What will the New Age Sailings look like? Your thoughts

[jimbo5544]

38 minutes ago, MsTabbyKats said:

The title of this thread is "What Will New Age Sailings Look Like"

 

People are only commenting about "pre-end of pandemic" sailings...and not being afraid to be the first one on the ship, wearing masks, using wipes etc.

 

I'm interested to hear what you think will be in, let's say, 2 years from now....permanent changes, not band-aides. 

 

As I said before...I see a cut down of density and increase in price.  In 2 years I do hope we are out of "social distancing" and I'd like to get a chair on the lido that has a few inches between me and the next guy.  To accomplish this Carnival will have a new target market.

After it is all done, I see minimal changes.  Things like lido food distribution and possibly embark and debark changes.  Other than these BAU

[Honolulu Blue]

1 hour ago, MsTabbyKats said:

The title of this thread is "What Will New Age Sailings Look Like"

 

People are only commenting about "pre-end of pandemic" sailings...and not being afraid to be the first one on the ship, wearing masks, using wipes etc.

 

I'm interested to hear what you think will be in, let's say, 2 years from now....permanent changes, not band-aides. 

 

As far as I'm concerned, the pre-end of pandemic IS the New Age, since that's all we're likely to see for the next year and I think Carnival will try resuming cruises before then.

 

My crystal ball is much foggier on cruising two years hence.  I still say it's very important to know if masks and/or social distancing will be something we will have become so used to that we'll expect them even when we don't strictly need them.

[EscapeFromConnecticut]

1 hour ago, MsTabbyKats said:

The title of this thread is "What Will New Age Sailings Look Like"

 

People are only commenting about "pre-end of pandemic" sailings...and not being afraid to be the first one on the ship, wearing masks, using wipes etc.

 

I'm interested to hear what you think will be in, let's say, 2 years from now....permanent changes, not band-aides. 

 

As I said before...I see a cut down of density and increase in price.  In 2 years I do hope we are out of "social distancing" and I'd like to get a chair on the lido that has a few inches between me and the next guy.  To accomplish this Carnival will have a new target market.

    A genuine silver bullet - the vaccine that 100% wipes out COVID-19, or the treatment that's safe & is 100% effective - would change every projection here, of course. But barring that, I'm thinking

 

•  Much smaller fleets. A lot of the older ships have been scrapped, and the new-builds canceled;
•  Far fewer itineraries (a lot of places that weren't happy with cruise ships will bar them altogether, or else take this opportunity to steeply limit the frequency of port visits);
•  If flare-ups and hot spots are still happening, then brace for fast-changing itineraries, too. Coronavirus fluctuations become sort of a hurricane season. So book Cozumel, Grand Cayman and Nassau in April, get entirely different ports during the actual cruise in November if their conditions suddenly go bad;
•  Onboard medical staff and equipment has been heavily upgraded, at significant cost;
•  The buffets as we knew them are long gone. Regardless of personnel costs, the cruise lines will have to provide staff to serve or else do away with buffets altogether;
•  Cruise lines will provide backup plans - regardless of the expense - for outbreaks. This will have to cover everything from prevention to onboard damage control to much better preparations for getting "sick" ships to a safe port with medical facilities, quarantine facilities and transport home for cruisers (you can bet that when the dust settles, no government is going to tolerate having to clean up Zaandam, Coral or Grand Princess meltdowns ever again);
•  The trillion-dollar question: How much will this cost us? I suspect a lot. Everyone applauds NCL's and CCL's latest financing patches, but ignores the stupendous future debt costs - all of which will hit after month of zero revenue; 
•  Meanwhile, in a global mega-recession there just won't be enough customers to support CCL's mass-market, high-volume business model. So capacity has to plunge and prices will go steeply higher (and expect a boatload of new fees and pressured upsells, too)
•  So - the rich will be fine (funny, they almost always come out that way). Middle-class cruisers will need to be satisfied with far fewer trips  

[jimbo5544]

8 minutes ago, EscapeFromConnecticut said:

    A genuine silver bullet - the vaccine that 100% wipes out COVID-19, or the treatment that's safe & is 100% effective - would change every projection here, of course. But barring that, I'm thinking

 

•  Much smaller fleets. A lot of the older ships have been scrapped, and the new-builds canceled;
•  Far fewer itineraries (a lot of places that weren't happy with cruise ships will bar them altogether, or else take this opportunity to steeply limit the frequency of port visits);
•  If flare-ups and hot spots are still happening, then brace for fast-changing itineraries, too. Coronavirus fluctuations become sort of a hurricane season. So book Cozumel, Grand Cayman and Nassau in April, get entirely different ports during the actual cruise in November if their conditions suddenly go bad;
•  Onboard medical staff and equipment has been heavily upgraded, at significant cost;
•  The buffets as we knew them are long gone. Regardless of personnel costs, the cruise lines will have to provide staff to serve or else do away with buffets altogether;
•  Cruise lines will provide backup plans - regardless of the expense - for outbreaks. This will have to cover everything from prevention to onboard damage control to much better preparations for getting "sick" ships to a safe port with medical facilities, quarantine facilities and transport home for cruisers (you can bet that when the dust settles, no government is going to tolerate having to clean up Zaandam, Coral or Grand Princess meltdowns ever again);
•  The trillion-dollar question: How much will this cost us? I suspect a lot. Everyone applauds NCL's and CCL's latest financing patches, but ignores the stupendous future debt costs - all of which will hit after month of zero revenue; 
•  Meanwhile, in a global mega-recession there just won't be enough customers to support CCL's mass-market, high-volume business model. So capacity has to plunge and prices will go steeply higher (and expect a boatload of new fees and pressured upsells, too)
•  So - the rich will be fine (funny, they almost always come out that way). Middle-class cruisers will need to be satisfied with far fewer trips  

Any numbers of what the government had to cover in the “meltdown”?  There will never be a 100% vaccine, even if there were, a fair number would reject getting it.   

Edited May 8, 2020 by jimbo5544

[jlabs03]

I hope they keep the servers in the buffet, Holland does this and Carnival did it on my March 2020 cruise.  This will cut down on the spread of any disease, which is always a good thing.

 

[Lee Cruiser]

1 hour ago, jimbo5544 said:

After it is all done, I see minimal changes.  Things like lido food distribution and possibly embark and debark changes.  Other than these BAU

I agree.  Once the virus talk fades away, which I feel will be sometime next year, things will start being more relaxed again.  That will be a process and not an overnight thing.  But 2-3 years out I don't see things being much different than they were last Fall.  The next two years though will be vastly different.

[jimbo5544]

2 minutes ago, Lee Cruiser said:

I agree.  Once the virus talk fades away, which I feel will be sometime next year, things will start being more relaxed again.  That will be a process and not an overnight thing.  But 2-3 years out I don't see things being much different than they were last Fall.  The next two years though will be vastly different.

What will probably change is the demographics of the industry players.  If NCL survives this, it will be a shell of what it once was and significantly smaller and have to jettison the smaller 5 star lines IMHO.

Edited May 8, 2020 by jimbo5544

[MsTabbyKats]

This is what I see for the former "buffet".  It's now called "The Cafe".  Whens you enter, your given a paper menu which allows you to mark off your meal.  A server comes over, takes your menu....he goes to the food area and prepares your plate.  You can order whatever  you want and ask for the serving size you want (so it's unlike the mdr).  In addition, because of increased space between tables there will be a lot of rolling carts offering breads, desserts, fruit etc.  Drinks such as juices, coffee, tea will also be served this way.  There will be increase space because there won't be as many passengers.  In addition, "The Cafe" may have longer hours to accommodate more people. 

[Lee Cruiser]

One of the immediate changes will be the return of the Health Screening Questionnaire.  But, those things were basically useless before and most likely will be again.  I'm sure Carnival will do a limited screening of everyone for a good while with the continuation of checking temperatures and such.  But, unless they relax their policies (refunding people they refuse to let cruise because of the questions and follow up exam), the surveys will be useless again.

[MsTabbyKats]

Cruise ship casinos are notoriously tight....expect them to be tighter.

 

I'm not a drinker...but I see the ships doing away with "drink as much as you can for as little $$$ as possible".  I expect them to charge full price per drink....or severely change the policy so they can collect more.

 

Lido....the lido will have less chairs...and the staff will enforce chair hog rules.  There will be rolling carts serving "grill type items and lite foods"

[MsTabbyKats]

My summary is....more spacious, more staff per passenger....much higher prices.

[Lee Cruiser]

1 minute ago, MsTabbyKats said:

There will be rolling carts serving "grill type items and lite foods"

 

If that happened it would be a nice surprise.

[MsTabbyKats]

Just now, Lee Cruiser said:

 

If that happened it would be a nice surprise.

Here's a surprise for you:

Back in 1978 this is what they did.  I was on a HAL (I think) cruise and guys were bringing burgers and drinks (non alcoholic) to me on my lido lounge chair.  

[jimbo5544]

1 hour ago, MsTabbyKats said:

This is what I see for the former "buffet".  It's now called "The Cafe".  Whens you enter, your given a paper menu which allows you to mark off your meal.  A server comes over, takes your menu....he goes to the food area and prepares your plate.  You can order whatever  you want and ask for the serving size you want (so it's unlike the mdr).  In addition, because of increased space between tables there will be a lot of rolling carts offering breads, desserts, fruit etc.  Drinks such as juices, coffee, tea will also be served this way.  There will be increase space because there won't be as many passengers.  In addition, "The Cafe" may have longer hours to accommodate more people. 

Interesting thoughts

[Lee Cruiser]

1 hour ago, MsTabbyKats said:

This is what I see for the former "buffet".  It's now called "The Cafe".  Whens you enter, your given a paper menu which allows you to mark off your meal.  A server comes over, takes your menu....he goes to the food area and prepares your plate.  You can order whatever  you want and ask for the serving size you want (so it's unlike the mdr).  In addition, because of increased space between tables there will be a lot of rolling carts offering breads, desserts, fruit etc.  Drinks such as juices, coffee, tea will also be served this way.  There will be increase space because there won't be as many passengers.  In addition, "The Cafe" may have longer hours to accommodate more people. 

Sounds like a good idea.  Similar to the Captains Pasta Bar for lunch right now.  Though on that one you still pick up your order at the counter.  I think I would like this as well.

[MsTabbyKats]

28 minutes ago, Lee Cruiser said:

Sounds like a good idea.  Similar to the Captains Pasta Bar for lunch right now.  Though on that one you still pick up your order at the counter.  I think I would like this as well.

Yeah....similar to the pasta bar but more offerings.  And service to the table would eliminate the masses herding together.  Of course, it would remain casual...no gowns and tuxedos.

[BlerkOne]

Long before the current virus, some casino players would place cocktail napkins over the slot buttons. Disposable gloves work for table games.

 

The smaller, older ships have a definite advantage over ginormous floating shopping malls. They can access more ports either to be home based or to visit. If demand isn't there for a full time ship, they can timeshare between more than one home port.

 

Luxury lines have an older, more fragile customer base often with longer, more exotic itineraries. It makes sense that they not be first to be back in service.

 

If you want out of the box, look for private islands to become more popular - they can be safe houses where cruisers can quarantine in pleasant surroundings until sanity and compassion return to governments and gnomes return to gardens.

[pe4all]

3 hours ago, MsTabbyKats said:

This is what I see for the former "buffet".  It's now called "The Cafe".  Whens you enter, your given a paper menu which allows you to mark off your meal.  A server comes over, takes your menu....he goes to the food area and prepares your plate.  You can order whatever  you want and ask for the serving size you want (so it's unlike the mdr).  In addition, because of increased space between tables there will be a lot of rolling carts offering breads, desserts, fruit etc.  Drinks such as juices, coffee, tea will also be served this way.  There will be increase space because there won't be as many passengers.  In addition, "The Cafe" may have longer hours to accommodate more people. 

I actually think this is a great idea!  I always get a bit grossed out at the buffet, seeing passengers coughing/sneezing into their hands and then picking up a serving utensil.  I also remember "the days" when you had your own deck chair for the duration of the cruise- your name was literally put on the chair and no one else was allowed to use it-  and food was brought to you at the chair if you wished.  Smaller ships, more expensive cruises, but more personalized service (passenger to staff ratio) was the norm back then.  Wouldn't be surprised if the megaship builds will be put on hold for many, many years.  

 

 

[crusinpsychRN]

BlerkOne:  "casino players would place cocktail napkins over the slot buttons. Disposable gloves work for table games."

 

What does this mean?

[BlerkOne]

8 minutes ago, crusinpsychRN said:

BlerkOne:  "casino players would place cocktail napkins over the slot buttons. Disposable gloves work for table games."

 

What does this mean?

Unfold cocktail napkins and place over machine buttons keeps you from touching the buttons directly.

 

Gloves would do the same, and allow you to touch dirty money and casino chips.

[crusinpsychRN]

Thanks.

[shipbound2]

On 5/7/2020 at 8:23 AM, ray98 said:

Nothing will change.  This fades away and society evolves right back to normal.  We will find the bottom of the curve, some new great crisis will captivate the media so you won't have the 24/7 coverage, and the world moves on.  It is a risk society will accept just as we do with influenza.  

We'll have to see what happens when cruise lines start sailing again, if people start getting sick with COVID-19 things will change quickly for the worst hopefully this won't happen

[BlerkOne]

3 minutes ago, shipbound2 said:

We'll have to see what happens when cruise lines start sailing again, if people start getting sick with COVID-19 things will change quickly for the worst hopefully this won't happen

 

Walt Disney World is accepting reservations beginning in July.

[glrounds]

On 5/8/2020 at 7:08 AM, EscapeFromConnecticut said:

    A genuine silver bullet - the vaccine that 100% wipes out COVID-19, or the treatment that's safe & is 100% effective - would change every projection here, of course. But barring that, I'm thinking

 

•  Much smaller fleets. A lot of the older ships have been scrapped, and the new-builds canceled;
•  Far fewer itineraries (a lot of places that weren't happy with cruise ships will bar them altogether, or else take this opportunity to steeply limit the frequency of port visits);
•  If flare-ups and hot spots are still happening, then brace for fast-changing itineraries, too. Coronavirus fluctuations become sort of a hurricane season. So book Cozumel, Grand Cayman and Nassau in April, get entirely different ports during the actual cruise in November if their conditions suddenly go bad;
•  Onboard medical staff and equipment has been heavily upgraded, at significant cost;
•  The buffets as we knew them are long gone. Regardless of personnel costs, the cruise lines will have to provide staff to serve or else do away with buffets altogether;
•  Cruise lines will provide backup plans - regardless of the expense - for outbreaks. This will have to cover everything from prevention to onboard damage control to much better preparations for getting "sick" ships to a safe port with medical facilities, quarantine facilities and transport home for cruisers (you can bet that when the dust settles, no government is going to tolerate having to clean up Zaandam, Coral or Grand Princess meltdowns ever again);
•  The trillion-dollar question: How much will this cost us? I suspect a lot. Everyone applauds NCL's and CCL's latest financing patches, but ignores the stupendous future debt costs - all of which will hit after month of zero revenue; 
•  Meanwhile, in a global mega-recession there just won't be enough customers to support CCL's mass-market, high-volume business model. So capacity has to plunge and prices will go steeply higher (and expect a boatload of new fees and pressured upsells, too)
•  So - the rich will be fine (funny, they almost always come out that way). Middle-class cruisers will need to be satisfied with far fewer trips  

 

Excellent realistic view and analysis, IMHO.

 

There will never be anything like the "normal" again until we have a vaccine. It'll have to be a near 100% successful vaccine, also. PROOF of vaccination with this vaccine will have to be provided right along with boarding pass and passport or you don't board. And, as EscapefromConneticut states, the costs will go through the roof. Retired, it'll probably be the end of cruising for me. 34 cruises, always had a ball, Thank you, Carnival. 🙂

Edited May 12, 2020 by glrounds

[ray98]

7 hours ago, shipbound2 said:

We'll have to see what happens when cruise lines start sailing again, if people start getting sick with COVID-19 things will change quickly for the worst hopefully this won't happen

 

If people are getting sick on a cruise then they will also be getting sick from their local restaurant, grocery store or work place.  Society will not, and cannot, stay shut down long term.