What cruise lines can learn from hotels in a new reality.

[nordski]

I received this article by email and don't see it posted yet on the Cruise Critic site. 

 

It is an interesting assessment as to how smaller ships might adapt new policies that have already been tested in hotels that have reopened as the pandemic rules are adjusted.

 

I have thought that smaller ships might provide an easier means by which cruising can recommence as a viable option. It would seem to me that the Azamara complement might be relatively easier to deploy in a safe manner than ships of the Royal Caribbean fleet.

 

For example, I think that, since many Azamara passengers place a relatively high priority on "destination immersion", the changes that the writer details in stateroom maintenance etc, may be less of a deterrent to those passengers as compared to others who enjoy and expect all the traditional services and facilities that attract them to the larger ships.
 

This may be an unpopular opinion, but we would not be highly disappointed if room attendants were more occupied with stateroom and ship surface sanitation as opposed to making our bed in the morning or, even less important, the evening service.
 

 

 

https://www.cruisecritic.com/news/5397/?et_cid=3339110&et_rid=17395288&et_referrer=NULL

 

 

 

 

Edited June 21, 2020 by nordski
Clarity

[Grandma Cruising]

Interesting article. I can see how it could work, but it’s not for me!

[excitedofharpenden]

2 hours ago, Grandma Cruising said:

Interesting article. I can see how it could work, but it’s not for me!

Not for me either.

 

I have a number of issues with this article, not limited to my desire not to spend a holiday wearing a face mask. A static land hotel and a ship travelling to various destinations are very different animals.

 

Sanitation measures are already high on cruise ships, but illness can still strike. I've done a few cruises where there have been heightened sanitation levels. The crew get exhausted. It seems a suggestion that this becomes a normal. Definitely that is not for me. Then there are the poor hygiene habits of some guests.  Not sure how that will be tackled. Health police on the ships?

 

I pray for a vaccine. I am becoming more of the opinion that this is our best solution, otherwise we are just fire fighting. 

 

Phil 

[uktog]

3 hours ago, Grandma Cruising said:

Interesting article. I can see how it could work, but it’s not for me!

Me neither, I really need the vaccine

I am struggling with masks as a glasses wearer so don't want a steamed up holiday.  I worry that the health police will react to allergy sneezing and I just feel I would rather wait if I can.  Hotels are different for me as well, they can manage restrictions more easily.  

However, the article certainly gives a sense of what in the short term things could be like.  But it is not ideal in hotels either.  We have an existing weekend booking at Gleneagles (5 star hotel in Scotland) they have sent us a booklet of all their procedures they will be implementing and what changes in service (downgrade) will happen.  It is a 19 page document, ok they have lots of things to consider in the golf, outdoor sports, spas etc.  At present I doubt we will take the short break in October as the whole ambience of why we go to Gleneagles looks like it will be lost and it will be a much more "tense" experience.  

I fear cruising could also be like that in the early days back.

Edited June 22, 2020 by uktog

[Bloodaxe]

4 hours ago, Grandma Cruising said:

Interesting article. I can see how it could work, but it’s not for me!

 

Not for me either, it is almost exactly a year since we returned from our last Azamara cruise.

It could well turn our to be our last ever, I do not at all like the way things are likely to be in the future.

A vaccine will have to be available and proven effective before we will even consider cruising.

[john1970]

To be honest if going on a cruise becomes one giant list of rules and procedures then it sorta takes the joy out of it. The hotel trip in the link just sounds like a project at work which is exactly what people want to get away from on holiday. Let's hope for a better treatment to make the virus less dangerous for us all.

[Mackdogmolly]

Well, I think that like it or not, and vaccine or not, cruising is never going to be quite the same, especially in the short term. Dramatically increased sanitation measures and yes, possibly mask wearing,  are probably going to be part of the future scene. I might be able to live with some of that. I really don’t want to be home bound forever. 

[Baynanno1]

13 hours ago, excitedofharpenden said:

Not for me either.

 

I have a number of issues with this article, not limited to my desire not to spend a holiday wearing a face mask. A static land hotel and a ship travelling to various destinations are very different animals.

 

Sanitation measures are already high on cruise ships, but illness can still strike. I've done a few cruises where there have been heightened sanitation levels. The crew get exhausted. It seems a suggestion that this becomes a normal. Definitely that is not for me. Then there are the poor hygiene habits of some guests.  Not sure how that will be tackled. Health police on the ships?

 

I pray for a vaccine. I am becoming more of the opinion that this is our best solution, otherwise we are just fire fighting. 

 

Phil 

 

Apologies for the underline in your post Phil.

 

I too have been on a ship during a prolonged period of heightened sanitation procedures and you are quite right, the crew all working extra hours and in areas outside their usual do become exhausted.

 

And then there are the very poor hygiene habits of some guests!

Those, combined with delay in reporting symptoms because they did not want to miss out on a particular excursion resulted in considerable spread through both passengers and crew and six days of heightened sanitation followed by deep cleaning on changeover day.

 

I long for a vaccine, a return to cruising and an escape from Winter chills!

 

Trish

[urlaub]

I was on more than 40 cruises. A cruise with mask and no room maid service like in this hotel in Canada would not be for me.

I will not pay for no service!

I love cruising but I can say that I saw most places on Earth and to cruise like this is not what I wish. No option at all.

Cruise lines should do their work to find a solution to let the guest feel fine.

But I think this year it would be hard to cruise. Most countries closed the ports. Hurtig Routen will start the North Cape cruises but Norway doesn't allow tourists in the country. The option in the moment seems to stay onboard and not leave in the ports. The Baltic countries are also mostly closed for ship passengers and Spain did the same. Spain will open for Europeans but not for cruisers. 

So I think all this ideas are not important for this summer..

Let the cruise lines do their homework I am sure otherwise the majority of bookings will not be done.

[Edinburghgirl1]

Costa cruise line (part of Carnival) have issued details of what to expect on board once cruising resumes. I would imagine initially all cruise lines will adopt a similar policy and for that reason I have used Lift and  Shift to move my November cruise to the same time next year. There is no way I would want to wear a mask in all public areas on board and if no large gatherings are allowed the white night etc wouldn’t go ahead. I got a great deal on a suite when i booked and the price was  carried forward to next year.  Only difference was £20 due to increase in port taxes plus we ended up with a midship cabin for price if aft as that was all that was left so very happy. 

[nordski]

22 minutes ago, urlaub said:

I was on more than 40 cruises. A cruise with mask and no room maid service like in this hotel in Canada would not be for me.

I will not pay for no service!

 

I take your point, but the hotel would not agree that you are getting “no service”. There would be a policy of reassigning attendants to provide a higher level of sanitation.

 

It’s an open question how many cruisers would accept that reassignment. Clearly many with a wealth of experience wouldn’t. I did wonder if Azamara cruisers are more “destination driven”?

 

In the case of the Banff hotel, the sales pitch would include meeting far fewer tourists than normal. This would certainlynbe an attraction in that setting.

 

Would it also attract cruisers to European ports once they reopen?

[Edinburghgirl1]

http://www.sailcosta.com/8115_Safety/8115.03_FAQs.pdf
 

this is what Costa plan to implement. 

[ECCruise]

17 minutes ago, Edinburghgirl1 said:

http://www.sailcosta.com/8115_Safety/8115.03_FAQs.pdf
 

this is what Costa plan to implement. 

 

I think this is at least a start on what we will see going forward.

The one question that jumps out at me while reading this is what about the crew?  I see lots more work for everyone on the ship, from more work for servers without a buffet, more sanitation processes, even more work for the performers with the need to do double or triple the number of shows.

Wondering if it will be harder to secure and keep crew.  And that is without even considering the concern we saw and heard from the Quest crew in March since the crew will be constantly encountering new passengers (and the possibility of infection) with each sailing.

[excitedofharpenden]

11 minutes ago, ECCruise said:

 

I think this is at least a start on what we will see going forward.

The one question that jumps out at me while reading this is what about the crew?  I see lots more work for everyone on the ship, from more work for servers without a buffet, more sanitation processes, even more work for the performers with the need to do double or triple the number of shows.

Wondering if it will be harder to secure and keep crew.  And that is without even considering the concern we saw and heard from the Quest crew in March since the crew will be constantly encountering new passengers (and the possibility of infection) with each sailing.

Exactly what I said in my post above. I've been on numerous cruises with heightened sanitation measures. Some of them have lasted days because of lack of guest cooperation. The crew do well, but after a while it's exhausting. 

 

Phil 

[donaldsc]

Before you believe that hotels are really cleaning your rooms better than before or even cleaning them at all, read this article about 3 hotels including Trump International in NYC -

 

https://www.insideedition.com/investigation-finds-sheets-werent-changed-between-guests-at-some-new-york-hotels-60419

 

The team tagged sheets, pillow cases, TV remote, surfaces and a bunch of other stuff in the rooms.  They then checked in with new reservations the next day and found that in every case, many things that should have been cleaned or changed such as sheets or pillow cases were not.  Two of the 3 hotels said that it was a violation of how the room should have been cleaned.  At Trump International, when the hotel manager saw the the cameras, she slammed walked out of the room and slammed the door.  Trump International then claimed that the story was fake news.  

 

The point of the story and this post is that just don't believe that if the hotel room looks clean, it really is clean. I also have no easy idea how you can completely verify room cleanliness although UV light can detect stuff such as urine or other organic stuff on the sheets.