How cruise lines are coping with Vaccination Ban

[JamieLogical]

9 hours ago, NikiPinkston said:

NCL will be sailing the Encore to Alaska out of Seattle starting next month.  All passengers will be100% vaccinated & I'll be among them in August!

 

As far as I know, all ships from all lines sailing to Alaska this season are requiring 100% vaccination.

[oteixeira]

9 hours ago, NikiPinkston said:

NCL will be sailing the Encore to Alaska out of Seattle starting next month.  All passengers will be100% vaccinated & I'll be among them in August!

Also Breakaway out of New York starting at the end of September.

[JamieLogical]

21 minutes ago, oteixeira said:

Also Breakaway out of New York starting at the end of September.

 

Yep! I am sailing on that one and I am confident NCL will have no problem enforcing their 100% vaccination policy out of NYC.

[BirdTravels]

2 hours ago, JamieLogical said:

 

As far as I know, all ships from all lines sailing to Alaska this season are requiring 100% vaccination.

Royal has their "Vaccinated as much as possible" rules which have already resulted in COVID-positive passengers on their ships. I am sticking to the NCL fully vaccinated cruises. 

 

Vaccination Requirement for Alaska Cruises Departing Seattle, Washington

For sailings departing before August 1, 2021 all Royal Caribbean guests age 16 and older must present proof of COVID-19 vaccination, with the final dose of their vaccine administered at least 14 days before sailing. For sailings departing on or after August 1, 2021 the age requirement for vaccination will change from 16 to 12 years of age. We will continually evaluate these requirements and make updates as local public health standards evolve.

Guests under the age of this requirement don’t need to be vaccinated and will receive a COVID-19 test before boarding. If a guest younger than the age requirement happens to be fully vaccinated, they should bring their original vaccination record card to board and should follow all vaccinated guest protocols while boarding and throughout their vacation.

All crew onboard Ovation of the Seas and Serenade of the Seas will be fully vaccinated.

[harkinmr]

16 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

Royal has their "Vaccinated as much as possible" rules which have already resulted in COVID-positive passengers on their ships. I am sticking to the NCL fully vaccinated cruises. 

 

Vaccination Requirement for Alaska Cruises Departing Seattle, Washington

For sailings departing before August 1, 2021 all Royal Caribbean guests age 16 and older must present proof of COVID-19 vaccination, with the final dose of their vaccine administered at least 14 days before sailing. For sailings departing on or after August 1, 2021 the age requirement for vaccination will change from 16 to 12 years of age. We will continually evaluate these requirements and make updates as local public health standards evolve.

Guests under the age of this requirement don’t need to be vaccinated and will receive a COVID-19 test before boarding. If a guest younger than the age requirement happens to be fully vaccinated, they should bring their original vaccination record card to board and should follow all vaccinated guest protocols while boarding and throughout their vacation.

All crew onboard Ovation of the Seas and Serenade of the Seas will be fully vaccinated.

This is interesting.  As I understand it, the State of Washington has mandated that all cruises out of Seattle be at least 95% vaccinated passengers.  So I would assume that even RCI cannot go beyond the 5% cap for unvaccinated children.

[coffeebean]

16 hours ago, oteixeira said:

You keep saying this, but why is it more tricky?  Celebrity would have to turn away non-vaccinated passengers should they pass the 95% threshold.  That is no different then NCL tuning away non-vaccinated passengers.  Seems Florida was fine with Celebrity doing exactly this (they just didn't hit the threshold on cruise #1, but it doesn't mean they wont).

I hope you are correct that NCL won’t have any issues. I seem to feel they will have issues because they leave no room at all for un-vaxxed. They must deny all un-vaxxed from boarding. 

[oteixeira]

6 minutes ago, coffeebean said:

I hope you are correct that NCL won’t have any issues. I seem to feel they will have issues because they leave no room at all for un-vaxxed. They must deny all un-vaxxed from boarding. 

Yes, I believe I understand your reason for concern.  My question specifically is how is this any different then Celebrity denying anyone that would put the 95% threshold out of wack.  If that was an issue with the state, surely they would have never let them even try with the Edge.  

So basically I am saying the only difference in policy is a number, 95 versus 100.  If that is the case, the number does not matter, what matters is if the policy was allowed by Florida, which it already has been.

[MorganClark]

6 minutes ago, oteixeira said:

Yes, I believe I understand your reason for concern.  My question specifically is how is this any different then Celebrity denying anyone that would put the 95% threshold out of wack.  If that was an issue with the state, surely they would have never let them even try with the Edge.  

So basically I am saying the only difference in policy is a number, 95 versus 100.  If that is the case, the number does not matter, what matters is if the policy was allowed by Florida, which it already has been.

 

Well said. Btw, I like your new avatar. 😉

[JamieLogical]

6 minutes ago, oteixeira said:

Yes, I believe I understand your reason for concern.  My question specifically is how is this any different then Celebrity denying anyone that would put the 95% threshold out of wack.  If that was an issue with the state, surely they would have never let them even try with the Edge.  

So basically I am saying the only difference in policy is a number, 95 versus 100.  If that is the case, the number does not matter, what matters is if the policy was allowed by Florida, which it already has been.

 

I think the difference is that if Celebrity were to deny someone boarding because they were over the 5% threshold, they could say they are denying them service due to "capacity limitations" rather than denying them service due to their vaccination status.

[oteixeira]

Just now, JamieLogical said:

 

I think the difference is that if Celebrity were to deny someone boarding because they were over the 5% threshold, they could say they are denying them service due to "capacity limitations" rather than denying them service due to their vaccination status.

I am not sure how they can make that argument with ships that are only 33% full sailing out.  If they were mandated by the CDC to 33% and they were over it, that would be different, but to this day I have no seen any hard numbers of what percentage the ships are at capacity at (percentage wise).

[JamieLogical]

Just now, oteixeira said:

I am not sure how they can make that argument with ships that are only 33% full sailing out.  If they were mandated by the CDC to 33% and they were over it, that would be different, but to this day I have no seen any hard numbers of what percentage the ships are at capacity at (percentage wise).

 

I'm not saying it would hold up in a court of law, I am just saying that allowing for up to 5% unvaccinated demonstrates that Celebrity is not turning away people SOLELY based on vaccination status. They are providing service to unvaccinated passengers.

[oteixeira]

27 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

 

I'm not saying it would hold up in a court of law, I am just saying that allowing for up to 5% unvaccinated demonstrates that Celebrity is not turning away people SOLELY based on vaccination status. They are providing service to unvaccinated passengers.

I disagree.  If you are part of the 6th percent of people trying to get on as unvaccinated they will turn you away, based solely on your vaccination status, correct?  That is the point I am trying to make.  Same policy, different percentage, that is it.

[RocketMan275]

19 hours ago, coffeebean said:

This is not a "scheme" anyone on this forum has devised. Celebrity made it work for them, sailing with 99% vaxxed passengers in the very first cruise to sail from the US out of FLL. It CAN be done but.....the 100% vaxxed passengers that NCL is planning on is going to be very tricky.

You are aware that Edge sailed at approximately 37% capacity?

How is that making "it work"?

[RocketMan275]

56 minutes ago, oteixeira said:

I am not sure how they can make that argument with ships that are only 33% full sailing out.  If they were mandated by the CDC to 33% and they were over it, that would be different, but to this day I have no seen any hard numbers of what percentage the ships are at capacity at (percentage wise).

According to Brian Abel, Senior Vice President of Hotel Operations for Celebrity Cruises, the June 26 Celebrity Edge cruise is sailing with "95% of our guests fully vaccinated, almost a 100% vaccinated crew, and only a 37% load factor, around 1,200 passengers on a ship that normally carries just over 3,000 passengers."

https://www.travelandleisure.com/travel-news/celebrity-edge-cruise-passengers-launch-florida

 

[oteixeira]

10 minutes ago, RocketMan275 said:

According to Brian Abel, Senior Vice President of Hotel Operations for Celebrity Cruises, the June 26 Celebrity Edge cruise is sailing with "95% of our guests fully vaccinated, almost a 100% vaccinated crew, and only a 37% load factor, around 1,200 passengers on a ship that normally carries just over 3,000 passengers."

https://www.travelandleisure.com/travel-news/celebrity-edge-cruise-passengers-launch-florida

 

Sorry I was 4% off on my numbers, but my statement still stands, just mentally sub in 37 where I said 33.

[graphicguy]

32 minutes ago, oteixeira said:

I disagree.  If you are part of the 6th percent of people trying to get on as unvaccinated they will turn you away, based solely on your vaccination status, correct?  That is the point I am trying to make.  Same policy, different percentage, that is it.

This will be just like taking a flight on a major carrier.  They can make the capacity rule, just like on a flight.  If, for example, Delta says I can't have a first class seat (even though there are some available) because I'm on an economy fare, then that's their prerogative.

 

On Celebrity, NCL, Royal or any of the other cruise lines who are sailing at their defined capacity, 90%-100% vaccinated, (which is any number they deem necessary), they can deny boarding to any unvaccinated passenger because of their capacity limit.

 

I don't see that changing in 2021.  

[MorganClark]

1 hour ago, MorganClark said:

 

Well said. Btw, I like your new avatar. 😉

 

I like your new avatar as well, @CptAleSpill. Looks like crude oil in a glass...

[oteixeira]

1 hour ago, MorganClark said:

 

Well said. Btw, I like your new avatar. 😉

Thanks, the avatar is a photo I took last week in Kill Devil Hills NC (the OBX).  We had a great time, wish it was a cruise but that will happen for us soon enough!

[oteixeira]

1 minute ago, graphicguy said:

This will be just like taking a flight on a major carrier.  They can make the capacity rule, just like on a flight.  If, for example, Delta says I can't have a first class seat (even though there are some available) because I'm on an economy fare, then that's their prerogative.

 

On Celebrity, NCL, Royal or any of the other cruise lines who are sailing at their defined capacity, 90%-100% vaccinated, (which is any number they deem necessary), they can deny boarding to any unvaccinated passenger because of their capacity limit.

 

I don't see that changing in 2021.  

Yes, I believe we are agreeing here, the number doesn't matter.  Deny at 20%, 95%, or 100%, the policy is the same so the law is the same (if Florida deems it broke or not).  I am in total agreement with you.  Based on this 100% vaccinated is no less legal then 95%.

[MorganClark]

Just now, oteixeira said:

Thanks, the avatar is a photo I took last week in Kill Devil Hills NC (the OBX).  We had a great time, wish it was a cruise but that will happen for us soon enough!

 

I remember Kill Devil Hills. Outer Banks, right? We used to drive down to the OBs from northern Virginia when I worked in D.C.

[oteixeira]

Just now, MorganClark said:

 

I remember Kill Devil Hills. Outer Banks, right? We used to drive down to the OBs from northern Virginia when I worked in D.C.

Yup, we were in a home on the ocean less then a 1/4 mile from the Wright Bros National Memorial.  

[coffeebean]

1 hour ago, JamieLogical said:

 

I think the difference is that if Celebrity were to deny someone boarding because they were over the 5% threshold, they could say they are denying them service due to "capacity limitations" rather than denying them service due to their vaccination status.

I guess this is what I've been trying to say.

[coffeebean]

41 minutes ago, RocketMan275 said:

You are aware that Edge sailed at approximately 37% capacity?

How is that making "it work"?

My reference to "making it work" was in regards to Celebrity sailing with 99% vaxxed on board out of FLL in Florida. Celebrity verified every single one of the vaxxed passengers proof of vaccine. They made their "work around" the Florida law work.

 

Maybe I didn't make myself clear so I apologize.

[RocketMan275]

42 minutes ago, coffeebean said:

My reference to "making it work" was in regards to Celebrity sailing with 99% vaxxed on board out of FLL in Florida. Celebrity verified every single one of the vaxxed passengers proof of vaccine. They made their "work around" the Florida law work.

 

Maybe I didn't make myself clear so I apologize.

I'm not so sure that what works when the ship is at 37% capacity will work at 100%.

[PTC DAWG]

17 minutes ago, RocketMan275 said:

I'm not so sure that what works when the ship is at 37% capacity will work at 100%.

Things are changing too quick to worry about it..

 

BTW, are you booked in a cruise soon?  

Edited June 30, 2021 by PTC DAWG