Cruises & Covid

lisyloo

silvercar said:

[Deleted User] said:

lisyloo said:

It’s not anyone’s fault.
yes I think it’s unreasonable to expect p&o to compensate you for the results of sickness.
you should claim off your insurance, that’s what it’s for.

Could be P&O's fault for requiring people to isolate, if it's not legally mandated. Certainly in the UK there is no need to isolate, you can carry on going to work, going out, no mask, no need to notify anyone.

Then again I find it hard to have much sympathy for people who chose to be in a confined space with hundreds of people not wearing masks for an extended period of time. It's one thing if your livelihood depends on it, another if you just want to take a cruise.

Interesting thoughts. I would hope that P&O spell this out in their pre booking literature. I imagine most people wouldn’t want to be on a cruise ship knowing that people who have tested positive for covid are roaming free. So it is in part an encouragement to book, if you feel that there are some safeguards in place. Which does beg the question, “why test?” If you know that is going to send you into isolation on board?

The answer is fairly simple in recent history (not necessarily now).
They won’t let you on the ship if you refuse to test.
so you either don’t go on holiday or are stuck in a port.
this can be pre-embarkation at the start and in recent history it’s been at ports as well.

if you are meaning why test voluntarily, then indeed I don’t think many people do.

i still test before seeing vulnerable relatives.

I took lfts on a recent trip but that was to convince people I had a cold/hay fever (if necessary).

silvercar

lisyloo said:

silvercar said:

[Deleted User] said:

lisyloo said:

It’s not anyone’s fault.
yes I think it’s unreasonable to expect p&o to compensate you for the results of sickness.
you should claim off your insurance, that’s what it’s for.

Could be P&O's fault for requiring people to isolate, if it's not legally mandated. Certainly in the UK there is no need to isolate, you can carry on going to work, going out, no mask, no need to notify anyone.

Then again I find it hard to have much sympathy for people who chose to be in a confined space with hundreds of people not wearing masks for an extended period of time. It's one thing if your livelihood depends on it, another if you just want to take a cruise.

Interesting thoughts. I would hope that P&O spell this out in their pre booking literature. I imagine most people wouldn’t want to be on a cruise ship knowing that people who have tested positive for covid are roaming free. So it is in part an encouragement to book, if you feel that there are some safeguards in place. Which does beg the question, “why test?” If you know that is going to send you into isolation on board?

The answer is fairly simple in recent history (not necessarily now).
They won’t let you on the ship if you refuse to test.
so you either don’t go on holiday or are stuck in a port.
this can be pre-embarkation at the start and in recent history it’s been at ports as well.

if you are meaning why test voluntarily, then indeed I don’t think many people do.

i still test before seeing vulnerable relatives.

I took lfts on a recent trip but that was to convince people I had a cold/hay fever (if necessary).

To be clear, I meant once on board. I understand pre boarding testing. But once you are on the ship, I don't understand why you would test again.

Having chosen to go on a cruise and the risks that entails. Once everyone is on board and presumably negative at the point of boarding, I don't see why anyone would test again. It is not like visiting a vulnerable relative, everyone on board has chosen to be there. 

lisyloo

silvercar said:

lisyloo said:

silvercar said:

[Deleted User] said:

lisyloo said:

It’s not anyone’s fault.
yes I think it’s unreasonable to expect p&o to compensate you for the results of sickness.
you should claim off your insurance, that’s what it’s for.

Could be P&O's fault for requiring people to isolate, if it's not legally mandated. Certainly in the UK there is no need to isolate, you can carry on going to work, going out, no mask, no need to notify anyone.

Then again I find it hard to have much sympathy for people who chose to be in a confined space with hundreds of people not wearing masks for an extended period of time. It's one thing if your livelihood depends on it, another if you just want to take a cruise.

Interesting thoughts. I would hope that P&O spell this out in their pre booking literature. I imagine most people wouldn’t want to be on a cruise ship knowing that people who have tested positive for covid are roaming free. So it is in part an encouragement to book, if you feel that there are some safeguards in place. Which does beg the question, “why test?” If you know that is going to send you into isolation on board?

The answer is fairly simple in recent history (not necessarily now).
They won’t let you on the ship if you refuse to test.
so you either don’t go on holiday or are stuck in a port.
this can be pre-embarkation at the start and in recent history it’s been at ports as well.

if you are meaning why test voluntarily, then indeed I don’t think many people do.

i still test before seeing vulnerable relatives.

I took lfts on a recent trip but that was to convince people I had a cold/hay fever (if necessary).

To be clear, I meant once on board. I understand pre boarding testing. But once you are on the ship, I don't understand why you would test again.

Having chosen to go on a cruise and the risks that entails. Once everyone is on board and presumably negative at the point of boarding, I don't see why anyone would test again. It is not like visiting a vulnerable relative, everyone on board has chosen to be there. 

Some ships (not that long ago) were testing people when they got back on again having disembarked at a port.
if you refuse then you aren’t going to be allowed to get back on and in that scenario I doubt insurance would cover you.

There are some ships that spend all the time at sea e.g. Southampton to New York, but most spend most of their time visiting ports with most people getting on and off most days.

I agree that everyone has chosen to be there but at times they might have agreed to this on the understanding that there were rules e.g. no unvaccinated people and regular testing.
of course those rules have evolved over time and can change between booking and embarkation.
my rather cynical view is that these are entirely economical decisions by the cruise companies e.g. they will get more business if they say no unvaccinated people on board, as opposed to taking any kind of moral view on vaccines.

If you are on a ship that spend the entire time at sea then you might not be required to test again, but that isn’t most of them. 

enthusiasticsaver

This is one reason we will not contemplate cruises in spite of having done many in the past.  In fact we were on one in February 2020 and came back with an awful cough/cold which may or may not have been covid.  We travelled to Canada last month on a long haul flight but had to wear masks at the airport and on the plane.  Cruise ships do not insist on this and I daresay there are many people wandering about with Covid on board given the symptoms now are not unlike a cold. Too many people in a confined space.  If you want compensation for your lost holiday I think claiming on your travel insurance is the way to go. I do feel sorry you missed out though due to the Covid isolation. 

elsien

This is one reason we will not contemplate cruises in spite of having done many in the past.  In fact we were on one in February 2020 and came back with an awful cough/cold which may or may not have been covid.  We travelled to Canada last month on a long haul flight but had to wear masks at the airport and on the plane.  Cruise ships do not insist on this and I daresay there are many people wandering about with Covid on board given the symptoms now are not unlike a cold. Too many people in a confined space.  If you want compensation for your lost holiday I think claiming on your travel insurance is the way to go. I do feel sorry you missed out though due to the Covid isolation. 

Airports and airlines are no longer asking for masks to be worn at the airport or on board -  or at least not the Europe ones I've been on. The number wearing them voluntarily is miniscule - the man on the plane coughing his lungs up didn't bother with one.  Whatever the type of foreign holiday and transport, that is the risk you take. I guess the difference with cruise ships is that the enclosed contact is more prolonged. And they can ask you to test if you are unwell. 

lisyloo

I just can back from male via Sri Lanka.
Almost no one was wearing masks London - srilanka
almost everyone was Sri Lanka - male
so it does depend on where you go.
im not sure if this is cultural or pandemic at a different stage.

There are differences between holiday.
going by car and not mixing is different to airplane which is different to cruise cabins where you can be confined to a small cabin for long periods.

but yes everyone must surely be aware by now that there are risks.

jon81uk

silvercar said:

lisyloo said:

silvercar said:

[Deleted User] said:

lisyloo said:

It’s not anyone’s fault.
yes I think it’s unreasonable to expect p&o to compensate you for the results of sickness.
you should claim off your insurance, that’s what it’s for.

Could be P&O's fault for requiring people to isolate, if it's not legally mandated. Certainly in the UK there is no need to isolate, you can carry on going to work, going out, no mask, no need to notify anyone.

Then again I find it hard to have much sympathy for people who chose to be in a confined space with hundreds of people not wearing masks for an extended period of time. It's one thing if your livelihood depends on it, another if you just want to take a cruise.

Interesting thoughts. I would hope that P&O spell this out in their pre booking literature. I imagine most people wouldn’t want to be on a cruise ship knowing that people who have tested positive for covid are roaming free. So it is in part an encouragement to book, if you feel that there are some safeguards in place. Which does beg the question, “why test?” If you know that is going to send you into isolation on board?

The answer is fairly simple in recent history (not necessarily now).
They won’t let you on the ship if you refuse to test.
so you either don’t go on holiday or are stuck in a port.
this can be pre-embarkation at the start and in recent history it’s been at ports as well.

if you are meaning why test voluntarily, then indeed I don’t think many people do.

i still test before seeing vulnerable relatives.

I took lfts on a recent trip but that was to convince people I had a cold/hay fever (if necessary).

To be clear, I meant once on board. I understand pre boarding testing. But once you are on the ship, I don't understand why you would test again.

Having chosen to go on a cruise and the risks that entails. Once everyone is on board and presumably negative at the point of boarding, I don't see why anyone would test again. It is not like visiting a vulnerable relative, everyone on board has chosen to be there. 

Obviously we don't know why the OP was asked by P&O to test but my understanding is most other cruise lines now are only asking for onboard testing if you show symptoms and I expect you would need to be pretty ill to be noticed or have to go to the medic yourself. Pre-boarding testing is still done by some cruise lines, particularly for unvaccinated people but that is partly because some countries they stop at are insisting on unvaccinted people being tested before entry.

katejo

silvercar said:

I’m curious, do the cruise ships insist you test regularly while on board? 

Someone I came across on another forum told me that she had started a cruise holiday and had dutifully tested herself each day. When positive, she felt she had to let ship staff know even though she didn't feel ill. They required her to isolate. However, someone else on the ship was sneezing and coughing a lot but didn't test herself and crew were not allowed to ask her to do so.

katejo

jon81uk said:

silvercar said:

[Deleted User] said:

lisyloo said:

It’s not anyone’s fault.
yes I think it’s unreasonable to expect p&o to compensate you for the results of sickness.
you should claim off your insurance, that’s what it’s for.

Could be P&O's fault for requiring people to isolate, if it's not legally mandated. Certainly in the UK there is no need to isolate, you can carry on going to work, going out, no mask, no need to notify anyone.

Then again I find it hard to have much sympathy for people who chose to be in a confined space with hundreds of people not wearing masks for an extended period of time. It's one thing if your livelihood depends on it, another if you just want to take a cruise.

Interesting thoughts. I would hope that P&O spell this out in their pre booking literature. I imagine most people wouldn’t want to be on a cruise ship knowing that people who have tested positive for covid are roaming free. So it is in part an encouragement to book, if you feel that there are some safeguards in place. Which does beg the question, “why test?” If you know that is going to send you into isolation on board?

P&Os website doesn't make it explicit but if you are unwell and go to the onboard doctor asking for advice for what appears to be covid symptoms it does make sense that they would ask you to test. The website does make it clear that if you then test positive you have to isolate.
https://www.pocruises.com/cruise-with-confidence/enhanced-health-measures

Whereas I've sailed with Virgin and they seem much clearer https://www.virginvoyages.com/voyage-well

If you test positive then yes but, if you just have mild cold symptoms (as I did with Covid) and they see you sneeze a couple of times, can they require you to test? 

silvercar

I asked someone who has recently cruised, they said you are required to test if you leave the ship. So any excursions risk you being tested and possibly having covid.