Posted on 12/30/2020 3:11:20 PM PST by Capt. Tom
The year 2020 started great, with cruise lines predicting record bookings at the start of the year and passenger numbers projected to jump up by several million compared to 2019.
How different things became in February and March. With COVID-19 outbreaks on several vessels, ships detained in ports worldwide, crew members stuck on board for many months, and the cruise industry under immense scrutiny from government agencies and the mainstream press, 2020 turned out to be a year many will want to forget.
If cruising is to become the place that millions choose for their holidays, cruise lines will need to tread carefully in 2021. We look at what cruise lines will need to do to make 2021 a success and bring back cruising, as we all know and love.
The CDC – Make or Break The Framework for conditional sailing is already putting a significant strain on the industry. The protocols and regulations that have been put in place will cost the cruise line industry millions, if not billions, to implement.
However, if cruising is to come back, there is no way that these measures should not be implemented.
So what measures will be noticeable by the public? Below are just a few things that cruise ships will need to implement:
100% testing for all passengers and crew onboard Ships will be sailing at a maximum capacity of 60-70%, depending on the number of cabins and space available onboard. Vessels will need to build testing capability onboard. Yes, ships will need a COVID-19 testing facility. Social distancing and mask-wearing will be a feature for the time being. 2021 will not see cruises without them. Not only this, ships will need ICU beds, increased hospital space and personnel, quarantine cabins separate from other cabins, the ability to give crew members a single cabin in case of an outbreak onboard. The list goes on.
Even with all these requirements implemented, the CDC says the rules and regulations are subject to change. What does this mean?
If a significant increase in covid cases happens ashore, or a large outbreak onboard a ship occurs anywhere in the world, the agency could well stop cruising again. Therefore, it is really up to the cruise companies to ensure everything is perfect onboard the ships.
The International Press- Bad Cruise News Sells The mainstream press had a great year reporting on the cruise industry. With more than 800 cases of confirmed COVID-19 instances that occurred during outbreaks on three cruise ship voyages in March, the images of ships docked in ports with guests in quarantine are something the cruise industry needs to avoid at all costs.
Bad press sells. In recent weeks the minor outbreak onboard Seadream 1 and the false-positive onboard Quantum of the Seas in Singapore received significant attention in various major news outlets.
In 2021 the cruise industry will need to find ways to deal with cases on board the ships and communicate those cases.
Companies will need to deflect bad news and instill confidence. How can they do this? First of all, communicate any cases openly, and inform the public of the measures in place.
Second, the cruise lines will need to be extremely strict with the standards onboard. It only takes one post on Twitter, which shows measures are not implemented, to cause a storm of media reports.
The Environmental Impact Of Cruising Between 2020 and 2025, 22 LNG-powered cruise ships will be commissioned worldwide, while four are already sailing or have been delivered. Cruise ships have been seen as a significant impact on the environment.
We’ve all seen images of cruise ships blowing out black smoke. The fact that cruise lines are now making the step towards LNG can only be seen as a positive.
For 2021, it would be a great image booster for the cruise industry to market LNG as a turning point in cruising’s environmental impact. Carnival Corporation is an example of how a company can go from one widely criticized, to one that has turned around and made cruising cleaner and greener.
It is now up to the cruise lines and government agencies to start focusing on a positive return of cruising. Companies like Royal Caribbean, Costa Cruises, MSC, TUI, and Dream Cruises have shown that it is possible to sail safely.
The industry needs ships sailing in the largest cruise markets worldwide without incidents and communicating how safe it can be. The arrival of COVID-19 vaccines will undoubtedly have a serious positive impact on the virus itself and how much it spreads. By itself, the vaccines will not be able to save the cruise industry.
In 2021, cruises sailing without incident from the USA, Europe, and Asia will enable a multi-billion dollar industry, on which millions of people rely, to come back as strong as ever.
To me the article points out the opposite of a recovery and indicates 2021 is going to be a lot like 2020 with the Covid virus frustrating the cruise industry comeback, and turning the ships from carefree ships into Hospital ships where fun and adventures are replaced with worrying about health, and spending your money to follow medical rules, and other inconveniences.
No wonder Cruise lines are pushing 2022 cruises now. -Tom
Stop telling passengers the delay is an immigration issue when you need extra time to decontaminate from the infected passengers.
1. Ignore the CDC
No taxpayer money to foreign companies, nor non-citizens. Reflag as American ships, else sit idle.
Cruise Lines are not just affected by our CDC they have to deal with all the medical authorities in other countries and getting shutdown there.
A lot of the European countries have shut down the lines recently that have tried cruises over there, as has other countries around the world. -Tom
Wow. You go on a cruise after being poked, prodded and tested, and then you can look forward to a fabulous time wearing a mask. And avoiding social contact. While enjoying the distinct smell of Lysol throughout the ship.
What they won’t say, is how are they to handle shore calls? Or are they planning to just making circles in the ocean?
We have signed up for Mark Steyn’s Mediterranean cruise in October. We shall see.
Sounds like we can kiss the cruise ship industry goodbye. Sad.
What? No more floating Motel 6 with an all-night Dennys?
That should be a great cruise.
Ten days is my favorite length on a cruise , although I have been doing 7 day cruises the last five years in October, with no flying, or hotel stays, because of my wife's dementia.(Alzheimer's)
As a bonus you won't have to put up with our CDC. -Tom
LNG powered ship? A floating Hindenburg
Then they wind up with US union labor and your cruise doubles in cost, right? That probably doesn't work either.
Sounds like that format serves your current needs well. We are late 60s and have not cruised before, except some Navy service and a warship. Looking forward.
more stops in flyover country to help combat climate change...
Union or not, at least they would be US citizens.
It would be like airlines in the old days.
Only rich people could afford the cost.
So be it, at least benefit of the money would be US citizens.
I don’t want to be on a ship with a bunch of Karens, I will wait.
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