The closer my overseas trip to America got, the less I slept and the more anxious I got. Was I overthinking it? Is it really going to be that hard staying negative in a positive COVID world?
Get jabbed, get boostered. We know the drill now. We have been in this pandemic for 22 months and are halfway through the Greek alphabet of variants. Most of us have followed our government’s advice and got the jabs in our arms when we could, but still, COVID is casing a nightmare for our travel plans. I work up today to the news that 1 in 25 people in England now has COVID, with Omicron so transmittable it’s spreading fast. Am I not worried about catching COVID? No. Like most people, I have had my two jabs and have had my booster shot. I am, however, worried about how my travel plans will turn out. Let me explain why!
My Upcoming Trip
It’s been two years since I last flew to the United States. Usually, every January, I meet up with a bunch of my American friends for a gay Caribbean cruise with Atlantis. The January cruise has the most prominent parties on the world’s biggest ships. To sum the experience up, it’s seven days of pure madness, parties, shows, drinking, dancing and much, much more. It’s one of the most amazing experiences and one of the highlights of my year.
With the 2021 being cancelled due to COVID. 2022 is billed to be even bigger and better. But as the date of the cruise gets closer and closer, I get more and more anxious if I will be permitted to get on board. First, a few weeks ago I was worried that either the UK government or the US government would introduce new travel bans due to the increased rates of Omicron. But now, as it is only seven days away till i am flying out to America and nine days till I board the ship. I’m now petrified of failing one of the 3 COVID tests I need to take to enter America and board the ship.
Extra COVID Measures Needed For My Trip
As of the start of December, I need one of the following to enter the United States. Either a negative Altergin test or a more sensitive test like a PCR. IF I had COVID in the last 90 days, which I don’t think I have. I could also prove that I have recovered and would be allowed to fly. However, as I am not a US citizen or permanent resident, I also have to prove evidence that I am fully vaccinated.
Admission to board the cruise, I must again show evidence that I am double vaccinated and must show a negative COVID test within 48 hours before boarding. Once checked in and just before boarding the ship, the cruise port then tests me with a rapid test, which must show negative. If it’s positive, everyone in my party and I will be denied boarding, even if only one of us is positive. They say this as we are “close contacts of each other.”
So to sum it up. If any of these tests come back positive, it is game over, and it’s another holiday to add the the cancellation list since 2020.
Trying to Keep A Positive Mind & A Negative Result
So, as you can imagine, I am now trying my hardest to stay negative. But it’s hard. As mentioned above, 1 in 25 people in the UK now has COVID. It seems impossible to avoid it. Whilst I have limited my social mixing to only me and my housemate, I still have to go to work, and at my job, it’s impossible to social distance, working as a flight attendant. Whilst passengers wear masks onboard. It’s a constant battle to get them to keep them on for the duration of the flight, as well as allowing them to take them off for eating and drinking.
I’m testing myself daily, and so far, I have come back with daily negative lateral flow tests. But is this luck. Because with 1 in 25 people having it, it feels more like luck than anything else.
Insurance
Like always, when I go travelling, I make sure I have suitable travel insurance that will cover me for my trip. But that is not the point. The point is I want to go away, I have been looking forward to this trip since 2020, and I need this trip to happen. Whilst the insurance will mean I don’t lose out financially (apart from my premiums), I’m not sure how my mental health and anxiety will cope. All the planning and excitement of seeing everyone could all be taken away by two red lines of a piece of plastic.
What should we be doing going forward?
Omicron has been proven to be less severe on peoples health, whilst more transmissible, deaths and hospital admissions in the UK are way down from their peak. Should we now just let people continue their holidays/ vacations like we did when people had a common cold? I’m no doctor or scientific adviser, but after following the rules for 20 months, getting two jabs and now getting our boosters. We should all be asking is, is now live with the virus? I don’t know about you, but although countries are starting to open up, travelling is a lot harder and, thanks to testing, more expensive than in 2019.
Thinking of visiting Europe? Checkout this post on if NOW it is the cheapest time to visit!
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I hope you have/had a great cruise trip. Yes, the virus is virulent and has the capability to interfere with our travel plans as well. But by taking precautions and coming to terms with its existence of it, maybe all of us including governments can learn to move ahead in life.
The Cruise was AMAZING! tested negative all the way, but i did limit contact with people before boarding
It’s now the virus is among us and there’s a new variant coming. We all take care, and we need to stay strong, alert, and steady – luckily, now we have experience and are prepared to coping.
I totally get that – there are so many things to be unsure about with all this covid madness
Insurance is expensive but it’s very important and needed! Very good points
The virus will always be there and it will evolve to a new one. The only thing we can do is to make ourselves safe using proper hygiene, and proper vaccination.
These are great tips! I’ve had COVID earlier this year and thank God it was only mild. It was still so stressful though. Taking extra precautions is truly a must