Testing Positive After a Cruise

[LGCruises]

I don’t know if this belongs in this category, so feel free to remove it if it doesn’t.

I disembarked Anthem of the Seas yesterday (01/18/2024) and have now (a day later) tested positive for COVID unfortunately. At the beginning of the cruise everyone in my party (as well as the rest of the ship) was in good health, but by the last day the corridors were filled with people with nasty coughs. I did not show any symptoms until after disembarking, and decided to take a test today, which came back positive.

Should I call Royal and inform them? I’m concerned that because protocols are more laid back now then they were in my 2022 cruise on Adventure of the Seas, crew members might unknowingly get sick.

Thoughts?

[OCSC Mike]

4 minutes ago, LGCruises said:

Thoughts?

There is likely covid on every ship & every cruise. Nothing to be done about it.

Hope your symptoms are minor & you feel better soon.

[KJones]

I can appreciate your concern, but absolutely do not bother. I'm fairly certain that Royal and crew members are fairly aware of the fact that everyone everywhere has been/ is getting sick these last few months - whether it's covid, flu, rsv or the basic cold.

[TXcruzer]

People are exposed to viruses everyday. There is no reason to contact Royal about an everyday occurrence. 
 

I hope you are feeling better soon. 

[LGCruises]

Yeah, everyone makes a good point. My symptoms have been somewhat minor and I hope they stay that way. 
 

Hopefully this was just a one-off thing and cruising remains unaffected…

[Austin]

There are some interesting blogs and videos about physicians who work on board. Part of their role is monitoring the “public health” aspects of the ship and keeping the crew healthy. They are more than aware of trends of illness both on and off the ships they work on just as your local doctor is aware of the local community trends.

[tonyfsu21]

1 hour ago, LGCruises said:

Yeah, everyone makes a good point. My symptoms have been somewhat minor and I hope they stay that way. 
 

Hopefully this was just a one-off thing and cruising remains unaffected…

It’s certainly not a one off thing. I would imagine people can get Covid on cruise ships, airplanes, concerts and just about everywhere. Notifying the cruise ship that you tested positive for Covid these days is probably a waste of your valuable time. 

[LGCruises]

You’re definitely not wrong about that.

What I meant was that I hope COVID is not on the rise again like many people are saying it is. Cruising would probably be among the first things to be paused if things took a turn for the worse.

[LGCruises]

1 hour ago, Austin said:

There are some interesting blogs and videos about physicians who work on board. Part of their role is monitoring the “public health” aspects of the ship and keeping the crew healthy. They are more than aware of trends of illness both on and off the ships they work on just as your local doctor is aware of the local community trends.

Could you please share some of these blogs/vlogs? I’d be interested in learning more about what goes on behind the scenes, especially in more recent months.

[CanHardlyWait]

Oh, I gotta add. People wash your hands. Forget COVID. It's basic hygiene. And common courtesy.

[Traveling Mike]

7 hours ago, CanHardlyWait said:

And common courtesy.

You hit it on the head.  I came home with covid 5 weeks ago and am still fighting a cough from it.  I know exactly the person that gave it to me.  I was at the buffet the last day and two men came and sat at the table right next to me with a couple that was at the 4 top table and did not ask them if they could set with them.  he spent the time there coughing and spitting in his napkin.  I was working on my computer and did not notice until right before they left.  No Courtesy at all.

[Lovetocruise2002]

It’s been a while, but here a is friendly reminder:

 

[LGCruises]

An interesting update:

On the Facebook group for my sailing, someone just decided to reveal that by the end of our 11-night sailing, Royal was aware of 5 positive cases onboard for at least the last 3 days of the cruise (all sea days), and that these passengers disembarked via crew gangway on debarkation day. There was never any announcement or letter informing other passengers and business continued as normal and there was no enhanced sanitation or anything really.

I don’t know how to feel about this, as I would’ve certainly appreciated some notice or maybe a “you guys should test yourselves for COVID when you get home”.

[Mike n Ky]

Yep, it's here to stay. I tested positive, only time, after a cruise last January. The only reason I was tested was a sinus infection. They told me my symptoms were all sinus related and not from Covid. My wife had the flu on a cruise in 2019 and was quarantined until she tested negative but the only reason that happened was she went to the infirmary. How does RC deal with people that are coughing, sneezing, etc. and not volunteering to get tested? Not an easy solution.

[Neesa]

I wish for you a speedy recovery. Royal does their best from the beginning of the booking process, this is on my invoice. I hated the shut down, with that said I love to sail. 

Again, I am so sorry you are ill, and wish for you to be well soon.

 

[twangster]

CV is everywhere around us.  In schools, at church, on public transit, on airplanes, ubers, everywhere because people are infected with it and people are spreading it everywhere.  Fortunately the current strains don't seem to be very impactful.  

Are public schools and universities notifying any one?  Are churches?  Nope.  Why should cruise lines be held to a different standard?

I flew recently unrelated to cruising.  People on the other side two rows back were coughing and hacking the whole flight.  Should they have stayed home?  Can't say, I don't know why they were traveling and don't really care.   Turns out I didn't catch whatever they had.  On my uber ride home how would I know if the last ride had a common cold, flu or any other virus?  Perhaps their germs were all over the door handle and seat belt.   That's life.  

I took a cruise over Christmas.   It was 18 days long with no major cities to debark anyone.  A common cold of some sort went around the ship.  Some people isolated themselves for a few days, some went on business as normal, coughing in the theater, in the MDR, etc.  What it was, a cold, virus, something else, didn't originate on the ship.  It was on land, maybe caught in an airplane or at church or at school or at work.  It probably went through the church, work, airplane, hotel, etc. too.  Should someone's work should have done something about it?  Maybe if they did the bug would have never made it on the ship to begin with.  Putting the onus on schools, work places, churches, etc. to regulate health concerns isn't how our society works.  It shouldn't work that way on cruise ships either.  

[LGCruises]

1 hour ago, Neesa said:

I wish for you a speedy recovery. Royal does their best from the beginning of the booking process, this is on my invoice. I hated the shut down, with that said I love to sail. 

Again, I am so sorry you are ill, and wish for you to be well soon.

 

Thank you for the well wishes. I am aware of the statements and the inherent risks associated with cruising, that said I still choose to go because of the great experiences onboard.

I just wish that society as a whole was not so ignorant about public health sometimes.

[LGCruises]

1 hour ago, twangster said:

CV is everywhere around us.  In schools, at church, on public transit, on airplanes, ubers, everywhere because people are infected with it and people are spreading it everywhere.  Fortunately the current strains don't seem to be very impactful.  

Are public schools and universities notifying any one?  Are churches?  Nope.  Why should cruise lines be held to a different standard?

I flew recently unrelated to cruising.  People on the other side two rows back were coughing and hacking the whole flight.  Should they have stayed home?  Can't say, I don't know why they were traveling and don't really care.   Turns out I didn't catch whatever they had.  On my uber ride home how would I know if the last ride had a common cold, flu or any other virus?  Perhaps their germs were all over the door handle and seat belt.   That's life.  

I took a cruise over Christmas.   It was 18 days long with no major cities to debark anyone.  A common cold of some sort went around the ship.  Some people isolated themselves for a few days, some went on business as normal, coughing in the theater, in the MDR, etc.  What it was, a cold, virus, something else, didn't originate on the ship.  It was on land, maybe caught in an airplane or at church or at school or at work.  It probably went through the church, work, airplane, hotel, etc. too.  Should someone's work should have done something about it?  Maybe if they did the bug would have never made it on the ship to begin with.  Putting the onus on schools, work places, churches, etc. to regulate health concerns isn't how our society works.  It shouldn't work that way on cruise ships either.  

Extremely well-said. Unfortunately this is the way our society works, and as the human population continues to increase exponentially, such viruses and illnesses will continue to proliferate unchecked for the most part.

That being said, I do wish people were more considerate sometimes. Some people don’t even bother to cover their mouths when coughing or wash their hands, and as someone else said earlier, these are basic courtesies.

[Doug_Texas]

5 hours ago, LGCruises said:

Extremely well-said. Unfortunately this is the way our society works, and as the human population continues to increase exponentially, such viruses and illnesses will continue to proliferate unchecked for the most part.

That being said, I do wish people were more considerate sometimes. Some people don’t even bother to cover their mouths when coughing or wash their hands, and as someone else said earlier, these are basic courtesies.

Agree as well.  Viral infections roll through cruise ships, hotels, resorts, schools, airports, Walmart, etc.  The cruise industry was unfairly singled out by the CDC during COVID.  In 2020/2021 we vacationed in Jamaica (Sandals) and Iceland (tour) while ships were shuttered.  We are back in the era of personal responsibility.  We were on a river cruise in July and Norovirus rampaged through the ship.  Around 50% of the passengers got sick including me.  Viking did not want passengers raising the issue.  I did not want passengers raising the issue.  Would I rather recover in my cabin and isolate than be escorted off the ship in some random small town in Europe? 48 hours later I was well, not contagious, and continued my vacation.  Schools don't respond to illness, resorts don't respond to illness anymore, airlines don't respond to illness.

Test yourself, take care of yourself, isolate yourself and don't make others sick, seek medical attention when necessary.  For goodness sake if you get sick take care of yourself and others and don't show up in the MDR, restaurants, theaters, or casino.

[GatorCruiser]

Lots of RSV and flu around as well. It’s the season for sneezing and wheezing. A GI illness such as Norovirus  scares me way more than Covid on a ship 

[LGCruises]

2 hours ago, Doug_Texas said:

We were on a river cruise in July and Norovirus rampaged through the ship.  Around 50% of the passengers got sick including me.  Viking did not want passengers raising the issue.  I did not want passengers raising the issue.  Would I rather recover in my cabin and isolate or be escorted off the ship in some random small town in Europe? 48 hours later I was well, not contagious, and continued my vacation. 

So sorry to hear that! I will say that it sounds like Viking handled the situation very well and was transparent with guests, which should not be much to ask for honestly. Agree with all of your other points!

[Pattycruise]

5 hours ago, LGCruises said:

An interesting update:

On the Facebook group for my sailing, someone just decided to reveal that by the end of our 11-night sailing, Royal was aware of 5 positive cases onboard for at least the last 3 days of the cruise (all sea days), and that these passengers disembarked via crew gangway on debarkation day. There was never any announcement or letter informing other passengers and business continued as normal and there was no enhanced sanitation or anything really.

I don’t know how to feel about this, as I would’ve certainly appreciated some notice or maybe a “you guys should test yourselves for COVID when you get home”.

If there is a general concern about Covid always test when you get home and whatever the new testing rates are do that too(3days, 5 days…whatever…after possible exposure.)  That should be the rule of thumb for anyone who has concerns whether or not the ship chooses to announce or not.  3 people on Anthem testing positive is not big news -and actually quite a small number!  I suspect the numbers were quite higher but some chose to not go for testing.    
As for enhanced cleaning there’s not many people who realize how much cleaning does happen on a regular basis.  It’s quite a bit, and it’s not typically “noticeable”

[MLH]

Our genie told us that most every cruise people are walked off the ship via deck 2 with covid/flu/noro.  Unless it is a certain percentage of passengers they ship does not inform the passengers. We came back from our  December cruise with the Flu.  Mine was mild my husbands a little worse.  We both had the vaccines.  

[LGCruises]

6 minutes ago, MLH said:

Our genie told us that most every cruise people are walked off the ship via deck 2 with covid/flu/noro.  Unless it is a certain percentage of passengers they ship does not inform the passengers. We came back from our  December cruise with the Flu.  Mine was mild my husbands a little worse.  We both had the vaccines.  

Would you by any chance happen to know that percentage? I’m curious as to at what point they decide that they can’t hide/not disclose this info.

[MLH]

4 minutes ago, LGCruises said:

Would you by any chance happen to know that percentage? I’m curious as to at what point they decide that they can’t hide/not disclose this info.

No but I have seen about 5-10percent for noro. There was a website that used to report what went to the CDC but since covid it went away.  You could check the cdc website.

Cruise Ship Outbreak Updates | Vessel Sanitation Program | CDC

[smokeybandit]

8 minutes ago, LGCruises said:

Would you by any chance happen to know that percentage? I’m curious as to at what point they decide that they can’t hide/not disclose this info.

There have been people getting sick on cruise ships since the beginning of cruising. It's just an accepted part of it.

[LGCruises]

2 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

There have been people getting sick on cruise ships since the beginning of cruising. It's just an accepted part of it.

I understand that, but cruise lines do have a responsibility for public health onboard, just as they do for supplying food and accommodations. The extent of that responsibility may be up for some debate, but there’s no denying that it exists.

There’s nothing wrong with wanting to know what the policies/procedures are, and I would appreciate if you didn’t dismiss my concerns in such a way. 

[smokeybandit]

2 minutes ago, LGCruises said:

I understand that, but cruise lines do have a responsibility for public health onboard, just as they do for supplying food and accommodations. The extent of that responsibility may be up for some debate, but there’s no denying that it exists.

There’s nothing wrong with wanting to know what the policies/procedures are, and I would appreciate if you didn’t dismiss my concerns in such a way. 

You would need significant numbers of sick on board in order for the cruise lines to need to raise things up. This is very rare to happen, but when it does it's norovirus.

[LGCruises]

29 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

You would need significant numbers of sick on board in order for the cruise lines to need to raise things up. This is very rare to happen, but when it does it's norovirus.

Thanks for the info! I do recall seeing a few norovirus outbreak articles her and there before the covid pandemic.

[tonyfsu21]

1 hour ago, LGCruises said:

Would you by any chance happen to know that percentage? I’m curious as to at what point they decide that they can’t hide/not disclose this info.

I thought we were past this as a society? Why would the cruise line have to report this information? The cruise contract has specific language detailing the risks associated with exposure to pathogens in the health acknowledgment. I think you either choose to cruise or not cruise and that’s the end of the story. 

[Geezer Of The Seas]

Been a tough season for cooties. Between us and our daughter and her family of 5, 6 cases of strep, 3 Covid, and we just took our 17 month old (was very premature) granddaughter to her doctor 3 days ago. She was given a PCR test that returned positive for Metapneumovirus, RSV & Parainfluenza. She's a fighter, now returning to her healthy and 'make papa drink' normal self.  

[LGCruises]

50 minutes ago, Geezer Of The Seas said:

Been a tough season for cooties. Between us and our daughter and her family of 5, 6 cases of strep, 3 Covid, and we just took our 17 month old (was very premature) granddaughter to her doctor 3 days ago. She was given a PCR test that returned positive for Metapneumovirus, RSV & Parainfluenza. She's a fighter, now returning to her healthy and 'make papa drink' normal self.  

That’s absolutely terrible! Best wishes to you and your family! Stay safe out there.

[Geezer Of The Seas]

I was one of the covid cases. 3 weeks before our cruise last November.  Tested negative 48 hours before departure.  Had the original 3 shots in 2021, nothing since. My doctor, though receiving the new/improved booster was not concerned when I refused it. He confided the data he had been reviewing (and not Interweb BS) shows the efficacy of the boosters is almost as dismal as this season's flu vaccines.

Had I continued to test positive, no way in hell was I climbing aboard a ship.