Existing protocols extended indefinitely

[firedisney97]

I just wish the Verifly was available for all the ships.  Nice to have all our docs in 1 spot and I don't have to worry about my 15yo losing something from the line to the check in counter as it would all be on his phone.  We leave on the Horizon in 2 weeks

[mz-s]

While I seriously dislike the COVID policies re: masking and testing (the testing is stressful more than anything really). I did seriously enjoy our Thanksgiving Freedom cruise - never had to wait for an elevator, few kids, never a line, could pretty much always get a table in the comedy club.

[BlerkOne]

Looks like the testing company Carnival uses didn't get the complete memo, but they have done some updating...

 

https://rapidcruisetesting.com/

[jsglow]

Here's kinda the way I see it right now.  Next weekend I begin my 5th cruise post restart.  It's SO cheap (they might be actually paying me!!) that the inconveniences and challenges pale in comparison.  It's going to stink when I'm paying full price again!

 

[victory2020]

42 minutes ago, mikebisch said:

Odd.  So people booked up until Jan 31 can cancel and people booked April + can cancel, but Feb and March bookings can't cancel? 

I got stuck in that. I originally booked in Jan, changed to Feb(before they were offering refunds), was about to change to later date but now I'm probably stuck. I wouldn't think they would now let me change to later date & then cancel for money back before the refund deadline

[mz-s]

12 minutes ago, jsglow said:

Here's kinda the way I see it right now.  Next weekend I begin my 5th cruise post restart.  It's SO cheap (they might be actually paying me!!) that the inconveniences and challenges pale in comparison.  It's going to stink when I'm paying full price again!

 

 

Yes the cruises now are cheaper and emptier. But that can't be forever. I'm not sure how Wall Street will react to Carnival still sailing at less than full capacity in 6 months. We'll see where we are with COVID then obviously but if what happened in the UK happens here and Carnival is still enforcing restrictions that depresses bookings, shareholders will eventually run out of patience.

[BlerkOne]

11 minutes ago, fuddrules said:

 

Primarily the South - mid August - Some remember this because of the fire breathing directed towards a particular governor.   

I recall it because I began cruising again last July and the protocols rapidly changed to try to keep up. But reacting to a moving target is ineffective. Better to be proactive or the pandemic will be with us longer than necessary.

[Jamman54]

42 minutes ago, mouche said:

Just received the email....

 

View Online GUEST OPERATIONAL UPDATE SAILINGS DEPARTING AS OF APRIL 2022   January 21, 2022 Dear Carnival Guest, We have had a very successful restart, having safely sailed nearly one million guests and operated more than 350 voyages since July. Our commitment to the health and safety of our guests, crew, and the communities we visit is reflected in our Have Fun. Be Safe. protocols and procedures, which were developed in consultation with our medical experts and have proven very effective during our restart and adaptable to the evolving public health situation.  Thanks to our stringent, multilayered protocols that far exceed CDC requirements, our case rate has been much lower than what has been experienced in the U.S. While we had all hoped to have been in a different place with the pandemic by now, it is clear that continued attention to these additional protocols and procedures is required to keep our guests and crew healthy and maintain the confidence of destination officials.  Therefore, until further notice, we will continue to operate vaccinated voyages with our enhanced protocols.  We are not going to try to predict when this current situation will change. Guests on vaccinated cruises must adhere to our vaccination, testing, and mask requirements, the limited vaccine exemption process and all the protocols which we are following today.  For more information on these matters, please click here . In the event guests are unable to meet our vaccination requirements and are currently booked on a cruise departing April 2022 and onward, please contact us by February 15, 2022, to receive a full refund.  After this date, all existing bookings will be subject to our normal fare cancellation policies. In addition to extending our protocols, we are pleased to introduce two other guest service programs we are implementing to facilitate your cruise preparations based on guest feedback we have received.   1. We are piloting a program on select Mardi Gras sailings using VeriFLY, a secure, free digital health application that allows vaccinated guests the ability to easily upload required pre-embarkation information, like their vaccine attestation, proof of vaccination, negative COVID-19 test results, and their health assessment. Completing these tasks before check-in will make embarkation a faster and more seamless experience.  Once the pilot is complete, we hope to move quickly to implement the solution across the fleet.  2. We are working to expand our testing capabilities at the terminal for vaccinated guests, specifically for our short itineraries (3- and 4-day voyages).  Vaccinated guests will be able to meet the pre-cruise testing requirement as part of the embarkation process for a cost of $10 per test.  Pre-registration is required, and there will be some capacity limits, but it is our intention to make this discounted, convenient testing available to as many guests as possible. Testing sites to support short itinerary cruises will be phased in and announced by the end of January, at which time guests will receive an email to register for testing. Once again, we encourage you to please visit our Have Fun. Be Safe.  page for complete information on all our health and safety protocols, including testing, vaccine requirements, masks, travel insurance for unvaccinated guests, etc.  While we hope that current testing requirements and onboard protocols will be relaxed as time goes on, it is necessary to plan for what we know today.  Thank you for your understanding.  We look forward to welcoming you on board!     Sincerely, Christine Duffy President, Carnival Cruise Line   Carnival Cruise Line: Carnival Place, 3655 NW 87th Avenue, Miami, FL 33178-2428. About Us • Privacy Notice Carnival Corporation. All rights reserved. Ships' Registry: The Bahamas, Panama and Malta.

Had 22 of these drop into my inbox. 2 for each of the 11 cruises we have on the books. 🙃

[BlerkOne]

Just now, mz-s said:

 

Yes the cruises now are cheaper and emptier. But that can't be forever. I'm not sure how Wall Street will react to Carnival still sailing at less than full capacity in 6 months. We'll see where we are with COVID then obviously but if what happened in the UK happens here and Carnival is still enforcing restrictions that depresses bookings, shareholders will eventually run out of patience.

Carnival was approaching 100% when omicron appeared. They will get there again.

[Greg Matthis]

Excluding a large percentage of the population from your company is never a good thing.

Currently 64% of the population is vaccinated (Vaccinated percentages) and even less than that want or have the ability to cruise. 

 

It may be benefitting Carnival temporarily in being able to keep ships running, however, with Revenues at 1.9 Billion for FY 2021, expenses at 11Billion FY2021, Carnival will have to do something at some point.  Raise prices, allow unvaccinated on the ships, or bankruptcy to shed some of their 33.23 Billion in debt. Financials  They are having the rely on the debt to operate, which can only happen for a short time.

 

For those that like the less populated ships, you need to hope they start filling them up, or your options may be limited.  Shareholders may not be willing to wait much longer to see if this ship can literally be turned around.

Edited January 21, 2022 by Greg Matthis

[BlerkOne]

Just now, Greg Matthis said:

Excluding a large percentage of the population from your company is never a good thing.

 

Most people have never cruised, so most are irrelevant. Most cruisers have stated they want vaccinated cruises.

[sfaaa]

I am a CCL shareholder and I approve what Carnival is doing.

[CruiseHealing]

The Carnival announcement appears to mirror Disney Cruise Lines current protocol.  We sailed them in December.  DCL uses SafePassage to upload your vaccination card, however they also tested all guest at the port at no cost.  There was no requirement for a pretest before the cruise.. So Carnival is going to use VeriFly, but still require the pretest and charge $10 to be tested on embarkation day. The pretest process was about 45 minutes to get the results.

 

Overall  it appears to be well thought out plan and cost is minimal per passenger.

 

[Kentucky816]

I was hoping this would all end.  We both just got over Omicron that I got first from a vaxed and boosted person .  It was a bad cold and recovered pretty quickly .   I won’t cruise under these conditions no way no how….way too invasive and stressful in my opinion.  Just canceled all the cruises for late 2022 and 2023 think we are going to cruise via an upgraded Lake Boat with the money we just saved, $$$ 🙌

[BlerkOne]

Just now, Greg Matthis said:

Can you provide verifiable data that shows that?

Cruise Critic themselves did a poll of thousands. Not very scientific, but more scientific than many of the biased polls created by some. The science and variants have changed some.

 

https://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=6159

[keywest1]

I am glad the protocols will remain in place for our February cruise.  I'm glad for the crew as well.  I know it irritates me to no end when folks at my DH work take it so lightly. 

[crewsweeper]

1 hour ago, lowroller said:

Wished they stopped with the testing and just keep everything else. But I'm still sailing....

 

Testing is the only way they have to determine if you have COVID. Vaccines, boosted, and prior who have had COVID are still contracting the Omicron version.

[Greg Matthis]

5 minutes ago, BlerkOne said:

Cruise Critic themselves did a poll of thousands. Not very scientific, but more scientific than many of the biased polls created by some. The science and variants have changed some.

 

https://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=6159

Thank you for the poll, but this still doesn't address the financial issues Carnival (and other cruise lines are facing).  I'm a shareholder as well and love cruising, but this is unsustainable.

[BlerkOne]

4 minutes ago, Greg Matthis said:

Thank you for the poll, but this still doesn't address the financial issues Carnival (and other cruise lines are facing).  I'm a shareholder as well and love cruising, but this is unsustainable.

The alternative is bankruptcy. Carnival is sailing and the cruises are cash flow positive. That is sustainable. 

 

Carnival has proven that if you set cabin prices low enough, people will sail, and they are. Onboard spend is up, which was the Carnival plan all along. They are taking in cash, which is just as good as money.

 

Most Carnival stock is held by institutions, as is much of the debt, and I suspect they have a hotline to the Carnival board.

[Don Kehote]

13 minutes ago, Greg Matthis said:

Thank you for the poll, but this still doesn't address the financial issues Carnival (and other cruise lines are facing).  I'm a shareholder as well and love cruising, but this is unsustainable.

You didn't ask for the financial issues to be addressed.  That is why.

[BlerkOne]

29 minutes ago, Greg Matthis said:

Can you provide verifiable data that shows that?  Recent data.

Lots of people have, and continue to cruise. More polls are not needed. Money talks.

[BlerkOne]

2 minutes ago, Don Kehote said:

You didn't ask for the financial issues to be addressed.  That is why.

Carnival Corporation expects to return to profitability in the second half of 2022, according to Arnold Donald, president and CEO, who spoke on Monday's fourth quarter business update conference call. And for 2023, he expects EBITDA to be higher than it was in 2019.Dec 20, 2021

[Greg Matthis]

1 minute ago, BlerkOne said:

The alternative is bankruptcy. Carnival is sailing and the cruises are cash flow positive. That is sustainable. 

 

Carnival has proven that if you set cabin prices low enough, people will sail, and they are. Onboard spend is up, which was the Carnival plan all along. They are taking in cash, which is just as good as money.

 

Most Carnival stock is held by institutions, as is much of the debt, and I suspect they have a hotline to the Carnival board.

Fully aware of who owns the stock, and I did mention bankruptcy.

Did you notice the loss?  1.9 revenue, 11 in cost.  How long can they go negative without taking on more debt or more share dilution?  Current shareholders will not like that.  How many ships does Carnival have on order?  How many did they sale to keep the lights on?  I also realize that is not a full year cost/revenue scenario.

 

Where is Carnival cutting cost?  The staff?  The product?

[Greg Matthis]

3 minutes ago, BlerkOne said:

Carnival Corporation expects to return to profitability in the second half of 2022, according to Arnold Donald, president and CEO, who spoke on Monday's fourth quarter business update conference call. And for 2023, he expects EBITDA to be higher than it was in 2019.Dec 20, 2021

Will be interesting to see if that pans out.  Fuel cost also hit hard last time.

Are they going to expand capacity on the ships?  Is that part of how they plan to return to profit?  That would certainly help.

[Greg Matthis]

11 minutes ago, Don Kehote said:

You didn't ask for the financial issues to be addressed.  That is why.

My original post asked no questions.  Just a statement.