Will Princess follow any of RCCL's new protocols for cruising?

[ontheweb]

2 hours ago, Daniel A said:

More likely they won't let you back on the ship if you do that.  

No, they will not let you get off the ship, so you will not have to worry about getting back on.😒

 

But, OTOH, you won't have to worry about the ship leaving without you.😃

[NthernLgts]

17 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

I don't agree with the shore excursion restriction and we won't cruise until that is no longer the case.  Since the RCCL voyages discussed in the linked article are "cruises to nowhere", there is noting stated about ports and leaving the ship.  But I have read about these proposals and that ships that were operating in the Med were doing this.  Not clear what Princess is going to do as yet, but we won't be putting final payment on a near-term cruise unless Princess is able to clarify the policy and it is clear ports are going to be open for passengers.

 

I really like what Royal is doing with their air filtration/air exchange efforts.  Beyond that, if a mask is a requirement unless you are in your cabin or eating/swimming/exercising I will take a pass until that requirement is gone. That likely will require a vaccine.  I understand their reasoning, but no for me.  The elevator restrictions will be ignored unless someone enforces them.  In addition, these cruise lines lose half their reason for even stopping at a port if you cant get off the ship unless youre on a ship sponsored excursion.

[Iamcruzin]

15 minutes ago, NthernLgts said:

I really like what Royal is doing with their air filtration/air exchange efforts.  Beyond that, if a mask is a requirement unless you are in your cabin or eating/swimming/exercising I will take a pass until that requirement is gone. That likely will require a vaccine.  I understand their reasoning, but no for me.  The elevator restrictions will be ignored unless someone enforces them.  In addition, these cruise lines lose half their reason for even stopping at a port if you cant get off the ship unless youre on a ship sponsored excursion.

At least Royal Caribbean have their large destination ships.  I can't imagine being on a boring Princess ship with the tiny balcony and no chair to sit on in the room. Celebrity has better room accommodations but nothing to entertain you there either. We choose those two lines for the destinations and itineraries but given the current situation we will take a pass.

[Daniel A]

1 hour ago, ontheweb said:

No, they will not let you get off the ship, so you will not have to worry about getting back on.😒

 

But, OTOH, you won't have to worry about the ship leaving without you.😃

I'm not sure they can prevent you from disembarking.  They certainly can tell you that if you do an unauthorized disembarkation, you're not getting back on.  

[Paula_MacFan]

2 hours ago, Daniel A said:

I'm not sure they can prevent you from disembarking.  

 

Pretty sure they could make you meet your excursion group onboard, like they do for many excursions already, in the Theater or another onboard venue, and restrict disembarkation to these groups only.  Seems straightforward and an easy way to control passenger movements.  Ship sponsored groups usually get a sticker or ticket -- no sticker/ticket, no leaving the ship.  

[nini]

13 hours ago, Linsifer said:

We rarely take any excursions.  We prefer to just stroll around town on our own.  When we were in Alaska in 2005 we took two inexpensive excursions, I know one was through the cruiseline.  So, they won’t allow passengers to NOT take excursions of any type?  In other words, if we choose to walk around town they won’t let us get off the ship?  

Correct. There is another thread like this titled "They're serious about shore excursions". We are not happy about this either. We prefer booking private excursions or just exploring on our own.

[Roger88]

1 hour ago, nini said:

Correct. There is another thread like this titled "They're serious about shore excursions". We are not happy about this either. We prefer booking private excursions or just exploring on our own.

There wont be any good shore excursions in the near future. I would rather go for some private tours by yourself or with a private guide who will take you to places avoiding all the the limitations. I think its the best and the most viable option at the moment

[Aulanis]

4 hours ago, Roger88 said:

I think its the best and the most viable option at the moment

 

Unfortunately it does not seem to be an option at the moment nor for some time yet. 

We can probably cope with all the onboard protocols BUT we really only go for the ports so if there is no DIY  walking we will consider postponing.

Many ports we have visited we have usually just got off and walked. Perticularly in the smaller places it would not require rocket science  for ports to set a walking route (without shops)

(wearing masks) that would enable us to see places without  worrying about social distancing  It would however  rely on a great element of trust. 

Some ports used to have people /guides from tourist advice/info  places dotted around the town when a cruise ship was in port. 

I wonder what the crew will do - we often see them dashing about to buy a few treats , will they be allowed off at all!

Edited October 28, 2020 by Aulanis

[paul929207]

4 hours ago, Roger88 said:

There wont be any good shore excursions in the near future. I would rather go for some private tours by yourself or with a private guide who will take you to places avoiding all the the limitations. I think its the best and the most viable option at the moment

I think you are missing some of this thread. You only get to take a private excursion one time. When you return to the ship at the end of it, you will be disembarked. No refunds for remainder of the cruise. Get home at your expense.

[nini]

5 hours ago, paul929207 said:

I think you are missing some of this thread. You only get to take a private excursion one time. When you return to the ship at the end of it, you will be disembarked. No refunds for remainder of the cruise. Get home at your expense.

Roger88- Correct. Private excursions are not allowed.

[memoak]

Nobody actually knows what protocols will be. I would take a wait and see attitude. Once there is a widely available vaccine many things will change 

[trbarton]

FYI....Princess is a part of a group that’s a part of the majority of cruise lines all over the world. They presented to the CDC the regulations that they will all follow. Since RCCL is apart of that group I would think that what Princess does would be the same. 
 

Tom😀

[SNJCruisers]

On 10/27/2020 at 4:33 PM, Iamcruzin said:

Celebrity has better room accommodations but nothing to entertain you there either. 

When you do decide to return to cruising, book a sailing on the Edge or Apex.  A notch above their other two classes of ships.  Sailed on the Edge last January and liked it so much we booked 2 years out on board for January of 2023 on the Apex.

[SNJCruisers]

On 10/27/2020 at 4:50 PM, Daniel A said:

I'm not sure they can prevent you from disembarking.  They certainly can tell you that if you do an unauthorized disembarkation, you're not getting back on.  

 

On 10/27/2020 at 7:41 PM, Paula_MacFan said:

 

Pretty sure they could make you meet your excursion group onboard, like they do for many excursions already, in the Theater or another onboard venue, and restrict disembarkation to these groups only.  Seems straightforward and an easy way to control passenger movements.  Ship sponsored groups usually get a sticker or ticket -- no sticker/ticket, no leaving the ship.  

You would need to either be wearing a sticker or show an excursion ticket to be allowed to have your sail n sign card dinged or your ocean medallion registered in order to leave the ship.   

And as is current protocol you need to stay within the bubble of the group and not wander off on your own to explore.  If you do, you'll end up like the people from the MSC and Aida ships that got booted for breaking the bubble protocol.  I can definitely see the numbers increase with the members of the "me generation " that would be sailing out of US based embarkation ports.

[caribill]

14 hours ago, trbarton said:

FYI....Princess is a part of a group that’s a part of the majority of cruise lines all over the world. They presented to the CDC the regulations that they will all follow. Since RCCL is apart of that group I would think that what Princess does would be the same. 
 

 

 

Much of what was proposed are goals with end results and each cruise line had to submit to the CDC the specifics of how they would actually meet those goals. Thus a number of actual protocols may be different from one cruise line to another.

[caribill]

More on RCI Group's plans to restart cruising:

 

Cannot eliminate all risk of Covid-19 or anything else.

 

Goal is to have risk of transmission on a ship less than the passengers would have in their home community. Passengers will be safer on a ship than on Main Street at home.

 

o Will restart slowly

o Non-revenue trial sailings

o Short cruises at first with limited destinations and controlled shore excursions

o TUI cruises, Hapag-Lloyd and Silversea have already restarted in Europe with a few ships.

o Quantum Of The Seas will start sailing from Singapore on December 1. These are basically ocean voyages that sail for three, four, five days

o Very limited restart and gradual ramp-up in first half of 2021.

o Bookings for 2nd half of 2021 within historical ranges with prices down slightly (including use of FCCs).

o Consumers, having missed doing 2020 summer vacations, are expecting to have summer 2021 vacations.

o 80% of 2021 bookings are new, not from FCCs or “lift and shift.”

o Cannot predict what CDC will do about lifting the “no sail” order for USA sailings

o 100% testing will be an important part of restarting. New tests are being developed with improvements in speed and accuracy and at lower costs. (No specifics given as technology is changing often.)

[Daniel A]

On 10/27/2020 at 3:35 PM, ontheweb said:

No, they will not let you get off the ship, so you will not have to worry about getting back on.😒

 

 

On 10/27/2020 at 7:41 PM, Paula_MacFan said:

Pretty sure they could make you meet your excursion group onboard, like they do for many excursions already, in the Theater or another onboard venue, and restrict disembarkation to these groups only.  Seems straightforward and an easy way to control passenger movements.  Ship sponsored groups usually get a sticker or ticket -- no sticker/ticket, no leaving the ship.  

 

6 hours ago, SNJCruisers said:

You would need to either be wearing a sticker or show an excursion ticket to be allowed to have your sail n sign card dinged or your ocean medallion registered in order to leave the ship.   

I guess I didn't make my point clearer.  I'm not saying that the cruise line cannot make rules and procedures for disembarkation and re-embarkation.  What I'm saying is that they cannot physically stop you from getting off the ship.  They can strongly suggest that you not do it under pain of not being let back onboard, but it's not a prison ship.  For the ship's crew to physically stop a person who really wants to get off from getting off would certainly be a case of false imprisonment.  Any person so detained would have a very strong civil action down the road.  Again if the person disembarks, then they wouldn't be permitted to re-board. 

[Abercrombie2019]

4 minutes ago, Daniel A said:

 

 

I guess I didn't make my point clearer.  I'm not saying that the cruise line cannot make rules and procedures for disembarkation and re-embarkation.  What I'm saying is that they cannot physically stop you from getting off the ship.  They can strongly suggest that you not do it under pain of not being let back onboard, but it's not a prison ship.  For the ship's crew to physically stop a person who really wants to get off from getting off would certainly be a case of false imprisonment.  Any person so detained would have a very strong civil action down the road.  Again if the person disembarks, then they wouldn't be permitted to re-board. 

From the Passage Contract:

 

4. RIGHT TO REFUSE BOOKING AND PASSAGE, CANCEL RESERVATION; CONFINE YOU TO STATEROOM OR DISEMBARK YOU.

Carrier reserves the right to refuse booking of passage on a Cruise to any person or to cancel Your existing Cruise reservation for any lawful reason and regardless of a guest’s Captain Circle loyalty level or existing benefits. Any person(s) refused booking or passage in advance of the scheduled sailing by Carrier will be given a refund of their Cruise Fare. Captain Circle points have no cash value and therefore are not redeemable for cash. Carrier may without liability for refund, payment, compensation or credit, except as provided herein, disembark or refuse to embark You, confine You in a stateroom, quarantine You, restrain You, change Your accommodations or disembark You at any time if, in the sole opinion of Carrier, the Captain or any doctor, You or any minor or other person in Your care during the Cruise are unfit for any reason for the Cruise, or Your presence might be detrimental to Your health, comfort or safety or that of any other person, or in the judgment of the Captain is advisable for any reason. Carrier reserves the right to request a letter from Your physician attesting to Your fitness to travel, but by requesting such letter does not waive its right to disembark or refuse to embark You as set forth in this Section. Except as otherwise provided, if You are required to remain on board the ship or elsewhere, due to injury, illness, or disability, or due to action of any government or authority, or for any other reason not the fault of Carrier, You must pay or reimburse Carrier for all resulting costs and expenses including for food, transportation, accommodation, medical and/or repatriation services for You and/or those accompanying You. If You become unfit to travel for any reason during the Cruise and/or You disembark early, or if You are refused passage, or Your reservation is cancelled if You book a cruise after Carrier has advised You that You are no longer allowed to sail, Carrier shall not be liable for any refund, payment, compensation, or credit of any kind.

[Abercrombie2019]

@Daniel A I'm not trying to say that I think that you are wrong.  I'm only pointing out that people agree to a lot of things when they agree to the Passage Contract.

 

In the right circumstances, I think the ship can detain (restrain) a passenger.

[Iamcruzin]

9 minutes ago, Abercrombie2019 said:

@Daniel A I'm not trying to say that I think that you are wrong.  I'm only pointing out that people agree to a lot of things when they agree to the Passage Contract.

 

In the right circumstances, I think the ship can detain (restrain) a passenger.

I think Covid related restrictions fall under the right circumstance category.

[Daniel A]

12 minutes ago, Abercrombie2019 said:

@Daniel A I'm not trying to say that I think that you are wrong.  I'm only pointing out that people agree to a lot of things when they agree to the Passage Contract.

 

In the right circumstances, I think the ship can detain (restrain) a passenger.

Absolutely the Captain can have you restrained and confined under very narrow specific circumstances.  What comes to mind is when a PAX is diagnosed with Noro Virus and they refuse to comply with a quarantine order or a person who becomes disorderly threatening the safety of other PAX or crew.  What I am speaking about is refusal to let you leave the ship if you are insistent that you want to end your cruise.  This is very similar to a person being disruptive on an aircraft.  The flight crew may restrain you for the safety of other PAX and may hold you for civil authorities but they cannot detain you just because you want to get off the plane and it would otherwise be safe to do so.  (Not in mid-air...😁)

[Daniel A]

11 minutes ago, Iamcruzin said:

I think Covid related restrictions fall under the right circumstance category.

How does a person who wants to get off the ship with the understanding that they may not re-board affect the health and safety of anyone else thus justifying physical restraint?

[Abercrombie2019]

We don’t know what the agreements between cruise lines and ports will be, but it is possible that the port countries will require passengers to remain in the cruise bubble (approved excursions), as a condition of allowing the cruise ships to dock.
People who go ashore on their own could be argued to be posing a health risk to the port country, and to the ship when they get back on board.

 

Edited October 30, 2020 by Abercrombie2019
Spelling

[Iamcruzin]

16 minutes ago, Daniel A said:

How does a person who wants to get off the ship with the understanding that they may not re-board affect the health and safety of anyone else thus justifying physical restraint?

If someone wanted to get off of the ship it would probably involve a disembarkment  process and they would know a head of time that they would not be allowed to board the ship upon return. If you agree to the cruise contract it doesn’t matter if you read it or not.

[Daniel A]

21 minutes ago, Iamcruzin said:

If someone wanted to get off of the ship it would probably involve a disembarkment  process and they would know a head of time that they would not be allowed to board the ship upon return. If you agree to the cruise contract it doesn’t matter if you read it or not.

Agreed 100%.  Not permitting re-boarding would be a much less restrictive yet effective measure than holding a person against their will.