PCL ships Covid cases so far & pax capacity during cruises

[GonzoWCS]

1 hour ago, srpilo said:

 

True ...  IMO the problem though is not just onboard, and partial capacity, if there's any real problem, it is that you have port stops and shore excursions where practically the entire ship mixes with a new untested local population with unknown vaccination rates, or worse, already infected individuals, and as the saying goes.. "It only takes one"

 

But, I guess the statistic don't lie, and cruising seems to have the formula to make it work.

 

 

 

 

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They appear to be working hard to keep things moving forward...

[nocl]

2 hours ago, srpilo said:

 

True ...  IMO the problem though is not just onboard, and partial capacity, if there's any real problem, it is that you have port stops and shore excursions where practically the entire ship mixes with a new untested local population with unknown vaccination rates, or worse, already infected individuals, and as the saying goes.. "It only takes one"

 

But, I guess the statistic don't lie, and cruising seems to have the formula to make it work.

 

 

 

 

.

 

 

Keep in mind that an area that is considered to be high risk, still only has a small percentage of the population infected at any one time.  Take for example Antigua and Barbuda, which had a peak 7 day moving average case rate of 83.  So at worst there might have been 830 people infected at any one time.  That translate to 8 out of 1000 in the population.  So the odds are that most people visiting would not come in contact with anyone infected.  

[Syracusefan44]

There is no way that Princess will survive operating ships with capacity less than 1000 passengers like they did last week in Cabo. 

[srpilo]

1 minute ago, Syracusefan44 said:

There is no way that Princess will survive operating ships with capacity less than 1000 passengers like they did last week in Cabo. 

 

This week it's only 546 onboard 😱

[nocl]

1 hour ago, Syracusefan44 said:

There is no way that Princess will survive operating ships with capacity less than 1000 passengers like they did last week in Cabo. 

Keep in mind that Mexican cruises were not exactly high profit cruises even before COVID (often low passenger numbers compared to other cruises.  Combine that with COVID in Mexico it is easy to see why sails are a bit slow.  More telling would be the Sea of Cortez cruise is November since that is somewhat unique and is usually in demand.

 

Remember back a few years ago when Princess was giving the cost of short Mexican cruises, back to passengers in the form of an FCC in order to try and build up demand for those cruises from San Pedro.

[ebeluga]

1 hour ago, Syracusefan44 said:

There is no way that Princess will survive operating ships with capacity less than 1000 passengers like they did last week in Cabo. 

On top of that, a good percentage of passengers probably are using FCC to pay for the cruise.

[brisalta]

1 hour ago, nocl said:

Keep in mind that Mexican cruises were not exactly high profit cruises even before COVID (often low passenger numbers compared to other cruises.  Combine that with COVID in Mexico it is easy to see why sails are a bit slow.  More telling would be the Sea of Cortez cruise is November since that is somewhat unique and is usually in demand.

 

 

On the other hand the Grand Princess used to run at capacity when home ported in San Francisco.

[nocl]

24 minutes ago, brisalta said:

 

On the other hand the Grand Princess used to run at capacity when home ported in San Francisco.

on which cruises - Hawaii yes.  Do not know about Mexican cruises, but it might be more attractive FO Nothern CA folks than Southern

[brisalta]

5 hours ago, nocl said:

on which cruises - Hawaii yes.  Do not know about Mexican cruises, but it might be more attractive FO Nothern CA folks than Southern

 

Cruises to Mexico out of San Francisco on the Grand Princess were at full capacity before the pandemic.

Edited October 13, 2021 by brisalta

[Daniel A]

19 hours ago, brisalta said:

Cruises to Mexico out of San Francisco on the Grand Princess were at full capacity before the pandemic.

I thought I read somewhere that the CDC was limiting passenger capacities to 60%.  I'm not sure about that, maybe someone else could confirm or refute that info.

[Daniel A]

12 hours ago, Daniel A said:

I thought I read somewhere that the CDC was limiting passenger capacities to 60%.  I'm not sure about that, maybe someone else could confirm or refute that info.

Just to clarify my prior post, I understood that @brisalta was referencing capacities before the pandemic and I was referencing the current situation.  I'm just asking whether or not the 60% cap is the case now.

[Cruise Raider]

5 hours ago, Daniel A said:

Just to clarify my prior post, I understood that @brisalta was referencing capacities before the pandemic and I was referencing the current situation.  I'm just asking whether or not the 60% cap is the case now.

 

I don't think there is actually a set limit once the ship has a few cruises under their belt.  I think the capacity is limited only by the number of bookings they get.  From what we've heard, they roll out each ship with a capacity of 60% (again, depending on bookings).  The crew is starting anew and they don't want to bombard them all at once.  For the next cruise(s) on each ship, they limited it to 75% and then to 90% and then after that, to however many bookings they can get, keeping in mind that the full capacity limits no longer include the rooms that are set aside for isolation/quarantine.  

They seem to have a formula worked out for their breakeven point and would rather have fewer passengers paying a fare where they can realize a profit than a lot of passengers paying greatly reduced fares.  

I've read that the Majestic had to halt bookings for the first sailing out in July.  But soon afterwards,  their bookings were at 90%.  The Grand, whether it be that the itinerary is just not as desirable or people want to cruise on newer ships, has declined in occupancy since their first sailing out last month.  It's taking everyone a bit of time to feel comfortable to jump back onboard.  But, we've been on 3 cruises since the restart and their safety and health protocols seem to be pretty solid.  

 

[brisalta]

16 minutes ago, Cruise Raider said:

 

I don't think there is actually a set limit once the ship has a few cruises under their belt.  I think the capacity is limited only by the number of bookings they get.  From what we've heard, they roll out each ship with a capacity of 60% (again, depending on bookings).  The crew is starting anew and they don't want to bombard them all at once.  For the next cruise(s) on each ship, they limited it to 75% and then to 90% and then after that, to however many bookings they can get, keeping in mind that the full capacity limits no longer include the rooms that are set aside for isolation/quarantine.  

They seem to have a formula worked out for their breakeven point and would rather have fewer passengers paying a fare where they can realize a profit than a lot of passengers paying greatly reduced fares.  

I've read that the Majestic had to halt bookings for the first sailing out in July.  But soon afterwards,  their bookings were at 90%.  The Grand, whether it be that the itinerary is just not as desirable or people want to cruise on newer ships, has declined in occupancy since their first sailing out last month.  It's taking everyone a bit of time to feel comfortable to jump back onboard.  But, we've been on 3 cruises since the restart and their safety and health protocols seem to be pretty solid.  

 

 

 

Regarding feeling comfortable booking a crusie I think there are 2 issues at play here.

One is people are not sure of the pandemic health status of communities in Mexico.

Second is that many people are still nervous about cruising in general at the moment.

 

For example I wanted to go on a cruise to Mexico on the Ruby in late December but my partner felt that due to the pandemic situation it was much too soon to do so. On the other hand it was agreed that we could book a cruise on the Ruby to Alaska for next year as the pandemic situation should be improved by then. I know that is one anecdote but I have heard similar sentiments from various people.

Edited October 14, 2021 by brisalta

[Cruise Raider]

1 minute ago, brisalta said:

 

 

I think there are 2 issues at play here.

One is people are not sure of the pandemic health status of communities in Mexico.

Second is that many people are still nervous about cruising in general at the moment.

 

For example I wanted to go on a cruise to Mexico on the Ruby in late December but my partner felt that due to the pandemic situation it was much too soon to do so. On the other hand it was agreed that we could book a cruise on the Ruby to Alaska for next year as the pandemic situation should be improved by then. I know that is one anecdote but I have heard similar sentiments from various people.

 

That makes perfect sense!!  We've done both since the restart ... on the Majestic and then a B2B on the Grand.  I felt safer on the ship than in the airport or on the plane.  At least I knew everybody was tested on the ship (and yes, I have no delusions that testing will catch every case).  I know they do not the same requirements for boarding a plane.  I've seen enough comments from people that they would simply hide their positive test results in order to fly back home.  Ouch!!  Way to look out for your fellow traveler.  NOT!!