Summer Cruise Season 2020 -in the Med?

[Aplmac]

With Europe in quite a state with itself re. COVID-19

I find myself wondering about the possibility (or not?)

of any decent Summer Cruise Season

for any of the lines, in the Mediterranean, this summer.

 

Here in Barbados, we still have several ships languishing at anchor

or just skirting about out there, 20 mi. offshore

but still coming back in to languish some more, in Carlisle Bay.

 

A few of them (smaller ones)  have taken off in a N-Easterly direction

obviously heading for the Med and what we hope (for their sake!)

is a bit of business!

 

What do you guys think? Any chance of it?

 

 

[jocap]

Only by ferry, I guess... the 2 day journey from Portsmouth to Northern Spain seems to be the nearest thing to a cruise...

Presumably Hurtigruten is still ferrying around Norway's ports?

 

Edited April 9, 2020 by jocap
Addition

[Aplmac]

44 minutes ago, jocap said:

Only by ferry, I guess... the 2 day journey

from Portsmouth to Northern Spain seems to be the nearest thing to a cruise...

Presumably Hurtigruten is still ferrying around Norway's ports?

 

 

That bad huh?

 

4-master Sea Cloud left here 5 or 6 days ago

heading N-East to the Med,

and another two or three I think..few days later?

They're not exactly flooding there -yet-

judging by how these ships are still hanging around here.

 

[CruiserBruce]

Nobody is going to be able to predict...depends on what happens with Covid. It is possible ships could return to the Med, or maybe they won't.

[crzndeb]

Carnival has already canceled their Europe itineraries for 2020.

[Sekhmet]

9 hours ago, jocap said:

Presumably Hurtigruten is still ferrying around Norway's ports?

No, we had an email on 7th April confirming that Hurtigruten services are largely suspended, currently until May 21st, apart from a very limited service between a few of the ports which are otherwise inaccessible, and they are for local passengers and essential supplies only.  We are booked to do the full round trip from Bergen in late July, but we don't really expect it to go ahead.

Stay safe.

[davecttr]

Maybe summer 2021?

 

Only 2 Hurtigruten ships moving on Cruise ships tracker this morning

Edited April 10, 2020 by davecttr

[AF-1]

I don't see any cruise line doing Med cruises until at least Oct/Nov.  And then will only be southern Med where it has warmer weather.   Anything earlier than Oct would be a win/win for passengers.

[clo]

12 hours ago, Sekhmet said:

Hurtigruten

We were to have sailed with them on the NB coastal cruise (did the RT last year) but that go canceled and AFAIK the whole country is closed to visitors (requiring a 14 day quarantine upon entering).

[chipmaster]

23 hours ago, Aplmac said:

With Europe in quite a state with itself re. COVID-19

I find myself wondering about the possibility (or not?)

of any decent Summer Cruise Season

for any of the lines, in the Mediterranean, this summer.

 

Here in Barbados, we still have several ships languishing at anchor

or just skirting about out there, 20 mi. offshore

but still coming back in to languish some more, in Carlisle Bay.

 

A few of them (smaller ones)  have taken off in a N-Easterly direction

obviously heading for the Med and what we hope (for their sake!)

is a bit of business!

 

What do you guys think? Any chance of it?

 

 

zero chance people still dying at an alarming rate and people worry about cruising 

[Aplmac]

Just today ..a few hours ago on TV

I think it was BBC World I was watching (out of America, not the UK)

and they mentioned a COVID pass-card - they showed one too!

 

Looks rather like a cruise card/credit card - has a bar code on it

and your photo -plus I guess some sort of status verifying that you are "clean"

and good to go, as they say.

Obviously so new I can't even find an image of one, via Google image search.

 

Keep your ear to the ground re. this?

[Aplmac]

35 minutes ago, chipmaster said:

zero chance

people still dying at an alarming rate -and people worry about cruising 

 

I fear you are right.

 

I might not put it at zero chance,

but certainly not much optimistically higher than about 5-10 % chance!

 

[chipmaster]

2 hours ago, Aplmac said:

Just today ..a few hours ago on TV

I think it was BBC World I was watching (out of America, not the UK)

and they mentioned a COVID pass-card - they showed one too!

 

Looks rather like a cruise card/credit card - has a bar code on it

and your photo -plus I guess some sort of status verifying that you are "clean"

and good to go, as they say.

Obviously so new I can't even find an image of one, via Google image search.

 

Keep your ear to the ground re. this?

 

You mean be clean today, but unless you contracted and recovered and have the antibodies tomorrow you can run into someone on the way to the airport, at the airport, on the airplane, in line to board the ship and viola you got the Diamond Princess or Zaandam all over again.

 

[Aplmac]

14 minutes ago, chipmaster said:

You mean be clean today,

but unless you contracted and recovered

and have the antibodies tomorrow you can run into someone on the way

to the airport, at the airport, on the airplane, in line to board the ship ....

and Voila! you got the Diamond Princess or Zaandam all over again!

 

I agree with you!   ^

 

Not sure how this would work,

unless you hold yourself in strict quarantine for 14 days prior to cruise date

and you then go straight to Pier 90 Manhattan/wherever -to board?!

 

[chipmaster]

11 minutes ago, Aplmac said:

 

I agree with you!   ^

 

Not sure how this would work,

unless you hold yourself in strict quarantine for 14 days prior to cruise date

and you then go straight to Pier 90 Manhattan/wherever -to board?!

 

 

Can you imagine this line has people from all over the world just traveling thru hundreds of airports?   Then you got thousands that are spaced 6 feet apart, and get them a blood test or temperature, makes TSA looks like a walk in the park.

[Aplmac]

That photo ^ was indeed Pier 90 Manhattan - October 2011

to board Carnival Glory for our Canada cruise

out to Halifax NS -and back to NYC

 

No WAY would this sort of spacing be allowed today!
There would be red stripes on the floor, every six feet
like we're seeing outside stores now, here on the island.

Wow... So many problems now facing the travel industry

be it sea or air!

How are they going to do the muster drill?
Muster drill is always THE Most Crowded, should-to-shoulder experience ever!
Muster will now be 6-8 ft. apart?

 

[AF-1]

I don't believe any ships are headed to the Med just yet.  Unless there are some ships already there; most ships like in the pic above are awaiting orders from their respective companies.  The reason they sit just off the coast is they are not allowed to dock unless they are taking on fuel or food.  

[Smurf2017]

On 4/9/2020 at 11:24 PM, jocap said:

Only by ferry, I guess... the 2 day journey from Portsmouth to Northern Spain seems to be the nearest thing to a cruise...

Presumably Hurtigruten is still ferrying around Norway's ports?

 

 

 

And even the ferries are not operating. You'll need to swim across!

[iancal]

We are typically planning ahead for two trips.  At this time of year it is a Sept/Oct trip to Europe and a winter trip to somewhere warm.  The only sailing that we may possibly be doing is a short ferry ride from Tarifa to Tangier.  The entire trip has a big question mark.  Normally we would be looking at Med cruises to complement the trip.   We are not considering one even if we do travel.  Same for our winter trip.

[MBP&O2/O]

We are booked on a cruise from Italy due to sail late September. 2020.

We booked it because of the itinerary.

i am not optimistic that it will go ahead, but will hang on and let them cancel it.

If they do then I stand a chance of claiming the airfares on the travel insurance?
I am not going to get stressed over it as there is nothing i can do.

[AF-1]

you are correct;  nothing to worry over at this stage of the game.  Let things play out and see what happens.  

[Aplmac]

On 4/9/2020 at 9:25 PM, crzndeb said:

Carnival has already canceled their Europe itineraries for 2020.

 

Carnival also cancelled everything out of New York!!

 

[AF-1]

Aplmac;  thanks for the update on Carnival.   this will most likely effect other cruise lines

[ducklite]

We are booked on a Baltic Cruise on WIndstar in late July.  Still waiting to hear what will happen. Final payment is due next week.  If I hand over the money and they cancel, I won't have the funds to take a different holiday as they aren't refunding, just letting you re-book onto something else at a later date.  
 

[navybankerteacher]

6 minutes ago, ducklite said:

We are booked on a Baltic Cruise on WIndstar in late July.  Still waiting to hear what will happen. Final payment is due next week.  If I hand over the money and they cancel, I won't have the funds to take a different holiday as they aren't refunding, just letting you re-book onto something else at a later date.  
 

Essentially, you are being offered a wager:  you have the option of walking away from whatever deposit you have paid if it turns out that the cruise takes place after you fail to make payment (but you might still not get your deposit back if the cruise does not take place);   or you could make final payment in the hope that the cruise will happen — risking just getting a future cruise credit otherwise (which also might never happen).

 

At this point, nobody in his right mind would start paying for a cruise in the next few months — your decision to double down should hang on the amount you have already paid — there is very little point in risking throwing good money after bad if the “bad” is just a small amount.