travelhound

16 hours ago, Clambake77 said:

.

It appears that most people would like to eliminate the testing.  Hopefully the cruise lines will get the message.

On 7/18/2022 at 5:53 PM, SargassoPirate said:

Each new mutation is more easily transmitted and less lethal.  It's basic virology.  That's what viruses do.  The Russian flu and the Spanish flu mutated and are still circulating as part of the coronavirus family.

 

Waiting for zero cases is an exercise in futility. 

Good point 👍 

On 7/18/2022 at 3:52 PM, 3redheads said:

Perhaps we'll see the testing requirement lifted?

 

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/cruise-travel-during-covid19.html#faq

 

"As of July 18, 2022, CDC’s COVID-19 Program for Cruise Ships is no longer in effect. CDC will continue to publish guidance to help cruise ships continue to provide a safer and healthier environment for passengers, crew and communities going forward. "

👍

On 7/14/2022 at 4:32 PM, davencl said:

They are not valid.  You'd need a proctored test. NCL has a couple of suggested one's.  Depending on the rules in January you may not need one.  I would wait to order tests until nov. early dec.

Yup, I believe that the testing requirements will be eliminated for fully vaccinated passengers by next January.

1 hour ago, Mike45LC said:

1.  DO NOT OPEN THE BOX.  You will have to show the unopened box to the proctor.

 

2.  No appointment required.  When you are ready, connect with the proctor following the incredibly limited instructions on the outside of the box.  
 

3.  The proctor will walk you through he simple test procedure.  
 

4.  If I remember correctly, you will get an email with your test certificate.

 

I would also add to make sure that you have adequate bandwidth.  We have had significant problems connecting from our hotel room.

On 7/6/2022 at 1:43 PM, Musky Ike said:

Looks like the EU is ending most pre cruise testing requirements.

 

 

 

👍

3 hours ago, LACruiser88 said:

From what is currently happening with cruising in Northern Europe, several cruise lines no longer requiring pre-boarding testing, I see pre-boarding testing going away very soon for all sailings.

It's about time 👍 

19 hours ago, MileHighAko said:

If they let it expire then they must do away with the pre-test requirement.

👍

17 hours ago, Expo67 said:

I second that. 👍 If the cruise lines ever wish to crawl out of this without selling off more of their fleets then they need to stop the testing and treat the cases as they arise and just quarantine people in their own staterooms. My thought is if they did so then they numbers onboard would drop because people would not fear going to medical and would go just as they do for other medical issues like Noro, etc.

Yup, it's just common sense 🙂

On 7/2/2022 at 12:53 PM, Coupe said:

Yep, if it costs $129 per person to test then that's almost $260 that we won't have t spend on the cruise. Maybe better to just end the testing now.

👍

51 minutes ago, kml246 said:

 

It's time to stop testing and treat this as any other respiratory illness. Here's a report published this week: 

With breakthrough COVID cases commonplace, experts set expectations about 'vaccine efficacy' - ABC News (go.com)

👍

23 hours ago, SargassoPirate said:

To be honest with you, I don't worry about other people's vaccination status and whether they may be vulnerable.  If I were, I'd be wearing a mask the rest of my life because the covid virus is here to stay.  It will never be eradicated.  My intention is to stay vaccinated and boosted.

 

Here is some information from the CDC regarding so-called breakthrough transmissions.  Notice which groups caused the spikes.  

 

CDC COVID Data Tracker: Rates of COVID-19 Cases and Deaths by Vaccination Status

👍

19 hours ago, Coupe said:

I just checked on the Walgreenns site regarding covid testing. You now have to pay if it is not medically necessary.

Yup, if the cruise lines are going to impose these ridiculous protocols, they should be paying for this.

11 hours ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

If you think the entire cruise industry is going to go bankrupt, then why are you wasting your time posting on a cruise board?  Why not go post on TripAdvisor regarding some land based vacation you have gone on previously.

FCC is the only reason right now.  I certainly would not commit a significant amount of new money until the industry can normalize.

5 minutes ago, CineGraphic said:

 

It's also keeping everyone healthy.

I agree, you can pay people to do extraordinary things, but you can't force them to pay for that experience and call it a vacation 😉 

1 minute ago, CineGraphic said:

 

Then you don't want to work in the film or tv industry.

Everyone on set must be up to date on vaccines and boosters. We are tested at least once every three days. The networks are spending billions on Covid prevention as shutting down a production costs more than the preventive measures.

I've had as many as 5 tests in 2 days.

The inside of my nose is no longer on speaking terms with me.

That's called a job.  I think many people would not voluntarily pay for that experience and call it a vacation.  That said, I have no problem with vaccine requirements or a more sensible protocol like: Provide proof of vaccination or a negative test, but not both.

10 hours ago, CruizinSusan70 said:

Since when are the Covid protocols limited to Carnival corporation?  All of the major mass market lines have voluntarily decided to follow the CDC's guidelines.  So, are all of the cruise lines going to go bankrupt? 

What testing stress?  If you come up positive, you get a refund as a FCC and you just have to flip your airfare to a future flight.

I think the entire cruise industry is in danger of going bankrupt, but Carnival is especially vulnerable due to their massive debt.  I have no problem with vaccine requirements, but testing all passengers is excessive and unsustainable.  Most other vacation options do not have the stress associated with testing everyone.  Given the choice, I think many people would choose a less stressful vacation alternative.

16 hours ago, suzyed said:

True but it seems most of the cruise lines are still doing it.
I heard that RCI's CEO believes that eventually (in the next several months) the pre-cruise testing will go away but the vaccine requirements will stay in place for awhile.

I have no problem with vaccine requirements, but testing all vaccinated passengers is excessive and unsustainable.

17 hours ago, SargassoPirate said:

The virus is here to stay and testing/quarantining people who are not sick no longer makes sense. I just checked the CDC website and the daily death rate from covid is 307. We will never get to the threshold of zero cases or zero deaths with covid any more than we will with the annual flu. ICU beds are going begging in our area.

 

 

👍

3 hours ago, Tedferg said:

How do you make sure proctored test is in view for the complete test? I would not have enough room in front of my PC for this. Also iPad on stand would not be easy to make sure test card is always in view. Maybe you need to have someone act as camera man. WE have done several home test recently and it seems it would take a lot of care not to interrupt the Proctor's view.

We have used a laptop, but make sure you have adequate bandwidth.  We had connectivity problems when taking the test in our hotel room.  If you lose the connection you have to start over with a new test.

47 minutes ago, Kellie in Texas said:

I have friends on Royal Princess this week and the bridgecam shows them at Skagway today.

That's good news👍 

On 6/18/2022 at 3:15 PM, cruising deacon said:

With online chat abounding regarding CCL possibly filing for bankruptcy, the future for Princess etc looks bleak.  If you look at the recent breakup of Crystal, the creditors and mortgage holders will end up taking whatever little the bankruptcy gets, the stockholders of will get nothing.

 

With the $20 B debt that CCL is carrying, even the mortgage holders will be lucky to get pennies on the dollar.  How many companies out there want to buy cruise ships that are quickly becoming worthless, and the scrap yards are already full of them.  Fortunately I have gotten my money's worth out of those shares between the dividends and the OBC', but it really bites me that their management hasn't done a better job.  I was on the Crown recently, no one who sails it will ever return.

If they don't relax these ridiculous Covid protocols, they probably will go bankrupt. There are many other vacation options without all the testing stress.

On 6/28/2022 at 5:49 AM, SargassoPirate said:

Some good news on the horizon.  From the article:

 

"It's possible, maybe even likely, that the CDC eventually treats cruise lines like every other place in the U.S. that draws a crowd. That would mean sort of accepting that covid infections will happen but that they can be manage."

 

As Covid Rages, Royal Caribbean, Carnival Could Drop Testing Rules - TheStreet

Yup, it's about time 👍 

We booked it so long ago that I don't remember the exact difference, but it's a lot more now. I just looked on our cruise and the only options for three people are insides and window (no balcony) suite. So, I think I'm safe printing our bag tags. We never got an offer for upgrading, paid or free. A few days after our final payment the entire front balconies on two different floors were less than we paid. I tried to change to that and they said that price was for new bookings only. Obviously they got a lot of new bookings in the last month, because it looks like our ship is almost full.

We have the opposite issue. We are hoping for an upgrade and have our reservation tagged as such. Crickets from Princess. We leave two weeks from today. Probably stuck in our original inside room. Could get a balcony now for what we paid for an inside. Called a couple times to see if we could switch. Nope. Not exactly true. We could switch for about twice as much as we paid.