Page 6 - WINE DINE AND TRAVEL SUMMER 2022 DISCOVERING MADRID

RON & MARY’S

EDITOR’S NOTE

CRUISE AT YOUR OWN PERIL

here is risk in any travel, whether hitchhiking think there's a good chance he contracted the virus while
through South America or spending a weekend at waiting nearly three hours in a crowded cruise terminal
TDisneyland. This fact was emphatically validated for room to check-in. (Read about our experience in detail in the
us when our recent luxury cruise turned from dream to last story of this magazine.) In short, once we tested positive,
nightmare. we were both unceremoniously perp-walked in shock from
In these never-ending pandemic times, we knew that our suite to isolation in an ocean-view cabin, where we
cruising included the risk of contracting Covid. But, like would spend most of our remaining days at sea.
millions of other travelers, we did our best to mitigate that Once locked away, regardless of your loyalty status with
possibility by getting vaccinations and boosters and judi- the cruise company, you are an inconvenient ghost without
ciously masking up. We also knew that the cruise line made a key card. You are no longer a guest. There’s no house-
it mandatory that our fellow passengers to show proof of keeping, no fresh air, no entertainment beyond TV, and no
vaccinations and a negative Covid test before boarding. So company. Your phone is your lifeline for meals and medical
taking this cruise was safer in many ways than going to the care. It is painfully difficult to endure for days on end.
store for a loaf of bread. At least that was the theory. Our beef is not with isolation. It’s a necessity for pan-
We also incorrectly assumed that cruise lines, especially demic-era cruising if the crew and fellow passengers are to
premium ones like the one we had booked, would have pro- be protected. No, it’s how they treated us once we tested
tocols in place to treat guests who contracted Covid with positive, from the time they told us we were ill until the re-
professionalism and compassion. quired quarantine ended. Plus, despite the significant out-
Sadly we were wrong as we discovered when we both break on board, fellow passengers were not alerted and
contracted Covid during our voyage from Miami to Mon- cautioned to wear masks and take other precautions. We
treal. While cruise lines tout their efforts to keep passen- estimate that at least three dozen fellow passengers tested
gers safe, they don’t share what happens onboard when you positive, many on the last day.
test positive. Truth is you go from honored guest to outcast. Once we were in isolation cabins, the cruise line’s lack of
And that’s not just on the ship we sailed. It’s an industry- planning, communication, coordination, or compassion com-
wide dirty little secret, as we learned from friends and ac- pounded the difficulties on shipboard Covid. No one ex-
quaintance who experienced cruises gone wrong. plained what we were to do, and who to contact with a
We were shocked when Ron was told he tested positive. problem. There was a lot of buck-passing as it became clear
We had tested negative twice before boarding, but, we both no one took responsibility for the welfare of Covid passen-
would test positive less than a week into the voyage. We gers. Call the doctor? Call the concierge? Check with house-

6 WINE DINE & TRAVEL MAGAZINE SUMMER 2022