Breakaway Bermuda cruises in jeopardy?

[JamieLogical]

3 minutes ago, njhorseman said:

 Insurance and financial services account for 85% of Bermuda's GDP, with tourism second at 5%.

While in terms of GDP tourism isn't nearly as important to the economy as it is in most Caribbean islands, tourism in Bermuda does account for a substantially higher percentage of employment at 9.4% than it does of GDP. 

 

As someone who has been a regular visitor to Bermuda for about 35 years I can tell you that tourism is very important to both the government and the work force and when tourism is down as it obviously has been during the pandemic the government is eager to do what it reasonably can to boost that sector. Even in more normal times something as seemingly mundane as an airline offering fewer flights to Bermuda will draw an immediate response from the government, which will lobby the airlines to bring seat capacity back to previous levels.

 

With wages of employees in the tourism sector being in general much lower than wages in banking and insurance it becomes all the more important for the government to support tourism. 

 

Given that the current COVID outbreak in Bermuda is driven by local transmission among residents, not by tourists I think if it's at all possible the government will continue to welcome cruise ships, particularly since NCL and Crystal, the two lines cruising to Bermuda, require 100% vaccination of passengers and crew and every passenger must also comply with both Bermuda's and their cruise line's testing protocol. To put it simply, the cruise passengers present little risk to Bermuda. The question is whether the cruise lines will consider Bermuda to present too much risk to their passengers and crew.

Here are two sources of the GDP and employment data I cited above:

https://theodora.com/wfbcurrent/bermuda/bermuda_economy.html

https://www.gov.bm/sites/default/files/Tourism-Satellite-Account-report-2019_1.pdf

 

 

I agree that the government is unlikely to turn away cruise ships for fear of COVID spread. I think it is more likely they would turn away cruise ships, because they are logistically incapable of accommodating them due to staffing/resource shortages caused by the current COVID outbreak and quarantines.

[kochleffel]

3 minutes ago, njhorseman said:

The question is whether the cruise lines will consider Bermuda to present too much risk to their passengers and crew.

 

Definitely a concern. However, the Bahamas and most, perhaps all, Caribbean islands are at the same risk level.

 

[njhorseman]

1 minute ago, kochleffel said:

 

Definitely a concern. However, the Bahamas and most, perhaps all, Caribbean islands are at the same risk level.

 

I don't disagree on a factual basis, but because there's been such a sharp recent spike in Bermuda I'm concerned about the perception of the extent of the problem in the eyes of the passengers and whether there will be worry about the situation worsening substantially.

[njhorseman]

6 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

 

I agree that the government is unlikely to turn away cruise ships for fear of COVID spread. I think it is more likely they would turn away cruise ships, because they are logistically incapable of accommodating them due to staffing/resource shortages caused by the current COVID outbreak and quarantines.

If they can process the Travel Authorizations then there's little additional in the way of resources needed . While the public bus and ferry transportation are nice to have, and one of Bermuda's attractions in my mind, if you look at most Caribbean islands those resources aren't particularly common and cruise passengers are used to taking private transportation such as taxis, vans, cruise ship excursions, private boating excursions, etc. The latter are all available in Bermuda.

[JamieLogical]

2 hours ago, njhorseman said:

If they can process the Travel Authorizations then there's little additional in the way of resources needed . While the public bus and ferry transportation are nice to have, and one of Bermuda's attractions in my mind, if you look at most Caribbean islands those resources aren't particularly common and cruise passengers are used to taking private transportation such as taxis, vans, cruise ship excursions, private boating excursions, etc. The latter are all available in Bermuda.

 

Customs, security, dock workers....

[UKstages]

i don't doubt the sources, or the reasoning... tourism is definitely the second most important industry for sure.  but 5% seems kind of thin for ttourism's contribution to GDP.

 

as for risk factors and who will infect whom... that's not really the issue in welcoming cruise ships... the real issue is if there are enough people to support the influx of visitors at the shops they visit, the tours they take, the beaches they visit, the food they eat, the mopeds they rent and so on. if everybody stays home, as they probably should, it becomes a self service island... and that doesn't contribute to the economy and it isn't much fun for the visitors. it's like visiting a closed theme park.

[njhorseman]

1 hour ago, JamieLogical said:

 

Customs, security, dock workers....

As I said...little in the way of additional resources. The dock workers....three maybe four at most are only there for a brief time to handle the lines when the ship is docking and departing. A few customs and security officers...we're not talking more than a small number of people on duty at any one time.

[irishgirl666]

I am booked for this Sunday 9/26.  So far so good.  Had to take a PCR covid 19 test 92 hours before boarding with negative results.  Download test results and send to Bermuda for a permit to travel by ship.

 

[billslowsky]

11 minutes ago, irishgirl666 said:

I am booked for this Sunday 9/26.  So far so good.  Had to take a PCR covid 19 test 92 hours before boarding with negative results.  Download test results and send to Bermuda for a permit to travel by ship.

 

Are you using NCL-sponsored excursions or have you been able to find out what services are open and available?

[PelicanBill]

@JamieLogical are you still a go in 3 days?  Watching "Sam" with concern.

[JamieLogical]

9 minutes ago, PelicanBill said:

@JamieLogical are you still a go in 3 days?  Watching "Sam" with concern.

 

Yes. We are in the full throws of waiting for PCR test results and completing Bermuda TAs....

[PelicanBill]

20 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

 

Yes. We are in the full throws of waiting for PCR test results and completing Bermuda TAs....

Great! good luck with all the red tape. Wish I was going too!  

There is a risk that Sam could affect Bermuda starting around a week from tomorrow. Hope it steers clear.

[JamieLogical]

5 minutes ago, PelicanBill said:

Great! good luck with all the red tape. Wish I was going too!  

There is a risk that Sam could affect Bermuda starting around a week from tomorrow. Hope it steers clear.

 

I checked out the maps once you mentioned it. Definitely tough to tell where it will end up. I had been worried about Peter, but now that's looking like a real non-issue.

[AnitaVacation]

well, this seems to be turning into a real ship show 😉 ...... 

#1. Who wants to cruise to a 'do not travel' destination where things will either be (or should be) shut down (shopping/restaurants)...

#2. Who wants to pay $75 for a TA that is useless....on top of having to pay for a PCR test if not covered by your insurance.

#3. Buses and ferries (if running) are capacity controlled...be prepared for long waits....

Then there's always the risk on contracting Covid, or someone bringing it back onboard where it could infect other passengers and crew....if it starts to infect the crew, then they pass it along to the next group of passengers....

I don't mean to be a Debbie Downer but...

This is really starting to sound like a bad idea.

We are booked for 10/17, so we atleast have the advantage of watching this situation for a few weeks...

[JamieLogical]

14 minutes ago, AnitaVacation said:

well, this seems to be turning into a real ship show 😉 ...... 

#1. Who wants to cruise to a 'do not travel' destination where things will either be (or should be) shut down (shopping/restaurants)...

#2. Who wants to pay $75 for a TA that is useless....on top of having to pay for a PCR test if not covered by your insurance.

#3. Buses and ferries (if running) are capacity controlled...be prepared for long waits....

Then there's always the risk on contracting Covid, or someone bringing it back onboard where it could infect other passengers and crew....if it starts to infect the crew, then they pass it along to the next group of passengers....

I don't mean to be a Debbie Downer but...

This is really starting to sound like a bad idea.

We are booked for 10/17, so we atleast have the advantage of watching this situation for a few weeks...

 

You have to cancel by 10/2 if you want your cruise fare back as FCC, so you only have about a week to keep an eye on things before deciding.

[kochleffel]

The United Kingdom still has Bermuda on its green list, while the United States is on the amber list. So from the point of view of British health authorities, it's current safer than the U.S. Bermuda is on watch for possible elevation to amber, which would be the same risk as the U.S. These lists pertain to the requirements for entering Britain from each country.

 

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/red-amber-and-green-list-rules-for-entering-england

 

 

[UKstages]

yeah, that's a bit of chalk and cheese... or, as we say in the USA, like comparing apples to oranges.

 

the british guidance that you linked to is about entry to britain for those coming from the listed countries, as you noted. and those folks are required to be vaccinated and/or tested prior to their arrival in britain. so there is some sense of assurance that the folks coming into britain from those countries are more or less "safe."

 

the CDC and state department guidance is the USA's advisory to its citizens about travel abroad to those countries in which you may encounter untested and unvaccinated individuals. as has previously been discussed, bermuda is now at level 4... "do not travel."

 

bermuda was at level 1 when many of us booked our holidays.

[snorklinbarb]

5 hours ago, PelicanBill said:

Great! good luck with all the red tape. Wish I was going too!  

There is a risk that Sam could affect Bermuda starting around a week from tomorrow. Hope it steers clear.

Have seen your helpful posts on other roll calls.  Just hope Sam stays the heck away.  We deserve a break after all the additional stuff needed, testing, authorizations, etc.  

 

Please keep us posted between now and Sunday with any new insights.

[Laszlo]

Good luck to all who are going, hopefully Sam won't effect the trip

[MsTabbyKats]

2 hours ago, Laszlo said:

Good luck to all who are going, hopefully Sam won't effect the trip

And please update us about embarkation and other important informtion from the ship if possible.

[skeeter195]

I am on the 10/3 Breakaway sailing and have been tracking Sam and it does not look good at all.  The storm is now a Cat 1 hurricane and will become a 3 or 4 in a day or 2.  It was heading west with a slight upturn to the north.  Most all of the models now have the storm heading right at or just missing Bermuda on either side.  With its speed and course it looks like it could hit Bermuda between 10/4 and 10/6.  It is way to far out to predict the power or actual path but this one is the first real threat to Bermuda this year.

 

I really hope this storm takes a sharp turn and due north and burns itself out in the middle of the Atlantic before hitting and land anywhere.  

[SwimmingDragon]

4 minutes ago, skeeter195 said:

I am on the 10/3 Breakaway sailing and have been tracking Sam and it does not look good at all.  The storm is now a Cat 1 hurricane and will become a 3 or 4 in a day or 2.  It was heading west with a slight upturn to the north.  Most all of the models now have the storm heading right at or just missing Bermuda on either side.  With its speed and course it looks like it could hit Bermuda between 10/4 and 10/6.  It is way to far out to predict the power or actual path but this one is the first real threat to Bermuda this year.

 

I really hope this storm takes a sharp turn and due north and burns itself out in the middle of the Atlantic before hitting and land anywhere.  

What model are you looking at? There is nothing that I can find saying anything about it's passage past (timewise) getting near the Leward islands. That is no where near Bermuda. So can you share that information, cause I am not seeing it. 

[Laszlo]

10 minutes ago, SwimmingDragon said:

What model are you looking at? There is nothing that I can find saying anything about it's passage past (timewise) getting near the Leward islands. That is no where near Bermuda. So can you share that information, cause I am not seeing it. 

 

As long as it doesn't come thru this area. I have friends who are still cleaning up from three weeks ago

[skeeter195]

 

[skeeter195]

 

Hurricane Category 1 Sam 2021 _ AccuWeather.html