twangster

What do you call an alligator in a vest? An investigator.

https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/24879-kulovaara-continuous-improvement-at-royal-caribbean-group.html “Safety and sustainability are really at the core of everything we are doing,” said Harri Kulovaara, executive vice president maritime and newbuilding, Royal Caribbean Group, speaking at the unveiling of the Celebrity Beyond. Of note, the Beyond is bigger than her sisters, the Edge and Apex, and has been stretched as the vessel is 20 meters longer with 179 additional staterooms. “Continuous improvement is very much the mantra,” he added, noting that with each new ship, the company looks to get more efficient. Pushing the envelope technically results in better ways to build the ships, he continued, using better materials and better construction methods. “Energy efficiency is an area where we (have looked at every detail),” Kulovaara noted. He said that with each new ship, the company wants a 10 to 20 percent improvement in energy use per guest. “We are going through all the emissions the ship is creating and looking at technologies that are available and trying to implement them.” Future-proofing is also key, he added. “We are looking at various materials we are putting into the ship not only from the building point of view, but from the lifecycle point of view,” Kulovaara said. “We are looking constantly, even beyond where we are now, where we can go further and how we can implement a pathway to decarbonize the future. “How can we not only reduce the emissions that are there, but also bring in future fuels that would be carbon free or carbon offset … we have a large group of people working on this on a daily basis.” Beyond Kulovaara said that the idea of stretching the third of the Edge-class ships started being talked about in 2017. “We took the better part of a year in order to think about alternatives,” he said. “Which are the most magical areas of the vessel? Where do we believe we have the opportunities?” He said the company came up with six or seven options to make the ship bigger before getting together with designers and the shipyard, Chantiers de l'Atlantique. “On a monthly basis we got together, we looked at the various options and we slowly started to select one or two options and develop them further,” explained Kulovaara. This meant bringing together multiple departments across the Royal Caribbean Group, Celebrity Cruises, the shipyard, suppliers, designers and naval architects. “It involves a very diverse groups of expertise which all need to work seamlessly together and share the same drive, passion and interest in constantly going beyond,” he added. The Celebrity Beyond sails on her first cruise April 2022.

So far Royal has not put anything in place for US based cruises so we have nothing to give insight to what they'll do or how the unpublished CDC requirements might guide their policy for US based cruises. If the CSO is struck down in court it opens the door for cruising without CSO requirements but we don't know what policy Royal might put in place anyways. NCL has stated their policy will be vaccinate or don't sail for all guests including kids. Royal has not stated the same policy. Royal did put a vaccine requirement combined with a testing requirement for those ineligible to vaccinate for Bahamas and Bermuda based cruises. For kids that are currently ineligible to vaccinate Royal will accept a negative PCR test. It's not clear what happens once kids 12 and up are eligible to vaccinate, assuming that FDA emergency approval is coming for kids 12+ as expected. At first glance the Bahamas/Bermuda policy would require anyone who is eligible to vaccinate to be vaccinated. In that case kids 12+ would need to be vaccinated just like NCL. I'm assuming Royal will implement a work around if the timing of emergency approval doesn't leave enough time for kids to be fully vaccinated with a two shot vaccine during an initial interim period. However all that is not for US based cruises, that policy only applies to Bahamas and Bermuda departures.

If the emergency injunction against the CDC and the CSO on May 12 is successful you won't have any issues. At least not from a Florida port.

Everyone is out of sorts with a year plus of no cruising. Like kids who need a nap, we all just need a cruise before we will be back to ourselves.

I think we are all being cautious having been let down before.

Yeah I was waiting for the sneak. The old decoy trick. Yeah it's dead, look away.

One could argue it's in its own class. Freedom class versus Voyager class is basically a difference of 27m stitched into the middle.

Thinking about the wording of the bill, no business can require that you provide proof of vaccination. Okay. So what if a business takes the approach "Everyone must wear ten masks. If you voluntarily show us proof of vaccination you don't have to wear a mask. You are not required to show proof of vaccination, the choice is yours." That's a bit extreme to illustrate a point. If a business, just like the CDC is doing, motivates you to take one path at your own discretion, doesn't that get around the bill?

If cruises and by association the cruise lines are "Florida business entities" under s. 768.38, wouldn't they qualify for state assistance like the seaports have?

Pretty much. Darn bookings make themselves.

Hmmm. Searching business records I don't see that Royal Caribbean International is registered as a business in Florida. The corporate entity (RCG) is registered but they don't offer cruises. Several instances of former related companies are showing inactive. Celebrity Cruises Inc with a place of business in Miami is listed. However in the shipping world its well known that each ship is a shell company on its own. I don't see any ship "company" registered with the state. This makes sense. Could you imagine the paperwork involved with registering every ship in every jurisdiction they visited? Any experts in Admiralty law? Given the complex corporate structure of shipping companies, particularly with respect to foreign flagged ships, are they considered a Florida business entity? They don't pay Florida business taxation like an otherwise normal Florida business does. So does this bill impact cruise ship operations?

Sometimes cruises add themselves and sometimes I have to add them manually.

Nothing to do with the pandemic.

I have to admit, the thought of watching an unvaccinated getting busted in a cruise terminal with a fake card is oddly appealing to me. Too late to use Cruise With Confidence. You literally lose the entire cruise cost.

Besides, how would an unvaccinated know the secret handshake they taught me? ?

Not to mention you are gambling a multi-thousand dollar investment on a $2 card from China bought on eBay. College kids trying to get into a bar with a fake ID is one thing. It's almost a right of passage. Worst case you are rejected. Getting rejected in a cruise terminal with no legal recourse = priceless. (Go ahead and sue, then show your fake card to a judge)

There is little question it looks like a beautiful ship and a nice evolution of the Edge Class.

Aquaclass Suite

Larger ship so more lifeboats are likely.

Galapagos restart announcement teased for next week.

Because of those that refuse to vaccinate that otherwise can, this thing will stick around longer than it needs to. I made my choice to vaccinate and I comply with mask requirements even though I know they exist largely due to those that refuse to vaccinate.

Celebrity has said they are training staff to spot fakes and will pull guest aside for a deeper review should a fake be suspected. We won't know what that means until we see it in action.