NCL drops protocols. Will Royal follow?

[easyqueasy]

What has been the standard, if any, following changes from other cruise lines? The text below is from Norwegian:

 

Effective for Sailings October 4, 2022 and Beyond

With the relaxation of travel requirements around the world, we’re thrilled to welcome all guests back on our ships to cruise freely to the places they’ve been dreaming of – regardless of vaccination status and with no testing requirements.

 

 

Destination specific requirements will still need to be met. 
For specific country requirements, please visit Cruise Travel Requirements by Country.

[Engineroom Snipe]

9 minutes ago, easyqueasy said:

What has been the standard, if any, following changes from other cruise lines? The text below is from Norwegian:

 

Effective for Sailings October 4, 2022 and Beyond

With the relaxation of travel requirements around the world, we’re thrilled to welcome all guests back on our ships to cruise freely to the places they’ve been dreaming of – regardless of vaccination status and with no testing requirements.

 

 

Destination specific requirements will still need to be met. 
For specific country requirements, please visit Cruise Travel Requirements by Country.

There is no standard. Every cruise line is free from any CDC standard. They decide what is best for their bottom line. I read into this article and it is interesting that RCL has stated they went from about 37% capacity this spring to about 63% capacity now. I am sure this is an average number of total cruises since summer is the high season and many cruise lines were hitting 100+%. NCL is trying to broaden its base as much as possible. The only restrictions upon them are the ports that they visit.

 

Another thread refers to changes in Bermuda's policy which is ongoing.

 

It is still a day-by-day thing, cruise line by cruise line.

[Charles4515]

31 minutes ago, Engineroom Snipe said:

The only restrictions upon them are the ports that they visit.

That is the thing. It is somewhat misleading because no matter what NCL says about dropping protocols they have to follow the protocols of their destinations. Royal has seemed to be more honest. 

Edited October 3, 2022 by Charles4515

[goldfish65]

We can only speculate of course, but hopeful Royal will want to stay competitive in that regard, I'd welcome not having to bother with a test before Oct 25 transatlantic. 

[bucfan2]

35 minutes ago, Charles4515 said:

 no matter what NCL says about dropping protocols they have to follow the protocols of their destinations.  

And that's when the cruise lines offers to continue to visit the port under 2022 common-sense protocols, or replace it w/ another port that wants the business.

Edited October 3, 2022 by bucfan2

[BND]

29 minutes ago, Charles4515 said:

That is the thing. It is somewhat misleading because no matter what NCL says about dropping protocols they have to follow the protocols of their destinations. Royal has seemed to be more honest. 

It says that in their statement.  So, it's not misleading for those that read the entire post.  There are very few places that have other protocols.

Edited October 3, 2022 by BND

[smokeybandit]

RC barely has any protocols now since there's zero validation needed for any passenger who needs to test. That much is just a dog and pony show.

Edited October 3, 2022 by smokeybandit

[sandebeach]

23 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

RC barely has any protocols now since there's zero validation needed for any passenger who needs to test. That much is just a dog and pony show.

A supervised Covid test is still required for our Transpacific leaving Hawaii on October 13. Would be very happy if they dropped that requirement but it may be related to requirements for entry into the South Pacific islands and Australia. 

[Charles4515]

47 minutes ago, bucfan2 said:

And that's when the cruise lines offers to continue to visit the port under 2022 common-sense protocols, or replace it w/ another port that wants the business.

So you think they will drop Austrailian and Greek ports? I don't think so.........

[DaKahuna]

2 hours ago, easyqueasy said:

What has been the standard, if any, following changes from other cruise lines? The text below is from Norwegian:

 

Effective for Sailings October 4, 2022 and Beyond

With the relaxation of travel requirements around the world, we’re thrilled to welcome all guests back on our ships to cruise freely to the places they’ve been dreaming of – regardless of vaccination status and with no testing requirements.

 

 

Destination specific requirements will still need to be met. 
For specific country requirements, please visit Cruise Travel Requirements by Country.

 

 If you want NCL protocols, go sail on NCL.  

 

[bucfan2]

7 minutes ago, Charles4515 said:

So you think they will drop Austrailian and Greek ports? I don't think so.........

Not worried about either of them...was just referring to Caribbean.  Australia's rules are way beyond concern for the general cruiser, but certainly of concern if you're cruising there (or Greece)...again...small %.

Edited October 3, 2022 by bucfan2

[Engineroom Snipe]

1 hour ago, bucfan2 said:

And that's when the cruise lines offers to continue to visit the port under 2022 common-sense protocols, or replace it w/ another port that wants the business.

Specifically, after some further reading and research, this was a result of a September 15th, 2022, announcement that five transatlantic cruise ships slated for Bermuda changed their itineraries as they felt the testing protocol would be too burdensome on their pax and not feasible to do onboard the ship while it is underway.

 

Bermuda is trying to expand its "shoulder season" of cruise tourists into the fall months. The loss of these coveted transatlantic pax would be someone else's gain. There was a little bit of weight being thrown around but no-one wants to admit it. There is still discussion about the continuing need for the visa except that the company contracted by Bermuda to run the visa program will not expire until March 2023. I would not be surprised if the company contracted the service for a percentage of the visa proceeds and shutting it down sooner would expose Bermuda to a penalty payment. 

[ukrccl_a]

47 minutes ago, Charles4515 said:

So you think they will drop Austrailian and Greek ports? I don't think so.........

Greece no longer have any requirements for testing - most lines have dropped the requirement to match but not yet Royal unfortunately!

[Charles4515]

58 minutes ago, Engineroom Snipe said:

 

Bermuda is trying to expand its "shoulder season" of cruise tourists into the fall months. The loss of these coveted transatlantic pax would be someone else's gain. There was a little bit of weight being thrown around but no-one wants to admit it. There is still discussion about the continuing need for the visa except that the company contracted by Bermuda to run the visa program will not expire until March 2023. I would not be surprised if the company contracted the service for a percentage of the visa proceeds and shutting it down sooner would expose Bermuda to a penalty payment. 

I beleive that is what happened. Bermuda boxed itself in by signing a contract with a company to administer the protocal through March 2023. They have been steadfast about that date so far. Testing and vaccination requirements will end on October 25 but they have not decided on the fee because there probably is some penalty.

 

NCL has added a lot of off season sailings to Bermuda. Winter sailings at non desirable times of the year. Will be interesting to see how that goes for NCL. There is not a lot to do in Bermuda in the winter and the air and water are chilly. .

[PolicromaSol]

We're definitely getting to the end of the road on this. There are barely any requirements as it is, and I doubt the remaining ones will stick around much longer.

 

Well, anyway, that's partially why I plan these things out well in advance. I got until March, so there's more chances they'll have given up the formalities entirely by then.

[Engineroom Snipe]

8 minutes ago, Charles4515 said:

I beleive that is what happened. Bermuda boxed itself in by signing a contract with a company to administer the protocal through March 2023. They have been steadfast about that date so far. Testing and vaccination requirements will end on October 25 but they have not decided on the fee because there probably is some penalty.

 

NCL has added a lot of off season sailings to Bermuda. Winter sailings at non desirable times of the year. Will be interesting to see how that goes for NCL. There is not a lot to do in Bermuda in the winter and the air and water are chilly. .

This leads into the discussion of the ministries involved in cruise ship travel "trying to extend the season". Not unlike many summer shore communities sponsoring "Oktoberfest" in an effort to fill hotel rooms and gain some end of the season tourism.

 

Maybe they are trying to test the waters {pun intended). As stated by others, Bermuda is a quiet, colder place for the winter months. This is all relative. What may be cold to me would be a summer delight to people from Maine and Michigan 🤣. Should the cruise rates get low enough, they could occupy empty rooms with pax more than willing to meet the challenge.

 

Always remember, one person's hell cruise is another person's swell cruise (I know, I am going to stop now before I hurt myself). 😨

[Engineroom Snipe]

4 minutes ago, PolicromaSol said:

We're definitely getting to the end of the road on this. There are barely any requirements as it is, and I doubt the remaining ones will stick around much longer.

 

Well, anyway, that's partially why I plan these things out well in advance. I got until March, so there's more chances they'll have given up the formalities entirely by then.

And the planner that you are, you have cancellation insurance as well as the fact you can punt it forward for a small reschedule fee. There are many options, you just have to know how to play the hand you are dealt. I think the worst case scenario is maybe a month or two adjustment to your schedule.

[Moltar]

Didn't we discuss this like 2 months ago? Is it Groundhog Day?

[BND]

20 minutes ago, Moltar said:

Didn't we discuss this like 2 months ago? Is it Groundhog Day?

Some new developments just today in the first post.   Things are changing.

Edited October 3, 2022 by BND

[Biker19]

55 minutes ago, Moltar said:

Didn't we discuss this like 2 months ago? Is it Groundhog Day?

Posters starting threads based on what other lines are doing have been going on since April 2020.

[bucfan2]

37 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

Posters starting threads based on what other lines are doing have been going on since April 2020.

Cruisers talking cruising on cruisecritic….wow.

[BirdTravels]

9 hours ago, ukrccl_a said:

Greece no longer have any requirements for testing - most lines have dropped the requirement to match but not yet Royal unfortunately!

 

10 hours ago, BND said:

It says that in their statement.  So, it's not misleading for those that read the entire post.  There are very few places that have other protocols.

 

NCL still has COVID protocols in place for Bermuda, Columbia, Costa Rica, Greece, Honduras, Israel.

 

Specific to Greece, NCL requires vaccination + embarkation test or unvaccinated + embarkation test + onboard testing. 

[crazyank]

1 hour ago, BirdTravels said:

Specific to Greece, NCL requires vaccination + embarkation test or unvaccinated + embarkation test + onboard testing. 

And Greece has dropped all restrictions as of 24 September

[ukrccl_a]

3 hours ago, crazyank said:

And Greece has dropped all restrictions as of 24 September

 

Hopefully will change soon at Royal - directly from a Senior EU Executive 

Edited October 4, 2022 by ukrccl_a

[SargassoPirate]

Didn't someone declare that the pandemic is over?  Seems like I saw that on TV a few Sundays ago.😁