I recently came back from what was supposed to be an amazing Alaska cruise with my mother and friend. We were going to see sled dogs, glaciers and the beauty of Alaska. While I did not get sick, both of them did. Here’s the things that I know now that I can pass along as helpful tips:
Precautions Work
I just want to not weed into any sort of medical advice giving. But out of the three of us, I did not get sick. I choose to wear a mask in high-traffic areas and when my friend starting showing symptoms, I was mask wearing the entire time. Including sleeping. Which really sucked. But I did not get sick, nor did I get sick after the cruise ended.
Another precaution I wish I would have done would be to arrange alternative transportation. I took a cruise out of Vancouver, BC. We drove across the border, parked and took the skytrain to the cruise terminal at Canada Place. There was a moment that I was unsure if my mother would be able to walk off the boat and be able to take transportation at all. This is where having a backup plan would have been handy. I’ll tell you what we ended up doing later.
Medical Help Can Cost
Besides testing, or equipment, most ships have an onboard medical staff to deal with illness or any other emergencies. Sea sickness is something that they deal with a lot. Mine provided some masks, thermometers and could have provided more medical interventions if necessary. The masks and thermometers didn’t cost me anything but that’s not necessary true for each cruise. A good first aid kit would have been good to have with some basic medicines.
Don’t think that your medical insurance is necessarily going to cover it. You have to do your research and invest in some good travel insurance. Costs for additional testing, medical interventions and procedures are all costs that you’ll need to cover.
This was not my first cruise and I have witnessed different medical situations that occurred while onboard. Medical staff will stabilize until the person can be transported to a hospital facility. Once in dock, the person will be transported to a hospital. While I haven’t witnessed any on-board air medical evacuations, my understanding is that those transports are around a thousand dollars a minute, and can be much higher.
Isolation Safety Protocols will keep you comfortable
In our case, both my mother and friend needed to be isolated. When that happens, the ship arranges to have room service delivery for all meals and all beverages. The staff on our cruise were very kind and offered to bring extra towels or blankets if necessary.
They’re not going to come in and clean your room, however. They asked that any trash or dirty towels be put outside in a bag and they were happy to pick it up for us. We had to pick up the room service trays from outside and bring it in, which I had to do for my mom for the first 48 hours. Unless you need to be kept in the medical part of the ship, you’re going to be in your room. Doctors and nurses will visit you if necessary, and again, that costs.
If You’re Not Sick You Don’t Isolate
I did not get sick, which was good because I was the caregiver for my mother for the first 48 hours. This enabled me to go back and forth between my room and hers and give her assistance. My friend didn’t need much help. The ship does not require you to isolate if you are not sick. At least my ship didn’t.
I chose to stay mostly away from people and mask most of the times that I wasn’t caregiving. But unfortunately this ship was completely full so there was no other room I could go to. Besides being outside on the deck, I stayed mostly away from people whenever possible and masked. Which brings me to my last point about this: lots of people were sick and out and about. Many people are still thinking ‘oh it’s just a cold’ and not taking precautions.
Disembarking is a challenge
There are wheelchairs and gurneys that will be used to help someone get off the ship. For our situation that wasn’t necessary. But the protocols for leaving the ship were designed to protect other passengers, which only works if the other passengers are being safe too. The ship communicated to us what we needed to do and provided a timeline for us.
Our time for leaving the ship was set for 6:30am. They requested that our luggage be put outside our door with special labels by 6 am and that we would pick it up as we left the ship. The staff would come and guide us to the holding station. The holding station only had those who were sick with possibly the same illness. Those with other medical issues were kept in a different area.
There were a lot of unknown issues that I couldn’t find answers for and the staff was unsure of either. We were coming into Vancouver, BC and I was unsure if authorities were going to require us to stay isolated in a hotel. I also didn’t know how we were going to get to our car, as taking public transportation was not allowed.
Upon staff arrival to escort us, we were taken down to a holding area on the level we were exiting from while we waiting for customs to clear us. There were other passengers milling about, one even came into our area without a mask, and some lining up a short area away to be first off the ship. Not the ship’s fault, this is a warning to all cruise passengers who want to ‘get off the ship early.’ Don’t. You’ll be in close proximity to people who are ill and possibly contagious.
Once cleared, we left the ship and went to an area where custom’s officials were asking everyone how they were getting home. We lined up in the taxi line and they showed us to the taxi area where for a set fee, would take us to the airport where our car was parked. This would have been helpful to know that transportation is right around the corner. There were also ambulances for those that were leaving on a gurney.
In future cruises, I’ll so some of the same things: mask up, bring tests along, and have a first aid kit with some medicines. But before I go I’ll make sure that I understand what the ship’s medical facilities and procedures are, and make sure I have a backup plan for transportation off the ship. Especially if someone is so sick that the transportation could be challenging. I’d rather be safe than sorry.
#sickoncruise
#safecruising
#travelingwithcovid
Jennie Olson Six 