Was Belieze port doing random testing of cruise passengers?

[firefly333]

Since carnival has a written policy that basically says once off the ship you are on your own. Maybe this is why to buy insurance, not that it will change any minds.

 

We all have read carnivals policy hopefully. Promises nothing off the ship. 

[Babr]

11 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

I never saw it said 26 crew and 1 passenger. ..it said 26 crew of the 27 positive. I read 6 news and none said 27th was a pax. Could have been a comedian or someone working on the ship. If it doesnt say passenger we cant assume they were. Maybe I missed it.

You are correct. I made the assumption.

[Babr]

8 minutes ago, TravelBluebird said:

 

I would love a definitive answer on this before I get on a Carnival ship. If you are positive with mild symptoms, do you simply stay on the ship in quarantine until it returns to the original US port, or does Carnival disembark you at the next port whatever that is? I know RC was disembarking people (and flying them back) but that seemed to be a special arrangement in the Bahamas.  

Based on how others were treated, it appears that people with mild symptoms remain in quarantine on the ship. This woman was disembarked because she was already in trouble.

 

Royal and Celebrity have been returning positive cases, but Carnival has no stated intention of doing so. Carnival says the passenger is responsible for costs other than FCC for unused cruise days.

 

 

[ScottsSweetie]

23 minutes ago, TravelBluebird said:

 

I would love a definitive answer on this before I get on a Carnival ship. If you are positive with mild symptoms, do you simply stay on the ship in quarantine until it returns to the original US port, or does Carnival disembark you at the next port whatever that is? I know RC was disembarking people (and flying them back) but that seemed to be a special arrangement in the Bahamas.  

We know that the vloggers Parodeejay were quarantined on the Mardi Gras, but it was only for one night. There were apparently several other passengers who disembarked alongside them down the crew gangway that were also in the quarantined group but I have not heard how long those people were in quarantine before disembarkation.

[arkaine23]

35 minutes ago, TravelBluebird said:

 

I would love a definitive answer on this before I get on a Carnival ship. If you are positive with mild symptoms, do you simply stay on the ship in quarantine until it returns to the original US port, or does Carnival disembark you at the next port whatever that is? I know RC was disembarking people (and flying them back) but that seemed to be a special arrangement in the Bahamas.  

 

Speculation:

• Ship's doctor would make the call to evacuate you if you need better care than the ship's medical facility can provide
• Total cases onboard reaching a high water mark so to speak could also necessitate deboarding of some sick passengers and/or crew.  The line wouldn't want a ship to reach an infection threshold where ports would disallow debarkation or the CDC might assign red status.  Seems like deboarding for quarantine per port agreements might serve to alleviate the pressure of a rising outbreak.

Edited August 17, 2021 by arkaine23

[TravelBluebird]

4 minutes ago, Babr said:

Based on how others were treated, it appears that people with mild symptoms remain in quarantine on the ship. This woman was disembarked because she was already in trouble.

 

Royal and Celebrity have been returning positive cases, but Carnival has no stated intention of doing so. Carnival says the passenger is responsible for costs other than FCC for unused cruise days.

 

 

Thank you; that is my understanding and makes sense; if I have mild symptoms//asymptomatic case I want to come home and am obviously OK with quarantine; if I need medical attention I need to be off the ship.

 

I am OK with being responsible for my own costs if I turn positive BUT that is if Carnival is doing their part of the deal and following their own crusing-with-COVID protocols and being as transparent with their customers as possible. I realize that I would not cruise in this climate without very good medical trip insurance. I am sad for the family of the woman mentioned above (off the ship with positive COVID in Belize and later died) because they did not seem to be very frequent travelers and did not cruise with medical trip insurance. 

[ScottsSweetie]

1 hour ago, BlerkOne said:

Nobody said high numbers. I said INCREASING numbers. And it is TRUE.

But numbers matter. Increasing from 2 to 5?  Or from 2 to 20? Technically both are increasing, but only one is alarming.

[arkaine23]

7 minutes ago, ScottsSweetie said:

We know that the vloggers Parodeejay were quarantined on the Mardi Gras, but it was only for one night. There were apparently several other passengers who disembarked alongside them down the crew gangway that were also in the quarantined group but I have not heard how long those people were in quarantine before disembarkation.

IMO reporters should be watching these crew exits for large numbers.  Also, requesting FOIA disclosure of the case counts from the CDC.  There's really no story until a ship goes red IMO, but it sure would be nice to have more transparency from cruise lines or the CDC, and interviews about positive passenger's experiences.  Its hard to know and plan for risks if cruise lines aren't being transparent.

Edited August 17, 2021 by arkaine23

[TravelBluebird]

2 minutes ago, arkaine23 said:

Total cases onboard reaching a high water mark so to speak could also necessitate deboarding of some sick passengers and/or crew.  The line wouldn't want a ship to reach an infection threshold where ports would disallow debarkation or the CDC might assign red status.  Seems like deboarding for quarantine per port agreements might serve to alleviate the pressure of a rising outbreak.

 

Interesting. This seems possible; I did not consider this possibility. BUT in that possibility, I would want Carnival to pick up more of my expenses (not sure that makes sense, but that is how it makes me feel, since this disembarking would be for Carnival’s benefit, and if it’s my medical situation, the disembarking would be for my benefit.

[ScottsSweetie]

1 minute ago, arkaine23 said:

IMO reporters should be watching these crew exits for large numbers.  Also, requesting FOIA disclosure of the case counts from the CDC.

To what end? So that people will panic? There WILL be positive cases on each and every cruise. If everyone on the ship has a negative pre-boarding test, 95% of the population is vaccinated and everyone is wearing masks, then what is to be gained by knowing the exact details of every sailing?

[arkaine23]

10 minutes ago, ScottsSweetie said:

To what end? So that people will panic? There WILL be positive cases on each and every cruise. If everyone on the ship has a negative pre-boarding test, 95% of the population is vaccinated and everyone is wearing masks, then what is to be gained by knowing the exact details of every sailing?

Which is why I followed up that snippet with there's no story until a ship is approaching red status numbers.  And also note that I did not say that these numbers should be reported constantly.  I would like them to be available somewhere, but I think only a large outbreak is actually newsworthy.    Someone has to try to track it.  My line of thinking says it should be journalists.  We shouldn't rely on foreign countries' health organizations to blow the whistle to their news media on ships with higher than average cases, like Belize did.

Edited August 17, 2021 by arkaine23

[ScottsSweetie]

If I'm a passenger who has been tested positive, the last people I would speak to would be the press, because they have their own agenda.

[Babr]

11 minutes ago, ScottsSweetie said:

We know that the vloggers Parodeejay were quarantined on the Mardi Gras, but it was only for one night. There were apparently several other passengers who disembarked alongside them down the crew gangway that were also in the quarantined group but I have not heard how long those people were in quarantine before disembarkation.

I’ve been wondering about that. If people who test positive can still transmit the virus and require isolation, there is no way to complete a 10-day quarantine on a 7-day cruise, especially if you don’t start until day 6.  Those people did not isolate long enough yet they said they were “free to do as they pleased” once they left the ship. 
 

Seems counterintuitive to require quarantine on the ship then release freely at ports already overcome with infections.

[arkaine23]

9 minutes ago, ScottsSweetie said:

If I'm a passenger who has been tested positive, the last people I would speak to would be the press, because they have their own agenda.

I also didn't say anything about interviewing the passengers debarked from the special exit.  But on the other hand, lots of us do want to know how a cruise line or foreign ports treat these guests and what to expect if it were to happen to us on our cruise, which is the heart of what OP made this thread for.

Edited August 17, 2021 by arkaine23

[tallnthensome]

I'm betting that woman boarded infected. Bet she felt ill beforehand but didn't want to ruin her 

Cruise or anyone else is her family's trip. This cruise didn't require negative covid test before boarding.  Im guessing she was already having issues before she got on only to worsen the point of a vent requirement on board later. Just a hunch ....

Edited August 17, 2021 by tallnthensome

[ScottsSweetie]

1 minute ago, Babr said:

I’ve been wondering about that. If people who test positive can still transmit the virus and require isolation, there is no way to complete a 10-day quarantine on a 7-day cruise, especially if you don’t start until day 6.  Those people did not isolate long enough yet they said they were “free to do as they pleased” once they left the ship. 
 

Seems counterintuitive to require quarantine on the ship then release freely at ports already overcome with infections.

I'm guessing Carnival is no longer responsible for them once they leave the ship. (Maybe that's only for people who've driven to the port - we all saw the Breeze issue out of Galveston.)

[Brew12]

2 minutes ago, Babr said:

Seems counterintuitive to require quarantine on the ship then release freely at ports already overcome with infections.

I'm not disagreeing, but laws just don't support doing more than that. Carnival can only enforce quarantine while at sea. Once you are in port, they cannot control where you quarantine. Even local regulations only dictate what you can and cannot do while in their jurisdiction, they can't keep you from leaving it.

[ScottsSweetie]

2 minutes ago, arkaine23 said:

I also didn't say anything about interviewing the passengers debarked from the special exit.  But on the other hand, lots of us do want to know how a cruise line treats these guests and what to expect if it were to happen to us on our cruise.

So what do you expect reporters to be doing? It was reported that there were about 14 people who exited that gangway but only about 4 of them positive (the rest being their traveling companions). Counting heads could be extremely misleading.

[Brew12]

3 minutes ago, arkaine23 said:

I also didn't say anything about interviewing the passengers debarked from the special exit.  But on the other hand, lots of us do want to know how a cruise line treats these guests and what to expect if it were to happen to us on our cruise.

This is an important question. If I have the Cheers package and I'm quarantined a few days, do I still get my 15 drinks per day?

[TravelBluebird]

4 minutes ago, Babr said:

there is no way to complete a 10-day quarantine on a 7-day cruise, especially if you don’t start until day 6.  Those people did not isolate long enough yet they said they were “free to do as they pleased” once they left the ship. 

 

This one I know the answer to. I believe if you have your car and can drive home, you can drive home to quarantine. If you have traveled by plane, you need to quarantine till you test negative.  If you have a long drive and need to use bathrooms etc on the way, I think your ethics guide you.

[arkaine23]

8 minutes ago, ScottsSweetie said:

So what do you expect reporters to be doing? It was reported that there were about 14 people who exited that gangway but only about 4 of them positive (the rest being their traveling companions). Counting heads could be extremely misleading.

Keep an eye out for a time when 50+ come down that gangway.  Then there might be a story.  CDC/USCG & cruise lines & possibly the ports have the data.  I think I just want someone watching the watchmen when it comes to this issue.

Edited August 17, 2021 by arkaine23

[Babr]

1 minute ago, ScottsSweetie said:

I'm guessing Carnival is no longer responsible for them once they leave the ship. (Maybe that's only for people who've driven to the port - we all saw the Breeze issue out of Galveston.)

But I believe they are responsible per the port agreement. I expect they have to notify the local health department, if nothing else. It is irresponsible to release known cases, especially now in states that are struggling with overloaded hospitals.

[bdever]

25 minutes ago, ScottsSweetie said:

We know that the vloggers Parodeejay were quarantined on the Mardi Gras, but it was only for one night. There were apparently several other passengers who disembarked alongside them down the crew gangway that were also in the quarantined group but I have not heard how long those people were in quarantine before disembarkation.

And they were only in quarantine 1 night because they chose not to report symptoms or test until day 6 when symptoms appeared on day 4 while the ship was in Roatan. 
 

The sad truth is it is probably not so uncommon for a symptomatic person to wait days to report/test (if at all) to avoid getting taken off the ship in a foreign port. In the meantime, other passengers are at risk.

[ScottsSweetie]

4 minutes ago, Babr said:

But I believe they are responsible per the port agreement. I expect they have to notify the local health department, if nothing else. It is irresponsible to release known cases, especially now in states that are struggling with overloaded hospitals.

I'm guessing they are notifying the required agencies with numbers, not names. If I'm leaving the jurisdiction I'm not sure why even local authorities would need to know.

[AtSeaWithChris]

10 minutes ago, Babr said:

 Those people did not isolate long enough yet they said they were “free to do as they pleased” once they left the ship

That's your and my freedom. We don't have a nanny state that has someone come and tell you what to do. You do you and if you require quarantine then do so, Do you want some government agency to pop in to your life and dictate what you do and then observe that you do it? That's just not feasible. Just do the right thing.