Cruising still not that appealing . .
 

From a posting on another site:
My dad's currently on a cruise round the mediterranean. And in isolation in his cabin after he and 125 other guests tested positive for COVID. Bear in mind that everyone on that boat needed to be triple vaccinated (and provide a negative test result) in order to set sail.


For those thinking that now is a great time for a cruise, you might spend your money and not quite get the experience you want, even with your YOLO attitude. . .

cautious spending guy

We know quite a few people from here who have cruised in past 4 months (us included) very successfully. We are sticking to Caribbean for now though.

We are taking our first cruise in probably 10 years + in Sept. Flying out to Seattle and going to Alaska for the first time. Hope everything works out for us. We have a balcony and we insured the trip including the flight.

I currently have Covid myself along with my wife, daughter and grandson. So far for us it is like having the flu. Today was day 8 for my wife, the rest of us it is 2-4 days. My oncology team is worried about me and keeps checking but all is good.

Anyway I guess if you get quarantined you miss an entire 7 day cruise, defiantly would not want to be in an inside cabin. We are just hoping for the best come September.

Many cruise lines have a designated "isolation area" of balcony cabins, and will move you there if you need to be quarantined

Cruise
 

Just returned from a Panama Canal cruise. No issues. Masks were not required, but about 20% of the people wore them.

If the current status of the "pandemic" holds or evolves to endemic we are going the week after Thanksgiving.
We are vaccinated and boosted and will have our second boost by then.

If masking should revert back to being required we will cancel (again).....this is our third attempt since 2020.

Princess cruise line cancellation policy has been very good about either refunding or future cruise crediting paid monies.

Sounds a bit high, but may be in the ballpark for a cruise. I was at the Sharon last week and out of 900+ attendees, I could only spot 5 with a mask, although there could have been more. So my question to these 1-20% minority who are wearing the paper masks is this: Are you so incredibly altruistic that you believe you are protecting the other 99% from yourself, or are you so incredibly stupid that you still believe a paper mask is protecting yourself? I think 99% of us know that answer. And please, no idiotic responses such as "any protection is better than none" or "I feel safer wearing one" , you would just be making the point. People with legitimate medical concerns are exempt.

I just got back from a cruise and only the staff worse masks. There was the occasional masked passenger, but counted maybe 3-4 during the entire 8 day cruise.

We've done two since January with both being in the Caribbean. The only difference noticed between now and pre-COVID is there was more of an emphasis on hand washing and the buffet is not self-serve.

It is a personal decision.

Whether or not you choose to use the topic as an excuse to be offensive to others - well, that is a personal decision for you.

I do believe you are a medical doctor. Yes? Is it your professional opinion that wearing a mask is ineffective and a waste of our time? What advise can you give us to avoid Covid in addition to vaccines and boosters. My husband and I were at the Sharon about a month ago to see Jay Leno. We and one other man were the only ones wearing a mask. Including the staff. I am high risk.

Like I said, legitimate medical reasons are exempt. If you are high risk, just wear a N-95 mask when in public, probably unnecessary for you when housesitting unless someone else is there. My comments were directed at those useless paper masks. And the best advice to avoid COVID besides vaccination is social distancing of at least 6 feet. For anyone who is moderately or severely immunocompromised (ANC <500), they probably should avoid crowds totally.

But it's not a personal decision, it's a scientific/medical decision. Which means that decision should be made on the facts, NOT "feelings". And what you call "offensive" might just as easily be considered "educational", in a rather harsh manner. If someone wants to wear a paper mask on a cruise, fine, they have that right. But they also have the right to wear their life preserver 24/7 or wear a helmet on the flight to the departure port. I'm sure someone will retort that those are ridiculous analogies, but in reality, they are exactly the same-----the illusion of safety where no actual safety exists. In fact, I could make a better case for the life preserver or helmet, since the former will give protection in case the ship sinks or you fall overboard, and the latter in case of a low speed crash such as while taxiing.

I am going on a Cunard ship tomorrow, and the current rules are:

Cunard requires cruisers to wear face masks that cover their nose and mouth when indoors and when seated in the theater. When seated in other venues, masks may be removed, even if passengers are not eating or drinking. Face coverings are also not required outdoors, in cabins or while exercising (indoors or outside).


Whatever your "facts" and "feelings", I am required to wear a mask under those circumstances. You may consider it pointless (many other medical professionals would disagree with you) but that won't carry much weight with Cunard, or other carriers that require the wearing of a mask.

And to claim that your calling the minority who chose to wear a mask at the Sharon "incredibly stupid" is educational! Thank goodness you went into medicine, not teaching.

First of all, I didn't call ANYONE incredibly stupid. I posed a question, of which that was one possible answer. That answer ONLY applies to those that go into a crowded venue with a paper mask and believe/think/feel that they are protecting themselves. BTW, the "medical professionals" that would disagree with me are WRONG. As far as your cruise goes, of course you have to follow the rules of the cruise line, no one would suggest that you shouldn't (of course, when you get there, you will probably run into quite a few that will ignore that rule. Too bad, since a recent cruise that required 2 shots, a booster, and a negative test 72 hours prior STILL had 100+ passengers come down with COVID. I have no idea if any of them were sick and no idea why they would test anyone during the cruise that wasn't sick, but it goes to show nothing is 100% safe) Finally, have a great time on your cruise!!!! Bon Voyage!!!!

We totally agree that wearing a paper mask would not give us the protection we are seeking while surrounded by many people not wearing masks in an indoor space. Our solution is simple, we stay away from those situations. Easy peasy.