Norwegian dropping vaccine requirements

[Snowwhyt]

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

Or some that will not cruise until Covid is over. Those that feel that even with testing and vaccination it’s still not safe. I don’t believe Covid will ever be over now any longer. seems that polio is back, is it measles or mumps that we get rid of… or so we thought.

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.

I too know people that say they won’t cruise/vacation until Covid is over. Well that’s going to be a full minute LOL.
I also have a friend who won’t cruise because they are nothing but Petri dishes! Then her new husband took her on a cruise last month.

 

[kramden88]

Glad to hear this and I hope Disney follows. I'll be cruising on the Wish soon and my brother can't go with us because he's unable to get the vaccine. And since the CDC finally recognized today that there's no difference between vaccinated and unvaccinated people as far as contracting and spreading, the policy is very much outdated.

 

[Bibbidi_Boo]

Glad to hear this and I hope Disney follows. I'll be cruising on the Wish soon and my brother can't go with us because he's unable to get the vaccine. And since the CDC finally recognized today that there's no difference between vaccinated and unvaccinated people as far as contracting and spreading, the policy is very much outdated.

I think todays announcement is going lead to a lot more changes with cruises and the other few places that are still stricter.

 

[DCLMP]

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.

Maybe it’s just the lack of kids. I hope to be on one of the Greek sailings next year too. .

 

[Intr3pid]

Desperate times, the way I read it. The cruise line stock prices have been cut in half over the last 6 months. Fears of defaults. They can't afford another demand shock. Although I doubt this policy change will mean much, they still need all hands on deck - so to speak.

Carnival in particular had been flirting with defaults - until they decided to massively dilute everyone with an equity offering at these throwaway stock prices. NCL doesn't want to go down that route, it seems.

Yet.

 

[Jhondy]

I think what makes me wonder if DCL is on course to change policy regarding vaccination/testing soon is their lack of updating anything regarding under 5 yr. Olds who can now be vaccinated.

I know Disney as a whole isn’t great with communication ahead of changes but I find it odd that they’ve basically chosen to ignore this change.

And now with the new CDC guidelines, it will be interesting to see what they do. I think the only real reason to try to keep any Covid policies in place at this point is to try to keep the crew on the ship as healthy as possible. If some/a bunch of the crew got Covid that could impact DCL’s ability to provide services to guests and it’s not like there is a surplus of workers currently.

 

[Bibbidi_Boo]

I think what makes me wonder if DCL is on course to change policy regarding vaccination/testing soon is their lack of updating anything regarding under 5 yr. Olds who can now be vaccinated.

I know Disney as a whole isn’t great with communication ahead of changes but I find it odd that they’ve basically chosen to ignore this change.

And now with the new CDC guidelines, it will be interesting to see what they do. I think the only real reason to try to keep any Covid policies in place at this point is to try to keep the crew on the ship as healthy as possible. If some/a bunch of the crew got Covid that could impact DCL’s ability to provide services to guests and it’s not like there is a surplus of workers currently.

But with the update that being vaccinated only reduces the impact of the illness not actually getting it , then having vax or non vax guests really doesn't change much for crew.

Good point on the fact they haven't acknowledged the under 5 group. Changes will be coming for sure, but when who knows. It won't be super fast at this rate. But we can see the light at the end of the tunnel. There are only a few countries that have rules that will keep making people have to do something but those likely won't be around much longer either.

 

[Snowwhyt]

I think what makes me wonder if DCL is on course to change policy regarding vaccination/testing soon is their lack of updating anything regarding under 5 yr. Olds who can now be vaccinated.

I know Disney as a whole isn’t great with communication ahead of changes but I find it odd that they’ve basically chosen to ignore this change.

And now with the new CDC guidelines, it will be interesting to see what they do. I think the only real reason to try to keep any Covid policies in place at this point is to try to keep the crew on the ship as healthy as possible. If some/a bunch of the crew got Covid that could impact DCL’s ability to provide services to guests and it’s not like there is a surplus of workers currently.

They get Covid quite regularly. We had several staff members replaced during our cruises this year. And one of our ships were heavy hit near the end there. But then besides the vaccine they have a bit of immunity during the rest of their contract until the next variant makes them sick. They won’t tell you that their coworker left with Covid but you can tell they’re scrambling to see what they’re sick from “backache” is usually what they go with.

 

[nikem3]

They get Covid quite regularly. We had several staff members replaced during our cruises this year. And one of our ships were heavy hit near the end there. But then besides the vaccine they have a bit of immunity during the rest of their contract until the next variant makes them sick. They won’t tell you that their coworker left with Covid but you can tell they’re scrambling to see what they’re sick from “backache” is usually what they go with.

This seems to be the main issue. I've had a few clients cruise this summer and a lot of them complained about the crowds. One client went on a cruise that was shortstaffed for their kids club. There were so many kids running around the ship because they could only take a small amount in the kids club at a time and reservations had to be made. Pools were overloaded, etc.

It seems for the most part that cruises are back near/at capacity, but they are still struggling with staffing issues. Especially from the standpoint that if one member gets sick, it can spread to several others. With new CDC rules, it will be interesting to see how they handle this. I'm not even 100% sure how they handled sickness prior to covid.

 

[nancipants]

If testing/vaccine requirements go away, I hope that no guests complain about a lack of staffing due to crew members being sick.

 

[Bibbidi_Boo]

If testing/vaccine requirements go away, I hope that no guests complain about a lack of staffing due to crew members being sick.

It won’t end up long after all the other rules go away that they’ll just stop testing crewmember especially if they have no symptoms and it’s eventually going to be just like every other thing they dealt with since it’s not like they all stopped working every time they got a cold.

 

[nancipants]

It won’t end up long after all the other rules go away that they’ll just stop testing crewmember especially if they have no symptoms and it’s eventually going to be just like every other thing they dealt with since it’s not like they all stopped working every time they got a cold.

My sentiment still stands. I know there was absolutely no way I could have done the strenuous work they do while I had covid.

 

[Bibbidi_Boo]

My sentiment still stands. I know there was absolutely no way I could have done the strenuous work they do while I had covid.

Well but many of the crew our out not working with no symptoms and just tested positive and remain symptom free.

 

[nancipants]

Well but many of the crew our out not working with no symptoms and just tested positive and remain symptom free.

I'm not arguing that doesn't happen. All I'm saying is that IF more crew get sick and are unable to work, I hope guests don't complain.

 

[Bibbidi_Boo]

I'm not arguing that doesn't happen. All I'm saying is that IF more crew get sick and are unable to work, I hope guests don't complain.

It likely not to be any different in the end. The testing at this point is almost useless as is. VAX or Not they spread the same.

 

[Snowwhyt]

It likely not to be any different in the end. The testing at this point is almost useless as is. VAX or Not they spread the same.

I’m confused how a tested person that shows positive for Covid is useless information?
•If you have Covid you will pass on Covid.
•If you don’t, you likely won’t pass on Covid.
I’m sure I’m just misunderstanding something here, but can’t figure out what yet.

 

[Bibbidi_Boo]

I’m confused how a tested person that shows positive for Covid is useless information?
•If you have Covid you will pass on Covid.
•If you don’t, you likely won’t pass on Covid.
I’m sure I’m just misunderstanding something here, but can’t figure out what yet.

Testing 3 days before you board is essentially useless.

 

[DMMarla07860]

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 know my antibodies were tested before getting booster shot for Covid with Lupus, since some people have none. I had quite a lot thankfully

 

[DMMarla07860]

Or some that will not cruise until Covid is over. Those that feel that even with testing and vaccination it’s still not safe. I don’t believe Covid will ever be over now any longer. seems that polio is back, is it measles or mumps that we get rid of… or so we thought.

I too know people that say they won’t cruise/vacation until Covid is over. Well that’s going to be a full minute LOL.
I also have a friend who won’t cruise because they are nothing but Petri dishes! Then her new husband took her on a cruise last month.

My mom is one who says they are petri dishes. Dad and I don't think that. But that is one of the reasons we switched to February and with Lupus gotta play if cautious. My mom is more worried for me then I am TBH

 

[Kwami]

Testing 3 days before you board is essentially useless.

But crew members don't test three days before boarding and allowing any of them to work after a positive test would be very irresponsible. So, we might still see more frequent crew shortages if Covid-19 spreads on ships more than it already is.