SS Future Re-Open Plan: Timing, Testing Needs??!!

[Stumblefoot]

2 hours ago, tosteve1 said:

I have already flown. A relatively short 2 hour domestic flight. No traffic in the aisle or refreshments. Everyone masked. Hand sanitizer at the ready. It was fine and I felt safe.

 

Same here.  This has been the safest time to fly in my 3-decades+ of flying.  The only issue was that passengers still tend to crowd during the boarding process and as such, not social distance.

[brimary]

Not sure why in these difficult times so many ships are leaving American ports and heading for one of the smallest ports in Europe ,Gibraltar! However I am sure people a lot brighter than me are making the decisions thank goodness.Thanks Terry for your helpful updates which we in the UK appreciate.

[TLCOhio]

2 hours ago, brimary said:

Not sure why in these difficult times so many ships are leaving American ports and heading for one of the smallest ports in Europe, Gibraltar! However I am sure people a lot brighter than me are making the decisions thank goodness. Thanks Terry for your helpful updates which we in the UK appreciate.

 

Appreciate the comments, info and follow-ups from tosteve1, Lois, Stumblefoot and brimary.  Glad that one recent two-hour flight went well.  But for us as we think of our February 2020 flight from LAX to Auckland, it was thirteen hours and the plane was totally full.  That would be a very different and more worrisome situation in order to get to a distant location in order to start doing a cruise.  Plus, we had eight hours in early March returning from Tahiti to LAX after we completed our 18-day South Pacific cruise.  Getting decent flights and those travel/safety conditions will be a serious question for us. Much is still uncertain and to be figured out later. 

 

From the Washington Post yesterday afternoon, they had this headline: “Cruising is still canceled, but here’s what travelers can expect when it returns” with these highlights: “Once upon a time the American cruise industry was projected to rake in $31.5 billion worth of revenue in 2020 — more than double what it netted a decade ago. Indeed, the period between 2010 and 2019 must have felt like a fairy tale for commercial seafaring: an era of unprecedented growth. Then came the pandemic. At some point, cruising will probably become popular again — even if it won’t exist exactly as travelers remember. Like so many other aspects of life, it will fall under that ominous umbrella of 'the new normal.'  (For testing, etc.) You’ll have to allow significantly more time for embarkation — even as most ships probably will be capping their manifest to 70 percent of capacity. Social distancing guidelines will elongate queues, as will mandatory temperature checks along the way. Travelers can also expect to be equipped with an electronic wristband. This is nothing new for regulars, as the gadget has been widely used in the industry for years to enable room entry and facilitate on-board purchases. Now it will be retrofit to serve the vital function of contact tracing in the event of an infection.”

 

Here are more predictions and guesses as to what the future of cruise might be: "The days of self-service dining are over. In its place, a contactless commissary empowered by smartphone technology. QR codes on tables can be scanned to pull up digital du jour menus on a personal device.  And when you’re in the mood for a show, expect more options on offer throughout the day. Costa Cruises, an Italian brand owned by Carnival Corp., issued a press statement outlining its path back to sea. In it are details for modified entertainment programming 'to allow more shows during the day for smaller groups of people.'  (Tours?) MSC is tightly controlling tours. They’re allowing tours only in designated groups, face masks mandated, led by local guides in full personal protective equipment. Independent sightseeing will be strictly forbidden, mitigating the risk of disease transmission between ship and shore."

 

Not sure all of these options and ideas would be as interesting and attractive to me.  But, clearly, this process will take time and patience. Lots of questions to determined during the upcoming weeks and months.   

 

Full story at:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/travel/2020/08/07/cruising-is-still-canceled-heres-what-travelers-can-expect-when-it-returns/

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio

 

Lisbon, NWSpain, Bordeaux/Brittany: Live/blog, June 2017 from Portugal to France on the Silver Spirit along scenic Atlantic Coast.  Now at 30,960 views.  Many interesting pictures, details for history, food, culture, etc.:

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2511358

[Lois R]

Good morning Terry, no Independent sightseeing? if they decide to go that route I am guessing it will not be very

popular. (just a guess).  There are so many people who NEVER use the cruise line's options for touring.  I mean never.

(I do both) but I have read lots of postings over the years with people only going "on their own" or using a private tour

guide.   So,  you know how ships dock in the Caribbean (just an example), St Martin, you can disembark the gangway

and there are lots of shops right there.....so nobody can "walk around on their own anymore"?

This is a snapshot of the "Square in St Martin".  Ships and passengers............

 

[Silver Spectre]

2 hours ago, TLCOhio said:

 

Appreciate the comments, info and follow-ups from tosteve1, Lois, Stumblefoot and brimary.  Glad that one recent two-hour flight went well.  But for us as we think of our February 2020 flight from LAX to Auckland, it was thirteen hours and the plane was totally full.  That would be a very different and more worrisome situation in order to get to a distant location in order to start doing a cruise.  Plus, we had eight hours in early March returning from Tahiti to LAX after we completed our 18-day South Pacific cruise.  Getting decent flights and those travel/safety conditions will be a serious question for us. Much is still uncertain and to be figured out later. 

 

From the Washington Post yesterday afternoon, they had this headline: “Cruising is still canceled, but here’s what travelers can expect when it returns” with these highlights: “Once upon a time the American cruise industry was projected to rake in $31.5 billion worth of revenue in 2020 — more than double what it netted a decade ago. Indeed, the period between 2010 and 2019 must have felt like a fairy tale for commercial seafaring: an era of unprecedented growth. Then came the pandemic. At some point, cruising will probably become popular again — even if it won’t exist exactly as travelers remember. Like so many other aspects of life, it will fall under that ominous umbrella of 'the new normal.'  (For testing, etc.) You’ll have to allow significantly more time for embarkation — even as most ships probably will be capping their manifest to 70 percent of capacity. Social distancing guidelines will elongate queues, as will mandatory temperature checks along the way. Travelers can also expect to be equipped with an electronic wristband. This is nothing new for regulars, as the gadget has been widely used in the industry for years to enable room entry and facilitate on-board purchases. Now it will be retrofit to serve the vital function of contact tracing in the event of an infection.”

 

Here are more predictions and guesses as to what the future of cruise might be: "The days of self-service dining are over. In its place, a contactless commissary empowered by smartphone technology. QR codes on tables can be scanned to pull up digital du jour menus on a personal device.  And when you’re in the mood for a show, expect more options on offer throughout the day. Costa Cruises, an Italian brand owned by Carnival Corp., issued a press statement outlining its path back to sea. In it are details for modified entertainment programming 'to allow more shows during the day for smaller groups of people.'  (Tours?) MSC is tightly controlling tours. They’re allowing tours only in designated groups, face masks mandated, led by local guides in full personal protective equipment. Independent sightseeing will be strictly forbidden, mitigating the risk of disease transmission between ship and shore."

 

Not sure all of these options and ideas would be as interesting and attractive to me.  But, clearly, this process will take time and patience. Lots of questions to determined during the upcoming weeks and months.   

 

Full story at:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/travel/2020/08/07/cruising-is-still-canceled-heres-what-travelers-can-expect-when-it-returns/

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio

 

Lisbon, NWSpain, Bordeaux/Brittany: Live/blog, June 2017 from Portugal to France on the Silver Spirit along scenic Atlantic Coast.  Now at 30,960 views.  Many interesting pictures, details for history, food, culture, etc.:

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2511358

Assuming it goes ahead, it will be interesting to see how these and other issues are dealt with by SS when the Spirit sails out of Saudi on August 27th. Where will the crew come from and will the ship go non pork and halal. The Voices team flew out of Marseille a couple of days ago so it looks like SS is serious about this.

[TLCOhio]

16 minutes ago, Silver Spectre said:

Assuming it goes ahead, it will be interesting to see how these and other issues are dealt with by SS when the Spirit sails out of Saudi on August 27th. Where will the crew come from and will the ship go non pork and halal. The Voices team flew out of Marseille a couple of days ago so it looks like SS is serious about this.

 

From the Silversea website this morning, here is the next cruise scheduled and listed:  "NOV 05 2020, 17 DAYS, ATHENS (Piraeus) to DUBAI".  For the on-top-of-it Mr. Silver, am I missing something as to the Silversea upcoming cruises that have been announced and planned?  Love to learn more background.  

 

As to Lois, glad that you posted that visual.  Fun!  But, my memories from our one visit to that port in 2015 were not great.  Too many ships, way excessive number of people running around and the port was way too commercial.  Lack of the charm and character that we desire and prefer.  Did I miss something there?

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio

 

 

Panama Canal? Early 2017, Fort Lauderdale to San Francisco adventure through Panama Canal.  Our first stops in Colombia, Central America and Mexico, plus added time in the great Golden Gate City. Now at 29,991 views.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2465580

[Stumblefoot]

36 minutes ago, TLCOhio said:

...am I missing something as to the Silversea upcoming cruises that have been announced and planned? 

Here you go, Terry; https://www.gozahid.com/silverspirit

 

3 and 4 day voyages for Saudi nationals only according to Silversea’s CMO.

[FlyerTalker]

13 minutes ago, Stumblefoot said:

3 and 4 day voyages for Saudi nationals only according to Silversea’s CMO.

 

I would have to wonder....will this be a "dry" cruise or will this be a time for the booze to flow?  Saudis visiting Dubai have a bit of a reputation as party people.

[TLCOhio]

10 minutes ago, Stumblefoot said:

Here you go, Terry; https://www.gozahid.com/silverspirit

3 and 4 day voyages for Saudi nationals only according to Silversea’s CMO.

 

That's a fascinatingly-unique marketing approach by Silversea.  Clearly I will not qualify as a U.S. citizen, not a Saudi national.  Am not surprised that they would seek out and do some targeted "cruises to nowhere".  It will generate some limited revenue, but it will be a long ways from solving their bigger-picture cash-flow needs.  

 

At some future date, I might want to see and do more in this previously and somewhat isolated country.  BUT, now is not the right timing, especially with the long flights required to reach the Middle East.   Appreciate this follow-up and info. 

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio

 

From late 2018, see “Holy Lands, Egypt, Jordan, Oman, Dubai, Greece, etc.”, with many visuals, details and ideas for the historic and scenic Middle East. Now at 18,567 views.  Connect at:

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2607054-livenautica-greece-holy-lands-egypt-dubai-terrypix’s/

[Randyk47]

59 minutes ago, FlyerTalker said:

 

I would have to wonder....will this be a "dry" cruise or will this be a time for the booze to flow?  Saudis visiting Dubai have a bit of a reputation as party people.

Years, actually decades ago, the wildest parties I went to were ones thrown by Saudis in the Seattle-Tacoma area.  At least one I knew quite well was one of the ruling family’s many  princes.

[Lois R]

2 hours ago, TLCOhio said:

 

From the Silversea website this morning, here is the next cruise scheduled and listed:  "NOV 05 2020, 17 DAYS, ATHENS (Piraeus) to DUBAI".  For the on-top-of-it Mr. Silver, am I missing something as to the Silversea upcoming cruises that have been announced and planned?  Love to learn more background.  

 

As to Lois, glad that you posted that visual.  Fun!  But, my memories from our one visit to that port in 2015 were not great.  Too many ships, way excessive number of people running around and the port was way too commercial.  Lack of the charm and character that we desire and prefer.  Did I miss something there?

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio

 

 

Panama Canal? Early 2017, Fort Lauderdale to San Francisco adventure through Panama Canal.  Our first stops in Colombia, Central America and Mexico, plus added time in the great Golden Gate City. Now at 29,991 views.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2465580

Did you miss something in St Martin?  I did a couple of different culinary tours and they were ALOT of fun😀

Many years ago I took one of those "Duck Tours" too.  But missing anything as in regard to "special stuff"? Not really.

They do have some nice beaches but overall, it is a stop all the cruise lines make on the Eastern Caribbean itineraries.

(the mass market cruises anyway).  I was just giving an example of what the plaza area looks like. 

[cruiseej]

4 hours ago, TLCOhio said:

That's a fascinatingly-unique marketing approach by Silversea.  

 

Terry, maybe I'm seeing this wrong,  but it doesn't look like it's being marketed by Silversea; it seems like the ship has been chartered by the Saudi Arabian travel company for these two months of short cruises. For Silversea, it's a chance to (a) have some income, however small, and employ some staff, and (b) get some experience with their safety protocols in the era of COVID. If all goes well, they can tout the success as they launch additional cruises; if they Hurtigruten it (yes, I say that can now be used as a verb!), it will be small, self-contained, and perhaps avoid wider international scrutiny.  

 

It's also interesting to look at this travel website that, as best I can see, has zero mention of COVID-19.

[worldtraveller99]

I am very angry re the targeting of cruising, which is trying to be responsible. I went on the Vancouver board on Trip Advisor, as hopefully we will be going to Alaska in 2021 (booking moved over with FCC). Someone had put up that 5 flights in were found to have people on them who tested + for COVID.  So where is the closing of the airport and the stopping of all flights? Yet 1 person positive (on his plane in) on an Uncruise, everyone else there -, and the whole Alaska cruising (small) shuts down again!

 

I am really behind testing, and am happy to be tested before cruising - though not with 14 days quarantine, must be made shorter?

[TLCOhio]

15 hours ago, cruiseej said:

Terry, maybe I'm seeing this wrong,  but it doesn't look like it's being marketed by Silversea; it seems like the ship has been chartered by the Saudi Arabian travel company for these two months of short cruises. For Silversea, it's a chance to (a) have some income, however small, and employ some staff, and (b) get some experience with their safety protocols in the era of COVID. If all goes well, they can tout the success as they launch additional cruises; if they Hurtigruten it (yes, I say that can now be used as a verb!), it will be small, self-contained, and perhaps avoid wider international scrutiny.  

 

Excellent above speculation and/or educated guessing as to the those "early" Silver Spirit sailings being done as a charter targeted to the Saudi market.  Sounds like a good, creative marketing approach.  That would also keep the numbers on the ship at a low level, etc.  Good question as to how and if the booze will be flowing . . . or NOT??

 

For Lois as to our St. Maartin experiences, our chief complaint with this Dutch-controlled part of this island was the massive numbers of ships and passengers being there in just one day.  Originally on the day scheduled to be there, there would have been 28,000 passengers unloading during just that one day.  Our Silver Cloud Captain, fortunately, adjusted the schedule and we were there a day before when "only" 22,000 passengers were expected in the port that day.  We did an interesting and fun sailing/race on America's Cup ships while in port that day.  Overall, for us, too many people, little charm or history there, etc., gave us pause.   Sorry, it was just was not one of our favorites for the Caribbean.  Overall, we like more of a connection with the "character" and people of a location.  Not just a push for the selling of "stuff", seeing endless jewelry and tee-shirt shops, etc.  Different strokes for different folks??!!

 

As to the comments by worldtraveller99 about the "targeting of cruising", I respectively offer some added "perspective".   Many cruise lines, including Oceania that we were using  in early March 2020 in the South Pacific and for Silversea, etc., things were fairly well managed as this challenge was happening early.  BUT, certain companies, such as Carnival with a couple of their Princess ships, performed very poorly.  Government health organizations such as the CDC have documented how many got sick, died, etc., as a few of the bad cruise operators tried to hide situations and mis-managed to make this "mess" even worse.  Just like originally in New York City and recently as to how some younger folks have done too many hours late night in bars, there have been major screw ups.  We are also learning more now about the challenges with testing, operating airline flights, what protects (and not), etc., etc.  As noted recently by Dr. Fauci, the hopes for vaccines are high, but their use and results will not provide 100% protection.  Their "success rate" might be only 60% or 70%, maybe, if and if.  Lots of questions and a steep "learning curve" lies ahead, in my opinion, for the cruise lines and many consumers.  Has it all been "FAIR" and perfect.  No!!  But, many (or some) are trying to do their best to chart through these choppy waters      

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio

 

Completed last summer Calgary, Jasper/Banff National Parks, Western Canada Rocky Mountaineer rail adventure, Vancouver, sailing up to Alaska, post-cruise excursion to Denali, etc.  Many visuals and details from our first in these scenic areas!  Live/blog at: 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2682584-live-terryohio-silver-muse-alaska-canadarockies-pix’s/

[Lois R]

Good morning,  Terry, I don't disagree with your take on the Caribbean.   There are multiple ships with 1,000's of 

passengers visiting all the time.   I was just pointing out many folks just like to walk around and/or go to the beach.

 

I was responding to the part about the cruise lines taking away "independent tours".  It is a very popular thing in 

the Caribbean.    I wasn't saying the Islands have "character to them or not"..........just saying people visiting there

don't always want to do cruise line tours. 

[TLCOhio]

1 minute ago, Lois R said:

Good morning,  Terry, I don't disagree with your take on the Caribbean.   There are multiple ships with 1,000's of passengers visiting all the time.   I was just pointing out many folks just like to walk around and/or go to the beach.  I was responding to the part about the cruise lines taking away "independent tours".  It is a very popular thing in the Caribbean.    I wasn't saying the Islands have "character to them or not" ..........just saying people visiting there don't always want to do cruise line tours. 

 

Great follow-up from Lois and clarification as to your original point.  Agree that the "detail" for how port stops will be done is a key aspect as to how many consumers will decide whether or not they are ready to start sailing again.  Smart travelers want to know ALL of those important aspects and how much "freedom" they will have.  Then, we can evaluate whether it will be "WORTH IT" . . . or not??!!  For us, the ports and destinations are our top priority.  Just "FLOATING ON A BOAT" is not enough for us.  We want to see and experience interesting, unique parts of the world.  

 

From MSN and the Miami Herald this morning, they had this headline: “Injured cruise ship worker 'forgotten' after seven months in South Florida hotels” with these highlights: “An injured Royal Caribbean Group crew member, Córdova, 48, has been living in South Florida hotels since January. He traveled from Peru to the U.S. to receive follow-up treatment for back surgery he had in November 2018. Back then, doctors replaced two herniated disks in his spine with titanium plates, repairing damage from years of lifting and lugging 50-pound chlorine containers aboard Celebrity Cruises ships. For 95 days, he has repeatedly asked the Miami-based company to send him home to Peru, where his wife and two teenage children are waiting for him. Though five repatriation flights for crew members have left since April, the company either did not respond to his pleas or said his repatriation was impossible at the time. After receiving questions from the Miami Herald on Friday about Córdova’s situation, the company indicated it is going to send him home on Sept. 1."

 

Here is more from the reporting by this major newspaper at the center of the cruising industry in South Florida: "Córdova has become yet another casualty of the cruise industry’s chaotic journey through the COVID-19 pandemic. His name could be added to a list of more than 100,000 cruise ship workers who have spent months stranded away from their families.  After the industry shut down in mid-March, cruise companies repatriated all passengers by early June. But the process for repatriating crew has been much slower due to limited, expensive travel options and virus-related restrictions in the U.S. and in their home countries. Thousands of crew members are still stuck at sea without pay, waiting to be sent home. At least 29 have died from COVID-19, and at least two have leaped overboard in apparent suicides.  More than a dozen crew members, including Córdova, are still stuck in Miami lodgings, unable to get home.   U.S. labor protections do not apply to cruise ship workers because cruise companies are registered and flag their ships abroad. Royal Caribbean Group is incorporated in Liberia and flags its ships in Malta and the Bahamas. Under the Maritime Labor Convention of 2006, the only international protections in place for seafarers, companies are required to repatriate crew. The U.S. is not one of the 97 countries that has ratified the MLC and does not enforce its worker protections. Since the industry shut down in mid-March and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention banned shore leave for crew still on board, director Lesley Warrick and her team pivoted to caring for more than 60 crew members recovering from various ailments in South Florida hotel rooms for several weeks — and sometimes several months — during the pandemic. Her team is still caring for around eight seafarers.”

 

This is a long, highly-detailed look at the specifics of a challenging situation for the cruise line managers and their desired "positive image".  Many interesting legal aspects as relates to cruising and how their staff can get "CAUGHT" in bad circumstances.  

 

Full story at:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/news/injured-cruise-ship-worker-forgotten-after-seven-months-in-south-florida-hotels/ar-BB17KNSc

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio

 

Barcelona/Med: June 2011, with stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Great visuals with key highlights, tips, etc. Live/blog now at 251,901 views.

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474

[tosteve1]

A vaccine will be required ultimately. Even if only 50-60% effective that should mitigate any outbreak on board. Frequent, rapid testing will be required if Covid is still prevalent in the community. Testing accuracy and strategies will continue to improve.

[cruiseej]

At this point, rapid testing is not widely available, and it's still expensive. Costs may decline and availability may increase, but for all the cruise lines to acquire the equipment and tests needed, when testing of the general population is still constrained, seems problematic.

 

Let's do some quick math. The capacity of Silversea's ships is somewhere close to 4,000 passengers. Let's say they cap capacity to 60%, which is 2,400 passengers. And not every cruise will be fully sold, so let's round down again to 2,000 passengers per day. Now we have to add the crew. They'll cut back somewhat with fewer passengers, but probably not quite proportionally, so let's use 1,600. So that's 3,600 people aboard every day. How often will people need to be tested? Just when boarding? After every port visit? Daily? For the sake of this simple math, let's say every third day on average. So that's 1,200 tests a day. I've read a wide range of true test prices, but assuming they get a volume discount and do their own processing, let's just use $100 per test. (Maybe the cost per test will be even less, but they will need to pay for additional lab technicians/medical people on board to do the testing.) So that's $120,000 per day in testing costs. Bottom line: for the first year, they'd need a manufacturer to deliver them nearly half a million tests, with a cost would be around $45 million per year.

 

And let's remember that Silversea is just one cruise line, and a pretty small one, accounting for under one percent of the total cruise ship capacity (more than a half million) in the world. The entire cruise industry would need roughly 50 million tests a year. To put that in perspective, that's on the order of the total number of tests in the United States since the coronavirus appeared in March!

 

The assumptions and estimates above are just that, and might be off in any number of ways, but the point was only to get a ballpark idea of the feasibility of frequent, rapid testing on cruise ships. So even if the calculation above is off by half, it shows that it will be difficult to achieve.

 

In six months, will test kits fall in cost to $10 apiece and be produced in mass quantities so they're widely available? We can hope, but that's not the reality now, so resumption of cruising in any significant numbers may need to be done with much less-frequent testing than we might wish for.

[Tudorcruisers]

Friends stayed in a hotel last week and there was the machine that took your temperature every time you entered the building, took a few seconds.  Would something like this  not  work on a cruise ship? 

[Tothesunset]

12 minutes ago, Tudorcruisers said:

Friends stayed in a hotel last week and there was the machine that took your temperature every time you entered the building, took a few seconds.  Would something like this  not  work on a cruise ship? 

Only for those with a raised temperature. It won't pick up the asymptomatic or pre-symptomatic carriers. 

[Tudorcruisers]

19 minutes ago, Tothesunset said:

Only for those with a raised temperature. It won't pick up the asymptomatic or pre-symptomatic carriers. 

 

 

Thank you.

[Silver Spectre]

More devastating revelations about the Hurtigruten disaster - ‘one of the two ships doctors had lost his licence to practice twice and the other was not licensed to practice in Norway’. Apparently Hurtigruten’s Chairmans responses are being compared to ‘Comical Ali’ pronouncing that Iraq was winning the war as the US tanks rolled into Baghdad. This is not doing the international cruising industry any favours.

[Will Work for Tiramisu]

I'm imagining the new setup:  As you ascend the gangplank from pier to ship, you stop midway, for the temp scan.  If you're over 98.6 F, a trap door in the floor opens and you are unceremoniously deposited in the drink. Then the trap door closes, there is a nice musical chime, and a green "Welcome Guest" sign flashes on, and the next pax steps up for the scan.  All very efficient!  

 

Trying to imagine a way for a couple of post Medicare qualifying age folks to do some foreign travel, without climbing on a ship.  I've done some research, and there are folks you can hire who will pick you up and trundle you around in a private car, on multi day multi destination trips of your design.  I can see something like a London taxi, with lots of room in back, and a plastic divider between you and the driver.  You can stop where you want, wander around places you want to see.  And given the high cost of cruising, the prices I have seen (I was looking for a 21 day grand tour around the UK, fwiw) are not out of line.  Having nothing better to do, I had a nice scheme for a trip with mostly 2 and 3 night stays at hotels, with some day trips to nearby attractions, and time to hoof it around the towns we would be staying in.  This all presupposes that things are more or less "open", and whatever vaccine has been developed has been administered to all and sundry.  

 

Said trip around the UK is to include visits to major English garden sites, historical sites (there are a few in UK), prehistorical sites (archeological interest), major manor houses and castles, and of course - Old English Sheepdog breeders!  One can hardly do justice to the subject in 21 days, 30 on the road would be more realistic, but we are limited by need for a house sitter back home, and the demands of the garden, to say nothing of the business.   I've been working on a similar tour in south of France, flying into Toulousse and flying out of Nice, and taking a circuitous route between the two.  

 

Reading about possibility of you only can leave ship on an official tour (all fitted with those infant harnesses, and on short leashes) is somewhat off-putting.  We often like to exit the ship and wander on our own about the local town, rather than "No no no, Mr McGillicuddy!  No sneaking off to the taverna for a quick aperitivo!"  

[cruiseej]

7 hours ago, Tudorcruisers said:

Friends stayed in a hotel last week and there was the machine that took your temperature every time you entered the building, took a few seconds.  Would something like this  not  work on a cruise ship? 

 

As noted above, taking people's temperature might screen out some people who are ill (with COVID-19 or other issues), but it is not anywhere near a definitive screening tool for COVID-19.

 

The World Health Organization states: "Temperature screening alone, at exit or entry, is not an effective way to stop international spread, since infected individuals may be in incubation period, may not express apparent symptoms early on in the course of the disease, or may dissimulate fever through the use of antipyretics [simple drugs like Aspirin, acetaminophen ibuprofen]."  Temperature screenings of passengers "require substantial investments for what may bear little benefits."

[FlyerTalker]

8 hours ago, Silver Spectre said:

Apparently Hurtigruten’s Chairmans responses are being compared to ‘Comical Ali’ pronouncing that Iraq was winning the war as the US tanks rolled into Baghdad. This is not doing the international cruising industry any favours.

 

Over on this side of the pond, he was usually known as "Baghdad Bob".

 

Edited August 10, 2020 by FlyerTalker