[Sandy and Ed]

Originally Posted by Stu from NYC

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.

Yup. We went on a cruise over Thanksgiving, then Christmas/NewYear, our Blue Stone Vircle cruise fell apart but we are now heading out on a Panama transit in April. At 75 not going to hang up one of the outlets we enjoy due to the China virus.

[Petersweeney]

IMHO, the smaller ships are more to my liking for a number of reasons

- there's usually less than 300 passengers on board
- the ratio of staff to passenger is higher
- they dock at smaller ports, so you're not unloading with 5 other huge ships
- the food and the service

- they let you jump off the side and do canon balls
-tap beer is self serve and is 24/7
-captain let’s you drive the ship
- elephant walks at 3am right after panty raids

[paulajr]

wow...you really believe that "Many or most" don't believe COVID exists? WRONG. Perhaps we just didn't believe all the HYPE around it. There is a difference between being "careful" and being obsessed and terrified.

[paulajr]

Originally Posted by Garywt

Since many or most Villagers never believed that Covid existed and refused to protect themselves or others from day 1 I can understand a comment like this.

What ever the case may be ever week when I walk into the hospital I am handed a new mask and asked to toss my old mask in the trash. Every employee and patient must wear a mask if in the building. I guess if you refuse you will be sent outside to remain sick or possibly die. Your choice.

wow...you really believe that "Many or most"here don't believe COVID exists? WRONG. Perhaps we just didn't believe all the HYPE around it. There is a difference between being "careful" and being obsessed and terrified.

[rrtjp]

Well said Arctic Fox

[asiebel]

We just returned from Panama Canal Cruise and no problems.

[Dendrn]

What line is he on? We are booked for mid May on Viking and I have COVID concers.

[Worldseries27]

Originally Posted by arctic fox

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.

anger always finds a way.

[golfing eagles]

Originally Posted by Worldseries27

anger always finds a way.

So does stupidity

[Taurus510]

[QUOTE=Garywt;2077900]Since many or most Villagers never believed that Covid existed and refused to protect themselves or others from day 1 I can understand a comment like this.

I see this obvious spin from many. I doubt that any Villagers doubted that the Rona existed as stated. What I and many others believed was that the REACTION to the Rona was massively overblown and harmful to the world economy and personal health. There is a huge difference, and we know what damage was wrought on the world’s economy. The damage to so many lives is starting to be known, and it is already extreme, and I expect it will be shocking as we learn more.

[RedChariot]

Originally Posted by golfing eagles

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.

Thank You for the clarification.

[Ptmckiou]

Originally Posted by golfing eagles

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.

Incredible stupid? Really? I wear a N95 mask. The same type mask doctors wear. You can can order them online. The 95 means it filters out 95% of all viruses. And yes….it’s a white cloth mask but with special construction to pass certification. You go to a hospital to visit a friend, you’re required to wear a N95, and they will give it to you.

[golfing eagles]

Originally Posted by RedChariot

Thank You for the clarification.

Your welcome. And a little further clarification for those who apparently failed to grasp my meaning earlier and are conflating institutional/public health policy with individual protection. Why did the CDC/FAA/NIH advocate masks???? Because in groups it helps prevent the spread of COVID, primarily by decreasing the ability of an infected person to transmit droplets to others. This in turn will reduce the number of infected individuals which then decreases spread and so on. At the very least it spreads out the peak in time so hospitals aren't overwhelmed. However, as individual protection against contracting the virus, paper masks are as close to useless as you can get, which is the point I made rather bluntly. But, I still held out hope that many of those individuals were in the "altruistic" category.

[MandoMan]

Originally Posted by Arctic Fox

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.

If you were having major surgery, would you want everyone in the OR to wear a mask? I would! People breathe out germs from their noses and lungs, and droplets of saliva spray out when they talk. Cultures are taken from noses for Covid testing, so people who have it have it there, ready to share. Half a century ago I spent three years at an operating room table passing instruments to doctors. Two years were in the US, wearing good quality disposable masks designed to catch droplets. (They weren’t paper. More
Iike special non-woven fabrics.) One year was in Africa, where our sponges were made of the same absorbable, multi-layer cotton fabric as laparotomy sponges. These were laundered, boiled, dried in the sun, and reused. There were no N-95 masks yet. I like to believe those masks served a purpose and prevented the spreading of micro-organisms. They were required. When they were invented, their use cut infections. When I arrived in Africa, my OR had a 50% surgical infection rate. When I left, it was 2%. Required sterile technique works. Properly worn, high quality masks do filter out organisms, each way. I know of a study in the UK based on surgeries done without masks that says they don’t stop the spread of infection in the OR, but I’d like corroboration of that, and I still don’t want people coughing in my face.

[Bill Torres]

It boils down to respecting what everyone feels toward this subject. Don’t let it allow anyone to lose any sleep because of what everyone is doing.