Mask on Adventure

[LXA350]

4 hours ago, pinnacleking2021 said:

hopefully this is a temporary thing.. good luck to them selling rooms 

 

RCL will find enough passengers to sell those cruises as luckily they have enough clientele that does not only cruise because life is cheaper on board than on land, otherwise RCL would have been long gone before any pandemic.

 

Hence, the start up phase is really only for passionate cruisers that can't wait to finally be back onboard and are ok with a cruising experience that will be somewhat different to what it was before the pandemic.

[twangster]

From Adventure's cruise planner:

 

[ace2542]

1 hour ago, livingonthebeach said:

 

A fully vaccinated ship (passengers and crew) would likely support some modification of the the Healthy Sail Panel recommendations, which were published before the vaccines were rolled out.  Your "Masks For Life" / "Masks Forever" mantra is getting a bit old.  

Would it though and what do you think that modification would be?

 

Consider the lack of Flu season. Do you think they will insist upon Flu vaccination as well? The lack of said Flu season this year was because of masks and social distancing either that or Covid has somehow destroyed the Flu virus. There is no need for staff to be taken sick with Colds or Flu on a cruise ship and take time off work anymore. Masks have proven that . If they insist upon mask wearing it won't happen. And I think the lines realise that.

Edited March 24, 2021 by ace2542

[ace2542]

1 hour ago, LXA350 said:

luckily they have enough clientele that does not only cruise because life is cheaper on board than on land, otherwise RCL would have been long gone before any pandemic

No they don't. Apart from so called "Super Mario" - the guy has been onboard since at least 2000 and is the most travelled passenger by far - they don't have that many people who spend extended periods of time on the ship and none that live onboard like Mario does. Few lines do. People may do a couple of b2b or cruise 5 or 6 times a year but not like what you are thinking.

[later]

3 hours ago, dswallow said:

There is zero information in this thread. Royal Caribbean themselves has stated that they have not yet made final decisions about various onboard protocols and they will be provided to us prior to sailing.

All we have going on now are low-rent bloggers/reporters rehashing the same stuff that's been out there for 4 or 5 months as part of the initial response taken when the CDC created the conditional sailing order and RCCL/NCL responded with the Healthy Sail Panel and recommendations.

Those recommendations are now outdated, though they are the only thing put forward so far by the cruise line. So in the void of specific information, we have people writing articles just pulling little random snippets of this stuff together and passing it off as the way these cruises will be operated.

Until Royal Caribbean puts out their protocols specific to these sailings, the only thing you can say right now is that (a) You must provide full vaccination and have a negative PCR test to board, and (b) you will have to purchase a Bahamas Health Visa and comply with their protocols in order to enter the country.

How do you apply for a Bahamas Health Visa if a COVID OCR test has to be less than 5 days prior to entering the country.

[later]

3 hours ago, dswallow said:

There is zero information in this thread. Royal Caribbean themselves has stated that they have not yet made final decisions about various onboard protocols and they will be provided to us prior to sailing.

All we have going on now are low-rent bloggers/reporters rehashing the same stuff that's been out there for 4 or 5 months as part of the initial response taken when the CDC created the conditional sailing order and RCCL/NCL responded with the Healthy Sail Panel and recommendations.

Those recommendations are now outdated, though they are the only thing put forward so far by the cruise line. So in the void of specific information, we have people writing articles just pulling little random snippets of this stuff together and passing it off as the way these cruises will be operated.

Until Royal Caribbean puts out their protocols specific to these sailings, the only thing you can say right now is that (a) You must provide full vaccination and have a negative PCR test to board, and (b) you will have to purchase a Bahamas Health Visa and comply with their protocols in order to enter the country.

How do you apply for a Bahamas Health Visa if a COVID RT-PCR test has to be less than 5 days prior to entering the country.

[dswallow]

8 minutes ago, later said:

How do you apply for a Bahamas Health Visa if a COVID OCR test has to be less than 5 days prior to entering the country.

 

At the moment, that would be: Go for the test 5 days before your flight someplace that can provide you RT-PCR test results within 48 hours. Get the results within the next day or two and submit it in your application online at https://travel.gov.bs/. Perhaps there'll be some adjustments specific to people entering the country and going directly to the ship which they'll announce closer to sailing.

[grandgeezer]

1 hour ago, LXA350 said:

 

RCL will find enough passengers to sell those cruises as luckily they have enough clientele that does not only cruise because life is cheaper on board than on land, otherwise RCL would have been long gone before any pandemic.

 

Hence, the start up phase is really only for passionate cruisers that can't wait to finally be back onboard and are ok with a cruising experience that will be somewhat different to what it was before the pandemic.

 

3 minutes ago, later said:

How do you apply for a Bahamas Health Visa if a COVID RT-PCR test has to be less than 5 days prior to entering the country.

I don’t know where you live to say life is cheaper on a ship rather than at home. Since we have to fly to/from a cruise port, when you add air, hotel, food, shuttle, in the cost of the trip, I figure it cost us about $250 p.p. per day to cruise. Since we have no bills, I would guess it cost us less than 1/3 of that, that includes everything.

[later]

On 3/24/2021 at 6:46 PM, dswallow said:

 

At the moment, that would be: Go for the test 5 days before your flight someplace that can provide you RT-PCR test results within 48 hours. Get the results within the next day or two and submit it in your application online at https://travel.gov.bs/. Perhaps there'll be some adjustments specific to people entering the country and going directly to the ship which they'll announce closer to sailing.

I hope they have some adjustments for the cruise if not we will be doing just as you wrote and hope both the lab and the Bahamas turn everything around in the max of 48 hours they each say they can do.

[CaroleSS]

On 3/24/2021 at 6:46 PM, dswallow said:

 

At the moment, that would be: Go for the test 5 days before your flight someplace that can provide you RT-PCR test results within 48 hours. Get the results within the next day or two and submit it in your application online at https://travel.gov.bs/. Perhaps there'll be some adjustments specific to people entering the country and going directly to the ship which they'll announce closer to sailing.

The problem with the test is that it is a "point in time" test. Who says that I won't get infected later on that day...or the next day and board the ship as a carrier? 
 

Jan 5, 2021....."The FDA on Monday joined The WHO and Dr. Fauci in admitting there is a notable risk of false results from the standard PCR-Test used to define whether an individual is a COVID “Case” or not"."

Edited March 26, 2021 by CaroleSS

[dswallow]

2 minutes ago, CaroleSS said:

The problem with the test is that it is a "point in time" test. Who says that I won't get infected later on that day...or the next day and board the ship as a carrier? 

 

It is amazing how argumentative some people can be about tests. You will get tested. If you are negative isn't that better than if you are positive or if you don't get tested at all? Of course you could get infected later. But you could also have already been infected and not have symptoms or even just think the symptoms are unrelated. Testing isn't perfect. But it's better than not. The testing, in combination with contact tracing, all comes together to help minimize as best as we can infectious people mixing with others. The contact tracing helps focus on people who had sufficient contact with someone now known to be infectious so that they can watched and tested themselves. That's the sane approach to using the tools available to keep the most people safe.

[CaroleSS]

2 minutes ago, dswallow said:

 

It is amazing how argumentative some people can be about tests. You will get tested. If you are negative isn't that better than if you are positive or if you don't get tested at all? Of course you could get infected later. But you could also have already been infected and not have symptoms or even just think the symptoms are unrelated. Testing isn't perfect. But it's better than not. The testing, in combination with contact tracing, all comes together to help minimize as best as we can infectious people mixing with others. The contact tracing helps focus on people who had sufficient contact with someone now known to be infectious so that they can watched and tested themselves. That's the sane approach to using the tools available to keep the most people safe.

Not being argumentative, just asking questions that need answers. If I have had my vaccines and am "post 14 days", why do I need to be tested? Also, what if the test is a false positive? Can I get a second test to refute the first?

 

Me, I'm not willing to bet an expensive vacation on a "testing isn't perfect" test that may or may not be correct. And with the false positive rate, how do you "know" that someone is "known to be infectious"?

[Sunshine3601]

On 3/24/2021 at 6:46 PM, dswallow said:

 

At the moment, that would be: Go for the test 5 days before your flight someplace that can provide you RT-PCR test results within 48 hours. Get the results within the next day or two and submit it in your application online at https://travel.gov.bs/. Perhaps there'll be some adjustments specific to people entering the country and going directly to the ship which they'll announce closer to sailing.

I thought read somewhere that rcl was handling the health visa for all passengers?

[Ourusualbeach]

1 hour ago, Sunshine3601 said:

I thought read somewhere that rcl was handling the health visa for all passengers?

They are offering a $50 OBC per cabin to help offset the cost.  They are providing an antigen test free of charge upon both boarding and debarkation. 

[dswallow]

1 hour ago, CaroleSS said:

Not being argumentative, just asking questions that need answers. If I have had my vaccines and am "post 14 days", why do I need to be tested? Also, what if the test is a false positive? Can I get a second test to refute the first?

 

Me, I'm not willing to bet an expensive vacation on a "testing isn't perfect" test that may or may not be correct. And with the false positive rate, how do you "know" that someone is "known to be infectious"?

 

The testing for you is because The Bahamas requires it for entry. The Bahamas doesn't currently recognize vaccination as a method of entry to the country. Royal Caribbean is the one requiring the adults be vaccinated. And in the reverse direction, US Customs & Immigration is requiring the Antigen test to enter the United States, because the United States isn't recognizing vaccination as a method of entry to the country (at least the CDC is being consistently stupid :)).

[CruisingHogFan]

1 hour ago, Ourusualbeach said:

They are offering a $50 OBC per cabin to help offset the cost.  They are providing an antigen test free of charge upon both boarding and debarkation. 

Is the OBC something you have to ask about? I don’t see it in my cruise planner

[Ourusualbeach]

Just now, CruisingHogFan said:

Is the OBC something you have to ask about? I don’t see it in my cruise planner

A number of different ways they could do it.  Might be a certain number of days after booking,  a certain number of days to sailing or adding it on board. Not sure how they are handling it. 

[coffeebean]

On 3/24/2021 at 2:34 PM, ace2542 said:

You think they will ever step away from the "healthy sail panel" conditions or requirement or agreement? Not a chance. It is just not Covid you know. Mask will prevent cold and flu among passengers and staff.

I get it now. You have been pulling our chain all this time. You've been joshin' with us. That is the only explanation I can come up with to understand this utter lunacy.

[coffeebean]

12 hours ago, dswallow said:

 

It is amazing how argumentative some people can be about tests. You will get tested. If you are negative isn't that better than if you are positive or if you don't get tested at all? Of course you could get infected later. But you could also have already been infected and not have symptoms or even just think the symptoms are unrelated. Testing isn't perfect. But it's better than not. The testing, in combination with contact tracing, all comes together to help minimize as best as we can infectious people mixing with others. The contact tracing helps focus on people who had sufficient contact with someone now known to be infectious so that they can watched and tested themselves. That's the sane approach to using the tools available to keep the most people safe.

But......what about false positives? Testing positive and the results not being accurate, could certainly ruin someone's plans. I've never been a fan of any of these Covid tests simply because they are not accurate.

 

Haven't there been cases when people have recovered from Covid but still test positive weeks later? How is that going to work for people who are not contagious yet still test positive?

[ace2542]

8 minutes ago, coffeebean said:

I get it now. You have been pulling our chain all this time. You've been joshin' with us. That is the only explanation I can come up with to understand this utter lunacy.

No I am not actually. I don't how it works in America though I have been in NYC Taxis. But in UK private hire taxi drivers who do not have any kind of partition in their taxis. They get every kind of sickness going the first 2 years on the job then build up great immune systems. I am sure cruise ship workers get sick over and over during their contracts? Mask wearing on ships will prevent that from happening and the cruise lines know. The staff know it as well.

[coffeebean]

13 hours ago, CaroleSS said:

Not being argumentative, just asking questions that need answers. If I have had my vaccines and am "post 14 days", why do I need to be tested? Also, what if the test is a false positive? Can I get a second test to refute the first?

 

Me, I'm not willing to bet an expensive vacation on a "testing isn't perfect" test that may or may not be correct. And with the false positive rate, how do you "know" that someone is "known to be infectious"?

Totally agree with your POV.

[coffeebean]

29 minutes ago, ace2542 said:

No I am not actually. I don't how it works in America though I have been in NYC Taxis. But in UK private hire taxi drivers who do not have any kind of partition in their taxis. They get every kind of sickness going the first 2 years on the job then build up great immune systems. I am sure cruise ship workers get sick over and over during their contracts? Mask wearing on ships will prevent that from happening and the cruise lines know. The staff know it as well.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news but you are going to be very disappointed in a year or two when mask wearing becomes a distant memory. Vaccines will provide the herd immunity needed to be able to ditch the masks. Sorry.

[ace2542]

10 minutes ago, coffeebean said:

I hate to be the bearer of bad news but you are going to be very disappointed in a year or two when mask wearing becomes a distant memory. Vaccines will provide the herd immunity needed to be able to ditch the masks. Sorry.

Have you ever considered that maybe the staff won't want them to be ditched? Again why should they have to get every type of cold, flu and sniffle going?

 

Won't UK/US and others even in the slow vaccinating Europe be at so called herd immunity within what? 4 months? 6 months?. Or maybe a bit more?

 

And fwiw I am very disappointed with the plans for vaccine passport for bars et al here in UK. Guess I will have to spend out however much for an I Phone after all.

[Joseph2017China]

On 3/24/2021 at 2:48 PM, dswallow said:

There is zero information in this thread. Royal Caribbean themselves has stated that they have not yet made final decisions about various onboard protocols and they will be provided to us prior to sailing.

All we have going on now are low-rent bloggers/reporters rehashing the same stuff that's been out there for 4 or 5 months as part of the initial response taken when the CDC created the conditional sailing order and RCCL/NCL responded with the Healthy Sail Panel and recommendations.

Those recommendations are now outdated, though they are the only thing put forward so far by the cruise line. So in the void of specific information, we have people writing articles just pulling little random snippets of this stuff together and passing it off as the way these cruises will be operated.

Until Royal Caribbean puts out their protocols specific to these sailings, the only thing you can say right now is that (a) You must provide full vaccination and have a negative PCR test to board, and (b) you will have to purchase a Bahamas Health Visa and comply with their protocols in order to enter the country.

Yes......and rules change weekly based on current trends, and comfort levels of every country.  Cruises start in June, and by end of April a vast majority of people will have a vaccine.  The comfort level of Bahamas might change by June, allowing like Mexico, no testing, just a vaccine etc.  RCCL will also continue to evolve based on current success of cruises going on.  Anyone that books, will need to do so, knowing things will change, but as of today.....wear a mask, get a test......and hope it changes

 

[not-enough-cruising]

50 minutes ago, ace2542 said:

No I am not actually. I don't how it works in America though I have been in NYC Taxis. But in UK private hire taxi drivers who do not have any kind of partition in their taxis. They get every kind of sickness going the first 2 years on the job then build up great immune systems. I am sure cruise ship workers get sick over and over during their contracts? Mask wearing on ships will prevent that from happening and the cruise lines know. The staff know it as well.

Permanent mask wearing on ships and the crew won’t have to worry about getting sick because they will be unemployed because their employer has gone out of business.