New CDC guidelines released 5/5/21

[harkinmr]

9 hours ago, Cruiser6270 said:

The self-guided tour ban makes sense to protect the ship community but the rest - for a ship that's fully vaccinated and tested - smacks of  over the top nonsense. 

 

But that particular question has not been answered as yet.  Celebrity has not stated with any certainty that cruises from the US will be on fully vaccinated ships.  And, to my knowledge, Celebrity has not issued any final protocols for it's North America, UK or Greece cruises yet either.  I would bet that masks and social distancing will be part of the protocols for those vaccinated sailings.  

[Cruise a holic]

We had a cruise to Florida and the bahamas scheduled for august. We canceled. I believe that even if cruise ships can depart from New Jersey in august, it will be very restrictive 

[cangelmd]

1 hour ago, Jeremiah1212 said:

This point seem to have flown under the radar a bit:

 

• To reduce the spread of SARS-CoV-2, cruise ship operators must:
• Provide passengers and crew with information on how to properly wear, take off, and clean cloth masks.
• Remind passengers and crew not to touch their masks when wearing them.
• Position posters educating passengers on how to properly wear masks in high traffic areas throughout the ship
• Ensure bathers wear masks while congregating outside of recreational water facilities (RWFs) and while seated on the pool deck area. Masks do not need to be worn in the water, e.g., in RWFs or while swimming in the ocean. A wet cloth mask can make it difficult to breathe and likely will not work correctly. This means it is particularly important for bathers to maintain social distancing of at least 6 feet (2 meters) when in the water with others who are not traveling companions or part of the same family.

 

 

My guess is they will close pools and hot tubs completely and just socially distance the loungers

[dblane]

Glad to find out cruises will begin to work on getting us cruising again.  Not scheduled till January 2022.

I'll be happy to just be onboard.

Edited May 6, 2021 by dblane

[Baron Barracuda]

3 hours ago, WestLakeGirl said:

Buffets are not banned where I live nor where my sister lives in Iowa

Drove through Iowa April '20 when things were really bad back east.  Was shocked to find self-serve breakfast buffets open at hotels.  Just this week Iowa turned down 50% of their vaccine allocation.  Clearly Iowa is still in denial.

[Gracie115]

4 hours ago, K.T.B. said:

Buffets on land are still banned as far as I know.  

 

LINK

The link is more than a year old.

I don't like buffets, but they are definitely not banned, have just seen one at a hotel we stayed at a few days ago.

[CalTexCruiser]

Unless I'm missing something here, the latest technical instructions from the CDC apply only to TEST or SIMULATED cruises, which the cruiselines can skip if they satisfy the 95%/98% passenger/crew vaccination requirement.

 

Does anyone know if the onerous requirements for the TEST/SIMULATED cruises will apply to normal cruises on which 95%/98% vaccination is satisfied?

[Host Jazzbeau]

6 minutes ago, CalTexCruiser said:

Does anyone know if the onerous requirements for the TEST/SIMULATED cruises will apply to normal cruises on which 95%/98% vaccination is satisfied?

I'm pretty sure that no one knows the answer. 

[Jeremiah1212]

9 minutes ago, CalTexCruiser said:

Unless I'm missing something here, the latest technical instructions from the CDC apply only to TEST or SIMULATED cruises, which the cruiselines can skip if they satisfy the 95%/98% passenger/crew vaccination requirement.

 

Does anyone know if the onerous requirements for the TEST/SIMULATED cruises will apply to normal cruises on which 95%/98% vaccination is satisfied?

 

2 minutes ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

I'm pretty sure that no one knows the answer. 

They do. This set of guidelines applies to both simulated (test) and restricted capacity cruises. The document is called COVID-19 Operations Manual for Simulated and Restricted Voyages under the CSO. 
 

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

 

The mask mandate is different and has no defined end date. 

[jg51]

4 hours ago, K.T.B. said:

 

Well, Texas is, shall we say, unique in how it handles things ...  

 

We are not from Texas (nor anywhere near it), but we have to "stick up for" Texas in this case, because your words are unjustifiable. 

 

Your comment was in response to "logan 25," who had said this: "I can state with authority that the Golden Corral was operating their buffet thusly when I paid a visit two weeks ago.  Customers were allowed to self serve.  But that was in Texas; I cannot, of course, speak for your area."  To prove that you are mistaken, "K.T.B.," have a look at that restaurant chain's list of open locations (in many different states) here:

https://www.goldencorral.com/open-restaurants/

 

From what we read on this thread, "K.T.B.," it appears that you and several other CrCr members have not read a good thread on this topic, so we will link it for you now -- and if you don't want to read the whole thread, we will also provide a link to our main post there, in which we detail our experience with land-based buffet restaurants over the last twelve months (including one which has complete self-service, without wearing gloves and without any sign of staff or guests getting sick) ...

 

Here is a link to the whole thread:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2779213-post-pandemic-buffet-whats-up-with-oceanview-cafe/

 

Here is a link to our main post on that thread:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2779213-post-pandemic-buffet-whats-up-with-oceanview-cafe/?do=findComment&comment=61065926

 

In summing up, we believe that many CrCr members, probably having allowed the media and the CDC to mislead them, are far more fearful than they should be (especially if all guests will be vaccinated on ships).  We know that there really is a pandemic, but "pandemic" should not mean "panic."

.

[K.T.B.]

"jg51", I have friends and family who actually live in Texas (completely different parts of TX, as well) and I know how the state is handling things without having to resort to the media telling me. 

[nocl]

12 hours ago, jasmine196 said:

What is interesting is that I've gone to Buffet restaurants recently in a couple different states, and all allowed you to serve yourself (you just had to wear disposable gloves).  So if the land restaurants don't have to follow this, then why does the cruise industry have to.  

I have not seen an open buffet in CA, or OR. Fast food resturaunts even have they self service soft drink machines shut off.

[Cruise a holic]

13 hours ago, Baron Barracuda said:

Drove through Iowa April '20 when things were really bad back east.  Was shocked to find self-serve breakfast buffets open at hotels.  Just this week Iowa turned down 50% of their vaccine allocation.  Clearly Iowa is still in denial.

So sad that people do not listen to science.  If they aren't concerned with their lives, what about family and friends- 

[booklady26]

We know that the CDC is requiring ship shore excursions only. But they also RECOMMEND, limiting shore activities to those countries listed as Level 1 low risk by the CDC. So I looked at their map and the only countries I could see that are Level 1 are Liberia, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Uganda, Australia, New Zealand, Greenland, most of SE Asia and (are you ready for this) CHINA. Gee, I wonder if a shore ex there would include a visit to the Wuhan fish market.

 

Except for Greenland, I don't think there are any cruises leaving from US ports that visit any of those countries. I think it shows how little the CDC knows or cares about the cruise industry as a whole. Thank goodness it's only a recommendation or else we'd only be doing cruises to nowhere out of US ports. 

 

I know the CDC has a tough job and they are just trying to keep us safe and healthy, but it's stuff like this that makes even a believer like me (a fully vaccinated mask wearer)  think they are being way too conservative and unrealistic in their guidelines.

 

We're having a problem in the US right now with rapidly declining demand for the vaccine. Does it occur to the CDC  that if they don't loosen up even a bit, those who are on the fence could say " why should I get the shot when I still can't do anything anyway". If the vaccines have 90-95% efficacy, why does the CDC feel that even the fully vaccinated  should still act almost as we did a year ago? 

[Ken the cruiser]

Here's a good article covering the latest CDC guidance.

 

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has updated its Operations Manual for cruise ship operators, setting a series of rules such as mask wearing, social distancing and a restriction on independent shore experiences.

 

Masks, Distancing & More: CDC Releases Full Guidelines For U.S. Cruise Resumption (cruisecritic.com)

[Fouremco]

21 minutes ago, booklady26 said:

We know that the CDC is requiring ship shore excursions only. But they also RECOMMEND, limiting shore activities to those countries listed as Level 1 low risk by the CDC. So I looked at their map and the only countries I could see that are Level 1 are Liberia, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Uganda, Australia, New Zealand, Greenland, most of SE Asia and (are you ready for this) CHINA. Gee, I wonder if a shore ex there would include a visit to the Wuhan fish market.

 

Except for Greenland, I don't think there are any cruises leaving from US ports that visit any of those countries. I think it shows how little the CDC knows or cares about the cruise industry as a whole. Thank goodness it's only a recommendation or else we'd only be doing cruises to nowhere out of US ports. 

 

I know the CDC has a tough job and they are just trying to keep us safe and healthy, but it's stuff like this that makes even a believer like me (a fully vaccinated mask wearer)  think they are being way too conservative and unrealistic in their guidelines.

 

We're having a problem in the US right now with rapidly declining demand for the vaccine. Does it occur to the CDC  that if they don't loosen up even a bit, those who are on the fence could say " why should I get the shot when I still can't do anything anyway". If the vaccines have 90-95% efficacy, why does the CDC feel that even the fully vaccinated  should still act almost as we did a year ago? 

Yes, that list is pretty short today, but it's a living document and we can expect/ hope for changes in the weeks and months ahead. It makes sense to refer to the Level 1 list rather than having to rewrite the guidance document every time a change is made to the list. 

[rjrpar]

22 hours ago, Baron Barracuda said:

Drove through Iowa April '20 when things were really bad back east.  Was shocked to find self-serve breakfast buffets open at hotels.  Just this week Iowa turned down 50% of their vaccine allocation.  Clearly Iowa is still in denial.

Iowa is vaccinating it’s citizens at the same rate as most states and their death rate is a lot lower than most Eastern states. Don’t know your problem with Iowa. 

[PTC DAWG]

22 hours ago, Baron Barracuda said:

Drove through Iowa April '20 when things were really bad back east.  Was shocked to find self-serve breakfast buffets open at hotels.  Just this week Iowa turned down 50% of their vaccine allocation.  Clearly Iowa is still in denial.

Not surprised that anyone from NJ is shocked...check the death rates for your state vs Iowa.  

[LGW59]

7 minutes ago, PTC DAWG said:

Not surprised that anyone from NJ is shocked...check the death rates for your state vs Iowa.  

yes and then check those death rates as a percentage of the population

[TeeRick]

35 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Here's a good article covering the latest CDC guidance.

 

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has updated its Operations Manual for cruise ship operators, setting a series of rules such as mask wearing, social distancing and a restriction on independent shore experiences.

 

Masks, Distancing & More: CDC Releases Full Guidelines For U.S. Cruise Resumption (cruisecritic.com)

Honestly there is no reason to require masks outdoors onboard fully vaccinated ships.  That is a real conflict with all of their recent guidance.

[TeeRick]

Here are their guidelines (released April 29) for vaccinated people not needing a mask outdoors - except in special circumstances.     https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/fully-vaccinated-guidance.html

 

"Fully vaccinated people no longer need to wear a mask outdoors, except in certain crowded settings and venues." 

 

Here is how  they define these circumstances in the guidelines.  I cannot see how any of this really applies if everybody on board the ship is fully vaccinated.   And have been tested negative for COVID before boarding.    A bit different though if there are unvaccinated kids on board.

 

Recommendations for Outdoor Activities

Fully vaccinated people can participate in many outdoor activities without a mask at low risk to themselves or to others. While generally safe for vaccinated people to be outdoors without a mask, CDC continues to recommend requiring masking in crowded settings and venues where there is a decreased ability to maintain physical distance until widespread vaccination coverage is achieved.

Although the risk of COVID-19 spread is low in outdoor settings, especially among those who are vaccinated, the following factors could increase risk:

• A moderate, substantial, or high level of community transmission
• Settings with a higher percentage of unvaccinated people (including children) present or people at risk of severe COVID-19 disease
• The length of the visit
• Crowding or when there is a decreased ability to maintain physical distance
• Activities that involve behaviors such as singing, shouting, physical exertion or heavy breathing, inability to wear a mask, or inability to maintain physical distancing

 

 

[NotADopey1]

Guess we’ll be looking at ground trips, preferably where we don’t need a rental car.  Unacceptable pool time with a mask.  Get the vaccine or stay home.  Florida’s governor and his buddies have influenced the cdc.  We will not sail until this gets straightened out.

[K.T.B.]

31 minutes ago, TeeRick said:

Honestly there is no reason to require masks outdoors onboard fully vaccinated ships.  That is a real conflict with all of their recent guidance.

 

BINGO.  These rules are overkill, IMO.  I understand the need for most of them, but not when they conflict.

[Ken the cruiser]

2 hours ago, TeeRick said:

Honestly there is no reason to require masks outdoors onboard fully vaccinated ships.  That is a real conflict with all of their recent guidance.

You know, the CSO only goes through the end of October and if wearing a mask in public areas on the ship is what it takes to get back to cruising (along with getting vaccinated of course), we're good with that. The way we look at it, we haven't gotten sick at all these past 14+ months since wearing a mask out in public and it's been kind of nice. So we're good.

 

We have a B2B2B booked on the Edge out of Ft Lauderdale starting July 24th which will probably be defined as "restricted cruises" as X will hopefully opt for the 95%/98% option. Then we have a 14 day Northern Lights cruise booked on the Island Princess out of Southampton starting Oct 5th followed by a TA from Barcelona on the Apex leaving Oct 19th heading back to Ft Lauderdale and arriving on Nov 4th (after the CSO expires). All these cruises will have different parameters I'm sure to sail. But, hey, we're in our late 60s and it gives us something to look forward to. 😉

 

So if we have to wear a mask for the greater good while in public areas on the ship, that's OK. We just want to start feeding our cruising addiction again. 😎 

 

Edited May 7, 2021 by Ken the cruiser

[Oceangoer2]

14 minutes ago, Dwight1 said:

I’m vaccinated, **** all this mask and distancing *****. It’s all nonsense you idiots. 

This is ONLY your opinion....no need for name calling...we're still civilized human beings (I think).