twangster

I'm sure they are working overtime on many different HR exercises. "How long would it take to crew up this ship?" "How long to crew up that ship?" You gotta know the HR aspect of the restart is as critical as any other major component.

I'd look to Air2Sea for possible best fares. The airlines have revenue engines that monitor demand and adjust pricing to reflect demand, even if no bookings occur. It's been reported that airline prices jumped just from cruisers looking to see what flights are available. Air2Sea has locked in contracts and seats like they did for Barbados.

I think that would be the wisest path forward. It's an investment in the future, opening up future options. Perhaps there is a way to avoid the fully motorized version available on Quantum class. Make them retractable using winches and pulleys rather than a push button somewhere. Either way it opens the door for new destinations thought impossible when she was built.

FWIW here is Ovation showing off her retractable stacks. Lowered to get under the Lions Gate bridge: Raised again at sea: I don't think they would be spending money to have motorized stacks on this class if it didn't give them deployment flexibility and good return on that investment.

I think that's the goal... to get exhaust gases from degrading air quality on the upper decks aft of the funnels. I don't think heat is part of the equation, it's about exhaust fumes. It's also a convenient location to install scrubbers that minimize pollutants from leaving the ship in the first place. Oasis had the factory motorized stack option defeated only to go back later and add the feature back. Lesson learned. Having that available maximizes deployment options. If they ever want to think about sending Navigator to Hawaii and from there down under that usually starts with a visit to Vancouver. Without lowering the stacks that's not possible (Lions Gate Bridge). So by investing in the option now, they gain Navigator through the canal (now that the new locks are open) and they gain Vancouver as a gateway to Hawaii and Australia in both directions. Seems like a potential win for future deployment flexibility.

Canada for most ages, is kind of in the same predicament. They can't get the vaccine either for ages well above "young" people. Should Royal not offer any cruises until Canada catches up? I think not. Sorry Canada. Canada isn't even letting vaccinated Americans into Canada.

It will be interesting to see how they operate the island overnight. Will there be a curfew when guests needs to be on board? I could see a lot of people having consumed a lot of a favored drink such as Tex on the Beach, trying to live out that drink, with ... on the beach. ?

With Oasis in Bayonne and Allure in the Med it's drained Florida of two Oasis class ships. Miami appears to be Royal's favored terminal to use. Of course Celebrity continues to use Port Everglades so it's not like RCG overall is pulling out of PEV but for RCI ships they are using Miami to consolidate operations. Harmony is doing her regular thing from Canaveral and likewise Symphony from Miami. Until Odyssey and Vision come over it's left Port Everglades empty of RCI ships It's probably more a thing since two Oasis class are not based in Florida during this timeframe.

It's not my viewpoint. The person I quoted is upset at the the cruise lines, or the US government, for "allowing" people to cruise to the Caribbean while they, a young resident of Scotland, can not. If they are to be upset with anyone for not being able to get a vaccine, it should start at home and is not the fault of the cruise line or the US government.

News coverage: https://www.wesh.com/article/royal-caribbean-marks-2021-return-to-caribbean-with-cruises-from-the-bahamas/35888095 Port Canaveral is taking the position that Royal can learn while operating from Nassau and bring those lessons to Port Canaveral once the CDC comes around and allows cruising in the US.

So you were thinking about flying to Nassau for one of the Adventure cruises but you can't because you won't get the vaccine in May? It seems like your ill should directed towards your government for how they are handling the vaccines in your country.

In Orlando, FL starting Monday of next week the minimum age is 40 to be eligible. There is no cruising in March. In April Florida will make everyone eligible who has been approved under emergency use authorization down to age 16. There is no cruising in April. By May 1st everyone in America is eligible. There is no cruising in May. By June when first cruising restarts everyone in America will be vaccinated or will be days away from getting the vaccine. Cruising starts June 5th. By mid-June anyone who wants in should have it. Cruising will have have just started. By July only those who don't want it won't have it. How is this offensive to you? A small percentage of the population, literally 0.00001% of the population won't be able to cruise for one or maybe two weeks. That's assuming they even want to cruise. Only 7% of the US population has taken a cruise in the past four years. I'm not even sure there will be one person actually impacted and finding themselves unable to get a vaccine in time for the very first June cruise.

The more I look at it, the more ridiculous the CDC ban is. Consider allowing each of the big three cruise lines to sail with two ships right now at 50% capacity. Use 3,000 per ship as a high number (not all ships are Oasis class). That is 18,000 guests per week. Double it to account for secondary brands also sailing with two ships. That's 36,000 guests per week. The US population is ~328M. Those 36k guests equal 0.01% of the US population. The CDC is banning a restart that involves 0.01% of the population. If allowed to sail and using CDC protocols those 36,000 guests each week would require a PCR test to reach the port and an antigen test to board the ship. On board they would be subject to protocols established by the CDC as best practices. Daily temperature check. More antigen testing. Masks. Distancing. VACCINES! To debark the ship they need an antigen test. All of the things that aren't taking place on land in communities around America. Instead the CDC has decided that it is much better to prevent 36,000 Americans from using CDC best practice protocols each week. Instead the CDC wants Americans running loose in their home states were the CDC has no jurisdiction and can't control what state or local governments set as requirements. Many states are opening up. Many states are letting protocols go. Yet the CDC thinks this is better for Americans over the CDC's own best practice protocols. The CDC doesn't want people using their own protocols. The CDC doesn't want people to be tested. Given the options facing the CDC, the CDC chooses an option to ban cruise ships and prevent Americans from being tested frequently and using CDC best practice protocols. How many Americans are we talking about? Just 0.01% of the population. All of this for just 0.01% of the population. Somehow the CDC has determined that stopping 0.01% of the American population from using CDC best practices on a weekly basis will somehow save America. The logic and reasoning being used by the CDC defies science and data.

I'm fairly certain @Lovetocruise2002 is working on plans for a Canadian refugee camp in Florida. Their first attempt at building a igloo made of sand didn't end well but she is stubborn so don't count her out yet. If you don't mind sand igloos, they may have room.

Plus maybe they aren't done yet. Maybe they have something more in the works.

I assume it's because they recognize the chance of saving Millie's Alaska season versus the chance that some or any of Summit's season makes Millie the better choice. If they use Summit and the CDC allows July cruises then all of Summit's summer and fall is lost. Millie's summer and fall is almost certainly lost (thanks Canada). Pick Summit and another ship sits idle. Pick Millie and maybe, just maybe, Summit can save something of her season.

Start researching the "US" automakers. How much in taxes do they pay? It's true that the foreign cruise lines don't pay taxes on the most valuable assets, the ships. Despite that they contribute billions to the US economy. Not just in the companies that support and supply the fleet which do pay US taxes and employ US workers. CLIA estimates that the average spend of a guest boarding a cruise ship is $350 in the home port of that ship. Between the two ships just announced to sail from outside the US in the Caribbean there will be roughly 3,000 guests per week spending that $350 in St. Maarten and the Bahamas. That's $1M per week going into these foreign economies. Well done CDC, St. Maarten and the Bahamas thanks you! Best gift ever! The CDC is killing American jobs and costing the US economy billions in the name of fake science. The cure has officially become worse than the disease. Only 15% of Americans have ever cruised. That's not the percentage of Americans that will cruise in 2021, that is all time. If Royal filled every ship in the fleet to capacity that is less than .03% of the US population. Royal isn't trying to fill every ship, not even close. Do you seriously think that stopping 0.01% of Americans from cruising is going to save America from this terrible virus? Banning cruise ships is accomplishing nothing in terms of stopping the spread. They are focused on one grain of sand in a landslide while ignoring the boulders tumbling down the hill. It would be like the police saying "In order to stop speeding on highways we are now banning all yellow cars that have a black stripe on the hood" while ignoring all other cars. "There... problem solved". They aren't accomplishing anything except killing US jobs and sending money into foreign economies.

So.... if Adventure is doing this big restart in Nassau (and not from Florida) can we assume all June cruises are kaput? Why go through all the motions of launching a restart from Nassau in June, if June Florida cruises are still possible?

Apparently when asked "why Millie?" the response was to the effect that they hope to sail Apex and Edge on her already scheduled sailings so they didn't want to disrupt those cruises in case they get the green light from the CDC soon.

Any day now ?

That's predicated on the CSO remaining unchanged. I think the CSO will be revised to reflect vaccinations that are now available that were not when the CSO was put together on a cocktail napkin in bar in under 30 minutes.

Grand Bahamas has the potential to be a game changer for the future of cruising but for reasons unrelated to a pandemic. If it were to become a cruise transportation hub it could allow a cruiser in Texas to sail to Grand Bahamas, spend a few nights in a hotel then a board a different ship to New York, or Baltimore, or Miami. Today the PVSA prevents that but an offshore transportation hub with a large resort changes that. I don't know if that is how Royal intends to use it, but it opens the door for a lot of possibilities. Most of the US cruise market will just want to go on a cruise though, so I don't see Miami losing it's lock on being the cruise capital of the world.

Celebrity has stated it's not permanent but I doubt they can say when right now. A lot depends on how the pandemic progresses at home. In Florida we saw very little spread from the superbowl. The spring break crowds this week will tell us a lot a month from now. If the feared 3rd wave strikes the US I suspect a vaccine requirement may linger longer. If no 3rd wave they'll go away faster.

Welcome to the message boards! Unknown. There are warehouses along the pier. Perhaps something temporary. They will probably leave later in the day hoping to spread out guest arrivals.