New Protocols for NCL will Celebrity follow,

[bikerunner]

2 hours ago, SeaHunt said:

 

Adding a link with no wall from cruiseradio (same info) 👍

 

https://cruiseradio.net/norwegian-cruise-line-reveals-details-about-return-to-cruising/

Thanks.  My link was from my trading account and couldn’t find it free. Of firewall security.  

[ipeeinthepool]

25 minutes ago, grandgeezer said:

When is the crew supposed to get the rooms, and the rest of the ship ready for the cruise?

The lines at embarkation is because almost everybody wants to get on the ship as early as possible. Last September we got off at 8:45 and there were all kinds of people waiting for the embarkation to be opened up. Ship doesn’t leave until 5pm.

 

Other than the cabins, the rest of the ship is cleaned at night.  Just follow the Edge model for the cabins,  drop your stuff off after you board and then come back after 1.

[cscurlock]

Those are preventative measures, which is nice.  But where is all the talk on the policy on what happens when a passenger or crew member gets the virus.  You can talk all day about precautions, but you really have to address the elephant in the room on what is the policy when someone actually gets the virus and you need to return to port.   What is the written policy for these circumstances?  Where is the guarantee that you will allowed to disembark in the US no matter what happens on the ship?

[crusinthrough]

3 hours ago, phoenix_dream said:

Make them wait where??  The whole idea behind this is to avoid people gathering in crowds.  If a lot of people are waiting around there will be crowds.  Even outside, there is not that much space, and the weather does not always cooperate.

 

1 hour ago, garyl62 said:

A lot of comments about staggered boarding time and everyone is talking about "make them wait" as if the only issue will be people showing up early.  What about people flying in day of and arrive after their assigned time?  Departures from San Juan take place at 8:30 PM, many flights arrive between 1:00 and 4:00 PM.  What if I land at 2:00 (over 6 hours prior to departure) but my embarkation time is 12:30?  They can't just let me show up late and add to the #'s assigned to a later time.  Even an "open boarding window" late in the day could result in overcrowding.  I'm not saying it can't work or arguing against it, but flight schedules will be a factor and not just because people will come early.

 

Carnival enforces their boarding time.  You are not allowed in the terminal  prior to your scheduled time.  

I'm sure during the check in process you will have an opportunity to add your arriving flight time.  Maybe the scheduled time will be based on the information provided. 

 

The first few sailings on any line will be the test.  Things will stabilize after a few sailings across all companies.  They will learn from each other.  I'm sure all the CEOs are meeting and discussing options.  

 

[HappyCamper49]

7 hours ago, bikerunner said:

Cant post a link to the article since its behind a firewall/security but from Dow Jones Newswires.  So here is the article but I change it to my own words so summarized somewhat

Point 1> screen crew members' temperature constantly and check passengers' temperature before embarkation and disembarkation, upon returning to the ship from a port of call and                        before all meals in dining venues as well as activities in public areas.

Point 2 > fog staterooms and public areas with hypochlorous acid,  Staff members will serve passengers at buffet and beverage stations,

Point 3 >  Passenger will check in online and have staggered embarkation for social distancing,

Point 4 > onboard activities will have reduced capacity.

Point 5 > Rapid testing kits

Point 6 > creating a new onboard role of public health officer, and crew members will receive new health and safety training,

Point 7 > only visit safe and open ports of call.

Point 8 > Air filters upgraded to medical grade 

 

Mostly common sense stuff it seems.  This will be the minimum needed.  Still spacing and ship capacity needs to be approached along with how to handle it.  

I hope the air filters will be upgraded to medical grade!  On our 2019 Reflection's Eastern Med. cruise, I came down with bronchitis 10 days into the cruise and I was not the only one!  My husband got a horrible cold 9 days into our 2018 Silhouette transatlantic cruise.  Perhaps better air filters might help prevent respiratory ailments!

[phoenix_dream]

1 hour ago, cscurlock said:

Those are preventative measures, which is nice.  But where is all the talk on the policy on what happens when a passenger or crew member gets the virus.  You can talk all day about precautions, but you really have to address the elephant in the room on what is the policy when someone actually gets the virus and you need to return to port.   What is the written policy for these circumstances?  Where is the guarantee that you will allowed to disembark in the US no matter what happens on the ship?

Exactly!  Celebrity has always done a good job with cleanliness. But this is the issue that keeps me up at night.  Not even a clue yet as to how this will be handled.

[fstuff1]

8 hours ago, bikerunner said:

Cant post a link to the article since its behind a firewall/security but from Dow Jones Newswires.  So here is the article but I change it to my own words so summarized somewhat

Point 1> screen crew members' temperature constantly and check passengers' temperature before embarkation and disembarkation, upon returning to the ship from a port of call and                        before all meals in dining venues as well as activities in public areas.

Point 2 > fog staterooms and public areas with hypochlorous acid,  Staff members will serve passengers at buffet and beverage stations,

Point 3 >  Passenger will check in online and have staggered embarkation for social distancing,

Point 4 > onboard activities will have reduced capacity.

Point 5 > Rapid testing kits

Point 6 > creating a new onboard role of public health officer, and crew members will receive new health and safety training,

Point 7 > only visit safe and open ports of call.

Point 8 > Air filters upgraded to medical grade 

 

Mostly common sense stuff it seems.  This will be the minimum needed.  Still spacing and ship capacity needs to be approached along with how to handle it.  

 

whats is:

fog staterooms and public areas with hypochlorous acid?

 

is it like a roach bomb?
room steward sets it in cabin after debarkation and leaves?

Edited June 2, 2020 by fstuff1

[chemmo]

4 hours ago, cscurlock said:

Those are preventative measures, which is nice.  But where is all the talk on the policy on what happens when a passenger or crew member gets the virus.  You can talk all day about precautions, but you really have to address the elephant in the room on what is the policy when someone actually gets the virus and you need to return to port.   What is the written policy for these circumstances?  Where is the guarantee that you will allowed to disembark in the US no matter what happens on the ship?

 

Absolutely!

 

Cruise ships can try to control health, crowding etc once on board but have no control of guest experiences prior to that.

 

Many guests  prior to boarding will have flown in, gone through security areas, used public restrooms, picked up luggage handled by others, used Uber to get to the port....numerous opportunities to find yourself queuing, touching items touched by others....The chances of one or more guests leaving home healthy but boarding infected (but not yet showing symptoms) is clearly there.

 

Even if you have boarded in your home port and avoided the above risks above you have to accept that other guests could board and then develop symptoms. You need to know clearly what happens then...Will you return immediately to home port and be allowed to journey home if you do not test positive or will you need to quarantine first and if so where? 

 

We presently have a cruise booked September next year. We have booked one without flights (one thing less to worry about) but will want to know a lot more about procedures  to deal with an outbreak as well as measures to prevent one before we board...

Edited June 2, 2020 by chemmo

[bouhunter]

9 hours ago, cscurlock said:

Those are preventative measures, which is nice.  But where is all the talk on the policy on what happens when a passenger or crew member gets the virus.  You can talk all day about precautions, but you really have to address the elephant in the room on what is the policy when someone actually gets the virus and you need to return to port.   What is the written policy for these circumstances?  Where is the guarantee that you will allowed to disembark in the US no matter what happens on the ship?

Exactly.  Lots of talk about cleaning, social distancing, temp checks.  No word yet on how they'll avoid a repeat of the locked down prison ship situations.....

[cscurlock]

28 minutes ago, bouhunter said:

Exactly.  Lots of talk about cleaning, social distancing, temp checks.  No word yet on how they'll avoid a repeat of the locked down prison ship situations.....

This is what ultimately needs to be answered and it will take agreements with the state and local governments in order to make any cruise to go forward.  Which is probably why we haven't heard a word on this.

[Threedrones]

Cruising will be back to normal much quicker than most people think. New info coming daily are showing that covid19, while more contagious than flu, is similar in its degree of severity. By this time next year, we will be treating covid19 about the same as h1n1.

[TeeRick]

1 hour ago, bouhunter said:

Exactly.  Lots of talk about cleaning, social distancing, temp checks.  No word yet on how they'll avoid a repeat of the locked down prison ship situations.....

Yes that is definitely my main concern.  I can handle everything else.

[Ken the cruiser]

We think it’s a great start, especially if everyone has to go through a temp check and they install higher quality air filters.
 

But one of the biggest changes is that everyone around the world is going through this pandemic together and, hopefully, we all are becoming a little more proactive in the personal hygiene department. I know for me (being a guy) it took quite a bit longer than my health conscious DW to start washing my hands and using hand sanitizer all the time. But, it’s amazing how less often I get bronchitis than I did before following her lead.
 

Sure, you can blame the cruise lines if you want, and some are definitely more lax than others when it comes to implementing more health-based protocols. But IMHO when all is said and done, it really comes down to each individual to protect themselves from all the germs flying around in the air and on any surfaces they may touch. 

[cangelmd]

2 hours ago, Threedrones said:

New info coming daily are showing that covid19, while more contagious than flu, is similar in its degree of severity. By this time next year, we will be treating covid19 about the same as h1n1.

Do you have a source?

My experience in the hospital is that a large middle ground exists with this disease of people who may not be hospitalized or are only hospitalized for a short time, who have an extremely miserable 2-4 weeks with this disease, and some stay "not normal" for a long time. COVID has proven to have several severe complications that don't occur in flu, and are seen in a wide range of ages, particular 40 and up - stroke, heart attack.

It is very hard to prove a negative, and we do not know how many asymptomatic or mild illnesses are out there and have resolved. Until we have a better idea of that number, it is very wrong-headed to say that COVID is similar in degree of severity as flu. Flu kills thousands every year, but it doesn't cause them to have strokes or to miss a month of work because they just don't get over it. COVID may well turn out to be only a degree of magnitude worse than flu, but until there is some natural or manmade immunity, numbers don't tell the entire story.

Off soapbox, back to regular scheduled programming

[Snit13]

11 hours ago, fstuff1 said:

 

whats is:

fog staterooms and public areas with hypochlorous acid?

 

is it like a roach bomb?
room steward sets it in cabin after debarkation and leaves?

That is/was my major concern.  Many people are sensitive to chemicals, especially those with lung issues.

[UnorigionalName]

13 hours ago, cscurlock said:

Those are preventative measures, which is nice.  But where is all the talk on the policy on what happens when a passenger or crew member gets the virus.  You can talk all day about precautions, but you really have to address the elephant in the room on what is the policy when someone actually gets the virus and you need to return to port.   What is the written policy for these circumstances?  Where is the guarantee that you will allowed to disembark in the US no matter what happens on the ship?

 

The CDC already has guidelines for what needs to be done.  It's the same game they are playing as with disembarking the employees and the health waivers.  There is a way to plan to proceed forward, but the restrictions are too onerous for the cruise lines.  They are hoping that with the lock down on the ground ending, that with their mild control measure, the CDC will relax the requirements and they'll be able to have a much lighter plan for when people do get sick.

 

 

1 hour ago, cangelmd said:

Do you have a source?

Of course they don't, since it's not true, just wishful thinking.

[grandgeezer]

3 hours ago, Threedrones said:

Cruising will be back to normal much quicker than most people think. New info coming daily are showing that covid19, while more contagious than flu, is similar in its degree of severity. By this time next year, we will be treating covid19 about the same as h1n1.

People have been saying this since the middle of March, here we are in June, same situation, and will be until at least August. What will people be saying in August, same thing?

[mahdnc]

I don't know if this was already posted elsewhere, but here are the measures that Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line is taking: link.

 

They are planning on reducing passenger capacity by 40%.

[4774Papa]

20 hours ago, bikerunner said:

Cant post a link to the article since its behind a firewall/security but from Dow Jones Newswires.  So here is the article but I change it to my own words so summarized somewhat

Point 1> screen crew members' temperature constantly and check passengers' temperature before embarkation and disembarkation, upon returning to the ship from a port of call and                        before all meals in dining venues as well as activities in public areas.

Point 2 > fog staterooms and public areas with hypochlorous acid,  Staff members will serve passengers at buffet and beverage stations,

Point 3 >  Passenger will check in online and have staggered embarkation for social distancing,

Point 4 > onboard activities will have reduced capacity.

Point 5 > Rapid testing kits

Point 6 > creating a new onboard role of public health officer, and crew members will receive new health and safety training,

Point 7 > only visit safe and open ports of call.

Point 8 > Air filters upgraded to medical grade 

 

Mostly common sense stuff it seems.  This will be the minimum needed.  Still spacing and ship capacity needs to be approached along with how to handle it.  

Seems like those points are positive.   Staggered check in shouldn't be a big deal.  Last time we checked in on Celebrity our pre-check made is so easy to check in that it only took five minutes.

[Laurab23]

20 hours ago, hcat said:

Staggered times are difficult to coordinate with  flight arrival times times and hotel check out times, but not impossible to observe .  Folks  should be able to linger for coffee or snacks at airports or hotels.

What about those of us who take a chartered bus?

 

Laura

[Covepointcruiser]

It would seem obvious that passengers sensitive to chemicals and/or those with lung problems should not cruise.   If a COVID 19 vaccine becomes available and they can receive it with their health problems, then they can travel.   Foolhardy to travel right now if you are at risk.   Strong chemicals are being used everywhere.

[buckeyecruisers]

I am curious a few months ago Celebrity and RCL websites had listed a "policy" that passengers over 70 would need a letter from a physician stating they were in good health in order to board. I don't see it listed on the site anymore and wondering if they have rescinded this policy. Not sure if a doctor would want to provide such a letter and possibly open themselves up to litigation. 

[bikerunner]

3 minutes ago, buckeyecruisers said:

I am curious a few months ago Celebrity and RCL websites had listed a "policy" that passengers over 70 would need a letter from a physician stating they were in good health in order to board. I don't see it listed on the site anymore and wondering if they have rescinded this policy. Not sure if a doctor would want to provide such a letter and possibly open themselves up to litigation. 

Mostly rescinded but who knows until cruising starts up again. More info will be released in next few weeks I would hope.