Judith Sauer and Jerry B.
Great trip but beware of COVID.
Overall, the trip was good. The ship, food, staff, and activities exceeded our expectations. The expedition staff was very good and helpful. However, problems began when they announced COVID was on the ship. We had brought tests with us and tested ourselves and discovered, we were positive. We thought the responsible thing was to report it to the ship's doctor and hoped he would have antiviral medication available for us since one of us had underlying medical conditions. He did not. All he could offer us was a drug like Tylenol and tell us not to worry and we would be fine (I am still suffering from the effects of getting COVID on the ship 3 weeks later). For the remainder of our trip (2 days) we were told to stay in our room, which seemed reasonable. Excellent food was brought to us. However, the room did not have windows that opened. There was no option to get any fresh air or exercise. There was no entertainment offered except for one very bad movie channel. We were not offered books to read. We were not informed of the ship's activities or post-briefing activities. We were pretty much ignored and were uninformed of anything that was going on the ship. While everyone one on the ship needed to be vaccinated and test negative before embarking on the expedition, there didn't seem to be any plan to help those that tested positive for COVID. Some suggestions to improve the safety for passengers regarding COVID are: - have antiviral medication onboard the ship for anyone testing positive for COVID, especially since there were many older passengers and people with medical conditions onboard. -everyone should be tested once or twice during the trip. There were many people walking around the ship coughing that likely had COVID. -stagger dining times between two groups so there would be more opportunity for social distancing. -have a room held open for anyone that tested positive that allows some fresh air and the opportunity to exercise. Overall, the trip was good, but we did not feel the safety of passengers was adequate if they came down with COVID. It was a very expensive trip and we were really disappointed with the treatment we received on the last two days. we were
Response from Poseidon ExpeditionsJul 20, 2022
Dear Judith and Jerry: Many thanks for your positive comments about the June 21-July 1, 2022 Svalbard and Polar Ice Edge cruise aboard the Sea Spirit. We’re sorry to hear the final days were marred by your COVID infection. It has been difficult for Poseidon – as it’s been for any polar expedition ship operator offering programs in the Arctic or Antarctica this past year – to find any silver lining in the COVID pandemic. As you point out, even with vaccination requirements and testing before embarkation, the latest variant of the virus has managed to find its way aboard our ship as well as most others in Svalbard this summer. We’re happy to hear that you were able to enjoy MOST of your cruise, except for the final two days. Not to diminish your lingering symptoms, our experience is that most passengers with COVID have had relatively minor symptoms thanks, in part, to the vaccination requirement. This has also prevented the virus from spreading around the ship, among passengers and crew, even more aggressively. We appreciate your self-testing during the cruise and your willingness to isolate yourselves in your cabin. As the Sea Spirit is a relatively small ship with limited public space and a limited staff with many chores, it’s a challenge to provide for all the suggestions you offer. But we will certainly consider some of them that can make the time pass easier for those in quarantine. Having COVID antivirals aboard comes with difficulties. Beside the high cost, contraindication is also an issue relative to possible pre-existing conditions or other medication use by the passenger. It’s not something our doctor would want to prescribe without consulting with your regular doctor beforehand. Again, we regret you weren’t able to enjoy your final days aboard and we appreciate your suggestions for improvement.