Norwegian Return To Sail Schedule

[ScratchTheRat]

Saw this posted online - (Credit to Lower Latitudes Travel) and figured it was a great visual schedule for people to look at.

[Coastalbreezes]

The big question is if NCL can get crew? I read somewhere that they need to re-hire/hire approximately 17,000 crew members and as of now they still can't get crew from India. Vaccinations are scarce in many other countries also so I hope these sailings actually go.

[Karaboudjan]

They have been working on this for a while now so I hope they have a realistic assessment of the situation and that this schedule reflects that.  I don't see how it is good for anyone to keep offering cruises and then cancelling them.

[SpainAlien]

Civitavecchia announced that they will provide vaccines for crew members if any ships that are there at the moment so that might help a bit

 

[Sand and Seas]

OP, thanks for posting!   

We all know plans can change, but it helps to see the 'current' plan all in one place😎

[Shellbelle28]

I just booked on that first sailing of the Bliss. My travel agent cried (part jealousy, part happiness for the business). I haven't been paying a lot of attention to the cruising news, are they going limited capacity with these early sailings, or full numbers of passengers?

[ScratchTheRat]

1 minute ago, Shellbelle28 said:

I just booked on that first sailing of the Bliss. My travel agent cried (part jealousy, part happiness for the business). I haven't been paying a lot of attention to the cruising news, are they going limited capacity with these early sailings, or full numbers of passengers?

The last official announcement is 60% to capacity to begin with then increasing by 20% every 30 days

[Karaboudjan]

3 minutes ago, ScratchTheRat said:

The last official announcement is 60% to capacity to begin with then increasing by 20% every 30 days

And I believe someone noted on another topic that those percentages were for each ship, not just from the date the first cruise starts, correct?  

[ScratchTheRat]

1 minute ago, Karaboudjan said:

And I believe someone noted on another topic that those percentages were for each ship, not just from the date the first cruise starts, correct?  

Yes, correct.

[roger001]

This whole thing is still getting more depressing.  I'm not sure that any of these cruises will go on schedule.  Lockdown is happening again in so many countries, and even the US with so many states anti vax, the forecast today was for serious issues again in the fall.   The cruise lines have to plan for the future but then there becomes such uncertainty.  I was about to book yesterday for a fall cruise.  But once again, think I'll wait to see how it is all going to happen.  The cruise lines can only survive this schedule/cancel routine for so long.  A disappointing opinion.  

[ClevelandCruisin]

Thanks just posted this to my Instagram recently. Hopefully most ships will return to service around these dates.

 

Still not sure which islands are ready to accept cruise ships yet.

[ScratchTheRat]

1 minute ago, roger001 said:

This whole thing is still getting more depressing.  I'm not sure that any of these cruises will go on schedule.  Lockdown is happening again in so many countries, and even the US with so many states anti vax, the forecast today was for serious issues again in the fall.   The cruise lines have to plan for the future but then there becomes such uncertainty.  I was about to book yesterday for a fall cruise.  But once again, think I'll wait to see how it is all going to happen.  The cruise lines can only survive this schedule/cancel routine for so long.  A disappointing opinion.  

More and more lines are opening and more and more countries are opening.

 

Here in the UK, (England first) we're lifting ALL legal restrictions from COVID in 10 days, that's masks, social distancing, capacity limits etc. 

[roger001]

32 minutes ago, ScratchTheRat said:

More and more lines are opening and more and more countries are opening.

 

Here in the UK, (England first) we're lifting ALL legal restrictions from COVID in 10 days, that's masks, social distancing, capacity limits etc. 

Hope it continues in that direction.  

[ScratchTheRat]

1 minute ago, roger001 said:

Hope it continues in that direction.  

I think governments are starting to realise that instead of caring about number of cases, we need to focus on how many of them are SERIOUS. 

[BirdTravels]

11 hours ago, Coastalbreezes said:

The big question is if NCL can get crew? I read somewhere that they need to re-hire/hire approximately 17,000 crew members and as of now they still can't get crew from India. Vaccinations are scarce in many other countries also so I hope these sailings actually go.

Most cruise lines are vaccinating the crew themselves. Vaccines are not available in many places. Royal has been cycling their ships through FFL and Port Canaveral, getting new crew members vaccinated. There have been reports (that I have not been able to validate) that NCL has been getting their crew vaccinated in San Juan. 

 

When we sailed from Nassau a few weeks ago, the vaccination rate in the Bahamas was around 8%-9%,,, but Royal was able to get 100% of their employees on CocoCay vaccinated. 

Edited July 9, 2021 by BirdTravels

[BermudaBound2014]

38 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

There have been reports (that I have not been able to validate) that NCL has been getting their crew vaccinated in San Juan. 

 

Here is one news source. I believe there are several.

 NCL crew on Norwegian Joy and Gem to be vaccinated in Puerto Rico | Crew Center (crew-center.com)

 

Looks like both the Joy and Gem are currently docked in San Juan...

Edited July 9, 2021 by BermudaBound2014

[Coastalbreezes]

12 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

Most cruise lines are vaccinating the crew themselves. Vaccines are not available in many places. Royal has been cycling their ships through FFL and Port Canaveral, getting new crew members vaccinated. There have been reports (that I have not been able to validate) that NCL has been getting their crew vaccinated in San Juan. 

 

When we sailed from Nassau a few weeks ago, the vaccination rate in the Bahamas was around 8%-9%,,, but Royal was able to get 100% of their employees on CocoCay vaccinated. 

Gem crew members are getting vaccinated in San Juan as did Encore crew. Unsure about others.  My crew friends in Mumbai, India can't even get their work visas/paperwork approved because the hiring office is open only sporadically and they have yet to hear from NCL. I don't understand why other cruise lines have been able to bring in crew from India and yet NCL has only brought in a few.

[podgeandrodge]

Has anyone heard where NCL are vaccinating their crews that are in Europe (or are they getting vaccinated in San Juan etc. and travelling to Europe for Epic, Jade etc.)?

[SpainAlien]

31 minutes ago, podgeandrodge said:

Has anyone heard where NCL are vaccinating their crews that are in Europe (or are they getting vaccinated in San Juan etc. and travelling to Europe for Epic, Jade etc.)?

Civitavecchia are vaccinating crew

 

[drvmywifecrzy]

are we green lighted?

 

[GonzoWCS]

Thanks for this posting and the subsequent discussion!

 

Cheers

[BarnCat1]

The final payment is due very soon, worst case scenario is that the cruise doesn't happen. 

Once it's paid in full do I get refunded or a FCC?  

[casofilia]

I was interested to see the Spirit is due to start cruising February 9th 2022 starting in Sydney.   Oh Yes!!!   I think it would be very long odds of that happening.

Is it going to run empty from Europe or America not berthing in the "red" Covid countries"?   Notably India.

Australia and New Zealand governments seem to be adamant that the borders will not be open to cruise ships this southern summer. 

[Cb2534]

Lots of pressure on the first sailing in July.  I hope there is someone on this forum booked on that first cruise that is willing to give a fairly detailed and timely review on how things are working.    (We are on the 9/29 Epic sailing out of Rome.)   I'm keeping expectations in check recognizing the new crew, new procedures, and the length of this hiatus.  As long as I have decent food, some "ok" entertainment and our current itinerary stays intact and runs fairly smoothly, I will call the cruise a win.    We did score thermal spa passes at an amazing price.  I'm hoping most of those amenities are open and available.         

[ScratchTheRat]

21 hours ago, Cb2534 said:

Lots of pressure on the first sailing in July.  I hope there is someone on this forum booked on that first cruise that is willing to give a fairly detailed and timely review on how things are working.    (We are on the 9/29 Epic sailing out of Rome.)   I'm keeping expectations in check recognizing the new crew, new procedures, and the length of this hiatus.  As long as I have decent food, some "ok" entertainment and our current itinerary stays intact and runs fairly smoothly, I will call the cruise a win.    We did score thermal spa passes at an amazing price.  I'm hoping most of those amenities are open and available.         

I'll be on the epic 2 weeks before you so you'll be able to get all the gossip from me 😄