Will the New Summer Sailings from Nassau/St. Maarten Actually Sail?

[Goodtime Cruizin]

1 hour ago, Jimbo said:

Sounds like when you are in jail and get assigned a  job detail. Must stay with the other inmates.............We won't get on any cruiseships that are like that. No thank you.

 

Cool story bro.  Sounds like a Community Chest card...

Go straight to jail. Do not pass go. 

[LXA350]

46 minutes ago, Jimbo said:

I wouldn't use the word punishment per say. I would just want the product to be more like it was rather then paying the same kind of money as before or more for a watered down product.

If it's okay with some more power to you, go for it. Just think there are better options with your vacation dollar then cruising right now.

 

Deffinetly and that's why only the ones should cruise now that can live with the restrictions and be able to have a good time instead of starting to complain once onboard.

 

16 minutes ago, Jimbo said:

I guess it will be okay for a beach excursion itineraires, but for an Alaska cruise or for Europe cruises where you really want to have your freedom to go out and do your own thing the current way of cruising wouldn't work.

 

Wouldn't want to spend all that money just get to those departure ports and to be so limited on those cruises.

 

Wearing a mask, social distancing and all other restriction on board is not an issue in my view, however not to be able to move around freely in ports where it's easy to move around is something I can understand many don't want to do at this stage. Likely this will be one of the first restrictions that will be lifted in my oppinion once a critical mass of people will be vaccinated in the countries the ships will visit. Hence, for 2022 I am optimistic that you can visit the ports again without having to take a shore excursion by the ship.

[Ken at the beach]

40 minutes ago, Jimbo said:

but for an Alaska cruise or for Europe cruises

I had a ton of OBC for both those cruises and booked all my shore excursions through the cruise line and don't feel like II am missing out on a thing.  To each their own.

Edited March 21, 2021 by Ourusualbeach

[Midwestgal]

I’d go without any hesitation although I will not cruise again until I can do it mask free.  

[SNJCruisers]

2 hours ago, Jimbo said:

Sounds like when you are in jail and get assigned a  job detail. Must stay with the other inmates.............We won't get on any cruiseships that are like that. No thank you.

Are you that selfish that you you can't comprehend the reasoning behind excursion bubbles?  This is hopefully only going to be a short term thing.  There has been a year of zero sailings.  Once things start back in June, it might have to be a year with bubble excursions.  If these rules are not to your liking, then choose another vacationing method until cruising resumes to 2019 standards.

[Wildcatfish]

Does anyone else see these cruises (Bahamas/St Martin departures) simply as "Revenue producing Test Cruises"?

[Goodtime Cruizin]

21 minutes ago, Wildcatfish said:

Does anyone else see these cruises (Bahamas/St Martin departures) simply as "Revenue producing Test Cruises"?

 

Not in it's totality as you've mentioned. I think ANY cruise and all cruises will be considered 'tests'. In fact, it was mentioned that the response of the RCL cruises in Singapore has allowed them to learn what to do and not to do.  So in essence I'd have to disagree with the wording of 'simply'. 

 

The cruiselines have a product. And much like a restaurant that is learning to navigate around and with issues of covid, so to is the RCG. But both industries also have a demand for their product and in the case of RCG, they also have a responsibility to their share holders, lenders, partners, and paying passengers. 

 

I'm looking forward to my test cruise one day!

[twangster]

37 minutes ago, Wildcatfish said:

Does anyone else see these cruises (Bahamas/St Martin departures) simply as "Revenue producing Test Cruises"?

 

Royal didn't come up with the concept of a test cruise and I doubt the CDC is willing to accept anything they didn't witness as a means to satisfy their requirement.

 

"Trust us CDC, we did something in another country and it worked out fine" isn't going to satisfy the CDC.  If it was that easy Royal already accomplished that in Singapore.

 

The concept of test cruises was just another item meant to slow down the restart of cruises.  In reality by the time any cruise line could ever run the gauntlet of the CSO there won't be a need for test cruises.

 

Edited March 21, 2021 by twangster

[Shorewalk Holmes]

5 hours ago, Goodtime Cruizin said:

 

I don't need a fake account to tell anyone that if they are scared to live then stay home so they won't die. 

I agree that people shouldn't generally be scared to live, but sometimes it's adaptive to be a bit scared.

 

Last fall, too many people weren't scared. They lived life. They flaunted expert advice. They ram-packed airports and indoor holiday parties.  Covid spread, and hundreds of thousands of people died in the US. 

 

People got only one more Christmas with their parents instead of twenty more.

 

It could have been even worse, but many people felt the good kind of fear -- rational fear -- and navigated the holidays just fine at home in small groups.

 

I'm hoping that, if enough people agree to get vaccinated, and the vaccines work against variants, so there's no spike, we can put away fear, because it won't be useful anymore.  Then, I hope, enough people will book cruises to allow the ships to sail.

 

Royal seems to be doing a good job putting rational fear into practice with their precautions, so the ships should be safe.

Edited March 21, 2021 by Shorewalk Holmes

[smokeybandit]

1 hour ago, Shorewalk Holmes said:

I agree that people shouldn't generally be scared to live, but sometimes it's adaptive to be a bit scared.

 

Last fall, too many people weren't scared. They lived life. They flaunted expert advice. They ram-packed airports and indoor holiday parties.  Covid spread, and hundreds of thousands of people died in the US. 

 

People got only one more Christmas with their parents instead of twenty more.

 

It could have been even worse, but many people felt the good kind of fear -- rational fear -- and navigated the holidays just fine at home in small groups.

 

I'm hoping that, if enough people agree to get vaccinated, and the vaccines work against variants, so there's no spike, we can put away fear, because it won't be useful anymore.  Then, I hope, enough people will book cruises to allow the ships to sail.

 

Royal seems to be doing a good job putting rational fear into practice with their precautions, so the ships should be safe.

 

Or maybe people lived their lives while the virus spread at its own pace itself ignoring expert "advise"

 

Meanwhile some people will have PTSD for years due to covid fears.

[Goodtime Cruizin]

1 hour ago, Shorewalk Holmes said:

I agree that people shouldn't generally be scared to live, but sometimes it's adaptive to be a bit scared.

 

Last fall, too many people weren't scared. They lived life. They flaunted expert advice. They ram-packed airports and indoor holiday parties.  Covid spread, and hundreds of thousands of people died in the US. 

 

People got only one more Christmas with their parents instead of twenty more.

 

It could have been even worse, but many people felt the good kind of fear -- rational fear -- and navigated the holidays just fine at home in small groups.

 

I'm hoping that, if enough people agree to get vaccinated, and the vaccines work against variants, so there's no spike, we can put away fear, because it won't be useful anymore.  Then, I hope, enough people will book cruises to allow the ships to sail.

 

Royal seems to be doing a good job putting rational fear into practice with their precautions, so the ships should be safe.

 

One thing you omitted... people had their liberties reduced and also their lives destroyed. 

Having said this, being fearful to live life is different from being scared to die. Reviewing the numbers of those that died, 80% of those that experienced death due to covid was 75 yrs of age or greater. I seriously doubt that these folks flaunted experts. If anything, the gathering of 20 or more people at holidays allowed for the growth of herd immunity. 

 

Look... you come across as someone that is against the cruiselines cruising. If I'm correct why are you on this type of message board? Are you here to use your voice to discredit cruising? 

 

[smokeybandit]

A large percentage of deaths were people already at the end of their lives, but they had to die alone instead of with their families by their side since everything was locked down

[LXA350]

4 hours ago, Shorewalk Holmes said:

 

 

I'm hoping that, if enough people agree to get vaccinated, and the vaccines work against variants, so there's no spike, we can put away fear, because it won't be useful anymore.  Then, I hope, enough people will book cruises to allow the ships to sail.

 

Royal seems to be doing a good job putting rational fear into practice with their precautions, so the ships should be safe.

 

This is the way to go and with all the health protocols RCL is going to implement it will be a safe and comfortable experience.

[Shorewalk Holmes]

3 hours ago, Goodtime Cruizin said:

Look... you come across as someone that is against the cruiselines cruising. If I'm correct why are you on this type of message board? Are you here to use your voice to discredit cruising? 

Not at all.  If you've got the time, please look at my other posts on this thread.  I have other Royal cruises booked and am planning to book one of the Adventure cruises to replace a cruise on Allure that I have booked in July, because that will probably be cancelled.  If there's another big wave, even the Adventure cruise might get cancelled. 

 

3 hours ago, Goodtime Cruizin said:

If anything, the gathering of 20 or more people at holidays allowed for the growth of herd immunity. 

It seems unlikely to me that spreading covid in large indoor gatherings is the best idea to give people confidence in cruising.  But I believe everyone's opinion is worth hearing.

Edited March 21, 2021 by Shorewalk Holmes

[Shorewalk Holmes]

3 hours ago, smokeybandit said:

Or maybe people lived their lives while the virus spread at its own pace itself ignoring expert "advise"

The virus spreads through contact with other people.  So it seems to me that large, mask-less, indoor gatherings mean more spread. 

 

But as I said in the previous post, I truly believe everyone's opinion is worth hearing.  Why  put people down?  Experts have been wrong many times. 

 

But, as an old man, I'm betting with my life and my family's life.  So I at least give experts the respect of reading what they have to say in some detail.

[Snowbird_in_training]

We plan on booking the Adventure out of Nassau.

 

It's so different for those of us not in Florida - to board a ship and stop at ports for a beach day sounds like heaven.  Since we don't have access to daily sunshine or beaches, it's appealing to us.   Airfare is airfare.  Honestly, it costs as much to fly into Miami as it does to go to the West Coast.   We've flown into Nassau before, for our overpriced Atlantis vacation.  If I remember correctly, airfare into Nassau wasn't so much.  

 

We've been vaccinated and we trust the vaccine to work.  I'm sure there will be restrictions and cruising, like life in general, won't be the same as it was.   We'll keep our fingers crossed that we don't have an extended Hurricane cruise.  But, we're ready to pack our bags and go.  

[Shorewalk Holmes]

3 hours ago, LXA350 said:

This is the way to go and with all the health protocols RCL is going to implement it will be a safe and comfortable experience.

 

31 minutes ago, Snowbird_in_training said:

We've been vaccinated and we trust the vaccine to work.  I'm sure there will be restrictions and cruising, like life in general, won't be the same as it was.   We'll keep our fingers crossed that we don't have an extended Hurricane cruise.  But, we're ready to pack our bags and go.  

We're also optimistic that the vaccines and protocols will work well.  After several canceled cruises, we're more than willing to put up with some restrictions and inconveniences if we can get a cruise this summer.

[Shorewalk Holmes]

9 hours ago, twangster said:

I doubt the CDC is willing to accept anything they didn't witness as a means to satisfy their requirement.

Agree.  But do you think there's a chance that Royal could convince the CDC to place observers on a cruise, perhaps even soon (on Quantum)?  Perhaps comp them a drink package 🙂?

Edited March 22, 2021 by Shorewalk Holmes

[twangster]

2 minutes ago, Shorewalk Holmes said:

Agree.  But do you think there's a chance that Royal could convince the CDC to place observers on a cruise, perhaps even soon (on Quantum)? 

 

It's pretty hard to pass a test when the test hasn't been written yet.

 

The CDC has not provided the technical details of how to proceed.  Without those no one knows what needs to be tested.  

 

It's like telling a freshman class in school to get ready for the final exam when you haven't told them what the curriculum of the course includes.  All Royal knows at this point is the test has something to do with health safety protocols.  The health safety protocols haven't been finalized yet, so how does sending the CDC to Asia help that? (like they'd go to Asia just so ships can sail)

[Knolmom]

Just seems as if these cruises by Royal, Crystal and Celebrity will be a version on the «  test cruises » that were supposed to occur under terms agreed to by the cruise companies and the CDC. The CDC never moved forward on these so it appears the companies are now going to have cruises under these very circumstances, but from other than US Ports. If they go well, then maybe the CDC will let the requirement for test cruises go, and cut right to regular cruising as soon as everyone who wants a vaccine can get one. Since most foreign countries from which these new cruises are sailing are requiring cruisers to be vaccinated , it will be quite easy for the CDC to open up cruising in general to those who are vaccinated. 

Edited March 22, 2021 by Knolmom
Sp

[Shorewalk Holmes]

1 hour ago, twangster said:

The health safety protocols haven't been finalized yet, so how does sending the CDC to Asia help that?

The CDC is probably arguing internally about the protocols.  It should be useful to have people who've actually been on a cruise ship with successful covid-era protocols, wherever it sails, but...

1 hour ago, twangster said:

(like they'd go to Asia just so ships can sail)

I agree, that's unlikely.  Maybe if cruises were a higher priority, but sadly it seems they aren't.

[Shorewalk Holmes]

27 minutes ago, Knolmom said:

Just seems as if these cruises by Royal, Crystal and Celebrity will be a version on the «  test cruises » that were supposed to occur under terms agreed to by the cruise companies and the CDC. The CDC never moved forward on these so it appears the companies are now going to have cruises under these very circumstances, but from other than US Ports. If they go well, then maybe the CDC will let the requirement for test cruises go, and cut right to regular cruising as soon as everyone who wants a vaccine can get one.

I agree with the following comment earlier in this thread about the CDC accepting the Royal/Celebrity cruises as fulfilling the test cruise requirement:

 

11 hours ago, twangster said:

Royal didn't come up with the concept of a test cruise and I doubt the CDC is willing to accept anything they didn't witness as a means to satisfy their requirement.

But I'm hoping you're right that the CDC could possibly dispense with the formal requirement of test cruises if the covid and vaccination situation is good enough.

[Plum Happy]

7 hours ago, twangster said:

 

It's pretty hard to pass a test when the test hasn't been written yet.

 

The CDC has not provided the technical details of how to proceed.  Without those no one knows what needs to be tested.  

The next phase in sailing is phase 2 of 4 phases.  The CDC director stated this.

 

 So, I honestly don’t see sailing this summer from the U.S. until late fall or next year.

https://www.cruisehive.com/worrying-answers-from-cdc-director-on-conditional-sailing-order/48435

 

Edited March 22, 2021 by Plum Happy

[twangster]

50 minutes ago, Plum Happy said:

The next phase in sailing is phase 2 of 4 phases.  The CDC director stated this.

 

 So, I honestly don’t see sailing this summer from the U.S. until late fall or next year.

https://www.cruisehive.com/worrying-answers-from-cdc-director-on-conditional-sailing-order/48435

 

 

Agreed.

 

The CSO was written in a matter of days when they were told not to extend the NSO.   That was six months ago.  The promised technical details has taken them nearly six months for them to generate so far.

 

That element of the CSO has performed wonderfully for the CDC's purpose.  The CDC was only seeking a delay until October when it came up with the idea of the CSO but they have milked it to March. 

 

Now realizing excuses have run their course they are invoking multiple other agencies that can't all be named.

 

Perhaps any day now we'll learn who these other agencies are.  Any. Day. Now.

[Biker19]

16 minutes ago, twangster said:

Perhaps any day now we'll learn who these other agencies are. 

To be fair, the CDC director did mention that DOT was one of them. Perhaps @chengkp75 can provide some insight how DOT and other agencies have a say in cruising to resume.