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Covid surge … Do you think RC will cancel upcoming cruises?


AAD

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  • AAD changed the title to Covid surge … Do you think RC will cancel upcoming cruises?

I hope they do not cancel any cruises. We have 9 trips planned next quarter and want to knock out Diamond status before two seven day B2Bs from Puerto Rico. All speculation at this point. It will come down to either a business decision or a Government mandate.

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The only way I could see Royal being forced to cancel cruises on their own would be if too many crew members become infected, or are quarantined due to contact tracing, and there are not enough to properly staff a cruise. 
That’s why I think the new masking rules are being announced. Precaution.
However, as a famous general once said…’Take not counsel of your fears’. In other words…it is what it is. Plan on cruising and having a great time. Hopefully this new thing…and whatever newer things come along…don’t become an impediment to safe and healthy cruising.

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8 hours ago, AAD said:

We are booked for 12/31 Eastern Caribbean out of Miami.  Any word or rumor of RC unilaterally cancelling sailings?   Trying to plan a backup vacation…. 😩  We are not afraid of this surge.  Just worried about a cancellation by RC altogether.  

I am probably on the same cruise as you on Symphony. I am not worried at all. The only way Royal would cancel is if the CDC forced them to cancel and I think they got it under control. All 48 people got off the ship and they did a huge deep clean of the ship on Saturday before the next cruise departed. That combined with the new mask policy I don't think they will have a problem.. There are going to be Covid cases on a cruise. Just like on land people have Covid but they have the proper protocols in place to deal with it. So no I am quite sure this cruise will be happening. 

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20 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

Protocols once again worked to allow over 99% of those on board to continue their cruise. End of news story.

 

Yes, the protocols worked, but I am not sure that Florida (state we'll be sailing from) as had the full Omicron surge.  I am keeping my fingers crossed for our February cruise.  I think those who are sailing now might have just timed things perfectly.

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Everything right now is just speculation. I would be surprised if there was another full cancellation to the scale like we saw a couple years ago, since now we are better equipped with an understanding of how the virus works to protect ourselves and for Royal Caribbean to make recommendations to provide a safe vacation. 

It is what it is for the moment - nothing we can do but wait to see what happens next. 

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This is all based on conjecture and is my own personal opinion. 

1) Baring some sort of an all out travel ban or mandate I do not think that RCL will cancel cruises. 

2) What I think what we will see are some protocol changes. Which we have already seen with the masking changes. I am also sure that internally they are monitoring the epidemiology of covid on board their ships (eg who is getting sick, how sick are they, where are they from, age, etc). I think that they may slow down the ramp up to increased capacity. 

My personal prediction, is that I fully expect there to be more cases on board RCL ships just like the Symphony OTS. I think that as long as cases are mild or asymptomatic, RCL will not try to change their protocols too drastically. However if they see a rise in severity or a huge influx of cases, I think they may take even stronger precautions. I expect that RCL will slow down their increase in capacity over this winter, and ramp up faster during the spring of 2022. I fully expect by summer of 2022 to be close to full capacity and definitely at fully capacity by the end of Summer 2022. 

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21 minutes ago, BrianAlt said:

However, I think cancelations of particular sailings is possible for consolidation purposes if the demand dips.

I don't necessarily foresee that happening, either. I think that Royal would be happy to keep sailing even at reduced capacity. 

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2 hours ago, ChessE4 said:

Yes, the protocols worked, but I am not sure that Florida (state we'll be sailing from) as had the full Omicron surge.  I am keeping my fingers crossed for our February cruise.  I think those who are sailing now might have just timed things perfectly.

But people come from all over the country for a cruise. We don't know the state of residence (or country) for patient zero.

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theres an article in the washington post about the symphony cases. https://www.washingtonpost.com/travel/2021/12/20/royal-caribbean-cruise-coronavirus-omicron/

this quote is particularly annoying:  Some of the ship’s passengers criticized the company’s handling of the outbreak, saying they had been given a false sense of security after the cruise was advertised as safe by officials who hailed their testing capabilities.

“They failed their own safety standards,” James Johnson, who stayed on the ship with family members, told the Miami Herald, as other passengers reported that they had received conflicting advice from overwhelmed staffers amid the outbreak about testing and whether they needed to quarantine.

we all know the deal when we book. Royal is doing as well as can be done. I guess some cruisers expect zero cases. 

 

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2 hours ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

SWAG...but I agree that wholesale cancellations will be only a result of government edicts...I see this as unlikely (hopefully).

I do think that they will push back (to whatever extent they can, at this point) full capacity sailings until the warmer weather.

Considering the courts (in FL) have ruled that the CDC really doesnt have a whole lot of authority over the cruise industry, any attempts to shut them down again would not end well for the CDC.

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1 hour ago, smokeybandit said:

Those are the same people that would complain that they didn't know they needed a pre-cruise test or vaccination to board.

And who frankly get their kicks out of their 15 seconds of fame by being named on a news site.  Seriously, we all know the risks when we choose to sail.  

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48 passengers test positive for COVID-19 on Royal Caribbean cruise ship

By Staff  Reuters
Posted December 20, 2021 9:17 am
 Updated December 20, 2021 9:20 am
48 passengers test positive for COVID-19 on Royal Caribbean cruise ship
By Staff  Reuters
 Royal Caribbean Group said on Monday 48 people on its Symphony of the Seas cruise ship tested positive for COVID-19, fueling concerns that the new Omicron variant of the coronavirus could put a damper on a recovery in the cruise industry. The cruise operator said it had 6,091 guests and crew members on board the ship, which ended a week-long cruise in Miami on Saturday after setting sail on Dec. 11.  The passengers who tested positive were asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic, Royal Caribbean said in a statement, adding that six guests were disembarked earlier in the cruise and transported home.  Symphony's future itineraries are not impacted, it added.
(This story corrects headline to say COVID-19, not Omicron variant)
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I'm booked for NYE cruise on Symphony of the Seas.  I don't believe they will cancel any cruises unless there's a massive outbreak on a ship, basically a case by case approach. The CDC will not unilaterelly shut the cruise industry down as long as cruise lines are doing all they can to keep people safe.

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18 minutes ago, amcooper said:

I'm booked for NYE cruise on Symphony of the Seas.  I don't believe they will cancel any cruises unless there's a massive outbreak on a ship, basically a case by case approach. The CDC will not unilaterelly shut the cruise industry down as long as cruise lines are doing all they can to keep people safe.

AmCooper- do you have kids you’re bringing?  😬

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I don't think there will be widespread cancellations, but perhaps there will be reduced capacity during the new variant.  Possibly by the cruise line but more likely from passengers postponing their trips.  Anyone else think passenger counts will decrease again over the next couple of months?

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17 minutes ago, Jill said:

It’s all over Facebook at the moment. 
 

Just like every other variant that’s come along, it comes, spikes and is gone within 8-12 weeks. Fall and Spring appear to be the safe periods to sail 

What's all over Facebook? The fact that there are no available cruises between now and Jan 15?

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44 minutes ago, SpeedNoodles said:

Interesting.  I hadn't even noticed that.

I just noticed it as well. I’d been tracking a cruise from Baltimore leaving 12/31 as a possible last minute deal, thinking the price could drop after the newer mask policy.  When I started tracking (before the policy change) it Was about $750 person for an inside GTY, yesterday or this morning it was $950 and just moments ago,  or on the site.  I’m thinking it hit capacity, since the price had increased before disappearing.

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15 minutes ago, Reigert2008 said:

I just noticed it as well. I’d been tracking a cruise from Baltimore leaving 12/31 as a possible last minute deal, thinking the price could drop after the newer mask policy.  When I started tracking (before the policy change) it Was about $750 person for an inside GTY, yesterday or this morning it was $950 and just moments ago,  or on the site.  I’m thinking it hit capacity, since the price had increased before disappearing.

I’m on the 1/9/22 Oasis cruise and like you, I have been checking  frequently for available suites as sailing nears. When I checked this afternoon it was the first time I noticed it was no longer on the website. I just figured (Hoping) it was an IT glitch or no longer appeared because they were limiting capacity. I’m not letting myself think it is anything more sinister than that!!! We’ve waited too long. 🚢 🤞 

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12 minutes ago, Kathleen said:

I’m on the 1/9/22 Oasis cruise and like you, I have been checking  frequently for available suites as sailing nears. When I checked this afternoon it was the first time I noticed it was no longer on the website. I just figured (Hoping) it was an IT glitch or no longer appeared because they were limiting capacity. I’m not letting myself think it is anything more sinister than that!!! We’ve waited too long. 🚢 🤞 

I’m still thinking it’s capacity, since these two cruise show up currently. I’d also think a lot of people would be commenting if they had cancelations.  I was watching Baltimore since it’s relatively drivable from home 🙂

 

 

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I have spent the last couple hours watching the drama. On one of my groups I belong to , a poster came in and claimed they were cancelling everything and that no bookings were available thriugh Jan 10. I did a mock book. A number of us called and the answer was that they are not accepting new bookings through then but there are NO CANCELLATIONS.... I verified on my own calls as well.  I did a mock book attempt and the two sailings shown above are indeed showing but not sure who  would go $2000 deep per person for a week on Freedom... So it appears a lot of miscommunication and jumpy nerves in play here... Something I saw  and still see as a little "different" is that they flooded one of my salings  people for a March sailing on Anthem with  Royal Up offers... I usually get them much closer to sailing time. 

 

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