Brew12

You will have to work with customer service to explain the situation. Don't expect the half of the OBC to automatically be transferred to you or for you to be able to pay for the Cheers package for 1. The person not showing is entitled to a refund of the taxes and port fees, which are around $130 per person.

Personally, I would wait until I was onboard just to make sure your reservation doesn't get messed up this close to the cruise!

1 minute ago, ALWAYS CRUZIN said:

Same here. Walgreens, CVS, Walmart all urgent care are only doing PCR testing and that can take up to 72 hours for your results. I already have given the website to check on to see if one is near you. 2 hour results rapid test. Not free. But I sent my bill to Humana which will refund my cost. covidclinic.org You can schedule just about any day and time.

This is changing regularly for each region. My local Walgreens and CVS's stopped offering rapid tests for travel around 6 weeks ago. Now, some Walgreens in my area have started allowing rapid tests again for travel, but you can only schedule an appointment 2 days out. Not exactly helpful. 

On 9/23/2021 at 4:26 PM, rjrice1 said:

Just received a call from Carnival that they will be canceling our cruise for Super Bowl Sunday 

Why??  My husband was using oxygen but no longer .  Was told that it will not come off unless we canceled and rebook 

Informed us nobody is allowed on any ships through March per their policy 

Was told this is for all ships!!  This is for Covid too.  We are all Covid vaccinated and booster 

Very unhappy !! was so looking forward to cruising 

Since we used a lot of Carnival Gift Cards, we really had no choice and will have to re book by Dec 2021

and book by Sept 2023 

 

I'd strongly recommend reaching out to John Heald on Facebook. He is the Carnival brand ambassador. He might be able to help.

17 hours ago, monakayk said:

How can you  get tested @ the  airport ? Please explain -----thanks .

Some airports have vendors performing rapid tests. Its mainly to support people flying out of the country but my understanding is that anyone can schedule an appointment. Walk ups are handled as capacity allows. MCO Orlando does have a testing center set up.

11 minutes ago, sweetsixteencruisers said:

Thank you for posting! I was looking for info on the Walgreens Rapid Diagnostic (ID Now). 

IDNow is an isothermal amplification test so it is accepted.

12 minutes ago, TravelGirlinDallas said:

I'm not sure what you are trying to prove about this here on a cruise forum. Even if off-label use does occur, Carnival isn't going to change any of their policies until it's officially authorized for younger ages.

I'm not trying to prove anything. Only pointing out that may have fully vaccinated passengers under 12 on these cruises in under 6 weeks. Carnival may adjust some of their wording to clarify that not all passengers under 12 fall into an unvaccinated category.

29 minutes ago, BoozinCroozin said:

You are making a HUGE inference that is incorrect. The Pfizer vaccine is approved by the FDA now for 12 and older. The only difference than before is that anyone getting vaccinated as of Monday 8/23 can file a lawsuit against Pfizer for any effects due to the vaccine. Those prior to 8/23 are stuck with the EUA act that leaves Pfizer 100% immune to any litigation or liability. Under 12 is still not approved for Pfizer...yet.

I'd suggest you do a little research before you claim I am incorrect. For fully approved medications and vaccines doctors can legally prescribe them outside of their FDA authorized uses, including age. It is actually a very common practice. The doctor does open themselves up to some legal risk but not as much as you may suspect.

15 minutes ago, TravelGirlinDallas said:

I have an 11-year-old and would LOVE to have the vaccine available to him now, but doctors are being warned against off-label use in younger kids.

 

https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Wellness/covid-19-vaccines-kids/story?id=77505555

Yup. Doctors are also being warned against prescribing Ivermectin for treating Covid and yet they are doing it in large numbers. 

Just like anything else, doctors will weigh the risk vs reward and each will make their own judgements. 

Just now, simmingdenise said:

It doesn’t shield a Dr from liability for prescribing off label use of an approved drug. No Dr is going to give a 10 year old a vaccine not yet approved for their age group so they can go on a cruise.

I bet none of the cruise lines will require it until it has the emergency use approval for under 12.

I agree that no cruise line will require it and that no doctor would do it just to allow the child to go on a cruise. 

I would not be in the least bit surprised if some doctors have already had their own children under 12 vaccinated. It is no longer a valid assumption that all children under 12 are not vaccinated.

1 minute ago, simmingdenise said:

It is not approved for kids under 12.

You are correct, but it can be legally approved by a doctor now that it is a fully approved vaccine. Doctors have leeway on how and who to use fully approved drugs on. If a doctor feels an 10 year old would benefit from the vaccine, he can legally administer it. 

20 minutes ago, stellarose said:

watching the time click for final payment for late December MG.  any news on when the new  regs will be out?

I was told they would be out this week but I'm not sure how much it matters with how often they have needed to be adjusted. What they put out this week is very unlikely to match what actually happens in December imo. 

I haven't seen Carnival address this yet but I think it is very interesting.

Now that Pfizer's vaccine has been fully approved, doctor's can legally give it to children of any age. So yes, it is now possible that you could have fully vaccinated children under 12 on a cruise ship. I don't know that any doctors would actually do this since they wouldn't have legal coverage if the child has an adverse reaction, but it is possible.

The other impact this has is that doctors can now authorize a Pfizer vaccine booster shot to anyone, and I suspect more doctors would be willing to do this. If you consider yourself high risk and got your original vaccine over 6 months ago this might be a good conversation to have with your doctor before you cruise.

8 hours ago, GranysT said:

Am I understanding you can get the PCRNAAT test earlier than the 3 day requirement?  If so, it will still be recognized by Carnival?  Or did she mean, schedule the test in advance, but make it within the 3 day window?   Is the one test more expensive than the other?

The PCR NAAT tests are considered more accurate and take longer to get results back. This is what is typically required for unvaccinated cruisers.

The antigen tests (along with a few others) can normally be completed in under 30 minutes and are just fine for vaccinated cruisers.

You can schedule them in advance, but the test sample must be taken in the 3 day window before your sailing date. So if you sail on a Sunday, the test sample must be taken on Thur/Fri/Sat.

Edit: If you tell them you are taking the tests for travel to prevent spread the tests should be free.

On 8/23/2021 at 8:11 AM, starri said:

I'm a doctor, so was among the first wave of people receiving the vaccine.  I also have some issues with my immune system.  As part of a study for people with immune conditions, I had my antibody titer measured at one and three months following my second dose.  I had antibody counts that were off-the-scale high.

 

I had a positive test in July.  My symptoms were blessedly minimal, to which I clearly credit the vaccine.

 

Antibody levels are not a predictor of true immunity.

Sorry I couldn't find this yesterday, had to reach out and get a link resent. 

While this study hasn't been peer reviewed yet so needs to be taken with a grain of salt it would appear to show there is a correlation between antibody levels and the amount of immunity a person has.

Immune Correlates Analysis of the mRNA-1273 COVID-19 Vaccine Efficacy Trial | medRxiv

10 hours ago, SNJCruisers said:

It certainly wasn't a RU1, RU2 or RU3 code 

Nope, and I'm not sure what the codes are, but mine was an RU9

21 minutes ago, SNJCruisers said:

You luckily got it on two bookings.  It would be nice if the algorithm bestowed it upon a wider range of clientele,  but I am certainly not holding my breath.😤

I got a Cheers offer last week, but as a solo cruiser it's one of the worst deals I can get.

57 minutes ago, Ilovesailaway said:

I have a cruise booked in December. I have not been asked about my vaccination status but I see in a recent topic where cruisers had their vaccine exemptions revoked. I wonder when they were asked about status or did they preemptively obtain an exemption when they booked? 

There is a single question survey in your "To Do" list for your cruise. This is where you answer if you were vaccinated or not.

What has happened with these people is that they were unvaccinated but were given an exemption as part of the 5% unvaccinated. When the Bahama's changed their policy starting September 3rd so that all cruise ship passengers over 11 years old must be vaccinated the cruise line had to cancel these exemptions.

7 minutes ago, jfunk138 said:

$39 doesn't even buy you the formal night steak dinner on land lately, never mind the 3 other dinners, 4 lunches, and 4 breakfasts.  Carnival is losing a ton of money on the fare like this...

It does make sense to do this on at least a limited basis. The fixed costs are very high on a cruise ship. Crew costs, port fees, fuel, and insurance don't change significantly based on the number of passengers. I doubt an extra 100 passengers would even notably impact their food costs. They are hoping to make money on alcohol sales, the casino, and whatever other add on's you might buy. They might not make money on having a $39 fare passenger but it may reduce the amount they lose if compared to an empty stateroom.

37 minutes ago, sanger727 said:

 

Wrong. HIPAA applies to health care provides, health insurance plans, and related industries. It doesn't apply to cruise lines. They can ask if you are vaccinated and they can share the information. What can't happen under HIPAA is if they call your doctor for your information; the doctor can't share it with your consent.  

 

Your Rights Under HIPAA | HHS.gov

 

Nothing that has been happening with cruise lines requiring covid testing or vaccination proof is HIPAA violations. You are sharing it willing with them and they aren't bound by HIPAA anyway. 

Yup, HIPAA is very misunderstood. Especially since it was actually written to make sharing medical information between healthcare providers easier. The privacy part was almost an accident.

The only thing I will add is that if you get sick on board and seek medical help from the cruise lines, then they fall under HIPAA. 

6 minutes ago, BoozinCroozin said:

I would estimate in 99.99% of cases, if a person is vaccinated, symptoms would be minor like allergies or a cold. There would not be a need what-so-ever to test them.

If by cases, you mean total passengers, I suspect it would be pretty close. Probably closer to 99.5% but still nothing that would shut down the cruise industry again.

If you mean passengers with breakthrough cases, the numbers aren't going to be that good but you wouldn't expect more than a few hundred breakthrough cases on any given cruise so it still isn't likely to be too much of an issue.

16 minutes ago, kdr69 said:

Does anyone know what the Status is on Radiance's drydock?  Im only 77 days out to cruise and i havent even heard if Radiance is finished with all her renovations yet.  Also the timelines for CDC conditional sail orders to bring the ship back into the US, Staffing protocols, etc etc.  Am really getting nervous now.

I can't find any updated news, but as of 13 minutes ago it was sailing off the coast of Spain. Doesn't help much since they could just be going to a different area to continue renovations but at least it is sea worthy at this point.

3 minutes ago, starri said:

Antibody levels are not a predictor of true immunity.

True immunity is an impossible goal imo. Nothing in life is 100% guaranteed. What do you think is a better predictor of immunity than antibody levels?

3 minutes ago, kids-in-2-centuries said:

This update to protocols does not change the number of exemptions Carnival is giving...just makes almost all of them children.  Children are paying customers and Carnival needs all of those they can get right now.  The incentive will be there to approve as many kids under 12 as possible.

Related, a family on my 9/4 cruise group had two children approved for exemptions...one is 10 and the other will turn 12 during the cruise.  That child's exemption was revoked...which really stinks to get such late notice of a cruise cancellation.

That really is tough. Unfortunately there isn't anything Carnival can do about it. The Bahama's only gave around 2 weeks notice that they were changing their port policies. 

8 minutes ago, BoozinCroozin said:

Having had covid does not prevent you from getting it again. There is ZERO scientific evidence that it will prevent you from contracting it again especially with variants. As far as testing goes, testing is questionable at best anyway. Testing AND being vaccinated only go so far and it is about as close as we will get to "safe" cruising for a good long while.

I never said having Covid prevents you from getting it again. Getting vaccinated also doesn't prevent you from getting Covid. I know someone whose doctor doesn't want them getting a vaccine who just recovered from Covid for a 3rd time.

Vaccines work by getting the body to create antibodies. Natural exposure causes the body to create antibodies. The reason vaccines provide more initial protection is that the typical person develops 4 times more antibodies than someone exposed naturally. But, these antibodies fade over time, and unfortunately quickly, which is why we are looking at booster shots. It is to be expected that someone who just recovered from Covid will have more antibodies than someone vaccinated over 6 months ago.

And I do agree, these tests aren't going to be available any time soon, but they will be much better than just testing and vaccinating (in my opinion) if they can be properly developed. 

What we really need is an accurate, quantitative antibody test. A person who recovered from Covid in July will be less likely to catch or spread Covid than someone who was vaccinated in January. The best way to get back to unrestricted and safe cruising would be to set a minimum antibody level a month before the cruise departs.

These tests are being developed so there is hope they will be there in the future. Right now, there just isn't a reliable way to track who has been sick and recovered so mandating vaccines remains the only viable option.