docruth
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Posts posted by docruth
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Never have taken travel insurance, as we always go with a travel credit card like AMEX Platinum or one of the good competitors. Haven’t regretted the decision, even after encountering mre than our share of travel glitches. We’ve found that the huge companies like Chase or AMEX have better worldwide service and better benefits to help in the event of a meltdown. We do maintain separate evacuation and foreign medical insurance, but that’s for all travel, not just cruising.
One piece of advice, “read the fine print carefully”, lots of exceptions are hidden in those policies.
Hope that helps!
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Dear Terry @TLCOhio,
I’m posting this link:
Only one post at the end of the thread when they finally cancelled, but you get the idea.
As more news about the fall translants, along with some of accounts of the restart cruises flows in, I believe we’ll finally get to know a lot more about whether’s there’s any residual potential for the ‘22-‘23 cruise season.
Doc Ruth
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1 hour ago, skatie said:
I had the same question - I booked our very first Celebrity cruise on Apex Feb 2021 inside cabin just before pandemic shut down world. We shifted it to Feb 2022 and I'm still a little leary of what might happen if outbreak on the ship, but when I checked the cost to move up to balcony, its a lot more, plus I'd lose a lot of the extra perks I had when I originally booked (upgraded beverages, OBC $300, spec dining). I was hoping maybe I'd get a Move Up offer, but since I booked through Big Box store, I don't think I'm eligible. So for now we will just keep what we have and keep an eye on what is going on in world. I'm double vaccinated and raring to get back out in the world, but lots can happen between now and then. 🤞
It doesn’t work very often, but you can go to guest relations after boarding and ask. Never hurts!
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Just as an aside to the last comment. Dr.Robert Wachter, a Covid researcher from USF interviewed on the PBS NewsHour tonight, gave us three questions to consider about these emerging variants, when considering risk. He estimates the current percentage of new US Delta variant cases in the 4% - 6%, and now growing rapidly.
The Delta variant, believed to have originated India is the newest, potentially the most dangerous. That one was discussedwas discussed and the Drs. answers are in {}. My comments are in ().
1. Is this variant more contagious? {yes}
2. Is this variant more virulent? (makes sicker, higher death rates) {yes} {a little less clear}
3. Will the vaccine protect me from this variant? {Pfizer, yes, Moderna, most likely} {the but here is that you have to be fully vaccinated, one or two injections as the manufacturer instructs, and the 3 weeks, otherwise the protection is drastically reduced against the variant.
And this affects cruising how? 🤷♀️
Doc Ruth
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Hi Terry @TLCOhio
Haven’t posted in a while, but I’ve been reading the what others have said.
I’m sticking with my previous posting, regarding delaying new bookings. Until the fall translants are finished, and we see how that goes, and what cruisers have say about their experience, no new bookings for us. What interests me is the outcome on longer cruises (two weeks).
Everything we had booked is cancelled, and refunded (mostly). All international travel is off the calendar until at least 2023, as I see no indications that the rest of the world is moving rapidly towards high vaccination rates. There are US states (less populated ones) that are way behind. I’m concerned about vaccine production, and distribution, so that’s my rationale for no international travel.
This nonsense with our state government (FL) poking their noses into matters of public health, because commerce is more important that our well-being, is very troublesome. If you don’t want to turn to biology as the correct science that you’d prefer to use in a global pandemic, but prefer economics, I guess that’s your individual choice. There is a cost for each person that gets sick, and an even higher price for those who die, but that never seems to get into financial spreadsheets until it hits the bottom line.
As glum as this post may seem, there’s a bight spot. All those hotel, airline, restaurant and timeshare points will come in pretty handy for some upcoming trips this summer/fall maybe in a land yacht. We’ll stock the freezer, hit the road with the pup, barbecue, just keep up our social distancing, and wear our masks in public. Basically, cruising without the ship and crew. Waiting a year or cruise is no big deal, I’m sure many will have other opinions.
Cheers,
Doc Ruth
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These breakthrough infections, if that’ really what they were are not, taken alone, really concerning.
I made a comment over on another thread. In it, I said that we would wait to see what happened with the Fall 2021 Transatlantics, before entertaining any ideas for new bookings. Today, this is exactly the kind of information I was looking to acquire. Now I want to know what happened on Millennium, and how?
That’s what I’m going to be watching for as we go throught the summer, and later on into the fall.
Way to early to draw any conclusions.
Cheers,
Doc Ruth
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12 minutes ago, songbird1329 said:
So today the court ordered the State of Florida and the Department of Health and Human Services (which enforces the CDC regulations) into mediation. The parties must proceed to mediation by June 1, and the mediator must report on the results within two days after the mediation takes place.
That means the court has not ruled on the motion for a preliminary injunction and will not rule on the motion until sometime in June. That means the Conditional Sail Order remains in effect.
Songbird,
Oh no, no TRO. 🙄
Not unexpected, Thanks for keeping up with the situation and posting …
Doc Ruth
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Hey everyone,
I put this comment on Florida’s lawsuit in another thread, but it might be worth a look for anyone planning a SS voyage that starts, stops or finishes in the US:
This litigation could be a game changer as it could be the start of a new legal precedent, but I think the state is unlikely to prevail, either party will likely appeal a verdict against them. JMHO.
Cheers,
Doc Ruth
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16 hours ago, songbird1329 said:
No decision yet in the preliminary injunction, but I heard oral argument did not go well for the attorneys for Florida.
Songbird,
This is merely a guess on my part. However, I find it difficult to believe that the courts would decide an issue like this in any way that might lessen the CDC’s ability to put regulations into immediate effect to protect the health of US citizens. That is not to say whether those regulations make any sense, I’ll stay out of that, but I would like legal clarification of the CDC (et al) regulatory powers to mandate for the good of public health.
If this outbreak were antibiotic-resistant Tuberculosis or Pneumonia, or any of the other extremely contagious air or water transmitted diseases, we wouldn’t be having this discussion. As it is Covid, we still don’t know what we don’t know about this disease. So, legally inhibiting the CDC, or the state or federal government, in their ability to mandate would be very problematic as a precedent.
Sailing has begun, so soon we will have some information about how effective the procedures are in preventing an outbreak aboard. Hopefully, we won’t have ships sailing around the world trying to find a port that will accept them, again! Time will tell. As I said in a previous post. I’m waiting to see how the Fall translants go before I book anything new. All of our future cruises have been cancelled by the lines, so everything is on hold for us until there’s more clarity.Cheers,
Doc Ruth
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6 hours ago, kimanjo said:
… Mostly deaths were in the aged...
Um, I’m not so sure that’s the case anymore. The elderly, the weak and the infirm always succumb first in a pandemic, but the rest of the population usually follows. The risk only increases as the virus mutates and forms new variants. My real concern is really about the lingering effects after having Covid, especially for kids and working parents, mental deficits are pretty common ones. So called Covid brain fog.
If you look at the burials in Brazil, and the cremations in India, the numbers are massive, but we’re not seeing all old folks. Those countries are known for how well they responded to smallpox and MMR vaccine programs. Now, more folks being taken in their prime because they have to go to work, get exposed there, and are infected as they can’t or won’t get vaccinated. Many of the ports I’d like to go to have a very low percentage of vaccinated populations.
I’d like to be wrong here, however there seems to be a growing consensus among world leaders that handling this pandemic is going in the wrong direction, not improving, and that concerns me.
Yep, I’m officially today's Debbie Downer. lol
Cheers,
Doc Ruth
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On 4/15/2021 at 5:04 PM, TLCOhio said:
Also have heard very good things about Singapore and look forward to visiting there at a future date. Have been considering either an early 2022 or 2023 Silversea cruise from Singapore to Mumbai with three days in Yangon ...
Terry,
Thanks for all the work on the thread.
Looks like we've moved to a discussion of when folks will be comfortable cruising again, which goes very nicely with this thread's theme of testing and when we'll be ready to go back.
So in that spirit, I offer the follow. I am optimistic but cautious. Cautious because as more and more information is published regarding the variants, I believe a booster is now imperative, and I will wait for that to be resolved. DH and I will write off the entire 2021 cruise seasons (Caribbean/European), that's already been decided. I will wait for more data before booking anything in 2022, and don't expect to decide until after the 2021 eastbound European transatlanics have been completed.
First cruise for us is likely to be a short one, southern Caribbean out of Ft. Lauderdale. All of this is based upon merely my opinion, with a cautious perspective applying to basic public health principles.
Cheers,
Doc Ruth
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I’m posting this because I just have to laugh. I hope you will find it pretty silly. Global Entry was work up front, just precisely to speed me through the airport on the way to, and especially back home, from my travels. In their infinite wisdom, these folks think it would be oh so much better to do an interview with a CBP officer at the tail end. Aargh.
Dear Global Entry Applicant,
Instead of scheduling an appointment at a Global Entry Enrollment Center, you have the unique opportunity to interview for Global Entry when you return from your next international trip.
What is Enrollment on Arrival? Global Entry applicants who are conditionally-approved can complete their interviews, the last step of the Global Entry process, while they are clearing through United States Customs and Border Protection or Pre-Clearance.
Enrollment on Arrival (EoA) is ONLY available at participating international airports in the United States and select Pre-Clearance locations and is NOT available on domestic connections.
Enrollment on Arrival is now available at the following locations:
Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS)
Abu Dhabi international Airport (AUH)
Aeropuerto Internacional Reina Beatrix in Oranjestad, Aruba (AUA)
Baltimore/Washington International Airport (MWI)
Boston Logan International Airport (BOS)
Buffalo Niagara International Airport (BUF)
Calgary International Airport (YYC)
Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT)
Chicago Midway Airport (MDW)
Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG)
Cleveland Hopkins International Airport (CLE)
Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW)
Denver International Airport (DEN)
Detroit Metropolitan International Airport (DTW)
Dublin Airport (DUB)
Edmonton International Airport (YEG)
Fairbanks International Airport (FAI)
Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL)
Fresno Yosemite International Airport (FAT)
George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) in Houston
Halifax International Airport (YHZ)
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL)
Honolulu International Airport (HNL)
John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York (JFK)
John Glenn Columbus International Airport (CMH)
Kansas City International Airport (MCI)
Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)
Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY)
Metropolitan Oakland International Airport (OAK)
McCarren International Airport (LAS) in Las Vegas
Miami International Airport (MIA)
Minneapolis St. Paul International Airport (MSP)
Montreal-Pierre Elliot Trudeau International Airport (YUL)
Luis Munoz Marin International Airport San Juan (SJU)
Lynden Pindling Nassau International Airport (NAS)
Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR)
Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport(SJC)
O'Hare International Airport (ORD) in Chicago
Orlando International Airport (MCO)
OrlandoSanford International Airport (SFB)
Ottawa International Airport (YOW)
Philadelphia International Airport (PHL)
Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX)
Portland International Airport (PDX)
Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU)
Reno-Tahoe International Airport (RNO)
Sacramento International Airport (SMF)
Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC)
San Antonio International Airport (SAT)
San Diego International Airport (SAN)
San Francisco International Airport (SFO)
Seattle Tacoma International Airport (SEA)
Shannon Airport (SNN)
St. George’s Bermuda International Airport (BDA)
St. Louis Lambert International Airport (STL)
Tampa International Airport (TPA)
Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport (ANC)
Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ)
Vancouver International Airport (YVR)
Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD)
William P. Hobby Airport (HOU) in Houston
Winnipeg James Armstrong international Airport(YWG)
Check the CBP.gov website for an updated list of participating airports.
What do I do when I land in the international terminal? Follow the signage directing you to CBP officers who can complete your Global Entry interview during your admissibility inspection. In addition to your entry document (e.g., your passport), you will need documents providing evidence of residency. Examples are driver's license (if the address is current), mortgage statement, rental payment statement, utility bill, etc. This is not required for minors.
If you would like to save time and effort, then join the thousands of other conditionally-approved Global Entry applicants and participated in Enrollment on Arrival.
This is an automated email.
Please do not reply.
To which I say, “Don’t worry, I won’t!”. No shortage of geniuses over there at Global Entry. Can’t wait to see what they’ll want for Nexus, maybe a layover in Canada for an interview with CCDP and a two week quarantine in a hotel? Hey, that’s a way to get the hotels up and running! Shoulda been an insultant, with ideas like that.
Laughs,
Doc Ruth
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We’re still waiting for AZ to cancel our next cruise, the North Cape at the end of July. When that cancels, it will be the 1st time in twenty years we have no cruises, nor in-fact any international travel, booked, none even in the preliminary planning phase.
So I guess I’m in Option 5. Nothing booked, nothing planned, used the fare money to put an outdoor recreation facility in the backyard. I expect I’ll just bank travel & timeshare points, use those locally, and plan to stay home for a few years until well after this nonsense ends. Sure glad I didn’t take FCC now, just seems to be another travel scam, and after-all we’ve seen plenty by now
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34 minutes ago, TLCOhio said:
... cruises are high risk and require changes first.” ...
I have to laugh, all of the publicly available Covid dashboards, and status websites, list my county, and my zip code, as “Extremely High Risk”. So logic seems to follow that if “cruises are High Risk”, and the health agencies regard my home town is “Extremely High Risk”, I’d be safer on a ship, rather than at home!
I’m laughing 😂, really I am, as I’m just being facetious. There’s nothing funny about Covid.
It’s just that all with all the conflicting guidance, incorrect health information, lack of any certainty regarding our situation moving forward, the hysteria that has descended on us regarding international health, and its impact on the future of travel / economy conditions. Kinda old now.
Well anyway, as you all know, all that stuff just makes planning for a couple of years challenging.
Cheers,
Doc Ruth
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2 hours ago, TLCOhio said:
“Airlines Urge Virus Passports as U.S. Cases Slow” ...
Terry,I have to admit, I’m really on the fence here.
I travelled while the old “Yellow Card” was still in use, it was a great way of record keeping, along with a nice form of documentation of immunization status, and kept us informed as to when boosters were required. Never found it to be invasive, just stuck it in the pocket of my passport case, and added an update note when I got jabbed.
Where I start to get concerned is with the big-data privacy issues. If it’s OK to as you to answer about your Covid vaccine status, what about the rest of your health issues? Can they ask about other medical condition issues? They already do that now at check-in. This is also where we run up against the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act). In theory, you can be legitimately be asked, if you claim to have a disability, what accommodation you require (e.g. “I can’t walk, need a wheelchair”). You’re are not required to give the details of your disability (e.g. “I stepped on an IED in Iraq, lost my legs”).
When does a “Vaccine Passport”, become a “Health Passport”? Why would we create an important required international travel document that would be for just one vaccine? Is it reasonable for a cruise line, airline, railroad or bus company to ask if you have other contagious medical conditions, if you might require medical assistance during your trip? IDK!
Unfortunately, it’s a very slippery slope, and I certainly have no idea what’s reasonable, nor what the traveling public would accept. Furthermore, how we negotiate acceptabe international regulations for something like medical status documentation hurts my head to even think about.
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At the risk of sounding like a broken record ... the long, slow slog back diatribe ... from today’s NYT:
https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/01/health/us-coronavirus-monday/index.html
Cheers,
Doc Ruth
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29 minutes ago, silkismom said:
I just read, somewhere, that Auckland NZ is shutting down again for 1 case.
“It ain’t over until the fat lady sings” was a popular expression when I was a kid. Something about knowing when a long opera was over from the conclusion of the final aria?
Well, in my opinion, madam has not even put on her costume yet! <grin> At least when it comes to determining whether we’re closer to the beginning or the end of the pandemic, irrespective of whatever we all might want.
Be mindful that the Spanish Flu lasted decades, polio lasted millennia, and those are just two examples from history. Both from back in time, when it was impossible to travel halfway around the earth in a day. Today is different.
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1 hour ago, Tothesunset said:
They could have done what Taiwan, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, Australia, Thailand etc have done. Early lockdown, proper track, trace and isolate and met the developing pandemic with a degree of concern rather than schoolboy bravado. To be fair, having achieved a world class deaths per capita total it's comforting to know that only 200 or so countries have done better.
Geez, Maybe we could have done that in the US too!
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48 minutes ago, JRG said:
I have given this some thought Doc because you are aBsolutely correct in assessing this challenge.
My thinking has to do with a longer term perspective that perhaps (and I say Perhaps) the CDC is really smarter than people think and they are concerned not only with Covid-19 BUT maybe Covid-2x (or some other contagion) that would have to be contained in the case of a FUTURE outbreak.
Covid-19 caught the cruiselines off-guard and that has exposed it soft underbelly, (in the proverbial petri-dish metaphor). The CDC and Cruiselines know that the guidelines put forth will probably also have to deal with other types of containments, not just COVID-19. The cooperating ports are a big part of the equation as well.
It's not the end of future high-end cruising, it's just getting postponed.
JRG,
Thanks for your well thought-out post. We’re pretty much in agreement, with one exception. That exception being that the CDC, along the remainder of federal government, knows what their doing with this type of scenario.
I spent my entire career in public health, so I feel compelled to speak here.
Our Public Health Service, the Center for Disease Control (CDC), and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), among many other entities have been gutted by decades of politicization, chronic underfunding, and anti-regulation lobbying efforts. Their staffs are completely demoralized, by the “one step forward, three back”, to and fro that constantly shifts priorities with no consistent long term goals.
If you’ve noticed, there are never younger high-power spokespersons for any of these entities, because they’ve all fled to big pharmaceutical companies. The oldest folks are biding their time to retirement, and the middle aged folks are taking early-outs, and as such, the brain-drain is enormous. Normal attrition can be a good thing, if it revitalizes an entity, that’s not what’s happening here. I’m not for bigger goverment, I’m for better government.
So, as I’ve previously posted, Covid-19 is not something we couldn’t imagine. The US has been gaming a global pandemic out for decades, and had built an extensive plan playbook to deal with its eventuality. As soon as it was time to implement the plan, we forgot about it, and instead launched a wholly inadequate response.
In the end, we were only able to muster a feeble response, and so I have no reason to believe that future events will be handled any differently. The idea that the travel related companies will police themselves is laughable. Sad, but then again it’s JMHO.
Doc Ruth
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On 2/25/2021 at 3:37 PM, Orator said:
Crystal has announced this as their policy. They require proof of vaccination and a negative test no more than 3 days from boarding. Bet Celebrity follows the same protocol.
I would suggest that they keep testing throughout the cruise so they can isolate those who test positive. Fain said that isolation is a high priority.
This is concerning.
I wonder how this will affect their numbers going forward. Crystal and the other premium cruise lines are known for having mostly older clientele. The higher price point, beautiful accommodations, and premium amenities, make that no surprise to any seasoned cruisers. Their product has been stellar pre-covid.
The thing is, the folks at overwhelming risk for contraindications to the vaccine are exactly that older clientele, the single demographic that is Crystal’s mainstay. So if a proportion of older clients can’t safely take the vaccine, because they are immune-compromised, have severe allergies, take any immune modulation drug, or have other complicating conditions, they’ll probably see this as an end to cruise vacations as an option.
Thinking on the risks, many potential passengers will have to decide no, even intelligent folks who are not anti-vaxers because they don’t have to cruise, there are so many other vacation options That’s a sobering thought for the future of high-end cruising.
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On 2/25/2021 at 5:05 PM, kirtihk said:
I just cancelled (moved to June 2022) my July 2021 cruise to Svalbard, because it’s near impossible it will occur (or if it happens, I have no intention to have a piece of close (or two as “recommended”) on my face while trying to breath the freshest healthiest air on the planet, and don’t want to look as a bandit in the bar or lounge either).
A little OT ... not too bad ... regarding AZ cruising this summer.
I’m just concerned that, between the sale of the line, and whatever newly required health regimens will be required, that sailing AZ just won’t be the same experience anymore. I really don’t want to try an experiment to prove that hypothesis on a bucket list cruise. The North Cape has been on my bucket list for a long time, and I wouldn’t want to spoil it with a sub-standard experience.
July 28th is still a long ways away. We’ll find out if the new owners even want to make the upcoming North Cape cruise happen if there’s no significant change in the pandemic numbers by sail date - 90 days. Can’t imagine how many cruises will have to go off, and be reported back, before we can even assess “What is the new AZ”.
I also wonder if RCL’s “Cruise With Confidence” will apply anymore, since it seems like AZ won’t be under the RCL rubric by late summer?
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17 hours ago, tosteve1 said:
I wish I knew how to “snip” the appropriate segments of this interesting interview. I haven’t reviewed the studies personally but apparently the JNJ vaccine was 100% effective in preventing hospitalization in South Africa. Maybe the variant issue is overblown somewhat?
These are actually quite interesting findings. The scientific community has been abuzz about new mRNA vaccine technology vs. the attenuated virus method of vaccine production. One wonders where the outcome for the future of the technology ultimately lies.
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On 2/18/2021 at 2:18 AM, machotspur said:
Maybe this helps - the official UK Government daily tracking data. This broadly concurs with the statement made by toSteve1 in NC.
https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/?_ga=2.162388156.1498870253.1613500540-249532212.1604064909
There is data in abundance on that site but the key graph illustrating new daily cases (rolling 7 day average) shows a reduction of 80% since the January peak :- ...
M-
Thank you for the link ... good data, goes on my Covid data bookmarks.
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TeeRick,
I don’t know about buying Royal as a equity stock investment, but DH tells me that the screens show folks are making a lot of money trading options. Bad news, stock price flies down, good news, the stock flies up, no news, no price movement so options expire with zero value. Over and over, weekly, monthly, quarterly and LEAPS.
The hedge funds are probably having a field day with RCCL. Now when some of the bigger lines go to liquidation, the volatility will probably skyrocket, then we’ll see even more fireworks.
SS Future Re-Open Plan: Timing, Testing Needs??!!
in Silversea
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Hi Terry,
Nice to see you back!
All of the Covid developments aside, Delta, Mu, Iota, etc, I’ve been thinking a lot about how travelers might change their habits in these times. Similar to the upswing in the last couple of decades in cruise traffic, as cruises became a popular, and very affordable vacation choice.
I think the land destinations that have good tourist infrastructure (think nice accommodations, good food and fun activities), and a high degree of safety, both heath and actual physical security will take a lot of the business from the lines. The ship may no longer be the destination.
Why? Folks are willing to tolerate all this nonsense with testing, and all the other boarding procedures, due to Covid for now, but not forever. It’s not fun to run around testing or checking off boxes, just so you can get some rest and relaxation.
In the long run, folks may gravitate to simpler options, which might be domestic land vacations, or a direct flights to destinations with a stays in all-inclusive vacation properties. It seems problematic that there will be a return to the old days anytime soon.
So more vaccinations, more testing, new health certifications before boarding, after boarding, and possibly at every stop does not make for a stress-free vacation. So my question is, will folks switch their preferred vacations from cruises to alternatives. Post, and let’s discuss what folks might be thinking for the future.
Cheers, Doc Ruth