Posted on 10/23/2020 5:12:07 PM PDT by Capt. Tom
What will happen in the U.S. once cruising resumes? There is no denying that the pandemic is hitting the United States hard. With the largest number of cases and deaths worldwide, the country struggles to keep the virus under control.
Once cruising does finally resume, the cruise lines will need to implement and enforce rules and regulations that go much further than the protocols that are implemented ashore. Those people that would typically refuse to wear a mask or practice social distancing will be forced to do so on board.
As is the case in Europe, cruise lines sailing to U.S. ports will be forced to implement the rules strictly. Failure to do so could result in several issues that could close down the entire cruise industry in the U.S. in a heartbeat.
What if passengers do not cooperate The CDC will be watching the cruise lines that will operate after the No-Sail-Order like a hawk. Any instances where the rules and regulations are not properly followed could result in several consequences.
Fines, penalties, even stopping a ship or entire cruise line from operating in the U.S. are possibilities that the CDC will be looking at. In the worst-case scenario, the CDC could implement a new No-Sail-Order if they feel cruise lines have not implemented their 74-step program correctly.
The cruise industry is one of the few industries that are not yet operational in the U.S; it would therefore be watched with great interest by the press, TV News, websites, and cruise blogs.
If a passenger does not cooperate, and the cruise line does not react, it will most likely be all over the news in minutes. This could cause significant damage to the cruise line in question. It stands to reason that any passenger that would not cooperate would be removed from the vessel immediately.
Should you just wait to cruise again? If you feel that you would not agree with every rule the cruise lines implement, then cruising right now would not be a great idea.
The fact of the matter is that in International waters, the Captain rules. Any Captain will not hesitate to remove unwilling passengers from their vessel. If they don’t do this, it is their reputation and job on the line.
Also Read: Will Mandatory Testing Be a Turn Off for Cruise Passengers?
Cruising in the first few months after lifting the No-Sail-Order will be an experience that is vastly different than anything anyone has done previously. Gone are the days of making new friends during dinner, the days of buffets, wandering ashore to the local watering hole, and nightclubs until 6 AM.
Cruising in the new normal will consist of complying with any rule and regulation that the cruise lines, CDC, governments, and local officials can think of.
If you don’t mind that, then cruising will still be an enjoyable experience. If you cannot comply, you would be better off to wait a few months to a year or more until more relaxed measures are implemented.
Right now you have to have a neg test 72 hours before you ARRIVE in Italy ...that tiny window makes it hard to travel...
Not sure I would want to go on a cruise that requires masks, social distancing and Cinderella liberty for the passengers.
Capt. Tom wrote: “I believe more than 50% of cruisers would feel that way.”
Perhaps but if you’d read some of the posts on Cruise Critic, you’ll find a depressing number of the most fanatical cruisers are staunch supporters of masking, testing, social distancing, etc. They are also very vocal critics of Trump, ‘if only we had adult leadership, if only Biden or Cumoa were in charge, we’d defeated the virus last spring through lockdowns, etc.’
There are a few on Cruise Critic that do not support the Biden approach. We tend to get our posting privileges removed for posting counter to the prevailing wisdom.
Lots of cure balls coming to cruisers. -Tom
Excerpt from BARRON'S, By Lawrence C. Strauss Oct. 22, 2020 10:25 am ET
U.S. cruise line sailings likely won’t resume until March, despite the projections of some in the industry, according to Macquarie Research.
Analysts Paul Golding and Charles Yu cited the risk of a second Covid-19 wave, “a fluid political climate, and balance sheet risk” in a note dated Oct. 21. Their revised forecast reflects “a more bearish outlook expecting further sailing cancellations.”...................
Fines, penalties, even stopping a ship or entire cruise line from operating in the U.S. are possibilities that the CDC will be looking at. In the worst-case scenario, the CDC could implement a new No-Sail-Order if they feel cruise lines have not implemented their 74-step program correctly.
Does anyone believe that government will not find a way to “Fine” a Cruise Line for not correctly implementing step 68?
They will Kill the Cruise Line industry in the USA and then complain that Jamaica replaces Florida as the Cruise hub for the Caribbean; Puerto Vallarta replaces LA for Mexican cruises; and Vancouver replaces Seattle for Alaskan cruises.
I’d like to see the # of tests performed cp with the # of positive cases.
That would be more informative than the simple “...cases are up...” narrative.
When Brigham and women's hospital in Boston had a recent out break of CoVID a few weeks ago, affecting 57 patients and hospital staff, all from a patient who tested NEGATIVE two times , and the various cruise line around the world changing itineraries because of Covid ashore, the most recent is AIDA in Italy.
The Cruise Lines operating out of this country are going to be easy targets for our CDC to shut down.
The questions for the in debt Cruise Lines is do you want to incur more debt by spending millions of dollars to bring back crews to idle ships, and order fuel and food, and have other expenses only to be shut down for more months, with a no-sail order from our CDC.
I hope these cruise lines have some behind the scenes planning done if they go ahead.
Some of that planning may involve Chapter 11 Bankruptcy. (Reorganization) -Tom
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