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Bermuda letting cruise ships in


Retiretocruise
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2 hours ago, Retiretocruise said:

Has anyone heard when Bermuda may be letting cruise ships on the island?

Based on discussions I've read on local press sources royalgazette.com or bernews.com it's not going to happen any time soon. They have a very strict testing protocol for everyone entering the country. You're required to have a negative test taken prior to departure for your trip and then you're tested again immediately upon entry to Bermuda, with quarantine required until a negative test result is obtained. You're then required to have additional tests at intervals thereafter. 

That procedure works for airline arrivals because only a couple of hundred people at a time arrive on an airplane. It's a different story when a cruise ship with thousands of people aboard arrives. Bermuda just doesn't have the ability to do that much testing.

Right now Bermuda is one of the most COVID-19 free countries in the world, with only a handful of active cases  thanks to their strict protocols. They want to keep it that way.

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1 hour ago, fin said:

Leaving them only a hurricane tomorrow to worry about.

 

Bermuda's construction code is very strict and there is rarely substantial damage to buildings there from hurricanes. They took a direct hit from Hurricane Paulette earlier this year and only suffered minimal damage beyond power outages and downed trees.

 

Bermuda is outside Epsilon's predicted hurricane force wind field and only within the predicted tropical storm force wind field, so hopefully it will be little more than a nuisance.

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On 10/20/2020 at 5:46 PM, Retiretocruise said:

Has anyone heard when Bermuda may be letting cruise ships on the island?

 

It doesn`t make any sense for them to reopen their ports as long as there is still the CDC no-sail order. Cause the oly cruise ships docking in Bermuda are the ones sailing from the US east coast ports or making a TA. But TA cruises won`t happen as well as long as there is the nbo sail order.

So the Bermuda Goverment doesn`t need to think about that at the moment.

 

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1 hour ago, CruiseMH said:

 

It doesn`t make any sense for them to reopen their ports as long as there is still the CDC no-sail order. Cause the oly cruise ships docking in Bermuda are the ones sailing from the US east coast ports or making a TA. But TA cruises won`t happen as well as long as there is the nbo sail order.

So the Bermuda Goverment doesn`t need to think about that at the moment.

 

As I stated in my first reply they have thought about it and are concerned about their ability to test large numbers of arriving cruise passengers.

When the CDC No Sail Order is lifted they have to be prepared to quickly decide whether they will permit cruise ship calls and what their protocols for arriving cruise ship passengers will be if they are permitting ships.

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5 hours ago, CruiseMH said:

It doesn`t make any sense for them to reopen their ports as long as there is still the CDC no-sail order. Cause the oly cruise ships docking in Bermuda are the ones sailing from the US east coast ports or making a TA. But TA cruises won`t happen as well as long as there is the no sail order. So the Bermuda Government doesn`t need to think about that at the moment.

There are more ships and boats that can call in Bermuda than mainstream cruise lines. 

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Minister of Tourism and Transport Zane DeSilva said, “As a country we are disappointed to hear the news that valued cruise partners for Bermuda, Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines [RCCL], will be voluntarily suspending all scheduled cruises to Bermuda through 31st October 2020.

 

 

Im taking that to mean they would have been open to it, in oct.  So it seems when the cruislines are able to they will welcome them. 

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1 hour ago, seaman11 said:

Yes end of june, So it still shows that they were not the ones that wouldn't allow cruise ships for oct. and have been open for tourism by air. 

They were also closed to air travel when that statement was made and were just assuming at that time that they could allow cruising at some time after the country was reopened to air travel. They had no firm idea at that time what testing protocol was going to be used when the country reopened.  As I said back in my first post on this thread when they reopened they realized the testing protocol they  adopted for international visitors wouldn't work for cruise ships because they don't have the capacity to test large number of arrivals.

 

The tourism minister quoted in that article was forced to resign shortly thereafter, in early July, for violating Bermuda's COVID-19 protocols. Then in early October he was arrested and detained by police for questioning in connection with an investigation of a government loan to a fraudster who ran off with the money. He's not a person whose word I would rely on .

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24 minutes ago, njhorseman said:

They were also closed to air travel when that statement was made and were just assuming at that time that they could allow cruising at some time after the country was reopened to air travel. They had no firm idea at that time what testing protocol was going to be used when the country reopened.  As I said back in my first post on this thread when they reopened they realized the testing protocol they  adopted for international visitors wouldn't work for cruise ships because they don't have the capacity to test large number of arrivals.

 

The tourism minister quoted in that article was forced to resign shortly thereafter, in early July, for violating Bermuda's COVID-19 protocols. Then in early October he was arrested and detained by police for questioning in connection with an investigation of a government loan to a fraudster who ran off with the money. He's not a person whose word I would rely on .

Thats true, many thought back then that they wouldnt even open for air travel by now.  I dont think they will block any cruises when they are ready.though their cruise season would be over for the year , Remember the cruises will not be as before,cruisers won't be roaming freely at ports, and only half full.  lets see what happens . 

 

btw the new tourism minister is the former national security minister  Wayne Caines, that got caught at that same bar breaking covid protocol, lol 

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With the new requirement to test passengers before embarkation, and during the cruise, perhaps ports will be more confident about allow passengers to arrive and be Covid-free.

 

Then the risk is picking it up during a port call, which is why passengers must be tested before being allowed to disembark.

 

With a limit of 7 day cruises, a cruise to Bermuda would be relatively low risk for passengers and Bermuda if they are tested on the day before arrival in Bermuda.

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2 hours ago, PelicanBill said:

With the new requirement to test passengers before embarkation, and during the cruise, perhaps ports will be more confident about allow passengers to arrive and be Covid-free.

 

Then the risk is picking it up during a port call, which is why passengers must be tested before being allowed to disembark.

 

With a limit of 7 day cruises, a cruise to Bermuda would be relatively low risk for passengers and Bermuda if they are tested on the day before arrival in Bermuda.

 

And lets say they do that, test thousand of pax the day before arrival in Bermuda. Lets say 25 people test positive. They get locked in their rooms and or not allowed off the ship. What about everyone who was in contact with them? Just because your negative 24 hours before doesn't mean your negative 36 or 48 hours later

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1 hour ago, Laszlo said:

 

And lets say they do that, test thousand of pax the day before arrival in Bermuda. Lets say 25 people test positive. They get locked in their rooms and or not allowed off the ship. What about everyone who was in contact with them? Just because your negative 24 hours before doesn't mean your negative 36 or 48 hours later

I believe the cruise (and subsequent cruises of the ship until CDC approves) is terminated and ship returns to the port of embarkation. Passengers are notified that their return to their homes may be delayed...

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I'm more interested in going on a cruise to a controlled environment.  I think Bermuda would be safer than some other ports.  I'm considering some of the shorter sailings (4-5 days) vs the 7 days.    Naussau with 7-10 ships from different ports doesn't sound safe for cruisers or the locals!

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7 hours ago, RunBikeCruiseDC said:

I'm more interested in going on a cruise to a controlled environment.  I think Bermuda would be safer than some other ports.  I'm considering some of the shorter sailings (4-5 days) vs the 7 days.    Naussau with 7-10 ships from different ports doesn't sound safe for cruisers or the locals!

 

Good point, but I'd say that for the safety of Bermuda (remember it's not just about cruisers) they might only allow smaller ships for the coming season e.g. Oceania Insignia....which is already scheduled in July and/or August. We have a booking, made last year long before COVID-19 hit, for July and we are pinning our hopes on such thinking from the Bermuda Government.

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3 hours ago, hamrag said:

 

Good point, but I'd say that for the safety of Bermuda (remember it's not just about cruisers) they might only allow smaller ships for the coming season e.g. Oceania Insignia....which is already scheduled in July and/or August. We have a booking, made last year long before COVID-19 hit, for July and we are pinning our hopes on such thinking from the Bermuda Government.

My wife and I are serioulsy looking at the Insignia. Like that idea of a small ship docking at two places in Bermuda

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5 hours ago, Laszlo said:

....Like that idea of a small ship docking at two places in Bermuda

 

Indeed, and that was the reason we booked it rather than the NCL or RCI Bermuda cruise. But, for the immediate post COVID-19 months, you've now got me believing the authorities will insist on using one of the docking venues....guess we'd just be happy to get there, no matter how they work it! 

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