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

[stellarose]

1 hour ago, tidecat said:

I think you'll see a huge push in late spring/early summer to vaccinate high school/college students, or at least the ones 16 or older. Some states are better at others than distribution, but supply isn't going to be an issue much longer.

thank you . I am sure my 19 year old college student will be ok (would love for Penn State to vaccinate the entire campus- I pay enough OOS tuition ) I am more worried about 17 year old. She has worked so hard to get to be 4th in her class and wants this cruise as a gift for the hard work. I don't want to take it away.

[lexxfield]

On 2/8/2021 at 7:49 PM, john91498 said:

People are giving up cruising because they have to wear a mask? Really?

 

...

Yes, really.

[stellarose]

I wear one every day for teaching.  I hate to say it but masks are here until at least 2022

[john91498]

2 hours ago, lexxfield said:

Yes, really.

 

Enjoy not cruising...

[skridge]

On 2/4/2021 at 8:50 PM, Cafedumonde said:

At least they didn’t say anything about vaccines

Hopefully they will require all passengers and crew to be vaccinated before boarding the ship.

[elcuchio24]

On 2/4/2021 at 8:31 PM, joeyancho said:

Sounds like a horrible vacation to me.  I'm going to see how it evolves before I cancel.  I have until final payment.  

 

Don't forget AI's. We've done 3 mexico trips in the past 12 months and another scheduled for June. They have been just awesome. Cant wait for cruising to come back, but until its at least close to normal, AIs are a great alternative and what we will continue to do as a family. 

[bamaone]

18 hours ago, skridge said:

Hopefully they will require all passengers and crew to be vaccinated before boarding the ship.

We rescheduled for September 2022. Everything will be done and over by then. Cruising will be back to normal. Mask will be for Halloween.

[ninjacat123]

2 minutes ago, bamaone said:

We rescheduled for September 2022. Everything will be done and over by then. Cruising will be back to normal. Mask will be for Halloween.

That would be awesome!!

[mredandchis]

Since last March, my wife and I have been locked down.  She has underlying conditions and I am 69.  I go to the grocery start at 7am each monday morning to dash in and out before customers show up.  On occasion I drive to a drive thru to pick up some food to take home.  On occasion I have done the bank drive thru,  and sometimes my wife rides along.  But that IS IT for 12 months of our life.  No trip to Florida, no beach, not even sitting in a restaurant. Why? Not because of catching Covid but because the man on tv said people like us die from covid. 

 

Now we are getting vaccines and we think there will be freedom again but then I am told this vaccine is not good enough.  The flu kills elderly every year and I get that vaccine and it IS good enough.  And it is 40 to 60 percent effective.    But a 94percent blanket to help shed Covid is NOT good enough.  

 

The idea, as I understood it before, was to protect the elderly and people with conditions who would possibly die pr be in the hospital.  And everyone locked down for 6 weeks.  But people needed to go to work and so we got masks and social distancing  and washed hands.  The young could go out and live a little.  I am glad they opened the restaurants and such but we cant attend until have the vaccine and 2 weeks. 

 

But once we get vaccinated there will be less chance of serious illness and death.  Yes we might catch the bug but we catch other bugs and simply shake them off sooner or later.  Covid will become less threatening.  There will be no reason to wear a mask and social distance.  

[ProgRockCruiser]

9 hours ago, mredandchis said:

Now we are getting vaccines and we think there will be freedom again but then I am told this vaccine is not good enough.  The flu kills elderly every year and I get that vaccine and it IS good enough.  And it is 40 to 60 percent effective.    But a 94percent blanket to help shed Covid is NOT good enough.  

I think the point being made is that it isn't good enough right now to just get the vaccine.  There isn't enough evidence yet (one way or the other) that the vaccine can stop you from catching COVID just enough to be an asymptomatic spreader.  But we should know soon, with any luck.

 

Eventually, when enough folks get the vaccine to reach some level of herd immunity (which will unfortunately also include a portion of the population that has had COVID already, so their immune systems are trained the hard way), it will be enough.

 

In theory, if a group get together involves only vaccinated people today, you should be safe.  

[mredandchis]

13 minutes ago, ProgRockCruiser said:

I think the point being made is that it isn't good enough right now to just get the vaccine.  There isn't enough evidence yet (one way or the other) that the vaccine can stop you from catching COVID just enough to be an asymptomatic spreader.  But we should know soon, with any luck.

 

Eventually, when enough folks get the vaccine to reach some level of herd immunity (which will unfortunately also include a portion of the population that has had COVID already, so their immune systems are trained the hard way), it will be enough.

 

In theory, if a group get together involves only vaccinated people today, you should be safe.  

I agree, at this time there is not enough evidence but more so there is NOT enough herd immunity.  We only have 32 percent right now and we are slowly getting there,  The Israelis are way ahead and are only at 58. Yet the CDC says so far it appears effective.  Yet the numbers are swinging up for them with what they call the British variant yet evidence says its the younger people being clobbered and sent to the hospital.  

My point is that some nice folks seem to think that we will need to keep the same restrictions for years to come.  I just don't see any logic to it.

 

[joeyancho]

On 3/3/2021 at 8:33 PM, mredandchis said:

Since last March, my wife and I have been locked down.  She has underlying conditions and I am 69.  I go to the grocery start at 7am each monday morning to dash in and out before customers show up.  On occasion I drive to a drive thru to pick up some food to take home.  On occasion I have done the bank drive thru,  and sometimes my wife rides along.  But that IS IT for 12 months of our life.  No trip to Florida, no beach, not even sitting in a restaurant. Why? Not because of catching Covid but because the man on tv said people like us die from covid. 

 

Now we are getting vaccines and we think there will be freedom again but then I am told this vaccine is not good enough.  The flu kills elderly every year and I get that vaccine and it IS good enough.  And it is 40 to 60 percent effective.    But a 94percent blanket to help shed Covid is NOT good enough.  

 

The idea, as I understood it before, was to protect the elderly and people with conditions who would possibly die pr be in the hospital.  And everyone locked down for 6 weeks.  But people needed to go to work and so we got masks and social distancing  and washed hands.  The young could go out and live a little.  I am glad they opened the restaurants and such but we cant attend until have the vaccine and 2 weeks. 

 

But once we get vaccinated there will be less chance of serious illness and death.  Yes we might catch the bug but we catch other bugs and simply shake them off sooner or later.  Covid will become less threatening.  There will be no reason to wear a mask and social distance.  

Dont buy into the hysteria.  You will be good to go after the vaccine.  My buddies 99 year old mom survived the rona.  People who don't survive, on average,  have 2.9 underlying issues.   

[marshhawk]

I too think that everyone who gets on a cruise ship must be vaccinated.  Testing is a joke.  You test on Monday and come down with symptoms of Covid on Thursday....how long have you had it?  We are constantly hearing on the news that you may still get Covid after a vaccine, but it wont kill you.  (so far)  but variants are still happening.

 

My first cruise that looks like we will make (after cancelling 4) will be in December.  If i have to wear a mask i will, but my question is, what are they are gong to do with us smokers???  oops.

[pe4all]

11 hours ago, marshhawk said:

My first cruise that looks like we will make (after cancelling 4) will be in December.  If i have to wear a mask i will, but my question is, what are they are gong to do with us smokers???  oops.

Maybe limit smoking just to outdoor smoking area.  No more smoking at casino bar, etc.?

[ProgRockCruiser]

1 hour ago, pe4all said:

Maybe limit smoking just to outdoor smoking area.  No more smoking at casino bar, etc.?

As a non-smoker I would love that, but I can't imagine it will ever come to pass.

[pe4all]

1 minute ago, ProgRockCruiser said:

As a non-smoker I would love that, but I can't imagine it will ever come to pass.

Same.  But at least it would be an option for smokers.  Can't imagine them getting around the possible mask ordinance in public areas onboard they might-and probably will- put into place.  And the casino bar is definitely a public area.

[crewsweeper]

By next year, we'll have a clearer idea on whether or not the vaccines hold immunity, like measles vaccines or need to be annually renewed, like the flu vaccines.  Also there may be a pill available that works similar to Tamiflu and knocks out any COVID.  5 day stay at home treatment.  If cruisers can demonstrate they have had an updated vaccination and or have a doctor's note that they have gone through the pill treatment, that could help eliminate a lot of social distancing/masks requirements for onboard.  

[marshhawk]

Just saw the CDC message regarding post vaccine.  If you have had your vaccine you are OK to get together with other folks indoor and out who have had their vaccine, so wouldn't getting the vaccine solve all of the problems?  Well on board anyway.  It's those places we visit that would still be a problem.  I am so looking forward to a cruise.

[mouche]

Glad I rebooked our Mardi Gras cruise for October 2022, I only hope things are closer to normal by then, because if this is how it's going to be upon starting back up, I'll pass. Don't get me wrong I know it has to be done, but it would not be enjoyable for me.

[Djptcp]

There was good news last night about treating Covid. Eli Lilley and Glaxo-Smith-Kline have treatments for those who get Covid that are greatly reducing hospitalizations and deaths. Glaxo actually stopped their trials because they felt it was ethically necessary as the 50% who received the new treatment were doing exceedingly well and they felt it wasn't fair to the 50% who had received a placebo.

 

Sort of returning to the OP's original post, we had 4 cruises (3 on Holland and 1 on Carnival) booked for Dec. 2021, Jan., Feb., and April 2022. We have booked only suites with balconies on two and balcony cabins on two just because of concern if the worst happened and there was a Covid outbreak and we were quarantined. Definitely wouldn't want an inside or ocean view cabin and be stuck in our cabin without access to the outdoors. For us, definitely worth the extra costs and a high value for the cruises.

[Out of Iowa]

Well, these protocols shared by the OP make me feel entirely unlikely to cruise while in effect...

 

Mandatory testing nearly a week prior to boarding is pointless.  What is the purpose of a giant swab up my nose when any result may not be meaningful by the time of boarding?

 

Temperature checks upon leaving/reboarding the ship may make people feel good - but they are not reliable indicators of anything.  I pity the folks who were at the beach, ran the pier to return to the ship or are simply hot & dehydrated from the Mexican sunshine...they could easily show up with an "abnormally high" body temp. There could be dozens (or more!).  Then what?

 

Require proof of vaccination  (stipulate one of the most effective ones) for all passengers, crew, staff, shore-side staff, baggage handlers, etc. and I'm onboard tomorrow!

 

While I am glad I don't have a cruise booked now, I am hopeful the world will improve and the CDC will devise equally-effective - but more acceptable and manageable - protocols.

[elcuchio24]

On 3/2/2021 at 8:38 AM, stellarose said:

I wear one every day for teaching.  I hate to say it but masks are here until at least 2022

 

Sorry, thats a hard pass for me. Been to Mexico AIs 3 times in the last year. Another two booked. No masks necessary. Love cruising but not doing it with a mask when there are other great options available.