BlueRiband

Cruise ships have been used for emengeny housing in the past and also to house Olympic athletes such as professional US basketball players. If NYC works this out with NCL it will put covid protocols to the test. Do migrants get served meals or can they serve themselves at the buffet? Do they have to mask whenever out of their cabin? Can they come and go at will? What testing/vaccination requirments will be required? If there is no covid testing for a migrant to board and live there for weeks or months then why should I be required to get a covid test to board a ship for a 7-day cruise?

The testing requirement has kept me from booking. As I live in NY Cunard Care isn't availble but is replaced by the "At Ease" cancellation fee waiver coverage. The US Cunard site reads that if one tests positive and is denied boarding Cunard says, "...we urge you to contact your insurance provider at your earliest convenience..." Not so conviently for the passenger, the "At Ease" coverage teminates 72 hours before scheduled sailing. As with many things in this world it pays to read the fine print or else pay a heft tuition payment in the University of Life Experience.

I had the opportunity to take this tour a few years ago on QM2 and it was limited to 16 per sailing. A fellow tour member asked why it was not expanded to include more passengers, given its popularity. The answer was that it took work to conduct the tour and those preparing and leading it have to do this in addition to the normal duties.

Or it was corporate "CYA" on the advice of shoreside legal.

It really compresses your afternoons. When the time change was made at Noon there's the captain's operational update then the next thing you know it's 1:15. If you have activities planned or appointments booked one has to keep that in mind.

The last refit, originally planned before the covid shutdown, WAS to have completely renovated the spa. Canyon Ranch is essentially unchanged since the ship entered service and getting pretty threadbare. I don't anticipate anything being done beyond what is operationally mandated until the industry sees some stability.

I recall one such excursion to the D-day American landing beaches in France. Two people on my tour had to sit out a couple of stops. (These were the same two who had to take an elevator down one deck from the assembly place to the gangway.) While their opting to sit out didn't interfere with the tour they certainly were unable to enjoy what they had paid for.

She only sailed for about two years for Cunard. After a 1974 fire she was declared a total constructive loss, her hull sold, and converted to a sheep carrier. You can read her history here:MV Cunard Ambassador

Going back to the original post in this thread, being disembarked in a foreign port into a quarantine hotel for who-knows-how-long is a worry for me. Even if I'm asymptomaic my being over 65 could be considered a risk factor for development of serious disease. And if I'm in quarantine on board when the ship returns home, how to I get from the ship to my apartment if I'm still covid positive? Do I have to use some medical transport service if no car service or taxi will take me? Yes, I'm selfish. Better for me not to be sailing under these circumstances.

Ditto. If I have different table mates every night it's a deal-killer for me. This, and the potential for a reversion to more restrictive dining protocols, keeps me from booking. I don't want to spend this kind of money and not be able to enjoy the same camaraderie of the past.

I guess we all have our own tolerances of what is necessary and safe. The high potential for a "roll back" to more onerous covid restrictions keeps me from booking. Cunard's earlier "Healthy Gateways" protocols explicitly stated that only passengers traveling together would be permitted to dine together. As a solo, a roll back to that would be a deal breaker. After paying that much money it would be no pleasure to dine alone or in my cabin. If that's what is necessary to keep the ship safe, and I'm not happy to comply, then my staying away is the better choice for all.