The Future of Luxury Cruising (from a Regent-lover's point of view)

[Travelcat2]

16 minutes ago, Bellaggio Cruisers said:

You are so right!!!!

Agree with everything you said.

I could not have said it as well as you did!

Keep up the postings. 

sheila

 

It was information from you that helped me post what I did.  Thank you!

[Bellaggio Cruisers]

49 minutes ago, Pcardad said:

Not cancelling anything.

Me neither! Time to wait a bit and see what happens...🙏🚢🥂🥂

[Travelcat2]

Just read on another thread that Regent raised $2B so we can continue on with Wendy's thread about going forward.  

 

We are now definitely not cancelling anything and breathed a sigh of relief this morning!

[sita]

On 5/5/2020 at 6:07 AM, mrlevin said:

Us Americans are an independent sort; especially westerners.  50 different states with their own governments and own constitutions.  50 state health departments and thousands of county health departments; all doing the best job they can.  No Queen, no Governor General, no other country looking over our shoulder.  Yes, your comment was political.

Says the guy who closes his posts with ‘my confederate two cents’ and list ‘supporting Donald Trump’ on his profile. Project much?

[Bellaggio Cruisers]

31 minutes ago, sita said:

Says the guy who closes his posts with ‘my confederate two cents’ and list ‘supporting Donald Trump’ on his profile. Project much?

Sorry Marc...Sita must have a problem! 
As you know, I don’t always agree with you, but, I never pay attention to the confederate 2 cents. And,  I am a New York , New Jersey girl. 
I never read your profile so I didn’t know your political leanings. 
sita... let’s leave the politics out of our Regent board!

sheila

[bissel]

How can politics be separated from death of people and death of the US economy?

[cruiseluv]

54 minutes ago, sita said:

Says the guy who closes his posts with ‘my confederate two cents’ and list ‘supporting Donald Trump’ on his profile. Project much?

Ive never seen you around here, but dont have to look up your profile to figure out what your leanings may be. Why dont you take a stroll somewhere else, we dont care to discuss politics here

[cruiseluv]

2 minutes ago, bissel said:

How can politics be separated from death of people and death of the US economy?

Please, lets not go there, not here. There're hundreds, if not thousands of political sites, go there to discuss your views

[cruiseluv]

20 minutes ago, Bellaggio Cruisers said:

Sorry Marc...Sita must have a problem! 
As you know, I don’t always agree with you, but, I never pay attention to the confederate 2 cents. And,  I am a New York , New Jersey girl. 
I never read your profile so I didn’t know your political leanings. 
sita... let’s leave the politics out of our Regent board!

sheila

Thanks Sheila, there're always some that cant help themselves

[bissel]

Seems that the people who decry not bringing politics into this are ....oh sorry.

my question remains.

[cruiseluv]

Just now, bissel said:

Seems that the people who decry not bringing politics into this are ....oh sorry.

my question remains.

Well, lets hope it remains a rhetorical question and no answers are forthcoming here

[bissel]

I’ll go with that!

[Travelcat2]

26 minutes ago, cruiseluv said:

Please, lets not go there, not here. There're hundreds, if not thousands of political sites, go there to discuss your views

 

Agree with you!  IMHO, the only thing that people should be thinking about is the entire United States (and the rest of the world) working together to get rid of this silent killer (regardless of race, religion, politics, sexual orientation, etc.). Guess my H.R. background is showing.  We are all human beings first.

 

Okay - rant over! 

Edited May 7, 2020 by Travelcat2

[Travelcat2]

1 minute ago, Travelcat2 said:

 

Oops - sorry double post.

Edited May 7, 2020 by Travelcat2

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Okay, so let's get back to the subject at hand.  What will luxury cruising look like in the future?  

 

There are lots of silly ideas going to be thrown out there, and if there's going to be a future, then some changes will have to come about, in some form.  Here's one very silly idea that could be adapted on cruises:

 

https://greece.greekreporter.com/2020/05/04/plexiglas-sunbeds-appear-at-santorini-beach-setting-a-greek-summer-trend/amp/?fbclid=IwAR0UPim6VuAkMDtsbvr3A24Il9sXIAwKKG2v7znWwa08kG9XtaWt6qANig8

 

I keep thinking of plexiglass barriers between people sitting on bar stools, not just on cruises, but everywhere.  Perhaps masks with little slits for straws, ha ha.  

 

I'm being tongue-in-cheek here, by the way all of you, just so you know.  But really, big changes will have to be made, won't they?  Unless this virus just simply goes away and is forgotten like the rest of them.

[cruiseluv]

44 minutes ago, Wendy The Wanderer said:

 

 

I keep thinking of plexiglass barriers between people sitting on bar stools, not just on cruises, but everywhere.  Perhaps masks with little slits for straws, ha ha.  

 

I'm being tongue-in-cheek here, by the way all of you, just so you know.  But really, big changes will have to be made, won't they?  Unless this virus just simply goes away and is forgotten like the rest of them.

 I'm glad you clarified you were joking about the plexiglass, these days you never know...

 

You mention "big changes will have to be made", can you give specifics of what you envision? In other posts I've already said that IMO changes like single cabins for crew members, significant reductions in tables at the restaurants, and mandatory wearing of masks are non starters. The first two of those possible actions would have significant negative impacts on the cruise lines financials.  The only change I could see as feasible would be doing away with buffets, not a big loss IMO. 

 

Editing to add: Cruising is a way of traveling, but its heavily invested in social interaction. If that's severely curtailed, frankly, what's the point?

Edited May 7, 2020 by cruiseluv

[Travelcat2]

Perhaps - just for the first few cruises (or until there is a vaccine) people could wear masks in social areas?  I truly understand what a pain they are.  I suppose it varies by the person,  Some people want a vacation on a cruise ship so much that they would be willing to wear them.

 

Wish that they could have single cabins for crew members but do not believe this is possible unless they have teeny rooms as they have in Japan (here is a link to some tiny rooms https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=tiny+one+person+rooms+in+japan&qpvt=tiny+one+person+rooms+in+Japan&FORM=IQFRML. This is likely doable but will take time.  Ideally they could be built as temporary structures that can be re-converted into the double rooms when the pandemic is truly over.

 

Bars would likely have to be rearranged but no construction needed.  La Veranda could remain a restaurant with correct seating - just the buffet portion would not be used until it is safe to do so. Perhaps the buffet area could be blocked off but have food set out on them in order for servers to quickly provide food for the guests.  I do think that it is very important that anyone that serves or handles food wears a proper mask (again, a pain and uncomfortable but this is necessary).

 

No clue how to deal with casino's, excursions, etc.  Any ideas?

 

 

[cruiseluv]

1 hour ago, Travelcat2 said:

Perhaps - just for the first few cruises (or until there is a vaccine) people could wear masks in social areas?  I truly understand what a pain they are.  I suppose it varies by the person,  Some people want a vacation on a cruise ship so much that they would be willing to wear them.

 

Wish that they could have single cabins for crew members but do not believe this is possible unless they have teeny rooms as they have in Japan (here is a link to some tiny rooms https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=tiny+one+person+rooms+in+japan&qpvt=tiny+one+person+rooms+in+Japan&FORM=IQFRML. This is likely doable but will take time.  Ideally they could be built as temporary structures that can be re-converted into the double rooms when the pandemic is truly over.

 

Bars would likely have to be rearranged but no construction needed.  La Veranda could remain a restaurant with correct seating - just the buffet portion would not be used until it is safe to do so. Perhaps the buffet area could be blocked off but have food set out on them in order for servers to quickly provide food for the guests.  I do think that it is very important that anyone that serves or handles food wears a proper mask (again, a pain and uncomfortable but this is necessary).

 

No clue how to deal with casino's, excursions, etc.  Any ideas?

 

 

 

Wear masks while in social areas... ok, so, how would that work? You keep your mask on until your drink/ food comes, and then , you drink/eat quickly so as to put back your mask again? Is there like a warning sign on your table/seat to alert people you've taken your mask off,  and they should avoid walking past you? 

 

I would agree on one thing, if passengers must wear masks , crew, and officers should too, its only fair

 

How would be deal with lounge chairs on pool deck? Remove half of them? What would that do to chair hogs? I think it might discriminate against them, they won't have as many chairs to leave books and shoes on while they go to breakfast.

[Travelcat2]

31 minutes ago, cruiseluv said:

 

Wear masks while in social areas... ok, so, how would that work? You keep your mask on until your drink/ food comes, and then , you drink/eat quickly so as to put back your mask again? Is there like a warning sign on your table/seat to alert people you've taken your mask off,  and they should avoid walking past you? 

 

I would agree on one thing, if passengers must wear masks , crew, and officers should too, its only fair

 

How would be deal with lounge chairs on pool deck? Remove half of them? What would that do to chair hogs? I think it might discriminate against them, they won't have as many chairs to leave books and shoes on while they go to breakfast.

 

Good points!  While ugly, I sometimes wear a face shield when I go to the store (with a facemask underneath).  It is super comfortable.  It protects my eyes and maybe my nose but the mask has to be removed before you could use a straw to have a drink.   I don't think passengers would be open to that. 

 

There are still more questions than answers. If we had to wear masks, it would be rude for officers not to.  I'm wondering how many passengers they will have on the ship......😷

Edited May 7, 2020 by Travelcat2

[cruiseluv]

39 minutes ago, Travelcat2 said:

 

There are still more questions than answers. If we had to wear masks, it would be rude for officers not to.  I'm wondering how many passengers they will have on the ship......😷

 

LOL!, very few passengers I would think! Maybe that would take care of the social distancing issue!

[SusieQft]

It seems that the much maligned straws will most likely be making a come-back, at least for a while.

[mrlevin]

I sailed on one cruise (Lima to BA) that was in Code Red for almost the entire three weeks; it was miserable.  If cruising in the (near) future is in any way similar I will find other options to cruising.  

 

Marc

[Guerncruising]

Having sailed on a ‘New England in the Fall’ cruise which had a few cases of ILI on board, I couldn’t agree more. 

Surely the whole idea of a cruise is a relaxing holiday and not having to look over our shoulders whenever someone sneezes or coughs?

We choose Regent because once paid for you don’t have to think again. Just get there and enjoy. 

[ErwinSchrodinger]

You all realize that cloth masks only stop about 20-30% of viral particles. There main purpose is to remind you not to touch your face.

[mrlevin]

One of the design flaws I pointed out in Explorer three years ago might be an issue with its return to sea.  The public restrooms have automatic water but it is only lukewarm, I would assume that they could modify that; however, they do not have automatic soap dispensers, you actually have to push down on the soap.  Both of those current limitations impact the efficacy of hand washing requirements.

 

Also, on the Mariner, I was surprised its recent update didn't include automatic doors to the pool deck.  Even though Mariner is still my favorite ship, these doors, especially the one between La Verandah and Pool Grill on port side, are a really poor design that I thought would be fixed by now.

 

Getting rid of buffets will require additional staff to serve at breakfast and lunch.  Also, the playing of the games whether baggo, or ring toss or any of the others will probably be curtailed in short term; if that is so, they probably could get rid of production staff ( /s) that run the games (and put on the shows).  This will free up some space in crew quarters. 

 

Marc

Edited May 7, 2020 by mrlevin