Are low capacity rates reaching a concerning level?

[TYMAN]

On the Mariner now. They had 900 on the first four night sailing, 1100 over the weekend and 999 on this current sailing. It’s so quiet in most places. I’m the only one sitting in the pub right now drinking my 5 D+ drinks. Everyone is wearing masks in all the appropriate places. No reservations needed anywhere due to current passenger count.  
it’s a great cruise for us passengers, but I know the staff needs their regular tips. Trust me, I’m doing my best to support.  Ha!

[cnssu123]

55 minutes ago, Sunshine3601 said:

I suspect the Oasis sailings out of Cape Liberty (bayonne) will do well as a lot of people in the northeast are excited to have an Oasis ship sailing from this area as well as excited to get back on a cruise ship that we can drive to port.    

Children in my County and other surrounding counties started school this week and others start next week so expect there to be hardly any children over the age of 5 or 6 onboard.     

3000 passengers does sound like a lot and I wonder if that total included crew as I still see some bookable cabins for sale for the 9.05 sailing. 

3000 is pax only. NYC public school won’t start till 9/13, so won’t be surprise if see more kids than expected.

 

I for one don’t want to fly down to Florida to get on a ship now, but then one of the port is port Canaveral, the irony.

[Vera/Lee]

6 hours ago, DirtyDawg said:

It would be concerning if I was a shareholder or an employee but as only a customer it is not concerning to me at all. 

It was a little sad to me and not as much fun.

[trippintex]

3 hours ago, BecciBoo said:

WE will be doubly covered, we ordered the Abbott tests for back up and will schedule Thursday next when Walgreen's gets the days on the web site.  We'll save the Abbotts for Odyssey if we don't use them for next week's Allure.   It shouldn't be so stressful with so many options.  But I know other areas of the country have different problems.  Nobody seems to be traveling from our neck of the woods so Walgreen's is not a problem...in fact we've already done one dry run, schedule/test/results all in same day and on a Saturday.😁

what type test was it a rapid test

[Sunshine3601]

1 hour ago, cnssu123 said:

3000 is pax only. NYC public school won’t start till 9/13, so won’t be surprise if see more kids than expected.

 

I for one don’t want to fly down to Florida to get on a ship now, but then one of the port is port Canaveral, the irony.

Wow, I didnt realize schools start mid sept. In NYC.

I'm booked for 9.26 so I dont expect many kids on our sailing.

Yes, there are several people on roll calls concerned about stopping in PC.  

We wont dock there till 2 pm which only leaves about 4 hrs or less if they want to go to Disney, not really worth it.

A lot are saying they will stay onboard while docked at PC. 

[Russ Lomas]

9 hours ago, twangster said:

Schools back in Florida.  Numbers are often low this time of year and the new ship premium charges especially on Odyssey's 8 night cruises are making it less attractive.

 

Supposedly over 1,400 on the 6 night next week.  

It does not have anything to do with pricing of the 8-day cruises.  We sailed on her a couple of weeks ago with only 970 passengers on board.  We were transferred over (along with many other passengers) from the Indy when she was moved to Texas.  RCCL opened up our sailing and other summer sailings on the Odyssey (quite expensive as you mentioned and I agree since I paid about 1/5 the price they were asking for our cruise).  RCCL closed off the summer cruises for sale and proclaimed them "sold out" not due to regular capacity, but due to meeting their pre-determined load capacities for safety and to comply with the CDC recommendations.  Our in-laws wanted to go on the cruise with us but they kept checking back on the "sold out" cruise and it was not made available for purchase at any time during the months of July and August.  I am sure others would have booked it as well if it had been up for sale.

 

I also talked to a few senior crew members and they said that the CDC has placed more restrictive limits on passenger numbers permitted on cruises over 8 days in length.  I had not heard this (though it would not surprise me since the CDC originally banned sailings over 7 days in length).  I think that if you continue to monitor the number of passengers on the Odyssey you will notice the pattern of double the number of people on the 6 day sailings as the 8 day sailings.  This has been the pattern thus far.

 

8 hours ago, Biker19 said:

Unlike an airline where if the bookings are low enough they can just cancel the flight (and keep staff home), once a ship is staffed, it probably makes no sense to cancel any sailing due to low bookings close in (past final payment). A bit further out and/or the ship not yet staffed, like with Vision out of Bermuda, then cancellation makes sense.

What you say is true.  Another thing I believe RCCL is doing is proving to the world (and particularly the CDC) that they can run a safe cruising experience and the cruise industry itself does not need to be demonized.  By continually bringing more and more ships back on line and having no COVID outbreaks on their ships that have now been sailing successfully for 3 months in the Caribbean, RCCL is probably hoping both public perception and the CDC realize that cruising is as safe (or safer) than being on land under current protocols.

[DirtyDawg]

1 hour ago, Vera/Lee said:

It was a little sad to me and not as much fun.

Back in the day, you liked being in the mosh pit didn't you. 😉

[BecciBoo]

57 minutes ago, trippintex said:

what type test was it a rapid test

Yes, a NAAT test acceptable to RCCL.  THey said it could take up to 24 hours, but he took it at 3:00 and the results were emailed at 6:oo pm.

Edited September 1, 2021 by BecciBoo

[cnssu123]

55 minutes ago, Sunshine3601 said:

Wow, I didnt realize schools start mid sept. In NYC.

I'm booked for 9.26 so I dont expect many kids on our sailing.

Yes, there are several people on roll calls concerned about stopping in PC.  

We wont dock there till 2 pm which only leaves about 4 hrs or less if they want to go to Disney, not really worth it.

A lot are saying they will stay onboard while docked at PC. 

Same, on our sailing, many express no interest in getting off at PC and Nassau. Would be great if we can do 2- 3 days Coco Cay, even overnight. Of course, Coco Cay were all booked up by other ships. 
 

Some rather just have sea days and Coco Cay, like they did w the test cruise 

[Vera/Lee]

23 minutes ago, DirtyDawg said:

Back in the day, you liked being in the mosh pit didn't you. 😉

No, never! 

[DirtyDawg]

7 minutes ago, Vera/Lee said:

No, never! 

So, you were a sardine in a previous incarnation? 😉

[trippintex]

1 hour ago, BecciBoo said:

Yes, a NAAT test acceptable to RCCL.  THey said it could take up to 24 hours, but he took it at 3:00 and the results were emailed at 6:oo pm.

Bryan Texas is the closes city with several Walgreens I will call and see ?  thanks

[Vera/Lee]

8 minutes ago, DirtyDawg said:

So, you were a sardine in a previous incarnation? 😉

Not that either. I enjoy watching people have fun, just didn't see it. No one was shopping in the beautiful shops. I went in once to buy a few things, but I couldn't touch anything. The salesperson had to hold up everything for me to look at. I was corrected when I touched a Christmas ornament and was told that everything that was touched had to be pulled back and cleaned. We watched a couple of movies outside from the suite area and never saw more than a dozen people below in the pool area. We went to the suite lounge a few times and only saw one or two other families in there. "The Book" was awesome! People were at the shows and in the casino. Other places felt like we were on a private ship. We walked around the beautiful town in Curacao. Many of their stores were closed and not many people were walking around. The one long line we saw was at some kind of Government building. At dinner that evening in the Coastal Kitchen, someone said that Cozumel was like that the week before. We had a Grand Suite and it was the best part of the cruise.

[cnssu123]

3 minutes ago, Vera/Lee said:

Not that either. I enjoy watching people have fun, just didn't see it. No one was shopping in the beautiful shops. I went in once to buy a few things, but I couldn't touch anything. The salesperson had to hold up everything for me to look at. I was corrected when I touched a Christmas ornament and was told that everything that was touched had to be pulled back and cleaned. We watched a couple of movies outside from the suite area and never saw more than a dozen people below in the pool area. We went to the suite lounge a few times and only saw one or two other families in there. "The Book" was awesome! People were at the shows and in the casino. Other places felt like we were on a private ship. We walked around the beautiful town in Curacao. Many of their stores were closed and not many people were walking around. The one long line we saw was at some kind of Government building. At dinner that evening in the Coastal Kitchen, someone said that Cozumel was like that the week before. We had a Grand Suite and it was the best part of the cruise.

I understand what you mean. The atmosphere and experience is just not the same. 
 

So if people can’t touch anything, how do they expect people to shop for

jewelries and watches? 
 

do they still have those t shirt, $10 sales and all that? 

[Vera/Lee]

1 minute ago, cnssu123 said:

I understand what you mean. The atmosphere and experience is just not the same. 
 

So if people can’t touch anything, how do they expect people to shop for

jewelries and watches? 
 

do they still have those t shirt, $10 sales and all that? 

I didn't see any for $10, but they did have some pretty ones in the one shop we went in.

[cnssu123]

9 minutes ago, Vera/Lee said:

I didn't see any for $10, but they did have some pretty ones in the one shop we went in.

What I meant was those random sales events they normally have at the promenade. 

[Vera/Lee]

4 minutes ago, cnssu123 said:

What I meant was those random sales events they normally have at the promenade. 

I only saw them out once and that was when I was corrected for touching the Christmas ornament. It was a small area, no shirts for sale. Only a few things and the salesperson would hold up anything that you wanted to see closer.

[Bleueyes44]

I just got off the Ovation Alaska cruise Friday and it wasn't too bad.  I enjoyed not being a sardine in the elevators.   They had no problem having watch sales and yes we did do some browsing and were allowed to touch.   There was also a super discounted purse sales and of cause lots of people were there I managed to get 3 purses great deals. And yes they did have t-shirt sale but it wasn't  as big as usual.  I guess they had a sale for Alaska stuff up by the pool but I  didn't  go.

 

The official count on the cruise from an officer was 1682 . As someone else mentioned  we wore masks everywhere inside  till we sat down at dinner , in Royal  theater, and in 270 for the show or eating. In the casino once you sat down and played mask could come off.

I must say the best part was on the last day using a almost empty elevator with luggage , pure bliss.

[corthaus]

3 hours ago, cnssu123 said:

Same, on our sailing, many express no interest in getting off at PC and Nassau. Would be great if we can do 2- 3 days Coco Cay, even overnight. Of course, Coco Cay were all booked up by other ships. 
 

Some rather just have sea days and Coco Cay, like they did w the test cruise 

Also same, I did a three night sailing from Port Canaveral to CocoCay and Nassau already in 2019 and it was OK then, but not very attractive today during delta. For the 9/26 Oasis sailing, we're planning on only doing CocoCay and staying onboard for the other ports. I would love if the itinerary did two days at CocoCay in place of Port Canaveral or Nassau.

 

I'm unsurprised to hear that the 9/5 sailing might hit 50% (the prices for it match this too: an Ocean Balcony stateroom is almost $1,000 more for 9/5 versus 9/26) capacity but hoping that the later September dates aren't nearly as busy; I'd love an exceptionally empty ship, personally, but I'm looking for some R&R and less socializing.

[SheSailsFL]

I have a b2b on Mariner in January and another in April.  Hoping there is at least some capacity control still happening by then.  It sounds wonderful to feel like you have the ship to yourself! 

[Vera/Lee]

9 hours ago, Vera/Lee said:

Not that either. I enjoy watching people have fun, just didn't see it. No one was shopping in the beautiful shops. I went in once to buy a few things, but I couldn't touch anything. The salesperson had to hold up everything for me to look at. I was corrected when I touched a Christmas ornament and was told that everything that was touched had to be pulled back and cleaned. We watched a couple of movies outside from the suite area and never saw more than a dozen people below in the pool area. We went to the suite lounge a few times and only saw one or two other families in there. "The Book" was awesome! People were at the shows and in the casino. Other places felt like we were on a private ship. We walked around the beautiful town in Curacao. Many of their stores were closed and not many people were walking around. The one long line we saw was at some kind of Government building. At dinner that evening in the Coastal Kitchen, someone said that Cozumel was like that the week before. We had a Grand Suite and it was the best part of the cruise.

The touchless elevators were nice!

 

[xpcdoojk]

22 hours ago, Biker19 said:

It's so nice that folks care about the financial well being of a large corporation.\sarcasm

I would hate to lose the cruise industry.   I enjoy the product, find it to be a good value.  I don’t want to have to cruise NCL or Carnival.  

 

Why is that hard to understand.  It is not like Covid was caused by the cruise industry, and they are in fact being economically handicapped by the government.  

 

Seems like fairness is lacking.  

[Biker19]

2 minutes ago, xpcdoojk said:

I would hate to lose the cruise industry.

Nothing will be lost, but around here, the financial bashing of RCI seems to be the norm.

Edited September 1, 2021 by Biker19

[xpcdoojk]

12 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

Nothing will be lost, but around here, the financial bashing of RCI seems to be the norm.

Not by intelligent people😇

[corthaus]

21 minutes ago, xpcdoojk said:

Why is that hard to understand.  It is not like Covid was caused by the cruise industry, and they are in fact being economically handicapped by the government.  

 

How is RCI being economically handicapped by the government? Cruise companies actively avoid flying under the US flag so they can avoid US regulations and taxes, it isn't the American government's responsibility to ensure the industry's financial wellbeing. I don't want to see the complete collapse of cruise industry, but they made their bed and they should lie in it.

 

However, I also think people proclaiming the death of the cruise industry are out of touch. Even with delta spreading, cruises are quickly adapting and evolving to handle the situation. Although cruising hasn't rebounded as quickly as many hoped, there are a hell of a lot more sailings now than there were at the beginning of summer. Slow growth is still growth, I really think the worst is behind us.