cruisinmeme Posted September 28, 2020 #1 Share Posted September 28, 2020 Read an article on the carnival site (addressed to all cruise lines) that cruisers would not be allowed to roam free In ports. Also would have to do ship sponsored excursions. Well so much for the ship being empty on port days. Also this may make or break people wanting to cruise. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeremyosborne81 Posted September 28, 2020 #2 Share Posted September 28, 2020 Yeah, this has been the standard since MSC started European cruises over a month ago. No surprise here. I just hope that gets lifted in a couple months. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare JamieLogical Posted September 28, 2020 #3 Share Posted September 28, 2020 I think it may be a condition of ports allowing ships to dock. They don't want random ship passengers wandering all around, potentially spreading COVID. Having this measure of control and compartmentalization will help both the port authorities and the cruise lines feel more confident about potential exposure and contact tracing. 13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare ziggyuk Posted September 28, 2020 #4 Share Posted September 28, 2020 One family were refused boarding at Naples by MSC after deciding the rules did not apply to them and leaving the excursion "bubble". https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/family-denied-cruise-boarding-coronavirus-msc-naples-italy-a9679536.html 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrumpyNor Posted September 28, 2020 #5 Share Posted September 28, 2020 (edited) 7 hours ago, JamieLogical said: I think it may be a condition of ports allowing ships to dock. They don't want random ship passengers wandering all around, potentially spreading COVID. Having this measure of control and compartmentalization will help both the port authorities and the cruise lines feel more confident about potential exposure and contact tracing. This is actually the reason behind it - passengers are NOT allowed to leave the ship independently, this is a requirement form the ports that currently allows visit of cruise ships. And TOTALLY understandable when you take the current covid-19 situation in most of Europe in to consideration....! Edited September 28, 2020 by TrumpyNor 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Budget Queen Posted September 28, 2020 #6 Share Posted September 28, 2020 2 hours ago, TrumpyNor said: This is actually the reason behind it - passengers are NOT allowed to leave the ship independently, this is a requirement form the ports that currently allows visit of cruise ships. And TOTALLY understandable when you take the current covid-19 situation in most of Europe in to consideration....! Just as important the other way. Nobody wants a newly infected “wanderer” back on the ship either. And spreading it to unsuspecting passengers and crew 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaja Posted September 28, 2020 #7 Share Posted September 28, 2020 11 hours ago, cruisinmeme said: . Also this may make or break people wanting to cruise. I agree. Though I certainly do understand the logic behind it as others have mentioned. . Cruisers will have to take all the restrictions under consideration before booking. I , for one, will be putting cruising on hold . 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Travelling2Some Posted September 28, 2020 #8 Share Posted September 28, 2020 19 minutes ago, jaja said: I agree. Though I certainly do understand the logic behind it as others have mentioned. . Cruisers will have to take all the restrictions under consideration before booking. I , for one, will be putting cruising on hold . Exactly. While the restriction is understandable it is also a deal breaker. We cruise mostly for the ports and almost never do group excursions, especially not the ship-sponsored type. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaja Posted September 28, 2020 #9 Share Posted September 28, 2020 3 minutes ago, Travelling2Some said: Exactly. While the restriction is understandable it is also a deal breaker. We cruise mostly for the ports and almost never do group excursions, especially not the ship-sponsored type. While I am not big on excursions for many ports (esp ones I have visited before), I do so love to just find a local place to eat and shop or revisit some place I did see on a past sailing . That is all gone now. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pmatawan Posted September 28, 2020 #10 Share Posted September 28, 2020 Deal breaker for me also. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roger001 Posted September 28, 2020 #11 Share Posted September 28, 2020 26 minutes ago, jaja said: While I am not big on excursions for many ports (esp ones I have visited before), I do so love to just find a local place to eat and shop or revisit some place I did see on a past sailing . That is all gone now. Yea. Without that, we're just not going to go until restrictions lifted. Can you imagine looking at 5 ships docked at Cozumel, and not a single guest being allowed to wander and shop the downtown. And imagine the merchants looking out at the ships with the captive passengers on board. There's no point in doing port stops I think. In fact, sea days only might be the first cruises. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaja Posted September 28, 2020 #12 Share Posted September 28, 2020 19 minutes ago, roger001 said: Yea. Without that, we're just not going to go until restrictions lifted. Can you imagine looking at 5 ships docked at Cozumel, and not a single guest being allowed to wander and shop the downtown. And imagine the merchants looking out at the ships with the captive passengers on board. There's no point in doing port stops I think. In fact, sea days only might be the first cruises. Yes--I thought about the merchants too....so very sad for them. Guess the only locals who will profit are those affiliated with NCL for sponsored excursions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare shof515 Posted September 28, 2020 #13 Share Posted September 28, 2020 36 minutes ago, roger001 said: In fact, sea days only might be the first cruises. due to various laws and regulations, there is no more cruise to no where the ship needs to find a place to port at 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare 1025cruise Posted September 28, 2020 #14 Share Posted September 28, 2020 Please note that while this has been suggested, nothing has been carved in stone yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
disneylover89 Posted September 28, 2020 #15 Share Posted September 28, 2020 I read that the MSC offered one free excursion per port so everyone will be able to get off the ship at no charge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GA Dave Posted September 28, 2020 #16 Share Posted September 28, 2020 1 hour ago, shof515 said: due to various laws and regulations, there is no more cruise to no where the ship needs to find a place to port at They could most likely port at Great Styrrup Cay and Harvest Caye with no issues/restrictions. I would not have a problem with a cruise like that at this point. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LouChamp Posted September 28, 2020 #17 Share Posted September 28, 2020 exactly the reason to wait until this situation clarifies and is seriously under control. Sent from my iPad using Forums 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare DCGuy64 Posted September 28, 2020 #18 Share Posted September 28, 2020 10 minutes ago, GA Dave said: They could most likely port at Great Styrrup Cay and Harvest Caye with no issues/restrictions. I would not have a problem with a cruise like that at this point. Me, either. And as @JamieLogicalpointed out, this could be as much the port authorities not wanting passengers randomly wandering around as the cruise lines wanting to ensure everyone is accounted for. Frankly, although I see lots of people pointing the finger at the cruise lines, I see almost no one mentioning that this requirement might be a condition of ports allowing ships to dock at all. Earlier this year, most (if not all) Caribbean ports closed to cruise ships altogether because of COVID. While not ideal by any means, this may be a necessary (and hopefully temporary) step to get ports to open back up. I'd also point out that it's been common knowledge for a long time that certain ports aren't considered safe for cruise passengers just to roam about freely, and that pre-arranged excursions (whether through the cruise line or independently) are highly suggested. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruzinnana47 Posted September 28, 2020 #19 Share Posted September 28, 2020 26 minutes ago, GA Dave said: They could most likely port at Great Styrrup Cay and Harvest Caye with no issues/restrictions. I would not have a problem with a cruise like that at this point. I wouldn't either, except that the local vendors on these stops could be exposed/infected by any asymtomatic passengers coming off the ship to visit the island/port. Just one more consideration. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare shof515 Posted September 28, 2020 #20 Share Posted September 28, 2020 52 minutes ago, GA Dave said: They could most likely port at Great Styrrup Cay and Harvest Caye with no issues/restrictions. I would not have a problem with a cruise like that at this point. that depends on if the Bahamas government allows the ships to be at GSC. While the cruise line owns the island, it is still governed by the Bahamas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dexddd Posted September 28, 2020 #21 Share Posted September 28, 2020 1 hour ago, disneylover89 said: I read that the MSC offered one free excursion per port so everyone will be able to get off the ship at no charge. I had not seen that and I follow MSC boards but maybe I missed it. They did offer three excursions for 100 Euros. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare DCGuy64 Posted September 28, 2020 #22 Share Posted September 28, 2020 7 minutes ago, dexddd said: I had not seen that and I follow MSC boards but maybe I missed it. They did offer three excursions for 100 Euros. Yes, MSC is offering all experience types at least 1 free excursion. I believe the breakdown is like this: Bella gets 1, Fantastica 2, Aurea 3 and Yacht Club gets ALL ports free. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Até Posted September 28, 2020 #23 Share Posted September 28, 2020 2 hours ago, dexddd said: I had not seen that and I follow MSC boards but maybe I missed it. They did offer three excursions for 100 Euros. From what I understand people who were already booked and were asked to move to the new Grandiosa itineraries were offered the excursions free, they got between one and five based on cabin level they had purchased. Everyone else making new bookings got the option to purchase the 100€ package of three basic excursions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thistimeplease Posted September 28, 2020 #24 Share Posted September 28, 2020 6 hours ago, Travelling2Some said: Exactly. While the restriction is understandable it is also a deal breaker. We cruise mostly for the ports and almost never do group excursions, especially not the ship-sponsored type. I agree. I can't imagine going to Bermuda for 3 days and not being able to roam the island on our own. Would definitely be a deal breaker for us. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare PATRLR Posted September 28, 2020 #25 Share Posted September 28, 2020 5 hours ago, roger001 said: Can you imagine looking at 5 ships docked at Cozumel, and not a single guest being allowed to wander and shop the downtown. And imagine the merchants looking out at the ships with the captive passengers on board. There's no point in doing port stops I think. I'd expect to find the local ports working with the cruise lines to define some manner of allowing passengers to safely (safe for both passenger and locals) shop in some of these bigger shopping areas. The port would likely have to invest in infrastructure or people to keep passengers from leaving the approved zones, they'd have to demonstrate some level of controls over the merchants so the cruise lines can be confident some merchant won't infect one of the passengers., and I'm sure a bunch of other requirements I'd never think of. But, FWIW, not allowing passengers to wander ports would probably be one of the things we'd need in order for us to return to cruising. We don't do much in ports beyond finding a local place to get a drink and meal, if we have to do without and stay on the ship, that would be OK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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