Regaining public confidence

[IDB37]

After the awful events of the last few months, a myriad of things will need  massive improvement if public confidence is to be regained by all Cruise lines, including Cunard.

 

Just one matter which springs to mind, is that henceforth,  surely absolutely no-one should be permitted to enter the Kings Court, or any of the Dining rooms, without hands being washed. I don't think I could restrain myself in the event of watching someone decline to do so.

 

I even wonder whether the concept of  'buffet' style eating is sustainable moving forward.

 

Thoughts ? 

[Germancruiser]

I agree- even though I seldom see anyone who does not use the hand sanatizers at the dinning room entrance. Buffet Style eating should change- yes!

I very much dout that cruise lines will get completley rid of buffet style dining.

All cruise lines- including the booze and party lines should stop self serving - AT ONCE- HAL does not permit self serving- should not be a problem for the other cruise lines follow suit!

What also should stop is to sell  7 day cruises for less then 400 Dollars! Paying  58 Dollar per day including all meals and then expect 5 Star Room Service.... and bicker and complain about stuff. You get what you pay for!

 

Edited March 30, 2020 by Germancruiser

[resistk]

16 minutes ago, Germancruiser said:

HAL does not permit self serving- should not be a problem for the other cruise lines follow suit!

 

I was on one of their newest last year, the Nieuw Statendam on two occassions, while some of the buffet items are indeed served up or made to order, much of it is still a grabfest under crowded conditions at peek times. If COVID remains an issue; even HAL style buffet would do little good.

[resistk]

23 minutes ago, Germancruiser said:

What also should stop is to sell  7 day cruises for less then 400 Dollars! Paying  58 Dollar per day including all meals and then expect 5 Star Room Service.... and bicker and complain about stuff. You get what you pay for!

 

 

It is all going to change.  MSC style dining where they shoehorn people into the dining rooms is bad too. The best scenario for the cruise lines is that COVID is tamed because frankly aside from a super yacht, it would be impossible to avoid passing the virus on any ship from 60 to 6000 passenger over a week.  And what about crew down below even if there was enough distance in the dining rooms, the crew is serving you.

Edited March 30, 2020 by resistk

[Germancruiser]

I sailed on board Nieuw Statendem in Juli- did not see such happenings- maybe I did not dine at peak times- well at least HAL has something to refine and not install something new.

[Germancruiser]

.... not only MSC- Costa- Carnival- RCCL- I am not sure of the later. I avoid those big ships anyway- I don´t need a floading amusement park, also I don´t need constant entertainment!

[Photo Andy]

Thank you IBD37 as I was thinking of starting this cruise thread but you beat me too it.   

Cruising  must change, the terrible public relations of passengers dying whilst self quarantining on board and ports refusing entry to cruise ships makes travellers / tourists think maybe cruising is a bad idea, fly somewhere or a road trip in your own country.  

Few observations from cruising on Cunard,  some people  just do not wash hands post toilet, pulled a guy up about this and even then did not wash his hands for 20secs though he was complaining of diarrhoea you get the idea!

Buffets are not the problem people are, when you see a female not able to shake rice from a serving spoon so clears it with her right index finger (QM2 TA back to back July 2018), I asked the server to remove the rice platter and spoon explaining why, or the little old lady on Canaries cruise (QV Nov 2019) who was testing the bread rolls with her hands, I asked the server to remove all rolls as not sure how many she had tested before I saw her. QM2 TA and Canada (Oct 2019) saw an old man  place his hand in the crouton jar for a handful of croutons for his soup, asked server to remove and wash the jar,  she agreed. What you do in your home is your business but on a cruise ship along with +1k passengers any lack of hygiene practices are not acceptable.

I do not use the alcohol sanitiser as it irritates my skin I prefer to go to a toilet, thoroughly wash my hands with soap for 20secs all hand surfaces and dry with a paper towel, then use that paper towel to open the door unless it is wedged open (hopefully) and proceed into the Lido / Kings Court buffet.

Some people will now not cruise seeing the deaths and bad publicity preferring flying somewhere or a staycation,  for cruising to attract new cruisers and returners it must be seen to act and raise hygiene standards among passengers and those passengers that can not live by the new hygiene rules then maybe do not cruise. People over 70 yrs may not obtain travel insurance so that would remove then from the cruise market so the enhanced hygiene may attract younger passengers new to cruising or if not cruising may just wither away and that would be a great loss to those of us who love cruising and exploring this World we are on.

Best wishes to all in these difficult times. 

     

[lissie]

I wonder if covida-19 will become like yellow fever.  With yellow fever you need to show a vaccination certificate if you've been to an affected country within a certain time period. I can see it getting to the point that you'll have to prove either a vaccination or immunity to covida before you'll be allowed to board. That would the simple solution as far as the cruise lines are concerned. 

[carlmm]

Cunard did a good job during the last days of the Queen Victoria. Stewards with hand cleaner were posted directly at the stairs and elevators of the Lido deck. One could not even get close to the buffet. 

Edited March 30, 2020 by carlmm

[IDB37]

Thanks for the contributions above. All valid points, which Cunard, along with the rest of the industry is going to somehow have to address.

 

The cross contamination issue is going to be a tough one to crack. The incident described below shows how even medical professionals and health workers are not immune from infection arising from using a self serve buffet:

 

https://nationalpost.com/news/how-an-edmonton-curling-tournament-became-a-hotspot-for-the-covid-19-outbreak-in-canada

 

You have to wonder whether the only way forward will be for all food to be served, with no exceptions made.

[Solent Richard]

On 3/30/2020 at 11:53 AM, Photo Andy said:

Thank you IBD37 as I was thinking of starting this cruise thread but you beat me too it.   

Cruising  must change, the terrible public relations of passengers dying whilst self quarantining on board and ports refusing entry to cruise ships makes travellers / tourists think maybe cruising is a bad idea, fly somewhere or a road trip in your own country.  

Few observations from cruising on Cunard,  some people  just do not wash hands post toilet, pulled a guy up about this and even then did not wash his hands for 20secs though he was complaining of diarrhoea you get the idea!

Buffets are not the problem people are, when you see a female not able to shake rice from a serving spoon so clears it with her right index finger (QM2 TA back to back July 2018), I asked the server to remove the rice platter and spoon explaining why, or the little old lady on Canaries cruise (QV Nov 2019) who was testing the bread rolls with her hands, I asked the server to remove all rolls as not sure how many she had tested before I saw her. QM2 TA and Canada (Oct 2019) saw an old man  place his hand in the crouton jar for a handful of croutons for his soup, asked server to remove and wash the jar,  she agreed. What you do in your home is your business but on a cruise ship along with +1k passengers any lack of hygiene practices are not acceptable.

I do not use the alcohol sanitiser as it irritates my skin I prefer to go to a toilet, thoroughly wash my hands with soap for 20secs all hand surfaces and dry with a paper towel, then use that paper towel to open the door unless it is wedged open (hopefully) and proceed into the Lido / Kings Court buffet.

Some people will now not cruise seeing the deaths and bad publicity preferring flying somewhere or a staycation,  for cruising to attract new cruisers and returners it must be seen to act and raise hygiene standards among passengers and those passengers that can not live by the new hygiene rules then maybe do not cruise. People over 70 yrs may not obtain travel insurance so that would remove then from the cruise market so the enhanced hygiene may attract younger passengers new to cruising or if not cruising may just wither away and that would be a great loss to those of us who love cruising and exploring this World we are on.

Best wishes to all in these difficult times. 

     

 

I really like that post, particularly the line....'Buffets are not the problem people are'....

 

Personally I avoid 'buffets like the plague' with just one exception, Hapag-Lloyd's Europa 2 -  which was actually only masquerading as a buffet.

 

Indeed, this time last year I was a trifle horrified when, on Queen Victoria, even the Grills had to use The Lido on two occasions if one wanted to get ashore early. 

[tv24]

The best reasons for avoiding Kings Chaos:  The food and the experience are just not good.

[Covepointcruiser]

Never an excuse to use Kong’s Court even with an early shore excursion.  We simply have a room service breakfast if we need to go ashore early.   Especially in a Grill room you have a nice menu to choose from.

[exlondoner]

16 hours ago, Covepointcruiser said:

Never an excuse to use Kong’s Court even with an early shore excursion.  We simply have a room service breakfast if we need to go ashore early.   Especially in a Grill room you have a nice menu to choose from.

 

Sometimes this is strongly discouraged, because they would be so busy, and sometimes trips leave so early that room service breakfast hasn't started. It certainly was the case when we were in St. Petersburg. 

[hypercafe]

I am one of those over 70 people. At this point I don't think I would ever get on a cruise ship again. New York state is a beautiful place and I expect I'll vacation in it going forward. This is hard for me to say as we have spent many weeks at sea but it's hard to disregard what's going on.

[exlondoner]

16 hours ago, Covepointcruiser said:

Never an excuse to use Kong’s Court even with an early shore excursion.  We simply have a room service breakfast if we need to go ashore early.   Especially in a Grill room you have a nice menu to choose from.

 

Sometimes this is strongly discouraged, because they would be so busy, and sometimes trips leave so early that room service breakfast hasn't started. It certainly was the case when we were in St. Petersburg. 

[Trevor33]

On 3/30/2020 at 3:38 AM, IDB37 said:

After the awful events of the last few months, a myriad of things will need  massive improvement if public confidence is to be regained by all Cruise lines, including Cunard.

 

Just one matter which springs to mind, is that henceforth,  surely absolutely no-one should be permitted to enter the Kings Court, or any of the Dining rooms, without hands being washed. I don't think I could restrain myself in the event of watching someone decline to do so.

 

I even wonder whether the concept of  'buffet' style eating is sustainable moving forward.

 

Thoughts ? 

I agree with your comments. We are aware that Norovirus too regularly spreads through a cruise ship mainly due to perhaps unknowingly having the virus and not using the hand sanitisers, hand washing etc. How many times we have seen people visiting the on board buffets and just walking past the sanitiser stations. I went on a Holland America ship on the cruise after a norovirus outbreak and all food was being served by staff. Whilst this is not the intention of a buffet it is perhaps something that should be introduced for at least the first few days of every cruise if only to remind those choosing not to sanitise for the benefit of all. Sadly with the Coronavirus cruise ships have suffered both through the close proximity of people but also as is now being discussed it is being transferred from cabin to cabin via the air conditioning systems that on many ships cannot be turned off in the cabins. 

[picsa]

With the direction Carnival Corps share price is heading this is probably an academic discussion if all that is left at the end is a brand name and some assets to sell off.

[alc13]

I'm thinking the ways they can regain trust will all cost money.  Better sanitation and food handling measures cant be managed by simply retraining staff.  So while cruising may not be over, the days of rock bottom prices may be gone.  Add to that the lack of interest in cruising among younger people because of lax or even irresponsible environmental practices, and there are even more costly upgrades likely if cruising is to survive in the long term. 

 

In general, actually, I think the world will look different when the pandemic is finally over.

 

 

[alc13]

Here is a more positive take - when a vaccine becomes available, and everyone is vaccinated, people will feel safe cruising again.  So in another year or so.

[Trevor33]

The cruise industry will take an unknown period of time to recover fully. Many people that have cruised before may not be rushing to book a cruise when the World gets back to more normality as we all hope. Carnival Group consisting of 9 cruise lines has I understand borrowed a vast amount of money in the past months to support the whole group of cruise companies in its portfolio. Things may be difficult with Cunard shortly bringing a 4th Queen to the market place with several thousand more cabins to fill. Sadly for a while the cruise market may downsize in bookings when the industry has been expanding with many of the other cruise companies also bringing new ships to the market place every year. I hope the cruise lines survive and thrive again and particularly Carnival as they have such a large market share. Carnival's Costa Concordia understandably caused ripples through the industry as sadly has Carnival's Princess Cruise Line but lets hope somehow things improve. I hope Carnival are more flexible in there offer to existing customers that have booked as it is important in these times to look after and retain as many regular cruisers as possible. The offer of 125% Future Cruise credits is a good step but have been told by Carnival/Cunard Southampton today that whilst we can choose to move our booking to another cruise we will still have to spend at least the same amount or more than our original booking.

[Guest SilverHengroen]

2 hours ago, alc13 said:

Here is a more positive take - when a vaccine becomes available, and everyone is vaccinated, people will feel safe cruising again.  So in another year or so.

I largely agree with this, with the caveat that it's going to very much depend on how this situation ends, and how long the industry takes to start back up. There's not likely to be a vaccination programme for another ~12-18 months yet, and cruising is a high risk industry with an active global pathogen for multiple reasons. I wouldn't be surprised if sailings were still largely on hold by the end of the year. Essential overseas travel might have started back up, but leisure cruises? With that in mind, an active vaccination programme along with the worst of things having been over (hopefully) for months, might be enough to give people the confidence to begin cruising again. For the most part, those who love it will keep doing it whatever, I'm sure. 

[Covepointcruiser]

While in a Grill cabin, we have never, ever been discouraged from ordering room service breakfast!    Certainly have never been told they were too busy.   The hope this is not something new as we had no problems last fall.

[Lakesregion]

The key here and throughout society in general is not when will the virus be done with but how long will it take for Trust to return. Even if the virus is not pandemic will you still feel comfortable dealing with strangers and how long will it take for the fear that has arisen with this virus to subside. Me thinks it will take months if not a full year after the lock downs are lifted before the majority will feel relaxed in their day to day dealings. That is the real issue.

[tv24]

19 hours ago, exlondoner said:

 

Sometimes this is strongly discouraged, because they would be so busy, and sometimes trips leave so early that room service breakfast hasn't started. It certainly was the case when we were in St. Petersburg. 

I understand this, and for us, we end up in Kings Chaos on disembarkation days and it is always a horrible experience.  Total chaos, nowhere pleasant to sit, no one to help with beverages, tacky buffet displays of mediocre food products, just a crummy mass-market cruise experience like the rock bottom price point cruise ships.   Nothing close to anything luxury, and not anywhere I really want to be.  But I was hungry and in desperate need of caffeine.  So nose down and deal with it.  Depressing.