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

[kimanjo]

2 hours ago, chrism23 said:

Thanks Terry and everyone else that had suggestions.  However, one of my main objectives is to get out of the United States for at least the period from late October to January.  There are some great places in Florida.  Kiawah Island is nice.  I have a friend winters on Jykill Isand in Georgia.  I love San Diego, especially La Jolla which is where I wanted to retire at one point in time.  Cancun has had a few problems with Mexican cartel in-fighting, every place in Mexico has for that matter even Cabo.  And I know that a Silversea sail to nowhere is just a pipe dream.  But I really feel, and I don't want to offend anyone here, that the US after the election is going to be a nightmare.  So it looks like I unplug my television, don't read the NYTimes every morning, and hunker down in West Hartford and save a lot of money while continuing to be very mindful in dodging the virus which I think will be exploding.  I apologize to all for being so doom and gloom, for me, its a sign of these crazy times.  Be safe.  Chris

 

I absolutely hear you!  DH is still working, but hopes to retire early.  We've been looking all over the world if/where we want.  Until this Covid disaster, he thought he wanted to take his "gap year" next year and we would travel/hike South America Patagonia for a year or two, and see if we wanted to settle in South America, or maybe Portuagal or Spain.

 

We are not married to the idea of the US.  This pandemic has been so mis-handled, not sure what the heck the winter will look like.

 

We have been fortunate.  Husband hasn't missed a day since the virus hit.  Son ( who works for an airline) is still employed.  Daughter who works for a University is still working.  And Son-in-law is too.  I am so sad for the millions who have lost their jobs ( and potentially their health insurance)  and the lives lost, and those with residual side effects . 

 

Cruising is so far off.

Edited September 13, 2020 by kimanjo

[Randyk47]

56 minutes ago, TLCOhio said:

 

Absolutely no need to apologize and/or feel guilty for having frustrations during these very uncertain and challenging times.  We are considering some "get-away time" in the Florida Keys where we could get there by driving, if needed, in late January.  Understand that interest to find a nice location outside of the United States.  Have you considered any options in Portugal??  Good and interesting locations there where the costs and access would not be too bad?

 

Good luck with your search for the right location, timing and connections. 

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio

 

Sydney to NZ/Auckland Adventure, live/blog 2014 sampling/details with many exciting visuals and key highlights.  On page 23, post #571, see a complete index for all of the pictures, postings.  Now at 230,924 views.

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139

As I may have said in another post professionally a lot of my colleagues are seeing more and more what we’ve started to call Pandemic Fatigue.  Like the virus there seems to be a broad set of symptoms but generally we’re seeing anxiety, sadness, frustration, feelings of isolation, sleep issues, and other signs of relatively minor depression. 

Edited September 13, 2020 by Randyk47

[jpalbny]

42 minutes ago, Randyk47 said:

As I may have said in another post professionally a lot of my colleagues are seeing more and more what we’ve started to call Pandemic Fatigue.  Like the virus there seems to be a broad set of symptoms but generally we’re seeing anxiety, sadness, frustration, feelings of isolation, sleep issues, and other signs of relatively minor depression.

 

We both certainly have that!

 

3 hours ago, chrism23 said:

 However, one of my main objectives is to get out of the United States for at least the period from late October to January.  

 

 I apologize to all for being so doom and gloom, for me, its a sign of these crazy times.  Be safe.  Chris

 

1 hour ago, TLCOhio said:

Have you considered any options in Portugal??  Good and interesting locations there where the costs and access would not be too bad?

 

Second the Portugal recommendation. We spent a really fun week there last November and would go back any time (well, any time that they will have us...). It is so easy and rewarding to DIY there. I could see spending much more time there in the future.

 

Food and lodging is quite cheap there and the countryside is gorgeous. The wines are an amazing value for the price and luckily, between my bad French and Chris's Spanish, we can read a far amount of written Portuguese. Speaking it, however, is another kettle of fish. That would take some serious practice - but a sacrifice I would be willing to make. 😄

 

Chris, we are also going stir-crazy with the lack of travel options. It is really getting to us. We have been racking our brains for the past several months, watching out previous plans (China in June anyone?) disappear. Ponant just canceled our November 2020 cruise as we knew they would, but now we have more unused vacation and nowhere to go. It's definitely contributing to our sense of Pandemic Fatigue as described above. And for the record, I do not think you are wrong either. I think this is going to be a long haul and that just adds to the fatigue.

[silkismom]

We are thinking about going to Jamaica for a week and staying at an AI, you do need a negative covid test 10 days prior and an authorization from the country, but according to several Facebook groups, its definitely do-able. You have to stay w/in the tourist corridor, but just being able to get back in salt water and snorkel would be worth it.

[clo]

2 hours ago, kimanjo said:

Cruising is so far off.

And Americans are still quite persona not grata in lots of the world. And I don't see that changing any time soon.

[clo]

1 hour ago, jpalbny said:

Second the Portugal recommendation.

As of a few weeks ago Portugal was still closed to US citizens.

[clo]

1 hour ago, jpalbny said:

Food and lodging is quite cheap there and the countryside is gorgeous. The wines are an amazing value for the price and luckily, between my bad French and Chris's Spanish, we can read a far amount of written Portuguese. Speaking it, however, is another kettle of fish. That would take some serious practice - but a sacrifice I would be willing to make. 😄

 

We used to have an apartment in Rio de Janeiro and Brazilian Portuguese is different from Portuguese Portuguese. Our apt. was on Rua Raul Pompeia. Problem is that an "R" at the beginning of a word is pronounced as an "H". LOL. Now my pronunciation is so much better that the locals think my vocabulary has increased. Still about 200 words.

[jollyjones]

Not in the Caribbean but still warm enough in winter (with an excellent health care system and currently no real community viral spread) is Bermuda.

Tourists may visit for 90 days initially and apply for another 90 day extension (altho' there is no guarantee that it'd be granted).

"Americans or the British nationals do not require a tourist visa for Bermuda. As long as one has a valid passport, one can enter Bermuda as a tourist any time and stay continuously for 3 months (or maximum for 6 months with approved extension). One can then leave and come back again. If it is too frequent, there will be questions asked though (some have misused this option to work in Bermuda as a visitor, and without having a business visa)."

Adequate airlift available, which may improve.

Expensive place to live. Can't rent a car, only a Twizy.

Stringent entry PCR testing requirements. 

Currently being slammed by a hurricane but hurricane season is more or less over toward the end of October.

 

http://www.royalgazette.com/article/20120413/news04/120419978

 

https://www.gov.bm/coronavirus-travellers

 

https://www.bermudiana.com/blog/bermuda-visa-requirements-for-us-citizens

 

https://www.gov.bm/online-services/get-extension-your-visitors-permit

 

PS Interesting article, just as an aside.

http://www.royalgazette.com/news/article/20200804/virus-free-bermuda-place-to-beat-us-ban

Edited September 14, 2020 by jollyjones

[brimary]

14 hours ago, clo said:

As of a few weeks ago Portugal was still closed to US citizens.

Latest news indicates Portugal is back on the Quarantine List.

[kimanjo]

Chrism23

 

How about Costa Rica?

[chrism23]

4 hours ago, kimanjo said:

Chrism23

 

How about Costa Rica?

You know, that is exactly what I was starting to think.  I am going to look into it.  Thanks.

[Randyk47]

10 minutes ago, chrism23 said:

You know, that is exactly what I was starting to think.  I am going to look into it.  Thanks.

Luckily you’re in one of the states that Costa Rica allows to travel to there.  https://www.visitcostarica.com/en/costa-rica/planning-your-trip/entry-requirements  Not that we’re interested in Costa Rica but Texas is not one of the allowed origins.

[TLCOhio]

4 hours ago, Randyk47 said:

Luckily you’re in one of the states that Costa Rica allows to travel to there.  https://www.visitcostarica.com/en/costa-rica/planning-your-trip/entry-requirements  Not that we’re interested in Costa Rica but Texas is not one of the allowed origins.

 

Many interesting options to consider for winter escapes.  BUT, as these postings outlined reflect, there are a variety of "green lights" and "red lights" as applied to certain places to visit and/or where you are from.  Those open and closed can change.  It can change!!??  That makes it more challenging than normal.  Also for us, we want to be in a location where we have access to decent health care and major hospital access, if and if.  At home now, we have two major hospitals within eight minutes and these give us major options and protections.  Would not want to be out right now out in the "middle of nowhere" if something major happens.  

 

From USA Today newspaper today, they had this headline: “Six months of carnage and counting: Travel industry struggles to rebound from COVID-19” with this sub-head: "Six months since the coronavirus pandemic was declared, the travel industry continues to struggle mightily. How long will it take to return to normal?"

 

Here are some of their story highlights: “Royal Caribbean Cruises CEO Richard Fain called the shutdown of his industry a 'weird, unworldly' time.  Travel industry leaders spared no superlative in March when describing the instant devastation from the unfolding coronavirus crisis.  Yet six months after the World Health Organization declared a pandemic, the toll from COVID-19 turned out to be even worse for the industry in most cases, the projected timeline for a travel rebound and recovery extended again and again as case counts remain high, travel restrictions abound and business travel shows few signs of life.  U.S. airlines that had been confident $25 billion in government payroll aid would be the bridge they needed to keep workers employed until travel rebounded  Although air travel has picked up, U.S. carriers are still losing money every day. ”

 

From this highly-detailed analysis and their reporting, here are some key data items that might be of interest:

 

"* ZERO: The number of cruise passengers who have sailed from the USA since mid-March. That count will stay the same at least through Oct. 31. Pre-pandemic, 550,000 passengers would sail on a typical day worldwide in 2019, Bari Golin-Blaugrund, senior director of strategic communications for the Cruise Lines International Association, told USA TODAY.

*8.75 million: The number of customers who will have missed out on their cruises by Oct. 31. This estimate is based on CLIA's estimate that more than 14 million passengers sailed from the USA in 2019. 

 

*334,000: The number of lost cruise-related jobs, including 163,700 direct and ancillary American jobs, that will have been lost by the end of September from mid-March. 

*2,500: Jobs lost worldwide each day cruises don't operate.

*$19 billion: Approximately how much was lost from the time cruising stopped in mid-March in the USA through the end of August. By the end of October, that number can be expected to swell to about $26 billion."

 

Full story at:

https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/travel/news/2020/09/14/travel-industry-crushed-by-six-months-covid-19/5638828002/

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio

 

Venice: Loving It & Why??!!  Is one of your future desires or past favorites? See these many visual samples for its great history and architecture.  This posting is now at 88,694 views.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1278226

[mrlevin]

RCI and Celebrity cancel Austalia/New Zealand through 31 December, what about Silversea?  Silver Explorer will be heading to New Zealand before New Years.

 

Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises extended the suspension of sailings from Australia and New Zealand through to December 31. 

Alternative arrangements

A spokeswoman for the Royal Caribbean Group said it has made this decision to allow passengers booked on Christmas and New Year sailings to make alternative holiday arrangements.

‘We are sorry for any inconvenience these cancellations may cause,’ the spokeswoman said.

[TLCOhio]

7 hours ago, mrlevin said:

RCI and Celebrity cancel Austalia/New Zealand through 31 December, what about Silversea?  Silver Explorer will be heading to New Zealand before New Years.

 

Appreciate this above helpful update and follow-up from mrlevin.  Yes, the challenges in Australia and New Zealand have been very interesting.  It seems that Silversea drags slowly behind what and when RCL, Celebrity, etc., makes its announcements.  Do not understand why there are not more closely coordinated.   

 

From the trade publication Cruise and Ferry, they had this headline today: “Richard Fain provides a beacon of hope for the global cruise industry” from an interview with this top Royal Caribbean boss who has ultimate control over Silversea.  

 

Here are some of the highlights: “In the wake of the industry shutdown, Royal Caribbean Group had one key priority: to ensure that its more than 45,000 crew members were safely returned home. 'We’ve worked with governments and other organisations to coordinate the monumental effort to repatriate our crew members,' says Richard Fain, chairman and CEO of Royal Caribbean Group. 'There have been very complex ongoing conversations and incredibly difficult logistical challenges to navigate together, but we’ve all been driven by one common goal – ensuring everyone’s wellbeing. I’m pleased to say that more than 98 per cent of our crew members have now been safely reunited with their loved ones in more than 90 countries around the world.' ”

 

Here is more from this interview:  "Fain expects that cruise lines will need to introduce multiple measures. 'This could include everything from staggered embarkation and check-in to temperature checks, testing options for our guests and crew, reduced sailing capacity, social distancing, enhanced sanitisation and disinfection protocols, and adjustments to the dining, entertainment and other onboard experiences,' he says. 'Most ships in our fleet are modern and advanced in design, so we don’t expect to have to make any significant structural adjustments to the onboard layouts at this time.'  "

 

Regarding Silversea, Fair noted it "has been a great fit for our company from the very first day.  The cultures of the two organisations have proven to be harmonious, and guests have responded favourably to the combination. We’re looking forward to the future, including the delivery of the new Silver Moon later this year."  

 

In conclusion, the story summarized:  "Fain is confident that the global cruise industry will bounce back. 'Parts of the world are slowly reopening, and we are already seeing cruises successfully resume in regions such as Europe,' explains Fain."

 

Full story at:

https://www.cruiseandferry.net/articles/richard-fain-provides-a-beacon-of-hope-for-the-global-cruise-industry

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio

 

Amazon River-Caribbean 2015 adventure live/blog starting in Barbados. Many visuals from this amazing river and Caribbean Islands (Dutch ABC's, St. Barts, Dominica, Grenada, San Juan, etc.).  Now at 67,426 views:

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2157696

Edited September 15, 2020 by TLCOhio

[etual324]

8 hours ago, mrlevin said:

RCI and Celebrity cancel Austalia/New Zealand through 31 December, what about Silversea?  Silver Explorer will be heading to New Zealand before New Years.

 

 

 

We are booked on the Muse Dec 20  Syd -AKL   have  had NO info from SS  yet

[Aussieflyer]

9 hours ago, etual324 said:

We are booked on the Muse Dec 20  Syd -AKL   have  had NO info from SS  yet

we cancelled this about 6 weeks ago but no refund yet. It is still listed on the website for sale but certainly won't be going anywhere.

Edited September 16, 2020 by Aussieflyer

[Stumblefoot]

1 hour ago, Silver Spectre said:

Apparently SS have finally seen sense and cancelled the Australian Muse cruises this winter. No website update as usual.

 

17 hours ago, etual324 said:

We are booked on the Muse Dec 20  Syd -AKL   have  had NO info from SS  yet

 

etual, see Mr. Silver's post from another thread above.  Have you received official notification of the cancellation of your Christmas voyage yet?

[Silver Spectre]

1 hour ago, Stumblefoot said:

 

 

etual, see Mr. Silver's post from another thread above.  Have you received official notification of the cancellation of your Christmas voyage yet?

The info comes from a cancelled guest in the SS Passengers group on FB this afternoon. This was an end of October cruise but comes off the back of RCL cancelling all group cruises in and out of Oz through Dec 31st.

Edited September 16, 2020 by Silver Spectre

[TLCOhio]

9 hours ago, Aussieflyer said:

we cancelled this about 6 weeks ago but no refund yet. It is still listed on the website for sale but certainly won't be going anywhere.

 

WOW!!  That is S-L-O-W to be taking more than six weeks for a refund.  My view and experiences has been that Silversea and other cruise lines could be much more efficient and timely in refunding money back to a customer.   We all know it's about "cash flow" and trying to use our money to make their balance sheets look more stable.  Sad!  Not the best wa to building "customer confidence" for the long-term future.  Plus, agree that Silversea should be more current to keep their website updated as to when cruises are being scrubbed.  

 

From the Washington Post in the past few minutes today, they had this headline: “Carnival is selling 18 cruise ships amid financial struggles and CDC’s no-sail order” with these highlights: “In the market for an abandoned cruise ship? Carnival Corp. — the parent company of nine cruise brands, including Princess, Costa, and Carnival — announced in a third-quarter earnings filing that it plans to sell 18 cruise ships in 2020, which amounts to 17 percent of the company’s ships.  The move comes amid a halt in cruising since March, when the lines stopped sailing the day before a no-sail order went into effect in the United States.   Carnival Corp. has already sold eight older-model cruise ships. It has not disclosed which cruise lines the ships are from or to whom they are being sold. The company will also delay delivery of new ships scheduled for 2021 as a cost-saving measure.  'Currently, the company is unable to predict when the entire fleet will return to normal operations, and as a result, unable to provide an earnings forecast,' the Carnival filing said. “'The pause in guest operations continues to have a material negative impact on all aspects of the company’s business, including the company’s liquidity, financial position and results of operations.' ”

 

Full story at:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/travel/2020/09/16/carnival-cruise-ships-covid-sale/

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio

 

AFRICA?!!?: Fun, interesting visuals, plus travel details from this early 2016 live/blog. At 50,135 views. Featuring Cape Town, South Africa’s coast, Mozambique, Victoria Falls/Zambia and Botswana's famed Okavango Delta.

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2310337

[tosteve1]

Just an anecdote but might be of interest to those who think that a vaccine will solve the Covid pandemic and save the travel industry. In my medical practice I have taken to asking folks if they are planning to get the new Covid vaccine when it becomes available. I have asked probably twenty people in the last two days and have not had a single positive response!  Most of those folks are not travelers but certainly I’m not counting on widespread adoption any time soon!

[Observer]

10 hours ago, Aussieflyer said:

we cancelled this about 6 weeks ago but no refund yet. 

 

This is surprising.  I cancelled in early June and had refunds within a month or so.  I had charged the (very expensive) cruise to three different credit cards.  There was a ~10 day gap between the first credit appearing and the third.  The slowest revealed (if one examined the website) that they had received the funds from Silversea earlier but had for some reason not posted them to my account for more than a week. 

[Stumblefoot]

8 hours ago, Observer said:

 

This is surprising.  I cancelled in early June and had refunds within a month or so.

Not surprising to me.  We cancelled 9-weeks ago and still haven’t received the refund.  

[Aussieflyer]

13 hours ago, Observer said:

 

This is surprising.  I cancelled in early June and had refunds within a month or so.  I had charged the (very expensive) cruise to three different credit cards.  There was a ~10 day gap between the first credit appearing and the third.  The slowest revealed (if one examined the website) that they had received the funds from Silversea earlier but had for some reason not posted them to my account for more than a week. 

It would appear that US refunds are happening much quicker than here - reports of up to 100 days ☹️

I will be chasing up with TA next week as it will be 7 weeks and should have an idea then about the time frame.

[chrism23]

On 9/14/2020 at 2:51 AM, jollyjones said:

Not in the Caribbean but still warm enough in winter (with an excellent health care system and currently no real community

 

I hope you are okay after getting slammed, by what is it now, 3 hurricanes, and it looks like Teddy might be another one.  Thinking of you as you probably have been without power most of the summer.  Mother nature is turning into a real *****.