Vision of the Seas sailing from Bermuda starting June 2021

[Cruise a holic]

Sounds very promising.  We will probably wait until January 2022 until we cruise.  We still have an august cruise booked out of NJ, but that is unlikely to happen.  Will review some all inclusives in cancun as backup

[Clancy14]

just another thought.....

 

I have stood in the line to reboard the ship (the Explorer, the Granduer, and the Celebrity Summit) in Bermuda, several times. Standing in the sun, it was long and hot, and there was only 100=200 of us, carrying only hand-held luggage.  I think the logistics of boarding 1500 luggage toting anxious passengers, needing Covid and Vaccination documentation, Set Sail passes, Passport checks, carry-on screenings, getting Sea Pass cards etc.. I don't see that dock area handling that in it's present physical setup. And all those Buses, Blue flagged cabs dropping travelers off, plus equipment loading supplies. Yikes!  And I love Bermuda! 

 

- Clancy

[mpdog42]

11 hours ago, MADflyer said:

Definitely. There are so many Domestic and International regular and charter flights to Cancun. 

Mexico is out, if it were in, they would have went the Mexico route first...Cozumel does not have the port/supply chain to handle a couple of ship out of there...

[toad455]

I'd assume they aren't sailing at full capacity. Maybe just 50/60%?

Edited March 24, 2021 by toad455

[Ourusualbeach]

4 minutes ago, toad455 said:

I'd assume they aren't sailing at full capacity. Maybe just 50/60%?

Celebrity stated 40-60% to start. 

[billslowsky]

1 hour ago, Clancy14 said:

just another thought.....

 

I have stood in the line to reboard the ship (the Explorer, the Granduer, and the Celebrity Summit) in Bermuda, several times. Standing in the sun, it was long and hot, and there was only 100=200 of us, carrying only hand-held luggage.  I think the logistics of boarding 1500 luggage toting anxious passengers, needing Covid and Vaccination documentation, Set Sail passes, Passport checks, carry-on screenings, getting Sea Pass cards etc.. I don't see that dock area handling that in it's present physical setup. And all those Buses, Blue flagged cabs dropping travelers off, plus equipment loading supplies. Yikes!  And I love Bermuda! 

 

- Clancy

 

You're exactly right about the lack of the facilities for loading and unloading all the luggage, never mind the ship supplies.  Food costs alone are extremely high for the residents, everything is shipped in.  And that little building at the end of the dock isn't going to help much. 

 

It'll be an extremely expensive trip on top of the airfare.  Yes, there are some $400 airfares out there, but it's not every seat.

[coaster]

My prediction that the older and smaller ships would be the first to start was correct. Most here seemed to disagree with me. I certainly won't go as it is not worth the airfare to me. I will be happy to wait until November and hopefully my Brilliance cruise from Tampa will sail.

Edited March 24, 2021 by coaster

[toad455]

Agreed. Still wondering if the Grandeur will sail out if Barbados this summer. Wonder what ship they could send to home port from Cozumel (Calica)?

[Baron Barracuda]

4 hours ago, billslowsky said:

 

You're exactly right about the lack of the facilities for loading and unloading all the luggage, never mind the ship supplies.  Food costs alone are extremely high for the residents, everything is shipped in.  And that little building at the end of the dock isn't going to help much. 

 

It'll be an extremely expensive trip on top of the airfare.  Yes, there are some $400 airfares out there, but it's not every seat.

Transporting all those passengers and their luggage from airport to RN dockyard along that little road will be a struggle.  They can shuttle passengers by ferry but doubt that works for luggage.  Perhaps they can ease turn-around by not re-provisioning in Bermuda.  Instead ship supplies to Coco Cay and re-load while everyone is on the beach.

[broberts]

6 hours ago, Mikew0805 said:

Where did I say they should "abandon a mandate to keep Americans safe?" Please do not put words in my mouth.

 

They have already provided guidance that fully vaccinate people can gather indoors without masks or distancing. How in the world would that not apply to cruises, if all are required to be vaccinated to board? 

 

So the only thing childish or selfish here is for one to not critically think before responding. Allowing ships to start sailing in June/July is not unreasonable, or unsafe considering the above.

 

I did not put words in your mouth. "While I am normally a supporter of the CDC, this is getting ridiculous. They need to let ships start sailing from the US. " Since the CDC obviously considers cruising unsafe at the moment would it not have to abandon its mandate to follow your wishes?

 

The CDC is still advising the fully vaccinated to avoid medium and large in person gatherings. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/fully-vaccinated-guidance.html. surely a cruise ship meets the criteria of a large in person gatherings.

[Big_G]

20 hours ago, dswallow said:

 

The other problem is apparent the CDC things the Department of Transportation and maybe some other departments are really responsible yet I can't quite remember a single Department of Transportation edict coming out about cruise ships.

 

In other words, the CDC is still recovering and is still somewhat clueless.

 

The reality is that cruise sailings are unfairly being severely restricted compared to any land-based hotel, restaurant, transportation system or entertainment facility. We can only speculate about the why. But none of the speculation says anything good about any of the US agencies potentially involved.

 

At least the cruise lines are requiring vaccinated adults. They can't say that about land vacations.

[Hoopster95]

3 hours ago, coaster said:

My prediction that the older and smaller ships would be the first to start was correct. Most here seemed to disagree with me. 

 

You're right. I was one that would have disagreed with you.. I was convinced that the more profitable Oasis Class ships would start first (PE to Cococay 3/4 nighters), however I had no clue back then how poorly the CDC would treat Americans & cruising in general.

[Big_G]

21 hours ago, grandgeezer said:

If that’s the case, it’s a situation the cruise lines can’t win. In 2019 almost 49% of cruisers worldwide were from the U.S. The top three busiest cruise ports are in the U.S. Where do you suggest the lines move their ship to and who do you replace a good share of the passengers with? Cruises haven’t sailed from the U.S. in over a year and our economy seems to be surviving. Businesses fail all the time, I think we will survive without them. If the cruise lines are so arrogant and smug that they don’t want to play by our rules, bye, bye.

 

Your arrogant and smug just might be their desperation.

[Big_G]

20 hours ago, ILCTCRUISER said:

Not suggesting anything.  Poising a question.  Cruise lines need US ports.  Merely posing the question:  Is this how cruise lines are positioning themselves?

 

US ports need cruise lines as much as cruise lines need US ports. It's a big part of their economy.

[Big_G]

19 hours ago, Sunshine3601 said:

You forgot Odyssey out of Israel.     And I suspect an announcement about some sailings out of UK or maybe Harmony out of Spain will be released soon.    

Something is better than nothing for their bottom line.

I am confident that sailings will go smoothly since everyone will be vaccinated.    They have to take it cautious and not over do it on setting up new homeports.   Baby steps is the best plan, IMO

 

 

They must be seeing something up in Europe if they're sending Harmony over.

[Another_Critic]

54 minutes ago, Baron Barracuda said:

Perhaps they can ease turn-around by not re-provisioning in Bermuda.  Instead ship supplies to Coco Cay and re-load while everyone is on the beach.

I would think it would be much cheaper (and easier logistics) to re-provision at Coco Cay.

Edited March 24, 2021 by Another_Critic

[dswallow]

9 minutes ago, Another_Critic said:

I would think it would be much cheaper (and easier logistics) to re-provision at Coco Cay.

 

I believe in normal times, the ships visiting CoCo Cay deliver provisions to the island. It is an island, after all, so provisioning the ships from the island will require transporting those provisions separately from somewhere else, anyway. Not sure moving general provisions this way would be particularly efficient.

 

The ships historically already take on fuel in various other ports via fuel barges, so no reason to expect that they can't do the same with provisions, either from Nassau or Grand Bahamas Island, wherever the infrastructure provides best for what they need to store and put on the ships. If anything, perhaps the fueling barges can come to CoCo Cay since they're already floating, and that would prevent any potential conflict taking on fuel vs taking on other supplies.

Edited March 24, 2021 by dswallow

[mek]

On 3/23/2021 at 3:59 PM, ZoeyVictoria said:

Which way will this go?  Will the additional loss of income for so many businesses in the U.S. create an uproar to get the CDC’s attention and force them to make a move?  Or will Royal be so busy staffing and operating ships in other countries that they will be content to wait until September for cruising out of U.S. ports?  I don’t have a warm fuzzy feeling for cruisers unable or unwilling to fly to another country to cruise.

People w/o passports won't be able to cruise from any of these ports, so that may limit the pool of people able/willing to sail.  Also, how many families travel w/o passports for their children?  I think it is probably a high number who don't have one for their kids.

There is so much debate about unvaccinated children on cruises, but I think by the time cruises start back up from US ports school will have started back up and it will involve a very small number of children until the holidays at the earliest.

 

[Baron Barracuda]

1 hour ago, dswallow said:

 

I believe in normal times, the ships visiting CoCo Cay deliver provisions to the island. It is an island, after all, so provisioning the ships from the island will require transporting those provisions separately from somewhere else, anyway. Not sure moving general provisions this way would be particularly efficient.

 

The ships historically already take on fuel in various other ports via fuel barges, so no reason to expect that they can't do the same with provisions, either from Nassau or Grand Bahamas Island, wherever the infrastructure provides best for what they need to store and put on the ships. If anything, perhaps the fueling barges can come to CoCo Cay since they're already floating, and that would prevent any potential conflict taking on fuel vs taking on other supplies.

No argument about logistical benefits of Nassau but Vision won't be stopping there, just at Bermuda and Coco Cay.  Taking on fuel in Bermuda isn't a problem, have seen it done routinely and barges don't take up pier space.  Trying to load provisions as well as luggage in that tight Royal Navy dockyard will be problematic.  Just thought an outside the box idea would be to send a supply ship to Coco Cay and transfer provisions right across the pier and onto Vision.  

[dswallow]

32 minutes ago, Baron Barracuda said:

No argument about logistical benefits of Nassau but Vision won't be stopping there, just at Bermuda and Coco Cay.  Taking on fuel in Bermuda isn't a problem, have seen it done routinely and barges don't take up pier space.  Trying to load provisions as well as luggage in that tight Royal Navy dockyard will be problematic.  Just thought an outside the box idea would be to send a supply ship to Coco Cay and transfer provisions right across the pier and onto Vision.  

 

Good point. And with reduced capacity, I suppose they actually could use the ships from Nassau to supply the island with provisions destined for Vision of the Seas, as long as they have enough refrigerated warehouse space available on CoCo Cay. Since there'd be room on those ships for extra provisions not needed on the ship itself.

It could make for an interesting little "Mighty Cruise Ships" episode to look at  all the logistics issues that had to be solved to start these non-US-port sailings.

[Mikew0805]

3 hours ago, broberts said:

 

I did not put words in your mouth. "While I am normally a supporter of the CDC, this is getting ridiculous. They need to let ships start sailing from the US. " Since the CDC obviously considers cruising unsafe at the moment would it not have to abandon its mandate to follow your wishes?

 

The CDC is still advising the fully vaccinated to avoid medium and large in person gatherings. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/fully-vaccinated-guidance.html. surely a cruise ship meets the criteria of a large in person gatherings.

"abandon a mandate to keep Americans safe?"  I did not use these words, or anything that resembles them. YOU DID! How about quote what you actually said. This is the epitome of fake news.

 

Before running your mouth... err fingers, how about spend 10 seconds and understand what I actually think. "Let ships start sailing from the US" does not equal "right this second" or "every single ship at full capacity..." but you knew I didn't mean that didn't you.. unless you didn't read the whole second post. The latter sounds about right to spin something in your direction.

 

I'll repeat since you didn't read that far down on the post..... "Allowing ships to start sailing in June/July is not unreasonable, or unsafe." It doesn't take a scientist to understand this.

 

Edit: As I was reading more news I find this... feel free to read for yourself. It is clear that guidance from the CDC is stagnant in one particular area. Sorry if you don't see that.

 

https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/24631-royal-caribbean-chairman-fain-cdc-s-conditional-sail-order-is-unworkable.html#google_vignette

 

https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/24634-pressure-on-cdc-to-drop-conditional-sail-order-mounting.html

 

https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/24632-volunteer-cruises-may-not-happen.html

Edited March 24, 2021 by Mikew0805

[death_star]

7 hours ago, Baron Barracuda said:

Transporting all those passengers and their luggage from airport to RN dockyard along that little road will be a struggle.  They can shuttle passengers by ferry but doubt that works for luggage.  Perhaps they can ease turn-around by not re-provisioning in Bermuda.  Instead ship supplies to Coco Cay and re-load while everyone is on the beach.

This makes sense. It's a very short trip from home base in Miami and they'll have the regular rotation of the idle ships anchored off shore to ferry supplies. Will be interesting to see where they bunker fuel. Freeport stop maybe?

[Sunshine3601]

On 3/23/2021 at 5:07 PM, billslowsky said:

If I'm going to pay the airfare to Bermuda, I'll just stay there a few nights instead of paying the cruise fare to go to CoCo Cay...  plenty of nice restaurants and bars in Hamilton and beautiful Bermuda beaches.

 

You fly in - the airport is by St. George's.  Then a surely "economical" cab ride to get to the port basically the length of the island.  This isn't going to be like flying into Ft. Lauderdale.  Then you repeat going home - along with 1,000 others.

We have done several vacations in bermuda.  Yes, there are lots of nice places to stay throughout the island.  

Public transportation and their ferry system is great way to get around the island.

I'm sure rcl will have bus transfer from airport to dock.  

Is it confirmed they will dock at royal navalyard or can they fit into hamilton or st george?

I love when ship docks in hamilton, great central location.

[Ourusualbeach]

12 hours ago, coaster said:

My prediction that the older and smaller ships would be the first to start was correct. Most here seemed to disagree with me. I certainly won't go as it is not worth the airfare to me. I will be happy to wait until November and hopefully my Brilliance cruise from Tampa will sail.

The cruise lines are also restarting under an entirely different premise than everyone figured they would be.  The initial restart plans were from US ports set up to be able to logistically support the large ships. Since the restart now is taking place at small secondary ports it would be a far greater challenge to support the large ships and to deal with the increased number of passengers.  You are comparing apples to oranges with the restart plans so obviously the type of ship will also change.

Edited March 25, 2021 by Ourusualbeach

[billslowsky]

12 hours ago, Sunshine3601 said:

We have done several vacations in bermuda.  Yes, there are lots of nice places to stay throughout the island.  

Public transportation and their ferry system is great way to get around the island.

I'm sure rcl will have bus transfer from airport to dock.  

Is it confirmed they will dock at royal navalyard or can they fit into hamilton or st george?

I love when ship docks in hamilton, great central location.

 

Yes, Royal's press release confirmed that they are docking at the royal dockyard.

 

You won't find too many buses capable of transporting even 40 passengers and their luggage in Bermuda.