Fredric22

So I guess no nightclub from now on?  Can't really see people on the dance floor with masks on.... unless everyone is holding a drink?  Ugh, what the heck are we doing... I do not think this is going to go over well at all.  The normal "Carnival experience" that we have been sold does not really support a distancing/masking environment.  In my opinion, Carnival needs to go back and figure out how to change their product before they implement these kinds of measures. 

1 hour ago, slickpat said:

Check in as yc was super quick. Butler meets you out front terminal to collect bags and ushers you pass all lines. Covid testing still took about an hour though. 

Awesome, thanks for the information! Glad to see that they at least YC check-in is quicker.  

They need to get check-in down to an hour or or 1.5 hours at most.  2.5 to 3 hours just isn't acceptable in my opinion.  I wonder if the YC check-in experience is quicker?  Anyone have any idea on that from yesterday's embarkation? 

1 minute ago, Dwight1 said:

Based on recent ports being taken off the visit list, US Virgin Islands, St Martin, Curaçao and other closed down like the caymans and Bonaire , the list of ports is dwindling and by August 31 should be close to zero the way the Delta spread is going. So sad. Will cruising be suspended until 2022?

No.  If anything cruise lines can get creative with private island destinations.  

8 minutes ago, BlerkOne said:

They are proving vaccines are working and also proving vaccines alone are not sufficient.

Nothing will ever be 100% perfect, especially in medicine.  Unfortunately, people still get sick and die from curable illnesses all the time. As we learn to live with COVID-19 and it becomes endemic, vaccination will and has brought the risk down to a level that we are able to live with. 

Just now, Buckeyefrank100 said:

The CDC would not agree with you.  Vaxxed and unvaxxed peeps can have the same viral load and be just as contagious as the other.  No difference in transmission.

That is absolutely not true.  Please do your research before you make such comments. There is a significant difference in transmission between vaccinated and unvaccinated.  It doesn't mean vaccinated can't transmit, but we know it is not at the same probability. 

https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.07.28.21261295v1

1 hour ago, deweytrader said:

With our CT numbers being so low both my son and I were spreading the virus voraciously without even knowing.  this shows that fully vaccinated people can spread the virus to others just as much as unvaxxed.  this is why I also believe I have the Delta variant..

Hi there.  Just need to let you one that just because your CT numbers may have been high, there is quite a bit of evidence that your transmission was limited because you are vaccinated.  Your son who was unvaccinated was most likely pretty contagious which is why he was able to infect you. However it seems based on what you said you didn't infect your husband which means the vaccine most likely muted your ability to spread.  That is great news for our vaccines and confirms what we've been seeing in latest studies.  

18 minutes ago, Jimbo said:

 

That's the real problem with this virus, this virus is so new what does the latest data really mean? Can you really  etch it in stone as being correct?

Nothing is ever etched in stone with regards to medicine. However, we can be confident when studies match our real world observations.  🙂

26 minutes ago, Jimbo said:

I see we have a doctor in the house. Welcome.

Also if you are interested in reading a brand new interesting study regarding infectionsness between vaccinated and unvaccinated, this is a great one:  https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.07.28.21261295v1

13 minutes ago, Jimbo said:

I see we have a doctor in the house. Welcome.

Thank you!  I do enjoy spreading knowledge. This has been what observed so far in the data.  Although viral load numbers may be the same in a vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals, the chances of the vaccinated individual transmitting to others have been observed to be significantly less. This of course is great news for all of us who have received the vaccine.  

You most likely contracted the virus from your unvaccinated son. Unfortunately there is an increased risk of an unvaccinated person transmitting to a vaccinated person. You most likely did not transmit to others especially if your husband is negative.  

So it was 3 over the course of the cruise, and then 5 more today with 3 of them being contractors? So 8 total. Do you know if the 2 guests today were kids or vaccinated/unvaccinated? 

And true you might find more cases if you tested everyone.  But I am not sure it would even be a helpful number.  It no one is actually sick, the vaccines are working and even if there was "spread" it was not noticed due to vaccine protection.  But I think you would have a good idea if there was mass spread happening if you tested the close contacts and found many of them to be positive too.  It seems like when they have been testing close contacts, they have been negative which is a good sign that the vaccine is probably preventing spread. 

5 hours ago, lovetocruise0999 said:

7 cases thus far onboard, another 3 today. It looks like although all vaccinated the delta variant is starting to get a grip and sneak it’s way into cruises.

I wonder if the 3 today were just all asymptomatic and only captured due to the required end of cruise testing for people traveling internationally or B2B. If that is the case, and these positive tests are really only just that, I think it is a testament to how well the vaccines work and also how much they limit spread.  It seems like the spread, if any, was limited to immediate travel parties. 

2 hours ago, firefly333 said:

Rcl just announced today that all pax must get tested 3 days prior to boarding.. even if you are vaccinated. Their boards are blowing up. Color me unhappy.  Celebrity is only covering until oct I read. They are pushing it more and more on the pax. Its suspected rcl new policy is because of the celebrity positive pax. The cruiseline protocols getting worse and worse. 

There is a pretty big difference between RCL and Carnival and that is RCL is not sailing 95% vaccinated. So their new testing requirements may have something to do with that.  As far as I know, Celebrity, which is also sailing 95% vaccinated is not requiring tests before boarding but that could obviously change. 

I thought 7pm was kind of late to be leaving PC.  5pm seems normal to me and no, I don't think this will effect embarkation time slots. 

1 minute ago, TNcruising02 said:

We'll see.  Now the cruise ships can operate with 90% vaccinated if they choose to do so without doing test cruises.  So we will see if the stock starts creeping up once more cruise ships are in operation, more exemptions can be granted, and more families can cruise without rescheduling or cancelling.  The tight noose of the CDC has been removed.  We will just have to see how the cruise lines ease back into to operations, but at least the CDC isn't going to be able to just shut the industry down again.

I think that is the most realistic outcome if this ruling stands.  Carnival will (eventually not within the next couple of months) allow more exemptions for children because they wont have to keep it to 5%.  I think that will be the first step towards returning to "normal."  

Just now, JFontaine said:

That's the biggest mystery of all.  Why all  these ships are not stopping in Coco Cay or Labadee on every cruise. 

Honestly, they could have just done 2 or 3 days at Coco Cay, and a day or 2 in the Bahamas and I think everyone would have been very happy with that! Plus, definitely some good fuel savings there too. Seems like now they have a good excuse to go ahead and do that since they seem to be worried about Mexico. 

2 minutes ago, JFontaine said:

Celebrity said today this was Mexico's requirement - right? And it is very last minute. 

 

Maybe these cash-strapped ports asked for port fees based on a full ship.  Or maybe cash-strapped Celebrity tried to renegotiate port fees. And now one side is flexing their economic muscle.   I don't know what happened here, but it just doesn't make sense to me that Mexico is worried about vaccinated cruisers spending money in their ports.  

Celebrity made it seem like this was their decision based on local vaccination rates and COVID-19 numbers. But, since Adventure has been going there without restrictions, it still doesn't make much sense. 

45 minutes ago, JFontaine said:

I wonder if something else is going on here. Mexico allows unvaccinated and untested tourists to travel freely,  but vaccinated tourists are restricted.   Maybe this is a dispute about ports fees, and a way for Mexico to exert pressure - or something similar. 

Agreed.  This is definitely more here than meets the eye.  I am also surprised Celebrity just didn't scrap Mexico and do a day or two at Coco Cay.  I would have MUCH rather preferred to go there for a couple of days instead of having to worry about restrictions in Mexico. 

3 hours ago, mom says said:

You can agree with the restrictions or not. So you have a couple of choices. Sail and go on the excursions anyway. Sail and stay on the ship while in port. Or don't sail. But your assumption that you can't get covid because you're  immunized is faulty.

I am sorry, but did someone say you can't get Covid because you are immunized? Yea.. pretty sure no one did. Nothing is 100%.. and there is risk in everything we do. However, the vaccines bring that risk down to level which is acceptable. Regardless, there is really no need inform me of my choices.  Thanks though! 

3 hours ago, LGW59 said:

Wrong

Umm ok... 95%+ is about as close we are going to get to fully vaccinated. The CDC considers this a fully vaccinated cruise. 

2 hours ago, c-leg5 said:

 

 

I think you may be confused. The CDC is not requiring cruisers returning on closed loop cruises to  test for some reason. They are requiring vaccinated air travelers who have been to the same ports to test.

 

On the other hand the Yucatan, including Cozumel, has had seriously increasing case numbers and hospitalizations so I am not sure where you are getting your figures from. Whilst they are wanting the cruise ships for the economy they are concerned about tourists who don’t follow local regulations. I suggest you keep up to date by following the government traffic light restrictions which are updated weekly.

Gobierno del Estado de Quintana Roo

They have been at orange for the last few weeks (under the threat of returning to red) with a mask mandate in all public areas. 

 

 

This is the current case data. I am not sure where YOU are getting your information from. As you can see, there has NOT been a significant increase in cases over the last 30 days. The state is averaging about 9 deaths per day, which has also been stable for the last month. I suggest you keep up to date with the actual data.  

Just now, KKB said:

Since they are not doing this in all ports, it seems it is either due to local restrictions or perhaps an elevation in local cases.

Yea.. that is what I am thinking. But even still.. fully vaccinated should not have to worry.  The Mexican state where Cozumel is has had roughly the same case numbers for the last month.  So, really not sure what the reasoning is...

Just now, ipeeinthepool said:

 

Sorry you don't understand.  They tested everyone near the end of the cruise.  It doesn't matter if you were vaccinated.  Someone tested positive and a lot of people needed to take an additional test and they were quarantined until the results were back.

I think you may be a bit confused.  The guests were all tested as part of a requirement from St. Martin and to get back into the US.  The CDC is not requiring fully vaccinated guests to be tested upon return to the US.  Celebrity is not requiring bubble excursions because they want people to be grouped together to identify close contacts. 

1 minute ago, ipeeinthepool said:

 

Someone tested positive and people that were on an excursion with them were isolated in their cabin until they tested negative or more specifically they were in their cabin until everyone involved got the results of a Covid test.  No one is wearing wristbands to track position, excursions are one of the few ways to identify people that were in close contact.

Sorry but what you are saying makes no sense. They are not doing this for the reasons you just suggested. The cruise is fully vaccinated. 

14 minutes ago, Susanb10567 said:

Celebrity PR really needs to address this…nowhere in these articles  does it say that the ships will sail 95% vaccinated…which I am hoping is true because we are booked on the July 17th sailing and only booked because they said it was a fully vaccinated cruise.

Celebrity literally has no choice but to sail 95% vaccinated as they did not complete a required test cruise with the CDC. 

1 minute ago, ipeeinthepool said:

 

That's what happened on the Millennium.

What happened on Millennium? They could only go out on Celebrity tours?