Buddha n Buffy R Cruisin’

Well…at least we’re booked

Back in “15 Days to Stop the Spread” we got a notice from Norwegian Cruise Lines that the four $250 Future Cruise Credits we’d purchased back in 2017 were at risk of expiring. It was either use them or forfeit the money we’d spent on them.

Needless to say with COVID on the rise we weren’t thrilled with the prospect of losing money yet we had no idea when cruising was going to start again. After what seemed like a disaster on the Diamond Princess off of Japan, some had thought cruising would end—completely.

OK, I’ll cut to the chase we ended up getting some extra time and back in April, we decided we’d at least book a couple of cruises so as not to lose the credits. We were able to use two of the credits per cruise and decided to book back-to-back cruises on the Norwegian Sky out of Miami in October of this year (2021). Over the past couple of months, however, as cruise lines try to come to grips with COVID restrictions and keep their passengers safe we’ve had a few changes.

We’re still leaving Miami in October on back-to-back cruises except now we’re on the Norwegian Gem, Jewel-class vessel, and where the original first departure date was 10 October, it is now our second as we’ve booked a week earlier and now depart on 3 October.  So it’s now two, week-long cruises on the Norwegian Gem to the Dominican Republic and the Virgin Islands first, then along the Eastern coast of Mexico. You’re probably wondering what the safety protocols will be to prevent COVID? After all, cruises are renowned for being floating Petrie dishes.

In a nutshell, at this point, NCL is telling us EVERYONE on board will need to be vaccinated, crew, passengers, everyone. Proof of vaccination will need to be provided at the terminal prior to boarding.

When Celebrity had their maiden COVID test voyage a couple of weeks ago, everyone on board had been vaccinated, in fact, the crew had been vaccinated and quarantined for two weeks before being cleared to sail. Not only was everyone vaccinated, everyone was tested before boarding on departure day as well.

Celebrity also required everyone to be tested before being allowed to disembark. With over 1400 people onboard for a week, at the end of the cruise, two people tested positive. The two that tested positive had shared a cabin and it’s believed despite vaccination and testing they had come onboard infected but were asymptomatic—even when tested positive.

Needless to say, the media went nuts and the headlines didn’t quite match the TRUE story.

Other cruise lines are allowing non-vaccinated passengers but will require them to pay for testing before and after boarding, mandatory masks while in public as well as restrict their access and group size in some areas. One company is considering charging higher fees and board-day testing at the expense of the passengers.

Interestingly, yet not unexpected, ALL test voyages over the past couple of weeks have had positive tests come back. Is it time to panic, throw in the towel and ban all cruising from now on???

No

Positive tests will be the new norm going forward with COVID. Vaccinated and those with natural immunities and antibodies from previous infections will continue to contract COVID but, like any flu vaccine, will get a mild case of COVID thanks to God and science.

So we’ll be sailing in October, the Good Lord willin’ and the creek don’t rise. We’ll take our chances with COVID, Legionnaires Disease, E. Coli, Hepatitis A, and pneumonia. Some of the more common plagues on cruise ships. For some, we’ve been vaccinated, for others an early life of playing outdoors, drinking out of garden hoses, eating fruits straight off the tree, and other habits will help us, hopefully, stay healthy.

Wish us luck and keep us in your prayers.

Happy Sailing!