Repatriation Plans Announced for Crew Members to get home

[mugtech]

19 minutes ago, MADflyer said:

Did I catch that US Residents from the Philippines will have to fly to Manila and then at some point in the future get to fly back to the USA? 

Currently there are no domestic flights and no ferry service in the Philippines so if one is not on Luzon one is going to have trouble flying out.  Philippine Airlines cancelled all of their non-stop Manila to JFK flights until June 1.  Currently there are no international flights, no indication when they will resume.  We have 6/9/20 Philippine Airline tickets which were for a cancelled flight on 4/21/20.  We had to pay an additional $200 to reschedule a flight they cancelled. 

[MADflyer]

27 minutes ago, Hawkeye Mark said:

The Majesty of the Seas was seen off Surfside Beach in Texas by a friend of mine who owns a condo there. anyone know where it was going.

Liberty is in port at Galveston now, Majesty will come in to Galveston tomorrow and Enchantment also off the coast. They have been there for a while. 

[Hawkeye Mark]

Majesty is moving south. thats whats confusing.

 

[Milwaukee Eight]

1 hour ago, mac_tlc said:

Not clear if the crew of these ships will also be part of the repatriation. That would be a big indicator. If all crew are going home, then even Royal thinks it’s going to be a long time before cruises resume. If they keep the crew on those ships, they may be holding out hope to start sooner. I’m any event, it ain’t June 12th. 
 

Isn’t it about time for another cancellation announcement this week? 😜

 

mac_tlc

I was thinking the same. Some not leaving until June. Manila is now in lockdown including the airport. 
 

Once these crew finally make it home, how long will it take to bring enough crew back???

[Tall-Cruiser]

This may also be the first time an Oasis class ship goes to Barbados. Also, Barbados seems to be helping the Cruise Lines a lot recently allowing them to dock and transfer crew home. I saw something the other day when an AIDA Captain was thanking Barbados for the help.

 

Similar story from Cruise Industry News

https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/22866-royal-caribbean-details-massive-plan-to-get-crew-home.html

 

"The Harmony is heading to Barbados with Filipino crew from various company ships, where the company will have charter flights heading to Manila. There will also be charter flights to Manila from Miami, with the Liberty of the Seas heading to Miami".

Edited May 4, 2020 by Tall-Cruiser

[Hoopster95]

3 hours ago, suzyluvs2cruise said:

 

Plan for Crew Members to get home

 

Thx Suzy 👍

[little britain]

7 hours ago, Billy Baltic said:

Interesting to see Explorer excluded from the ships going to Europe. Maybe the first indication that it won’t be in the Mediterranean in 2020.

Why send 3 ships to Southampton and Anthem isn’t one of them 🤷‍♀️

[bigeck]

6 hours ago, Milwaukee Eight said:

I was thinking the same. Some not leaving until June. Manila is now in lockdown including the airport. 
 

Once these crew finally make it home, how long will it take to bring enough crew back???

Self service cruises are the new way to go

[GarlicBread]

8 hours ago, mac_tlc said:

Not clear if the crew of these ships will also be part of the repatriation. That would be a big indicator. If all crew are going home, then even Royal thinks it’s going to be a long time before cruises resume. If they keep the crew on those ships, they may be holding out hope to start sooner. I’m any event, it ain’t June 12th. 
 

Isn’t it about time for another cancellation announcement this week? 😜

 

mac_tlc

 

Those crew are going home. At least Mariner, so I assume symphony too. 

 

While it probably is an indicator that they wont be cruising any time soon, there will also be crew that need to go home: if they were half way through a contract when this started, then months onbaord in quarantine, the actually wouldn't have long (even if cruises started back tomorrow) until they would have to go home. Its better to send as many home as possible and then have a bigger number of 'fresh' crew for when it all starts again, rather than have the craziness of starting cruises and then signing off a fleet load of crew in the first few weeks. 

 

As former crew, I also dont think I'd adjust well and give the best service cruisers want/expect after months in isolation and then being thrown right back into work with no break and escape in between. 

[Biker19]

7 hours ago, Milwaukee Eight said:

Once these crew finally make it home, how long will it take to bring enough crew back???

Flights will likely resume before cruises, so that will not likely be an issue.

[greykitty]

Could someone explain why the 'legal consequences for executives' appeared to be a sticking point?   Was that in addition to the cost of following the CDC regulations, or is it a spin?  In any event, glad the crew is finally getting home.

 

https://www.miamiherald.com/news/business/tourism-cruises/article242471226.html

[ew101]

49 minutes ago, greykitty said:

Could someone explain why the 'legal consequences for executives' appeared to be a sticking point?   

 

https://www.miamiherald.com/news/business/tourism-cruises/article242471226.html

The CDC wants the returning crew to not scatter in the community on the way home- the buses to charter flights idea seems best- there was a case where an infected ship docked and everyone "went home" via random routes and prevented or complicated contact tracing.  

Edited May 4, 2020 by ew101

[mac_tlc]

51 minutes ago, greykitty said:

Could someone explain why the 'legal consequences for executives' appeared to be a sticking point?   Was that in addition to the cost of following the CDC regulations, or is it a spin?  In any event, glad the crew is finally getting home.

 

https://www.miamiherald.com/news/business/tourism-cruises/article242471226.html

The way I read it, the company executives would be  held accountable, up to and including imprisonment, if the crew used any public transportation or did not comply with other restrictions. I assume this could include any quarantine that their home country may impose. Holding the executives accountable for what the crew may or may not do once they get home seems extreme. 
 

mac_tlc

[Cruise a holic]

13 hours ago, ticketsunlimited said:

What a nightmare for these poor people. I wonder if half of them will ever want to get on a ship again. 

I agree- so then Royal has to hire, train and be sure the "new" cruise staff is Covid negative- this will take, IMO months.  I do not realistically think cruising will be available until at least the fall.  

[sgmn]

5 hours ago, little britain said:

Why send 3 ships to Southampton and Anthem isn’t one of them 🤷‍♀️

There's a lot of talk about 14 days isolation after arriving on flts into UK. Will the same be for these crew before they can continue onwards? 

[Milwaukee Eight]

24 minutes ago, sgmn said:

There's a lot of talk about 14 days isolation after arriving on flts into UK. Will the same be for these crew before they can continue onwards? 

Great question. Not sure anyone really has that answer yet. 

[greykitty]

2 hours ago, mac_tlc said:

The way I read it, the company executives would be  held accountable, up to and including imprisonment, if the crew used any public transportation or did not comply with other restrictions. I assume this could include any quarantine that their home country may impose. Holding the executives accountable for what the crew may or may not do once they get home seems extreme. 
 

mac_tlc

Ah, thank you.  I was reading it as though the company, and executives, were only responsible for ensuring private transportation throughout was ordered for its employees.  Not the 'what if' the employees chose to do afterwards.  Of course, now I'm wondering if any management personnel were to be with each group of repatriating employees to supervise the safe transportation home.  Boy, each item can evoke another item to think about, can't it.

[Milwaukee Eight]

37 minutes ago, greykitty said:

Ah, thank you.  I was reading it as though the company, and executives, were only responsible for ensuring private transportation throughout was ordered for its employees.  Not the 'what if' the employees chose to do afterwards.  Of course, now I'm wondering if any management personnel were to be with each group of repatriating employees to supervise the safe transportation home.  Boy, each item can evoke another item to think about, can't it.

This was a US CDC order. In the case that made the news of US crew member, it was because the cruise line failed to provide private charter/bus/car/airline foe that crew member to return home. The CDC just didn’t want to cruise lines to dump off crew in US ports and go off on their own. 

[suzyluvs2cruise]

4 hours ago, greykitty said:

Could someone explain why the 'legal consequences for executives' appeared to be a sticking point?   Was that in addition to the cost of following the CDC regulations, or is it a spin?  In any event, glad the crew is finally getting home.

 

https://www.miamiherald.com/news/business/tourism-cruises/article242471226.html

 

These are the forms that CDC requires to include signatures of 3 Executives.

Edited May 4, 2020 by suzyluvs2cruise

[EscapeFromConnecticut]

https://amp.miamiherald.com/news/business/tourism-cruises/article242443236.html
 

Seems like Fain & his exec troops are ducking and dodging again.

  Note that the CDC says it is "disappointed" with cruise lines ... And that "their answers  not aligned with the public health needs" .... and that it only barely stops short of using the word "liars" ...

   None of the speaks well CLIA's work, Fain's attitude or RCI's chances to catch any regulatory breaks in the future. Stockholders really bonused this guy with $14 million and he's too cheap to get his crew home safely when the world is watching?

[ONECRUISER]

17 hours ago, suzyluvs2cruise said:

Missing from the article was this information about Allure and Jewel.   

Pretty much what Carnival did couple days ago when they had 19 ships parked in about 3 by 4 mile spot. Would have loved had Drone overhead as they sat there and  transferred their Crew around

[GarlicBread]

1 hour ago, EscapeFromConnecticut said:

https://amp.miamiherald.com/news/business/tourism-cruises/article242443236.html
 

Seems like Fain & his exec troops are ducking and dodging again.

  Note that the CDC says it is "disappointed" with cruise lines ... And that "their answers  not aligned with the public health needs" .... and that it only barely stops short of using the word "liars" ...

   None of the speaks well CLIA's work, Fain's attitude or RCI's chances to catch any regulatory breaks in the future. Stockholders really bonused this guy with $14 million and he's too cheap to get his crew home safely when the world is watching?

 

This article is 3 days old and pre-repatriation announcement. 

 

Tbh, in my opinion, the CDC requirements are/were making it too difficult (without even bringing cost and money into it) for cruise lines to debark their crew. 

[Plum Happy]

Here's an update on Repatriation Plans in USA TODAY

 

Royal Caribbean CEO outlines plan to get crew members home, calling it 'incredibly complex'

Royal Caribbean, in conjunction with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, has made a plan to repatriate its crew members back to their respective home countries – including those from the U.S. – as the coronavirus pandemic lingers.

 

While the cruise industry has managed to disembark passengers from ships, it has struggled with how to remove thousands of crew members.

 

Across 26 cruise ships, 25,000 Royal Caribbean crew members have completed 14 days of in-room quarantine and are now practicing social distancing, according to an internal letter to crew from Michael Bayley, Royal Caribbean president and CEO, and obtained by USA TODAY. Five crew members are being treated in isolation with flu-like symptoms, which are similar to those of COVID-19.

 

Nearly 9,100 crew members have returned home, including 398 Americans, by commercial flights and private transport.

 

Royal Caribbean crew members come from 60 countries, and returning them home means following 60 sets of rules.

 

"What we’ve learned over the past month is that one simple question – how do we get you home? – turns out to be incredibly complex to answer," Bayley wrote in the letter.

Here's the breakdown of when remaining American crew members aboard the Royal Caribbean fleet can return home.  Bayley noted that plans are subject to change:

 

• Beginning May 6, American crew on ships near the U.S. will receive private transportation home.
• American crew in Asia will fly home from the Philippines pending the reopening of the Manila airport.
• Crew at Perfect Day, the line's private island in the Bahamas, and off the Barbados coast will sail to Miami and then be sent home via private transport. They should return home by May 14.
• U.S. crew now in the Mediterranean should fly home by May 20.  

 

The letter also indicated that one employee had died this month after being hospitalized for several weeks and that the company was mourning "the loss of several of our colleagues over the past two months." It did not say whether they had COVID-19. USA TODAY has reached out to Royal Caribbean for more information.

 

"Our hearts and prayers go out to his family, friends and colleagues, including his two brothers, who also work for the Royal Caribbean family," Bayley wrote in the letter of the recently deceased employee "We have all been traumatized by this terrible time and it is our shared commitment to each other that will help us journey to better times."

 

The CDC will only allow the line to disembark crew if company executives guarantee crew members won't use public transportation, public airport terminals or interact with rental car companies or restaurants on their trips home, among other stipulations. The cruise line and company executives are subject to criminal penalties such as imprisonment if crew members break those rules. Still, Bayley said the line would agree to the terms to get crew off the ships.

 

"Over the past several days we have discussed our concern with the CDC on the criminal penalties associated with guaranteeing future events that we had little to no control over," Bayley wrote in the letter. "We remain hopeful that this language will eventually be adjusted."

 

Those who don't want to leave ships don't have to, Bayley wrote, and added that more than 1,000 have requested to remain aboard.

 

As for when the ships might cruise again? Royal Caribbean spokesperson Jonathon Fishman told USA TODAY: "We have not yet determined our return to service date. Right now, we are focused on developing additional measures to further protect our guests and crew. We look forward to providing great service to our guests when we return, we and can’t wait to set sail again." 

 

Carnival Cruise Line announced Monday it plans to resume some of its North American cruise service this summer starting Aug. 1 

Edited May 4, 2020 by Plum Happy

[Jack McGowan]

There’s got to be a reason that they are using Majesty and Empress hasn’t there? Surely it would have made more sense to send 2 larger ships than 1 large and 2 tiny! They could have used Explorer as she is supposed to be in the med anyway. Maybe one will go to Marella and one to pullmantur?? Still we all unfortunately know what the worse outcome of it could be....

[Biker19]

Looks like the first of the ships taking part of this is on the way - Explorer departed for Bridgetown.