Tracking Cruising Restart: News and Updates

[BadPinkTink]

NCL thinks they may start in Europe before they do in the US. This may be a very real possibility for Magic as well:

https://crew-center.com/ncl-could-start-cruise-operations-europe-sailing-us

I've been saying this all along, that The Magic will stay in Europe. The May Florida to Barcelona is cancelled so the next / possibly first sailing for The Magic would be the 22 May 7 night Mediterranean Cruise from Barcelona

 

[braysmommy]

I've been saying this all along, that The Magic will stay in Europe. The May Florida to Barcelona is cancelled so the next / possibly first sailing for The Magic would be the 22 May 7 night Mediterranean Cruise from Barcelona

I have been thinking the same. Also, EBTA isn't cancelled yet but I am awaiting the email telling me that.

 

[Deb T.]

I've been saying this all along, that The Magic will stay in Europe. The May Florida to Barcelona is cancelled so the next / possibly first sailing for The Magic would be the 22 May 7 night Mediterranean Cruise from Barcelona

The EBTA hasn't been cancelled. It's just been removed from further bookings, as was the WBTA and all other cruises over 7 nights per the latest CDC restrictions.

 

[gotomu212]

I've been saying this all along, that The Magic will stay in Europe. The May Florida to Barcelona is cancelled so the next / possibly first sailing for The Magic would be the 22 May 7 night Mediterranean Cruise from Barcelona

I don’t know what NCLs European share of cruises is compared to DCL, but Disney has said they cannot run in Europe without US customers. It’s a major issue for them in a “normal” good year. A lot of Disneys decisions will come down to the ability for large groups of Americans to travel.

 

[Bjn10]

Like I’ve been saying I have a feeling the wonder is going to do the Miami sailings if they can get started by April

 

[Intr3pid]

NCL is installing AtmosAir air purification system across its fleet - that's 28 ships.

https://www.cruisemapper.com/news/8...ise-line-holdings-partners-atmosair-solutions
"Tests by Microchem Laboratory, one of the preeminent laboratories for testing EPA- and FDA-registered sanitizing products in the world, confirmed that the presence of Coronavirus (COVID-19) was reduced by 99.92% within half an hour of exposure to AtmosAir."

That's pretty significant. AtmosAir count Apple, Google, Hilton, MGM, etc. among their customers.

 

[bcwife76]

Only on it's third Singapore cruise, RCL now has a confirmed case of Covid on its current voyage and is returning early:
https://www.straitstimes.com/singap...uise-to-nowhere-ship-returns-to-singapore-mid

 

[Starwind]

And a possible case of covid on Quantum of the Seas on its third sailing:

https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/...on-royal-caribbean-s-quantum-of-the-seas.html

 

[DCLDVC1]

Only on it's third Singapore cruise, RCL now has a confirmed case of Covid on its current voyage and is returning early:
https://www.straitstimes.com/singap...uise-to-nowhere-ship-returns-to-singapore-mid

Wow. A positive case on a 4 night cruise to nowhere. It's going to be a loooooooooooong time before cruising resumes in the US.

 

[Chemist]

Given that the pandemic is currently raging under control there is no chance of cruising returning any time soon.

a clean test to board just means that you don’t have detectable virus levels that second. It doesn’t mean that you aren’t coming down with the virus and will be sick soon.

 

[Intr3pid]

Only on it's third Singapore cruise, RCL now has a confirmed case of Covid on its current voyage and is returning early:
https://www.straitstimes.com/singap...uise-to-nowhere-ship-returns-to-singapore-mid

And a possible case of covid on Quantum of the Seas on its third sailing:

https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/...on-royal-caribbean-s-quantum-of-the-seas.html

Yup, quite unfortunate. The key is how they handle it once they have a case on board. Full 100% prevention isn't possible - neither will it be with another infection - but if the isolated cases don't turn into an outbreak, it will mirror the episode-free operation of the hotels, resorts, and theme parks on land.

Plus, it's an iterative exercise. You learn from your mistakes, and it's better that you run into them early.

 

[DisneYE]

Wow. A positive case on a 4 night cruise to nowhere. It's going to be a loooooooooooong time before cruising resumes in the US.

Yeah. It's disconcerting.
But at what point do we deem the CV as a flu?
I mean, even with massive numbers of ppl vaccinated in 2021-22, its likely someone will catch it..
CV19 will become like the flu, meaning, eventually someone is bound to get it, even with vaccines.
Are cruises going to stop in the middle of the ocean and cancel their voyages if someone on board catches it? If the answer is yes, then there won't be any sailings AT ALL for a few years. we're talking 2024-26. If then.
I've seen lots of sick ppl on board, sneezing, wheezing, massive coughing, etc, clearly they were sick with something.. a cold, the flu, etc... Heck, even I've been sick onboard...did cruises stop? No.
I'm just thinking, this is too bizarre and I don't see an end in sight if someone onboard is spotted with an illness.

 

[princessmommyx3]

Yeah. It's disconcerting.
But at what point do we deem the CV as a flu?
I mean, even with massive numbers of ppl vaccinated in 2021-22, its likely someone will catch it..
CV19 will become like the flu, meaning, eventually someone is bound to get it, even with vaccines.
Are cruises going to stop in the middle of the ocean and cancel their voyages if someone on board catches it? If the answer is yes, then there won't be any sailings AT ALL for a few years. we're talking 2024-26. If then.
I've seen lots of sick ppl on board, sneezing, wheezing, massive coughing, etc, clearly they were sick with something.. a cold, the flu, etc... Heck, even I've been sick onboard...did cruises stop? No.
I'm just thinking, this is too bizarre and I don't see an end in sight if someone onboard is spotted with an illness.

I completely agree with this. If the expectation is zero Covid cases, then cruising can never resume, ever. There will always be cases popping up even with the strictest restrictions. I think that for the cruise industry to continue, people need to realize that’s it’s all about how ships handle the cases that do occur - quick identification and isolation to prevent outbreaks - not about an expectation of zero cases.

 

[bbel]

Only on it's third Singapore cruise, RCL now has a confirmed case of Covid on its current voyage and is returning early:
https://www.straitstimes.com/singap...uise-to-nowhere-ship-returns-to-singapore-mid

And a possible case of covid on Quantum of the Seas on its third sailing:

https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/...on-royal-caribbean-s-quantum-of-the-seas.html

Singapore Ministry of Health say he re-tested negative a another test has been taken with results due tomorrow morning.

If it is positive its very unlucky coming from a country that only has 6 active cases...
But it shows the protocols in place work so far...

 

[bcwife76]

Two more tests have been done on the passenger, both negative. So because of a false positive the cruise still had to return to port and people were still confined to their cabins. Still not a good start...

 

[DisneYE]

I completely agree with this. If the expectation is zero Covid cases, then cruising can never resume, ever. There will always be cases popping up even with the strictest restrictions. I think that for the cruise industry to continue, people need to realize that’s it’s all about how ships handle the cases that do occur - quick identification and isolation to prevent outbreaks - not about an expectation of zero cases.

Exactly..
What is the expectation? ZERO covid cases onboard?
If that's the case, the cruising industry is toast. No sailing will take place. Or a couple will, they'll detect 2-3 cases onboard and they'll shut down again. Is that how its going to be? Then the cruise lines should say so: 'we're aiming for no cases onboard'. Then we'll know. There will be no cruising until 2024 at least.

 

[Starwind]

Yeah. It's disconcerting.
But at what point do we deem the CV as a flu?
I mean, even with massive numbers of ppl vaccinated in 2021-22, its likely someone will catch it..
CV19 will become like the flu, meaning, eventually someone is bound to get it, even with vaccines.
Are cruises going to stop in the middle of the ocean and cancel their voyages if someone on board catches it? If the answer is yes, then there won't be any sailings AT ALL for a few years. we're talking 2024-26. If then.
I've seen lots of sick ppl on board, sneezing, wheezing, massive coughing, etc, clearly they were sick with something.. a cold, the flu, etc... Heck, even I've been sick onboard...did cruises stop? No.
I'm just thinking, this is too bizarre and I don't see an end in sight if someone onboard is spotted with an illness.

Treating it like influenza or a cold ? Probably once there is some critical mass of vaccinated people and/or an effective treatment [along the lines of Tamiflu or better] is developed.

I can envision that at some point things will change and in order to cruise you will have to have proof of vaccination [possibly in addition to still also needing proof of negative testing at least for a while]. This is not without precedent. There are countries where Yellow Fever is a problem that require one to have proof of vaccination to travel there. Quantas Airlines has said at some point people will require proof of vaccination to fly with them. The province of Ontario here in Canada has said that at some point people who are not vaccinated will not be able to do some things, like travel or go to movie theatres [but vaccination will not be mandatory]. I would expect some countries that have cruise ports will require cruise passengers to be vaccinated as a way to protect their own populations [who may or may not have had access to the vaccines yet].

 

[DietCokeMommy]

Exactly..
What is the expectation? ZERO covid cases onboard?
If that's the case, the cruising industry is toast. No sailing will take place. Or a couple will, they'll detect 2-3 cases onboard and they'll shut down again. Is that how its going to be? Then the cruise lines should say so: 'we're aiming for no cases onboard'. Then we'll know. There will be no cruising until 2024 at least.

I think the hope would be that there's zero (or close to zero) spread. As we get closer to the public having access to the vaccines and with the new protocols I would think that even if a positive turns up, the point is to identify it and quarantine them and no one else gets it.

 

[DisneYE]

I think the hope would be that there's zero (or close to zero) spread. As we get closer to the public having access to the vaccines and with the new protocols I would think that even if a positive turns up, the point is to identify it and quarantine them and no one else gets it.

I agree, its a good plan. But reality is covid will be like the flu in that ppl will get sick eventually vaccines or not..
Right now the few cruises that are sailing are showing a couple of cases here and there and they are stopping their voyages and going back to port. So their actions indicate that they are scared and running away back to port so containing the spread isn't a strategy they're using now.
Hopefully the panic will subside once millions of ppl get vaccinated and instead of stopping everything if cases show up onboard, just quarantine them in their room and get them off the ship on the next stop.
When cruises are back, they need to have a strategy of containment the same way they have it now with Noro virus, otherwise realistically there won't be any sailings.

 

[DietCokeMommy]

I agree, its a good plan. But reality is covid will be like the flu in that ppl will get sick eventually vaccines or not..
Right now the few cruises that are sailing are showing a couple of cases here and there and they are stopping their voyages and going back to port. So their actions indicate that they are scared and running away back to port so containing the spread isn't a strategy they're using now.
Hopefully the panic will subside once millions of ppl get vaccinated and instead of stopping everything if cases show up onboard, just quarantine them in their room and get them off the ship on the next stop.
When cruises are back, they need to have a strategy of containment the same way they have it now with Noro virus, otherwise realistically there won't be any sailings.

Well it'll be different than the flu in that the virus doesn't change as much over time. We hopefully won't need new covid vaccines every year. So again, even if someone picks it up somewhere, like during travel to the port, with the measures in place and with vaccines being 90-95% effective, the transmission rate would hopefully be zero. The problem with covid right now is that it's too easy to give it to spread to large numbers of people. One infected person in the dining rooms right now with everyone having masks off inside for a 2 hour dinner would probably infect half the room, or more. But if all those people are vaccinated, the extra cleaning and other precautions are in place, and that person gets quarantined, I'd hope no else would catch it.