The Vaccine Discussion Thread

[DCLMP]

The negative test carve-out is for kids. If you are of an eligible age to receive a vaccine, according to that announcement, you must be vaccinated. I can see the confusion, but really it should say guests 2-11 must submit the negative test. All guests over 12 (as of August 1), must be fully vaccinated. That means dose 2 by July 17, so there's still time to make appointments for those youth. Whatever happens between now and August 1, all guests over 16 must be fully vaccinated. There's still time to make that happen for a mid-July cruise if you haven't started your "course" yet, so this is more than fair to announce now considering RCCL's calendar and restart plan.

I predict there will be very few kids on these sailings.

 

[sullivan.kscott]

I predict there will be very few kids on these sailings.

I predict there will be very few kids on these sailings.

Probably. Especially come September and the school year starting in earnest again. Even DCL, who has a lot of kids on every sailing, sees a drop in % of school-aged kids during that time of year, right? That's why "shoulder season" pricing is always so good, relatively.

We have a few plans scheduled for mid/late October. The week we're taking is set, what we're doing with it isn't. Should DCL adopt this plan with the Wonder (and get her repositioned), I'd be very tempted to scrap all the other plans and do one of the San Diego Halloween sailings. Combining what is happening domestically with the virus, with even an 85% vaccine bubble (making an assumption on the age breakdown of 12+), is quite appealing.

Of course, by October I'd readily concede this may all be moot domestically if we continue our current path.

 

[DCLMP]

Probably. Especially come September and the school year starting in earnest again. Even DCL, who has a lot of kids on every sailing, sees a drop in % of school-aged kids during that time of year, right? That's why "shoulder season" pricing is always so good, relatively.

We have a few plans scheduled for mid/late October. The week we're taking is set, what we're doing with it isn't. Should DCL adopt this plan with the Wonder (and get her repositioned), I'd be very tempted to scrap all the other plans and do one of the San Diego Halloween sailings. Combining what is happening domestically with the virus, with even an 85% vaccine bubble (making an assumption on the age breakdown of 12+), is quite appealing.

Of course, by October I'd readily concede this may all be moot domestically if we continue our current path.

We always cruise off-season I've never noticed a lack of kids onboard any cruise line. I'm sure the people that work on the ships wonder if American kids actually go to school. I don't think you are going to see a lot of kids on cruises if kids are required to get vaccinated. Not everyone is as gung ho as you are about giving their kids the jab. I also don't think cruising is going to bounce back as quickly as people think. A lot of people are still afraid to travel much less set foot on a ship.

 

[sullivan.kscott]

Nm

 

[mefordis]

We always cruise off-season I've never noticed a lack of kids onboard any cruise line. I'm sure the people that work on the ships wonder if American kids actually go to school. I don't think you are going to see a lot of kids on cruises if kids are required to get vaccinated. Not everyone is as gung ho as you are about giving their kids the jab. I also don't think cruising is going to bounce back as quickly as people think. A lot of people are still afraid to travel much less set foot on a ship.

Agree. I think most schools that start in August have a fall break in Sept. I know we have a few days off in Sept. Plus now many people are homeschooling than ever before which means you can make your own schedule pretty much.

 

[soniam]

Celebrity is requiring vaccine too for Alaska. Here's part of the email.

"I truly believe that the best way to experience Alaska is by cruise ship. Our new 2021 Alaska sailings open for booking on Tuesday, May 25, 2021 and you can find more information about them at https://www.celebritycruises.com/destinations/alaska-cruises. If you've never been to Alaska, now Is the time to go.

All sailings will depart with vaccinated crew and everyone over the age of 16 must be vaccinated; as of August 1, 2021, all US guests ages 12 and older must be fully vaccinated."

 

[deliela999]

Agree. I think most schools that start in August have a fall break in Sept. I know we have a few days off in Sept. Plus now many people are homeschooling than ever before which means you can make your own schedule pretty much.

We start the end of July, 2 weeks off in October, 2 weeks+ at Christmas, 2 weeks in March for spring break, and out before Memorial Day. Not matching schedules with many other states works well for vacations.

 

[jrapps]

So Royals' website just went all official, Vaccines required on ALL sailings from the US and Bahamas.

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/...-covid-vaccine-to-cruise-what-counts-as-proof
Now take this with a grain of salt as the only sailings announced so far are Alaska, but will be interesting if they keep this as a blanket policy, and if this will apply to cruises from FL.

 

[DCLMP]

Agree. I think most schools that start in August have a fall break in Sept. I know we have a few days off in Sept. Plus now many people are homeschooling than ever before which means you can make your own schedule pretty much.

One of the reasons we always stuck with Disney is because there are always kids on board. We've done three TA's and there were plenty of kids on board. I was worried when we cruised on Royal the first week of February, but there were still a lot of kids most of them homeschooled.

 

[DCLMP]

We start the end of July, 2 weeks off in October, 2 weeks+ at Christmas, 2 weeks in March for spring break, and out before Memorial Day. Not matching schedules with many other states works well for vacations.

We're waffling between the 11-night Holy land cruise on May 25 and the 11 night Baltic on June 15 both on Royal. My son wants one with kids on board. I think we're safe with both. I wish we could do the 11 night Disney Baltic but were priced out due to some unexpected bills. Your school schedule is made for traveling. Sorry, off-topic.

 

[JWelch62]

One of the reasons we always stuck with Disney is because there are always kids on board. We've done three TA's and there were plenty of kids on board. I was worried when we cruised on Royal the first week of February, but there were still a lot of kids most of them homeschooled.

We were amazed at the number of kids on our EBPC. It was 2 weeks smack dab in the middle of school. There were clearly less than on a normal cruise, but plenty to have a fun halloween. Lots of trick or treaters.

 

[tee11]

It's not the same, but it's also not a completely different operation from the immune system's point of view. Perhaps you mean that the consequences of a new-to-us "wild virus encounter" in our bodies are very different from only dealing with a spike, subunit or inactive version of that same virus, and that would be true (and what I had tried to highlight in my original post). I will clarify some aspects about adjuvants since you mentioned them.

You are incorrect: NOT all vaccines have adjuvants (strictly translated: "helper", a molecule that helps the immune system respond). Many do (f.e. those against Tetanus, Hepatitis A, B, pneumococcal, one against influzenza, etc.), many don't (f.e. MMR, yellow fever, varizella, meningococcal, most against influenza, etc.)

Adjuvants are an important part of many inactivated-virus-type vaccines (in this case an example would be China's Sinopharm and India's Covaxin) and protein-subunit type vaccines (in this case an example would be UK/US' not yet released Novavax).

People often think of the traditional and most commonly used adjuvant; aluminum salts (variations used since 1930s), when they hear the term "adjuvant", but this is technically not true (or rather complete) anymore. There are now several other types of molecules that are added and can act as "helpers" in a handful of vaccines (Shingrix is one for example, using a natural component from a certain tree).

The mRNA vaccines (Pfizer and Moderna) do NOT contain any traditional adjuvants.
However, the microscopic lipid (fat) droplets (that the mRNA is suspended in to protect it from falling apart/degradation) themselves act as the "helper", so you could say these lipid drops have adjuvant activity (as an added bonus if you will), though they are the actual transport vehicle in this case, and not an added substance for the purpose of enhancing the immune response.

Thanks for clarifying but I still don't see the connection to the immune response to the vaccine versus how your immune system would respond if you got COVID (without the vaccine). One thing has nothing to do with the other. ALL vaccines artificially stimulate the immune system with adjuvants. Normal infections have no adjuvants.

 

[DCLMP]

Don’t think getting the vaccine has been mandated.

They will not mandate it, but they will try to make it impossible for you to work, go to school, travel or have any kind of normal life. It won't matter if you have natural immunity. You must show your vaccine passport.

 

[TestingH2O]

American Airlines is partnering with VeriFLY to make travel easier if you are flying to/from select airports and going places that have vaccine and/or testing requirements. I can’t imagine other options like this won’t become available in the coming months.

https://news.aa.com/news/news-detai...SFVgA7flA3JkOoyFaNEZn8BGDMYMjLU9EzLszYsHVVmws

 

[mevelandry]

Haven't you heard? The vaccines reprogram your DNA! You start out as a sheep, then morph into a lab rat and then a guinea pig.

That makes perfect sense. Thanks! Can't hardly wait to morph into a guinea pig. They are so cute.

 

[HiStitch626]

That makes perfect sense. Thanks! Can't hardly wait to morph into a guinea pig. They are so cute.

Have you ever seen a hairless guinea pig? They look like tiny hippos!

 

[Maggie'sMom]

That makes perfect sense. Thanks! Can't hardly wait to morph into a guinea pig. They are so cute.

Personally, I'd prefer a vaccine that could morph me into Jessica Rabbit.

 

[soniam]

Haven't you heard? The vaccines reprogram your DNA! You start out as a sheep, then morph into a lab rat and then a guinea pig.

That must be what happened to my hair. Oh, wait. It was blue before I got the shot Maybe it will turn us into something like the Incredible Hulk. That would be kind of cool. Don't you love science

 

[soniam]

Ending the stupid pandemic would be great! It's been going on much longer than covid, centuries.

 

[jerry557]

I am not a sheep. I did my research. I made a choice and I ask you respect it. Mandating FDA approved vaccines is not criminal. This one is not fully FDA approved or mandated yet, but once it is, then mandating it will not be a criminal act.

The government is not going to mandate it, at least not in the United States. And depending on the state, it may not be easy for companies or employers to mandate it either. In many situations, from a legal perspective, it actually may further expose a company to being sued if they require it for employment. It's a big reason most companies are not going to require their workforce to be vaccinated. It's a legal risk for a number of reasons. You also have some states like Florida that have banned companies from asking for verification.

And you want people to respect your decision to get the vaccine. That's fine. But then you don't want to respect the people who make the decision not to get it. You want mandates and requirements and force people into making the "choice" to get it. And those that refuse will be ostracized, excommunicated, and denied access to social events.

Respect is a two-way street. There is no respect for the people who don't want the jab.