Testing onboard is working. 2 Passengers on CelebrityMillennium test positive.

[Cruising With JT]

 

Oh yay...

[danv3]

Kind of a PR disaster for X and RCG. Media is going to go nuts. 
 

Biggest issue from my perspective is too much testing. There’s no need to test vaccinated people with no symptoms. Just setting yourself up for failure as a cruise line. 

[Biff215]

1 hour ago, danv3 said:

Kind of a PR disaster for X and RCG. Media is going to go nuts. 
 

Biggest issue from my perspective is too much testing. There’s no need to test vaccinated people with no symptoms. Just setting yourself up for failure as a cruise line. 

They have to test for the return to the U.S. That’s when this was discovered.

https://apple.news/ATJM9PipxTSCJFsxjnj0WiA

[SpeedNoodles]

If it's not a big deal (and I agree), then why bring it up?

[Phoenix]

1 hour ago, danv3 said:

Biggest issue from my perspective is too much testing. There’s no need to test vaccinated people with no symptoms. Just setting yourself up for failure as a cruise line. 

Ths is the most riduculous statement ever made. People can be asymptomatic and spread the virus. COVID-19 infections are common in people of all ages, including children who can be asymptomatic  and spread it.  The cruise line protocols are working perfectly to detect it and isolate them in order to stop the spread and not bring cruising to another halt. 

[Biff215]

17 minutes ago, Phoenix said:

Ths is the most riduculous statement ever made. People can be asymptomatic and spread the virus. COVID-19 infections are common in people of all ages, including children who can be asymptomatic  and spread it.  The cruise line protocols are working perfectly to detect it and isolate them in order to stop the spread and not bring cruising to another halt. 

Exactly, we’ll likely see more testing as a result of this. Can’t be a coincidence that this happened today along with the decision to test everyone before boarding Adventure.

Testing before someone travels doesn’t account for the airport, plane, and any pre-cruise stays. Rapid tests aren’t perfect either but it’s the best they can do at check-in.

Either way, the protocols are working even if the media coverage will focus on the negative. Go test every guest at Disney today and see how many positive tests you get!

[griffinjam22]

Angers me to see news like this since media jumps all over it. The entire country has basically opened up. positive cases don’t get singled out elsewhere that the media jumps all over. Vegas for example. People in close proximity all over the place. 

[smokeybandit]

26 minutes ago, Phoenix said:

Ths is the most riduculous statement ever made. People can be asymptomatic and spread the virus. COVID-19 infections are common in people of all ages, including children who can be asymptomatic  and spread it.  The cruise line protocols are working perfectly to detect it and isolate them in order to stop the spread and not bring cruising to another halt. 

Just because something can happen doesn't mean it's happening often.

[LizzyBee23]

1 hour ago, danv3 said:

Kind of a PR disaster for X and RCG. Media is going to go nuts. 
 

Biggest issue from my perspective is too much testing. There’s no need to test vaccinated people with no symptoms. Just setting yourself up for failure as a cruise line. 

There's no need to test anyone with no symptoms who previously had a negative test to board the ship. These requirements set us up for failure in a world where COVID is inevitable. Consider the number of people that tested positive at the home port in the same time... If it's the US, it would have been at least as many per thousand if not double. 

I mention that because the aim should always have been for cruise ships not to act as accelerators. Quarantining symptomatic cases and beefing up medical facilities is all that should be required (in addition to agreements with the home port that the ship can't be turned into a "plague ship" and deny disembarkation because of some overblown media response). Everything else is just arbitrary theater, and sets the failure tripwire too low.

[nate91]

I doubt any of us used the term 'asymptomatic' before 2020. The retro term for this was 'healthy.'

Overall, the background testing rate on a cruise ship shouldn't be any higher than a similar environment on land, say, Las Vegas. There may be discussion on what this proper level is, but overall, if we are testing more in one similar environment than another, the amount of cases found will be higher, even if the same percentage of the overall populations are positive (and that's not even taking into consideration false positives). 

[danv3]

54 minutes ago, Phoenix said:

Ths is the most riduculous statement ever made. People can be asymptomatic and spread the virus. COVID-19 infections are common in people of all ages, including children who can be asymptomatic  and spread it.  The cruise line protocols are working perfectly to detect it and isolate them in order to stop the spread and not bring cruising to another halt. 

The likelihood of a vaccinated asymptomatic person infecting another vaccinated person is so low that it’s really not worth thinking about.

[LizzyBee23]

13 minutes ago, nate91 said:

Overall, the background testing rate on a cruise ship shouldn't be any higher than a similar environment on land, say, Las Vegas. 

Exactly! Population incidence rates in port countries are the only thing that matter, and I'd argue with the advent of vaccines only hospitalizations and deaths. The CDC has begun to demonstrate as much by indicating they'll only track serious cases as breakthroughs. 

[nate91]

7 minutes ago, danv3 said:

The likelihood of a vaccinated asymptomatic person infecting another vaccinated person is so low that it’s really not worth thinking about.

To add to that, The likelihood of a vaccinated asymptomatic child infecting another vaccinated person is so low that it’s really not worth thinking about thinking about thinking about it.

[nate91]

7 minutes ago, LizzyBee23 said:

Exactly! Population incidence rates in port countries are the only thing that matter, and I'd argue with the advent of vaccines only hospitalizations and deaths. The CDC has begun to demonstrate as much but indicating they'll only track serious cases as breakthroughs. 

The CDC has demonstrated...I don't know what exactly, confusion, ineptitude...by measuring cases in one way for COVID and in another way entirely for those vaccinated. This creates a cognitive dissonance that is clearly showing what the CDC would like the results to be. I wonder what would happen if we measured in reverse and tested vaccinated like the unvaxxed and vice versa.

Bringing it around to cruises, I'm sure the cruise lines would love to test based on the lower PCR thresholds for the vaccinated, and do the new CDC rule of not counting a case unless it leads to a hospitalization. That would surely help their news exposure.

[LizzyBee23]

I think what it comes down to is we need to move away from this idea of testing as means of ascertaining someone's status now that the contours of the risk are largely known and we have vaccines who are in the greatest danger. If you aren't symptomatic, then carry on. 

Im really disheartened by what happened with MSC in Malta... To have the island say it is close to achieving herd immunity and then simultaneously deny entry to an entire ship of recently tested passengers because of the presence of two positives among them is absurd (and anti-science). If that is considered a rational response, then we really are already sunk.

[deep1]

With 500,000 recent passenger sailings (including 75,000 RCL in Singapore there have been a hand full of positives... Every last one false... Thinking that the case here?

 

[Phoenix]

1 hour ago, smokeybandit said:

Just because something can happen doesn't mean it's happening often.

Can you back up your thesis bu concrete proof?

[Matt]

My hope is one of two scenarios:

1. False positive

2. Positive cases, but protocols kick in and work and prevent spread to other guests. 

If it's #2, then we have a great example of why cruises are safer than being on land.  On land, there's no testing or contact tracing, or really any other protocol that would stem the spread.

My fingers are crossed that it's only one of these two scenarios.

[smokeybandit]

Could also be false positives, but protocols kicked in, which is still a good thing (even if it majorly sucks for those passengers)

[SpeedNoodles]

People have to be tested to fly back to the US.  The testing had nothing to do with the cruise itself.  So you can say that it's unnecessary until you're blue in the face, but it seems to me that it's a service that Celebrity is providing to those who want to, actually, you know .... go home. 

[Traveler]

1 hour ago, smokeybandit said:

Could also be false positives, but protocols kicked in, which is still a good thing (even if it majorly sucks for those passengers)

I would hope for false positive but since they are from the same cabin reduce the chance for that.

Now it's all about the protocol and more important hopefully it was not spreading to other people.

[FionaMG]

Excellent article about it by a TPG writer who is on board here: https://thepointsguy.com/news/celebrity-millennium-cruise-ship-covid/

[Craig 01020]

It's possible for vaccinated people to contract the virus, but it's also possible to fake vaccination cards if you're not vaccinated.

[KenCP]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/travel/2021/06/10/cruise-covid-celebrity-vaccine/

Onboard testing is working, and we are getting a glimpse into what will happen if passengers test positive will cruise is underway.  The cruise is continuing with the passengers in isolation and will disembark as scheduled.  Hopefully with the onboard contact tracing they will be able to keep it under control.

Fingers crossed for all the test cruises that will be underway soon.

 

[UNCFanatik]

In 2009-2010, there was 60 million reported cases of H1N1 in the US. About 27k deaths attributed to H1N1.

Imagine, if we tested for H1N1 in 2009-2010 like we do for Covid today. How many cases and deaths would have been attributed to H1N1?

There is no way to stop Covid from being on cruise ships, vaccinated passengers or not. Just like everywhere else. Zero Covid should not be the goal. 

There is still debate about asymptomatic spread. If someone had the vaccine and a breakthrough case happens with no symptoms, does that person even have enough viral load to spread it to others? 

Covid is on its way to being endemic and our society needs to come to terms with that. Stop testing vaccinated people with no symptoms. 

 

[smokeybandit]

19 minutes ago, UNCFanatik said:

In 2009-2010, there was 60 million reported cases of H1N1 in the US. About 27k deaths attributed to H1N1.

Imagine, if we tested for H1N1 in 2009-2010 like we do for Covid today. How many cases and deaths would have been attributed to H1N1?

There is no way to stop Covid from being on cruise ships, vaccinated passengers or not. Just like everywhere else. Zero Covid should not be the goal. 

There is still debate about asymptomatic spread. If someone had the vaccine and a breakthrough case happens with no symptoms, does that person even have enough viral load to spread it to others? 

Covid is on its way to being endemic and our society needs to come to terms with that. Stop testing vaccinated people with no symptoms. 

 

During H1N1 states were ordered to stop mass testing programs. Pretty much the opposite of how covid is being handled

[Matt]

41 minutes ago, KenCP said:

The cruise is continuing with the passengers in isolation and will disembark as scheduled.

That’s what should be happening, wit the protocols working.  Great to see. 

[smokeybandit]

 

[Craig 01020]

45 minutes ago, UNCFanatik said:

About 27k deaths attributed to H1N1.

There's the difference. Covid = 598,000 deaths in the U.S.

[UNCFanatik]

Too bad there will be collateral damage done with the false positives that are sure to come. 

Can you imagine being vaccinated and having to take covid test and its a false positive and your cruise is disrupted or worse, you are just left at a port? 

I know some will say thats the risk one runs when taking a cruise during these uncertain times but still...

[UNCFanatik]

9 minutes ago, Craig 01020 said:

There's the difference. Covid = 598,000 deaths in the U.S.

We have no idea how many deaths would have been attributed to H1N1 in the US if they would have tested for it the way they test for Covid now AND counted deaths back then the way we have counted them in the last year

And we have a counting problem in the US. We have failed to distinguish between dying FROM Covid from dying WITH Covid in many cases because of the financial incentives. 

And then there is the seasonal flu, should we shut down cruises with families because of cases of flu found aboard which is much more harmful to children than Covid has been? 

I hope cruising can survive this restart because no matter what, Covid will be on cruise ships just like everywhere else in our daily lives. Its just how the CDC, media and general public handle the news when cases are discovered on multiple cruise ships because if you test every vaccinated passenger, Covid cases will be found. And the there are the false positives where passengers can get left at a port.

I know, I know, people will say that is the price to be paid for cruising now but we will never remove Covid from cruise ships because it will become endemic 

 

[12thman]

So how will this affect other cruises going forward? Does this affect Adventure? Maybe more testing?

[CruiseGus]

seeing nothing of a major new story on this yet, not even a slight mention run on my TV news ticker this morning, where the less important stories go.

Barely a mention on the 3 industry new sites i look at from time to time.

[CruiseGus]

15 minutes ago, 12thman said:

So how will this affect other cruises going forward? Does this affect Adventure? Maybe more testing?

all unknown at this time.  Time will tell, expected to see this as a major new story this morning but not really anything yet around here.

the best article i have seen on it yet

https://thepointsguy.com/news/celebrity-millennium-cruise-ship-covid/

 

[HeWhoWaits]

11 hours ago, Phoenix said:

Ths is the most riduculous statement ever made. People can be asymptomatic and spread the virus. COVID-19 infections are common in people of all ages, including children who can be asymptomatic  and spread it.  The cruise line protocols are working perfectly to detect it and isolate them in order to stop the spread and not bring cruising to another halt. 

People can also be asymptomatic or pre-symptomatic and spread the flu, the common cold, measles, chicken pox, etc., etc., etc. There is no required testing for any of those.

[smokeybandit]

36 minutes ago, Craig 01020 said:

There's the difference. Covid = 598,000 deaths in the U.S.

That's merely people who died within 30 days of getting covid, regardless if covid contributed to their death.

[danv3]

1 hour ago, UNCFanatik said:

Covid is on its way to being endemic and our society needs to come to terms with that. Stop testing vaccinated people with no symptoms. 

This is the way.  

[HeWhoWaits]

1 hour ago, Craig 01020 said:

There's the difference. Covid = 598,000 deaths in the U.S.

My father passed in February due to heart failure. Because he had tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 the previous week, his cause of death was listed as the coronavirus. As pointed out by @UNCFanatik, he died WITH Covid, not because of Covid. This is one personal example of reported Covid-19 deaths being higher than the real number that should be attributed to the disease.

[Galveston Steve]

I wonder if this prompted the change to test all Adventure passengers?

[Nacho Libre]

Read that the two positives have to quarantine on the ship for two weeks.

Two thoughts:  hope they booked a suite.  And yes, please!