NCL Sail Safe Measures

[ToxM]

I saw this on VisageLibris on an Oceania group, I believe NCL own Oceania and the RSSC and Oceania specific guidelines will be out soon, but this gives a good framework to see how things will be.

 

 

https://www.ncl.com/uk/en/why-cruise-norwegian/book-with-confidence?cid=DM_MKD_NA_PRO_NA_TAC_NA_PEACEOFMIND_NA_NA_NA#safety

[pinotlover]

It will be interesting to see what capacity reductions mean.

 

I clearly read that embarkment and disembarkment times will be given and enforced. Will that mean, for some,  no more showing up at the ship at 10:00, with a 13:00 boarding time and expecting to board?  Will you still be allowed into the Terminal if you do show up hours before your assigned embarkment time? Adding management controls over the current free for all disembarkment process  is a good thing , imo! 

[welshfamily]

Very interesting.

Our cruise, 2nd of August is still sailing, just 60 days away.  At least it has not been cancelled yet.

Here in Wales, we are still on lockdown which has started to be relaxed slowly.

schools and shops are not open. We are not allowed to travel more than 5 miles from our home which is nowhere near an airport and the Uk government are bringing in a 14 day isolation for any one entering the country from the 8th of June. Numbers of cases/deaths are dropping but we are a long way off normal. 

 

Uk citizens are not allowed into Spain yet ( we fly into Barcelona) or Italy ( we fly out of Venice). Non essential travel has been banned.

Today P&O cancelled all its cruises until 15th October.(worldofcruising.co.uk ) P&O Sails mostly from the Uk . I have also read the posts re the CEO of Norwegian ( which, I think, includes Oceania)

 

Do anyone think Oceania will sail its ships to Europe and resume cruises? It’s website is still saying cruises will resume on the 1st of August therefore we would be on the 1st Riviera sailing. 

 

thank you

 

 

 

[ToxM]

Very interesting.
Our cruise, 2nd of August is still sailing, just 60 days away.  At least it has not been cancelled yet.
Here in Wales, we are still on lockdown which has started to be relaxed slowly.
schools and shops are not open. We are not allowed to travel more than 5 miles from our home which is nowhere near an airport and the Uk government are bringing in a 14 day isolation for any one entering the country from the 8th of June. Numbers of cases/deaths are dropping but we are a long way off normal. 
 
Uk citizens are not allowed into Spain yet ( we fly into Barcelona) or Italy ( we fly out of Venice). Non essential travel has been banned.
Today P&O cancelled all its cruises until 15th October.(worldofcruising.co.uk ) P&O Sails mostly from the Uk . I have also read the posts re the CEO of Norwegian ( which, I think, includes Oceania)
 
Do anyone think Oceania will sail its ships to Europe and resume cruises? It’s website is still saying cruises will resume on the 1st of August therefore we would be on the 1st Riviera sailing. 
 
thank you
 
 
 

I think the UK Gov are working n something called an air bridge (convoluted talk to countries which will be an exception to the 14 day quarantine rule), which might well help. I dont know what to tell you about your cruise, I think the UK is starting to take baby steps in the right direction, but as we have a pretty dire record in terms of fatalities it all depends on whether we are deemed safe enough to go to other countries...

I do think the fact that the parent company have started going make passengers aware of what they are putting in place is a good start.

In these times, 60 days is a long time and. Lot can happen.

Good luck. I think the thing to hold onto is that Oceania is not going to allow you to travel unless they are sure they can make you as safe as possible on board. Which is certainly the most important thing.


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[Paulchili]

38 minutes ago, welshfamily said:

Do anyone think Oceania will sail its ships to Europe and resume cruises? It’s website is still saying cruises will resume on the 1st of August therefore we would be on the 1st Riviera sailing. 

No - I do not think O will sail in Europe this year. I suspect they will start maybe Nov/Dec in the Carib.

JMO.

[LHT28]

1 hour ago, welshfamily said:

Do anyone think Oceania will sail its ships to Europe and resume cruises? It’s website is still saying cruises will resume on the 1st of August therefore we would be on the 1st Riviera sailing. 

 

thank you

 

 

Not  a chance

 They will be cancelling  those cruise  soon

[pinotlover]

Having carefully reread the press statements, another thought came to mind on embarkment. Instead of past practice, will the assigned embarkment time become a reflection of the anticipated cabin ( deck) available time? This means that if one has chosen a Deck 4 cabin, and the anticipated release time of Deck 4 is 15:30, will that now become their printed authorized boarding time instead of the generic 13:00 for all B1 and Below? 
 

Will they allow 300-500 cruisers to mill around inside the terminal awaiting boarding? Doesn’t sound so!

 

If you have a flight arriving at 06:30 with a 15:00 boarding time, I’d suggest planning early on how you’ll spend your day! 

Edited June 2, 2020 by pinotlover

[ORV]

I wouldn't read too much into these things. As you've mentioned before what has happened in the past probably won't be that way in the future, or maybe it will, change is hard. I think a lot of what we're hearing is for show and doing what needs to be done to get the ships sailing again. 

 

I do know this, if numbers of passengers are reduced then prices WILL go up. A lot of people think there are going to be bargain basement prices, I don't see it happening long term, maybe a few cruises that are being pushed now, but somewhere along the line the piper has to be paid, otherwise the companies won't be staying in business. 

[ToxM]

One thing that did interest me - and purely on an operational way for my next Oceania cruise is that I am in the accessible cabin that is attached (with a connecting door) to the medical centre.

I am guessing that if Oceania goes ahead with something like these guidelines, I am going to get turfed out of that as they mention suitable isolation rooms.


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[KS&JW]

3 hours ago, Paulchili said:

No - I do not think O will sail in Europe this year. I suspect they will start maybe Nov/Dec in the Carib.

JMO.

 

Yes, I agree.

[806James]

I agree with the other posters that Welshfamily's August cruise is very likely to be cancelled.

 

Regarding safety, the original topic of this thread, I have no doubt that cruise ships (and airplanes, for that matter) can be made relatively safe.  These are spaces with complete control of ingress and egress, as well as the movements and locations of passengers.  It is just a matter imposing the necessary precautions and constraints.  Of course it has to be done in way that does not stifle the experience for us travelers, is financially feasible, and still keeps us safe.  I believe that the cruise lines know how to do this--or will soon learn.

 

Given that, the risky part of travel is the rest of the trip: taxis, trains, Ubers, air terminals, cruise terminals, and don't forget shore excursions (buses, close encounters with local tour guides, etc.).  We really need a vaccine!

[Mura]

Agree also that an August cruise is highly unlikely.  Already we saw today (maybe on another thread) that suddenly August cruises are "full up".  That's generally a sign they are about to be cancelled.

 

I agree with others that the most likely scenario is that nothing will sail before late 2020.

 

I would LOVE to be wrong!

 

[Paulchili]

4 hours ago, 806James said:

These are spaces with complete control of ingress and egress, as well as the movements and locations of passengers.

How exactly can the cruise ships control the locations of passengers (other than at possibly meals)? Only 1 person per elevator?

No lectures or shows? No bars?

Ditto for planes. Even if they block the middle seat are the aisle seats more than 6 feet apart; or the person sitting in the seat in front of you? What about the jumbo jets - fly them half empty?

[KirkNC]

Those hoping a vaccine will fix everything, a little food for thought.

 

1.  Assuming a vaccine is approved by year end (which would be the fastest ever), China estimates it can make 100 million doses a year.  At that rate it will take China 14 years to vaccinate everyone just in China.

2.  The only vaccine to actually eradicate a disease is small pox.  It took over 100 years to be successful.  A major push to get all Americans vaccinated took place in the mid 1940’s, the disease was eradicated by 1980, 35 years later.

3.  Of course we all assume and hope that the virus does not mutate, rendering a vaccine ineffective.  On this front it does appear the virus is a slow mutator.

 

Point is that a vaccine is not a silver bullet as we would all hope.

[LHT28]

a glimpse of what some lines will be doing  in the future

https://www.cruisecritic.com/news/5369/

 

[pinotlover]

The vaccine is not a silver bullet. I had my yearly physical last Tuesday. I asked my doctor about getting the vaccination when they become available. The reply: “ She wouldn’t be administering the shots. Current plans are for the County Health Departments to solely get the vaccine, as it becomes available, and administer in under strict protocols . Those that receive it are then entered in a national register.”

 

As before, it will be years before healthy non working old farts like me will work our way up the list.

[RJB]

On 6/2/2020 at 9:14 AM, Paulchili said:

No - I do not think O will sail in Europe this year. I suspect they will start maybe Nov/Dec in the Carib.

JMO.

Agree.  We canceled our crossing from Rome to Miami on Riviera in Oct.  No way there would be a ship to take us back.  But it does not matter as we probably would not go in either case.  Not willing to take the risk yet.

[mklions]

Why do Oceania take so long to cancel cruises?, that we all know will not happen.

 

Today P&O decided to cancel sailings until October.

 

3 weeks ago I had to pay my final balance for a baltic cruise sailing mid August this year.

 

My TA  advised me that If I defaulted on paying my final balance I would have lost my £2000k deposit, which was a no brainer!

So now I have to wait until Oceania cancel the cruise for me to wait a further 90 days to get my monies back.

 

I know they know the cruise won't happen so why not cancel cruises sooner? Rather than take peoples money?

 

Mkilons

 

 

[RJB]

1 hour ago, mklions said:

Why do Oceania take so long to cancel cruises?, that we all know will not happen.

 

Today P&O decided to cancel sailings until October.

 

3 weeks ago I had to pay my final balance for a baltic cruise sailing mid August this year.

 

My TA  advised me that If I defaulted on paying my final balance I would have lost my £2000k deposit, which was a no brainer!

So now I have to wait until Oceania cancel the cruise for me to wait a further 90 days to get my monies back.

 

I know they know the cruise won't happen so why not cancel cruises sooner? Rather than take peoples money?

 

Mkilons

 

 

Time to go on a deposit strike in the UK.   If everyone stood together they would have to change their policy.  I do not think we would stand for that in the U.S.  Sure is not right.

[mklions]

Yes, Unfortunately deposits in the UK are non refundable.
mklions

[deadzone1003]

Nicko Cruises, a river cruise line, had set sailed on June 1st on the Danube.  It appears to be running at 50% capacity though that it seems to be by design.  Even though river cruise is not exactly the same as ocean-going cruises, they are still ships.   Biggest difference for a passenger is the ability to not use an elevator on a river cruise.  If they do not encountered any problems, that bodes well for the river cruise industry in Europe.  Perhaps,  Oceania could run their R-class ships at 50% capacity in some routes - because of it small size you can get around without using the elevator for most people.  

[RJB]

3 hours ago, mklions said:

Yes, Unfortunately deposits in the UK are non refundable.
mklions

And you think that is O.K. ? Totally wrong.   Seems to be time to change that. 

[pinotlover]

1 hour ago, deadzone1003 said:

Perhaps,  Oceania could run their R-class ships at 50% capacity in some routes - because of it small size you can get around without using the elevator for most people.  

Have you sailed Oceania before? Do you realize the number of passengers that have to take the elevator up or down only one deck to get to their restaurant or take a shore excursion, because even one flight of stairs is impossible for them? Perhaps, if they ran at 50% capacity, and excluded all the mobility limited passengers they could pull it off. Meanwhile, WWIII erupts from the elevator crowd!
 

You should watch all the passengers that show up on their assigned deck for life boat drills thirty minutes early so to beat the shutdown of the elevators! Having taken multiple ocean and river cruises, there exists an overall huge difference in typical clientele.

Edited June 4, 2020 by pinotlover

[Paulchili]

6 minutes ago, pinotlover said:

You should watch all the passengers that show up on their assigned deck for life boat drills thirty minutes early so to beat the shutdown of the elevators! 

I am much more upset about those numerous passengers that waltz in 15 minutes late despite knowing very well when the drill begins - including the announcements on the PA system well before the drill.

The rest of us are just sitting and waiting for them. I am willing to bet they'd be the first ones there in a case of a real emergency.

Edited June 4, 2020 by Paulchili

[kitty9]

I guess I just don’t understand the whole temperature check before going into any restaurant or other public venue.  I just don’t see how that can work and still use social distancing.  Can you imagine the lines to get into the GDR——if you’re distancing, the line could go all the way to the front elevators.  Can you imagine how this would work on a mega ship?  

Edited June 4, 2020 by kitty9