Child Vaccine Exemption denied - Horizon Nov 21

[GTO-Girl]

On 10/23/2021 at 10:33 AM, gizbug said:

In the process of booking on Allure of the Seas. Thanks for the suggestion!

We just got off the Allure yesterday, it is a wonderful ship!!  The kids clubs are open and during the times your unvaccinated child is not with you there are a number of designated areas for “vaccinated only” where you can go and take your mask off the entire time your are in that venue.  
 

Shows are seated by vaccinated only and then families with children, so if you are vaccinated and sit in that area you don’t have to wear a mask during shows either.  Of course when you have your children with you the protocols will be different. 

 

Also food in the buffet is served to you so no worries about many hands being on the serving utensils.

 

[BlerkOne]

I see Allure of the Seas currently has a CDC status of YELLOW.

 

"CDC has investigated and ship remains under observation."

[Computer Nerd]

On 10/22/2021 at 7:56 PM, gizbug said:

Got an email today from Carnival saying my 5 yr old  and 1 1/2 yr old were denied the exemption.

Getting a full refund for the cruise.  Wife was P.O'd.

Terrible system they have going. The "right" thing to do would have been the refund and offer maybe 10% off a future cruise.  Not the case.

Needless to say, probably be the last time I book with this cruise line.  Now I have 4 weeks to find/book another vacation.

Cheers, Carnival!

 

Why would you expect a 10% discount on a future cruise? You got a full refund so it's not like you lost anything.

[groundloop]

Carnival really should handle this differently.  Either just say 100% vaccinated or else grant exemptions as people book their cruise so as to remove all doubt.  It's unrealistic to expect people to pay for a cruise and then maybe possibly be able to go if their child wins an exemption lottery.  Their current system seems like a bean-counter came up with it to maximize short term cash flow at the expense of losing customers like gizbug.

[LadyMac72]

7 minutes ago, Computer Nerd said:

Why would you expect a 10% discount on a future cruise? You got a full refund so it's not like you lost anything.

And the OP suggests they would not choose Carnival again so what's the point of getting a 10% discount off a future cruise?  Unless.... well, I won't go there.

[BlerkOne]

4 minutes ago, groundloop said:

Carnival really should handle this differently.  Either just say 100% vaccinated or else grant exemptions as people book their cruise so as to remove all doubt.  It's unrealistic to expect people to pay for a cruise and then maybe possibly be able to go if their child wins an exemption lottery.  Their current system seems like a bean-counter came up with it to maximize short term cash flow at the expense of losing customers like gizbug.

Why is it Carnival's fault? People at risk shouldn't be booking cruises during a pandemic if they can't accept the rules. The words personal responsibility come to mind.

[Computer Nerd]

7 minutes ago, LadyMac72 said:

And the OP suggests they would not choose Carnival again so what's the point of getting a 10% discount off a future cruise?  Unless.... well, I won't go there.

I think they were saying because Carnival didn't give them a discount they wouldn't use them. IMO, that is one of those Karen threats that usually doesn't hold water.

[llarsen]

4 hours ago, pc_load_letter said:

 

I'm sorry but why are you risking a 27 person cruise on your grandkids?

 

I am consistently flabbergasted by posts on here of people planning family vacations with kids, grandparents, large groups, only to be surprised when the process on XYZ cruise line is perhaps not user friendly, not clearly laid out, or just flat out dumb.

 

As I said above, who wants to go on a cruise when kids clubs are closed. Geez, just wait a few months or find a line that is open (Thankfully they figured out RCL could accommodate them)

 

I dunno, while it's not common, I am weekly reading posts from someone who has such and such problem with testing, booking, itineraries, the cruise itself. The wife and I are just not cruising right now because that doesn't sound like fun to us. Sure, cruises have been going fine, but I'd rather wait it out.

 

I work in IT and I never use new software right out of the gate. You let the early adopters work out the problems. I feel the same for cruising right now. I can wait. It sucks, but I can wait.

We booked this cruise before the Vaccine Requirement was even in place... 

[BlerkOne]

36 minutes ago, llarsen said:

We booked this cruise before the Vaccine Requirement was even in place... 

Then you also booked before cruising restarted, but in any event during a raging pandemic when cruises were being canceled right and left.

[ontheweb]

3 hours ago, BlerkOne said:

Why is it Carnival's fault? People at risk shouldn't be booking cruises during a pandemic if they can't accept the rules. The words personal responsibility come to mind.

If that is the standard you think should be followed, why is Carnival even allowing children and unvaccinated adults? Aren't they putting everyone else at risk? They could go the NCL route, no vaccination equals no cruise. 

 

The words corporate responsibility come to mind.

[Silent Penguin]

On 10/23/2021 at 9:40 AM, K_e_short said:

I

 

You do know you could have removed your child from the booking and not had to cancel right? So in fact Carnival didn't cancel you, you chose to go the route of cancelling.

 

 

Is this your own experience, because it was not ours.  We experienced the same thing as the OP.  We received the email that our unvaccinated person was denied exemption and that Carnival had cancelled our cruise.  That night I went on the Carnival site to see if our booking was still listed but it was gone.  It happened that fast.  

[K_e_short]

25 minutes ago, Silent Penguin said:

Is this your own experience, because it was not ours.  We experienced the same thing as the OP.  We received the email that our unvaccinated person was denied exemption and that Carnival had cancelled our cruise.  That night I went on the Carnival site to see if our booking was still listed but it was gone.  It happened that fast.  

 

Well thats not good.

 

I was going off what the website said. but also what I was told the 3 times I called Carnival. I was in a position as being unvaccinated and wanted to know my options.

 

Although the first part of the website does sound like "since its not confirmed" we can cancel it ASAP

 

If you are an unvaccinated guest, your reservation is not considered confirmed unless you receive an approved exemption, which will be issued within 14 days of sailing. Any unvaccinated guests whose exemptions are approved will be required to review and agree to all the restrictions and protocols listed above prior to boarding the ship.

If we are unable to approve the request, guests will have the option to cancel the unvaccinated guest(s) from a reservation, move to a future sailing date or cancel with a full refund to the original form of payment. Unfortunately, we cannot assist with expenses related to a denied exemption request, and guests assume all risks related to non-refundable travel costs (i.e., air fare, hotel).

[Silent Penguin]

2 minutes ago, K_e_short said:

 

Well thats not good.

 

I was going off what the website said. but also what I was told the 3 times I called Carnival. I was in a position as being unvaccinated and wanted to know my options.

 

Although the first part of the website does sound like "since its not confirmed" we can cancel it ASAP

 

If you are an unvaccinated guest, your reservation is not considered confirmed unless you receive an approved exemption, which will be issued within 14 days of sailing. Any unvaccinated guests whose exemptions are approved will be required to review and agree to all the restrictions and protocols listed above prior to boarding the ship.

If we are unable to approve the request, guests will have the option to cancel the unvaccinated guest(s) from a reservation, move to a future sailing date or cancel with a full refund to the original form of payment. Unfortunately, we cannot assist with expenses related to a denied exemption request, and guests assume all risks related to non-refundable travel costs (i.e., air fare, hotel).

Yep, that's what was supposed to happen.  😞  Here's what happened instead. 

 

 Dear Carnival Guest:

Thank you for your patience while we processed all bookings that required a vaccination exemption for your sailing.  

We have received a vaccine attestation and/or exemption request that indicates that either you, or a member of your traveling party, will not be fully vaccinated at least 14 days prior to sailing. As you know, exemptions are very limited and capacity-controlled based on the total number of vaccinated guests projected to be on your sailing.   Unfortunately, we have reached our limit and are not able to clear your booking to sail.  We sincerely apologize for this disappointing news. The reservation for all guests booked in your stateroom will be cancelled and a full refund will be processed to your original form of payment. 

We remain optimistic that requirements for cruising from the U.S. will continue to evolve and our approach to future sailings will become more flexible.  We hope you will consider rescheduling your cruise as we have ship itineraries open through 2024. To reschedule, please contact 1-800-CARNIVAL, your Personal Vacation Planner or your Travel Advisor. 
 

 

I sincerely hope you have already received your exemption or that you don't get treated the way we were.  In our case, there was a silver lining.  We were to leave from Miami.  Instead of cancelling our plane tickets to Miami, we kept them, rented a car at the airport, and took a  Florida Keys road trip, which we had never done before.  

[BlerkOne]

56 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

If that is the standard you think should be followed, why is Carnival even allowing children and unvaccinated adults? Aren't they putting everyone else at risk? They could go the NCL route, no vaccination equals no cruise. 

 

The words corporate responsibility come to mind.

 

They could go Royal's route and put everyone at higher risk.

 

But no, Carnival couldn't go NCL's route and cruise from California.

[GTO-Girl]

37 minutes ago, BlerkOne said:

 

They could go Royal's route and put everyone at higher risk.

 

But no, Carnival couldn't go NCL's route and cruise from California.

Honestly just curious why you said Royal is putting everyone at higher risk?

[BlerkOne]

1 minute ago, GTO-Girl said:

Honestly just curious why you said Royal is putting everyone at higher risk?

They allow a higher percentage of unvaccinated than Carnival. If Ontheweb's assertion is credible, then Royal is worse.

[GTO-Girl]

Just now, BlerkOne said:

They allow a higher percentage of unvaccinated than Carnival. If Ontheweb's assertion is credible, then Royal is worse.

They also follow the 5% rule with unvaccinated just like Carnival.  
 

They also serve food in the buffet rather than people serving themselves.  They have designated bars and venues for “vaccinated only” where you can enter and never have to wear a mask the entire time you are in there.  
They also have designated places for vaccinated to sit for shows, so no mask wearing there either.  They enforce mask wearing in inside public areas and elevators and are constantly cleaning.  

 

We just got off the Allure and I honestly didn’t see one person the entire cruise breaking the rules.  
 

We have a cruise booked next month on the Mardi Gras and I am a bit nervous about the buffet serving and having to wear a masks in all areas of the ship inside, including shows.  Seems to be unless we go outside we will be have to be masked….😢

[BlerkOne]

6 minutes ago, GTO-Girl said:

They also follow the 5% rule with unvaccinated just like Carnival.  
 

They also serve food in the buffet rather than people serving themselves.  They have designated bars and venues for “vaccinated only” where you can enter and never have to wear a mask the entire time you are in there.  
They also have designated places for vaccinated to sit for shows, so no mask wearing there either.  They enforce mask wearing in inside public areas and elevators and are constantly cleaning.  

 

We just got off the Allure and I honestly didn’t see one person the entire cruise breaking the rules.  
 

We have a cruise booked next month on the Mardi Gras and I am a bit nervous about the buffet serving and having to wear a masks in all areas of the ship inside, including shows.  Seems to be unless we go outside we will be have to be masked….😢

My understanding is Royal is running about 90%. Antigen tests are okay for both vaccinated and unvaccinated. Very few covid cases result from surface transmission (like buffets), vaccinated people can spread covid so masks for all make sense, etc. But enjoy Royal.

[GTO-Girl]

6 minutes ago, BlerkOne said:

My understanding is Royal is running about 90%. Antigen tests are okay for both vaccinated and unvaccinated. Very few covid cases result from surface transmission (like buffets), vaccinated people can spread covid so masks for all make sense, etc. But enjoy Royal.

Before I call it a night let’s be fair…..

 

antigen tests or PCR “pre-cruise” tests are okay for both vaccinated and unvaccinated on both Royal and Carnival.  
 

And honestly wasn’t trying to be disagreeable but just sharing my thoughts.  
 

Have a good evening….

[BlerkOne]

49 minutes ago, GTO-Girl said:

 

 

antigen tests or PCR “pre-cruise” tests are okay for both vaccinated and unvaccinated on both Royal and Carnival.  
 

 

For unvaxxed

 

Testing

• Presenting a negative PCR COVID-19 test at check-in, taken between 72 and 24 hours prior to the sailing date (for example, if the sailing is on Saturday, the test may be taken any time from Wednesday through Friday, but not on the morning of embarkation).

[ScottsSweetie]

1 hour ago, GTO-Girl said:

 

. . . We have a cruise booked next month on the Mardi Gras and I am a bit nervous about the buffet serving and having to wear a masks in all areas of the ship inside, including shows.  Seems to be unless we go outside we will be have to be masked….😢

The Carnival policy does not mandate masks indoors at all times. It is recommended that people wear the mask indoors. It is mandated in elevators, in certain lounges (piano bar, comedy club and show lounge come to mind) and while walking to and from your dining room table. We did not wear our masks when moving about the ship. Masks were not required while in Ocean Plaza playing trivia or in the atrium listening to live music. This was on Panorama, but I have seen the policy posted on several threads here and it is the same exact policy on each ship.

[BoozinCroozin]

12 hours ago, groundloop said:

Carnival really should handle this differently.  Either just say 100% vaccinated or else grant exemptions as people book their cruise so as to remove all doubt.  It's unrealistic to expect people to pay for a cruise and then maybe possibly be able to go if their child wins an exemption lottery.  Their current system seems like a bean-counter came up with it to maximize short term cash flow at the expense of losing customers like gizbug.

Carnival has seriously failed in this process. They should have stated the exemption lottery rules and not played games. I do feel sorry for the OP. Many people are strung along by Carnival. There is another thread where they cruise in less than 2-weeks and still no word. They are part of a large group. 2 kids and an adult will have to miss a family reunion cruise. 

 

At least you have 4-weeks to replan. Not many places I would take unvaxxed kids in the US during the most expensive travel season at this point. The more time you have to cancel everything and get rebooked for something else the better. I know on my cruise group parents are already complaining about what to do with their kids the entire time. 8-night cruise, only 1 port with garbage bubble tours, no kids clubs means they will be at your hip the entire cruise. 

[ontheweb]

10 hours ago, BlerkOne said:

 

They could go Royal's route and put everyone at higher risk.

 

But no, Carnival couldn't go NCL's route and cruise from California.

Why can't Carnival go NCL's route and cruise from California?

[ontheweb]

9 hours ago, BlerkOne said:

My understanding is Royal is running about 90%. Antigen tests are okay for both vaccinated and unvaccinated. Very few covid cases result from surface transmission (like buffets), vaccinated people can spread covid so masks for all make sense, etc. But enjoy Royal.

Very few cases of Covid if any result from surface transmission like the buffets, but cases of Norovirus do result from surface transmission like the buffet.

[Jamesatgsu]

I know it as frustrating, but you've known for months this might happen, and I think you'll enjoy your cruise much more on RCL with such young kids. Hard to get full value of a cruise if kids can't spend any time in the kids club. Now you'll have the option.