8 Crew Test Positive on the Odyssey

[maryann2]

20 minutes ago, kdr69 said:

Currently im seeing 1600 ish for THIS November 2 people 1 way to Gatwick Premium seats through Westjet but thats also using my companion airfare ticket of 399.00.  Am dreading seeing what it will be like when booking opens for next November when we fly for the TA

Too early to book for next year but Air Canada usually has good one way prices to Europe. Also Air Transat has direct flights to Gatwick a couple of days a week.

Also no need to rush to book hotels. November is usually a very quiet time in the UK. 

[maryann2]

3 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

6 of the 8 had no symptoms, 2 had mild symptoms.  I think it's a jump to assume it's the dreaded delta variant. 

Much more infectious.

[coffeebean]

42 minutes ago, bamaone said:

We should all try to "skirt" laws. Just imagine if we could get around every law we deemed unnecessary. I'd start with taxes. I hate giving up half my paychecks.

The law must be skirted in order to assure 95% vaccinated passengers on a ship. Florida law bans any business, including cruise lines, from REQUIRING proof of vaccination. IMHO, it is not only prudent for all cruise lines to sail as safely as is humanly possible during a pandemic, it is a MUST. That Florida law goes against everything that is prudent to assure passengers and crew on a cruise ship are as safe as humanly possible.

 

PLUS.......a ship with 95% vaccinated passengers and 98% vaccinated crew will hopefully be able to sail with no mask mandates on the ship. Safety for all passengers and crew and offering a great cruise experience without the need for safety restrictions are the reasons that Florida law needs to be skirted.

 

Royal does not seem to want to do this as they are pandering to the families that want to cruise during a pandemic. So, there is that.

 

 

Edited June 17, 2021 by coffeebean

[kdr69]

5 minutes ago, maryann2 said:

Too early to book for next year but Air Canada usually has good one way prices to Europe. Also Air Transat has direct flights to Gatwick a couple of days a week.

Also no need to rush to book hotels. November is usually a very quiet time in the UK. 

I would book consider booking AC but i have the Westjet Rewards MC so I get an annual companion ticket for 399.00 so its cheaper for me to book through them.  Will still compare the options anyway thanks.👌

[Keys2Heaven]

43 minutes ago, bamaone said:

We should all try to "skirt" laws. Just imagine if we could get around every law we deemed unnecessary. I'd start with taxes. I hate giving up half my paychecks.

Do you drive? Probably skirt or blatantly ignore the law every day. 😁

[coffeebean]

16 minutes ago, maryann2 said:

Also what people don't seem to understand that after one dose of Pfizer there is only 30% protection against the Delta variant. Need two doses at least 3 weeks apart.

I would imagine what they are dealing with onboard is the Delta variant.

The mRNA vaccines seem to be fairing very well offering protections against the Delta variant. Has anyone heard if the J&J vaccine is offering protection against the Delta variant? If so, is that protection as strong as the mRNA vaccines against the Delta variant?

[TNcruising02]

1 hour ago, coffeebean said:

This is what I have heard that Celebrity it planning to do. They have figured out a way to "skirt" the Florida law. Celebrity will be asking if people would like to VOLUNTEER their vaccine document. If anyone does not volunteer their proof of vaccination, they will go into the un-vaxxed list of people. Once that un-vaxxed list of people reaches 5% of the capacity on the ship, no further people can register as un-vaxxed.

 

IMHO, this is absolute genius to skirt the Florida law. No one is being REQUIRED to produce proof of vaccination. It is all on a voluntary basis. I have not heard if any other cruise lines plan to use this strategy to assure a 95% vaccinated passenger population on board but it surely does sound like it will work.

 

Again......absolute genius!

So do they send all of the people who don't make the 5% an email telling them their cruise has been cancelled and to not show up at the port?

[jimbo5544]

2 hours ago, mpdog42 said:

Actually the part about the reason RCI pulled out of Israel has been is some dispute

I ahd not read anything on why, assumed it was because of conflict issues there, not true?

 

[firefly333]

5 minutes ago, jimbo5544 said:

I ahd not read anything on why, assumed it was because of conflict issues there, not true?

 

Rcl wouldnt ever say why the ship was pulled. I think it was natural to think all those bombs hitting dissuaded them, but rcl of course didnt say. .. always rumors. Like the one odyssey timed its arrival in PC to get vaccinated just to take away mardi gras thunder on it's big day. And parked to block mardi gras fans from seeing their ship on a web cam... though rcl pax were equally eager to see their new ship and cant understand all the fuss over mardi gras and so little for their brand new ship.

[Babr]

58 minutes ago, TNcruising02 said:

So do they send all of the people who don't make the 5% an email telling them their cruise has been cancelled and to not show up at the port?

Yes, I think that is the way it will work.

[bdever]

Ugh, 6/5/21 vaccination date with J&J shots given 😏

 

[BlerkOne]

3 hours ago, bamaone said:

We should all try to "skirt" laws. Just imagine if we could get around every law we deemed unnecessary. I'd start with taxes. I hate giving up half my paychecks.

It would be a slippery slope to insurrection.

[BoozinCroozin]

I read a quote the other day that rings true: It is difficult to win an argument with a smart person! It is impossible to win an argument with a stupid person! 

 

Comparing businesses that are fully open, do no testing, nor have any financial impact if someone tests positive for covid to an industry that has been 100% shutdown since covid is like trying to get someone to explain what color the letter seven smells like.

[Knights on the Beach]

12 hours ago, bdever said:

Right?!?!? Why in the world would RCL schedule a sailing for 7/3/21 inaugural when 1. They didn’t start vaccinating crew until 6/4/21 and were all crew given their first dose on 6/4/21?, and 2. Knowing there was a 4 week waiting period total for vaccinated crew to be considered fully vaccinated AND that is assuming no crew would test positive in the meantime? Which at earliest would mean 7/2/21 would be the date all crew could come out of quarantine assuming all were fully vaccinated on 6/4/21 and no positives in the meantime? And when were they planning to do test cruises? Am I missing something? It just really sucks that anyone booked for these initial sailings were cancelled due to something that could have been avoided with careful and prudent planning.

 

According to the CEO of RCL they would have been considered fully vaccinated on June 18.  So either they had the J&J vaccine on June 4 or June 4 was the date of their second vaccine if it was one of the others.  And in his comments below he mentions rescheduling the test cruise.

 

Michael Bayley

on Tuesday

Two steps forward and one step back ! out of an abundance of caution, we are postponing Odyssey’s inaugural sailing from July 3 to July 31, 2021. A simulation cruise, originally scheduled for late June, will also be rescheduled.

During routine testing, eight crew members received a positive test result for COVID-19. All 1,400 crew onboard Odyssey of the Seas were vaccinated on June 4th and will be considered fully vaccinated on June 18. The positive cases were identified after the vaccination was given and before they were fully effective.

The eight crew members, six of whom are asymptomatic and two with mild symptoms, were quarantined and are being closely monitored by our medical team. To protect the remaining crew and prevent any further cases, we will have all crew quarantined for 14 days and continue with our routine testing.

Guests and travel partners will be notified and given several options to consider. While disappointing, this is the right decision for the health and well-being of our crew and guests.

[bdever]

8 minutes ago, cruisemom2 said:

 

According to the CEO of RCL they would have been considered fully vaccinated on June 18.  So either they had the J&J vaccine on June 4 or June 4 was the date of their second vaccine if it was one of the others.  And in his comments below he mentions rescheduling the test cruise.

 

Michael Bayley

on Tuesday

Two steps forward and one step back ! out of an abundance of caution, we are postponing Odyssey’s inaugural sailing from July 3 to July 31, 2021. A simulation cruise, originally scheduled for late June, will also be rescheduled.

During routine testing, eight crew members received a positive test result for COVID-19. All 1,400 crew onboard Odyssey of the Seas were vaccinated on June 4th and will be considered fully vaccinated on June 18. The positive cases were identified after the vaccination was given and before they were fully effective.

The eight crew members, six of whom are asymptomatic and two with mild symptoms, were quarantined and are being closely monitored by our medical team. To protect the remaining crew and prevent any further cases, we will have all crew quarantined for 14 days and continue with our routine testing.

Guests and travel partners will be notified and given several options to consider. While disappointing, this is the right decision for the health and well-being of our crew and guests.

Ah! Makes sense now… J&J shot given on 6/5/21. - full vaxxed as of 6/19/21. 
 

But… it’s the J&J shot so….

Edited June 17, 2021 by bdever

[crzndeb]

1 hour ago, bdever said:

Ah! Makes sense now… J&J shot given on 6/5/21. - full vaxxed as of 6/19/21. 
 

But… it’s the J&J shot so….

I had quoted the same remarks by Michael Bayley on post #66, but others kept running with other vaccines. That’s why I wanted a link....to much “he said, she said, they said on these threads. 

[ProgRockCruiser]

2 hours ago, BoozinCroozin said:

is like trying to get someone to explain what color the letter seven smells like.

Oh come on, 400Hz, everyone knows that!

[Knights on the Beach]

4 hours ago, bdever said:

Ah! Makes sense now… J&J shot given on 6/5/21. - full vaxxed as of 6/19/21. 
 

But… it’s the J&J shot so….

Close, but you're a day off - they received the vaccine on 6/4 in Port Canaveral and will be considered fully vaxxed tomorrow June 18.  😉

[bdever]

1 hour ago, cruisemom2 said:

Close, but you're a day off - they received the vaccine on 6/4 in Port Canaveral and will be considered fully vaxxed tomorrow June 18.  😉

According to Chris Wong they received it 6/5/21 and he is on the ship so 🤷🏻‍♀️

[Knights on the Beach]

34 minutes ago, bdever said:

According to Chris Wong they received it 6/5/21 and he is on the ship so 🤷🏻‍♀️

Hopefully Royal Caribbean's CEO (Michael Bayley) quoted above knows when the crew got vaccinated because he is the one who said 6/4.

[abby1257]

On 6/15/2021 at 9:47 PM, shof515 said:

Most crew member had issues getting the vaccine in their home country. the only way for the crew to get the vaccine quickly is by having the crew getting the shots here in the states (Florida/Texas). Chris Wong has a youtube video about this and he is suppose to be a crew member onboard the Odyssey

I sure hope all the cruise lines won't let unvaccinated people cruise....not worth the risk.....

 

[SCBarker]

I know it's not the same as 8 crew testing positive, but the river cruise forum just got post about a captain and 7 crew refusing the vaccine...

 

"I just received an email from Grand Circle Cruise Line regarding my September Paris to Normandy cruise.  They are informing all passengers that the Captain and seven crew members have refused the Covid Vaccine.  The cruise is still a go but we were given three options.  Reschedule the cruise for 2022,  get a full refund, of take the cruise as scheduled."

 

All I can say is that France must have some extremely strong unions over there.

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2785778-captain-refuses-vaccine/?tab=comments#comment-61300197

[TNcruising02]

1 minute ago, SCBarker said:

I know it's not the same as 8 crew testing positive, but the river cruise forum just got post about a captain and 7 crew refusing the vaccine...

 

"I just received an email from Grand Circle Cruise Line regarding my September Paris to Normandy cruise.  They are informing all passengers that the Captain and seven crew members have refused the Covid Vaccine.  The cruise is still a go but we were given three options.  Reschedule the cruise for 2022,  get a full refund, of take the cruise as scheduled."

 

All I can say is that France must have some extremely strong unions over there.

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2785778-captain-refuses-vaccine/?tab=comments#comment-61300197

That's strange.  I wonder if they all had a previous covid infection.  If not, then it makes no sense.

[coffeebean]

On 6/17/2021 at 10:31 AM, TNcruising02 said:

So do they send all of the people who don't make the 5% an email telling them their cruise has been cancelled and to not show up at the port?

I'm not sure but I bet "they" know.

[crzndeb]

16 hours ago, bdever said:

According to Chris Wong they received it 6/5/21 and he is on the ship so 🤷🏻‍♀️

 

15 hours ago, cruisemom2 said:

Hopefully Royal Caribbean's CEO (Michael Bayley) quoted above knows when the crew got vaccinated because he is the one who said 6/4.

It is very possible that that different groups got them over 2 days. Chris is casino staff, so he may have been a day later, along with other entertainment staff, since that is a smaller group. The service staff, which is a much larger group, could have gotten theirs on the 4th.

Of course, I have no clue, but just throwing a wild guess out there...LOL