Is Royal the only line not requiring vaccines in Florida?

[Tapi]

8 minutes ago, jrapps said:

Do we really consider this a cruise line? Or is it more of a shuttle to the Bahamas that uses an old cruise ship?

I’d consider them a cruise line. Obviously a very small player in the industry, but they offer real, multi day cruises aboard a real cruise ship with most of the elements found on more established cruise lines. I’ve never sailed on them but I’ve watched several cruise review videos and it does look like a legitimate cruise experience.

[time4u2go]

47 minutes ago, jrapps said:

Do we really consider this a cruise line? Or is it more of a shuttle to the Bahamas that uses an old cruise ship?

It's definitely a cruise line.  They have many of the common cruise amenities...casino, dining, shows, spa, shops, etc.  It's most definitely not "a shuttle to the Bahamas".

[jrapps]

44 minutes ago, Tapi said:

I’d consider them a cruise line. Obviously a very small player in the industry, but they offer real, multi day cruises aboard a real cruise ship with most of the elements found on more established cruise lines. I’ve never sailed on them but I’ve watched several cruise review videos and it does look like a legitimate cruise experience.

 

8 minutes ago, time4u2go said:

It's definitely a cruise line.  They have many of the common cruise amenities...casino, dining, shows, spa, shops, etc.  It's most definitely not "a shuttle to the Bahamas".

Good to know. I had no idea. I never even bothered to look at them, not sure why I assumed it was just a day shuttle.

 

Thanks!

[sm3ds]

12 hours ago, jrapps said:

https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/25210-u-s-cruise-restart-which-cruise-lines-require-covid-19-vaccination.html

 

For Freedom, Odyssey, Allure, Symphony and Mariner sailing out of Florida ports in July and August, vaccines are “strongly recommended” for all eligible guests. Approximately 90 percent of the passengers are expected to be vaccinated, but those choosing not to be vaccinated or not willing to verify vaccination will be subject to testing and additional health protocols at their expense. 

I was just wondering if they clarified any of it. 

[jrapps]

13 minutes ago, sm3ds said:

I was just wondering if they clarified any of it. 

Sadly, not yet. I am sure they are hoping the CDC relaxes things more before those first sailings, but while they wait for that, it just leaves the rest of us in limbo.

 

If your cruise is 90+ days out, you could perhaps afford to be patient. If its July/early August timeframe, I think people need to know these things now.

[coffeebean]

21 hours ago, jrapps said:

Celebrity is sailing 95% vaccinated. I take that to mean "fully".

 

As for the required vs non-required, word semantics. They have said if they exceed 5% vaccinated arriving to the port, they will block you from boarding. So maybe they don't use the word "require", but it's required.

I take 95% vaccinated NOT to be FULLY vaccinated. NCL has stated they will sail 100% vaccinated crew and passengers. THAT, to me, is FULLY vaccinated.

 

But.......that is just how I see it.

[coffeebean]

21 hours ago, jrapps said:

Celebrity is sailing 95% vaccinated. I take that to mean "fully".

 

As for the required vs non-required, word semantics. They have said if they exceed 5% vaccinated arriving to the port, they will block you from boarding. So maybe they don't use the word "require", but it's required.

So.......... will it be a first come, first served type thing for the un-vaccinated? This is going to be extremely interesting to see how this plays out at the port when people are turned away.

[coffeebean]

21 hours ago, jrapps said:

Carnival's John Heald's Facebook post from this morning (Saturday Jun 12th)

 

Good Saturday morning to you all from Hockley, Essex.

So here we are on this glorious Saturday and I have to rub my eyes in disbelief when I say we will be cruising again in 21 days time when Carnival Vista departs from Galveston.

Late last night we sent those guests booked on Carnival Horizon's July sailings the conformation that their cruises would be departing and so I will be seeing some of you on July 4th. These July cruises on Carnival Horizon are for 95% vaccinated guests.

Again I must give those who cannot cruise because they have not had the vaccine, cannot take the vaccine or have children who are too young to have it that you are unable to have the fun you deserve just yet.

These were difficult choices to make for the beards but under the current CDC regulations it would have meant that non vaccinated guests and their children would have had to wear a mask everywhere, indoors and outdoors while in the sun and really that is not the cruise vacation I know you would enjoy.

But as our incomparable President Christine said in her letter " she does remain optimistic that as we continue to talk to the CDC cruising from the United Sates will become more flexible."

What is happening now will not be forever.

So on July 4th Carnival Horizon will be sailing on a 6 day cruise to Half Moon Cay, Amber Cove and Bimini. And among those on board will be me, holding my Eye Phone in the air, waddling down Promenade Deck sharing live videos showing you that the FUN is back.

Cheers and have a brilliant day

Eye Phone? Is that some sort of play on words?

[coffeebean]

20 hours ago, harkinmr said:

 

I think there is some semantics involved here. A 95/98 sailing has taken on the connotation of “fully vaccinated” with the cruise lines, on these boards and in the press. The CDC is basically eliminating most of the health protocols for those sailings and are treating all passengers as vaccinated.  So it’s easy to understand referring to them as fully vaccinated.  

That may be so but I do not agree. "They" can call it what ever they like but if 5% of passengers and 2% of crew are NOT vaccinated, then those sailings should not be referred to as FULLY vaccinated. It is just a bone of contention with me.

Edited June 13, 2021 by coffeebean

[jrapps]

2 minutes ago, coffeebean said:

That may be so but I do not agree. "They" can call it what ever they like but if 5% of passengers and 2% of crew are NOT vaccinated, then those sailings should not be referred to as FULLY vaccinated. It is just a bone of contention with me.

I see your point and yeah I think we are arguing semantics. I think the part that is more important is mask vs non-mask, rather than if a ship is "fully" vs 95% vaccinated.

 

If a ship sails as a "vaccinated sailing" meaning 95% or greater (regardless of which of those terms you consider to mean "fully"), then no masks are required. That is the part that I think most people care about, not the exact percentage of un-vaccinated people that may be on the ship.

[jrapps]

13 minutes ago, coffeebean said:

Eye Phone? Is that some sort of play on words?

He's british. LOL

[coffeebean]

20 hours ago, jrapps said:

Celebrity has specifically said their method of getting around the law was to allow anyone to book and then just admit or deny boarding at the port once they hit 5% "voluntary" vaccination.

 

Do you mean 95% voluntary vaccination?

[Tapi]

10 minutes ago, coffeebean said:

So.......... will it be a first come, first served type thing for the un-vaccinated?

Celebrity’s requirements per their website for US sailings states that vaccines are required for anybody old enough to get a vaccine. Period. They will allow children who can’t get vaccinated to book until the sailing reaches the 5% threshold. Once that number is reached, the system won’t allow further bookings that include children. 
 

The note on Celebrity’s website concerning Florida sailings that states that guest who aren’t vaccinated or who choose not to provide proof will be treated as unvaccinated is simple legalese to appease the Florida regulations. But in reality, Celebrity is requiring that every adult is vaccinated. 
 

Any adult who books a Celebrity cruise who isn’t vaccinated or who expects to show up in port and not disclose their vaccination status and still get onboard is taking a stupid gamble. If the 5% wasn’t reached in advance there may be a small handful of people who will get away with it, but in reality not many (if any) will. 

[sept10dsm]

13 hours ago, cscurlock said:

I thought the Celebrity app would have a place to upload the vaccination information.  Then when early check in ends 3 days before they should know how many people they have and can send emails to any of the 5% group that did not make the cut and they should get a cancellation letter and a full refund.  That way there is no drama at the port.

 

That's good.  I wondered how they'd actually figure out the 5%.  But still not knowing until short notice is an pain.

[jrapps]

4 minutes ago, coffeebean said:

Do you mean 95% voluntary vaccination?

yeah, sorry.

 

On Celebrity, those that voluntarily show their proof have to make up at least 95% of the ship.

[coffeebean]

20 hours ago, jrapps said:

The part that sucks the most is, if the protocols are severe enough to entice non-vaccinated to cancel, they could possibly end up with 95% or more vaccinated on the ship anyway but won't be able to reap the benefits of it.

 

The one thing both sides of the vaccine argument agree on is, none of us wants to wear masks. I think Royal will end up getting many people on either side of the vaccine argument to cancel simply due to the masks rules.

How can anyone who is un-vaxxed expect to sail without wearing a mask? Un-vaxxed people must wear masks on land, according to CDC guidelines. Why should they expect the mask requirement to be different for them on a cruise ship? Am I missing something here?

[Goodtime Cruizin]

20 hours ago, jrapps said:

I honestly don't even think they have figured that out yet.

 

I think the situation is so fluid that it's probably best they manage this just the way they are. I mean they have already at the last moment told the cruisers on the Adventure they must test prior to boarding. Things can and do change very quickly.

[jrapps]

1 minute ago, coffeebean said:

How can anyone who is un-vaxxed expect to sail without wearing a mask? Un-vaxxed people must wear masks on land, according to CDC guidelines. Why should they expect the mask requirement to be different for them on a cruise ship? Am I missing something here?

I mean that the vaccinated people on the ship would expect to sail with no mask, but they won't be able to. The way the ship certifications go, if they do a test cruise, they get provisional approval to sail as an un-vaccinated ship. This means that everyone must wear masks regardless of how many vaccinated actually end up on any one specific sailing.

 

Aside from that, I think that many unvaccinated people expect to sail without a mask, but not because the rules would allow them to, just because they want to.

[coffeebean]

15 hours ago, Iamcruzin said:

FYI you can edit after you post. Just click the 3 dots next to the post number to bring down the drop down menu. Click edit and correct your mistake.

I believe there is a time limit that edits can be done. I'm not sure how long it is but it is not that long at all.

[Goodtime Cruizin]

19 hours ago, jrapps said:

The problem with this strategy is whether cruisers desire vaccinated sailings or not, and whether Fain changes his mind a dozen times or not, The one constant is people's desires for cruising experience to be a normal as possible. i.e. no masks.

 

Once they do a test cruise and get a ship certified for mixed vaccination, masks apply. Sure they could change their mind after that but they'd have to reapply for certification and then they would have wasted all the money they spent doing a test cruise.

 

The Millenium cruisenwas fully vaccinated and when they found the 2 peeps that trested positive, then everybody had to wear masks. My point is, no matter what policy is stated, things change. 

[Biker19]

2 minutes ago, coffeebean said:

I believe there is a time limit that edits can be done. I'm not sure how long it is but it is not that long at all.

About 20 minutes. 

[jrapps]

Just now, Goodtime Cruizin said:

 

The Millenium cruisenwas fully vaccinated and when they found the 2 peeps that trested positive, then everybody had to wear masks. My point is, no matter what policy is stated, things change. 

You are correct. However, the lines have the power to make things more restrictive on the fly, but can't make things less restrictive than CDC guidelines. People should at least be told the guidelines that the cruise lines are powerless to remove (like masks required for un-vaccinated cruises)

 

If people aren't prepared for last minute restrictions during Covid, then they may not be ready to cruise yet. Are we sure that the Millennium made everyone wear masks after those 2 were identified, or did people just choose to do so?

[coffeebean]

15 hours ago, Iamcruzin said:

I'm not very confident given that the 2 on Celebrity who were vaccinated and tested positive for Covid.  I just hope that people who are sailing these early cruises are prepaid for the unexpected even if it means showing up to port and being denied boarding.   For me the unknown is just too stressful to even consider a cruise until things settle down

The more I think about it, it is going to be very difficult for people to be informed they cannot board because the 5% un-vaxxed has been reached. I surely hope the cruise lines make if very clear to all un-vaxxed people that there is a good chance they will be denied boarding at the pier. I would hope un-vaxxed people stay clear of these 95/98% sailings.

[Goodtime Cruizin]

18 hours ago, rtazz17 said:

These mask protocols wont last long. Give it a couple weeks. Covid cases in America are near nothing at this point on daily bases. Only going down. Masks will not be required on cruises soon.

 

^^^^^.This. All day long. ^^^^^ 

 

Carnival's policy is for their FIRST month only. July. Nothing has been stated any later. Their strategy is to 'test' cruise w/ paying customers. As cases continue to drop across the states, the CDC will be forced to drop some of these very tough, restrictive living arrangements. Soon enough, all sghips will be sailing under the same format. What amazes me are the folks claiming they are canceling their Dec or Jan cruises based on policy of the first cruises. I simply do not get it. 

[jrapps]

5 minutes ago, Goodtime Cruizin said:

 

^^^^^.This. All day long. ^^^^^ 

 

Carnival's policy is for their FIRST month only. July. Nothing has been stated any later. Their strategy is to 'test' cruise w/ paying customers. As cases continue to drop across the states, the CDC will be forced to drop some of these very tough, restrictive living arrangements. Soon enough, all sghips will be sailing under the same format. What amazes me are the folks claiming they are canceling their Dec or Jan cruises based on policy of the first cruises. I simply do not get it. 

Agree. If you have a cruise in December or January, or later, NONE of what is happening today will apply to you.

 

My sincere hope if that you are correct and these protocols gradually go down until they are 100% gone. What will determine how fast is the number of cases on ships and how they deal with them. We'll know a lot more by the end of July.