Keep those Ships Sailing

[bornin49]

How many of you would be ok with just sailing on a cruise to nowhere with a possible private island stop, I for one would welcome it, for many cruisers its about the islands, we all have our own personal preference, with some of the islands shutting their ports to cruise ships any thing is possible.My wife and I will hopefully be on the February 5,2022 sailing of the NCL Escape,this is our third attempt trying to get our 50th wedding anniversary cruise in, try and stay positive (no pun intended) and make the best out of difficult times, happy cruising everyone. 

[1025cruise]

Unfortunately, Cruises to Nowhere from a US port are not permitted. 

[Travelicious]

I would be fine with it, especially when I've been to the planned ports before.  If the ship goes, I will go too.

[ElizaSTN]

Personally, we would be completely fine with this, maybe even welcome it.  (although the private islands are not “private” they’re Bahamian so would need to follow those protocols.)  I think so many people would be angry though…it would be a nightmare for NCL.  Not to mention it would cause lots of logistical issues.

 

But I’d be down with it!

[zubee23]

Fine with me!  Dock the ship at the private island for the length of the cruise.  Still getting wined, dined and entertained.  

I’ll stick a paper straw through my mask so I can drink a Mai Tai!

[Karaboudjan]

Caribbean?  Absolutely.

 

Anywhere else my first option would probably be to cancel if possible and try again another time.

[WYB!]

Depends on the price and the time of the year.

 

Safe travels,

- WYB

[SimplyAlbert]

I'd be fine with it.  DH and I are planning on staying on the ship for our February cruise.  We've been to all the ports multiple times.   The only place we get off at is Harvest Caye.  Our plan is to treat the cruise like an all inclusive floating vacation.

[CarolinaMamma]

2 hours ago, Karaboudjan said:

Caribbean?  Absolutely.

 

Anywhere else my first option would probably be to cancel if possible and try again another time.

Yes, this. The main reasons we go on cruises are that 

 

1.I don’t have to cook or clean

and 

2. There is (almost) no phone or internet, which is the only way my husband can get a true break from work. (I remember one year when he stepped out of church ON CHRISTMAS DAY to take a work call!)

3. Our teenagers are not stuck with us all day and can have a lot of freedom and be on their own schedule while still being safe. 

 

A cruise to nowhere checks all of these boxes. 

 

The Caribbean is all about fun in the sun, not sure coloring new places or learning about history or culture, so I’d be fine staying on the ship or going to a private island. 
 

In Europe U’d be very frustrated not being able to visit the ports. 

[ontheweb]

2 hours ago, 1025cruise said:

Unfortunately, Cruises to Nowhere from a US port are not permitted. 

That is not technically correct. The cruise lines could do them, but the crew would all need a much more expensive work visa. And that is just not happening.

[ramdoggiesmom]

I would be totally fine with it. My husband always says he doesn’t care if we ever go into a port. After 20+ cruises, we’re now all about the ride not the destination.

[jy0ung1]

What if they went to a private island in Belize (NCL)?  Would that work as a foreign port?

[MsTabbyKats]

This is what we had over Thanksgiving (just about).  Two ports were canceled and we spent 2 days in Port Canaveral, a cold and windy Port Canaveral.  Just about nobody got off the ship the entire time.  But, it was maskless....and we enjoyed it.  Good food, good entertainment...and good breathing.

 

If we had to do it masked...No Way Jose.

[Susandt]

Only if it was hot outside, I was in haven or had vibe pass and price reduced.

[PointNemo]

those cruises are not allowed by NVMC/US Coast Guard and the CBP.

[TNcruising02]

When the pandemic started, I thought that I would be happy going on a cruise to nowhere.  Cruising was my favorite way to vacation and the thought of going a year or more without cruising was depressing.  Then as the pandemic raged, masks were mandated, and things were locked down, we looked for other ways to vacation.

We have vacationed in Florida about five times since the pandemic started.  No masks.  We found fun things to do.  Anyway, I would take a Florida vacation now over a cruise requiring masks.  Unfortunately, I booked Norwegian when they advertised no masks and now that's changed.  I wish I could get my money back and go to Florida that week.

A cruise to nowhere without masks would be a different story.  I could do that.  I would also be happy to just stop at their private island.  That would be better than an excursion requiring masks.

[chengkp75]

12 hours ago, PointNemo said:

those cruises are not allowed by NVMC/US Coast Guard and the CBP.

Uh, no.  As noted by "ontheweb" above, the PVSA (administered by CBP), specifically allows "cruises to nowhere".  The CBP has ruled that the foreign crew working on a "cruise to nowhere" would require US work visas, not crew visas, and part of the work visa regulations set by the State Department is that foreign workers on work visas be paid US wages.  Because of this, cruise lines stopped offering "cruises to nowhere", since it would cost them more than the cruise revenue just to meet the visa requirements.  Both CBP and State are perfectly willing to allow "cruises to nowhere", as long as the visa requirements are met.  The NVMC/USCG has nothing to do with whether or not a cruise is legal or not, they will, and have, allowed ships to enter US waters that have violated the PVSA or Jones Act, as enforcing those commerce acts are not their jurisdiction, but that of CBP.

[chengkp75]

17 hours ago, jy0ung1 said:

What if they went to a private island in Belize (NCL)?  Would that work as a foreign port?

Of course it would "work" as a foreign port, it is a foreign port.  But, whether an island is "private" or not, does not exclude that island from the national laws of the country it is part of.  What are Belize's covid restrictions?  I don't know.  There are many "private" islands in Maine (someone owns the entire island), but that does not mean they don't have to follow state and federal laws.

[ontheweb]

1 hour ago, chengkp75 said:

Uh, no.  As noted by "ontheweb" above, the PVSA (administered by CBP), specifically allows "cruises to nowhere".  The CBP has ruled that the foreign crew working on a "cruise to nowhere" would require US work visas, not crew visas, and part of the work visa regulations set by the State Department is that foreign workers on work visas be paid US wages.  Because of this, cruise lines stopped offering "cruises to nowhere", since it would cost them more than the cruise revenue just to meet the visa requirements.  Both CBP and State are perfectly willing to allow "cruises to nowhere", as long as the visa requirements are met.  The NVMC/USCG has nothing to do with whether or not a cruise is legal or not, they will, and have, allowed ships to enter US waters that have violated the PVSA or Jones Act, as enforcing those commerce acts are not their jurisdiction, but that of CBP.

Thanks for giving me the credit. I have to admit that I knew that only because I had previously read posts made by you.

[david_sobe]

I wouldn't mind a cruise to nowhere.  This board cracks me up though.  Last week it was full of people trashing NCL for their mask policy and wanting/threatening to cancel.  If Covid spread gets so bad that ships are not allowed in port, there will definitely be a mask policy on board.  Last week was cancel because of masks now wanting a cruise to nowhere 😁

I just read an article that some want the CDC to pause cruising for 30 days.  I dont think that will happen.  Even though this variant is the fastest spreading one yet, the hospital rate is much lower than the other variants.  When you take into account that all cruise passengers are vaccinated, their health is not as compromised as others who are not vaccinated.  Its scary how fast this spreads.  Cruise ships require vaccinations and negative tests yet its still spreading and so many ships have large outbreaks.  Its incredible.  You would think cruising would be the safest place to go.  On a positive note, the experts say this wave is happening so quick that it will equally crash just as fast.  2 weeks till the peak though 😲

 

Here is the article I mentioned:

‘Petri dishes of COVID’: CDC faces call to pause cruises as nearly 90 ships report coronavirus cases (msn.com)

Edited December 29, 2021 by david_sobe

[Oakman58]

Nope, not with so many of the shows on some NCL ships being cancelled.  This new Omicron variant is highly transmissible even to those fully vaccinated so no, there will be no cruising for this 76 year old man.

[ew101]

The cruise industry faces a few problems this week.  One is that the current generation of ships are designed to pack a lot of people and crew into limited space.  This is at odds with trying to battle airborne droplet-based illnesses.  There is no practical way to social distance in the crew quarters as an example, with double cabins etc.  

 

The other is there are few if any "free ports" - you always have a government.  In a few cases these have been established by treaty or force- Gibraltar might be one.   If the cruise or shipping industry had one or two someplace, they could get passengers and crew off and on more readily.  This way they could operate, and not worry as much if XYZ government wants no possibly sick people to approach.    You would think some island or coastal nation someplace would sign a lenient port /airport lease in return for cash and jobs. 

 

The third is setting unrealistic expectations.  Will, this week, everything be perfect and back to 2019?   If I was watching ads and had a six-page list of activities and amenities I was paying for, I'd be upset or to use our favorite loaded word out here, disappointed.  

 

[chengkp75]

3 minutes ago, ew101 said:

The other is there are few if any "free ports" - you always have a government.  In a few cases these have been established by treaty or force- Gibraltar might be one. 

I think you are taking the idea of a "free port" too literally.  There are no ports that are not part of a sovereign nation, and subject to their laws.  There are "free ports", but this simply means that there is a "customs free" area, where cargo can be landed for transshipment on another ship without paying customs duty for landing the cargo.

[ew101]

2 minutes ago, chengkp75 said:

I think you are taking the idea of a "free port" too literally.  There are no ports that are not part of a sovereign nation, and subject to their laws.  There are "free ports", but this simply means that there is a "customs free" area, where cargo can be landed for transshipment on another ship without paying customs duty for landing the cargo.

I was thinking of your favorite rant, the crews stuck on ships who cannot get home.  But yes the term "free port" is most related to trade restrictions.  

[SouthLyonCruiser]

On 12/28/2021 at 9:14 AM, 1025cruise said:

Unfortunately, Cruises to Nowhere from a US port are not permitted. 

With the private island stop it could be a 'go' and meet the 'foreign port' requirement.