Ovation Turned Away Half a Dozen Unvaccinated Cruisers in Seattle

[Hogbay]

2 hours ago, MaryZ said:

Two of my children are not vaccinated.  Both are in their 30's and have questions about what will the vaccine do.    
 

A vaccine is a trigger for your body to start its development of cells that will destroy the invasion of the virus so when they are exposed to the real covid 19 virus they already have cells to out number them . Rather than when they get exposed to covid 19 it will invade a cell and multiple and then when its ready will attack. The vaccine is not the virus but a copy of certain aspects that will make your cells think it is real . To date it has been assumed that every one will be exposed to covid 19 eventually. Hope they do some research as this is all on the www not just tik tok 😇

[DISFANS3]

RCI- should just test every guest at port before getting on board and ask for vax card.. Problem solved...

[ace2542]

11 hours ago, Tree_skier said:

They need a better travel agent.

It has been on the website that full vaccination is needed to board for Seattle.

[cruisegirl1]

The press loves this type of story.  Press could have reported  that ALL  the other passengers (hundreds/thousands?) knew the rules. No, better to make the cruise industry look bad. 
 

The family says  the vacation was planned for years. How lucky were they that with all the cancellations somehow “years ago” they were lucky enough to book the first sailing  to Alaska!  

Hopefully they were informed about travel insurance and bought it. 

I will not be surprised if they appear on one of the national morning news shows.  Then there will be some AI or other travel company who wants a feel good story and offers the family a replacement vacation. 
 

m

 

[nbsjcruiser]

I'll be the first to complain about the ever changing rules all cruise lines seem to be taking now but I dont feel a whole lot of sympathy for them tbh. The reason we have chosen not to cruise is because we fear that the changing rules will present us with a situation that either will deny us boarding or allow us on board with higher costs and reduced use of the ship. We've read the rules, determined they dont seem to be something we agree with. They need to do the same especially now and to hear these people say they couldn't afford to stay a night because they were denied boarding? Good heavens, you shouldn't even be on a ship and it calls into question their judgement overall. 

[ace2542]

14 hours ago, John&LaLa said:

 

Banned for life 🤔🤣🤣

 

 

Why not? They tried to blag their way onboard the ship. Or are you are seriously going to tell me they didn't look at the royal website and that the agent didn't look at it either. They probably didn't know how to get hold of fake vaccination cards.

Edited August 15, 2021 by ace2542

[Ocean Boy]

14 hours ago, SSBrickNJ said:

I am on hold w/ RCCL for the purposes of asking questions....no rash decisions...I just want to educate myself on hypothetical stuff

Under CWC (cruise with confidence rules) you can cancel up to three days before your cruise and get an FCC for the full amount that you have paid.

[nelblu]

1 hour ago, ace2542 said:

Why not? They tried to blag their way onboard the ship. Or are you are seriously going to tell me they didn't look at the royal website and that the agent didn't look at it either. They probably didn't know how to get hold of fake vaccination cards.

How about placing them on a cruise ship and quartering them.🤪

[Ocean Boy]

11 hours ago, SSBrickNJ said:

 

A month ago when I learned I'd have to wear a mask in all public places on the ship even though I'm fully vaccinated....well when I heard that I lost interest in going on the cruise anyway.

I have some of the same feelings. If it were not for CWC I would be cancelling everything before final payment. I might still do that as I am not sure the situation will be to my liking before any FCCs would expire.

[barbeyg]

13 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

I have some of the same feelings. If it were not for CWC I would be cancelling everything before final payment. I might still do that as I am not sure the situation will be to my liking before any FCCs would expire.

The same position we are in. We just cancelled our December cruise this past week, and if the situation changes close in to December, may try to book then.  We refuse to lose money over FCCs that could expire. 🤷🏻‍♀️

[Thenagers]

14 hours ago, SSBrickNJ said:

I am on hold w/ RCCL for the purposes of asking questions....no rash decisions...I just want to educate myself on hypothetical stuff

The good thing is your wife and daughter have plenty of time to get vaccinated.  If over 18, they can decide closer to the cruise.  Just get the J and J at least 15 days out?

[John&LaLa]

2 hours ago, ace2542 said:

Why not? They tried to blag their way onboard the ship. Or are you are seriously going to tell me they didn't look at the royal website and that the agent didn't look at it either. They probably didn't know how to get hold of fake vaccination cards.

 

Read the article, they are old people. Not smart phone types

[ace2542]

Just now, John&LaLa said:

 

Read the article, they are old people. Not smart phone types

Like me you mean! 🤣

[John&LaLa]

Just now, ace2542 said:

Like me you mean! 🤣

 

You fall into a quite unique category

[dd likes to cruise]

15 hours ago, SSBrickNJ said:

This is to everyone and not just the nice individual I am quoting:

Not all folks are tuned in like those on Cruise Critic.

Somehow I got the impression that RCL WOULD let passengers on if they had a negative Covid test 72 hours or less prior to departure. It is harsh to say that people are ignorant...maybe they are busy and not as attentive as they should be. I'm trying to pop in here once a month so I am up to date. I'm sure glad I chose to do so today!

 

I would agree with your thoughts in a Pre-COVID world.  But, We all have seen the back and forth changes in our daily life due to Covid, you have to expect changes related to travel, and be proactive and double and triple check everything now. 

[Sunshine3601]

8 hours ago, brillohead said:

In fact, she says they are all retired, all on fixed incomes. And they frankly can’t afford to stay the night in Seattle and then fly home early to Illinois.

 

 

This is the part that kills me... if you don't have the money for a hotel room, you didn't have the money to take the cruise.  Were you not going on ANY excursions?  Were you not planning on paying any tips?  You don't have a couple hundred bucks or a credit card?

Many major airlines are waiving change fees in the current climate... so spend the night in a no-tell motel and change your ticket to fly home the next day.  

 

 

 

Exactly my thoughts.     What were 6+ people going to use for their onboard account.   You have to either set up with Cash account or a credit card where they run thru system to verify a min of $500 is available.  

If it truly was their TA that advised no vaccine required, their TA is the one to blame and they should assist them with hotel and airfare change.  

[Oxo]

2 minutes ago, Sunshine3601 said:

Exactly my thoughts.     What were 6+ people going to use for their onboard account.   You have to either set up with Cash account or a credit card where they run thru system to verify a min of $500 is available.  

If it truly was their TA that advised no vaccine required, their TA is the one to blame and they should assist them with hotel and airfare change.  

Agree! I'm a retiree. I got my vaccine free. Vaccines are FREE!! What is their excuse? 

[Sunshine3601]

5 hours ago, DISFANS3 said:

RCI- should just test every guest at port before getting on board and ask for vax card.. Problem solved...

They do ask for the vax card.        If they tested at port then you run the risk of a lot more unhappy people that fly to port and could then find out they tested positive at the cruise terminal and now cannot fly home since they are positive.     

And it would be quite a task for Royal to have to test 1000+ people (depending on ship capacity) at each port every week.     And quite expensive for Royal, which in turn would be passed onto each passenger.     

[Ocean Boy]

2 minutes ago, Sunshine3601 said:

They do ask for the vax card.        If they tested at port then you run the risk of a lot more unhappy people that fly to port and could then find out they tested positive at the cruise terminal and now cannot fly home since they are positive.     

And it would be quite a task for Royal to have to test 1000+ people (depending on ship capacity) at each port every week.     And quite expensive for Royal, which in turn would be passed onto each passenger.     

Makes for quite a relaxing vacation, huh? And the anticipation used to be half of the fun of going.😐

[Sunshine3601]

10 hours ago, SSBrickNJ said:

Wife has not ruled it out. Wife is a "maybe". Daughter is a "No". My daughter is approaching age 20. She and many others are not convinced that "down the road" the science community will not hypothetically discover that the vaccine had a negative effect on women regarding pregnancy SOMEHOW. Cruise Critic does NOT want there to be a discussion on this....so don't debate the topic. Stick to this thread's topic please. I am just answering your question...not seeking to change the thread 😉

When you call back to cancel, please let us know if they give you a full cash refund for your deposit monies like the CSR said last night.       Inquiring minds want to know as this is not part of their CWC policy.

[Sunshine3601]

1 minute ago, Ocean Boy said:

Makes for quite a relaxing vacation, huh? And the anticipation used to be half of the fun of going.😐

Unfortunately Anticipation is now called Anxiety.

[SSBrickNJ]

Just now, Sunshine3601 said:

When you call back to cancel, please let us know if they give you a full cash refund for your deposit monies like the CSR said last night.       Inquiring minds want to know as this is not part of their CWC policy.

NOW my wife and daughter are both considering getting the vaccine. Full payment for us is not due until the end of September. My wife requested right now that I DO NOTHING until much closer to the point of deciding if we should pay the balance...again that is in late September.

So, probably forget about me and focus attention elsewhere 🙂

[Sunshine3601]

Just now, SSBrickNJ said:

NOW my wife and daughter are both considering getting the vaccine. Full payment for us is not due until the end of September. My wife requested right now that I DO NOTHING until much closer to the point of deciding if we should pay the balance...again that is in late September.

So, probably forget about me and focus attention elsewhere 🙂

Glad to hear they are strongly considering getting vaccinated.       good luck and take care. 

[barbeyg]

9 hours ago, brillohead said:

In fact, she says they are all retired, all on fixed incomes. And they frankly can’t afford to stay the night in Seattle and then fly home early to Illinois.

This is actually the part that lends credence to what they are saying, and throws this back on the TA. My oldest sister and aunt are going to AK with us next May. They aren’t internet savvy, and I am taking care of everything.  They don’t even have wifi because they are on fixed incomes, and their internet is cellular data, because they had to choose one or the other. One of them doesn’t even have a credit card, never needed it. 
 

While I can’t contemplate being as disconnected as the above, it does happen, and it they used a TA for the trip of a lifetime, shame on that TA. And if they are that disconnected from the internet and the ability to research, they have no idea how to find a cheap hotel online, and may not know that they can change their flights. If that is the case and she speaks the truth, I hope that some compassionate person helped them. 

Edited August 15, 2021 by barbeyg

[DirtyDawg]

15 hours ago, Tree_skier said:

Probably, the whole article is rife with error.  They couldn’t have been planning the trip for 2 years since these itineraries have only been available since they passed the law letting them skip Canada.  If you look at Royal’s site it is quite clear that those itineraries need a vaccination. I can’t imagine a TA being that uninformed but all things are possible apparently.  It is really hard to be sympathetic when they seem so belligerent and unwilling to accept any responsibility.  If it was me I’d just be embarrassed. 

🤯 Are you saying that those poor folks might not be telling the whole truth to that nice reporter? Or that the nice reporter and her editor didn't fact check any of this? 🤯🤯 @Tree_skier you're a bigger cynic than I am. 😉

 

On a semi-serious note, why do some people who do stupid things, like these folks did, compound their stupidity, by advertising it to the whole world by contacting the press? (That's a rhetorical question) We have an honour roll at the university where I teach. It publicly lists the smartest/highest GPA students. Most students like to be publicly recognised for their smarts and accomplishments. I have never had a request from any student for a "just scrapped by" roll where all the barely above 50%ers are publicly recognised. 👨‍🎓

 

P.S. The "just scrapped by" roll was the toned down second version of the title for the roll. 😇