July Exemption Denial Email

[AtoZgirl]

I’ve heard some people have already started receiving denial emails. Does anyone have a copy of what it says? 
 

Had anyone been approved yet? The form said approvals wouldn’t go out until starting the 21st, so I assumed denials wouldn’t go out until then also.

[Tiger0613]

Exemption for what?

Edited June 18, 2021 by Tiger0613

[AtoZgirl]

4 minutes ago, Tiger0613 said:

Exemption for what?

For the kids under 12 who cannot get the vaccine.

[arkaine23]

The August exception form is up.  It will not allow you to submit unless your booking is paid in full.  It advises that the deadline for submissions is June 25, so acceptance/denial most likely will be after that.  Whereas the July sailings the deadline for exception submissions was June 15, and final payments are still deadlined for June 21 and exception accept/deny is still pending and expected sometime after that date.

Edited June 18, 2021 by arkaine23

[ScottsSweetie]

• I find all these final payment deadlines interesting - my sail date is 9/4 for Panorama (would be the #3 restart cruise) and my final payment deadline was June 6 with no extension. I still have no confidence that we will be sailing but we've already been required to pay final payment ahead of July and August cruisers.

[sailingships]

3 hours ago, ScottsSweetie said:

• I find all these final payment deadlines interesting - my sail date is 9/4 for Panorama (would be the #3 restart cruise) and my final payment deadline was June 6 with no extension. I still have no confidence that we will be sailing but we've already been required to pay final payment ahead of July and August cruisers.

My payment date for the Aug 14 MG cruise is June 30, 45 days prior but I got that date back in April.

[mondello]

The latest update from Carnival says the startup cruises are vaccinated cruises. No mention of 5% unvaccinated. I'm not saying either way, just how it reads to me. Bold letters were in their posting.

[BoozinCroozin]

CCL needs to just end this exemption garbage for July and August. It is wrong to string families along and require them to pay in full knowing they will not allow them. This is a cash grab where refunds will cross fiscal quarters. Make the books look as good as possible legally even though they won't have to. Just announce once and for all that July and August are vaccinated only. Then revisit in a few weeks for September. Most kids are in school then anyway and far fewer to even worry about. The next big kid vacation times are Fall Break and Thanksgiving. By then, this may be a moot point.

Edited June 18, 2021 by BoozinCroozin

[Cap'n Ron]

7 hours ago, arkaine23 said:

The August exception form is up.  It will not allow you to submit unless your booking is paid in full.  It advises that the deadline for submissions is June 25, so acceptance/denial most likely will be after that.  Whereas the July sailings the deadline for exception submissions was June 15, and final payments are still deadlined for June 21 and exception accept/deny is still pending and expected sometime after that date.

Do you have the link for the exemption request?  I haven’t received the email yet, and worried I might not get it.  Thank you!

[mondello]

28 minutes ago, Cap'n Ron said:

Do you have the link for the exemption request?  I haven’t received the email yet, and worried I might not get it.  Thank you!

From their latest update it looks like they are going with vaccinated cruises for the restart.

[Aplmac]

I am SO waiting

for this sort of uncertain vacillation to be over

before I make a move!

[ricka47]

Does anyone know what kind of exemptions they will allow? My wife and I are both recovered from COVID and have antibodies. I am vaccinated but she is not upon advice from her doctor.

 

We have a final payment due tomorrow and it would be nice to know if she has a shot (pardon the pun) at an exemption.

[mondello]

6 minutes ago, ricka47 said:

Does anyone know what kind of exemptions they will allow? My wife and I are both recovered from COVID and have antibodies. I am vaccinated but she is not upon advice from her doctor.

 

We have a final payment due tomorrow and it would be nice to know if she has a shot (pardon the pun) at an exemption.

I'd call and try to get final payment extended. Seems latest update makes no mention of exemptions, vaccinated cruises they said. May have to move your cruise back until restrictions are relaxed?

Ask about deadline to cancel if they don't allow her an exemption.

Edited June 18, 2021 by mondello
Addition

[ricka47]

1 minute ago, mondello said:

I'd call and try to get final payment extended. Seems latest update makes no mention of exemptions, vaccinated cruises they said. May have to move your cruise back until restrictions are relaxed?

Good idea - I'll call today. Thanks!

[mondello]

2 minutes ago, ricka47 said:

Good idea - I'll call today. Thanks!

I added to my post: there may be a deadline to cancel if they won't allow her an exemption. Who knows if/when unvaxxed can cruise?

[ricka47]

Right - she'll have to get it eventually. We have another cruise in October with an NCL-owned company (Oceania) and I don't think they allow exemptions. That is, as of now since things change by the minute!

[ontheweb]

2 hours ago, BoozinCroozin said:

CCL needs to just end this exemption garbage for July and August. It is wrong to string families along and require them to pay in full knowing they will not allow them. This is a cash grab where refunds will cross fiscal quarters. Make the books look as good as possible legally even though they won't have to. Just announce once and for all that July and August are vaccinated only. Then revisit in a few weeks for September. Most kids are in school then anyway and far fewer to even worry about. The next big kid vacation times are Fall Break and Thanksgiving. By then, this may be a moot point.

"It is wrong to string families along and require them to pay in full knowing they will not allow them. This is a cash grab"----No truer words were ever written. You nailed the essence of what they have done.

 

Do they realize that short term cash grabs like this that end up pissing off customers can in the the long run cost them these same customers?

[ontheweb]

20 minutes ago, Aplmac said:

I am SO waiting

for this sort of uncertain vacillation to be over

before I make a move!

That is an eminently sensible position to take.

[mondello]

1 hour ago, ricka47 said:

Right - she'll have to get it eventually. We have another cruise in October with an NCL-owned company (Oceania) and I don't think they allow exemptions. That is, as of now since things change by the minute!

I was wrong in my earlier post, there is a small mention of pre-approved exemptions in small print of the announcement. Looks like exemptions may not be given until after final payment.

[BoozinCroozin]

1 hour ago, ontheweb said:

Do they realize that short term cash grabs like this that end up pissing off customers can in the the long run cost them these same customers?

I don't think they are worried about customers at the moment. They don't have any shortage of it. But, I do agree with you that stringing them along like this for weeks, taking final payment, then making a decision will face some backlash. They just need to announce it now without any ambiguity that cruises are vaccine only and no exceptions. That is clear and concise. 

[BoozinCroozin]

1 hour ago, ricka47 said:

Does anyone know what kind of exemptions they will allow? My wife and I are both recovered from COVID and have antibodies. I am vaccinated but she is not upon advice from her doctor.

 

We have a final payment due tomorrow and it would be nice to know if she has a shot (pardon the pun) at an exemption.

Your wife won't be able to sail on an vaccinated only cruise. If there are exemptions, she would fall out of the group that would be considered. From the criteria and the number of people that would request it, it would be protected classes first (i.e. people with provable religious reasons), followed by kids under 12, then people with very specific medical issues that prevent taking it, then all the way down to where your wife is being advised not to take. That is different than a medical reason not to have it. 

 

Since the list would never get that far down, I don't think she would be considered. On a 4,000 passenger cruise, that is only 200 people. I am fairly certain they have at least that many under 12 on Carnival over the Summer times.

[jennas_mum]

9 hours ago, ScottsSweetie said:

• I find all these final payment deadlines interesting - my sail date is 9/4 for Panorama (would be the #3 restart cruise) and my final payment deadline was June 6 with no extension. I still have no confidence that we will be sailing but we've already been required to pay final payment ahead of July and August cruisers.

 

We are also cruising on Sept 4, 2021. I called our PVP and she changed our due date to July 21, 2021. Did you try to call and get an extension? 

 

 

[SCBarker]

 

35 minutes ago, jennas_mum said:

 

We are also cruising on Sept 4, 2021. I called our PVP and she changed our due date to July 21, 2021. Did you try to call and get an extension? 

 

 

All of these final payment dates seem random.

Above we have a 9/4 cruise with a final that was due 6/6.

Another 9/4 cruise with a final of 7/21.

I also have a 9/4 cruise and my final is 6/21.

[Homosassa]

54 minutes ago, BoozinCroozin said:

Your wife won't be able to sail on an vaccinated only cruise. If there are exemptions, she would fall out of the group that would be considered. From the criteria and the number of people that would request it, it would be protected classes first (i.e. people with provable religious reasons), followed by kids under 12, then people with very specific medical issues that prevent taking it, then all the way down to where your wife is being advised not to take. That is different than a medical reason not to have it. 

 

Since the list would never get that far down, I don't think she would be considered. On a 4,000 passenger cruise, that is only 200 people. I am fairly certain they have at least that many under 12 on Carnival over the Summer times.

Really?

 

If she has not taken the vaccine because of a doctor's advice, then she has a medical reason.

 

Data has been collected on the level of antibodies produced by a Covid 19 infection and the point at which the antibodies drop. There are two main proteins (antibodies) that are produced. One drops below effective levels at around ninety days out from infection. The other slowly decreases over a longer period of time.

 

Before ninety days after infection, a vaccine will not add to the immunity. After that, the vaccine will be a "booster."

 

Check with Carnival.  

 

Another cruise line (MSC) has procedures for those who have had Covid 19 within ninety days of sailing , have recovered, and have not received the vaccine due to medical advice to not do so. There is documentation required and the controls for the Covid 19 within ninety days passengers fall between those for the vaccinated and the non-vaccinated passengers.

 

Perhaps Carnival has similar procedures for those who have required a natural immunity after infection and , therefore, are a sunset of the "vaccinated" population.

[cruisegirl06]

2 hours ago, ontheweb said:

"It is wrong to string families along and require them to pay in full knowing they will not allow them. This is a cash grab"----No truer words were ever written. You nailed the essence of what they have done.

 

Do they realize that short term cash grabs like this that end up pissing off customers can in the the long run cost them these same customers?

This exactly! As a family with 3 kiddos

under 12, there’s no way I’m making final payment not knowing if they could go and not knowing how long a refund will take. I also refuse to stay in limbo seeing how often things are changing - I want to do everything I can to be sure our family has a nice vacation this summer.
 

I had been hoping they would just cancel for kids and offer families with kids the same refund or future OBC offers that all other cancelled cruises got - in that case we probably would have rebooked for next year and we still had would have a cruise to look forward to once things settled down a bit. But, given how this has all been handled, I’m in no hurry to rebook.

IF Carnival does not intend to sail with under 12s it would be better to just say it and let families know sooner so they can make alternate plans.