Cruise Update- NBC News 6:30

[hobbyfarmer2]

Think we will hold off on booking for the time being.  Afraid a ship might turn into a floating petrie dish with the large number of deniers and anti-vaxxers out there.  Cuba and the DR are seeming a lot safer to me right now. 

Edited May 18, 2021 by hobbyfarmer2
Sp

[hobbyfarmer2]

43 minutes ago, pris993 said:

If you are vaccinated what are you worried about?  I trust the vaccination works, if ships cruising, I will be on board.   

 

Simple answer.  Vaccinations work best when enough people are vaccinated to establish herd immunity which gives the virus a much reduced chance to spread.  It is quite possible to get COVID even if vaccinated, Bill Maher did last week.  A ship with everyone vaccinated is much safer than one with 60% vaccinated.  There is also the 14% chance of becoming a long hauler if you get the disease.

[caribill]

8 hours ago, jennybenny said:

I’m surprised that Carnival Corp is taking this position.

 

Carnival Corp (which owns Princess and Carnival cruise lines plus some others) is not taking this position.

 

Christine Duffy is president of Carnival Cruise Line, not of Carnival Corp.

 

Princess has not yet announced what its policy will be.

 

If not requiring the vaccines, then each ship will need to make one or more test cruises. If so, there is not enough time left to be ready for regular cruises in July.

[caribill]

6 hours ago, riffatsea said:

In the interview they said the cdc IS  requiring vaccinations for all on board if the ship is to sail from the USA

It is not up to t h e cruise line

The Carnival exec was u p set since there is no vaccine yet for children under 12 and lots of families cruise

Everything is still under discussion

 

 

No, the CDC is not requiring vaccinations if the ship is to sail on an itinerary with USA ports.

 

If a cruise line does not want to require the vaccinations, then each ship with one or more USA ports on the itinerary must first run at least one test cruise to prove to the CDC that they have protocols in place to prevent spread of the virus. This will add around 60 days to the time it takes to get CDC approval to sail.

 

However, if the vaccinations are required, then the test cruises are not required and a cruise ship can be put in regular service faster.

[pompeii]

How can we express our opinions on requiring vaccines (or not) to Princess?  My PVP said that they have been asked to pass on guests' preferences but I'd rather do it directly.  Just to be sure I get my 2¢ in.  

[AF-1]

13 hours ago, voljeep said:

which cruise lines have stated that ALL Crew and Passengers must be vaccinated for sailings out of the US ?

NCL  all crew and pax

[nbsjcruiser]

14 hours ago, Syracusefan44 said:

The Carnival Cruise line President Christine Duffy will be on NBC News with Lester Holt tonight at 6:30 p.m. Duffy will confirm active discussions with the CDC and that the cruise line is aiming for a July restart. She also confirms there will be NO vaccine mandate on board.

 

So I interpret it as Carnival caving to DeSantis.  In my opinion she is making a big mistake putting four unvaccinated passengers in a small stateroom and hoping they don’t have a COVID19 outbreak onboard a ship.

Carnival putting their foot right smack dab in the middle of the bear trap. I wont even get into the argument that I'm vaccinated so what's the big deal?  Simply put, there's no way in hell I'm stepping foot on a ship where there's a chance it will go out with a bunch of sick people who cause the quarantining of the entire ship, the early termination of the cruise or (even worse) a ship like Diamond Princess. Watching bodies being hauled off the ship after a few days of being quarantined in my room sort of ruins the vibe of cruising for me. Call me crazy but I'm kinda picky that way.

 

And wont the press have a field day with this! 24x7 coverage of re-hashing how unsafe cruising is, people on the phone talking to reporters complaining about their ruined once in a life time cruise, Grandma all worried about her sick non-vaccinated hubby of 50 years who just got hauled away to an ICU somewhere,  the young couple whose honeymoon  just got ruined. Oh, boy the press is gonna lap it all up. 

 

I can't believe Carnival is taking the chance to give the entire cruise industry another black eye. This is an industry that needs to show it can cruise safe and every step in the wrong direction is only going to prolong the losses and the bad reputation this industry is garnering. Much of it (IMO) is unwarranted but if they press ahead with this, they will get what they deserve at this point.

[AF-1]

31 minutes ago, pompeii said:

How can we express our opinions on requiring vaccines (or not) to Princess?  My PVP said that they have been asked to pass on guests' preferences but I'd rather do it directly.  Just to be sure I get my 2¢ in.  

Go on Facebook and comment on their website.. They monitor their Facebook page and won't want negative publicity

[dns65]

49 minutes ago, pompeii said:

How can we express our opinions on requiring vaccines (or not) to Princess?  My PVP said that they have been asked to pass on guests' preferences but I'd rather do it directly.  Just to be sure I get my 2¢ in.  

I received a survey on April 29th asking me how I felt on a variety of Covid related topics such as masks, vaccinations, etc....  

[Croooser]

Just a few thoughts..

 

Duffy's PR person should be fired. She should have never taken this interview where they excerpted a few sound bites from her. A few minutes on a morning show where she can properly set the context makes sense, but not this. Just a few of the missing context items:

 

She did NOT state that Carnival would not require vaccinations, she expressed frustration that the CDC is requiring vaccinations, that no other industry is facing a similar requirement and that Carnival has an issue with under the age of twelve passengers. But she did not have time to say how Carnival intended to proceed nor how Carnival would stay safe if not facing the vaccination requirement.

 

She did not acknowledge that the 98%/95% CDC numbers WOULD permit a ship to sail with up to 5% children who have not been vaccinated. That could be 200 or more on a large ship sailing full.

 

She did not address the fact that many ports of call in other countries may require proof of vaccination for any passengers getting off of the ship.

 

She did not mention the difference in CDC requirements between a 98%/95% vaccinated sailing and a sailing under the test cruise (read less vaccinated) requirements.

 

She did not reference the seemingly large proportion of  passengers who strongly agree with a vaccination requirement.

 

So... IMO - not anything to be overly concerned about. For those of us who have upcoming Princess sailings, we need to see how Princess intends to proceed.

[Syracusefan44]

1 hour ago, pompeii said:

How can we express our opinions on requiring vaccines (or not) to Princess?  My PVP said that they have been asked to pass on guests' preferences but I'd rather do it directly.  Just to be sure I get my 2¢ in.  

Here is the email address for Princess Customer Service:

 

support@em.princess.com

[pris993]

16 hours ago, PrincessLuver said:

But if you are onboard with a 1000 un-vaccinated passengers because the cruise line does not care to check for vaccinations and no one knows it the chances of Covid being spread are pretty high......and then the fun starts when the whole ships is quarantined to their rooms to stop the spread........AKA.....Diamond Princess cruise from hell.........

This would be the worse case, I doubt that will happen.  I book a mini, am retired, so I think I can make the best of whatever happens.  

[pris993]

16 hours ago, 2 cruises a year said:

An interrupted cruise for starters.  Who knows what will happen if a serious infection breaks out.  Have trouble finding a port.  Maybe quarantine everyone.  At the very least a big pain in the neck.

I am not concerned, if you are don't go. 

[pompeii]

6 hours ago, Syracusefan44 said:

Here is the email address for Princess Customer Service:

 

support@em.princess.com

I didn't have any luck with this address - my email bounced back.  I found this one though, and it went through.  

 

customerrelations@princesscruises.com

[caribill]

16 hours ago, san diego sue said:

The time was not 6:30. We missed it as it was on at 5:30PM (western time). Found it on my computer. All of a couple of minutes that the President of Carnival spoke to Lester Holt. No mention at all about no vaccinations needed to sail.

 

 

As far as whether or not Carnival’s restart could include a vaccination requirement for its guests, Duffy said that as of right now, the answer is no. 

 

“There’s no mandate for any other business to have that requirement. We certainly are encouraging everyone to get a vaccine…We don’t want to be treated different than any other parts of travel, tourism, entertainment, or society,” she said. 

 

A vaccine requirement for a July restart could also potential lock a lot of children under 12 out of Carnival sailings, which is a major part of Carnival’s brand. 

 

“For our cruise line, children under 12 are a big part of the cruise experience in a summer…family vacation, and as it stands right now, we wouldn’t be able to have kids under 12 onboard.” 

Duffy added that Carnival is helping its crew to get vaccinated. 

 

https://www.travelmarketreport.com/articles/Carnivals-Christine-Duffy-Says-Line-is-Working-Towards-July-Restart

[ebeluga]

1 hour ago, caribill said:

 

As far as whether or not Carnival’s restart could include a vaccination requirement for its guests, Duffy said that as of right now, the answer is no. 

 

“There’s no mandate for any other business to have that requirement. We certainly are encouraging everyone to get a vaccine…We don’t want to be treated different than any other parts of travel, tourism, entertainment, or society,” she said. 

 

A vaccine requirement for a July restart could also potential lock a lot of children under 12 out of Carnival sailings, which is a major part of Carnival’s brand. 

 

“For our cruise line, children under 12 are a big part of the cruise experience in a summer…family vacation, and as it stands right now, we wouldn’t be able to have kids under 12 onboard.” 

Duffy added that Carnival is helping its crew to get vaccinated. 

 

https://www.travelmarketreport.com/articles/Carnivals-Christine-Duffy-Says-Line-is-Working-Towards-July-Restart

For Carnival cruise ships’ demographics, much younger age groups, non-vaccination rate is high, I guess it makes sense for them to not have the requirement and just roll the dice.  Otherwise they might end it not having profitable bookings were there to be a vaccine mandate.

[Jemnibabe]

12 hours ago, caribill said:

 

No, the CDC is not requiring vaccinations if the ship is to sail on an itinerary with USA ports.

 

If a cruise line does not want to require the vaccinations, then each ship with one or more USA ports on the itinerary must first run at least one test cruise to prove to the CDC that they have protocols in place to prevent spread of the virus. This will add around 60 days to the time it takes to get CDC approval to sail.

 

However, if the vaccinations are required, then the test cruises are not required and a cruise ship can be put in regular service faster.

Aren't you overlooking a major problem is sailing out of Florida?  Our great gov. has banned the ability of cruise ships to ask, check or require in any way, vaccinations.  And no, you can't get around it by downloading your vaccination proof to the Medallion.

 

Judy in SW Florida

[Sunwanabe]

On 5/17/2021 at 1:54 PM, 2 cruises a year said:

Yes, in my opinion this is not a good thing. I hope that Princess does not follow suit. I will wait. I will not cruise with out a vaccine mandate on board. 😞

I agree. No passport no cruise for my family. Can't believe Carnival is going this route, at least in the short term. 

[voljeep]

59 minutes ago, Sunwanabe said:

No passport no cruise for my family

how about if you just show proof of vaccine (card ) ?

[PrincessLuver]

1 hour ago, Sunwanabe said:

I agree. No passport no cruise for my family. Can't believe Carnival is going this route, at least in the short term. 

Agree....no cruise is worth dying over or losing a family member....

[seapals2]

20 hours ago, pris993 said:

If you are vaccinated what are you worried about?  I trust the vaccination works, if ships cruising, I will be on board.   

 

Because unvaccinated passengers are more likely to get infected whilst onboard or travelling.  This will cause lots of restrictions being put into place and possible quarantine measures for any other passenger, vaccinated or not, who may have come into close contact.  The ship like others recently could even have to return to port and disembark all passengers.  

[GonzoWCS]

Going to have to watch this

[Sunwanabe]

3 hours ago, voljeep said:

how about if you just show proof of vaccine (card ) ?

That would work.

[Torfamm]

On 5/17/2021 at 6:58 PM, pris993 said:

If you are vaccinated what are you worried about?  I trust the vaccination works, if ships cruising, I will be on board.   

 

I would be worried about the ship being quarantined or turned away from ports in the case of an outbreak for one thing

[RickT]

My next cruise isn’t until 2022 but unless the world has largely returned to normal there is no chance I will set foot on a cruise (or airplane) unless those around me are vaccinated.

 

I understand getting vaccinated is ultimately a choice but my choice will be to avoid any situation where I will be in a closed environment with unvaccinated people.

 

Again, a lot of things may change between now and next year but unless Covid is basically eradicated then it’s vaccinations and masks.

 

Stay safe everyone!