mjb1127

This is where Air2Sea's refundable fares (not all are refundable there, so make note of what you're booking) come in real handy.

I would book through Air2Sea because no need to pay until final payment of cruise is due and it is fully cancellable (is that even a word??).  That gives you a few months to see how things are going. etc.  Not sure Air2Sea can book SWA airfares but even those...if you book now (or anytime) you will get full credit (not refund) to use towards another flight within 12 months.

I have never cruised during school breaks so can’t speak of the probably makeup of a sailing this July. I estimate that kids have never represented more than 5% of guests on any sailing I have taken. Royal could review their current passenger manifests across their fleet and see which ships they can pursue the 98-95-5 scenario and which ships need the test sailings without vaccines. 
Splitting the fleet in this way allows Royal  to market to a broader audience and potentially shift willing passengers based on family age makeup to satisfy requirements.  
Hopefully most of this is temporary. 

We are seeing big drops in cases here in NY.   My county's positivity rate is 1.17 percent!  It was over 4 percent not long ago!  I don't think it will go away completely until more people get vaccinated.  I was reading early this week that there was an outbreak in Oregon in a rural area where very few people were vaccinated.

Mid July would be wonderful.   
Wonderfuller would be walking the plank onto Allure at about 11:00 Sunday morning on Aug 1.

Key part of the article...
 
Based on industry feedback, the CDC landed on five clarifications to its additional guidance issued April 2 to allow a resumption of sailing:
Ships can bypass the required simulated test voyages carrying volunteers and jump to sailings with paying passengers if 98% of crew and 95% of passengers are fully vaccinated. CDC will review and respond to applications from cruise lines for simulated voyages within 5 days, a review previously expected to take 60 days. CDC will update its testing and quarantine requirements for passengers and crew on sailings with paying passengers to align with the CDC's guidance for fully vaccinated people. So, for example, instead of taking a PCR lab test ahead of boarding vaccinated passengers can take a rapid antigen test upon embarkation. CDC has clarified that cruise ship operators may enter into a "multi-port agreement" rather than a single port agreement as long as all port and local authorities sign the agreement. The CDC has clarified guidance on quarantine guidelines for passengers who may be exposed to or contract COVID-19. For example, local passengers may be able to drive home and passengers who have traveled to cruise may quarantine in a hotel.

Good to see this... fingers crossed.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/cruises/2021/04/28/cdc-cruises-could-restart-july/4883450001/

Yes!!! If anything else, back-up plan now is worth considering!! Love the itinerary on EPIC!!!
https://www.ncl.com/return-to-service
 

Interesting in a number of ways, including some features of a JS like lighting and motorized drapes.
In quarantine as part of the arrival protocols.
 

I wonder if the CDC knows that the upper decks of a cruise ship are outdoors. Hmmm... lol

Really hoping the CDC loosening up the outside rules for the vaccinated helps with the "masks on the pool deck" conversation.
 
 

I saw mentioned back up a bit that people are getting burned out on restrictions.  
 
Working in a supermarket, I see this more and more every day.  Pandemic Fatigue is real and starting to take over.  
As more and more people become fully vaccinated, those people are questioning masks, capacity limits, and distancing measures.   To put it bluntly, people are getting pissed. 
 
At some point (and I believe it will be soon), things are going to come to a head, especially as the demand for vaccines drops due to the majority being vaccinated.  I hope that the federal government (ie. CDC) doesn’t try to maintain some semblance of control by continuing to refuse cruising from US ports. 
 
On a personal note, the ban on cruising from US ports may be the catalyst we need to take a cruise in Europe this summer since my wife and I will be considered fully vaccinated in a couple weeks. 

I would also add that there are a number of wonderful therapeutic treatment options available to treat folks who test positive for COVID. I wonder if the cruise lines are working to stock up their medicine cabinets with some of these drugs to minimize outbreaks on a ship?

What is really concerning is that it says that they want to shut the ships down if an outbreak occurs onboard. If a outbreak of norovirus occurs the ships currently decide to end the voyage based on the number of cases. So going forward if one or two people test positive for COVID on a ship of 3500 people, are they going to end the cruise? This is where I think it will be necessary for the cruise lines to mandate the vaccine for the first year or two in order to make it feasible to sail again. I know that is controversial for me to say but I don’t think it works any other way. Adults will have to be vaccinated and kids under 16 will require a negative test for awhile. 

I'm glad you mentioned this, because this is the source of the problem with the CDC.
The CDC is still looking at cruises through the prism of March 2020.
That is like saying airplanes and airports are unsafe from terrorists because you only look at airline security pre-9/11.
No cruise ship is going to operate in 2021 like it did in March 2020. I'm not sure how many more times cruise lines can state their extensive and unparalleled new health protocols before the CDC stops using March 2020 as the baseline.

It's almost like you read the minds of the CDC team who authored the update.

Switching my July cruise from Allure to Adventure is proving to be the right move more and more each day.

4th June to 29th August.
https://www.royalcaribbean.com/gbr/en/cruise-ships/itinerary-updates
They are also apparently offering 999 free staterooms on these sailings for workers in the emergency services, NHS, social care sector and armed forces.

Let’s all stick to the topic of this thread, which I am assuming is the interest level of sailing out of the Bahamas this summer.
 
Let’s not turn this into a thread where we are criticizing or judging other countries for their vaccine rollout or question why their government did what they did. 
 
The way I see it, the bottom line is that we are all frustrated on some level regardless of what country we are from. We all want to get back to cruising. But no amount of criticism, or playing the would have, should have, could have game is going to change any of the decisions that our governments have already made, nor will it speed up the rollout of vaccines in different parts of the world. Nor will it get us back to cruising sooner so the discussion is quite pointless. 
 
Stick to the thread topic, are you interested in sailing out of the Bahamas or not? All other discussions belong on some other forum. Not here.

I think the thing @JeffB did not consider is it's (theoretically) a ship full of inoculated people, minus of course the minors.
Many of your conclusions would make a lot of sense a couple of months ago when we were talking about cruises sailing on health protocols alone.
With most vaccinated, and I anticipate a host of protocols in place (masks, social distancing, etc), I don't come to the same conclusion you have.
Don't forget, they've been operating for months already with Quantum of the Seas without any vaccines.

Peter Greenberg has a wonderful interview with Kate McCue in this week's broadcast.  It is in the first 32 minutes.
https://petergreenberg.com/2021/03/12/eye-on-travel-new-york-march-13-2021/

Kudo's to Celebrity leadership for making the embarkation move!  Think we'll be seeing more of it in the industry.

Starting in June sailing from St. Maarten.  
 
https://creative.rccl.com/Sales/Celebrity/General_Info/ITK/CEL_JUNE_CARIBBEAN_COMEBACK_FOR_CELEBRITY_CRUISES_Press_Release_3-19-21.pdf
 
CELEBRITY CRUISES EMBRACES THE MAGIC OF ST. MAARTEN FOR JUNE CARIBBEAN COMEBACK
- Revolutionized Celebrity Millennium to set sail on June 5
- Announcement is “such a significant moment’ for company, St. Maarten and the Caribbean

MIAMI (March 19, 2021) – Celebrity Cruises announced its long-anticipated return to cruising today, as company President and CEO, Lisa Lutoff-Perlo confirmed that the revolutionized Celebrity Millennium, the ship at the forefront of the fleet’s $500 million modernization program and featuring the exclusive open-air hideaway The Retreat®, will homeport in the tropical paradise of St. Maarten beginning June 5.

Beginning March 25, eager travelers can turn their vacation dreams into a dream vacation when booking opens for new seven-night itineraries departing through August to some of the best-loved Caribbean island destinations. The ship will sail with vaccinated crew and will be available to vaccinated adult guests and children under the age of 18 with a negative PCR test result within 72 hours of embarkation.

Guests can take advantage of special air and sea pricing offering exceptional savings on all Summer 2021 St. Maarten sailings starting at $1,999* per person for a veranda stateroom. The offer applies to new bookings and flights must be booked through Flights By Celebrity and prices include airfare and taxes. No promotional code is needed.
Celebrity Cruises President and CEO Lisa Lutoff-Perlo said, “Returning to the Caribbean after more than a year away is such a significant moment for us. It marks the measured beginning of the end of what has been a uniquely challenging time for everyone. We have been in constant contact with the leadership of St. Maarten these past months to support each other and share learnings and best practices. That we’re able to offer people the opportunity to safely vacation onboard the revolutionized Celebrity Millennium, is incredible, and that we will sail from the magical island of St. Maarten is very special. I am forever grateful for the support and collaboration of the St. Maarten government.”

“Having a major cruise line such as Royal Caribbean Group’s Celebrity Cruises homeport here is a significant economic milestone for St. Maarten. It’s an historic agreement, the fruit of continuous dialogue and a testament to the strength of our longstanding relationship,” Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transportation and Telecommunication (TEATT) Ludmila de Weever declared. “Celebrity Cruises homeporting here will help rejuvenate our economy and drive opportunities for our people. I would like to thank the management team at the Royal Caribbean Group for their commitment to St. Maarten and their confidence in the Ministry of TEATT as a reliable and responsible partner. I look forward to the successful re-launch of their Caribbean cruising,” Minister de Weever concluded.

Peter Greenberg has a wonderful interview with Kate McCue in this week's broadcast.  It is in the first 32 minutes.
https://petergreenberg.com/2021/03/12/eye-on-travel-new-york-march-13-2021/

I just posted before reading your post, at this point i dont think it makes any sense for the CDC to finally release the protocols, let the cruiselines, work on complying etc.
If we are at the point by end of May where every american that wants a vaccine can have one whats the point of wasting time just lift the ban and get back to work.