July 20-22, 2022 - Stateroom, Zaandam

Day 5 of isolation with no release in sight. There are now about 200 cases on board and as you can imagine the medical staff are overwhelmed. Jan was to be tested every second day but this has not happened at all. I was to get a daily phone call from medical to provide a temperature reading, this has not happened once. Yes, they are overwhelmed. With so many cases on board, room service is overwhelmed and I will state further not fully trained. Late service, early service, missing courses, soup but no spoons, spoons but no soup, this morning no utensils… Oh could I go on… 

HAL and / or the leadership on this ship has failed in keeping guests safe, there I’m saying it. There are very limited activities offered on the ship thereby fewer places to disburse a crowd around the ship. We had an excellent guest speaker on board which attracted a standing room only crowd in the show lounge. Don’t worry ladies and gentlemen, says the cruise/port director (yes, merged positions, really meaning no port talks), we are bringing in extra chairs. I’m sure any fire marshal reading this would be shaking their heads. So here we are all together in the show lounge and not a whisper of a recommendation to wear a mask. Yes, some were, most weren’t. Can someone say super spreader events. A few days thereafter cases began rising. Did I get it from there, hmmm, maybe or was the tender ride or at a game of trivia? I am usually wearing my mask but there those moments before putting it on, so with this wonderful virus could have been from anywhere or from anyone. Bottom line, I got it and for that one night, yes somewhat uncomfortable. From that point on, no or mild fever and a bit of fatigue but I won’t be retested until day 6, should be tomorrow but I’m not holding my breathe that they will show up or that I’ll test negative. Everyone on board is vaccinated and they are all working through the protocol, so vaccinations do work as we have not heard of any hospitalizations or disembarked passengers. 

Why did we get tested, well it seemed to be the right thing to do, you do want to protect other guests but more importantly the precious crew who have all just returned back to jobs they love. So, I am really hoping for a negative test for me tomorrow with also a negative test for Jan. 

Outside of our balcony today we have Alesund, Norway, we were here some 5 or 6 years ago and did a wonderful city walkabout and hike on a local mountain. We were hoping to explore the other side of this city today. So yes, disappointed. 

Last thing on this, so what does HAL do for us now that they have given me Covid and isolated us in our room. Well for everyday of isolation they provide us with a FCC equal to a 100% of our fare on the daily prorated amount. This and any costs related to the treatment of the Covid. I say, big deal… We have waited two years for this cruise (booked pre Covid) and this year we were forced to take it as a result of use them or lose them credits we received when our world 2020 cruise came to a crashing end. So although a fantastic itinerary but as mentioned many of the programs have been discontinued so basically a water downed experience that we still pay top dollar for. That said, this cruise is only offered once a year, so it is one of those cruises of a lifetime experience for us, so thanks HAL this is it for us, this was our time for this cruise. Next, we would need to use these new credits before July 17, 2023, so probably still during the Covid this recovery period. So we will continue to be the Guinea pig cruisers on how HAL responds to breakouts. Because of this special cruise, the compensation should be more like 150% prorated - it’s not like some weekly Caribbean cruise. Will we be even more cautious on a go forward basis? you bet. We will still dine alone, I will sit in the back at any lecture and walkout if it gets uncomfortable, no trivia and outdoor sailways only, masks, masks, masks while on board. I strongly believe that there are several infected untested guests on board and because they do no want to be isolated and to hell with their fellow guests and crew. Not everyone plays by the rules… 

Some balcony pics from the past few days… Oh, also, the TV signal and wifi connection is horrible (bad timing for us), I have been trying to post for days, my upload just keeps getting dropped. I have had to do a work around in the meantime, yeah I’ve got some time to work on that. :)

Nice sail away tonight, tomorrow is another new day. Bergen… well Bergen from our balcony… 

Quote of the day - “Like all great travelers, I have seen more than I remember, and I remember more than I have seen” - Benjamin Disraeli