First & Last ships to restart

[armwinder]

On 7/2/2021 at 6:15 AM, JamieLogical said:

 

Just want to clarify that Epic, Bliss, and Getaway all have sailings listed for the Fall, but they seem the more likely be cancelled, because they are "old" listings, meaning they were not added as part of the "Return to Sea" plan... they are just old sailings that haven't been canceled yet.

The Epic is supposed to sail out of Rome to NY at the end of November. If the sailing is cancelled then she will not sail out of San Juan as expected.  

[MichiganBound]

18 hours ago, ziggyuk said:

These tips are great, I think I have decided it's Jade from Greece in April 2022, the most likely ship to be a go in the med and a relatively easy country to access for me.

Great choice.  Jade is a wonderful ship!

[MichiganBound]

1 hour ago, Lvntrvl said:

Currently booked on the December 3, 2021 sailing from Dubai to Cape Town on the Jade. Any thoughts as to the likelihood of that sailing happening? 

My main concern would not be about the availability of the vessel  or having vaccinated crew but rather the state of play with the virus and vaccinations in South Africa.  COVID is currently running rampant in Africa and the rate of vaccinations is slow.  Of course, that could change between now and December.  In any case, my main concern would be that NCL decides things in South Africa are still too dicey with the virus to allow the vessel to even sail down there.  

[roger001]

S. Africa is looking horrible right now.  My son-in-law works for VW there.  They just went into a lockdown again and are critically short of any vaccines.  December is 6 months away, but not looking good.  

[debenson0723]

On 7/2/2021 at 6:15 AM, JamieLogical said:

 

Just want to clarify that Epic, Bliss, and Getaway all have sailings listed for the Fall, but they seem the more likely be cancelled, because they are "old" listings, meaning they were not added as part of the "Return to Sea" plan... they are just old sailings that haven't been canceled yet.

I am on the Epic Barcelona to Athens leaving on Halloween and was just able to book our Specialty dining reservations today (120 days out).  Did all of the Safe Sail documentation last week (photo ID, verify email and cell phone number). I think we are going to sail...fingers crossed.

[podgeandrodge]

46 minutes ago, debenson0723 said:

I am on the Epic Barcelona to Athens leaving on Halloween and was just able to book our Specialty dining reservations today (120 days out).  Did all of the Safe Sail documentation last week (photo ID, verify email and cell phone number). I think we are going to sail...fingers crossed.

Great to hear.  Hoping to get on Epic at end September, and hoping we'd have heard by now if it wasn't going.  But these days...who knows..

[Zippeedee]

Keeping my fingers crossed for the Spirit next June. With Australia’s border situation I hope they don’t scrap the Honolulu to Vancouver trip.

[NordicExpat]

14 hours ago, armwinder said:

The Epic is supposed to sail out of Rome to NY at the end of November. If the sailing is cancelled then she will not sail out of San Juan as expected.  

I think the Epic will sail the Med this fall. I'm hopeful the TA to New York sails, but have doubts about an EU to US itinerary. I would think restrictions will be lifted by then, but other countries might not be allowed to enter. For the San Juan cruises, we could sail from Rome to a Caribbean island with less restrictions, then NCL repos to San Juan. NCL could sail empty to San Juan or they could stay in Europe. Who knows? All speculation as of now.

[Susandt]

On 7/2/2021 at 10:43 AM, JamieLogical said:

 

There's no way to no for sure, but my suspicion is that more of the "old" sailings are going to get cancelled still. Obviously NCL is going to put its resources into the "Return to Sea" sailings first. It seems like they are having a VERY hard time recruiting staff. FDR's hope of getting one new ship up and running every week or two is seeming over ambitions with the staffing problems they have run into. If they are struggling to just staff up these first four ships, I can imagine it is only going to get harder to staff additional ships.

Why are they having problems getting staff?  Is it staff don’t want to get vaccinated or something else?

 

is there any news on cruise leaving Florida and fight with governor?

[JamieLogical]

14 minutes ago, Susandt said:

Why are they having problems getting staff?  Is it staff don’t want to get vaccinated or something else?

 

is there any news on cruise leaving Florida and fight with governor?

 

Probably a combination of factors. All of the cruise lines are competing to staff up all at once. Some of the other lines were quicker to the jump than NCL. MANY cruise ship staff were very burned by the shut down. Stuck on ships for months on end with no income. So I imagine there is a lot of hesitation to take that kind of job again. People have been in their home countries for months, may have found local jobs, or may just want to stay with their families. COVID has had differing impacts on the countries where most staff hail from. Just a lot going on. I doubt it has anything to do with vaccine hesitancy. In fact, depending on home counties, I am sure many potential crew would be happy to get to the head of the line for vaccines where vaccines are scarce.

[graphicguy]

2 hours ago, Susandt said:

Why are they having problems getting staff?  Is it staff don’t want to get vaccinated or something else?

 

is there any news on cruise leaving Florida and fight with governor?

Agree with Jamie...I'd imagine any of the countries which any of the cruise lines recruit from would be more than happy to be vaccinated.  I have my own theories about NCL specifically regarding personnel, but not sure that's relevant to the actual questions.

 

I think the fight (if that's what it really is) between the cruise lines and the FL Gov may just slowly fade into the background as ships begin sailing with vaccinated (mostly) passengers.  I leave next Saturday on a Celebrity cruise.  They called me yesterday asking about my vaccine status (I like in OH). I told them I had both doses many weeks ago.  They were checking so they can accurately state they're sailing at the 95% vaccinated rate they require.  The nice lady on the other end of the line that I should bring my proof of vaccination to the pier on embarkation day and "present" it to the agent who's checking me in so they can check it.

 

NCL is sailing 100% vaccinated.  So, whatever the FL Governor has threatened, it sounds like the cruise lines are going to sail with 95%-100% of the ships vaccinated.  I seriously doubt anyone wants to upset that apple cart to stop the cruises from sailing and negatively affect the entire FL cruise industry, yet again!

[roger001]

I read the other day that the Philippine President said he is considering arresting anyone that doesn't get vaccinated.  Of course they first need the vaccines.

 

[KISS Kruiser]

On 7/2/2021 at 7:17 AM, spirit rev said:

My wondering is: when the Gem begins to sail from Miami will they still reposition her to NYC for the winter season? Haven't heard much about other Miami sailings for the winter. 

The Sixthman charter cruises on NCL are sailing with 100% vaccinated passengers on the Gem out of Miami October 21 through November 18th. Anyone who couldn't or didn't want to be fully vaccinated or didn't think they would be able to get out of their country were allowed to cancel in June with a full refund. Any questions to Sixthman regarding capacity,  proving vaccinations, etc. are answered by stating the cruises are set to sail as planned. I had to make final payment for my 10/29 KISS Kruise on 6/30. 

[OurAnniversary25]

We are on the September 13 Getaway cruise.  70+ days out and I have received a welcome email from NCL and the pre-cruise concierge.  I don't think we got this close on our last cancelled cruise.  Fingers crossed!!

[Hadacareer]

29 minutes ago, OurAnniversary25 said:

We are on the September 13 Getaway cruise.  70+ days out and I have received a welcome email from NCL and the pre-cruise concierge.  I don't think we got this close on our last cancelled cruise.  Fingers crossed!!

Yes! Fingers crossed, we are booked on getaway 5 dec 2021!

[prov2727]

These dates were already shared but this one is easier for me to read without my glasses: https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/25374-norwegian-cruise-line-ships-returning-to-service-july-update.html?fbclid=IwAR1xnjiQhy6_SeRmty0WQw1l1dlW8WF3okpVYtirhlllPTg9abIGTAgLLhY

 

Hoping that the FL/requiring vaccines issues will all be worked out by January. Getting my 1st dose Friday so I'll still be "fully vaccinated" through the end of my cruise.

[GonzoWCS]

On 7/4/2021 at 8:03 AM, JamieLogical said:

 

Probably a combination of factors. All of the cruise lines are competing to staff up all at once. Some of the other lines were quicker to the jump than NCL. MANY cruise ship staff were very burned by the shut down. Stuck on ships for months on end with no income. So I imagine there is a lot of hesitation to take that kind of job again. People have been in their home countries for months, may have found local jobs, or may just want to stay with their families. COVID has had differing impacts on the countries where most staff hail from. Just a lot going on. I doubt it has anything to do with vaccine hesitancy. In fact, depending on home counties, I am sure many potential crew would be happy to get to the head of the line for vaccines where vaccines are scarce.

Makes sense!

[Luvsparties]

On 7/5/2021 at 7:26 AM, OurAnniversary25 said:

We are on the September 13 Getaway cruise.  70+ days out and I have received a welcome email from NCL and the pre-cruise concierge.  I don't think we got this close on our last cancelled cruise.  Fingers crossed!!

Fingers crossed for you.  We are on the Getaway on October 25.

[ziggyuk]

On 7/3/2021 at 7:56 PM, MichiganBound said:

Great choice.  Jade is a wonderful ship!

 

The Jade was my first NCL ship.

My PCC is on a test cruise in a few weeks time in the med. To make sure everything is up to speed I believe.

I am only interested in booking what is as certain as possible at this point.

 

I'm on my first cruise since the pandemic right now 😍

[Diane67B]

Ziggyuk, Hope you are having an awesome time!

[MichiganBound]

4 hours ago, ziggyuk said:

 

The Jade was my first NCL ship.

My PCC is on a test cruise in a few weeks time in the med. To make sure everything is up to speed I believe.

I am only interested in booking what is as certain as possible at this point.

 

I'm on my first cruise since the pandemic right now 😍

Awesome!  Have a great time!!

[ClevelandCruisin]