My husband and I went a lot before kids. On the last cruise we did, I was 5 months pregnant with DD15. The ship was so quiet–everyone was either motion sick (the water was ROUGH) or sick with a stomach bug. I saw some THINGS. We were lucky, thankfully.
Anyway, we are booked on a cruise going out of Charleston next year as a surprise (first cruise for the girls). Remains to be seen if we will actually get to go–DD12 and DD15 have school trips, and we have NO information on dates
That has always been my fear. I’ve always been concerned about Noravirus on cruise ships. Stats don’t back that up, but the association is in my head. If we went on a cruise, I would go in assuming I’d get sick. Of course now days I assume that with any large gathering. We just got back from a convention, didn’t get sick, but many people are complaining that they did. I bite my tongue before I ask why they are shocked.
ETA: I just remembered that a cruise if how SARS-2 entered my little town. A family took a cruise right after crew changeover where the new crew was from China right after the Chinese New Year. They came home with a “non-flu flu.”
Hope you and your inlaws have a mild case and rapid recovery.
Thanks for the info. Lack of transparency/communication from cruise lines about COVID onboard to pax is a major factor keeping me from cruising. That and quarantine risk - I don’t want to be confined to an inside cabin for the duration if I test positive.
Our ship had a deck (not sure if it was an entire deck or just part) that they moved the infected to. In-laws got put in a balcony cabin (their regular cabin was also a balcony, so not sure if those booked in interior cabins got quarantined in interior cabins or got a balcony because effectively locking people for up to 5 days in a windowless room is cruel).
On the upside (very small silver lining), they could get room service from any restaurant on the entire ship (even the signatures/upcharge restaurants - and weren’t charged the upcharge) rather than the limited room service menu the rest of us got.
We all had relatively minor cases, and are all fine. But it sucked majorly to make it over 2 years avoiding COVID only to get it on a major vacation that had been 3 years in the planning (was originally supposed to be 2020).
I have avoided cruising during Covid times precisely because of the stress around testing and quarantine. I am vaccinated+ boosted and wore my mask when it was required. But at this point, if I’m going to spend money on a cruise, I’m going to have to be able to enjoy it to the extent possible even if I get sick. It’s so effing expensive. Once the rules are rolled back, I will consider booking. (We have one penciled in for 2025, so hopefully everything is back to “normal” by then.) Cruising will have to be one of those situations where people have to be aware of and accept the risks.
I am very tempted to book one of these trips. The port ended the contract for after 2023. I’m running out of time for home state advantage.
In six cruises I have not gotten Noro! *
DD did eat some undercooked creme brulee and had diarrhea and emesis all night long. I found out in the AM (I was in adjoining stateroom with 1/2 our group). I cleaned that room and demanded she look like she had it together so we wouldn’t get quarantined. I knew exactly what had happened.
Ok - this made me laugh. First because you said it this way.
But also because I consider cruising one of the more economical ways to travel per person.
Getting sick at home and getting sick away from home are two different animals even if it’s the same bug. It’s comforting to be sick at home with your couch, bed, comfort foods, meds, etc. I’ve been sick in a hotel room; not fun.
That said, when we went on a cruise years ago I made sure to wash my hands far more often. Today, I’d also use hand sanitizer. I didn’t use sanitizer on the cruise because before covid it was nearly impossible to find fragrance-free sanitizer.
We finally took our postponed DCL cruise 6/25-7/2. Son tested positive the night we got home, symptoms started on the last day, we thought he was dehydrated from Castaway Cay. I was positive the next day, husband sick that day too, younger son got it 3 days later.
We really did have our “Covid” cruise, Covid delayed and got Covid on it. I’d totally go again. We got colds, not norovirus.
I am nervous for next year though. This time I only missed 1 extra day of work. Next year is European, don’t really want to get stuck overseas if travel restrictions and quarantines are still required.
I haven’t been on forums much at all, with no WDW trips planned; but we may be booking for February with the in laws… so I’m going to have to catch up!
I am so sorry your long-planned trip was marred so much by your party catching Covid. I have a lot of anxiety about this kind of thing for pretty much any long-distance trip we take now, and I imagine the feeling is magnified aboard a ship with those logistics.
Hoping your family gets a period of relative calm now. And that when you travel again you get a lot of good luck next time. I feel like it’s 50/50 pulling off a Covid-less trip to anywhere these days but you are due to be on the other side of it next time, I hope!
