How could cruise lines have handled this better?

[npcl]

As we have seen things unfold a thought does come to mind on how could cruise lines have handled it better.  Here are a couple of my thoughts.

, and 

1. Shutdown faster.  There was evidence that this was spreading outside of Asia before the 1st of March.  Yet the cruise lines tried to operate as if it was business as usual, until there were a couple of major incidents, the warnings made about cruising governments literally forcing them to shutdown.  Sure they say it was voluntary shutdowns, but only after it was obvious that ports and flights were shutdown.

 

2. Once Shutdown was announced the ships should have immediately headed to the first available port and off loaded.  Some cruises in progress tried to finish their routes and ended up without any ports willing to accept them.

 

3. Once the flights started shutting down the cruise lines depended upon commercial flights to get people home, leading to confusion and fairly lengthy delays.  It would have probably been cheaper and easier to negotiate charter flights, to at least get people to a major airport in their home countries.

 

While these steps might have seemed to cost them more in the shortterm.  The problems created in how they operated has in the end probably cost them much more.

[Outerdog]

I suppose it's easy for a set of forum posters who have zero experience operating or managing a cruise corporation in any capacity whatsoever to pontificate on how the cruise lines could have handled things better. 

[npcl]

15 minutes ago, Outerdog said:

I suppose it's easy for a set of forum posters who have zero experience operating or managing a cruise corporation in any capacity whatsoever to pontificate on how the cruise lines could have handled things better. 

Do we have anything else better to do?

 

Or is it your opinion that they handled everything perfectly so there is no room for discussion by customers on what they should have done and should do in a similar situation in the future if they wish our business in the future.

[HappyInVan]

COVID19 is not a world killer, but it is a very serious threat. Its the first time that the cruise industry has shut down globally for a disease. The first time that the industry will shut down for at least 3 months.

 

So, there's a lot of inertia to overcome. Let this be a rehearsal for the main performance. One day, a world killer will come and the industry will be shut down for years.

 

One problem has been the speed that the disease has spread. That's because the disease is much more infectious than SARS. Much more infectious than the common flu because it is new.

 

https://www.todayonline.com/world/covid-19-far-more-likely-sars-bond-human-cells-due-hiv-mutation-scientists-say

 

For example, on February 29, Germany had only 60 known cases. Who would believe that by March 30, they would have 60k confirmed cases!

 

What could the governments have done better? Politicians need to believe what the experts tell them.

 

It was clear by mid-February that COVID19 was going to be a global problem. Yet, thermal screening was not done at airports outside Asia. Ditto for the cruises departing Florida. In fact, Italy was the first Western country to impose a quarantine (Northern Italy) on March 9^th. At that time, the island nations were already turning away cruise ships.

 

Angela Merkel had a scientific career early in life. She was one of the first politicians to warn that the infection rate would rise to 60% of the population. Due to the tremendous investment made by the Germans, the nation has a high per capita infection rate but the lowest death rate in western Europe.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angela_Merkel#Education_and_scientific_career

 

 

At this time, Germany has done 500k tests, and is reported to have the capacity to do 500k tests per week.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID-19_testing

[voljeep]

1) bring back the barrel chairs so people would have been better able to survive the quarantine 

2) wrapped butter 

3) less 'paper' products deliver to cabins … but keep the Patter

4) plastic straws

 

 

HINDSIGHT IS A BEAUTIFUL THING

[AF-1]

I see Princess going paperless in the near future.  With ocean medallion program; there is no need for a daily paper patters.  Dining room menu also can be displayed on a touch screen outside the dining rooms; and same goes for the buffet.  When you enter buffet either forward or aft; the large touch screen shows the different options avail.  

[Roberto256]

1 hour ago, Outerdog said:

I suppose it's easy for a set of forum posters who have zero experience operating or managing a cruise corporation in any capacity whatsoever to pontificate on how the cruise lines could have handled things better. 

 

From reading posts here, I think you have described every day here -- just substitute different topics.

 

Personally, I think the fundamental problem was that the US did not take the problem seriously early enough.

Not specific to cruise lines.

 

We needed this guy yelling "coronavirus! danger, will robinson! danger!!!" back in January...

 

 

[npcl]

34 minutes ago, voljeep said:

1) bring back the barrel chairs so people would have been better able to survive the quarantine 

2) wrapped butter 

3) less 'paper' products deliver to cabins … but keep the Patter

4) plastic straws

 

 

HINDSIGHT IS A BEAUTIFUL THING

Yes, however wouldn't you like to think they might learn something from this and if so what would you like to have seen them do?

 

In my time in various positions every time there was an incident either with our organization or with our suppliers we always did an analysis ask what was good, what was bad.  How could we prevent the bad and enhance the good both within our organization and our suppliers. I do think there are some items from the cruise lines failure to act in how one might deal with them in the future.  Especially when they first start up.  From their actions I fully expect that they will try and start up too soon and that one might be prepared for issues during that start up time frame.  That might impact how one makes their travel arrangements.

 

Now if you think that there is nothing that one can learn from this situation concerning the judgement of the cruise line, and what they did or did not do I guess that is your opiniom.

 

Or to put it way those that do not study history are doomed to repeat it.

 

of course there is the corollary   those that do study history will find new ways to screw up.

 

 

 

[jwattle]

6 hours ago, npcl said:

Yes, however wouldn't you like to think they might learn something from this and if so what would you like to have seen them do?

 

In my time in various positions every time there was an incident either with our organization or with our suppliers we always did an analysis ask what was good, what was bad.  How could we prevent the bad and enhance the good both within our organization and our suppliers. I do think there are some items from the cruise lines failure to act in how one might deal with them in the future.  Especially when they first start up.  From their actions I fully expect that they will try and start up too soon and that one might be prepared for issues during that start up time frame.  That might impact how one makes their travel arrangements.

 

Now if you think that there is nothing that one can learn from this situation concerning the judgement of the cruise line, and what they did or did not do I guess that is your opiniom.

 

Or to put it way those that do not study history are doomed to repeat it.

 

of course there is the corollary   those that do study history will find new ways to screw up.

 

 

 

Not getting it yet? No one's taking your bait this time....

We're not going to play Monday morning quarter back sanctimonious with you.

[neverbeenhere]

6 hours ago, AF-1 said:

I see Princess going paperless in the near future.  With ocean medallion program...

Bidets for all with built in dryers. Yeah! ?

Edited March 31, 2020 by neverbeenhere

[EscapeFromConnecticut]

6 hours ago, Roberto256 said:

 

From reading posts here, I think you have described every day here -- just substitute different topics.

 

Personally, I think the fundamental problem was that the US did not take the problem seriously early enough.

Not specific to cruise lines.

 

We needed this guy yelling "coronavirus! danger, will robinson! danger!!!" back in January...

 

 

Roberto - 

 

  Actually, we did have those warnings ... unfortunately a flood of people gave the knee-jerk "Fake news!" response, or the equally vapid "oh that's just the media overhyping everything."

    And so much of the country wasn't even trying to prepare until just a couple of weeks ago.

     
   With that said, the cruise lines should have prepared a lot of contingency plans for the most recent cruises. They KNEW they were rolling the dice & hoping to wring out a few extra bucks before the dance stopped, but evidently put no additional medical staff and supplies on board .... made no advance plans for "what if the ship gets sick on Day 3 or Day 8" .... 

     These were short-term profit-driven decisions that are haunting them now. If the Veendam and Ruby situations get even uglier than they are now, the public relations damage may be ultimately bankrupting.

[brisalta]

8 hours ago, AF-1 said:

Dining room menu also can be displayed on a touch screen outside the dining rooms; and same goes for the buffet.  When you enter buffet either forward or aft; the large touch screen shows the different options avail.  

 

How unhygienic!!!!

[teecee60]

11 hours ago, npcl said:

As we have seen things unfold a thought does come to mind on how could cruise lines have handled it better.  Here are a couple of my thoughts.

 

A time machine... or a crystal ball is ALL that was required to see the current situation well in advance.

 

After all it IS such a TRIVIAL situation... only the worst global pandemic in over 100 years...

 

...with such minor details like more than 1.7  MILLION people traveling on airplanes every single day. 

 

As tragic as it is, this is a warning... in case something like Ebola gets loose in the global community.

Edited March 31, 2020 by teecee60

[tanyaewa]

Lol. The Cruise Lines??

People will not even stay in their homes and do the proper social distancing efforts when they KNOW they need to.  Ain’t no way you’re taking away their hard earned vacation!  There was NO WAY they could have done more, more quickly.  Y’all would have sued them....

[Roberto256]

5 hours ago, EscapeFromConnecticut said:

Actually, we did have those warnings ... unfortunately a flood of people gave the knee-jerk "Fake news!" response, or the equally vapid "oh that's just the media overhyping everything."

 

Completly agree.

 

[AF-1]

6 hours ago, brisalta said:

 

How unhygienic!!!!

Why do you say that?  They give you a regular menu; which about a hundred other people have touched.  With a touch screen it can be wiped off with sanitation wipes;  they don't do that with regular menus.  The only way to be totally sanitary would be to give paper menus out which are thrown out after every use; but then you are back to having paper products everywhere

Edited March 31, 2020 by AF-1
added txt

[brisalta]

7 hours ago, AF-1 said:

Why do you say that?  They give you a regular menu; which about a hundred other people have touched.  With a touch screen it can be wiped off with sanitation wipes;  they don't do that with regular menus.  The only way to be totally sanitary would be to give paper menus out which are thrown out after every use; but then you are back to having paper products everywhere

 

The regular menus are freshly printed and put in holders that are cleaned between use. I have observed that every time I have visited the MDR. Mind you that has always been on Grand Princess and may be a practice only on that ship.

Touch screens do not take well to be wiped clean continuously. Who is going to do the cleaning?

[Coral]

I was on a ship with a high case of norovirus. They did use paper menus with out holders and they disposed of the paper when we were done with them.

[gottagocit]

Based on your reasoning every city around the world should have immediately shut down their subways, commuter trains and bus systems as well! And what about airplanes, school buses, ski lifts, shopping centers, elevators, jail, tour buses, museums, sporting events or concerts? Shouldn’t they all have been shut down on day one also? Why not?

Anyone who describes a cruise ship as a Petri dish but doesn’t see these examples in the same way is either not being honest OR doesn’t see the reality of life in this world. I’ve been packed in far tighter and far closer to masses of people while in these places from Beijing to Rome and countless cities around the globe than I have ever been on a cruise ship. 
 

The difference is the cruise lines are easy targets. Those onboard are often discovered to be infected PRIOR to leaving the ship and returning home and therefore the cruise line becomes totally at fault and miraculously financially responsible. All of these other places cause many thousands times people to become sick but they all go undetected while on/in the place where they contracted it. Instead everyone in these places simply leave and the carrier or venue bares no responsibility. NONE! 

 

 

Edited March 31, 2020 by gottagocit

[brisalta]

It is not only cruise ships and landlubbers that are having problems but highly trained mariners https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/31/coronavirus-infections-aircraft-carrier-captain-pleads-for-help.html

 

[joeyancho]

Hindsight is 20/20.  It is easy now to say they should have done this or they should have done that.  Let's face it, everyone was blindsided by this, everyone.  Everyone was left playing catch up.  Every government played catch up, changing tactics as it progressed. All we can hope for is for everyone to learn in order to be more prepared for next time.

[Kenswing]

On 3/30/2020 at 1:27 PM, npcl said:

Yes, however wouldn't you like to think they might learn something from this and if so what would you like to have seen them do?

 

In my time in various positions every time there was an incident either with our organization or with our suppliers we always did an analysis ask what was good, what was bad.  How could we prevent the bad and enhance the good both within our organization and our suppliers. I do think there are some items from the cruise lines failure to act in how one might deal with them in the future.  Especially when they first start up.  From their actions I fully expect that they will try and start up too soon and that one might be prepared for issues during that start up time frame.  That might impact how one makes their travel arrangements.

 

Now if you think that there is nothing that one can learn from this situation concerning the judgement of the cruise line, and what they did or did not do I guess that is your opiniom.

 

Or to put it way those that do not study history are doomed to repeat it.

 

of course there is the corollary   those that do study history will find new ways to screw up.

 

 

 

I'm sure they are learning plenty from this.  I'm also sure they're not going to learn it from this forum.. 

[Roberto256]

6 hours ago, brisalta said:

It is not only cruise ships and landlubbers that are having problems but highly trained mariners https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/31/coronavirus-infections-aircraft-carrier-captain-pleads-for-help.html

 

 

Typical crew berthing.

 

If cruise ships are petri dishes, I don't even know what one would call this.

 

 

[jwattle]

2 hours ago, Roberto256 said:

 

Typical crew berthing.

 

If cruise ships are petri dishes, I don't even know what one would call this.

 

 

That looks more like military berthing , not crew, but I haven't actually seen cruise ship crew berthing to be certain...

[gottagocit]

2 hours ago, Roberto256 said:

 

Typical crew berthing.

 

If cruise ships are petri dishes, I don't even know what one would call this.

 

 

Does this look like more or less attractive than what you see on an international flight or subway at rush hour? What about the last ball game you attended?
Just something to think about...