No More Pre-Cruise Testing for Vaccinated guests on voyages less than 6 nights starting August 8th!

[easyqueasy]

5 hours ago, jerseygirl3 said:

Im a nurse who's worked with sick patients the entire pandemic. I've worn a mask as have my patients. I never caught Covid until we took a vacation to Florida in May where nobody was masked. 

Did you wear a mask to, from and while in Florida?

[xpcdoojk]

2 hours ago, Ret MP said:

Okay, I now see what you are saying.  But, I'm still cornfused bout something.

First they say that if you are UP-TO-DATE (and then they define what UP-TO-DATE is) you may  Note: the word MAY (which is not an authoritative word) take a test (they don't specify what test) and you take the test no more than 3 days prior to embarkation.

 

Then they say that if you are NOT UP-T0-DATE then you MUST take a PCR or Antigen test no more than 3 days prior to embarkations.

 

So, this raises a few questions (don't know why, I'll never cruise Carnival (again)):

 

Why mention UP-TO-DATE if it really isn't a factor?  You can still get tested and embark being UP-TO-DATE or not.

 

Why the MAY vs MUST?

 

Why state the type of testing authorized in one area but not the other?

 

Am I missing something?  I'm old!

 

Now, even though I quoted you, I don't expect answers to my questions.

Why the MAY and then the MUST?

Why not addressing the authorized tests in the MAY sentence?  

This whole post got screwed up several times.  It kept going away and then I hit save by mistake.  It removed a few sentences and some punctuations.   It still may be screwed up but I'm tired of looking at it.  

 

My guess is cut and paste, the legal team approved the old line of up to date, so they have added new lines, nobody wanted to ask legal to redo the entire document, because that would take til Christmas to do, so they cut and pasted adding the new approved by management document.

 

easy peasy.

 

jc

[Ret MP]

1 minute ago, xpcdoojk said:

My guess is cut and paste, the legal team approved the old line of up to date, so they have added new lines, nobody wanted to ask legal to redo the entire document, because that would take til Christmas to do, so they cut and pasted adding the new approved by management document.

 

easy peasy.

 

jc

Ya, I wouldn't doubt it.  

[rudeney]

29 minutes ago, Ret MP said:

You believe you have Long COVID, Rudeney believes he has Long COVID, and believe I have Long COVID.  Have we all been Vaccinated/jabbed?  Something to think about, eh. 

 

I contracted COVID before vaccines were available.  I am not saying that means anything other than the vaccine was not an issue in my case.  I am not so sure the current vaccines are doing much with the Omicron variants.  I know the drug companies are working on new vaccines specifically to target Omicron, which leads me to believe that. 

[jerseygirl3]

9 hours ago, easyqueasy said:

Did you wear a mask to, from and while in Florida?

Yes.  Hubby and I wore masks in airport, on plane, and in all public places (stores, rental car, etc.).  We arrived on a Saturday, only went to one restaurant (and ate outdoors) before he felt ill and tested positive on Wednesday.  Only place we weren't masked was sitting on the beach, of course.  But in all the places we stopped (Publix, airport, car rental), we rarely saw anybody else wearing a mask.  Hubby has Pulmonary and Cardiac Sarcoidosis, so we are extremely careful.  Thankfully, he did okay with the virus.  He was down for about a week with flu-like symptoms, (as was I).  I was in contact with his cardiologist and pulmonologist at Univ. of Penn and they both advised that he get monoclonal antibodies (he can't take Paxlovid because he's on a blood thinner).  I called all over southwest Florida, and nobody had it.  So I just kept an eye on his oxygen levels and if they had dropped dangerously low, we were prepared to hear to the E.R.  I became symptomatic 2 days later, but didn't test positive until 5-6 days later.  I'm pretty sure we both had the newest variant (B.A. 5), because it was so recent and so highly contagious. 

[not-enough-cruising]

11 hours ago, bjlaac said:

Thought I'd jump into the conversation now that Carnival is doing something different than RCL.  Having said that it looks like they are moving towards some sort of Booster requirement and I'm beginning to believe all the lines are gong to require boosters in the future. What that means and what it evolves into no one knows for sure but i don't believe it will be to our liking.

 

My family is vaccinated but we have opted out of any boosters.  I won't debate the merits or pitfalls of that decision as there's plenty of info out there to make your own decision.  The only info I'll pass along is the attached link which shows there's basically no difference in death rates for vaccinated people with booster vs those opting out of the booster shots. https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/united-states-rates-of-covid-19-deaths-by-vaccination-status?country=~All+ages

 

We've been on 4 cruises with RCL the past year and have three more booked in the next six months however any requirement for boosters (if ever implemented) will drive us from the cruise industry.

Carnival posted their official policy change this morning; there is Zero mentions of boosters

[Keksie]

15 minutes ago, jerseygirl3 said:

  But in all the places we stopped (Publix, airport, car rental), we rarely saw anybody else wearing a mask.   

That is because we don't have to wear a mask in Florida.  Other than one business that was late in doing away with the requirement I haven't worn a mask in well over a year.  You actually could have been exposed before reaching Florida so it may not have had anything to do with the places you stopped while in Florida but instead the airport you left from or the flight to Florida.

[jerseygirl3]

4 minutes ago, Keksie said:

That is because we don't have to wear a mask in Florida.  Other than one business that was late in doing away with the requirement I haven't worn a mask in well over a year.  You actually could have been exposed before reaching Florida so it may not have had anything to do with the places you stopped while in Florida but instead the airport you left from or the flight to Florida.

My husband didn't test positive until 5 days after we arrived in Florida.  This new variant has an incubation period of, on average, 2 days.  I doubt he picked it up before we arrived there.  I became symptomatic 2 days after hubby, so obviously I caught it from him.  

Edited July 30, 2022 by jerseygirl3
misspelled word

[Keksie]

7 minutes ago, jerseygirl3 said:

My husband didn't test positive until 5 days after we arrived in Florida.  This new variant has an incubation period of, on average, 2 days.  I doubt he picked it up before we arrived there.  I became symptomatic 2 days after hubby, so obviously I caught it from him.  

I thought it was closer to when you arrived that he became ill.  You are probably right that he was exposed once in Florida.  I know a lot of people are coming down with covid lately.  Practically everyone I know has gotten it in the last couple of months.  

[jerseygirl3]

1 minute ago, Keksie said:

I thought it was closer to when you arrived that he became ill.  You are probably right that he was exposed once in Florida.  I know a lot of people are coming down with covid lately.  Practically everyone I know has gotten it in the last couple of months.  

For sure.  It is so highly contagious.  Thankfully, less virulent.  I lost my Mom to Covid in March 2020.  She lived for 12 days before she passed.  It was heartbreaking, because other than dementia, she was exceptionally healthy.  

[SargassoPirate]

6 minutes ago, Keksie said:

I thought it was closer to when you arrived that he became ill.  You are probably right that he was exposed once in Florida.  I know a lot of people are coming down with covid lately.  Practically everyone I know has gotten it in the last couple of months.  

I need to have my immune system checked for some sort of super immunity.  I never got the flu shots until I was into my 60s and I never got the flu.  I've had one head cold with a runny nose in the past 40 years.  I have been vaxxed and boosted for covid, but have only worn a mask when required - including trains, buses, ships, and airplanes.  Even then, it was a single layer cloth mask - or what I call a face diaper.

 

The folks waiting for zero covid cases or zero covid deaths are going to have a long wait. Maybe longer than their wait for zero seasonal flu deaths.

[vacationlover16]

23 hours ago, hazeleyes46 said:

Do you avoid all other places in life? People walk around sick all the time everywhere you go. I believe in staying home when you are sick also but you know that has never happened and probably will not happen now. We can only take care of ourselves and life is too short to worry about everything and everybody.

 

 

Can't tell if you are being snarky or not. Obviously I don't avoid all other places in life as I noted I have a cruise booked. As a matter of fact, I have been to Disney (X2), St. Louis, Asheville, Savannah, New Orleans, Atlanta, Gulf Shores, Panama City Beach, Smoky Mountains (X3), Charleston, Louisville and Braselton, GA since 2020 on leisure trips/vacations. I have never had Covid either. So believe it or not, there are people who can believe in testing before a cruise who aren't "living in fear holed up at home in Covid Prison". However, I do believe that cruises are a unique type of vacation because of the inability to avoid crowds like you can on land vacations.

 

Also, never said I was worried about everything and everybody. But I do have concerns that folks won't stay home if sick on my cruise....one worry about one subject. 😉

[vacationlover16]

22 hours ago, Ret MP said:

I agree, if you are knowingly sick with a possible communicable illness, stay home.  But, I haven't heard/read anybody else say (not that I remember reading) that they would knowingly travel/cruise with COVID, not in here, like you alluded to.  AND, I didn't define realistic.  I stated a fact, to be realistic, depending on a pre-cruise test that gives you up to almost 3 days before embarkation is just 'WHITE WASH" and not realistic to feel secure that you won't (or your chances are dramatically reduced) catch COVID on a cruise, never was and isn't realistic.  Not only does it give some people a false sense of security, people will get on the ship and starts to feel sick, he/she can feel that it can't be COVID and continue with their everyday activities thinking that it has got to be a cold, not COVID because they tested negative, days earlier.  

 

Now, I would hate to see this happen but, the only way to be ALMOST certain that everyone is COVID free is to test everyone as they enter the ship.  Wouldn't that be a cluster.....  As long as there is a short period of time that COVID is not detectable by our current technology, there is no way we can stop COVID from spreading.  Which is now no more serious than the common cold and flu, for the most part. 

 

I'm just being realistic.

 

Happy cruising to you too.

Disney actually was requiring testing at the port and we were booked with them first for that very reason. They changed their protocols to follow other lines so we switched to Royal. I was willing to pay the Disney premium because they were testing at the port. Based on what I read, and researched, it wasn't a cluster to do so. 

 

 

[smokeybandit]

With such low uptake of boosters, cruise lines aren't going to require them

[Keksie]

Just an FYI:  In my tourist area of NW Florida businesses are not requiring masks, people for the most part are not wearing masks.  If you expect everyone around you to wear a mask don't vacation in NW Florida.  I guess I don't understand people coming here and then complaining because even though they wore a mask not many other people wore them.  When we go places I research as much as I can to see what the policies are and if there is a hint that we would have to wear a mask at any point we don't go there.

[ZoeyVictoria]

41 minutes ago, vacationlover16 said:

 

Can't tell if you are being snarky or not. Obviously I don't avoid all other places in life as I noted I have a cruise booked. As a matter of fact, I have been to Disney (X2), St. Louis, Asheville, Savannah, New Orleans, Atlanta, Gulf Shores, Panama City Beach, Smoky Mountains (X3), Charleston, Louisville and Braselton, GA since 2020 on leisure trips/vacations. I have never had Covid either. So believe it or not, there are people who can believe in testing before a cruise who aren't "living in fear holed up at home in Covid Prison". However, I do believe that cruises are a unique type of vacation because of the inability to avoid crowds like you can on land vacations.

 

Also, never said I was worried about everything and everybody. But I do have concerns that folks won't stay home if sick on my cruise....one worry about one subject. 😉

We feel the same way.  We have cruised thirteen times since the restart, with five more booked this year, and have taken three short land trips in the last few months.  But I am not happy about the change in testing requirements because I also have concerns about people knowingly getting on the ship with Covid, flu, or other communicable illnesses.  I am aware of the short incubation period, the chances of becoming infected on the way to the ship, etc., but I would still like to avoid as many known sources of infection as possible.  

[Keksie]

11 minutes ago, ZoeyVictoria said:

We feel the same way.  We have cruised thirteen times since the restart, with five more booked this year, and have taken three short land trips in the last few months.  But I am not happy about the change in testing requirements because I also have concerns about people knowingly getting on the ship with Covid, flu, or other communicable illnesses.  I am aware of the short incubation period, the chances of becoming infected on the way to the ship, etc., but I would still like to avoid as many known sources of infection as possible.  

People have always been able to get on the ship with flu or other communicable illness.  It is just covid that there is/was a testing requirement for.  

[molly361]

1 hour ago, not-enough-cruising said:

Carnival posted their official policy change this morning; there is Zero mentions of boosters

I just looked.  Seems pretty much the same as Royal only cruises 5 nights or less for no testing.  Not surprised.

[livingonthebeach]

32 minutes ago, Keksie said:

Just an FYI:  In my tourist area of NW Florida businesses are not requiring masks, people for the most part are not wearing masks.  If you expect everyone around you to wear a mask don't vacation in NW Florida.  I guess I don't understand people coming here and then complaining because even though they wore a mask not many other people wore them.  When we go places I research as much as I can to see what the policies are and if there is a hint that we would have to wear a mask at any point we don't go there.

 

Same for South Florida -- occasionally, you see some wearing a mask but for the most part no one wears one and they are not required and haven't been for quite some time. Recently I went to Michigan and didn't see anyone wearing a mask on Mackinac Island. Didn't see any at the Detroit airport or on the plane either. At the beginning of the restart of cruising masks were required indoors (Freedom) they lifted the mask thing the day we got back to Miami. I'll never cruise again on a ship that requires masks. I'm okay with testing but masks -- no way. 

[livingonthebeach]

9 minutes ago, Keksie said:

People have always been able to get on the ship with flu or other communicable illness.  It is just covid that there is/was a testing requirement for.  

 

Correct -- and there are fake tests and fake vaccine cards as well. Nothing prevents people from lying on the health questionnaire -- they could have a myriad of communicable illnesses like chicken pox, mumps, hiv, hepatitis, legionnaire's disease, norovirus,  tuberculosis, regular flu, rabies, shingles, zika, ebola, etc. etc. etc 

[not-enough-cruising]

21 minutes ago, molly361 said:

I just looked.  Seems pretty much the same as Royal only cruises 5 nights or less for no testing.  Not surprised.

Carnival is sticking with a 3 day testing window for vaccinated, and have now lumped unvaccinated testing into the same 3 day window, (that is different than Royal) 

 

They have  also dropped the PCR testing requirement for unvaccinated children (2 and older) and have done away with “check in” testing for unvaccinated children, antigen testing 3 days prior to embarkation is accepted for this group, (also different than Royal)

Edited July 30, 2022 by not-enough-cruising

[not-enough-cruising]

7 minutes ago, livingonthebeach said:

 

Correct -- and there are fake tests and fake vaccine cards as well. Nothing prevents people from lying on the health questionnaire -- they could have a myriad of communicable illnesses like chicken pox, mumps, hiv, hepatitis, legionnaire's disease, norovirus,  tuberculosis, regular flu, rabies, shingles, zika, ebola, etc. etc. etc 

Don’t forget Monkey Pox

[livingonthebeach]

1 minute ago, not-enough-cruising said:

Don’t forget Monkey Pox

 

[actuarian]

18 hours ago, Ret MP said:

Unless you are one of the 29 cases.  

USA = 332 million population - 7 day average of 131k = 0.39%

Bermuda = 64,000 population - 7 day average of 29 = .045%

 

So, the % in the U.S.A. is nothing, too.  Even a better nothing!

I think you meant .039%, not 0.39%.  The latter would be 1.31 million.

[smokeybandit]

5 minutes ago, not-enough-cruising said:

Don’t forget Monkey Pox

The cdc will probably make passengers show a negative monkeypox test to board