Michael Bayley gives some covid numbers we've been curious about

[smokeybandit]

So ! As the clock ticks and time passes we continue the journey through the ups and downs and twists and turns of what feels like the endless pandemic !

Today Quantum, Adventure, Freedom, Anthem, Jewel, Serenade, Odyssey, Allure, Ovation, Symphony, Independence and Harmony of the Seas are all sailing (did I miss one) and by the end of August Mariner of the Seas will also be sailing ! 13 of our 26 ship fleet back sailing the seas ! All of our ships starting operating with reduced capacity either by government mandate, for example Singapore and Southampton or through voluntary caps we placed on ourselves that ranged from 30 to 50 per cent. As we move month by month we are increasing our capacity ship by ship !

All of our crew are fully vaccinated and each ship sails with a total onboard vaccinated community ranging from 90 to 97 per cent. The overall majority of the unvaccinated guests are the kids not eligible for vaccine !

Do we have Covid positive guests and crew ! Yes !

As all guests are required to be tested before boarding regardless of vaccination status we typically have 2 to 10 guests a week (out of thousands of guests boarding 12 ships) who do not board because they test positive !

Do we have Covid positive guests onboard ! Yes ! How many guests are positive ! Typically 1 or 2 of a thousand plus guests a week per ship.

How is that possible ? Testing captures status at a point of time and if the guest is incubating infection then the test will miss it ! Yes vaccinated guests test positive for Covid and typically are asymptomatic.

What happens onboard ! Quarantine for Covid positive guest and Testing of immediate travel party, contact tracing and testing of all contacts and quarantine if positive. Repatriation home via private jet in the majority of cases.

How about the crew ! Yes they are all vaccinated and all crew were tested every two weeks which we just changed to testing every week because of the Delta variant. Do we have positive crew ? Yes ! Mainly during quarantine as they join the ship and are vaccinated and tested or during regular testing ! How many ? A very small number (typically 1 or 2 every week) out of the thousands of crew.

Maybe this is too much information however having a community of people vaccinated at 90 to 97 per cent with frequent testing for all is literally one of the safest places on the planet.

Guest satisfaction is super high !

There does continue to be many changes or points of confusion such as Canadian mixed vaccines which is perfectly acceptable in Canada yet not accepted by the CDC and the home port we sail from determines which authority decides. However we continue to work with multiple authorities to find safe solutions.

And so I am posting this to keep everyone informed ! Please remember we as a company are trying our absolute best to protect our guests, employees and the communities we visit !

[twangster]

Saw his FB post.

As someone who is trying to support the cruise industry by sailing multiple lines I am seeing first hand the different companies handling the situation they have all been thrust into. 

I do like that Royal Caribbean and Michael Bayley has been pretty open, transparent and what seems to be honest during the restart.  

[smokeybandit]

I do find it interesting that there are 2-10 people per week, fleet wide, that test positive before a cruise, yet 1-2 per ship (x13) that test positive during the cruise.

 

I'd be real curious how more people are testing positive during a cruise than before.

[Matt]

1 hour ago, smokeybandit said:

'd be real curious how more people are testing positive during a cruise than before.

I think you're asking why more people are testing positive pre-cruise than onboard?

If so, it's no surprise to me. On land there's no safeguards that cruise ships have.  Heck, look at Florida's numbers lately for exhibit A. 

9 hours ago, twangster said:

I do like that Royal Caribbean and Michael Bayley has been pretty open, transparent and what seems to be honest during the restart. 

Ditto. We're lucky as Royal Caribbean fans to have this kind of insight because I'm not aware of any other cruise line offering up this kind of information.

[smokeybandit]

15 minutes ago, Matt said:

I think you're asking why more people are testing positive pre-cruise than onboard?

 

No, the opposite. More are testing positive on board than pre-cruise.  2-10 people fleet wide test positive pre-cruise, but 1-2 people per ship (12-24 fleet wide) during the cruise. Unless Bayley's wording was just awkward and he meant 2-10 people per ship, not per week across all ships

[JeffB]

Don't overthink this. Cruise ships are hands down the safest congregate travel and leisure venue on the planet. Period.

I know Matt knows that Celebrity is part of RCG but I can see Celebrity (another line besides RCL) corporate's policy of transparency about the appearance of COVID on board. On my B3B and at day 17 of continuous sailing. The two Captains we've had on Equinox sailing from PEV on Caribbean itineraries have made three announcements of COVID positives - all unvaccinated, presumably under 12, presumably infected enroute and not aboard or on excursions -  14 close contacts - all negative.

IOW, safest place on the planet if you want to travel and avoid getting infected by SARS2.  

[JLMoran]

@smokeybandit, part of the "discrepancy" might be that those are the numbers of people being tested right there at the port (e.g., didn't show up with required test result and got a rapid test). Bayley doesn't say and his wording there is unclear.

The other possibility is that on-board case counts are higher for a reason that's been theorized here a few times -- people are catching it on their flight to the port, then test positive on board around night 5 or 6.

[Matt]

2 hours ago, smokeybandit said:

No, the opposite. More are testing positive on board than pre-cruise.  2-10 people fleet wide test positive pre-cruise, but 1-2 people per ship (12-24 fleet wide) during the cruise. Unless Bayley's wording was just awkward and he meant 2-10 people per ship, not per week across all ships

I'm not sure now. I re-read his message and he uses the word "thousands" versus "thousand" in each of the stats.  

[Traveler]

On 8/17/2021 at 3:38 PM, smokeybandit said:

I do find it interesting that there are 2-10 people per week, fleet wide, that test positive before a cruise, yet 1-2 per ship (x13) that test positive during the cruise.

 

I'd be real curious how more people are testing positive during a cruise than before

I guess most people are doing the pre cruise while in home were they are mostly on a non vacation environment . Then you have Fe day before cruising which is done in less safer environment were people can be infected before boarding .

[Pattycruise]

Hubby tested negative with a rapid AND PCR test prior to a trip out of state.  The very next day from testing he started to not feel well, so we assumed a cold.  As the week progressed we decided a Covid test would be prudent.  He tested POSITIVE! he spread it to his sister and niece while myself and daughter never contracted it.

so was it a faulty test (times 2)?

was the test not administered correctly?

Was it “too early in testing” for him to pop positive?  (Based on past research it says you are spreading 2 days prior to symptoms)

so people can be positive and not know it!  Also some test and then go out partying like it’s all good, only to be caught up in that next test.  Negative one day doesn’t mean negative some other day. It’s a crap shoot.

I wonder how many test positive after going home?  Let’s face it the contact tracing testing onboard just means negative at that time….perhaps the incubation period hadn’t happened yet

[smokeybandit]

Your situation is why people test positive on cruise ships.