princevaliantus Posted April 22, 2021 Report Share Posted April 22, 2021 Odyssey of the Seas Arrives in Israel – Israel’s Minstry of Health Still Has Not Approved Royal Caribbean’s Health Protocols By Jim Walker on April 22, 2021 Posted in Disease A week ago, we reported that the Israeli Ministry of Health has not yet approved Royal Caribbean’s heath and safety protocols regarding the cruise line’s plans to begin sailing from Haifa. This was originally reported in the Israeli newspaper, Israel Hayom. Royal Caribbean previously announced its intention to begin sailing the Odyssey of the Seas on two and three night cruises from Haifa, Israel to Limassol, Cyprus starting in June. The company is scheduled to begin three and four night cruises to Rhodes and Mykonos, Greece starting in September. Yet, the cruise line has not obtained the necessary approvals from the host country’s health ministry, according to several news stations in Israel. The local press in Israel (Ynet) reports that the Odyssey has arrived in Haifa to prepare for its first voyage from that port which is expected to depart on June 2nd. According to Royal Caribbean representatives, the ship arrived at the port of Haifa yesterday for the purpose of “equipping” the ship with provisions. The cruise line said that “this will be an opportunity for the crew of the ship and the port of Haifa to get to know each other, since this is the first time that Odyssey of the seas has entered the port of Haifa.” Royal Caribbean did not disclose to the newspaper that the crew is quarantining, according to crew members on the ship. Ynet further learned that because the ship’s crew has not yet been vaccinated, one of the goals of the cruise line “is to vaccinate the entire crew . . . before receiving the passengers.” The newspaper in Israel states “at the same time, the sailing corporation has not yet received approval from the Israeli Ministry of Health and it is not yet clear whether they will succeed in the vaccination mission in time – before the first guests arrive in June.” As we reported last week, the Israeli Ministry of Health informed several media outlets (Israel Hayom and Channel 12 News TV) that and the chances of approving the shipping company’s health protocols “are very low.” Meanwhile, the cruise line is continuing to market the cruise from Haifa as a certainty. Another international newspaper, Globes, denies that the crew is being vaccinated in Israel: “The fact that the ship is setting sail and returning in three weeks time had led to speculation that the crew are being vaccinated in Israel. But the Ministry of Health denies this. ‘The Ministry has not approved the vaccination of the crew and will not vaccinate them.’ For its part Royal Caribbean insists that it will meet all Ministry of Health regulations. Globes has been told that Ministry of Health officials will board the ship to ensure that all regulations are being met.” If this account is correct, the question remains: are the crew members on the Odyssey fully vaccinated and, if not, when and where will they become vaccinated? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KathyC Posted April 22, 2021 Report Share Posted April 22, 2021 To be honest, it makes sense that they are not approved until the ship arrives. There is still a lot of time before the first sailing, and this is the time to do those things. I'm sure once the officials can get on board and see the protocols in person, all will be handled. Isn't this the guy that's always trying to stir things up? Creating drama where there isn't any yet? SebagoSue, SpeedNoodles, Lovetocruise2002 and 4 others 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovetocruise2002 Posted April 22, 2021 Report Share Posted April 22, 2021 38 minutes ago, KathyC said: Isn't this the guy that's always trying to stir things up? Creating drama where there isn't any yet? Bingo. Stopped reading as soon as I saw the name. DDaley, cruisellama, Baked Alaska and 4 others 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
princevaliantus Posted April 22, 2021 Author Report Share Posted April 22, 2021 46 minutes ago, KathyC said: To be honest, it makes sense that they are not approved until the ship arrives. There is still a lot of time before the first sailing, and this is the time to do those things. I'm sure once the officials can get on board and see the protocols in person, all will be handled. Isn't this the guy that's always trying to stir things up? Creating drama where there isn't any yet? The ship is already in Israel. Only sharing info. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baked Alaska Posted April 22, 2021 Report Share Posted April 22, 2021 42 minutes ago, KathyC said: Isn't this the guy that's always trying to stir things up? Creating drama where there isn't any yet? Yes! Walker and the ship chasing lawyer should get together! One good laugh after another! deep1, KathyC, Lovetocruise2002 and 1 other 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokeybandit Posted April 22, 2021 Report Share Posted April 22, 2021 Look at this guy's stories. All are generally anti-cruising, which is kind of backwards for a guy writing on a cruise site https://www.cruiselawnews.com/author/jimwalker/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deep1 Posted April 22, 2021 Report Share Posted April 22, 2021 3 hours ago, princevaliantus said: The ship is already in Israel. Only sharing info. It just got there... Lot of the things to make ready need to be done on that side... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokeybandit Posted April 22, 2021 Report Share Posted April 22, 2021 7 minutes ago, deep1 said: It just got there... Lot of the things to make ready need to be done on that side... And a lot of those things would likely be very trivial things or inspections, but just stuff they have to check off the list before blessing the protocols Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deep1 Posted April 22, 2021 Report Share Posted April 22, 2021 9 minutes ago, smokeybandit said: And a lot of those things would likely be very trivial things or inspections, but just stuff they have to check off the list before blessing the protocols Its is... Crossing "T" and dotting "i" stuff... To be expected. Not some earth shattering "they can't play" or "They failed this or that"... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Traveler Posted April 23, 2021 Report Share Posted April 23, 2021 The story of the health department not yet approved the health protocol is not new and I guess if its just for the health department they would not allow it , but it is not. As long as its allowed to buy a ticket and go to Greece and Cyprus I do not see any way they will not approve it even if the cruise are not vaccinated as long they are not going out to port. there is allot of pressure by local tourist industry not to allow it as they want the vacation budget to stay in Israel spent on local hotels and restaurants after all if we have 3000 people per sail and 17 sails we are talking around 200000 nights ... On the other hand the political climate will not allow to cancel the cruises unless Greece and Cyprus will have dramatic jump in new cases with the Indian variant. Regarding the crew getting the vaccine , that remains one of the big question not just for the cruise from Israel but also the cruises from the Caribbean. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted April 23, 2021 Report Share Posted April 23, 2021 Logically, it makes sense what is happening right now. Yes, ship hasnt been approved by Israel's Health Ministry, but.... Ship is there this week to presumably get vaccine for all onboard. The ship returns in a few weeks for shot #2 I would guess at that point, Health Ministry approves. As stated by others, Cruise Law News loves to highlight any iota of negative cruise news, and glosses over anything positive the industry does. I think we can find better sources of information on what is happening in the cruise world than CLN. Just my opinion. Baked Alaska, teddy, KathyC and 2 others 4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokeybandit Posted April 23, 2021 Report Share Posted April 23, 2021 7 minutes ago, Matt said: I think we can find better sources of information on what is happening in the cruise world than CLN. Just my opinion. Got any suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted April 23, 2021 Report Share Posted April 23, 2021 14 minutes ago, smokeybandit said: Got any suggestions? In this situation, CLN references two Israeli sites that through Google Translate we can directly reference and skip over the anti-cruise filter. https://www.israelhayom.co.il/article/867225 https://www.ynet.co.il/vacation/flights/article/rJHTnB6Id Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokeybandit Posted April 23, 2021 Report Share Posted April 23, 2021 Sorry that was supposed to be a "of course I get my cruise news from RCBlog.com" joke dr martini and Matt 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted April 23, 2021 Report Share Posted April 23, 2021 28 minutes ago, smokeybandit said: Sorry that was supposed to be a "of course I get my cruise news from RCBlog.com" joke jticarruthers, KathyC and cruisellama 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisellama Posted April 23, 2021 Report Share Posted April 23, 2021 30 minutes ago, Matt said: My thought exactly! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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