twangster

Some more details including insurance requirement for St. Maarten St. Maarten Travel Requirements: https://stmaartenehas.com/travel-requirements/ Greece Travel Requirements https://travel.gov.gr/#/

I have to imagine a number of local tour companies have either gone under or their employees took jobs in some other field to support their families when the pandemic hit. It could take some time for tour operators to come back once cruising restarts.

Agreed. Royal is one cruise line. There are many others including some smaller US companies that have to keep their larger ships grounded. The CDC isn't punishing all cruise lines because one ship is sailing from Nassau.

https://cruising.org/en/clia-action-center TAKE ACTION: Tell Congress to Help Restart the Cruise Industry! Yesterday, CLIA called on the Biden Administration and the CDC to lift the Framework for Conditional Sailing Order (CSO) and allow cruising to be on track to resume sailing in the U.S. by the beginning of July 2021. Today, we get to work—and we need your help! Please visit the CLIA Action Center to email, call, and/or Tweet at your elected officials in the House and Senate and tell them to urge the Biden Administration to lift the CSO. Our announcement was a big step, and the journey is just beginning. We have our work cut out for us, but the facts are on our side. • Since the industry’s voluntary suspension one year ago, cruise lines have been prevented from operating in the U.S. even as public health conditions have improved and other sectors have opened or continued to operate throughout the pandemic. • Over the past eight months, a highly-controlled resumption of cruising has continued in Europe, Asia, and the South Pacific - with nearly 400,000 passengers sailing and additional markets scheduled to come online in the spring and summer. • The industry’s enhanced public health measures are working, with fewer than 50 confirmed cases of COVID-19 onboard CLIA member cruise line ships since resumption started last summer, based on public reporting. • More than 300,000 jobs have been lost in the US due to the suspension of cruises. The majority of those impacted are independent business owners or individuals employed by small- to medium-sized businesses. • Restarting cruises as part of the broader travel industry will provide a much-needed boost to the U.S. economy - with the cruise industry supporting nearly 450,000 American jobs and contributing over $55.5 billion annually, prior to the pandemic. • An early-July resumption is in line with President Biden’s forecast for when the US will be “closer to normal.” • There is no such thing as ‘normal’ without cruise ships! The cruise community is a vital part of the travel and tourism economy and should be afforded the same opportunities to begin to recover from the devastating impacts of the pandemic. It will take every single one of us to be successful. The Time is Now. Will You Join Us? JOIN US!

Actual footage from the 2021 @Lovetocruise2002 summer vacation training session this past weekend.

I think RCG is really hoping that the CDC comes around. Maybe not lifting the CSO but moving it forward. The hope for 2021 Florida cruises is still very much alive so they don't want to cancel established cruises only to have the CDC suddenly wake up.

Millie is open for booking. Retreat going fast on some dates. Going, going... almost gone.

Welcome to the message boards. There are recently announced cruises from nearby countries that aren't subject to the whims of the US federal government. At the insistence of the US federal government I'm spending my vacation dollars outside the USA. It's all part of the US government foreign aid plan to stimulate spending in other countries and help their economies.

I've shifted my thinking from just booking another cruise that my gut says might be cancelled to "OMG, I'm going on a cruise!".

I think Royal is hoping and betting on the need for protocols to be lessened as we move forward. June is still almost 3 months away. That's a lifetime with respect to the advances society is making and learning about the virus. Assumptions led to some protocols being considered. Some assumptions have proven inaccurate. Why publish protocols today that will be outdated 30 days from now let alone 80 days from now?

I think it's great but I'm not sure Michael Bayley penned it. This is from CLIA.

This has become the most commonly asked question but we still don't know. Speculation is futile. I'm booked and will follow whatever they ask of me. From Adventure's cruise planner:

CocoCay was engineered to handle nearly 10,000 guests as built but Coco Beach Club and other areas weren't finished when this was published. https://cruisearabiaonline.com/2019/05/01/royal-caribbean-says-perfect-day-at-cococay-could-handle-three-oasis-ships-at-once/ “We’ve engineered and designed for peak, and the peak was way up close to 10,000. We’ll now operate it with bigger ships coming to Perfect Day, and we’ll see how it goes,” he said. “We’re kind of feeling pretty optimistic about the potential for three ship calls versus two ship calls that could take us up to 12,000 (guests) a day,” Bayley added. That 12,000 guest per day limit would essentially mean three Oasis-class ships docked simultaneously. If both an Oasis class and a Voyager class sail at full double occupancy that's less than 90% capacity for CocoCay as she was built. Ships rarely sail at absolute full capacity and two ships both at full capacity is even less likely. Consequently given usage patterns they feel like they could push the island further and that was before it was finished.

Ask and you shall receive! (but not in the Caribbean) ... Athens. http://www.creative.rccl.com/e-lite/CEL/Common_Elements/bx.gif LET'S GO! THE DEBUT OF CELEBRITY APEX IS HERE I am overjoyed. As global travel quickly becomes a reality again, we can announce not only the redeployment of our revolutionized Celebrity Millennium to the Caribbean, but we can DEBUT our luxurious new Celebrity ApexSM as she takes her inaugural voyage starting June 19, 2021. On March 30, 2021, your clients will be able to book Eastern Mediterranean itineraries of 6–8 nights beginning in Athens, Greece, visiting the Greek Isles, Cyprus, and Israel — complete with drinks, Wi-Fi, and tips Always IncludedSM*. We are so excited to say that new Celebrity Apex itineraries and more information on health and safety protocols will be released very soon!

Summary of the recent CLIA and CDC interaction:

Just a month ago the CDC led the cruise lines to believe the technical instructions would be in hand any day now. I think the cruise lines have started to see the CDC's true colors. All bets are off.

I'm not sure that's Royal's problem. Royal didn't limit guest nationality in Nassau. If the Bahamas won't allow a citizen of some foreign country to enter the country that isn't for Royal to determine, that is up to each guest to validate any visas or other documentation required.

He can rattle away as much as he wants but I'm not sure he can override a federal public health emergency declaration by using a state executive order. To challenge the CDC order could possibly require a federal judge and court be involved.

Dare I say both? Can't I have my cake and eat it too? ?

Meanwhile over at Miami HQ... "Maybe having some smaller ships in the fleet isn't such a bad thing."

I've been eyeing Jewel hanging around Poole Bay wondering what they would do with her. Now we know.

Our return to the Caribbean this summer is already a hit! But did you really think we were going to stop there? Next up, we’re taking our talents to the Mediterranean. This summer, your clients can soak up the Mediterranean sun and explore the captivating coastlines of Greece and Cyprus on all-new 7-night cruises departing from Limassol, Cyprus onboard Jewel of the Seas®! Beginning July 10, 2021, Jewel will call Cyprus home for the first time and sail to the picturesque shores of Cyprus and Greece through October 23, 2021. Your clients can explore a combination of culture-rich cities and idyllic islands, including Limassol; Athens, Greece and the Greek islands of Rhodes, Crete, Mykonos and Santorini. As always, the safety of your clients, our crew and the communities we visit is at the forefront of our decision-making process. For Jewel itineraries from Cyrus, we look forward to welcoming fully vaccinated guests 18 years of age and older, as well as children under the age of 18 with proof of negative COVID-19 test results. These current health and safety measures, like others, may evolve as they are evaluated on an ongoing basis. Details on additional health and safety measures will be announced at a later date. With opportunity comes responsibility — so we have come to the tough decision to cancel the scheduled Jewel of the Seas summer sailings departing June 7 - October 31, 2021. Your impacted clients can choose from one of the following compensation options: A refund of all funds paid An elevated 125% Future Cruise Credit to sail with Royal Caribbean® at a later date An opportunity to Lift & Shift your client’s reservation to a similar cruise next year Soon, all impacted guests and associated travel agencies will receive an email notification with additional details pertaining to these compensation options. Safe and healthy cruising IS possible — and we’re witnessing just how much pent-up demand there truly is. With our valued partners and friends by our side, we can conquer it all.

Our return to the Caribbean this summer is already a hit! But did you really think we were going to stop there? Next up, we’re taking our talents to the Mediterranean. This summer, your clients can soak up the Mediterranean sun and explore the captivating coastlines of Greece and Cyprus on all-new 7-night cruises departing from Limassol, Cyprus onboard Jewel of the Seas®! Beginning July 10, 2021, Jewel will call Cyprus home for the first time and sail to the picturesque shores of Cyprus and Greece through October 23, 2021. Your clients can explore a combination of culture-rich cities and idyllic islands, including Limassol; Athens, Greece and the Greek islands of Rhodes, Crete, Mykonos and Santorini. As always, the safety of your clients, our crew and the communities we visit is at the forefront of our decision-making process. For Jewel itineraries from Cyrus, we look forward to welcoming fully vaccinated guests 18 years of age and older, as well as children under the age of 18 with proof of negative COVID-19 test results. These current health and safety measures, like others, may evolve as they are evaluated on an ongoing basis. Details on additional health and safety measures will be announced at a later date. With opportunity comes responsibility — so we have come to the tough decision to cancel the scheduled Jewel of the Seas summer sailings departing June 7 - October 31, 2021. Your impacted clients can choose from one of the following compensation options: A refund of all funds paid An elevated 125% Future Cruise Credit to sail with Royal Caribbean® at a later date An opportunity to Lift & Shift your client’s reservation to a similar cruise next year Soon, all impacted guests and associated travel agencies will receive an email notification with additional details pertaining to these compensation options. Safe and healthy cruising IS possible — and we’re witnessing just how much pent-up demand there truly is. With our valued partners and friends by our side, we can conquer it all.

Thinking more about this. Adventure in Nassau was a test they passed with flying colors. It seems Royal nailed it given how demand played out once they opened bookings. Vision will really test demand. Great homeport in Bermuda but now they must wait and see how much demand is really out there. I suspect they will wait to see how Vision sells before announcing more in the Caribbean. Another announcement somewhere else could factor into Vision bookings. Assuming Celebrity does announce a second restart ship for the US market it might be wise to let the four ships enjoy their moment in the spotlight. Getting greedy and going too fast might not be the best move right at this moment in time. That doesn't mean they aren't wheeling and dealing in the background working on the next big thing while they wait to see how the pandemic trends and how long the CDC continues to play dead.