Will you cruise without a COVID vaccine?

[ERParadise]

If the CDC releases cruise lines to freely sail, will you sail BEFORE you have had a COVID vaccine?

Will you wait to get the COVID vaccine before you will sail again?

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ERParadise]

Even if CDC releases cruise lines to start sailing, it doesn't seem likely people who are either older in age or people with pre-existing medical conditions that have been linked to COVID deaths will start sailing.

 

Will you sail without a vaccine?

 

If your answer is "YES" please tell us why you will take the COVID risk.

[bouhunter]

23 minutes ago, ERParadise said:

 

 

If your answer is "YES" please tell us why you will take the COVID risk.

Not that worried about COVID, the death rate is actually very low.  Possible VERY VERY low once they can determine actual infection rates with antibody tests.  And we're under 60 with none of the risk categories.

 

That said, we likely won't sail for a while for 2 reasons:

 

1.  The experience may not be fun, relaxed or anything like in the past

2.  Don't want to risk being on a quarantined prison ship.  Again, not fun.

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

Yes.  There is no guarantee the vaccine will work.  Look at the flu vaccine.  What is needed is antibody tests.

[Tapi]

Yes, but I would like to see other changes which can be established before a vaccine becomes widely available. There’s already a litany of proposed changes on the table which I consider reasonable. The main thing that I’d like to see is an agreement between the cruise lines and various jurisdictions so that ships have a place to dock and passengers can be handled quickly and effectively on land should someone become ill. The way that Diamond Princess was handled was because we lacked proper protocols at the time, but going forward, these should be in place. 

Edited May 4, 2020 by Tapi

[markeb]

1 minute ago, Happy Cruiser 6143 said:

Yes.  There is no guarantee the vaccine will work.  Look at the flu vaccine.  What is needed is antibody tests.

No. Only if we get data that it indicates immunity. We don’t have that. We may never have that. 
 

The purpose of vaccine research is not to let you or me cruise. It’s to burn out transmission. 

[jalves]

Yes.  I'm of an age where I don't have that much longer to go anyway.  I'm going to enjoy what I can.

[Cachecara]

No, not unless a very good treatment is discovered.  
I’m retired healthcare, I had 3 past co-workers die due to first responder responsibilities. 
I know many(over a dozen) that got ill and recovered.  The majority were under 50 and none said it took less than about a month to feel close to pre morbid state.  
A close friend and neighbor died who had no other health issues.  He had literally just turned 70.  His was a horror story. 
currently, I have 3 friends who have lost parents. 
I don’t need to risk this nightmare or the nightmare of being quarantined on a ship, etc for weeks.  
If there is no successful vaccine or worthy treatment, I think many things we are currently spoiled with on cruising will vastly change and/or become very expensive. JMO 
 

[Turtles06]

11 minutes ago, Cachecara said:

A close friend and neighbor died who had no other health issues.  He had literally just turned 70.  His was a horror story. 

 

I am very sorry for your loss.

[Germancruiser]

If the price is reasonable and I can deal with the cruise lines new regulations- I am on board.

[stefndoug]

in a heart beat...can't wait until we can cruise again.

[WNcruiser]

YES!  I am ready as soon the the ships are 🙂. I can’t wait to have a martini at the martini bar, a glass of wine on the balcony and dinner in Murano. 
 

 

[Loujul]

Yes!  I had the flu shot this past season and still got the flu.  Why would I expose myself to a vaccine for a virus that has several strains that they haven’t identified yet.  

[ERParadise]

3 hours ago, Cachecara said:

No, not unless a very good treatment is discovered.  
I’m retired healthcare, I had 3 past co-workers die due to first responder responsibilities. 
I know many(over a dozen) that got ill and recovered.  The majority were under 50 and none said it took less than about a month to feel close to pre morbid state.  
A close friend and neighbor died who had no other health issues.  He had literally just turned 70.  His was a horror story. 
currently, I have 3 friends who have lost parents. 
I don’t need to risk this nightmare or the nightmare of being quarantined on a ship, etc for weeks.  
If there is no successful vaccine or worthy treatment, I think many things we are currently spoiled with on cruising will vastly change and/or become very expensive. JMO 
 

Seems very dangerous for older people

 

i can see younger people maybe taking the chance, but anyone over 70 is at great risk

 

the vaccine is at least a year off and then there is a period of time after that to wait and see if it truly works.

[Esprit]

Definitely yes. Never had the flu vaccine and my DW refuses to have it or any other for that matter!

I may well have had the coronavirus already as I was in an Austrian ski resort and became ill at the end of the holiday. The ski resort was the first in Austria to be completely shut down and put in quarantine a week after we left.

Fortunately for me I had a cough for four days, hot sweats in the night and then a snotty nose for another three days. May have just been a cold but I never get coughs when I do!. 

 

[yorky]

We will make a decision based on a number of factors at the time. What have the cruise lines put in place to safeguard passengers, where do we stand with the virus infection rate level wise, has the virus died out with no second wave, are countries welcoming cruisers, where do we stand with the airlines regarding the number of flights and costs. Have we both had the virus and recovered. What are the cruise lines fit to cruise policies at that time. Will we be covered by our insurance policy should there be a problem. These are only some of the things we will take into consideration. We will all have our own acceptable level of risk based in part to our age and any underlying health conditions. We are due to cruise next February and will make a decision this October when we have to put in our annual leave. If there is a doubt regarding both the cruise sailing and potential problems if it does with flights and fit to cruise protocols we will move the cruise to next autumn or February 2022.

[Ronin23]

I am a healthy 45 year old so I would say yes, however that depends on how onerous the new conditions are going to be once sailing resumes. If it’s too restrictive, make you wear masks etc then count me out.

Edited May 4, 2020 by Ronin23

[Banjo]

Still too early to tell.

 

Some folks mention the vaccine would do it for them, others say no vaccine is perfect citing the flu vaccine. The one difference between the flu and covid 19 is if you get it do you have a reliable treatment. Every Fall I get the flu vaccine (had a pneumonia vaccine also) and did get the flu back in November 2017. It was just prior to our Infinity cruise from Ft Lauderdale to Santiago, Chile. Went to a urgent care (it was so bad then it closed my MDs office) and was given a antibiotic treatment regimen.  4 or 5 days later I was fine. Also, want to see what happens when some passenger(s) gets it how do ports treat the cruise ship passengers.

 

We will see.  

[Pavovsky]

8 hours ago, Cachecara said:

No, not unless a very good treatment is discovered.  
I’m retired healthcare, I had 3 past co-workers die due to first responder responsibilities. 
I know many(over a dozen) that got ill and recovered.  The majority were under 50 and none said it took less than about a month to feel close to pre morbid state.  
A close friend and neighbor died who had no other health issues.  He had literally just turned 70.  His was a horror story. 
currently, I have 3 friends who have lost parents. 
I don’t need to risk this nightmare or the nightmare of being quarantined on a ship, etc for weeks.  
If there is no successful vaccine or worthy treatment, I think many things we are currently spoiled with on cruising will vastly change and/or become very expensive. JMO 
 

This is a hugely important post. We will get a vaccine and drugs will be found to help fight the virus, but I agree with you that it is not worth the risk. Plus we have to think about spreading the virus to countries visited. 

[ipeeinthepool]

Ask me in a couple of days.  There’s a possibility that I was infected on a cruise in February because several passengers tested positive for the virus after they returned. My DW and I had some odd symptoms with colds during the cruise and we’re wondering if we were infected during the cruise.  I took an antibody test yesterday, so it will be a few days before I get the results.  If I have the antibodies to the virus, I’ll be good to go.  I think a lot of us may have already been infected during cruises in February and March.

[Georgia_Peaches]

10 minutes ago, ipeeinthepool said:

Ask me in a couple of days.  There’s a possibility that I was infected on a cruise in February because several passengers tested positive for the virus after they returned. My DW and I had some odd symptoms with colds during the cruise and we’re wondering if we were infected during the cruise.  I took an antibody test yesterday, so it will be a few days before I get the results.  If I have the antibodies to the virus, I’ll be good to go.  I think a lot of us may have already been infected during cruises in February and March.

Interesting you say that.  I believe the virus was in the US long before it became a thing.  We held our daughter's wedding in New Orleans on Feb. 14th.  Shortly after, my DM didn't feel well.  She had mild symptoms and recovered within a week.  At the same time, my other daughter developed similar symptoms and lost her sense of taste for a while.  She rallied through as if it was cold/flu.  Two weeks later, DM and I went on a cruise (Feb 29.)  Upon disembarkation, I almost immediately came down with what I considered a bronchial infection of some sort.  I had symptoms of something  but never had a fever.  Did any of us have it?  I guess it's 50-50.  If we did, then all of us (me, mother, daughter) had very mild cases that wore the mask of a seasonal cold or flu.  I would like to have the anitbody test but really don't know how to get one.  My point is, I think that many of us have had the virus already and don't even know it.

 

Will I sail without a vaccine, yes.  But like another said, not if the cruising experience is so modified that it is no longer relaxing.  DM is 73 and we take a cruise together once a year.  She is fit and the picture of health.  She will travel as well.  Her age does not increase her chances of contracting the virus...just how her body deals with it.

[Tapi]

25 minutes ago, ipeeinthepool said:

There’s a possibility that I was infected on a cruise in February because several passengers tested positive for the virus after they returned.

I would really like to know if I already had it. We also cruised at the end of February on Holland America and my wife, son and I developed “Covid-like” symptoms a few days later. Wife couldn’t get out of bed with fever, dry cough, body aches, and my son missed almost a week of school with similar symptoms. If we learn that we already had it, that would ease some of my apprehension about cruising as soon as it starts up again. Our next cruise is not until February 2021 anyway so hopefully we will have a clearer picture of what the situation truly is before we set sail again. Trying to make a decision now with the limited information and rampant speculation that we are bombarded with is silly 

[yorky]

16 minutes ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

Interesting you say that.  I believe the virus was in the US long before it became a thing.  We held our daughter's wedding in New Orleans on Feb. 14th.  Shortly after, my DM didn't feel well.  She had mild symptoms and recovered within a week.  At the same time, my other daughter developed similar symptoms and lost her sense of taste for a while.  She rallied through as if it was cold/flu.  Two weeks later, DM and I went on a cruise (Feb 29.)  Upon disembarkation, I almost immediately came down with what I considered a bronchial infection of some sort.  I had symptoms of something  but never had a fever.  Did any of us have it?  I guess it's 50-50.  If we did, then all of us (me, mother, daughter) had very mild cases that wore the mask of a seasonal cold or flu.  I would like to have the anitbody test but really don't know how to get one.  My point is, I think that many of us have had the virus already and don't even know it.

 

Will I sail without a vaccine, yes.  But like another said, not if the cruising experience is so modified that it is no longer relaxing.  DM is 73 and we take a cruise together once a year.  She is fit and the picture of health.  She will travel as well.  Her age does not increase her chances of contracting the virus...just how her body deals with it.

It certainly effects different people in different ways. Both my sister and brother in law have contracted it, both in their 50s with no underlying health conditions. My brother in law is fine with pretty mild symptoms, my sister in law was taken into hospital last night, it hit her far harder. That’s why the whole doctors note was a nonsense and something far more practical and realistic will need putting in place ( whatever that turns out to be).

[ipeeinthepool]

I'd encourage any of us that wonder if we have already contracted the virus to get tested for the antibodies.  I think the tests are readily available in the US, you can even order the tests on-line through Quest Diagnostics.  Some tests are more accurate than others, Quest is offering tests from Abbott Labs, which is one of the better tests.  

[verizon]

Its not worth dying for WITHOUT a VACCINE or a CURE