Mask wearing still required for fully vaccinated ship on Serenade of the Seas out of Seattle?

[dvdgunner]

I am just wondering what people think about still having to wear masks while inside of the ship except while actively eating, drinking, or inside room cabin. It really seems over the top since the ship is fully vaccinated for everyone 12 or up on our August 16th trip to Alaska on Serenade of the Seas out of Seattle! Really ridiculous considering that the rules out of Florida are not even requiring a vaccine!

[twangster]

I think I'm tired of thread after thread discussing the same thing.

 

[cruisegus]

55 minutes ago, twangster said:

I think I'm tired of thread after thread discussing the same thing.

but that's why I now read every day, for the entertainment

[fisherguy]

We all have a choice.  Don't like the rules on board?  choose another line or another type of vacation.  If Royal had a 100% vaxxed cruise and still required us to all wear Hazmat suits on board then I'd probably just look for another cruise company or just choose a land based vacation.  No use constantly complaining about what each one of them does and whether they make sense or not.  They have a lot at stake.  Mainstream media never reports cruises that sail successfully without one case of COVID.  But have even one suspected case on a trip and they are on like flies to you know what.  Just my 2 cents.  Hoping my Japan cruise out of HK takes place at the end of December.  If I am required to wear masks even though I'm fully vaxxed then so be it.  

[Travelling2Some]

We've got 3 booked in 2022 - 1 out of NY (our home port) in January, the Baltics in June and Japan/China in October.  I didn't sign on for anything sooner because it is important to us that the cruise experience be back to normal.  If things are still weird or iffy then we just won't make final payments.  We will still go to Europe and Asia but just won't do the cruise portion of the trips we have planned.

[sherylc]

I guess for me one of the reasons I was so excited that the Alaska trips remined vaccinated only (12 and up for August) was my expectation that this would allow it to be mask-free on board. I know the Serenade information applies to trips only in July so far, but really am hoping that the mask restrictions are lifted prior to August sailings. I'm a bit surprised that some of the sailings in the Caribbean show a daily cruise planner saying that vaccinated passengers don't need to wear masks anywhere on the ship yet the Serenade information on RCCL's site says vaccinated passengers will have to. Odd. But ever-changing, and reminds us all of the need to be flexible in these crazy times.

[msmayor]

Necessary?  Maybe not, but not over the top...if anything, extremely cautious.

 

The key here is the word "except"...'fully vaccinated EXCEPT those 12 and under'.  

 

There will likely be some on board who have not been vaccinated.  If the line wishes to enforce mask wearing (as any business is permitted to, even with general mask mandates lifted) then that is their choice.

[barbeyg]

The AK cruises are sailing out of WA state, which has a history of being very cautious in their approach to the pandemic. I am not surprised that this is the decision for sailings from Seattle, and that is one of the reasons we chose to book for next year, hoping things will be more back to normal. 🙂

 

[TSC]

4 hours ago, dvdgunner said:

I am just wondering what people think about still having to wear masks while inside of the ship except while actively eating, drinking, or inside room cabin. It really seems over the top since the ship is fully vaccinated for everyone 12 or up on our August 16th trip to Alaska on Serenade of the Seas out of Seattle! Really ridiculous considering that the rules out of Florida are not even requiring a vaccine!

 

I agree - and hope that they change that rule. We are scheduled to sail on Ovation out of Seattle in August and I really don't want to be wearing masks all the time. (I'm 100% in favor of masks when they are helpful but since we will be a 100% vaccinated cruise, it doesn't seem to make sense.) 

 

[Sunshine3601]

7 minutes ago, TSC said:

 

I agree - and hope that they change that rule. We are scheduled to sail on Ovation out of Seattle in August and I really don't want to be wearing masks all the time. (I'm 100% in favor of masks when they are helpful but since we will be a 100% vaccinated cruise, it doesn't seem to make sense.) 

 

Have they announced test cruise dates for Ovation yet?  

You may not be 100% vaccinated sailing if children under 12 are onboard.

[coffeebean]

4 hours ago, dvdgunner said:

I am just wondering what people think about still having to wear masks while inside of the ship except while actively eating, drinking, or inside room cabin. It really seems over the top since the ship is fully vaccinated for everyone 12 or up on our August 16th trip to Alaska on Serenade of the Seas out of Seattle! Really ridiculous considering that the rules out of Florida are not even requiring a vaccine!

There just may be enough kids under 12 on board that brings the percentage of people on board less than 95% vaccinated. That is all it takes for the protocols to mandate masks to be worn by everyone one board in indoor areas with mixed (vaxxed/unvaxxed) passengers.

 

This is the reason I will only consider cruising on ships which sail with 95% or greater vaccinated passengers. No masking for anyone indoors on those cruises (unless the protocols change which can happen at any time).

[coffeebean]

31 minutes ago, TSC said:

 

I agree - and hope that they change that rule. We are scheduled to sail on Ovation out of Seattle in August and I really don't want to be wearing masks all the time. (I'm 100% in favor of masks when they are helpful but since we will be a 100% vaccinated cruise, it doesn't seem to make sense.) 

 

The only cruise line, that I'm aware of, that has committed to 100% vaccinated passengers and crew is NCL. I do not believe Royal has made that claim.

[dvdgunner]

41 minutes ago, TSC said:

 

I agree - and hope that they change that rule. We are scheduled to sail on Ovation out of Seattle in August and I really don't want to be wearing masks all the time. (I'm 100% in favor of masks when they are helpful but since we will be a 100% vaccinated cruise, it doesn't seem to make sense.) 

 

I totally agree with you, I am also very much in favor of masks but since it was a vaccinated ship I was looking forward to not having to worry anymore while on vacation. Let’s hope the rules are only for July and are lifted by August! 

[dvdgunner]

2 hours ago, sherylc said:

I guess for me one of the reasons I was so excited that the Alaska trips remined vaccinated only (12 and up for August) was my expectation that this would allow it to be mask-free on board. I know the Serenade information applies to trips only in July so far, but really am hoping that the mask restrictions are lifted prior to August sailings. I'm a bit surprised that some of the sailings in the Caribbean show a daily cruise planner saying that vaccinated passengers don't need to wear masks anywhere on the ship yet the Serenade information on RCCL's site says vaccinated passengers will have to. Odd. But ever-changing, and reminds us all of the need to be flexible in these crazy times.

That is exactly how I felt, I have no interest in sailing on a ship of unvaccinated adults. I too felt that I was going to not have any restrictions. Ever since New York hit 70% vaccinated over a month ago we stopped all mask requirements unless people choose to wear them. Stinks the thought of paying for a vacation and having to do something we no longer do in public. Like before I am totally for masks but not after the majority of people that are vulnerable are protected. Just my opinion though.

[edspec]

We're booked on Ovation for September, will definitely be shifting funds to another cruise if masking is still required.

[Ashland]

OP...comparing Seattle & Alaska to Florida...I'll take their policy any day over what Florida does.

[SOPOME]

Even if Seattle requires this, I'm wondering if once the ship is out in international waters, the mask mandate goes away??

[ticketsunlimited]

1 hour ago, SOPOME said:

Even if Seattle requires this, I'm wondering if once the ship is out in international waters, the mask mandate goes away??

Ya they will invite everyone to the top deck to throw there masks overboard and hug the person the left of you.

[ticketsunlimited]

1 hour ago, SOPOME said:

Even if Seattle requires this, I'm wondering if once the ship is out in international waters, the mask mandate goes away??

Fellow Mainiac

[BirdTravels]

8 hours ago, TSC said:

 

I agree - and hope that they change that rule. We are scheduled to sail on Ovation out of Seattle in August and I really don't want to be wearing masks all the time. (I'm 100% in favor of masks when they are helpful but since we will be a 100% vaccinated cruise, it doesn't seem to make sense.) 

 

But the point is that you are not a 100% vaccinated cruise. 

 

And Royal, running cruises with identical rules for unvaccinated passengers, has already had cases of COVID on board a couple of weeks ago. 

[BirdTravels]

12 hours ago, dvdgunner said:

I am just wondering what people think about still having to wear masks while inside of the ship except while actively eating, drinking, or inside room cabin. It really seems over the top since the ship is fully vaccinated for everyone 12 or up on our August 16th trip to Alaska on Serenade of the Seas out of Seattle! Really ridiculous considering that the rules out of Florida are not even requiring a vaccine!

Recommendation: Cancel your RCCL cruise. Move your travel arrangements 1 day and book the NCL cruise which is 100% vaccinated and will run at 60% capacity with no masks. (That's what we did)

Edited July 6, 2021 by BirdTravels

[chefchick]

1 hour ago, BirdTravels said:

Recommendation: Cancel your RCCL cruise. Move your travel arrangements 1 day and book the NCL cruise which is 100% vaccinated and will run at 60% capacity with no masks. (That's what we did)

To be honest, this is what I THOUGHT I was doing when I booked this cruise in late May (95% cruisers).  I already have/had a NCL cruise booked for September (my TA suggested I wait till September for “safety” reasons -little did I know how right he was) but I was itching for an earlier cruise, so I took a chance and booked the Ovation in late August.  I THOUGHT that cruises from Seattle would be “more or less” 100% vaccinated at the time so I took a chance.  Yes, I know I gambled, and maybe I will lose…time will tell.  If they didn’t have the “you can cancel 48 hours in advance” guarantee, and I didn’t live less than an an hour away from the port, then I wouldn’t have taken the chance.  As it is, I am betting on  the protocols being “mask less “…we shall see?

 

[sgmn]

15 hours ago, dvdgunner said:

I am just wondering what people think about still having to wear masks while inside of the ship except while actively eating, drinking, or inside room cabin. It really seems over the top since the ship is fully vaccinated for everyone 12 or up on our August 16th trip to Alaska on Serenade of the Seas out of Seattle! Really ridiculous considering that the rules out of Florida are not even requiring a vaccine!

It's still possible to catch covid if you are fully vaccinated.  I posted a link to an article from one of our more respected journalist in another thread who caught it.

I guess initially the cruise lines are being super cautious 

[boscobeans]

6 hours ago, sgmn said:

It's still possible to catch covid if you are fully vaccinated.  I posted a link to an article from one of our more respected journalist in another thread who caught it.

I guess initially the cruise lines are being super cautious 

I wish the term "CATCH" would be explained ?

 

Does it mean getting exposed to an infection and then getting sick to any degree ?

 

Does a POSITIVE  test performed on a completely vaccinated person mean they (CAUGHT)  Covid-19, or that they have just been recently exposed to it and their immune system hasn't had time to eliminate 100% of the virus ????

 

Does a child who has received a measles vaccine show a positive test for measles if exposed to a group of children that have active measles and if so are they considered to have (CAUGHT) measles ???

 

Vaccination is not some type of Star Wars force field that prevents any type of infection from invading our bodies. It is something that enables our immune systems to battle off and defeat the infection, which is not instantaneous.

 

   

[tampadee]

CDC is no longer collecting data on breakthrough Covid cases.  It is unknown how effective the vaccine is against variants.