Posted on 01/30/2021 3:41:23 PM PST by Capt. Tom
Cruise-goers and industry stakeholders have endured a waiting game since cruising stopped in March of last year, with restart dates being pushed back further and further amid COVID-19.
On Wednesday, the world’s second-busiest cruise port announced when it believes cruising will finally be able to resume.
At a January 27 port authority meeting, Port Canaveral commissioners approved a revised budget, which assumes that passenger cruise-ship operations won’t resume until at least July.
Several major cruise lines at the Florida port have already voluntarily canceled their sailings for the next few months—Carnival, Norwegian and Royal Caribbean have postponed sailing until May, and Disney won’t restart until at least April, Florida Today reported.
When the port’s original 2020-21 budget was prepared last summer, officials were anticipating that one ship from each of the port’s four major cruise lines would begin sailing again by January 2021. Port officials are now forecasting that only a single ship from four lines will be sailing again by July and, even then, only at half capacity.
Port CEO Captain John Murray. “We have a new administration. The cruise lines themselves have kicked everything down the road for three months already, or at least through March and April. The reality given the pandemic right now, until those numbers start coming down, we just don’t see that this industry is going to get any attention that it needs to get restarted.”
Port Canaveral’s updated projections have been made based on a worst-case scenario and there is data that suggests ships may start sailing before July. Murray emphasized that the port’s projections are based solely on its own estimates, not any cruise line statements. They factor in the work that cruise lines must do in order to comply with the CDC’s new ‘Framework for Conditional Sailing’, which replaced its previous ‘No-Sail Order’ in October 2020. According to the Orlando Sentinel, that framework includes 74 safety points that carriers will need to incorporate in order to mitigate the threat of COVID-19.
“The CDC’s motivation right now to put the cruise lines back on the water is not there, and probably won’t be there for the next three months,” Murray said. “So rather than look at this entire operation and say, ‘Well, let’s just kick the can to April and then we’ll look at it again,’ it doesn’t make any sense to keep coming back to you guys with a rosy picture that we’re going to start in April or May and then say, ‘Whoop, that didn’t happen.’
So, we took the very hard approach of, like I say, ripping off the Band-Aid, and making it a bad situation for the port just to show you that we have a plan to get through this if it does go as far as the fourth quarter.”
For the 2020-21 fiscal year, the port’s new estimate predicts an overall loss of $43.12 million—that’s $6 million more in losses than was initially projected in the first version of its budget, which was submitted last August.
The port’s fiscal year ends September 30, which means cruise business will have only contributed for a single quarter if it resumes in July. Its 2019-2020 fiscal year already suffered massive losses when cruising was halted in mid-March, due to the pandemic.
With the Biden group in power politically ,it doesn't look like these foreign crui8se lines will get much help from the Dems. or our CDC. not in money ways, but by removing onerous regulations.
Florida which is 'TRUMP' country, and has a Republican Gov. who might run for president in 2024, may not be helped out either, by the Biden Group.
I suspect that Federal money would go to California , New York, and other socialist run states that have been bankrupted by Dem Govs. -Tom
Not collateral damage.
Deep State hit what it aimed at.
It’s pretty easy to hit the target when you use nuclear weapons.
My travel agent is collateral damage, and there will be more. -Tom
When I was with Royal Caribbean / celebrity, I was in charge of a group of devs that developed the software for everything you purchase before the cruise (drink packages, dining, shore excursion, etc) and that software also ran on ships just for shore ex.
I left it in 2012 and we were bringing in $1.8b just from those units on ~30 ships. Reservations, casino, and drinks onboard were the other money makers.
It’s big big money, and it has been stagnating for a year... more if you include future cruise planning.
Actually that 1.8 number was just precursor through credit cards. It didn’t include onboard shore excursions.
The islands have to be absolutely in a depression from the lack of cruisers
If they force the requirement of so called vaccines, I ain’t going.
Lots of collateral damage, not just in our country. -Tom
The Marxists hate cruising and everything it represents and they’ll ban cruising until the industry dies. Because they can.
The Marxists hate not just cruising, they hate anyone having a good time by spending their own money. They basically hate anyone who succeeds and has discretionary spending money.
The answer to that question of having to have a vaccine to board should be answered in a month or so.
The vaccine was supposed to help out cruising, but the Biden CDC can use vaccine requirements on airplanes and re-entering this country, and other ways, to further cripple cruising. - Tom
And it’s popular with older white retirees.
I’m surprised Biden hasn’t put Cuomo in charge of cruise ship health.
“ My travel agent is collateral damage”
People have no clue how many benefit from the cruises. Right down to the little shops in the towns the excursions take travelers to. As I’ve said a few times the leftist a-holes at the CDC and elsewhere in the Government think the cruises are nothing but floating playgrounds for rich White people. Idiotic but we’re talking about the left and now they have all the power.
Well, at least wear your mask./S -Tom
Fromthe CDC website (emphasis mine)
Press Release For Immediate Release: Saturday January, 30, 2021 Contact: Media Relations (404) 639-3286
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to surge in the United States, CDC is implementing provisions of President Biden’s Executive Order on Promoting COVID-19 Safety in Domestic and International Travel and will require the wearing of masks by all travelers into, within, or out of the United States, e.g., on airplanes, ships, ferries, trains, subways, buses, taxis, and ride-shares.
The mask requirement also applies to travelers in U.S. transportation hubs such as airports and seaports; train, bus, and subway stations; and any other areas that provide transportation. Snip.....
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