Covid Vulnerable and Minorities Be Warned

AmaLucia Cruise Review to River Cruises - Europe

Thoresh

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 4-6 cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 18

Overall rating:

1.7 out of 5

7 Night Captivating Rhine (Amsterdam To Basel)

Sail date: August 10, 2023

Ship: AmaLucia

Traveled as: Large Group

Reviewed: 8 months ago

Review summary

The servers and cleaners were excellent. The food was good enough. And the accommodations were attractive. Unfortunately, the cruise was ruined by our party catching Covid and an incidence of overt racism from a senior manager. Let's start with the Covid, as anyone who is elderly or vulnerable should think twice about this cruise. There were no masks available for those who were sick, and no tests available for those who thought they might have Covid. Rather, you were left to figure out how to get tested in a strange country on your own, with the predictable result that virtually no one who thought they had Covid was likely to get tested. Nor were there instructions for those who were sick concerning how they might reasonably avoid infecting others while meeting their own personal needs. Rather, everyone was left to fend for themselves as they isolated, with the predictable result that almost no one isolated, even though Covid was rampant enough on the ship that almost our whole party of nine got it. As for the incidence of racism, it came from the hotel manager, Daniel Dinu, with whom we were engaged in otherwise pleasant conversation. When my partner mentioned the country she was from, he went on to say that the people there are beautiful, as they don't even look like the racial group they all belong to. It was the equivalent of saying "Nigerians are beautiful, they don't even look black." But you can fill in the blank, whether black or Jewish, Pacific Islander or Chinese, everyone should know that you don't tell people that their racial group is unattractive. Nevertheless, we took it in stride, as it was wrapped in a compliment——that is until he started complaining about another racial group and wouldn't let up. As a person of Jewish descent traveling through Germany, it was just too much, again, whatever the racial group might be. But it was also a sign of ragingly incompetent management. What I want to know is how someone who has spent thirty years working on cruises all over the world as he told us could be so insensitive. Clearly, there was no effort on the part of the cruise line to educate even the most senior members of their staff about respect for racial minorities. But this was also just a matter of basic manners. Clearly, he was putting his racist politics above the comfort of the passengers he was supposed to be tending to. The fact that he was one of two senior most managers suggests the problem is systemic.