Which ships will restart first?

[Wannacruise81]

When cruising resumes, do you think NCL will start with the smaller ships sailing or their larger ships? 

If they use the larger ships, there is more outdoor spaces and more room to social distance, but is the cost to run them more expensive then a smaller ship?

[cruisekitty22]

Hoping its the Encore!  We are on it February 24, 2021-March 1, 2021.

[hhalliv]

I’ve been thinking about this a lot, and I would refer everyone to Carnival’s start up plans (for when they thought they’d be starting back up in September).

 

Their plan seemed to start with their newer ships, I believe entirely based in Florida.

 

If I were a gambling man, I would bet NCL starts with their newer ships, and then ramp up to their older ships down the line; but it’s really just a mildly educated guess at this point!

[Pamtastic]

I'm thinking the smaller ships. Less operational crew required and less complexity means they can staff up quickly.  The basics of all ships are the same, so without all the fancy bells and whistles, new or even rusty crew can ramp up quickly.   Finding and training crew to run VR, go karts, lifeguard, casino, is tough, let alone the quantity of hotel crew for cleaning cabins and public spaces, and staffing such a large number of bars and restaurants. 

 

My gut says that the ramp up will not only involve diminished capacity, but diminished onboard experiences. Likely not a full closure of all dining/beverage, but reduced hours or even alternating days.  Crew hiring is going to be tough as most if not all of them are working in other industries and no longer have work visas or other required paperwork.

[sverigecruiser]

 

MSC started with a very big ship and my guess is that NCL will do the same.

 

Someone may know better but I assume that the newer ships need less staff to operate, at least compared to their size.

 

Do they need more or less staff in the engineroom on a modern ship?

Do they have more effective kitchens on a modern ship?

Are modern ships easier to clean?  

[macandlucy]

Someone in the roll call posted that the Star has left SH and is sailing to the Med.  

 

The Star has some sailings scheduled for the Med in November I think then on to a TA at the end of November.

 

Hmm

[skeeter195]

I have a feeling the Joy will be one of the first.

[Sand and Seas]

I have also been thinking it will most likely start up with the newer ships.  It seems likely they would be able to handle any new restrictions and air handling guidelines.    Just a guess so far.

[hallux]

Look back a few months, there was a tentative list of ship start up order.  Of course, that was assuming sailings were restarting in August or September but I would figure they'd keep it similar.

[BamaCruiser39]

15 hours ago, skeeter195 said:

I have a feeling the Joy will be one of the first.

I hope so, I'm already paid in full for a December sailing on the Joy! Lol

[PelicanBill]

Operating costs can be easily adjusted in hotel operations.  Ship operations costs don't change much with fewer guests.  I think we need an insider to tell us how much of an issue it is for, say, sailing ships at half guest capacity.

[CruiseMH]

They will for sure start with the newer ships. The more people you have on board the smaller the costs per passenger are.

The main reason for such big ships is that the more passengers the less are the costs per passenger.

So they will start with the newer ships.If they are allowed to have e.g. 50% of max. capacity on board then the costs per passenger on Encore,Joy,Breakaway,etc. are much smaller. Also there are more options to keep the distance between the passengers and more options to earn some extra revenue with all the entertainment options.

 

[Pamtastic]

The comments about bigger ships (which are also newer) are compelling as well.  We will have to wait and see!

[boatseller]

They should start with the ships with the lowest Cost per Passenger Night, like Cost per Passenger Mile, or what ever metric they use.  Presumably, that would be the Breakaway class.

 

There might also be fiscal/accounting reasons to sail ships with differed payments since that would appear more profitable.  This again would be the recent Breakaway class ships.

[reeinaz]

It's going to be the Jan 14 sailing of the Getaway out of Miami

[sanger727]

They will start with the ships that can hold the most passengers. That way if they start at reduced capacity, they can have a higher number of paying passengers.