Cruise line meeting with CDC is Today

[chengkp75]

1 hour ago, DGP1111 said:

Again, sorry.

I didn't take your post to mean that I was engaged in "idle chatter", so no apology needed.

[ProgRockCruiser]

If the meeting with the CDC was anything like other big Gov't-Industry meetings I've been exposed to, it likely resulted in a lot of "we agree on these minor points, we disagree on a few major points, but we have all agreed to go back with Action Items to clarify this-or-that".  And the official net result the next day is...no real result.  Just an agreement to meet again.  No-one will want to discus publicly anything that is still contentious, and will likely also not want to discuss the agreed-upon elements because they are probably somewhat obvious or inconsequential and would appear to be a window dressing.

 

I also suspect part of the action item list will be to review what is happening in states that are re-opening - e.g. FL is now fully in "Phase 2", and the success or not of maintaining transmission rates could provide insight to the decision to invite travelers from other states or countries for cruising.  (Travel to/from Canada is still a no-go, for example.)

 

The next couple of weeks will reveal a lot about whether the public is ready for international travel, including cruising.

[BlerkOne]

4 hours ago, footballbabe3 said:

That would have been done long ago. 

 

Then they would be sailing today.

[ProgRockCruiser]

33 minutes ago, Radiioman46 said:

Regarding the CDC's obvious ridiculous demands for the cruise industry:

Did the rioters have to get permission from the CDC? 

Well, assuming the rioters (are you including peaceful protesters too in that phrase?) are local, the CDC has no jurisdiction, as pointed out earlier in this thread - it is up to the state or local Gov't to enact and enforce health and safety measures, including social distancing.

 

I have to wonder: the CDC has a mandate to do what it can to prevent the spread of infectious diseases.  If they had instead done nothing so far in terms of imposing restrictions, if they had simply said "hey, COVID-19 bad, social distancing good, but make your own rules up", in retrospect would everyone be happier?

[Saint Greg]

3 hours ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

I don’t see any scenario where the CDC approves cruise lines resuming operations without masks being a requirement to some degree. If people won’t cruise because of a mask requirement, it actually might be a positive that helps ships reach their limited capacity, which is also another requirement I expect from the CDC.
 

People who say they won’t cruise until an effective vaccine is developed may be waiting a long time. The fastest vaccine ever developed took 4 years. I don’t think it is realistic to think that now a vaccine can be developed in a year. 
 

Personally I would go on a cruise tomorrow, but right now the CDC doesn’t allow individuals to make that choice. Hopefully that changes sooner than later. 

 

Moderna is entering the final testing phase of their vaccine next month. China is also testing one in Brazil. 

 

"Moderna said it has selected the 100 microgram dose of the vaccine for the late-stage study. At that dose level, the company is on track to deliver about 500 million doses per year, and possibly up to 1 billion doses per year, starting in 2021 from the company’s internal U.S. manufacturing site and strategic collaboration with Swiss drugmaker Lonza."

 

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/06/11/moderna-to-start-final-testing-stage-of-coronavirus-vaccine-in-july.html

 

 

 

[Nic6318]

2 hours ago, bitemyfly said:

I would think theses waivers will certainly be part of the solution.. I do know many insurance plans are calling for waivers .. 

 

Hi

 

When you put it that way, it looks like you can't get medical insurance. You are signing a waiver for something that can potentially kill you, and none of that resolves the issues that came about when people first started getting sick on cruise ships.

 

It's hard to rationalize that scenario as my preferred next vacation. I think a lot still has to change.

[ontheweb]

3 hours ago, shof515 said:

theme parks is doing something similar with signs that by entering the park you assume the risk of getting the virus

 

for decades, sporting events like baseball, hockey and others have a disclaimer on the back of the ticket that makes them not liable if  you get hit with a foul ball or any other objects

 

 

Most likey, cruise lines will now follow and do something similar

I just wonder about theme parks as many, if not most, of their customers are children. Let's say a child was brought by an adult other than their parent (grandparent, neighbor, little league coach, etc.), would a waiver signed by that person really prevent the child's parent to sue on the child's behalf?

[PhillyFan33579]

12 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

I just wonder about theme parks as many, if not most, of their customers are children. Let's say a child was brought by an adult other than their parent (grandparent, neighbor, little league coach, etc.), would a waiver signed by that person really prevent the child's parent to sue on the child's behalf?

What theme parks do you go to? I live in Florida and frequently go to Disney World, Universal Studios and Busch Gardens. With the possible exception of the Magic Kingdom, there are significantly more adults than children at these parks. 

[Organized Chaos]

6 hours ago, chengkp75 said:

But, the difference is that while the airlines likely did more to spread the virus around the globe, the passengers were off the airplane and dispersed to widely separated localities before they or those they infected became health care issues.  The ships came to port with enough cases to overwhelm a single hospital's ICU.  Those optics are what made the CDC and the government in general to give the cruise industry the "stink eye".

 

And, while I will freely admit that I don't know everything, I do have some expertise in the two areas you mention.  I have worked on cruise ships, as a senior officer, and therefore have attended both the weekly department head meetings, and the daily Captain's meeting (Captain, Staff Captain, Chief Engineer, Staff Chief, Hotel Director), where issues of crew contracts, wages, crewing budgets, and onboard revenue from DSC and the amounts of reductions/reasons for reductions are discussed.  And, while I don't know any more about covid than anyone else who has been following the pandemic from news sources, I have been trained, and worked with, the CDC/USPH in infectious disease remediation measures, as have all senior and mid-level officers and supervisors on cruise ships.

 

To elaborate, I don't doubt your familiarity within the cruise industry, to include things beyond your specialty. Obviously, someone who's spent years in the industry is going to know more about it than those of us who haven't. My comment was merely in response to my take on DGP1111's post. He said he wished he had your technical expertise to counteract the "chatter." To me, he was implying that everything else being said is less relevant. I just didn't think it was fair to dismiss the rest of the discussion. That may not have been his intent.

 

  

2 hours ago, DGP1111 said:

Yes, you did . . . and I almost want to use the word Totally.

 

2 hours ago, DGP1111 said:

Your name and the 'chatter' reference were due to a misunderstood post of mine . . . and for that I sincerely apologize to you.  It was meant to be not only a compliment to you, but a reference to my own limitations while actively (and unofficially) participating in some discussions that include some of the organizations mentioned in the overall comments.  All of this outside of Cruise Critic.  

Yes, I do wish I could channel some of your internal/technical knowledge before opening my own trap.  Again, sorry.

 

As I continued to scroll through the posts after replying to chengkp75, I saw that you replied to me, so I'll just tack this on here.

 

When I read your post (how I read your post), I didn't realize you were talking about things you had overheard from people outside this forum. I thought you were directing your comments to the discussions in this thread. It was an honest mistake. I apologize.

 

 

Edited June 12, 2020 by Organized Chaos

[Organized Chaos]

*double post*

 

Edited June 12, 2020 by Organized Chaos

[molly361]

So apparently no one knows what happened yesterday?  I looked at the CDC website but can't find anything

[Organized Chaos]

11 minutes ago, molly361 said:

So apparently no one knows what happened yesterday?  I looked at the CDC website but can't find anything

 

I suspect cruise lines will more than likely take a little time to gather everything taken from the meeting, make changes to their existing procedures if necessary, and finalize their gameplan before releasing it to the public.

 

Based on how they've acted leading up to this point, I'd say the CDC will be eager to release their own statement as to how they're going to "rein in" the cruise lines once they return to service.

 

If there weren't any media allowed to sit in on this meeting, or statements given to the media afterwards, we probably won't hear anything until the CDC and/or the cruise lines make an announcement.

[jimbo5544]

14 minutes ago, molly361 said:

So apparently no one knows what happened yesterday?  I looked at the CDC website but can't find anything

None of the other sites I check had any mention either.  

[coevan]

48 minutes ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

What theme parks do you go to? I live in Florida and frequently go to Disney World, Universal Studios and Busch Gardens. With the possible exception of the Magic Kingdom, there are significantly more adults than children at these parks. 

 

 

yes the ones who are paying $100 pp

[jetsfan58]

Let's be thankful that we have not heard any updates and the attendees are sworn to secrecy. To me that says "Maybe they are trying to get this right"!

 

No News Still Remains Good News.  Until Reality Hits or It's Leaked!!!

[Organized Chaos]

7 hours ago, Nic6318 said:

 

Hi

 

I agree with your premise, but it is the cruise lines where people are in an environment where even if a passenger was "well" on boarding, they can not only contract the virus but depending on the cruise, can be on board long enough to start showing symptoms, as well as passing the virus on to others. We know screening isn't going to be perfect, so, it is just likely, that some people with the virus will be on board. It is hard to ignore this.

 

The obvious solution is for cruise line to, at least for some time, is to only have shorter cruises. Get on the ship, have your trip, go home and then get sick. That's what was happening with those spreading the virus all around the world on airplanes. Don't forget, most people fly to the cruise. You just don't want to have that 2-3-4 wk. cruise, where (older) people will be getting on the ship only to find a couple of weeks in that there are a few people who seem to be exhibiting symptoms. By then it's too late, we have seen it before. Do we want to see if things will turn out differently this time?

 

I see what you're saying, and you make valid points, but the nature of this virus allows for a wide range of scenarios that could make a person contagious just as easily on a plane as on a cruise. Symptoms can appear within 2-3 days. The experts are saying that their data shows that, for a person who will go on to have show symptoms, they're very contagious in the period of time shortly before their symptoms even appear. On average, symptoms arise in 4-5 days. Someone could catch it one day and go on a flight within the next few days. They won't necessarily know they have it and they'll be very contagious. In those regards, even a short cruise won't do much to help. If they come onboard with the virus, they're contagious. Unless they are part of the percentage of people who never show symptoms at all. The CDC is saying those people rarely transmit the virus. But they're in the minority. A big majority of people will eventually develop symptoms and are very contagious before they do.

 

Containment is going to play a huge role for the cruise lines since they'll have no choice but to hold the infected once they set sail. Once they discover it onboard (IF they discover it), there needs to be a plan in place to contain it fast, which I'm sure they've been working on.

 

I've said it many times and I'll continue to say it. The virus is here and we can't keep the country closed and wait around for a vaccine. It's going to have to be dealt with head on. My hope is that that can be done with as little impact on our normalcy as possible.

[bitemyfly]

1 hour ago, ontheweb said:

I just wonder about theme parks as many, if not most, of their customers are children. Let's say a child was brought by an adult other than their parent (grandparent, neighbor, little league coach, etc.), would a waiver signed by that person really prevent the child's parent to sue on the child's behalf?

The waivers I have seen developed state parent or guardian with the appropriate verbiage to hold harmless the business in the event of fraud , they are to protect the business from liability.

There  is also I push withIn some sectors of gov. to pursue a waiver of liability to restart the economy, but that is not on horizon.. It’s  the belief of large reinsurers that  signed waivers will be in place before government action.   Btw I speaking in terms of insurance carriers within the US 

[jimbo5544]

John just posted a quote from a beard that basically stated no change.

[jakeT]

Cruise lines really don’t have a great reputation for caring about its passers.  
norovise was a problem they never wanted to solve.  Only when it hit the news that 100 people got sick that they actually did something.   
 

Cruise must social distance  it’s passers  at group places.   Don’t know if they wanna to do that since you just don’t get information from them. How they going to. Do that. How they are going to make people wear face masks.  No food touching.  
 

What about the crew ??  How are they going to keep them healthy? 

[bury me at sea]

For what it's worth, I check prices every morning on booked cruises.  Early this morning my September cruise out of Galveston was still selling cabins.  As of 3:30 pm central, the first listed cruse for that itinerary is in October.  There are no August or September dates listed.

 

I checked only this one itinerary and of course recognize it could be a web site glitch.  It's a little implausible to think capacity was reached today on all August and September sailings for this itinerary.

 

Just reporting what I saw - not drawing any conclusions.

 

 

[wolft927]

I just did a mock booking for my cruise out of New orleans Sept 6th 2020 on the Glory... Searching nwo and shows no 7 days cruises. Only 4 and 5 day....my guess is they are about to announce the Glory isnt going out of New Orleans in the near future., 

[Saint Greg]

11 minutes ago, wolft927 said:

I just did a mock booking for my cruise out of New orleans Sept 6th 2020 on the Glory... Searching nwo and shows no 7 days cruises. Only 4 and 5 day....my guess is they are about to announce the Glory isnt going out of New Orleans in the near future., 

 

All of the Glory's October cruises are there.

[wolft927]

Hoping its just a system error, but all glory bookings are gone from September, and only one sailing Sept 17th on valor is showing now out of new Orleans for the month of September

[wolft927]

Also looks like the Vista sailings are gone from Galveston for August and September

[bury me at sea]

14 minutes ago, wolft927 said:

Also looks like the Vista sailings are gone from Galveston for August and September

 

Freedom out of Galveston doesn't look good either.  My October Freedom itinerary is still showing as available.