from Princess regarding new CDC rules

[Billish]

47 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

Hopefully this latest step back for cruise lines is the second last one and won't be all that long before the final step to normalcy occurs.

I have no real opinion on this, but do you think that passengers with Covid on a cruise should be quarantined? 

[SargassoPirate]

4 minutes ago, Billish said:

Well, in the UK that has already  happened.  There is no wholesale testing of people. And no wholesale in virtually every European country either.

What are you talking about ? 

By wholesale testing, I mean requiring everyone who will enter a venue or participate in an activity show a negative test before being allowed in.

 

Cruise lines requiring people who have been vaccinated and are not sick to show a negative test to board is wholesale testing.

 

Can you name one other venue or activity with such a requirement?

 

It's all theater and a huge pain in the *ss for those who want to cruise.

[suekel]

On 7/19/2022 at 2:22 PM, cruise2relax said:

I am by no means a COVID denier.  I am vax and prefer to be.  I am careful and will mask up when in crowded spaces.  That said, the pre-cruise test is nothing but show.  It is meaningless.  Many folks will test before traveling to the ship risking exposure.  Every port you risk exposure.  Most folks do not test positive for days after getting covid.  Such testing is useless.

I never tested positive on an antigen test.  Took a PCR to confirm. 

[Billish]

47 minutes ago, SargassoPirate said:

Cruise lines requiring people who have been vaccinated and are not sick to show a negative test to board is wholesale testing.

 

Which is now being done. No negative tests required. 

What are you arguing about ?

 

[memoak]

17 minutes ago, Billish said:

Which is now being done. No negative tests required. 

What are you arguing about ?

 

Princess still require test to board. I happen to agree with that. 

[memoak]

1 hour ago, SargassoPirate said:

By wholesale testing, I mean requiring everyone who will enter a venue or participate in an activity show a negative test before being allowed in.

 

Cruise lines requiring people who have been vaccinated and are not sick to show a negative test to board is wholesale testing.

 

Can you name one other venue or activity with such a requirement?

 

It's all theater and a huge pain in the *ss for those who want to cruise.

Maybe not testing but many theater venues require 100% masking and no food or drink allowed inside the seated areas. 

[JimmyVWine]

1 hour ago, SargassoPirate said:

Can you name one other venue or activity with such a requirement?

 

It's all theater and a huge pain in the *ss for those who want to cruise.

I think that it is obvious, due to the uniformity of action, that cruise lines as a whole either:

1. Believe that their venues and activities are unique and present greater risks, (4,500 people crunched together in a closed environment for a week or more with lots of close contact and 6 foot social distancing virtually impossible to implement); or 
2. They have engaged a survey company like Gallup to poll thousands of people who are not Elite cruisers or Cruise Critic Board regulars to find out under what circumstances they would feel comfortable booking a cruise, with one of the options being "no testing and no vaccine requirements"; one option being "no testing and a vaccine requirement"; and one option being "testing and vaccine requirements", and the third option won.

 

One thing I am certain of is that the industry didn't invoke its rules because it loved the theatrics of it.  They know that there are many people who share your view, yet they did it anyway.  I don't think the powers that be sit around a conference room table at the home office thinking up ways to spend millions of dollars on responses that are irritating a majority of would-be cruisers.  I know that many like to think that the folks in the C-Suite are all idiots and don't know what they are doing, but in reality, they know their business far better than we do.

Edited July 21, 2022 by JimmyVWine

[Ombud]

1 hour ago, Billish said:

I have no real opinion on this, but do you think that passengers with Covid on a cruise should be quarantined? 

Yes. But then I also think ppl with norovirus,  measles, whooping cough, or monkeypox should quarantine 

[Billish]

23 minutes ago, memoak said:

Princess still require test to board. I happen to agree with that. 

I bet they will stop that requirement by the end of the month.

[Phantom of the Seas]

It sounds like Princess will be implementing a policy like entering a Hospital for Dr appointment...they ask if you have had any symptoms etc. for covid...but you will be signing a document that you have tested negative without documentation to a negative test...just your signature for a negative test....correct me if wrong....

[JimmyVWine]

21 minutes ago, Billish said:

I bet they will stop that requirement by the end of the month.

My money is on September 1.

[Phantom of the Seas]

August 7th....2 weeks to digest 

[dreaminofcruisin]

16 minutes ago, JimmyVWine said:

My money is on September 1.

 

Mine is October 1st.

Mostly because their Cruise with Confidence ends on September 30th....

 

And since I cruise in August, I would LOVE for both of us to be wrong! 😜

[High C's]

49 minutes ago, Phantom of the Seas said:

It sounds like Princess will be implementing a policy like entering a Hospital for Dr appointment...they ask if you have had any symptoms etc. for covid...but you will be signing a document that you have tested negative without documentation to a negative test...just your signature for a negative test....correct me if wrong....

May I ask what you are basing this on?  I hope you are right, but would like to know if this is from a source, or just your opinion?  Because I am keeping a VERY close eye on things as well sail in August, and have not yet read ANYTHING from Princess on any impending changes to their policies.

[Ombud]

41 minutes ago, dreaminofcruisin said:

59 minutes ago, JimmyVWine said:

My money is on September 1.

Mine is October 1st.

Mostly because their Cruise with Confidence ends on September 30th....

 

And since I cruise in August, I would LOVE for both of us to be wrong! 😜

I hope as I board Sept 2nd. But I also think it will coincide with ending Cruise with Confidence. Ah well, 1 more proctored test

 

 

Edited July 22, 2022 by Ombud

[ElmaLee]

7 hours ago, High C's said:

May I ask what you are basing this on?  I hope you are right, but would like to know if this is from a source, or just your opinion?  Because I am keeping a VERY close eye on things as well sail in August, and have not yet read ANYTHING from Princess on any impending changes to their policies.

P&O are impementing something akin to this from 24 July.

[villauk]

7 hours ago, Ombud said:

I hope as I board Sept 2nd. But I also think it will coincide with ending Cruise with Confidence. Ah well, 1 more proctored test

 

 

 

I’m really hoping it’s before then as we sail the end of August 🤞.

 

Gayl, 

I’ve just realised you are getting on as we are getting off - just missing each other.

Edited July 22, 2022 by villauk

[High C's]

2 hours ago, ElmaLee said:

P&O are impementing something akin to this from 24 July.

Yes.  And so is Cunard (UK/Europe sailings only) and Azamara. And Viking.  But still silence from Princess.  Because Cunard and P&O have made independent announcements, its obvious Carnival Corp will not be setting protocols to cover all their companies.  Sure hope Princess puts something out soon!

[SargassoPirate]

12 hours ago, memoak said:

Maybe not testing but many theater venues require 100% masking and no food or drink allowed inside the seated areas. 

Where would this be, and what constitutes "many"?  I haven't seen a mask requirement anywhere except a doctors office in months and months.

[Daniel A]

I wonder if CLIA's Healthy Sail Panel will be reconvened to advise (require) cruise lines during the restart.  I can see a phased approach.  IMHO, the last protocol to be completely eliminated is the vaxxing requirement.  Vaxxing may not provide total immunity from BA5, but it seems to be keeping people off the respirators and out of ICUs.  If there are hundreds of people who are unvaxxed on a ship with an outbreak - who gets to use the few respirators onboard?  (Rhetorical question.)  The whole cruise industry (not just one line) doesn't want to take the chance of such a devastating tragedy from occurring.  There was a reason the cruise lines had us all filling out short health surveys at embarkation.  (And people were grumbling about completing those surveys too!)

[Steelers36]

15 hours ago, Billish said:

I have no real opinion on this, but do you think that passengers with Covid on a cruise should be quarantined? 

 

13 hours ago, Ombud said:

Yes. But then I also think ppl with norovirus,  measles, whooping cough, or monkeypox should quarantine 

 

Yes, but when someone is ill with something else like noro, they are expected to remain in cabin until well.  I believe I have read where they do a deep cleaning after a noro case in a cabin (I know sometimes the entire ship is deep-cleaned, but I digress).  I think the only change is does the guest isolate in own cabin or do the cruise lines continue to maintain a block of cabins just for potential cases (which may be more than enough or not enough - hard to guess the number I imagine).  I also realize if one person in the typical couple occupying a stateroom is ill and the other is negative, the couple themselves might prefer to be apart for a few days.  Perhaps a blend?  Cruise line blocks off less rooms and positive cases have their choice of own cabin or an isolation cabin?

[Steelers36]

15 hours ago, Billish said:

That proves nothing. 

You can be negative when you test yourself on Thursday, but positive on the Saturday when you embark.

How does that keep people honest?  

 

Good point, but with the change to a self-test, it could be requested within X hours of noon on sail date with 0.25hrs < X < 24hrs?   I am realizing there is no perfect answer here.  One could possibly be negative the afternoon/evening before and then positive and be honest player. 

 

So, either forget the test or you run the quick test on everyone as they check-in, slowing down the boarding process.  Probably the only way it makes sense to continue on?

[Phantom of the Seas]

13 hours ago, High C&#x27;s said:

May I ask what you are basing this on?  I hope you are right, but would like to know if this is from a source, or just your opinion?  Because I am keeping a VERY close eye on things as well sail in August, and have not yet read ANYTHING from Princess on any impending changes to their policies.

X

[Phantom of the Seas]

Just my opinion.....reading the tea leaves...

[Billish]

32 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

So, either forget the test or you run the quick test on everyone as they check-in, slowing down the boarding process.  Probably the only way it makes sense to continue on?

Personally I was always in favour of testing at the port, but accept that logistically it caused problems,  plus the emotional impact on those that tested positive.

Testing three days prior to embarkation is really just theatre.  P&O are now using a trust system, asking people to test themselves, and declare if they are positive.  In reality it means that testing is now finished as far as P&O are concerned.