Are they going to start limiting kids?

[vswan]

I think with children ages 5 and up able to be vaxed, most within that age bracket on the ships will be vaxed. I know not all parent will want to vaccinate their children, but when going on a cruise that stops at foreign ports and having to deal with restrictions for those not vaxed, they will just get the shots or choose a different vacation. So I don't see the 95% guidelines meaning much within that group.

 

Just my opinion. If I was taking a child or grandchild on a cruise and they were able to get the vaccine I would just do it to simplify the who can go where when, etc. Not to mention the protection they get in their daily life with school, etc. not only for themselves but those around them unable to get vaxed.

[nelblu]

2 hours ago, exm said:

 

Makes sense. Most likely they already recovered from Corona? My kids did (they are under 12) so I am not vaccinating them. One day the CDC will recognize natural immunity.

They have been around their parents who were vaccinated got sick at the same time and diagnosed as positive.  My daughter, their mother, got sick a second time.  Both parents tried their best to quarantine themselves in the house, but very difficult.

 

 

[smokeybandit]

2 hours ago, exm said:

 

Makes sense. Most likely they already recovered from Corona? My kids did (they are under 12) so I am not vaccinating them. One day the CDC will recognize natural immunity.

THe UK Govt just came out with a study that estimated 85% of kids have already had covid

 

Even in the USA a year ago the CDC estimated 50% of kids had already had covid.

[MommaBear55]

1 hour ago, vswan said:

I think with children ages 5 and up able to be vaxed, most within that age bracket on the ships will be vaxed. I know not all parent will want to vaccinate their children, but when going on a cruise that stops at foreign ports and having to deal with restrictions for those not vaxed, they will just get the shots or choose a different vacation. So I don't see the 95% guidelines meaning much within that group.

 

Just my opinion. If I was taking a child or grandchild on a cruise and they were able to get the vaccine I would just do it to simplify the who can go where when, etc. Not to mention the protection they get in their daily life with school, etc. not only for themselves but those around them unable to get vaxed.

My grandkids who are old enough are vaccinated. Their parents are aware that the risk isn't to them but to us if they brought Covid home. 

[nelblu]

1 hour ago, Cel_cruise said:

I hope you enjoy other vacations besides cruising or visiting other countries then. 

I also hope that for all of those with “natural immunity” that this does not end up like chicken pox / shingles…sigh…

 

 

Conversely, who knows what symptoms will show up in years to come.  Example, J&J baby powder, Thalidomide/birth defects, etc.

 

 

[MommaBear55]

14 minutes ago, nelblu said:

 

 

Conversely, who knows what symptoms will show up in years to come.  Example, J&J baby powder, Thalidomide/birth defects, etc.

 

 

Or secondary polio for those who got polio. 

[MommaBear55]

7 hours ago, ONECRUISER said:

Updated protocols for sailings departing the U.S. and Puerto Rico on or after February 25, 2022 Royal Caribbean International will participate in the U.S. CDC's voluntary COVID-19 Program for Cruise Ships Operating in U.S. waters, beginning with sailings departing on or after February 25th, 2022 from the U.S. (including Puerto Rico). We will be operating under the Highly Vaccinated category defined by the CDC. To be considered Highly Vaccinated, requirements include sailing with 95% of crew members fully vaccinated, which we already meet with 100% of our crew. And, 95% of guests eligible for the vaccine must be fully vaccinated as well - this excludes children under five years who are not eligible for the vaccine.

And it will be interesting to see how many unvaccinated adults will sign up to cruise. I cannot imagine the problems of trying to figure out who makes the 5% and what they do with anyone who doesn't make that cut. Wouldn't want to be making those calls!

[ONECRUISER]

3 minutes ago, MommaBear55 said:

And it will be interesting to see how many unvaccinated adults will sign up to cruise. I cannot imagine the problems of trying to figure out who makes the 5% and what they do with anyone who doesn't make that cut. Wouldn't want to be making those calls!

True, but have feeling this limit will only last few months then be lifted

[deliver42]

Evidently, kids not able to get vaxxed, will not count against the 95%.

[Sunshine3601]

4 hours ago, jrapps said:

I feel this is going to be one of those situations that Royal tries to see how close to the line they can get without going over (or getting caught)

 

For every 1,000 passengers 5+, 50 can be un-vaccinated. So these upcoming Spring Break and Summer cruises, I can easily see there being 3000+ passengers on some of the larger ships (meaning 3000 people over the age of 5, PLUS their 0-4 kids as well). So if there are more than 150 un-vax kids, what will Royal do? Cut off bookings for anyone 5-11 and hope the percentages work out before sail date? Sail at 92-94% and just not say anything (since it's a voluntary program anyway, is anyone really auditing each and every sailing)

 

If they can get very close to 95% without any more changes, they wont do any more changes. If they have too many cruises coming up with a higer percentage of unvaccinated 5-11 year olds, they may be forced to either cut off new bookings, or require vaccines at younger ages.

 

Remember the total 95% vaccinated onboard includes their crew which is 100% vaccinated.

You could have a ship with 3500 passengers and 1500 crew, total 5000 people onboard that would mean 250 unvaxxed are permitted.

[Sunshine3601]

1 hour ago, MommaBear55 said:

And it will be interesting to see how many unvaccinated adults will sign up to cruise. I cannot imagine the problems of trying to figure out who makes the 5% and what they do with anyone who doesn't make that cut. Wouldn't want to be making those calls!

Anyone 12 or older that is unvaxxed have to make a special request for an exemption. 

[jrapps]

2 minutes ago, Sunshine3601 said:

Remember the total 95% vaccinated onboard includes their crew which is 100% vaccinated.

You could have a ship with 3500 passengers and 1500 crew, total 5000 people onboard that would mean 250 unvaxxed are permitted.

We call that creative accounting!

 

I'm pretty sure the program fine print is not written in that way. 95% or more of crew and 95% or more guests isn't the same thing as 100% crew and some amount under 95% guests. Of course some executive at Royal could interpret this the same way you have...all depends on what kind of data they have to provide to the CDC to show they are meeting the 95% threshold. My guess is none required.

[smokeybandit]

10 minutes ago, Sunshine3601 said:

Remember the total 95% vaccinated onboard includes their crew which is 100% vaccinated.

You could have a ship with 3500 passengers and 1500 crew, total 5000 people onboard that would mean 250 unvaxxed are permitted.

By the definition, there's a 95% count for both passengers and crew.

 

• Highly Vaccinated: ships with at least 95% passengers and 95% crew who are fully vaccinated, but with less than 95% of passengers and 95% of crew who are up to date with their COVID-19 vaccines.

[Sunshine3601]

2 minutes ago, jrapps said:

We call that creative accounting!

 

I'm pretty sure the program fine print is not written in that way. 95% or more of crew and 95% or more guests isn't the same thing as 100% crew and some amount under 95% guests. Of course some executive at Royal could interpret this the same way you have...all depends on what kind of data they have to provide to the CDC to show they are meeting the 95% threshold. My guess is none required.

Ever since Royal began sailing in 2021 they have been giving out the % of vaxxed onboard as a total of crew and passengers.    

I personally have not seen the new CSO by the CDC that Royal and other Cruise lines opted in to but others are saying the % is based off all People onboard except those under 5 yrs old.

[KayRaeRae]

4 hours ago, exm said:

 

Makes sense. Most likely they already recovered from Corona? My kids did (they are under 12) so I am not vaccinating them. One day the CDC will recognize natural immunity.

Just a heads up, but my child unfortunately had Covid twice in a hundred days.  Natural immunity is awesome, but it can be short-lived.  

[exm]

2 minutes ago, KayRaeRae said:

Just a heads up, but my child unfortunately had Covid twice in a hundred days.  Natural immunity is awesome, but it can be short-lived.  

 

Do you think a vaccine would have had a different result?

 

Let me remind you: the mRNA vaccines from Pifzer and Moderna are training the body to recognize the spikes of the Corona Virus. It works. If you get infected by Corona, the body recognizes the virus itself including the spikes.

 

I feel there's a lot of misinformation out there. Unfortunately, local health authorities/governments are not making things easier.

[KayRaeRae]

2 minutes ago, exm said:

 

Do you think a vaccine would have had a different result?

 

Let me remind you: the mRNA vaccines from Pifzer and Moderna are training the body to recognize the spikes of the Corona Virus. It works. If you get infected by Corona, the body recognizes the virus itself including the spikes.

 

I feel there's a lot of misinformation out there. Unfortunately, local health authorities/governments are not making things easier.

I can’t speculate whether it would’ve or not, but she was fully vaxxed as soon as she was able to be after infection. 

[CPT Trips]

9 hours ago, Ourusualbeach said:

It has been stated by the cdc and Michael Bayley that kids under 5 do not count in the calculations so the  5% can be kids 5 to 11 of which a large portion are already vaccinated. 

Sadly, it isn’t a large portion vaccinated. Only a third of kids in that age group received the first dose; only a quarter are fully vaccinated.
 

5 hours ago, nelblu said:

12 & 14 years old and unvaxxed.

So they can’t cruise because of a choice made by their parents. 

[Mrcar09]

I’m not sure how worried I should be by this. We booked a 4/17 cruise on Harmony last week with our unvaxxed 7 and 9 year old. We all had COVID a couple of weeks ago and decided now was the time to plan a vacation. We chose Royal Caribbean primarily due to their policies regarding unvaxxed children. Will we need to file for an exception much like Carnival or others and at what point will we know if we are able to sail?

[twangster]

By a long shot the majority of cruisers are 11+ and therefore vax.  Under 5 don’t count.  It’s the 5-11 that are unvax that will be the 5%.  There are no 5-11 booking cruises and sailing without parents.  
 

Many parents are vaccinating their 5-11. Not all, but many. So the 5-11 on board are not all in unvax group.  
 

I don’t see a need to limit kids.  It’s a pretty small group that would be the target.  Only 5-11 unvax would need to be throttled.  
 

As capacity is expanded since most cruisers land in the 11+ range who must be vaxxed to board, more vax on board by increased capacity should help, not hurt the effort. 

[Jkaczanowski]

I noticed an odd thing on my Wonder 3/18 cruise.  If you choose 1 room with 4 passengers, it comes back that it’s not available online and to call.  If I choose 2 passengers, rooms in every category come up.  

[Joseph2017China]

Well, if it is a concern, those that are unvaccinated (not just kids, like everyone is talking about) need to book early to claim their 5% spot on ship.  For the rest of us, I really don't care since I am around both groups of people daily, w/o a mask and no fears

 

[Cel_cruise]

9 hours ago, Jkaczanowski said:

I noticed an odd thing on my Wonder 3/18 cruise.  If you choose 1 room with 4 passengers, it comes back that it’s not available online and to call.  If I choose 2 passengers, rooms in every category come up.  

I’m sure this was in the wrong thread - but if they were to fill all open rooms with 2 people they would be “at” capacity (for the ship or a lifeboat area ). Therefore - they cannot offer 4 per room.   

[exm]

10 hours ago, Mrcar09 said:

I’m not sure how worried I should be by this. We booked a 4/17 cruise on Harmony last week with our unvaxxed 7 and 9 year old. We all had COVID a couple of weeks ago and decided now was the time to plan a vacation. We chose Royal Caribbean primarily due to their policies regarding unvaxxed children. Will we need to file for an exception much like Carnival or others and at what point will we know if we are able to sail?

I am in the same position as you, with 3 unvaxxed kids under 12. We are sailing in 3 weeks and the entire family recovered from COVID in mid-January. The good news is that it’s very unlikely you get COVID again unless a new strain arises. My only concern is the kids PCR test that can show positive results for up to 90 days. But not a lot you can do about it since the CDC, I mean Royal, still doesn’t recognize natural immunity. Don’t worry too much though.

[exm]

11 hours ago, KayRaeRae said:

Just a heads up, but my child unfortunately had Covid twice in a hundred days.  Natural immunity is awesome, but it can be short-lived.  

Your child probably had Delta and Omicron. Hopefully you realize that vaccinating your child doesn’t prevent your child from getting COVID, it makes it less severe. Personally I don’t see the logic for vaccinating after a double recovery, but ultimately it’s your decision as a parent.