Christine Duffy on GMA Today - Vaccine Question

[AtoZgirl]

The plot thickens.

 

Look what Royal Caribbean just announced: https://www.mynews13.com/fl/orlando/news/2021/06/04/royal-caribbean-will-recommend--not-require-vaccines-for-new-cruises

[Aplmac]

^ RCL Cop out....

[TNcruising02]

8 minutes ago, AtoZgirl said:

The plot thickens.

 

Look what Royal Caribbean just announced: https://www.mynews13.com/fl/orlando/news/2021/06/04/royal-caribbean-will-recommend--not-require-vaccines-for-new-cruises

"In a news release touting "comeback for summer sales", Royal Caribbean said guests were strongly recommended to set sail fully vaccinated. 

However, those who were unvaccinated or unable to verify vaccination would have to go through testing and other protocols, which the cruise line said it would announce at a later date."

Interesting, and their first test cruise is out of Miami on June 20th.  Their first scheduled cruise is July 2nd.  I guess we will see how that goes.

Edited June 5, 2021 by TNcruising02

[cruisingguy007]

34 minutes ago, ouse456 said:

 

 

 

Can you provide documentation  for this?🙂

 

LOL, well some folks see kids as accessories for photos or simply don't like their kids. I guess it can go both ways. Reasonable was what bothered me. A date night is one thing, a week or more is a bit much unless they are nearly adults. My kids love cruising and would be seriously giving me the stink eye if I tried to ditch them and go with the Mrs. only..lol.  

[SNJCruisers]

4 hours ago, florida eagle said:

I got sent to the naughty room three times on the Covid issue with this site. To me until my death, liberty and freedom is the main issue. Even though we are not that. I do not want to upset anyone. And be ignorant. Cruising is freedom. To do what we want! The people in charge being in our faces is not good. To all of you ion the vax side...loosen up. 

If the ship was full of those like yourself,  then masks would be required, social distancing would be intact and excursions would be in a bubble.

If the ships are full of vaccinated cruisers, then none of these things would be needed except for maybe masks at embarkation and disembarkation. 

Which of these two scenarios closer resembles cruising from 2019?

[SNJCruisers]

2 hours ago, cruisingguy007 said:

 

Many of us don't sail with only one cabin, we never do, two min unless we bring someone else (like grandma), then it's three min. My wife and I both pay for cheers. I buy outside of cheers also (buckets and wine bottles) and I gamble a bit. I'm sure my story isn't unique. One cabin and two $15 meals would be way cheaper lol.  

Believe what you want.  Been with Carnival since 1986.  Most families that cruise on Carnival do not have the deep pockets that you possess.  Many families save for a year or more to cram 4 into a cabin and go on a cruise.  They carry on their soda and don't spend a dime on board.  They sometimes even pull their tips.  This is much more prevalent than the situation that you and your multigenerational family have while cruising on Carnival. Cheers would be a pipedream for many families.

[embarkation75]

9 hours ago, BoozinCroozin said:

 I expect in the next 6-8 weeks, the vaccine will be for everyone. 

 

Wrong. The trials won't even be finished in 6-8 weeks for under 12 kids, plus it will take longer for EUA compared to the bridge studies for the 12-15 year olds. Fall at the earliest for under 12 which last check is still 4 months away.

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2021/05/14/covid-vaccine-kids-under-12-trials/

Edited June 5, 2021 by embarkation75

[TNcruising02]

We never took a vacation without our kids until our youngest went off to college.  We always figured that we would have plenty of time to vacation with just the two of us and we do.  I don't think there's anything wrong with vacationing without kids, we just preferred to take family vacations.  I knew that once the youngest was out of the house, those days would be over.  I am glad we did it that way.

[cruisingguy007]

27 minutes ago, SNJCruisers said:

Believe what you want.  Been with Carnival since 1986.  Most families that cruise on Carnival do not have the deep pockets that you possess.  Many families save for a year or more to cram 4 into a cabin and go on a cruise.  They carry on their soda and don't spend a dime on board.  They sometimes even pull their tips.  This is much more prevalent than the situation that you and your multigenerational family have while cruising on Carnival. Cheers would be a pipedream for many families.

 

You make Carnival sound like the movie Soul Plane. Soul Ship, ghetto passengers shopping at Walmart, eating cracklings, carrying on mad soda, removing tips, cramming into cabins on top of each other. Sounds like Carnival is beneath you and you paint a grim picture lol. I'll take the Miller High Life crowd vs the snooty crowd any day of the week. I really miss the late Windell Middlebrooks and his eloquence in dealing with this very issue lol. We could really use a High Life common sense party! 🙂    

Edited June 5, 2021 by cruisingguy007

[SNJCruisers]

1 hour ago, IntrepidFromDC said:

I can see this about to be threadjacked into a debate over what constitutes reasonable.

Wouldn't be the first thread to turn sideways quickly.

[SNJCruisers]

7 minutes ago, cruisingguy007 said:

 

You make Carnival sound like the movie Soul Plane. Soul Ship, ghetto passengers shopping at Walmart, eating cracklings, carrying on mad soda, removing tips, cramming into cabins on top of each other. Sounds like Carnival is beneath you and you paint a grim picture lol. I'll take the Miller High Life crowd vs the snooty crowd any day of the week. I really miss the late Windell Middlebrooks and his eloquence in dealing with this very issue lol.   

Carnival is not beneath me at all.  I have 3 booked on Mardi Gras and 1 on Celebration.   I have kept my eyes open for years and the scene you describe I have witnessed first hand on multiple Carnival cruises, which is 17 since 1986.

Not all Carnival cruisers live in the Silicone Valley and pull down 6 figures a year. 

[cruisingguy007]

2 minutes ago, SNJCruisers said:

Carnival is not beneath me at all.  I have 3 booked on Mardi Gras and 1 on Celebration.   I have kept my eyes open for years and the scene you describe I have witnessed first hand on multiple Carnival cruises, which is 17 since 1986.

Not all Carnival cruisers live in the Silicone Valley and pull down 6 figures a year. 

 

I don't live in Silly Con Valley (I'm from there though) and not everyone who does pulls down 6 figures. A few bad passengers pulling their tips don't represent the majority. I also have zero issues with those who save up and take a cruise and don't have discretionary funds to use onboard. Everyone cruises in their own way. You're a pretty presumptuous person. 

[SNJCruisers]

1 minute ago, cruisingguy007 said:

 

I don't live in Silly Con Valley (I'm from there though) and not everyone who does pulls down 6 figures. A few bad passengers pulling their tips don't represent the majority. I also have zero issues with those who save up and take a cruise and don't have discretionary funds to use onboard. Everyone cruises in their own way. You're a pretty presumptuous person. 

Have seen the line at guest services on the last sea day winding more than a plate of pasta with cruisers anxiously waiting to give some BS excuse and pull their tips. Being a Sharks fan told me where you were from, I mistakenly assumed you still lived there 

[IntrepidFromDC]

10 hours ago, BrotherCraig said:

I agree.  Kids are the real light and happiness of this world.  Will be odd seeing Carnival Cruise ships without kids.

Knowing Carnival, my gut tells me they will do SOMETHING so kids can cruise with their parents THIS SUMMER.  Maybe do the "some ships do test cruises thing".  I have a feeling that at least two of the three ships sailing from Texas and Florida in July will go the test route.  Sure hope so for the families with kids.  Just please let my Pride September sailing be a no-test, no-mask cruise!

[cruisingguy007]

1 minute ago, SNJCruisers said:

Have seen the line at guest services on the last sea day winding more than a plate of pasta with cruisers anxiously waiting to give some BS excuse and pull their tips. Being a Sharks fan told me where you were from, I mistakenly assumed you still lived there 

 

Oh I abhor these folks. They need to simply remove the option to remove tips or juice them into the price. Some claim the lines pilfer these funds, others do it & so should I and a whole host of excuses. They should just juice it in and call it a fee or include it in the fair rates to circumvent the cheapskates.  

[monykalyn]

8 hours ago, fatcat04 said:

Looks that way. We will consult with our pediatrician but this seems exceptionally rushed for little ones who if healthy are at no risk. We will cancel all cruises and travel even before we rush into this for our little girl. She had Covid with the rest of us (she had the sniffles for one day, the teen felt bad for 2 days, dh and I were in bed for 2 weeks) and all the rest of us are vaccinated so I am not worried about that. 

Covid for younger than 12 isn’t an emergency. Period. Backed up by real world facts and data.  My 18 & 23 yo are fully vaxed (NOT J&J!) but holding off on my 15 yo son.  The results right now show myocarditis in this pop MORE than what caused the “pause” for J&J  vax. Yet NADA from FDA. NOPE! no reasons to rush as 4 more months of data with LOW RISK isn’t harming ANYONE.

4 hours ago, txgranny said:

5 hours ago, cruisingguy007 said:

 

I'm sure they will be satisfactory for most cruisers. If they run vaccinated cruises, it should be mask free with very little restrictions. This is what everyone wanted and I personally think vaccinated cruises are WAY better than non vaccinated with a bunch of restrictions and masks. Vaccination requirements over masks/restrictions all day, any day. It will be interesting to see what the final rules will be but I suspect the CDC will reward lines for choosing the vaccination route and allow cruising to resume close to "normal". The carrot works much better than the stick. 

Vax could be a “short cut” but what about those with disease acquired immunity! Not sure why CDC is 100% ignoring this! Because it doesn’t make for a politically expedient soundbite for the crisis driven media? $$$$?

5 hours ago, jfunk138 said:

I think the cruiselines underestimate how much of a political flashpoint they are getting into when the effectively become the first domestic testcase for vaccine passports in the US (if they homeport in the US).  Sure they are placating the CDC for now, but there could be long term reputation damage here.  I can go to Universal Studios (and soon Disney) in Florida with 50,000 other people, no mask, no vaccine but not cruise?  That's not going to hold up well.

I still have some optimism that vaccine "proof" is going to be "check the box", "wink wink, nod nod", which is basically what every other business in US has done so far.  But again... the Duffy comments were less than specific on actual policy.

Vax likely just a “shortcut” or fast pass type thing in future-IF covid is even a “thing” in a few months.

4 hours ago, TNcruising02 said:

Those 50,000 haven't been tested for covid, so that makes it a much higher risk than cruising with tested people. To do anything like fly on a plane, ride bus, eat at a restaurant, etc is a higher risk than cruising with people who have been tested for covid.  You can get on a plane and sit next to an untested person for hours and nobody bats an eye.  But try to plan a cruise where everyone is tested before boarding and people think the world is ending.

Testing is fine as long as a back up test if a random positive shows up. No test is 100%, and PCR goes towards more FALSE positives the more the background drops (ie population is healthier)

4 hours ago, BoozinCroozin said:

It still doesn't matter because they are mostly spaced out in outdoor environments. If 100% of a captive audience is vaccinated, there is extremely little to worry about. Now, if you wanted to compare something at Disney World like Cosmic Ray's at 12PM during Christmas Day, that is probably a fair comparison. The simple fact is that she stated, fairly clearly that cruising to start will be vaccinated cruises. They do not have the onboard staff nor resources to manage it any other way. It would be impossible to manage two sets of rules. When you have to choose the 90% over the 10%, it is easy to pick the 90%. They can find more vaccinated passengers to fill the 10%.

Yeah let’s skip the restaurants, shared transportation, resorts etc 🙄. Cruise ships arguably  have BETTER ventilation than any of those things. But ventilation isn’t as sexy ...

4 hours ago, BoozinCroozin said:

Are you saying with have freedom of choice AND freedom from no consequences? 

 

The facts are if on a cruise with unvaccinated passengers, everyone has to wear a diaper on their face. For the 90% of the people, why should we have to wear a diaper on our face because of you? I say the cruise lines test a theory. Use two sister ships. Have one vaccinated and one with all non-vaccinated passengers and see what happens. It would go like this:

 

• Unvaccinated cruise will only allow 2 cabins at a time at the test facility. Once they are negative, they are permitted to board. Then the next groups in. If the all aboard time is reached and you were not tested, you lose your entire cruise with no refund. If you test positive at the test facility, you do not cruise and do not get a refund. 
• The unvaccinated cruise can only have 100 people on the Lido deck. Each bar can only have 50% capacity. If you are not within the capacity for any venue on the ship, you must remain in your cabin. You cannot wander around the ship aimlessly. You can be in one of the designated areas with the capacity restrictions or in your room. 
• Everyone must keep their diaper on the entire cruise and at ports. If at any time you do not follow the diaper face rule, you will be dropped off at the next port to find your own way home. 
• The fully vaccinated cruise can operate without restrictions and have a great time.

Wow.  Little imagination. Let’s see- IRL data show the more vaccinated the less likely to even ENCOUNTER a FULLY infected AND transmissible (IE SYMPTOMATIC) person. STILL waiting on states who dropped all restrictions on capacity limits and not yet 100% vax to start the death spiral (*TEXAS).  But IRL data isn’t as fun to speculate with now is it? This goes for kids as well. 

2 hours ago, SNJCruisers said:

You and everybody else that is against taking the jab.

Questioning the need for EMERGENCY authorization in a population that is LESS AT RISK OF SERIOUS ILLNESS OR DEATH THAN FLU/accidents/suicide isn’t “against the jab”! It’s the ability to critically THINK about the why! REAL LIFE data show the more the the VULNERABLE adult pop is vaccinated the risk to kids drop dramatically 

2 hours ago, BlerkOne said:

Just have a drawing for a free cruise and people will crash the system with the volume uploaded.

This is probably true lol 

 

 

Most of my family is fully vaccinated. I DO have issue with demanding proof going forward when our %positivity is <3%. Las Vegas dropped all restrictions-where ppl will sit by others for HOURS in closed environment.  Universal dropped all restrictions- where you can wait HOURS in close proximity to others for a ride.   CDC needs to come to terms with REALITY- cruises have better air exchange and with vulnerable adults mostly vaccinated KIDS aren’t the risk here.  I could see reasonable extra precautions for now- unvaccinated or symptomatic adults subject to serial instant tests (here is where proof of vax comes into play-cruise line pays if vaxed. YOU pay if not for the tests) each day or at specific intervals, at least for the short term.  Once MEDIA move on and find another crisis to drive fear and irrational thinking into public minds this too, will be forgotten. 
 

If anyone had said LAST year that June 2021 with our current case counts that cruises would STILL be subjected to arbitrary and ridiculous restrictions I’m not sure anyone would be ok with it.   CDC is refusing to get with the NOW thinking and living in March 2020 w/regards to cruising.  

[keels81]

3 hours ago, firefly333 said:

Could you provide a link to this policy on rcl out of the usa, other than alaska? I havent seen it posted at rcl or on their threads. I am vaccinated... just havent seen this policy. 

 

I googled it and found this on rcl site ...only for nassau and out of seattle ... not other usa ports. 

It's not a policy yet, but you can go watch the video on the RCCL YouTube Channel and listen to the words directly from Richard Fain himself.

[BlerkOne]

13 minutes ago, monykalyn said:

If anyone had said LAST year that June 2021 with our current case counts that cruises would STILL be subjected to arbitrary and ridiculous restrictions I’m not sure anyone would be ok with it.   CDC is refusing to get with the NOW thinking and living in March 2020 w/regards to cruising.  

Last year, it was projected it would take years to vaccinate the US, not months. The CDC HAS modified guidance. It seems to me it is the position of others that hasn't changed at all. I'm glad the CDC is taking a step approach and not taking the Russian Roulette approach favored by some.

[firefly333]

15 minutes ago, keels81 said:

It's not a policy yet, but you can go watch the video on the RCCL YouTube Channel and listen to the words directly from Richard Fain himself.

Miami herald has a story out that rcl is doing unvaccinated cruises. As if no one understands why ccl and rcl are doing mock cruises. I guess today's story in the  Miami paper you think is false.

 

Looks like news is coming out fast finally. ... finally. Long awaited. 

[jedi bobs]

To all of you who are complaining about Vaz vs non vax, and complaining about children ot being allowed, or allowed, I really don't care if you intend to get your kid vax or not, your dission(I would advise at least consulting a pedetriton before either way), think about the public relation nightmare Little Johnny gets on the Horizon with Mom Dad, Sissy, Bubby, Grandma, Grandpa, and a few aunts and Uncles and cousins.  They are having a blast on sail away, The next day little Johnny is not feeling well,  but nothing major, the second sea day lille Johnny is complaining about a sore throt, so Mom takes him down to the infermary, and he has covid, so they all get qurentened in there cabins, the entire family, no big deal right?  well they get to there first port of call, Aruba, and the entire family gets forcably disenbarked and stranded on the island.. That is why no one that is not Vacinated will not be allowed, how would you feel if you brought your kid on a cruise and you and them got stuck on an islanad?

[Thenagers]

I think the decision is that if you want a non masked vacation then show your vaccine card. I think most don’t want a mask all the time on vacation and will skip a cruise until this is lifted. Might not happen but cruise ships hoping forcing masks will drive some away for now. 

[lele100]

4 hours ago, TNcruising02 said:

"In a news release touting "comeback for summer sales", Royal Caribbean said guests were strongly recommended to set sail fully vaccinated. 

However, those who were unvaccinated or unable to verify vaccination would have to go through testing and other protocols, which the cruise line said it would announce at a later date."

Interesting, and their first test cruise is out of Miami on June 20th.  Their first scheduled cruise is July 2nd.  I guess we will see how that goes.

Yeah those “other protocols” will suck unvaccinated people will wish they never had gone on a cruise.  Have they even read what is expected of them on the cdc website ?  Good luck with that enjoy 😂😂😂

[cruisingguy007]

2 minutes ago, lele100 said:

Yeah those “other protocols” will suck unvaccinated people will wish they never had gone on a cruise.  Have they even read what is expected of them on the cdc website ?  Good luck with that enjoy 😂😂😂

 

Exactly! Masks, social distancing, tests, more tests, heath checks, temp checks, restricted port access, no sitting at the bar, no shows, eating a sacked lunch outside etc etc etc. No thanks, that's not a product I want to pay for, wouldn't even cruise for free under those conditions. Not even sure why the lines would even waste time with such a pointless endeavor. Fiscally imprudent to say the least.  

[BroadwayGirl]

58 minutes ago, cruisingguy007 said:

 

Exactly! Masks, social distancing, tests, more tests, heath checks, temp checks, restricted port access, no sitting at the bar, no shows, eating a sacked lunch outside etc etc etc. No thanks, that's not a product I want to pay for, wouldn't even cruise for free under those conditions. Not even sure why the lines would even waste time with such a pointless endeavor. Fiscally imprudent to say the least.  

This is exactly what I was thinking when I saw Royals statement. Will they make those “other protocols to be announced” for the unvaxxed so unattractive that will turn people off?  Bc I’ve read the suggested cdc list condoning separate venues, ships only excursions, masks, tests, etc. 

I have to gather that’s what Christine Duffy is referring to when she said right now we can’t deliver the product we want....aka they’d make everyone wear masks, excursion restrictions, distancing, etc.  Not really a Fun ship cruise. 

[Saint Greg]

10 hours ago, txgranny said:

Actually on united airlines I already uploaded my vaccine card as well and fill in the date, where and what shot was given

I just flew United to and from Cozumel and was never even asked if I was vaccinated. I just needed the proof of a negative test before I returned. Does the vaccination card make it where you don’t have to test Or something?