Hapag-Lloyd Cruises 10 point plan for re-commencement of cruises.

[English Voyager]

As a direct link to it's website is blocked, H-L Cruises plan is as follows:

 

 

The highest hygiene standards

The protection and health of guests and crew always have top priority for Hapag-Lloyd Cruises. Together with experts and the relevant authorities, we have developed a safety and prevention concept for the resumption of cruise operations. This concept is the basis of the following ten-point plan, the measures of which will enable a safe and comfortable cruise on board and meet the highest hygiene standards with regard to COVID-19. In addition to organisation, capacity planning and hygiene measures, the plan also includes in-depth training for the crew on board.

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Boarding

All passengers boarding the ship must provide a completed health questionnaire on embarkation, and undergo a health check. If anything out of the ordinary is found, the medical team will conduct a PCR test in the terminal, which will then be immediately analysed by a laboratory. The guests and crew will also undergo mandatory screening with thermal imaging cameras before boarding. A great deal of attention and time will be devoted to this procedure, so boarding will be performed in groups. The required minimum distance will also need to be observed during boarding.

 

Distancing rule

Restarting with around 40% less guests enables even more space in public areas. Everyone on board must maintain a distance of 1.5 m (4.9 ft) from others in the public areas of the ship, including the restaurants and fitness rooms.

 

Crew

The crew will undergo a period of isolation and will undergo PCR test. In addition, they will have their temperature checked by the medical team each day before they begin their shift. Crew members will wear face masks.

 

Air conditioning

The modern air conditioning systems on board guarantee that the cabins (for guests and crew) and the public areas are supplied with a 100 per cent fresh supply of air. The fresh air is cleaned through a filter. Extracted air is diverted directly outside without being mixed.

 

Restaurants

The number of tables in the restaurants will be reduced, and guests will be seated with a minimum distance of 1.5 m between tables. This means that the number of guests in the restaurant will be limited. The opening times of the restaurants and other services will be extended to allow all guests sufficient space and time to dine.

 

Plenty of variety, more service, no self-service

Keeping the number of staff members at the usual high levels, while significantly reducing passenger numbers, means more individual service and more resources for implementing the hygiene measures. We will still have great gastronomic variety in the restaurants and at the buffets. There will be no self-service in the restaurants, at the buffets, or in the bars.

 

Entertainment and activities

Sport and entertainment events will have fewer participants and will not involve close physical contact. Visitors to the spa area and hairdresser will be governed by the latest regulations from the Hamburg authorities.

 

State-of-the-art hygiene technology

The ships are equipped with thermal body cameras and also a mobile laboratory. The number of disinfectant dispensers on board will be significantly increased so that guests and staff can disinfect their hands at all key contact points, for example at gangways, at all places where food and drinks are available, and in fitness and lobby areas.
Each guest on board will also be given a care set with face masks – also known as surgical masks – which must be worn on board at any time when maintaining the minimum distance is difficult (in the lift, during embarkation and disembarkation, shopping in the boutique, etc.). The masks from the care set are a preventive measure and meet the relevant legal regulations.

 

Intensive cleaning of public areas and cabins/suites

Our fleet has the high OPP Level 3, for hygiene standards. This includes cleaning of frequently touched surfaces every 30 minutes. All cabins and suites will be cleaned with special cleaning agents that also eliminate potential COVID-19 viruses before the arrival of new guests. Cabins will be cleaned three times a day. Particular attention will be paid to surfaces in the bathroom, the bedside tables and everyday devices, such as the television remote control.

 

Public Health Responsible und expanded medical team

Health staff on board will be responsible for implementing all the new measures. Hapag-Lloyd Cruises will provide in-depth training on the new prevention and hygiene measures for the crew on board. In addition, a Public Heath Specialist will be appointed for this purpose on each ship.

THE WORLD AHEAD OF US

 

 

[steamboats]

Hapag-Lloyd announced cruises yesterday...

 

Europa 2 - starting July 31st with 8 day cruises out of Hamburg (no port stops)

Hanseatic Inspiration - I think it was Aug 2nd with 5 day cruises out of Hamburg (no port stops)

 

steamboats

[English Voyager]

Here in the UK, the Cruise Industry has been angered by the Foreign Office advising against cruise ship travel at this time.

[English Voyager]

1 minute ago, English Voyager said:

 

Duplicated.

Edited July 10, 2020 by English Voyager

[vistaman]

8 hours ago, steamboats said:

Hapag-Lloyd announced cruises yesterday...

 

Europa 2 - starting July 31st with 8 day cruises out of Hamburg (no port stops)

Hanseatic Inspiration - I think it was Aug 2nd with 5 day cruises out of Hamburg (no port stops)

 

steamboats

despite a extremely  long list of past cruises on HL and quite a decent  series of further bookings , I was refused being Belgian.

Only clients from Germany , Austria and Switserland are accepted  -  "the German market" 

I only can qualify it as a  heavy form of  protectionism - the fact HL is accepting pax from a non EC country and refusing pax from a EC  country is quite very unacceptable .  Simply discrimination  and not improving - even disturbing the relations...

 

 

[vistaman]

Somebody working for HL did refer to a decision made by CLIA Germany however I am afraid some essential regulations of the EC are violated - accepting or banning people based on the language spoken in a country? 

Switserland does have 4 official languages , Belgium does have 3 - all the Belgian Federal laws are made in 3 - Dutch French and German as well .  Same with Luxemburg 

Curious what HL will do when eventually a citizen of Liechtenstein is willing to do such a cruise...

 

[steamboats]

@vistaman, the restart of cruises of HL, TUI Cruises and AIDA out of German ports was worked out by the German port cities and the CLIA. In Germany it´s mainly the state setting up the rules regarding disease protection. So the port cities (except for Hamburg which is a state by its own) have the back up by their states. The current travel warning by the Auswärtiges Amt is still including cruises of all kind except for river cruises within EU countries ("Von der Teilnahme an Kreuzfahrten wird aufgrund der besonderen Risiken dringend abgeraten. Hiervon ausgenommen sind Flusskreuzfahrten innerhalb der EU bzw. Schengen mit besonderen Hygienekonzepten."). So setting up an agreement between the port cities and the CLIA for ocean cruises is really a big deal.

 

Hurtigruten started out Jun 26th with the first all German cruise out of Hamburg with no port stops. This cruise is limited to Germans (or people living permanently in Germany). All further cruises are limited to Germans too (but by next week they can do port stops in Norway). Hamburg wouldn´t have allowed the cruises out of their port without this restriction which is not violating any EU regulations as it´s all about disease protection.

 

DACH (Germany, Austria, Switzerland) is a common market for travel industry as well as UK or Nordic or Spain... Market means different offers, different prices... Although German is the main language in all three countries it is not mainly the language which lead to create this as a common market. It goes farther than just Germany (see Hurtigruten)  but that may be a compromise to have at least one full market where you can offer the cruises. BTW a friend of mine (Austrian nationality but living in the Netherlands) can´t book HL either.

 

You should be able to book with Ponant. At least I saw that a Belgian friend is cruising with them. They did offer the cruises here in Germany too. But you were only able to make a reservation as the paperwork wasn´t fixed yet. I haven´t heard whether Germans are now able to go or not. You have to provide a negative COVID-19 test.

 

steamboats

[vistaman]

i did book a cruise on Ponant  for July   and I passed a negative test  and will do another just before departure.

and I prefer not to discuss the policies by Clia Germany and HL  in detail as that will lead to politics what is not tolerated on CC

however a certain way of discrimination based on a nationality , area DACH ,  and / or language  is done in the European Union. .

You do speak about "markets"  - years ago   I forced another company to adjust my cruise fare because in another country of the EC - also in EUR currency   so not in  the UK - was quite lower  - nothing to do with local taxes 

after so many cruises on HL this is a very bitter pill  ( that is a predicate in Dutch for a very unpleasant experience😒 )

 

 

[steamboats]

@vistaman this is not about politics... just following the rules of each country regarding disease/pandemic control. It´s a start... I just read about a 5 phase plan from Costa starting Aug 15th. The first cruises will be Italians only, then they allow French and Spain... We Germans can´t cruise with Costa until November. That´s their plan worked out with the Italian authorities.

 

I´m happy to be able to cruise again (and have just returned from a river cruise in Portugal with A-Rosa - we were the first group being able to go to Salamanca/Spain). So I accept the rules although I might not like them.

 

steamboats

[vistaman]

the entire corona covid crisis does illustrate that despite the European Community every country did its own item  - in Belgium the 2 major centres of the pandemic  were caused by people coming back from "ski holiday" in Sud Tirol and the other close to the German border "Rosenmontag" festivities, mardi gras or whatever it is called ,  and of course ignoring the first signs as a stupid cold and not staying at home from work. And unfortunately not every country does have the same quantity of hospitals and beds , intensive units as Germany and Belgium. 

Steamboats , allow me a very final consideration  - i presume you are German  - suppose you are willing to go to Brussels  a top luxury hotel and you also do have a high level of the fidelity programme of that luxury chain - and the reply should be : sorry we only allow people from a French speaking country ( Belgium France Luxemburg ) for the moment ...unhappy i think 

well that is maybe illustrating how i do feel .  

 

[steamboats]

Vistaman, yes, I am German and I live in Munich. So no need to tell my about skiing holidays in Südtirol or Ischgl. That´s been the main source of infection here in Bavaria and our state was hit the hardest in Germany. Currently we are doing well.

 

I don´t think you can compare a cruise to a hotel stay. We should be happy that Hamburg, Kiel and Warnemünde do accept cruise ships once more and therefore we have to play with their rules. It was the same for all hotels over here. They had to stay closed and now can only accept limited numbers of guests with lots of hygiene measures. We should be happy that cruising is taking up slowly. Unfortunately cruise ships are still regarded as a high risk and breeding place for viruses - a prejudice as we all know. But as I said before my federal government still has a travel warning up regarding cruises. And that´s basically why those upcoming cruises are having no port stops and don´t accept all nationalities. The travel warning is only valid for foreign countries... a cruise to nowhere out of a German port technically does not really leave Germany and therefore is not applying to the travel warning ;-).

 

steamboats

[vistaman]

Hapag Lloyd did cancel my last  booking as well  - Malta to Lisbon  dep 15 th September 😒

 

 

[Jacqueline]

I think it’s a sensible way for them to test the waters 😉

Start small with a control group and learn.  Being able to do any sort of travel now is a luxury. 
My next booked cruise is In 2022 on HL from Kamchatka to Alaska.

[LewiLewi]

Under the present circumstances, I would not want to cruise now. I enjoy cruising because of the ability to meet and dine with other people, enjoy the entertainment in the theaters, partake of the buffet, myself. Cruising as it is currently done, is not what I would like to do. I will wait till there is an effective vaccine and masks and distancing will no longer be required.

[English Voyager]

2 hours ago, LewiLewi said:

Under the present circumstances, I would not want to cruise now. I enjoy cruising because of the ability to meet and dine with other people, enjoy the entertainment in the theaters, partake of the buffet, myself. Cruising as it is currently done, is not what I would like to do. I will wait till there is an effective vaccine and masks and distancing will no longer be required.

Hapag Lloyd Cruises has posted  the following German Language video on a recent Norwegian cruise:

 

 

 

Despite the Europa 2 looking wonderfully empty, the current requirements render, what is at the end of the day an expensive holiday, a totally unattractive proposition for me.

 

Given how a person can be asymptomatic with Covid 19 the only secure test is a swab test, yet all we see in the video by way of a boarding check is a temperature check.

[vistaman]

instead of the discrimination  based  on  the eventual belonging to a market ( D A CH )  nationality , area or language , HL ( or Clia Germany ??? ) better   requested  a valid conona test  prior to embarkation   - so all the regular pax could  consider to book a cruise  😆

 

[Catlover54]

The website now says that as of September 15, a corona swab will be required before boarding , and can be done in 80 plus various German health centers they collaborate with, and will be included in the fare cost.

 

Us foreigners from U.S. and elsewhere are apparently still out or luck ( I cannot even fly to Germany to visit an okd friend with cancer, much less board a cruise ship in Hamburg, even if I am testes corona negative pre-flight -- because things could instantky change).

[steamboats]

HL is cooperating with a hospital chain by the name of Helios. They have 86 places all over Germany. TUI Cruises has the same cooperation. You get a date and just go there with your documents for the cruise. They do the test. Negative results are directly sent to the cruise line, positive go to the passenger. There´s a date and time stated ... so if you don´t hear anything until that date/time you´re good to go.

 

The main problem is that those 86 places are not really reachable for anyone. Some have to drive 200 km one way and take another day off from work.

 

steamboats

[Catlover54]

Steamboats, that sounds like a good start to get cruising going again. Testing, and not just temperature checks, are important.  I suspect most HL cruisers are either from big cities or their suburbs, so most potential customers have access to testing, or can travel to get it done, if motivated enough.  A 200km drive is doable ( especially with your wonderful Autobahns 🙂
As I am now retired and have time for long trips ( which were supposed to be long cruises) , I would figure out how to find one of the testing centers in Germany if

1) Germany would let me in ( with a recent negative U.S. test) and

2) HL would let me board after retesting in Germany. Heck, I would even self-quarantine in a German hotel for two weeks if needed before a cruise!

I have done my risk calculations from available sources  -- I have an estimated 1% annual risk of death from everything that is wrong with my health at my age, and with my six risk factors, a max 1.5% risk of death if I get covid ( and that does not take into account my higher than average level of protection measures).  I can tolerate those odds, some might not. I even currently live in a very nice place, on the northern California Pacific coast,  but I still miss cruising.

 

This is how much I miss HL.

[steamboats]

It´s not the drive but for those still working you need another day off.

 

steamboats

[Catlover54]

Steamboats, do you know why HL just cancelled the upcoming Antarctica cruises ?

[steamboats]

@Catlover54 nothing by HL yet but I heard about it. Hurtigruten has cancelled too. So I assume it´s just too much of a risk as there is no way for med evac in Antarctica.

 

steamboats

[vistaman]

On 9/20/2020 at 5:46 PM, Catlover54 said:

Steamboats, that sounds like a good start to get cruising going again. Testing, and not just temperature checks, are important.  I suspect most HL cruisers are either from big cities or their suburbs, so most potential customers have access to testing, or can travel to get it done, if motivated enough.  A 200km drive is doable ( especially with your wonderful Autobahns 🙂
As I am now retired and have time for long trips ( which were supposed to be long cruises) , I would figure out how to find one of the testing centers in Germany if

1) Germany would let me in ( with a recent negative U.S. test) and

2) HL would let me board after retesting in Germany. Heck, I would even self-quarantine in a German hotel for two weeks if needed before a cruise!

I have done my risk calculations from available sources  -- I have an estimated 1% annual risk of death from everything that is wrong with my health at my age, and with my six risk factors, a max 1.5% risk of death if I get covid ( and that does not take into account my higher than average level of protection measures).  I can tolerate those odds, some might not. I even currently live in a very nice place, on the northern California Pacific coast,  but I still miss cruising.

 

This is how much I miss HL.

I am just back from a cruise on a Ponant - i had to give a proof of a negative test what  what was taken on Thuesday afternoon - sent to the lab immediately , and the doctor had the result on Thursday morning by email  - if I find the time I will write a comment of that not so great experience  somewhere else .

However if HL will continue to refuse passengers from other countries , the company simply make it clear the clients of those countries outside the D A CH  market are just mastic - despite all the releases of going international...

[steamboats]

Once again vistaman, they simply want to start with one group of passengers. If that works out they might enlarge the markets.

 

Costa did exactly the same and offered the first cruises for Italians only. Now they do accept Germans too.

 

Not regarding the fact that Antwerp was regarded as risk area with a travel warning here in Germany just a while ago (and yes, Munich hit that critical mark too - I currently can travel everywhere here in Germany).

 

steamboats

Edited September 24, 2020 by steamboats

[vistaman]

3 hours ago, steamboats said:

Once again vistaman, they simply want to start with one group of passengers. If that works out they might enlarge the markets.

 

Costa did exactly the same and offered the first cruises for Italians only. Now they do accept Germans too.

 

Not regarding the fact that Antwerp was regarded as risk area with a travel warning here in Germany just a while ago (and yes, Munich hit that critical mark too - I currently can travel everywhere here in Germany).

 

steamboats

yes but it is a discrimination   art   12 of the European Treaty😁

Ponant accepted me with a valid test doing my first - and probably my last on P  - cruise 

I cannot write the high number of cruises done  on HL here , but why could HL not ask for a valid test ?? 

and concerning Antwerp -  the virus was concentrated in areas where I do not live and prefer not to go  -  if eventually i write the details it could described as racism ...