P_M

I'm thinking of a cruise from Italy to Spain in September. I've been on a couple of small ship cruises recently and covid wasn't a problem. But last year we went on a Princess cruise which was a very large ship. We noticed there were a lot of people coughing and sneezing, and there were several medical evacuations and disembarkments. When we got home we discovered we had covid. FWIW, we are fully vaccinated.

I realize this can happen on any ship, but does anyone have recent experiences on large ships? We're not hearing about it on the news anymore, but I'm convinced most of the sick people on our Princess cruise had covid. Even the cruise director disappeared for 3 days, and all we were told is she's "under the weather."

Thanks.

P_M

One more thing--the cruise we're looking at is on Royal Caribbean in September. I thought about looking at smaller ships but this one has all I want at a good price.

janisj

I know one is in confined spaces on a ship -- but its even more confined on a plane. I just figure covid is just as likely to jump up and bite me in the airport, on a flight, or in a restaurant or department store in central London. I'd be comfortable on a cruise just taking basic precautions -- but that's me. Plus September is months away - who knows what the situation will be then??

P_M

Thanks for your usual good insight Janis.

schmerl

The difference being, on a plane you are only with other people for a few hours. On a ship, you are exposed to them for many days.
I think we are not hearing as much about it because people are not reporting it so they don't have to isolate on the ship.

starrs

If I were to do one, I'd want to have a private balcony for good ventilation (fresh air) when I am in room (stateroom).

I am doing one in December (small ship) and that's my plan anyway.

mlgb

Cruises have always been terrible places for spreading respiratory bugs, long before COVID, the cruise cough was a known thing. IMO it really makes no diference the size of the ship. My friends were on a 100-ish person ship in Antarctica and one of the passengers brought it on board. My friends had recently boosted and didn't catch it. If you haven't yet had a recent booster, I would wait and get it a few weeks before you cruise. (Elders are now allowed to get another jab of the "new" shot to boost immunity).

I also would wear a mask during embarkation and disembarkation, often that is worse than the airports. There is also the issue of being on a bus if you take an excursion.

I'd want to have a balcony too. I was glad the my most recent cruise was at half capacity. There were a few coughers (mostly Europeans flying in from winter climates) but no one seemed to go missing and there were no rumors of COVID spread. That line was quite strict as they had been part of an embarassing superspread event, we had to show physical vax cards before boarding.

Good luck...

P_M

Hello all and thanks for jumping in. 😊

I will be traveling with my sister. Both of us are under 65 but fully vaxxed as of last September. I should have mentioned that on the cruise where DH and I got covid, I had my latest vaccine about 2 days before sailing. It was a new vaccine and it had just gone out, so it wasn't possible to get it in time for full efficacy. Maybe between being fully vaxxed and actually having covid, my immunity is good. But I still agree that masking is a good idea.

P_M

UPDATE: We found a better cruise in June so we're taking that one. My sister has never been outside North America and this is a dream trip for her. She took care of our Mom for 4 years so she deserves this.

Let's hope for the best in terms of covid.

mlgb

Yes, you need to wait a few weeks not days for full immune response.

You can get another jab if you have only had the last one (or covid) more than 3-5 months ago. My provider paid for them and sent out mailers to their older patients.

Enjoy your cruise. Hopefully June will be duirng a lull...

P_M

Mlgb, if we're under 65 can we get a booster? I'll check again but I thought you had to be 65 or older.

mlgb

Dated 2 28 2024

Today, CDC Director Mandy Cohen endorsed the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices’ (ACIP) recommendation for adults ages 65 years and older to receive an additional updated 2023-2024 COVID-19 vaccine dose. The recommendation acknowledges the increased risk of severe disease from COVID-19 in older adults, along with the currently available data on vaccine effectiveness.



Previous CDC recommendations ensured that people who are immunocompromised are already eligible for additional doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Most likely if you are under 65 or immunocompromised your insurer will not pay. And you may have a hard time finding anyone to give you a jab...

P_M

Thanks mlgb.

I do have underlying conditions so my pharmacy recommends asking the doctor for a prescription, then they will do it. If the insurance won't pay, I will gladly pay the $150 out of pocket. I messaged the doctor, I'm hopeful she will comply.

mlgb

Hopefully your Doctor won't mind giving the prescription.

P_M

She did, sorry I forgot to mention that.

P_M

UPDATE:

Unlike my last Princess cruise, there were not a lot of people coughing and sneezing. We ate outside at every opportunity. We did have a room with a balcony for fresh air, and we had an amazing time. I'm very glad we took this cruise, but...

We did get covid. We are on Paxlovid and symptoms are very mild. I will always love cruising and I can't say I'll never take another cruise on a large ship, but this does make me think small ships are better.

In case anyone is wondering, my most recent vaccine was on April 30. I believe that helped to keep me from getting very sick, but as we know, the vaccine doesn't guarantee anything.

mlgb

I'm glad you didn't get very sick, was this on board or after you got home?.

A friend just tested positive this morning and has a fever. Over 65, not sure where she got it but has grandchildren.

Another was at a family reunion in Oregon, they drove there. Five others in the reunion have COVID at last count. She has a sore throat but was negative this morning. Under 60 and has been resistant to catching it, even when her partner is ill. We'll see if she turns positive in the next few days.

Neither one of them has cruised in at least 5 years, if ever.

You may have been reading about the new variants now driving a surge in the US. You may or may not have picked it up cruising. I'm not sure I've read about the average time after exposure of this round. It took a day or two after the first friend started to have symptoms to test +.

P_M

Mlgb, my sister felt a little sick the day we left the ship but not too bad. I still felt great until we got home. Since getting home we've both tested positive. Of course, we could have gotten it on the land. But both times I've had covid were right after a large ship cruise and that seems like a huge coincidence. That said, I acknowledge there are many possibilities.

In the last year I've also taken 2 Hurtigruten cruises, which mlgb knows are very small ships. I've had no problems with those, but of course that's not proof it can't happen on small ships.

We've kept our distances from our DHs and so far they're OK.

mlgb

If your sister was starting to feel unwell she was probably infected sometime during the cruise, I would think. Maybe in a port or maybe on the ship, who knows? I do know that people aren't washing their hands or isolating in their cabins they way they did early on.

A friend went on a small ship to Antarctica at the end of the season (one of the Nat Geo ones) and they had COVID on board, but not too many cases.

It only takes one person to pick it up in a port or be asymptomatic when they board. Then unlucky you cross paths with their cooties. I guess more people, more cooties. I picked up a head cold standing in line trying to get out of the Port in New York. So I got to be sick after getting home, but I was fine for our 3 weeks on board. This was a long time before COVID.

Hope you are continuing to recover and glad that you enjoyed the cruise, at least.

I had been talking with a friend about doing a Greenland cruise this summer but it sounds like some of the large ships have been skipping ports.

schmerl

P_M, so sorry you got covid.
As stated above, it only takes one infected person to spread it and that can happen on a small ship as well.
My sister has been quite sick with covid this past week and she hasn't traveled anywhere! It's roaring its ugly head again.