Great minds…
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When we see family and friends, it is outside, about 15 feet apart, and with all adults wearing masks. So I am not surprised by the situation you encountered.
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Fingers crossed he’s negative!
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Really? No. Here the whole point of being outside is so you don’t have to wear the mask. If you have to wear it - let’s just go inside - so I can take off my hat and mittens.
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Did you see Len’s edits on another thread?
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I guess I can thank USA Today for condensing it for me. I still hope to read through the 74 page document later today.
I really hope they can get sailing for many reasons. My family doesn’t want to wear masks, but I know many will be willing to to get back on a ship. I’ll be relying on the first batches of trip reports to make a decision.
Off I go to my Cruise Critic forum. I bet there are a LOT of excited cruisers today. 
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Not sure how I feel about masks on my vacation, but I really want to get in my Alaskan cruise with the kids!
It did make me wonder, if masks are required, if it would be worth it for us to get a balcony. We are usually the “cheapest available” type of cruisers, and splurged for an ocean view for Alaska. Having an area to be outside without a mask may be critical to us if you have to wear a mask at all times on deck. The cost increase is frustrating though!
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Yeah.
And it they do decrease capacity, it will inflate costs more.
My take away is still negative (who me? 
).
If the pre-boarding tests are all negative - why wear masks?
If the masks stop the spread - why pre-test?
If everyone is negative and wearing masks, why ask the questions and take temps?
I know, I know - because no single action is foolproof.
But - I see them all as theater. All about getting the ship back out. About crossing t’s and dotting i’s.
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Neat or not… depending on the mood
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Nope. I really don’t get out much! 
. Ty! (I tried searching on “Unofficial Guide” and got a gabillion hits.)
@qwerty6, I find your point of view really interesting. Do you think that some or all of these measures are not effective? Do you think that some or all are effective, but that the cruise folks don’t really care about effectiveness?
On a side note, we had an early birthday party outside for DS last weekend. (Bday is in Dec, when an outdoor party would not be very comfortable!) Because it’s very hard to consistently maintain 6+ feet at a party, especially for kids, we wore masks outside. Perhaps I’m miscalculating risks, but I felt comfortable with DD and nephew sharing a saucer swing (one standing, the other sitting) when they were both masked. Had they not been wearing masks, I would have spent the party following kids around and reminding them to give everyone enough space.
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Because false negatives are a definite thing.
Masks greatly reduce the spread. But if someone is positive, unless someone is wearing a mask perfectly, it can’t fully stop them from spreading. So trying to catch those who are positive, as much as possible, further reduces the chances.
Not everyone is (necessarily) negative…they merely TESTED negative. And the mask is the best tool for protection we have at the moment. But I do tend to agree with the temps bit. I think that becomes kind of pointless. If someone is feverish, most likely they would have tested positive…and who, when they are feverish, feels good enough to travel anyhow? So yet…temp checks are mostly for show.
Exactly. And if you know this, I’m not sure why you are so down on all this? Or are you down on the idea of opening up the ships to begin with? (It wasn’t clear to me.)
It is like when you give margins of error. You know. Something is 30%, plus or minus 5%. Something is 100, plus or minus 25. The plus or minus ranges in the case of coronavirus can be reduced dramatically with various measures in place.
Personally, I think opening up the ships is extremely iffy. Tight quarters, narrow hallways, etc. So the question is how well the ventilation systems work in those things. That would be my BIGGEST concern.
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Of all the “non-essential” things to come back, I figured cruises would be last. It’s too hard to distance without diminishing the experience, there’s not much financial incentive to operate them at much lower capacities, and the demand might take longer to come back compared to other activities. For me, a cruise would be something I’d have to wait for until there are no restrictions. For the crazy prices, I want a full care-free experience and to be pampered without thinking about covid.
With false negative rates anywhere from 2-29% according to some studies, chances are some positive cases are getting on the ship, and that concern becomes a factor for me much more so than being on land and more in control of my environment. I have a Disney Cruise placeholder on the books, but I’ll most likely let it expire. I don’t see things being back to where I want them in time.
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Why is Massachusetts at yellow when we have been under 1 for weeks?
they explain their calculations on the page. they take many factors into consideration
@Beth33
From the start, my goal has never been “avoid getting the virus at any cost.” The initial deal was “15 days to stop the spread” and to avoid overwhelming health care systems. I’m not getting anywhere with searching the forum, but by Easter I was definitely the outlier on these pages. I fully believe we have done irreparable damage to many individuals (nursing homes, otherwise isolated, people who went two months without elective surgery, businesses still not open and livelihoods lost) all because somewhere along the way many changed the goal to NO NEW CASES EVER!!!
But - now that I have ruminated on it a bit I’m thinking more about the cruise ships…
@ryan1 my point is that if any one of those tests were actually able to rule out people with coronavirus there wouldn’t be the … and… and… and. It’s like a sieve or something.
Cruise ships could very easily run out of ability to provide medical care. Perhaps they should not open. Certainly risk-averse people should not travel, nor the known high risk people. I more wonder about the ability to preserve crew health. Many of those who work on the ships are from underserved areas and may likely accept more risk in the name of earnings.
Cruising actually affords us one of the best ROI.
OH - yes - crazy prices.
You mean 2019. 
Me too.
I have until Feb to cancel my cruise. Masking in some places wouldn’t be a deal breaker, but no buffet would. I wouldn’t want a mask on everywhere.
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