Posted on 12/27/2021 7:54:56 AM PST by Capt. Tom
The first scheduled cruise ship to return to Grand Cayman in the Cayman Islands is cancelled due to protocols and COVID concerns.
After careful consideration and reviews of health and safety protocols, the Cayman Islands has decided to cancel the forthcoming visit of Holland America’s Nieuw Statendam cruise ship, which had been scheduled to visit Grand Cayman on December 28, 2021.
This port of call visit had been planned as a test of the popular Caribbean island’s new visitor COVID-19 testing protocols, as was to be the first cruise ship to return to the island since the industry restart.
Cayman Islands Changes Traveler Protocols According to the Caymanian Times, the canceled visit is due to the inability to accommodate new health and safety protocols for all guests arriving to the Cayman Islands to have a negative COVID-19 test one day prior to disembarkation.
The Cayman Islands Ministry of Tourism and Transport had collaborated with representatives from Holland America and its parent company, Carnival Corporation, to ensure that passenger capacity was reduced to a maximum of 1,600 of the ship’s double-occupancy capacity of 2,666, and that Grand Cayman was the first port of call on the ship’s itinerary.
These measures were intended to minimize the risk of introducing more cases of this highly transmissible disease into the Cayman Islands. Additionally, all passengers and crew disembarking in Grand Cayman had to be fully vaccinated.
On December 17, 2021, however, the Cayman Islands changed its pre-arrival testing protocols. Previously, travelers had to demonstrate a negative test result within 72 hours of their arrival into the country, but now the requirement has been tightened to producing a negative test result within 24 hours. This change was implemented in response to the rapid spread of the highly contagious Omicron variant.
Nieuw Statendam Visit to Grand Cayman Canceled
Because of the tightened policy, it is no longer possible for cruise ships such as Nieuw Statendam to meet these protocols, and its December 28 visit has been canceled.
“The Cayman Islands Government does not take this decision lightly and the inconvenience to all concerned, including the cruise line, cruise businesses and passengers is regretted,” said Acting Minister for Tourism Dwayne Seymour. “While uncertainties persist regarding the spread of the virus, adopting a cautious approach is the right thing to do.”
Nieuw Statendam is currently sailing a 7-night Caribbean New Year itinerary. The ship departed Fort Lauderdale on December 26, and was scheduled to be the first cruise ship to return to Grand Cayman since the cruise industry shutdown began in March 2020. Since the industry restarted several months ago, no cruise ships have yet visited what has been one of the most popular ports of call in the Caribbean.
The ship’s planned visit to Grand Cayman has been a controversial decision from the start with many of the island’s residents against the visit, despite the benefits of restarting cruise tourism to the island.
“The cancellation of this single cruise ship call will ensure that the Cayman Islands is better able to protect our people and we look forward to welcoming cruise tourism business in 2022 when it is safer to do so,” said Seymour.
To date, the Cayman Islands has recorded more than 8,300 cases of COVID-19, though the country’s population is just under 67,000 residents. In recent weeks as the Omicron variant has become widespread, the country’s COVID-19 cases have risen, as have its deaths attributed to the virus.
More Port of Call Cancelations This news comes as more and more cruise ships are being denied entry to different ports of call due to positive COVID-19 cases. Holland America Line’s Koningsdam was refused entry to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, on December 23, while Royal Caribbean’s Odyssey of the Seas cancelled two ports of call – Curacao and Aruba – last week, and Carnival Freedom was denied its scheduled calls at Bonaire and Aruba, also last week.
While all these cancellations are troubling for eager travelers, it is best for passengers to remain flexible with their plans and expectations for cruise itineraries for the foreseeable future.
Different ports of call must make what adjustments they feel are best to safeguard their populations, and cruise lines are doing all they can to work with port authorities as well as to keep guests informed of last-minute itinerary changes.
You can see from this article the problems the Cruise Lines are having filling their ships with passengers.
Many people who go on cruises are destination oriented. Add to that the "vaccine" requirements, and the testing and mask requirements; and a lot of passengers will stay home.
Every day the Cruise lines bring in more ships to a declining Cruising public.
IMHO, more expenses and less income, for a business run on borrowed money. -Tom
Can’t they just deny tickets to grossly obese people?
Meanwhile, back in the Caymans...the little tourist businesses had prepped for the expected influx but are now out of luck.
They should just bypass he destinations and offer cruises with all sea days and double the size of the casinos and bars.
In my experience on cruise ships many people are there just to gamble and drink and never leave the ship.
Cut through a casino once to save time going from one end of the ship to the other....when I walked out I wreaked of cigarette smoke so badly I ended up going back to my cabin to change cloths.
Service at the Margaritaville was pretty bad when I was there in Nov 2019 on a cruise. Took 30 minutes to get a hurricane.
ps
I caught Covid on that cruise. My wife broke her foot. But I did win $500 at the Texas hold em table.
No. They let entropy on all the time.
Just stopped in to find out how they got a cruise ship to the Grand Canyon. Back to my coffee....
Great you get refill on coffee, I have mine all over me — tanx alot.
!!
I have been on cruises where many obese people were onboard.
If you sit in the buffet, and watch some of the younger people, when two of them go by, it looks like 2 Volkswagens trying to pass each other.
A lot of obese people have to be victims of medical problems because they couldn't be as overweigh as they are just by eating. -Tom
That’s how I first read it too. I know we’ve been having above-average rainfall in Arizona this year, but not THAT much above-average!
I thought it said Grand Canyon at first. No wonder it was canceled.
LOL! You too, huh?
Unfortunate that Cayman Islands is delaying the end of their pandemic by trying to prevent Omicron, the natural vaccine.
On the other hand, I returned yesterday from a 7 day Caribbean cruise on the Norwegian Encore. Virgin Islands and Dominican Republic. The local guides and businesses were grateful to finally welcome us back. It was a great experience and a wonderful Christmas.
That is how I read it as well.
The last place I’d want to be is stuck on a vessel with thousands of people going from port to port. I’d much rather find a nice, isolated beach location with a small town or village nearby.
“They should just bypass he destinations and offer cruises with all sea days and double the size of the casinos and bars.”
They cannot do cruises to nowhere in the US unless the ship is registered, and built in the US. Either Holland America or Viking has one cruise ship that qualifies, it does cruises around Hawaii.
What the can possibly do is leave from the US and go to private islands in the Bahamas or Honduras.
I still don’t see the appeal of being on a filthy overcrowded barge eating 3rd tier crap food
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