Celebrity will be restarting cruising out of St. Maarten on June 5th with Millennium

[Diamond lover]

2 hours ago, marieps said:

You didn't begin to clarify with an apology.  I'm appalled! 😁

Hahahaha our reputation is solid. I apologize on behalf of my fellow Canadian.

[zitsky]

Here in North Carolina I got it through my primary care physician.  21 days from first to second (Pfizer).

[hcat]

45 minutes ago, hcat said:

Our Moderna shots were given 28 days apart,.as per rec of hosp clinic  in Florida where they were given and the manuf. Second dose was pre- reserved. 

 

 Guess there is some leeway but 4 months seems  long. ( Side effects of 2nd shot were worse than 1st, as expected)

 

Tests for kids are okay but vaccinations may need much more study & thought.

Coincidenally, i just came across an internet entry that asked about the time frames and consequences of  getting it late..........

 

"The second dose of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines can be delayed up to six weeks – or 42 days. Public health experts say you have some wiggle room, but what happens if you miss that six-week deadline too?"

 

The "expert" opined that the person should take the late shot but did not say how late might be too late so the person would have to start over.

 

Does the cruise line say how recent the immunization would have to be for cruising purposes????

[jagoffee]

HCAT,  I certainly hope not. Nor should the cruise companies start making requirements for which manufacture of the the vaccine is appropriate.  Whether a vaccine is valid should be left to Health experts. 
All my opinion of course.

Edited March 22, 2021 by jagoffee

[HMR74]

Quick 15 minute video from one of the "cruise" you tubers. within this video is the CDC director being questioned by the US Senator from Alaska on the timing of the 4 phases, and the CDC director actually said the CDC is not the only US Agency with control over this. I postulated a couple of days ago the CDC was and is dragging its feet. This whole issue is caught up inside the US Bureauocracy.

 

Hence, RCCL saw this and decided to sidestep the CDC to get cruises restarted and as I said put pressure on the CDC to do something.

 

Politics.

 

 

[HMR74]

Here is another report/view but its the same thing--CDC receiving pressure from Congress--not a lot yet, but...

 

 

[HMR74]

And here is Richard Fain putting pressure on the  CDC, and it looks like with good cause.

 

 

[HMR74]

By the way, Scott Gottlieb, former FDA director and on the panel, said Friday  on CNBC that he believes masks will not be needed in 2-3 months

[Laurab23]

While I am happy to see Celebrity restarting cruises, I hope this is not the end of cruises from the U.S.

I do not fly and I am sure there are other cruisers like me. I would be very sad to give up cruises completely.

 

Laura

[TeeRick]

1 minute ago, Laurab23 said:

While I am happy to see Celebrity restarting cruises, I hope this is not the end of cruises from the U.S.

I do not fly and I am sure there are other cruisers like me. I would be very sad to give up cruises completely.

 

Laura

Not sure why you would think that or worry about that.  Whenever the CDC gives the go-ahead, cruise lines will be very eager to start cruising again from their US homeports.  It still might be months away.  

[TeeRick]

8 hours ago, HMR74 said:

By the way, Scott Gottlieb, former FDA director and on the panel, said Friday  on CNBC that he believes masks will not be needed in 2-3 months

Masks in general?  Or masks on vaccinated ships?

[poffles]

 

17 hours ago, Fouremco said:

...  and I believe that most provinces will continue with the delayed 2nd shot, but that the delay will be shorter. 

 

Our province NS has switched gears from the 21/28 days (after minimal vaccinations given) to extend it to the 16 week window.  They got one week/round of over 80s done with first shot and they then received a 3 week auto scheduled return date for their second shot (those people all have both shots now).  A week later they announce that everyone will now receive a 16 week auto schedule return date, even the continuation of the over 80s.  Like you mention, they were holding back second doses to assure they had for the 21/28 date but it appears that is no longer the plan.

 

Guess it makes sense to cover more people quickly with a little less immunity than having small numbers fully vaccinated but large numbers continuing to be left completely unprotected and vaccines sitting in coolers.  Either way Canada is behind the eight ball so we patiently wait our turn and hope that the process does get faster;  I will continue to hibernate as much as possible until then.

 

Meanwhile I continue to debate the AstraZeneca since that might be the first vaccine offered to me.  Sometimes choices are a bad thing, I never thought twice about what my Flu shot was.  ** sigh**

[poffles]

8 hours ago, HMR74 said:

By the way, Scott Gottlieb, former FDA director and on the panel, said Friday  on CNBC that he believes masks will not be needed in 2-3 months

 

I think some people already got that memo (back dated) by what I've witnessed on the news.  😞 

Edited March 22, 2021 by poffles

[HMR74]

4 minutes ago, poffles said:

 

I think some people already got that memo (back dated) by what I've witnessed on the news.  😞 

it was masks in general and was on CNBC this past Friday.

I'd link it except I do not remember where I saw it.

 

but also, about a month ago I saw a directive from the CDC, which seems to be forgotten, that it said that from US ports, masks would be worn thru check in  until on board and then again upon disembarkation in the US.  That seems be have been forgotten, but makes sense.  and that was before we are seeing the vaccine benefits.

If we are approved to board a ship now and apparently you have to have been vaccinated and or if young prove you do not have covid, then in theory you are in a bubble on board.

 

The next issue then would be the shore excursions.

At some point we need  understand we cannot guarantee perfection. that there is a risk reward calculation that has to be made.

 

 

[BigAl94]

8 hours ago, HMR74 said:

By the way, Scott Gottlieb, former FDA director and on the panel, said Friday  on CNBC that he believes masks will not be needed in 2-3 months

Did he not mean years? Covid: Masks and social distancing 'could last years' - BBC News

[poffles]

20 minutes ago, HMR74 said:

it was masks in general and was on CNBC this past Friday.

I'd link it except I do not remember where I saw it.

 

but also, about a month ago I saw a directive from the CDC, which seems to be forgotten, that it said that from US ports, masks would be worn thru check in  until on board and then again upon disembarkation in the US.  That seems be have been forgotten, but makes sense.  and that was before we are seeing the vaccine benefits.

If we are approved to board a ship now and apparently you have to have been vaccinated and or if young prove you do not have covid, then in theory you are in a bubble on board.

 

The next issue then would be the shore excursions.

At some point we need  understand we cannot guarantee perfection. that there is a risk reward calculation that has to be made.

 

 

 

Sorry I was being sarcastic in that many think masks are already not mandatory ANYWHERE.  Totally get the possibility on a ship though if everyone is vaccinated, I did see that somewhere about not needing masks in a group of people that were all vaccinated so has some value to it for sure.

Edited March 22, 2021 by poffles

[HMR74]

29 minutes ago, poffles said:

 

Sorry I was being sarcastic in that many think masks are already not mandator ANYWHERE.  Totally get the possibility on a ship though if everyone is vaccinated, I did see that somewhere about not needing masks in a group of people that were all vaccinated so has some value to it for sure.

ok 🙂

I do not think there is actually any law to enforce any of this.

 

I generally follow the KISS method.

 

I go the other way when I see trouble. I do not want to be around people  when they are coughing or sneezing. I do not like to have "in your face" conversations.

And I do not want to cough or sneeze on anybody. (sometime when my throat is dry I do try to clear it but now I am afraid to do that even with mask on)

 

At some point people have to exercise their own good judgement. We know the existing risks of cruising or being on a NY or other city subway.

 

BTW, the CDC , from memory, has a webpage ranking the ships, cleanliness and healthwise,  with scores. Most of them were rated 95-100 (reflection received a 100 the last time the CDC did this) .

 

You would think this scoring system would work well for the consumer, who does have a choice (we still do have choices, don't we).

 

 if not the CDC scoring system, the Cruise Critic  reviews could sink a cruise line. Usually deservedly so. LIke the Olympics we used to have, throw out the top  and bottom 5% outliers, and whats left is meat and potatoes.

 

And Gottlieb was saying masks not necessary in 2-3 months.

 

Edited March 22, 2021 by HMR74

[Fouremco]

31 minutes ago, HMR74 said:

 

And Gottlieb was saying masks not necessary in 2-3 months.

Gottlieb was providing an opinion, one that many other experts would not agree with at this time.

[SeaHunt]

15 hours ago, hcat said:

Does the cruise line say how recent the immunization would have to be for cruising purposes????

 

Sorry this doesn't answer your question because it doesn't show how recent the shots would need to be, but I thought I'd just add a note that the RCI's FAQ sheet for the Adventure sailings show you do have to have the second dose at least 14 days prior to sailing:

 

6. Do I need a COVID-19 vaccine to cruise? What documents count as proof of vaccination? How far in advance do I need to get my vaccine? At this time, guests 18 years and older are required to be fully vaccinated for COVID – 19, along with all crew members onboard. Each guest must submit proof of vaccination no later than boarding day, in the form of the original vaccination record document issued by either ( 1 ) the country’s health authority that administered the vaccination ( e. g., U. S. CDC' s Vaccination Record Card) or ( 2 ) the guest' s medical provider that administered the vaccination. Electronic vaccination records will only be accepted for residents of those countries where electronic documentation is the standard issued form ( e. g., a unique QR code). The vaccination record submitted to Royal Caribbean must show that the guest is fully vaccinated. This means that the guest has completed the full cycle of required doses for the vaccine administered ( e. g., received the second dose in a two- dose series), and that the guest has received the final dose at least 14 days before the sailing date.

 

https://creative.rccl.com/Sales/Royal/Deployment/2021_2022/AD_FAQs.pdf

[tosteve1]

On 3/19/2021 at 1:39 PM, Bo1953 said:

Four (4) month wait for the second vaccine???

 

bon voyage

Canada, like some other countries, is delaying second doses in order to get first doses to more people quickly. Should work generally although I doubt it’s a good idea for the older cohort with less robust immune systems.

[ECCruise]

1 hour ago, Fouremco said:

Gottlieb was providing an opinion, one that many other experts would not agree with at this time.

He seems to have a number of opinions on the subject.  Take any with grain of salt. 

Dr. Scott Gottlieb: People who have been vaccinated should still wear masks

Gottlieb warns of potential for new outbreaks fueled by New York virus variant

Edited March 22, 2021 by ECCruise

[RichYak]

19 minutes ago, SeaHunt said:

...The vaccination record submitted to Royal Caribbean must show that the guest is fully vaccinated. This means that the guest has completed the full cycle of required doses for the vaccine administered ( e. g., received the second dose in a two- dose series)...

So, here's my concern. Is getting Pfizer or Moderna 4 months apart considered a "two-dose series" to satisfy the "fully vaccinated" requirement? 4 months is well outside what I thought was a 42-45 day maximum duration between doses. It seems more like two first doses than a two-dose series and those folks could be considered vaccinated, but not "fully" vaccinated.

 

I'm not really expecting an answer. I'm just wondering aloud for our Canadian and UK friends.

[nocl]

12 hours ago, HMR74 said:

By the way, Scott Gottlieb, former FDA director and on the panel, said Friday  on CNBC that he believes masks will not be needed in 2-3 months

It all depends upon the disease incidence.

[nocl]

2 hours ago, Fouremco said:

Gottlieb was providing an opinion, one that many other experts would not agree with at this time.

It all depend.  If you listen to his comments, he is making that comment with the anticipation of fairly dramatic drop of in the number of cases.  That the incidence of COVID has dropped sufficiently in that time.

 

If it hasn't dropped sufficiently due to new variants or some other reasons then they would still be needed.

[HMR74]

20 minutes ago, nocl said:

It all depends upon the disease incidence.

As I said he "believes"  we will not be using masks in 2-3 months. If hes eary by  month or two, no big deal.

 However, if I was risk manager at a cruise line, I would be requiring a note from  the doctor saying to the best of his  or her knowledge, this person does not have multiple comorbidity's and appears fine to travel on that issue. Or has a couple of them and they are treated and treatable  and in the doctors opinion should be fine.

 

I think its just wrong on many accounts for seriously ill people to travel on a cruise. And I know fairly well educated younger folks who appear sharp & healthy, who have not even been to a doctor in ages. Who knows whats lurking.

 

The goal is , I guess from our perspective, to be on cruises asap that are safe and enjoyable, and we will adapt to reasonable restrictions.

 

The goal of the cruise lines is to stay in business-then get back to profitability --by providing safe and enjoyable cruising ---and sustain the business by not disappointing on many grading points and fronts.

 

The goal of the CDC is--not sure after the new Director punted to some other agencies like the Transportation Dept.  Leads me to believe she had and has  been told what to do. Which also means she is the wrong person for the job. That's funky as this is all about safe health environment, including the old normal sanitation on board which is a foundation of this mess, as well as to be on top of covid.  Just how clean is a cruise ship.

 

I think Gottlieb in that clip discussed risk and reward. Life is about risk and reward. The public just needs to be informed about the risks, and if the public and businesses  , individually, can handle the risk, let the reward take care of itself.

 

But they all better hurry up, I am not buying green bananas

 

 

 

Edited March 22, 2021 by HMR74