NCL making masks optional as of March 1st -- Think Carnival might follow suit?

[joelheather]

YES 100% they will follow and start selling the 20% of rooms that have been previously removed from inventory as covid quarantine rooms

[john91498]

monykalyn,

 

Minas is about 30 minutes from Waikiki in Ko Olina. Away from the main drag, but quite beautiful.

 

If you're going to be in Waikiki, I'd suggest going to the International Market Place. Funky place with lots of eateries and little markets. Also, take advantage of the ABC markets. Reasonable prices on booze and food. much less than the resorts.

[jerseyjjs]

7 hours ago, bamaone said:

Only time will tell. But it’s pretty obvious the ones making all the rules don’t actually believe they work.

 

 

Nor do they follow or partake in them themselves.

[pe4all]

Whatever Carnival will do, we will follow.  Just happy to be cruising again.  That being said, I do hope they continue to have a non-smoking in casino rule.  My just completed Freedom cruise was the most comfortable casino experience I have ever had.  

[pc_load_letter]

16 hours ago, elcuchio24 said:

 

You are right on, NCL is very sequestered to the East Coast, at least for now. Maybe that will change soon!

They have one ship out of Long Beach but it only does 7 day cruises. 

[mz-s]

5 hours ago, pe4all said:

Whatever Carnival will do, we will follow.  Just happy to be cruising again.  That being said, I do hope they continue to have a non-smoking in casino rule.  My just completed Freedom cruise was the most comfortable casino experience I have ever had.  

 

I hope Carnival is able to get enough data from the casino now for them to see if guest's preferences have shifted enough to make casinos non-smoking forever. We will see. I would imagine that since RCCL is apparently bringing smoking back, Carnival isn't far behind.

[BlerkOne]

2 hours ago, mz-s said:

 

I hope Carnival is able to get enough data from the casino now for them to see if guest's preferences have shifted enough to make casinos non-smoking forever. We will see. I would imagine that since RCCL is apparently bringing smoking back, Carnival isn't far behind.

Or at least non-smoking for half of the cruise. Kind of like bacon. Alternate healthier days.

[Just1Wonder]

I just recently sailed on the Mardi-Gras and Sky Princess.  Mask wearing in certain areas had the policy of "sip and cover" (Shows, Casino, Theater, etc).  Public areas like the atrium, lido deck and pool area, masks were optional, and only a few people wore them. In the areas where masks were required (elevators and hallways), most wore masks.  When some didn't in any venue, no one said anything except for the announcements before the shows. With these cruise lines stopping the mask mandate, Carnival will soon follow.  It should just be a personal choice from now on.  I won't begrudge anyone wanting to wear a mask.  Just like they shouldn't begrudge me for not wearing one.  

[kdr69]

Oooooh check out the new CDC Cruise ship Status Dashboard.  Its sooo pretty.  And now orange is is the new yellow.  CDC still cant bring itself to admit that Cruising is safer than being on land so it was  highly doubtful they could bring themselves to revise protocols like masking and heaven forbid lower the level 4 travel advisory against cruising.

[Ptroxx]

I’m not reading through all this.   
 

is carnival dropping mask mandate ????? Date if so ..  

[BlerkOne]

2 hours ago, Ptroxx said:

I’m not reading through all this.   
 

is carnival dropping mask mandate ????? Date if so ..  

No. Maybe someday.

[BlerkOne]

5 hours ago, kdr69 said:

Oooooh check out the new CDC Cruise ship Status Dashboard.  Its sooo pretty.  And now orange is is the new yellow.  CDC still cant bring itself to admit that Cruising is safer than being on land so it was  highly doubtful they could bring themselves to revise protocols like masking and heaven forbid lower the level 4 travel advisory against cruising.

There are no full service hospitals at sea, for starters. With many healthcare facilities overworked on land, a cruise ship dumping off thousands of new covid patients wouldn't be helpful. Never say never, you have to be prepared for what if.

[kdr69]

42 minutes ago, BlerkOne said:

There are no full service hospitals at sea, for starters. With many healthcare facilities overworked on land, a cruise ship dumping off thousands of new covid patients wouldn't be helpful. Never say never, you have to be prepared for what if.

Really? thousands of new patients? I think your confused, 34 cases for every 100,000 passengers sailed is what the data shows for Cruise line cases and only 5 cruise passengers were hospitalized out more than 416,000 passengers carried.  That is a FAR cry from thousands. 

[skywonder]

9 hours ago, kdr69 said:

Oooooh check out the new CDC Cruise ship Status Dashboard.  Its sooo pretty.  And now orange is is the new yellow.  CDC still cant bring itself to admit that Cruising is safer than being on land so it was  highly doubtful they could bring themselves to revise protocols like masking and heaven forbid lower the level 4 travel advisory against cruising.

So very true!

[skywonder]

On 2/9/2022 at 7:15 PM, TNcruising02 said:

The science hasn't changed. The virus particles have always been able to go through the majority of the masks.  N95 masks offer protection to the person wearing them.  That won't change.  What will change is society's ability to accept that covid is here to stay and they can accept the risk of living without wearing a mask.  The people who don't want to accept the risk have the option of constantly wearing N95 masks.

SPOT ON!

[ontheweb]

9 hours ago, BlerkOne said:

There is the potential. I appreciate experts looking out for public health, instead of arm chair admirals and google searches. If it happened, even on a smaller scale, no response would be sufficient. Disaster preparedness vs disaster recovery is preferred. 

Are you prepared for a large meteor to hit the earth?

 

The dinosaurs were not, and look what happened to them.😒

[HxFx]

Looking at Carnival's website for their health protocols, they really seem to be doubling down. They have an "update" February 8 that does not look like any easing of the mask protocols. We will likely book NCL this weekend. The price is so cheap too!

[travelplus]

On 2/8/2022 at 5:29 PM, mbarker10 said:

Also I proudly served my country and those tours in other countries led me to be aware of culture differences, differences which I was trained to be respectful of and was not related to politics. I literally mentioned cultural sensitivity training in my example. 
 

the Chinese people, for example, don’t consider mask wearing to be political. And neither did Thailand. Or Vietnam. Maybe it got that way because of politics, I don’t know. But it was very clearly explained as a matter of respect to those around me. 

Amen! I see the benefits of wearing a mask as i have not gotten sick since November 2019.  All  my PCR tests have come back negative and I wash my hands,, use hand sanitizer, wear my mask over my nose and mouth.

 

Here is a case study I visited Las Vegas in October 2020 and did not get sick. I tested negative after my return and had no temperature throughout my stay . My temperature stayed within the normal range.

 

I went to Hawaii this past summer for  2 weeks. My Parents and I went to Israel and I visited my Grandparents one in New Mexico and two trips to LA. 

 

My point is that by following the protocols we have less chances of contracting COVID. If for some reason I get a breakthrough case at least I know I am doing everything within my power to protect myself and other people as well.

 

I agree with you that masking should not be political. While other counties in California are ending indoor masking for vaccinated individuals our county Santa Clara who was the first one to lockdown in March 2020 is  still keeping indoor masking for now which I am happy about as it will help me to not get sick before my cruise.

[Virga]

12 minutes ago, travelplus said:

Amen! I see the benefits of wearing a mask as i have not gotten sick since November 2019.  All  my PCR tests have come back negative and I wash my hands,, use hand sanitizer, wear my mask over my nose and mouth.

 

Here is a case study I visited Las Vegas in October 2020 and did not get sick. I tested negative after my return and had no temperature throughout my stay . My temperature stayed within the normal range.

 

I went to Hawaii this past summer for  2 weeks. My Parents and I went to Israel and I visited my Grandparents one in New Mexico and two trips to LA. 

 

My point is that by following the protocols we have less chances of contracting COVID. If for some reason I get a breakthrough case at least I know I am doing everything within my power to protect myself and other people as well.

 

I agree with you that masking should not be political. While other counties in California are ending indoor masking for vaccinated individuals our county Santa Clara who was the first one to lockdown in March 2020 is  still keeping indoor masking for now which I am happy about as it will help me to not get sick before my cruise.

 

I am also one of the people who has not taken ill, and I credit my KN95s and general avoidance of indoor gatherings.  I have an elderly father who fought cancer in 2020, so I have been extremely careful - but haven't been completely able to entirely avoid risk of exposure/infection due to my work, nor willing to continue postponing my proven mental health medication (travel.)

 

We have taken several cruises and many flights, even attended a few outdoor concerts.  I visit a couple dozen hospitals a week for work, stay in shady motels all over Florida, and am occasionally forced to use gas station bathrooms.  I've been testing frequently for almost a year now - either my body (+ the vaccine) threw off the infection so well that my levels remained undetectable to the test, or I've managed to keep viral particles out of my body.  Either way, I don't know that it would have been possible without high quality PPE and well measured risk assessment when deciding what activities to participate in. 

 

No, even my excellent masks aren't 100%, and the poorly fitted or loosely woven masks frequently worn by others are even less effective, but they reduced my risk every time I left the house.  Careful selection and timing of activities reduced my risk further, and those things plus frequent testing helped minimize the risk of my worst fear - transmission to others.  

 

Anyway, I trust the cruise lines to act in their own best interests - if they pore over the data and decide that they can lift some of the restrictions without risking a true plague cruise, I'm content with the risk reduction offered by my additional measures.  If they don't, I'll be grateful for their help keeping those risks at an acceptable level.  

 

For what it's worth, I've never feared Covid infection - I've only ever feared transmission.  I'm somewhat proud to look at the sad numbers and have reasonable confidence that none of those deaths resulted from an action I took.  

[ktfulmer]

I think it is also possible that they open themselves to liability if they advertise that masks are required and people book fares with that understanding and then they change the policy.  It might be interpreted as bait and switch.  

 

I don't have a strong feeling on masks either way, but I think it is likely there are a lot of legal layers behind the scenes that go into these decisions that then have to be balanced with PR.

[bamaone]

2 hours ago, Virga said:

 

I am also one of the people who has not taken ill, and I credit my KN95s and general avoidance of indoor gatherings.  I have an elderly father who fought cancer in 2020, so I have been extremely careful - but haven't been completely able to entirely avoid risk of exposure/infection due to my work, nor willing to continue postponing my proven mental health medication (travel.)

I am also one of the people who has not taken I’ll and I’ll credit my good common sense. I would wear a mask when absolutely forced to by businesses. Which in Alabama has been very few. But I do respect their rules. I got vaccinated and try to keep a reasonable distance when possible. The mask I used is the surgeon type that fits loosely on all sides. Thank goodness those have been gone in my state for about a year now. It’s nice to live normal. I hate everyone can’t have the same opportunities. 

[monykalyn]

27 minutes ago, bamaone said:

I am also one of the people who has not taken

Me neither despite only wearing mask when forced, several up close encounters with covid positive symptomatic (including enclosed office where we both had masks down), "risky" behavior of theme parks (HHN was packed at UOF this past year) with no mask, going out to eat like usual (no mask). And I have to test regularly too-never a positive even back when had to do brain scraping PCR tests. Vaxed not boosted. Haven't been sick either as 2019/early 2020 was my "sick" year-sick October-March that year with sinus infections/colds/severe asthma attacks. Immune system must be all built up for a while...

On 2/9/2022 at 9:47 PM, john91498 said:

monykalyn,

 

Minas is about 30 minutes from Waikiki in Ko Olina. Away from the main drag, but quite beautiful.

 

If you're going to be in Waikiki, I'd suggest going to the International Market Place. Funky place with lots of eateries and little markets. Also, take advantage of the ABC markets. Reasonable prices on booze and food. much less than the resorts.

OOH thanks for suggestions!! So much to see and do and so looking forward to it!!

[monykalyn]

On 2/10/2022 at 3:41 PM, kdr69 said:

Oooooh check out the new CDC Cruise ship Status Dashboard.  Its sooo pretty.  And now orange is is the new yellow.  CDC still cant bring itself to admit that Cruising is safer than being on land so it was  highly doubtful they could bring themselves to revise protocols like masking and heaven forbid lower the level 4 travel advisory against cruising.

I'm sure you read CLIA's response-man they are NOT happy. This is what you get for going along and expecting the other party(CDC) will be reasonable...and they wonder why people and businesses are fed up and losing trust?

[BlerkOne]

28 minutes ago, monykalyn said:

I'm sure you read CLIA's response-man they are NOT happy. This is what you get for going along and expecting the other party(CDC) will be reasonable...and they wonder why people and businesses are fed up and losing trust?

The CLIA response that came out at the same time NCL made masks mandatory? Makes you wonder if the CLIA values life 

 

I long ago lost trust in the options of non-scientists and non-MDs. And even some of those on the fringe.

[MrMarc]

However, the CDC threshold is .3% of passengers and crew for the ship to be designated as orange.  .3% of 4000 is 12.  So if 13 people test positive on a lot of ships, it becomes orange.  So even at orange, they are showing the risk is very low, but you have to "dig" a little to realize how stringent their rules are.