Ideas to restart people cruising over coming months

[iancal]

I do not think that cruising will be back to normal until we have an effective,safe,and widely available vaccine.  Until then how can anyone feel comfortable selecting a cruise vacation over another vacation product.  No one wants to be stuck a cruise ship, floating about endlessly.

 

Once a vaccine is available cruise lines would be smart make it a condition of, and have the customer provide proof of, a vaccination.   Travel medical insurers no longer cover covid. Who knows, they may even insist on vaccinations simply to buy a policy.   They will only demand to see it if the insured submits a claim for anything.

 

Then reduce reduce the prices of cruises to attract the cruise lines' respective target market.  Fill the ships, pay for some good media articles on the joys of cruising for all ages. 

 

Until then....I suspect cruising will be non existent or very much touch and go.

 

I would certainly not recommend that any country accept cruise ships until these conditions are met.  It has nothing whatsoever to do with nationalism and everything to do with protecting the health of one's citizens.  Just look at how successful New Zealand has been.  I certainly would not want thousands of cruisers embarking and/or disembarking where I live if there was the slightest chance that one or more could pass on the virus.   Really....who would want that?

Edited June 13, 2020 by iancal

[Tennessee Titan]

Give us our FCC  and refunds!

[ABoatNerd]

Not likely vaccine soon, another wrinkle.

Saw a show in Toronto about the issue of the bottles to store and send the so called vaccine.

 

There are none. One dose, multiple doses, must be heat and cold sensitive packaging. There is no one available to manufacture the so called bottles.

 

The news show noted "another obstacle to a vaccine".

 

 

[iancal]

Cruise line PR is in the dumpster at the moment.  No question, major black eye.

 

But think about this.  The absolute worst scenario for the cruise industry. Cruising starts up.  Everything is fine for a month or two.  Then they have another suspected covid outbreak on a ship. 

 

The ship is refused entry at some ports.  The media get the story.   It could be a passenger, it could be a crew member, it could be that one of them or more has  contracted the virus on a port stop.  The ship finally docks.  Covid is confirmed on some unfortunate souls,  Everyone is quarantined for fourteen days.

 

Don't have to paint a picture for impact of this on the industry.

Edited June 14, 2020 by iancal

[Lido deck main]

For us, we have been advised by our extended health insurance company that we wouldn’t be covered for any Covid related health claims if we left the province and went on a trip where Covid exposure could be high.  My municipal employer,  has also advised us that we would not be entitled to sick time coverage if we left the province and went to a place where we were aware of potential Covid exposure.  For us we will not travel outside of our province without a vaccine.  

[ABoatNerd]

I would also add into the mix - the cruise line mentality of shoving it to the consumer that was very obvious before the virus.

 

These boards were full of analysis regarding the product degradation being seen across, all brands, Oceania included, together with high or increasing prices, Celebrity being particularly guilty in that regard.

 

I am in no rush what so ever to cruise due to the virus, but I most certainly will not be cruising if there is a whiff of the same cheapening of the product.

 

There are too many other travel options likely, once travel is released, to waste time and money on a degraded cruise.

[iancal]

2 hours ago, ABoatNerd said:

I would also add into the mix - the cruise line mentality of shoving it to the consumer that was very obvious before the virus.

 

These boards were full of analysis regarding the product degradation being seen across, all brands, Oceania included, together with high or increasing prices, Celebrity being particularly guilty in that regard.

 

I am in no rush what so ever to cruise due to the virus, but I most certainly will not be cruising if there is a whiff of the same cheapening of the product.

 

There are too many other travel options likely, once travel is released, to waste time and money on a degraded cruise.

Ditto for us...except we started to do less cruising two years or so ago.  The value was not there for us, we no longer enjoyed cruising as much as we did in the past.

Edited June 14, 2020 by iancal

[ABoatNerd]

iancal, greetings.  Us as well, as well as many of our friends.

 

We have all cut way back on cruising well before the virus. Some of my friends have totally eliminated cruising.

 

Too much cut backs - basically as a consumer, if I can not rely on receiving the quality and depth of the product, from the previous cruise, on the next cruise, but I am being charged more, then I will not purchase.

 

Going forward, I will not purchase a cruise until I know there is stability in the product offering - this is entirely separate from the virus impact.

 

I cruised 20 years with Celebrity with no issues, always could count on the same quality - then in 2015 it fell apart. I was on the Infinity in Aqua, Elite Plus,  and my morning room service coffee came with an edible oil creamer - no real cream, Really Celebrity, idiots.  We ended our bookings with Celebrity. Cheap, cheap, cheap.

 

Same with Oceania, their new menu in August 2018 combined with the increasing elimination of ports and the systemic mechanical issues with Regatta, stopped patronizing Oceania.

 

There is an old saying "you reap what you sow" - indeed cruising. You turned off many customers in the past, but not all I acknowledge, but the virus impact on you companies are not making me cry, except for the staff.

 

The arrogance of the cruise lines is coming home to roost.

 

 

 

 

[iancal]

We travel frequently.  
 

We came to a point where diminishing returns intersected with perceived value, cutbacks, and lack of consistency.  
 

As a result we have been voting with our feet and with our wallet.   Fewer cruises and we find ourselves not shopping for or looking at potential cruise opportunities when travelling like we have always done in the past.  

[ABoatNerd]

Same here iancal.

 

The world of travel will be likely adjusted in the future as people experience non cruising options.

 

Moving to plan travel with no cruises involved. 

[KirkNC]

20 hours ago, ABoatNerd said:

iancal, greetings.  Us as well, as well as many of our friends.

 

We have all cut way back on cruising well before the virus. Some of my friends have totally eliminated cruising.

 

Too much cut backs - basically as a consumer, if I can not rely on receiving the quality and depth of the product, from the previous cruise, on the next cruise, but I am being charged more, then I will not purchase.

 

Going forward, I will not purchase a cruise until I know there is stability in the product offering - this is entirely separate from the virus impact.

 

I cruised 20 years with Celebrity with no issues, always could count on the same quality - then in 2015 it fell apart. I was on the Infinity in Aqua, Elite Plus,  and my morning room service coffee came with an edible oil creamer - no real cream, Really Celebrity, idiots.  We ended our bookings with Celebrity. Cheap, cheap, cheap.

 

Same with Oceania, their new menu in August 2018 combined with the increasing elimination of ports and the systemic mechanical issues with Regatta, stopped patronizing Oceania.

 

There is an old saying "you reap what you sow" - indeed cruising. You turned off many customers in the past, but not all I acknowledge, but the virus impact on you companies are not making me cry, except for the staff.

 

The arrogance of the cruise lines is coming home to roost.

 

 

 

 

So you quit cruising because they changed the coffee creamer?

[ABoatNerd]

Correct.  That and the continual downgrading of the overall Celebrity product.

 

It is the little things that add up, this concept being oft mentioned by many CC posters.

 

As a consumer, if any company I regularly patronize behaves in the same manner of the ever cheapening cruise lines, they are eliminated. 

 

I will decide whom to patronize.

 

 

 

 

[Harters]

I would be very nervous considering a cruise, this side of a vaccine being developed. I am not saying that I would definitely not cruise. But I would want to know that the virus is very well suppressed not only in my own country (UK) but elsewhere, so risk is inherently much lower. I would also want to know what practical steps a cruise line was taking to make ships Covid-secure. Tourist hotels are starting to reopen in Europe and will offer me a good idea of what I think is "best practice" to look for on a ship. It's seems pretty clear that there will be things like limiting guest numbers to enable distancing, wearing masks when moving about, enhanced cleaning, served meals rather than buffets, etc. Basic commonsense protections, if you will. I'm also conscious that, for me, many cruises would involve air travel and I think I may be more concerned about that than the actual cruise. The flying  is the probable dilemma for all holidays for us in the medium term.