What will be different on your next carnival cruise?

[BlerkOne]

Cruise ships will likely follow whatever is done on land. It can be done, because it is being done. How you eat safer is limit capacity and spread the tables out.

 

Yes, Fauci has said it is likely that many more people have been exposed than is known and just as likely that more have died than is known. That will continue for the foreseeable future as testing is inadequate.

 

Antibodies do not mean lifetime immunity - some sailors (and others) have become reinfected with covid-19. The second wave of the 1918 pandemic was deadlier than the first and there is no reason to think it will be different this time. There already are a number of mutations of the covid-19 virus. The virus could easily become resistant to any treatment found as has happened before. It will be an ongoing battle.

 

By the time someone shows symptoms (if at all) they have been contagious for a while. Temperature alone is not going to be a reliable indicator, although it may be all we have at the moment. The testing using dogs to detect is advancing as are several high tech tests. This thing is far from done.

 

People who can't follow the new rules or adjust to a new normal, whatever that turns out to be, will just have to be excluded from the cruising community. There is no right to cruise.

[geckoaz]

"Royal Caribbean to Cut Traditional Buffet Once Cruises Resume." If they get rid of lido buffet they can expand the casino?

[EscapeFromConnecticut]

2 minutes ago, geckoaz said:

"Royal Caribbean to Cut Traditional Buffet Once Cruises Resume." If they get rid of lido buffet they can expand the casino?

 
geckoaz - The RCI exec who said that also added that the space would be used for some form of food service. (Of course, if you cut capacity to 60% or 50% of normal, the casino naturally gets freer ... and there's less demand for Windjammer space. So maybe a hybrid of redesigned lido & expanded casino??)

[TNcruising02]

It seems like a simple solution would be to just have servers.  Then people could still eat in a relaxed setting, without dressing up, and have a good variety of items to choose from.  The only challenge I can see is the salad bar because there are so many different toppings.  That process might be a little slower.  I am all for servers in buffet areas.

Edited May 16, 2020 by TNcruising02

[TooManyWakeUpsTilWeSail]

2 hours ago, BlerkOne said:

Cruise ships will likely follow whatever is done on land. It can be done, because it is being done. How you eat safer is limit capacity and spread the tables out.

 

Yes, Fauci has said it is likely that many more people have been exposed than is known and just as likely that more have died than is known. That will continue for the foreseeable future as testing is inadequate.

 

Antibodies do not mean lifetime immunity - some sailors (and others) have become reinfected with covid-19. The second wave of the 1918 pandemic was deadlier than the first and there is no reason to think it will be different this time. There already are a number of mutations of the covid-19 virus. The virus could easily become resistant to any treatment found as has happened before. It will be an ongoing battle.

 

By the time someone shows symptoms (if at all) they have been contagious for a while. Temperature alone is not going to be a reliable indicator, although it may be all we have at the moment. The testing using dogs to detect is advancing as are several high tech tests. This thing is far from done.

 

People who can't follow the new rules or adjust to a new normal, whatever that turns out to be, will just have to be excluded from the cruising community. There is no right to cruise.

Very informed & non-political post.  I fear more others lack of social distancing (in any environment) right now than on surfaces.  And since cruise lines can only do so much to ensure that distancing, it will be very difficult for them to create effective means from spreading the virus if a few asymptomatic people are on board.  I just pray that cases are greatly reduced by then so that we get that part of our lives back.

[ray98]

So....are we good to go with politics or are just a couple of posters being allowed to go there and no one else?

[coevan]

1 hour ago, TNcruising02 said:

 I am all for servers in buffet areas.

 

kind of an oxymoron, they would have to completely change the menu, or add a lunch in the MDR. They would need to serve breakfast later than 8:30 as they do in the MDR. We are not even up that early. 

[mredandchis]

3 hours ago, Joe817 said:

What a great commentary, suppositions, theory and analysis mredandchis! Thank you for your well thought out post! 👍

yeah and I guess I rambled a bit. In my world right now there isn't many to talk to that understands cruising.  And I like reading peoples posts and see what they think, some of them have good ideas.  I will be happy when the worse that can happen is Noro. And I want to see Carnival sail safely and still maintain the fun.  

[geckoaz]

In 1969 the hong kong flu shut down our high school. Over a million died from this pandamic.  Bodies were stored in berlin subway tunnels. However, in the summer of 69 Woodsock was held. I wish i was at woodstock. Imagine the world if it had not happened. Cruising will not be for the timid. There may be less passengers on the ship but service will be great. Tip a lot. Ships will be safer than sitting in a nursing home. And now i will look for a tie dyed cruise shirt. 

Edited May 16, 2020 by geckoaz

[EscapeFromConnecticut]

6 minutes ago, mredandchis said:

yeah and I guess I rambled a bit. In my world right now there isn't many to talk to that understands cruising.  And I like reading peoples posts and see what they think, some of them have good ideas.  I will be happy when the worse that can happen is Noro. And I want to see Carnival sail safely and still maintain the fun.  

Yes, the world was plenty easier when noro, a listless CD and a slow tender line were the concerns. 
 

[TNcruising02]

15 minutes ago, coevan said:

 

kind of an oxymoron, they would have to completely change the menu, or add a lunch in the MDR. They would need to serve breakfast later than 8:30 as they do in the MDR. We are not even up that early. 

It would probably need to be similar to cafeteria style.  That's better than no option at all.  There are already crew members standing there.

[coevan]

still, the terms cafeteria and buffet suggest self serve. Logistically it would be silly fill a full buffet and then let servers dish up. Make the Lido buffet a sit down restaurant with an expanded menu

[PhillyFan33579]

44 minutes ago, TooManyWakeUpsTilWeSail said:

Very informed & non-political post.  I fear more others lack of social distancing (in any environment) right now than on surfaces.  And since cruise lines can only do so much to ensure that distancing, it will be very difficult for them to create effective means from spreading the virus if a few asymptomatic people are on board.  I just pray that cases are greatly reduced by then so that we get that part of our lives back.

Social distancing and wearing masks are two of the biggest obstacles cruise lines have to overcome in my opinion. There have already been stories of violence related to trying to enforce mandatory mask rules. While I don’t think this would be a big issue on board a ship because I don’t see passengers risk getting arrested and/or getting kicked off the ship over this issue, I can see this being a reason for a lot of people to not go on a cruise. 
 

For social distancing to work, you need to have reduced capacity (maybe a mask rule helps accomplish this to a degree) and there needs to be plenty of activities going on at all times. For example, and this is just off the top of my head, you decide you want to go hang out by the pool. However, when you get there you are told by an employee that the pool area is currently at its capacity. I think it would help if the employee could say something similar to I am sorry you can’t use the pool area right now, but currently we are showing movies in the main theater, there are comedy shows in the aft theater, the piano bar is open, there is karaoke going on in the lobby, etc.  If there were plenty of options available from morning to night, this would help disperse the passengers around the ship. Of course a big issue here would be if there was enough staff to support something like this. 

[PhillyFan33579]

14 minutes ago, coevan said:

still, the terms cafeteria and buffet suggest self serve. Logistically it would be silly fill a full buffet and then let servers dish up. Make the Lido buffet a sit down restaurant with an expanded menu

We went to Texas de Brazil the other night. If you aren’t familiar with them, they have an incredible salad bar. They still had most, but not all, of the usual items at the salad bar, but instead of serving yourself, you told the waiter(s) what you wanted and they got it for you. All of us thought it worked well, although the environment was definitely different. 

[mredandchis]

4 hours ago, BlerkOne said:

Cruise ships will likely follow whatever is done on land. It can be done, because it is being done. How you eat safer is limit capacity and spread the tables out.

 

Yes, Fauci has said it is likely that many more people have been exposed than is known and just as likely that more have died than is known. That will continue for the foreseeable future as testing is inadequate.

 

Antibodies do not mean lifetime immunity - some sailors (and others) have become reinfected with covid-19. The second wave of the 1918 pandemic was deadlier than the first and there is no reason to think it will be different this time. There already are a number of mutations of the covid-19 virus. The virus could easily become resistant to any treatment found as has happened before. It will be an ongoing battle.

 

By the time someone shows symptoms (if at all) they have been contagious for a while. Temperature alone is not going to be a reliable indicator, although it may be all we have at the moment. The testing using dogs to detect is advancing as are several high tech tests. This thing is far from done.

 

People who can't follow the new rules or adjust to a new normal, whatever that turns out to be, will just have to be excluded from the cruising community. There is no right to cruise.

This reinfection thing has been brought up a few times.  And the medical scientists are not sure what to make of it.  They are studying it now so anything is possible.  And I doubt that antibodies would be life long but no one knows yet.  But one thing for you to think about .   SARS and MERS also morphed during their reign and they actually morphed themselves out of existence.  This one hasn't yet but it may either get stronger or weaker.  Time will tell.  

 

[TooManyWakeUpsTilWeSail]

1 hour ago, ray98 said:

So....are we good to go with politics or are just a couple of posters being allowed to go there and no one else?

Agreed.  I think the other side pushes their agenda more but politics needs to stay off these forums.

[BlerkOne]

9 minutes ago, mredandchis said:

This reinfection thing has been brought up a few times.  And the medical scientists are not sure what to make of it.  They are studying it now so anything is possible.  And I doubt that antibodies would be life long but no one knows yet.  But one thing for you to think about .   SARS and MERS also morphed during their reign and they actually morphed themselves out of existence.  This one hasn't yet but it may either get stronger or weaker.  Time will tell.  

 

 

I think it is likely more is unknown about covid-19 than is known. Neither SARS nor MERS were the pandemics that covid-19 is, and lessons from those seems to have been forgotten by many. It is unknown if SARs or MERS still exist in the wild or if they will reappear someday, but at least there is a vaccine for one of them, ready to be tried. It is likely they still exist in laboratories.

 

As Brad Pitt put it, miracles should not be Plan A. Don't plan on covid-19 disappearing on its own.

 

 

[BlerkOne]

1 hour ago, geckoaz said:

In 1969 the hong kong flu shut down our high school. Over a million died from this pandamic.  Bodies were stored in berlin subway tunnels. However, in the summer of 69 Woodsock was held. I wish i was at woodstock. Imagine the world if it had not happened. Cruising will not be for the timid. There may be less passengers on the ship but service will be great. Tip a lot. Ships will be safer than sitting in a nursing home. And now i will look for a tie dyed cruise shirt. 

 

So far over 300,000 deaths and rising. 1969 - A man on the moon, Woodstock, and Unix. We were invincible (other than perhaps that Vietnam thing) and still believed in science. The good old days.

[coevan]

1 hour ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

We went to Texas de Brazil the other night. If you aren’t familiar with them, they have an incredible salad bar. They still had most, but not all, of the usual items at the salad bar, but instead of serving yourself, you told the waiter(s) what you wanted and they got it for you. All of us thought it worked well, although the environment was definitely different. 

 

We have a Brazilian steakhouse, just a different name. Their salad bars are not even close to compare to a Carnival buffet. Again a logistical nightmare. "I'll have salad 2 slices of cucumber, one tomato, light on the onions, dressing on the side" This is just an example of how silly this concept is to execute. The whole point of a salad bar is picking what you want and how much of each vegetables you like. IMHO

[jimbo5544]

2 hours ago, coevan said:

 

We have a Brazilian steakhouse, just a different name. Their salad bars are not even close to compare to a Carnival buffet. Again a logistical nightmare. "I'll have salad 2 slices of cucumber, one tomato, light on the onions, dressing on the side" This is just an example of how silly this concept is to execute. The whole point of a salad bar is picking what you want and how much of each vegetables you like. IMHO

No question it is not perfection, but in light of where everything is, a small price to pay in the greater scheme of things.  

[PhillyFan33579]

3 hours ago, BlerkOne said:

 

So far over 300,000 deaths and rising. 1969 - A man on the moon, Woodstock, and Unix. We were invincible (other than perhaps that Vietnam thing) and still believed in science. The good old days.

Hopefully this doesn’t lead to the moon landing was faked comments. 😊 

[coevan]

15 minutes ago, jimbo5544 said:

No question it is not perfection, but in light of where everything is, a small price to pay in the greater scheme of things.  

 

 

no argument at all, hope it doesn't come to this. the idea of the buffet is not to spend 1- 1/2 hours, if you add servers taking orders might as well have a menu

 

[PhillyFan33579]

2 hours ago, coevan said:

 

We have a Brazilian steakhouse, just a different name. Their salad bars are not even close to compare to a Carnival buffet. Again a logistical nightmare. "I'll have salad 2 slices of cucumber, one tomato, light on the onions, dressing on the side" This is just an example of how silly this concept is to execute. The whole point of a salad bar is picking what you want and how much of each vegetables you like. IMHO

If you ever cross paths with a Texas de Brazil steakhouse, it is a must go to in my book. Like I mentioned before their salad bar is phenomenal. Smart business move to get people filled up before they eat meat. But if you skimp on the salad bar like I do, they have several cuts of steak that are outstanding that you can eat a lot of before surrendering. 

[coevan]

Wow there is a Texas de Brazil in Denver. We always go to the Rodizio Grill, same concept. We will try Texas next time we get to town. Google says it's temporarily closed in Denver. My wife does the salad bar, it is wonderful, and she doesn't eat red meat

[BlerkOne]

4 minutes ago, coevan said:

 

 

no argument at all, hope it doesn't come to this. the idea of the buffet is not to spend 1- 1/2 hours, if you add servers taking orders might as well have a menu

 

 

Do how they do when there is a Noro outbreak. The same food but not handled by passengers. You can actually speed it up.