CDC GIVES RCCL GO AHEAD FOR TRIAL CRUISES

[rabin1]

CDC gives Royal Caribbean the go-ahead to begin simulated voyages

 

I couldn't find the link but it was on our TV tonight Channel 10 Miami WPLG if you want to read more.

 

The test cruises can begin as early as June 20 from Port Miami, with a laundry list of pandemic precautions that need to be followed.

That includes a limited number of passengers, social distancing, mask wearing and testing everyone on board for COVID-19.

The test cruises are only for unpaid volunteers invited by the cruise line.

 

Kathy

 

[caribill]

 

 

Interesting as the Miami Herald article also says Royal is still requiring eligible passengers to be fully vaccinated to sail from USA. Maybe it means they cannot put together a vaccinated crew. Otherwise test cruises are  not required.

 

Also, Herald article has been changed to say the test cruises cannot start until July.

[Roger88]

37 minutes ago, caribill said:

 

 

Interesting as the Miami Herald article also says Royal is still requiring eligible passengers to be fully vaccinated to sail from USA. Maybe it means they cannot put together a vaccinated crew. Otherwise test cruises are  not required.

 

Also, Herald article has been changed to say the test cruises cannot start until July.

They cannot force you to be vaccinated. I doubt it will be mandatory but I am sure it will certainly speed up the process of cruising getting ready for the summer season 

[wowzz]

2 hours ago, Roger88 said:

They cannot force you to be vaccinated.

Yes they can! And quite right too.

[JF - retired RRT]

3 hours ago, Roger88 said:

They cannot force you to be vaccinated. I doubt it will be mandatory but I am sure it will certainly speed up the process of cruising getting ready for the summer season 

They can't "force" you...but they can refuse to sell you a ticket.

[wowzz]

11 minutes ago, JF - retired RRT said:

They can't "force" you...but they can refuse to sell you a ticket.

And thousand of Brits are quite happy to book Seacation cruises, knowing that they will have to be fully vaccinated before they can board. 

[ontheweb]

21 minutes ago, wowzz said:

And thousand of Brits are quite happy to book Seacation cruises, knowing that they will have to be fully vaccinated before they can board. 

👍 Cheers for them.

[skynight]

4 hours ago, Roger88 said:

They cannot force you to be vaccinated. 

Princess already has mandatory proof of vaccination to board their Alaska cruises beginning this summer. 95% of all passengers must be vaccinated. It's very clear. Show up with proof of vaccination or be denied boarding. The 5% is really reserved for children under 12. Vaccines for these age groups are still being tested.

"Proof of COVID-19 vaccination and the dates given will be required (approved forms of evidence will be confirmed closer to time of departure) and will need to be shown at the terminal prior to boarding. Failure to provide this evidence will result in denial of boarding."

[victory2020]

2 hours ago, skynight said:

Princess already has mandatory proof of vaccination to board their Alaska cruises beginning this summer. 95% of all passengers must be vaccinated. It's very clear. Show up with proof of vaccination or be denied boarding. The 5% is really reserved for children under 12. Vaccines for these age groups are still being tested.

"Proof of COVID-19 vaccination and the dates given will be required (approved forms of evidence will be confirmed closer to time of departure) and will need to be shown at the terminal prior to boarding. Failure to provide this evidence will result in denial of boarding."

I wonder what kind of proof. I have confirmation on my drug store website but all my husband has is the white card the county gave him - which can be forged.

[FredZiffle]

2 hours ago, skynight said:

Princess already has mandatory proof of vaccination to board their Alaska cruises beginning this summer. 95% of all passengers must be vaccinated. It's very clear. Show up with proof of vaccination or be denied boarding. The 5% is really reserved for children under 12. Vaccines for these age groups are still being tested.

"Proof of COVID-19 vaccination and the dates given will be required (approved forms of evidence will be confirmed closer to time of departure) and will need to be shown at the terminal prior to boarding. Failure to provide this evidence will result in denial of boarding."

Can you tell me where you saw this?  I made the assumption that the 5% was just a fudge factor to allow that some passengers might slip through with forged vaccination documents or something similar.

[beg3yrs]

22 minutes ago, victory2020 said:

I wonder what kind of proof. I have confirmation on my drug store website but all my husband has is the white card the county gave him - which can be forged.

Both forms will likely be acceptable. Anything can be forged, even your drug store website information. Worrying too much about forgeries is a waste of time IMHO.

Edited May 26, 2021 by beg3yrs

[skynight]

1 hour ago, FredZiffle said:

Can you tell me where you saw this?  I made the assumption that the 5% was just a fudge factor to allow that some passengers might slip through with forged vaccination documents or something similar.

Somewhere recently there is a posting regarding a discussion the poster had with Princess. The Princess rep. indicated that a few passengers have tried to use this 5% and to show up not vaccinated. They were told no. Those few slots will be used for those under 12 years old. But, I would think if you plan to travel with a child then you need to have pre-approval from Princess.

[richsea]

8 hours ago, Roger88 said:

They cannot force you to be vaccinated. I doubt it will be mandatory but I am sure it will certainly speed up the process of cruising getting ready for the summer season 

Hope you’re wrong about that. And I hope they do require it, at least for now.

[nocl]

11 hours ago, caribill said:

 

 

Interesting as the Miami Herald article also says Royal is still requiring eligible passengers to be fully vaccinated to sail from USA. Maybe it means they cannot put together a vaccinated crew. Otherwise test cruises are  not required.

 

Also, Herald article has been changed to say the test cruises cannot start until July.

Or it means that some cruises such as the ones they want to get going quickly will be fully vaccinated.  Then after completing the test cruises they may intend to drop the vaccination requirement.

[nocl]

11 hours ago, Roger88 said:

They cannot force you to be vaccinated. I doubt it will be mandatory but I am sure it will certainly speed up the process of cruising getting ready for the summer season 

They can certainly deny you the ability to board if they are requiring vaccination and you show up without being vaccinated.

 

The 5 percent provides the ability for some that cannot be vaccinated either due to age or medical condition to cruise.  It also allows some flexibility for things like officers families that may not be fully vaccinated and/or crew (the 98% requirement) to be able to join the ship in small number before being fully vaccinated.

[CynCyn]

2 hours ago, skynight said:

Somewhere recently there is a posting regarding a discussion the poster had with Princess. The Princess rep. indicated that a few passengers have tried to use this 5% and to show up not vaccinated. They were told no. Those few slots will be used for those under 12 years old. But, I would think if you plan to travel with a child then you need to have pre-approval from Princess.

Sorry but Princess is clear on Alaska- no one may board without proof of vaccination. Go read the website. I’d hate for someone to get their hopes up when you are making an assumption based upon CDC Guidance.  I’m sure that Princess will move to allowing slots for children but not on these first cruises. 

[ChutChut]

8 hours ago, wowzz said:

Yes they can! And quite right too.

No - they can't force a needle in your arm. They can require vaccine verification when departing from certain ports (they can't in FL or in AL (AL just passed a law)). 

[sugcarol]

I have the CDC card. I have the original payment sheets from Medicare for the administration of both vax. I also have the vaccination sheet from the Texas Dept of Health. It would be hard to forge ALLthose documents, so i am confident there wouldnt be any question that i was vaccinated.

Edited May 26, 2021 by sugcarol

[skynight]

44 minutes ago, ChutChut said:

No - they can't force a needle in your arm. They can require vaccine verification when departing from certain ports (they can't in FL or in AL (AL just passed a law)). 

My non legal opinion is that international transportation is not controlled by State laws. The cruise lines will figure this out and they have lots of clout. 

[wowzz]

2 hours ago, ChutChut said:

No - they can't force a needle in your arm. They can require vaccine verification when departing from certain ports (they can't in FL or in AL (AL just passed a law)). 

And they require certification if cruising from the UK.

I don't see why it is an issue.   

[Ombud]

2 hours ago, CynCyn said:

Sorry but Princess is clear on Alaska- no one may board without proof of vaccination. Go read the website. I’d hate for someone to get their hopes up when you are making an assumption based upon CDC Guidance.  I’m sure that Princess will move to allowing slots for children but not on these first cruises. 

According to the recent webinar (link elsewhere on CC), 100% vax was an Alaska requirement / case by case only some exceptions might be made. This may become Newsome's stance too. He's being so restrictive. We're at a 1% positivity rate, 50% fully vaccinated, another 13% with 1 shot and we're STILL closed (73% in my area but central valley lags)

 

It will be quite informative to hear what additional vaccinatuon details are released next week when all 3 lines in this branch (HAL, PCL, Seaborn) have their jpint webinar. Hope a TA posts a link

[memoak]

13 hours ago, Roger88 said:

They cannot force you to be vaccinated. I doubt it will be mandatory but I am sure it will certainly speed up the process of cruising getting ready for the summer season 

They are a private company and can require proof of vaccination to cruise.  Perhaps RCL is planning to cruise from Florida which may be an issue with that governor but Princess is sailing from Seattle (no such proclamation from governor Inslee

[joepeka]

22 minutes ago, Ombud said:

According to the recent webinar (link elsewhere on CC), 100% vax was an Alaska requirement / case by case only some exceptions might be made. This may become Newsome's stance too. He's being so restrictive. We're at a 1% positivity rate, 50% fully vaccinated, another 13% with 1 shot and we're STILL closed (73% in my area but central valley lags)

 

It will be quite informative to hear what additional vaccinatuon details are released next week when all 3 lines in this branch (HAL, PCL, Seaborn) have their jpint webinar. Hope a TA posts a link

True, I watched that webinar today (it was held yesterday) and I don't believe there was mention of a  percentage of passengers that could be exempted (children not eligible for the vaccine, those with medical or religious prohibitions from vaccination). They mentioned that, for example, if you were trying to book the Majestic with children under 12, you may get a message that space is not available indicating they had reached their limit of exempted passengers. They indicated that a lot of those type decisions (masking, distancing, sailing capacity, etc.) would come from further CDC instructions.

Edited May 26, 2021 by joepeka

[victory2020]

8 hours ago, beg3yrs said:

Both forms will likely be acceptable. Anything can be forged, even your drug store website information. Worrying too much about forgeries is a waste of time IMHO.

I'm not worrying, just wondering.

[skynight]

Here is how Celebrity is proceeding regarding cruises from Ft. Lauderdale. They don't seem to be concerned with Florida's rule. Basically  covid vaccination required for all passengers.

Celebrity Cruises has opted for the latter, which involves submitting an attestation to the CDC stating "that 95% of crew (excluding any newly embarking crew in quarantine) are fully vaccinated and submit to CDC a clear and specific vaccination plan and timeline to limit cruise ship sailings to 95% of passengers who have been verified by the cruise ship operator as fully vaccinated prior to sailing."

Royal Caribbean, Celebrity's sister company, recently announced plans to run its first trial cruise in June.

This re-inaugural Celebrity cruise will depart from Port Everglades on June 26, with all crew and all passengers over the age of 16 required to show proof they have been fully vaccinated before boarding. And that regulation won't be going away -- after August 1, the vaccination rule will expand to include travelers over the age of 12.