Brew12

6 minutes ago, pokerguy90 said:

YOU DID NOT CANCEL, THEY STILL HAVE 100% OF YOUR MONEY. All you did was switch the date. Postponed does not = canceled.

I'd suggest reading that again. They had fcc from prior along with obc that go to a future cruise. All additional funding is being refunded to the card it was charged on.

4 minutes ago, ProgRockCruiser said:

Indeed, it does seem to be possibly just "hygiene theater".

I think many people see this as the case, even if they don't think of it in those terms. I'm taking a wait and see approach because this is a huge PR hit for measures that have no chance at being effective.

26 minutes ago, leela8 said:

I booked one that went to a beach resort in Amber Cove. I hear that it is for unvaccinated passengers, I am vaccinated not sure I want to be around unvaccinated on a bus. Can anyone share their knowledge of this?

A bubble tour is a tour designed to prevent interaction between cruise line passengers and local's at the port.  The cruise line company is responsible to make sure you are securely put on whatever transportation is needed, that you are isolated from people not on your excursion, and that you immediately get back on the ship when done.

The exact social distancing requirements will change based on each excursion but I wouldn't expect to NOT be in close contact with unvaccinated individuals although masks will like be mandated if it happens.

10 minutes ago, SCBarker said:

It certainly seems like you can get it Thursday. I believe some PVPs were giving bad advice the 1st day of the new rule, and they have been corrected since then.

Agreed. The most consistent answer I have seen is that it isn't a 72 hr window from boarding. You must be tested one of the 3 days prior to embarkation day, although morning of is fine also.

30 minutes ago, ProgRockCruiser said:

I think the other poster is saying they would like a clean mask every day, not re-using the previous day's.

 

We are scheduled for the 4 Sept sailing on Magic.  We talked briefly about canceling or moving it, but even if we could do that without penalties, we really want to just get on a ship and relax, and we think the logistics of wearing masks will be tolerable.

 

We have evaluated that we'd need to wear masks in these cases:

 

• When entering the MDR - take it off when you get to your seat.  (Yeah, insert joke here about how germs spread only at 5 feet or above.  I do understand the rationale, however.)
• On the rare occasion we grab something from the Lido buffet, and when we are just passing through.  I would assume (!) no masks needed at Blue Iguana Cantina or Guys Burgers, since they are "outside venues".
• When visiting the Fun Shops or walking through the Promenade deck
• If we visit the Comedy Club or see a show.
• At the Piano Bar, Red Frog Pub, or Alchemy (but see below about our drink-in-hand policy 😉 )
• If we take an elevator.  Since we do try to take the stairs anyway if only a few decks, this may be a great reason to stick with stairs.

 

We are those cruisers who enjoy and maximize our Cheers packages.  If we don't have a drink in hand, it's because we are waiting on the next one.  So wandering about sipping constantly is what we do anyway.  Sitting at the Alchemy Bar should not be an issue...

 

And we generally try to enjoy the outside decks as much as possible - mini-golf, hot tubs, Serenity, just walking about.

 

So I think, in reality, it won't be a big deal.

 

And getting a (rapid) Antigen test looks to be fairly straightforward in our area.

 

So we are going to go have Fun!

I'll be bringing a large number of masks if I don't cancel. 

I'm waiting to see how the masking policy is enforced. If you aren't required to wear it any time a drink is in hand except in elevators and waiting for dining that would be one extreme. If they insist you wear it while sitting at a bar and only pull it down to take a sip, like what airlines push, it's a completely different issue.

The problem with option 1 is that it is unlikely to make any significant impact to the issues which are leading them to change their policies. Option 2 would make it so I wouldn't go on the cruise but would be the most effective way to do it. 

Odds are that reality is somewhere in between. Just exactly where it ends up remains to be seen.

9 hours ago, Markmom18 said:

  “At least 2 masks” ??   For 2 days then, right?
 

 I need a clean mask per day. 😷 😷 And if said mask gets super sweaty & icky,  I’d change it as needed. Just my opinion and my face.
 

Plus, isn’t it recommended to change as needed? Like you wore the mask all day, wake up the next day and put on new one. 

🛳🛳

Bobbi 

Because your are never too far from your cabin on a cruise ship, 1 is probably fine. I would bring at least 2 masks on a shore excursion. It's a bad day if you sit down to eat, take your mask off, and the wind blows it off the table into a stagnant puddle. Better safe than sorry imo.

2 minutes ago, BigCountry76 said:

Can you verify that there has been an outbreak aboard?

My brother is on the ship as well.

I'm not sure what you define as an outbreak. Right now, almost every cruise ship sailing out of the US has higher than 0.1% of passengers testing Covid positive. 

Cruise Ship Color Status | CDC

We don't know just how bad any of them are yet.

1 minute ago, BigCountry76 said:

I dumped my stock this morning.

My brother is on the Vista right now and he said there has been an outbreak (11 people as of 4 August) of Covid on board with one person transferred off the ship in Belize.

I have a sneaking suspicion that the mask mandates won't be enough to quell the fears and that further cancelations are on the horizon.

I hope I am wrong, but that's my thought process.

Carnival stock is up over 7% today. Not sure this is registering yet.

Part of me wonders if cancellations are what they are hoping for. Personally, I don't think 11 is all that bad of an outbreak at face value. I can't help but think they realize they were sailing too full and are "soliciting volunteers" to get down to the 60%ish that other cruise lines are sailing around.

Oh man.. this just got me realizing my Cruise is set for October. It's a Halloween cruise and Carnival clearly states that "If you decide to spend Halloween with us, definitely bring a costume… but plan for one without a weapon. (Real or fake, doesn't matter.) Masks aren’t allowed either."  😜

1 minute ago, mips said:

I have those but they still need a brush to clean them between drinks.  The opening ones just need a little soap and clean hands.

Very true, but at least the container that holds the straw has a little brush in it for just that purpose. Lots of good options out there.

8 minutes ago, mips said:

I use Openable Silicone Straws, Interlocking Design straws in the car, I love my stainless but bumpy mountain roads and my teeth do not.  They fold to fit in your pocket and split apart for easy cleaning never had a leasking issue.  Ill be bringing several of them 

I found stainless straws with silicon tubes along the top to protect your teeth. Should be delivered tomorrow. Hoping it is the best of both worlds!

4 minutes ago, Tom-n-Cheryl said:

 

And, up until last week, I was reading that breakthrough cases were no more than .9% among those who were vaccinated.

 

My wife caught it, and then gave it to me... both vaccinated.... 100% as far as my little world is concerned !

 

Tom

I'm glad you are both doing well. 

For some vaccines at this point we should be expecting 30% breakthrough cases or more. We need to temper this mentality that being vaccinated is some perfect protection. Only 30% breakthrough is actually very good, btw.... some of the lower quality vaccines out there are under 20% effective at preventing mild cases. 

1 minute ago, disfan13 said:

I would say so- i throw them in the wash as well. They may feel a little tight at first but they stretch. They also have the metal piece that over your nose. 

 

Will definitely give them a try if I find myself needing more. Thanks!

1 minute ago, BlerkOne said:

Children's hospitals are full of kids with covid, some serious.

Yup. Getting more every day and school is just now restarting. 😥

6 minutes ago, gnocchi_mommy said:

I do not think children should be cruising at this time. Not only are they potential viral vectors but they have NONE of the protection against serious illness that vaccinated people age 12+ have. 

Up until recently, I would have disagreed with this. Delta has changed my opinion. Prior to Delta, children were very unlikely to be seriously impacted by Covid and didn't seem to be spreaders for reasons still not understood.

Now it seems that children under 12 are significantly effected by the Delta strain. I wouldn't take an unvaccinated child on a cruise. I don't care what the testing and masking procedures are.

2 minutes ago, disfan13 said:

That's a good point about being uncomfortable. We found Hanes masks, they feel like t-shirts and are extremely comfortable all around. We wore them for 10 days in Disney!  

Would you say they fit properly? Snug on your face without gaps? I was given 2 of the first Hanes masks that looked like cut up t-shirts, with the 3 slits on each side and they felt nice on but didn't stay in place. Never tried the more traditional ones they released. No doubt that material is nicer feeling than most.

The masks I've switched to have a much better fit on the face and are comfortable for around 6 hours. After that my ears start to hurt. The extenders give my ears relief if I have long flights or waits in the airport.

I did Disney fully masked, even outdoors, for 3 days and it was brutal. Not the breathing through them part, just the act of wearing them so long. I doubt that it will be as bad on a cruise ship since there many more places you can take masks off. If you are more sensitive or plan on being masked even when not required, this is what I learned. If you want a well fitted mask that you need to wear for long periods of time, don't rely on ear loops. After 3 days the backs of my ears were extremely tender and in horrible shape. Either bring a few masks to wear that tie or get any of the variety of devices that connect the ear loops together behind your head. 

Second thing was to always bring at least 2 masks. Again, not too much of an issue since going back to your room on a cruise ship is relatively easy compared to a Disney park, but might be something to think about. Masks can get nasty. They can get wet. Have a backup. 

17 minutes ago, Shayhooper said:

With Carnival doing this on the fly, I'm not sure they have had the ability to do this from all the cities they are sailing from.  Again though, I'm just speculating.  

This definitely comes into play. As part of the CDC CSO's, Carnival had to negotiate a lot of Covid related policies with each individual port. Embarkation, debarkation, and removal of positive Covid cases were all part of those agreements. 

Carnival only has leeway within those agreements to make changes. Anything substantive would only be allowed after new agreements were in place.

13 minutes ago, AtSeaWithChris said:

Carnival is saying that the CDC is the one making the decisions of what tests are accepted. So I would think the only sources of what is or is not accepted is to begin with the CDC definitions and approvals.

I think that may be an easy out since the CDC isn't requiring any testing for vaccinated guests, unless that just changed.

I would think they could accept whatever tests they wanted but are finding it easiest to stick with the CDC requirements for unvaccinated guests.

15 minutes ago, TNcruising02 said:

The positive cases will show up more on a cruise with some unvaccinated people since it is mandatory that the unvaccinated passengers have a covid test before returning to their home port. If the cruise was 100% vaccinated, there would be no mandatory testing before arriving at the home port.  

Agreed, which is why I think the current testing policy makes it look worse. You would still have testing of symptomatic cases and then contact tracing even with 100% vaccinations.

1 minute ago, BoozinCroozin said:

Not true. If the cruise is 100% unvaccinated, there would be no testing at all. Vaccinated people show almost no signs of covid. The people tested and saying they are positive are being tested because of contact tracing, not because they are sick or showing symptoms. 

This isn't quite true either. Odds are pretty good that even on a 100% vaccinated cruise that people would develop symptoms. Especially if a significant number of passengers were vaccinated with J&J or over 4 months ago. 

I do agree that testing otherwise healthy individuals is making this look worse than it actually is, but I'm not sure there is a reasonable option not to test.

45 minutes ago, Wheelhouse said:

You are probably wearing a cloth mask which is about as effective as duct taping a couple of pieces of toilet paper to your face.  A properly fitted N95 mask is not pleasant to wear for an extended period of time.   

Agreed. If you wear a proper mask for 6+ hours in a day you should expect facial bruising. Those poor doctors and nurses when this thing first started taking off that had to wear them 12+ hours a day until their faces adapted. 

1 hour ago, MrMarc said:

No, the Judge said that the CDC could not enforce rules, but they could make recommendations.  Not surprisingly, the cruise lines are actually interested in the safety of their passengers (and their own reputations) and really do not care about the politicization of this medical issue.  They will follow the CDC not because they have to, but because they are quite intelligent.

People lose sight of this. Most cruise lines wanted to follow CDC guidelines. At least one wanted to exceed it. It was only the State of Florida that challenged the CDC. It was a waste of time and money since cruise lines were going to follow them even if they were downgraded to recommendations.

Just now, Shayhooper said:

Sure, it is possible that someone is manipulating this but for what purpose?  Personally I subscribe to the "when you hear hoofbeats, think horses not zebras" mentality.  Carnival is likely doing this because they don't want their customers getting sick both because they care about their customers and they care about their bottom line.  Cruisers that need to be tested and quarantined on board cost them money, both in testing costs and lost revenue because quarantine people aren't spending money on drinks, tours, bingo, restaurants, and rides.  Or casinos.  

Wait? QT'd people can't get drinks? 😲😲😲

I'm out, not worth the risk! 😜

3 minutes ago, atexsix said:

 

That's exactly how I am.  Or even a Plan C.

 

Something is off about this whole thing. Cruises are normally very efficient well timed operations, everything magically falls into place.  But this is different and completely out of step. 

 

Someone else must be manipulating this, probably the CDC, they are forcing the cruise lines hands:  "Do this or we shut you down".  

I don't think so, unless I've missed announcements from other cruise lines. If the CDC was pushing this I would expect the cruises that don't meet the 95% vaccinated limit to be getting rid of their mask free vaccinated only areas.