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Vaccine Requirements


Bel-Air

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I'm following along, our Thanksgiving sailing has us sailing with family that are also unvaccinated. I'm getting nervous even for then. I used to think no way they will continue this, a negative test to step on the ship should suffice, no? I hope they relax this in some way shape or form, but I'm not holding my breath. I don't want to cancel but enough is enough, we won't go without our group if they are not welcomed by then. 

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1 hour ago, Bel-Air said:

We are sailing June 11th on Allure of the Seas. We are not vaccinated and saw the current health protocols have vaccine requirements up to May 31rst. This is cutting it close. Thoughts on if Royal Caribbean will drop the requirement by June 1rst, in time for the summer?

No cruise lines have given any indication that they are even considering dropping the vaccine requirement. From everything I have heard and read we shouldn’t expect the vaccine requirement to be removed for cruising at any point in 2022

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12 minutes ago, Vancity Cruiser said:

No cruise lines have given any indication that they are even considering dropping the vaccine requirement. From everything I have heard and read we shouldn’t expect the vaccine requirement to be removed for cruising at any point in 2022

No cruise line would give any indication they were going to remove the requirement until they were ready to do it, so not sure the giving of indication is really a sign.  I agree with you that it's unlikely that anything changes in 2022 based on their actions to date and willingness to comply with CDC.  That being said, no one really knows.  I can't see the CDC changing their guidance, so I think Royal would need to unvolunteer themselves from the CDC voluntary program, which I also doubt will happen.  So I agree with your conclusion, but we won't know until we know.  

Releasing protocols through 5/31/22 and having a Kids Sail Free promotion that started with 6/1 sailings....likely means nothing, but it will be interesting to see what happens if the virus doesn't have a significant spike in the next month or so and continues with current status.  

Not trying to make a political statement with these comments, but just based off what we appear to know about the vaccines and specifically the Omicron variant.  I am sure there are benefits to the vaccine, but it doesn't appear to stop the spread.  That was really the main argument for cruise lines when they put the vaccine requirement in place.  That it was in their best interest to ensure that there were no positive cases on their ships.  The majority of people are vaccinated and a lot more have natural immunity (which they currently won't take into consideration in their protocols, but surely they aren't ignoring in their risk calculations).

I hope for all our cases that they surprise us and remove them sooner rather than later, because that will definitely mean that the virus is relatively under control, but not holding my breath for 2022.

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I would be shocked if the vaccine requirement will be lifted this year and I really think it will be quite awhile (2023-2024) before anything like that is even contemplated.  I'm only saying that based upon how much hubbub we had to do to get back to cruising and the current variant of the month that keeps occurring that is always right around the corner will keep the current situation intact. I'm in the boat (pun intended) where I've had the shots to maintain my job and my wife has not had the shots. When I floated the, hey I can go on a solo cruise I got quite the look so I'm on dry land for the foreseeable future.

When it changes I'll book a cruise as quick as my keyboard allows.

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11 minutes ago, VACruiser said:

I would be shocked if the vaccine requirement will be lifted this year and I really think it will be quite awhile (2023-2024) before anything like that is even contemplated.  I'm only saying that based upon how much hubbub we had to do to get back to cruising and the current variant of the month that keeps occurring that is always right around the corner will keep the current situation intact. I'm in the boat (pun intended) where I've had the shots to maintain my job and my wife has not had the shots. When I floated the, hey I can go on a solo cruise I got quite the look so I'm on dry land for the foreseeable future.

When it changes I'll book a cruise as quick as my keyboard allows.

With the consensus being probably going to be a protocol for the near future, they must be pushing out the CWC policy past 30 September 2022, no? Thoughts? 

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Good question on the CWC - I think it has to come down to money and how much that costs the company versus customer needs. Unless you get a Covid Positive Test I'm not sure how many people are using CWC right now for different situations.  In my scenario I wouldn't even think of booking a cruise until the protocol changes and the vaccine is the thing of the past - and what I mean by that is a voluntary shot protocol that you can get once a year if you like; just like a flu shot was before all this started.

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4 hours ago, gatorskin76 said:

I am sure there are benefits to the vaccine, but it doesn't appear to stop the spread.  That was really the main argument for cruise lines when they put the vaccine requirement in place.  That it was in their best interest to ensure that there were no positive cases on their ships. 

The majority of people are vaccinated and a lot more have natural immunity (which they currently won't take into consideration in their protocols, but surely they aren't ignoring in their risk calculations).

Royal is allowing a "Certificate of Recovery" - limited - for people who are not vaccinated but have proof of having had the virus from 11-90 days before cruising. Not debating what immunity means, just making sure people know this exists. (but boarding with a Certificate of Recovery does not allow for disembarkation at some ports due to local laws)

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/if-recovered-from-covid-19-need-to-be-vaccinated-or-take-a-test-to-sail (I MISREAD THE POLICY - I APOLOGIZE AND AM CROSSING THIS OUT DUE TO MY ERROR! The policy refers to testing, not vaccination.)

And - if you do a search for whether the vaccines reduce/lower the spread, you will find information from many reputable sources (universities, health organizations, etc. - (I won't name/link them all here but the information is widely available). It is different than stopping the spread, as you say, but reduction of spread may still be a goal the ships want to try achieve.

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7 minutes ago, jbrinkm said:

 

And - if you do a search for whether the vaccines reduce/lower the spread, you will find information from many reputable sources (universities, health organizations, etc. - (I won't name/link them all here but the information is widely available). It is different than stopping the spread, as you say, but reduction of spread may still be a goal the ships want to try achieve.

Vaccines also vastly reduce chance of severe illness if one does become infected. I would imagine cruise lines would far rather set aside a few cabins for quarantine than have to worry about interruptions to their schedules due to having to do a detour for medical emergency. (I know they still will occasionally have to do this, but less likely for covid related problems if passengers are vaxxed)

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11 minutes ago, jbrinkm said:

Royal is allowing a "Certificate of Recovery" - limited - for people who are not vaccinated but have proof of having had the virus from 11-90 days before cruising. Not debating what immunity means, just making sure people know this exists. (but boarding with a Certificate of Recovery does not allow for disembarkation at some ports due to local laws)

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/if-recovered-from-covid-19-need-to-be-vaccinated-or-take-a-test-to-sail

And - if you do a search for whether the vaccines reduce/lower the spread, you will find information from many reputable sources (universities, health organizations, etc. - (I won't name/link them all here but the information is widely available). It is different than stopping the spread, as you say, but reduction of spread may still be a goal the ships want to try achieve.

On your last part about stopping or reducing the spread, I know this is a sensitive topic so I won't get into it too much, but the devil is in the details there.  Both my wife and myself were vaccinated in June 2021 and both had Omicron around Christmas.  Do 2 personal experiences amount to much in the discussion, not really, but if you look at the case counts it's hard to say that vaccines have had a significant impact to spread.  Certainly one could take the position that many lives were saved due to less severe disease, and who knows what that looks like, but "spread".....

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We have been on four sailings between June 2021 & now. We have enjoyed each and every one, and with the protocols in place we did abide. Everyone being mindful and hyper aware had us debarking all four sailings in full health, we loved our experiences and felt super safe. 

The reason why I inquire about CWC for Thanksgiving is our large group scenario, if not for them we will visit together landside, it's really no biggie. I looked forward to sharing my love for the sea but for this one our group can't abide by the mandates regarding the Vax in place now. Sail=abide, can't abide=no sail it's really just that simple. 

CWC will just make life easier for me when they come running to me for cancelation help, and for the time being I am sailing what I have planned but taking a break for a hot minute until I can get my pre cruise euphoria mojo back! 

Come on Royal, extend CWC, please? Make my life easier.

 

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I hope they pull the mandates soon.  Extending it one month to me was a good sign it may come to an end...

I'm one of the few that opted for a cruise with confidence credit PRIOR to them giving refunds on cruises at the start of covid.  They've been holding my $$ interest free all this time, and now it's going to be month to month until December whether I'll get to go on a cruise or not.  It's silly, can't plan for anything with these rules.

The only bright side is that if they extend the mandate into December, I'll be able to get my money back since it's impacting my cruise.

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25 minutes ago, gatorskin76 said:

On your last part about stopping or reducing the spread, I know this is a sensitive topic so I won't get into it too much, but the devil is in the details there.  Both my wife and myself were vaccinated in June 2021 and both had Omicron around Christmas.  Do 2 personal experiences amount to much in the discussion, not really, but if you look at the case counts it's hard to say that vaccines have had a significant impact to spread.  Certainly one could take the position that many lives were saved due to less severe disease, and who knows what that looks like, but "spread".....

My DD was triple vaxxed (3rd dose full Moderna, not the 1/2 dose booster) & still got it at Christmas also (likely from someone in her adult day program who wasn't vaxxed).  The thing is, she has Crohn's disease & takes Humira, which is one of the drugs that decreases immune response, so we don't know how effective it was for her. She did have a mild case, for which I am very thankful, and the rest of us either didn't get it, or were subclinical, which means to me the vaccine did its job. Still prevented us from going on our Jan 9 cruise, which really sucked, because she was still positive the day before (antigen, not PCR, which is supposedly less sensitive), but she didn't end up in the hospital, which might have happened had she & the rest of us not been vaxxed.  

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35 minutes ago, jbrinkm said:

Royal is allowing a "Certificate of Recovery" - limited - for people who are not vaccinated but have proof of having had the virus from 11-90 days before cruising. Not debating what immunity means, just making sure people know this exists. (but boarding with a Certificate of Recovery does not allow for disembarkation at some ports due to local laws)

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/if-recovered-from-covid-19-need-to-be-vaccinated-or-take-a-test-to-sail

And - if you do a search for whether the vaccines reduce/lower the spread, you will find information from many reputable sources (universities, health organizations, etc. - (I won't name/link them all here but the information is widely available). It is different than stopping the spread, as you say, but reduction of spread may still be a goal the ships want to try achieve.

Looks like the Certificate of Recovery is for people who are vaccinated. It says "A Certificate of Recovery will not be accepted in lieu of a vaccination record card for guests of vaccine eligible age. All Royal Caribbean guests age 12 and older must present proof of full COVID-19 vaccination with the final dose of their vaccine administered at least 14 days before sailing."

If anything I see the cruise lines increasing their vaccine requirements. I bet they start making kids 11-5 get vaccinated in the near future. I wouldn't be surprised if boosters also become required. And I also don't see them stopping testing - yes, it's stressful, but much better than having a sick person get on the ship and possible make more people sick. Like others have said, it's both to stop the spread and reduce of the virus and to lessen symptoms. If I was RC or any of the other lines, I wouldn't want the bad PR of having a ship full of sick people get back into the port. While people are testing positive it looks like a majority of people are at least non-symptomatic or at least not too sick. 

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3 hours ago, Bel-Air said:

We are sailing June 11th on Allure of the Seas. We are not vaccinated and saw the current health protocols have vaccine requirements up to May 31rst. This is cutting it close. Thoughts on if Royal Caribbean will drop the requirement by June 1rst, in time for the summer?

Just my personal opinion, nothing based in factual data or information.  I would be surprised if the vaccine requirements are not lifted until the start of 2023 at the earliest.  Now, I remember reading somewhere that spring of 2022 was the targeted time for the government to drop all covid "stuff".  Have to see what happens.  I have not heard or seen fauci out in the news lately and I take that as a very good sign that we are going to be seeing more changes back to pre-covid.

Again just my opinion, I might be 100% off base here.

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3 hours ago, Bel-Air said:

We are sailing June 11th on Allure of the Seas. We are not vaccinated and saw the current health protocols have vaccine requirements up to May 31rst. This is cutting it close. Thoughts on if Royal Caribbean will drop the requirement by June 1rst, in time for the summer?

Basically the same situation for us except a June 5th sailing (the last of many booked pre-vaccination mandate). I'm sure I will be cancelling as soon as they release the June protocols but it probably won't be before they get my final payment and then make me wait 30 days or so to get a refund. 

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While 4 or 5 weeks could/does make a difference in regard to lots of Covid related protocols and expectations. I wouldn't take stock in testing or Vax requirements going away, especially since capacity is increasing. Not before the end of the year at least. 

There is absolutely no incentive to opt out of the CDC protocols, nor does reducing the only two requirements to achieve the proper safeguards against liability. I stand by my assessment that the pandemic has really brought the worst out of humanity. Sueing the cruise lines because they caught Covid would be the nail in the coffin. 

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20 minutes ago, Ampurp85 said:

While 4 or 5 weeks could/does make a difference in regard to lots of Covid related protocols and expectations. I wouldn't take stock in testing or Vax requirements going away, especially since capacity is increasing. Not before the end of the year at least. 

There is absolutely no incentive to opt out of the CDC protocols, nor does reducing the only two requirements to achieve the proper safeguards against liability. I stand by my assessment that the pandemic has really brought the worst out of humanity. Sueing the cruise lines because they caught Covid would be the nail in the coffin. 

This 100%

My teen just earned her driver's permit. I explained how people drive emotionally.  We just had this discussion about the internal anger walking around. Trying to be even kinder nowadays, the pain and anger is on full display everywhere. So sad, 😞

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17 minutes ago, Neesa said:

This 100%

My teen just earned her driver's permit. I explained how people drive emotionally.  We just had this discussion about the internal anger walking around. Trying to be even kinder nowadays, the pain and anger is on full display everywhere. So sad, 😞

It is a shame too, that now people can't live in the moment without bars of expectations. I try to put as much joy out as possible, to be as compassionate as I can in each situation. Hence not complaining that I might have to continue to test to cruise. I understand it dampers the joy because of anxiety but I believe things happen for a reason.......part of that reasoning is speaking thing in existence. I think I am part-hippie or something.

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3 hours ago, ChanaC said:

 

Looks like the Certificate of Recovery is for people who are vaccinated. It says "A Certificate of Recovery will not be accepted in lieu of a vaccination record card for guests of vaccine eligible age. All Royal Caribbean guests age 12 and older must present proof of full COVID-19 vaccination with the final dose of their vaccine administered at least 14 days before sailing."

You are absolutely correct and I apologize. I misread it. I just somehow skipped over the word "not". I went back and edited my statement (thank goodness for the edit button!!). It is in lieu of testing in some situations...

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1 hour ago, Ampurp85 said:

While 4 or 5 weeks could/does make a difference in regard to lots of Covid related protocols and expectations. I wouldn't take stock in testing or Vax requirements going away, especially since capacity is increasing. Not before the end of the year at least. 

There is absolutely no incentive to opt out of the CDC protocols, nor does reducing the only two requirements to achieve the proper safeguards against liability. I stand by my assessment that the pandemic has really brought the worst out of humanity. Sueing the cruise lines because they caught Covid would be the nail in the coffin. 

Not trying to argue the point of whether they should or not, but there is definitely incentive, especially with capacity increasing.  I don't know the exact financials they have been able to achieve since the restart, but I wonder if they can actually fill the ships with the current protocols, and for how long.  They have benefited greatly from the population that has returned to cruising spending more than they did before, but how long does that last?  Especially with inflation and other economic strains that folks might be facing in the near future.  

Nothing could stop someone from suing them now.  An argument could be made that their liability increases somewhat without the vax requirement, but I am sure their attorneys would swat that down pretty easily.

Everyone is entitled to complain about testing requirements, but for those of that haven't been able to return to cruising yet, hard to have empathy for that aggravation, although I am sure it's not fun.   I can't wait to have to worry about the testing if it's still there when they drop the mandate.

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38 minutes ago, gatorskin76 said:

Not trying to argue the point of whether they should or not, but there is definitely incentive, especially with capacity increasing.  I don't know the exact financials they have been able to achieve since the restart, but I wonder if they can actually fill the ships with the current protocols, and for how long.  They have benefited greatly from the population that has returned to cruising spending more than they did before, but how long does that last?  Especially with inflation and other economic strains that folks might be facing in the near future.  

Nothing could stop someone from suing them now.  An argument could be made that their liability increases somewhat without the vax requirement, but I am sure their attorneys would swat that down pretty easily.

Everyone is entitled to complain about testing requirements, but for those of that haven't been able to return to cruising yet, hard to have empathy for that aggravation, although I am sure it's not fun.   I can't wait to have to worry about the testing if it's still there when they drop the mandate.

Many ships are sailing very near or at capacity with the current protocols, no need to be in a hurry to change them. 

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It seems like the cruise lines have been really busy, especially since the start of the year. From what I heard, a lot of the reduced capacity is more about the ships limiting themselves vs people not filling staterooms. Would be interesting to see this summer when schools are really out and cruises get busier. But if they have plenty of people willing to cruise now, enough to hit their quotas, I can't see them needing to drop requirements. Plenty of people are already vaccinated or willing to get vaccinated to sail so they have no issues keeping the requirements in place. 

Personally, I'm good with the current testing protocols. Yes, it's a little nerve wracking to think about testing positive right before the cruise, but I'll cruise much happier knowing that the ship is as safe as possible.

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22 minutes ago, TXcruzer said:

Many ships are sailing very near or at capacity with the current protocols, no need to be in a hurry to change them. 

I don’t have those figures, but if you know where to find them I’d love to take a look.  It’s been a pretty small window that they have been sailing anywhere near capacity (if they have even done 100% yet), so not sure how you would really come to that conclusion.  I am sure they had pent up demand from that group, but sooner or later they are going to need to expand their customer base.  As long as they give me money back based on their decision to keep it in place, it’s their call after all, but just like smoking in the casino, eventually they are coming for that money.

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1 hour ago, gatorskin76 said:

I don’t have those figures, but if you know where to find them I’d love to take a look.  It’s been a pretty small window that they have been sailing anywhere near capacity (if they have even done 100% yet), so not sure how you would really come to that conclusion.  I am sure they had pent up demand from that group, but sooner or later they are going to need to expand their customer base.  As long as they give me money back based on their decision to keep it in place, it’s their call after all, but just like smoking in the casino, eventually they are coming for that money.

The capacity is reported from nearly every sailing, every week, on multiple travel related boards.  Anyone that has sailed in the last 6 months can tell you firsthand how much fuller the ships are with every passing week.  There have been multiple ships sail at full capacity

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I concur with the majority of posters who don't think vaccination requirements will go away anytime soon.   Take Denmark, for example.  They are waiving covid testing for arriving tourists who are fully vaccinated within last 270 days, or something like that.  As other countries follow suit, we'll see it easier to travel if you are up-to-date in vaccinations.

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32 minutes ago, ChessE4 said:

I concur with the majority of posters who don't think vaccination requirements will go away anytime soon.   Take Denmark, for example.  They are waiving covid testing for arriving tourists who are fully vaccinated within last 270 days, or something like that.  As other countries follow suit, we'll see it easier to travel if you are up-to-date in vaccinations.

Right... even though the original 2 shots that are still the required shots, are long outdated.  It's like forcing a 2 year old flu shot to fight the current strand.  Cray Cray 🙂

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and, that is where it starts to get cray-cray. Every country will have different requirements for what makes up current and what happens if you have gotten over Covid and what that means for this mess. If you had two shots, three shots, but you got Covid and recovered what does that mean and on and on we go...the possibilities can be endless. The current cruisers on this site are much more diligent than I would be on keeping up with all the changes so my hats off to you who can do that.  Me, in the mean-time, will head to the beaches in South Carolina until this gets sorted out

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18 hours ago, gatorskin76 said:

Not trying to argue the point of whether they should or not, but there is definitely incentive, especially with capacity increasing.  I don't know the exact financials they have been able to achieve since the restart, but I wonder if they can actually fill the ships with the current protocols, and for how long.  They have benefited greatly from the population that has returned to cruising spending more than they did before, but how long does that last?  Especially with inflation and other economic strains that folks might be facing in the near future.  

Nothing could stop someone from suing them now.  An argument could be made that their liability increases somewhat without the vax requirement, but I am sure their attorneys would swat that down pretty easily.

Everyone is entitled to complain about testing requirements, but for those of that haven't been able to return to cruising yet, hard to have empathy for that aggravation, although I am sure it's not fun.   I can't wait to have to worry about the testing if it's still there when they drop the mandate.

I tend to look at the overall picture and considering how people have been willing to pay and cruise with the stricter protocols in place. The current ones from the CDC are minuscule.

It is not that I don't empathize with those who can't cruise because of vax requirements or have anxiety over testing. It is more so that I am a realist. You can believe that having a vax requirement is a liability, but it isn't. I know people will try to sue for any and everything, which is why companies put certain safeguards in, to make it harder.

 

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16 hours ago, TXcruzer said:

The capacity is reported from nearly every sailing, every week, on multiple travel related boards.  Anyone that has sailed in the last 6 months can tell you firsthand how much fuller the ships are with every passing week.  There have been multiple ships sail at full capacity

I am not sure what else I can say but..."if you say so".  No doubt ships are getting fuller, but I tried to Google the data you referenced as being readily available, and....

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With today's announcement of CDC dropping the cruise ship warning, I am hopeful that things are going to change soon (maybe even by June 1 as suggested earlier in this conversation).  I actually think (hope) vaccination requirements will go before testing.  They could either continue requirements for all to be tested (vaccinated and not) or I could also see them just requiring unvaccinated cruisers to test negative (no testing for vaccinated).

I think the cruise lines will continue to phase out the requirements and hopefully soon. 

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7 minutes ago, Peter D said:

With today's announcement of CDC dropping the cruise ship warning, I am hopeful that things are going to change soon (maybe even by June 1 as suggested earlier in this conversation).  I actually think (hope) vaccination requirements will go before testing.  They could either continue requirements for all to be tested (vaccinated and not) or I could also see them just requiring unvaccinated cruisers to test negative (no testing for vaccinated).

I think the cruise lines will continue to phase out the requirements and hopefully soon. 

I feel this could be a highly likely scenario. In order to board you need to show either proof of vaccination OR a negative covid test. 

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Rccl adding the  idled ships might be good for getting rid of vax Requirement.  Stock price this morning was $80 stock price Jan 2020 was $135. Any decision will be based on stock price vs  risk dropping mandates. You know there will be another surge because there is another election. They are limiting their customer base with mandate 

.All inclusive in Aruba no shot required. Rccl risking losing long time loyal customers that do not want   the mRNA shot.  I have canceled 6 cruises because of mandates many more like me that are looking for place to spend their vacation dollars. Maho Beach Eagle Beach Lindbergh bay

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52 minutes ago, Vancity Cruiser said:

I feel this could be a highly likely scenario. In order to board you need to show either proof of vaccination OR a negative covid test. 

Agreed. That’s what centers for performing arts have been doing since they reopened down in south Florida. Makes no sense from a health standpoint since vax can carry it around unknowingly and spread it but it’s just for show and I believe they feel it makes them look like they are doing their part to have some sort of rule… while not excluding any potential customers or discriminating. It’s a win win.

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