SS Future Re-Open Plan: Timing, Testing Needs??!!

[TrulyBlonde]

1 hour ago, Catlover54 said:

 

Yesterday the talk was about "nu" variant but that did not last, now we've got a more ominous sounding "omicron" (details and stats, in particular hospitalizations and death stats with patient specific details, still pending).  What next, "Andromeda strain" ?? 😟

They skipped XI and went straight to omicron. Wonder why 😉 

[jpalbny]

9 hours ago, TrulyBlonde said:

They skipped XI and went straight to omicron. Wonder why 😉 

 

Wouldn't that have been interesting! 🤣

[jollyjones]

 

My guess is that there are lots of variants and some of them get named with letters from the Greek alphabet but we only hear about 'variants of concern'.

[jpalbny]

Jolly, the Chinese president's name is Xi.

 

I think @TrulyBlonde was being very clever with her comment. It certainly gave Chris and me a good laugh this morning while we were in the queue for our covid swab! 

 

(PS both negative) 

Edited November 27, 2021 by jpalbny

[TLCOhio]

1 hour ago, jpalbny said:

Jolly, the Chinese president's name is Xi.

 

YES, agree with J.P. that we know why.  The head of the World Health Organization owes lots to China and did not want to offend the "boss" there.  So the name Xi gets skipped.  China is a little "sensitive" about Covid and where/how it started there.  

 

Good luck to J.P. and Chris in completing their cruise and returning home safely.  It's definitely challenging out there in the travel world.  Lots of uncertainty and questions.  

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio

 

Summer 2019 Calgary, Jasper/Banff National Parks, Western Canada Rocky Mountaineer rail adventure, Vancouver, sailing up to Alaska on Silver Muse, post-cruise excursion to Denali, etc.  Many visuals and details from our first in these scenic areas!  Live/blog: 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2682584-live-terryohio-silver-muse-alaska-canadarockies-pix’s/

[TrulyBlonde]

At least JP and Chris understood my Blonde sense of humor. I even capitalized XI (Xi) to see if anybody would figure it out. HA!

[jollyjones]

5 hours ago, jpalbny said:

Jolly, the Chinese president's name is Xi.

 

I think @TrulyBlonde was being very clever with her comment. It certainly gave Chris and me a good laugh this morning while we were in the queue for our covid swab! 

 

(PS both negative) 

I was actually thinking of the Greek letter Chi - X - but it’s been so long since my Ancient Greek studies that I had forgotten that Chi is nearly at the end of the alphabet so that didn’t make any sense. 
Best not to post before morning coffee. 
 

[TrulyBlonde]

12 minutes ago, jollyjones said:

I was actually thinking of the Greek letter Chi - X - but it’s been so long since my Ancient Greek studies that I had forgotten that Chi is nearly at the end of the alphabet so that didn’t make any sense. 
Best not to post before morning coffee. 
 

Or after wine 😉. at least in my case.

[Stumblefoot]

2 hours ago, jollyjones said:

I was actually thinking of the Greek letter Chi - X - but it’s been so long since my Ancient Greek studies that I had forgotten that Chi is nearly at the end of the alphabet so that didn’t make any sense.

Don’t worry, Jolly.  I pronounced it as Eleven. 😆

[TrulyBlonde]

RE: Xi

“Oh NOW you care about avoiding offense?” -Delta Airlines

[cruiseej]

For anyone who is curious... the WHO skipped both Nu and Xi, the 13th and 14th letters of the Greek alphabet. It's the spelling of the letters, apparently, that caused the skips.

 

The letter Nu is properly pronounced "nee", which could lead to confusion as people read it spelled one way but hear it spoken another, and as many people mispronounced it "nu".  A WHO spokesperson said it also sounds too similar to the word “new” and could be confusing.

 

As for Xi, it is considered too much of a common name (e.g. Xi Jinping). “WHO best practices for naming diseases suggest avoiding ‘causing offense to any cultural, social, national, regional, professional or ethnic groups,'” the WHO spokesperson said.

 

Meanwhile, there have been eight other named variants between Delta and Omicron. Epsilon, Zeta, Eta, Theta, Iota, Kappa, Lambda and Mu; none of them have proven to eclipse Delta in severity or transmissibility, and none has proven resistant to the existing vaccines. Omicron has jumped dup as a major concern because it has a large number of mutations to the spike protein, which is central to the way the vaccines work. It will be another week or two until scientists can assess how well the current vaccines work with this variant. 

[TLCOhio]

On 11/27/2021 at 3:58 PM, Stumblefoot said:

Don’t worry, Jolly.  I pronounced it as Eleven. 😆

 

Appreciate ALL these great, varied and interesting comments and follow-ups.  My opinion/guess is still that the WHO leader did not want to offend the "BOSS" in China.  Informative background by our Ph9iladelphia suburban neighbor about the Greek alphabet.  Cute comment above from Stumblefoot!! 

 

From the New York Times this morning, they had this headline: “W.H.O. Warns of ‘Very High’ Risk From Omicron as Questions Remain” with this sub-headline: "Scotland and Portugal identified cases of the new variant, and Japan became the latest country to ban all foreign travelers."

 

Here are more of their story highlights: “The World Health Organization warned on Monday that global risks posed by the new Omicron variant of the coronavirus were 'very high,' despite significant questions about the variant itself. Still, countries around the world rushed to defend against its spread, with a cascade of border closures and travel restrictions that recalled the earliest days of the pandemic.  Scotland and Portugal identified new cases of the highly mutated variant, and Japan joined Israel and Morocco in banning all foreign visitors, even as scientists cautioned that the extent of the threat posed by Omicron remained unknown — and as the patchwork of travel measures were so far proving unable to stop its spread.  Many of the restrictions aimed at corralling Omicron, which was first identified last week by researchers in South Africa, were aimed at travelers from southern Africa, drawing accusations that Western countries were discriminating against a region that has already been set back by vaccine shortages caused by rich nations hoarding doses.”

 

Are countries rushing too fast to shut-down travel from these parts of southern Africa?  Or, acting quickly and smartly?? 

 

Will be tuning in at 3 pm today to hear what Silversea's head of marketing "spins" for cruising bookings and traveling during this evolving and challenged situation.  

 

Full story at:

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/11/29/world/omicron-variant-covid

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio

 

Barcelona/Med: June 2011, with stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Great visuals with key highlights, tips, etc. Live/blog now at 254,080 views.

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474

[silkismom]

Terry, I will be anxious to hear what they say about the Japan cruises starting in Mar.

[TrulyBlonde]

Terry,

Your guess/opinion is similar to mine. 😉

At present time I have a least earned back a very expensive cruise from the Black Friday Dow special. Hope to earn back the 2nd one when all settles.

[Lois R]

The session gets a 1 out of 10 from me👎..........maybe a 2.  I thought there were going to be questions and answers😲

The only new stuff was about the Dawn.........but this was just the same as in the past.........she talked about the cruise line...........why did I think they were going to take questions?

[TLCOhio]

Just now, Lois R said:

The session gets a 1 out of 10 from me👎..........maybe a 2.  I thought there were going to be questions and answers😲

The only new stuff was about the Dawn.........but this was just the same as in the past.........she talked about the cruise line...........why did I think they were going to take questions?

 

Great, honest above summary by Lois.  The good news?  It shorter than planned and only wasted 24 minutes in place of the promised 30 minutes.  

 

My summary to them at the conclusion was: "False Adversiting!!  It was just puff, happy talk, saccharine-sweet sales pitching.  Where were the real Q&A as promised?  Too phony and plastic.  You are insulting the Cruise Critic audience in thinking they are stupid to waste their time on a canned sales talk.  No substance and/or real two-way communications!"

 

Good news?:  There was some nice video of the Silver Origin in the Galapagos Islands.  Ship's top level looked great.  

 

The questions sounded like they were written by a high school intern.  Given ALL that is happening now with Covid, etc., the intelligent audience of Cruise Critic merits much better treatment.  Barbara, as COO, said twice that Cruise Critic is so great, but then she does not understand how to treat its customers with respect and serious content.  

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio

 

Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle cruise from Copenhagen, July 2010, to the top of Europe. Scenic visuals with key tips. Live/blog at 243,108 views.

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1227923

[Daveywavey70]

6 minutes ago, TLCOhio said:

 

Great, honest above summary by Lois.  The good news?  It shorter than planned and only wasted 24 minutes in place of the promised 30 minutes.  

 

My summary to them at the conclusion was: "False Adversiting!!  It was just puff, happy talk, saccharine-sweet sales pitching.  Where were the real Q&A as promised?  Too phony and plastic.  You are insulting the Cruise Critic audience in thinking they are stupid to waste their time on a canned sales talk.  No substance and/or real two-way communications!"

 

Good news?:  There was some nice video of the Silver Origin in the Galapagos Islands.  Ship's top level looked great.  

 

The questions sounded like they were written by a high school intern.  Given ALL that is happening now with Covid, etc., the intelligent audience of Cruise Critic merits much better treatment.  Barbara, as COO, said twice that Cruise Critic is so great, but then she does not understand how to treat its customers with respect and serious content.  

 

THANKS!  Enjoy!  Terry in Ohio

 

Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle cruise from Copenhagen, July 2010, to the top of Europe. Scenic visuals with key tips. Live/blog at 243,108 views.

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1227923

Well said Terry 

[cruiseej]

5 minutes ago, TLCOhio said:

There was some nice video of the Silver Origin in the Galapagos Islands.

 

Even that was the same video they released prior to the Origin's first cruise, I believe!

 

This little marketing effort would be suited for people considering Silversea for there first time, or for the first time in many years. It allowed her to define what Silversea sees as its distinguishing offerings versus the rest of the luxury cruise market. It should have been promoted everywhere on Cruise Critic except the Silversea forum, as this was a waste of time for anyone who has cruised or even investigated Silversea in recent years. 

 

I wasn't expecting anything substantial, especially since it was to have a duration of just 30 minutes.

 

For some of the questions above: there was ZERO mention of Covid -- protocols, impacts on cruising, their successful restart vs. canceled cruises -- nothing. Nothing about specific itineraries or which parts of the world may or may not be accessible in 2022 and beyond. It was very general about where Silversea travels, their three newest ships, S.A.L.T. and Optium. That's it.

[CruiserFromMaine]

Well, I missed it but I guess saved 24 minutes for time elsewhere. I like SS and Muckerman usually does a good job but this sounds botched. Terry’s comments are right on. 

[CruiserFromMaine]

Omicron thoughts. 
 

I believe this is being over-hyped in most media. There are lots of doom and gloom articles but then they say it’s too soon to really know…so say *that* instead! There are no reports I’ve seen that Omicron is more serious despite its apparent high transmission rate. Let’s see what the scientists have to say rather than politicians and whoever reporters find to sound ominous. 

[rkacruiser]

1 hour ago, TLCOhio said:

The questions sounded like they were written by a high school intern.  Given ALL that is happening now with Covid, etc., the intelligent audience of Cruise Critic merits much better treatment.  Barbara, as COO, said twice that Cruise Critic is so great, but then she does not understand how to treat its customers with respect and serious content.  

 

I never tune in to these kinds of presentations.  Fluff; PR stuff; happy talk; nothing more.  The quarterly presentations by the cruise company's  Executives with the analysts that follow the companies are much more insightful and interesting.  

[dawntrdr]

Wasn't there supposed to be a special promotion for those who attended?  Did I miss that?

[Lois R]

4 minutes ago, dawntrdr said:

Wasn't there supposed to be a special promotion for those who attended?  Did I miss that?

You did not miss anything.  They did not have anything special. 

[Catlover54]

1 hour ago, cruiseej said:

 

Even that was the same video they released prior to the Origin's first cruise, I believe!

 

This little marketing effort would be suited for people considering Silversea for there first time, or for the first time in many years. It allowed her to define what Silversea sees as its distinguishing offerings versus the rest of the luxury cruise market. It should have been promoted everywhere on Cruise Critic except the Silversea forum, as this was a waste of time for anyone who has cruised or even investigated Silversea in recent years. 

 

I wasn't expecting anything substantial, especially since it was to have a duration of just 30 minutes.

 

For some of the questions above: there was ZERO mention of Covid -- protocols, impacts on cruising, their successful restart vs. canceled cruises -- nothing. Nothing about specific itineraries or which parts of the world may or may not be accessible in 2022 and beyond. It was very general about where Silversea travels, their three newest ships, S.A.L.T. and Optium. That's it.

 

So I take it there was not a word about the next December Moon cruise ending not in Lima (which is what people booked and bought airfare for), but in Guayquil, because SS thought Lima would open to cruisers but it hasn't happened yet in time for the cruise?

There is a separate thread on Peru being closed to cruisers and all the reroutes people are doing for that cruise (some people having to fly back coach), and the uncertainty about the next one still listed as headed for Lima according the website , Jan 3-Jan 19, FLL-Lima.

 

Cruise lines must have information that sugarcoating and ignoring problems is better for business than being honest with customers.  SS is not alone in this.

[Stumblefoot]

46 minutes ago, dawntrdr said:

Wasn't there supposed to be a special promotion for those who attended?  Did I miss that?

 

42 minutes ago, Lois R said:

You did not miss anything.  They did not have anything special. 

Oh my, that's awful.  So, they literally lied about the promotion in the marketing of the event?  If so, that is really, really bad form and they should be ashamed.

Edited November 29, 2021 by Stumblefoot