Threshold of Covid

[bluesman0711]

Saw this in an email offer I just received from Carnival. I wonder what the threshold may be.

 

 If a threshold of COVID-19 is detected on board the ship, the voyage will be ended, the ship will return to the port of embarkation, and your subsequent travel home may be restricted or delayed. Health and safety protocols, guest conduct rules, and regional travel restrictions vary by ship and destination, and are subject to change without notice.

[TNcruising02]

Ugh.  I don't feel like going on a cruise if a covid case will cause the ship to return to port.  I'm not sure why it can't be dealt with like any other contagious disease was handled prior to covid.  If covid never goes away, they are going to have to figure out something other than halting everything in its tracks for a disease that has good treatments and vaccines.

[bluesman0711]

I also wonder what kind of refund you would get on a shortened cruise, especially a b2b that returned home early on the first leg.

[Sugar67]

and this is why we just booked an all-inclusive as a back up to our October 2021 cruise.  We are not willing to spend so much money and vacation time to have our vacation ruined.

[cruisingguy007]

5 hours ago, TNcruising02 said:

Ugh.  I don't feel like going on a cruise if a covid case will cause the ship to return to port.  I'm not sure why it can't be dealt with like any other contagious disease was handled prior to covid.  If covid never goes away, they are going to have to figure out something other than halting everything in its tracks for a disease that has good treatments and vaccines.

 

Well said, concur 100%. 

[IntrepidFromDC]

The only threshold I want to deal with is that nasty one as you step onto the ship at embarkation.

[joeyancho]

Yeah, that doesn't sound like any fun.   

[BlerkOne]

A good reason to require vaccinations, masks, etc. The first cruises have to be in a bubble until more experience suggests otherwise. That includes the ability of Americans to follow simple instructions. Those who can't need to look elsewhere for vacations 

[BlerkOne]

Shockingly, the wing nuts may have some valid talking points, although perhaps for the wrong reasons.

 

Anyway, here is a credible study shooting down some previously thought concepts based on data. It potentially could impact some recommendations.

 

https://www.pnas.org/content/118/17/e2018995118

 

 

[bafinegan]

13 hours ago, bluesman0711 said:

Saw this in an email offer I just received from Carnival. I wonder what the threshold may be.

 

 If a threshold of COVID-19 is detected on board the ship, the voyage will be ended, the ship will return to the port of embarkation, and your subsequent travel home may be restricted or delayed. Health and safety protocols, guest conduct rules, and regional travel restrictions vary by ship and destination, and are subject to change without notice.

Carnival hasn't stated how many COvid + cases would equal this "threshold".  In public health, it is usually a % of a population.  Guess we will have to see what Carnival says.

[mondello]

That could be CYA fine print. To restart cruising at reduced capacity, they could have any number of isolation cabins available to quarantine any cases that arise.  The threshold could be what number of cases the onboard medical can handle. If and when they restart cruising, I'd expect a slow start with a limited number of ships to see how things go. New case numbers will have dropped significantly by the time they're ready to restart.

[bluesman0711]

3 hours ago, fyree39 said:

We have every intention of going on our Panorama cruise in December. DH is still working, so this sort of game changer mid-cruise could give him pause. The last place he'd want to get stuck in is Mazatlan. Me? I'd say let's book a hotel room and make the best of it!

 

It reads to me that the cruise would end and it returns to the port it embarked from.

[Anyislandwilldo]

I hate waiting till the last minute to see if our cruise is going to sail in November.  Do I bail now or wait???  This sure does suck.

 

[d9704011]

3 minutes ago, Anyislandwilldo said:

I hate waiting till the last minute to see if our cruise is going to sail in November.  Do I bail now or wait???  This sure does suck.

 

If It’s not stressing you, I’d wait but don’t give them any more $$.

[bluesman0711]

5 minutes ago, Anyislandwilldo said:

I hate waiting till the last minute to see if our cruise is going to sail in November.  Do I bail now or wait???  This sure does suck.

 

I'm holding ours with $50 deposits so I'm hoping I'll have more info to go on by final pay by date.

[harkinmr]

10 hours ago, mondello said:

That could be CYA fine print. To restart cruising at reduced capacity, they could have any number of isolation cabins available to quarantine any cases that arise.  The threshold could be what number of cases the onboard medical can handle. If and when they restart cruising, I'd expect a slow start with a limited number of ships to see how things go. New case numbers will have dropped significantly by the time they're ready to restart.

It's not CYA fine print.  It is actually a provision that the CSO requires be disclosed to cruisers.  The CSO currently provides that once a "threshold" (to be defined) of infection is achieved the cruise must end and the ship must return to the port of origin.  All guests must also be quarantined to their cabins up to the time of disembarkation.  That may change based on ongoing discussions between the CDC and the cruise lines when finalizing their startup plans.

[IntrepidFromDC]

Our September cruise has a final payment due in June.  I have a good feeling about September-onward cruises with the caveat that some may be canceled/adjusted due to repositioning and rescheduling.

 

I also notice that the awesome August offer I had has disappeared and replaced with a $459 balcony offer, 7-day, and that's the cheapest August offer currently for my VIFP number.  That's quite a contrast to all the deep discount offers I had for August sailings just a week ago.

 

Fingers crossed, and I think I'll hug that nasty threshold when I finally see it on the Pride!

[embarkation75]

...and this is why Carnival will ultimately either require vaccination to lower risk of this happening, or some hybrid of vaccinated passengers and very stringent testing prior to cruising for unvaccinated passengers. This doesn't even include likely severe restrictions on shore-based activities for unvaccinated in order to lower risk. If you are unvaccinated and your cruise happiness is contingent upon wondering around ports, taking your own excursion, and/or having full access to Carnival run excursions, then you might think twice about booking a cruise in the next year or two. This might even be the case for vaccinated folks although suspect vaccinated will at least have full access to Carnival run excursions.

[IntrepidFromDC]

3 minutes ago, embarkation75 said:

 If you are unvaccinated and your cruise happiness is contingent upon... having full access to Carnival run excursions, then you might think twice about booking a cruise in the next year or two. This might even be the case for vaccinated folks although suspect vaccinated will at least have full access to Carnival run excursions.

... at this point I would be happy just to take a Carnival excursion to see all the thresholds onboard the ship.

[mondello]

5 hours ago, harkinmr said:

It's not CYA fine print.  It is actually a provision that the CSO requires be disclosed to cruisers.  The CSO currently provides that once a "threshold" (to be defined) of infection is achieved the cruise must end and the ship must return to the port of origin.  All guests must also be quarantined to their cabins up to the time of disembarkation.  That may change based on ongoing discussions between the CDC and the cruise lines when finalizing their startup plans.

Pretty meaningless unless they spell out the terms, all of which remain to be negotiated between Carnival and the CDC.

[harkinmr]

13 minutes ago, mondello said:

Pretty meaningless unless they spell out the terms, all of which remain to be negotiated between Carnival and the CDC.

Not really meaningless unless the language of the CSO changes. It is what it is for now. 

[mondello]

4 hours ago, harkinmr said:

Not really meaningless unless the language of the CSO changes. It is what it is for now. 

Agree. It is significant in the fact that if that scenario plays out that it could limit the liability, Carnival could say well you booked after this warning was posted. When the actual conditions and restrictions come out before cruising resumes there will be some that would probably want to cancel or postpone their scheduled cruises. This could be in Carnival's favor if they're overbooked. They have been pretty flexible so far; however, they could take a harder line in the future. Especially if cruises are interrupted and more refunds and rebookings are at stake.

[put me on a ship]

On 4/23/2021 at 10:08 PM, BlerkOne said:

A good reason to require vaccinations, masks, etc. The first cruises have to be in a bubble until more experience suggests otherwise. That includes the ability of Americans to follow simple instructions. Those who can't need to look elsewhere for vacations 

And you just stated the biggest problem, which is the ability of Americans to follow simple instructions. 

[bluesman0711]

10 hours ago, mondello said:

Agree. It is significant in the fact that if that scenario plays out that it could limit the liability, Carnival could say well you booked after this warning was posted. When the actual conditions and restrictions come out before cruising resumes there will be some that would probably want to cancel or postpone their scheduled cruises. This could be in Carnival's favor if they're overbooked. They have been pretty flexible so far; however, they could take a harder line in the future. Especially if cruises are interrupted and more refunds and rebookings are at stake.

Was this in the original CSO?

[mondello]

4 hours ago, bluesman0711 said:

Was this in the original CSO?

Carnival has not put out a written plan or response to the CSO. All that matters is when they have a definitive announcement as to when they will resume cruises and what the conditions and restrictions will be.