1st sailing schedule (July 2021 update)

[fstuff1]

https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/25374-norwegian-cruise-line-ships-returning-to-service-july-update.html

 

1st ncl ship to sail from a US port is Encore on Aug 7, 2021.

that's 2 months later than Royal/Celebrity! (1st US port sail June 2021) 

 

wonder why ncl is lagging so far behind?

 

Edited July 7, 2021 by fstuff1

[oteixeira]

My guess is to let the other companies hash out the things that can go away, and start with higher percentages on the ships.  Carnival is already 60-70%.  RCI (who went first started at 30%).  My guess is NCL wants to go out at 70% or higher, so they are guaranteed to make money on all their sailings.  Since they share protocols with RCI (Safe Sail Panel) there are letting RCI do all the trail blazing on the protocols and allowing them to figure out what they should and shouldn't do.

Seems like a smart conservative plan.  Not always the best when people are pining for your product, but safe for sure.

[BermudaBound2014]

We're all just guessing here, but my guess is the late start up is directly linked to global market share. NCL has significantly fewer resources when compared to CCL and RCL. Interesting to note, this figure was from 2019. In 2018 MSC was just a tiny sliver of the market. They are gaining market share very quickly and are projected to overpass NCL in 2022. 

 

[Seany527]

I’m wondering that myself and pretty disappointed in them. I always thought NCL was a leader in the cruise industry.
 

They highlighted and made anytime dining popular amongst all lines. 

 

They were also one of the first cruise lines to more or less make beverages included in the fare (plus gratuities 😉)

 

But here we are waiting for August 7 to see what NCL has to offer the cruise industry.

[oteixeira]

55 minutes ago, Seany527 said:

I’m wondering that myself and pretty disappointed in them. I always thought NCL was a leader in the cruise industry.
 

They highlighted and made anytime dining popular amongst all lines. 

 

They were also one of the first cruise lines to more or less make beverages included in the fare (plus gratuities 😉)

 

But here we are waiting for August 7 to see what NCL has to offer the cruise industry.

Ummm, you mean July 25th?  The Jade sails first.

[BermudaBound2014]

11 minutes ago, oteixeira said:

Ummm, you mean July 25th?  The Jade sails first.

 

Well, if we are going to take into consideration international date for starting up, it makes NCL look even farther behind the curve.

 

RCL sailed Ovation from Singapore on December 1, 2020

CCL sailed from Italy in September of 2020

MSC sailed from Italy in August of 2020

 

There may be even earlier sailings as I remember some very specific Germany and Norway sailings, but you get the idea. 

Edited July 7, 2021 by BermudaBound2014

[Seany527]

3 hours ago, oteixeira said:

Ummm, you mean July 25th?  The Jade sails first.

No, I mean August 7. 
 

Jade is in Europe and not subject to the rules the CDC is demanding. 

[Middleager]

6 hours ago, oteixeira said:

My guess is to let the other companies hash out the things that can go away, and start with higher percentages on the ships.  Carnival is already 60-70%.  RCI (who went first started at 30%).  My guess is NCL wants to go out at 70% or higher, so they are guaranteed to make money on all their sailings.  Since they share protocols with RCI (Safe Sail Panel) there are letting RCI do all the trail blazing on the protocols and allowing them to figure out what they should and shouldn't do.

Seems like a smart conservative plan.  Not always the best when people are pining for your product, but safe for sure.

That's possible.  But some of the experience NCL will have to do itself.  The management, the crews, chefs/cooks, officers, entertainment teams. 

Teams need training weeks, then many real games, to get into mid-season form.  

 

After Pearl Harbor, the US carriers, pilots, crews, all gained actual combat experience in Coral Sea and elsewhere, before they got to "mid-season" form, so that they were ready for Midway.

[zerooveride]

Another reason is crew. It has not been easy getting crew for the ships. I (somehow) got allowed into a crew group on Facebook and the company that runs it is constantly asking for people to work. It almost seems to the point of desperation.

 

NCL thought the restart would have happened sooner, but when it appeared it didn't they repatriated their crew back to their home countries. 

 

Logistically it takes time just to hire crew. For example, Encore has a compliment of about 2,100 crew members. Not easy to get all of the paperwork (passports, visa, seaman's cert., etc.) and get crew from the other side of the world to the ship. Then comes the issue of vaccination. Then they have to get them back into the grove of things.

 

All of the lines are scrambling for crew, we just have to have some patience and before long things will be back to some semblance of normal.

[BermudaBound2014]

2 hours ago, zerooveride said:

Another reason is crew. It has not been easy getting crew for the ships. I (somehow) got allowed into a crew group on Facebook and the company that runs it is constantly asking for people to work. It almost seems to the point of desperation.

 

NCL thought the restart would have happened sooner, but when it appeared it didn't they repatriated their crew back to their home countries. 

 

Logistically it takes time just to hire crew. For example, Encore has a compliment of about 2,100 crew members. Not easy to get all of the paperwork (passports, visa, seaman's cert., etc.) and get crew from the other side of the world to the ship. Then comes the issue of vaccination. Then they have to get them back into the grove of things.

 

All of the lines are scrambling for crew, we just have to have some patience and before long things will be back to some semblance of normal.

 

Since every cruise line has the challenge to find, hire, train, complete paperwork, and vaccinate crew this takes me back to post #3. NCL's late start to return to cruising is could likely be attributed to fewer resources than the competition.