New CDC guidelines released 5/5/21

[nocl]

3 hours ago, DirtyDawg said:

Jim Cramer a Blowhard. How dare you!

Didn't you know that Jim and Kevin O'Leary (Shark Tank) are the best investors in the Universe!

Of course, that universe exists only in the heads of Jim and Kevin.  😊

Jim always speaks very positively about companies whose CEO shows up on his show. Almost an infomercial.

[Ride-The-Waves]

The explosion of the latest variant of COVID-19 across India which has now expanded to 50 countries is just one indicator that we still need to be vigilant, use PPE and social distance.  Many crew come from India and similar countries.  CDC guidelines remain applicable to the health of Americans and cruisers in general irregardless of those who eschew safety and especially the health of others/fellow passengers.  Without everyone's effort is could be much longer time before we return to safely cruising.

[urlaub]

After more than 40 cruises I am sure that I never will go back under these restrictions. I have no problems with the buffets ( on Oceania cruises there was never self-service) but wearing a mask all the time indoor and outdoor is no option for my husband and me. Also the organised port excursions are not what we like. 

Staying on port days onboard is also no option for us. Many people here in the forum say that they don't want to leave the ship in  Caribbean ports. I think there it is nicer to book a resort on an island than to stay on a ship. 

I also will not have crew who is monitoring myself if I have enough distance and if I wear my mask correct.

[vermonter16]

20 hours ago, ECCruise said:

Azamara released their parameters for sailing just a couple of hours ago.

 

+ Masks to be worn anywhere physical distancing cannot be maintained, but not when dining or in staterooms.

 

The fact that they have to tell us we don't have to wear them in our staterooms.....sigh...

[ECCruise]

2 minutes ago, vermonter16 said:

The fact that they have to tell us we don't have to wear them in our staterooms.....sigh...

The point is to answer questions.  It is in the FAQ portion of the site.

[vermonter16]

4 minutes ago, ECCruise said:

The point is to answer questions.  It is in the FAQ portion of the site.

The fact that we need this answered is my point.  Common sense has gone out the window.

[ECCruise]

9 minutes ago, vermonter16 said:

The fact that we need this answered is my point.  Common sense has gone out the window.

I realize that is your point.

 

But that is the purpose of FAQs.  It saves them from answering frequent (and obviously, sometimes self-explanatory) questions.   Doesn't bother me a whit.

[vermonter16]

5 minutes ago, ECCruise said:

I realize that is your point.

 

But that is the purpose of FAQs.  It saves them from answering frequent (and obviously, sometimes self-explanatory) questions.   Doesn't bother me a whit.

You're right...I gotta agree with you because some will definitely ask.

[Denny01]

13 minutes ago, vermonter16 said:

The fact that we need this answered is my point.  Common sense has gone out the window.

I’ll mention that there are posts stating we’ll have to wear a mask while we are chewing food - take it off to put food in our mouth and back on while chewing it - so common sense for the companies, yeah, but common sense for us??  Let’s blow it all out of proportion and go with that. 

 

Den

[Jeremiah1212]

They have added a new caveat for vaccinated passengers:

 

Fully Vaccinated Travelers

• Cruise ship operators, at their discretion, may advise passengers and crew that—if they are fully vaccinated—they may gather or conduct activities outdoors, including engaging in extended meal service or beverage consumption, without wearing a mask except in crowded settings.

[markeb]

5 minutes ago, Jeremiah1212 said:

They have added a new caveat for vaccinated passengers:

 

Fully Vaccinated Travelers

• Cruise ship operators, at their discretion, may advise passengers and crew that—if they are fully vaccinated—they may gather or conduct activities outdoors, including engaging in extended meal service or beverage consumption, without wearing a mask except in crowded settings.

 

Just breezed through the whole thing. Some pretty major changes throughout the document. All subject to implementation by the cruise lines (these are requirements and guidelines to them, not directly to passengers), including dropping the ship only excursion requirement for fully vaccinated passengers.

 

This looks like it's been in the works for awhile.

[NMTraveller]

13 minutes ago, Jeremiah1212 said:

They have added a new caveat for vaccinated passengers:

 

Fully Vaccinated Travelers

• Cruise ship operators, at their discretion, may advise passengers and crew that—if they are fully vaccinated—they may gather or conduct activities outdoors, including engaging in extended meal service or beverage consumption, without wearing a mask except in crowded settings.

Now this makes the cruises cruisable again.

 

I would not want a shortened meal or putting the mask on/off during a meal.  This is now more in line with what the foreign based cruises were doing.  Except many of them are at 100% vaccinated.

 

Perhaps the rules for the unvaccinated will be so onerous they won't bother cruising.

Edited May 12, 2021 by NMTraveller

[Jeremiah1212]

7 minutes ago, markeb said:

 

Just breezed through the whole thing. Some pretty major changes throughout the document. All subject to implementation by the cruise lines (these are requirements and guidelines to them, not directly to passengers), including dropping the ship only excursion requirement for fully vaccinated passengers.

 

This looks like it's been in the works for awhile.

 

Quoting before someone asks...

 

Shore Excursions & Transportation Services

Fully Vaccinated Travelers

• Cruise ship operators, at their discretion, may advise passengers and crew that—if they are fully vaccinated—they may engage in self-guided or independent exploration during port stops, if they wear a mask while indoors. The cruise ship operator is additionally advised that foreign jurisdictions may have their own requirements.

 

 

7 minutes ago, NMTraveller said:

Now this makes the cruises cruisable again.

 

I would not want a shortened meal or putting the mask on/off during a meal.  This is now more in line with what the foreign based cruises were doing.  Except many of them are at 100% vaccinated.

 

This only applies to outdoor activities (for now). The dining guideline for indoor dining, especially those 2+ hour MDR meals will take longer to change IMO. 

[AbbyCruiser45]

17 minutes ago, Jeremiah1212 said:

They have added a new caveat for vaccinated passengers:

 

Fully Vaccinated Travelers

• Cruise ship operators, at their discretion, may advise passengers and crew that—if they are fully vaccinated—they may gather or conduct activities outdoors, including engaging in extended meal service or beverage consumption, without wearing a mask except in crowded settings.

Can we get a new thread for updated guidelines? This thread has devolved into a mess of arguments and it's hard to keep track of what is important or not. 

[K.T.B.]

19 minutes ago, Jeremiah1212 said:

They have added a new caveat for vaccinated passengers:

 

Fully Vaccinated Travelers

• Cruise ship operators, at their discretion, may advise passengers and crew that—if they are fully vaccinated—they may gather or conduct activities outdoors, including engaging in extended meal service or beverage consumption, without wearing a mask except in crowded settings.

 

Wait, what?  Some common sense?  Shocking.

[NMTraveller]

3 minutes ago, Jeremiah1212 said:

 

Quoting before someone asks...

 

Shore Excursions & Transportation Services

Fully Vaccinated Travelers

• Cruise ship operators, at their discretion, may advise passengers and crew that—if they are fully vaccinated—they may engage in self-guided or independent exploration during port stops, if they wear a mask while indoors. The cruise ship operator is additionally advised that foreign jurisdictions may have their own requirements.

 

 

 

This only applies to outdoor activities (for now). The dining guideline for indoor dining, especially those 2+ hour MDR meals will take longer to change IMO. 

OK.  We are not quite there yet, but headed in the right direction.  Some of the foreign based cruise lines are serving dinner outdoors.  Something like that is easier done on a smaller ship.

Edited May 12, 2021 by NMTraveller

[markeb]

Just now, AbbyCruiser45 said:

Can we get a new thread for updated guidelines? This thread has devolved into a mess of arguments and it's hard to keep track of what is important or not. 

Probably makes sense. 

[K.T.B.]

3 minutes ago, Jeremiah1212 said:

 

Quoting before someone asks...

 

Shore Excursions & Transportation Services

Fully Vaccinated Travelers

• Cruise ship operators, at their discretion, may advise passengers and crew that—if they are fully vaccinated—they may engage in self-guided or independent exploration during port stops, if they wear a mask while indoors. The cruise ship operator is additionally advised that foreign jurisdictions may have their own requirements.

 

 

 

This only applies to outdoor activities (for now). The dining guideline for indoor dining, especially those 2+ hour MDR meals will take longer to change IMO. 

 

I strongly suspect those will be changed soon enough if they've already amended the excursion part of it.

[Jeremiah1212]

2 minutes ago, NMTraveller said:

OK.  We are not quite there yet, but headed in the right direction.  Some of the foreign based cruise lines are serving dinner outdoors.  Something like that is easier done on a smaller ship.

 

I know MSC does it to some extend on larger ships but I do not know what foods they are serving. The setup/takedown and getting food from the kitchens on low decks to the pool deck seems like a headache, but it may be worth the effort. 

[AbbyCruiser45]

16 minutes ago, markeb said:

 

Just breezed through the whole thing. Some pretty major changes throughout the document. All subject to implementation by the cruise lines (these are requirements and guidelines to them, not directly to passengers), including dropping the ship only excursion requirement for fully vaccinated passengers.

 

This looks like it's been in the works for awhile.

Could you link the new documentation? 

[ECCruise]

Just now, Jeremiah1212 said:

 

I know MSC does it to some extend on larger ships but I do not know what foods they are serving. The setup/takedown and getting food from the kitchens on low decks to the pool deck seems like a headache, but it may be worth the effort. 

I would guess that they would accomplish it by doing what they do for the buffet dining areas on higher decks.  All of the food is prepared in the galleys below and then brought upstairs on elevators for distribution there.

[markeb]

Just now, AbbyCruiser45 said:

Could you link the new documentation? 

 

It's the same document. They don't highlight changes, which is unfortunate. They probably do in direct transmittals to industry. But there are a number of sections throughout with at the option of the cruise line changes for vaccinated passengers.

 

https://www.cdc.gov/quarantine/cruise/covid19-operations-manual-cso.html

[Jeremiah1212]

1 minute ago, AbbyCruiser45 said:

Could you link the new documentation? 

 

https://www.cdc.gov/quarantine/cruise/covid19-operations-manual-cso.html

 

The adjustments aren't necessarily apparent unless you were familiar with prior versions. The sections labeled "Fully Vaccinated Passengers:" are definitely new.

[AbbyCruiser45]

Just now, markeb said:

 

It's the same document. They don't highlight changes, which is unfortunate. They probably do in direct transmittals to industry. But there are a number of sections throughout with at the option of the cruise line changes for vaccinated passengers.

 

https://www.cdc.gov/quarantine/cruise/covid19-operations-manual-cso.html

Thank you so much! Yes, that's unfortunate but very happy for these changes.

[Jeremiah1212]

3 minutes ago, ECCruise said:

I would guess that they would accomplish it by doing what they do for the buffet dining areas on higher decks.  All of the food is prepared in the galleys below and then brought upstairs on elevators for distribution there.

 

Or utilize the buffet serving stations more than they typically are used during dinner and people just take their food outside. Certainly not as elegant of an experience as a proper dinner, but it presents another option.