What will crew do

[markf]

How will the cruise line handle the crew during this down time?
i hope they are taken care of. 
will they get paid and given a home etc. ?

[ColeThornton]

I would imagine any answers you got here would just be speculation at this point.

[Love my butler]

My guess is two options.  Stay on the ship with little or no pay but free room and board.  Or fly home and continue on with life until they are called back to work, whenever that might be.

[BirdTravels]

59 minutes ago, markf said:

How will the cruise line handle the crew during this down time?
i hope they are taken care of. 
will they get paid and given a home etc. ?

Like any business impacted by COVID-19, it’s called a lay off.
 

Mickey Mouse is not getting paid while Disneyland is closed. Neither is your room steward. 

[Ms BumbleBee]

21 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

Like any business impacted by COVID-19, it’s called a lay off.
 

Mickey Mouse is not getting paid while Disneyland is closed. Neither is your room steward. 

That is incorrect.  Disney is paying all cast members during the shutdown

[lambs2]

1 hour ago, BirdTravels said:

Like any business impacted by COVID-19, it’s called a lay off.
 

Mickey Mouse is not getting paid while Disneyland is closed. Neither is your room steward. 

I am at Disney World now and it was announced that the park workers will cintinue to get paid during their 2 week 'vacation'.

[tutuwahineLV]

Here's my 2 cents...and thoughts.  

I don't think they'll send the crew homeward,  too great a chance they won't be able to easily get back, depending on what this virus is doing in their home country in the ensuing month.  And, they'll need someone to do the deep cleaning that I'm sure they will be doing during this 30days....gives the crew something to do.  

And then the ships will be spic and span and sparkling when they start welcoming passengers back.  

[Comi.uy]

My speculation is that this one month is probably going to extend, NCL knows this. Crew will go home.

[hallux]

It may actually be difficult for the crew to get home, with the restrictions on flights to Europe and Asia.  The cruise lines may need to band together and charter some planes to get crew home if there aren't enough seats on commercial flights going to the right places.

[Love my butler]

59 minutes ago, hallux said:

It may actually be difficult for the crew to get home, with the restrictions on flights to Europe and Asia.  The cruise lines may need to band together and charter some planes to get crew home if there aren't enough seats on commercial flights going to the right places.

Lots of planes available.  Air travel is way down, as you would expect.

[HalfHand]

Mathematicians have this peaking around the end of May, then there will be a slow tip rounding out the curve, meaning the same number of infected everyday as opposed to more everyday. Then comes the long trek downward as herd immunity starts showing itself. After that there will be micro bursts created by the press going to interview people from areas that had no outbreak.

 

All this is assuming nothing to help treat it, right now there are a few promising drugs but they are at least 30 days out from being submitted to the FDA.

[sfaaa]

Self quarantine and stay in their cabins.

[Isabella Benjamin]

Royal Caribbean is allowing them to stay on board for 30 days.  

https://crew-center.com/royal-caribbean-suspends-us-cruises-30-days

[Beer Belly]

9 hours ago, tutuwahineLV said:

Here's my 2 cents...and thoughts.  

I don't think they'll send the crew homeward,  too great a chance they won't be able to easily get back, depending on what this virus is doing in their home country in the ensuing month.  And, they'll need someone to do the deep cleaning that I'm sure they will be doing during this 30days....gives the crew something to do.  

And then the ships will be spic and span and sparkling when they start welcoming passengers back.  

I would hope this is the answer^^^^. Add on the idea that the crew stay aboard cleaning, not mingle with the population at port (their own quarantine), and within 30 days, you'll know you have a healthy staff or not.

[chengkp75]

I don't believe they will send the crew home.  The payroll savings would be offset by the cost of airline tickets home and back when the ship starts up again.  Plus, with mass repatriation, you would need extra time to get things organized and started up again, so more cost.  They will remain onboard receiving normal pay, as required under international law, and those who are due to leave at the end of their contract will be free to leave (travel restrictions applying).  They will not refill those positions until nearer starting up again.

[roger001]

It's going to be a mess with all the ships sitting idle, no bookings coming in, refunds on the books to be issued...maybe.  And fixed costs continue.   Have no idea where it will all end.  Will they run out of cash in 30 days, 60 days, what are the reserve resources.  I'm afraid the crew will get stuck, no salary, no flight home eventually.  And as a previous post said, even the best outlook has this dragging out for at least several months before peaking.  There is no cure for the virus at the moment.  So the first vaccine that is eventually discovered, then has a long period of processing, manufacturing, distributing worldwide, to actually bring the disease to a halt.  Ain't good I'm afraid.  

[Love my butler]

7 hours ago, roger001 said:

It's going to be a mess with all the ships sitting idle, no bookings coming in, refunds on the books to be issued...maybe.  And fixed costs continue.   Have no idea where it will all end.  Will they run out of cash in 30 days, 60 days, what are the reserve resources.  I'm afraid the crew will get stuck, no salary, no flight home eventually.  And as a previous post said, even the best outlook has this dragging out for at least several months before peaking.  There is no cure for the virus at the moment.  So the first vaccine that is eventually discovered, then has a long period of processing, manufacturing, distributing worldwide, to actually bring the disease to a halt.  Ain't good I'm afraid.  

NCL already pawned the Epic for $675,000,000.  I foresee another ship or two taken to the Dollar Loan Center before this is over.

[NutsAboutGolf]

While I believe keeping them on the ship is the best option, what happens if and when a crew member tests positive for COVID 19?

 

  

20 hours ago, Ms BumbleBee said:

That is incorrect.  Disney is paying all cast members during the shutdown

 

They are paying cast members yet Disney does hire a fair amount of contractors who won't be paid.

[ColeThornton]

20 hours ago, lambs2 said:

I am at Disney World now and it was announced that the park workers will cintinue to get paid during their 2 week 'vacation'.

 

Good news.  Last thing we need is Cinderella and Snow White walking the streets to make rent money.

[sunbrookgal]

10 hours ago, Isabella Benjamin said:

Royal Caribbean is allowing them to stay on board for 30 days.  

https://crew-center.com/royal-caribbean-suspends-us-cruises-30-days

Thank You!  Hope they are paid as well. Looking at it strictly from a business sense. it may be cheaper to keep the crew on-board than to fly them home. The cost to do so may be prohibitive. Especially if they get the go-ahead to commence operations sooner. I love SOONER. Time to say Sooner!  🙂  

[CroozFanatic]

23 hours ago, markf said:

How will the cruise line handle the crew during this down time?
i hope they are taken care of. 
will they get paid and given a home etc. ?

 

Texted with someone on the Escape....they don't know yet.

[krittykat]

On 3/13/2020 at 5:15 PM, Love my butler said:

My guess is two options.  Stay on the ship with little or no pay but free room and board.  Or fly home and continue on with life until they are called back to work, whenever that might be.

 

Depending on where home is - for a lot of them, likely would not be able to come back.

[BoundForSea]

4 hours ago, Love my butler said:

NCL already pawned the Epic for $675,000,000.  I foresee another ship or two taken to the Dollar Loan Center before this is over.

Can you provide the info on the Epic being turned back to the financers, sold or liquidated? I must have missed that big piece. 

[ColeThornton]

6 minutes ago, BoundForSea said:

Can you provide the info on the Epic being turned back to the financers, sold or liquidated? I must have missed that big piece. 

 

Nothing like that.   The ship was used as collateral to get a huge loan.

[laughing husky]

I am on the Epic right now. We dock in San Juan in the morning. It will be the last cruise for 60 days. They have said that the ship will have a deep cleaning. Some of the crew will leave, most will stay on. The ship is completely full  i have a mini next to the medical clinic. There are no lines, there have been no ambulances at the ports, everyone is happy, the weather is great and self isolating with 6000 people in the middle of the Carribean can be a great thing. I havent heard anyone cough, everyone is washing hands. Its fine. It really is. :)