Carnival COVID-19 Notices on website before booking now...

[cruzin Phillis]

3 hours ago, firefly333 said:

Cdc says it from what I've read. You are required fo do 1 before you board. Carnival will give you another one at boarding and at debarking. This is only until nov 1stt. After that I'm hoping cdc goes away and leaves cruising alone. I only have the one booking prior to nov 1st. After that I'm hoping vaccines count... idk what. One booking at a time.

wishful thinking... the CDC from the the looks of it will be in cruises life for a while

[pc_load_letter]

3 hours ago, firefly333 said:

I think the 3 covid tests are more onerous than which excursion to take. Just me. 

 

I've read the Carnival statement a couple times and failed to see a section that mentions three covid tests. Can you point that out to me?

[john91498]

1 hour ago, jetsfan58 said:

The vaccines are going to eventually work to hopefully eradicate this virus. In the interim mask wearing is still highly suggested. I applaud Carnival for their cutting edge leadership and thinking.

 

The virus will never be eradicated. The flu has been around since 1918 and it's still not eradicated.

[LHARTWICK]

4 hours ago, bingomamma19 said:

 We can eat on our cabana and relax.

IF you can even get food - sounds like that part alone with be a challenge.  We are booked on the Mardi Gras for September - we'll be cancelling or moving it to late 2022.

[cruzin Phillis]

2 hours ago, Linda the Book Lover said:

Well said neighbor to the south of us. I recently said about the same thing to my friend and we both could not figure out why the brouhaha when it comes to cruising. We continue on traveling on city public transportation along with planes, trains etc to other states and there is not the same amount of scrutiny as cruise ship travel. Agreed we are on a floating hotel with the same people for a length of time, and I agree with monitoring the outside contact while on board but sometimes I wonder why the CDC is treating cruise ships differently than other modes of transportation.

Political. Cruise lines with the exception of Pride of America are registered in US so they evade paying taxes for the most part. 

[pc_load_letter]

2 minutes ago, cruzin Phillis said:

Political. Cruise lines with the exception of Pride of America are registered in US so they evade paying taxes for the most part. 

I really wish people would stop with this ridiculous internet trope.

 

YES, they pay taxes. And lots of them

 

https://cruiseradio.net/fact-check-do-cruise-lines-pay-us-taxes/

[cruzin Phillis]

5 minutes ago, pc_load_letter said:

I really wish people would stop with this ridiculous internet trope.

 

YES, they pay taxes. And lots of them

 

https://cruiseradio.net/fact-check-do-cruise-lines-pay-us-taxes/

Its not ridiculous at all, yes they pay port taxes to the US and other ports in other countries as well. Yes, they have corporate offices in the US but again... my point is proven because they do not pay corporate taxes nor do they have to abid by most federal wage and employment laws. 

Its like saying non US citizens pay taxes when they buy something from the store 🙄

Edited February 5, 2021 by cruzin Phillis

[JerseyGirlJen]

14 hours ago, MikeandLinda2010 said:

I am ready to cancel our cruise in January now.  This sounds like a miserable vacation.  My husband wants to wait until we have to before our final payment.  

Same.  I'm set to go next February, I'm waiting until final payment is near and then either cancelling or pushing it out as far as the dates on the calendar go.  Bring on 2024.  I can see that balcony cabins are going to be very popular.

[jetsfan58]

I prefer to be positive about any critical situation. With faith mountains have been moved. I will never say never. This too can be beat.

[pc_load_letter]

3 minutes ago, cruzin Phillis said:

Its not ridiculous at all, yes they pay taxes in some form but registering their flags with other countries allows them to evade alot of US regulations and taxes

 

Oh vey....unless you want your cruises to start costing $5000 a trip...be glad they are foreign flagged....https://emmacruises.com/cruise-ships-fly-foreign-flags/

[Silent Penguin]

4 hours ago, bingomamma19 said:

We are on the Mardi Gras at the end of August this year.   We are in a Havana Cabana room, so i am not too concerned about the protocols.  We already will have our own access to the Havana area pools, which only the Havana cabins have access too.   And i love to just sit on my balcony/cabana area and listen to the water.     We can eat on our cabana and relax.

 

I am ready...lets go!!

I'm happy for you.

[cruzin Phillis]

Just now, pc_load_letter said:

 

Oh vey....unless you want your cruises to start costing $5000 a trip...be glad they are foreign flagged....https://emmacruises.com/cruise-ships-fly-foreign-flags/

It still is not. POA is the only ship that sails under US and they can not do as other ships registered differently. You go book a hawaii trip see how much it is. Paying port taxes and employees Paying taxes out of pay checks is nothing if Carnival were to register just 1 ship in the US. They are no different than companies that based themselves in out countries but work in the US.

 

[Silent Penguin]

4 hours ago, crewsweeper said:

One positive thing about all the testing and mask wearing and hand washing...it will also reduce the incidents of NORO and all the colds and flus that seem to stowaway on cruises.

YES!  I feel so bad for the folks who've spend much or all of their cruise time sick as dogs.  

 

[Indytraveler83]

None of this new policy is/should be surprising. And I'd bet it's all in an effort to get ships moving again. Totally understand if it doesn't sound very attractive to many people, but it seems pretty clear that getting ships to go out at first would take measures like this. 

 

Once ships are going and hopefully the virus is under more control, I'd bet these get lax or changed quickly. We are scheduled out for Thanksgiving of this year, so very interested to see how it looks by then. 

[firefly333]

1 hour ago, pc_load_letter said:

 

I've read the Carnival statement a couple times and failed to see a section that mentions three covid tests. Can you point that out to me?

I said it's in the cdc protocols I had read. I never said it's in carnivals statement. Carnival just said to get tested before you board. The othe tests you dont have to pay for, carnival might.

 

The only one concerns me is the one coming out of my pocket I have to be responsible for. Added costs on my end. I dont care if carnival does or doesnt comply with testing after I board. Hoping the price comes down. 

 

 

[ledges1]

As mentioned earlier in a post above, these new requirements are not surprising. The cruise lines are in fight for survival. If these are the rules to get the ships moving, the industry will probably strictly enforce. Another ship with a COVID outbreak will sink the industry. The CDC will shut it down. If that happens, credit will dry up and some cruise lines will have to file bankruptcy. 

The industry has always flown foreign. They may not pay corporate taxes but it does contribute significantly to the economy. All the parking decks would be empty in the cruise ports. Municipalities count on this revenue to repay the bond issues and generate a positive cash flow. Transportation companies transport supplies to the ship. Cruise lines purchase the products that are delivered to the ships. The airline industry moves passengers across the country to the port cities for cruises. Dock workers in in all the embarkation ports service the ship, etc.... This and many others (individuals and US corporations) depend on the industry. If the tax issue bothers any one, US land based vacations are available.

[Jamesatgsu]

1 hour ago, john91498 said:

 

The virus will never be eradicated. The flu has been around since 1918 and it's still not eradicated.

Flu has been around a lot longer than that. We really don't know what will happen. Maybe with the vaccine being developed so rapidly it will die off before it can mutate as much. Maybe it mutates even worse. 

[40yearcruiser]

We were expecting this. It doesn't say anything about requiring the vaccine YET. We are now on the inaugural sailing of the Mardi Gras since everything prior to May 29 has been canceled, but we will be surprised if it happens. Not thrilled with the requirements, especially the limited shore excursions, but will be on the cruise if it goes.

[kdr69]

6 hours ago, rikitikitavii said:

But thankfully they aren't requiring the silly double masking stuff.

 

you did read the part about two layers? isnt that the same as wearing two masks?😏

[kdr69]

1 hour ago, pc_load_letter said:

Its not ridiculous at all, yes they pay taxes in some form but registering their flags with other countries allows them to evade alot of US regulations and taxes

Im pretty sure i read somewhere its more about Insurance issues and costs than it is about tax evasion.  

[Georgie562]

Cruising as we know it has changed.....

 

I wear my mask all day at work, no way I'm willing to wear it on vacation. If you go on a vacation it's to take a break from it all including taking a break from wearing masks.

 

I foresee a spike in AI vacations this year. 

[kdr69]

1 minute ago, kdr69 said:

Im pretty sure i read somewhere its more about Insurance issues and costs than it is about tax evasion.  

Plus if they are US Flagged they can only hire US personnel and must pay US wages.  In the case of the Pride of America that was based in Hawaii it also meant the loss of the Casino

 

[ZoeyVictoria]

12 minutes ago, 40yearcruiser said:

We were expecting this. It doesn't say anything about requiring the vaccine YET. We are now on the inaugural sailing of the Mardi Gras since everything prior to May 29 has been canceled, but we will be surprised if it happens. Not thrilled with the requirements, especially the limited shore excursions, but will be on the cruise if it goes.

I am booked for September 4 and really, really hoping that it is not the inaugural sailing.

[cruzin Phillis]

33 minutes ago, ledges1 said:

As mentioned earlier in a post above, these new requirements are not surprising. The cruise lines are in fight for survival. If these are the rules to get the ships moving, the industry will probably strictly enforce. Another ship with a COVID outbreak will sink the industry. The CDC will shut it down. If that happens, credit will dry up and some cruise lines will have to file bankruptcy. 

The industry has always flown foreign. They may not pay corporate taxes but it does contribute significantly to the economy. All the parking decks would be empty in the cruise ports. Municipalities count on this revenue to repay the bond issues and generate a positive cash flow. Transportation companies transport supplies to the ship. Cruise lines purchase the products that are delivered to the ships. The airline industry moves passengers across the country to the port cities for cruises. Dock workers in in all the embarkation ports service the ship, etc.... This and many others (individuals and US corporations) depend on the industry. If the tax issue bothers any one, US land based vacations are available.

my comment has nothing to do with the issue of Carnival paying or not paying taxes.  My comment was directed as a clarification to the poster about the type of taxes and also to say that with land based vacation on an up tick and Asian cruises under way, I can not see why the CDC does not allow for some type of conditional sail for cruise lines. They seem to be very lenient to other forms of travel and as another poster stated, it will hard for any cruise line to sail 100% covid free. 

[kdr69]

Just now, Georgie562 said:

Cruising as we know it has changed.....

 

I wear my mask all day at work, no way I'm willing to wear it on vacation. If you go on a vacation it's to take a break from it all including taking a break from wearing masks.

 

I foresee a spike in AI vacations this year. 

followed by a spike in COVID cases acquired from all the folks not wearing masks around you?  There isnt anywhere I can go here without wearing a mask if im around other people.  So short of staying home and vacationing on my balcony I will adapt.