Future of cruising /elevators?/ buffets?/main diningroom?/shows?

[mosiegirl]

we are booked to sail in October.. keeping my fingers crossed it doesn't get cancelled.   But if the cruise is still a go, I have worries..  buffet lines.. do I really want to touch that spoon handle that the 40 people ahead of me just touched?    Diningroom.. do I really want to sit at that table for 6/8 ?   and same for the Shows.. do I really want to rub elbows with whomever is seated next to me?  I'm disabled and in a wheelchair, do I really want to get on that elevator with 8 other people?   yikes..   I'm going to assume all cruise lines are using these precious days ahead in their boardrooms solving these dilemas..  but I wonder how?  

[ONECRUISER]

Many threads on here discussing this. WJ as a typical Buffet wont be available for while, as stated by Royal Chiefs this week. Will at min have servers putting food on your plate(which I believe) to possible being a waiter served Restaurant only. My Mother's has health risks, as 85% Deaths by CV are over 65yrs old and her Risk she'll never Cruise. Also looks like when Royal starts back up only be few ships at first, likely larger newer ones...

[livingonthebeach]

In addition to eliminating self-serve in the buffet, these other measures have been thrown out there as possibilities:
 

• Fewer passengers per cruise - maybe 50% of capacity.
• Staggered embarkation and disembarkation times (perhaps by appointment only).
• Advanced pre-boarding procedures. 
• Health and temperature checks at embarkation.
• Masks require of all passengers and crew.
• An expanded medical crew. 
• Cabins allocated for potential quarantine cases.
• Social distancing around the pool  (Loungers more spread out and possible scheduled pool times) 
• Spread out seating in the ships' theaters.
• Spread out seating at casino tables and slot machines.
• Spread out seating at MDR.
• Constant cleaning and sanitizing.
• Smaller groups for tours. 

[livingonthebeach]

Here's the CNBC interview with Richard Fain on the subject:

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/05/22/royal-caribbean-hopes-to-resume-cruises-as-soon-as-august.html

 

"Royal Caribbean is not guaranteeing it will set sail on Aug. 1, CEO Richard Fain told CNBC.

 We won’t come back until we’re sure we have done everything we can to work to protect the safety of our guests and crew,” Fain said on “Power Lunch.”

Fain expects to have fewer passengers on board his ships to allow for social distancing." 

[spookwife]

4 hours ago, mosiegirl said:

we are booked to sail in October.. keeping my fingers crossed it doesn't get cancelled.   But if the cruise is still a go, I have worries..  buffet lines.. do I really want to touch that spoon handle that the 40 people ahead of me just touched?    Diningroom.. do I really want to sit at that table for 6/8 ?   and same for the Shows.. do I really want to rub elbows with whomever is seated next to me?  I'm disabled and in a wheelchair, do I really want to get on that elevator with 8 other people?   yikes..   I'm going to assume all cruise lines are using these precious days ahead in their boardrooms solving these dilemas..  but I wonder how?  

 

 

my admittedly NON scientific answer:

 

 Buffets will not  be operational in the traditional sense.   at best, they will be cafeteria style with a crew member  filling your plate with whatever you point at.  they could operate as a fast casual restaurant where you order at one spot, take a seat and have  your food brought out to you

 

MDR: the default  has typically been you are seated with your own party alone on  My Time Dining.   they can easily extend that  to traditional dining as well as remove tables that seat more than 6.  

 

Shows:   doesn't take much to  block off every 3rd seat( so couples can sit together) and to stagger the  placement of  seats to ensure there is adequate distance   between rows.  

 

elevators are trickier, I think.   can they station crew at each bank of elevators  to limit how many get on?   will those same  crew have the ability to call an elevator on demand for those  in WC/ECV/Strollers.  I can't see that happening logically especially after muster, around show times and MDR times.  ,maybe they will have them thoroughly cleaned and sanitized 8 times a day instead of 4.  maybe they will strongly encourage the use of masks while using.  

 

there is increasing evidence that surfaces are not as conducive to the spread of C19 as your fellow passenger.  will they make  say the pool deck one way Port side and  the other way Starboard side?   will they limit Bingo games to no more than 25 people at a go?  

 

In my NSHO, the cruise industry can adapt, short term and long term, but it's not going to be easy and would probably  turn off a fair percentage of  cruisers, possibly permanently.  

[bouhunter]

5 hours ago, mosiegirl said:

 I'm going to assume all cruise lines are using these precious days ahead in their boardrooms solving these dilemas..  but I wonder how?  

Most likely "restrictions" in many venues.  Maybe masks.  In other words, making ships a place many won't choose to be except the most die hard of cruisers.  We are borderline die hard cruisers, but not enough to wear masks or put up with many restrictions.  We'll move on to other travel in that case.

[island lady]

[Big_G]

I'll be interested to see how they thin the herd. We were already bumped off a chartered Independence and took a price protected Allure in November that came with additional OBC. If they bump us again with price protection and OBC it would be a sweet deal.

[FLACRUISER99]

1 hour ago, bouhunter said:

Most likely "restrictions" in many venues.  Maybe masks.  In other words, making ships a place many won't choose to be except the most die hard of cruisers.  We are borderline die hard cruisers, but not enough to wear masks or put up with many restrictions.  We'll move on to other travel in that case.

What will you do if other travel also has  similar "restrictions"?

[LuCruise]

1 hour ago, spookwife said:

 

 

my admittedly NON scientific answer:

 

 Buffets will not  be operational in the traditional sense.   at best, they will be cafeteria style with a crew member  filling your plate with whatever you point at.  they could operate as a fast casual restaurant where you order at one spot, take a seat and have  your food brought out to you

 

MDR: the default  has typically been you are seated with your own party alone on  My Time Dining.   they can easily extend that  to traditional dining as well as remove tables that seat more than 6.  

 

Shows:   doesn't take much to  block off every 3rd seat( so couples can sit together) and to stagger the  placement of  seats to ensure there is adequate distance   between rows.  

 

elevators are trickier, I think.   can they station crew at each bank of elevators  to limit how many get on?   will those same  crew have the ability to call an elevator on demand for those  in WC/ECV/Strollers.  I can't see that happening logically especially after muster, around show times and MDR times.  ,maybe they will have them thoroughly cleaned and sanitized 8 times a day instead of 4.  maybe they will strongly encourage the use of masks while using.  

 

there is increasing evidence that surfaces are not as conducive to the spread of C19 as your fellow passenger.  will they make  say the pool deck one way Port side and  the other way Starboard side?   will they limit Bingo games to no more than 25 people at a go?  

 

In my NSHO, the cruise industry can adapt, short term and long term, but it's not going to be easy and would probably  turn off a fair percentage of  cruisers, possibly permanently.  

Good response

 

For Shows...I agree, easy to do, but I wonder if they will repeat shows more?  One of my favorite things with cruising is relaxing seeing the water in the day (or watching my kids on the slides, etc), but for the evening, I love dinner and a show, or shows.  The main shows typically repeat as it is, so would they double (e.g. play 6 times instead of 3)?  And what about things like Love & Marriage, Game shows?  These are fun too.  And is The Quest done?  Since it's a team game.

 

For Elevators, you have the sanitizing but I think the issue is also many people in a small space Wonder if they will limit to one family at a time?  I'm always one that likes to take the stairs when we can....esp on a cruise with all the eating and treats...but for many it's not a choice.

Edited May 22, 2020 by LuCruise

[jaredwynter]

If a buffet wont work, how would literally ANY public area on a cruise ship work? All areas are roamed, touched and exposed to guests..

[torpeedo]

I wonder if these same restrictions will apply to hotels, buffets at hotels, elevators in high rise apartment complexes, Las Vegas shows.  Are there people checking everyone who enters an elevator everywhere in the US now?  I have no idea because we are staying home due to age but just wondering.  

Eventually we will have to resume normal life somehow and kiss our children and loved ones and hopefully very soon, if the vaccine is available and there is an effective treatment, we can all take a deep breath and get on with life.

[Biker19]

1 minute ago, torpeedo said:

 Are there people checking everyone who enters an elevator everywhere in the US now?

No, but there are some really ignorant and troubled people out there who take it upon themselves to clean the buttons with improper chemicals which ruin the elevator. The pic below is from my office building after the janitors tried to clean whatever someone tried to clean with - fixing that will be big $$$ (the whole panel will need to be replaced).

 

[torpeedo]

1 hour ago, Biker19 said:

No, but there are some really ignorant and troubled people out there who take it upon themselves to clean the buttons with improper chemicals which ruin the elevator. The pic below is from my office building after the janitors tried to clean whatever someone tried to clean with - fixing that will be big $$$ (the whole panel will need to be replaced).

 

 

OMG!!  Thats really horrible! I guess they're using straight bleach or something.  Looks like the buttons are dissolving.

[Merion_Mom]

51 minutes ago, torpeedo said:

 

OMG!!  Thats really horrible! I guess they're using straight bleach or something.  Looks like the buttons are dissolving.

Nah.  It just looks like damage to the finish.

[CruisingHogFan]

11 hours ago, mosiegirl said:

we are booked to sail in October.. keeping my fingers crossed it doesn't get cancelled.   But if the cruise is still a go, I have worries..  buffet lines.. do I really want to touch that spoon handle that the 40 people ahead of me just touched?    Diningroom.. do I really want to sit at that table for 6/8 ?   and same for the Shows.. do I really want to rub elbows with whomever is seated next to me?  I'm disabled and in a wheelchair, do I really want to get on that elevator with 8 other people?   yikes..   I'm going to assume all cruise lines are using these precious days ahead in their boardrooms solving these dilemas..  but I wonder how?  

The only change needs to be better screening during check in. Temperature check and medical questionnaire. (If caught lying kicked off at next port and banned for life).

 

But once on the ship business as usual and no changes. If you are fearful of these things then choose a new type of vacation or stay home so the rest of us can enjoy our vacation!!
 

 

[harkinmr]

38 minutes ago, CruisingHogFan said:

The only change needs to be better screening during check in. Temperature check and medical questionnaire. (If caught lying kicked off at next port and banned for life).

 

But once on the ship business as usual and no changes. If you are fearful of these things then choose a new type of vacation or stay home so the rest of us can enjoy our vacation!!
 

 

Well, it sounds like you will have to find a new type of vacation because it is certain that there will be mitigation measures put in place (like social distancing, masks, reduced capacity in bars and restaurants, etc.) by the cruise lines so that they can sail and anyone cruising will have to comply or not go.  

[rtazz17]

11 hours ago, mosiegirl said:

we are booked to sail in October.. keeping my fingers crossed it doesn't get cancelled.   But if the cruise is still a go, I have worries..  buffet lines.. do I really want to touch that spoon handle that the 40 people ahead of me just touched?    Diningroom.. do I really want to sit at that table for 6/8 ?   and same for the Shows.. do I really want to rub elbows with whomever is seated next to me?  I'm disabled and in a wheelchair, do I really want to get on that elevator with 8 other people?   yikes..   I'm going to assume all cruise lines are using these precious days ahead in their boardrooms solving these dilemas..  but I wonder how?  

Personally if there are many “rules” on board we wont be going. I would rather do a land vacation then be forced wearing a mask every where in 95 degree weather and 100% humidity. On land its easy to get away from people. On a ship not so much. I dont see cruising to be much fun in near future unless you enjoy being confined to your room.

[rtazz17]

3 hours ago, torpeedo said:

I wonder if these same restrictions will apply to hotels, buffets at hotels, elevators in high rise apartment complexes, Las Vegas shows.  Are there people checking everyone who enters an elevator everywhere in the US now?  I have no idea because we are staying home due to age but just wondering.  

Eventually we will have to resume normal life somehow and kiss our children and loved ones and hopefully very soon, if the vaccine is available and there is an effective treatment, we can all take a deep breath and get on with life.

Or we get on with life anyways and share the road with viruses as we always have. A vaccine may never come or anti virals. But we can live our lives at same time. It kills a fraction of a percent of those who get it. I can make a graph on other illnesses that would scare the crap out of you if I had it running on tv every hour for months on end. You would be afraid to walk down the stairs,get out of bed,drive,ice skate,ski,etc.  life is one gigantic risk. You can live in a bubble or enjoy life cuz it can be taken away at any moment.

[lenquixote66]

11 hours ago, mosiegirl said:

we are booked to sail in October.. keeping my fingers crossed it doesn't get cancelled.   But if the cruise is still a go, I have worries..  buffet lines.. do I really want to touch that spoon handle that the 40 people ahead of me just touched?    Diningroom.. do I really want to sit at that table for 6/8 ?   and same for the Shows.. do I really want to rub elbows with whomever is seated next to me?  I'm disabled and in a wheelchair, do I really want to get on that elevator with 8 other people?   yikes..   I'm going to assume all cruise lines are using these precious days ahead in their boardrooms solving these dilemas..  but I wonder how?  

I love PEI ,I would rather go there than on a cruise.The first time I was there was in 1976 and I could not believe how beautiful it was.I was last there in 2013 ,on a cruise and took a historical tour .The man leading the tour asked everyone where they were from and I said NY.He replied and he grew up in NY (not too far from where I grew up) and after he retired he relocated to PEI.

[Roger88]

I expect cruising (at least in the very beginning) will be about enjoying the sea, views and maybe some live music without the audience around. I also doubt that the biggest cruisers will start operation. The first wave will be about small shorter cruises.. they will be the most demanded

[taglovestocruise]

The more things change the more they stay the same.  Bayley  and Fain now add the term " until things get back to normal". Bayley corrected some news media today and said Buffets will be back. 

[JamesEM]

As for me my next cruise in Nov. will be on the Vision, smaller ship, less passengers and I will be able to avoid the elevators.   

[fandash]

Yes the experience of sailing on a ship and looking out to the sea is truly awesome experience and it will be great when it comes back with the whole cruise experience

However would it not be possible for these cruise lines, when they are in port to open up as floating hotel without sailing - yes you won't get to see the different places but it means the cruise lines would be able to get some revenue from it.

At the end of the day the cruise ships are a luxury hotel resort with all the entertainment and as long as entertainment is avaialble and the beer is cold then....

[CRUISEFAN0001]

3 hours ago, JamesEM said:

As for me my next cruise in Nov. will be on the Vision, smaller ship, less passengers and I will be able to avoid the elevators.   

Perhaps many passengers will discover the stairs on a ship....and benefit from the healthy exercise of using them on the way to eating, eating, and eating...