Cruising choices with an active Pandemic

[Quickstatus]

laundry bag

Whats the volume?

 

[tgh]

Free laundry is a communal process and is not a magic wand , I had a few nice shirts stuffed by the time I woke up.

Whats the volume?
There is mo limit afaik, one acquaintance gave the butler her suitcase on boarding after banging around the back blocks

 

[RooFlyer]

I think we have to pay for laundry; have just put clothes pegs and line into the packing heap.

 

[mrs.dr.ron]

I have never had a problem with the Silversea laundry. All of Rons stuff is done, I hand wash my smalls, but that is all - everything else = t shirts, slacks skirts all get sent down. I have seen the laundry and met some of the guys there -mainly all indians - doesnt matter which Silverseas ship - it seems the indians are in charge of the laundry !! Ron has had his dinner suit dry-cleaned. .. AND they do a damn good job - no matter what you send !!

 

[Anna]

There is a return grille near the entrance. Shared ventilation??

Shared ventilation, amount of ventilation (volume/time), filtration with HEPA?
To what extent are cruise chips just like hotels and what is the role of building ventilation in the control of Covid?

Back in Feb 2020 when the Diamond Princess covid debacle was unfolding, I suggested on AFF that it might be spread via the ship’s aircon and I was knowledgeably informed by various AFFers that was scientifically impossible. So you’ll be fine

 

[Port Power]

There is a return grille near the entrance. Shared ventilation??

Shared ventilation, amount of ventilation (volume/time), filtration with HEPA?
To what extent are cruise chips just like hotels and what is the role of building ventilation in the control of Covid?

Apart from what @Anna said, after COVID hit, cruise lines started looking at their aircon systems and brought much more fresh air into the mix, along with not reclycing air. However, as another poster said, do you quiz hotels where you stay about their systems?

As far as cruising goes, there are many cruise lines and many more ships. Mass market ships don’t have free laundry until you have status. However, some of those ships have passenger laundromats. Luxury ships often include laundry and dry cleaning. When I have been on a ship with a free bag of laundry offered, you wouldn’t believe how many items I can roll tightly to fit into the bag!

 

[Quickstatus]

do you quiz hotels where you stay about their systems

no because this post is about "cruise ships in an active pandemic".

 

[RooFlyer]

no because this post is about "cruise ships in an active pandemic".

And here on AFF we always stick to topic .

 

[straitman]

And here on AFF we always stick to topic .

Of course we do!

Occasionally.

 

[RooFlyer]

Boarding Ponant's Le Laperouse , by decks on Saturday. Darwin, so it will be hot.



There are 24 cabins on our deck. How long before boarding starts would you be there, so as not to be towards the end of the queue to board? The covid paperwork ( health questionnaire, decs etc) is about 7 pages long!! So I image each pax will take a while.

Or do they tend to board another way rather than a queue ( cabin no. Or front to back etc).

 

[tgh]

I can only remember boarding SilverSea where queue's (mostly) do not exist..
We always rock up a few hours early and almost always walk straight on ( in time for lunch)
Last cruise on the Cloud was a bit more formal in terms of health checks (although pre covid) ,more people around but took less than an
hour and we still easily made lunch.

 

[Port Power]

Boarding Ponant's Le Laperouse , by decks on Saturday. Darwin, so it will be hot.

View attachment 286714

There are 24 cabins on our deck. How long before boarding starts would you be there, so as not to be towards the end of the queue to board? The covid paperwork ( health questionnaire, decs etc) is about 7 pages long!! So I image each pax will take a while.

Or do they tend to board another way rather than a queue ( cabin no. Or front to back etc).

If there is no longer COVID testing, probably people board in drubs and drabs after they finish their paperwork. There are rarely queues of any significance on smaller vessels. Not everyone wants to board as soon as possible either. They might be on a morning tour or sightseeing around town.

Hot? It’s only 30 degrees. A lovely, warm day for being out and about. You cold blooded Tasmanians think anything over 24*C is hot, I hope you enjoy the expeditions and have a wonderful time.

 

[RooFlyer]

Ta. Hope that that's the case.

If there is no longer COVID testing,

For us its either a PCR -72hrs or RAT -24 hrs, take a pic of the results and upload. But there are still pages & pages of covid questions on papers someone will have to check before we get on the ship. Its French, remember - they 'invented' the word bureaucracy

My freinds and I have to check out of our hotel at 10am, and boarding for us starts at 4:15pm. We are going to go to lunch at 12 and board directly from there.

 

[odysseus]

Ta. Hope that that's the case.



For us its either a PCR -72hrs or RAT -24 hrs, take a pic of the results and upload. But there are still pages & pages of covid questions on papers someone will have to check before we get on the ship. Its French, remember - they 'invented' the word bureaucracy

My freinds and I have to check out of our hotel at 10am, and boarding for us starts at 4:15pm. We are going to go to lunch at 12 and board directly from there.

Luxury providers try to make things painless. Comments elsewhere for Ponant ships (not Lalaperouse) have passengers on in 15 minutes - admittedly in priority. But that should only make the queue shorter, not reduce the paperwork, so I wouldn't expect it to be too long to get on if you're not at the same time as a bunch of others.

 

[sanne]

Boarding Ponant's Le Laperouse , by decks on Saturday. Darwin, so it will be hot.

View attachment 286714

There are 24 cabins on our deck. How long before boarding starts would you be there, so as not to be towards the end of the queue to board? The covid paperwork ( health questionnaire, decs etc) is about 7 pages long!! So I image each pax will take a while.

Or do they tend to board another way rather than a queue ( cabin no. Or front to back etc).

We were in Darwin on 1/2 nd July.. it was freezing! Had to go and buy extra clothes!

We embarked a Ponant cruise some years pre Covid. As usual getting on a ship we went early thinking we’d get on. No! We could leave our luggage which was dealt with straight away but there was no early boarding. We took our hand luggage, walked to the harbour area, had some lunch and wandered back at the stated boarding time. Everyone sitting down waiting to be called for boarding.

Of course things may be different now.

 

[luxury-lizard]

Here's a Ponant question for anyone with any knowledge. Mr LL and are booked on 2 cruises (back-to-back) in Mauritius and the Seychelles (rebooked from 2020) in March 2023. We are currently travelling in Europe and have both had Covid over the past 2 weeks which has made us VERY nervous about cruising particularly in remote regions. I've searched the web but cannot find any / much information about how Ponant handles a Covid outbreak in a remote area; i.e. a long way from a major port.

thanks.

 

[Quickstatus]

Ponant handles a Covid outbreak in a remote area; i.e. a long way from a major port.

I suspect the same way any infectious illness is managed? However any medical facilities can best be described as basic.

Here is something of interest from Ponant (you may already know about it). The basic requirement is that the passenger understands and accepts the risk of being remote from medicine.

Worst case is you are airlifted off the ship by some Coastguard or if close to shore by a diversion. And evacuations in these conditions often takes days and is weather dependant.

 

[luxury-lizard]

Thanks @Quickstatus - read the Ponant doc but it really stresses the limited medical care available - I'm thinking of the whole cruise being totally disrupted by an outbreak and other 'doomsday' scenarios. Of course one could say if you're that nervous don't go which is our thinking right now. Ponant to date have refused refunds which is why we re-booked - could use the credit for something closer to home. This will be a tough decision as we have flights booked and many land-based hotels for pre/post cruise (all fully refundable thank goodness).

BTW - we have good friends who recently returned from a small ship cruise in Alaska (80 passengers / not Ponant) and in spite of pre-cruise testing required, there was a major outbreak (over 50% of all passengers and crew infected) - no one offloaded but greatly reduced activities and service. (They were OK probably because they both had recovered from Covid just before leaving Australia).

 

[Quickstatus]

if you're that nervous don't go which is our thinking right now

That’s basically how the cookie crumbles.
The reality of remote adventures is that sophisticated medical assistance can be several days away, and what is available is basically at GP level with maybe some extra emergency equipment. It is unclear what medical equipment they have, but if you have to ask….

Having said that if you are in good health then why not?. People travel all the time to the most remote and strange places. The reward might be enticing enough to outweigh the risk?

 

[drron]

Friends were on the Silver Explorer from Cape Town to the Seychelles and Mauritius ending in Zanzibar.
Quite a few passengers got Covid plus a few crew. Only minor effects on activity but problems started in Zanzibar.
As you know in remote areas the internet is also duct but they could fill out their Aussie arrival paperwork at the airport. But no there is no such service in Zanzibar. They were on paid J fares with QR who insisted they could not board until the paperwork was done. So they missed their flight.

But they were spending 36 hours in Doha. Finally when the Zanzibar people contacted the Doha office of QR they said the paperwork could be done in Doha. There was another flight that day but no J so they flew Y and were quite rightly livid. They were negotiating compensation with QR.

For you the other question is whether testing is going to continue. RCL including Silversea are no longer testing for cruises shorter than 7 days. It is likely that all cruises in the next month or 2 will not require mandatory testing.
I have no idea what Pinang will do though.