This Does Not Work For Me: Free Roam Port Ban

[ALWAYS CRUZIN]

7 hours ago, deadmoney said:

 

What good is the testing?

The President and everyone he comes in contact with is tested every day and he still got it.

Food for thought.

Because it takes days to show up on a test. You can be tested today and then a week later. One may show negative and the next positive. He had 3 different tests to verify. The day you take the test is the only day you know a result. The very next may be different. Nothing is 100%. A false sense of security nothing more. 

[ALWAYS CRUZIN]

22 hours ago, bafinegan said:

 

Here in S Ga. it take 7-10 days to get results, so this would not work for us.  No problem paying for one, just no guarantee results would be back in time

 

baf

There must be places that do different testing for a quicker result. If the cruise line can test and get a result within minuets. I would bet some place in your town has the same also.

[lobster1313]

18 minutes ago, ALWAYS CRUZIN said:

There must be places that do different testing for a quicker result. If the cruise line can test and get a result within minuets. I would bet some place in your town has the same also.

Quest does both at home and in person testing. The results come back between 24 and 48 hours. The at home takes a couple of days longer because of FedEx overnight shipping but still less than 5 days.

[bafinegan]

42 minutes ago, ALWAYS CRUZIN said:

There must be places that do different testing for a quicker result. If the cruise line can test and get a result within minuets. I would bet some place in your town has the same also.

 

If there is, I couldn't find one ( I am a retired nurse and think I know where to go and look).  We were told the high volume is what caused the delay.  Now this was a cpl months ago (before those rapid tests were available, but not sure if Carnival will ok the rapid test and not want the molecular one) and maybe it has changed.  But a search of places here within a 50 mile radius of COlumbus Ga all say turn around time is 3- 5 days now.  But seeing as that was the stated turn around time then, I doubt it has changed.

 

baf

Edited October 4, 2020 by bafinegan
update

[bitemyfly]

27 minutes ago, bafinegan said:

 

If there is, I couldn't find one ( I am a retired nurse and think I know where to go and look).  We were told the high volume is what caused the delay.  Now this was a cpl months ago (before those rapid tests were available, but not sure if Carnival will ok the rapid test and not want the molecular one) and maybe it has changed.  But a search of places here within a 50 mile radius of COlumbus Ga all say turn around time is 3- 5 days now.  But seeing as that was the stated turn around time then, I doubt it has changed.

 

baf

Here in Florida , many private urgent care facilities have the rapid tests , you might want to try the private facilities 

[Joebucks]

I can deal with the bulk of the restrictions. This I hate. We have never done a ship excursion, and maybe do other excursions a third of the time. I hate having to stay with a big group of people. I hate having to follow a schedule. I love the ports where you can walk right off and hit the beach, restaurants, shops, etc. Port days are really important to me. 

[evandbob]

18 hours ago, Joebucks said:

I can deal with the bulk of the restrictions. This I hate. We have never done a ship excursion, and maybe do other excursions a third of the time. I hate having to stay with a big group of people. I hate having to follow a schedule. I love the ports where you can walk right off and hit the beach, restaurants, shops, etc. Port days are really important to me. 

 

I'm pretty much of the same opinion as Joebucks above.  But one positive of ship only excursions is that they will tend to be smaller groups than pre-covid tours.

 

The ports actually have the say on how many and for how long and where excursions can go.  They do want to protect their own population.  The cruiselines just jump on this as it's a money maker for them.

[buckeyefrank]

On 10/4/2020 at 1:01 PM, bafinegan said:

 

If there is, I couldn't find one ( I am a retired nurse and think I know where to go and look).  We were told the high volume is what caused the delay.  Now this was a cpl months ago (before those rapid tests were available, but not sure if Carnival will ok the rapid test and not want the molecular one) and maybe it has changed.  But a search of places here within a 50 mile radius of COlumbus Ga all say turn around time is 3- 5 days now.  But seeing as that was the stated turn around time then, I doubt it has changed.

 

baf

Nobody is accepting the results of the rapid tests.  If anyone tests positive on a rapid test, they are immediately quarantined and then given a full test.  The rapid tests are still wildly unreliable and the molecular tests are too sensitive.

[BlerkOne]

3 minutes ago, buckeyefrank said:

Nobody is accepting the results of the rapid tests.  If anyone tests positive on a rapid test, they are immediately quarantined and then given a full test.  The rapid tests are still wildly unreliable and the molecular tests are too sensitive.

 

It is the false negatives with rapid tests that are the problem.

[bafinegan]

17 minutes ago, buckeyefrank said:

Nobody is accepting the results of the rapid tests.  If anyone tests positive on a rapid test, they are immediately quarantined and then given a full test.  The rapid tests are still wildly unreliable and the molecular tests are too sensitive.

If the cruise lines are administering them at the port, it would have to be the rapid tests.  That's why I was wondering if the test that must be done 3-5 days pre-cruise has to be the molecular one.  It would stand to reason that yes it should, but they haven't specified as of yet.  There IS a difference.

 

baf

[BenjiRodney]

I will do what they tell me to do in order to get back to cruising.

[buckeyefrank]

18 hours ago, BlerkOne said:

 

It is the false negatives with rapid tests that are the problem.

The rapid tests are a problem but so are the PCR tests.  Actually PCR isn't actually even a "test" for the virus.  Very interesting reading below, most of it directly from the mouth of the person that created PCR.

 

https://uncoverdc.com/2020/04/07/was-the-covid-19-test-meant-to-detect-a-virus/

[KKB]

This is easy.

You can see the reason for the restriction--ships spread COVID easily. This is one way to minimize contact & enables contact tracing. Ships are trying to stay in business.

So you have 2 choices--cruise sooner with restrictions or wait until restrictions are lifted.

Really nothing more than that.

[Georgie562]

19 hours ago, BenjiRodney said:

I will do what they tell me to do in order to get back to cruising.

 That will be one heck of a FUNless vacation......

[StrangeBrew]

I am ok with staying on the ship if the only way off is to book an excursion through the cruise line.

Now that being said, if those that choose to not purchase the excursions, are forced to stay on the ship, and yes it would forced, due to having to either pay to get off vs. doing your own thing, they should have IMO all port fees and such refunded as they did not step foot in the port.

[firefly333]

It would suggest people who cannot follow whatever rules are, please stay home and let those who want to cruise and are willing to follow the rules cruise and see how it goes.

 

It baffles me all the people who bother posting they woildnt follow the rules and so wouldn't cruise. Just come back after rules are lifted. Why tell us you arent willing to follow the rules. Who cares, you can stay home. And cruise when it suits you better.

[ontheweb]

19 hours ago, StrangeBrew said:

I am ok with staying on the ship if the only way off is to book an excursion through the cruise line.

Now that being said, if those that choose to not purchase the excursions, are forced to stay on the ship, and yes it would forced, due to having to either pay to get off vs. doing your own thing, they should have IMO all port fees and such refunded as they did not step foot in the port.

I think the port fees are more about the infrastructure of the port, such as for instance the tug boats helping the ship dock than about whatever the passenger does onshore.

[BlerkOne]

On 10/1/2020 at 4:31 PM, ontheweb said:

They are not per se illegal, but the crew would all need different work permits that would cost the cruise line much money, something they are not interested in doing.

D-1 Visas do not grant the crew permission to work in the US, which is what they would need. It isn't just a matter of cost - there are only so many work visas available at any cost.

[BlerkOne]

21 hours ago, StrangeBrew said:

I am ok with staying on the ship if the only way off is to book an excursion through the cruise line.

Now that being said, if those that choose to not purchase the excursions, are forced to stay on the ship, and yes it would forced, due to having to either pay to get off vs. doing your own thing, they should have IMO all port fees and such refunded as they did not step foot in the port.

Port taxes and fees do not depend on you getting off of the ship.

[bafinegan]

22 hours ago, firefly333 said:

It would suggest people who cannot follow whatever rules are, please stay home and let those who want to cruise and are willing to follow the rules cruise and see how it goes.

 

It baffles me all the people who bother posting they woildnt follow the rules and so wouldn't cruise. Just come back after rules are lifted. Why tell us you arent willing to follow the rules. Who cares, you can stay home. And cruise when it suits you better.

 

^^^^^^THIS!!!!!^^^^^^

baf

[xDisconnections]

On 10/1/2020 at 12:39 PM, firefly333 said:

Cruises to nowhere arent allowed out of USA so we know they wouldn't happen, restricted and changed ports I expect to be the new norm. 

 

On 10/1/2020 at 5:31 PM, ontheweb said:

They are not per se illegal, but the crew would all need different work permits that would cost the cruise line much money, something they are not interested in doing.

 

2 hours ago, BlerkOne said:

D-1 Visas do not grant the crew permission to work in the US, which is what they would need. It isn't just a matter of cost - there are only so many work visas available at any cost.

BlerkOne is correct. Cruises to nowhere on a foreign flagged vessel are permitted and are perfectly legal as long as the proper guidelines are being followed. At the moment, the D-1 visa does not grant permission. In order for a foreign flagged vessel to accommodate this type of itinerary, it must be staffed by a crew comprised of US Citizens or those authorized to work in the United States.

 

Carnival, and other cruise lines, generally choose to hire those among other nationalities to save on labor and gain access to a larger employment pool of employees likely to accept the working conditions onboard.

[Sagittarius traveler]

I don't mind long as I am off the ship lol.

 

 

I just wish they had a bigger arcade area for coronavirus lol better entertainment more interactive group competitions and games. The Fun Squad slowing becoming a bore.

[RWolver672]

On 10/9/2020 at 10:18 PM, firefly333 said:

It would suggest people who cannot follow whatever rules are, please stay home and let those who want to cruise and are willing to follow the rules cruise and see how it goes.

 

It baffles me all the people who bother posting they woildnt follow the rules and so wouldn't cruise. Just come back after rules are lifted. Why tell us you arent willing to follow the rules. Who cares, you can stay home. And cruise when it suits you better.

 

Why do people tell us they are willing to follow the rules?  Isn't that what this posting is about?  There are people out there that are more than willing to cruise under the new mandates and there are people out there that have no intentions of cruising under them.  When are the rules going to be lifted so that everybody can enjoy their cruises? 

 

We booked the Mardi Gras with a reduced deposit of $198 for the two of us.  Later we put $500 down on the cruise.  Now we find that our cruise will only be the third one for the Mardi Gras.   I e-mailed my PVP and asked about canceling the cruise.  This is his reply:

 

Well, if you cancel now you will lose $436 unfortunately as we have not cancelled your cruise as of this time.

 

We do understand where some people are not comfortable sailing next year with all that has been happening this year.

 

With that being said, we are allowing guests who are booked in a 2021 cruise to change/move your cruise to a later sailing date (we have some cruises open through April 2023) and we will waive any change fees for doing so ($50pp value).  

 

I can see losing the $198 for the non refundable deposit but why $463?  So, to keep from losing that money, we have to book a future cruise and have no idea of when cruising will be back to normal.  Being in our 70's, with some health issues, we have to be careful.  More power to anyone that wants to cruise now.  I just wish Carnival would be a little more considerate  of the ones that don't feel safe doing it now.

 

[firefly333]

Ok I do understand...and heard someone say schools may not be normal for another year and that's something I disagree with. I think it hurts kids, get schools open. 

 

If you booked pre covid or just didnt see it coming and dont want to push it forward into 2023. Stinks you had a reduced deposit and put up more too but cant get it back.

 

Btw I've hit 70 myself and plan to get vaccinated asap just for what added safety I can feel, so I get being worried. Sorry. 

[BlerkOne]

5 hours ago, RWolver672 said:

 

 

I can see losing the $198 for the non refundable deposit but why $463?  So, to keep from losing that money, we have to book a future cruise and have no idea of when cruising will be back to normal.  Being in our 70's, with some health issues, we have to be careful.  More power to anyone that wants to cruise now.  I just wish Carnival would be a little more considerate  of the ones that don't feel safe doing it now.

 

 

$198 deposit? Is it a casino rate?

 

Did you also purchase insurance or some other option that might not be refundable?