Cruise on Navigator completely changed for March 2021

[ronrick1943]

6 hours ago, Wendy The Wanderer said:

Loved Lima.  We spent about three days there after our cruise, had private guides and a wonderful time.

 

And BTW, *our* norovirus bout happened before we reached Peru, in fact we were in port with Explorer in Manta (going southbound), and weren't allowed aboard because of it, so it got onboard either in Colombia or one of the islands prior to that.

Did you use any special company for your tours in Lima?

[Caroldoll]

On 10/11/2019 at 3:18 PM, Travelcat2 said:

As a former “Angelino” (name for people living in L.A.), I cannot wrap my head around people wanting to live there after retirement.  The best thing, IMHO, that a young person 20 years ago could do it buy a home and stay there until you retire and then get the heck out of there.

 

In terms of Lima, it has been mentioned previously that many people believe that norovirus on the ships that go to South America are from Lima.  I have spoken to the crew about it and they feel that visitors to Lima that stay in a hotel and eat in local restaurants, get sick - do not know it until they are on the ship and, by then, it has spread.  Not sure that this is true but it is worth checking out.

Absolutely. TC and I know a crew member who is in the upper tier and he says the same thing.  I would not go to Lima on a bet.

[Travelcat2]

1 hour ago, Caroldoll said:

Absolutely. TC and I know a crew member who is in the upper tier and he says the same thing.  I would not go to Lima on a bet.

 

Good to know.  While I have no proof that this occurs, it would be foolish for anyone to discount what ha been said numerous times.  

 

Rick, even if it is personal hygiene, people still board the ship sick.

 

Quick story that I have posted previously but bears repeating.  Almost 3 years ago, Mariner went Code Red in Alaska.  This continued through the next sailing.  When Mariner reached the East Coast, she again went into Code Red.  We boarded her in Miami to go to the Amazon (known for people getting ill).  The wonderful Captain Serena decided to stop all handshaking.  We could hug, elbow bump, etc. but no hand to hand touching (she indicated that the palm of our hands has a tremendous amount of germs). Long story short, the ship remained healthy throughout the cruise.  A new Captain came onboard when we disembarked and went to South America (including Lima) and, sure enough, the ship was back in Code Red.  Coincidence?  Maybe but it is food for thought when traveling in that part of the world.

 

P.S.  This does show that gastro issues can happen anywhere but, for whatever reason, it occurs more in certain parts of the world than others.

[ronrick1943]

3 minutes ago, Travelcat2 said:

 

Good to know.  While I have no proof that this occurs, it would be foolish for anyone to discount what ha been said numerous times.  

 

Rick, even if it is personal hygiene, people still board the ship sick.

 

Quick story that I have posted previously but bears repeating.  Almost 3 years ago, Mariner went Code Red in Alaska.  This continued through the next sailing.  When Mariner reached the East Coast, she again went into Code Red.  We boarded her in Miami to go to the Amazon (known for people getting ill).  The wonderful Captain Serena decided to stop all handshaking.  We could hug, elbow bump, etc. but no hand to hand touching (she indicated that the palm of our hands has a tremendous amount of germs). Long story short, the ship remained healthy throughout the cruise.  A new Captain came onboard when we disembarked and went to South America (including Lima) and, sure enough, the ship was back in Code Red.  Coincidence?  Maybe but it is food for thought when traveling in that part of the world.

 

P.S.  This does show that gastro issues can happen anywhere but, for whatever reason, it occurs more in certain parts of the world than others.

I agree, but like you everywhere, Asia or Mexico and in another areas of the world.  I still think it's the people.  Look on board the ship, how many times have you seen people walking area LV, SM and the pool buffet and eating around the buffet or on the way to their table.  Or at High Tea taking something off the dessert area and eating it.  Or the coffee connection, cut fruit or cookies sometime touch the other food.  don't say it doesn't because everyone has seen it.

[Travelcat2]

2 hours ago, ronrick1943 said:

I agree, but like you everywhere, Asia or Mexico and in another areas of the world.  I still think it's the people.  Look on board the ship, how many times have you seen people walking area LV, SM and the pool buffet and eating around the buffet or on the way to their table.  Or at High Tea taking something off the dessert area and eating it.  Or the coffee connection, cut fruit or cookies sometime touch the other food.  don't say it doesn't because everyone has seen it.

 

Have definitely seen it (as well as people not washing their hands after going to the restroom).  However, there must be a reason why people in the know seem to feel that Lima is one of the places where passengers board the ship with Norovirus after spending time in Peru (not only Lima - the port is Lima but other destinations are accessed by passengers from there).  

[flossie009]

10 hours ago, Travelcat2 said:

Wonder if Navigator will ever be retrofitted. She is still a beautiful ship but is a money pit. I cannot imagine how much $$$ Regent has it into the ship and she still needs another dry dock.  I bet that Regent has put more money 💰 into Navigator to keep it going than any other Regent ship (and she is their smallest and oldest ship). 

The capital cost of Navigator will by now have been paid off.

I suspect that the interest charges on the enormous capital cost of Explorer (& Splendor) far outweigh any higher running & maintenance costs for Navigator.

 

However, if Regent’s older ships are unable to meet future emission standards, including specific port requirements, there will be an ongoing issue.

 

 

 

[ARDXXX]

On the letter that I received from Regent they state that - "Due to recent changes th the State of California's Shore Power Regulation Law this voyage is being modified"... So that is the reason , must be that Navigator exceeds the emission levels.

Funny that an American owned Cruise ship is not allowed into an American State, strange world eh.

[papaflamingo]

1 hour ago, ARDXXX said:

Funny that an American owned Cruise ship is not allowed into an American State, strange world eh.

Not really.  We had issues like this in the airlines.  When the noise abatement laws were implemented for passenger jets, many of the old aircraft could not meet them and were banned from certain airports.  

Navigator is the oldest of the fleet (I think I'm correct in that).  She's also the smallest.  Likely the next to be retired.  However as the smallest ship she's brings the ability to get into certain ports that bigger ships can't go in. I also believe she has an ice rated hull so that makes her ideal for Greenland cruises like we'll be on in June.  For this reason Regent may certainly choose to keep her around.  Just a thought. 

[Wendy The Wanderer]

12 hours ago, ronrick1943 said:

Did you use any special company for your tours in Lima?

 

Yes, Peruvian Local Friend, peruvianlocalfriend@gmail.com . They were great.

[rallydave]

4 hours ago, ARDXXX said:

Funny that an American owned Cruise ship is not allowed into an American State, strange world eh.

Navigator  nor any of the Regent ships are American owned.  The ships are not US flagged and the company Regent as well as NCLH are based in the US but, are foreign companies Regent Panama and NCLH Bermuda.

[rallydave]

15 hours ago, ronrick1943 said:

Did you use any special company for your tours in Lima?

Rick, suggest you also contact Mari Calderon or any of the staff at Kuoda Travel based in Cusco.  We did a Machu Picchu trip with her company and it was wonderful.  Many others we have referred have echoed her praise.  Wonderful independent company with an office in Florida as well  You can customize your touring as you wish.

[ronrick1943]

3 hours ago, rallydave said:

Rick, suggest you also contact Mari Calderon or any of the staff at Kuoda Travel based in Cusco.  We did a Machu Picchu trip with her company and it was wonderful.  Many others we have referred have echoed her praise.  Wonderful independent company with an office in Florida as well  You can customize your touring as you wish.

Thanks so much for the information, will check them out..

Edited October 13, 2019 by ronrick1943

[ronrick1943]

5 hours ago, Wendy The Wanderer said:

 

Yes, Peruvian Local Friend, peruvianlocalfriend@gmail.com . They were great.

Thanks so much, I will get some information and check them out.

[ronrick1943]

6 hours ago, Wendy The Wanderer said:

 

Yes, Peruvian Local Friend, peruvianlocalfriend@gmail.com . They were great.

Thanks again, you have to be careful the first web site with the same name is a "Singles Club"😂.  Did find the right one and it covers a lot---Thanks

Edited October 13, 2019 by ronrick1943

[Travelcat2]

11 hours ago, flossie009 said:

The capital cost of Navigator will by now have been paid off.

I suspect that the interest charges on the enormous capital cost of Explorer (& Splendor) far outweigh any higher running & maintenance costs for Navigator.

 

However, if Regent’s older ships are unable to meet future emission standards, including specific port requirements, there will be an ongoing issue.

 

 

 

 

I obviously was not referring to new ship builds when I stated that I strongly feel that the cost of maintaining the Navigator is higher than the three other ships put together.  

 

The emission standards issues mostly affect U.S. ports (especially Alaska that is very strict in this area).  It likely will be years before most of the world starts looking at emissions from any ships that dock/tender in their ports.  Some of the cargo ships that dock in most of the world are old, somewhat rusty and definitely would not meet U.S. emission standards.  

 

rallydave - you have brought up the fact that Regent is not a U.S. owned company many times.  In my opinion, this has little to do with the operation of the company or the ships.  None of the luxury lines are "owned" by a U.S. company.  However, unlike Crystal and Silversea (before being purchased by Royal Caribbean), most of the top executives are U.S. citizens and understand the needs/desires of other people in the U.S. and Canada.  Of the 10 top issues facing cruise lines that carry mostly U.S. passengers, ownership of the company is probably 99th on the list.

[flossie009]

16 minutes ago, Travelcat2 said:

It likely will be years before most of the world starts looking at emissions from any ships that dock/tender in their ports.

Maritime emission standards are international:

https://ec.europa.eu/environment/air/sources/maritime.htm

[Travelcat2]

11 minutes ago, flossie009 said:

Maritime emission standards are international:

https://ec.europa.eu/environment/air/sources/maritime.htm

 

Interesting article but it is more EU/Europe focused rather than international.  However, that is irrelevant because if the rest of the world was abiding by the same standards as in the U.S., the Navigator would have the same issues that they have in the U.S.   

[Wendy The Wanderer]

1 hour ago, ronrick1943 said:

Thanks again, you have to be careful the first web site with the same name is a "Singles Club"😂.  Did find the right one and it covers a lot---Thanks

 

Glad you found it.  Yes, https://peruvianlocalfriend.com/  , not "friends" ha ha.  They did a very nice job for us, highly recommended.

[flossie009]

1 hour ago, Travelcat2 said:

 

Interesting article but it is more EU/Europe focused rather than international.  However, that is irrelevant because if the rest of the world was abiding by the same standards as in the U.S., the Navigator would have the same issues that they have in the U.S.   

So sorry. I had not realised that there was a problem with Navigator failing standards throughout the USA; I had understood it was a problem with a specific requirement of the LA port authority or the State of California.

 

The international emission standards to which I was referring are those set by the International Maritime Organization

[Wendy The Wanderer]

2 minutes ago, flossie009 said:

So sorry. I had not realised that there was a problem with Navigator failing standards throughout the USA; I had understood it was a problem with a specific requirement of the LA port authority or the State of California.

...

I too understood that it was specific to California.

[taxare]

Caution: I have no expertise in this, I just did a little research online and this is what I found. If there is an expert that has better information please provide. The purpose of the At-Berth Regulation is to reduce emissions from diesel auxiliary engines on container ships, passenger ships, and refrigerated-cargo ships while berthing at a California Port. The At-Berth Regulation defines a California Port as the Ports of Los Angeles, Long Beach, Oakland, San Diego, San Francisco, and Hueneme. The At-Berth Regulation provides vessel fleet operators visiting these ports two options to reduce at-berth emissions from auxiliary engines: 1) turn off auxiliary engines and connect the vessel to some other source of power, most likely grid-based shore power; or 2) use alternative control technology that achieve equivalent emission reductions.

[xrvlcruiser]

When does all of this go into affect?

 

The original posting referred to the Navigator in March, 2021. Regent - and a number of other older ships from other lines - will be going to some of the listed ports around that time. I'm thinking of several WC trips starting earlier in 2021 in California.

 

Most - if not all of the Luxury line's ships are "older" and since I have no clue what controls emissions - physical parts of ships? fuel? What else? This could wreak havoc!

 

Just a thought . . .

 

Peggy

[Travelcat2]

3 hours ago, flossie009 said:

So sorry. I had not realised that there was a problem with Navigator failing standards throughout the USA; I had understood it was a problem with a specific requirement of the LA port authority or the State of California.

 

The international emission standards to which I was referring are those set by the International Maritime Organization

 

Firstly, there are very few ports in the U.S.  As I posted, Alaska's requirements are much more stringent (for good reason) than California's requirements.  I am not aware of what the requirements for other states but do know that the U.S. takes emission control extremely seriously.  

 

As I also said, if there are international emission standards, most countries are likely NOT abiding by them as it is costly to control as what has been done in Alaska and California.

 

P.S.  The article that you linked was about the EU/Europe which made your post appear, at first glance, to be only about Europe. 

[cruiseluv]

So, what's the issue here? This is a cruise way into the future, and they've changed the itinerary drastically. I think the remedy  Regent is offering is ridiculous. Why don't you just cancel and book something to your liking? Oh, and tell Regent, they better not charge the $100 PP "administrative fee" since in essence they've canceled the cruise you booked

Edited October 14, 2019 by cruiseluv

[rallydave]

20 hours ago, Travelcat2 said:

allydave - you have brought up the fact that Regent is not a U.S. owned company many times.  In my opinion, this has little to do with the operation of the company or the ships.  None of the luxury lines are "owned" by a U.S. company.  However, unlike Crystal and Silversea (before being purchased by Royal Caribbean), most of the top executives are U.S. citizens and understand the needs/desires of other people in the U.S. and Canada.  Of the 10 top issues facing cruise lines that carry mostly U.S. passengers, ownership of the company is probably 99th on the list.

I did not bring this up, I responded to a poster who stated the ships were American owned which is incorrect.  Actually the company registration and the flagging of this ships has quite a bt to do with the operation of the  company and the ships.  If it didn't matter, why would companies and ships be registered in countries other than the home office location??

 

Companies register themselves and their ships in countries that have favorable business and shipping laws and rules to make business decisions, financial transactions, the actual running of the ships, etc. easier to transact.  As to putting these issues 99th on a top 10 top issues list , that would be impossible.  For sure these issues are in the top 10 on the list if not close to number 1.

 

The nationality of the top executives is not significant at all as to be a top executive of a company doing business internationally they have to understand the needs/desires of all customers/potential customers foreign or domestic.