Vaccinated vs Un-vaccinated

[Ditchdoc]

There is an article here that outlines some of the differences.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/royal-caribbeans-florida-cruise-july-125200634.html

In addition RCCL outlines differences here for Freedom of the Seas...

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/are-there-any-experiences-that-are-closed?

It becomes apparent that that the exact restrictions/rules will vary a bit from ship to ship since all ships do not have the same venues for dining and entertainment.

Perhaps the information is in another forum thread but I was curious as to what kind of controls there might be aboard.

For instance, the first articles states UN-vaccinated people will be excluded from the Schooner Bar, the casino and Viking Crown Nightclub among several other locations. How would this be accomplished? Wrist band? Seapass card reader at every door? Security personnel stationed? Honor system? In addition, the Schooner Bar and casino are significant path ways when moving from one part of the ship to another. They are not the only way to get from A to B but again, if you are UN-vaccinated it seems  you will be expected to take the 'long way' around.

I was surprised at the number of locations UN-vaccinated people will be excluded from. Add the added expense of have to pay out of pocket for additional testing and travel insurance .... even though I understand limiting liability and making people responsible for their decisions ... it seems to me the underlying message is, if you are not vaccinated, don't cruise.

 

 

 

[Marlena]

I believe its wrist bands for vaxx, and a hole in sea pass card for unvaxx. I would assume they will have staff at those entrances to check all who come in.

[Lovetocruise2002]

20 minutes ago, Ditchdoc said:

For instance, the first articles states UN-vaccinated people will be excluded from the Schooner Bar, the casino and Viking Crown Nightclub among several other locations. How would this be accomplished? Wrist band? Seapass card reader at every door? Security personnel stationed? Honor system? In addition, the Schooner Bar and casino are significant path ways when moving from one part of the ship to another. They are not the only way to get from A to B but again, if you are UN-vaccinated it seems  you will be expected to take the 'long way' around.

These are the procedures that @Matt has documented this weekend on Freedom:

https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2021/07/02/live-royal-caribbeans-first-cruise-ship-restart-the-united-states

[Yo2slick]

So basically most of the ship is off limits unless you are vaccinated...You cant even do My Time Dining without a vaccine.  I really hope this is very temporary.  We thought about scheduling a second cruise in 2022 but not knowing how long this will last I'm not sure I'll do it.

[Vancity Cruiser]

2 hours ago, Ditchdoc said:

it seems to me the underlying message is, if you are not vaccinated, don't cruise.

While they won’t come right out and say it that is the underlying message. The cruise lines can’t afford any bad press right now until the industry is proven again. I feel the message is all adults should be vaccinated however as they still want to cater to families the rules are more for unvaccinated children. Most of the areas off limits for unvaccinated are adult only spaces.

[mk-ultra]

7 hours ago, Yo2slick said:

So basically most of the ship is off limits unless you are vaccinated...You cant even do My Time Dining without a vaccine.  I really hope this is very temporary.  We thought about scheduling a second cruise in 2022 but not knowing how long this will last I'm not sure I'll do it.

Huh.  In no way is the ship mostly off limits.  If you volunteer to share your vaccinated status, you'll forgo the more strict protocols like (at your expense) testing and vax'd only venues. 

[L454S]

I think it's more about the "these people" versus "those people" and the segregation/ nose in the air mentality.

Who and to a greater degree "how" all the policing will be done? Elevators????????...Dining Rooms???????

This does not sound like a good way to drop thousands of dollars....I don't need a cruise that bad.

[JeffB]

19 hours ago, Vancity Cruiser said:

While they won’t come right out and say it that is the underlying message. The cruise lines can’t afford any bad press right now until the industry is proven again.

Correct. The Desanits ban and the line's choice to not challenge it created the issues attendant to the hybrid pax manifest. If it were not for that, vaccinations would be uniformly required for guests over 16/12. At present it is only sailings from FL ports that unvaccinated guests have to deal with imposed inconvenient mitigation measures. Whether these are justified or not from a purely health standpoint is debatable. That the microscope that the cruise lines are under making these measures justifiable is not.

I'm completely empathetic with the conundrum families with unvaccinated kids or guests who chose not to get vaccinated face. For those who love the cruising life and after nearly 2y forced official government denial from it - some of it highly questionable as to its constitutionality - there has to be some aggravation with the RCL policies and chomping at the bit. Still, it does come down to choice ..... which it seems is what everyone I see posting here on this subject have. When I think about this from the perspective of the corporate view, you have to know that the legal teams looked at all the applicable law, the finance teams looked at the costs and the operations teams looked at the impact on the guest experience and landed on this approach. You can bet it was well thought out and planned.

[BrianB]

I think as cruising progresses, and the inevitable presence of Covid cases are handled successfully without spreading, then theses rules will begin to relax. 
There have already been cases onboard ships that were isolated and kept from spreading. I think a lot of that is because so many are vaccinated and that makes it virtually impossible to cause a mass outbreak. Just as it is on land. 
This just seems to be ‘priming the pump’ of having a successful cruise industry restart. As long as there are no waves of infections onboard, then confidence will climb and the industry can show that cruising is one of the safest vacation activities available and then they can relax some of these burdensome protocols. 
 

[alamode123]

5 hours ago, L454S said:

I think it's more about the "these people" versus "those people" and the segregation/ nose in the air mentality.

Who and to a greater degree "how" all the policing will be done? Elevators????????...Dining Rooms???????

This does not sound like a good way to drop thousands of dollars....I don't need a cruise that bad.

There's an easy and free solution if anyone feels bad about not getting access to everywhere. Hopefully that's the reason some decide to get vaccinated.

[Ampurp85]

It has been stated here many times that the cruise industry as a whole has a never healing black eye. Therefore, they have to protect themselves in as many capacities as possible. Whether you want to be vaccinated or not is a personal choice that everyone is allowed...with that choice are consequences on both sides. The most important factor is that cruising is a social vacation: given that this board is but a small faction of cruisers and look at how they fall on the spectrum. Vaccine don't stop you from getting the virus...but would you really want to risk it with tipsy to drunk people? Regardless of where you fall, science has always backed up vaccines as a deterrent. I am sure the cruise lines know that zero cases aren't even a remote possibility but they want to do everything in their power to ensure a proper and safe return to cruising. They want to minimize their risk. I am in no way saying unvaxx are human disease carriers who should be treated like lepers. I am just saying I get the stance from a business standpoint.