So, I started filming this cruise review yesterday...
It's been really wonderful to just kind of breathe and feel a little bit like we've come out of this pandemic.
And then, this happened.
That is my grandfather.
We are currently on Royal Caribbean's Harmony of the Seas on a family vacation.
It is July 2022 and he has just tested positive for covid-19.
So, I am here to tell you what the covid protocols were like to get onto the ship and what the procedures are...
...like now that he's positive as we are currently sailing.
I have to admit, I was pretty hesitant to come on a cruise as we are kind of emerging from the pandemic.
Clearly, it's still around, but it's eased a little bit.
It was the least desirable of vacation options I wanted to choose from, but you know, it's been two and a half years of covid...
...I have both vaccinations and a booster -- as does my family -- so, we felt pretty confident getting on the cruise ship and...
...enjoying a family vacation.
So, for Royal Caribbean specifically, the protocols as of July 2022 was that all adults had to be fully vaccinated...
...with their final dose being at least 14 days before sailing and they also needed to have a negative covid test within 48 hours.
And here it says: unvaccinated kids ages 2 to 11 must show a negative PCR test result taken no more than three days before boarding.
This cruise left out of Port Canaveral, Florida.
I am from New York. So, I flew down from New York a couple of days ahead of the cruise, hung out in Disney for a little bit.
I did a quick at-home just to, you know, ease my mind that I was okay and that came back negative and then...
...the next morning, I left Disney property to go get an official covid test -- a PCR test.
And that gave me the results that I needed to bring to the cruise ship before boarding.
And fortunately, that was negative as well.
So, it gave me peace of mind knowing that everybody on the cruise ship had to follow those procedures.
I knew everyone was vaccinated getting on the ship and I knew they also proved to be negative for covid right before cruising.
On the ship, you did not have to wear a mask at all.
Of course, you could, and actually Royal Caribbean -- when I arrived in my room -- there were two masks ready to go for my use if I needed it.
I did not feel like I needed it at any point until today when we got this news but, they did provide masks.
So, we didn't have to wear them if we didn't want to, but the crew did remain fully masked the entire cruise except for...
...the pool decks and the outside spaces like the rock climbing area and the Abyss slide.
Those crew members that we passed did not have masks -- presumably because it's an outdoor space -- but...
...other than that, every single crew member that I've met has had their mask on.
So now, what is it like once you test positive for covid-19?
I first have to say that: yes, my grandfather is 89 years old, but he does have full vaccination, as well as, I think two -- possibly...
...three booster shots -- at this point. So, he's pretty set on that front.
His symptoms were a cough that has been progressing the last couple of days.
He thought it was just an irritation in his throat and then today he went down to the infirmary.
We have one more day. Tomorrow, we arrive back in Port Canaveral and we're going to be leaving the ship.
I don't know what the plan is for him and my grandmother.
I just got news minutes ago that she tested negative, but they are currently in -- they were sent back to their room -- so I'm not..
...sure what the guidelines are there, but I'm hoping to end this video by doing a little Q&A with my grandfather, and possibly...
...my grandmother to learn more about what it's like to have covid-19 and how this cruise line handles that.
[Ashley] To set the stage... we are one week out from returning from our cruise and 12 out of 19 of our family members have...
[Ashley]...tested positive for covid-19.
[Ashley] You were the first one to test positive actually on the ship, so, how are you feeling?
[Grandpa Joe] I feel good. I still have -- I still have -- I still have nasal drip.
[Grandpa Joe] I could have played golf Wednesday, but I decided I didn't want to go through the bother of explaining to them that..
[Grandpa Joe] ...I have covid and I'm infecting them even though we're outside. So, I just decided not to, but I felt I could have.
[Ashley] So, I'm curious to know --because honestly nobody's filled me in on this -- when you finally decided to go down to...
[Ashley] ...the infirmary to figure out what was going on, were you going down there under the impression that you had covid?
[Grandpa Joe] I mean, I wasn't dying of covid. Nowhere near it. I wasn't suffering.
[Grandpa Joe] But, I was annoying everybody with the coughing.
[Grandpa Joe] And, it was pretty obvious that I had something and it probably was covid.
[Grandpa Joe] Within five minutes, I was sitting down and she was asking me questions and I was asking her questions.
[Grandpa Joe] And I said "how many people have come down for covid?"
[Grandpa Joe] Oh she said, "I wasn't here yesterday, but the day before," she said, "there was a mob and you're number 17 today."
[Ashley] Oh boy.
[Ashley] That's already enough, because you know those 17 people interacted with at least three other people and...
[Ashley] ...then it just continues beyond that to cover the entire ship.
[Grandpa Joe] Yeah. I said, "what's the treatment?" and the doctor said, "well I can give you Tylenol,"...
[Grandpa Joe] I guess an equivalent of Sudafed. Decongestant. Yeah. Tylenol with decongestant and a nasal spray.
[Grandpa Joe] Oh, so they escorted mom and I -- first of all, I said "well, you're going to test my wife." She said, "no we...
[Grandpa Joe] ...won't do that down here. We have another group called "the ambulatory."
[Grandpa Joe] This is going to give you a little more insight into how much covid was going on.
[Grandpa Joe] They had another group, several groups as a matter of fact, of people going around the ship testing people...
[Grandpa Joe] ...who were exposed --- had knowingly exposed by the fact that either -- like, I went down to get tested and then...
[Grandpa Joe] ...my wife was next to me.
[Grandpa Joe] But they didn't test her down in the medical office.
[Grandpa Joe] They later came by the room and tested her.
[Grandpa Joe] Meanwhile, we were both escorted -- and I was telling you a little bit about it -- like the inside, innards of the...
[Grandpa Joe] ...ship. Up some freight elevator.
[Grandpa Joe] Up to the 11th floor. 11th deck. And then we get... we came out of some door inside the hallway...
[Grandpa Joe] ...of the starboard side that we were on and then we walked all the way down the hallway, almost across...
[Grandpa Joe] ...the whole ship from front to, where we were, near the back.
[Grandpa Joe] And, that was it.
[Grandpa Joe] Then, immediately the phone started ringing. It was guest services and special services and they wanted...
[Grandpa Joe] ...to know what I was going to do if after the ship.
[Grandpa Joe] And they sent me...
[Grandpa Joe] The door knocked and some guy left me a letter explaining all the things that they're going to do for me.
[Grandpa Joe] For example, I now had free room service.
[Ashley] That's a nice perk.
[Grandpa Joe] I had a free movies.
[Grandpa Joe] Um, some other stuff. I never, I never used any of it. I mean, actually.
[Grandpa Joe] Oh and transportation. Transportation to a hotel.
[Grandpa Joe] Explanation that they would pay me up to $250 a day for a hotel room.
[Grandpa Joe] Up to a $100 day for food and car rental.
[Ashley] What was the limit on that? So you were leaving -- the disembarkation was the very next day after you tested positive...
[Ashley] So, how long were... how many days were they going to pay you to stay in Florida, essentially, instead of flying back home?
[Ashley] Was it five days?
[Grandpa Joe] Until I tested positive.
[Ashley] Until you tested negative.
[Grandpa Joe] Until I tested negative. Right.
[Ashley] Right. Ok.
[Ashley] So, you test positive in the infirmary. Grandma tests negative at the time, once she got back to the room and...
[Ashley] ...they came to test her, but they kept you both quarantined in your cabin, correct?
[Grandpa Joe] Right. Oh no....
[Grandpa Joe] First of all, Grandma didn't want to leave.
[Grandpa Joe] I had to convince her to go away and go watch the show. Go to the show. Go to dinner. Enjoy yourself.
[Grandpa Joe] And, stay away from me.
[Ashley] And that was allowed, technically, especially according to CDC.
[Ashley] If she is exposed to you, but she's testing negative, she is allowed to kind of go about her life as normal.
[Grandpa Joe] Yes.
[Ashley] And, just to clarify on the travel options that Royal Caribbean provided you.. you mentioned the amount...
[Ashley] ...the monetary amount that they would give you or reimburse you...
[Grandpa Joe] Reimburse.
[Ashley] Reimburse. Okay. And were they taking responsibility for booking that travel? Booking the...
[Ashley] hotel that you were going to be staying at?
[Grandpa Joe] No.
[Ashley] Or you had to book it?
[Grandpa Joe] Fortunately, I had already booked.
[Ashley] Right. You were going to spend one extra night in Florida anyway before flying home...
[Ashley] Before all the covid nonsense. So then, did they help you extend that hotel or you had to call the hotel...
[Grandpa Joe] No. They were not... they were not involved in that at all.
[Ashley] Okay. Yeah. I was just curious about that.
[Grandpa Joe] They also were willing to pay a fee or reschedule my airline up to $400.
[Ashley] Oh, okay.
[Ashley] That's not bad. You wonder how... how much money they burn through, now that covid is a thing, every sailing.
[Ashley] I can't imagine how many people they are dealing with that have come down with covid.
[Grandpa Joe] When we finally got off the boat, we were deposited right outside the boat and there were...
[Grandpa Joe] ...about a hundred people sitting there that were all covid.
[Grandpa Joe] They were being transported, free transportation, to their hotel or to wherever they were going.
[Grandpa Joe] I am also being reimbursed for that day.
[Ashley] Really?
[Grandpa Joe] Not me. Whoever paid for my ticket.
[Ashley] Right. It was a gift to you and Grandma to go on this cruise.
[Grandpa Joe] Yes. I think the ship probably could have done more, as far as...
[Grandpa Joe] ...cleaning up, like you said, in the casino.
[Ashley] Normally when you're cruising, you have to wash your hands constantly. There's, there's already those hand sanitizing...
[Ashley] ...stations set up, so...
[Grandpa Joe] They were all... every elevator had it. There were plenty of those.
[Ashley] Right.
[Grandpa Joe] There was a lot of those. No question about that.
[Ashley] Yeah. I just...
[Grandpa Joe] And, we used it all the time. Every time we went to the elevator.
[Ashley] I agree with you that there was kind of this false sense of security, especially, because of the protocols ahead of the...
[Ashley] ...cruise, but I can see like, you know, I got tested with my PCR test on that Friday and there's still 48 hours between...
[Ashley] ...Friday and that... and when we set sail that I... I was as safe as I could be. I kept my mask on during those two days,..
[Ashley] ...but who knows what everyone else on the ship did. So, people could have brought it on right then.
[Ashley] And then also the islands... each island had different rules and I'm sure not everyone was wearing their masks on...
[Ashley]...those islands, despite the rules. So, it was easy for covid to get on the ship and, I think, that was the first time...
[Ashley] ...since the pandemic started that I had this false sense of safety and I... looking back now, I wish I even though I had...
[Ashley] ...that sense of security knowing that I was vaccinated and boosted, I wish I wore my mask in those more crowded...
[Ashley] ...areas of the ship. Like, we were talking on the phone earlier, the casino. That was such, you said, a petri dish and I...
[Ashley] ...100% agree. I didn't see anyone wiping down the screens -- maybe it was happening behind the scenes -- I didn't...
[Ashley] ...see a lot of Purell stations. There were a couple, but there were a ton of people in just that one space.
[Ashley] And everyone unmasked and we're kind of just stewing.
[Ashley] The only time I saw people wearing masks on the cruise was down in the infirmary when I came to meet you and...
[Ashley] ...Grandma. Everyone waiting in line had a mask on and I... that was my first thought. I was like everyone in this line...
[Ashley] ... right now has covid. Whether they know it or not, they have it.
[Grandpa Joe] All the people who had covid managed to not get it back.
[Ashley] So far! Yeah. I tested positive on April 21. I was positive for 11 days and we sailed beginning July 10 and I'm still...
[Ashley] ...as of right now, what is today, July 23rd, negative.
[Ashley] Most of our family now has covid, but everyone is recovering from it, so I'm really glad to hear that.
[Ashley] And, I appreciate you talking to me about what went down, because honestly, I was only hearing bits and pieces of...
[Ashley] ...how Royal Caribbean handled it and I was really curious to know what, what the protocols are in place.
[Ashley] I knew what we needed to do before getting on the ship, but I didn't know what they were expected to do once they had...
[Ashley] ...people confirmed positive.
[Ashley] Alright. Love you.
[Grandpa Joe] Take care, hun.
[Ashley] Say "hi" to Grandma for me.
So, clearly that was an insert from the future and present me has no idea how this is going to end.
I am fingers crossed that everything is fine and he has recovered well and he's happy, healthy, and safe and nobody else in our...
...family has contracted anything. Nobody else on the cruise ship has contracted anything.
I'm just hoping all is well.
Now, I do want to say that this is not a negative on Royal Caribbean at all. I want to say that I think the cruise ship, the...
...cruise line, did as much as they possibly could to ensure the health and safety of all their guests.
I'm grateful to them for having such strict guidelines, because it did give me peace of mind and I would sail again.
I think I'm making this video more for, well, personal documentation. I like to, you know, have these records of...
...what happened, especially when I'm sailing with my family, but also to help those who...
...may be a little more at risk to getting covid. It might be something that you are going back and forth on...
..."should I sail or should I not sail?" So, hopefully you found the information that he provided helpful and it can help you...
...make your decision in the future.
So, I hope to be sailing again really soon and I will keep you posted when I do.
Thank you so much.