No ship excursions for under 12

[amcb]

Hi all.

We are a family of 5, all vaccinated except our youngest who will be 10 when we sail. We are sailing on Navigator, a b2b from Dec 20-31st. It is my understanding that unvaccinated passengers must take a ship sponsored excursion. At this point, there are a number of ports where there are no ship excursions available for someone under 12.  Do you think more excursions will be made available as it gets closer to sailing? 

 

I would appreciate everyone's thoughts.

 

🙂 amcb

[Sunshine3601]

Where are you sailing to?

[WindinmySails]

I think anything can change....things are changing daily with this virus.  I hope you find something your 10year old can participate in....kind of stinks that you are tied into ship excursions. I hope you have a fabulous cruise!

 

[Miloomar]

Pfizer is hoping to have their 5-11 vaxx ready and approved and good to poke by the end of this month... I'm sailing with an 11 year old a couple days later than you and have my fingers crossed this timeline holds. 

[Itchy&Scratchy]

52 minutes ago, Miloomar said:

Pfizer is hoping to have their 5-11 vaxx ready and approved and good to poke by the end of this month...

approved by the end of the month - yes, good to poke by the end of October - nope, no go. Best case scenario - end of November.

 

We all need 5 weeks before the cruise for kids under 12 to be fully vaxxed.

[GalwayGirl03]

23 minutes ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

approved by the end of the month - yes, good to poke by the end of October - nope, no go. Best case scenario - end of November.

 

We all need 5 weeks before the cruise for kids under 12 to be fully vaxxed.

CHOP's vaccine line says Halloween is when the shots will begin so I am holding out hope for our 12/26 sailing...our daughter turns 12 on 12/1 so no way she can be fully vaccinated unless 5-11 vaccines start early!

[Miloomar]

1 hour ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

approved by the end of the month - yes, good to poke by the end of October - nope, no go. Best case scenario - end of November.

 

We all need 5 weeks before the cruise for kids under 12 to be fully vaxxed.

Curious why you think there would be a month between approval and the poke? Its the same drug in a smaller dosage so all pharmacies currently have stock and they know how dosages work. Once approved the pokes should be able to start that day

[not-enough-cruising]

1 hour ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

approved by the end of the month - yes, good to poke by the end of October - nope, no go. Best case scenario - end of November.

 

We all need 5 weeks before the cruise for kids under 12 to be fully vaxxed.

Why? The pharmacies have the vaccine in stock everywhere. 
Shots can be given, literally, within minutes of FDA approval. 

[libertyelle]

We're in the same boat, with an 11-year-old who will need the first dose in his arm by November 7th to be considered fully vaccinated for our December 12th cruise. The FDA is scheduled to meet to consider the issue of vaccines for ages 5 - 11 on October 26th. If I recall correctly, the time span between meeting and shots being available for the 12 - 15 group was just under a week, so I'm hopeful we can squeak in under the wire if it follows the same pattern this time around. Final approval for the 12 - 15 group came in earlier in the day, and my 13-year-old was in CVS getting his shot after dinner that evening.

[Itchy&Scratchy]

44 minutes ago, Miloomar said:

Curious why you think there would be a month between approval and the poke? Its the same drug in a smaller dosage so all pharmacies currently have stock and they know how dosages work. Once approved the pokes should be able to start that day

when shots were approved for 12+ crowd, my friend couldn't find any facilities that would disburse them to juveniles for a while. Her kid turned 12 in July of this year. Now they may be available in more places, but just 2.5 months ago it was still kind of iffy.

 

Plus, if they are approved by the end of October, there is no way my kid can get fully vaxxed + 14 days before we cruise on Nov 21. So, while I hope to get a vaccine for my kid, I also hope that RCI doesn't make them mandatory until at least 5 weeks pass. Otherwise, their Thanksgiving holiday cruising will have a ton of cancellations. Considering how much holiday cruises are, that may effect RCI very negatively.

Edited October 4, 2021 by Itchy&Scratchy

[AustinCruise]

I think they pretty much have to allow 5 weeks from first available shot in arm to a requirement. I would hope it’s something like 8 weeks. It will largely be up to the governments of other countries to set the date. 

Edited October 4, 2021 by AustinCruise

[seabeew]

14 minutes ago, AustinCruise said:

I think they pretty much have to allow 5 weeks from first available shot in arm to a requirement. I would hope it’s something like 8 weeks. It will largely be up to the governments of other countries to set the date. 

Royal did not grant any leeway for kids when they required everyone 16 and above and later 12 and above to get vaccinated before cruising. When I was on the June 19 Adventure sailing, several families had teenagers caught in the gap of not having enough time  to be fully vaccinated before their cruise. Some families canceled their cruise and received a refund. Others were able to move their cruise to a later date.
 

In the 12 year old and up category, I read several accounts of families not being able to cruise because their child could not be fully vaccinated before their cruise. 
 

As someone posted earlier, Royal may not be as aggressive in mandating vaccination without a grace period because of the number of families traveling with children during the holidays. 

[csnarpy]

8 hours ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

approved by the end of the month - yes, good to poke by the end of October - nope, no go. Best case scenario - end of November.

 

We all need 5 weeks before the cruise for kids under 12 to be fully vaxxed.

This just isn’t true. It’s 2 weeks prior to cruising, not 5. Unless I’m missing something ?
 

we’re on a B2b in Dec starting on the 12th. And my 10yr old will be fully vaccinated prior to boarding. Our plan is get her 1st shot in Oct (whatever date is available), get 2nd shot exactly 21 days later and then she’s set for our cruise. 

Edited October 5, 2021 by csnarpy

[seabeew]

20 minutes ago, csnarpy said:

This just isn’t true. It’s 2 weeks prior to cruising, not 5. Unless I’m missing something ?
 

we’re on a B2b in Dec starting on the 12th. And my 10yr old will be fully vaccinated prior to boarding. Our plan is get her 1st shot in Oct (whatever date is available), get 2nd shot exactly 21 days later and then she’s set for our cruise. 

I think he meant having the initial shot, waiting three weeks to have the second shot, then waiting two weeks to be fully vaccinated. That’s five weeks, just like the sequence for your child.

[AustinCruise]

23 minutes ago, csnarpy said:

This just isn’t true. It’s 2 weeks prior to cruising, not 5. Unless I’m missing something ?
 

we’re on a B2b in Dec starting on the 12th. And my 10yr old will be fully vaccinated prior to boarding. Our plan is get her 1st shot in Oct (whatever date is available), get 2nd shot exactly 21 days later and then she’s set for our cruise. 

14 days after the final vaccine shot. 

[AustinCruise]

@seabeew After rereading the policy on children turning 12, I fully agree with you. There will probably be no leniency. 

[Dayana]

7 hours ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

when shots were approved for 12+ crowd, my friend couldn't find any facilities that would disburse them to juveniles for a while. Her kid turned 12 in July of this year. Now they may be available in more places, but just 2.5 months ago it was still kind of iffy.

 

Plus, if they are approved by the end of October, there is no way my kid can get fully vaxxed + 14 days before we cruise on Nov 21. So, while I hope to get a vaccine for my kid, I also hope that RCI doesn't make them mandatory until at least 5 weeks pass. Otherwise, their Thanksgiving holiday cruising will have a ton of cancellations. Considering how much holiday cruises are, that may effect RCI very negatively.

I believe you hey will take that into

consideration and make it mandatory likely 6 to 8 weeks after the approval of the FDA.  Giving parents enough trike to consider their options and still be able to fully vaccinate their child in time for their sailing. So likely sometime in December or likely the January 2022. 

[AustinCruise]

19 minutes ago, Dayana said:

I believe you hey will take that into

consideration and make it mandatory likely 6 to 8 weeks after the approval of the FDA.  Giving parents enough trike to consider their options and still be able to fully vaccinate their child in time for their sailing. So likely sometime in December or likely the January 2022. 

Did you notice how strict the 12 year old policy is?

 

KIDS WHO ARE TURNING 12

What if my child is turning 12 years old right before our cruise, or during our cruise, and cannot get vaccinated in time?

Any guest that is age 12 or older on boarding day must be fully vaccinated to sail. If your child’s 12^th birthday is too close to boarding day to get fully vaccinated, we can move your cruise date to give you more time, or we can cancel your reservation for a full refund. Unfortunately, we cannot make any exceptions, as our port agreements expect that every vaccine-eligible guest onboard is fully vaccinated. If your child is 11 and turns 12 on Day 2 of the cruise or later, you’re in luck. Your 11 year old will be allowed to board the ship on embarkation day as long as they complete all COVID-19 testing requirements for unvaccinated children.

[Miloomar]

19 hours ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

when shots were approved for 12+ crowd, my friend couldn't find any facilities that would disburse them to juveniles for a while. Her kid turned 12 in July of this year. Now they may be available in more places, but just 2.5 months ago it was still kind of iffy.

 

Plus, if they are approved by the end of October, there is no way my kid can get fully vaxxed + 14 days before we cruise on Nov 21. So, while I hope to get a vaccine for my kid, I also hope that RCI doesn't make them mandatory until at least 5 weeks pass. Otherwise, their Thanksgiving holiday cruising will have a ton of cancellations. Considering how much holiday cruises are, that may effect RCI very negatively.

 

My nephew got his poke like the second day they were available for 12+ back in May. I think it might have depended on where you live. Also the gap between FDA approval and that shot was 3 days so he was able to get his appointment right away. Assuming it's approved Oct 26 which some think it will be, then Halloween is very probable. 

 

You are correct about your particular situation though, hopefully they do show leniency with a 5-6 week grace period after the FDA approval and dont get strict about it until maybe week 7. My cruise is an xmas cruise so I certainly feel a little more comfortable than you 

[OSUZorba]

Back to the original question.

 

On our upcoming cruise a lot of excursions have been added in the month prior. They also lowered the age limits on many. At first there was a single snorkel or beach trip our 5 yo could do, but now there are many.

Edited October 5, 2021 by OSUZorba

[amcb]

57 minutes ago, OSUZorba said:

Back to the original question.

 

On our upcoming cruise a lot of excursions have been added in the month prior. They also lowered the age limits on many. At first there was a single snorkel or beach trip our 5 yo could do, but now there are many.

That's great to know!  Thanks very much.  I was hoping that would be the case.

🙂 amcb

[csnarpy]

23 hours ago, AustinCruise said:

14 days after the final vaccine shot. 

Yes, this is what I stated. 2 weeks prior to sailing. Our first cruise in on the 12th of Dec, so as long as my daughters final shot is on Nov 28th, then we’re good.  
 

so not 5 weeks…

[AustinCruise]

47 minutes ago, csnarpy said:

Yes, this is what I stated. 2 weeks prior to sailing. Our first cruise in on the 12th of Dec, so as long as my daughters final shot is on Nov 28th, then we’re good.  
 

so not 5 weeks…

We are probably talking about different targets. 
 

Day 0 - 1st shot

Wait 21 days (3 weeks) - get 2nd shot

Wait 14 days (2 weeks) to be “fully vaccinated” 

 

That’s 5 weeks from the initial shot.