Saga Cruises now require a Vaccine to sail. Should Celebrity follow?

[terrydtx]

11 minutes ago, dallasdan said:

I don't see how the cruise lines, (Big 3), can make a vaccine a requirement.  They would lose a large portion of their customer base because kids under 16 are not being vaccinated.  This would also mean cruising will not start until late this year.  They maybe bankrupt by then.

Easy, they are  private companies and they can require anything they want before you board a ship. The last thing they want is a repeat of what happened last Spring with cruise ships being stranded and quarantined. I already do not see any cruises starting before late summer and if they can cruise and lose a few non-vaccinated passengers  that is better than not starting up at all. We moved our May/June cruises to September  weeks ago anticipating no cruises in Europe in May or June.

Edited January 21, 2021 by terrydtx

[dallasdan]

I understand they can easily make any mandate they want.  However, I don't see them making this a requirement when they lose a significate amount of their customer base.  There is a lot of marketing towards families.  Carnival and Disney for sure.

[GerScot]

18 minutes ago, dallasdan said:

I don't see how the cruise lines, (Big 3), can make a vaccine a requirement.  They would lose a large portion of their customer base because kids under 16 are not being vaccinated.  This would also mean cruising will not start until late this year.  They maybe bankrupt by then.

I would imagine they would be exempt as ,certainly in UK, the vaccine has not been authorised for them.

[hawkesbaynz]

49 minutes ago, GerScot said:

I would imagine they would be exempt as ,certainly in UK, the vaccine has not been authorised for them.

Interesting point. The vaccine is not licenced for them as it has not been tested on them, likewise pregnant women. Will this change? Pregnant women are encouraged to be up to date with vaccines and are encouraged to have the flu and MMR vaccines.

[WonderMan3]

Cruise lines have gotten potentially the most negative publicity from Covid than any other industry so they have to go above and beyond with their protocols to allow passengers again so requiring vaccinations to board seems like a no-brainer.

[Tony UK]

I think it should be a requirement at least for any 2021 sailings. The ships wont be sailing at full capacity anyway so if some cant or wont have a vaccine, there will still be enough demand from those who have to commence some sailings.

[sydbarrett]

15 hours ago, Tony UK said:

I think it should be a requirement at least for any 2021 sailings. The ships wont be sailing at full capacity anyway so if some cant or wont have a vaccine, there will still be enough demand from those who have to commence some sailings.

This is exactly what I was thinking. It sounds like the 50-70% capacity rule is going to be in place for the first while. I don't even know if they can realistically offer exemptions to vaccinations in the initial sailings. It would  increase the chances of the virus getting on board and into ports and then they start from scratch again. I think the driving force will be what the ports allow, and I don't think many ports will allow ships until their people have had a chance to be vaccinated. I think this will definitely be in place for 2021 (if ships even sail this year) and into 2022, but hopefully no longer, unless it is a country entrance requirement. I would assume once things are under control (2023..I hope???), countries and therefore cruise ships will allow for exemptions to vaccinations. I will be travelling with an under 16 so I may miss the boat myself . 

Edited January 22, 2021 by sydbarrett

[Miaminice]

20 hours ago, dallasdan said:

I understand they can easily make any mandate they want.  However, I don't see them making this a requirement when they lose a significate amount of their customer base.  There is a lot of marketing towards families.  Carnival and Disney for sure.

The loss of customers will only be short term and at the same time cruise lines will start with few ships only which will sail at reduced capacity. So I don’t think that’s what’s going to keep them from doing it.

 

Their first worry will be bad publicity and to prevent outbreak on ships. And making that mandate would be the one one factor promising the highest reduction of risk of an outbreak on board.

[Miaminice]

On 1/21/2021 at 1:47 PM, d9704011 said:

Are you suggesting that a cruise line will begin operating before everyone has had a legitimate opportunity to get vaccinated?

I am surprised you would expect it to be different.

 

Why would they stop a ship from sailing just because poor John Doe hasn’t had the chance yet. Their goal is to make money. Regardless who it comes from.

 

[frankdp]

On 1/21/2021 at 7:47 AM, d9704011 said:

Are you suggesting that a cruise line will begin operating before everyone has had a legitimate opportunity to get vaccinated?

 

21 hours ago, sheeng said:

Exactly!

Why not?  Wouldn’t it be better for them to start up whenever there are enough “immune” passengers than to wait till everyone has had an opportunity?  I don’t understand your trepidation.

[frankdp]

21 hours ago, dallasdan said:

I don't see how the cruise lines, (Big 3), can make a vaccine a requirement.  They would lose a large portion of their customer base because kids under 16 are not being vaccinated.  This would also mean cruising will not start until late this year.  They maybe bankrupt by then.

They will certainly be bankrupt if they can’t begin sailing with at least a reduced customer base soon.  Bring the kids back when it’s appropriate.

[upwarduk]

21 hours ago, dallasdan said:

I don't see how the cruise lines, (Big 3), can make a vaccine a requirement.  They would lose a large portion of their customer base

CelebrityCruises did just this in Spring 2020. They required passengers over 70 to get a doctors ‘Fit to Sail’ letter. I was one of those over 70’s and was allowed to cancel, because I knew I would not get a letter, as NHS England keep sending me letters telling me to Shield, due to ‘multiple long term conditions’ ( all well managed).

I am pleased to say that I have had my first Pfizer shot.

[TeeRick]

23 hours ago, phoenix_dream said:

I sincerely hope that Celebrity requires vaccination proof prior to sailing.  My concern is this - if you have a relatively early 2021 cruise scheduled (we have a July Alaska, and for purposes of this point I will assume it will sail) and they require the vaccination and because you are not in one of the earlier vaccination groups you can't get fully vaccinated by then, can you cancel at the last minute without penalty?  We already had to Lift and Shift this cruise once so doing that is no longer an option.  As a senior I certainly expect to be vaccinated by then, but my healthy 34 year old sailing with us may not be able to get the vaccine until much later, especially at the rate the US is vaccinating (not getting into politics here - just stating facts).  So what then??  I know we don't have that answer now, but I hope they fairly address situations like this when they occur (which they undoubtedly will)

Yes the situation you describe for perhaps most of us (the unvaccinated masses still waiting but willing) will be a major hurdle for the cruise industry in 2021 and perhaps into 2022.  If cruise lines require vaccines (and I think they will), or if countries require them for entry, the number of people who qualify will only slowly trickle upward.  Not much of a customer base out there yet.

[ipeeinthepool]

I think the bigger problem preventing the resumption of cruising will be vaccinating the crew.  As long as countries are still working to vaccinate their populations, I don't see the vaccine being made available to private companies.  I'm not sure I see that happening until late in 2021 at the earliest.

[bikerunner]

13 minutes ago, ipeeinthepool said:

I think the bigger problem preventing the resumption of cruising will be vaccinating the crew.  As long as countries are still working to vaccinate their populations, I don't see the vaccine being made available to private companies.  I'm not sure I see that happening until late in 2021 at the earliest.

Very true,  I only got mine is because I work in a large health care facility.  Not front line but all healthcare workers in my org are getting it if they want.  NH has just opened it up for 65 and older but they have to go thru the state to sign up.  I was not going to get it but did because of my parents, who still have not gotten it and only as of today they can register to make an appt for it.  Its a work in progress overall.  Until more is produced/distributed it will be a mess for next 6-8 months getting it out there for at least the US.  Other countries on how they are going to distribute is also a problem.  Then what is going to be used that will be universally accepted saying you got the vaccine overall.  That is a whole different situation.  Paperwork is easily copied etc.  Passport id, maybe but not everyone has one or wants one.  So will be tricky overall 

[Tipsy252]

On 1/21/2021 at 12:48 PM, york survey said:

At the moment this is only Saga who have a minimum age of 50. They have also adjusted their planned restart to May. So for the UK everyone will, hopefully, have had the opportunity to get vaccinated.

 

Time will tell how the other cruise lines react

But by May, the over 50's are likely to have only had 1 shot of the vaccine. Is this protection enough for cruising? I don't think Saga would allow you to cruise if you just had 1 shot, they stated "Fully Vaccinated" in the press.

[phoenix_dream]

On 1/21/2021 at 12:18 PM, dallasdan said:

I understand they can easily make any mandate they want.  However, I don't see them making this a requirement when they lose a significate amount of their customer base.  There is a lot of marketing towards families.  Carnival and Disney for sure.

 

And over time, children will be able to get vaccinated.  But for now, with them needing to do reduced passenger numbers anyway, I cannot imagine they would not require the vaccine.  How long that requirement lasts is anyone's guess.

 

People have mentioned issues with getting the crew vaccinated.  It will be interesting to see how that shakes out.  One thought comes to mind is that they have much better "control" over their crew rather than their passengers.  Meaning, they can require them to quarantine for 14 days prior to boarding, as well as have multiple negative tests.  Then once onboard they can require them to stay onboard rather than getting off at ports.  The only issue with all this (besides how the crew would feel about those conditions) is that we don't yet know if vaccinated people can still spread the virus.  If that is indeed the case, that suggestion of mine goes out the window.

[ipeeinthepool]

On 1/21/2021 at 1:18 PM, dallasdan said:

I understand they can easily make any mandate they want.  However, I don't see them making this a requirement when they lose a significate amount of their customer base.  There is a lot of marketing towards families.  Carnival and Disney for sure.

 

Maybe a lot of us would go back to Disney if there weren't any kids. 😉

[TeeRick]

States are all deciding who and when to vaccinate and in what order.  Including essential workers who are not health care workers.  The definition of essential workers will vary by state.  I could easily imagine FL prioritizing theme park workers and yes cruise line workers to get the vaccine.  They are essential to the FL economy.

[cl.klink]

On 1/22/2021 at 10:29 AM, ipeeinthepool said:

I think the bigger problem preventing the resumption of cruising will be vaccinating the crew.  As long as countries are still working to vaccinate their populations, I don't see the vaccine being made available to private companies.  I'm not sure I see that happening until late in 2021 at the earliest.

 

Somehow or another, I think we will find that all the crew will be vaccinated before we board.  And, all the "we" will have to be vaccinated too.

 

That's my bet, anyway.

 

- Joel

[cl.klink]

On 1/21/2021 at 5:33 AM, york survey said:

This is the first I have come across with a cruise line. The BBC are reporting that Sage (a British cruise line aimed at the over 50's) will require ALL passengers to have FULL vaccination cove in order to sail when they restart.

 

Will Celebrity do the same?

 

Personally I think it's the only solution but appreciate others will disagree

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-55738918

 

 

 

The answer to the question is yes

 

- Joel

[Chrisstew007]

In a radio interview the CEO of Saga stated that 98% of their customer databse that replied to a survey wanted all passengers fully vaccinated. They did the survey twice as they were supprised it was so high. Regarding the crew they were hopeful that the Phillippine Government were desigmate cruise workers as key workers and get an early jab. The cruise industry is vital to their economy as they have 200,000 of the population working on cruise lines.

[TeeRick]

12 hours ago, cl.klink said:

 

Somehow or another, I think we will find that all the crew will be vaccinated before we board.  And, all the "we" will have to be vaccinated too.

 

That's my bet, anyway.

 

- Joel

Agree.  It really makes very little sense to resume cruising requiring vaccinated passengers if the crew is not also vaccinated.

[laslomas]

This is from Saga Cruises:

 

Will crew and other staff aboard the ships also have the vaccine?

Our focus in the first instance is on our guests and ensuring all of them have been vaccinated, we have comprehensive COVID‑19 protocols in place to protect our crew, including quarantine and regular testing and as soon as crew can be vaccinated they will be.

 

So the crew will only be tested when possible.

Edited January 24, 2021 by laslomas

[phoenix_dream]

28 minutes ago, laslomas said:

This is from Saga Cruises:

 

Will crew and other staff aboard the ships also have the vaccine?

Our focus in the first instance is on our guests and ensuring all of them have been vaccinated, we have comprehensive COVID‑19 protocols in place to protect our crew, including quarantine and regular testing and as soon as crew can be vaccinated they will be.

 

So the crew will only be tested when possible.

Interesting.  As I mentioned in a prior post, the biggest issue here is determining if the virus can still be transmitted from someone who has been vaccinated.  If the answer is no, then this approach can work.  If the answer is yes, then this approach is a disaster waiting to happen as respects cruising.  All it would take is a few crew members to get sick, requiring a potential whole ship quarantine and return to port and on and on.