Jump to content

Odyssey of the Seas leaving Israel and heading to Florida! It will offload crew to Anthem of the Seas...


Recommended Posts

2 hours ago, SpeedNoodles said:

I believe it's still the crew that needs to be vaccinated.

Correct , that's the main issue I believe . Think about it , even if the crew was in quarantine and all the adults are being vaccinated still there are the kids that can carry the C19 and might infect the crew. I start to think the Israeli health ministry did not approve to give the vaccine to the crew and spreading this "news" is another way to put some  pressure . Specially now either situation going on I don't think the Israeli government will like to see RCL canceling cruising from Haifa. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

According to the article, the cancelation was announced to crew over the PA system, and is due to the conflict, although I guess at this point it's still considered hearsay.

 

http://crew-center.com/odyssey-seas-israel-season-cancelled?fbclid=IwAR1VjruU1f-hU0BoaNeQj__z9hFWJ-LTt5S8uqs4wLNZdH5yjsIRoBpwao4

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, SpeedNoodles said:

According to the article, the cancelation was announced to crew over the PA system, and is due to the conflict, although I guess at this point it's still considered hearsay.

 

http://crew-center.com/odyssey-seas-israel-season-cancelled?fbclid=IwAR1VjruU1f-hU0BoaNeQj__z9hFWJ-LTt5S8uqs4wLNZdH5yjsIRoBpwao4

Well if this is true and she’s coming to PC, I may have to hop down 95 to see her. Sad though for all those people who are booked but I’ve been cancelled 5 times so far. I’m getting used to being disappointed 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 hours ago, SassynFL said:

When they announced that Odyssey was cruising out of Israel, 90% of the Israeli population was vaccinated. Perhaps they don't want to take a chance that the ship will be blown up?

Currently about 85% of eligible residents in Israel are vaccinated, and that's about 60% of the total residents. 30% of our population is children under 16.

Haifa Port is a couple hours' drive from the main conflict. It's out of range of most rockets. 

Also, it's very possible everything will quiet down in the next few weeks, whereas the Odyssey is booked out of Haifa through end of October. It's been selling well. 

If there are any issues, it will almost certainly be related to vaccinations. Likely they're swapping out unvaccinated crew for those who have been vaccinated, and vaccinating those who need it. I'd expect them to be back for the 2-4 June cruise—which I'm scheduled on, haven't received any notifications of cancellations, and was told earlier today by a RC rep that the cruise is still planned.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, SpeedNoodles said:

According to the article, the cancelation was announced to crew over the PA system, and is due to the conflict, although I guess at this point it's still considered hearsay.

 

http://crew-center.com/odyssey-seas-israel-season-cancelled?fbclid=IwAR1VjruU1f-hU0BoaNeQj__z9hFWJ-LTt5S8uqs4wLNZdH5yjsIRoBpwao4

Oh boy, oh boy!!!

“Odyssey will go to Port Canaveral very soon and all crew that doesn’t have U.S. visa will transfer to anthem o/s” the crew member said.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, SpeedNoodles said:

According to the article, the cancelation was announced to crew over the PA system, and is due to the conflict, although I guess at this point it's still considered hearsay.

 

http://crew-center.com/odyssey-seas-israel-season-cancelled?fbclid=IwAR1VjruU1f-hU0BoaNeQj__z9hFWJ-LTt5S8uqs4wLNZdH5yjsIRoBpwao4

Maybe the excuse is the conflict but I'll put my money on the vaccine issue. Since the ship was anyway scheduled to be in Cyprus this time for at least two weeks I do not see any reason for RC to run and cancel anything and give away revenue that they desperately need. They would wait for a week or so to see how things going. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Royal is still booking cruises from Haifa right now.

Maybe they are transferring crew who have a valid US visa so they can be transferred again to Symphony for when Symphony returns from dry dock in Cadiz.  Transfer them from Odyssey to Anthem then transfer them again Anthem to Symphony when Symphony is ready to come back.

Crew rumors sometimes are based in fact but the details gets changed along the way until they only have a smidgen of fact left.  

It would make sense with a US restart becoming closer and closer they'll want all crew with valid US visas to get moved to US based ships.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Phoenix said:

Little confusion. I think you meant to say that approximately 60% of Israel's population is vaccinated.

It's the same thing. 60% of the total residents, i.e. Israel's population, is vaccinated. That's 85% of who is eligible for vaccination (the rest, 30% of the population, is under 16 years old).

Eligible residents: Anyone age 16+

Total residents: All ages, children and adults

This is relevant for calculating possible herd immunity, among other things.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

28 minutes ago, Traveler said:

Maybe the excuse is the conflict but I'll put my money von the vaccine issue.

Agreed 100%.

It's been a known issue over the last few weeks that the crew isn't vaccinated and Royal Caribbean is trying to find a way to get crew vaxxed.

The Palestinian attacks are getting a lot of attention, but Haifa and the cruise routes to Greece are well out of the way of them.  Not to mention the realities of Israeli life that deals with these sort of attacks on an all too regular basis.

We will have to wait and see what gets announced.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

two rumors going around Israel.first that crew are not vaccinated and will they be.

Second more disturbing,that Rc has cancelled and are leaving for Florida due to security situation (which will long be over by June)

Is there official statements ??

IMG-20210515-WA0024.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/cruises/2021/05/15/israel-conflict-royal-caribbean-cancels-odyssey-haifa-sailings/5108878001/

 

"Due to the unrest in Israel and the region, Odyssey has not been able to complete the preparations required to operate from Haifa as planned," the cruise line said in a release provided by spokesperson Lyan Sierra-Caro.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

44 minutes ago, Phoenix said:

Last time I checked, 85% + 30%= 115%   ?????????

These are different factors. The 85% is referring to the eligible population. The 30% refers to the total population.

85% of people able to get the vaccine in Israel (people age 16 and older) have done so. 

However, this 85% of the eligible only amounts to 60% of the total population. 10% are eligible but haven't gotten it and 30% are children under age 16, therefore ineligible.

In other words: The population of Israel is just over 9 million people and of that, about 6.3 million are eligible. 70% of the total population is eligible, but only 60% of the total population have opted to be vaccinated. Another 30% are children under age 16, and therefore currently are ineligible. 10% have opted out thus far, despite being eligible. 60+30+10=100.

Of the 6.3 million eligible, about 5.35 million have gotten the vaccine. 85%.

Of the 6.3 million eligible, nearly a million have not gotten the vaccine. 15%. 85+15=100.

Make sense? 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 minutes ago, SuzanneM said:

These are different factors. The 85% is referring to the eligible population. The 30% refers to the total population.

85% of people able to get the vaccine in Israel (people age 16 and older) have done so. 

However, this 85% of the eligible only amounts to 60% of the total population. 10% are eligible but haven't gotten it and 30% are children under age 16, therefore ineligible.

In other words: The population of Israel is just over 9 million people and of that, about 6.3 million are eligible. 70% of the total population is eligible, but only 60% of the total population have opted to be vaccinated. Another 30% are children under age 16, and therefore currently are ineligible. 10% have opted out thus far.

Of the 6.3 million eligible, about 5.35 million have gotten the vaccine. 85%.

Make sense? 

Makes sense now.Thank you. ?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 5/14/2021 at 11:18 AM, johnt83 said:

It's news and a rumor, and I am sure more will come as the day progresses. I am not surprised given all that's going on there.... I was a bit surprised that Royal even put a ship out of Israel given the history of violence in and around that country... unfortunate what's going on there now... 

Most of the time it’s totally safe. I have visited Israel myself multiple times with no issues. Obviously right now is not a good time but don’t think it’s like this all the time because it’s not! It’s been many years since the violence has been to this level. 

I feel bad for Royal Caribbean because they sure do need some revenue right now. Pandemics, wars. Geez. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 minutes ago, Oliver said:

Most of the time it’s totally safe. I have visited Israel myself multiple times with no issues. Obviously right now is not a good time but don’t think it’s like this all the time because it’s not! It’s been many years since the violence has been to this level. 

I feel bad for Royal Caribbean because they sure do need some revenue right now. Pandemics, wars. Geez. 

They could have got the revenue , the situation will not continue more than few days but RC were running to cancel it , makin guess it just an excuse.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

15 minutes ago, Traveler said:

They could have got the revenue , the situation will not continue more than few days but RC were running to cancel it , makin guess it just an excuse.  

If you think this is only going to last a few days, you haven’t been watching the news. Israel is considering a ground invasion 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 minutes ago, Oliver said:

If you think this is only going to last a few days, you haven’t been watching the news. Israel is considering a ground invasion 

Not I just watching the news , I am in the news ? , while getting the message for the cruise canceling I was going to   our sheltered room due to some rocket attack attempt (stayed there for a  minute) . But from my experience most likely it will last for few days to a week . If that was the issue than RC could wait few days in Cyprus to see what happens or even delay the beginning  of the cruise in a week or two . instead they decide to cancel the full session  , that looks very strange to me 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

16 minutes ago, Traveler said:

Not I just watching the news , I am in the news ? , while getting the message for the cruise canceling I was going to   our sheltered room due to some rocket attack attempt (stayed there for a  minute) . But from my experience most likely it will last for few days to a week . If that was the issue than RC could wait few days in Cyprus to see what happens or even delay the beginning  of the cruise in a week or two . instead they decide to cancel the full session  , that looks very strange to me 

Stay safe.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Disappointing on multiple levels .........

This seemed like a really good plan for RCL to premier a new ship. Reportedly, demand was strong.

Tea leaves point to RCL's inability to get all crew vaccinated - if I recall the Israeli Health Ministry required it. The violence is going to peter out. Reality replaces ideology when people have to get back to work, clean up the damage and be able to walk the streets not in fear of imminent death from the ideologues and provocateurs.... and the supply of Iranian rockets runs out.

That suggests that RCL/RCG places a high priority on getting all crew vaccinated as part of their moral and ethical obligation to provide a safe environment for employees ....... and passengers??? For what ever reasons, they couldn't obtain the vaccines they needed for crew members. This wasn't about violence in and around Haifa.

I think there's a pretty good chance that the small number of ships that will start from US ports in July will require passengers to be vaccinated unless the CSO is enjoined by Judge Merryday. The Operations and Plans Division within RCG has to be laser focused on the short term - the next 45-60d - to insure ships that will sail from US ports are completely prepared to do so in July. All resources may be directed toward this effort. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Missed all the action today as was venturing out with the fam...but good to see that Royal confirmed the news about Odyssey leaving Israel. Definitely unfortunate what's going on over there and I hope things get better...

The question now becomes when will Odyssey's real inaugural sailing from the US take place with paying passengers? I am booked with many others on this board for the 11/15 5-night sailing which was reduced from the previous 9-nighter. Let's see what happens next... while I'd love to be on the inaugural, I am not planning on cancelling the 11/15 sailing, would still love to go on this ship exactly 6 months from today!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 hours ago, Oliver said:

If you think this is only going to last a few days, you haven’t been watching the news. Israel is considering a ground invasion 

Israelis don't have to watch the news to understand what's going on. It's right here. And we remember what has happened multiple times in the past, including for ground invasions. They usually have a very specific objective, and then they're done. A few days, or a few weeks, and things will be quiet again.

The cancellation was almost certainly due to vaccination issues. RC expected to receive them on 7 May and didn't. This is the preparation they're probably referring to that they couldn't resolve. The conflict flared up in the last week.

So they tried the political approach with the vaccines and failed. Israel doesn't have a formal government right now (which is why we keep going back to the polls; I expect we'll have a fifth election in two years before long). Lots of red tape, lots of budgetary issues held off because you need a formal cabinet to create a new budget, approve spending plans (for vaccines!), etc. 

The Ministry of Health is being very strict about who receives vaccines that is not a resident. Currently it's Palestinians, undocumented foreign workers, and refugees. No one else can get one without purchasing minimum three months of tourist insurance from the Israeli national insurance, because it's meant for people staying here long-term, not people coming for a trip to get a vaccine. That's probably where RC hit a snag. The Ministry of Health obviously wouldn't make an exception, same as they don't for any non-Israeli without long-term tourist insurance.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...