If 100/0, does Carnival even need to test onboard?

[TNcruising02]

8 minutes ago, picantel said:

Quick question before I make a decision on a cruise with carnival. I am fully vaccinated, live in florida, and would sail out of port canaveral. I just cancelled my Odyssey of the seas cruise because they require testing even on vaccinated and I am tired of RCL changing their rules all the time. Does carnival require any testing at all on vaccinated passengers. My son and I would be going and both of us are vaccinated. thanks

Not at this moment.  So far, there is no testing required for vaccinated passengers at any time prior to the cruise or during the cruise.

[ontheweb]

22 minutes ago, TNcruising02 said:

Not at this moment.  So far, there is no testing required for vaccinated passengers at any time prior to the cruise or during the cruise.

But there is no guarantee that this will not change.

[TNcruising02]

4 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

But there is no guarantee that this will not change.

Absolutely.  I am prepared for Carnival to make changes to my cruise, which is in three weeks.  Maybe everyone will have to wear masks.  Maybe they will require negative covid tests before boarding.  Nobody knows what will happen week to week.  I have no issue with a covid test before boarding, but masks everywhere is such a huge deal breaker.  I hope it doesn't happen at a point when it's too late for me to rebook.

Edited August 2, 2021 by TNcruising02

[Sillyjilly]

13 hours ago, BoozinCroozin said:

This is an absolute mess. If it is 100% vaccinated, no questions, then there is no need to test anyone onboard unless they show symptoms. In most cases, they would not even know. This is why I think it has to be 100% vaccinated, no exceptions.

 

We just got back from Orlando area and theme parks. There is so little to do at them, the few things that were open are slam packed. No mask mandate until the day we left. It was crazy packed, lines mostly more than an hour, no social distancing. 

Vaccinated people are getting Covid, so yes, they should test. Nobody can beam their selves on board without being around others.

[SheSailsFL]

15 hours ago, BoozinCroozin said:

I guess this would go for any cruise line, but since I have CCL booked, that is where I am looking. After reading about what happened on the Breeze and Carnival keeping covid cases secret, my question is why even risk it. If the cruises are 100% vaccinated with no exceptions what-so-ever, would anyone need to be tested onboard at all?

 

My personal feeling is that I am vaccinated, my family is vaccinated. There is no reason for us to be tested at all. If everyone else onboard is tested as well, there is no need to test. This way there are no evacs, special debarking to hide it, no quarantining, etc. We got vaccinated because we cannot afford 10+ days of quarantining. The only reason to test vaccinated passengers is due to exposure to an unvaccinated person that tests positive. This becomes a financial and potential life altering issue for many people like us. We could lose our job(s) because of an unvaccinated person. This is a burden unvaccinated passenger should have to assume as well. At $200/nt for a quarantine hotel, for a minimum of 10 nights, meals, etc, you are at about $3,000 minimum for quarantine. Beyond that, the expenses for things at home that need to be taken care of. It would cost at least another $1,000+ to have my pets taken care of, $100 for lawn maintenance at least, and other general expenses. This doesn't even count the additional missed time at work. Even if I could have our computers shipped next day air, there is a loss of sick leave we would have to absorb.

 

Cruise lines need to start making the liability of the unvaccinated far more than just themselves. They need to accept and agree to all of the other expenses that go along with it from the others that are affected. 

I could not agree more. 

[SheSailsFL]

14 hours ago, BoozinCroozin said:

Status quo is not the answer. We need a new status quo. 95/5 is no longer the answer. Carnival is 4 cruises or so in and have cases they are not announcing. They need to state these numbers and indicate the numbers by vaccinated vs unvaccinated. They also need to indicate if the unvaccinated were cabin members of the vaccinated that were positive. This is not good for an industry that can't afford a failure. 

Again I agree 100%.  I have been blasted to shreds on another thread for suggesting the need for more transparency by Carnival. 

[Wanna_Cruize]

2 hours ago, picantel said:

Quick question before I make a decision on a cruise with carnival. I am fully vaccinated, live in florida, and would sail out of port canaveral. I just cancelled my Odyssey of the seas cruise because they require testing even on vaccinated and I am tired of RCL changing their rules all the time. Does carnival require any testing at all on vaccinated passengers. My son and I would be going and both of us are vaccinated. thanks

Not at this point in time. However, it is subject to change at any time. 

[SheSailsFL]

14 hours ago, vintagegarage said:

Carnival is doing it right, Royal Caribbean is not.

I had hoped so and I booked Carnival for that reason but now I am starting to disagree.  Both have had multiple ships with infections.  In my opinion RC has handled it with transparency and has followed their established protocols based upon which people booked their cruises.  
 

[SheSailsFL]

9 hours ago, deweytrader said:

it will be interesting to see what happens on the Mardi Grasas with 4,500 passengers including 200 plus unvaccinated exceptions.  Only astute cruisers know how to check to see CDC color level, the general cruiser most likely not.  Maybe Carnival is not sharing the information publicly on covid cases on board because they don't want any bad press due to the Mardi Gras's inaugural run today.  (ironically the only reason I was on the Breeze is because I was originally scheduled for the 7/24 Mardi gras sailing, was bummed I missed by one week!)

The MG is a cluster waiting to happen. 

[BlerkOne]

4 minutes ago, SheSailsFL said:

The MG is a cluster waiting to happen. 

Looks like FUN!!!

[SheSailsFL]

2 hours ago, picantel said:

Quick question before I make a decision on a cruise with carnival. I am fully vaccinated, live in florida, and would sail out of port canaveral. I just cancelled my Odyssey of the seas cruise because they require testing even on vaccinated and I am tired of RCL changing their rules all the time. Does carnival require any testing at all on vaccinated passengers. My son and I would be going and both of us are vaccinated. thanks

Well Celebrity started requiring  a pre-cruise test yesterday (with no notice to the folks already en route to the ship). The last minute logistics were a debacle but I would bet Carnival adopts the same rules in a matter of days. I think it is inevitable. 

Edited August 2, 2021 by SheSailsFL

[SheSailsFL]

2 hours ago, TNcruising02 said:

Absolutely.  I am prepared for Carnival to make changes to my cruise, which is in three weeks.  Maybe everyone will have to wear masks.  Maybe they will require negative covid tests before boarding.  Nobody knows what will happen week to week.  I have no issue with a covid test before boarding, but masks everywhere is such a huge deal breaker.  I hope it doesn't happen at a point when it's too late for me to rebook.

I am not sure they will willingly issue a refund or FCC.  Their cancellation policy is not as lenient RC and it appears they would have to cancel before a refund or FCC would apply.  I’m wondering about timing myself. 

[BlerkOne]

2 hours ago, TNcruising02 said:

Absolutely.  I am prepared for Carnival to make changes to my cruise, which is in three weeks.  Maybe everyone will have to wear masks.  Maybe they will require negative covid tests before boarding.  Nobody knows what will happen week to week.  I have no issue with a covid test before boarding, but masks everywhere is such a huge deal breaker.  I hope it doesn't happen at a point when it's too late for me to rebook.

Carnival Policy

 

https://www.carnival.com/Legal/covid-19-legal-notices/covid-19-refund-cancellation-policy

[Joe817]

47 minutes ago, BlerkOne said:

Carnival Policy

 

https://www.carnival.com/Legal/covid-19-legal-notices/covid-19-refund-cancellation-policy

Thank you Blerk. There is my "golden parachute", if it comes to that. I sure hope it doesn't, as I really, really, really, really want to go on our cruise. 👍

[TNcruising02]

55 minutes ago, SheSailsFL said:

I am not sure they will willingly issue a refund or FCC.  Their cancellation policy is not as lenient RC and it appears they would have to cancel before a refund or FCC would apply.  I’m wondering about timing myself. 

If it comes down to it, they may let me move my money to a later cruise.  If the CDC mandates masks for everyone on the ships, I will try to move it.

[firefly333]

1 hour ago, SheSailsFL said:

I am not sure they will willingly issue a refund or FCC.  Their cancellation policy is not as lenient RC and it appears they would have to cancel before a refund or FCC would apply.  I’m wondering about timing myself. 

Carnival has been quite lenient about allowing you to move your cruise forward.

 

Up until now as soon as they announce protocols for those months anyone can cancel and get a refund. Now thru October is being processed. 

 

So you can move your  cruise into 2023 or I think some 2024 released or wait for protocols. Rcl is a bit behind announcing protocols so people can request full refunds. I'm sure soon they will be the same.

 

I dont see much difference and as you can see in my signature I cruise rcl quite a bit. 

[d-lite-n-cruisin]

I cruise in 12 days on the Vista.  Party of 5.  All vaccinated.  I hope they don't start requiring a test beforehand.  With travel, that can be a pain in the butt.  But, we will roll with the punches.  Mardi Gras looks like they're having a blast!

[ontheweb]

8 hours ago, BlerkOne said:

Looks like FUN!!!

Until the QUARANTINES start happening.

[Fivehole]

31 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

Until the QUARANTINES start happening.

it's almost as though you're hoping for that to happen 😄 

[Buckeyefrank100]

17 hours ago, Earthworm Jim said:

 

Testing doesn't lead to problems. Testing just reveals problems. If you don't test, you still have the same number of problems. You just don't know about them.

Testing certainly can cause additional problems... manmade ones.  False positives are not an abnormal occurrence and can ruin a families vacation or even financial status if one needs to quarantine for 2 weeks incorrectly.

[atricks]

Carnival likely will hold out changes as long as possible to try to preserve the normal experience, but I'd still expect things to change on a dime, probably multiple times, depending on what happens on these cruises, particularly Mardi Gras.  

 

Last week Celebrity Edge had 7 cases, and Celebrity is using the same rules Carnival is.  Adventure of the Seas was similar.  And I'm fairly sure what happened on board is why Royal changed procedures so suddenly.

 

I know if I was found positive on the ship, I'd start documenting everything (photos, videos, journaling) because that info is vital for feedback when everything is so new.

 

 

Edited August 2, 2021 by atricks

[Mallow]

In order to keep a somewhat normal cruise experience onboard, I say do what is needed before getting onto the ship including 100% vaccinated and a 72 hour beforehand PCR test along with one at terminal to avoid outbreaks or having to wear masks onboard.

Edited August 2, 2021 by Mallow

[Brew12]

I can see two sides to this issue. There is no doubt that false positives can and do happen which can destroy a families vacation and have major financial repercussions. 

On the flip side, vaccines aren't a magic bullet that prevents Covid. Even the best vaccines at 95% effective when administered mean that 1 out of 20 could still get symptomatic Covid. The J&J shot was under 80% effective which means 1 in 5 could get it. And, all of these shots get less effective over time. Last I saw the mRNA vaccines were still around 85% effective after 6 months which is still higher than the other vaccines at their best.

Bottom line is that on a cruise ship with 3000 passengers you can expect over 300 that could experience symptomatic Covid. The number of people who could test positive without symptoms is much higher.

And please don't feel like vaccines are worthless at these levels, the WHO approves vaccines above 50% effective for a very good reason. It's about reducing spread. The math supports it. Let's say 1 sick person would infect 10 individuals every week.

Without a vaccine 1 - 10 - 100 - 1,000 - 10,000 in 5 weeks for 11,111 total cases

With a 50% effective vaccine 1 - 5 - 25 - 125 - 625 in 5 weeks for 781 total cases

With a 90% effective vaccine 1 - 1 - 1 - 1 - 1 in 5 weeks for 5 total cases

 

The issue is that we are all living in and traveling through a country that is only around 50% vaccinated. This means we all have a higher chance of being asymptomatic carriers when we board. Would pre cruise testing catch some of these cases? Absolutely. Would it catch all of them? Not a chance. Even a 100% vaccinated cruise would still expect to see symptomatic cases. This is why the CDC has openly said they expect Covid cases on every cruise. 

 

Even as a solo vaccinated traveler, I'm evaluating if I need travel insurance in case of a positive test or if I become symptomatic. 

[surfergirl15]

20 hours ago, deweytrader said:

When we traveled on the adventure in June the virus was much more under control and we felt much more comfortable. now with the Delta variant and the new CDC guidance I would not travel right now with my unvaxxed children and am in the process of canceling our next cruise.  

Deweytrader, how are you this a.m.?  I hope all is ok health wise and you and your son are still feeling ok.

[Bevv]

14 hours ago, TNcruising02 said:

Not at this moment.  So far, there is no testing required for vaccinated passengers at any time prior to the cruise or during the cruise.

The one exception to that is a 14 day Panama Canal cruise from ? Baltimore I think.