The Length of time between cruises in the US in the Covid era?

[tert333]

CDC has made it clear that you can not do cruises greater than 7 days in NA until November 1.  My understanding is that you can not do a back to back in any ways as it will be deemed greater than 7 days.

 

Does anyone know if there are limitations to say get off one ship and the next day get on another?

[memoak]

The 7 day limit is temporary. That date of November can be changed depending on circumstances. Such as 💉 

[Astro Flyer]

5 hours ago, tert333 said:

CDC has made it clear that you can not do cruises greater than 7 days in NA until November 1.  My understanding is that you can not do a back to back in any ways as it will be deemed greater than 7 days.

 

Does anyone know if there are limitations to say get off one ship and the next day get on another?

There have been rumors about the status of B2B cruises due to the CDC 7 day cruise length limit.
 

That question was asked at a webinar last week with the Princess VP of Sales who stated they’ve contacted the CDC for clarification about B2B cruises however they haven’t received an answer. Apparently the CDC has not decided if B2B cruises will be prohibited. Currently Princess is allowing booking multiple consecutive cruises which includes two of my B2B bookings.

Edited December 18, 2020 by Astro Flyer

[gmjc2]

Hope this changes before March as the Transatlantics are all longer than 7 days except Cunard!!

[paul929207]

We had a b2b (two 7 day cruises) scheduled for June 2021. A week or two ago princess canceled our reservation for the second one. We had them booked as separate cruise, but in the same cabin.

[beg3yrs]

28 minutes ago, paul929207 said:

We had a b2b (two 7 day cruises) scheduled for June 2021. A week or two ago princess canceled our reservation for the second one. We had them booked as separate cruise, but in the same cabin.

Thanks for that information Paul. So many others have posted their B2Bs have been canceled except they omit that they weren't canceled because they were B2B, the were canceled because the ship wasn't going to be making those sailings. You've made it reasonably clear it was because you're a B2B.

 

BTW, I'm sorry you lost one of the cruises.

[memoak]

I wouldn’t think any longer cruises would be allowed until we have a fairly wide distribution of vaccines 

[jebhoward3]

It's probably just me, but I do not understand only 7 day cruises.  To me it would make more sense  to have much longer cruises and eliminate the short ones.  Less exposure to whatever virus is going around with fewer changes of people. 

 

Think of it like a large family that live in the same home, say 12 people.  Every 7 days 6 of them leave and 6 other extended family members arrive (possibly bring with them the virus that one of them caught from the previous large family that they just left.   And this goes on and on.

 

It would be much safer to cruise on a longer cruise with less exposure than to keep changing passengers.  Now if it the CDC's intent to keep cruise ships close to a US port in-case someone tests positive and needs removed from the ship, then they should state it that way.  Longer cruises could still happen doing that.

[USCcruisecrazy]

23 minutes ago, jebhoward3 said:

It's probably just me, but I do not understand only 7 day cruises.  To me it would make more sense  to have much longer cruises and eliminate the short ones.  Less exposure to whatever virus is going around with fewer changes of people. 

 

Think of it like a large family that live in the same home, say 12 people.  Every 7 days 6 of them leave and 6 other extended family members arrive (possibly bring with them the virus that one of them caught from the previous large family that they just left.   And this goes on and on.

 

It would be much safer to cruise on a longer cruise with less exposure than to keep changing passengers.  Now if it the CDC's intent to keep cruise ships close to a US port in-case someone tests positive and needs removed from the ship, then they should state it that way.  Longer cruises could still happen doing that.

I am in agreement...not sure what the length of 7 days is supposed to address.  It's similar to the restaraunt that has to close at 9:00 instead of say 11:00 like they normally might.  Doe COVID react differently after 9:00 o'clock??  Just seems like a lot of guidance is arbitrary and not based on science or logic.  7 Day cruises are just another prime example.

[LACruiser88]

I would not be surprised to see the 7 day requirement changed  or completely removed by mid-summer.  It is a very fluid regulation and we should not get locked into the November expiration date. 

[ontheweb]

1 hour ago, jebhoward3 said:

It's probably just me, but I do not understand only 7 day cruises.  To me it would make more sense  to have much longer cruises and eliminate the short ones.  Less exposure to whatever virus is going around with fewer changes of people. 

 

Think of it like a large family that live in the same home, say 12 people.  Every 7 days 6 of them leave and 6 other extended family members arrive (possibly bring with them the virus that one of them caught from the previous large family that they just left.   And this goes on and on.

 

It would be much safer to cruise on a longer cruise with less exposure than to keep changing passengers.  Now if it the CDC's intent to keep cruise ships close to a US port in-case someone tests positive and needs removed from the ship, then they should state it that way.  Longer cruises could still happen doing that.

I have also wondered about the reasoning about no longer than 7 days. The mandate of the CDC is to keep the virus from entering the country. So someone goes on a cruise. They very likely got there by airplane. And even if one assumes the airplane trip is safe, it is hard to see how there was safe social distancing in the airport. So hypothetically, they catch the virus, but get a false negative because they have just caught it. Since people have been asked to quarantine for now 10 days (down from 7, maybe they are still not showing but have it after 7 days. And then they return to the USA. But if the cruise was longer, they would either be free from the virus as they did not catch it or would be showing symptoms. Another reason why the 7 day limit seems counterproductive to keeping returning cruisers from bringing the virus into the USA.

[Bgwest]

3 hours ago, paul929207 said:

We had a b2b (two 7 day cruises) scheduled for June 2021. A week or two ago princess canceled our reservation for the second one. We had them booked as separate cruise, but in the same cabin.

Interesting, Paul. We've been keeping an eye out for an email from Princess. We have 2 seven day B2Bs booked prior to your June sailing. As of now, we've heard nothing from them. Still waiting on what is surely the inevitable. 

[Kamloops50]

17 hours ago, tert333 said:

CDC has made it clear that you can not do cruises greater than 7 days in NA until November 1.  My understanding is that you can not do a back to back in any ways as it will be deemed greater than 7 days.

 

Does anyone know if there are limitations to say get off one ship and the next day get on another?

You to quarantine for 14 days between cruises . If you have a negative Covid test , then quarantine period will be 7 days.

Edited December 18, 2020 by Kamloops50

[junglejane]

The 7 day limit is intended to minimize the chance that Covid patients develop a need for ICU care while they are "stuck" on a ship.  Seven day itineraries stay closer to home, and can quickly return to port in an emergency.  Plus, if someone does catch Covid while on the ship, they are unlikely to develop a need for ICU-type care within the next 7 days.  Much more possible in 14.  So, the goal isn't really to keep the virus out of the country (we already have plenty), but rather to decrease the possibility of a bad situation developing during a cruise.  

[Bgwest]

1 hour ago, Kamloops50 said:

You to quarantine for 14 days between cruises . If you have a negative Covid test , then quarantine period will be 7 days.

Very first time I've heard of this requirement. 

Are you able to provide a source for this mandate?

[ontheweb]

36 minutes ago, junglejane said:

The 7 day limit is intended to minimize the chance that Covid patients develop a need for ICU care while they are "stuck" on a ship.  Seven day itineraries stay closer to home, and can quickly return to port in an emergency.  Plus, if someone does catch Covid while on the ship, they are unlikely to develop a need for ICU-type care within the next 7 days.  Much more possible in 14.  So, the goal isn't really to keep the virus out of the country (we already have plenty), but rather to decrease the possibility of a bad situation developing during a cruise.  

But isn't keeping covid out of the country part of the mandate of the CDC? 

[caribill]

13 hours ago, ontheweb said:

 So hypothetically, they catch the virus, but get a false negative because they have just caught it. Since people have been asked to quarantine for now 10 days (down from 7, maybe they are still not showing but have it after 7 days. And then they return to the USA. But if the cruise was longer, they would either be free from the virus as they did not catch it or would be showing symptoms.

 

Or have it without presenting symptoms:

 

Studies show that at least 40-to-50% of people who test positive for COVID-19 have no symptoms. Medical experts say asymptomatic spread clearly is contributing to fall spikes of COVID-19. A recent study found that nearly 40% of children who tested positive for COVID-19 were asymptomatic.

https://www.uchealth.org/today/the-truth-about-asymptomatic-spread-of-covid-19/

 

 

[Cornteen]

I tried to book B2B on-line, wouldn't let me. I called my PVP and the computer wouldn't let her book it either.  She spoke with her supe who told her there must be a three day gap between cruises.  

I suppose if you did different companies it might not catch it. 

[Bgwest]

6 hours ago, Cornteen said:

I tried to book B2B on-line, wouldn't let me. I called my PVP and the computer wouldn't let her book it either.  She spoke with her supe who told her there must be a three day gap between cruises.  

I suppose if you did different companies it might not catch it. 

The part about the mandatory 3 day gap between cruises is interesting news. First I've heard of it. Thanks for sharing. 

[Astro Flyer]

8 hours ago, Cornteen said:

I tried to book B2B on-line, wouldn't let me. I called my PVP and the computer wouldn't let her book it either.  She spoke with her supe who told her there must be a three day gap between cruises.  

I suppose if you did different companies it might not catch it. 

That would be a change since the 12/10 webinar where the Princess VP of Sales said they’re waiting for clarification from the CDC about B2B cruises. To me his statement is more credible than from a lower level PVP’s supervisor but things could have changed.

 

A recent CC article wrote about how the turnaround day experience might change.

How Cruises Might Change: Getting On and Off The Ship

 

https://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=5715

Edited December 19, 2020 by Astro Flyer

[cruisequeen4ever]

I’m glad to hear that Princess asked for clarification on this because I was wondering about this. I also wondered if you can get around it by the same way you get around the PVSA by switching cruise lines either the same day or the next day. 

[Schonert]

On 12/18/2020 at 1:41 AM, Astro Flyer said:

There have been rumors about the status of B2B cruises due to the CDC 7 day cruise length limit.
 

That question was asked at a webinar last week with the Princess VP of Sales who stated they’ve contacted the CDC for clarification about B2B cruises however they haven’t received an answer. Apparently the CDC has not decided if B2B cruises will be prohibited. Currently Princess is allowing booking multiple consecutive cruises which includes two of my B2B bookings.

I had a b2b booked for Sep, but it was booked as the 14 day version of the trip, it was cancelled by Princess many weeks ago

[Astro Flyer]

1 hour ago, cruisequeen4ever said:

I’m glad to hear that Princess asked for clarification on this because I was wondering about this. I also wondered if you can get around it by the same way you get around the PVSA by switching cruise lines either the same day or the next day. 

I don’t think anyone including the CDC have a definitive answer yet during this evolving pandemic.

 

Based on the speculation in that CC article turnaround might take multiple days to accomplish. If so, would think that B2B cruises wouldn’t be allowed.

 

The CDC also states it may also require "post day of disembarkation laboratory testing of passengers and crew”.

 

But the agency has issued no guidance on how post-disembarkation COVID-19 testing would work, including where passengers would be housed, tested, or who would be on the hook for any associated costs.

[Astro Flyer]

55 minutes ago, Schonert said:

I had a b2b booked for Sep, but it was booked as the 14 day version of the trip, it was cancelled by Princess many weeks ago

Our October 2021 B2B 7-day cruise reservations from LA are still valid & are still available to book it that way.

[cruisequeen4ever]

20 hours ago, Astro Flyer said:

I don’t think anyone including the CDC have a definitive answer yet during this evolving pandemic.

 

Based on the speculation in that CC article turnaround might take multiple days to accomplish. If so, would think that B2B cruises wouldn’t be allowed.

 

The CDC also states it may also require "post day of disembarkation laboratory testing of passengers and crew”.

 

But the agency has issued no guidance on how post-disembarkation COVID-19 testing would work, including where passengers would be housed, tested, or who would be on the hook for any associated costs.

Ugh, Cruise lines must be so beyond frustrated right now trying to plan their schedule for 2021 with so many unknowns.