Debarkation unvacinnated child testing

[ReneeFLL]

 

13 hours ago, Quirky Cruiser said:

I'm on vacation, so we don't connect to Wi-fi. I don't walk around with my phone and I'm certainly not checking my email. They never even told us we could get results that way. Why would I even think he would be positive? He was running around, playing, not even a sniffle. I didn't have the slightest concern. Even when we went to medical, they asked us why we were there! Told us we needed an appointment later in the day. The whole thing was comical. There was no packing for them. I brought things back and forth to them in the red zone, while also talking to other parents standing outside rooms in the red zone. My husband said somebody donned a hazmat suit to bring them down to their room, but then after that, the people in the hallways were all just regular employees with just a face mask. No hazmat suits, no face shields. No biohazard bags everywhere. They would have been better off in our own cabin. By the time we take our next 7-day cruise, this testing will be long gone. 

If you didn’t like the rules you shouldn’t have agreed to cruise with Royal. Their ship, their rules.

 

Edited June 18, 2022 by ReneeFLL

[Quirky Cruiser]

20 minutes ago, ReneeFLL said:

 

If you didn’t like the rules you shouldn’t have agreed to cruise with Royal. Their ship, their rules.

 

Good grief. We sail with them all the time. Gave an account to the OP of what it was like when my asymptomatic son tested positive on day 7. It will all be irrelevant soon enough since Covid jail will come to an end like all the either mandates. 

[ReneeFLL]

17 minutes ago, Quirky Cruiser said:

Good grief. We sail with them all the time. Gave an account to the OP of what it was like when my asymptomatic son tested positive on day 7. It will all be irrelevant soon enough since Covid jail will come to an end like all the either mandates. 

I was referring to when you said you wouldn’t let them test you. They probably didn’t feel like arguing with you so they let it go. Their ship their rules and you agreed to it when you booked the cruise. 🙄

[Quirky Cruiser]

2 minutes ago, ReneeFLL said:

I was referring to when you said you wouldn’t let them test you. They probably didn’t feel like arguing with you so they let it go. Their ship their rules and you agreed to it when you booked the cruise. 🙄

It’s not in the rules to have me tested. I had no symptoms, nor did I even get it. I have had it twice before. I tested prior to cruising per their rules and was negative. There is no such thing as a close contact anymore since we were close contacts with 5900 passengers as well. The only people they test are unvaccinated children and those who report symptoms to them. Get off your soapbox of thinking I didn’t follow the rules. 

[kitkat343]

1 hour ago, ReneeFLL said:

I was referring to when you said you wouldn’t let them test you. They probably didn’t feel like arguing with you so they let it go. Their ship their rules and you agreed to it when you booked the cruise. 🙄

The first time I flew with a car seat, a jet blue attendant told me it was against JetBlue regulations for my child's car seat to be rear facing.  It was a graco 35 infant seat, which can only be installed rear facing.  Thankfully, she didn't see me until halfway through the flight when my kid was asleep in the carseat, and realized that if she made me wake up my kid to take the carseat away the other passengers might riot if he started screaming (plus I don't know where she was planning on putting it.  I hadn't researched the car seat laws, so it turns out the FAA requirements are that any car seat that has been approved by the FAA can be used in planes, and must be installed according to manufacturers instructions.  So I actually had every right to have that car seat, and she was totally wrong but I didn't know it.

 

A passenger died during a tender on a Cunard cruise a number of years ago, so they instituted a step test, insisting that every passenger take a test to prove they can step the distance required for tender.  I don't remember if it was 12 or 18 inches, but they insisted my 2 year old do it independently.  We explained that my husband would carry my 2 year old onto the tender since there was no way we would let him cross by himself, but they refused.  We spent an hour fighting with the front desk, which finally issued a tender ticket.  We went to the tender, and the ship employees saw my son, picked him up and carried him over for us.  Later I wrote to Cunard for clarification on what their policy was on issuing tender tickets to children.  They told me they allow parents to take the step test carrying their children, and as long as the parent can cross safely carrying their child they can go.

 

That's why I would really like to know the rules for testing before I board- can they demand unvaccinated children/adults be tested on demand?  Close contacts?  Anyone on demand? I absolutely will comply with their rules, but I've found in my previous travel that employees don't always know the rules and so I'd like to know them if they are published anywhere.

Edited June 18, 2022 by kitkat343

[Love2cruisewkids]

Thank you for the insight. I am hoping the precruise and debarkation testing ends soon. I sorta have buyers remorse for booking this cruise, until the testing requirments ended, especially for my unvaxed kids.

[Love2cruisewkids]

For those sailing with unvaxed kids. How long did it take to get the PCR test back prior to cruising? Also, where did you get the test?

[Quirky Cruiser]

2 minutes ago, Love2cruisewkids said:

For those sailing with unvaxed kids. How long did it take to get the PCR test back prior to cruising? Also, where did you get the test?

We went to Walgreens and did rapid NAAT tests for all of us. Kids need to be done 3 days prior to sailing and vaccinated adults need to be done two days prior. It was quick and easy and done at the drive-thru. We tested the kids. We had results within 2 hours and they were emailed to us. You can schedule appointments 5 days prior. 

[topnole]

1 hour ago, Love2cruisewkids said:

For those sailing with unvaxed kids. How long did it take to get the PCR test back prior to cruising? Also, where did you get the test?

Kids must be tested 1-3 days prior.  We did PCR 3 days prior at CVS.  Got results the next day.  Probably varies by location.     
 

Adults can test 0-2 days before.  But kids can’t do the test the day you board because they do the antigen test at the port that day.   They don’t want both tests on the same day.  
 

 

[topnole]

19 minutes ago, dada2199cc said:

Good on you for sticking to your beliefs here.  I would refuse to test, also.  Thank you for standing your ground!

This thread is interesting in that it seems there is a significant lack of knowledge on wether a passenger can refuse testing if requested by the cruise line.  
 

Clearly the employee had zero interest in requiring a test.  But what would happen if the employee did and the passenger refused?   What right does each party have in this situation?  Can a passenger in this situation be quarantined if they refuse to test?  I’d have to imagine what the ship has the authority to do a lot more than they chose to use in this scenario. I’m sure the contract must spell this out and I’m sure such info would benefit future cruisers at some point.  

[jerseygirl3]

On 6/17/2022 at 10:40 PM, kitkat343 said:

Thanks.  My whole family had covid prior to vaccines being available, and we experienced minor cold symptoms.  But the thought of being quarantined with my 3, 7 and 11 year old children is pretty terrifying!  I'm hoping the 3 year old will be able to be vaccinated in time for our cruise in August.  

It was passed yesterday for kids 6 months and older. Just remember to time it so they are fully vaxxed. Moderna is 2 shots and Pfizer is 3. Shots will start this week, unless you live in Florida. 

[Mum2Mercury]

Multiple random thoughts: 

 

- If you're vaxxed yourself, why not get the 9-year olds vaxxed too?  Even though kids are not typically affected as strongly by the virus, why not get them the protection and lessen the chances of them transmitting the virus to others?  

 

- I'm surprised that the staff allowed your kid to run around for hours without knowing the results of the test.  It takes only minutes for the test to "show", and I'm surprised they didn't have you wait.  

 

- The "Covid Jail" makes sense, if you look at it from the workers' point of view:  it allows medical staff access to all positive-people in one location, and it consolidates the work for room service.  I'm surprised that they allow anyone to visit.  

 

- I'm also surprised refusing a test was an option.  Remember what Star Trek told us:  The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.  The ship has a responsibility to do what it reasonably can to keep passengers safe.  I wonder if this might've been a one-off employee who just didn't want to deal with the situation?  With only one report, we can't know.  

 

- Stay home if you're at all concerned about Covid?  That's foolish.  There's a lot of space between "I am not worried at all" and "I'm too scaread to participate in life", and most of us live in that moderate spot.  Choosing to cruise BUT exercising reasonable caution makes the most sense.  

 

- I agree that some posters sound like they don't care about the well-being of their fellow travelers. 

[topnole]

2 hours ago, jerseygirl3 said:

It was passed yesterday for kids 6 months and older. Just remember to time it so they are fully vaxxed. Moderna is 2 shots and Pfizer is 3. Shots will start this week, unless you live in Florida. 

Shots will be available in Florida.  Doctors have already been ordering.  The media would have you believe the state has banned the vaccine for kids.  Simply not true.  The state health department does not endorse them in general for kids that age based on the research data and instead will leave this up to doctors and pharmacies to order and administer. This means the state didn’t pre order them before they were even approved.  At most there will be a slight delay measured in days.  Covid has been an issue for 2.5 years now.  This is a non issue that the media uses to fit their varying agendas.  

[Mum2Mercury]

24 minutes ago, topnole said:

No one knows the long term implications of the vaccines because they didn’t do long term studies.  There is zero argument possible on this fact.  
 

Adults can choose freely and accept the pros and cons of vaccination.   However, many parents don’t wish to subject their kids to the unknown when the virus has much less severity in young people.  Plus, so many kids have already been through Covid and have natural immunity protections.  Prior infection may not stop future infection, but neither do the vaccines and like vaccines it also helps reduce severity.  So the calculus by parents is risk/reward.  Most see little reward for a risk level that is unknown for the long run.   It is completely logical and the precise reason child vaccination rates are so low.  

Agree that it's risk/reward, and children's bodies don't respond the same way as adults -- but not quite true on studies.  The vaccine wasn't created "from scratch"; rather, it was based upon already-existing vaccines.  Remember this vaccine has been approved by multiple agencies -- it's social media, not scientists who question its usefulness.  

 

Regardless, that's all I'll say on this thread.  

Edited June 19, 2022 by Mum2Mercury