Ncl new covid19 response. Good planning.

[cementhands]

A step forward in planning for cruises in the future. Ncl has a plan. 

[d9704011]

A plan?

 

Take a look at the FAQs.... a significant level of detail is missing and the average passenger will have no idea how these measures will impact their  cruise experience..

 

Give them credit though, they have been first out of the gate with some communication to pax on what may happen going forward.

 

https://www.ncl.com/ca/en/why-cruise-norwegian/book-with-confidence/health-faqs

Edited June 2, 2020 by d9704011

[Georgia_Peaches]

It's good PR to start getting the word out as best they can.  The social distancing piece gets me though.  If we still have to practice social distancing measures then maybe it's too soon to cruise.

[hallux]

I posted this in another thread where this information was shared.  The reduced capacity concerns me.  I rely on inside or studio cabins or a good deal on a balcony to sail.  With reduced capacity (and likely temporarily eliminated inside cabins) I likely won't be on a cruise ship for 12-18 months even if cruising restarts in August or September.

[Laszlo]

Those new HEPA filters are going to cost them a small fortune. I wonder if they are being used in the ships main HVAC systems or in the cabins or both?

[roger001]

2 minutes ago, Laszlo said:

Those new HEPA filters are going to cost them a small fortune. I wonder if they are being used in the ships main HVAC systems or in the cabins or both?

And do they actually accomplish anything as far as virus transmission goes.   I thought the virus is pretty much transmitted by direct person to person proximity, not the general air flow we are breathing.    

[Laszlo]

3 minutes ago, roger001 said:

And do they actually accomplish anything as far as virus transmission goes.   I thought the virus is pretty much transmitted by direct person to person proximity, not the general air flow we are breathing.    

 

Good question and I'm not sure. I do know these type of UV lights DO work. I installed (2) units on our HVAC system 5-6 years ago. My wife is a microbiologist and we tested with plates before and after. The amount of bacteria, molds, protozoa, and virus counts went way down. I'm not saying everyone should run out and buy one but I do know it worked for us

 

https://amzn.to/3gKiAsw

 

I'm sure if they don't have them now they will be installing a UV light system on the ships. We have a similar much larger system in my companies building

 

[vswan]

An interesting part of this plan is the shore portion. I don't see how they can be sure that their excursions are safe. Just doesn't make any sense. No one can track everyone someone on an island or port has had contact with. What about those who take a cab to the beach or a private excursion. Just don't see how they can control any of that. And taking a temp when guests return is going to do nothing to stop the spread.

[Laszlo]

4 minutes ago, vswan said:

An interesting part of this plan is the shore portion. I don't see how they can be sure that their excursions are safe. Just doesn't make any sense. No one can track everyone someone on an island or port has had contact with. What about those who take a cab to the beach or a private excursion. Just don't see how they can control any of that. And taking a temp when guests return is going to do nothing to stop the spread.

 

Nothing in life is 100%, nothing is foolproof. They will hopefully do their best along with everyone else. Chances will be taken for those who go

[phillyguy31]

NCL can only do so much, it will also fall on every guest to ensure they are doing the right things as well both on and off ship.

[hallux]

57 minutes ago, vswan said:

And taking a temp when guests return is going to do nothing to stop the spread

During the early days of temp checks for people entering office complexes I heard of a few people turned away because the no-touch thermometers read a high temp but what had actually happened was that the person had the heat in their car on full blast and their forehead was warmer as a result.  I can only imagine coming back from a day at the beach, having a slightly elevated temp after laying in the sun all day and being flagged for a fever.  Quarantined to the room - cruise ruined.

 

Even after a day of wandering the port city I could see elevated temps being an issue if it's hot enough.

[AK Dreaming]

4 minutes ago, hallux said:

During the early days of temp checks for people entering office complexes I heard of a few people turned away because the no-touch thermometers read a high temp but what had actually happened was that the person had the heat in their car on full blast and their forehead was warmer as a result.  I can only imagine coming back from a day at the beach, having a slightly elevated temp after laying in the sun all day and being flagged for a fever.  Quarantined to the room - cruise ruined.

 

Even after a day of wandering the port city I could see elevated temps being an issue if it's hot enough.

Agreed, even a day on deck in the Caribbean in September would get you kicked out of the MDR and locked in your cabin.

[PelicanBill]

2 hours ago, roger001 said:

And do they actually accomplish anything as far as virus transmission goes.   I thought the virus is pretty much transmitted by direct person to person proximity, not the general air flow we are breathing.    

 

Studies have shown that this virus has a higher level of remaining in the air over a wide area from sick people. It's why we are wearing masks - to reduce the amount of airborn particles and the space around them.  The reason ships are needing to improve airflow is that much of the air is aggressively recirculated for cooling efficiency. The ships that went on lockdown still had a high degree of spread and infection after weeks of lockdown. The airflow is suspected of being the reason since the new infections could not be traced to food delivery.

[CruiseMH]

Another scenario would be that people feeling sick or feeling to have a higher temperature will put some cold water on their forehead for a minute and then temperature might be low enough..

The measures shown in OP are all sounding really great, but i do have doubts that they will work in practice. Especially the fever screening prior to all activities in public places...how do they wanna do that? Most ships don`t have seperate areas for all the activities. If there is some aerobic/dence event on the pooldeck and i just want to pass to get to the buffet...do i have to get checked every time? What about the events in the bars or all other non-seperate areas? How to they define who is attending the event or is just passing by ?

[ColeThornton]

It's a whole bunch of window dressing, folks.  The cruise lines, while implementing some changes, are going to do what they need to do to appease the government entities initially and then most likely it will be back to normal after an appropriate period of time for the customers.

Edited June 2, 2020 by ColeThornton

[phillyguy31]

Don't believe it is just window dressing, all the lines need to do everything they can to prevent an outbreak on board. If just one outbreak occurs it could mean disaster for very line. however do I believe things will return to normal eventually, yes, but not for the first 6 months to a year depending on how this virus goes.

[ighten]

7 minutes ago, ColeThornton said:

It's a whole bunch of window dressing, folks.  The cruise lines, while implementing some changes, are going to do what they need to do to appease the government entities initially and then most likely it will be back to normal after a nominal period of time for the customers.

TBF thats the only situation that works -  the industry (and for that matter life itself) wont work unl;ess we get back to normal

[FLAHAM]

When I'm in a chair for trivia in the Atrium, be sure to stay six feet away from me.  

[graphicguy]

2 hours ago, Laszlo said:

Those new HEPA filters are going to cost them a small fortune. I wonder if they are being used in the ships main HVAC systems or in the cabins or both?

Both....Have a friend who was called back to work.  He is an engine inspector with GE.  Most of the cruise companies, including NCL, contract with GE to help with the operation, service and maintenance of any ships using GE made engines.

 

He met with the corporate NCL maintenance personnel yesterday about the engine inspections and procedures to get ships ready to sail.  He knows I'm an avid cruiser.  So, he was informing me they will cruise in the next several weeks.  And, in addition to the reduced capacity (they didn't tell him the percentage), they made it a clear that air filtration was something they were quite proud of.  It is the highest filtration available and filters air of particulates, ultraviolet light, and several stages of filtration before it enters the ducts in the cruise ship's cabins and public areas.  As such, the transmission through passenger and crew breathing, sneezing, coughing etc (which is the overwhelming way it is transmitted) is virtually eliminated.  The rest will be dealt with by constant cleaning of all touch surfaces.

 

In addition, as they've outlined, screening passengers and crew upon embarkation/disembarkation will be in effect, too.

 

All-in-all, he said the procedures are impressive in the lengths they are going to in order to keep anyone who's ill from embarking and eradicating the possibilities of transmission.

[Laszlo]

1 minute ago, graphicguy said:

Both....Have a friend who was called back to work.  He is an engine inspector with GE.  Most of the cruise companies, including NCL, contract with GE to help with the operation, service and maintenance of any ships using GE made engines.

 

He met with the corporate NCL maintenance personnel yesterday about the engine inspections and procedures to get ships ready to sail.  He knows I'm an avid cruiser.  So, he was informing me they will cruise in the next several weeks.  And, in addition to the reduced capacity (they didn't tell him the percentage), they made it a clear that air filtration was something they were quite proud of.  It is the highest filtration available and filters air of particulates, ultraviolet light, and several stages of filtration before it enters the ducts in the cruise ship's cabins and public areas.  As such, the transmission through passenger and crew breathing, sneezing, coughing etc (which is the overwhelming way it is transmitted) is virtually eliminated.  The rest will be dealt with by constant cleaning of all touch surfaces.

 

In addition, as they've outlined, screening passengers and crew upon embarkation/disembarkation will be in effect, too.

 

All-in-all, he said the procedures are impressive in the lengths they are going to in order to keep anyone who's ill from embarking and eradicating the possibilities of transmission.

 

Thanks, that's great and interesting news!

[ColeThornton]

2 minutes ago, phillyguy31 said:

Don't believe it is just window dressing, all the lines need to do everything they can to prevent an outbreak on board. If just one outbreak occurs it could mean disaster for very line. however do I believe things will return to normal eventually, yes, but not for the first 6 months to a year depending on how this virus goes.

 

And unfortunately I don't see any way that an outbreak WILL NOT occur in the future, PG31.  It's just like Norovirus in the past.  It happens and people still sailed.  It really is going to be an interesting couple of years coming up for the industry and the customers.

[ColeThornton]

3 minutes ago, FLAHAM said:

When I'm in a chair for trivia in the Atrium, be sure to stay six feet away from me.  

 

Atriums on ships get very busy.  Getting people there to stay six feet away from you in that venue shows the folly of social distancing on board a vessel.

 

[d9704011]

50 minutes ago, ColeThornton said:

 

Atriums on ships get very busy.  Getting people there to stay six feet away from you in that venue shows the folly of social distancing on board a vessel.

 

I’d say it shows the folly of being on a cruise ship if social distancing is considered necessary.

[hftmrock]

1 hour ago, graphicguy said:

He met with the corporate NCL maintenance personnel yesterday about the engine inspections and procedures to get ships ready to sail.  He knows I'm an avid cruiser.  So, he was informing me they will cruise in the next several weeks. 

could you explain this? I didn't think they were starting until later 3rd quarter or early 4th quarter which I would not define as the next several weeks. are you talking about running some tests with crew only?

[Barb Nahoumi]

2 hours ago, AK Dreaming said:

Agreed, even a day on deck in the Caribbean in September would get you kicked out of the MDR and locked in your cabin.

What if you drink cool water before getting your temperature taken.