Carnival using 18 ships to repatriate crew

[jimbo5544]

 

Quite a complex feat, shame on the world for treating them like dirt.  
 

https://cruiseradio.net/carnival-reveals-immediate-plan-for-18-cruise-ships/

[Elaine5715]

14 minutes ago, jimbo5544 said:

 

Quite a complex feat, shame on the world for treating them like dirt.  
 

https://cruiseradio.net/carnival-reveals-immediate-plan-for-18-cruise-ships/

The mass media headlines are disgusting.  "Crew Trapped on Ships".. 

[jimbo5544]

3 minutes ago, Elaine5715 said:

The mass media headlines are disgusting.  "Crew Trapped on Ships".. 

The cruise lines were dictated how the crew must travel, probably based on fear of covid.  Obviously if that is the reason they are well past triple the time needed for isolation.  The rules of the edict made it untenable from a cost and logistics perspective.  Overall, a horrible job done by the CDC which appears to look for ways to punish the industry.  
 

The most meaningful portion of this report and the crew is that for the most part, they have remained upbeat, to their credit.  As our local expert has mentioned, this is the tip of the iceberg in terms of seamen stuck in the same potential position.  

[BlerkOne]

[PaulMedik]

Given the bargain prices on fuel lately I would imagine the voyages via ship are cheaper than paying for airfare plus the diesels need to be operated to maintain peak performance.

[Elaine5715]

3 hours ago, jimbo5544 said:

The cruise lines were dictated how the crew must travel, probably based on fear of covid.  Obviously if that is the reason they are well past triple the time needed for isolation.  The rules of the edict made it untenable from a cost and logistics perspective.  Overall, a horrible job done by the CDC which appears to look for ways to punish the industry.  
 

The most meaningful portion of this report and the crew is that for the most part, they have remained upbeat, to their credit.  As our local expert has mentioned, this is the tip of the iceberg in terms of seamen stuck in the same potential position.  

I didn't read one article in mass media that mentioned ships returning crew to home countries during the hiatus 

[Elaine5715]

2 hours ago, PaulMedik said:

Given the bargain prices on fuel lately I would imagine the voyages via ship are cheaper than paying for airfare plus the diesels need to be operated to maintain peak performance.

Flights into most countries were unreliable and they didn't want crew stranded in airports

[jimbo5544]

10 minutes ago, Elaine5715 said:

I didn't read one article in mass media that mentioned ships returning crew to home countries during the hiatus 

This has an ongoing challenge, all cruise lines are taking pretty much the same tact (at least the big ones).  

[jimbo5544]

10 minutes ago, Elaine5715 said:

Flights into most countries were unreliable and they didn't want crew stranded in airports

The issue was in demanding that these be charters, pretty close to unattainable.  

[Elaine5715]

38 minutes ago, jimbo5544 said:

The issue was in demanding that these be charters, pretty close to unattainable.  

Especially when the recieving airport could denied landing.  

[Medtech2]

It’s been especially ridiculous considering people have been traveling all over by car and possibly spreading Covid everywhere but the poor crewmen on these ships have been denied being able to travel home all this time and have been held prisoner by the ports, including here in Charleston...

[N7786W Flyer]

Maybe I'm missing something...but, if (according to the article) they'll be down to 3,000 crew members for all 27 ships once all the staff are repatriated to their respective countries, how do they expect to start cruising again on June 27th? 

 

While I'm certainly no expert, seems the crew would have to arrive back on board some time (weeks?) in advance of actual cruising happening to restock the galley, clean/disinfect rooms/public areas, prep the ship for passengers, etc.?? 

 

At this point, we're only about 7-8 weeks away from cruising re-starting (assuming cruises actually do happen on 6/27), so from this amateur's perspective, I'm not sure why they're taking so many crew members back to their homes...unless, of course, they have no intention of cruising for the next several months???

 

Garnett

[BlerkOne]

21 minutes ago, N7786W Flyer said:

Maybe I'm missing something...but, if (according to the article) they'll be down to 3,000 crew members for all 27 ships once all the staff are repatriated to their respective countries, how do they expect to start cruising again on June 27th? 

 

While I'm certainly no expert, seems the crew would have to arrive back on board some time (weeks?) in advance of actual cruising happening to restock the galley, clean/disinfect rooms/public areas, prep the ship for passengers, etc.?? 

 

At this point, we're only about 7-8 weeks away from cruising re-starting (assuming cruises actually do happen on 6/27), so from this amateur's perspective, I'm not sure why they're taking so many crew members back to their homes...unless, of course, they have no intention of cruising for the next several months???

 

Garnett

 

A lot of the prep work takes 1 day - they do it every time a cruise turns around.

 

Many of the crew were at the end of their contract anyway and will be replaced with a different crew.

 

Probably not all ships will start cruising day 1, and those that do will have reduced passenger and crew loads.

 

[GA Dave]

I do not see any way cruises are restarting in June.  They would have to use ships to bring in new crew again, as almost every country has bans on flights outside their countries that will last through the summer at a minimum.  Plus, where will they cruise to?  No one is going to accept ships from the US anytime soon with the top infection numbers in the world, and most ports are closed anyway.  They can’t do cruises to no where anymore due to the PVSA.

[jimbo5544]

7 minutes ago, GA Dave said:

I do not see any way cruises are restarting in June.  They would have to use ships to bring in new crew again, as almost every country has bans on flights outside their countries that will last through the summer at a minimum.  Plus, where will they cruise to?  No one is going to accept ships from the US anytime soon with the top infection numbers in the world, and most ports are closed anyway.  They can’t do cruises to no where anymore due to the PVSA.

You are taking todays standard for end of June, we have no idea if that will be the same.

[BlerkOne]

2 hours ago, GA Dave said:

 They can’t do cruises to no where anymore due to the PVSA.

 

They can't because of the type of visa most of the crew obtains. The visa or the interpretation could change.

 

Private islands might have a new attraction.

[ray98]

10 hours ago, N7786W Flyer said:

Maybe I'm missing something...but, if (according to the article) they'll be down to 3,000 crew members for all 27 ships once all the staff are repatriated to their respective countries, how do they expect to start cruising again on June 27th? 

 

While I'm certainly no expert, seems the crew would have to arrive back on board some time (weeks?) in advance of actual cruising happening to restock the galley, clean/disinfect rooms/public areas, prep the ship for passengers, etc.?? 

 

At this point, we're only about 7-8 weeks away from cruising re-starting (assuming cruises actually do happen on 6/27), so from this amateur's perspective, I'm not sure why they're taking so many crew members back to their homes...unless, of course, they have no intention of cruising for the next several months???

 

Garnett

 

A good percentage of the crew are already at the end or near the end of their contracts, even moreso 2 more months down the road.  It makes no sense paying tens of thousands of crew members for 2 months just to sit on a ship when you have plenty who are ready to start a fresh contract waiting.

Edited May 3, 2020 by ray98

[jimbo5544]

6 hours ago, BlerkOne said:

 

They can't because of the type of visa most of the crew obtains. The visa or the interpretation could change.

 

Private islands might have a new attraction.

Interesting, it might be a good way for a soft start.  

[N7786W Flyer]

3 minutes ago, ray98 said:

 

A good percentage of the crew are already at the end or near the end of their contracts, even moreso 2 more months down the road.  It makes no sense paying tens of thousands of crew members for 2 months just to sit on a ship when you have plenty who are ready to start a fresh contract waiting.

 

I hear what you're saying, but conversely, how are they going to get newly contracted crew BACK to the ships...especially, by 6/27?  But, even more to my original point, how are they going to run even 4 ships with 3,000 crew...and still have enough around to provide minimal maintenance/safety coverage to the remaining (and idle) 23 ships?

 

From what I can see, Carnival has approximately 20 ships scheduled to sail either on June 27, 28, or 29...don't see how it gonna happen with these crew reductions, but then again, I'm not privy to inside information....who knows, they may have this all figured out...OR they know they're not going to sail on 6/27, 28, or 29th.

 

Time will tell.

[ray98]

4 minutes ago, N7786W Flyer said:

 

I hear what you're saying, but conversely, how are they going to get newly contracted crew BACK to the ships...especially, by 6/27?  But, even more to my original point, how are they going to run even 4 ships with 3,000 crew...and still have enough around to provide minimal maintenance/safety coverage to the remaining (and idle) 23 ships?

 

From what I can see, Carnival has approximately 20 ships scheduled to sail either on June 27, 28, or 29...don't see how it gonna happen with these crew reductions, but then again, I'm not privy to inside information....who knows, they may have this all figured out...OR they know they're not going to sail on 6/27, 28, or 29th.

 

Time will tell.

....because logic says travel restrictions 2 months from now will be vastly different than they are today.  I would assume 3k crew is plenty to provide basic functionality for the fleet, the vast majority of crew are tasked with roles directly or indirectly connected to the passengers and are unnecessary in this situation.

[jimbo5544]

Here is a shot of the ships beginning to leave to repatriate crew.  Shame on the CDC WHO and countries for not letting these non sick crew members fly home.

Edited May 3, 2020 by jimbo5544

[GA Dave]

1 hour ago, N7786W Flyer said:

 

From what I can see, Carnival has approximately 20 ships scheduled to sail either on June 27, 28, or 29...don't see how it gonna happen with these crew reductions, but then again, I'm not privy to inside information....who knows, they may have this all figured out...OR they know they're not going to sail on 6/27, 28, or 29th.

 

Time will tell.

Your last statement is most likely.  All of the cruise lines are in desperate need of cash.  If they keep accepting deposits for cruises they know will not sail, and then tell people it will be at least 90 days to get a refund, the customers become short-term lenders for them.

[sanmarcosman]

As you do, good photos.

Edited May 3, 2020 by sanmarcosman

[illinoisfive]

Beautiful picture jimbo5544! Thank you for posting

May they all stay safe and healthy!

[jimbo5544]

2 hours ago, GA Dave said:

Your last statement is most likely.  All of the cruise lines are in desperate need of cash.  If they keep accepting deposits for cruises they know will not sail, and then tell people it will be at least 90 days to get a refund, the customers become short-term lenders for them.

Well that is a view, has nothing to do with getting the crew home.  To your point, maybe they really want to sail also.