Royal issue with restarting from Tampa

[coaster]

I know we have been affected. No Costa Maya or Cozumel. Nassau and CocoCay instead. Tampa Times newspaper has been good about covering the upstart of cruises from Tampa. Looking at roll calls and it seems all sailings on October Serenade have been altered for a mysterious reason. 

Edited September 19, 2021 by coaster

[death_star]

Maybe it's more product differentiation. They have Brillance scheduled there too doing similar Mexico runs. Might have decided there isn't enough market for both ships to be doing similar things on just slightly different days. 

[coaster]

2 minutes ago, death_star said:

Maybe it's more product differentiation. They have Brillance scheduled there too doing similar Mexico runs. Might have decided there isn't enough market for both ships to be doing similar things on just slightly different days. 

Brilliance is not sailing in October from Tampa.

[poocher]

In order to REQUIRE vaccination proof, they pretty much have to stop in either Bahamas or St Thomas.  IMO, that’s why the itineraries changed. Certainly makes sense.

Edited September 19, 2021 by poocher

[Lou33]

I’m curious if there are any cruises which leave from Florida and do not stop in Bahamas or USVI? If so, wouldn’t they be prohibited from asking any passenger about their vax status?

[gmerick]

To me, it looks like the move away from Cozumel / Mahuhual is simply a capacity issue.  Cozumel can handle 4 ships from RCI brands and NCL brands at the International Pier.  Mahuhual can only take 3, and maxes out at 15000 pax/day.  There simply aren't enough ports open in the western Carib to handle all the ships.  Something had to give.

[BirdTravels]

46 minutes ago, gmerick said:

To me, it looks like the move away from Cozumel / Mahuhual is simply a capacity issue.  Cozumel can handle 4 ships from RCI brands and NCL brands at the International Pier.  Mahuhual can only take 3, and maxes out at 15000 pax/day.  There simply aren't enough ports open in the western Carib to handle all the ships.  Something had to give.

NCL uses Puta Longsta downtown, not the international pier. We called in Cozumel on the Adventure. At the time, we were the only ship in Cozumel. 

[Notaworryintheworld]

18 hours ago, gmerick said:

To me, it looks like the move away from Cozumel / Mahuhual is simply a capacity issue.  Cozumel can handle 4 ships from RCI brands and NCL brands at the International Pier.  Mahuhual can only take 3, and maxes out at 15000 pax/day.  There simply aren't enough ports open in the western Carib to handle all the ships.  Something had to give.

I was thinking this too. When I looked, there were quite a few ships scheduled for the 23rd when I was supposed to be there on serenade. Nachi was already full. Was wondering if the port/cruise lines don’t want so many different ships mingling in the port…seems like the more ships, the higher chance of outbreaks. 

[coaster]

19 hours ago, poocher said:

In order to REQUIRE vaccination proof, they pretty much have to stop in either Bahamas or St Thomas.  IMO, that’s why the itineraries changed. Certainly makes sense.

I see lots of future changes to  itineraries for other ships sailing from Florida if this is the reason why ships just can't sail to Mexico.

[gmerick]

Sorry, forcing the governor's hand can't be the reason.  Mexico is adopting the Bahama's rules.  Got to have the jab to enjoy tequila, mezcal, kahlua.

https://www.jornada.com.mx/notas/2021/08/31/estados/propondran-que-turistas-extranjeros-presenten-certificado-covid-19/

Oaxaca . The Union of Secretaries of Tourism of Mexico will present next week to the Mexican Foreign Ministry a proposal for foreign tourists to present their vaccination certificate, as well as antigen tests or PCR to enter the country, reported the state Secretary of Tourism, Juan Carlos Rivera Castellanos, who chairs this group.

[coaster]

Reaching out to Tampa Times now to see if they can follow-up.

[cruisegus]

Galveston cruises go to Mexico ports, but Texas can also ask for your Vaccination Status..... Hint Hint

[brillohead]

I'm going to Costa Maya and Cozumel out of Florida more than once in November/December this year.... I don't understand the claim that Florida cruises aren't allowed to go to Mexico?

[TheBucketLister]

9 minutes ago, brillohead said:

I'm going to Costa Maya and Cozumel out of Florida more than once in November/December this year.... I don't understand the claim that Florida cruises aren't allowed to go to Mexico?

Plus cruises out of Florida that were going to Labadee were changed to Cozumel I believe.

[kruzerci]

41 minutes ago, TheBucketLister said:

Plus cruises out of Florida that were going to Labadee were changed to Cozumel I believe.

Yup. Some of the people posting on here are looking for a story/conspiracy that isn’t there. 

[AustinCruise]

With Jamaica and cayman out, the ships out of Galveston are just doing Costa Maya, Cozumel, and Roatan instead of alternating weeks.

[Lou33]

1 hour ago, brillohead said:

I don't understand the claim that Florida cruises aren't allowed to go to Mexico?

 

Nobody was saying that.  The reasoning is that if a cruise line wants their passengers vaccinated, then they change the itinerary to have at least one stop at a country (like Bahamas) that requires passengers to be vaccinated.  That makes any Florida law irrelevant because obviously, now they would need to know the vaccination status for all passengers.  

Edited September 20, 2021 by Lou33

[brillohead]

On 9/18/2021 at 10:55 PM, Lou33 said:

I’m curious if there are any cruises which leave from Florida and do not stop in Bahamas or USVI? If so, wouldn’t they be prohibited from asking any passenger about their vax status?

 

32 minutes ago, Lou33 said:

 

Nobody was saying that.  The reasoning is that if a cruise line wants their passengers vaccinated, then they change the itinerary to have at least one stop at a country (like Bahamas) that requires passengers to be vaccinated.  That makes any Florida law irrelevant because obviously, now they would need to know the vaccination status for all passengers.  

My 12/5/21 Allure out of Fort Lauderdale is going to Cozumel, Roatan, and Costa Maya -- no Bahamas or USVI.

My 12/12/21 Jewel out of Miami is going to Key West, Grand Cayman (obviously going to be changed), and Cozumel -- no Bahamas or USVI.  

So this whole thread still makes absolutely no sense to me.



 

[Lou33]

23 minutes ago, brillohead said:

So this whole thread still makes absolutely no sense to me.

The OP was asking about cruises in October.   A lot can change between now and December.

 

RCI has recently stated:

 

For cruises departing from any U.S. port and visiting The Bahamas on and after Sept. 3, guests who are 12 and older must provide proof of vaccination in order to sail.

 

Would you agree that if a cruise ship departing from Florida did not visit a country that required proof of vax, then they would not be able to ask a passenger's vax status without breaking Florida law?  

 

Note: I am trying to "not" be political.  I am not making any judgments for or against anything.  I'm just discussing the questions raised in this thread.  

[brillohead]

3 hours ago, Lou33 said:

The OP was asking about cruises in October.   A lot can change between now and December.

 

RCI has recently stated:

 

For cruises departing from any U.S. port and visiting The Bahamas on and after Sept. 3, guests who are 12 and older must provide proof of vaccination in order to sail.

 

Would you agree that if a cruise ship departing from Florida did not visit a country that required proof of vax, then they would not be able to ask a passenger's vax status without breaking Florida law?  

 

Note: I am trying to "not" be political.  I am not making any judgments for or against anything.  I'm just discussing the questions raised in this thread.  

I just don't see the whole "conspiracy theory" angle here, sorry.  

[Dewaldcruiser]

Here is a more likely scenario; Starting October 31 for the next 5 weeks, Royal Caribbean has the Liberty of the Seas leaving from Galveston going to ports that they can no longer go to, Jamaica and Cayman Islands.  There are a limited number of ports that that can economically switch to, Costa Maya, Yucatan & Roatan.

 

I expect that those ports are full, so Royal Caribbean is switching around some Florida cruise stops so the Galveston cruises have ports to go to.

[coaster]

12 hours ago, brillohead said:

I'm going to Costa Maya and Cozumel out of Florida more than once in November/December this year.... I don't understand the claim that Florida cruises aren't allowed to go to Mexico?

You should be saying you hope you go. The change in October may be repeated for November and December sailings.

[RFerrington]

9 hours ago, Lou33 said:

if a cruise ship departing from Florida did not visit a country that required proof of vax, then they would not be able to ask a passenger's vax status without breaking Florida law?   

I have the exact same question.  As far as I know, Royal has decreed that only vaxxed can sail on ANY cruise yet the Mexico itins do not have a prohibited (due to Val requirements) port of call.  How are they prohibiting me (unvaxxed) from sailing on Mexico itins ?

[zekekelso]

Aren’t there other cruise lines sailing out of Florida which require passengers to be vaxxed, and were doing so even before the Bahamas required it?
 

 Suspect the cruise lines believe they have a loophole, or are willing to fight the state in court. 

As far as I know, there’s nothing in the law that differentiates between a cruise sailing to the Bahamas and one that doesn’t. A cruise going to the Bahamas requiring passengers to be vaxxed is just as illegal (or not) as one that doesn’t. Happy to be corrected if wrong here.  

 

Edited September 20, 2021 by zekekelso

[coaster]

Not offering a lift and shift option to November cruises and beyond on Serenade tells me those itineraries will be altered also.

Edited September 20, 2021 by coaster