CDC Lifts Cruise Ban

[NavArch64]

The "key" requirement is to obtain a "COVID19 Conditional Sailing Certificate" from the CDC for each ship under each brand that is proposed to operate in U.S. waters.

[Beth 2001]

25 minutes ago, danv3 said:

Somewhat surprisingly (to me at least), page 32 says that the cruise operator must conduct testing at embarkation and disembarkation.  So having a test back home 48-72 hours before you board is unlikely to suffice.  

 

Tests must be conducted prior to embarkation and disembarkation, and results must be available prior to embarkation and "prior to passengers and crew departing for their final destinations after disembarking the ship." p. 32, para. (a)(4). 

 

This suggests that, if passengers are unable to obtain negative test results prior to disembarkation, they will be allow to leave the ship but must wait for a negative test result before they can leave for their "final destinations." It is unclear where (or for how long) passengers would be required to wait for their test results, or what will happen if they test positive.

 

The CDC also reserves the right to require post day of disembarkation laboratory testing of passengers and crew, as well as additional laboratory testing during a voyage. p. 33, paras. (b)(2), (3).

 

[Pratique]

They never imposed anything like this on the airlines.

[Plum Happy]

14 minutes ago, NavArch64 said:

The "key" requirement is to obtain a "COVID19 Conditional Sailing Certificate" from the CDC for each ship under each brand that is proposed to operate in U.S. waters.

Wow, how many ships sail during this time that will need to get one.  Who will certify?  I am going to assume that they will be on these ships to certify then?

[twangster]

50 minutes ago, Hoopster95 said:

 

Well....

since Covid19 will not magically disappear from the earth before Nov 2021, this order will remain into effect until then...

 

which also means that all the recommendations within these 40 pages are to be adhered to by RCL. I have not read it, however I will assume that means length of cruises, on board capacity, etc etc....

 

which also means that long cruises (ie. TPs and TAs) will very likely not happen next year....

 

which means that only ships classes that can actually make a bit of profit at reduced capacity will actually sail....

 

which then means there will be a ton of redployment, itinerary changes, etc.... for example sending Serenade through the Panama Canal (14 day cruise) to Vancouver, and then TPs to Hawaii & Sydney. Won't happen with this order.

 

which means..... add hundreds more issues/items that could affect your booking.

More than ever, and as expressed by many very early on, the very very very best thing to do is  not book anything at all... sit back and wait until cruising resumes, and only then book a vacation

 

The CSO can be pulled at any time.  If it isn't it expires naturally in Nov. 2021.

 

We are just 8 months into this thing.  No one can predict what we will look in 8 months time.  Nov. 2021 is 12 months away.   

 

If protocols prove to work the CSO could be modified in 6 months time to allow longer cruises.  

 

We just don't know.  

[firefly333]

59 minutes ago, sandebeach said:

"For volunteer passengers on the simulated voyages, they need certification from a healthcare provider that they have no pre-existing medical condition that would put that individual at high risk for COVID 19 as determined by CDC guidance". I don't like this phrasing, because anyone can be at risk for getting infected with COVID; the underlying health conditions may impact how the disease affects the person, but everybody can be at risk for getting COVID.  This is on page 24.

Oh oh, isnt age a pre existing condition..hopefully not for april

[ReneeFLL]

43 minutes ago, island lady said:

.........Another weird thing....why start with short sailings?  Isn't there a lot more turnover of fresh virus possibilities with more people coming and going more often?  

If someone gets covid and they are on a short cruise there's no proof that they got sick ON the ship. They could have gotten it the night before or even that morning while at a hotel, etc and they will still test negative by the time they get on the ship. That way if it's a short cruise it can't be proven that the covid came from the ship. If they were on longer cruises and tested negative first, but 10 or how ever many days it takes to show up then they test positive they can say it came from the ship. CDC won't like this and will probably want to stop cruising again. In Europe they weren't allowing b2b due to this.

[sandebeach]

Just now, firefly333 said:

Oh oh, isnt age a pre existing condition..hopefully not for april

This requirement was for volunteer passengers on the simulated sailings. But I did not see this repeated in the section on Resumption of Passenger Cruises (but I did not read every single word!)

[NavArch64]

Another "key" requirement is that a valid USCG COI must be in place for 6 months prior to applying to the CDC for its certification. Hopefully, all of the ships in the major brands fleets have kept these current.

[Ourusualbeach]

11 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

Oh oh, isnt age a pre existing condition..hopefully not for april

The preexisting stuff only applied to passengers on the test cruises as far as I could tell

[Joseph2017China]

What I see is a lot of negative comments and lay people trying to analyze how this will work.  Simply put, this order is a start-up, temporary order to test systems, tweak them, and get a billion dollar business going.  It is time to sit back, let the experts figure it out, and hopefully sometime in December, actual paying cruises will happen.  One step at a time

[smplybcause]

21 minutes ago, ReneeFLL said:

If someone gets covid and they are on a short cruise there's no proof that they got sick ON the ship. They could have gotten it the night before or even that morning while at a hotel, etc and they will still test negative by the time they get on the ship. That way if it's a short cruise it can't be proven that the covid came from the ship. If they were on longer cruises and tested negative first, but 10 or how ever many days it takes to show up then they test positive they can say it came from the ship. CDC won't like this and will probably want to stop cruising again. In Europe they weren't allowing b2b due to this.

 

That's what I'm thinking the thought process is. Though technically even on longer ships you don't *know* they got it on the ship because it's possible the got it from one of the ports. But no way to know for sure besides they likely contracted it at some point after the ship left home port. 

[NateUpNorth]

33 minutes ago, Pratique said:

They never imposed anything like this on the airlines.

 

Airline - couple hundred people, pretty limited time frame, usually one starting point, one destination

 

Cruise ship - couple/several thousand people, for a week or more at a time, coming and going at several destinations 

 

I'm not sure the two should be compared.

[The Grumpus]

It's a start.  I really didn't think the CDC would bend this year.

[Pratique]

10 minutes ago, NateUpNorth said:

 

Airline - couple hundred people, pretty limited time frame, usually one starting point, one destination

 

Cruise ship - couple/several thousand people, for a week or more at a time, coming and going at several destinations 

 

I'm not sure the two should be compared.

Airline - dozens of long duration international flights daily from around the world, crews exposed on multiple flights and at multiple layovers. No ongoing restrictions until Nov. 1, 2021. Yeah, I'm going to compare them. It doesn't take long for the virus to infect someone.

[Chiliburn]

I haven’t seen it mentioned yet ,on RCG fb it says Navigator is expected to start it December.

[twangster]

Kind of surprised the CDC actually read and incorporated the public comments from the RFI.

 

"Respondents to the RFI included members of the public, the cruise industry, seaport authorities, and the travel and hospitality industries. A majority of respondents (approximately 75%) expressed support for the resumption of passenger cruising in the U.S. "

 

...

 

"While CDC bases its public health determinations on the best available science and not on public opinion, the willingness of the public to accept measures to mitigate the risk of transmitting COVID-19 onboard cruise ships is noteworthy. Accordingly, CDC carefully considered these comments in drafting this framework."

Edited October 30, 2020 by twangster

[smplybcause]

14 minutes ago, NateUpNorth said:

 

Airline - couple hundred people, pretty limited time frame, usually one starting point, one destination

 

Cruise ship - couple/several thousand people, for a week or more at a time, coming and going at several destinations 

 

I'm not sure the two should be compared.

 

One airplane can fly thousands in the span of a week though. While longer exposure to an infected person increases your likelihood of getting it, it doesn't mean it can't be contracted in a "limited time frame". 

 

If you google around you'll see articles referring to long-haul flights were one flight is linked to dozens of cases. I read another article recently where 1 US air marshall has died and over 100 have been infected (pretty much their entire job is to be a passenger on a plane). 

 

Not to mention the virus got here via plane, not a cruise ship. The length of time on cruise ships just gives the virus time to show itself, but it's not like it isn't spreading on planes. 

[Port of Tampa]

Woo hoo! Retiring in Jan 2021 and have nine cruises on the calendar and can’t wait.

[bouhunter]

35 minutes ago, Joseph2017China said:

What I see is a lot of negative comments and lay people trying to analyze how this will work.  Simply put, this order is a start-up, temporary order to test systems, tweak them, and get a billion dollar business going.  It is time to sit back, let the experts figure it out, and hopefully sometime in December, actual paying cruises will happen.  One step at a time

You're right.  But I suspect there will be 500 posts on this thread by tomorrow 🙂

 

[SV1432]

Who thinks wearing masks and other mitigation efforts will be enforced when the cruises do resume? The way I’m reading it, many of the mitigation procedures are optional and just window dressing to satisfy the CDC and certain political leaders.

 

1, 2, 3 - Let’s debate!! 😀😀

 

Joking aside, at least it’s a defined roadmap for the cruise lines to work through and hopefully those that want to cruise can in the near future. 

[Billy Baltic]

Are B2B still allowed? Doesn’t make sense to allow them while restricting cruises to 7 days or less. 

[Hoopster95]

51 minutes ago, twangster said:

We just don't know.  

 

Fully agreed twangster.

However, like we have tried to do for the last 8 months, we can at least put logic and common sense together to get an idea of the possibilities when we get any official news (like the deployment thread where we see port bookings). I think it's obvious, using common sense in this specific case, the outcome does not look overly positive

 

 

35 minutes ago, Joseph2017China said:

and hopefully sometime in December, actual paying cruises will happen.  

 

4 minutes ago, Port of Tampa said:

Woo hoo! Retiring in Jan 2021 and have nine cruises on the calendar and can’t wait.

 

And right on cue, there's goes logic and common sense right out the window.

[mets123]

1 hour ago, royal2020 said:

i have 2 weeks on harmony in dec 2020 and so many back to backs in jan do u think i will be able to go

No!

[SV1432]

2 minutes ago, mets123 said:

No!

I could be wrong but I have to assume they were