smokeybandit

1 hour ago, firefly333 said:

I just heard on the news what I suspected. There are no stockpiles of doses. Zero, none. They are now shipping it as soon as its manufactured. 

 

They asked what about those people with 2nd doses scheduled. The guy said they may be late, but the important thing is to get first doses into as many as they can.

 

All the short shipments had me suspecting as much. 

That ended up being a false, or at least misleading, report.  Pfizer said in response that they have all the reserved 2nd doses.

19 minutes ago, Ashland said:

I could care less what other's wear..has no bearing on my cruise at all.

Even large 60 yr old German men in speedos?

5 minutes ago, whitshel said:

A lot of All-Inclusive resorts in Mexico and the DR are now offering free covid testing for your return and if you test positive they will let you stay for 14 days at the resort, free of charge.    They just got back going an now this will halt a lot of people from traveling

A pretty damn smart idea.

ASTA wants some changes to the new policy, citing burdens on Americans coming home.

https://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Travel-Agent-Issues/ASTA-asks-the-CDC-to-tweak-its-Covid-testing-order

I hope I'm wrong, too.

The only reason the CDC issued its return to sail guidelines when it did was because of the Trump administration (not meaning to start any political wars).  The CDC wanted to extend the ban well into 2021.  I fear this time next week under the new administration, cruising may see even further setbacks.

I thought they started adding a taco bar poolside to some of the ships in drydock

A year would be great, especially when you compare it to the flu vaccine which is 3-4 months.

3 minutes ago, kirtihk said:

How flying back home after the cruise on the same day (the majority do that) would be accomplished?

Because the CDC says the cruise lines have to test you before disembarkation (which seem a logistical mess, but isn't all of this unnecessary stuff?).

We're not big formal night fans, so I just wear a tie, no sports coat.

And I'm still more over dressed than others there.

The email you got said refund time frames are 45 days. 

6 minutes ago, Milwaukee Eight said:

I get that. We have a Baltic cruise in August. We return back to the States the following day after cruise ends. It seems we need a negative test mid cruise to return home. 

The CDC says you can get a rapid antigen test. The big gray area is what kind of test the airlines will accept (like one of those at home tests). QUite  a burden placed on the airlines.

8 minutes ago, Milwaukee Eight said:

I think everyone has the same issue. Not enough vaccines. If they had the vaccines, there wouldn’t be enough staff or Infrastructure to handle. 

Some states have enough vaccines and enough staff (for now), just lousy planning to actually let those staff administer the vaccinations.

Does the cost of insurance purchased through RC get converted to FCC, as well?

1 hour ago, George C said:

Not that crazy about rccl suite perks compared to other lines (celebrity and MSc) suite sun deck on oasis is just to far from pool, suite lounge is ok but with cheap wine, dinner in CK is nothing special after two nights we had rest of our dinners in specialty but liked it for breakfast and lunch.

But for those who aren't versed in suite life on the more premium lines, RC's suite perks are many levels above its price point competitors.

1 hour ago, Milwaukee Eight said:

How do we get tested mid cruise to get back home?

CDC requires testing before disembarkation, so, get your PCR test off the windjammer buffet I guess.

I don't know how that'll work because even the fastest processing of PCR tests takes 6 hours.

3 minutes ago, Charles4515 said:

 

I know you are clear. It gets me that some have no shame. They are working what appears to be a loophole (I don't know anything about NJ priorities). They are not front line anything.  

Are there front line workers that didn't get vaccinated because these people did?  Or would these doses have been thrown away because no "priority" people were available in that time window to get the vaccine?

31 minutes ago, Charles4515 said:

Why should they get a shot before an 80 year old or a 70 year old? They are not front line.

The priority tiers are very muddied. I could find several reasons why you'd vaccinate someone younger before someone older. I could also find several reasons for the opposite.

I'm not sure what the flight schedules looked like pre-covid to know how they compare to now. 

One problem with Barbados is that it's a PITA to get to if you're not already in the eastern have of the USA.

No way Barbados has more strict sailing requirements than the CDC.

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1 minute ago, firefly333 said:

I think that's the point, they will be doing zoom, the teachers assoc doesnt want in person classes.

My school district has been in person all year. Kids 10 and under don't have to wear masks. We've had zero in-school transmission of covid and less than 2 dozen kids/teachers/staff across the whole district who missed school due to covid or potential covid exposure.

Teachers unions are doing extreme harm to their students by refusing to go back into the classroom

Not surprisingly, lack of response from the CDC is why test cruises haven't happened yet, and then connect the dots as to why cruise lines canceled 2 more months.

The link to the particular blog website is blocked here but I'm sure you all can find it.

Well it says the global fleet is canceled through April except for Singapore and China. Wouldn't those canceled by default include Japan?

The common flu is much more dangerous to kids than covid. If they would required covid vaccinations for kids but not flu vaccinations for kids, that would sure tell that it's not a medical decision.