CDC ends all restrictions as of July 18th (TODAY!!)

[Rusty_lock]

2 hours ago, Mikamarii said:

Haven't they said that about literally every variant since this has started? 

Our hospitals have been over capacity since it began being pubically funded. 

Blasphemer! Canadian socialized medicine is the greatest thing in the world!  The CBC told me so.

[cruisingguy007]

4 hours ago, cruise wizard said:

 

Bermuda requires vaccination and testing...........and charges for a Travel Authorization at $40 PP.

 

Easy solution there, remove Bermuda as a cruise stop until they play ball. The cruise lines aren't powerless anymore. They want the dollars, they fall in line like everyone else. They can probably get that BS "travel authorization" reduced to $4-$5 PP rolled into port fees and get testing requirements removed as well. Two birds, one stone. Some of these locations have tried to take advantage while the chips were down. Turnabout is fair play.   

[desibee]

11 minutes ago, Rusty_lock said:

Blasphemer! Canadian socialized medicine is the greatest thing in the world!  The CBC told me so.

 

🙄 As soon as whining about the CBC starts, I know enough to stop listening to the whiner.

[DirtyDawg]

12 minutes ago, desibee said:

 

🙄 As soon as whining about the CBC starts, I know enough to stop listening to the whiner.

Just an observation, but whining is Canada's second favorite participation sport! And it's fast closing in on hockey. 😉

 

Edited July 19, 2022 by DirtyDawg

[LMaxwell]

While the logistics of testing for my past 3 cruises has been a pain in the neck; I did test positive before the 3rd cruise and need to cancel/rebook, this gives me some pause to celebration.  The onerous booking/testing policies DID slow down the rate I would book cruises at, but I have some considerations that I need to see how cruise lines handle them from a purely practical standpoint. 

 

1. Will have to see how this impacts cancellation policies. If cruise lines go back to pre-covid style cancellation policies, having COVID alone may not be enough not to sacrifice money. In that case, how many people are going to choose to board either knowing they are positive, or simply not testing whatsoever before traveling beyond their countries borders if not required? 

 

2. If you test positive while onboard a ship and are quarantined, are you refunded a per diem as cruise lines have been doing the past several months, or will this require your own insurance with a COVID clause? 

 

3. If vaccination requirements are dropped and people contract COVID onboard, is the experience/capacities of cruise lines to handle COVID among vaccinated/boosted people going to be adequate for non-vaccinated? 

 

It's positive moving forwards, I just can't wave the pom poms yet. 

[LMaxwell]

21 minutes ago, cruisingguy007 said:

 

Easy solution there, remove Bermuda as a cruise stop until they play ball. The cruise lines aren't powerless anymore. They want the dollars, they fall in line like everyone else. They can probably get that BS "travel authorization" reduced to $4-$5 PP rolled into port fees and get testing requirements removed as well. Two birds, one stone. Some of these locations have tried to take advantage while the chips were down. Turnabout is fair play.   

 

You feel like the cruise lines are the ones that have Bermuda over the barrel on this one? I see it the other way. Hmmm. 

[xpcdoojk]

5 hours ago, BND said:

I'll celebrate as soon as they drop pre cruise testing.

yeah, pre cruise testing is the worst.  Completely, unacceptable to have to do that over any other earthly activity.  

 

I hope we can celebrate together soon.  

 

 

[xpcdoojk]

5 hours ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Just heard that the cruise lines are meeting tomorrow morning.  Looks like they may be trying to a consensus on how to proceed.

I thought that collusion was something the governments don’t want to happen.  🤪

 

 

[cruisingguy007]

19 minutes ago, LMaxwell said:

 

You feel like the cruise lines are the ones that have Bermuda over the barrel on this one? I see it the other way. Hmmm. 

 

Yes, yes I do. It's the same reason I don't shop at Costco, because they charge me to come into their stores. There are many other port stops (just as there are stores) that would be happy to have customers spending money. It's a cash grab, pure and simple. Choose the competitor islands that welcome tourists and earn their business, not simply demand money for the privilege of existing. It's a greedy side stealth tax. Port fees/taxes already supply moneybags for the local government officials to pilfer/squander. 

Edited July 19, 2022 by cruisingguy007

[xpcdoojk]

2 hours ago, jerseygirl3 said:

Im all for ending the testing.  I just wonder how many will still board even if they know they are positive for Covid. 

Probably a smaller number than are at the restaurant you are eating at now.  Or the workplace you go to.  Or the grocery store.  

 

JC

[Jimbo]

Sounds like a potential Powder-Keg. Much different then it has been onboard lately where things have settled down. Pretty sure this will just assure more positive passengers walking around the ship.

 

One thing to start feeling bad when on land where you can go home to your own house and ride it out. When being on a ship you are locked on there for 7 days or longer.

 

Best bet right now once  the cruise lines choose how they handle this is to do is take shorter cruises 5 days or less.

 

Just my opinion.

[LMaxwell]

3 minutes ago, cruisingguy007 said:

 

Yes, yes I do. It's the same reason I don't shop at Costco, because they charge me to come into their stores. There are many other port stops (just as there are stores) that would be happy to have customers spending money. It's a cash grab, pure and simple. Choose the competitor islands that welcome tourists and earn their business, not simply demand money for the privilege of existing. It's a greedy side stealth tax. Port fees/taxes already supply moneybags for the local government officials to pilfer/squander. 

 

Costco offers items, services, and benefits you can not find at other stores, similar, but not identical;  much like Bermuda offers experiences you can not get at other islands. It's not a Caribbean tourist trap. Bermuda has an exceptionally high standard and cost of living, unlike many Caribbean islands thousands of miles away. Bermuda is well within their rights to require whatever they want to protect the health of a small island, and cruise lines are well within their rights to skip Bermuda (barring any agreements on minimum head tax payments, etc.) as well, but what do the cruise lines do with their NYC, NJ, and Baltimore ports?  There's only so many places you can get to in 5 or 7 days from those ports, and unless you go north for fall foliage, it's Bermuda, or a horrible Cape Canaveral/Bahamas itinerary, and those never command the premiumds that Bermuda does.  

 

Bermuda is unique in this regard and as such I view it as Bermuda having the upper hand, not the cruise lines. But I can see your perspective and why your opinion differs. 

[Babr]

19 minutes ago, LMaxwell said:

While the logistics of testing for my past 3 cruises has been a pain in the neck; I did test positive before the 3rd cruise and need to cancel/rebook, this gives me some pause to celebration.  The onerous booking/testing policies DID slow down the rate I would book cruises at, but I have some considerations that I need to see how cruise lines handle them from a purely practical standpoint. 

 

1. Will have to see how this impacts cancellation policies. If cruise lines go back to pre-covid style cancellation policies, having COVID alone may not be enough not to sacrifice money. In that case, how many people are going to choose to board either knowing they are positive, or simply not testing whatsoever before traveling beyond their countries borders if not required? 

 

2. If you test positive while onboard a ship and are quarantined, are you refunded a per diem as cruise lines have been doing the past several months, or will this require your own insurance with a COVID clause? 

 

3. If vaccination requirements are dropped and people contract COVID onboard, is the experience/capacities of cruise lines to handle COVID among vaccinated/boosted people going to be adequate for non-vaccinated? 

 

It's positive moving forwards, I just can't wave the pom poms yet. 

 

I’ve been wondering about this, too. Once the testing requirements are relaxed or eliminated, I expect that COVID assistance plans and lenient cancellation policies will go as well.

 

If the cruise lines continue to quarantine positive passengers, it will be up to them to provide any compensation because insurance won’t pay for isolation on board. If you are disembarked at the next port, then trip delay/trip interruption provisions apply.

[LMaxwell]

4 minutes ago, Babr said:

Once the testing requirements are relaxed or eliminated, I expect that COVID assistance plans and lenient cancellation policies will go as well.

Bingo 

[rudeney]

2 hours ago, Mikamarii said:

Haven't they said that about literally every variant since this has started? 

Our hospitals have been over capacity since it began being pubically funded. 

 

Our (private, not socialized) hospitals and ICUs have been at or above capacity for years - years before COVID.  My MIL died in early 2019.  The last two years of her life, she was in the hospital every few months with respiratory problems due to COPD.  Every time we'd take her to the ER.  They would get her an ER bed fairly quickly, and then would tell us they were admitting her.  Each time, she'd be in an ER bed at leas 24 hours because the hospital was full.  When she'd finally gen a hospital bed, about half the time the doc would say she was being moved to ICU.  She never say the inside of the ICU - it was always full.  So when I saw the "sky is falling" news stories about hospitals and ERs being full, I knew the real story - we have about 90% as many hospital beds as we need because the companies that own them all have seats on the state hospital board and want it that way.  Hospitals are like airplanes: They only make a profile when every seat (or bed) has a butt in it.  

[rudeney]

7 minutes ago, Babr said:

 

I’ve been wondering about this, too. Once the testing requirements are relaxed or eliminated, I expect that COVID assistance plans and lenient cancellation policies will go as well.

 

If the cruise lines continue to quarantine positive passengers, it will be up to them to provide any compensation because insurance won’t pay for isolation on board. If you are disembarked at the next port, then trip delay/trip interruption provisions apply.

 

Currently, cruises missed because of a positive COVID test before boarding will be refunded through April 30, 2023, but compensation for contracting COVID  during your cruise including prorated refunds for quarantines or coverage for post-cruise quarantines is only thought September, 30 2022.  

 

 

[jerseygirl3]

19 minutes ago, Babr said:

 

I’ve been wondering about this, too. Once the testing requirements are relaxed or eliminated, I expect that COVID assistance plans and lenient cancellation policies will go as well.

 

If the cruise lines continue to quarantine positive passengers, it will be up to them to provide any compensation because insurance won’t pay for isolation on board. If you are disembarked at the next port, then trip delay/trip interruption provisions apply.

My husbsnd was quarantined when he contracted Influenza A onboard Feb 2020. We received  no compensation for the days he was quarantined (the rest of our 12 day sailing). It didnt even occur to us that he would be refunded. There were 80 confirmed cases on our sailing. Prob more that didnt report to the Medical Center. 

[Mikamarii]

6 minutes ago, rudeney said:

 

Our (private, not socialized) hospitals and ICUs have been at or above capacity for years - years before COVID.  My MIL died in early 2019.  The last two years of her life, she was in the hospital every few months with respiratory problems due to COPD.  Every time we'd take her to the ER.  They would get her an ER bed fairly quickly, and then would tell us they were admitting her.  Each time, she'd be in an ER bed at leas 24 hours because the hospital was full.  When she'd finally gen a hospital bed, about half the time the doc would say she was being moved to ICU.  She never say the inside of the ICU - it was always full.  So when I saw the "sky is falling" news stories about hospitals and ERs being full, I knew the real story - we have about 90% as many hospital beds as we need because the companies that own them all have seats on the state hospital board and want it that way.  Hospitals are like airplanes: They only make a profile when every seat (or bed) has a butt in it.  

Sorry to hear that. 

I dont think there is a perfect system and I'm not against socialized medicine. The problem being neither is perfect and we have to accept their limitations. In our system there are only so many tax dollars to go around so a government run hospital should be operating at at least 90% with the capacity to go over if needed unless you want your taxes to skyrocket. I dont want my hospital to be at 10% capacity (year over year)because that means it is way over funded and not efficient. Public hospitals are in no way designed to take on mass casualties like a pandemic.  When they started setting up auxiliary hospitals here people yelled a failure of government when in actuality its a limitation on public hospitals. 

When something is government run they are ALWAYS vying for more tax dollars and what better way to do that then to scream understaffed and over capacity. A local journalist published an opinion piece where he showed headlines in our province for the past decade. Every year doctors "sounded the alarm" on hospital capacity. That they were typically running between 90 and 120%.

Our provincial health care is so bloated at the top. Our director was making more than our premier and PM combined. That's insane and needs to be shaved in a tax run system. But anytime anyone questions these budgets they get Labelled as anti nurse/doctor and the debate gets political. Government run entities always need their budgets questioned whether it be hospitals, police, ems, etc. Reviewing/questioning the budget does not mean you are ant-that thing and most people will always agree to more funding to the front lines. 

 

*steps off soap box* 

[cynt]

Hot diggity dog! I wonder what the changes will be. Hopefully for the better. The testing drives me crazy but I'll keep doing it in order to cruise. But it sure would be great if they stopped testing. 

[Babr]

1 minute ago, jerseygirl3 said:

My husbsnd was quarantined when he contracted Influenza A onboard Feb 2020. We received  no compensation for the days he was quarantined (the rest of our 12 day sailing). It didnt even occur to us that he would be refunded. There were 80 confirmed cases on our sailing. Prob more that didnt report to the Medical Center. 

 

That is what I was thinking. I don’t know that people have been compensated when they were isolated for flu or noro any other illness on board.

 

People have been waiting for COVID to be treated as any other illness. When that happens, then all special considerations associated with COVID no longer make any sense.

[LMaxwell]

33 minutes ago, cruisingguy007 said:

 

Like I said, money grab. 

Money grab usually explains every plot, thick and thin. No disagreement there. 

[alwaysflyin]

One of the most important changes that needs to happen is dropping the vaccination requirements for the 12-18 kids.  There is no justification for requiring vaccines at this point.  You can make a case for 80 year-olds but not 12 year-olds.

[pcur]

@cruisingguy007From your board name / description, it sounds like you just miiiiiiight be in the SRV area?  But, maybe you are 40 miles north or south (but definitely not west.....😁).

Edited July 19, 2022 by pcur

[pcur]

No matter what RCCL requires, I think I'll just stick with what I've been doing.  It got me through months of intense travel with LOTS of exposure, and no COVID.  I'm sort of a "it ain't broke; I'm not going to fix it" type of person.

[geneticsguy]

I bet once one cruise line makes an announcement, all of the others follow suit. Why? Because, there is likely a MASSIVE amount of potential customers waiting on the sidelines for all of this to end and they are going to want to compete for their wallets too. It's like when NCL announced the end of mask mandates, everyone else followed suit within the week, for the most part.

We'll see who makes the first move. I REALLY hope they end the pre-Covid testing. My insurance doesn't cover it, and they are now charging at places like Walgreens $130 per person for the test. I got a cruise in October for a family of 5. I'd rather not have to pay outrageous Covid testing costs.