Posted on 12/26/2021 9:04:59 AM PST by Capt. Tom
An undisclosed number of passengers tested positive for COVID-19 during a Christmas cruise, curtailing the cruise’s scheduled stops.
Take a cruise during a pandemic at your peril.
One Carnival Freedom passenger, Ashley Peterson, shared a letter from the captain offering a $100 gift voucher, apologizing for cutting two of the three stops, and assuring passengers that all protocols were being followed to keep them safe.
“People have spent thousands of dollars on this cruise and picked this cruise for the ports,” she tweeted “Now on an 8-day cruise we will have only gone to one place on a delayed schedule. They think $100 per room is enough compensation?”
Carnival Freedom, which is carrying 2,497 passengers and 1,112 crew members, was due to dock in Miami on Sunday after the eight-day cruise. Passengers were required to be vaccinated and test negative for COVID-19 before departure.
The captain’s letter read in part: “The rapid spread of the Omicron variant impacts how destinations are responding to even a small number of cases,” adding, “We know these unexpected changes are disappointing.”
‘People have spent thousands of dollars on this cruise and picked this cruise for the ports.’
Royal Caribbean said all passengers were required to be vaccinated and have negative COVID-19 tests. Those who tested positive were quarantined; their close contacts were also quarantined and monitored for 24 hours prior to testing.
Carnival Freedom did not immediately respond to comment regarding the number of people who tested positive for COVID-19 or the compensation offered by the company. Royal Caribbean was not immediately available for comment.
Travel on cruise ships is particularly popular among families and the elderly, and the risk of contagion is relatively high on a ship. Younger children with strong immune systems have the lowest fatality and hospitalization rates from COVID-19.
(Excerpt) Read more at marketwatch.com ...
We are on the Edge late Jan 22.
Bummer - Unless there is something good, we may stay on the boat if they require masks on shore 24/7.
Did not have to wear masks on shore in Cozumel last November.
I’m curious. If the cruise lines had a “travel at your own risk” sort of policy and let anyone onboard as if it were 2019 with no mandates, masks or testing, would anybody even notice a difference?
Without the government/media hype, I wonder if it would even be a big deal or just business as usual?
I can understand the norovirus outbreaks being a nuisance, but those weren’t that frequent and can likely be mitigated with enhanced sanitation protocols.
Just wondering…
(What if we threw an omicron pandemic and nobody came?)
EQAndyBuzz wrote: “I just need a beach.”
Never understood why some think it’s wonderful to lay in the hot sun for hours. I worked outdoors many summers. It was always a relief to get into the shade.
Leaning Right wrote: “I wonder if the cruise line was smart enough to insert a clause like that in the contract.”
The cruise line contracts are all very similar. They clearly state that the cruise line can change any and all ports as they see necessary. In fact, a strict reading would imply that the ship can depart from any port, return to any port, and avoid all port calls. The compensation is up to the cruise line.
That said, we don’t cruise for the ports. We do like port days because almost all passengers are off the ship and we can do as we please without crowds on board.
“See the USA in a motorhome.”
Sure, go to national parks and kiss the feds butts and follow biden mandates therein.
Right now it appears the fully "vaccinated" people are more likely to come down with a covid infection.-Tom
“I never understood the attraction of being a ship with 4,000 people anyway. The Norovirus stories sounded worse than the COVID.”
I am not trying to be mean or snarky.
The ships are actually amazingly clean. Food poisoning (Noro virus) happens at less than 1/8 the level in restaurants on shore. I have never gotten sick on a cruise. Even cheaper lines line Carnival have very clean facilities.
I suggest you try one of the upscale line like Norwegian, Celebrity. The buffet would cost you $100.00 per person (Per meal), and the dinning room is even better. You have literally no idea the level of service, quality, and relaxation afforded the vacationer on a ship. Really, if you’ve never been on a cruise, don’t knock it.
And yes, you should try it.
Well they got something of value ... could have been a $100 certificate for $100 off their next Microsoft Windows upgrade.
Um, not so here....
After being quarantined on deck 2 or 3 in an inside cabin of that ship, and being separated from your travel mate(S), that person may never want to go cruising again, and would gladly turn in the $100 certificate for something not cruise related. LOL. -Tom
Pretty sure we had to wear masks EVERYWHERE OFF SHORE! That’s why we didn’t get off.
Fake vaccination cards are available on black market, and it is not difficult to catch covid on the flight to cruise port city.
You take covid test 48 hours before boarding cruise ship, then get on a flight inside a airtight titanium tube for hours, sitting shoulder to shoulder with 100+ people breathing the same air.
Wrong as usual. Read my post again. I never wish death on anybody. But if you lose your job from a private corporation for not complying with their vaccine policy, I have no problem.
One of the main arguments in favor of unions is they have contracts—that means that unilateral changes of employment policy are not permitted.
Those companies that implemented unilateral policy changes on vaccines are making the argument as to why unions exist.
I will have no sympathy for those companies if they are unionized in the future.
In a free enterprise capitalist system, every company has the right to make stupid decisions. Capitalism is self correcting. It makes stupid ones go bankrupt. But point remains, PRIVATE corporations must have the right to make any decision they want and are liable to be sued if their decisions cause hurt.
Very good summary of real situation on cruise ships, Fai Mao.
We just came back from Royal Caribbean’s Independence of Seas ship, and the sanitary protocols in dining room and buffet were so much better than any land restaurant.
If people are desperate enough to book cruises in the middle of a pandemic, it’s not Carnival’s fault.
I know what you mean, but I had to excerpt this thread per FR rules.
So if you read the whole link you will see others feel like you do. I have put an excerpted paragraph below._-Tom
But not everyone expressed sympathy for the Carnival Freedom passengers. One man replied: “You elected to take a cruise during a pandemic. Even vaccinated people are coming down with Delta, which is highly contagious. Sorry, not sorry.”
Below is one of the many expected articles beating up on the Cruse Lines. -Tom
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