Delay in drydocking wind this OCTOBER?

[cruiseej]

@How much longer? We're booked on the Wind for the December 22 cruise this winter, and are still holding out hope we'll be able to go this year! I flip from thinking "yes, probably" to "probably not" about twice a week. 😉

 

Yes, the cruise yard where the Wind's drydock was scheduled was closed during the early stages of the pandemic, and that was a direct cause of the dry dock scheduled for last August did not take place. Since then, they pushed it back further, from early this spring to late this summer.

 

There are three inter-related factors at play, and I don't know if we'll ever know which one will drive the final decision this summer about whether the drydock takes place:

1. Does the shipyard have the staff and materials to execute the retrofit?
2. Does Silversea have the capital to invest at this time in a major retrofit of the ship? With contraction in cruising and many ships being retired, do they still think reworking the Wind is their best and most cost-effective path forward?
3. Does Silversea think this winter's Antarctic season will be feasible? Will Argentina's borders be open to allow passengers to fly to Ushuaia? Does Ushuaia have the hospital resources to allow Silversea and other cruise lines to use it as a base for Antarctica cruises which could potentially offload passengers with COVID? Will there be enough flights to gateway cities (Buenos Aires and Santiago)?

We need "yes" answers to all three for things to move forward.

[Randyk47]

4 hours ago, cruiseej said:

@How much longer? We're booked on the Wind for the December 22 cruise this winter, and are still holding out hope we'll be able to go this year! I flip from thinking "yes, probably" to "probably not" about twice a week. 😉

 

Yes, the cruise yard where the Wind's drydock was scheduled was closed during the early stages of the pandemic, and that was a direct cause of the dry dock scheduled for last August did not take place. Since then, they pushed it back further, from early this spring to late this summer.

 

There are three inter-related factors at play, and I don't know if we'll ever know which one will drive the final decision this summer about whether the drydock takes place:

1. Does the shipyard have the staff and materials to execute the retrofit?
2. Does Silversea have the capital to invest at this time in a major retrofit of the ship? With contraction in cruising and many ships being retired, do they still think reworking the Wind is their best and most cost-effective path forward?
3. Does Silversea think this winter's Antarctic season will be feasible? Will Argentina's borders be open to allow passengers to fly to Ushuaia? Does Ushuaia have the hospital resources to allow Silversea and other cruise lines to use it as a base for Antarctica cruises which could potentially offload passengers with COVID? Will there be enough flights to gateway cities (Buenos Aires and Santiago)?

We need "yes" answers to all three for things to move forward.

I would only add can Silversea, and actually all of the cruise lines and potential passengers, get sufficient enough vaccinations.

[Lois R]

11 hours ago, Randyk47 said:

I would only add can Silversea, and actually all of the cruise lines and potential passengers, get sufficient enough vaccinations.

Good morning Randy, I wonder that as well.  I know we are in February. I still wonder about my

October booking........I am not going to cancel it because  I will let them cancel if/when they

know they cannot sail.  Oct is 8 months away.........one has to wonder what the world (not 

just us here in the US) will be like concerning this horrible virus.........

[etual324]

We also are booked on the Wind Dec 22  but we are hoping SS will release some updates in the coming months ??   

 

[cruiseej]

17 hours ago, etual324 said:

We also are booked on the Wind Dec 22  but we are hoping SS will release some updates in the coming months ??   

 

Unfortunately, there's no real incentive for them to cancel early, for two reasons: (1) some people will want their money back, and (2) the other people who switch their booking to next year or later use up inventory they can otherwise be selling as new bookings. Both hurt cash flow.

 

I hope we'll get some indication whether the December Antarctica cruises are moving ahead or not without having to wait until August, but I'm not optimistic we'll know one way or the other until then.