Alaska 2021 looking very unlikely

[GilbertGilbert]

Well here's the deal, I don't have to pay til March and that's a decent amount of time away. I will be optimistic that Canada won't be such a drag and we'll be able to cruise. I can always rebook to a later cruise. Why worry? 

[farmersfight]

2 hours ago, www3traveler said:

write letters to your Senator and Congress members asking that the Act be repealed. 

 

No need to repeal it. Congress could easily suspend the applicable portions of the PVSA until things get back to "normal".

[don't-use-real-name]

There is no real good reason to continue the PVSA act since the US does not have any

competition in the cruise ships business (exception the POA in Hawaii). All the large (huge)

ships are flagged in a foreign country for the convenience of the cruise company avoiding

a lot of the tariffs and taxes BUT not the safety and operation of the ships.

With the PVSA restriction removed there would be a whole-nother degree of cruise travel

open to the guest customers. Think of it as being a railroad without rails - or better yet an

airline at sea - going anywhere there is water to float on.

IF and that is a BIG "IF" a commercial cruise operation to start up the rule could be reinstated

but really to what end - The competition already has a firm lock on the business.

 

But more important things are at hand getting the Covid virus 19 under control !

[whitshel]

12 hours ago, zdcatc12 said:

I guess they could do a "technical" stop in Victoria where the ship stops, but no one disembarks. I believe some of the California cruises that only go to Catalina Island do that in Mexico.

No, all cruises that go to Catalina stop in Ensenada as a port stop.  Some of the RT Hawaii cruises used to use Ensenada as a Technical Stop but are no longer able to do that.

[lepidoptera]

I am a bit worried about next year’s season as well. I figure my May 2021 9 day cruise has next to no chance of going (that is already a rebook from this year). But from what I am reading, Canada is expected to be behind the US on the vaccination schedule. What I saw in the news is everyone who wants a vaccine should be vaccinated by September 2021 in Canada vs a projected June for the US. That is basically the end of the season for Alaska. 

Even if we are under control in the US, will Canada open to cruises if their population isn’t vaccinated? Considering they were very quick (comparatively) to tell their population not to cruise, I doubt they will allow their citizens to cruise/allow cruises into their ports until people are vaccinated. 

[GilbertGilbert]

31 minutes ago, lepidoptera said:

 

Even if we are under control in the US, will Canada open to cruises if their population isn’t vaccinated? Considering they were very quick (comparatively) to tell their population not to cruise, I doubt they will allow their citizens to cruise/allow cruises into their ports until people are vaccinated. 

They could make a stipulation that you can't get off the ship unless you've received the vaccine.  I wasn't planning on getting off the ship there anyway,  been there done that,  not worth the stop except to fulfill the requirement.

[d9704011]

8 hours ago, lepidoptera said:

Even if we are under control in the US, will Canada open to cruises if their population isn’t vaccinated? Considering they were very quick (comparatively) to tell their population not to cruise, I doubt they will allow their citizens to cruise/allow cruises into their ports until people are vaccinated. 

Fair enough but a bit of a red herring....

 

I believe Canada will keep its ports closed at least as long as a declared Health Emergency exists in the United States.  That’s to say as long as the CDC restrictions on length of cruises is in place.  Really, that’s the marker for assessing risk level for CV-19 transmission.

Edited December 7, 2020 by d9704011

[farmersfight]

10 hours ago, don't-use-real-name said:

There is no real good reason to continue the PVSA act since the US does not have any

competition in the cruise ships business (exception the POA in Hawaii). All the large (huge)

ships are flagged in a foreign country for the convenience of the cruise company avoiding

a lot of the tariffs and taxes BUT not the safety and operation of the ships.

With the PVSA restriction removed there would be a whole-nother degree of cruise travel

open to the guest customers. Think of it as being a railroad without rails - or better yet an

airline at sea - going anywhere there is water to float on.

IF and that is a BIG "IF" a commercial cruise operation to start up the rule could be reinstated

but really to what end - The competition already has a firm lock on the business.

 

But more important things are at hand getting the Covid virus 19 under control !

 

Yeah, I see what you're saying and I appreciate your take. The cruise lines definitely flag their ships under foreign flags of convenience (i.e. Panama, Bahamas, etc) to avoid the majority of U.S. taxes. Also, crew wage costs are much lower as the cruise lines employ multi-national crew members who make far less than what U.S. mariners would make. And I know personally that U.S.mariners make good $$ (especially if they are union).

 

I'm not really for repealing the PVSA. If the cruise lines are circumventing paying U.S. taxes, I do not think they should be allowed (and thereby reap the financial benefits) to carry U.S. citizens from one U.S. port to another or R/T (closed loop) from/to a U.S. port without having to make a foreign port stop.

 

I find it interesting that the only large U.S. flag passenger vessel, the PoA is owned/operated by NCL, a foreign company (yes, I know NCL formed NCL America, a U.S. subsidiary, to meet the law that a U.S. flag vessel has to be operated by a U.S. company). The Hawaii cruise market must be very lucrative for NCL to have invested and continue to invest so much $$ to own/operate the only large U.S. flag passenger vessel.

 

The are smaller coastal (and river) U.S. flag passenger vessels, i.e. owned/operated by American Cruise Lines, that can take U.S. citizens/passengers from one U.S. port to another, or cruise R/T from/to a U.S. port without having to make a foreign port stop. I'm kind of surprised that NCL, now that it has NCL America, has expanded into this market and own/operate at least one other large  U.S. flag passenger vessel. Just think, NCL America would be able to cruise to/from Hawaii from/to the U.S. mainland (i.e. ports of LA/LB, SF, SD or Seattle) either R/T (without a foreign port stop required) or one-way (embarking U.S. passengers at one U.S. port and disembarking them at the other U.S. port). Other foreign cruise lines (i.e. RCL, Carnival) could form their own U.S. subsidiaries, own/operate their own U.S. large passenger vessels and compete with NCL America in the same U.S. markets. It would be good for U.S. mariners and expand the U.S. flag merchant fleet. Just food for thought...

 

And I agree with you 100%, more important things are at hand getting this corona virus under control (come on vaccine(s)!). So we can at least go back to the cruising we once knew (& loved)...

Edited December 7, 2020 by farmersfight

[BermudaBound2014]

Even with vaccines, we passed on booking Alaska in 2021. Canada has made their policies very clear. And while I believe we could get a switch of the PVSA, I'm not sure how keen Seattle is going to be to allow Cruises to start. That portion of our globe is quite conservative when it comes to Covid. IMO: Florida is our safest bet for all of 2021.

Edited December 7, 2020 by BermudaBound2014

[wolfie11]

13 hours ago, don't-use-real-name said:

There is no real good reason to continue the PVSA act since the US does not have any

competition in the cruise ships business (exception the POA in Hawaii). All the large (huge)

ships are flagged in a foreign country for the convenience of the cruise company avoiding

a lot of the tariffs and taxes BUT not the safety and operation of the ships.

With the PVSA restriction removed there would be a whole-nother degree of cruise travel

open to the guest customers. Think of it as being a railroad without rails - or better yet an

airline at sea - going anywhere there is water to float on.

IF and that is a BIG "IF" a commercial cruise operation to start up the rule could be reinstated

but really to what end - The competition already has a firm lock on the business.

 

But more important things are at hand getting the Covid virus 19 under control !

Yep, it would be a "whole-nother degree of cruise travel" for sure.  You do realize that making an exception to the PVSA and allowing foreign flagged vessels to sail from one American port to another means that those ships and their employees are now subject to American labor laws?  No more paying the cabin stewards and wait staff a few hundred dollars a month, no working them 12-14 hour days, paying US payroll taxes, letting the employees unionize...  There's a reason the cruise lines aren't pushing this as a solution.  Check the prices on the NCL Hawaii cruises.  There's a reason they're so expensive.

[zdcatc12]

3 hours ago, farmersfight said:

I find it interesting that the only large U.S. flag passenger vessel, the PoA is owned/operated by NCL, a foreign company (yes, I know NCL formed NCL America, a U.S. subsidiary, to meet the law that a U.S. flag vessel has to be operated by a U.S. company). The Hawaii cruise market must be very lucrative for NCL to have invested and continue to invest so much $$ to own/operate the only large U.S. flag passenger vessel.

 

The are smaller coastal (and river) U.S. flag passenger vessels, i.e. owned/operated by American Cruise Lines, that can take U.S. citizens/passengers from one U.S. port to another, or cruise R/T from/to a U.S. port without having to make a foreign port stop. I'm kind of surprised that NCL, now that it has NCL America, has expanded into this market and own/operate at least one other large  U.S. flag passenger vessel. Just think, NCL America would be able to cruise to/from Hawaii from/to the U.S. mainland (i.e. ports of LA/LB, SF, SD or Seattle) either R/T (without a foreign port stop required) or one-way (embarking U.S. passengers at one U.S. port and disembarking them at the other U.S. port). Other foreign cruise lines (i.e. RCL, Carnival) could form their own U.S. subsidiaries, own/operate their own U.S. large passenger vessels and compete with NCL America in the same U.S. markets. It would be good for U.S. mariners and expand the U.S. flag merchant fleet. Just food for thought...

 

Chengkp75 had a post about this in another forum. Not sure where, but I saw a reference to it in the Royal Caribbean forum. He was talking about if the PVSA was done away with, that would open a whole new can of worms. As it wouldn't be just cruise ships, but ANY passenger vessel in the US, e.g. ferries, tour boats, etc. He said especially the Alaska Marine Highway group would be definitely against it. I wish I could find the post, as he makes some real good points about why not to do away with it.

[farmersfight]

3 hours ago, zdcatc12 said:

Chengkp75 had a post about this in another forum. Not sure where, but I saw a reference to it in the Royal Caribbean forum. He was talking about if the PVSA was done away with, that would open a whole new can of worms. As it wouldn't be just cruise ships, but ANY passenger vessel in the US, e.g. ferries, tour boats, etc. He said especially the Alaska Marine Highway group would be definitely against it. I wish I could find the post, as he makes some real good points about why not to do away with it.

 

Thanks. Maybe @chengkp75 can chime in here with that post or the good info again. Good point, I forgot that the PVSA covers more than just cruise ships with the big Alaska Marine Highway (AMH) ferries being a prime example. Yeah, I don't think the AMH group would take too kindly to a foreign flag of convenience vessel jumping in their market and competing against them while not having to pay near the crew wages, taxes, etc. It would definitely be an unfair competitive advantage.

Edited December 7, 2020 by farmersfight

[farmersfight]

4 hours ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

IMO: Florida is our safest bet for all of 2021

 

And/or the PoA in Hawaii. No foreign port calls, cruise entirely within the U.S. (even within the same state).

[BermudaBound2014]

2 hours ago, farmersfight said:

 

And/or the PoA in Hawaii. No foreign port calls, cruise entirely within the U.S. (even within the same state).

 

I agree about Hawaii, but disagree about foreign ports of call. I believe cruises will go to their private islands to begin with (Bahamas) and some of the islands are ready to visitors. I can't imagine a 'within the same state" will happen since I believe that would be unconstitutional. Perhaps a constitutional lawyer can chime in.

[ColeThornton]

2 minutes ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

 

I agree about Hawaii, but disagree about foreign ports of call. I believe cruises will go to their private islands to begin with (Bahamas) and some of the islands are ready to visitors. I can't imagine a 'within the same state" will happen since I believe that would be unconstitutional. Perhaps a constitutional lawyer can chime in.

 

The Constitution has nothing to do with cruise lines.  Are you perhaps referring to the Passenger Vessel Services Act?

[BermudaBound2014]

25 minutes ago, ColeThornton said:

 

The Constitution has nothing to do with cruise lines.  Are you perhaps referring to the Passenger Vessel Services Act?

 

Farmersfight stated we may only be able to cruise "within the same state'. I took that to mean, only Florida residents can cruise if the cruise leaves from Florida (perhaps I read that wrong). I believe the constitution provides for freedom to travel between states. I also believe that this tenet in court right now over Covid restrictions. 

[farmersfight]

1 hour ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

 

Farmersfight stated we may only be able to cruise "within the same state'. I took that to mean, only Florida residents can cruise if the cruise leaves from Florida (perhaps I read that wrong). I believe the constitution provides for freedom to travel between states. I also believe that this tenet in court right now over Covid restrictions. 

 

Hi @BermudaBound2014;  what I meant was the PoA only cruises within U.S. waters (even just within the state of Hawaii waters). These cruises are more likely to go in the early stages of cruises resuming, since the PoA does not make any foreign port calls and won't have to deal with foreign countries that remain closed to cruise ships (like the foreign flag cruise ships on the west coast doing the Alaska itineraries and having to deal with Canada remaining closed to cruise ships).

 

I wasn't referring to the passengers, i.e. only Florida residents can cruise if the cruise leaves from Florida. Didn't mean that. Yes, U.S. citizens will still be able to travel freely between states to embark on the early cruises whether the cruises depart from Florida or the PoA from Hawaii.

 

You bring up a good point about the cruise lines' private islands. I'm not sure but say the private island is in the Bahamas; does the Bahamian government still have jurisdiction over the private island? If the Bahamas remains closed to cruise ships, will that include the cruise lines' private islands?

[BermudaBound2014]

Hi Farmers- we sure are getting a break from winter here in the mitten state. That makes perfect sense about hawaii - now I understand :). 
 

yes the private islands are definitely under the Bahamas jurisdiction (well, those that are in the Bahamas, there are also private islands in Haiti and Costa Rica, etc...). BUT, the Bahamas is eager for tourist dollars so it’s possible they could make different rules for the private islands.

 

I definitely see a huge opportunity for the cruise lines to offer over nights on private islands, keeping the cruise short (which I foresee at the beginning) and also keeping cost down, plus there are a great deal of us who would welcome an overnight stay! Win win win :). 

[All-ready2cruise]

On 12/6/2020 at 4:08 PM, GilbertGilbert said:

Canada won't be such a drag

Canada isn't such a drag. The government of Canada is very protective of it's citizens though.  Canada has already said that the border won't be opened until countries show an improvement in the spread of the corona virus.  It's just going to take more time, is all. 

[bonvoyagie]

19 hours ago, farmersfight said:

 

Yeah, I see what you're saying and I appreciate your take. The cruise lines definitely flag their ships under foreign flags of convenience (i.e. Panama, Bahamas, etc) to avoid the majority of U.S. taxes. Also, crew wage costs are much lower as the cruise lines employ multi-national crew members who make far less than what U.S. mariners would make. And I know personally that U.S.mariners make good $$ (especially if they are union).

 

I'm not really for repealing the PVSA. If the cruise lines are circumventing paying U.S. taxes, I do not think they should be allowed (and thereby reap the financial benefits) to carry U.S. citizens from one U.S. port to another or R/T (closed loop) from/to a U.S. port without having to make a foreign port stop.

 

I find it interesting that the only large U.S. flag passenger vessel, the PoA is owned/operated by NCL, a foreign company (yes, I know NCL formed NCL America, a U.S. subsidiary, to meet the law that a U.S. flag vessel has to be operated by a U.S. company). The Hawaii cruise market must be very lucrative for NCL to have invested and continue to invest so much $$ to own/operate the only large U.S. flag passenger vessel.

 

The are smaller coastal (and river) U.S. flag passenger vessels, i.e. owned/operated by American Cruise Lines, that can take U.S. citizens/passengers from one U.S. port to another, or cruise R/T from/to a U.S. port without having to make a foreign port stop. I'm kind of surprised that NCL, now that it has NCL America, has expanded into this market and own/operate at least one other large  U.S. flag passenger vessel. Just think, NCL America would be able to cruise to/from Hawaii from/to the U.S. mainland (i.e. ports of LA/LB, SF, SD or Seattle) either R/T (without a foreign port stop required) or one-way (embarking U.S. passengers at one U.S. port and disembarking them at the other U.S. port). Other foreign cruise lines (i.e. RCL, Carnival) could form their own U.S. subsidiaries, own/operate their own U.S. large passenger vessels and compete with NCL America in the same U.S. markets. It would be good for U.S. mariners and expand the U.S. flag merchant fleet. Just food for thought...

 

And I agree with you 100%, more important things are at hand getting this corona virus under control (come on vaccine(s)!). So we can at least go back to the cruising we once knew (& loved)...

While technically the POA can haul passengers between the mainland and Hawaii its operations are really limited to Hawaii as part of the operating agreements that go back to 2005 when they started operations with three ships - the POA, The Pride of Aloha (nee Sky), and Pride of Hawaii (nee Jade) The POA was started in a US shipyard (another requirement of the PVSA) but was finshed in Germany - there were two hulls started - only one was really viabale and it became the POA. The Sky and Jade were revamped without casinos and were brought into service again through a special variance pushed by a Hawaian senator. Now the market has shrank back to where the POA can handle it - yet in the beginning all three ships were booked solid. We sailed in the spring of 2006 on the  POA and enjoyed it very much. My point is that that NCL America and the POA operate under special consideration of the state of Hawaii and the US Government. 

[farmersfight]

11 hours ago, bonvoyagie said:

While technically the POA can haul passengers between the mainland and Hawaii its operations are really limited to Hawaii as part of the operating agreements that go back to 2005 when they started operations with three ships - the POA, The Pride of Aloha (nee Sky), and Pride of Hawaii (nee Jade) The POA was started in a US shipyard (another requirement of the PVSA) but was finshed in Germany - there were two hulls started - only one was really viabale and it became the POA. The Sky and Jade were revamped without casinos and were brought into service again through a special variance pushed by a Hawaian senator. Now the market has shrank back to where the POA can handle it - yet in the beginning all three ships were booked solid. We sailed in the spring of 2006 on the  POA and enjoyed it very much. My point is that that NCL America and the POA operate under special consideration of the state of Hawaii and the US Government. 

 

Thank you for that great feedback & information. You are very knowledgeable on the subject.

 

Yeah, I think I do recall that NCL got special permission (variance) brokered by Sen Daniel Inouye (I believe) to operate the Pride of Aloha (Sky) & the Pride of Hawaii (Jade) in Hawaiian (US) waters. As I recall, this deal was allowed because NCL agreed to purchase one of the unfinished hulls that were started to be built in a U.S. shipyard (New Orleans, I believe). The ships were being constructed for a U.S, company that didn't make it (bankrupt) during construction. I think MARAD had taken possession of the hulls. Then, NCL stepped in and agreed to purchase the first unfinished hull but also got a variance to complete the ship construction in a European shipyard (in Germany, I think).

 

So that NCL could start up their Hawaiian operation sooner and while the new hull (to be PoA) was being finished in the German shipyard, Sen Inouye brokered that variance allowing NCL to operate the Sky & Jade in Hawaii. I think these 2 ships were even temporarily flagged U.S.? As you said, the Sky became the Pride of Aloha & the Jade became the Pride of Hawaii. I'm not sure but if & when they were operating under the U.S. flag, they had to hire U.S. documented/licensed mariners?

 

Thanks for clarifying the issue about whether the PoA can sail and carry passengers between Hawaii & the U.S. mainland (without a foreign port stop) and vice-versa. It makes sense that as part of the special variance, the PoA was limited to the Hawaiian islands only. Also, part of the deal was to allow the PoA to be completed in a foreign (German) shipyard and still be eligible to carry the U.S. flag. I'm sure NCL wanted to complete the ship in a foreign shipyard because it would be cheaper than finishing it in the U.S. shipyard where it was started.

 

I really find it really interesting what you said that in the beginning, the 3 ships, the Pride of Aloha, Pride of Hawaii & Pride of America were all operating at the same time and were all booked up. I'm wondering why the market shrank back to where the PoA is able to handle it by herself now. I would think that the market would have held strong or even grew. I have a feeling that it was part of the deal that the Pride of Aloha (Sky) & Pride of Hawaii (Jade) would return to normal operations under NCL (as before) when the PoA was fully up and running in Hawaii. With this high demand, it's too bad NCL couldn't have bought that 2nd hull (under the same variance) and brought a second U.S. flag cruise ship into the Hawaiian service along side the PoA. If NCL had 3 ships fully booked out there, I'm sure 2 would've been no problem.

 

For me, bottom line is that at least the U.S. has 1 U.S. flagged large passenger ship, even if she is restricted to Hawaiian waters. With her very port intensive 7-day "cruises", the PoA acts more like a floating/moving hotel rather than a cruise ship (except for the little bit of cruising she does off the Napali coast).

 

Btw, I am booked on PoA for Oct 23-30, 2021 (hoping Oct is late enough in the year that cruises will be up & running again and passengers & crew will be vaccinated). Because the PoA mainly sails at night (to get to the next Hawaiian island/port the next morning), I decided to just book an inside cabin thinking to myself, "what am I going to see on a balcony at night"? Plus, with only 4 studio cabins on the PoA, I was actually able to get an inside cabin for less than one of the studios. Bigger room, less price = win, win.

 

I'm really looking forward to cruising on the PoA next October. Thanks again.

 

Cheers 🍻.

Edited December 8, 2020 by farmersfight

[farmersfight]

19 hours ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

Hi Farmers- we sure are getting a break from winter here in the mitten state. That makes perfect sense about hawaii - now I understand :). 
 

yes the private islands are definitely under the Bahamas jurisdiction (well, those that are in the Bahamas, there are also private islands in Haiti and Costa Rica, etc...). BUT, the Bahamas is eager for tourist dollars so it’s possible they could make different rules for the private islands.

 

I definitely see a huge opportunity for the cruise lines to offer over nights on private islands, keeping the cruise short (which I foresee at the beginning) and also keeping cost down, plus there are a great deal of us who would welcome an overnight stay! Win win win :). 

 

Hi @BermudaBound2014. Yeah, it's been on the light side, precipitation wise (especially snow) so far but winter is a 'comin, i.e. forecast is for 70% chance of snow with 1-3" of accumulation this Saturday

😲. And, I have a feeling this winter is going to make up for last winter where we didn't get much snow. Glad my nephew has a snowblower, lol. What part of Michigan are you in?

 

Yeah, I kind of thought that the cruise lines' private islands (Coco Cay - RCL, Stirrup Cay - NCL, Grand Turk - CCL) in the Bahamas still fell under Bahamian jurisdiction. I agree with you, the Bahamian government will probably work with the cruise lines to allow them to sail to/from their private islands. I think short cruises (overnighters are a good idea, btw) to only their private islands may be a strategy if the cruise lines intend to start back up under the CDC's Conditional Sail Order (CSO). They may start back up this way and then resume full operations again once all crew & passengers are vaccinated. Imo, the cruise lines are going to require pax to be vaccinated before they can board their ships. Or, CC had an interesting article recently that said that cruise lines may just hold out until everyone who wants to be is vaccinated. Then, see if the CDC relaxes the CSO to where cruise lines can return to full operations. It will interesting to see what happens. For me, I'm not cruising without the vaccine. Cruises with masks, social distancing, reduced pax capacity (although this one actually might be nice), no pools/hot tubs, no buffets, etc. would not be my idea of a fun/relaxing cruise.

 

Cheers 🥂.

Edited December 8, 2020 by farmersfight

[BermudaBound2014]

@farmersfight we are in Oakland County. I agree with you in that I believe that cruise lines will require a vaccine. I wasn't onboard with this theory until a few months ago, but at this point, the virus is so embedded in society that I do foresee mandatory vaccinations for many activities. 

 

Clearly the CDC does not want cruising to resume. The newest guidelines are nearly impossible to meet and extremely costly should the virus sneak onboard. It is no coincidence that the CDC order expires November 1, 2021 and that is in line with the time-frame expected for widespread vaccination. 

It is all painfully obvious.

[farmersfight]

12 minutes ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

@farmersfight we are in Oakland County. I agree with you in that I believe that cruise lines will require a vaccine. I wasn't onboard with this theory until a few months ago, but at this point, the virus is so embedded in society that I do foresee mandatory vaccinations for many activities. 

 

Clearly the CDC does not want cruising to resume. The newest guidelines are nearly impossible to meet and extremely costly should the virus sneak onboard. It is no coincidence that the CDC order expires November 1, 2021 and that is in line with the time-frame expected for widespread vaccination. 

It is all painfully obvious.

 

I'll give the CDC some benefit of the doubt; I think they are being very stringent because they do not want another Diamond Princess covid-19 breakout with thousands of U.S. citizens aboard, even resulting in deaths. Yeah, the costs to the cruise lines to meet the CSO are going to be very high. But, did you see where NCL is planning to install special air circulating systems (that eliminate corona virus) on their ships? This can't be cheap. A positive sign, imo, if NCL is will to invest this much $$ to get up and operating again. They may go ahead with these air systems even with the vaccine because these systems probably will also protect against noro-virus (I may be wrong about noro-virus as this may be transmitted on surfaces rather than air).

 

I hope the vaccines are fully out and distributed a little before November 2021 as my PoA cruise is scheduled for late October 2021. Fingers crossed 🤞...

Edited December 8, 2020 by farmersfight

[BermudaBound2014]

@farmersfight I agree that the CDC is doing everything they can to prevent another outbreak. I'm not making an assertion about the measures they are taking, just pointing out that the net result is zero cruising. Personally, I believe the current ban will need to be lifted before cruising resumes but what do I know? 

 

I believe I was the one who linked the article about NCL air filtration ;-). MSC installed something similar. I believe all cruise lines will. However; it's important to note that these are NOT required by the CDC so one must ask themselves why the cruise lines are investing in such a system?? I suspect it is being proactive regarding the spread of other viruses and it is also a significant measure to help improve the overall perception of cruising. IMO, it is negative public perception (cruises as floating petri dishes) that will have the greatest impact on the future of the industry. 

 

Regarding POA, that's a tough call by October, 2021. My friendly advice is that you don't get your hopes up. Govenor Ige is not taking many chances and I suspect that Hawaii will be the very last place to allow cruising. Of course, this is just my opinion. I'm not trying to be negative, just realistic. Have a plan B. The good news is that flights into HI are ridiculously inexpensive right now,. We paid less than $300 round trip departing January and returning in April. Keep an eye on southwest. I believe they release the fall schedule in April. At this time, southwest is the only airline I'm willing to fly because they have zero penalties for cancellations.