THE GEEZER’S COVID-19 CRUISE!

Spit tube and tracking necklace.

We have been on four prior cruises; one river and three ocean. This is our fifth and the first one in 2 years. Covid-19 has dictated the essence of the cruise. It is safety; for us, fellow passengers and the crew. We were reluctant to take the cruise, but, staying home at our age (79 & 81) seemed even worse. And, a cruise ship seemed like the safest place. But, we had to jump through a lot of hoops; the most important being not to forget to wear our masks and carry our tracking necklace.

Covid-19 has added a number of things to the ordinary cruise:

1. All passengers and crew must be completely vaccinated.

2. VeriFly is required  to prove your vaccination status. No cheating.

3. Negative PCR test 72 hours in advance of various deadlines depending on destination.

4. Negative Antigen test  48 hours in advance of boarding the ship.

5. Second negative Antigen test  48 hours in advance of boarding the ship, because due to a flight delay, we thought it would be 50 hours.

6. Vaccination card.

7. Check in at the dock before boarding the ship with copies of all documents

8. Negative PCR test on boarding the ship.  This ship has its own lab to do daily PCR tests.

9. Masks at all times when outside your stateroom except when eating.

10. Daily spitting in a tube which is collected at 9:00 AM for the daily PCR test – hard because we do not have enough spit early in the morning – collected by the room steward in a big bag.

11. Daily questionnaire as to your health.

12. Temp check at the entrance of each restaurant or cafe.

14. Separated seats in the theater.

15. Separeted tables in the dining areas.

16. Whirlpool and spa areas limited to 10 people and apointment required.

17. All crew masked, vaccinated and tested daily.

Hot Geezer!

And, we  have yet to get to our first port on this cruise.

THINK OLD!