Oasis Chartered Cruise During Covid…Do they have to Follow the same Covid Protocols?

[PhillyFan33579]

On 1/18/2022 at 5:47 PM, coaster said:

We will see how all this ends up on the next cruise for Oasis. Royal took a risk and will see if it pays off or not for them.

There are crowds like that at Disney World every day with people not wearing masks. We live in Florida and go there frequently as annual pass holders. Like others have mentioned, the cruise industry has not been treated fairly during this pandemic in my opinion. There is no way RCI or any cruise line can enforce a mask policy outside with that many people. If people are worried about catching COVID, and that is a valid concern, now is probably not the time to go on a cruise. We have been on 6 cruises since August and almost every bar and restaurant does not enforce social distancing and no one wears a mask while they are at these facilities. 

[Honolulu Blue]

3 hours ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

There is no way RCI or any cruise line can enforce a mask policy outside with that many people. 

 

Exactly.  Even if they put all the ship's security staff on patrol, there's no way they could stop a crowd like that from doing (or not doing) what it likes.  About the best they could do is make an announcement before each show saying, "It's crowded here, you really should wear your mask".  I can imagine the reception that would receive. 😛

[kruzerci]

15 hours ago, ReneeFLL said:

Have you seen actual evidence that Royal has a different set of rules for this charter? How do you know they do? They can set all the rules they want, but it doesn’t mean such a group is going to abide by them.

 

 

The cruise compasses are listing these party events as activities and nobody is enforcing the social distancing rules and capacity limitations that they are on traditional cruises. I'm not going to continue to argue with you. You clearly want the blame to lie primarily on the group. Yes the group is partially to blame, but Royal is not doing what they would do an a traditional cruise to stop it. Period. 

[topnole]

3 hours ago, Honolulu Blue said:

 

Exactly.  Even if they put all the ship's security staff on patrol, there's no way they could stop a crowd like that from doing (or not doing) what it likes.  About the best they could do is make an announcement before each show saying, "It's crowded here, you really should wear your mask".  I can imagine the reception that would receive. 😛

Not exactly true.  If they started kicking folks off the ship at the next stop for non compliance (which I’m sure they have every right to do), this behavior would likely stop quite quickly. But that is the nuclear option if you will, so they don’t seem to use it.  
 

This applies to all cruises, not just this one.  From my reading, non compliance is frequent on every cruise to some degree.  This one just happens to be more extreme.   But if they booted you for non compliance on this ship, I’m more than certain the word would spread like wild fire and folks would use more discretion in when and if they “broke” the rules.  
 

Of course to comply you simply must wear a mask.  A single layer mask would technically mean you are complying for example.  Most don’t wear KN 95 or better which the scientific community now hypothesizes is needed for any decent protection from getting the virus.  Not to mention that most don’t wear masks properly which renders them ineffective.  So compliance in this situation may not even matter much.  
 

Having traveled to many different states in the pandemic I can say that non compliance on masks happens everywhere and most folks don’t wear them in a way that provides any protection for them or the people around them.  So what is happening on this cruise is pretty normal.  It just so happens all of them aren’t complying.  

[bucfan2]

46 minutes ago, topnole said:

If they started kicking folks off the ship at the next stop for non compliance (which I’m sure they have every right to do), this behavior would likely stop quite quickly. But that is the nuclear option if you will, so they don’t seem to use it.  
 

 

IMO, that option would be beyond nuclear.  The pro-maskers might be happy,  but the industry 'dream' of maintaining 50% capacity (that is now ranging 30-50% or less based on onboard reviews) might quickly diminish.  Agree, we'll never know, as that option appears to be off the table.

For those willing to put up w/ these protocols, it certainly would make it sweet in the Royal Up regards though lol.

Edited January 21, 2022 by bucfan2

[forgotmyCCname]

On 1/18/2022 at 6:52 PM, topnole said:

I would make sure the room is scrubbed down well!   I read an article about that week and the passengers are unabashed about what will be happening including even discussing amount of illegal drugs that will be onboard.  I won’t mention what else was discussed.    I would not want to be on the week after that one.  😂

We were on Freedom the week after a nude swingers charter. This was before 

rampant social media. I have never seen so many people cleaning at once. The crew did tell us that chairs and seats had to be covered in plastic . I used a lot of Lysol that cruise.
 

[bucfan2]

2 minutes ago, forgotmyCCname said:

We were on Freedom the week after a nude swingers charter. This was before 

rampant social media. I have never seen so many people cleaning at once. The crew did tell us that chairs and seats had to be covered in plastic . I used a lot of Lysol that cruise.
 

Certainly the plastic remained on the furniture in each cabin....or not.  Can't imagine thoughts going thru ones mind having been on the cruise after.

[topnole]

33 minutes ago, bucfan2 said:

IMO, that option would be beyond nuclear.  The pro-maskers might be happy,  but the industry 'dream' of maintaining 50% capacity (that is now ranging 30-50% or less based on onboard reviews) might quickly diminish.  Agree, we'll never know, as that option appears to be off the table.

For those willing to put up w/ these protocols, it certainly would make it sweet in the Royal Up regards though lol.

Is there a beyond nuclear option?  😂 A nuclear option blows it up and destroys it.  What could be worse?  I say all of this in jest.  Cheers.  

[BennyBrun]

18 minutes ago, forgotmyCCname said:

 

The "good" news is that unless you wear a proper fitted N95 , KN95 or PAPR or a space suit with helmet- a mask does not protect against this latest variant- these folks jammed in like this really wouldn't have a lower chance of contracting Omicron unless they were fitted and consistent in wearing the PPE

I would hope that Royal has staff wearing N95s and that they change them after 5 hours of use. 
I do feel bad for the crew. Perhaps they had the wisdom ( groan) to staff this cruise with crew whom have already had Omicron- but that would be a logistical nightmare.

 

This is like the "distancing" I have seen in NYC lately. People lined up back to front for blocks to get Covid tests, restaurants making us show our little NYC vaccine passport and then cramming us in to table on top of each other, no distancing in theaters.

 

And how the heck can one contact trace in a group this large? 

 

The Atlantisians choose to party like this but the crew did not. They truly deserve better. 

 

On another note- I don't believe 98% of what I read on the anti-cruising lawyer's site. His rhetoric is frequently irresponsible.

 

The crew deserve better and I believe that Royal should have stepped up and protect the crew by either canceling the charter once they learned about the capacity or allow people on the charter to cancel and get a full refund if they choose to in order to reduce the capacity.  Royal had no problem pausing select sailings this month to protect future sailings so they should have done the same for this charter cruise regardless of which group is on it and based solely on the capacity issue.

[Sigma Cruiser]

So this cruise is now on day 6 (which I believe would be a day at sea) and tomorrow is day 7 which would be Coco Cay. Does anyone have any intel on positive numbers (passengers or crew) at this point? And also, does a chartered cruise have the same requirements to report numbers to the Bahamas as a non-chartered RCCL cruise? Will we see RCCL exchanging crew tomorrow morning on the pier as it has done for other ships? Ordering breakfast sandwiches and coffee for tomorrow morning to watch the show on Youtube, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and CC.

[A&L_Ont]

 

35 minutes ago, forgotmyCCname said:

My wife also does t know I have hijacked her account.

This comment made me laugh. 

[orangelime]

11 hours ago, ReneeFLL said:

You will probably get an email to delay your boarding by an hour or so from your originally scheduled time for extra cleaning.

 

That’s so sad they are doing this. I wonder if they were tested by Royal and positive would they still get a prorated refund like people do on non-chartered cruises? Regardless of how bad they are behaving it’s sad to see people die. 

Charters do not work that way; Royal is not responsible for providing refunds to individual attendees. Atlantis booked the entire ship and then went and sold individual tickets to the rooms. Atlantis has clearly stated that they will not provide any pro-rated refunds, leading more people to avoid reporting any symptoms. 

 

10 hours ago, D4 said:

@orangelimeThanks for posting all the pictures and details.  You’re our very own investigative reporter 🛳 

You're welcome. I am working with some reporters regarding this issue. We are booked on the Atlantis charter on the Norwegian Pearl between Jan 28-Feb 7. We are not comfortable going, and Atlantis will not provide any travel credits or allow us to postpone. Several people in this situation would like to listen to the government's advice to avoid cruise travel, but Atlantis will not assist. It is wrong. 

[RFerrington]

9 hours ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

There are crowds like that at Disney World every day with people not wearing masks.

Sorry....no intent to hijack....but does WDW NOT have a mask mandate ?

[orangelime]

14 minutes ago, Sigma Cruiser said:

So this cruise is now on day 6 (which I believe would be a day at sea) and tomorrow is day 7 which would be Coco Cay. Does anyone have any intel on positive numbers (passengers or crew) at this point? And also, does a chartered cruise have the same requirements to report numbers to the Bahamas as a non-chartered RCCL cruise? Will we see RCCL exchanging crew tomorrow morning on the pier as it has done for other ships? Ordering breakfast sandwiches and coffee for tomorrow morning to watch the show on Youtube, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and CC.

Officially, someone on the Facebook group yesterday said that "Caption made an announcement today. 2 passengers and some crew tested positive." They did not specify what they meant by "some crew." They are actively discouraging people from providing social media updates to avoid more negative press. I have emailed the Bahamian port authorities with pictures of what is happening on the cruise. Not sure what is going to happen. Atlantis policies do not provide pro-rated refunds due to a quarantine; likely, people will not report their symptoms.  

[BennyBrun]

2 minutes ago, orangelime said:

Officially, someone on the Facebook group yesterday said that "Caption made an announcement today. 2 passengers and some crew tested positive." They did not specify what they meant by "some crew." They are actively discouraging people from providing social media updates to avoid more negative press. I have emailed the Bahamian port authorities with pictures of what is happening on the cruise. Not sure what is going to happen. Atlantis policies do not provide pro-rated refunds due to a quarantine; likely, people will not report their symptoms.  

Thank you very much for providing us with  the details / pictures that we don’t have access to.  Like others have said, inside investigative reporter letting us peek behind the curtain.  Thank you!!!

 

So I guess the protocol is different for chartered cruises than the general cruises.  By not providing a pro rated refund when you have to quarantine in itself is discouraging people to report to medical with symptoms since they pay a premium for the cruise( I am assuming about the higher cruise fare part for chartered cruises).

[Honolulu Blue]

13 minutes ago, orangelime said:

We are booked on the Atlantis charter on the Norwegian Pearl between Jan 28-Feb 7. We are not comfortable going, and Atlantis will not provide any travel credits or allow us to postpone. Several people in this situation would like to listen to the government's advice to avoid cruise travel, but Atlantis will not assist. It is wrong. 

 

I'm in a similar situation with my charter cruises.  I understand everyone's positions and think they're reasonable, but it doesn't make it any less uncomfortable for us as passengers.

 

8 minutes ago, RFerrington said:

Sorry....no intent to hijack....but does WDW NOT have a mask mandate ?

 

I'll make this quick.  At Disney World's site is a detailed post with their mask requirements:  https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/experience-updates/#drawer-card-faceCoverings .  To make a long story short, masks are required when indoors and optional outdoors.  Whether it's actually enforced by staff and heeded by visitors only those who work for or visit can answer.

[orangelime]

Here is some media from last night's party. 

 

 

[BennyBrun]

15 minutes ago, orangelime said:

Here is some media from last night's party. 

 

 

I don’t know if you know, but do they also charter out coco cay as well when they stop their like a totally private island?  Is that part of the charter?

[bucfan2]

27 minutes ago, orangelime said:

Officially, someone on the Facebook group yesterday said that "Caption made an announcement today. 2 passengers and some crew tested positive."  

Sure will be a lot of disappointed cc'ers, as well as some in the general public if the numbers remain that low.

Edited January 21, 2022 by bucfan2

[bucfan2]

1 hour ago, forgotmyCCname said:

You know why.

I am a physician at a large city hospital. What I say about the masks is absolutely true; I have been saying it since the beginning of this pandemic. I won't get into details as that's against the rules. My wife also does t know I have hijacked her account.

You had me choking on the coffee w/ the last sentence!

 

I was not questioning what you stated at all...hope I made that clear.  Was simply questioning 'common sense' in society....having simply changed that to 'non-common sense', I answered my own question 🙂

Edited January 21, 2022 by bucfan2

[orangelime]

15 minutes ago, BennyBrun said:

I don’t know if you know, but do they also charter out coco cay as well when they stop their like a totally private island?  Is that part of the charter?

So, Coco Cay was part of a last minute itinerary change. They were supposed to be in Labadee, Haiti today. I don’t think they’ve chartered the entire island but when they announced the port, several people thought that would be a cool idea. 

 

The original itinerary was Puerto Plata, Charlotte Amalie, San Juan, and Labadee. 

[BennyBrun]

18 minutes ago, bucfan2 said:

Sure will be a lot of disappointed cc'ers, as well as some in the general public if the numbers remain that low.

I don’t think anyone on here is hoping for the worst.  We all enjoy cruising which is why we are on this board sharing our opinions, we just want to see Royal is doing the right thing across the board.  If the number remains low that means that normal cruising ( as close to normal cruising) is on the horizon and could return soon, but Royal just extended it’s own safety protocols by another two weeks.  
 

Unfortunately no one will truly know except what is reported on social media and those that will need a test to fly outside the USA that requires a test.

[BennyBrun]

3 minutes ago, orangelime said:

So, Coco Cay was part of a last minute itinerary change. They were supposed to be in Labadee, Haiti today. I don’t think they’ve chartered the entire island but when they announced the port, several people thought that would be a cool idea. 

 

The original itinerary was Puerto Plata, Charlotte Amalie, San Juan, and Labadee. 

Thank you!!  I wonder if they will be joined by other ships.  Even if they do since the island is so big and open there should be plenty of room for everyone.

[A&L_Ont]

53 minutes ago, orangelime said:

Officially, someone on the Facebook group yesterday said that "Caption made an announcement today. 2 passengers and some crew tested positive." They did not specify what they meant by "some crew."

 

Is this a closed group that you are a member of?  It is not being posted on any RB groups I follow on FB. 

 

53 minutes ago, orangelime said:

They are actively discouraging people from providing social media updates to avoid more negative press.

Who’s the they, RC or the FB page?

 

53 minutes ago, orangelime said:

I have emailed the Bahamian port authorities with pictures of what is happening on the cruise. Not sure what is going to happen. Atlantis policies do not provide pro-rated refunds due to a quarantine; likely, people will not report their symptoms.  

Are Jack Byrnes, Pam’s dad from Meet the Parents?  Your posts are like a covert operation.

Edited January 21, 2022 by A&L_Ont

[orangelime]

16 minutes ago, A&L_Ont said:

 

Is this a closed group that you are a member of?  It is not being posted on any RB groups I follow on FB. 

 

Who’s the they, RC or the FB page?

 

Are Jack Byrnes, Pam’s dad from Meet the Parents?  Your posts are like a covert operation.

You won't find it under Royal Caribbean. These are closed Atlantis Events groups. 
 

When I say they, I mean Atlantis Events. Malcolm Neitzey, Atlantis Cruise Director, told them to stop posting after all the negative press came out.
 

Lol, in a way, it is true! I would be banned if they knew I was sharing this information with the press, public forum, and port authorities.