Would you go iv everyone is not vacinated?

[mame42]

On 4/28/2021 at 2:17 PM, Horizon chaser 1957 said:

I suspect that those of us who were at sea last March when the world came crashing down have a very different viewpoint from many who were not.

Like several people have said, I’m not afraid of sitting beside unvaccinated people if I have been vaccinated.

However, I’m very much afraid of:

Having to wear a mask everywhere but my cabin 24/7 to protect the unvaccinated.

Having casinos, bars, and entertainment closed or limited to protect the unvaccinated.

Being restricted to ship only excursions and no contact with locals, to protect the unvaccinated.

Being turned away from bucket list ports because the ship is not fully vaccinated.

Having the cruise cut short when someone brings the virus on board and it’s spreading among the unvaccinated.

Being stuck with a lockdown that restricts us to our cabins on the trip back in an ‘abundance of caution’ to protect the unvaccinated.

So on a ship, I guess I’m afraid of sitting beside unvaccinated passengers after all.

Add to the 2020 experience the logistical nightmare of attempting to return to the US from a foreign country during a crisis, not something I ever care to repeat.  I won't cruise unless the ship is fully vaccinated.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

On 4/30/2021 at 9:35 AM, Mary229 said:

I think it would have been more interesting to know the ages of the people who took the poll.  I have a suspicion that the age is skewed to above 65

I think above 75 .

[Horizon chaser 1957]

1 hour ago, syesmar said:

Horizon chaser 1957,

When you were at sea through that ordeal, how long did it take you to get back home? I recall following the boards and what you all went through was unimaginable! Also how long did it take for HAL to sort out refunds, FCCs, etc., those post-cruise aspects of the interrupted sailing?

I pray lessons were learned by the cruise lines to avoid these situations in the future.

All the Best!

Here’s the long answer. Bear with me.
We were lucky enough to be on the Amsterdam, and had no virus on board. We had it easy compared to some of our HAL sister ships. It was the World Cruise, leaving Fort Lauderdale January 4 when there were vague rumours of sickness in China that no one payed attention to. It was supposed to arrive back on May 15. For about a month and a half before the pandemic was declared, our itinerary was Antarctica, southern Chile, the South Pacific, New Zealand and Australia. All of these were completely clean at the time we passed through. Even so, we were denied by the countries going forward from Australia BEFORE everything shut down. Once the pandemic was declared, the plan was to divert to ports in Western Australia and end the cruise at Perth. Then they discovered the Ruby Princess had brought the virus to Sydney and all bets were off. We cruised slowly down the Australian coast for ten days unable to land but hoping to get permission to disembark in Perth and fly home. After much back and forth with permission to land passengers being alternately given, rescinded, and given again, we were given a day and time to dock in Perth. The ship had a one hour window per day over three consecutive days to disembark passengers. As it was, the time and even existence of the debark windows was changed, often while people were standing at the top of the gangway with their luggage. When your assigned window was announced you grabbed your carryon and ran for the gangway. We were allowed off on the third day, with one hour to get the remaining passengers off the Amsterdam. Perth airport was chaos and crammed with panicked people. All the planes were full, and ongoing flights were being cancelled as we watched the board. In Melbourne, everyone who had been on a cruise ship in the preceding two weeks was directed into a roped off section of the boarding lounge and boarded last. The flight attendants were sent down the plane to identify  all cruise ship passengers and the seats they were in. Our plane sat on the tarmac for over an hour while the airline negotiated permission to land at LAX with us aboard. My husband and I were sitting by the galley, where the FA’s sat. While they treated us with absolute professionalism, when they were behind the curtain one of them hissed to another ‘They came off a CRUISE SHIP’ in complete revulsion. We were treated like toxic waste by every airport employee we encountered in every airport we passed through for the entire, long journey. Our luggage remained on the Amsterdam and wandered aimlessly for seven months, first on the Amsterdam, then on a container ship after the A’dam was sold. We got it back the last week of October.

Do I think that someone who objects to being vaccinated has the right to put 1000+ people through that again? No, I do not.

Our refund and FCC took about 90 days to come through. This was much faster than any of the airlines we dealt with. TAP Portugal still hasn’t refunded the airfare for our post cruise flight which they cancelled. I contact them every other Friday. British Airways was the best, and the only one that gave us a refund faster than HAL.

All in all the experience was educational but not much fun. I hope that answers what you wanted to know.

[CI66774]

1 hour ago, mame42 said:

Add to the 2020 experience the logistical nightmare of attempting to return to the US from a foreign country during a crisis, not something I ever care to repeat.  I won't cruise unless the ship is fully vaccinated.

I appreciate your perspective on this issue. I’m a little confused though. The moment you step off into a port city, you might be surrounded by unvaccinated people who will cough, sneeze, touch, etc. even if vaccinated, you’re not immune from being infected by that and bringing it back on the ship and infecting others - both vaccinated and unvaccinated. The same results could occur. So unless your cruise is a cruise to nowhere with no one embarking or disembarking before the finish, I don’t see how you will be any more protected with everyone vaccinated.

[CI66774]

On 4/28/2021 at 1:21 PM, KirkNC said:

I agree that everyone has to assess their own risk tolerance but I believe many are not looking at the bigger picture of what happens with unvaccinated and Covid on board.  Time will tell as some lines will sail with unvaccinated, let’s see how that works out and how everyone’s cruise experience meets their expectations.

Even if vaccinated, you step off the boat in a port city and might be surrounded by unvaccinated, sick people. You easily could bring that virus back onboard and infect others - both vaccinated and unvaccinated. Unless there are no stops on the cruise and no one disembarks/embarks before the finish, I don’t see how having everyone vaccinated onboard will minimize/eliminate the overall risk.

[kazu]

5 minutes ago, CI66774 said:

Even if vaccinated, you step off the boat in a port city and might be surrounded by unvaccinated, sick people. You easily could bring that virus back onboard and infect others - both vaccinated and unvaccinated. Unless there are no stops on the cruise and no one disembarks/embarks before the finish, I don’t see how having everyone vaccinated onboard will minimize/eliminate the overall risk.

 

If everyone is vaccinated, then even if they do contract the virus, the side effect should be minimal.   Your statement I bolded points to the reason 100 % vaccination is key.  The effect on the unvaccinated is far different than those who have been vaccinated IF the vaccinated contract it.

[KirkNC]

5 minutes ago, CI66774 said:

Even if vaccinated, you step off the boat in a port city and might be surrounded by unvaccinated, sick people. You easily could bring that virus back onboard and infect others - both vaccinated and unvaccinated. Unless there are no stops on the cruise and no one disembarks/embarks before the finish, I don’t see how having everyone vaccinated onboard will minimize/eliminate the overall risk.

First I think a huge problem is no one is talking about where exactly cruise ships will go as the rest of the world is not doing that great (unlike the US, UK and Israel).  Last week, the world set a record of over 800k new cases per day.  Those numbers are driven by India and South America but it's naive to think the rest of the world is doing great.  Plus with cases that high, the possibility of variants increases significantly.

 

One point you appear to be overlooking is the impact of vaccines is multifaceted.  First it makes it much more unlikely that you will catch the virus, second and as important, if you are one of the small percent that does catch it, the odds are very high that you will avoid serious symptoms.  Those two combined significantly minimize risk to a 100% vaccinated ship.

[mame42]

46 minutes ago, kazu said:

 

If everyone is vaccinated, then even if they do contract the virus, the side effect should be minimal.   Your statement I bolded points to the reason 100 % vaccination is key.  The effect on the unvaccinated is far different than those who have been vaccinated IF the vaccinated contract it.

Thank you.  Agree completely.

[Boatdrill]

Yes I will cruise if not everyone onboard is vaccinated. Not only do I go out of my house every day into a less controlled environment than a cruise ship, I have flown on airplanes and sat inches away from  strangers in a very confined environment for hours at a time.  Who knows if any of the fliers are vaccinated ?  

[mcrcruiser]

1 hour ago, Boatdrill said:

Yes I will cruise if not everyone onboard is vaccinated. Not only do I go out of my house every day into a less controlled environment than a cruise ship, I have flown on airplanes and sat inches away from  strangers in a very confined environment for hours at a time.  Who knows if any of the fliers are vaccinated ?  

However,the odds are so much better with 100% vaccinated [ax  & crew  on board  

[quack2]

Hell no.

[Cruising Is Bliss]

8 hours ago, Boatdrill said:

Yes I will cruise if not everyone onboard is vaccinated. Not only do I go out of my house every day into a less controlled environment than a cruise ship, I have flown on airplanes and sat inches away from  strangers in a very confined environment for hours at a time.  Who knows if any of the fliers are vaccinated ?  

 

You're comparing apples to hand grenades. If an unvaccinated sick person is on your plane or in your grocery store or passing by you in the street, by the time anyone else they infect gets sick, you'll be long gone and it will not inconvenience you in the slightest. If someone unvaccinated on a cruise gets sick, every other person on that ship gets treated like they're radioactive.

[Heartgrove]

In 74 days we leave for our Viking Ocean cruise around Iceland. It will be the fifth cruise Viking will have conducted with four completed and another half way through on another ship by the time we board. Hopefully with all of the planning and coordinating there will not be any problems.

 

The passengers and crew will be 100% vaccinated traveling to a country that is currently only 10% vaccinated. Iceland plans on an additional 10% by the end of May.

[syesmar]

23 hours ago, Horizon chaser 1957 said:

Here’s the long answer. Bear with me.
We were lucky enough to be on the Amsterdam, and had no virus on board. We had it easy compared to some of our HAL sister ships. It was the World Cruise, leaving Fort Lauderdale January 4 when there were vague rumours of sickness in China that no one payed attention to. It was supposed to arrive back on May 15. For about a month and a half before the pandemic was declared, our itinerary was Antarctica, southern Chile, the South Pacific, New Zealand and Australia. All of these were completely clean at the time we passed through. Even so, we were denied by the countries going forward from Australia BEFORE everything shut down. Once the pandemic was declared, the plan was to divert to ports in Western Australia and end the cruise at Perth. Then they discovered the Ruby Princess had brought the virus to Sydney and all bets were off. We cruised slowly down the Australian coast for ten days unable to land but hoping to get permission to disembark in Perth and fly home. After much back and forth with permission to land passengers being alternately given, rescinded, and given again, we were given a day and time to dock in Perth. The ship had a one hour window per day over three consecutive days to disembark passengers. As it was, the time and even existence of the debark windows was changed, often while people were standing at the top of the gangway with their luggage. When your assigned window was announced you grabbed your carryon and ran for the gangway. We were allowed off on the third day, with one hour to get the remaining passengers off the Amsterdam. Perth airport was chaos and crammed with panicked people. All the planes were full, and ongoing flights were being cancelled as we watched the board. In Melbourne, everyone who had been on a cruise ship in the preceding two weeks was directed into a roped off section of the boarding lounge and boarded last. The flight attendants were sent down the plane to identify  all cruise ship passengers and the seats they were in. Our plane sat on the tarmac for over an hour while the airline negotiated permission to land at LAX with us aboard. My husband and I were sitting by the galley, where the FA’s sat. While they treated us with absolute professionalism, when they were behind the curtain one of them hissed to another ‘They came off a CRUISE SHIP’ in complete revulsion. We were treated like toxic waste by every airport employee we encountered in every airport we passed through for the entire, long journey. Our luggage remained on the Amsterdam and wandered aimlessly for seven months, first on the Amsterdam, then on a container ship after the A’dam was sold. We got it back the last week of October.

Do I think that someone who objects to being vaccinated has the right to put 1000+ people through that again? No, I do not.

Our refund and FCC took about 90 days to come through. This was much faster than any of the airlines we dealt with. TAP Portugal still hasn’t refunded the airfare for our post cruise flight which they cancelled. I contact them every other Friday. British Airways was the best, and the only one that gave us a refund faster than HAL.

All in all the experience was educational but not much fun. I hope that answers what you wanted to know.

Horizon chaser 1957,

THANK you so much for taking your time to share these details from your experience! It is greatly appreciated and gives a perspective on this issue that I can only imagine, since I wasn’t at sea when all of this unfolded.

 

So much hinges on the answer to one question: “what will happen to a sailing if a single passenger tests positive?” I agree that every precaution must be taken onboard, to include being vaccinated.

 

Thank you again!!!

 

All the Best!

[rucrazy]

There will always be the jacka** that needs to feel superior (in their own little world)and refuse to do what is in the best interest of all...

[TriumphGuy]

1 minute ago, rucrazy said:

There will always be the jacka** that needs to feel superior (in their own little world)and refuse to do what is in the best interest of all...

Yep, just "living their life" with no regard or consideration for others. Sounds like my brother-in-law. He refuses to get vaccinated and his job is driving seniors and disabled people to their doctor's appointments. SMH

[mame42]

22 minutes ago, syesmar said:

Horizon chaser 1957,

THANK you so much for taking your time to share these details from your experience! It is greatly appreciated and gives a perspective on this issue that I can only imagine, since I wasn’t at sea when all of this unfolded.

 

So much hinges on the answer to one question: “what will happen to a sailing if a single passenger tests positive?” I agree that every precaution must be taken onboard, to include being vaccinated.

 

Thank you again!!!

 

All the Best!

Thank you, Laura, for putting it all out there in terms everyone can understand.  Add to that the trepidations of a solo traveler negotiating the logistics of arranging flights and transport alone with iffy internet when our home cities were already in lockdown.  I still have nightmares of sleepless nights and cancelled flights; I had three sets of reservations cancelled before successfully negotiating flights home.

[ontheweb]

2 hours ago, syesmar said:

 

 

So much hinges on the answer to one question: “what will happen to a sailing if a single passenger tests positive?” I agree that every precaution must be taken onboard, to include being vaccinated.

Just want to modify your question slightly. What happens if the threshold of Covid cases onboard is passed? And what is the threshold? Is the threshold a specific number, or is it a percentage of the passengers and crew aboard?

 

There is so much we do not know!

[mightycruisequeen]

SMH.  Please.  If you got the COVID vaccine, yeehaw for you, but please stop belittling and berating others who didn't.  

[rucrazy]

1 minute ago, mightycruisequeen said:

SMH.  Please.  If you got the COVID vaccine, yeehaw for you, but please stop belittling and berating others who didn't.  

Nope....

[mightycruisequeen]

2 minutes ago, rucrazy said:

Nope....

Wow, talk about needing to feel superior...

[rucrazy]

Just now, mightycruisequeen said:

Wow, talk about needing to feel superior...

Lets talk about the need to survive when traveling

[mightycruisequeen]

Just now, rucrazy said:

Lets talk about the need to survive when traveling

Okay, but let's do it without the name calling?

 

[rucrazy]

Just now, mightycruisequeen said:

Okay, but let's do it without the name calling?

 

I have never called you out of your name ... if you feel I have then I'm sorry Bless your heart!

[Tennessee Titan]

It is bad enough this got politicized in the first place, but you all are taking it to a new extreme...

Aside that, I think the 98/95 will be the standard (really the best we can hope for).

May we be protected from the liars and counterfieters!