New health guidelines for the future

[HappyCruiserettu]

15 hours ago, pris993 said:

Then explain how do you need to get the medallion ready with an app?

 

I can't really explain that, but passengers who are not from the US will get their medallions at embarkation. So, it appears prior preparation is not needed.

[caribill]

55 minutes ago, pcur said:

Sinks and counters are easy to install anywhere there is a water line.  Since the entrance to the buffets are near the kitchen, it wouldn't be that much of a problem. 

 

 

Princess already had sinks at the buffet entrances to the Royal class ships and it is indeed relatively easy to install them on older ships near the buffet.

 

But the web site said "

• "encouraging guests at venue entrances to use the hand-washing sinks and hand sanitizer dispensers"

which to me implies at the entrance to the Princess Theater, Princess Live!, Vista Lounge/Club Fusion, Club 6, etc.

 

I expect there will be hand sanitizer dispensers at those entrances, but not hand-washing sinks.

[cruzsnooze]

4 minutes ago, caribill said:

 

Princess already had sinks at the buffet entrances to the Royal class ships and it is indeed relatively easy to install them on older ships near the buffet.

 

But the web site said "

• "encouraging guests at venue entrances to use the hand-washing sinks and hand sanitizer dispensers"

which to me implies at the entrance to the Princess Theater, Princess Live!, Vista Lounge/Club Fusion, Club 6, etc.

 

I expect there will be hand sanitizer dispensers at those entrances, but not hand-washing sinks.

The sinks would be a great prevention of the spread of germs IF used properly with soap and water and lots of friction for a full 20 seconds but we all know that many people will essentially tickle the water and move on. The time frame required for everyone to properly wash is also prohibitive and slow down the line. 

[junglejane]

Handwashing is wonderful.  It greatly reduces the transmission of  diseases such as norovirus, which are transmitted through what is delicately called the fecal-oral route.  But handwashing doesn't prevent much Covid, which is predominantly a respiratory virus.   A person infected with Covid can scrub their hands perfectly sterile, but they will still be exhaling virus with every breath.  

[mcrcruiser]

7 minutes ago, junglejane said:

Handwashing is wonderful.  It greatly reduces the transmission of  diseases such as norovirus, which are transmitted through what is delicately called the fecal-oral route.  But handwashing doesn't prevent much Covid, which is predominantly a respiratory virus.   A person infected with Covid can scrub their hands perfectly sterile, but they will still be exhaling virus with every breath.  

Yes very true . It is so obvious to us that it will be ultimately  be necessary for the vast majority  of people to be vaccinated with the vaccine to wipe out the covid 19 strain  .Then we hope there are no future incidences of corona virus  infections

[USCcruisecrazy]

1 hour ago, pcur said:

A few thoughts/opinions:

 

Sinks and counters are easy to install anywhere there is a water line.  Since the entrance to the buffets are near the kitchen, it wouldn't be that much of a problem.  Any cruise line that wants to keep it's crew and passengers healthy have probably already installed them.  They work very well on RCCL ships.

 

I've noticed that many people on this thread are "looking backward" instead of "forward".  Adjustments have to be made to our expectations.  I don't personally think any of the changes are that much of a hardship.  I like the idea of eating in a less crowded, less noisy dining room on the ships.  I WANT to wash my hands before I eat. 

 

Trust me on this next one:  cruise lines WANT HAPPY CUSTOMERS.  They will do their best to make your experience a good one, but we all need to adjust, too.  My happy list:

 

masks - check

social distancing - check

washing hands a LOT - check

fewer people in the dining rooms - check

COVID19 tests for everyone - check (keeps you safe; keeps me safe)

 

My only real concern is elevators, and they must get that figured out.

Nice post.  

In reference to the elevator question, if people are required to wear a mask on the levator because they cannot maintain social distancing...and if someone is constantly cleaning the surfaces of the levator (buttons in particular) will it really be a problem?  My understanding is (assuming masks work) that it takes around 15 minutes for someone to be in close contact with a positive person in order to receive enough of a viral load to become infected.  I should hope the levator ride is no more than half a minute or so.  Just some random thoughts!

[USCcruisecrazy]

24 minutes ago, mcrcruiser said:

Yes very true . It is so obvious to us that it will be ultimately  be necessary for the vast majority  of people to be vaccinated with the vaccine to wipe out the covid 19 strain  .Then we hope there are no future incidences of corona virus  infections

I would venture to say if people wait for the COVID-19 virus to be wiped out, they will lkely never cruise again.  I imagine our best hope is that from herd immunity (either via a vaccine or so many people contracting it) the C-19 virus weakens enough to be more like the common cold.  Vaccines would only eradicate the virus if everyone received one and that ain't happening. since about 40-50% of folks said they don't plan on taking one.  

[Roger88]

14 minutes ago, USCcruisecrazy said:

I would venture to say if people wait for the COVID-19 virus to be wiped out, they will lkely never cruise again.  I imagine our best hope is that from herd immunity (either via a vaccine or so many people contracting it) the C-19 virus weakens enough to be more like the common cold.  Vaccines would only eradicate the virus if everyone received one and that ain't happening. since about 40-50% of folks said they don't plan on taking one.  

This  is what I have thought. This thing is with now and I might suppose we will have break out here and there every now and then (just like flue). I only wish we come up with a vaccine or some kind of medicine to make it easier to overcome once you catch it

[USCcruisecrazy]

2 minutes ago, Roger88 said:

This  is what I have thought. This thing is with now and I might suppose we will have break out here and there every now and then (just like flue). I only wish we come up with a vaccine or some kind of medicine to make it easier to overcome once you catch it

Yeah, I will certainly take a vaccine when it comes out...hopefully sooner than later.  I think if you receive the vaccine (if it's like a flu shot) you could still get a little sick if overly exposed, but you fight it off easier and quicker.  

[Potstech]

"...since about 40-50% of folks said they don't plan on taking one." They way that now but when the vaccine becomes available and they are turned away from venues they may change their minds.  

[Luckiestmanonearth]

On 10/8/2020 at 1:54 PM, johnmik1 said:

I think that Princess should go back to being able to order off the MDR menu in all staterooms like HAL does.This would ease the strains on the other dining venues.

Great.  Everyone on cruises in the future will basically hole up in their rooms for a week.

What would be the point of that?

[johnmik1]

Not necessarily!Many people would substitute it for the buffet or the limited room service menu.We sail about 50 nights a year and probably go to the MDR 50% of the time.After 750 + days at sea,getting dressed up every night is not what it once was to us.

[GonzoWCS]

5 hours ago, pcur said:

A few thoughts/opinions:

 

Sinks and counters are easy to install anywhere there is a water line.  Since the entrance to the buffets are near the kitchen, it wouldn't be that much of a problem.  Any cruise line that wants to keep it's crew and passengers healthy have probably already installed them.  They work very well on RCCL ships.

 

I've noticed that many people on this thread are "looking backward" instead of "forward".  Adjustments have to be made to our expectations.  I don't personally think any of the changes are that much of a hardship.  I like the idea of eating in a less crowded, less noisy dining room on the ships.  I WANT to wash my hands before I eat. 

 

Trust me on this next one:  cruise lines WANT HAPPY CUSTOMERS.  They will do their best to make your experience a good one, but we all need to adjust, too.  My happy list:

 

masks - check

social distancing - check

washing hands a LOT - check

fewer people in the dining rooms - check

COVID19 tests for everyone - check (keeps you safe; keeps me safe)

 

My only real concern is elevators, and they must get that figured out.

Check Check FTW!!

[dreaminofcruisin]

6 hours ago, D&L Thomas said:

A vaccine will not magically fix everything and make the cruising experience the same as it used to be. The best vaccine will be about 70% protective, for one thing. And about 40% of Americans say they will never get the vaccine.

It would be crazy to cruise without a Covid specific insurance policy to cover medical care and evacuation, I haven’t seen that mentioned. Most travel insurance excludes pandemics, and many US health insurance plans provide zero coverage outside the country.

 

MedJet Assist has information about Covid and they will transport you home....though of course....the port has to be willing to let you off the ship AND you must be admitted to the hospital for Medjet to apply:

 

https://medjetassist.com/medjet-blog/blog/2020/01/24/medjet-services-alert-coronavirus

 

[nini]

On 10/8/2020 at 12:44 PM, mcrcruiser said:

Caution  should you get ill in Italy make sure you have a very large line of credit on credit cards . I was ill in 2008 in rome .The hospital required a $15000 deposit or I would not be admitted  

Does travel insurance help? I know that none of plan on getting sick when we

travel, however, we all know that it can happen. We have had so many fellow

cruisers share their experiences with us. I have also heard (from you as well) that

we need to have a certain amount to give them up front. Ugh!

 

Thanks for bring that up though. We will need to make sure that we have that available

before we leave.

[Potstech]

Here is a question not yet asked - What is the cost of the COVID premiums above standard travel insurance?

[mcrcruiser]

3 hours ago, nini said:

Does travel insurance help? I know that none of plan on getting sick when we

travel, however, we all know that it can happen. We have had so many fellow

cruisers share their experiences with us. I have also heard (from you as well) that

we need to have a certain amount to give them up front. Ugh!

 

Thanks for bring that up though. We will need to make sure that we have that available

before we leave.

If you need medical assistance while outside of the USA  & you purchased Trip insurance  ,then keep every receipt to send in against your claim .We  kept every receipt including taxi fares & got back every dime  .you can save a lot of money buying  trip insurance if you have a Chase Sapphire preferred credit card .  check  out thi credit card ,the travel benefits can save people thousands in trip insurances & other features of this Credit card .Once you book with this card then go just to square mouth.com for  jusy medical & med vac insurance . Be aware that med vac means from your ship to the closest hospital or medical center that can handle the case . However ,if you were in a foreign country & wanted to get back to the USA & a facility here to take care of you ,then you need a  different medical flight plan & you can get those on a yearly basis  .Moving  a ill person by medical jet from Europe or Asia can easily be well into the 6 figure  cost 

 

Hope this info helps you & others 

[KruzPrincess]

Hand washing is a good habit, but it doesn’t stop the primary type of transmission of Covid. It’s transmitted in the air. People in long lines waiting to wash their hands at two sinks are more likely catch it from everyone talking and breathing. Imagine how long the line would be if everyone is social distancing while they wait in line for the forced hand washing. The line would be out to the pool. Same with lines of people waiting to be served their food in the buffet. 

[ontheweb]

5 hours ago, KruzPrincess said:

Hand washing is a good habit, but it doesn’t stop the primary type of transmission of Covid. It’s transmitted in the air. People in long lines waiting to wash their hands at two sinks are more likely catch it from everyone talking and breathing. Imagine how long the line would be if everyone is social distancing while they wait in line for the forced hand washing. The line would be out to the pool. Same with lines of people waiting to be served their food in the buffet. 

In 2018, we were on the HAL Maasdam which had servers instead of self serve for the buffet. The lines for the buffet were no longer than usual.

[d9704011]

5 hours ago, KruzPrincess said:

Hand washing is a good habit, but it doesn’t stop the primary type of transmission of Covid. It’s transmitted in the air. People in long lines waiting to wash their hands at two sinks are more likely catch it from everyone talking and breathing. Imagine how long the line would be if everyone is social distancing while they wait in line for the forced hand washing. The line would be out to the pool. Same with lines of people waiting to be served their food in the buffet. 

Don’t much agree with you about the transmission business but let’s address the physical length of the line.  If you’re separated by six feet or so and you’re 10th in line you are physically separated from your dinner plate by about 50-60 feet.  Under normal conditions, probably 15-20 feet.  Thing is, you’re still 10th in line no matter how far away you are and the time it will take to move up to the buffet is most likely not significantly different.

[muffydawg]

IMHO these published guidelines are only to make people feel good about BOOKING a cruise, paying a deposit versus actually SAILING on one.

[mcrcruiser]

22 hours ago, USCcruisecrazy said:

I would venture to say if people wait for the COVID-19 virus to be wiped out, they will lkely never cruise again.  I imagine our best hope is that from herd immunity (either via a vaccine or so many people contracting it) the C-19 virus weakens enough to be more like the common cold.  Vaccines would only eradicate the virus if everyone received one and that ain't happening. since about 40-50% of folks said they don't plan on taking one.  

What if the governments of the world  passed laws  that  it was a requirement  to have been vaccinated  with the  covid 19  vaccine  in order to go on a plane ,cruise ship ,train ,bus ,taxi ie  ?  Could we then see a wide spread acceptance ;as long as your own doctor said it was safe to take the vaccine ? pr even to be able to get a passport  a person had to be vaccinated ?

[pcur]

On 10/9/2020 at 9:40 AM, junglejane said:

Handwashing is wonderful.  It greatly reduces the transmission of  diseases such as norovirus, which are transmitted through what is delicately called the fecal-oral route.  But handwashing doesn't prevent much Covid, which is predominantly a respiratory virus.   A person infected with Covid can scrub their hands perfectly sterile, but they will still be exhaling virus with every breath.  

 

The handwashing stations on RCCL ships are touchless, the water pre-heated, and the soap dispensers touchless and pre-measured.  They give you enough soap that you almost have to spend enough time to get it all off!!

[RocketMan275]

On 10/9/2020 at 11:02 AM, mcrcruiser said:

However ,we all can 't be wearing masks ,shields ie in dining areas or at  bars  on cruise ships . You don't take a fork full of food into your mouth & then replace your mask .It just won't work  .Same with drinks .

You need to tell the governor of california who recently told his state that they must replace their masks between bites.  

BTW, my country club requires those standing at the bar to replace their masks between sips.  Those seated at the bar are not required to do so.

[RocketMan275]

On 10/9/2020 at 11:02 AM, mcrcruiser said:

However ,we all can 't be wearing masks ,shields ie in dining areas or at  bars  on cruise ships . You don't take a fork full of food into your mouth & then replace your mask .It just won't work  .Same with drinks .

You need to tell the governor of california who recently told his state that they must replace their masks between bites.  

BTW, my country club requires those standing at the bar to replace their masks between sips.  Those seated at the bar are not required to do so.