ChutChut

On 5/18/2021 at 3:07 PM, igraf said:

COVID vaccinations are being provided free of charge for the most part in the USA, so I don't why I need to concern myself with who paid for what.  The vaccination center was set up and operated by the university because we are also a major medical center.  

 

University of California, San Diego   35,000+ employees   $2+ billion annual in health systems & clinics

 

igraf

 

 

 

We taxpayers are paying for it.

1 minute ago, Thenagers said:

I am vaccinated and really pissed that I don’t get the benefits of being socially responsible! I am definitely canceling my Horizon cruise! You voters from Florida need to thank your governor when you get mask tan lines. 

Have you gotten a flu vaccine every year of your life? If no, then you're one of those socially irresponsible people you deride. Stop with the condescending nonsense.

2 hours ago, asalligo said:

I think my comment was misconstrued. I cruise with Carnival because I want to be amongst people who also have no problem with people who like Walmart and Pork Rinds.  

I like Walmart and pork rinds (KETO diet).

I'm vaccinated but I like pork rinds, Jeff Foxworthy, beer can chicken, and I shop at Walmart (on occasion). I guess I'm a desirable undesirable.

On 5/23/2021 at 9:35 PM, Etta1213 said:

And eat pork rinds?

Buc-ees rinds are killer!

On 5/22/2021 at 11:42 AM, huneymoonerz said:

They will attract more desirable travelers w a vax mandate. It's not really about you as a person getting sick vs the ship having to quarantine in their rooms for 23 hours a day. 

Also, for those of us who use travel insurance, I suspect they will not cover unvaccinated people starting soon. It's a no-brainer. 

Pray Tell - what is a "more desirable traveler?" Is this just more elitist ridiculousness? 

1 hour ago, voljeep said:

if / when RCCL, Carnival Corp or Disney becomes involved with the 'lawsuit', etc - see what happens then

They won't because they don't want the CDC as their enemy and they don't want FL as their enemy.

1 hour ago, skynight said:

It's questionable that State rules apply for international travel. Would be similar to flights on British Air from Miami. British rules and US federal rules would apply. If they do apply, cruise lines have lots of clout, create lots of business at the ports, and have the option to sail from other ports. Once a ship changes its home port then it can last a long time. Not a good outcome for Florida. 

Cruise lines could also play hard ball. There are other more drastic steps they can take.   

Fed, state, and local laws all apply to the cruise industry. State and local gov't own all of the ports. Once the ship is docked, state law prevails. If someone assaults someone onboard while at the dock, state police are summoned, etc.  Lines do have lots of clout but FL has more as the three busiest ports are in FL. 

45 minutes ago, dswallow said:

 

You unfortunately face an issue that Royal Caribbean seems to be unwilling to deal with. Your son cannot begin to be vaccinated until he turns 12. But immediately after he turns 12 he now falls into a category where Royal Caribbean only permits him to sail if he's fully vaccinated.

Royal Caribbean needs to account for that window between the date one becomes eligible to be vaccinated and the minimum time thereafter one could be fully vaccinated. And even that comes with the expectation that the appointment for the first dose can be obtained for the birthday date.

 

Now, that said, there seems to be some reliance by Royal Caribbean that these requirements are coming to them from others, such as governments. But at the same time, it's still an insurmountable window for that entry age group when vaccination is allowed and someone needs to accept that it needs to be directly addressed. Maybe the answer is just going to be "sorry, you're out of luck" but it's unfair not to explicitly say one way or the other, either, up front.

Wish J&J had its vaccine for kids.

2 minutes ago, coffeebean said:

Florida is the cruise capital of the world. Surely hope Florida can continue to have that assertion.

We can all hope the parties come to some sort of agreement.

On 5/22/2021 at 3:05 PM, MichiganBound said:

You totally nailed it with your above comments.  It was clear to me from the get-go that these cruises from the DR and Jamaica were disasters waiting to happen.  Folks seem to not understand that a cruise line cannot just up and start cruises on a whim and successfully carry them out from a small foreign port...and with minimal advance notice (planning).  

 

I had given up on the possibility of cruising in 2021 in January or early February.   I had zero interest in being a guinea pig once cruises started again this year.  Let them iron out all the issues and then I'll return to cruising in 2022. 

 

There are plenty of non-cruise vacations that can be done by flying/driving somewhere in the meantime.  In 2021, I plan to be gambling, having great meals and seeing some shows in Vegas...and doing some long weekends in NYC.  Also, subject to the border re-opening, I'll be driving from Michigan to Quebec for some great food and european style atmosphere in Montreal.  Also (again subject to the border re-opening) I'll be flying to London for West End Theatre and family visits in the fall in the UK.  All accomplished without having to set foot on a cruise ship in Montego Bay or La Romana.

 

Good luck to all of you booked on those cruises!!

 

PS.  Oh yes.  And you won't see me stepping foot in Florida in 2021.  Not one more tourist dollar for Florida until DeSantis cleans up his act and starts governing responsibly.  I encourage others to join me on that.

He is governing responsibly. Florida weather is great. Paradise here!

4 minutes ago, harkinmr said:

There are more US ports than just Florida. 

True but the world's three biggest ports are located in FL.

40 minutes ago, harkinmr said:

Kind of an important change to the vaccine requirement on website. Only applies to Seattle and Bahamas sailings. They changed the language on the page last night apparently. Sounds like other US sailings will not have a vaccine requirement.  That explains why test cruises will be done.  Pretty poor decision from my perspective.  
 

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/the-healthy-sail-center

It may be necessity though if FL law remains intact.

28 minutes ago, jrapps said:

That is really lousy. I was hoping we had finally gotten to a point where there was a unified strategy for all US sailings.

 

I STILL think they will require 12+ to have vaccines from other ports, even if they do test cruises, but now we have to wait and see. 

 

I wonder if this change has anything to do with the CDC and FL conversations. Ugh, I wish they would all come to some agreement already.

I think so. Hedging its bets in case FL law goes forward thru court challenges. If it does, no cruise line can mandate vaccine verification out of FL.

7 hours ago, rodndonna said:

 

Canada is not alone on the approach of focusing on getting a first dose into more people over fully vaccinating when resources are limited. Effectiveness of first doses are now reporting to be around 80% - hardly irrelevant. 

 

If you have 100 people and 100 doses - 100 of them with 80% protection is much better statistically than 50 of people at 95% protection.

From a fully vaccinated standpoint, one jab of a two-jab vaccine doesn't count. 

11 hours ago, ontheweb said:

That is not quite true. First, there is some immunity from the first shot. And more importantly you cannot get a second shot until you have received a first shot.

 

And then there are Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca which are one shot vaccines.

 

You could have also said with the same accuracy and inaccuracy that second shots do not count until 2 weeks have passed from the date of the vaccination.

Moderna and Pfizer require two shots for full effectiveness. As such, stats of one shots of those vaccines aren't relevant. Stats of J&J and other one-shot vaccines are.

On 5/21/2021 at 7:33 PM, rkacruiser said:

 

That is what my Canadian friends cannot understand.  There were no positive tests whatsoever.  The term "harassment" is what my friend in Ontario used to describe their experience.  

Definitely sounds like harassment.

11 hours ago, gerelmx said:

falsifying vaccination credentials and / or covid tests should be considered a criminal act with attempted murder due to the possibility of voluntarily infecting others. Those who are discovered should have their trips suspended for life and if they already boarded kick them at the next stop.

No.

9 hours ago, capriccio said:

I haven't read anything about vaccinations being a requirement in the Alaska Tourism Recovery Act.  As I understand it, the act is a temporary waiver of the PVSA. 

Yes it is as it mandates following CDC guidelines re: vaccinations

On 5/13/2021 at 10:03 AM, SUSIEK said:

I agree other states are having their own issues, but Florida is home to many cruise line headquarters.  I know many who have lost their jobs with good pay and benefits.  They are currently collecting unemployment waiting for the go ahead to head back to their original jobs.  Aside from the local businesses that have been affected by the tourist dollars the cruise business brings yearly.  Hotels, restaurants, etc., Florida is a tourist destination and we rely heavily on those $$$.  In my opinion our Governor should keep his hand out of private business.  Let them make their own decisions they feel best for their private company and their patrons.  I'm not saying he hasn't done some good for our state.... just not happy with what he has done this time. 

Cruise Lines with Headquarters Based in Miami

• Carnival Cruise Lines.
• Norwegian Cruise Lines.
• Royal Caribbean International.
• Azamara Cruise Lines.
• Celebrity Cruises.
• Crystal Cruises.
• Costa Cruises.
• Oceania Cruises.

Not when private businesses invade your medical privacy. I stand with him on this. Soon, we could have private businesses demanding you get a flu vaccine to enter, or test negative for HIV, etc. 

1 hour ago, not-enough-cruising said:

Of course they won’t get in the way, because the law they passed can not be applied to the cruising industry. 

Not accurate. Fl AG did no such thing. Law certainly may be applied to the cruise industry as it's governed by fed, state, and local law (a very complex mix).

9 hours ago, abby1257 said:

Is this going to happen again?  

Yes it will.

I did this same cruise on the Caribbean Princess in November 2019. It was a terrific cruise and if I had to choose, I'd be on the port side. The are some excursions to indigenous villages that I've heard are terrific. I did a cooking school excursion in Costa Rica - fabulous! Have a great time - we did!

23 hours ago, CptBoatface said:

Yes, we are under the thumb of an authoritarian governor who isn't fit to lead a cub scout den

Precisely!

2 hours ago, sfaaa said:

If everyone on board is vaccinated,  there should not be any COVID issue.  Israel is the proof.

Not quite. No vaccine is 100% and someone could go into port and become infected and bring it back on the ship.