Norwegian dropping vaccine requirements

[Kwami]

They might also gain some. For me, sailing with other vaccinated passengers is a definite plus.

For me, too. I don't like the idea of my whole cruise being interrupted because some unvaccinated folks got a severe case of Covid-19 and we had to go off course to the nearest port or rescue ship. With vaccines, severe cases are significantly less likely to occur.

 

[Bibbidi_Boo]

I wonder if the lack of passengers is due to a vaccine requirement, or testing.

Locally I know a whole slew of people that won't cruise till vaccine mandate is gone. Some because of principle and some because they won't vaccinate (or they won't their kids). My daughters dance studio is waiting for mandates and testing to drop so they can book anther dance cruise as is.

 

[Bibbidi_Boo]

I wonder the same thing. I think also just the idea of possibly testing positive onboard and having to quarantine is really off putting. For me that would probably make me the most nervous. Having said that, for me personally with the great deals for Florida residents the only thing that has kept my family from cruising is the vaccine requirement (my 12 year old isn’t vaccinated).

For the most part this isn't a high risk anymore since they aren't contract tracing like they were. And lets be honest the majority that wake up with maybe a sniffle isn't likely running to get tested either now, just like in the past.

For me, too. I don't like the idea of my whole cruise being interrupted because some unvaccinated folks got a severe case of Covid-19 and we had to go off course to the nearest port or rescue ship. With vaccines, severe cases are significantly less likely to occur.

This is really not that much of an issue. We have been on a few cruises with a medical emergency and it never made any negative impact. They have the helicopter pad on the ships as is. Hospitilization rates for covid is way low anyway now.

 

[insureman]

This is really not that much of an issue. We have been on a few cruises with a medical emergency and it never made any negative impact. They have the helicopter pad on the ships as is. Hospitilization rates for covid is way low anyway now.

There are no helo pads on the DCL ships. They have to lower a stokes litter to the deck.

 

[DMMarla07860]

I wonder if the lack of passengers is due to a vaccine requirement, or testing.

Yeah either one could definitely make people not want to

 

[DCLMP]

There are plenty of people cruising with health conditions that are way worse than Covid. Its always been that way and always will be that way. cruise lines do the best to manage it. I’ve been on several cruises where we had to divert to drop someone off to get medical care.

 

[goofy4prez]

There are plenty of people cruising with health conditions that are way worse than Covid. Its always been that way and always will be that way. cruise lines do the best to manage it. I’ve been on several cruises where we had to divert to drop someone off to get medical care.

I agree 100%. The chances are much greater that someone is going to suffer a heart attack, stroke, other health conditions, or just flat out face their maker because their time is up than someone needing to be diverted to a port because of covid.

 

[mom4fun]

This is a different world we are living in than the beginning of Covid. If they are really concerned about someone coming down with a serious case of Covid, they should be checking antibody levels. There are people that have been vaccinated that have none and people that have not been vaccinated that have high levels.

 

[Kwami]

This is a different world we are living in than the beginning of Covid. If they are really concerned about someone coming down with a serious case of Covid, they should be checking antibody levels. There are people that have been vaccinated that have none and people that have not been vaccinated that have high levels.

That's really not how it works, though. Antibodies are an immediate defense, but they aren't the only defense. Our antibodies against any virus or other disease will fade over time. If they didn't, then our blood would be packed full of nothing but antibodies against everything that we've ever encountered and it wouldn't be able to flow properly. However, a large part of our defenses come from our T and B cells, which hold a sort of "memory" about how to fight off viruses. You'll produce more antibodies when you need them, usually limiting your illness to something less severe.

 

[DMMarla07860]

This is a different world we are living in than the beginning of Covid. If they are really concerned about someone coming down with a serious case of Covid, they should be checking antibody levels. There are people that have been vaccinated that have none and people that have not been vaccinated that have high levels.

I actually asked my rheumatologist if I should check antibodies before I cruise. This was when I thought I was going in August, we moved to February 2023 and she said it wouldn’t matter

 

[DMMarla07860]

That's really not how it works, though. Antibodies are an immediate defense, but they aren't the only defense. Our antibodies against any virus or other disease will fade over time. If they didn't, then our blood would be packed full of nothing but antibodies against everything that we've ever encountered and it wouldn't be able to flow properly. However, a large part of our defenses come from our T and B cells, which hold a sort of "memory" about how to fight off viruses. You'll produce more antibodies when you need them, usually limiting your illness to something less severe.

Unless your cells attack you . Mine could with Lupus. I asked rheumatologist if checking antibodies before cruising with be a good idea. Said it doesn’t matter .

We moved our cruises to February 2023 instead of August 2022.

 

[Kwami]

Unless your cells attack you . Mine could with Lupus. I asked rheumatologist if checking antibodies before cruising with be a good idea. Said it doesn’t matter .

We moved our cruises to February 2023 instead of August 2022.

Well, sure, Lupus and other autoimmune diseases break the system.

Hopefully, you'll be good for that February cruise!

 

[DMMarla07860]

Well, sure, Lupus and other autoimmune diseases break the system.

Hopefully, you'll be good for that February cruise!

Yup hopefully

 

[jujubiee4]

Personally I'm fine with all of the restrictions because they're keeping passenger numbers lower than they would be otherwise.

I hear ya. My inlaws (who are avid cruisers) went on Celebrity when they first relaunched. Hardly anyone
on there. My mother n law said it felt like being on your own private yacht. lol

Later when we all went on DCL I was tense early on hoping I wouldn't catch anything. But i soon relaxed
as the ship was heavenly without all the people. I will miss that!

 

[BmarieT]

But those at high risk of serious complications aren't putting anyone else at risk, just themselves. I just don't see a reason to be all up in arms over taking a simple test to be sure you aren't, at least at the moment, infected with Covid. Of all of the people who shouldn't cruise, those infected with the virus are at the top of the list. By removing testing, you're just throwing the doors open to a mass spread of the disease, much more than the anecdotal reports we read. Those who don't want testing feel that way because they want to be able to cruise even when they are positive for Covid. I can't imagine.....

First of all it adds $120 on to the price of the cruise and second some of us are flying from several states away (MN for us) and it adds on a lot of stress as to if the vacation will actually happen. I have no problem being vaccinated but the testing requirement need to go away.

 

[DCLMP]

I hear ya. My inlaws (who are avid cruisers) went on Celebrity when they first relaunched. Hardly anyone
on there. My mother n law said it felt like being on your own private yacht. lol

Later when we all went on DCL I was tense early on hoping I wouldn't catch anything. But i soon relaxed
as the ship was heavenly without all the people. I will miss that!

I felt the opposite. The energy just hasn’t been there.

 

[jujubiee4]

I felt the opposite. The energy just hasn’t been there.

Aww sorry you felt that way. My friend said the same thing. Then again on our Europe
DCL cruises I have never felt the same energy as on the domestic ones.

Glad you had a good time as we are hoping to be on the Greek sailing next year that we cancelled
this year.

 

[Disneychick13]

That's really not how it works, though. Antibodies are an immediate defense, but they aren't the only defense. Our antibodies against any virus or other disease will fade over time. If they didn't, then our blood would be packed full of nothing but antibodies against everything that we've ever encountered and it wouldn't be able to flow properly. However, a large part of our defenses come from our T and B cells, which hold a sort of "memory" about how to fight off viruses. You'll produce more antibodies when you need them, usually limiting your illness to something less severe.

Ok. You are not totally right either. Checking antibody levels (titers) for many diseases we get vaccinated for IS done and DOES give accurate results. If you were ever pregnant, your dr ordered a rubella antibody test. They didn’t ask for your vaccination record because that won’t give them the info they need to know(if you are immune to rubella). So Covid is a different disease and as we all know the presence of antibodies doesn’t predict if you will get Covid or not. And fyi, antibodies are proteins made by B cells. When your body is exposed to Covid, if you have any kind of antibodies to it the B cells will then be able to recognize that and start quickly ramping up production of more antibodies. And you are correct that T cells will also play a role in protecting you/fighting an infection if you get exposed.

 

[Kwami]

Ok. You are not totally right either. Checking antibody levels (titers) for many diseases we get vaccinated for IS done and DOES give accurate results. If you were ever pregnant, your dr ordered a rubella antibody test. They didn’t ask for your vaccination record because that won’t give them the info they need to know(if you are immune to rubella). So Covid is a different disease and as we all know the presence of antibodies doesn’t predict if you will get Covid or not. And fyi, antibodies are proteins made by B cells. When your body is exposed to Covid, if you have any kind of antibodies to it the B cells will then be able to recognize that and start quickly ramping up production of more antibodies. And you are correct that T cells will also play a role in protecting you/fighting an infection if you get exposed.

I don't think that you contradicted anything that I said. You're right that small levels of IgG stick around after a rubella infection or vaccine, but we weren't talking about Rubella. You probably still have small levels of Covid-19 antibodies, too. We still don't know how long they last or at what level we'll keep producing them. But, we've learned that Covid-19 antibodies don't imply immunity to the virus, unlike IgG and Rubella. So, checking for Covid-19 antibodies wouldn't be very effective.

 

[Disneychick13]

I don't think that you contradicted anything that I said. You're right that small levels of IgG stick around after a rubella infection or vaccine, but we weren't talking about Rubella. You probably still have small levels of Covid-19 antibodies, too. We still don't know how long they last or at what level we'll keep producing them. But, we've learned that Covid-19 antibodies don't imply immunity to the virus, unlike IgG and Rubella. So, checking for Covid-19 antibodies wouldn't be very effective.

We don’t know for Covid honestly, it has not been established. It IS established for lots of diseases , not just rubella(I just used a more well known thing as an example). You are right that testing positive for antibodies for Covid does not tell you anything other than that the person was vaccinated or had a prior infection. It will not predict (at least at this point) whether or not a person will be infected.

My point was when you said that it doesn’t work that way was that it DOES work that way much of the time. You didn’t qualify your statement. For Covid it doesn’t work that way. For many diseases it does.