If carnival truly cared they would lower capacity to 50%

[tm_aw_love]

1 hour ago, kdr69 said:

im reserving judgement until i hear how NCL's first cruise did.  If people come back with COVID on a fully vaccinated cruise then what will be the "NEXT!!" suggestion??

To be fair, I think we have to give them at least a few sailings. That being said, I would hope that reasonable people will expect there to be some small amount of cases pop up, even on a 100% vaccinated cruise. 

[dltvermont]

In all of the news articles and video of the cruise startup, I have yet to see anyone being forced onto a ship. If you are afraid, dont go. Others who arent, enjoy your cruise!

 

 

[kdr69]

33 minutes ago, tm_aw_love said:

To be fair, I think we have to give them at least a few sailings. That being said, I would hope that reasonable people will expect there to be some small amount of cases pop up, even on a 100% vaccinated cruise. 

Seems like every first sailing has had cases though so not sure why they will be different or require a few sailings.  I also expect there to be cases but its those calling for 100% vaxxed cruises like NCL is that seem to think this will make a difference in cases or no cases.  while i always hope there will be no cases each time a ship sails in all likelyhood there probably will be and i wonder how people will react to that. 

[kdr69]

2 hours ago, arkaine23 said:

Fully vaccinated cruises are happening out of Seattle.  Those ships have gone to yellow status too.

For sure which is what i think some dont understand when they call for fully vaccinated cruises.

[tm_aw_love]

2 minutes ago, kdr69 said:

Seems like every first sailing has had cases though so not sure why they will be different or require a few sailings.  I also expect there to be cases but its those calling for 100% vaxxed cruises like NCL is that seem to think this will make a difference in cases or no cases.  while i always hope there will be no cases each time a ship sails in all likelyhood there probably will be and i wonder how people will react to that. 

The reaction, or overreaction is the key.

One thing that many people seem to forget in all of this is that COVID has an incubation period, which in many situations indicate that the positive person may have been (or, likely were many situations) exposed prior to sailing (like traveling to the port); but, it is far easier to blame Carnival (or other cruise line) for giving it to them. 

[kdr69]

3 minutes ago, tm_aw_love said:

The reaction, or overreaction is the key.

One thing that many people seem to forget in all of this is that COVID has an incubation period, which in many situations indicate that the positive person may have been (or, likely were many situations) exposed prior to sailing (like traveling to the port); but, it is far easier to blame Carnival (or other cruise line) for giving it to them. 

Totally agree.

[jetsfan58]

Guys Covid is hear and with us. We all will have to become better educated, garner clear understanding of its presence, learn to live with it and hopefully work around it safely. I applaud the Carnival Team and the entire Cruise Industry for at least trying.

 

Nothing Beats a Try but a Failure!!!

[Brkintx]

1 hour ago, tm_aw_love said:

The reaction, or overreaction is the key.

One thing that many people seem to forget in all of this is that COVID has an incubation period, which in many situations indicate that the positive person may have been (or, likely were many situations) exposed prior to sailing (like traveling to the port); but, it is far easier to blame Carnival (or other cruise line) for giving it to them. 

 

This!! 

And a couple other points... 

1. It's clear from the comments in this thread that quite a few people don't remember the difference between effective immunity and sterilizing immunity. Vaccines are not a force field that prevents someone from breathing something in or from it attacking that person... they are a tool that teaches the body how to deal with that intruder. Note that vaccine manufacturers say [...] "effective at preventing serious disease or death." and not "x% effective at preventing infection".

Cases amongst the vaccinated are not, in and of themselves, cause for concern. They should be expected, anticipated, and effectively dealt with by the immune response in the person who was vaccinated. And the virus is airborne, so transmission is likely. The entire point of getting vaccinated is turning a potentially lethal (or seriously debilitating) illness into a mild one where your body can fight it off by itself (ETA- and NOT to prevent infection in the first place, as that is not possible with an airborne virus...).

2. The total number of cases on the Vista as reported widely in the press was 26 crew and one passenger, representing a total case count (NOT illness count, as the stories also said that almost all of them had no symptoms at all) of below 0.5% - far far lower than the general population of the city of Houston right up the road. Had the case count gone from 27 to 200 then all 5500ish souls on board, we'd have the ability to criticize CCL for the response that they mounted. That's not what happened, however. CCL's response to positive cases on board apparently worked, as the low case rate was maintained.

 

Me personally, what I see of CCL's actions appear to be both preventive and reasonable under the circumstances.

 

Side note: OP admitted that the title was intended as a bit of click-bait, and it apparently worked, as my 'frequent-reader-non-poster' just changed to 'first time poster' - so thumbs up on that being successful!

 

Edited August 19, 2021 by Brkintx

[Joe817]

Good post Brkintx. 👍  And welcome to the forum!

[SCBarker]

I thought 50% was ridiculously low until I just read recently that the Viking Vilhjalm just sailed August 4th with 7.9% capacity! Lol.

They had 15 guests on board their 190 guest ship. Can you imagine? I think they did have a full 50 crew member compliment.

[ontheweb]

2 minutes ago, SCBarker said:

I thought 50% was ridiculously low until I just read recently that the Viking Vilhjalm just sailed August 4th with 7.9% capacity! Lol.

They had 15 guests on board their 190 guest ship. Can you imagine? I think they did have a full 50 crew member compliment.

Wow, what a crew to passenger ratio. I bet the passengers got excellent service.

[Brew12]

I think the return to cruising has been successful with a caveat. The reality is that no cruise ships have been overwhelmed with Covid. The vast majority of what we are being told of are asymptomatic cases or mild symptoms. The issue is quantifying and limiting the spread, particularly to unvaccinated and high risk people, once the cruises are over. 

Cruising itself is a success in my opinion. If we set the standard for success at zero positive tests and zero symptoms we may never have what we would consider a successful cruise again. I highly doubt there were very many cruises pre covid where no passengers got sick from anything at all. It's not a reasonable expectation. 

[SNJCruisers]

6 hours ago, Brew12 said:

No slip and sip needed.

For me, that has made Carnival look much less appealing when compared to RCI.

Slip n sip? Show me a post where this is needed.   Maybe in the punchliner or piano bar where masks are mandatory, but not while you're eating or not while you're at a bar drinking. 

 

I go to those venues to be entertained and if I have to wear a mask because of the uneducated yahoos that are unvaccinated that the Delta variant is homing in on, then so be it.  I will make the sacrifice to wear a mask, unlike those who have refused to get the jab for the common good.

 

But, if you feel safer going on RCI where the unvaccinated is over 5% and is not primarily kids like Carnival,  go for it, it's your dime.

[SNJCruisers]

1 hour ago, SCBarker said:

 

They had 15 guests on board their 190 guest ship. Can you imagine? I think they did have a full 50 crew member compliment.

You could have your own butler, bartender and chef.  😄

[AlabamaPoolBoy]

We just came back from the 70% full Mardi Gras.  It never seemed any more crowded than your average Home Depot.  They had very high indoor mask compliance.  I think they had one mild covid positive test all week for +6,000 crew and passengers.  Life is full of risks; I worry more about the 1,800 mile 85 mph trip down and back on I-75 than the covid risk onboard.  Happy Sails!

[tm_aw_love]

1 hour ago, Brew12 said:

I think the return to cruising has been successful with a caveat. The reality is that no cruise ships have been overwhelmed with Covid. The vast majority of what we are being told of are asymptomatic cases or mild symptoms. The issue is quantifying and limiting the spread, particularly to unvaccinated and high risk people, once the cruises are over. 

Cruising itself is a success in my opinion. If we set the standard for success at zero positive tests and zero symptoms we may never have what we would consider a successful cruise again. I highly doubt there were very many cruises pre covid where no passengers got sick from anything at all. It's not a reasonable expectation. 

Surprisingly enough, even the CDC has set the expectation that 'cruising will always be pose some risk of transmission' on their Cruise ship color status page, hence no immediate shutdowns when somebody tests positive. 

[BoozinCroozin]

If they cared, they would be strict with arrival times. Since they don't even care about that, they don't care about much of anything protocol wise 

[elcuchio24]

2 hours ago, Brew12 said:

I think the return to cruising has been successful with a caveat. The reality is that no cruise ships have been overwhelmed with Covid. The vast majority of what we are being told of are asymptomatic cases or mild symptoms. The issue is quantifying and limiting the spread, particularly to unvaccinated and high risk people, once the cruises are over. 

Cruising itself is a success in my opinion. If we set the standard for success at zero positive tests and zero symptoms we may never have what we would consider a successful cruise again. I highly doubt there were very many cruises pre covid where no passengers got sick from anything at all. It's not a reasonable expectation. 

 

Well said. The same can be said for society as a whole. If your reasonably healthy and vaccinated, you'll probably be fine. If you have underlying conditions or high risk, take additional precautions and stay home if you must. Everyone else, get back to life. 

[BlerkOne]

The people responsible for the most infections - the unvaxed - are who need to take additional precautions or else stay home. People who are doing their part should not be held hostage 

[bucfan2]

2 minutes ago, BlerkOne said:

The people responsible for the most infections - the unvaxed - are who need to take additional precautions or else stay home. People who are doing their part should not be held hostage 

Darn....thought you were on a cruise.

[BlerkOne]

1 minute ago, bucfan2 said:

Darn....thought you were on a cruise.

Do you ever get tired of being wrong?

[bucfan2]

55 minutes ago, BlerkOne said:

Do you ever get tired of being wrong?

It was sarcasm combined with wishful thinking....wish I could bring it down to your level for ya.

Edited August 19, 2021 by bucfan2

[SNJCruisers]

2 hours ago, BoozinCroozin said:

If they cared, they would be strict with arrival times. Since they don't even care about that, they don't care about much of anything protocol wise 

Thought that was only in play on the inaugural.

[Brew12]

4 hours ago, SNJCruisers said:

Slip n sip? Show me a post where this is needed.   Maybe in the punchliner or piano bar where masks are mandatory, but not while you're eating or not while you're at a bar drinking. 

 

I go to those venues to be entertained and if I have to wear a mask because of the uneducated yahoos that are unvaccinated that the Delta variant is homing in on, then so be it.  I will make the sacrifice to wear a mask, unlike those who have refused to get the jab for the common good.

 

But, if you feel safer going on RCI where the unvaccinated is over 5% and is not primarily kids like Carnival,  go for it, it's your dime.

I'd suggest looking at what people who are currently cruising or who just returned from a cruise are saying. On the Magic's last cruise it was Slip and Sip in all the bars and in the casino. 

 

It has nothing to do with my feeling safer, it is about which vacation I would enjoy more. I feel very safe on either, regardless of mask policy. Carnival didn't implement masking to save lives, they are doing it to minimize positive tests. RCI is more dangerous overall, but not to vaccinated individuals. Some of the venues, like the piano bar, are vaccinated guests only with no masks. That has some appeal. 

 

The flip side is that I think RCI has a potential for more problems and is more likely to have to adjust their policies where Carnival's should be pretty locked in and only get more relaxed moving forward imo. And I prefer Carnival, which is why I haven't made a change yet. I still have 50+ days till I cruise so plenty of time to see how things play out. 

[Brew12]

Of course, right after I posted that, I see that RCI has gone to 100% vaccinated for all guests over 12 sailing out of Florida. This has to be driven by the Bahamas. Carnival will no longer be able to exempt guests 12 and over unless they have a documented medical excuse. Looks like cruise industry is gradually being forced into very similar policies.