RC to cut passengers numbers

[cb at sea]

After ALL the adding cabins everywhere....turns out NOT to be such a wonderful idea.

 

[Sunshine3601]

1 hour ago, BND said:

I fully expect, at least at first that ships will have lower capacity.  And, I expect less ships will sail at first.   It will take time to get everything back up and running and there will be less crew too.  They can't be doubling up like a lot do now.

Yes he did say they will stagger the sailings as it is a major undertaking to get crew to where they need to be too.  

 

Especially since may 9th they will begin transferring crew and use the anthem to get them to India and other ships to asia etc.  Per other thread on this site.  

From what he said it does sound like they will have cruises started before there is a vaccine and it will be quite different but still enjoyable.  Time will tell.  I still think they are months out before first cruise.  Heck I live in PA and still in shut down with no date announced yet for us to go to phase 1.  Boy i do need nail salon bad!!  Probably a month or so before they will reopen around here.

[rcclmiami]

I can see them cutting the inside and ocean view. Least amount of $ lost per cabin

[Sunshine3601]

49 minutes ago, rcclmiami said:

I can see them cutting the inside and ocean view. Least amount of $ lost per cabin

Might start to see crew staying in the interior cabins since their living quarters are very restricted and make social distancing impossible for them.

[Milwaukee Eight]

1 hour ago, mac_tlc said:

We will see how full those two are after final payment comes around. If Royal would give me my money back before final payment, I would cancel my TA now. 
 

mac_tlc

We would do the same for Oct 25 Allure. 

[zekekelso]

37 minutes ago, Sunshine3601 said:

Might start to see crew staying in the interior cabins since their living quarters are very restricted and make social distancing impossible for them.

Let the help stay in the same floor as passengers??? How terribly gauche. <———— note, sarcasm.  

[Coralc]

2 hours ago, Nyc2tropics said:

Moot point..Unfortunately I don’t see any cruises from the US this year unless this virus goes away completely. I’m booked on Oasis for October and bummed about it but I doubt ships will sail. Even if things seem stable the govt is probably going to overreact and ban large crowds for the foreseeable future. They already said there will be no fans in the stands for any sporting events in LA for the rest of the year. 

 

CA, especially the SF Bay Area is being super cautious about everything. 

 

And since they are not repatriating crewmembers in a timely manner...I don't see them bringing them back very quickly either. 

 

If I don't get my nails done soon, I am going to Scream! 

Edited May 4, 2020 by Coralc

[firefly333]

4 minutes ago, Coralc said:

 

CA, especially the SF Bay Area is being super cautious about everything. 

 

And since they are not repatriating crewmembers in a timely manner...I don't see them bringing them back very quickly either. 

I would agree California will be among the last ports in usa ... and maybe ny area. 

 

Calif goes to hawaii who wouldnt be open to visitors for a while or to Asia which is at the bottom of my list. I want to see islands and beaches and palm trees. .. which can be found in other ports for now. Just need a cruise. Calif is not my first pick of ports to go out of first. 

[Coralc]

4 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

I would agree California will be among the last ports in usa ... and maybe ny area. 

 

Calif goes to hawaii who wouldnt be open to visitors for a while or to Asia which is at the bottom of my list. I want to see islands and beaches and palm trees. .. which can be found in other ports for now. Just need a cruise. Calif is not my first pick of ports to go out of first. 

 

Since we cruise with Royal Caribbean, it is not our pick either, since they rarely have ships here anyway. 

Edited May 4, 2020 by Coralc

[firefly333]

1 minute ago, Coralc said:

 

Since we cruise with Royal Caribbean, it is not our pick either, since they rarely have ships here anyway. 

I got 3 booked next year with rcl. Trying to fit one carnival amongst them. $600 obc worth doing ccl once.

 

I do prefer rcl but I dont like how they change the rules how to use fccs. Would be so much easier to apply like carnival and left over is obv, doesnt have to be reissued. Already the replacement for first rcl cancelled cruise is costing me a extra $300 or more. 2nd and 3rd b2b and would have to use fcc reissued after I got back from first. They were allowing more than one fcc so I was going to throw leftovers at 4th. I'm now cancelling 2nd fcc and 4th rcl cruise I planned when they said fcc couldnt be applied to deposit any more. ... one more rule change. At least carnival doesnt keep changing rules to make you pay more and more out of pocket cash. 

 

Assuming rcl cruise goes in january which I think it will, and next b2b, I'll be ready for a break with ccl.

 

I dont think its right for rcl to keep changing rules. They are making plenty change to asking for refunds.

[Penguin11]

6 hours ago, bouhunter said:

It will be interesting to see how they decide which guests aren't allowed to sail to achieve this (for sailings that are booked at high occupancy levels).

They will only sell Balcony cabins.  Inside & ocean view will not be sold just in case of a quarantine people can get fresh air.  Also 1 entire deck will be for quarantined passengers only. That deck will not be in inventory either.  Balcony  Cabins will be sold In half capacity.  So every other Cabin will not be occupied unless they are interconnected staterooms for family’s.  

[BirdTravels]

6 hours ago, mets123 said:

Not for a few years or until a vaccine is found. The first medical issue will create another scare.

Ships need to be fairly full to turn a profit. Yes, the company will probably go slow to start, but if it is cheaper to leave a ship in cold/warm layup, then that would be the financially smarter thing to do. 

[Penguin11]

7 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

Ships need to be fairly full to turn a profit. Yes, the company will probably go slow to start, but if it is cheaper to leave a ship in cold/warm layup, then that would be the financially smarter thing to do. 

Yes, but from a psychological standpoint they must get people cruising  again.  Even at a MAJOR financial loss.  That is what must happen.  After 9/11 airlines were flying 90% empty, they had to entice people to fly by offering ridiculously low fares just to get asses in the seats again. Its just the economics of fear pricing.

[molsonschooner]

14 minutes ago, Penguin11 said:

They will only sell Balcony cabins.  Inside & ocean view will not be sold just in case of a quarantine people can get fresh air.  Also 1 entire deck will be for quarantined passengers only. That deck will not be in inventory either.  Balcony  Cabins will be sold In half capacity.  So every other Cabin will not be occupied unless they are interconnected staterooms for family’s.  

how long do you think the cruise line can survive cruising with so few passengers.

[rolloman]

34 minutes ago, molsonschooner said:

how long do you think the cruise line can survive cruising with so few passengers.

 To answer your question, indefinitely, as long as the business model is drastically changed. One could assume there are many board room discussions going on right now to figure out just exactly how to offset the lack of passengers. Off the top of my head some examples could include, (current) fuel savings,  port of calls to be visited will be limited to revenue generating locations only (think private locations such as coco cay, Labadee ), more sea days (ship will be the destination), a la carte taken to a whole new level for just about everything ( such as seating in the theater?)  Should be interesting to say the least. 

[Coralc]

2 hours ago, Penguin11 said:

They will only sell Balcony cabins.  Inside & ocean view will not be sold just in case of a quarantine people can get fresh air.  Also 1 entire deck will be for quarantined passengers only. That deck will not be in inventory either.  Balcony  Cabins will be sold In half capacity.  So every other Cabin will not be occupied unless they are interconnected staterooms for family’s.  

 

Wow. That is high concept and you have obviously put some thought into this. Speculation, but interesting. 

[chrismch]

 A couple years back, I saw a TV show that talked about cruise capacity and profitability that pointed out the need to run full capacity. Here's an article that gives similar details https://www.jeremykisner.com/cruise-ship-industry/

Bottom line... if they cut the capacity, prices will increase dramatically. That's why the ships with a higher space ratio charge more for that extra space.

[ONECRUISER]

13 hours ago, firefly333 said:

I would be surprised if ships are booked at full capacity and dont have a lot of open cabins. The ones I have booked sure do. High prices arent a big inducement to book. It's more like oh look we have 378 open cabins, let's put out a press statement saying it's a on purpose to protect pax.

 

Who here would be surprised ships arent booked full?

Dont think prices be an issue. Low now and even if they limit passengers many wont return for while. Post 9/11-Anthrax scare in Fall 2001 took almost yr before ships started filling up and prices returned to normal, I was still getting cabins real cheap in May2002

Edited May 4, 2020 by ONECRUISER

[ONECRUISER]

4 hours ago, chrismch said:

 A couple years back, I saw a TV show that talked about cruise capacity and profitability that pointed out the need to run full capacity. Here's an article that gives similar details https://www.jeremykisner.com/cruise-ship-industry/

Bottom line... if they cut the capacity, prices will increase dramatically. That's why the ships with a higher space ratio charge more for that extra space.

20+ yrs ago was a selling point listing Public Square Feet per passenger on a ship. Was in all the Cruise Books, Mags and Advertisements. Cruise Ships 30+ yrs ago was in 20's, 90's in the 30's, 2000's mid-40's first hit with Voyager Class. Think Oasis hit 50. Now, existing ships last 10+ yrs been adding Cabins to open/public space and many 3/4/5 passengers to what were 2 passenger cabins. Back when I started Cruising in 80's was $3800 for the 2 of us in a Deck 2 tiny Port Hole Cabin. Then week at Disney/Orlando was Cheaper inc Hotel and Food. Flipped Post 9/11 Amusement Park prices went up and Cruising is cheaper. Cant beat rates now compared to 20+ yrs ago, even before drops over last 6 weeks

[DISFANS3]

So RCI will draw names out of a hat to see who gets to go on a Cruise???

[mugtech]

3 minutes ago, DISFANS3 said:

So RCI will draw names out of a hat to see who gets to go on a Cruise???

Could be a variation of the upgrade bid, the stay on board bid.

[bouhunter]

8 hours ago, Penguin11 said:

They will only sell Balcony cabins.  Inside & ocean view will not be sold just in case of a quarantine people can get fresh air.  Also 1 entire deck will be for quarantined passengers only. That deck will not be in inventory either.  Balcony  Cabins will be sold In half capacity.  So every other Cabin will not be occupied unless they are interconnected staterooms for family’s.  

Well, they're selling insides and ocean views on every floor right now...…..

 

Someone at RCCL has informed you of this very specific plan?

[Billy Baltic]

8 hours ago, Penguin11 said:

They will only sell Balcony cabins.  Inside & ocean view will not be sold just in case of a quarantine people can get fresh air.  Also 1 entire deck will be for quarantined passengers only. That deck will not be in inventory either.  Balcony  Cabins will be sold In half capacity.  So every other Cabin will not be occupied unless they are interconnected staterooms for family’s.  

 

Is there a reference for this?

[mac_tlc]

8 hours ago, Penguin11 said:

They will only sell Balcony cabins.  Inside & ocean view will not be sold just in case of a quarantine people can get fresh air.  Also 1 entire deck will be for quarantined passengers only. That deck will not be in inventory either.  Balcony  Cabins will be sold In half capacity.  So every other Cabin will not be occupied unless they are interconnected staterooms for family’s.  

Sounds pretty definitive. On Oasis this would mean (Approximate numbers but you get the idea):

 

Balcony + Suites = 1,966 cabins, only sell 983.

Oceanview= 256, sell 0.

Inside = 523, sell 0.

 

Lets assume they leave deck 3 for quarantine since its oceanviews.

When Oasis is full with 6500 passengers in 2745 cabins, average occupancy is 2.4 people per cabin.

 

Total number of passengers = 983 * 2.4. = 2,323. 
 

 

[M&A]

16 hours ago, taglovestocruise said:

Maybe cancel every other cabin, let those that are left scramble to find new cabins. 6 feet between tables and have MDR open 24/7.  No fun chat or making friends in the DL.

 

Maybe they will only sell balcony cabins.  Eliminate the cheaper inside and oceanview rooms.

 

They can put the tables 6 feet apart but how do they enforce distancing on the elevators?

15 people can crowd on to an elevator on their way to dinner, and then when they get to the dining room they have to sit 6 feet apart?  damage done.  

Do they shut down the elevators on ships? would there be someone at every elevator ensuring only 2 people at a time?

How about the tenders?  every seat is filled on tenders, that's to get people off the ship fast.  If they restrict to 6 feet apart it would take hours to get off the ship in a tender port.

What about hot tubs?  do they police that?  one person per hot tub?

 

Too many places where you can't social distance,  it's going to be impossible on a cruise ship

 

Edited May 4, 2020 by M&A