Will They Repositioning Asian Ships???

[Jeter02]

Any clue if Princess will reposition the Majestic, Sapphire, and God only knows how long Diamond out of commission with the deep sanitation clean it will need to go through.?

 

Just curious if they'll position those ships to other parts of the world outside of Asia, considering how many weeks and months those itineraries are cancelled for in the unforeseen future.

 

I do hope those crew members on the Sapphire and Majestic will also be getting all their pay through this unpredictable and unexpected predicament. I do applaud Princess and Jan for the amazing work they currently done not just for their guest, but more importantly their crew.

[cherylandtk]

Too early to tell.  They obviously are trying to keep their options open with regard to possibly switching out the Sapphire with the Diamond itineraries, but the real answer will come in the weeks and months ahead as the world deals with this virus and attempts to contain it.

[Jeter02]

True. It's such a shame with what is going on. Just comes to show the most unpredictable things can happen, when least expected. 

[PrincessLuver]

24 minutes ago, cherylandtk said:

Too early to tell.  They obviously are trying to keep their options open with regard to possibly switching out the Sapphire with the Diamond itineraries, but the real answer will come in the weeks and months ahead as the world deals with this virus and attempts to contain it.

 

I agree.....it appears that all the major cruise lines are expecting too take major financial hits from the spread of the Coronavirus.  The Asian market was considered a major profit region for them and it appears that business could be hindered in that region now.  We have family and friends who are questioning our sanity for going on several cruises in the next coming months.  Like you said.....who knows how this is going to all play out for the world?

[Jeter02]

1 minute ago, PrincessLuver said:

 

I agree.....it appears that all the major cruise lines are expecting too take major financial hits from the spread of the Coronavirus.  The Asian market was considered a major profit region for them and it appears that business could be hindered in that region now.  We have family and friends who are questioning our sanity for going on several cruises in the next coming months.  Like you said.....who knows how this is going to all play out for the world?

I'm currently onboard, and have 8 more cruises booked for this year. My mantra on the matter is, you can't live in fear, so go out and enjoy everyday. Also certain things, such as this just can't be predicted. I see no harm on the land of cruising. 😊

[chengkp75]

42 minutes ago, Jeter02 said:

and God only knows how long Diamond out of commission with the deep sanitation clean it will need to go through.?

Given what information is available about coronavirus stability outside of a host, the "deep clean" would be no more thorough than a noro sanitizing.

[Jeter02]

Just now, chengkp75 said:

Given what information is available about coronavirus stability outside of a host, the "deep clean" would be no more thorough than a noro sanitizing.

Huh? Interesting. Kinda thought it would be more thorough.

[generichandle]

I fear the Diamond Princess may suffer a similar fate to the 737 Max. After the virus has run it's course, how long before people will trust going on board again. I hope that isn't the result. 

 

I loved the Diamond, and it's four smaller dining rooms with their specialties. We did 22-days Beijing to Vancouver, back when it used to return to this side of the pacific. One of our most memorable cruises. 

 

I certain hope that Princess, who has appeared to go 'above and beyond' to help guests and workers, will be seen is that positive light and loyalty will out!

[Thrak]

2 hours ago, chengkp75 said:

Given what information is available about coronavirus stability outside of a host, the "deep clean" would be no more thorough than a noro sanitizing.

 

2 hours ago, Jeter02 said:

Huh? Interesting. Kinda thought it would be more thorough.

 

Why?  Without a biological host the virus isn't viable. It dies.

[subaru94]

Not sure about repositioning the ships, however, Sapphire and Majestic Asian cruises have all been cancelled,  Diamond meant to be back 29th April ready for Golden Week in Japan, we are due to go on the Majestic today and was meant to finish in Singapore they now have the ship finishing in Fremantle so our 14 days has turned into 4.

[RMMariner]

 

 

 

How hard is it to reposition one ship? Schedules are made well in advance and that finding new ports etc. would be very difficult. With so many ships, I think it would be impossible. The cruise lines are going to take a big financial hit from this.

Edited February 17, 2020 by RMMariner
Brisalta had better expertise in this matter

[brisalta]

4 minutes ago, subaru94 said:

Not sure about repositioning the ships, however, Sapphire and Majestic Asian cruises have all been cancelled,  Diamond meant to be back 29th April ready for Golden Week in Japan, we are due to go on the Majestic today and was meant to finish in Singapore they now have the ship finishing in Fremantle so our 14 days has turned into 4.

 

Itinerary modifications are mentioned at

https://www.princess.com/news/notices_and_advisories/notices/itinerary-modifications-cancellations.html

[Jeter02]

2 minutes ago, RMMariner said:

 

 

 

How hard is it to reposition one ship? Schedules are made well in advance and that finding new ports etc. would be very difficult. With so many ships, I think it would be impossible. The cruise lines are going to take a big financial hit from this.

Princess posted this whole thing on their Facebook page, that the people who plan and organize all the ship itineraries do it two to three years in advance to pick their slots at all these different ports. So I know it's not an easy 1. 2. 3. fix. like they might do with trading one port out but changing a whole itinerary is a whole other story I'm sure.

[sailingskyward]

While challenging, it would not be impossible to reposition the ships and make money elsewhere on short notice. Royal Caribbean and Celebrity ships have both cancelled their Asian cruise seasons and are being moved to Australia (RC) and Los Angeles/Seattle (Celebrity). Each ship will offer free 3/4/5-night cruises in the month of March to first responders (Fire, Police, EMT, etc).

 

Then, Celebrity Millennium will operate two 5-day Pacific Northwest cruises out of Seattle, followed by two 11-day Alaska cruises out of Seattle. These itineraries were freshly published and made available for purchase on Saturday. The fares are actually very attractive, as the ship sails in 2 months!

Edited February 17, 2020 by sailingskyward

[sewgood]

There is a thread on the Austalian and New Zealand board titled Sapphire Princess staying in OZ winter 2020.

Springaussie mentions a new booking for the Sapphire appearing in the port schedule for Brisbane for our winter in Australia.

[Coral]

4 hours ago, Jeter02 said:

Princess posted this whole thing on their Facebook page, that the people who plan and organize all the ship itineraries do it two to three years in advance to pick their slots at all these different ports. So I know it's not an easy 1. 2. 3. fix. like they might do with trading one port out but changing a whole itinerary is a whole other story I'm sure.

They have in the past. After 9-11 (the year after I think) - Princess has 2 ships in the Med for the summer. People were not flying overseas as much and in the winter, they pulled one of the ships and put it in the Caribbean for the summer.

 

They also altered ships sailing to Mexico during H1N1 and put them on the California coast.

 

So while difficult, they have done it in the past. At least once for financial reasons and once for Medical reasons.

Edited February 18, 2020 by Coral

[woodscruise]

Princess Cruises adds 44 new cruises from the major Australian cities of Sydney, Perth (Fremantle), Adelaide, Melbourne and Brisbane.

Princess Cruises has announced plans to redeploy its 2,670-guest Sapphire Princess from homeports in Singapore and Shanghai to Australia from 01 May - six months earlier than scheduled.

The line revealed the early deployment will add a sizable 44 new cruises from five major Australian cities, including 171 port calls.

Princess Cruises Senior Vice President Asia Pacific Stuart Allison said Sapphire would add a much-needed boost to Australia’s domestic tourism.

“With the ongoing uncertainty of travel restrictions and port closures in Asia impacting our cruise operations in the region, we hope that this extended deployment in Australia will benefit local tourism, particularly in regional areas with 102 visits to regional ports around country during her year-long deployment,” he said.

Sales for the new Sapphire cruises will go on sale from 27 February.

Source Cruise Weekly and Travel Daily Australia 18 Feb 2020

[cheznandy]

Woodscruise, I was just typing when you posted!! Lets hope they leave Sapphire here!!!

[Coral]

8 minutes ago, cheznandy said:

Woodscruise, I was just typing when you posted!! Lets hope they leave Sapphire here!!!

You do know we like the Sapphire Princess in North America and Europe. You guys get all the good ships!

 

Treat her well!

Edited February 18, 2020 by Coral

[npcl]

1 hour ago, Coral said:

You do know we like the Sapphire Princess in North America and Europe. You guys get all the good ships!

 

Treat her well!

Sapphire is going to Australia 6 months early.

[Pushka]

Can’t imagine cruising southern Australia (Perth - Adelaide - Melbourne - Tasmania) in mid Winter. The seas can get very very rough. They are here in Adelaide today and it’s summer! My unit overlooks a beach not far from Port Adelaide Largs Bay Terminal. Whitecaps everywhere. I don’t think Australia gets the best Princess ships, they are usually rather old and in need of a refurb. That’s my experience. 

Edited February 18, 2020 by Pushka

[OzKiwiJJ]

56 minutes ago, Pushka said:

Can’t imagine cruising southern Australia (Perth - Adelaide - Melbourne - Tasmania) in mid Winter. The seas can get very very rough. They are here in Adelaide today and it’s summer! My unit overlooks a beach not far from Port Adelaide Largs Bay Terminal. Whitecaps everywhere. I don’t think Australia gets the best Princess ships, they are usually rather old and in need of a refurb. That’s my experience. 

Top End cruises are fantastic in winter, as are South Pacific cruises which would mostly be from Sydney or Brisbane I expect. Not sure whether they would run many from Melbourne or Adelaide over the worst of winter but they have included those two ports in the list of the ports they will be operating from.

Edited February 18, 2020 by OzKiwiJJ

[Coral]

7 hours ago, npcl said:

Sapphire is going to Australia 6 months early.

Yep -saw that.

[Iamcruzin]

22 hours ago, PrincessLuver said:

 

I agree.....it appears that all the major cruise lines are expecting too take major financial hits from the spread of the Coronavirus.  The Asian market was considered a major profit region for them and it appears that business could be hindered in that region now.  We have family and friends who are questioning our sanity for going on several cruises in the next coming months.  Like you said.....who knows how this is going to all play out for the world?

The issue isn’t fear of the Coronavirus it’s self. It’s the fear of paying for an itinerary that won’t happen do to  canceled flights and banned ports. This isn’t the same as missing a port for weather related issues. What this incident has taught me is to read more carefully the trip interruption portion of the insurance policy. I basically buy it for the medical portion and being able to cancel for a covered reason.

[Bizziecruzer]

Hope this works - flyer for repositioning of Sapphire Princess in Australia..... Some great prices ...  remember the prices are in Australian dollars and will not be on Princess site until end February

 

 

 

 

sapphire princess.pdf