MrMarc

2 hours ago, smokeybandit said:

If the CDC is culling the herd on capacity, how long can the cruise lines sit there idly taking every beating the CDC continues to give them?

As long as they want to be sailing from the US.  And remember, it is a small, but vocal, portion of the cruising public that is looking at these things as bad, the vast majority welcome the safety protocols.

13 minutes ago, twangster said:

Adoption of the beverage package was just over 20% typically before the pandemic for a typical cruise.  Typically new to Royal were 50 - 60% of those on board a typical cruise.  Most C&A on board are gold.  The next biggest group is platinum followed by Emerald for a typical cruise.  The numbers of Diamond drink eligible cruisers isn't as big as you think relative to the non-Diamond eligible on board.  

Diamond drinks used to suffice for a number of eligible guests.  Between buying a few during the day and drinking during happy hour a number of eligible guests never bought the drink package before.  I did for 30% of my cruises according to my spreadsheet.

What's changed now?  A few more might not buy it now, but it won't be huge numbers relative to the bulk of guests who were the primary type of guests acquiring the drink package.  

Plus, did you ever see the number of wine bottles they went through before each night on every ship in the fleet?  The old program was not free, it had a hefty cost to it.  They are probably saving money overall.  

For those that get value out of the drink package most still will.  

Thanks.  That is a lot of information that I had no idea about.  This will be my first cruise at Diamond, so I had never seen the way it used to be. 

I have to wonder if this is affecting their revenue since now you have to be drinking about 8 or so drinks every day to "break even".  It would seem to me that offering Diamond and above a discount on the UBP might make more sense.

I find it interesting that they choose a County Government as the only entity that they are currently trying to enforce this law on.  People voted that County administration in which really creates a question about whose "rights" are being protected.  It will also be interesting to see if such selective enforcement will become an issue, along with how this law applies to Governmental entities vs. private businesses.  No question, lots of billable hours for attorneys in Florida.

On 10/8/2021 at 1:09 PM, cruisellama said:

I didn't forget.  There are many who have health concerns that make getting the vax a higher risk - so  are out of the game for now.   I've been thinking about how long the "inventory" of those who meet requirements can be stretched to keep the industry viable.  If the pool of eligibles stays the same (or grows at a slower rate than available cabins), you have too many cabins chasing too few guests.  It will make  comfortable cruising for those who make it on-board,  but its not an efficient/profitable way to run and grow a business.   I guess we'll know if we see a slowing of restarts.   

Except that the population of those who are "qualified" will continue to grow at some rate, and the population of "unqualified" will continue to decrease at that same rate.  However, I do think the are claiming cruises are "capacity controlled" when in fact they are just not selling as many rooms as they would like.  I think all of the cruise lines are claiming that they would be able to sail with all ships full if allowed to, however I just do not believe that.  As for the rumors regarding rule changes, I really think we should waite until we actually know something before starting rumors.  They spread online faster than any factual information.

On my sailing on Adventure in December, it was less than the single device VOOM package, and since I sail solo, it was an easy choice.  With the new changes, if you like room service and are not getting a dining package, it could be worth it, depending on how much it is on your particular cruise.

Actually, I just checked on my Adventure of the Seas cruise out of Galveston in December, and The Key is $17.99 and 1 Voom Surf & Stream is $18.39.  I don't think I want to pay more to get less.  I am wondering if it going to be canceled because it says check onboard where it used to say Add to Cart.

I still wish the fight over how much power a Federal agency has was being decided over a more important activity and a much less polarizing issue than the COVID vaccine.  We would have a chance for a less result oriented decision.

I guess I'm the only one that thinks this a better deal.  The 25% off and free room service seems like it would be enough value added to the zoom package.  And most of the time I think there are much better seats than they reserved for the key, so early access seems better to me.  And when I  was flying to a port,, I really liked being able to drop off carry on stuff.  As for breakfasts, depends on what's in the bag.  I guess everyone has different views on what makes the key worth it.

I wonder if this is a limit set by the cruise line, or by Demand.  Has any one checked on cabin availability just prior to the cruise date?  Are the actually trying to sell more or does it show sold out?  For example, I just checked on the October 3 sailing of the Liberty out of Galveston, and it shows all types of rooms as available.  Not a conspiracy theory, but could they be hiding lack of demand as capacity limits?

Just read the responses to your question.  I think the requirement will be extended to any age group with a vaccine in any way approved by the FDA.  Until it is treated as a health issue, not a political or economic one,  I doubt the requirements will be loosened because the problem will not go away.  At this point, that could be never, but who knows.  

They obviously have a huge supply.  Carnival published them as a source of acceptable tests this morning, and they still appear to have them.  I would think that between normal demand, RCCL and Carnival, they are selling a lot of tests.

23 hours ago, CrznTxn said:

We use these for our badge holder at work. They are heavy duty and take the snap attachment on the lanyard or the regular snap hook. Easy to slide the card in and out with the thumb slot in the back. Used to (at least in Galveston) the vendors who sold lanyards before we boarded had slot hole punches so you did not need a holder.

That's how I usually carry it during the day, but this looks better and easier to hand the card to someone or put it in a slot machine.  It's not like taking the lanyard off is a big deal though.   

I saw these in a FB group and got them.  I haven't used it yet, but it seems like it will be great.  https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B079ZKQBMV/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

If you claim to be in the medical field and claim tests are only available for people who are symptomatic or exposed, then I am very, very glad you are not responsible for any aspect of my care, and I really think that you should not be responsible for any aspect of care for any living thing.  Tests are readily available.  If you were not aware they were required to board, then you have been ignoring the news, all communications from RCCL, and certainly have not been following any cruise blogs.

Ok.  I contacted them.  It is only if you are hospitalized, but the transfer once you are hospitalized does not have to be medically necessary.  In other words, even if that hospital feels they can treat you without a transfer, you can choose to be transferred to a US Hospital.  Considering I have a heart condition, I think I would probably be hospitalized if I were COVID positive, even without additional symptoms.  If so, then their transfer would kick in, so I may keep both to have a belt and suspenders so to speak.  Besides, if I spend that much on insurance, I can be pretty sure I will never need it.

Ok, they just confirmed that they will only evacuate if you are admitted to a hospital, but the evacuation does not have to be a medical necessity.  In other words, if you can convince them to admit you to a hospital,  they will evacuate you.   Since I've had a heart attack, I'm going to trust that I can convince them to admit me even if I'm not symptomatic and keep both policies.

10 minutes ago, 12thman said:

Okay thanks. My health insurance already provides medical evacuation. 

Mine too.  The office itself was closed, so they are going to have a rep call me tomorrow.  I can see how they may be interpreting what I read, and I can see how I interpreted it.  If I am wrong, I hope I can at least get my money back.  And if I am wrong, I cannot find anything that will evacuate you if you are not symptomatic except whatever Royal was selling for their Nassau cruises, which I do not know any way for the general public to get it.  But I will be trying to find out over the next few days.

27 minutes ago, 12thman said:

Do you know how much MedJet is? Does it work like travel insurance?

It was $444 for a year for me.  But I just called them and was told they also would not transfer you unless you are hospitalized.  So I might have wasted my money.  They are having someone call me back tomorrow.  I'll let you know what they say.  I saw this: Hospital to Hospital Medical Transfer for member regardless of Medical Necessity, COVID-19 Info HERE" and made an assumption, it appears I could be wrong, so I do not know if it is providing anything more than my BlueGeo, which also includes medical insurance.  MedJet is only transportation and security services.

If I get stuck in a quarantine situation, I want to be able to get home.  BlueGeo will only evacuate if "Medically necessary", and being quarantined does not require evacuation back to the US.  MedJet will cover evacuation in almost any situation.  This is not an ad for either, just something to think about.

1 hour ago, UNCFanatik said:

Is this really your final answer you want to stick with? People not getting vaccinated are inept? You need to check vaccination stats of all people groups in this country and then realize how you sound. 

I would go so far to say that masks can be counter productive because they have given people a false sense of security and they dont practice social distancing or think they can be in a crowded indoor space and be protected when in reality that cloth mask allows in aerosolized particles or they are too "inept" to properly wear a mask over their eyes AND nose (we wont mention how you can get Covid through your eyes as well) especially now with the more transmissible Delta variant. Cloth Masks are theater. Social Distancing is not when one is unvaccinated. 

I would agree with your stance but then we would both be wrong. 

back to cruising. I understand why the Cruise Lines are requiring indoor masking right now even with the vaccinated. Optics and the CDC. But what is the logic in wearing a mask to the main dining room and then removing it for 2 hours with 100s of people in the dining room. Why even wear a mask to your table? 

  

Yes, that is my final answer.  I know how I sound, and I know how both anti-vax and let people do whatever they want sound.  I also know the results.  But, again, i am not going to debate it.  You can think whatever you like of me and my ideas, I am beyond caring. 

1 hour ago, JeffB said:

As in all COVID mitigation measures, considering benefit is frequently ignored on the assumption that doing something is better than doing nothing (the optics) ..... and in many cases the cost of a given measure is also ignored. Masks don't cost much other than being an inconvenience, but that's not the issue for me.

There is only limited evidence that masks actually produce meaningful PH benefit. That position is debateable but I don't wish to debate it. Moving on from that is the larger issue of governments telling us what to do and not do. Right, the feds via the CDC aren't mandating masks or are they?

Carnival is mandating masks, a lawful action, undertaken by a business to create a safe environment for employees and patrons. Do they really want to do this? I doubt it. Does carnival need to add additional layers of protection for a fully vaccinated vessel when it is already unpopular among the folks and might, just might reduce bookings? I doubt that it really needs to do that.

Even considering the specious argument that they are effective in preventing the spread of SARS2, Carnival is being coerced by the threat of civil liability to mandate them. That is because the CDC - an agency with zero credibility at the moment - is "recommending" them. 

I have a problem with this, not on the basis of the argument that masks work or don't work, although that they don't in the case of SARS2 is a viable hypothesis, but rather on the basis that an executive agent of the federal government is, for all intent and purpose, telling Carnival their guests have to mask.

I think we've already seen what two courts think about government telling us what to do - overreaching their Congressionally authorized authority -  under the guise of a PHE.     

 

I am not going to get in this debate, suffice it to say I disagree with you on almost every level, but let's just cruise with whatever rules they set for whatever reason they set them.  Their company, their rules, their reasoning.

On 8/16/2021 at 10:13 AM, UNCFanatik said:

If I am personally responsible and have been vaccinated, why should I have to wear a mask? Why are masks required on fully vaccinated cruise ships now? All people are vaccinated on a ship but we cant say good riddance to masks? 

All because of an inept CDC

 

No, it is because of inept people not getting vaccinated, wearing masks and social distancing.  Masks and social distancing are not theater, they reduce the spread of the virus.  The only disagreement is to what extent, and we really don't know.  Assume it is 10%(to pick a very low number)  on a cruise of 4000.  That's 400 people.  If you are saying it is not worth that, then I totally disagree.

7 hours ago, mjb1127 said:

Last night, I watched the youtubers JJ Cruise who said they wouldn't sail Carnival again for the time being because they felt unsafe.

For every on that says that, you can find the exact opposite.  It's really a personal decision.  I think it should take 2 things into account.  First, are you willing to follow whatever the rules are, whether you agree with them or not.  Then determine if you feel safe or comfortable.  If the answer to the first one is no, do everyone a favor and please put your cruise off, the rest of us really don't want to deal with the health issues or bad situations that this can cause.

6 hours ago, Vancity Cruiser said:

I don’t feel Carnival is doing enough. I know they are doing the 95% vax thing but they are at double capacity of any other cruise line currently sailing, and the real head shaker for me, the only line still doing self serve buffet.

Because crew serving the buffet really is theater.   Surface transfer of COVID really is not a threat.  The only advantage would be speeding up the line.