Onboard Covid Counts

[stevendom57]

Hi all. I have a Mar 5-12 cruise coming up and I need to know whether to take it or postpone it to June before final payment?

For a while around the new year we all heard about large outbreaks of Covid on board. It seems like every ship was having huge outbreaks. I don't remember hearing anything about cases since then. Has the media stopped reporting about the "floating petri dishes" or have the case numbers receded back into a more tolerable range?

[smokeybandit]

The majority of outbreaks were among crew due to frequent mass testing. By now it should have made its course through the crews

[SpeedNoodles]

I haven't heard of any ship having "huge outbreaks".  1-2% positivity rates really isn't huge (and most was crew).  Omicron will undoubtedly not be an issue in June.  

[Atlantix2000]

Large outbreaks for a cruise ship, yes, but still pretty small compared to pretty much anywhere in the US around that same time.  I would say it's safe to assume the numbers are going down onboard just as they are on land.

[D Alt]

The way I see it.  I am not canceling my end of Feb cruise. 

If you're worried about catching covid on the ship in March vs. June, I would bet cleaning protocols and policies are making it safer now vs. the possible complacency that would happen in the summertime.  And I wouldn't predicate my travels due to what the media is reporting. They are looking for sensationalism. 

March is still a few weeks away. Omicron will most likely be on a downward trajectory by then.  By June another variant could exist.  

If you get sick prior to your trip, you can still cancel it and get your money back.  

[stevendom57]

5 minutes ago, D Alt said:

If you're worried about catching covid on the ship in March vs. June,

My wife and I both had mild cases a few weeks ago. That should protect us in March from any Omicron stuff

[D Alt]

hopefully.  I've heard of people catching the same variant more than once.  Just be careful. 

[cruisellama]

Look at the numbers yourself, you'll see cruiseship infection rates are far lower than the states the ports reside.  Sailed twice since shutdown, and felt we were in a far lower risk environment once onboard than flying on a plane to get there.  There's a continued bias reported by those who don't favor the industry, and use Covid as another way to punch at the industry.

[stevendom57]

I have sailed once since the restart and also felt very safe. That was a cruise where I could drive to the port but the next one requires a flight. I don't think I will feel so safe in the air.

[twangster]

I've been on a ship for nearly two weeks and I board another ship after this one ends.  

To cancel or not is a personal decision with no judgement for anyone who chooses to.  However these two cruises have been great with everything operating normally for restart cruises.  It's entirely possible that someone came on board with it and they may now be in quarantine.  That hasn't impacted me in any way.

Where I live in Florida there were Walmarts being closed to sanitize after large outbreaks.  Have you stopped going shopping?  You are more likely to come home with something more from Walmart compared to cruising.  It's so difficult to track it back to Walmart because it could be the bank you went to, or church, or school from the kids, etc.  

The media has unfairly targeted the cruise industry because it generates clicks and ad revenue plus the cruise industry tests all crew twice weekly and has to report everything so there is actual data for the media to latch on to and blow out of proportion.  There is no testing all employees at Walmart even once a month so there is nothing to report yet the virus spreads more there than on cruise ships.  

[KJones]

Also to consider, occupancy tends to be higher in the summer months when families are traveling during summer break, thus potentially a higher exposure rate. Even before  covid, I preferred to not sail in summer months for this reason.