Princess announcement re Medallion Class

[Roger88]

1 minute ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

Actually it's not just a period of ship banning, it's a ban on all overseas travel unless a special permit is obtained. That decision will be reviewed sometime in March.

Well, as far as I know its all banned right now. All the major ones at least have already announced that there wont be any cruising until next year. All we have left is to hope for the next year. I am really looking forward to it. Australia may be a little different in this regard though 

[OzKiwiJJ]

1 minute ago, NSWP said:

One problem I foresee, someone wants to cruise, say mid next year and covid vaccination is required for all those embarking. No way will those cruisers get priority re vacc, unless the ships docs are going to jab them at check in, at $500 a pop lol.

Yes, that is going to be an issue. But by the time the ships are allowed to come back, which won't be until July or later, most Australians who want the vaccine should have had it. The government is doing everything they can to get sufficient doses here to cover the whole population.

[NSWP]

4 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

Yes, that is going to be an issue. But by the time the ships are allowed to come back, which won't be until July or later, most Australians who want the vaccine should have had it. The government is doing everything they can to get sufficient doses here to cover the whole population.

Yes the govt might get the supplies, but dispersal and actual vaccination of the masses will be a logistical  nightmare.

Edited December 13, 2020 by NSWP

[OzKiwiJJ]

5 minutes ago, Roger88 said:

Well, as far as I know its all banned right now. All the major ones at least have already announced that there wont be any cruising until next year. All we have left is to hope for the next year. I am really looking forward to it. Australia may be a little different in this regard though 

Yes, Australia is different. The current travel and cruise ship ban is until mid-March and will be reviewed then. I expect it to be extended again until mid-June. Then, maybe, cruising will be allowed to start but possibly only in a restricted manner ie Australian ports only, extending to NZ and the South Pacific later in the year.

 

Our peak cruise season tapers off in April. conditions aren't suitable for full NZ cruising from then on, and Tasmania and the Southern Australia routes usually stop around then as well. However some winter cruising used to happen, up the Queensland coast, around the top of Australia, and to the South Pacific. At a guess I imagine the cruise lines might run some trial cruises out of Sydney and/or Brisbane up the Queensland Coast. Hopefully there will be enough confidence after that for the 21/22 season to start pretty much as normal, although the number of passengers per ship may still be restricted.

 

Most of the major cruises lines have cancelled all the 20/21 cruises and are only taking bookings for late 2021.

[OzKiwiJJ]

8 minutes ago, NSWP said:

Yes the govt might get the supplies, but dispersal and actual vaccination will be a logistical  nightmare.

It depends on the vaccine. The AstraZenica one doesn't require any special conditions but the Pfizer one could be tricky.

 

The supply lines are already in place though, they do it every year with the flu vaccine.

[Chiliburn]

Australia and New Zealand has just about got the virus extinguished.

If the vaccine was for front line workers,airline crew and returning citizens we would be in pretty good shape.

[OzKiwiJJ]

4 minutes ago, Chiliburn said:

Australia and New Zealand has just about got the virus extinguished.

If the vaccine was for front line workers,airline crew and returning citizens we would be in pretty good shape.

Airline crew and front line workers should definitely get priority but returning citizens would need to get it before returning to stop them bringing the virus with them. However with some of the vaccines they haven't proved that the vaccine stops transmission, just that it stops the individual from getting sick.

[NSWP]

15 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

Yes, Australia is different. The current travel and cruise ship ban is until mid-March and will be reviewed then. I expect it to be extended again until mid-June. Then, maybe, cruising will be allowed to start but possibly only in a restricted manner ie Australian ports only, extending to NZ and the South Pacific later in the year.

 

Our peak cruise season tapers off in April. conditions aren't suitable for full NZ cruising from then on, and Tasmania and the Southern Australia routes usually stop around then as well. However some winter cruising used to happen, up the Queensland coast, around the top of Australia, and to the South Pacific. At a guess I imagine the cruise lines might run some trial cruises out of Sydney and/or Brisbane up the Queensland Coast. Hopefully there will be enough confidence after that for the 21/22 season to start pretty much as normal, although the number of passengers per ship may still be restricted.

 

Most of the major cruises lines have cancelled all the 20/21 cruises and are only taking bookings for late 2021.

You mention reduced capacities, one wonders how for example the 2022 worldie on Coral Princess will go if capacity is reduced to say 75%. It is 95% booked out now, who goes, who stays? It is something to ponder.

[Bizziecruzer]

Just now, NSWP said:

You mention reduced capacities, one wonders how for example the 2022 worldie on Coral Princess will go if capacity is reduced to say 75%. It is 95% booked out now, who goes, who stays? It is something to ponder.

Princess may already be holding back cabins for this specific reason of capacity.

[NSWP]

Just now, Bizziecruzer said:

Princess may already be holding back cabins for this specific reason of capacity.

Thanks I raised that scenario as I was contemplating booking half the Coral worldie, syd to dover,  but am having second thoughts with all this instability.

[NSWP]

21 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

It depends on the vaccine. The AstraZenica one doesn't require any special conditions but the Pfizer one could be tricky.

 

The supply lines are already in place though, they do it every year with the flu vaccine.

But not 25 million !

[Chiliburn]

All the princess costumers will have to convert to Royal Caribbean when they go belly up.

[OzKiwiJJ]

1 hour ago, NSWP said:

You mention reduced capacities, one wonders how for example the 2022 worldie on Coral Princess will go if capacity is reduced to say 75%. It is 95% booked out now, who goes, who stays? It is something to ponder.

Ah, but is it really booked out or have Princess blocked a percentage of cabins from sale? Who knows but by mid-2022 it might be OK to have a full ship again.

 

I have noticed one interesting thing though. We're booked on a Tassie cruise in Oct21. I chose a cabin when we booked, however there seems to be very few cabins actually booked on that cruise. There have been a couple of sales since I booked. Both have been guarantee only. I'm wondering if Princess is allowing full choice of unselected cabins to any new non-sale bookings until the quota (including guarantees) for each category is filled after which it will become booked out and the guarantees sllocated among the remaining unselected cabins.

[OzKiwiJJ]

39 minutes ago, Chiliburn said:

All the princess costumers will have to convert to Royal Caribbean when they go belly up.

Or all the Royal Caribbean customers will have to cruise Carnival. BTW many Princess customers would choose Celebrity over Royal Caribbean. 😁

[OzKiwiJJ]

1 hour ago, NSWP said:

But not 25 million !

I don't know how many flu vaccines are distributed each year but it's just a matter of scale ie how many doses are sent to each vaccination point. It doesn't matter if it's, say, 200 instead of 100 to each vaccination point. The distribution network is in place and it's only the quantities that will differ.

[NSWP]

11 hours ago, NSWP said:

Thanks I raised that scenario as I was contemplating booking half the Coral worldie, syd to dover,  but am having second thoughts with all this instability.

I have canned any thoughts of the Coral worldie in 2022. All too doubtful and too expensive. I actually put a hold on a gty cabin, Syd to Dover. But have released it this morning on line. This will do...

Edited December 13, 2020 by NSWP

[OzKiwiJJ]

Sensible, Les. Even 2022 could be too early for a worldie. I'd want to wait a good year or more after the pandemic appears to have been controlled before thinking about cruises that go to many and varied overseas ports. I'm not sure I 'd even want to do one of the Hawaii/Tahiti cruises in 2022.

[NSWP]

3 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

Sensible, Les. Even 2022 could be too early for a worldie. I'd want to wait a good year or more after the pandemic appears to have been controlled before thinking about cruises that go to many and varied overseas ports. I'm not sure I 'd even want to do one of the Hawaii/Tahiti cruises in 2022.

Thanks, it is the overseas ports that may be the issue on a  Worldie, i.e. the ship does not want to go there or the ports don't want the ship. I like the sea days, but I like the port itineraries and I feel they will be cut for some time yet. A lot of money to expend if the above is the scenario.

[By The Bay]

12 hours ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

However with some of the vaccines they haven't proved that the vaccine stops transmission, just that it stops the individual from getting sick.

The CEO's of Pfizer and Moderna are both reported as saying that their vaccine are not proven to prevent the transmission of COVID-19. The Oxford vaccine shows "only a limited ability to stop transmission". Source

 

I am of the opinion that until we have herd immunity, i.e. 75% of the population vaccinated, the Australian Government will be reluctant to allow cruising to re-commence from Australian ports.

 

 

[NSWP]

1 minute ago, By The Bay said:

The CEO's of Pfizer and Moderna are both reported as saying that their vaccine are not proven to prevent the transmission of COVID-19. The Oxford vaccine shows "only a limited ability to stop transmission". Source

 

I am of the opinion that until we have herd immunity, i.e. 75% of the population vaccinated, the Australian Government will be reluctant to allow cruising to re-commence from Australian ports.

 

 

Which means the ships were are expecting will not deploy to this Region in the forthcoming 12 to 18 months.  We will have to wait and see.

[By The Bay]

10 minutes ago, NSWP said:

Which means the ships were are expecting will not deploy to this Region in the forthcoming 12 to 18 months.  We will have to wait and see.

This was reported on the ABC. Going by Spain's expected timeline and with our vaccination rollout planned to start in March, we could reach herd immunity by the end of 2021. Cruising to re-commence in 2022? 🤔🤞

 

"Spain should achieve herd immunity from COVID-19 by the end of summer 2021 if enough people are vaccinated, the country's health minister says.

Salvador Illa said a vaccination programme would start in January and by August, more than two-thirds of the population of 47 million should be vaccinated."

[OzKiwiJJ]

58 minutes ago, By The Bay said:

The CEO's of Pfizer and Moderna are both reported as saying that their vaccine are not proven to prevent the transmission of COVID-19. The Oxford vaccine shows "only a limited ability to stop transmission". Source

 

I am of the opinion that until we have herd immunity, i.e. 75% of the population vaccinated, the Australian Government will be reluctant to allow cruising to re-commence from Australian ports.

 

 

If there is no local transmission in Australia (or NZ or South Pacific ports if a travel bubble is in place), if all passengers and crew have to have had the vaccination, and if the cruises only go to Australian ports or ports within a travel bubble, then there is no risk of infection.

[MicCanberra]

14 hours ago, NSWP said:

You mention reduced capacities, one wonders how for example the 2022 worldie on Coral Princess will go if capacity is reduced to say 75%. It is 95% booked out now, who goes, who stays? It is something to ponder.

perhaps some generous move over offers will be made.

[By The Bay]

49 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

If there is no local transmission in Australia (or NZ or South Pacific ports if a travel bubble is in place), if all passengers and crew have to have had the vaccination, and if the cruises only go to Australian ports or ports within a travel bubble, then there is no risk of infection.

The other "if" is the travelers who arrive with the virus and go into quarantine with the possibility of it escaping, as it has done in the past.

[NSWP]

59 minutes ago, MicCanberra said:

perhaps some generous move over offers will be made.

Perhaps, or some bargain cabins at the last minute, as has happened on a few other Worldies.