Greece, Turkey, etc.) scheduled and paid for since before the pandemic, and we're talking thousands of dollars. That's some definite pressure to do the cruise, and like a lot of the people who do cruises, my Mom is older and who knows how long she'll be able to do something like this? Covid is bad, but dying safe in a bunker isn't awesome either. We'll go if we can. It's my Mom's choice and she'd rather die living than die lonely in her home, and I think that's alright. She's actually going on a cruise next week that sounds incredible. Hope it goes well, but if not, that's ok.

The larger ships have provisions to refrigerate.

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Saint Cloud, Minnesota, where the weather is wonderful even when it isn't.

Quote
Speedy

Quote
kj
I've only gone on one cruise, and I'm not a cruise type, but it was awesome. We've had a cruise (Greece, Turkey, etc.) scheduled and paid for since before the pandemic, and we're talking thousands of dollars. That's some definite pressure to do the cruise, and like a lot of the people who do cruises, my Mom is older and who knows how long she'll be able to do something like this? Covid is bad, but dying safe in a bunker isn't awesome either. We'll go if we can. It's my Mom's choice and she'd rather die living than die lonely in her home, and I think that's alright. She's actually going on a cruise next week that sounds incredible. Hope it goes well, but if not, that's ok.

The larger ships have provisions to refrigerate.

Oh, you mean death is a possibility? I did not know that. I'm sure if you stay in your house, and disinfect your mail and delivered groceries you'll live forever.

I wouldn't take a cruise unless they picked me up while floundering in the middle of the ocean. Never had the desire period.

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Grateful11

[www.youtube.com]

it's safer than Ukraine?

they know what you don't, covid is a hoax.

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!#$@@$#!

If you're looking for a small cruise experience, try Lindblad Expeditions.

Noted, thank you, Lizabeth.

---

I am that Masked Man.

Your boos mean nothing to me, I've seen what you cheer for.

Insisting on your rights without acknowledging your responsibilities isn’t freedom, it’s adolescence.

I've been to the edge of the map, and there be monsters.

We are a government of laws, not men.

Everybody counts or nobody counts.

When a good man is hurt,
all who would be called good
must suffer with him.

You and I have memories longer than the road that stretches out ahead.

There is no safety for honest men except
by believing all possible evil of evil men.

We don’t do focus groups. They just ensure that you don’t offend anyone, and produce bland inoffensive products. —Sir Jonathan Ive

An armed society is a polite society.
And hope is a lousy defense.

You make me pull, I'll put you down.

I *love* SIGs. It's Glocks I hate.