CDC Lifts Cruise Ban

[Biker19]

18 minutes ago, twangster said:

Would you prefer to take the hour flight or board a cruise ship for 7 days?

I'll answer the way CEO Fain would: Cruising is safer than Main St.

 

Biker, who wonders if "serial COVID infector" is a politically correct term.

Edited October 31, 2020 by Biker19

[bigrednole]

3 hours ago, Arizona Wildcat said:

You need to read a bit about the science of transmission of COVID.  To get infected you need X amount of viral load.  Wearing masks that is why walking past an infected person is not likely to infect another person.

On a plane where you do not remove your mask the viral load from an infected person is very low.  The air is also circulated, micro filtered and exchanged.  Thus in one or two hours the chance of infection is close to zero.

That covers most domestic US flights.  The chance of infection is much higher in a restaurant with a couple hours with no masks and often poor air filtration.

The problem on a cruise is people dining or drinking where you are often near the same people.  Also the simple fact that people will not always follow the rules and impossible to monitor on a ship for a week.  On a plane much easier to keep compliance.

So, you are telling me you are 100% willing to put you and your family next to a CONFIRMED covid carrying passenger next to you for a 2 hour flight?

 

I love how airlines have the magic bullet for immunity to covid. It is the stupidest belief in the world. Keep believing what you want, but airlines are as infectious as your grocery store and in most cases that I have seen, even worse. But, those that get infected while using air travel have theirs blames on the shuttle service, the airport, or anything else but the precious airlines. If airlines were so perfect, the US could have spent $100B investigating their magic immunity and retrofit every business and home the same way. Then, we would have the magic country of immunity infrastructure. It would have been far cheaper than $2T.

[travelhound]

9 hours ago, twangster said:

 

Agreed.  The closed system on an airplane is 1000 times more risky.

 

I never said there is zero risk on a ship.  Just that's it's a lot less risky than airplanes.  

Good point 👍

[molly361]

It looks like everyone is going to get tested on the day they arrive and the last day when they get off the ship

[Billy Baltic]

Why are some people so preoccupied with the relative risk of cruising versus flying? The CDC approach is what it is. Since this is a cruising forum lets focus on what it means to just cruising. 

[firefly333]

5 hours ago, Iamcruzin said:

I don't know anyone young or old who doesn't have some type of pre existing condition.  Plenty of young people who are overweight, have high blood pressure or respiratory illness.

Going to have trouble finding volunteers then as it requires a note from your doctor for the pre cruises needed to file to sail. 

 

It almost looks like cdc found a way to throw so much paperwork in the way they got their way and extended the no sail as will takes months to clear every ship.

[A&L_Ont]

6 minutes ago, Billy Baltic said:

Why are some people so preoccupied with the relative risk of cruising versus flying? The CDC approach is what it is. Since this is a cruising forum lets focus on what it means to just cruising. 

100% agree with you.  They should be concerned about everyone around them as a potential spreader.
 

For example, what if people flew to their cruise the night before and they sat next to guy on the plane that had COVID?  If everyone wore their mask safely then all is good, but if they didn’t their pre-boarding test would not show it 12 hours later if they were carriers. 
 

Their disembarkation test should catch it and then what does that do to everyone on board the ship? (getting butter now for 🍿) 

 

 

[A&L_Ont]

10 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

It almost looks like cdc found a way to throw so much paperwork in the way they got their way and extended the no sail as will takes months to clear every ship.

Yes, but the cruise lines knew this when they submitted their paperwork as well. They wanted a chance to try and this is it. 
 

I highly doubt the industry will want to clear every ship. In the beginning they will just do a couple/few per company.  Maybe a year from now, if things go well, half their ships will be sailing.
 

That all depends on when the first ship can even set sail, not to mention vaccines and the wishful hope that COVID just disappears. 

[ipeeinthepool]

Also in the CDC guidelines was a note about restricting port capacity.  The CDC doesn't want 55,000 people passing through Port Everglades on one day.  It will be interesting to see how they ration the slots when they start to resume sailing.

[molly361]

Probably no surprise but Royal is still selling over 7 days cruises from the US for 2021

[ipeeinthepool]

15 minutes ago, A&L_Ont said:

Their disembarkation test should catch it and then what does that do to everyone on board the ship? (getting butter now for 🍿) 

 

The disembarkation test seems like a real problem, I'm not sure how I would execute this procedure.  Perhaps you do it in reverse of the boarding process with assigned times to leave the ship and holding areas in the port to hold people until the test results are received.  Maybe ships need to stay additional day in port.  One day for embarkation and one day for disembarkation.  Maybe you could schedule a sea day on every cruise before returning to port and test everyone while they are still on the ship.

[ipeeinthepool]

2 minutes ago, molly361 said:

Probably no surprise but Royal is still selling over 7 days cruises from the US for 2021

 

I have a couple of long cruises on Celebrity in February of 2021 with final payment due in the next few weeks.  I wish they would cancel soon so I don't need to make final payment and then wait for the refund.

[firefly333]

17 minutes ago, A&L_Ont said:

Yes, but the cruise lines knew this when they submitted their paperwork as well. They wanted a chance to try and this is it. 
 

I highly doubt the industry will want to clear every ship. In the beginning they will just do a couple/few per company.  Maybe a year from now, if things go well, half their ships will be sailing.
 

That all depends on when the first ship can even set sail, not to mention vaccines and the wishful hope that COVID just disappears. 

I'm just hoping they make it. At least now there is a chance. Idk anyone thinking it will disappear, more that we can find a way to live with it.

 

I was at the home last night of a guy and his gf who both got it and he has lingering effects, congestion, slight headache, cant sleep as well. Sounds fun.

[A&L_Ont]

7 minutes ago, ipeeinthepool said:

Maybe you could schedule a sea day on every cruise before returning to port and test everyone while they are still on the ship.

That would be the way I see it, with set times for testing. It can’t look like a muster drill from normal times. 
 

I’m sure the CDC will want all test results submitted 12 hours prior to returning arrival in port for disembarkation, so they can determine if and how guests are allowed to disembark depending on the results. 

Edited October 31, 2020 by A&L_Ont

[ipeeinthepool]

35 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

Going to have trouble finding volunteers then as it requires a note from your doctor for the pre cruises needed to file to sail. 

 

I don't think so.  Sign me up to volunteer, I'm ready to go.

[molly361]

7 minutes ago, ipeeinthepool said:

 

The disembarkation test seems like a real problem, I'm not sure how I would execute this procedure.  Perhaps you do it in reverse of the boarding process with assigned times to leave the ship and holding areas in the port to hold people until the test results are received.  Maybe ships need to stay additional day in port.  One day for embarkation and one day for disembarkation.  Maybe you could schedule a sea day on every cruise before returning to port and test everyone while they are still on the ship.

So much for scheduling early flights back home 

[danv3]

2 hours ago, molly361 said:

It looks like everyone is going to get tested on the day they arrive and the last day when they get off the ship

 

Wonder where everyone will sit (appropriately physically distanced) while waiting for results?  

[Billy Baltic]

12 minutes ago, molly361 said:

So much for scheduling early flights back home 

Or do you wait to book flights when you know your post cruise test results?

[2chiefs]

14 hours ago, SV1432 said:

Speak for yourself. Between various on line forums, I have become an expert as an epidemiologist. Medical School is so yesterday. I have Google and some of my closest anonymous internet friends. 🤪🤪

And I bet you stayed at the Holiday Inn last night! 😄😄

(Sorry about the reference to an old advertising campaign on TV but I couldn't help it)

[2chiefs]

14 hours ago, mek said:

Thank heavens this came up - we were running out of things to discuss.

 

It should be very entertaining and a popcorn worthy topic.

You can type with butter on your fingers? 😄

[molly361]

Will Mr and Mrs. Smith from Deck 7 please report to GS for your COVID test.😇No one can disembark untill all passengers have completed the test

[Milwaukee Eight]

28 minutes ago, molly361 said:

Will Mr and Mrs. Smith from Deck 7 please report to GS for your COVID test.😇No one can disembark untill all passengers have completed the test

Testing order will be Suites and Pinnacles first followed by everyone else first come first serve. 😇😱😎

 

M8

[sandebeach]

2 minutes ago, Milwaukee Eight said:

Testing order will be Suites and Pinnacles first followed by everyone else first come first serve. 😇😱😎

 

M8

HaHa. I wonder if they will add Priority testing as a Key benefit???

[Sunshine3601]

8 hours ago, smalltimecruiser100 said:

Maybe b2b to coco cay/ Labadee and back to US and then back to coco cay/labadee and back to US at least for awhile..just my opinion. we don't know yet

 

Based on europe sailings and rcl restart in Singapore scheduled for december b2bs are not allowed.  

I dont see rcl allowing b2bs out of US ports for at least the first 6 months.  Which is sad because we usually do b2bs, especially if I have to fly to a port.  

[Sunshine3601]

Since they have to document a housing agreement at each us port they plan on sailing from should anyone possibly be exposed or asymptomatic it will be interesting to see if they use smaller ships such as empress.

There is no way I want to be quarantined in an interior cabin.   Wonder when rcl will release their plans to us.

I'm sure they are all working on this right now.