Travel Tales: A Christmas Covid Cruise By Pam Walker
Wow. Sometimes I think I must be crazy! I had a Christmas cruise planned since July of 2021. Since I had been vaxed, boosted, and had covid, I was loaded with antibodies. Even though the cruise ship held 4,700 passengers and it was reported to be full, I would be safe for sure. So along with staff, I boarded on Christmas Eve with other passengers. I must say that pier staff at Cape Canaveral were expert at what they do. I passed through several checks for our vaccine cards as well as our PCR tests which had to be done no more than 24 hours in advance. There were many short lines and more health checks before I got on. So much for 4,700 passengers! Due to air cancellations and the worrisome Omicron variant, the ship only boarded with 2,400 passengers. It was crowded even so. Elevators had signs stating only 5 passengers allowed at a time, but people pushed on anyway – all masked of course – but nonetheless, that was the last time anyone thought of Covid or the Omicron variant. Buffet lines were full although served by attendants with gloved hands and double masked. Pools were full of happy guests, all unmasked! Bars and the Promenade were also full, but there were not sales going on like normal and the inside staff were few and far between. On this particular cruise, I would estimate that more than half of the staff were from India and the rest from the Philippines. Most had been on board since October and on nine-month contracts. Because of Covid, they were not permitted to get off the ship in any port at any time. Each
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was given one hour per week to Face Time with relatives in places like Goa to Gujerat to Varanasi. They went from work to cabin to work with a few hours off in between. What a tremendous sacrifice for these folks who most assuredly were doing their best to make money to take home to hungry families abroad. Most cruise conglomerates sailing the Caribbean now have a specialty island that they visit during their sailings. Ours was no exception. However, the small island we visited hosted two huge ships at one time. Luckily, the other ship only had half their passengers, too. So, in total there must have been over 6,000 guests and many crew members there at one time. Social distancing? Maybe not. No one wore masks except staff, and the many venues offered were filled with people – with no masks. I am truly sorry that the cruise industry is suffering. They can’t find employees and they can’t fill their ships. I did have a wonderful time, but I wonder in the end if these huge behemoths of the oceans are not also part of the reason that we are spreading so much disease. I also could not help but think of the waste that is produced when so many people in the world are suffering with no jobs and no food. Cruises are wonderful for a quick and fun getaway, and should make all of us grateful for everything that we have! But let’s think of others as well. I’m glad for so many great staff members taking things home to help support the world. Pam Walker is a Virtuoso Travel Advisor. More information at pam@walkeradventures.com
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