Vista now Orange?

[syesmar]

10 hours ago, TravelBluebird said:

I am very sympathetic to your predicament. I came back from my convention with a fever over 100, headaches, exhaustion....

 

I am upset with the CDC and all the powers that be because I (and my positive friend) believed we were safe because we were vaccinated, and did not wear masks at the convention. I am sure the cruise lines, including Carnival, feel the same way; things are changing so fast...it’s such a confusing time!

THIS! So true! Epidemiologists have been screaming this since guidance changed on 5/13, because they were tracking the situation around the world and knew what was coming. Yet, talking heads would go on TV saying some things were no longer needed and how “quite protected” we were without some precautions. Their answers didn’t fit real-world situations for travelers or athletes who must get tested.

Prayers for your health, get well soon!

Edited July 30, 2021 by syesmar

[syesmar]

11 hours ago, deweytrader said:

Yes we feel fine!  And yes 100 percent on our dime, we do have travel insurance so hoping for some sort of reimbursement.  My son and I 10 days, maybe shorter if we test negative.  My husband/ daughter we believe shorter more like 7 if they continue to test negative.

Thank you so much for sharing your experiences! Prayers that you and your family continue to feel well. It sounds like this has been quite an ordeal, not handled very well by Carnival. I completely agree that transparency and communication is key to future success.

 

Is your family together in one room, or are you separated from your husband and daughter? Is this a designated quarantine hotel only, or are there regular guests in the building, as well? I pray everything works out with your insurance and that you have no more troubles. I hope the time in TX passes quickly and that you have safe travels home.

Edited July 30, 2021 by syesmar

[deweytrader]

25 minutes ago, syesmar said:

Thank you so much for sharing your experiences! Prayers that you and your family continue to feel well. It sounds like this has been quite an ordeal, not handled very well by Carnival. I completely agree that transparency and communication is key to future success.

 

Is your family together in one room, or are you separated from your husband and daughter? Is this a designated quarantine hotel only, or are there regular guests in the building, as well? I pray everything works out with your insurance and that you have no more troubles. I hope the time in TX passes quickly and that you have safe travels home.

We are in 2 different rooms down the hall from each other.  He has been doing all the running around for supplies/food.  The hotel has both "regular" and postive covid cases in quarantine.  It appears to be very much the honor system on not leaving your room etc.  I was expecting to be on a separate floor from guests and under some type of supervision.  There is nothing stopping me from leaving the room and even flying home.  I am fairly shocked that ut is this lax.  I can see many people not following protocols of self quarantine.

[syesmar]

7 minutes ago, deweytrader said:

We are in 2 different rooms down the hall from each other...I am fairly shocked that ut is this lax.  I can see many people not following protocols of self quarantine.

Thanks so much for the information and your insight. Best wishes to you and your family!

[Brew12]

1 minute ago, deweytrader said:

We are in 2 different rooms down the hall from each other.  He has been doing all the running around for supplies/food.  The hotel has both "regular" and postive covid cases in quarantine.  It appears to be very much the honor system on not leaving your room etc.  I was expecting to be on a separate floor from guests and under some type of supervision.  There is nothing stopping me from leaving the room and even flying home.  I am fairly shocked that ut is this lax.  I can see many people not following protocols of self quarantine.

It is the honor system in Texas, and most other states. To enforce a mandatory quarantine would require a change in law at the State or Federal level. Only patients requiring hospitalization can be forced to be quarantined. 

It's similar to the mask "mandates". In most areas there is no difference between a mandate and a recommendation other than the name. Outside of place like airplanes/airports/cruise ports only a handful of cities (like Key West) have any mechanism to enforce the mandate. A mandate that cannot be enforced and has no penalty for violating it isn't much of a mandate. 

In case people don't know, don't expect a positive case in Galveston to be handled like a positive case in Miami. Part of the CDC's CSO is that each ship must negotiate an agreement with its port on how to handle positive Covid cases. How it's handled in Miami may not even match Tampa. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find any public release of these procedures. 

[firefly333]

1 hour ago, deweytrader said:

I contacted the medical center yo inquire about contact tracing and announcing to guests sbout our positive cases.  They said they did do contact tracing, but bc we left the medical center after 4:00 pm the day before the cruise ended....they did not have mich time imho.  They told me they did not tell other gursts to protect my privacy, yeah right, not!  They did not want any guests or employees to know!

Imo possibly this deserves it's own thread instead of being buried. What does carnival owe us as pax or of we test positive. They are required to have made arrangements with hotels and a hospital to take positives. What else do they have to do? .. and I preface this as a be careful what you wish for.

 

This poster mentioned celebrity positive. Each of the 2 times celebrity had a positive, rcl has reacted, or over reacted. Yesterday as I posted rcl now requires each cruiser to get a negative covid test within 3 days of boarding. I get it thn is all for it, I'm not. We dont know op and her son would have tested positive when they boarded, nor the celebrity positive. It's a lot to ask and might not catch a single positive at the time of boarding. Do you really want to run around getting a covid test to board.

 

Does carnival owe it to other pax to announce it over the loudspeakers?  This poster wants it s reamed from the high heavers, carnival seems to say no. There was the case of the shop crew quarantined and carnival did not want to explain when pax asked about it. 

 

Cruiselines do report cases to the cdc, they dont hide them, but this op says they should tell all pax onboard. Here on cc we obviously see the ship change color so we know there is a probability of cases.

 

OP mentioned well celebrity flew the positive home. He got tested day 4 on a 7 day cruise and was taken off the ship in a port and not left there, but now carnival added insurance as a requirement for non vaccinated age 12 and up. Do we want carnival to add insurance for all pax. Flying us home cant continue without the cruiselines going broke, it's going to be on our dime or our insurance. Be careful again what you wish for.

 

As for carnival not knowing her husband and daughter who had been exposed to positive covid being allowed on a airplane, maybe they didnt at first realize they flew as most out of Galveston drive. My question is I still would like to verify I can drive home. Would I be allowed to pick up my car from a parking lot. I would think I wouldnt be allowed on their shuttle. How will I get my car? I would have said someone cant knowingly get on a plane is exposed so I'm not blaming carnival for confusion without knowing what they knew. I knew. I still have questions how I'd get to my car without exposing others. I live alone so if I can drive home I'm good. It's getting to my car.

 

Her comments bring up even more questions for me. What should protocols be. Insurance required for all? The more carnival adds the more people will cancel. Can carnival survive if they add more protocols?

[firefly333]

54 minutes ago, syesmar said:

Thank you so much for sharing your experiences! Prayers that you and your family continue to feel well. It sounds like this has been quite an ordeal, not handled very well by Carnival. I completely agree that transparency and communication is key to future success.

 

Is your family together in one room, or are you separated from your husband and daughter? Is this a designated quarantine hotel only, or are there regular guests in the building, as well? I pray everything works out with your insurance and that you have no more troubles. I hope the time in TX passes quickly and that you have safe travels home.

I'm not sure carnival handled it that wrong. Yes maybe the phone numbers were wrong. What else. The had the required list of where she could quarantine and allowed the poster to choose. They paid for a ambulance to take her to the hotel up in houston. 

 

They didnt know her husband couldnt go home seems the only bad thing and we dont know they knew he was flying. First time crew maybe had to handle this situation, not the last.

 

OP complains they didnt announce it to other pax. Are they required to? Some of the things are what op wants, maybe not what's required.

 

Let's discuss what carnival did wrong. Idk. I agree the carnival employee should have known her husband couldnt jump on a plane after being exposed. What else.?

[mac21902]

20 hours ago, deweytrader said:

Just off the Breeze today, fully vaccinated 2 doses Pfizer 3 weeks apart back in March/April.  Son (10) not vaxxed and I both positive.  Husband fully vaxxed and daughter 9 non vaxxed both negative.  Carnival gave us free calls and a list of hotels with bad phone numbers toi arrange Texas quarantine (from CT). Did not announce the positive cases on board and the polcieci/procedures for dealing with cases non existent.  They did shell out for transfer to hotel as I mentioned that I would have to find an ambulance.  They snuck us out after all passenger were disembarked thru the back door...Horrible experience

Nevermind I found my answer. Hope you feel better.

Edited July 30, 2021 by mac21902

[deweytrader]

this is exactly why I don't want it on my own thread I'm not here to have negativity surround me. I just am being as diplomatic as possible to let you know of my experience and you make your own decisions if it's worth it to get on a cruise ship right now.  i have been very kind to carnival and do not feel rhe need to get into every specific situation about how we were treated by them.  it wad not a good situation.  also i apologize about spelling hrammer as i only have a phone, no tablet, laptop, or desktop...Now i need to contact my ta and get my 8/21 Vista cruise canceled, which is still pending vaccine exceptions for my kiddos!!! Hoping they will gove full refund as J Heald said the would!

[firefly333]

9 minutes ago, deweytrader said:

this is exactly why I don't want it on my own thread I'm not here to have negativity surround me. I just am being as diplomatic as possible to let you know of my experience and you make your own decisions if it's worth it to get on a cruise ship right now.  i have been very kind to carnival and do not feel rhe need to get into every specific situation about how we were treated by them.  it wad not a good situation.  also i apologize about spelling hrammer as i only have a phone, no tablet, laptop, or desktop...Now i need to contact my ta and get my 8/21 Vista cruise canceled, which is still pending vaccine exceptions for my kiddos!!! Hoping they will gove full refund as J Heald said the would!

I think any of us would be upset in your shoes.

 

I'm still mad how carnival handled ike the hurricane. I think you had to be there to know how badly it was handled. But this covid thing imo is going to happen again and again and it's best to be prepared for what to expect from carnival. 

 

We are all very sorry what you are going thru. 

[TravelBluebird]

9 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

I'm not sure carnival handled it that wrong. Yes maybe the phone numbers were wrong. What else. The had the required list of where she could quarantine and allowed the poster to choose. They paid for a ambulance to take her to the hotel up in houston. 

 

If someone on a Carnival Cruise tests positive, there should be a team that deals with it. A team (even 1 or 2 employees are enough!) that at least seems to know all the protocols, and can calmly see the positive passengers through the procedures (whatever they are). It will be an upsetting experience for the positive passengers and Carnival needs to minimize it (I’m not saying pay for it, except maybe for the transportation off the ship).

 

 Also for me, the hush-hush nature of the whole thing is wrong. This is from a corporate communications stand point. IF there ends up being a large outbreak of positive passengers on a cruise ship with some really sick people, the media will be all over it no matter how it is initially handled.  I’d rather be Celebrity or Viking being completely open about it (although I think Viking goes overboard in protocols with daily procedures; a different post) than Carnival, because a hush-hush nature of things will snowball and bite you in the ass once the story comes out, especially if being open could have helped alert people and prevent more cases.  

 

By the way, my stance on this has TOTALLY changed since it seems that the efficacy of vaccinations is waning as time goes on. Two weeks ago, I’d feel that if everyone is vaccinated, who cares if there are asymptomatic breakthrough cases. Now, after the CDC has done an about face about vaccinated breakthroughs and masks, and with the Israel data (they have been vaxxed the longest) and my recent experience with ill breakthrough cases at a convention, I am concerned.

 

And honestly, all I want is for the vaccines to be the magic bullets promised, and for cruising to get back to normal and to get on my 3 upcoming Carnival cruises and have a great time. Sorry for the long read.

[Joe817]

2 minutes ago, deweytrader said:

this is exactly why I don't want it on my own thread I'm not here to have negativity surround me. I just am being as diplomatic as possible to let you know of my experience and you make your own decisions if it's worth it to get on a cruise ship right now.  i have been very kind to carnival and do not feel rhe need to get into every specific situation about how we were treated by them.  it wad not a good situation.  also i apologize about spelling hrammer as i only have a phone, no tablet, laptop, or desktop...Now i need to contact my ta and get my 8/21 Vista cruise canceled, which is still pending vaccine exceptions for my kiddos!!! Hoping they will gove full refund as J Heald said the would!

dewey, thank you so much for sharing your nightmare experience which is still happening. I pray you all remain safe and healthy. You, through your kind sharing of your experience, have given us knowledge of what to expect, if what happened to you all, would happen to us. What happened to you and your family was not your fault...it was not Carnival's fault. The possibility was always there, that this scenario, could happen, and it did. I wish it hadn't, but it did. I hope you all don't have to spend the entire time in quarantine. Carnival should cancel your 8/21 Vista cruise with no question asked. Plus give you OBC to help mitigate a little, of your ordeal. Thanks once again, and you are doing a fantastic job of keeping us informed...even if on a cell phone. God Bless you all! 

[deweytrader]

One of the doctors on the cruise ship said this to me, "The last thing Carnival wants is this to be on the news". This is a direct quote after I asked if we were the 1st cases.  (I knew he would/could not answer the question).  Also how do I know there was another positive covid case on board because they brought me and my daughter into a room and thought we were the positive case and called us the name of the other case.  Me/daughter were waiting in the waiting area as son/ husband were in treatment room.  They just assumed we were the other case, i stated I was confused, was my daughter postive as well?  Nurse asks, aren't you XXX?  And I say, no we are not!!!!!

[deweytrader]

10 minutes ago, Joe817 said:

dewey, thank you so much for sharing your nightmare experience which is still happening. I pray you all remain safe and healthy. You, through your kind sharing of your experience, have given us knowledge of what to expect, if what happened to you all, would happen to us. What happened to you and your family was not your fault...it was not Carnival's fault. The possibility was always there, that this scenario, could happen, and it did. I wish it hadn't, but it did. I hope you all don't have to spend the entire time in quarantine. Carnival should cancel your 8/21 Vista cruise with no question asked. Plus give you OBC to help mitigate a little, of your ordeal. Thanks once again, and you are doing a fantastic job of keeping us informed...even if on a cell phone. God Bless you all! 

I 100% agree with you that it is not carnival's fault and it is not my fault and I understand  bad things happen to good people all the time.  I am upset at the lack of procedures and protocols on carnivals behalf. they were non-existent as if they were a deer caught in the headlights and had no idea how to react.  Don't get me wrong most of the carnival staff was nice but I don't want nice I want competency and policies and procedures.  when I ask a question and get a response I would like the same  answer, not 3 Different answers from 3 different people.  Believe me I love cruising and am a self-proclaimed cruiserholic and certainly want the cruise lines to survive and flourish.  Carnival just needs to work on their policies and procedures as covid cases will be on board.

[quattrohead]

I said a very long time ago that cruising should restart by only allowing drive to port customers. Airports are a filthy pit of germs but they can get away with it because people only spend a few hours there.

Again this situation also proves that getting the vax does not make everything perfect again.

[PaperSniper4]

On 7/28/2021 at 1:03 PM, Joe817 said:

It means someone tested positive for covid. But not enough cases to warrant an investigation. We are on the Vista sailing Aug. 21,  so we are monitoring closely as well. I'm not concerned at this point.

Disregard................got the answer.

Edited July 30, 2021 by PaperSniper4

[Brew12]

Just now, deweytrader said:

I 100% agree with you that it is not carnival's fault and it is not my fault and I understand  bad things happen to good people all the time.  I am upset at the lack of procedures and protocols on carnivals behalf. they were non-existent as if they were a deer caught in the headlights and had no idea how to react.  Don't get me wrong most of the carnival staff was nice but I don't want nice I want competency and policies and procedures.  when I ask a question and get a response I would like the same  answer, not 3 Different answers from 3 different people.  Believe me I love cruising and am a self-proclaimed cruiserholic and certainly want the cruise lines to survive and flourish.  Carnival just needs to work on their policies and procedures as covid cases will be on board.

Your experience is disappointing and I feel like you are handling it well. I know Carnival has written procedures in place for how to handle situations like this but your experience shows a disturbing lack of training. Just because the procedures are new isn't an excuse for the passenger facing people to not know them. If the staff interacting with the passengers don't have a firm handle on the policies they should defer questions to someone who does. Not to mention that a 10 to 15 minute delay to look up the correct answer is nothing compared to giving incorrect information.

Most people handle adversity well if they are treated with respect and are provided with open and honest communication. That didn't happen in your case. There is room to improve.

[Brew12]

2 minutes ago, PaperSniper4 said:

How do you monitor the ship's status? We're on the Valor, but not until December, but still curious.

Thanks.

Doug

You can get an idea on how things are going here.

Cruise Ship Color Status | CDC

[Joe817]

1 minute ago, PaperSniper4 said:

How do you monitor the ship's status? We're on the Valor, but not until December, but still curious.

Thanks.

Doug

Hi Doug. The only method I'm aware of to monitor ship's status, is through the CDC's website that gives the ships color coding. Here it is again. I'm saving this to my favorites list. LOL.

 

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/crew-disembarkations-commercial-travel.html

[IntrepidFromDC]

35 minutes ago, deweytrader said:

I 100% agree with you that it is not carnival's fault and it is not my fault and I understand  bad things happen to good people all the time.  I am upset at the lack of procedures and protocols on carnivals behalf... Don't get me wrong most of the carnival staff was nice but I don't want nice I want competency and policies and procedures.  

You are extremely kind for sharing this experience with everyone and especially the forgiving and reasonable way you're doing so.  You're obviously both intelligent and level-headed and the kind of person we love to cruise with.  I'm so happy you remain asymptomatic, and your child as well of course.  Has the CDC contacted you?  We can see on the CDC website an investigation has started on Breeze, and I'm thinking the CDC would want to interview you and your husband directly.

[deweytrader]

1 minute ago, IntrepidFromDC said:

You are extremely kind for sharing this experience with everyone and especially the forgiving and reasonable way you're doing so.  You're obviously both intelligent and level-headed and the kind of person we love to cruise with.  I'm so happy you remain asymptomatic, and your child as well of course.  Has the CDC contacted you?  We can see on the CDC website an investigation has started on Breeze, and I'm thinking the CDC would want to interview you and your husband directly.

thank you for your kind words.  I would be very shocked if I heard from the CDC to be honest with you. but if I did I would be happy to inform them of my saga.

[Brew12]

5 minutes ago, IntrepidFromDC said:

We can see on the CDC website an investigation has started on Breeze, and I'm thinking the CDC would want to interview you and your husband directly.

My understanding is that the CDC is only concerned if it looks like Covid is rapidly spreading on cruise ships to evaluate if the measures being take are adequate, and if symptomatic cases could overwhelm the medical resources on each ship. I doubt they will reach out to any passengers.

[deweytrader]

https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/cruises/2021/07/30/royal-caribbean-cruise-6-passengers-sent-home-after-covid-positive/5427475001/

 

 

Looks like I am not alone, except they get to go home..

 

I was on Adv of the Seas 6/21 and there onboard procedures/policies were very strict.  Social distancing enforced, lower capacity, no bar seating, etc etc etc. There were 2 Pos on that sailing as well which we were informed of and looks like RCL takes better care of their passengers.

 

Do not get me wrong while onboard Carnival loved the lax rules, enjoyed sitting at the bar, and over all bring social.  Maybe too much too soon?

 

Delta variant seems like it is going to be a huge new challenge for cruise lines to overcome.

[Brew12]

3 minutes ago, deweytrader said:

https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/cruises/2021/07/30/royal-caribbean-cruise-6-passengers-sent-home-after-covid-positive/5427475001/

 

 

Looks like I am not alone, except they get to go home..

 

I was on Adv of the Seas 6/21 and there onboard procedures/policies were very strict.  Social distancing enforced, lower capacity, no bar seating, etc etc etc. There were 2 Pos on that sailing as well which we were informed of and looks like RCL takes better care of their passengers.

 

Do not get me wrong while onboard Carnival loved the lax rules, enjoyed sitting at the bar, and over all bring social.  Maybe too much too soon?

 

Delta variant seems like it is going to be a huge new challenge for cruise lines to overcome.

It will definitely be a challenge. The promising thing is that so many of the cases are asymptomatic. Out of those 6, only 1 had mild symptoms.

This is going to be one of the questions that needs to be answered at some point. If no one is actually getting severely sick, can the testing response be changed? 

Normally, asymptomatic individuals aren't tested. Should we be testing asymptomatic cruise passengers if they are vaccinated? I could make arguments for and against.

[TravelBluebird]

4 minutes ago, deweytrader said:

Delta variant seems like it is going to be a huge new challenge for cruise lines to overcome.

Yes, but not just a huge new challenge for cruise ships.

 

I want to re-iterate that I just traveled to a small convention and we have so far had 4 positive cases amongst fully vaccinated adults. So I hope cruise ships are not singled out again.  But I also hope cruise companies don’t try to bury their heads in the sand with the new Delta variant—the cost could be very high.