Canadians! NCL does not accept mixed doses of vaccines

[Bramcruiser]

Just so glad that we are double vaxxed with Moderna. I would have accepted a mix if that was what the health authorities in my area was offering but I was hoping to stick to one and not switch. Thankfully we were lucky. Especially now finding out some places are having issues with Canadians with a mix of vaccinations. At least I can feel comfortable knowing I have a better chance of flying into France in August and then doing our NCL cruise out of Iceland next summer.

[gmbhardy]

5 hours ago, Samstress said:

Or it just might have been the best strategy available at the time.  For whatever reason it has worked for us as a Country.  I doubt that cruising was a consideration in the decisions made as to vaccines available and administered.  My city in Canada currently has zero new cases and zero hospitalizations. You can’t argue with that success.  We had many land & sea trips cancelled over the last couple of years but thankfully we’re still on the green side of the grass:-).  But there is also no excuse for NCLs lack of communication to people who are going to be adversely affected by this new vaccine ruling.  As someone said in an earlier post what about all those who won’t see these postings?   NCL seems to be sorely lacking in communication skills.

I suggest that a significant reason Canada ‘s COVID numbers have come down is because we have had the most stringent lock down measures in North America, particularly in Ontario, and there’s a price to pay for that too. I would just like to know how the NACI  could make a recommendation on vaccine mixing weeks ago when the WHO recently said there was currently insufficient data to form a conclusion. What data was NACI using? As mixed vaccine recipients, It will be interesting to see what happens when Justin and Doug attempt to cross the border, if it ever opens.

[Hadacareer]

15 hours ago, OrcaGirl said:

For my own sanity, can anyone confirm that this FAQ answer re: NCL not accepting AstraZeneca or any mixed combo vaccines when embarking at a US port is a new policy clarification?

 

I can't find any record of it, but I swear I double-checked a month ago that NCL was accepting any FDA *or* WHO-approved vaccine; it would have been around the time that the Bruce Springsteen show in NYC was making the news for (initially) only accepting FDA-approved vaccines -- my mom texted me 'concerned' that it would mean I couldn't go on a cruise (she hates that I would even considering cruising right now) and I'm sure I double-checked NCL's requirements at that point and it was fine.

 

 

15 hours ago, adhncruisers said:

It's also interesting that NCL will not accept any mixing of vaccines and Princess will not accept AZ-mRNA mixing but will accept a Pfizer/Moderna mix. Policies are all over the place.

 

[Hadacareer]

https://www.ncl.com/ca/en/sail-safe#sail-safe-faq

US Based Vessels will accept any U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and/or World Health Organization (WHO) authorized single brand vaccination protocol. Including, J&J Janssen, Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, AstraZeneca/Oxford. Mixed vaccination protocol will not be accepted (i.e. Pfizer + Moderna or AstraZeneca + Pfizer, etc) 

 

 

 

[Yinster]

What happens then if you have an US based cruise booked and you are mixed vaccinated? Obviously you won't be allowed to sailed but who picks up the bill? NCL or you?

[Hadacareer]

36 minutes ago, Yinster said:

What happens then if you have an US based cruise booked and you are mixed vaccinated? Obviously you won't be allowed to sailed but who picks up the bill? NCL or you?

Interesting question! Are the mixed doses being administered in the UK too?

[Yinster]

12 minutes ago, Hadacareer said:

Interesting question! Are the mixed doses being administered in the UK too?

The simple answer is no but the more complicated answer is it can happen. People having a reaction to the first dose the main reason for having a different vaccine.

 

With me, my record or vaccine passport is wrong. So I am trying to change this. Mistakes happened but not according to NHS Scotland.

 

The NHS does a wonderful job but under a lot of strain. 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 16, 2021 by Yinster

[NateUpNorth]

The awful ugly underlying question (for Canadians) I have is what happens when industries/countries start indicating you're not vaxxed in their eyes if you didn't follow the manufacturers guidelines. 

Did anyone get their second shot within the recommended timeframe?

We'd have to re-vaxx the entire population?

[gmbhardy]

6 minutes ago, NateUpNorth said:

The awful ugly underlying question (for Canadians) I have is what happens when industries/countries start indicating you're not vaxxed in their eyes if you didn't follow the manufacturers guidelines. 

Did anyone get their second shot within the recommended timeframe?

We'd have to re-vaxx the entire population?

You are absolutely correct!

[armwinder]

4 hours ago, Yinster said:

What happens then if you have an US based cruise booked and you are mixed vaccinated? Obviously you won't be allowed to sailed but who picks up the bill? NCL or you?

We are just going to cancel before final payment in September. We have already paid for shore excursions but will hopefully get that money back.  

[Yinster]

17 minutes ago, armwinder said:

We are just going to cancel before final payment in September. We have already paid for shore excursions but will hopefully get that money back.  

That only works if you able to cancel. What if you are in final payment or like us, have transferred our money to a cruise due to the original one being cancelled. What then as these guidelines have been made after our booking 

[ziggyuk]

10 minutes ago, Yinster said:

That only works if you able to cancel. What if you are in final payment or like us, have transferred our money to a cruise due to the original one being cancelled. What then as these guidelines have been made after our booking 

 

NCL policy is to refund if you can't get the vaccine, not sure the end date to that policy but would cover all those paid in full as of now.

Not getting a suitable vaccine is the same thing, even if it wasn't you can just say you can't get it in time or simply that you can't get it.

I'm very surprised Canada is giving mixed shots, the UK had been doing research on this but no results (as far as I know) yet.

[TashaB]

21 minutes ago, ziggyuk said:

 

NCL policy is to refund if you can't get the vaccine, not sure the end date to that policy but would cover all those paid in full as of now.

Not getting a suitable vaccine is the same thing, even if it wasn't you can just say you can't get it in time or simply that you can't get it.

I'm very surprised Canada is giving mixed shots, the UK had been doing research on this but no results (as far as I know) yet.

https://www.bbc.com/news/health-57636356

 

 

[ALD18]

1 hour ago, NateUpNorth said:

The awful ugly underlying question (for Canadians) I have is what happens when industries/countries start indicating you're not vaxxed in their eyes if you didn't follow the manufacturers guidelines. 

Did anyone get their second shot within the recommended timeframe?

We'd have to re-vaxx the entire population?

My sentiments exactly.  The apparent efficacy rates of the extended time between doses was minimal by my understanding so in hind sight it may have been a good idea to get more people with the single jab.  However, as you state, the rest of the world followed the rules, regulations, and delivery programs recommended by CDC, WHO, drug manufacturers, EVERYONE except the feds here.  Are we going to get caught up in bureaucracy, legal, or procedural issues because we did not do it the right way?  Hope not, but time will tell. 

[Maplemoose]

Barbados has backed down on the mixed vaccine ban due to bad publicity. Let's hope NCL does the same. Not that I point the finger at NCL. This was caused by poltical expediency and may be just the tip of the iceberg. It would be interesting to know how many cruisers this affects. I would think that over the last couple of months that there have been 10's of thousands of Canadians with mixed vax. How many of them may be NCL cruisers or should I say former NCL cruisers! 

[adhncruisers]

2 hours ago, Maplemoose said:

Barbados has backed down on the mixed vaccine ban due to bad publicity. Let's hope NCL does the same. Not that I point the finger at NCL. This was caused by poltical expediency and may be just the tip of the iceberg. It would be interesting to know how many cruisers this affects. I would think that over the last couple of months that there have been 10's of thousands of Canadians with mixed vax. How many of them may be NCL cruisers or should I say former NCL cruisers! 

And it's not just Canadians. Many countries in the EU recommended mRNA second doses for those below a certain age who got AZ as their first dose including Germany, Finland, Spain, France, Norway and Sweden. I have no regrets about taking a Pfizer following a first dose AZ even if it prevents me from cruising out of US ports.

[Dismomx5]

6 minutes ago, adhncruisers said:

And it's not just Canadians. Many countries in the EU recommended mRNA second doses for those below a certain age who got AZ as their first dose including Germany, Finland, Spain, France, Norway and Sweden. I have no regrets about taking a Pfizer following a first dose AZ even if it prevents me from cruising out of US ports.

It's a big world out there, isn't it. 🙂

[ziggyuk]

Cruise Critic have an article on this:

https://www.cruisecritic.co.uk/news/6302/

 

[TashaB]

9 minutes ago, ziggyuk said:

Cruise Critic have an article on this:

https://www.cruisecritic.co.uk/news/6302/

 

Ever confusing and changing rules!    Canada has only shipped just over 3 million doses of AZ to the provinces out of a total of 53 million.    So the percentage of those who received AZ in combination with Pfizer or Moderna is very low.   Remember, the population of Canada is only 38 million.  Fortunately, in my case and those of all my friends and family, we had Pfizer both times.  One friend, who is a very loyal NCL fan,  had AZ followed by Moderna!   Their next NCL cruise not until October 2022 so it's likely everything will evolve and change by then.

 

https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/2019-novel-coronavirus-infection/prevention-risks/covid-19-vaccine-treatment/vaccine-rollout.html

[xcell]

Isn't Astra (two dose or mixed dose) more effective than 1 J&J?

 

I swear everyday if it's not our government (canada) sending out mixed signals...

[truckswain]

I believe this update to NCL 's policy a direct result of the WHO's cheif scientist speaking out about mixed dosing this past week.  She then clarified her comments in a tweent later.  How completely irresponsible from this organization.  The WHO has been utterly useless during this pandemic when they should of been the world leaders as this is literally their whole point of existance.  Canada did the right thing by getting as many people vaccinated as quickly as possible with the vaccines available.  There were several studies that backed up the mixed dosing and I believe in the end this strategy will be proven scientifically sound.  There is a great deal of activity around this issue so things will continue to evolve.  

[Yinster]

22 hours ago, ziggyuk said:

 

NCL policy is to refund if you can't get the vaccine, not sure the end date to that policy but would cover all those paid in full as of now.

Not getting a suitable vaccine is the same thing, even if it wasn't you can just say you can't get it in time or simply that you can't get it.

 

Is there a link to this? I couldn't find it

[NateUpNorth]

17 hours ago, TashaB said:

Ever confusing and changing rules!    Canada has only shipped just over 3 million doses of AZ to the provinces out of a total of 53 million.    So the percentage of those who received AZ in combination with Pfizer or Moderna is very low.   Remember, the population of Canada is only 38 million.  Fortunately, in my case and those of all my friends and family, we had Pfizer both times.  One friend, who is a very loyal NCL fan,  had AZ followed by Moderna!   Their next NCL cruise not until October 2022 so it's likely everything will evolve and change by then.

 

https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/2019-novel-coronavirus-infection/prevention-risks/covid-19-vaccine-treatment/vaccine-rollout.html

 

According to Royal Caribbean (so perhaps a double check of NCL policy would be good) even a Pfizer + Moderna is unacceptable.

[OzCanuck]

On 7/16/2021 at 12:08 PM, ziggyuk said:

 

 

I'm very surprised Canada is giving mixed shots, the UK had been doing research on this but no results (as far as I know) yet.

 

https://comcovstudy.org.uk/publications

[armwinder]

2 hours ago, NateUpNorth said:

 

According to Royal Caribbean (so perhaps a double check of NCL policy would be good) even a Pfizer + Moderna is unacceptable.

This is why we have to cancel. My wife had two Pfizer shots, I unfortunately had one Pfizer and one Moderna.