NCL making masks optional as of March 1st -- Think Carnival might follow suit?

[keels81]

Do I think Carnival will make a blanket statement rescinding mask wearing like the other lines? No, at least not until the end of March.

 

However, I do think they will continue to let the ships police themselves on mask wearing in accordance with ports of call, overall ship capacity, the guidance of the on-ship Public Health Director (which includes their findings on the 3x weekly testing of crew, infected/recovery numbers among crew and overall staffing levels) and ultimately what the captain wants and tells ship security to enforce.

 

Even John Heald mentioned just last week that it was the first time since Omicron that the crew on the Breeze was allowed to get off the ship in port. I, personally, don't like wearing the mask indoors or the whole "sip and cover" bit, but I'm willing to do it for the safety of the crew and until they can get to their expected "normal" life on the ship -- which means being able to go ashore, or safely (and healthily) sign off to fly back to their home country for their break. 

[elcuchio24]

14 minutes ago, keels81 said:

Do I think Carnival will make a blanket statement rescinding mask wearing like the other lines? No, at least not until the end of March.

 

However, I do think they will continue to let the ships police themselves on mask wearing in accordance with ports of call, overall ship capacity, the guidance of the on-ship Public Health Director (which includes their findings on the 3x weekly testing of crew, infected/recovery numbers among crew and overall staffing levels) and ultimately what the captain wants and tells ship security to enforce.

 

Even John Heald mentioned just last week that it was the first time since Omicron that the crew on the Breeze was allowed to get off the ship in port. I, personally, don't like wearing the mask indoors or the whole "sip and cover" bit, but I'm willing to do it for the safety of the crew and until they can get to their expected "normal" life on the ship -- which means being able to go ashore, or safely (and healthily) sign off to fly back to their home country for their break. 

 

its interesting, I would have assumed CCL would be the vanguard of mask removal

[Virga]

48 minutes ago, keels81 said:

Do I think Carnival will make a blanket statement rescinding mask wearing like the other lines? No, at least not until the end of March.

 

However, I do think they will continue to let the ships police themselves on mask wearing in accordance with ports of call, overall ship capacity, the guidance of the on-ship Public Health Director (which includes their findings on the 3x weekly testing of crew, infected/recovery numbers among crew and overall staffing levels) and ultimately what the captain wants and tells ship security to enforce.

 

Even John Heald mentioned just last week that it was the first time since Omicron that the crew on the Breeze was allowed to get off the ship in port. I, personally, don't like wearing the mask indoors or the whole "sip and cover" bit, but I'm willing to do it for the safety of the crew and until they can get to their expected "normal" life on the ship -- which means being able to go ashore, or safely (and healthily) sign off to fly back to their home country for their break. 

 

It's funny, but early on, I really believed that we'd all settle into rolling restrictions based on metrics: easing restrictions when rates are low, increasing caution when an area was at risk of hospital overload.  I thought people would willingly roll with this as needed to keep their community medical infrastructure intact and get to enjoy as much normalcy as possible in between, so it would be easy to implement.  I was wrong, of course, but it kind of tickles me to see Carnival implementing this basic idea with a fair amount of success.  

[BlerkOne]

15 hours ago, ontheweb said:

Are you prepared for a large meteor to hit the earth?

 

The dinosaurs were not, and look what happened to them.😒

They get to cruise on HAL?

[rj59]

I've sailed all the major lines since re-opening, and strangely, Carnival was the most restrictive and active in policing mask policy, with 'fun squad' crew nagging people in the theaters, comedy club, and casino to sip and cover. With Royal going back to no masking in vaccinated-only venues, and NCL doing away with their temporary mask mandate, it seems a bit foolish for Carnival brands to be more restrictive , especially since now I believe none of the states Carnival ships are sailing from have the indoor masks mandates that cruisers have to deal with. Much of Europe is also abandoning all restrictions and Vegas lifted their mask mandates too, so people have plenty of options to spend their travel dollars now on drinking, gambling, eating, sightseeing, and entertainment in places where they don't have to wear a mask, get tested, or show vaccine proof. With Spring Break and then summer break, people fed up with the pandemic will be more likely to choose other forms of travel now, so as a CCL shareholder I wish Carnival would get with the rest of the country and let their customers choose their own level of risk protection. Maybe there needs to be a Freedom Flotilla of boats blocking Carnival ships until they agree to make masks optional, a cruise equivalent of the Canadian truckers. 

[icft]

1 hour ago, rj59 said:

I've sailed all the major lines since re-opening, and strangely, Carnival was the most restrictive and active in policing mask policy, with 'fun squad' crew nagging people in the theaters, comedy club, and casino to sip and cover. With Royal going back to no masking in vaccinated-only venues, and NCL doing away with their temporary mask mandate, it seems a bit foolish for Carnival brands to be more restrictive , especially since now I believe none of the states Carnival ships are sailing from have the indoor masks mandates that cruisers have to deal with. Much of Europe is also abandoning all restrictions and Vegas lifted their mask mandates too, so people have plenty of options to spend their travel dollars now on drinking, gambling, eating, sightseeing, and entertainment in places where they don't have to wear a mask, get tested, or show vaccine proof. With Spring Break and then summer break, people fed up with the pandemic will be more likely to choose other forms of travel now, so as a CCL shareholder I wish Carnival would get with the rest of the country and let their customers choose their own level of risk protection. Maybe there needs to be a Freedom Flotilla of boats blocking Carnival ships until they agree to make masks optional, a cruise equivalent of the Canadian truckers. 

Carnival is financially stronger than the others and can afford to wait to see the results of their reduced restrictions. In other words, they are not as desperate and can let the others take the chances. The the reductions work for the others Carnival can match them PDQ. All their restrictions have said they can change at any minute.

[ontheweb]

6 hours ago, BlerkOne said:

They get to cruise on HAL?

That was a rather lame attempt at humor based on a stereotype.

[bucfan2]

On 2/9/2022 at 7:51 PM, BlerkOne said:

N95 provides protection for the wearer AND for others around them. That won't change.

Just enjoy the mandates while able….good things on the horizon.

Edited February 12, 2022 by bucfan2

[Joebucks]

10 hours ago, keels81 said:

Do I think Carnival will make a blanket statement rescinding mask wearing like the other lines? No, at least not until the end of March.

 

However, I do think they will continue to let the ships police themselves on mask wearing in accordance with ports of call, overall ship capacity, the guidance of the on-ship Public Health Director (which includes their findings on the 3x weekly testing of crew, infected/recovery numbers among crew and overall staffing levels) and ultimately what the captain wants and tells ship security to enforce.

 

Even John Heald mentioned just last week that it was the first time since Omicron that the crew on the Breeze was allowed to get off the ship in port. I, personally, don't like wearing the mask indoors or the whole "sip and cover" bit, but I'm willing to do it for the safety of the crew and until they can get to their expected "normal" life on the ship -- which means being able to go ashore, or safely (and healthily) sign off to fly back to their home country for their break. 

 

While I believe there could be some level of extenuating circumstances that could alter certain cruises, I do wonder how far you think such a policy would go. "Wait until you get on the ship and the captain decides" would be an absolutely terrible policy that won't happen. Nor do they need to overreact to a scary Bahamas cruise of doom that had 11 cases onboard. 

[kdr69]

7 hours ago, rj59 said:

I wish Carnival would get with the rest of the country and let their customers choose their own level of risk protection.

They cant without the CDC changing its own stance that governs theirs and their stance on cruising puts it just about in line with EBOLA. Dont go anywhere near it.

[ChutChut]

48 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

You really think it is funny using stereotypes for the passengers of a cruise line? What if someone made a joke about all Carnival cruisers being drunks who wear tee shirts and shorts to (whatever they now call) formal night. (Gala night?) How would you like that? Though I guess you would just disqualify them with your God-like powers.

Many jokes are based on stereotypes. Lighten up, Francis.

[Joebucks]

5 hours ago, Pellaz said:

 

This is, after all, the same CDC that suddenly reduced the quarantine period from 10 days to 5 days "based on science"...but curiously, only one day after the airlines sent a joint letter to CDC begging them to reduce the quarantine time so they could try to maintain operations.  

So, the "science" appears to have changed overnight.   

 

We were also told repeatedly during the Fall of 2020 by pundits, politicians and medical professionals alike that any vaccines that were readied by the end of the year would not be safe, would not be adequately tested, would not be adequately tested for long-term effects, and that it was folly to expect any vaccines to be ready by the end of the year.     And, of course, those vaccines WERE indeed ready by year's end; Pfizer was shipping theirs before New Year's and Moderna the following week.

Funny how "the science" changed regarding the vaccines...rather abruptly...and suddenly if you did not get vaccinated you were nothing but a cold-hearted murderer.   

 

So yeah, I have a healthy bit of cynicism when it comes to "following the science."   It's more a matter of "follow the science when it is politically expedient to do so."  

 

 

When you hold the approved title: when you are wrong, you are still right

When you don't hold the approved title: when you are right, you are still wrong

 

Yet some will never accept that this is potentially being mislead for political and/or financial gain.

[elcuchio24]

On 2/12/2022 at 6:40 AM, ontheweb said:

That was a rather lame attempt at humor based on a stereotype.

 

Eye Roll Emoji...

[BlerkOne]

1 hour ago, Joebucks said:

 

Yet some will never accept that this is potentially being mislead for political and/or financial gain.

"This" could refer to everything under the sun. Or above. Past, present, and future.

 

Whether or not you have a title. You might just disagree with those who do.

[Pizzasteve]

On 2/11/2022 at 11:34 AM, Virga said:

 

I am also one of the people who has not taken ill, and I credit my KN95s and general avoidance of indoor gatherings.  I have an elderly father who fought cancer in 2020, so I have been extremely careful - but haven't been completely able to entirely avoid risk of exposure/infection due to my work, nor willing to continue postponing my proven mental health medication (travel.)

 

We have taken several cruises and many flights, even attended a few outdoor concerts.  I visit a couple dozen hospitals a week for work, stay in shady motels all over Florida, and am occasionally forced to use gas station bathrooms.  I've been testing frequently for almost a year now - either my body (+ the vaccine) threw off the infection so well that my levels remained undetectable to the test, or I've managed to keep viral particles out of my body.  Either way, I don't know that it would have been possible without high quality PPE and well measured risk assessment when deciding what activities to participate in. 

 

No, even my excellent masks aren't 100%, and the poorly fitted or loosely woven masks frequently worn by others are even less effective, but they reduced my risk every time I left the house.  Careful selection and timing of activities reduced my risk further, and those things plus frequent testing helped minimize the risk of my worst fear - transmission to others.  

 

Anyway, I trust the cruise lines to act in their own best interests - if they pore over the data and decide that they can lift some of the restrictions without risking a true plague cruise, I'm content with the risk reduction offered by my additional measures.  If they don't, I'll be grateful for their help keeping those risks at an acceptable level.  

 

For what it's worth, I've never feared Covid infection - I've only ever feared transmission.  I'm somewhat proud to look at the sad numbers and have reasonable confidence that none of those deaths resulted from an action I took.  

Good post, and I think it is important to note the nuance of viral load and how that impacts Covid severity.  Basically, covid wars qgaibst your immune system and exposure x100 is not the sqme qs exposure x1000.  Masks limit some,  ut maybe not all virus, but your body has a limit of how many they can fight until mor soldiers arrive to defend.  

 

Masks make so much sense, it stuns me people oppose them.

[Denverdonkeys]

So many people have “done it all right” and not gotten COVID. Some have “done it all right” and gotten COVID. So many have “done nothing” and gotten COVID, and yet some have “done nothing” and not gotten COVID. All these anecdotes are worthless.

 

But let’s all keep arguing as if the debate on this board impacts the cruise line’s decision.

 

They will do what they can do to be the most profitable. That’s their job after all.

Edited February 14, 2022 by Denverdonkeys

[MerIin]

On 2/9/2022 at 8:48 AM, jlabs03 said:

NCL did not require masks until right before Christmas when numbers of cases started to increase due to omicron.  They are just returning to their previous policy since case numbers are decreasing rapidly. Carnival did not require masks except in specific locations until the omicron surge so it would be nice if they also went back to that policy if not just get rid of masks all together.

I'm curious to see what's going to happen the next time a cruise has mass cases of food poisoning - which seems to me is a much larger concern than Covid.  Are they going to shut the world down?

 

I've yet to read of any Cruise where Covid was a super spreader event with or without masks.

 

It's time to get rid of the masks.  Either that or stay home permanently.  We can have 100% Freedom OR 100% Safety, you can't have 100% of both.

[Altamira]

 

 

 

 

 

[skridge]

6 hours ago, MerIin said:

I'm curious to see what's going to happen the next time a cruise has mass cases of food poisoning - which seems to me is a much larger concern than Covid.  Are they going to shut the world down?

 

I've yet to read of any Cruise where Covid was a super spreader event with or without masks.

 

It's time to get rid of the masks.  Either that or stay home permanently.  We can have 100% Freedom OR 100% Safety, you can't have 100% of both.

You are comparing a highly contagious virus that has killed close to a million people in the United States to food poisoning?  This is the definition of a ridiculous apples and oranges comparison.  You are comparing an orange that taste like candy to the sourest granny smith apple of all time.🤦‍♂️

[BlerkOne]

8 hours ago, MerIin said:

I'm curious to see what's going to happen the next time a cruise has mass cases of food poisoning - which seems to me is a much larger concern than Covid.  Are they going to shut the world down?

 

I've yet to read of any Cruise where Covid was a super spreader event with or without masks.

 

It's time to get rid of the masks.  Either that or stay home permanently.  We can have 100% Freedom OR 100% Safety, you can't have 100% of both.

I'll take public health over anarchy.