Jump to content
Cruise Critic Community

July Cancelled, no new start date for Regent

mrlevin

By mrlevin,
in Regent Seven Seas Cruises

 Share

Recommended Posts

mrlevin

mrlevin

Posted
Posted

Press release from NCLH highlighting NCL return to service and note about Regent and Oceania:

 

MIAMI, April 06, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. (the “Company”) (NYSE: NCLH), a leading global cruise company which operates the Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises brands, today announces a two-pronged plan for its long-awaited return to cruising this summer. The Company unveils its phased cruise resumption for voyages embarking outside of the U.S. with sailings originating in Jamaica, Dominican Republic and Greece beginning in July 2021 with Norwegian Joy, Jade and Gem. In parallel, the Company submitted a proposal to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”) on April 5, 2021, outlining its plan to restart cruising from U.S. ports starting July 4 and requesting the CDC lift the Conditional Sail Order. To provide a uniquely safe and healthy vacation experience, all initial voyages will operate with fully vaccinated guests and crew in addition to the Company’s robust, multi-layered SailSAFE™ health and safety program, which includes universal COVID-19 testing prior to embarkation. The Company also announces the formation of the SailSAFE Global Health and Wellness Council (“the Council”), the Company’s expert public health council, chaired by former Commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) Dr. Scott Gottlieb, which will complement the work of the Healthy Sail Panel (“HSP”).

“We are excited to unveil our initial plans for the resumption of cruise voyages embarking outside of the U.S. with sailings to the Caribbean and Europe. In addition, we continue to plan for a resumption of cruising from U.S. ports and await further discussion with the CDC regarding our proposal for a July 4 restart to participate in America’s national opening. As we prepare for our return to cruising, the health and safety of our guests, crew and communities we visit is our first priority, as demonstrated by the establishment of our robust, multi-layered SailSAFE health and safety program and our Company’s SailSAFE Global Health and Wellness Council,” said Frank Del Rio, president and chief executive officer of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. “Safe and highly effective vaccines are a gamechanger and to create the safest environment possible, we will require all guests and crew to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Vaccine requirements will be combined with multiple additional layers of protection against COVID-19 introduction, including universal testing, and we will continue to evaluate and modify protocols over time as the science dictates.”

Del Rio continued, “The return to cruising has been much-anticipated by our loyal guests, valued travel partners, the destinations we visit and our team members across the globe. We look forward to once again delivering best in class vacation experiences and also restarting our cruise ecosystem, bringing much needed economic benefit back to our homeports and the destinations we visit that have been significantly impacted by the halt in cruising.”

Resumption of Voyages Embarking Outside of U.S. 

As part of the phased return to cruising, Norwegian Cruise Line will initially offer seven-day cruises to the Greek Isles on Norwegian Jade from Athens(Piraeus), Greece beginning July 25, 2021, and seven-day Caribbean itineraries originating in Montego Bay, Jamaica beginning on August 7, 2021 on Norwegian Joy and from La Romana, Dominican Republic on Norwegian Gem beginning August 15, 2021. Certain sailings outside of these newly announced voyages have been cancelled. Impacted guests on voyages that will not operate will be notified accordingly. As Norwegian Cruise Linemakes its final preparations to welcome guests on board, guests have the opportunity to follow along with its new docuseries, EMBARK – The Series, premiering April 15 at www.ncl.com/embark and Facebook.

Regent Seven Seas Cruises and Oceania Cruises will announce details on their voyage resumption plans at a future date. All voyages on these brands with embarkation dates through July 31, 2021 have been cancelled. Impacted guests on voyages that will not operate will be notified accordingly.

The Company continues to expect a phased-in approach to reintroducing additional vessels across its three brands while taking into account the public health environment, global travel restrictions and port availability, among other considerations.

SailSAFE Health and Safety Program

The Company is committed to protecting the health and safety of its guests, crew and communities visited and has developed SailSAFE, a robust, multi-layered and science-backed health and safety program in response to COVID-19. The SailSAFE health and safety program will be informed by expert guidance from the HSP and the Council, domestic and international governments and public health agencies. The Company believes that mandatory vaccinations for all guests and crew, combined with universal testing and other preventative measures developed in conjunction with the HSP, will provide a uniquely safe and healthy vacation environment that it believes exceeds all other vacation choices on land and at sea. These measures, including vaccination requirements, will be continuously refined as science, technology and the knowledge of COVID-19 evolves. In addition, guests must comply with all travel requirements of the countries where voyages originate and visit. These requirements may include receiving a negative polymerase chain reaction test (“PCR”) result prior to arriving in the country where the cruise originates, testing upon arrival into the country and the completion of appropriate travel entry forms.

The Company further extended its depth and breadth of experts with the formation of its SailSAFE Global Health and Wellness Council, comprised of six experts at the forefront of their fields and led by Chairman Dr. Scott Gottlieb, former Commissioner of the FDA and Co-Chair of the Healthy Sail Panel. The Council’s work will complement the HSP initiative and will focus on the implementation, compliance with and continuous improvement of health and safety protocols across the Company’s operations. The Council was assembled in mid-2020 and has been advising the Company on the development of its SailSAFE program. Subject matter experts joining Dr. Scott Gottlieb are:

  • Dr. Steven Ostroff, MD, former acting commissioner of the FDA and former Deputy Director of the National Center for Infectious Diseases at the CDC.
  • Dr. Phyllis Kozarsky, MD, Professor Emerita in Medicine and Infectious Diseases at Emory University, Co-Founder of the International Society of Travel Medicine.
  • Caitlin Rivers PhD, Assistant Professor in the Department of Environmental Health and Engineering at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
  • Kate Walsh, PhD, Dean of the School of Hotel Administration at Cornell University.
  • John Mason, CEO and Chairman of The Sabre Companies with extensive experience in developing sanitation and disinfection technology to minimize microbial contamination risk to both human and non-human health.

For more information including full biographies of the SailSAFE Global Health and Wellness Council please visit: SailSAFE Global Health and Wellness Council

For more information on the Company’s SailSAFE health and safety program please visit http://www.nclhltd.com/Health-and-Safety.

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
gb58

gb58

Posted
Posted

Just received an official email from Regent stating our 07/07 Splendor cruise has been cancelled. Refunds will be processed within 60 days blah, blah... That makes it 3 cruises cancelled, including the World Cruise. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Ladys Mom

Ladys Mom

Posted
Posted

What happened to the July 4th start date?  It seems FDR's letter to the CDC was an opening salvo, not a statement of fact.  We still have no idea when Oceania and Regent will start sailing.  I hope that are cruise on the Splendor leaving Athens on Nov. 11 actually sails.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
mrlevin

mrlevin

Posted
  • Author
Posted (edited)

Why does Jason assume we have patience?  As for "continued support," a number of previously loyal Regent guests have booked with Crystal. 😒

 

Dear Valued Regent Guest,

On behalf of the entire team at Regent Seven Seas Cruises®, we hope that you and your families are safe and well. I’m writing to you today with some important and exciting updates, thank you for taking the time to read them.

Yesterday, we announced our new SailSAFE™ Health and Safety Program, a robust and comprehensive health and safety strategy designed to create multiple layers of protection against COVID-19 with new and enhanced protocols such as all guests and crew being fully vaccinated, at least 2 weeks prior to departure. You can read more about SailSAFE here. 

In addition, as you may be aware, over the past few weeks a number of cruise lines have announced their return to sailing plans. Knowing how much we all love cruising, I’m sure you’ll agree that these are very positive steps as we gradually move towards a world in which we can explore once more. 

I am also aware that you will likely have questions and be anxious to hear about Regent’s own return to service, especially as we have made the difficult decision to extend our voyage suspension to include all sailings through July 2021.

At this moment, while we are not yet ready to confirm a return to sail date please be assured that we are actively planning for this, preparing a roadmap that will ensure that we can present you with an unrivaled cruise and destination experience.

To this end, our teams are busy working with our experts including our Company’s SailSAFE™ Global Health and Wellness Council; domestic and international government and public health agencies; and destination partners across the globe, and we anticipate sharing our return to sail plan soon, which will include detailed health and safety protocols, along with our return to sailing dates.

Thank you for your patience and continued support.

 

Edited by mrlevin
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Wendy The Wanderer

Wendy The Wanderer

Posted
Posted
48 minutes ago, Ladys Mom said:

What happened to the July 4th start date?  It seems FDR's letter to the CDC was an opening salvo, not a statement of fact.  We still have no idea when Oceania and Regent will start sailing.  I hope that are cruise on the Splendor leaving Athens on Nov. 11 actually sails.

Well that was NCL generally, not Regent specifically.  At least that's how I read it.  Jason Montague's letter this morning says they've cancelled July and don't have a start date.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
mmcguir

mmcguir

Posted
Posted

Cancelling the previously planned July itineraries gives NCL/Regent some flexibility to add some new itineraries at 60% capacity in July, 80% in August. Mr. Del Rio committed to an initial 60% capacity limitation in the letter to CDC  

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Pcardad

Pcardad

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, Ladys Mom said:

What happened to the July 4th start date?  It seems FDR's letter to the CDC was an opening salvo, not a statement of fact.  We still have no idea when Oceania and Regent will start sailing.  I hope that are cruise on the Splendor leaving Athens on Nov. 11 actually sails.

 

I think you might just luck out...

Link to comment
Share on other sites
SireDoime

SireDoime

Posted
Posted

Whilst my July RSS Mariner cruise to Greece was cancelled, as I expected it would be, I allowed my Regent Consultant, Yamilla, to transfer my booking to the RSS Explorer in August 2022 (Athens to Istanbul). Same Category A, which is larger on this ship. Adding to that, she kept my original 2020 booking price, adding only the Visa for Istanbul (and adjustment to the RegentCare Insurance). All in all my final payment just went up by 110$, which isn't due until April 2022. 

 

So, for now I'm not worried, I am still surprised why people think cruising will resume so soon in the US.

I just hope all these Summer restarts don't cause another COVID-19 wave and the lines have got it together.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing
  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • ANNOUNCEMENT: Set Sail Beyond the Ordinary with Oceania Cruises
      • ANNOUNCEMENT: The Widest View in the Whole Wide World
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Cruise Critic News & Features
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...