danv3

And to the main topic of the thread, I think it's very likely that other nations will follow the lead of the Bahamas (and maybe some others...Iceland?) and allow anyone vaccinated in without a test. The vaccines are so effective that testing someone who is fully vaccinated and not showing symptoms is essentially pointless...basically looking for a needle in a haystack.

As others have said, no one knows, but I can say that as of yesterday they've announced that in my state we'll be significantly rolling back restrictions once 2/3 of adults have had one shot. I think by the time that level of vaccination is reached, we'll be seeing case numbers drop tremendously.

Reports like this show just how well the vaccines are working...better than the studies projected, in fact. With this level of protection, community spread can be reduced to almost nothing. Combine that with even modest risk mitigation and cruising can restart very soon.

That letter reads like it was written by someone unaware that there are now several very effective and widely available vaccines for COVID-19. We're in a totally different place today than when the CSO was issued. If the lines sail with fully vaccinated crews and pax, plus the mitigation measures in place, the chance of a COVID outbreak is virtually nil.

I noticed all the mays. It's not unlike the US cruise contract in some ways...RCI promises to provide you with a cruise, but no guarantees as to ship, length, ports, point of departure, or basically anything else.

I wonder if any of the cruise lines will try to intervene as additional plaintiffs. They’d seem to have more clear standing than a state since they’re directly impacted by the CSO.

Some good stuff in there. On the other hand, might be hard to convince a judge to reject the entire CDC framework that exists. I don't know the MD Fla judges...wonder who will get the case.

Looks like mainly statutory (Administrative Procedure Act) claims, with one constitutional claim thrown in for good measure. I think claims 1 and 2 ("Agency action not in accordance with law and in excess of authority" and "Arbitrary and capricious agency action") are the two main claims.

This seems about right...until the CDC extends the CSO beyond November 1.

A lot of hedging in the CDC guidance, but this is indisputably good news and a clear step in the direction of normalcy. How ecstatic are grandparents to hear that once fully vaccinated they can safely visit their grandkids again, and without masks?

The "must purchase a cruiseline-provided excursion to leave the ship" rule is a lot more concerning to me than the mask requirement. I have a hard time imagining taking a cruise (especially to Caribbean ports you can easily do yourself) under that kind of requirement.

They definitely could choose to enforce this strictly. Given their strong anti-cruise bias, it wouldn't be a huge surprise.

How do you make everyone happy? You don't. You choose the customer who is the most profitable and make that person happy (as long as you believe there are enough other people who feel the same way). X must think there are more than enough Customer A's out there. And X also knows that some Customer B's will gripe but still end up booking a cruise.

Went once on Majesty myself and would absolutely go again. So different from the other Caribbean ports.

On my last cruise there was a guest under cabin arrest for disorderly/violent conduct at a bar one night. He got to spend most of his cruise in an inside stateroom by himself with a security guard outside the door 24/7.