No NCL cruises out of USA yet? Am I missing something?

[BirdTravels]

1 hour ago, mianmike said:

 

On your recent cruise do you feel RCCL rushed to sail and offered a poorly planned and executed cruise? 

Royal had a plan, like NCL, to start out of a non-US port because the US can't figure out (and have not figured out) what their rules for sailing are.

 

NCL made a smart business decision that with low interest/bookings out of the Dominican Republic and Jamaica, and with high operating costs of trying to provision and operate ships there, that there was no business case to re-start there. 

 

Royal's restart in Nassau was a well oiled machine. Executed to perfection,,,, but it comes with a very high price. Some may say it was rushed since they were changing their COVID protocols up until 2 days prior to departure. But in reality, Royal continues to react and adapt to continued COIVD outbreaks within their fleet. There were multiple instances where our cruise was photographed to build training materials for other ships that were being restarted. (Best practices for virtual musters, best practices for dispatching shore excursions). One day we took a shortcut from the theater to the gangway down I95. The next day, we had to climb up 2 decks and down 4 decks to avoid having "dirty passengers" in the crew areas. 

 

Today, Royal is still plagued by very low loading in the 20%-25% range. Since there is no terminal in Nassau, they are renting out a hotel to do check-in, and busing all of the passengers from the hotel to the dock. Non-perishables are surface shipped to Freeport with perishable provisions air freighted in.

 

From a passenger experience perspective, it was one of the best cruises that we have ever been on because the ship was empty. However, the buffet was only open for breakfast and lunch because there was not enough people to justify opening it for dinner. Some commented that the night time entertainment schedule could be printed on a business card because it was limited. Some others commented that a lot of the bars were closing around 10:30 because there weren't enough passengers to keep them open. 

 

And because they had non-vaccinated passengers onboard, they had some pretty drastic social distancing. 

 

Main theater capacity was reduced to about 20% with rows near the stage, every other row, and 1/2 the seats blocked for social distancing. So, they had to repeat shows more often and there was less total entertainment. 

 

Same with the ice show. Believe it or not, this section is nearly 100% full  (there are 2 empty seats) with the rest are blocked for social distancing (white covers)

 

Social Distancing on the Beach with groups of 2 or 4 loungers spaced 10' apart

 

You had to make reservations for the gym and every other machine was closed

 

Wanna go dancing, you had to stay in a spotlight for proper social distancing - the spotlight police come and push you into a dot if you get outside the light

 

Same in the casino with every other machine shut off

 

 

To answer the question... we'll let you know. We will be on the Encore in August. And back on Royal in September out of Miami (which will be a totally different experience than the international departure out of Nassau) with a lot more onboard restrictions. 

 

So far, there is been very limited communications from NCL regarding protocols for the Encore other than what is on their main web site. At day 20, we got instructions on signing up for COVID testing at check-in. (I would comment that Royal missed every milestone (30 days, 21 days, 14 days) for providing protocols and information on our cruise). 

[RumRunner2021]

7 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

Royal had a plan, like NCL, to start out of a non-US port because the US can't figure out (and have not figured out) what their rules for sailing are.

 

NCL made a smart business decision that with low interest/bookings out of the Dominican Republic and Jamaica, and with high operating costs of trying to provision and operate ships there, that there was no business case to re-start there. 

 

Royal's restart in Nassau was a well oiled machine. Executed to perfection,,,, but it comes with a very high price. Some may say it was rushed since they were changing their COVID protocols up until 2 days prior to departure. But in reality, Royal continues to react and adapt to continued COIVD outbreaks within their fleet. There were multiple instances where our cruise was photographed to build training materials for other ships that were being restarted. (Best practices for virtual musters, best practices for dispatching shore excursions). One day we took a shortcut from the theater to the gangway down I95. The next day, we had to climb up 2 decks and down 4 decks to avoid having "dirty passengers" in the crew areas. 

 

Today, Royal is still plagued by very low loading in the 20%-25% range. Since there is no terminal in Nassau, they are renting out a hotel to do check-in, and busing all of the passengers from the hotel to the dock. Non-perishables are surface shipped to Freeport with perishable provisions air freighted in.

 

From a passenger experience perspective, it was one of the best cruises that we have ever been on because the ship was empty. However, the buffet was only open for breakfast and lunch because there was not enough people to justify opening it for dinner. Some commented that the night time entertainment schedule could be printed on a business card because it was limited. Some others commented that a lot of the bars were closing around 10:30 because there weren't enough passengers to keep them open. 

 

And because they had non-vaccinated passengers onboard, they had some pretty drastic social distancing. 

 

Main theater capacity was reduced to about 20% with rows near the stage, every other row, and 1/2 the seats blocked for social distancing. So, they had to repeat shows more often and there was less total entertainment. 

 

Same with the ice show. Believe it or not, this section is nearly 100% full  (there are 2 empty seats) with the rest are blocked for social distancing (white covers)

 

Social Distancing on the Beach with groups of 2 or 4 loungers spaced 10' apart

 

You had to make reservations for the gym and every other machine was closed

 

Wanna go dancing, you had to stay in a spotlight for proper social distancing - the spotlight police come and push you into a dot if you get outside the light

 

Same in the casino with every other machine shut off

 

 

To answer the question... we'll let you know. We will be on the Encore in August. And back on Royal in September out of Miami (which will be a totally different experience than the international departure out of Nassau) with a lot more onboard restrictions. 

 

So far, there is been very limited communications from NCL regarding protocols for the Encore other than what is on their main web site. At day 20, we got instructions on signing up for COVID testing at check-in. (I would comment that Royal missed every milestone (30 days, 21 days, 14 days) for providing protocols and information on our cruise). 

Thanks.  It sounds like the rumors that everybody other than NCL has got this all figured out are greatly exaggerated.  

[deliver42]

Maybe they have figured out how they are restarting, and so far with no problems. Royal has said from he beginning they will start very slowly, and that's what they're doing. Celebrity, part of Royal's umbrella, as been sailing from Florida successfully, as has the Freedom of the Seas. NCL is too busy fighting the vaccine law in Florida.

[jingle5616]

Frank is always the smartest guy in the room!  Until he isn't.

[MsTabbyKats]

18 hours ago, Solo Cruiser Memphis said:

I keep seeing posts from people talking about July sailings but I still don't see where NCL is cruising out of US yet. I was interested in booking an August cruise out of Miami but when I called the toll free number, it was highly suggested that I book a refundable airfare ticket in case there still is no sailing. Why would I do that?!  Is anyone else hesitant to book and take time off work for a cruise that may not happen? I'm so frustrated but maybe others see something I'm missing.

Getting right to the point....with the Delta variant growing by leaps and bounds, I wouldn't book anything non-refundable.

 

[MsTabbyKats]

@BirdTravels  Your impressions and thoughts about the Encore cruise will influence my decision to "cancel or not to cancel" my November cruise.

If the Encore is like the Royal cruise, I'd have more fun staying home!

[BermudaBound2014]

9 hours ago, RumRunner2021 said:

Thanks.  It sounds like the rumors that everybody other than NCL has got this all figured out are greatly exaggerated.  

 

I follow a good bit of social media about the cruise industry and have yet to read even an implication that  "everybody other than NCL has got this all figured out"............. just where did you read this drama?

[BirdTravels]

2 hours ago, MsTabbyKats said:

@BirdTravels  Your impressions and thoughts about the Encore cruise will influence my decision to "cancel or not to cancel" my November cruise.

If the Encore is like the Royal cruise, I'd have more fun staying home!

If I go with what NCL has published on their website and further emailed directly to passengers, then I would say the cruise will be mostly "normal". We'll let you know after our cruise. 

[BirdTravels]

57 minutes ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

 

I follow a good bit of social media about the cruise industry and have yet to read even an implication that  "everybody other than NCL has got this all figured out"............. just where did you read this drama?

If you look at the Royal website, there are different protocols for every ship which are constantly changing (Royal changed their protocols for their Nassau cruises,,, again, two days ago). 

 

I can say that we went in eyes wide open and knew exactly what to expect on the first few Royal cruises,,, constantly changing protocols (in our case, they threw in pre-embarkation testing 2 days before departure when a lot of us were already in Nassau). [If you see how much people are fretting about pre-embarkation testing on NCL threads,,, think about how much hate and discontent there was when it was sprung on us as we arrived to check-in]. We just went with the flow and enjoyed ourselves immensely. Others took to social media to flame the cruise line for the constantly changing protocols. 

 

No one has it figured out. Everyone continues to adapt to the ever-changing world of COVID. 

 

NCL had a restart date selected long ago, and they have stuck to it.

[beanbeaner]

16 hours ago, ShakeDaddy said:

I disagree.  If anything NCL is leading even more than ever cruise industry by excelling in the highest possible manner of safe cruising in requiring 100% crew and passengers to be fully vaccinated.  I feel this policy is second to none.  Because of that reason our future cruise business is with NCL and we are looking forward our August 7 Alaskan cruise on the all new Encore in 15 days.    

 

Completely agree. It's the only reason I booked at all. If anyone makes it this year, it'll be them. Responsible leadership should yield long-term rewards. 

[mianmike]

14 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

Royal had a plan, like NCL, to start out of a non-US port because the US can't figure out (and have not figured out) what their rules for sailing are.

 

NCL made a smart business decision that with low interest/bookings out of the Dominican Republic and Jamaica, and with high operating costs of trying to provision and operate ships there, that there was no business case to re-start there. 

 

Royal's restart in Nassau was a well oiled machine. Executed to perfection,,,, but it comes with a very high price. Some may say it was rushed since they were changing their COVID protocols up until 2 days prior to departure. But in reality, Royal continues to react and adapt to continued COIVD outbreaks within their fleet. There were multiple instances where our cruise was photographed to build training materials for other ships that were being restarted. (Best practices for virtual musters, best practices for dispatching shore excursions). One day we took a shortcut from the theater to the gangway down I95. The next day, we had to climb up 2 decks and down 4 decks to avoid having "dirty passengers" in the crew areas. 

 

Today, Royal is still plagued by very low loading in the 20%-25% range. Since there is no terminal in Nassau, they are renting out a hotel to do check-in, and busing all of the passengers from the hotel to the dock. Non-perishables are surface shipped to Freeport with perishable provisions air freighted in.

 

From a passenger experience perspective, it was one of the best cruises that we have ever been on because the ship was empty. However, the buffet was only open for breakfast and lunch because there was not enough people to justify opening it for dinner. Some commented that the night time entertainment schedule could be printed on a business card because it was limited. Some others commented that a lot of the bars were closing around 10:30 because there weren't enough passengers to keep them open. 

 

And because they had non-vaccinated passengers onboard, they had some pretty drastic social distancing. 

 

Main theater capacity was reduced to about 20% with rows near the stage, every other row, and 1/2 the seats blocked for social distancing. So, they had to repeat shows more often and there was less total entertainment. 

 

Same with the ice show. Believe it or not, this section is nearly 100% full  (there are 2 empty seats) with the rest are blocked for social distancing (white covers)

 

Social Distancing on the Beach with groups of 2 or 4 loungers spaced 10' apart

 

You had to make reservations for the gym and every other machine was closed

 

Wanna go dancing, you had to stay in a spotlight for proper social distancing - the spotlight police come and push you into a dot if you get outside the light

 

Same in the casino with every other machine shut off

 

 

To answer the question... we'll let you know. We will be on the Encore in August. And back on Royal in September out of Miami (which will be a totally different experience than the international departure out of Nassau) with a lot more onboard restrictions. 

 

So far, there is been very limited communications from NCL regarding protocols for the Encore other than what is on their main web site. At day 20, we got instructions on signing up for COVID testing at check-in. (I would comment that Royal missed every milestone (30 days, 21 days, 14 days) for providing protocols and information on our cruise). 

 

We will have the opportunity to gauge who has planned and executed better.  We will be on the Aug 7th Encore and 7 days later we will be in Nassau boarding the Adventure of the Seas.   I'm hoping NCL's delayed start has given them the time to get their ducks in a row.  Entertainment is important to us so we will be comparing each cruise lines execution of their production shows. 

[BermudaBound2014]

 

20 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

 

NCL established August 7 as their return to service date months ago. Their leaders have stayed with that date (although they have changed their home port). Well planned and executed. 

 

Let's not get it twisted.  NCL had a start date from Jamaica on the Joy for August 7th. Then they cancelled that cruise last minute (leaving some of their passengers in the hole for non refundable hotels and airfare) and moved the Joy crew to the Bliss... oh wait no it's the Encore.... but we will still sail August 7th !!only now it will be from Alaska. 

 

And two days later they cancelled Gem. Leaving some of those passengers in the dark with non-refundable airfare and hotel. Some Gem passengers rebooked for Sky... oh wait... we're back to the Gem.

 

Not to mention all the advertising NCL did with their Great Restart that just didn't happen. Loyal NCL cruisers who were adament that the situation was no longer fluid and that NCL was cruising from the Caribbean in August, only to be dumped.

 

We can all cut NCL some slack, but "well planned and executed"..... you can't be serious.

[RumRunner2021]

7 hours ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

 

I follow a good bit of social media about the cruise industry and have yet to read even an implication that  "everybody other than NCL has got this all figured out"............. just where did you read this drama?

Right here on this forum!  Of course, that certainly doesn't make it true.

Edited July 24, 2021 by RumRunner2021

[sanger727]

To the OP, you are right to be hesitant and there is no chance I would book a cruise with a cruise line that isn’t sailing yet. Either put this off for a few months or look at carnival/celebrity/Royal.

 

notiing against NCL for insisting on 100% vaccinated - but still not booking a cruise with them until they start sailing.

Edited July 24, 2021 by sanger727

[Seany527]

On 7/23/2021 at 8:16 PM, BirdTravels said:

 

NCL established August 7 as their return to service date months ago. Their leaders have stayed with that date (although they have changed their home port). Well planned and executed. 

Lol. Why did Celebrity start in June and NCL start in August? No ones stopping NCL from having 100% vax except for Florida. 
 

As you said, NCL established August 7 as their return date months ago. So why can’t they get a stage show up and running. Instead they have people book entertainment and send out a correction email after the fact.
 

Complete disorganization. 

[Seany527]

20 hours ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

 

 

Let's not get it twisted.  NCL had a start date from Jamaica on the Joy for August 7th. Then they cancelled that cruise last minute (leaving some of their passengers in the hole for non refundable hotels and airfare) and moved the Joy crew to the Bliss... oh wait no it's the Encore.... but we will still sail August 7th !!only now it will be from Alaska. 

 

And two days later they cancelled Gem. Leaving some of those passengers in the dark with non-refundable airfare and hotel. Some Gem passengers rebooked for Sky... oh wait... we're back to the Gem.

 

Not to mention all the advertising NCL did with their Great Restart that just didn't happen. Loyal NCL cruisers who were adament that the situation was no longer fluid and that NCL was cruising from the Caribbean in August, only to be dumped.

 

We can all cut NCL some slack, but "well planned and executed"..... you can't be serious.

I completely agree with you and I am cutting NCL slack by continuing to sail with them.
But in the cruise community, to say NCL is my

cruise line of choice, is down right embarrassing for me. 

[PhillyTravelBug]

This may be off topic slightly, but why haven’t they tried to go for more sailings out of NYC? They could have set up some fall foliage cruises hitting the New England states without going to Canada, more Bermuda sailings, sailing to the Bahamas.

[Karaboudjan]

38 minutes ago, PhillyTravelBug said:

This may be off topic slightly, but why haven’t they tried to go for more sailings out of NYC? They could have set up some fall foliage cruises hitting the New England states without going to Canada, more Bermuda sailings, sailing to the Bahamas.

I believe the exception to stopping in Canada only applies to Alaska, so New England isn't an option.

 

Bermuda might be an even bigger headache than Florida right now with the entry requirements, and they will probably be tight on slots for a while.

 

 

[shof515]

49 minutes ago, PhillyTravelBug said:

This may be off topic slightly, but why haven’t they tried to go for more sailings out of NYC? They could have set up some fall foliage cruises hitting the New England states without going to Canada, more Bermuda sailings, sailing to the Bahamas.

i think the bigger issue overall is when the NYC government will reopen up the cruise terminal. the first cruise out of NYC is in about 2 months and so far i have reading nothing about the terminal reopening.

[BermudaBound2014]

2 hours ago, PhillyTravelBug said:

……why haven’t they tried to go for more sailings out of NYC? 

 Or Galveston, or New Orleans, or st Martin, or Barbados’s, or <insert many choices>…….other cruise lines have been sailing for months. There is a reason NCL isn’t yet sailing, I have my obvious hypothesis and it has nothing to do with keeping passengers safe. NCL does not care more about its passengers than CcL or RCL. Time will tell. 

[Cruising Lynne]

45 minutes ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

 Or Galveston, or New Orleans, or st Martin, or Barbados’s, or <insert many choices>…….other cruise lines have been sailing for months. There is a reason NCL isn’t yet sailing, I have my obvious hypothesis and it has nothing to do with keeping passengers safe. NCL does not care more about its passengers than CcL or RCL. Time will tell. 

Not sure what your "obvious" hypotheses is.

 

I am one of the people that was let down by the cancellation of the big restart. We had the Gem out of Dominican Republic booked. In a way I was relieved it was cancelled, because our cruise was scheduled for early September, which is often peak hurricane season. I wonder if they were not in a big rush to sail out of US to the Caribbean during hurricane season?? I wish they would start sailing longer cruises out of Boston to the Caribbean, like they do from New York. Never mind Florida for now.  

 

I also wonder how long they can stick to their 100% vaccinated plan, and not end up behind the other cruise lines in generating revenue.

[RumRunner2021]

31 minutes ago, Cruising Lynne said:

I also wonder how long they can stick to their 100% vaccinated plan, and not end up behind the other cruise lines in generating revenue.

I'm guessing that they'll stick with it until Oct 31 and then re-evaluate (with a particular eye to how the other cruise lines have done with no or less that 100% vaccinated).

[BirdTravels]

7 hours ago, Seany527 said:

Lol. Why did Celebrity start in June and NCL start in August? No ones stopping NCL from having 100% vax except for Florida. 
 

As you said, NCL established August 7 as their return date months ago. So why can’t they get a stage show up and running. Instead they have people book entertainment and send out a correction email after the fact. Complete disorganization. 

If that's all you got to pick on, I'll take it. Maybe you can't quite conceptualize that putting a cruise ship into operations is a little harder than pulling your car out of the garage and going on a weekend road trip. 

 

wrt to entertainment, If you watched the NCL restart videos, they clearly said that Kinky Boots was one of the hardest shows to install since the dozens of boots have to be hand made for individual performers and their understudies (video made long before it was decided that the Encore would be the first ship to restart from North America). And, for solid business reasons, the startup ship changed from the Joy to the Bliss to the Encore. Again, you have to carefully consider the business case and make smart decisions on where to position ships and when. NCL has made those hard decisions and kept to their August 7 restart date. 

 

Royal left entertainment reservations to embarkation day, which is what NCL has decided to do. 

Edited July 26, 2021 by BirdTravels

[mianmike]

30 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

If that's all you got to pick on, I'll take it. Maybe you can't quite conceptualize that putting a cruise ship into operations is a little harder than pulling your car out of the garage and going on a weekend road trip. 

 

wrt to entertainment, If you watched the NCL restart videos, they clearly said that Kinky Boots was one of the hardest shows to install since the dozens of boots have to be hand made for individual performers and their understudies (video made long before it was decided that the Encore would be the first ship to restart from North America). And, for solid business reasons, the startup ship changed from the Joy to the Bliss to the Encore. Again, you have to carefully consider the business case and make smart decisions on where to position ships and when. NCL has made those hard decisions and kept to their August 7 restart date. 

 

Royal left entertainment reservations to embarkation day, which is what NCL has decided to do. 

 

Since we are on the first sailing I hope you're right.  A smart business decision is to offer a quality product.  Given NCL chose to delay cruising and be the last cruise line to resume operations customers are right to expect a superior execution compared to the other cruise lines.  So far I'm not seeing superior execution, but it's far too early to tell.  I would expect Kinky Boots (or a similar quality substitution) to be bookable at embarkation.  If not, strike one.  

[RumRunner2021]

3 hours ago, mianmike said:

I would expect Kinky Boots (or a similar quality substitution) to be bookable at embarkation.  If not, strike one.  

So Kinky Boots is the make or break for you?  Interesting...