CDC Lifts Cruise Ban

[livingonthebeach]

Just now, Sunshine3601 said:

yes, I wonder how they will go about doing that.    will they have an agreement with a hotel?    that is quite a challenge what hotel wants to be set up to have an unlimited number of empty rooms reserved for the possibility of a cruise ship bringing in crew or passengers of an unknown amount of confirmed Covid cases and close contacts.   

 

Good point, this is not going to be an easy task.  

 

The passengers that live close to the ports could conceivably quarantine at home, if allowed.  The crew and passengers that have to fly back home are going to present a bigger challenge.  

[livingonthebeach]

Footnote 19 on page 36 looks like the CDC wasn't pleased when all the ships left US ports and territorial waters in order to circumvent reporting requirements.  

[ipeeinthepool]

23 hours ago, royal2020 said:

i have 2 weeks on harmony in dec 2020 and so many back to backs in jan do u think i will be able to go

 

No

[ipeeinthepool]

48 minutes ago, livingonthebeach said:

 

Not to mention the time it will take to secure housing to quarantine passengers and crew, arrange for medical facilities on land and figure out the logistics of private transportation for the infected.  These are big hurdles that are going to require a lot of time and expense. 

 

Maybe they will just use extra cruise ships instead of hotels to quarantine people.  They will have plenty of extra ships and people won't be able to break quarantine.

[livingonthebeach]

1 minute ago, ipeeinthepool said:

 

Maybe they will just use extra cruise ships instead of hotels to quarantine people.  They will have plenty of extra ships and people won't be able to break quarantine.

 

Sounds good except for the expense portion of if.  How much does it cost to keep a ship running and on standby 24/7?  Will it translate into higher fares? 

[jg51]

1 hour ago, livingonthebeach said:

If the application for the Conditional Sailing Certificate has to be submitted 60 days prior as footnote 18 on page 28 states, that would mean they would have to submit it today for a January 1st sailing.  Don't think that will be happening, unfortunately.  The March restart that the CDC originally wanted is about to come to fruition.  Looks like they got what they wanted in the form of a footnote. 

 

 

.

No doubt many will laugh at what we about to say, but we don't mind!  (We think that we will have the last laugh.)

 

We believe that, if the coming week's elections turn out a certain way, CDC will not "get what they wanted."  Instead, we believe that the document just issued yesterday will be rapidly and significantly modified (via White House order) in November, cutting through the current, draconian, bureaucratic red tape -- to the benefit of the cruise lines and consumers.  It's time for the wimpy, worry-wart, worst-case-scenario mentality to be dumped into the ash-heap of history.

.

Edited October 31, 2020 by jg51

[FLSteve11]

1 hour ago, Sunshine3601 said:

Yup I mentioned this yesterday too.   It is going to take time for them to install labs on the ship to do a PCR test and get all the certifications mentioned on page 28 from the USCG.     From how I read it, once they all that set up all the framework / requirements they can then submit a request to CDC to get permission to do their simulated sailings.    I am unclear on whether they have to pass on the test sailings before they can submit 60 days prior to commencement.         

So let's say it takes them the next 30-days to set up labs, crew arrives and goes thru their testing/quarantine periods and they get all their USCG certifications and they request their test sailings for December.

Let's remember nothing moves quick with government inspections and paperwork so it will probably take a couple of weeks as all the cruise lines are going to be submitting their requests around the same time.    Plus everything will slow down with the December holidays.    

My prediction It will be at earliest February when they can start to sail with "real" passengers, probably more likely March.     So yup the CDC will be getting exactly what they wanted (no sail order in place til February).   

 

 

It will take time.    Though we are assuming that this is all brand new information that the cruise lines are just hearing about.   I would not be surprised if there had been negotiations going on for awhile,  the cruise lines have known about it for a bit, and that the clock for these things has already started in the past.    Crew could already be quarantined,  some paperwork and/or plans already filed.   We just don't know.

[Blizzard54]

31 minutes ago, jg51 said:

.

No doubt many will laugh at what we about to say, but we don't mind!  (We think that we will have the last laugh.)

 

We believe that, if the coming week's elections turn out a certain way, CDC will not "get what they wanted."  Instead, we believe that the document just issued yesterday will be rapidly and significantly modified (via White House order) in November, cutting through the current, draconian, bureaucratic red tape -- to the benefit of the cruise lines and consumers.  It's time for the wimpy, worry-wart, worst-case-scenario mentality to be dumped into the ash-heap of history.

.

I am not quite following your logic on this.   If the WH wanted it differently I do not seen why they would not have put pressure on sooner. If there is to be a change at the WH, nothing could happen until January.

[ilockwh]

3 hours ago, logan25 said:

Just curious.  Why do you not characterize the CDC as a member of the Swamp?

The "swamp" in my post was the CDC. They won with their multipage set of new regulations that will delay cruising, perhaps as long as the February date they wanted when theyextended the no sail until October 31.

[livingonthebeach]

2 hours ago, A&L_Ont said:

For some reason I don’t think they will bend for the industry. 

 

Probably not if footnote 19 is referring to what I think it is. 

[leisuretraveler223]

21 hours ago, twangster said:

 

The closed system on an airplane is 1000 times more risky.

 

This is categorically wrong.  You will not find a single health professional who will agree with this assertion.

[boscobeans]

I bet all those empty food and supply storage areas along I-95 will be getting filled with tables, chairs, loungers and all the things that will be un-used with the new percentage quotas dealing with passenger capacity.

 

Imagine walking around on any of the ships with such drastically reduced capacity.

 

I over 20 years I have never been on a ship that wasn't either at maximum or slightly under capacity.

 

Anyone ever sail in a ship with just 50 or 60 percent capacity ???

 

This will also lead to a decent well needed shot in the arm to hotels and restaurants in the port cities as well as airlines...

 

 

Edited October 31, 2020 by boscobeans

[livingonthebeach]

2 minutes ago, boscobeans said:

..Anyone ever sail in a ship with just 50 or 60 percent capacity ???

 

Never -- it would be a divine experience except for the mask. 

[Blizzard54]

2 minutes ago, boscobeans said:

I bet all those empty food and supply storage areas along I-95 will be getting filled with tables, chairs, loungers and all the things that will be un-used with the new percentage quotas dealing with passenger capacity.

 

Imagine walking around on any of the ships with such drastically reduced capacity.

 

I over 20 years I have never been on a ship that wasn't either at maximum or slightly under capacity.

 

Anyone ever sail in a ship with just 50 or 60 percent capacity ???

 

 

Yes,  we were on the Radiance 9/13/2021.  With the airlines shut down many ships had very low capacity and number of them were tied up.

[Ocean Boy]

2 hours ago, molly361 said:

March/April 2021 is looking better for revenue sailings

It is looking more and more like I'll end up cancelling my April cruise. There won't be enough time to see how things are working before final payment is due on that one.

[molly361]

7 minutes ago, boscobeans said:

I bet all those empty food and supply storage areas along I-95 will be getting filled with tables, chairs, loungers and all the things that will be un-used with the new percentage quotas dealing with passenger capacity.

 

Imagine walking around on any of the ships with such drastically reduced capacity.

 

I over 20 years I have never been on a ship that wasn't either at maximum or slightly under capacity.

 

Anyone ever sail in a ship with just 50 or 60 percent capacity ???

 

This will also lead to a decent well needed shot in the arm to hotels and restaurants in the port cities as well as airlines...

 

 

Yes we were on a shortened Oasis cruise after a hurricane.  2700 people I think that's a bit less than 1/2 full.  It was very nice .

[rockmom]

During the last 'shift' where they moved people from Brilliance to Indy, from Freedom to Explorer, etc, at the end of September, we had our Brilliance 8 night moved to an Indy 8 night for our Southern itinerary out of Miami in July '21.   Those sailings alternate with 6 night Western itineraries.  In a case like that, I wonder if they'll shorten the Southern, lengthen the Western to have them both be 7 nights to stay within the rules. Of course that means that Southern is out and new ports would need to happen.  Looking for opinions.  I swear I'm never going to get on a Southern cruise, lol.  Oh, and wanna bet the price will be the same, no increase or reduction if you get moved down to a 7 or up to a 7.  ugh.  

 

Edited October 31, 2020 by rockmom

[Billy Baltic]

5 hours ago, Ocean Boy said:

Because for many of us flying is the beginning and end if a cruise.

Most of the chat related to flying was lamenting why cruise lines have been set a much higher bar than airlines. My point was that it the rights and wrongs of that are irrelevant.

 

I too have a fly to reach a port but I don’t go on airline forums to chat about air changes or the space between the seats because it’s irrelevant to cruising. 

[Mapleleafforever]

11 minutes ago, molly361 said:

Yes we were on a shortened Oasis cruise after a hurricane.  2700 people I think that's a bit less than 1/2 full.  It was very nice .

That would be amazing!!! 2700 people onboard, not the hurricane. 

[Ocean Boy]

12 minutes ago, leisuretraveler223 said:

 

This is categorically wrong.  You will not find a single health professional who will agree with this assertion.

This may well be true. Heck, if a cruise ship was really a safe place to be these days would pages and pages of new regulations really be necessary? We all know the cruise environment vs. that of a plane. The comparison speaks for itself. However, you certainly have a knack for getting people to see your point of view.

[Milwaukee Eight]

5 hours ago, livingonthebeach said:

Although the NSO lift is rather positive, it seems there are a few hurdles and obstacles to overcome before obtaining a  CDC COVID-19 Conditional Sailing Certificate.  

 

Namely, limited port traffic and the need for hotel or other housing inventory.  Logistically speaking, it won't be a walk in the park.  I foresee prices going up and up. 

 

From Cruise Industry News:

 

"According to the new CDC guidelines, a cruise line will need a medical care agreement between the cruise ship operator and health care entities, addressing evacuation to onshore hospitals for passengers and crew in need of care, in accordance with CDC technical instructions and orders.

 

It will also need a housing agreement between the cruise ship operator and one or more shoreside facilities for isolation and quarantine of COVID-19 cases and close contacts, respectively, identified from the day of embarkation through disembarkation for each voyage, in accordance with CDC technical instructions and orders.

 

And perhaps more challenging, a port agreement between the cruise ship operator and port authority is needed and will determine the number of cruise ships at any "single port in order to not overburden the public health response resources of any single jurisdiction in the event of a COVID-19 outbreak."

 

https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/23793-port-traffic-to-be-limited-cruise-lines-will-need-housing-agreements.html

 

I’ve been saying this since the first NSO. The cruise lines have ignored. Maybe they will do something now. 
 

M8

[whitshel]

3 hours ago, livingonthebeach said:

If the application for the Conditional Sailing Certificate has to be submitted 60 days prior as footnote 18 on page 28 states, that would mean they would have to submit it today for a January 1st sailing.  Don't think that will be happening, unfortunately.  The March restart that the CDC originally wanted is about to come to fruition.  Looks like they got what they wanted in the form of a footnote. 

 

 

So let  me get this straight, so the soonest any cruise can depart for the "test" cruises is Dec 30th ?(if they applied for the Covid Cert Yesterday)  So I am booked on Allure on Jan 3rd, 2021 are we all pretty much in agreement that this cruise will not sail?

[Ocean Boy]

3 minutes ago, Billy Baltic said:

Most of the chat related to flying was lamenting why cruise lines have been set a much higher bar than airlines. My point was that it the rights and wrongs of that are irrelevant.

 

I too have a fly to reach a port but I don’t go on airline forums to chat about air changes or the space between the seats because it’s irrelevant to cruising. 

Actually, what happens on multiple planes delivering hundreds if people to the same ship could be quite relevant to what may happen on the cruise.

[livingonthebeach]

6 minutes ago, Milwaukee Eight said:

I’ve been saying this since the first NSO. The cruise lines have ignored. Maybe they will do something now. 
 

M8

 

That's right -- I remember very well.  You pointed this out several times.  Maybe the CDC was reading your posts.  LOL 

 

Joking aside, they are going to have to tackle this issue in order to get their Sailing Certificate, there's no circumventing it now. 

[Billy Baltic]

3 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

Actually, what happens on multiple planes delivering hundreds if people to the same ship could be quite relevant to what may happen on the cruise.

I agree but the same could be said for the hotels the night before the cruise or the taxi on the way to port or the luggage handler.
I was just expressing a wish that people would talk about the implications to cruising of the CDC lifting the cruise ban i.e. the actual thread topic.