jticarruthers

I have always been Loyal to Royal, but I'm going with the first line to drop the vaccine and testing mandates, no second thoughts. I'll come back to Royal when they do, but I'd rather cruise on any line that just lets me cruise without the stress. That said I do think they all end at the same time, all the lines.

I think most of the "vaccinated" in the US aren't up to date. I know there is information out there on booster uptake, but it was like half of the initial group, then the 2nd booster was half of that, etc. So a huge portion of the people the cruise lines consider vaccinate right now are actually not vaccinated.  I think they should just go back to a health declaration. And they need to stop testing altogether. No tests means no outbreaks. Perfect. 🙂

I don't really count as "Loyal to Royal" anymore but I would probably jump in a heartbeat since I have a decent pool of people that want to cruise but cant ... the group on Carnival wins over "Loyal to Royal" without a doubt.

Hallelujah !  Some honest reflection.  Thank you...and thank you for the way you are handling your staff.  This is the most generous policy for COVID that I have ever read about.  Good for you.

OMG please let this mean the end of vaccines and testing, please.

Is this because Fauci announced retirement?

Bahamas is a good start.  If Bahamas can go without testing it opens the door for all short 3/4 cruises to drop testing and/or vaccines.  

I am envisioning a scene from an old Western movie where the cruise lines are standing around the O.K. Corral waiting to see who fires first.
They are nervously watching each other, waiting for a flinch.  
Once one cruise lines drops testing or vaccine requirements the others will quickly follow.  Who will flinch first?
 

 

Have some perspective, covid today isn't covid of 2020. I have 4,500 employees, in 2020, a few died and about every 20th one to get covid was hospitalized, Many were in the ICU, it was no joke. In 2022, I've had over a thousand catch it this year not a single hospitalization. These last few weeks at any one time 100 have it, 10 a day come back, 10 go out, I give them all free 2 weeks of paid leave if they test positive and it does not come out of their regular leave balances so as to not encourage people working sick so it is not under reported and I get daily reports. In January this year  me and my three Moderna shots, wore a mask, still caught it. Wife got it in June, same shots. So why would I give a a darn about covid, masks, or tests, we caught it six months apart, had our shots at the same time, still shared a bed while we were sick, still kissed goodnight and didn't even give it to each other either time. Just stop the testing, I'll walk into a covid ward and kiss everyone there, nothing can stop it and I am not afraid of it. Even the head of county USC hospital in Los Angeles (the furthest from right wing conspiracy theorists you can find), in a county reimposing masks said that almost nobody in the hospital with covid is in the hospital because of covid. It's over!
 
P.S., my employees are about 65-70% vaccinated, in 2022 there is no discernible difference in their odds of catching it or how serious it is based vaccine status or mask wearing or prior infection, not in catching it or catching it twice. What was true on 2020 and 2021 is not applicable to 2022 My study, because of workman's comp is in depth and is as big or bigger than other studies you read online and from my data, nothing stops it and its no big deal if you get it. If you are on death's doorstep or scared to death, stay home. It's endemic and it is the common cold now, let's move on, nobody was wrong and nobody was right, stop blaming but do accept that it is over.

Literally just danced around the house with my wife.

Also...the CDC just VOLUNTARILY gave up power? There's gotta be more to the story. But I will be in my mental Viking Crown Lounge celebrating!

and no vaccines!

Let's hope no pre cruise tests

I think it means that cruise lines will need to set policies.  CDC will publish recommendations like other forms of travel have.  It's up to the cruise lines now.  

Oh I agree in general, spent most of my life overseas so its definitely not a "travel is bad thing". Just not something I am willing to deal with when the rules dont stay in place long enough to plan for, I have better ways to relax than trying to figure out which papers i need, to prove what, today.

Royal has been "on sale" for years now, the sale goes away the price doesn't change, its all marketing ploys and every now and then someone screws up their math and some people actually do get some savings from a "new sale".
Buy it when the price works for you and then price check from time to time to see if it has gotten cheaper.

I have a couple of friends who work in the Travel Industry and after hearing all their tales of woe trying to shepherd people through the ever changing rules from country to country, I decided there was no way I was going to mess with international travel until all this stuff is done, not worth the hassle.
Bad enough dealing with the machinations of our government never mind having to worry about what all the other ones are thinking.

Oh I agree in general, spent most of my life overseas so its definitely not a "travel is bad thing". Just not something I am willing to deal with when the rules dont stay in place long enough to plan for, I have better ways to relax than trying to figure out which papers i need, to prove what, today.

Oh I agree in general, spent most of my life overseas so its definitely not a "travel is bad thing". Just not something I am willing to deal with when the rules dont stay in place long enough to plan for, I have better ways to relax than trying to figure out which papers i need, to prove what, today.

Royal has been "on sale" for years now, the sale goes away the price doesn't change, its all marketing ploys and every now and then someone screws up their math and some people actually do get some savings from a "new sale".
Buy it when the price works for you and then price check from time to time to see if it has gotten cheaper.

This made me laugh. 🙂 I wanted to reply though because it's really important that your friends know that they do not have to be a part of any religion in order to take a religious accommodation, at least not if they are in the US and asking for a cruise that goes out of US ports. I can't say that with any authority on any other locations. SCOTUS ruled years ago that your religion is simply the moral rules by which you live your life. So if you're a vegan and someone tells you that you have to be healthier so you need to eat meat, you can take a religious exemption for that. It can be tough, trying to figure this out since it's not something most of us have ever dealt with, but whatever your friends reasons for not wanting to get vaccinated, that is their religious belief. It's more a moral belief, but what are morals if not your own religion? This has been a big time bump in the road for us especially (we're Catholic) because our religious leaders have come out and said "Take the vaccine", so that's an extra hurdle. Thankfully you don't have to do things that your religious leaders tell you to do if they go against your moral beliefs. Anyhow I hope that helps.
I just called RC again since we're a month out and got the check in email today. I plan on calling them every week until they get back to me. Last time I called (I think three weeks ago) I got an email right away asking me to clarify my religious exemption request, so maybe staying in touch with them will get things done a little faster. 🙂 
Good luck!

Same. Once we get the word on the religious exemptions we'll be done either way. We'll cruise if they let us, we'll cancel if they don't, but we won't book anything else until there are no mandates of any sort.

I find the threat of forced remote isolation worse than the vax mandate 

I have a couple of friends who work in the Travel Industry and after hearing all their tales of woe trying to shepherd people through the ever changing rules from country to country, I decided there was no way I was going to mess with international travel until all this stuff is done, not worth the hassle.
Bad enough dealing with the machinations of our government never mind having to worry about what all the other ones are thinking.

I have never seen anyone id'd in the solarium but with that said (as noted above) if you look/act like you belong you should be fine ... if you stand out chances of getting checked are higher.
Personally, age doesn't bother me, behavior does ... but i rarely get to be in charge of making the rules 😉