Cruise Activity Restarts in San Diego

[igraf]

I see that Carnival Corporation has announced that 50% of their fleet will be restarted by the end of October.  This will include four Holland America ships, and the Alaska season will be over.  This is in contrast with all the push backs with the previously scheduled September departures.

 

https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/25901-carnival-corporation-to-restart-over-50-of-fleet-by-october.html

 

igraf

 

 

[jhsocal]

igraf, thank you for the info and great pictures.Somehow, thought only Carnival owned lines sailed out of San Diego. Has Disney always been there? Enjoyed lunch at Miguel's on our two brief visits this year.   

[CruiserBruce]

5 minutes ago, jhsocal said:

igraf, thank you for the info and great pictures.Somehow, thought only Carnival owned lines sailed out of San Diego. Has Disney always been there? Enjoyed lunch at Miguel's on our two brief visits this year.   

Various cruise lines have sailed out of there in the past. Celebrity just pre-Covid.

[Sea42]

14 hours ago, mcrcruiser said:

 To add to the Mexican Riviera cruises ,we are able to sail in a handicap balcony on Carnival Panorama ,7 night  Mexican  Riviera  on a Carnival Casino rate if $584 flat  for both of us  in October 2021  . Although tempting we pass   one because of the 48 hour covid test window &  there is always the possibility of some one getting off in a Mexican port & bringing back the virus  as Asymtomatic   & infecting others  . Thus ,even though we are vaccinated  ,we are both 82 with underlying medical conditions & it is not worth the risk 

 Looking into the future  from a marketing perspective , the cruise lines really need to take additional steps & precautions  , One they need to test at the embarkation pier to guarantee no one gets on the ship that could get infected between the 48 hours &  boarding  .Then ,they  need to control the tours with ships tours only  to also stop on shore infections from occurring  . This virus  is going to be here for a very long time ,when you consider there are almost 8 billion people in the world & how long it may take to get people vaccinated   for herd immunity  .Then there is the  probability that the virus will mutate into  a new virus that could require  new vaccines not yet   available  .Could be very much like the yearly flu ;but ,more dangerous & require current vaccines   . 

Even with testing at embarkation there is no guarantee someone wouldn't test positive the day after the ship sails. Testing only gives you a snapshot of that time.

Everyone has different comfort levels with risk and have to make their decisions with that in mind. I'm comfortable with the policies that are currently in place.

Side note: I would not book a cruise if I knew ship tours would be required.

[Florida_gal_50]

2 hours ago, Sea42 said:

Even with testing at embarkation there is no guarantee someone wouldn't test positive the day after the ship sails. Testing only gives you a snapshot of that time.

Everyone has different comfort levels with risk and have to make their decisions with that in mind. I'm comfortable with the policies that are currently in place.

Side note: I would not book a cruise if I knew ship tours would be required.

While I take mostly hal tours I wouldn’t be happy if I couldn’t get off the ship and roam around freely.  

[DAllenTCY]

There are several Celebrity Millennium cruises this year and next embarking in San Diego.

 

The Celebrity Edge will make it's first appearance here next May for a voyage to Alaska.

 

 

 

David

 

[Heartgrove]

15 hours ago, Sea42 said:

Even with testing at embarkation there is no guarantee someone wouldn't test positive the day after the ship sails. Testing only gives you a snapshot of that time.

Everyone has different comfort levels with risk and have to make their decisions with that in mind. I'm comfortable with the policies that are currently in place.

Side note: I would not book a cruise if I knew ship tours would be required.

 

We sailed with Viking Ocean in July. All passengers were to be 100% vaccinated. At the time when booking we were told that only Viking excursions would be allowed. We were fine with that as it would allow time to enjoy the ship. They were doing seven day circumnavigations of Iceland with six ports. Only the first week's cruise excursions were in a bubble so we were allowed off on our own. But due to infections on cruises after ours, subsequent cruises did need to stay in the bubble. I think only four or five cruises out of 19 had full access to the ports.

 

Viking Ocean was rather zealous with testing. We were tested immediately upon boarding and first thing every morning except the day we disembarked. The few breakthrough infections were detected at Day 3 or 4. That seemed to coincide with traveling to the cruise for the exposure. Finally I believe the Icelandic Ministry of Health required the bubble excursions for remaining cruises.

 

If passengers comply with the cruise line protocols it should lessen the possibility of infection. Masks were required at all times except while in your stateroom, seated eating or drinking, and in the pool. Daily passenger temperatures were logged, capacity restrictions for public areas, and multiple hand sanitizers throughout the ship. Cruises were at 50-70% capacity except ours seemed to be an experiment at 94% capacity. One hallway's staterooms were reserved for isolation of incoming crew and breakthrough passengers.

 

It did not bother us to be masked the majority of the time, nor would we have minded if we needed to stay in the bubble.

 

[zelker]

11 minutes ago, Heartgrove said:

 

We sailed with Viking Ocean in July. All passengers were to be 100% vaccinated. At the time when booking we were told that only Viking excursions would be allowed. We were fine with that as it would allow time to enjoy the ship. They were doing seven day circumnavigations of Iceland with six ports. Only the first week's cruise excursions were in a bubble so we were allowed off on our own. But due to infections on cruises after ours, subsequent cruises did need to stay in the bubble. I think only four or five cruises out of 19 had full access to the ports.

 

Viking Ocean was rather zealous with testing. We were tested immediately upon boarding and first thing every morning except the day we disembarked. The few breakthrough infections were detected at Day 3 or 4. That seemed to coincide with traveling to the cruise for the exposure. Finally I believe the Icelandic Ministry of Health required the bubble excursions for remaining cruises.

 

If passengers comply with the cruise line protocols it should lessen the possibility of infection. Masks were required at all times except while in your stateroom, seated eating or drinking, and in the pool. Daily passenger temperatures were logged, capacity restrictions for public areas, and multiple hand sanitizers throughout the ship. Cruises were at 50-70% capacity except ours seemed to be an experiment at 94% capacity. One hallway's staterooms were reserved for isolation of incoming crew and breakthrough passengers.

 

It did not bother us to be masked the majority of the time, nor would we have minded if we needed to stay in the bubble.

 

We're booked on our first Viking cruise (and first return to cruising since March 2020) in November (17 nights, FLL to LA on Orion).  We booked knowing that it's quite possible we won't be allowed to dock at all of the 6 ports we're scheduled to visit and also that if we are allowed to dock, we'll likely only be allowed on Viking tours which we're fine with for this cruise.  Wondering if Viking provided bottles of hand sanitizer in the stateroom to take off the ship and what about a washable cloth mask like HAL's been doing?  Thanks!

[Heartgrove]

1 hour ago, zelker said:

We're booked on our first Viking cruise (and first return to cruising since March 2020) in November (17 nights, FLL to LA on Orion).  We booked knowing that it's quite possible we won't be allowed to dock at all of the 6 ports we're scheduled to visit and also that if we are allowed to dock, we'll likely only be allowed on Viking tours which we're fine with for this cruise.  Wondering if Viking provided bottles of hand sanitizer in the stateroom to take off the ship and what about a washable cloth mask like HAL's been doing?  Thanks!

 

If Viking Ocean keeps the same protocols as we had in Iceland, you will have hand sanitizer bottles and disposable masks. Our cruise was seven days so had two bottlles of hand sanitizer and two packs-of-ten paper disposable masks provided. I'm sure if we asked more would have been available.

 

Hopefully they have the excursion and restaurant reservation booking situation straightened out for your cruise. Complete chaos on our cruise! Their tiered reservation system was completely disregarded. We never were able to get some of the perks we should have received.

[kazu]

17 hours ago, Sea42 said:

Even with testing at embarkation there is no guarantee someone wouldn't test positive the day after the ship sails. Testing only gives you a snapshot of that time.

Everyone has different comfort levels with risk and have to make their decisions with that in mind. I'm comfortable with the policies that are currently in place.

Side note: I would not book a cruise if I knew ship tours would be required.

 

Well said and I completely agree with you and your side note 😉 

[Calnev1]

On 8/28/2021 at 12:03 PM, LAFFNVEGAS said:

I personally do not know exact reason why the sudden canceling and changes of moving people from Zuiderdam to Koningsdam and canceling the first several Zuiderdam but I have a guess. It has nothing to do with getting crew to the ship, nor does it have anything to do with getting everyone vaccinated. It is  $$$$SALES$$$$. Neither of these ships are selling that great, prices have actually dropped in many categories. 

This is very likely true.  As a datapoint, I received an email from HAL offering a free cruise on numerous upcoming sailings.  But I have only been on two HAL previous cruises, and those were many years ago . . . and I can't even remember being in the HAL casino!!  (No, no other signs of dementia yet . . . .Lol).  I have, though,  gambled on more recent Princess and Carnival cruises, and HAL must have gotten info on that casino activity through Carnival corporate HQ.  But to me this looks almost like desperation on HAL's part.

[12cruise2]

21 hours ago, Sea42 said:

Even with testing at embarkation there is no guarantee someone wouldn't test positive the day after the ship sails. Testing only gives you a snapshot of that time.

Everyone has different comfort levels with risk and have to make their decisions with that in mind. I'm comfortable with the policies that are currently in place.

Side note: I would not book a cruise if I knew ship tours would be required.

Because folks DO get off in ports not on HAL excursions, that's why it is so VERY important for all of us who are cruising to wear masks throughout the ship, especially sitting around in the Mainstage, BB King's, etc. and not pretend we have a drink and are drinking it all the time.  PLEASE, let's protect our crew and our fellow passengers and our privilege to be cruising.  Only if we take a lot of care and think of others, not only ourselves, can we keep cruising going.  We're lucky in the U.S. to have access to vaccines and even boosters; the rest of the world, not so lucky at all.  Protect everyone--please wear your masks as you cruise on the ship.  Especially as the cruises get longer in time; it's even more important for all of us to protect others, ourselves and the privilege to be cruising.

[igraf]

The Koningsdam is docking in San Diego as I type this message, but just for a service visit.  it appears that commercial cruise operations will restart tomorrow (Oct 1st) in San Diego.

 

igraf

 

[igraf]

On 9/24/2021 at 9:58 AM, jhsocal said:

igraf, thank you for the info and great pictures.Somehow, thought only Carnival owned lines sailed out of San Diego. Has Disney always been there? Enjoyed lunch at Miguel's on our two brief visits this year.   

 

Disney operations in San Diego are relatively recent compared to HAL, though I don't recall exact dates. It is nice to have another cruise line making San Diego a home port.

 

igraf

 

 

 

[mor mor]

From Coronado I can see Koningsdam! We sail Oct 31( if we pass our covid test)

 

[igraf]

Today was the big cruise restart day for the port of San Diego.  The Disney Wonder was boarding new passengers and the Grand Princess was here for a port visit on a scheduled cruise.  The surprise was the unusual anchoring of Koningsdam just beyond the two docked ships.  Was HAL saving on fuel or joining the restart festivities?

 

There was a news crew interviewing passengers in the Disney Wonder line.

 

igraf

 

 

 

Edited October 1, 2021 by igraf

[Heartgrove]

The Koningsdam was probably using "Dynamic Positioning" as opposed to anchoring. Marine Traffic shows that it vacated the pier that the Disney Wonder is using. The past track is a zig_zag  in the harbor since leaving the pier.

 

65 days until we board her!

 

 

Edited October 1, 2021 by Heartgrove

[igraf]

I expect the Koningsdam to dock again tomorrow, though the Port of San Diego schedule is very unclear over the next couple of weeks.  HAL is still showing an October 10th departure for the Koningsdam, but this does not show on the current SD port schedule.  The October 17th departure is also unclear on the port schedule.

 

igraf

[Florida_gal_50]

12 minutes ago, igraf said:

I expect the Koningsdam to dock again tomorrow, though the Port of San Diego schedule is very unclear over the next couple of weeks.  HAL is still showing an October 10th departure for the Koningsdam, but this does not show on the current SD port schedule.  The October 17th departure is also unclear on the port schedule.

 

igraf

Ouch.  Hope that isn’t bad news.

[mark71mark]

On 10/1/2021 at 5:48 PM, Florida_gal_50 said:

Ouch.  Hope that isn’t bad news.

You’re telling me!  Wife and I are B2B for the 10/10 and 10/17 sailings.  We are still getting emails as if everything is still moving forward (just notified we were moved up to boarding group B @ 1:20pm after I plugged in some fake early morning arrival flight info — that trick seems to work, I guess).

[Florida_gal_50]

1 minute ago, mark71mark said:

You’re telling me!  Wife and I are B2B for the 10/10 and 10/17 sailings.  We are still getting emails as if everything is still moving forward (just notified we were moved up to boarding group B @ 1:20pm after I plugged in some fake early morning arrival flight info — that trick seems to work, I guess).

Good luck to you.  I hate to jinx you but I think you would have heard by now if it was/will be cancelled.  Have a wonderful time!

[igraf]

The final milestone of the reopening in San Diego is the embarkation of HAL passengers.  This is scheduled to occur on Wednesday, Oct 6th, when the Nieuw Amsterdam reloads with passengers.  This will be followed afterwards by the Koningsdam later this month.

 

Here is the link to the San Diego port schedule, which was last updated Oct 3rd.  The October 10th restart of the Koningsdam remains a mystery.

 

https://pantheonstorage.blob.core.windows.net/maritime/Ship.pdf

 

igraf

 

[lais]

On 9/30/2021 at 10:35 AM, mor mor said:

From Coronado I can see Koningsdam! We sail Oct 31( if we pass our covid test)

 

Where will you get your covid test?  Hal recommends quest but the cost won’t be covered by Kaiser and I cannot get pricing info from Quest.  Thanks

[oaktreerb]

1 hour ago, lais said:

Where will you get your covid test?  Hal recommends quest but the cost won’t be covered by Kaiser and I cannot get pricing info from Quest.  Thanks

Kaiser will test for travel but I’m not comfortable that we will receive the results before we cruise.  We cruise on a Sunday so we would need to be tested on Friday.  

[Moonlight Beach]

1 hour ago, oaktreerb said:

Kaiser will test for travel but I’m not comfortable that we will receive the results before we cruise.  We cruise on a Sunday so we would need to be tested on Friday.

We have tested at Kaiser twice previously for travel. Both times we received our results in less than 48 hours. We've also used UCSD (results in 18 hours) and CVS (results in 15 minutes) for back-up. Now the rapid antigen tests are basically nonexistent in San Diego and surrounding counties. We will use Kaiser again for our cruise in November and look for a facility that does the rapid antigen test.