CDC will Destroy Cruising in the US

[TrulyBlonde]

20 minutes ago, Bellaggio Cruisers said:

I checked with Crystal. All crew will be vaccinated.
We would hope Regent will take a page from Crystal. Otherwise we will book on Crystal. 
Several months ago, we had a Crystal cruise booked and we cancelled. Our deposit monies were refunded within 90 days. I have no problem booking with Crystal again.
We are just waiting another few weeks to see if Regent begins to offer a Caribbean cruise soon. We will quickly jump aboard either one!

sheila

This is from a USA Today article: (Unless something changed in the last few days, I do not believe all of the crew will be vaccinated)

Crystal will also be mandating vaccinations for crew members but acknowledges this may not be possible due to their age and country of residence. Younger citizens are often at the back of the line in most countries' rollout plans. Until then, Crystal plans a strict testing regimen for all crew members.

"Crew members will be tested for COVID-19 prior to leaving their home location to join the ship and must receive a negative result. They also will take a COVID-19 test at embarkation; quarantine for seven days upon arrival; be tested again at the end of that seven-day period and must receive a negative result before beginning their duties," Anderson said. "When vaccines are widely available, they will be a requirement of employment for crew which must be completed at least 14 days prior to service."

[Dolebludger]

Without a guarantee that all crew will be vaccinated (as well as guests) it is a no go. Also, I read in financial news that Genting, Crystal’s parent company in Hong Kong, is totally broke and in default on all its bond and loan obligations. It is in worse shape than NCLH, and NCLH’s long term finances are in bad shape — to put it mildly.

[Dolebludger]

On 3/25/2021 at 11:28 AM, Bellaggio Cruisers said:

Just read an article regarding the US Senate hearing with the CDC, regarding its blind opposition to cruising in the US. It is disgusting that the CDC will not reconsider their October 2020 decision shut down, which was ordered before the vaccine was approved.
They refuse to accept that the covid vaccine is a game changer.

They refuse to hear the Senators, claiming that the decisions are coming from DOT.

They refuse to reconsider, which is based on antiquated information. 

They refuse to understand that they are punishing the American cruisers, as well as the cruise lines. 
What can we, the public do to change this course of inaction by the CDC. 
My husband and I love to cruise. We are in our 80’s. It’s so easy for us to be able to sail out of Miami. No flying necessary.

But, I guess if we have to, we will fly to board a ship outside of the US. 

CDC... wakeup and start serving the public you are supposed to be protecting!

sheila

And the sad thing is that you would be safer on a cruise ship than on a commercial airliner. The CDC has been overly lenient on rules for airliners and airports. For these there is no mandate for distancing and reduced capacity as there has been for cruise ships, restaurants, stores, and even churches. I suspect the airline lobby paid somebody off!

[TrulyBlonde]

55 minutes ago, Dolebludger said:

Without a guarantee that all crew will be vaccinated (as well as guests) it is a no go. Also, I read in financial news that Genting, Crystal’s parent company in Hong Kong, is totally broke and in default on all its bond and loan obligations. It is in worse shape than NCLH, and NCLH’s long term finances are in bad shape — to put it mildly.

Yes, all you have to do is Google (Crystal and vaccinations) and there are numerous articles regarding what Crystal put out. Plain and clear to me that they cannot guarantee all crew will be vaccinated. 

[CruiserFromMaine]

Sheila—I saw CLIA link elsewhere and both my wife and I sent in comments. I hope everyone here does too!

 

We aren’t booking with Crystal right now but our last cruise was with them and we loved it; January 2020 through the Panama Canal. Given Crystal’s financial unknowns, we’ll wait. We have a January 2022 cruise on Regent Splendor sailing from Miami. Hopefully, this will go, it‘ll be our first on Regent! We had one cancelled last April on the Splendor. We also have a Silversea cruise in December from Fort Lauderdale. I hope that goes too. That’s why I used the CLIA website to register my thoughts—let’s get going!

[Dolebludger]

On 3/28/2021 at 7:01 AM, TrulyBlonde said:

Also, Crystal does not guarantee that all of their crew will be vaccinated. Passengers must be, but not all of the crew 😞

I went to the Q&A link, and you are correct.Crystal does not guarantee a vaccinated crew. I noticed something else disturbing. In addition to proof of vaccination, Crystal is also requiring a negative test no more than three days old. If ALL on board were vaccinated, this would be overkill! Vaccinated people pose a risk only to unvaccinated people, so if the crew were vaccinated like the guests, there would be no reason for the test. Tests can be hard to come by if one does a pre-cruise in an unfamiliar city.

[Kwaj girl]

28 minutes ago, Dolebludger said:

I went to the Q&A link, and you are correct.Crystal does not guarantee a vaccinated crew. I noticed something else disturbing. In addition to proof of vaccination, Crystal is also requiring a negative test no more than three days old. If ALL on board were vaccinated, this would be overkill! Vaccinated people pose a risk only to unvaccinated people, so if the crew were vaccinated like the guests, there would be no reason for the test. Tests can be hard to come by if one does a pre-cruise in an unfamiliar city.

 

This is what I saw on Crystal's website with regards to pre-arrival testing:

 

New for 4.1: Timing of COVID-19 test, required prior to departure of cruise, will be determined by the requirements of the destination of embarkation. Guests should visit the destination's website for further details on their health and safety protocols and requirements.

 

example for Bahamas entry for this year's voyages on Serenity:

 

Everyone travelling to The Bahamas must obtain a negative COVID-19 RT-PCR (swab) test taken no more than 5 days prior to the date of arrival. The day the test is taken is considered day zero. Test must return a negative result for entry into The Bahamas.

[docmark]

Am I the ONLY one thinking that what CRYSTAL requires/offers has no bearing on what Regent will, when Regent starts cruises ?. And all above discussions belong on Crystal board, and not HERE?

[Pcardad]

Since the CDC has absolutely nothing to say about any of these trips, each cruise line will decide for themselves...presumably based on the requirements of any countries they visit. I agree with you, what any other cruise line has no bearing on Regent/NCL. I still think Regent starts with Splendor no earlier than 8/1.

[mrlevin]

6 minutes ago, docmark said:

Am I the ONLY one thinking that what CRYSTAL requires/offers has no bearing on what Regent will, when Regent starts cruises ?. And all above discussions belong on Crystal board, and not HERE?

When are you assuming Regent starts cruising?  If July 2021 then similar to Crystal and Celebrity and RCI;  if January 2022 then whatever are the proper protocols at that time.  If 2023 "hasta la vista."

 

Since NCLH bought off L Catterton giving them a 66% return for less than a year; I can't see who on the current Board is strong enough to jettison the current NCLH management.  

Edited March 29, 2021 by mrlevin

[TrulyBlonde]

11 minutes ago, docmark said:

Am I the ONLY one thinking that what CRYSTAL requires/offers has no bearing on what Regent will, when Regent starts cruises ?. And all above discussions belong on Crystal board, and not HERE?

It was mentioned in an earlier post that many Regent cruisers were heading over to Crystal to take advantage of their Summer cruises in The Bahamas. This is why it was started. Crystal probably needs the new cruises and cash to pay off the refunds that people like @RachelGis still waiting for.

[SusieQft]

All the cruise lines need new cruises and cash to pay off their shutdown expenses, whether or not that includes pending passenger refunds.  I'm sure that includes Regent as well.

[docmark]

23 minutes ago, mrlevin said:

When are you assuming Regent starts cruising?  If July 2021 then similar to Crystal and Celebrity and RCI;  if January 2022 then whatever are the proper protocols at that time.  If 2023 "hasta la vista."

 

Since NCLH bought off L Catterton giving them a 66% return for less than a year; I can't see who on the current Board is strong enough to jettison the current NCLH management.  

I  cannot assume any start  date for Regent, however, HOPE it is not later than early Fall, so our  first cruise of THIS YEAR on Splendor November 2 will be a reality. We have flight reservation and ready to go !!

Still, don't see the logic of Bahamas cruises by Crystal , and its vaccine and other regulations , having ANY bearing on Regent cruises in EUROPE or ASIA

[SWFLAOK]

4 hours ago, docmark said:

I  cannot assume any start  date for Regent, however, HOPE it is not later than early Fall, so our  first cruise of THIS YEAR on Splendor November 2 will be a reality. We have flight reservation and ready to go !!

Still, don't see the logic of Bahamas cruises by Crystal , and its vaccine and other regulations , having ANY bearing on Regent cruises in EUROPE or ASIA

We already had our pre, and post, and out excursions booked for Splendor in September. We had some really good flights booked as well. We postponed to next year because so our cruise started in the UK, and it's still totally shut down.

But I also don't know why we're discussing Crystal from the Bahamas to the Bahamas on the Regent forum.

Will the CDC destroy cruising from the US? Of course they will. That's why Florida's Governor is asking that US ports be reopened.

People can cruise from the Bahamas, Bermuda, Barabados, etc, and the CDC has no control over it. That's why cruise lines are moving their ports out of the US. And people can fly to those ports to embark/disembark, and fly back through Florida to the rest of the US.

[2012_Alaska_bound]

19 hours ago, Pcardad said:

Since the CDC has absolutely nothing to say about any of these trips, each cruise line will decide for themselves...presumably based on the requirements of any countries they visit. I agree with you, what any other cruise line has no bearing on Regent/NCL. I still think Regent starts with Splendor no earlier than 8/1.

 

Well, I am certainly liking that prediction! Maybe my Baltic Splendor cruise Copenhagen to Amsterdam will be the first one on August 20!

[BBWC]

Looks like there may be some movement.

https://www.miamidade.gov/releases/2021-04-01-mayor-statement-cruising.asp

[Bellaggio Cruisers]

3 hours ago, BBWC said:

Looks like there may be some movement.

https://www.miamidade.gov/releases/2021-04-01-mayor-statement-cruising.asp

Hope there is movement! The Miami Mayor is a Democrat. Maybe the party affiliation will have a good affect. If the Republican Governor has threatened a law suit, perhaps the Democrat can come out looking stronger.
I really don’t care. Both are fighting for my right to cruise out of Florida again!

[CruiserFromMaine]

The US CDC said today that  if you’re fully vaccinated you should be able to travel, except no mention of cruising. I have no idea what the hold up is, to at least give some criteria to the cruise lines to work towards. 

[PhD-iva]

The CDC just posted an update to its Conditional Sail Order.

Perhaps there is some movement!

https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2021/s0402-conditional-sail-orders.html

Edited April 2, 2021 by PhD-iva

[labonnevie]

How does one volunteer for the "trial" cruises? I am ready, able and vaccinated! 🙂

[flossie009]

16 hours ago, PhD-iva said:

The CDC just posted an update to its Conditional Sail Order.

 

Nearly 6 months to get to the technical instructions for the second phase, and no forecast for the date that CDC will release instructions for "trial cruises".

"CDC is committed to working with the cruise industry and seaport partners to resume cruising when it is safe to do so"

The process to cruise resumption from U.S ports seems very laboured, pedestrian and potentially very difficult & costly for the cruise lines. It will be interesting to see the NCLH/Regent response to the latest CDC update.

 

CC has an article on the CDC update: https://www.cruisecritic.com/news/6015/

 

[Bellaggio Cruisers]

17 hours ago, PhD-iva said:

The CDC just posted an update to its Conditional Sail Order.

Perhaps there is some movement!

https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2021/s0402-conditional-sail-orders.html

Did you ever watch a turtle crawl?

[wcsdkqh]

Pure BS from the CDC.  They act like getting Covid19 or even coming into contact with someone who test positive is a 100 pct death sentence, and this is without even considering the impact of vaccinations and herd immunity. At this point, with all of the moving goalposts, I have zero confidence in anything these fools have to say.

[giustot]

I think Sheila is correct. The CDC is going to harm cruising if it doesn't speed up the process. Below is the plan the CDC just put out to resume RESTRICTED cruising. In my opinion, it was designed by out of control bureaucrats who are accountable to no one. More than a year into this we are at Phase 1 about to start Phase 2A. How long do you think it's going to take to resume cruising out of the US at this pace?

 

 

[DaveFr]

  posted 28 minutes ago by guistot

“I think Sheila is correct. The CDC is going to harm cruising if it doesn't speed up the process. Below is the plan the CDC just put out to resume RESTRICTED cruising. In my opinion, it was designed by out of control bureaucrats who are accountable to no one. More than a year into this we are at Phase 1 about to start Phase 2A. How long do you think it's going to take to resume cruising out of the US at this pace?”

 

 

MY REPLY

I agree Tom. The CDC has been pressured the last couple of weeks to stop stalling on issuing technical guidelines. I analogize their recent Phase 2A guidelines to a person throwing a bone to a barking dog to keep it quiet. Hopefully this tactic will not work.

 

Dave

Edited April 4, 2021 by DaveFr