The CDC program for cruise ships is no longer in effect

[act1980]

Oh of course, that is correct. My point was, as far as cruise requirements, since it seems that none of their ports require vaccinations for the under 12’s, that the cruise lines wouldn’t really need to keep requiring that age group to be vaccinated if the ports don’t. That was one of the arguments for keeping the vaccine policy in place or expanding it to the under 5’s. I’m not opining on what DCL or any other cruise line should or will do.

I really hope so! Hate that my kids are being treated like lepers in some places regardless of the fact they've had it so will now have antibodies. I just want normal life back, I've had all my shots including booster. Nothing much more we can do except live!

 

[Mrlogboy]

If Disney does not drop the pre-cruise covid test. What are some cheaper options for the test? My local urgent care charges $160/pp.

OnPoint is 20 pp and bring your own test

 

[Snowwhyt]

If testing isn't required onboard, there is no way for that to happen. Most Covid cases are very mild, so there aren't going to be a lot of passengers presenting for medical treatment and getting Covid tested onboard.

Testing is given while onboard for those that have symptoms and offers to test those whom are in close contact. Many on my last trip tested negative the first test with symptoms but positively the second test. Now friends in my area (Wisconsin and Illinois) are saying the same thing. “I was negative but I tested again and now I’m positive”. I think it’s a B5 thing because I haven’t heard that before the last 2 months, but I’m no doctor.
The only “required” part of testing, is the government requiring that testing be made available while they are on the ship. But the special pills offered to cases of an elderly or immune compromised or often one without vaccines, must be given through the hospital but is soon earmarked for pharmacy distribution for those who meet the severe guidelines. I was on a 13 day cruise but testing was done daily if you asked with symptoms. And if you took the test you were expected to quarantine away from those who did not test. Initially positive cruisers were found on deck two and five. Eventually they just stopped moving people and trays of food would always be outside certain doors in the hallway.
With as full as the Wish ship is for its maiden voyages, I’m thinking social distance and a sick bay deck were non-existent.

 

[mab2012]

Not sure what the motivation is for DCL to remove the pre-testing requirement. It’s not a cost to them, and the ships are essentially full. I only see them dropping the requirement if it starts affecting their booking rates. Otherwise, how is the pre-testing requirement hurting them?

Anyone testing positive gets a full, last-minute refund, and it's not viable to fill those cabins at that point. On Magic's last sailing, about 10% of passengers did not board due to a positive COVID test in their party, and from what I've seen, that's fairly typical right now. So there's probably a pretty significant cost to DCL.

Possiblity lower than the cost of widespread staff infections, though?

As an aside, that cruise ran at about 70% capacity, on a peak-summer, high-demand itinerary. Definitely not full.

 

[Dis_fool]

We were just on the Wish Maiden voyage. Fully vaxed and boosted. Self tested as well as DCL’s embarkation test all negative. Got home and bingo the following day positive. The ship is a Petri dish. Not sure how, or if you can prevent it. We will still cruise.

 

[coast2coastmickey]

We were just on the Wish Maiden voyage. Fully vaxed and boosted. Self tested as well as DCL’s embarkation test all negative. Got home and bingo the following day positive. The ship is a Petri dish. Not sure how, or if you can prevent it. We will still cruise.

Sorry to hear you are now positive. Are you symptomatic? We've had it twice already, delta and omicron.

Hopefully this means they remove all vax requirements and testing. It's clear at this point that it's not going away and only those who are willing to take the risk should cruise. If they remove the vax requirement we'll book something the same day.

 

[DMMarla07860]

Sorry to hear you are now positive. Are you symptomatic? We've had it twice already, delta and omicron.

Hopefully this means they remove all vax requirements and testing. It's clear at this point that it's not going away and only those who are willing to take the risk should cruise. If they remove the vax requirement we'll book something the same day.

I feel the pre-testing with go before vaccines from talking with others not on disboards

 

[n2mm]

I feel the pre-testing with go before vaccines from talking with others not on disboards

i agree. While positive guest get off the ship, the crew is still onboard after exposure. DCL will do what they need to to keep their employees safe.

 

[Weedy]

Virgin Cruise Line drops testing in the US starting next week.
Hopefully this is the beginning of the end.

 

[HeatherLassell]

Virgin Cruise Line drops testing in the US starting next week.
Hopefully this is the beginning of the end.

Agreed. Because testing before boarding is pointless when they let everyone get off in ports. We all tested at the end of May pre-cruise at the port, had a great cruise (so good!), were able to get off the ship in Mexico, Jamaica and Grand Cayman. By the last day of the cruise people were dropping like flies testing positive. Myself and my daughter tested positive the day after we left the cruise.

 

[KKKKCS]

Sorry to hear you are now positive. Are you symptomatic? We've had it twice already, delta and omicron.

Hopefully this means they remove all vax requirements and testing. It's clear at this point that it's not going away and only those who are willing to take the risk should cruise. If they remove the vax requirement we'll book something the same day.

My wife flew out today without me, for what was supposed to be a B2B on the Wish for both of us. We booked last year thinking that with the lifting of vax mandates, including the lock down champion of the planet, Australia, they couldn't possibly still be in effect for a cruise 8 months away. Boy were we wrong. So, she is treating a couple of her girlfriends to their first Disney cruise. I too will book something the instant they drop the increasingly questionable vax mandate.

 

[Kwami]

The ship is a Petri dish. Not sure how, or if you can prevent it.

They did a pretty damn good job of preventing it before when they had embarkation day PCR testing and masks indoors. So, they can prevent it. Whether they want to is a different question.

 

[dcassetta]

They did a pretty damn good job of preventing it before when they had embarkation day PCR testing and masks indoors. So, they can prevent it. Whether they want to is a different question.

It seems the new BA5 variant is more insidious than that. We just returned from a fully vaxxed river cruise where everyone had to be tested within 48 hours before boarding. We wore N95s consistently, did not eat on the airplanes, did not eat in the dining room, and did not remove our mask on any of the shore excursions unless socially distanced. Tested positive upon arriving home.

 

[Kwami]

It seems the new BA5 variant is more insidious than that. We just returned from a fully vaxxed river cruise where everyone had to be tested within 48 hours before boarding. We wore N95s consistently, did not eat on the airplanes, did not eat in the dining room, and did not remove our mask on any of the shore excursions unless socially distanced. Tested positive upon arriving home.

Antigen tests 48 hours before a cruise aren't worth much, though. That's the biggest problem, I think. The embarkation day PCR tests were stressful and nobody liked being turned away at the port, but those tests probably did more than anything to keep Covid-19 off the ships.

 

[dcassetta]

Antigen tests 48 hours before a cruise aren't worth much, though. That's the biggest problem, I think. The embarkation day PCR tests were stressful and nobody liked being turned away at the port, but those tests probably did more than anything to keep Covid-19 off the ships.

These were PCR as that was what was required by the country where we sailed.

 

[DMMarla07860]

It seems the new BA5 variant is more insidious than that. We just returned from a fully vaxxed river cruise where everyone had to be tested within 48 hours before boarding. We wore N95s consistently, did not eat on the airplanes, did not eat in the dining room, and did not remove our mask on any of the shore excursions unless socially distanced. Tested positive upon arriving home.

From what I heard you can be in a elevator and catch it even masking

 

[Princesca]

Antigen tests 48 hours before a cruise aren't worth much, though. That's the biggest problem, I think. The embarkation day PCR tests were stressful and nobody liked being turned away at the port, but those tests probably did more than anything to keep Covid-19 off the ships.

Yep. The false negative rate of antigen tests are fairly high. Last time I was sick I took three, negative on all, but I still quarantined because I didn't trust it.

 

[Mommb]

The relevant numbers indicating whether the COVID restrictions are working aren't "people who test positive soon after boarding" or "people who test positive after disembarking." There will always be some people in those categories, just as there were/are for other diseases.

The possible advantage of pre-cruise COVID testing is in reducing the number of people who transmit the virus onboard (though not reducing it to zero), which also reduces the number who will need medical attention on board (either because they board while infected or because they are infected onboard by someone who boarded while contagious).

The possible advantage of vaccine requirements is in reducing the chances of needing medical care even if infected while onboard. Because there has been a vaccine requirement for adults since sailing resumed, it's difficult to know what the number of people who are sick enough to need treatment would have been without vaccines. Requiring vaccines may not make a significant difference in the number of people who become infected, since the current COVID variant is highly contagious, but it might be keeping the medical centers from becoming overloaded when people do get infected. This is more of a concern for cruise ships than for other forms of travel where people are onboard for only a few hours and can be transferred to a larger medical facility more quickly and easily if necessary.

 

[DLgal]

Covid will continue to run rampant on cruise ships because there is no way to prevent unmasked people from gathering, which is the primary driver of spread. Even if they bring back the mask mandates on-board, people have to remove them to eat, in crowded dining rooms. The current prominent variant is more contagious than measles, with only a 3 day incubation period. If you aren't masking with an N95 24/7 when around strangers, it'll eventually get you.

At this point, there is nothing the CDC can do short of halting all cruise travel, so dropping the requirements will change nothing.

Cruise at your own risk at this point.

 

[Princesca]

The possible advantage of vaccine requirements is in reducing the chances of needing medical care even if infected while onboard.

Exactly this. Vaccines don't prevent COVID in every instance, but they greatly reduce your likelihood of severe COVID/hospitalization/death. DCL is going to have to weigh the potential consequences of dropping a vaccine mandate (primarily whether their onboard facilities can provide adequate care for more severe cases) against how much business they may or may not lose with a mandate. I would go out of my way to book a cruise that required vaccination, especially traveling with kids. I would choose that over other cruise lines that didn't require it, if all else was equal, and I can safely say that's true of the majority of my friends as well. I know there are others who feel differently, but my overall point is we just don't know to what degree the vaccine mandate financially impacts Disney. And in the end, we have to KNOW that's what the decision will be based on... $$$.

I wonder if Disney might mitigate the financial risk of unvaccinated passengers by offering a discounted rate for vaccinated guests, to compensate for the potential higher costs of having unvaccinated folks aboard.