Restrictions that reduces the FUN

[stobe1]

We dont cruise to be social. We cruise to have drinks at the lido bar and relax on a lounger or on our balcony and watch the world go by and let our worries melt away. We have been to almost every Caribbean and Mexican port multiple times and rarely get off the ship anymore. We cruise to cruise.

Edited March 7, 2021 by stobe1

[Markmom18]

🙋🏻‍♀️🤗😷😷  I’ve basically lived in our home & beautiful porch, with very infrequent short visits to the grocery store. 99% online shopping. Walks around town for sunshine & local drives when the walls are closing in . I’m grateful to have been able to do these things for the last year.  🏡 ❤️  Just depends on your perspective I guess. 
 

We have a cruise in very late August and sure hope to be on it❣️❣️
 

🛳🛳

 Bobbi
 

 

Edited March 7, 2021 by Markmom18

[hurricane0226]

We will do what we have to do if we want to cruise, it is what it is, and just enjoy it. A long time

ago, they said we had to wear seatbelts, and we adjusted to it. as for cruising also. JMHO.

[SNJCruisers]

4 hours ago, Markmom18 said:

🙋🏻‍♀️🤗😷😷

We have a cruise in very late August and sure hope to be on it❣️❣️
 

🛳🛳

 Bobbi

Hate to be the bearer of bad news Bobbi, but the chances of your Glory cruise embarking from NOLA in August is under 1%.

Best case scenario is mid June test cruises and after the 60 wait period mandated by the CDC, that would put the short cruises starting around Labor Day and 7 day cruises starting in early October.  It has also been previously announced that Miami and Port Canaveral would be the first two embarkation ports for Carnival with Galveston being third.  That means that NOLA could possibly be 4th in line at best.

I'm worried about my Halloween cruise on the Mardi Gras not going, and more than likely it will be the first 7 day cruise to start back since it is the new jewel of the line.

[Honolulu Blue]

17 hours ago, ontheweb said:

6 feet apart trivia is hard to imagine. I really do want to add to my collection of ships on a stick.

 

And the lines for the elevator or the stairs with those limitations will be awful. And what about embarkation and disembarkation? Hard to imagine those working well with social distancing.

 

Capacity limits should take care of many of the lines at the elevator, at least initially.  I've only seen significant lines for the stairs at embarkation and during the safety briefing.  The briefing is going to change from what it was, of course, so that doesn't figure to be a problem.

 

I think trivia would be easy to have if they really want to do it.  They could hold it in areas with better air circulation like the main theater, the atrium, Promenade deck, Lido deck, or the aft lounge.  They could have strict participant limits or even make it appointment only.  They could stop the participants from shouting out the answers at the end.  The quizmaster could be in full PPE and surrounded by plexiglass.  Trivia doesn't look as unsolvable as, say, the MDR experience.

 

To answer the OP's questions, Carnival released in the wild some restrictions they were planning for shipboard activity.  They recalled them after a couple of days, saying they weren't ready.  We haven't seen them since.  They talked about many restrictions, including some that you listed.  As a cruiser I like to do a little bit of this and a little bit of that while relaxing and visiting many destinations in a limited amount of time.  That's the appeal of cruising to me.  Some of these things would dilute the experience for me enough so that I wouldn't like cruises as much.  So, like many others here and elsewhere, I'm watching and waiting, hoping for things to change to something I can live with.

[FSHLOT]

It's really hard to have "FUN" when you cant see other peoples facial expressions. That might not be a big deal to some, but it means a lot to me. 

[ledges1]

The comments are very interesting. In some cases it appears the tighter the lock down was in your state, the more you want to go on a cruise regardless of the restrictions. Only an observation of a few comments and I could be wrong. Possibly the opposite for those from states with less restrictions that see the ship restrictions tighter than those in their state.  I get my 2nd shot💉 next week. I am ready to go to St Somewhere and have an umbrella drink.🍹🏝️

[florida eagle]

The mobility of cruisers is an issue. Going from the lower decks to the upper decks on an elevator that may take 20 minutes or so is not convenient at all. There are older people on these ships who may not be able to walk up ten decks. There are 25 year old people who can not do it. This is something that needs to be resolved.

[xDisconnections]

You’re forgetting that Carnival sells artificial fun and appointed a basketball player as their Chief Fun Officer.

 

If you can’t have fun while on Carnival, well... 

[xDisconnections]

11 hours ago, Markmom18 said:

🙋🏻‍♀️🤗😷😷  I’ve basically lived in our home & beautiful porch, with very infrequent short visits to the grocery store. 99% online shopping. Walks around town for sunshine & local drives when the walls are closing in . I’m grateful to have been able to do these things for the last year.  🏡 ❤️  Just depends on your perspective I guess. 
 

We have a cruise in very late August and sure hope to be on it❣️❣️
 

🛳🛳

 Bobbi
 

 

Yikes.

[zdcatc12]

On 3/6/2021 at 9:30 AM, Aplmac said:

And then there's this too!

 

If anyone on your cruise comes down with Covid..

the entire cruise is screwed!

I may be wrong, but I am pretty sure that one case wouldn't qualify as a threshold of COVID-19. I am also pretty sure that this will be updated once vaccines are up.

[pamesacruisin]

7 hours ago, SNJCruisers said:

Hate to be the bearer of bad news Bobbi, but the chances of your Glory cruise embarking from NOLA in August is under 1%.

Best case scenario is mid June test cruises and after the 60 wait period mandated by the CDC, that would put the short cruises starting around Labor Day and 7 day cruises starting in early October.  It has also been previously announced that Miami and Port Canaveral would be the first two embarkation ports for Carnival with Galveston being third.  That means that NOLA could possibly be 4th in line at best.

I'm worried about my Halloween cruise on the Mardi Gras not going, and more than likely it will be the first 7 day cruise to start back since it is the new jewel of the line.

So if the first embarkation points are Miami, Port Canaveral, Galveston, and then NOLA as possibly 4th, where does that put Long Beach?  I just wish if our July cruise on the Panorama is going to be cancelled they'd do it already!  We really want to plan and make reservations for a land vacation, but keep holding out just in case we can cruise.

[SNJCruisers]

40 minutes ago, pamesacruisin said:

So if the first embarkation points are Miami, Port Canaveral, Galveston, and then NOLA as possibly 4th, where does that put Long Beach?  I just wish if our July cruise on the Panorama is going to be cancelled they'd do it already!  We really want to plan and make reservations for a land vacation, but keep holding out just in case we can cruise.

NOLA and Long Beach would be battling for 4th, depending upon factors like the situations in Cali vs Louisiana.  But once again, July on the Panorama is on serious life support.  Like I previously stated, I think our Halloween Mardi Gras cruise is 50/50. Since Carnival is bleeding money on a daily basis, they will try to hold onto deposits as long as possible for the most part.

[Djptcp]

What's  more important? Your health and your spouse's health or being able to see a Hairy Chest Contest? This is the new normal folks for awhile at least so get over whining about restrictions on cruises. If you don't like the restrictions, don't go. We who will enjoy just being on the ships again and are comfortable with the restrictions to make our voyages safer for us don't want to hear you whining on the ships anyway.

[Honolulu Blue]

4 hours ago, ledges1 said:

I get my 2nd shot💉 next week. I am ready to go to St Somewhere and have an umbrella drink.🍹🏝️

 

St. Thomas, St. Lucia, St. Kitts, and Sint Maarten sounds like a nice cruise to me.  In fact, I did that trip (with Barbados thrown in) several years ago when Carnival was still using San Juan as a home port.  Sigh.  Anyway, good luck with the second shot!

 

2 hours ago, florida eagle said:

The mobility of cruisers is an issue. Going from the lower decks to the upper decks on an elevator that may take 20 minutes or so is not convenient at all. There are older people on these ships who may not be able to walk up ten decks. There are 25 year old people who can not do it. This is something that needs to be resolved.

 

One partial way to resolve this is to block out passenger occupancy of the lowest decks.  I'm not recommending this (I like cruising in steerage with the bargain hunters and the rats 😁), just commenting on something that might happen.

 

1 hour ago, xDisconnections said:

You’re forgetting that Carnival sells artificial fun and appointed a basketball player as their Chief Fun Officer.

 

If you can’t have fun while on Carnival, well... 

 

I wouldn't call Carnival's fun "artificial", but they do push fun in a lot of places that it may not naturally go.  I do agree that if you can't have fun on Carnival, then it's difficult to have fun anywhere, with anything.

Edited March 7, 2021 by Honolulu Blue

[Aplmac]

4 hours ago, zdcatc12 said:

I may be wrong, but I am pretty sure that one case

wouldn't qualify as a threshold of COVID-19.

Good Luck with that ^
 

Most ships have three Doctors on board

running 3 eight-hour shifts.

 

OK maybe two Docs doing 12-hours.

When they confer, and tell the Hotel Mngr., who then tells the Boss...

we'll see what happens!

[ledges1]

As states remove restrictions requiring a mask, opening restaurants and increasing capacity, it seems a lot of people are willing to go back to restrictions for a cruise versus a land based beach vacation without restrictions. Maybe it is 50/50. Does this seem correct? This could be a problem for the cruise industry in the short term. It appears the CDC will be stricter on  cruise ships than land based beach hotels.

[tonit964]

On 3/6/2021 at 7:40 AM, cruisingguy007 said:

I think many folks are underestimating the impact of masks and social distancing will have on the cruise experience. Imagine a craps table with only three players? A bar with people spaced six feet apart? A pool with folks just standing 6 feet apart? Some things just aren't the same when the social aspects and benefits are removed. It becomes a sad version of what would otherwise be an exciting, energy filled, and social occasion. Not to mention, long lines of folks 6 feet apart to get a guys burger or some tacos? There wouldn't even be enough room for that. 

 

 The whole thing would be weird. It will also take time for a lot people to deprogram from the standoffish and avoidance behaviors that has been pounded into their psyche for the last year+. Many will have PTSD/anxiety carryover and may be skittish and/or paranoid in group settings, even when things are safe and risk minimal. Cruising just wasn't built and intended to operate in the type of conditions that would be required to satisfy the distancing/masking that people think would be so easily implemented. It really changes the experience entirely.          

Not to mention paying probably premium for that experience. No thank you, I'm gladly waiting.

[Roz]

What is it about hairy chests that contributes to the spread of Covid?  I'm puzzled why those would be eliminated.  And couldn't the equipment used for deck games be cleaned afterwards rather than eliminating the games entirely?

 

I work in a downtown hi-rise, and one of the biggest deterrents to getting us back into the office is the elevator situation.  Only 4 people can be in there at one time, each masked and facing into a corner.  There are 8 elevators, and only 4 go to the upper floors.  How do hundreds of workers go in and out of the building, even if times are staggered, and out to lunch and back?

 

Cruise ships will face the same problem, with smaller elevators.

[lilchuckie]

I wonder if smoking is going to be gone for good. I like to smoke/drink when I gamble but out of respect to everyone else I'd let it go.

[jfunk138]

4 hours ago, ledges1 said:

As states remove restrictions requiring a mask, opening restaurants and increasing capacity, it seems a lot of people are willing to go back to restrictions for a cruise versus a land based beach vacation without restrictions. Maybe it is 50/50. Does this seem correct? This could be a problem for the cruise industry in the short term. It appears the CDC will be stricter on  cruise ships than land based beach hotels.

This situation is really setting up a 2 America's situation, where half the states look like 2019 and the other half hang on to 2020 indefinitely.  

 

I do think a few months of fully open Texas will add a second data point showing  that Florida got it right.  The difference is going to be on full display in the spring, and assuming nothing goes wrong in the open states, tolerance of restrictions is going to end.  

[walkintheplank]

Some of the responses to this thread are perplexing. If you have been locked in your home and scared of going outside and living your life for the past year, why would you ever think about going near a cruise ship? Ships were a floating petri dish even before covid.

[jfunk138]

11 minutes ago, walkintheplank said:

Some of the responses to this thread are perplexing. If you have been locked in your home and scared of going outside and living your life for the past year, why would you ever think about going near a cruise ship? Ships were a floating petri dish even before covid.

There's a few folks here that think adding a bunch of restrictions to cruising will keep them "safe".  If everyone is tested, masked, vaccinated, distanced, and on a ship at 30% capacity they might actually feel safe to exit their basement and go on vacation.  Such a level of restrictions is completely unrealistic on land but they've cooked up this dream where it's possible at sea. 

Edited March 8, 2021 by jfunk138

[Knights on the Beach]

Florida has been wide open for months.  We vacationed in Key West three times in the last  nine months, in masks because they're required there.  I can do it on a cruise ship if required. 

[SNJCruisers]

1 hour ago, jfunk138 said:

If everyone is tested, masked, vaccinated, distanced, and on a ship at 30% capacity they might actually feel safe to exit their basement and go on vacation.  Such a level of restrictions is completely unrealistic on land but they've cooked up this dream where it's possible at sea. 

There's no dream being cooked up.  Besides the vaccinations all of the current restrictions have been in place on MSC with their European cruises successfully.   The vaccination requirement will come into play with the Odyssey of the Seas, with all crew and passengers 16+ needing to be vaccinated.