PETRI dish…..Avoid cruise travel……LEVEL 4….Regardless of Vaccine Status…..and so much more…GRAB a headline and run with it. Let me tell you WHY this is so overblown!
Here are a few travel bloggers / vloggers who spell it out clearly –
http://Morgan’s Unofficial Travel Guide – Morgan O’Brien spells out in this video the differences between cruising and visiting Florida theme parks. Morgan and his family spent 21 days in Florida visiting multiple theme parks and returned home (to Germany), and a week later popped positive for C-19, despite being TRIPLE VAXED. Be aware…NOBODY was checking vaccine status at the entrance to ANY amusement park in Florida or asking for your negative test results.
In order to cruise out of the USA, you must be “fully vaxed”, and present a negative test taken within 2 days of boarding the cruise ship. My recent travel (Oct-Nov 2021) on the Grand Princess required me to present my test results and vaccine card prior to boarding, and then I was tested 3 more times while on board.
The cruise ship I was on this past fall had a capacity of 25% !! Most ships are sailing way below capacity. As cruising restarted, the capacity has gradually increased, but let me tell you…it was like sailing on a private yacht! Yet, the CDC talks about the crowding…..
The theater never “filled up” so social distancing was NEVER a problem! Every entertainment venue on that ship was like this. EVEN the casino and sail away and deck parties.
My sister and I went to BINGO which is a popular activity on a sea day, and take a look at the “crowd”….
So; tell me about “congregate settings” ?? Petri dishes?? Nothing anywhere is as clean as these cruise ships. I have personally observed the rigorous cleaning, the mask wearing of the crew while outdoors, the mask wearing of passengers indoors except when eating and drinking. Elevator limits, hand washing stations at every food service venue, and all the hand sanitizer machines. Take a look at the “health protocols” with Princess Cruise lines – https://www.princess.com/plan/cruise-with-confidence/cruise-health/frequently-asked-questions/us-cruises/ NO WHERE else in America do you find this “level” of health safety protocols. Not in any hotel, airport, amusement park, shopping center, movie theater or sporting venue!
Another Cruise Vlogger – TONY – LA LIDO LOCA – talks about the CDC change to the cruise travel warning. He runs through the numbers and discusses an article from the Cruise Line industry association. The CLIA article states “Vaccination rates onboard a cruise ship are upwards of 95 percent—significantly higher than the overall U.S. population which is hovering at 62 percent” – “
AND …..
- The latest data show that, even with higher rates of testing, the cruise industry continues to achieve significantly lower rates of occurrence of COVID-19—33 percent lower than onshore.
- According to the CDC’s color-coding system, a cruise ship may be determined to be “yellow” – and, therefore, subject to CDC observation – if a threshold of 0.10 percent or more passengers (i.e., 7 out of 6,500) have tested positive in the last seven days, or if even just one crewmember tests positive.”
So, yes, the latest variant is highly transmissible, but I submit to you that a cruise ship is far safer than a trip to your local supermarket, movie theater, big box store, restaurant, football game or other sporting events.
Check out Tony / La Lido Loca latest – http://Fighting cruise misinformation
Check out ShipLife and answer the “SAFE” question – https://youtu.be/qfFSSSaoRvs
What do I love about cruising and why do I still plan to go in just a couple of weeks again?
- I go for the FOOD
- I go for the Entertainment
- I go for the destinations
- I go for the relaxation
- I go for the fun in the sun
- I go for the spa
- I go to meet new friends
- I go for the wine tasting and the afternoon tea
- I go for the sunrise and sunsets on the water
and so much more.
Waiters who sing!
And I go for magical moments like this, when Hector, the head waiter, came to our table with his music and really lovely voice!
To quote Tom Pignetti, a doctor, who commented on the LaLidoLoca VLOG post linked above – “I do believe that the CDC is singularly focused on reducing cases and that they are NOT concerned with balancing out other concerns. Considering that, they exert their influence/control where they can. Since cruise lines share information regarding # of cases, that makes them easy targets. People are catching covid in their homes, grocery stores and other places in the community. I had ONE day this week where I had nearly 10 patients cancel appointments due to the patient or their spouse contracting covid. We continue to go to work and care for our patients. I will continue to cruise and am looking forward to my cruise on the Adventure of the Seas on January 26th. I am much more concerned about catching covid in the community BEFORE the cruise than I am catching it while ON the cruise.“
So, in spite of the CDC, I will continue to cruise. My next cruise is January 19th out of Florida. The risky part of the entire trip is crowding into the airplane, where I will wear my KN95 duck bill mask! I have chosen to spend my days “LIVING” instead of “WAITING”. And yes, I’m less concerned about catching covid on a cruise ship than I am in my community.
Stitching Grandma 
The CDC is not God, even if they think they are!
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There is so much blatantly crazy stuff in the headlines. I just updated and added a couple more you-tube links from fellows I follow who try to get the word out about what is and isn’t happening. The fact is, the CDC has had their red/yellow/orange/green chart going for the last 18 months. What they fail to say is how many of those who pop a positive test are actually “SICK”. The media gets their head wrapped around a headline and that is all. YOU are so right, they are nowhere close to being GOD. Bless you.
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Such great first hand knowledge, the cruise lines need to be able to sail again, and it sounds like they are doing the best they can. We are long past the time when people were stranded on ships for quarantining before being allowed to leave, yet that is what people still focus on. I wish every gathering had to have a vax card check, including quilt meetings and car club lunches!!
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Hi Carole – I think the “sensationalism” in the headlines is all anybody wants, skip the facts completely. No reporter is a journalist anymore. They don’t dig into the story, just parrot what is being said other places. Our guild isn’t meeting until at least April 😦 , sticking to zoom meetings which I am more likely to skip. I think we should be at a point in society where we can assume the risk leaving our house, getting in our car and driving and going places. I chose to assume the risk. I’ve done the best for me with vaccinations and continue to avoid crowded venues. I don’t want to be the vax police checking on people though. I follow a British guy on you tube, a Nurse with a PHD, who has said that we are in an endemic situation. He is a teacher at heart, and shares a lot of scientific info (https://youtu.be/PYLbJ0H8zdc). Give him a listen. The likely hood is, each of us will eventually get omicron, but having been vaxed and boosted, we should fair pretty well. Meanwhile, it is a SNOW day here, so staying home is the only option. Sending you big virtual hugs
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Excellent article! These are the same sentiments I share with friends and relatives who can’t believe my wife an I are going on a cruise at this time. The percentage of COVID infections at my place of work is significantly higher than on any cruise ship that has sailed to date under the CDC’s Conditional Order.
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Thanks for reading my post and taking the time to comment! I can’t argue that OMICRON isn’t an issue, but I will continue to preach that it is safer on a cruise than at Walmart!! Hopefully your next cruise is soon!!
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Thank you thank you thank you!!💕 We agree completely!! My husband and I will also be in the enchanted the 19th God willing🙏 also from Lil old Delaware 🤗 hope we get to meet you!!
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Thanks for reading my blog post and commenting too. I am passionate about cruising and have my fingers crossed for the flights and the cruise going as scheduled!! I’ll be traveling with my sister and going to Florida one day ahead. I follow several other cruise vloggers, like Don’s Family Vacations and Royal Caribbean Blog, and they all are singing the same song as me. Hope to meet you on board too. If they have it, I’ll be at the Knitters & Knatters on sea days, and on port days snorkeling somewhere! How did you like that SNOW day yesterday??
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We’ve been open and unrestricted in SD for the past year and a half. I fought cancer, went through chemo and radiation, and never once did I get COVID or the variants. I firmly believe we’ll have a new variant in 3-6 months, just about the time the student loan extension is about to expire. I am vaxed and boosted and every single person in my office has had COVID, some twice, but I believe in the power of a strong immune system, vaccinations, and living life. Luckily I haven’t missed any work for COVID. The people who are sticking close to home are missing out on life or using COVID as an excuse.
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Yay to South Dakota, where my dad grew up!! Living a strong healthy life style builds immunity. I refuse to “hide” at home and will live each day as if it is my last. Thank you for finding my blog and taking time to comment! 🙂
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I wanted to also say what an amazing/difficult year you have had with all the medical and still, you sound so strong and positive!!! Peace and hugs.
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