Not the cruise I planned for New Year!

Lorraine in Boat Jail

Triple vaccinated, masked, PCR tested in a clinic negative and still COVID positive at cruise check in, my story I hoped I would never tell.

I just became a cruise line statistic. In fact a cruise line nightmare. 

We arrived in Saint Martin with no symptoms, with all of our paperwork in tact, and with a negative PCR test result in hand. I joked with the doctor on check-in about being a little hot because the temperature outside was hot and he said no no your temperature is totally fine. They did  an antigen test which was negative. Then with an abundance of extra caution they also gave everyone a PCR test and shock and horror I tested positive for Covid. Nooooo

They did it again and once again I tested positive for Covid.

I’m perplexed. How? No large gatherings. No big shopping trips. At most I go to Costco. I wear a mask in there. And spent all Christmas weekend alone at home. 😡🤨😫😭🤬

They say what you put “out in the universe” you often get  and I had been very curious to know what cruise lines would do with passengers who tested positive for Covid however I didn’t think for a second this would be me. 

Perhaps I had a false sense of security thinking I was triple vaccinated. 

We were going onto the Star Legend by Windstar cruises. Small ship. Lower occupancy. After a very difficult year and a very busy run up to the holiday season with our pivot business we really needed the break. 

My mental health was going downhill and we decided to take this trip regardless. 

We complied with all the travel requirements very carefully. 

I was planning a little work and a few location videos but not much but looking forward to sharing small ship cruising with viewers and friends who wanted to know what it was like. 

I had no symptoms. I had a bit of a headache on the day I got my travel pcr test in Toronto and joked what if I had Covid but it came back negative so off we went. 

What a nightmare. 

What on earth would they do with me - us?

What happened next I will share with you over the next few days but suffice it to say I remain a loyal cruise client and particularly a loyal Windstar client because everything they did was to protect us and also to protect their passengers. It may not be easy for us right now but for our beloved cruise industry it is even harder for them to fight against perception and the difficulties that COVID has brought on the travel industry and especially the cruise industry. 

I was going on this cruise for some downtime and now will be forced into downtime as I spend the next few days in quarantine. 

Luckily we are together. This, for a while, was touch and go. (We had to agree as the cruise line want to protect anyone testing negative and this included Keith but alone I may not die of Covid but it would not have gone well) 

So what do you do with a cruise ship passenger who tests positive on arrival, already in the country, cannot get back on a plane, is not sick or needing any hospitalization, and of course not able to go to a hotel.

After much deliberation and talks behind the scenes the cruise line decided to accommodate us and a few passengers who also tested positive the week before on board their out of service cruise ship, Wind Surf. 

I’m not even sure there is a so-called quarantine hotel here in Saint Martin however this solution is far more preferable to us than some unknown quarantine facility. The food delivered is top notch. Nothing too much trouble. 

Sure,  being in quarantine isn’t what we had planned but I’ve always said as long as I’m with Keith we could spend time in a ditch. So this quarantine will be fine. 

We are not sick. We are safe. In comfort and although we took insurance for this we are being taken care of by the cruise line. It was not at all their fault but once again the cruise line picks up the tab of this pandemic. Though not their responsibility after a few passengers tested positive last week they chose to take care of them personally on their Windsurf. 

More to come but this has been handled very well. 

All protocols very well followed All rules carefully managed and we are really impressed. The cruise we booked left after we were disembarked and was cleared for safety and carried on its regular cruise. 

We remain here in the hopes we can join the cruise or the next one once our time is up. 

In the meantime - what’s for dinner? 

Read Episode two tomorrow and find out where we end up and how…