Is This Workable?

[babs135]

The UK are still advising against cruise holidays at the moment 😪 but have set up air bridges between just over 70 countries which means that citizens from these places will be able to move to and fro without quarantine and, therefore, land based holidays are now possible 😃.

We know the cruise lines are working hard to make their ships safe

So

Why can't the people from these countries be allowed to cruise within the air bridge zone?   Here is a list of countries

https://inews.co.uk/news/uk/uk-air-bridge-countries-list-france-portugal-spain-holidays-coronavirus-quarantine-exemption-when-uend-latest-441902

[nosapphire]

Not workable.

The air bridges mean that people coming to the UK from those countries do not have to quarantine in the UK.

It is not reciprocal, each country has its own rules, which may change without warning.

Some that are on the list still have closed borders, so are not accepting tourists from the UK.

Others on the list require travellers from the UK to quarantine on arrival.

Others require a valid Covid-19 check, either 72 hours before arrival, or on arrival with quarantine while waiting for the result.

And finally, there are very, very few places that are accepting cruise ships anyway.

 

 

Edited July 10, 2020 by nosapphire

[davecttr]

31 minutes ago, babs135 said:

The UK are still advising against cruise holidays at the moment 😪 but have set up air bridges between just over 70 countries which means that citizens from these places will be able to move to and fro without quarantine and, therefore, land based holidays are now possible 😃.

We know the cruise lines are working hard to make their ships safe

So

Why can't the people from these countries be allowed to cruise within the air bridge zone?   Here is a list of countries

https://inews.co.uk/news/uk/uk-air-bridge-countries-list-france-portugal-spain-holidays-coronavirus-quarantine-exemption-when-uend-latest-441902

Probably because the UK authorities consider a cruise ship to be one of the worst 'destinations' as far as COVID-19 is concerned. for UK citizens little chance of getting affordable travel insurance as well.

 

It is a game of chicken, which company is going to start first? Apparently TUI is going to start a short 3 night cruise to nowhere for the German market, sailing in circles around the North Sea.

 

They will start offering cruises when they decide the risk of destroying the industry is minimal.

[Nic6318]

Hi Babs

 

My thought on your main question... Why can't the people from these countries be allowed to cruise within the air bridge zone?

 

The answer is in your post... The UK are still advising against cruise holidays at the moment 😪. What they are saying in more specific language is that they don't think "cruising/cruises" are a safe option, at the moment. It's not a matter of whether you can or can't, they are saying you shouldn't. 

 

The point you mentioned about the air bridges with all these countries, is only for the purpose of lifting the 14 day quarantine restrictions on your return home.  It is not saying that travel to and staying in any of these places is necessarily "safe". You would still be required to take all precautions required by that country while visiting. Also, before you make any plans, verify in advance what restrictions each of those countries may have upon your entry because these can change any time.  

 

 

[babs135]

I posted the question more out of frustration than anything else.  If I'm honest I can't see cruising restarting any time soon , but as long as it's back by September 2021 I'll be happy 😊  Although once again I wouldn't bet on it .  Still I'm going to continue to be optimistic .

[davecttr]

3 hours ago, davecttr said:

Probably because the UK authorities consider a cruise ship to be one of the worst 'destinations' as far as COVID-19 is concerned. for UK citizens little chance of getting affordable travel insurance as well.

 

It is a game of chicken, which company is going to start first? Apparently TUI is going to start a short 3 night cruise to nowhere for the German market, sailing in circles around the North Sea.

 

They will start offering cruises when they decide the risk of destroying the industry is minimal.

Sorry, TUI starting cruises should have been Aida, which Carnival are using as a test for restarting cruises. Carnival have also announced today that 13 ships are leaving their stable within 90 days.

[K32682]

The challenge with cruises is number of passengers and crew for extended periods in a small space where social distancing will be impossible and viral spread was a problem well before COVID-19.  The same issues do not occur to the same degree on flights or in hotels. 

[Heidi13]

7 minutes ago, K32682 said:

The challenge with cruises is number of passengers and crew for extended periods in a small space where social distancing will be impossible and viral spread was a problem well before COVID-19.  The same issues do not occur to the same degree on flights or in hotels. 

Might be true for the mega ships with thousands of pax/crew, but with our preferred cruise line, social distancing is vastly superior to any aircraft, even when flying First/Business.

 

Might only be on a plane for up to 18hrs, but the entire time social distancing is impossible and I have yet to see an aircraft receive the same level of cleaning as our last cruise, where in 4 months we had no outbreaks of noro, cruise crud or covid.

[K32682]

2 minutes ago, Heidi13 said:

Might be true for the mega ships with thousands of pax/crew, but with our preferred cruise line, social distancing is vastly superior to any aircraft, even when flying First/Business.

 

Might only be on a plane for up to 18hrs, but the entire time social distancing is impossible and I have yet to see an aircraft receive the same level of cleaning as our last cruise, where in 4 months we had no outbreaks of noro, cruise crud or covid.

 

I would be more comfortable on a flight for 7 hours than a cruise ship of any type for 7 days. I can clean the immediate space around me, buy adjacent seats if necessary and wear PPE.  Last time I checked there wasn't a flight denied landing because of COVID. The same cannot be said about cruise ships. 

[ColeThornton]

6 minutes ago, K32682 said:

 

I would be more comfortable on a flight for 7 hours than a cruise ship of any type for 7 days. I can clean the immediate space around me, buy adjacent seats if necessary and wear PPE.  Last time I checked there wasn't a flight denied landing because of COVID. The same cannot be said about cruise ships. 

 

Think about how many seats you would have to buy around you to keep a "safe" six foot distance. No one is going to do that.

[K32682]

Just now, ColeThornton said:

 

Think about how many seats you would have to buy around you to keep a "safe" six foot distance. No one is going to do that.

 

Depending on the airline's configuration having an empty seat on either side or buying the middle seat in a three person aisle plus strict use of PPE by all concerned is an improvement.  I like my chances better on a short flight opposed to a lengthy cruise.  

 

Due to my location I'd have to fly to take a cruise in any event and upon arrival I'd rather be in a hotel than crammed on to a boat with thousands of other people particularly if most of them were Americans. 

[Heidi13]

51 minutes ago, K32682 said:

 

I would be more comfortable on a flight for 7 hours than a cruise ship of any type for 7 days. I can clean the immediate space around me, buy adjacent seats if necessary and wear PPE.  Last time I checked there wasn't a flight denied landing because of COVID. The same cannot be said about cruise ships. 

We all base our decisions on risk tolerances and experiences. However, having spent 4 months on a smaller ship with < 1,000 pax and also flown during the height of COVID, our experience was being on the ship was safer with vastly superior cleaning and greater opportunity for social distancing. On cruise ships you also have the opportunity to use the outer decks, with our excellent Chief Medical Health Officer highly recommending the outdoors. Not an option on an aircraft.

 

Neither of our flights, which were both in business, was social distancing possible, especially the long-haul to YVR which was entirely full. Even back of the bus, every middle seat was full. For the both of us to achieve 6' social distancing, it would require purchasing about 8 additional seats.

 

I agree most likely no aircraft has been denied landing, as once they run out of fuel...... However, many countries closed airspace so inbound flights were cancelled before taking off.

[Hlitner]

19 hours ago, davecttr said:

Sorry, TUI starting cruises should have been Aida, which Carnival are using as a test for restarting cruises. Carnival have also announced today that 13 ships are leaving their stable within 90 days.

Perhaps, but perhaps not re Carnival.  The question remains what will the CDC do regarding cruising to/from US Ports.  At this point we believe (have not heard to the contrary) that the CDC has not issued any hint of what they will do when their "No Sail" Order expires later this month.  Since the cruise lines have all implemented a voluntary hold until mid-September (or later) they have taken the pressure off the CDC.  But it is still a possibility that the CDC could extend their No Sail order well into the Fall or even to the end of the year.  Perhaps CCL has had some indication of what will happen but we have not seen any public announcement.

 

Hank

[BlueRiband]

There us an ongoing discussion in the Cunard forum regarding the EU "Healthy Gateways" report: Interim guidance for restarting cruise operations  The general opinion is that if they wanted to discourage anybody from boarding a ship they could not have written a better document.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Heidi13]

12 minutes ago, BlueRiband said:

There us an ongoing discussion in the Cunard forum regarding the EU "Healthy Gateways" report: Interim guidance for restarting cruise operations  The general opinion is that if they wanted to discourage anybody from boarding a ship they could not have written a better document.

 

 

Since a good portion of Cunard pax are UK based, the situation is further compounded by the UK's FCO advising against any UK citizen boarding a cruise ship. Previously it was limited to > 70's.

[ontheweb]

7 hours ago, Heidi13 said:

 

Since a good portion of Cunard pax are UK based, the situation is further compounded by the UK's FCO advising against any UK citizen boarding a cruise ship. Previously it was limited to > 70's.

They do eliminate any issue of age discrimination by banning everyone no matter what their age.