EU Health Protocols

[mrlevin]

The EU Health Protocols have been posted here:

 

 

Annex 1 highlights the limited use of masks.  EU is recommending that initial cruises be limited to 3 - 7 days.

 

Marc

Edited July 2, 2020 by mrlevin

[Wendy The Wanderer]

There's no link there, Marc.

[Guerncruising]

Hi, yes there is. Press the EU flag and a new page appears and then press that and you get all 40 odd pages. 

Wow! We won’t be cruising anytime soon based on that! 3 or 7 day cruises - not for me.

[mrlevin]

Here's the Seatrade article if you want an overview and a link to report

 

https://www.seatrade-cruise.com/news/eu-healthy-gateways-issues-covid-19-guidance-restarting-cruise-operations

 

Marc

[BBWC]

Cohorts with scheduled times for food service sounds like a nonstarter to me.

[Kwaj girl]

1 hour ago, BBWC said:

Cohorts with scheduled times for food service sounds like a nonstarter to me.

 

Agreed...this is getting ridiculous!  The virus "pandemonium" will eventually cease...or at least the overreaction to it.

[travlr21]

5 hours ago, mrlevin said:

Seatrade article

 

Thanks for posting the link, interesting, and yikes. For some reason nothing in your original post is clickable for me, and I tried 4 different browsers. Maybe it's a Canadian thing, seems like Wendy had the same problem.

[Travelcat2]

IMO, what is getting ridiculous are the people in this country ignoring the pandemic guidelines/laws and continuing to get others sick.  Going out when you know that you are sick - gathering with others,  etc. is, IMO, attempted murder.  

 

There are some of us that will sail as soon as the CDC says that we can - regardless of restrictions.  We tend to be the more silent group on the Regent board.  The vocal "I don't want to cruise until there is a vaccine" group are as entitled to their opinions as much as we are.  The answer is simple...... if you are not comfortable cruising - don't.  If you are - go for it.

 

Also IMO, restrictions will differ depending upon the ship.  There are ships where distancing is nearly impossible while it is easy on other ships.  The notations about elderly people being separated from younger people will work on some cruise lines but, on Regent, the non-senior group would be a fairly small number.  So, if Regent can accommodate open seating (or seating by reservation - even in CR and Sette Mari), they will doing so.  It is all about staying safe and doing what is necessary.

 

I understand that a lot of us are babbling about different scenario's because there is nothing else to do but we really do need to take comments, predictions and even most articles with a grain of salt.  When we can sail, there will be protocols.  We now have a fairly good idea of the best and worst case scenarios so we can make a decision.

 

 P.S.  Special thanks to Texas today where the governor mandated wearing masks.  Hoping that Florida is next.  Living a healthy life is so much more important than whether or not people want to wear masks/face shields.  As adults, we need to step up - do what is being asked/required of us and insure that our children and grandchildren are doing the same.  

 

 

[cruiseluv]

The protocols described in that article makes the cruising experience seem .as attractive as a visit to the dentist for a root canal . On paper it might seem very feasible, but I doubt people will pay Regent prices and agree to be organized like cattle into “cohorts”

[Travelcat2]

While I do not like to post what other cruise lines are doing, this article blows a big hole into what we have been reading.   Is it true?  Who knows but RCCl seems to believe it.  

 

Maria, while I do not know what most people are doing, all of my cruising friends cannot wait to get back onto a Regent ship.  

[johng75370]

33 minutes ago, cruiseluv said:

On paper it might seem very feasible, but I doubt people will pay Regent prices and agree to be organized like cattle into “cohorts”

 

I’m new to Regent and willing to give them the benefit of the doubt that they can deliver an experience I would find good value.  No question things will change, but I think the change on the luxury lines (Regent and its competitors) might lead to “additions” not only “subtractions” from the experience.  Much more willing to place a bet on being delivered a great experience with Regent than most other lines.  

[Travelcat2]

11 minutes ago, johng75370 said:

 

I’m new to Regent and willing to give them the benefit of the doubt that they can deliver an experience I would find good value.  No question things will change, but I think the change on the luxury lines (Regent and its competitors) might lead to “additions” not only “subtractions” from the experience.  Much more willing to place a bet on being delivered a great experience with Regent than most other lines.  

 

I agree with you.  First of all, the crew will be so thankful to be back to work on the ships.  And, Regent wants the experience to be as positive as possible and will do everything within their power to make it that way.  

 

A year and half ago, Regent had some issues with gastrointestinal illnesses.  So, Captain Serena (their only female captain who is amazing) said that there will be no hand shaking as the palms of our hands carry a lot of germs.  It was okay to elbow "bump". Rather than being upset by this, most of us did our own dance that included elbow bumps as well as hip bumps.  Believe it or not, it was tons of fun!  

[pingpong1]

51 minutes ago, cruiseluv said:

.....I doubt people will pay Regent prices and agree to be organized like cattle into “cohorts”

Hi ,Cruiseluv.  I certainly agree with you with respect to "not paying" Regent (or even Carnival) prices for that kind of cruise experience.  I just don't have to get on a cruise ship that badly.  But we can also be certain that some would, no matter how negatively downgraded the experience was.  And I guess those few would comprise the clientele that Regent (and other brands) would be heavily relying upon to "save the industry" until a reliable, proven, and available vaccine was available. Regards.

[CruisetheCs]

3 hours ago, Travelcat2 said:

There are some of us that will sail as soon as the CDC says that we can - regardless of restrictions.  We tend to be the more silent group on the Regent board.  The vocal "I don't want to cruise until there is a vaccine" group are as entitled to their opinions as much as we are.  The answer is simple...... if you are not comfortable cruising - don't.  If you are - go for it.

 

 P.S.  Special thanks to Texas today where the governor mandated wearing masks.  Hoping that Florida is next.  Living a healthy life is so much more important than whether or not people want to wear masks/face shields.  As adults, we need to step up - do what is being asked/required of us and insure that our children and grandchildren are doing the same.  

 

 

 

A prolific poster on this board says that "We tend to be the more silent group on the Regent board."  That made me smile! 

 

As for doing what is required to prevent the spread of CV-19, I am in agreement.  Time to end the inconsistent messaging about masks, for example.  This is a health crisis that we all face and everyone needs to help out by following the distancing and mask rules along with other preventive measures.

[flossie009]

As a guidance document for re-starting cruises in Europe this EU Health Gateways document appears to be helpful in providing practical advice to both cruise ship operators and the European cruise ports that the ships might hope to visit.

Yes it is cautious but that is only to be expected for cruise-lines that may hope to re-start in the next few months while the pandemic is still prevalent and before a vaccine is widely available.

 

I notice that neither representatives of NCLH or its three cruise companies gave input to the document preparation. The other two major players, CCL & RCL, were represented; possibly because they both have cruise companies that are headquartered, or "home-ported" in Europe. 

 

 

Good news on the progress of another possible vaccine being developed (using alternative technology to traditional vaccines):

Imperial College, London

[Wendy The Wanderer]

11 hours ago, CruisetheCs said:

A prolific poster on this board says that "We tend to be the more silent group on the Regent board."  That made me smile! 

 

If I saw those posts it would have made me smile too.  It's wonderful what "Ignore" can do.

[wcsdkqh]

Made me laugh out loud.

[Travelcat2]

Glad that some of you found it funny.  Obviously, my point is that posters that do not want to cruise keeping posting reasons why and seem to find the proposed protocols so horrendous that no one in their right mind would pay money to cruise under those circumstances.  Those of us that want to cruise as soon as it is possible to do so, only comment that we are willing to accept the protocols.  

 

I do not recall posters that want to cruise making negative statements about those that want to wait for a vaccine before they cruise.  My only comment for posters that are waiting to cruise, I hope that you are all following protocols now (washing hands, social distancing and wearing masks) so that you can cruise sooner rather than later.  

 

Note:  Agree with Wendy - life is easier when you use the “ignore” feature.  

 

P.S. In an earlier post I mentioned RCCL.  What I failed to do was link the article.  Apparently, according to RCCL, their buffets will still be running when they resume cruising.

Edited July 3, 2020 by Travelcat2

[SusieQft]

I think we spend way too much time dividing people into separate groups.  This applies broadly to society as a whole, but right now I am talking about the cruising community.  There are many people, and I would count myself as one, who do not fall neatly into not willing to follow stringent protocols in order to cruise OR "d*** the torpedoes," I'm going to cruise ASAP regardless of the consequences.

 

If I decide not to cruise ASAP, it will not be because of the protocols, it will be because I am concerned about the risks.  Not only the risk that we could get covid, but the risk that we will be refused in ports, quarantined on the ship, and/or quarantined (possibly far from home) when we get off the ship.

 

I will be very surprised if Regent does not cancel my October booking on Mariner.   If they don't, I will have a tough decision to make.  Much more difficult will be deciding what to do about my LA to Tokyo booking on another line in January.

[pappy1022]

7 hours ago, Travelcat2 said:

Glad that some of you found it funny.  Obviously, my point is that posters that do not want to cruise keeping posting reasons why and seem to find the proposed protocols so horrendous that no one in their right mind would pay money to cruise under those circumstances.  Those of us that want to cruise as soon as it is possible to do so, only comment that we are willing to accept the protocols.  

 

 

Actually, hilarious. I hope you get to cruise ASAP so that we can see if it is safe and see what the new normal will be. If you expect everyone to follow whatever the protocols will be, I think you will be disappointed. I know that you will follow the protocols and I salute that but there are too many people in this country that don't give a darn and are actually defiant. I can't believe that some of them won't show up on Regent cruises. It is inevitable. I will wait to see what happens and wait until COVID-19 is under reasonable control. Right now it's worse than ever. I expected things to improve but I am losing faith that it will turn the corner anytime soon.

[cruiseluv]

On 7/2/2020 at 9:47 PM, pingpong1 said:

Hi ,Cruiseluv.  I certainly agree with you with respect to "not paying" Regent (or even Carnival) prices for that kind of cruise experience.  I just don't have to get on a cruise ship that badly.  But we can also be certain that some would, no matter how negatively downgraded the experience was.  And I guess those few would comprise the clientele that Regent (and other brands) would be heavily relying upon to "save the industry" until a reliable, proven, and available vaccine was available. Regards.

I absolutely agree, some will no doubt do, and that’s fine.

[flossie009]

How about sniffer dogs at cruise check-in?

BBC report, July 3

[Guerncruising]

Or, how about a ship’s dog instead of a ship’s cat?

It would be able to check everyone on board regularly. 

[flossie009]

.............. or other species: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sentinel_species

[Guerncruising]

Teehee. 😀