I've been reading the DCL Cruise Line community page on FB. The consensus seems to be:
1. Other than employees, anecdotally, 5-10% of guests are wearing masks.
2. Anecdotally, after the cruise, 100-200 people in their FB groups are testing positive for COVID (that they know of.) Cue the lamenting folks: "I have COVID right now, I wish I had worn a mask." That said, a number of them say they were vaccinated, wore masks, etc. and still got sick. It seems most are not presenting with symptoms until they get home (which I guess makes sense especially on short trips.)
3. Almost everyone still says they aren't going to wear masks. Folks posting about testing positive before the cruise seem like they would go anyway if they took a chance and lucked out with a negative test.
We have been good with masking and calculated risks throughout the pandemic, and it has varied at high or low points of the pandemic. For awhile, I wouldn't go to a gym at all. Then I went with a mask (despite being one of very few who did.) Then I joined a gym that is open 24 hours and often literally empty. The most I've ever seen in there with me were 3 other people. I don't wear a mask there, but I keep a distance. That's still a risk, but I feel the odds are pretty good in my favor.
We still wear it at the grocery store. My employees all wear them at work. I do not wear them at my favorite hangout - a local kava bar near my store - where it is very often only the (vaccinated) proprietor and myself in the afternoon, and rarely more than a few patrons. We pretty much all know each other. I still keep a distance most of the time, and I leave if it gets unexpectedly busy. I always carry a KN95 with me (often around my neck, which serves as a cue for people to keep their distance.) For clarification, I have asthma and Brian has diabetes, so we're both high risk. Neither of us has had COVID as far as we know, though we've continued doing pretty much whatever we've wanted to do, safely - i.e. with masks where warranted, avoiding movie theaters on weekends but going on weekday matinees and sitting away from others.
Obviously, this is not to start a mask debate or a political debate.
I wanted to know your experiences cruising in the last year...were you members of facebook groups for your particular cruise where you would find out if people tested positive afterwards? Were you aware of issues on your cruise? I heard of one where "the covid positivity rate was over 1%" and the captain issued some masking guidelines (may not have been a DCL cruise.)
I'm going on the assumption that at least 100 people will get sick. I'd rather they not be us. I'm also not going to bubble wrap myself or stay in the room 24/7.
Our plans were already to keep to ourselves a bit, keep a distance as we normally do, wear a mask at the theater, wear a mask to the big group dinners, always have one with us in case we feel uncomfortable indoors somewhere, and spend more time outside, near a pool with a drink, very much avoiding children and people with children LOL. We'll skip the bon voyage thingy on day one for sure.
So I'm thinking status quo with a little heightened awareness is the way to go. Do what we usually do, try not to let our guard down, stick to outdoor bars more often than not. We have 2 brunches and 2 dinners booked at Remy and Palo, so I presume those are safer option than the rotating restaurants, and we have second seating on those. We may do the gym and/or spa. We're doing some tastings.
Our most recent boosters were in April. Mine was a specialized one geared towards Omicron, Brian's was not. (I'm in a study.) I'm going to ask the people running the study if they can/should give me another in August, or if I can/should get a "regular" one on my own (which would likely mess up the study.)
Did you or your shipmates bring home COVID souvenirs?
1. Other than employees, anecdotally, 5-10% of guests are wearing masks.
2. Anecdotally, after the cruise, 100-200 people in their FB groups are testing positive for COVID (that they know of.) Cue the lamenting folks: "I have COVID right now, I wish I had worn a mask." That said, a number of them say they were vaccinated, wore masks, etc. and still got sick. It seems most are not presenting with symptoms until they get home (which I guess makes sense especially on short trips.)
3. Almost everyone still says they aren't going to wear masks. Folks posting about testing positive before the cruise seem like they would go anyway if they took a chance and lucked out with a negative test.
We have been good with masking and calculated risks throughout the pandemic, and it has varied at high or low points of the pandemic. For awhile, I wouldn't go to a gym at all. Then I went with a mask (despite being one of very few who did.) Then I joined a gym that is open 24 hours and often literally empty. The most I've ever seen in there with me were 3 other people. I don't wear a mask there, but I keep a distance. That's still a risk, but I feel the odds are pretty good in my favor.
We still wear it at the grocery store. My employees all wear them at work. I do not wear them at my favorite hangout - a local kava bar near my store - where it is very often only the (vaccinated) proprietor and myself in the afternoon, and rarely more than a few patrons. We pretty much all know each other. I still keep a distance most of the time, and I leave if it gets unexpectedly busy. I always carry a KN95 with me (often around my neck, which serves as a cue for people to keep their distance.) For clarification, I have asthma and Brian has diabetes, so we're both high risk. Neither of us has had COVID as far as we know, though we've continued doing pretty much whatever we've wanted to do, safely - i.e. with masks where warranted, avoiding movie theaters on weekends but going on weekday matinees and sitting away from others.
Obviously, this is not to start a mask debate or a political debate.
I wanted to know your experiences cruising in the last year...were you members of facebook groups for your particular cruise where you would find out if people tested positive afterwards? Were you aware of issues on your cruise? I heard of one where "the covid positivity rate was over 1%" and the captain issued some masking guidelines (may not have been a DCL cruise.)
I'm going on the assumption that at least 100 people will get sick. I'd rather they not be us. I'm also not going to bubble wrap myself or stay in the room 24/7.
Our plans were already to keep to ourselves a bit, keep a distance as we normally do, wear a mask at the theater, wear a mask to the big group dinners, always have one with us in case we feel uncomfortable indoors somewhere, and spend more time outside, near a pool with a drink, very much avoiding children and people with children LOL. We'll skip the bon voyage thingy on day one for sure.
So I'm thinking status quo with a little heightened awareness is the way to go. Do what we usually do, try not to let our guard down, stick to outdoor bars more often than not. We have 2 brunches and 2 dinners booked at Remy and Palo, so I presume those are safer option than the rotating restaurants, and we have second seating on those. We may do the gym and/or spa. We're doing some tastings.
Our most recent boosters were in April. Mine was a specialized one geared towards Omicron, Brian's was not. (I'm in a study.) I'm going to ask the people running the study if they can/should give me another in August, or if I can/should get a "regular" one on my own (which would likely mess up the study.)
Did you or your shipmates bring home COVID souvenirs?
