Norwegian Cruise Lines CEO: "Enough is Enough"

[_auroraborealis_]

The west coast of the United States is on fire.

It is worth considering if the cruise industry as it existed SHOULD come back. I realize that is not what people are discussing here, just COVID vs. non-COVID.

But this kind of blanket shutdown, especially as people darkly say it could kill the industry, merits such a question. Cruising is about the worst vacation you can take environmentally. DCL is among the least worst, but least worst still is a huge drag.

I feel that COVID is a chance to reconsider a lot of stuff.

 

[JM23457]

If Bahamas will let cruise ships dock, then they could go to their own private islands and do shorter cruises right from the get-go.

This is likely how DCL cruising will restart. 3-night cruises just to Castaway Cay.

 

[JM23457]

More people have tested positive from a school setting than a cruise ship.

Lol. It would be hard to be otherwise when cruise ships haven't sailed from U.S. ports since March.

 

[Planogirl]

Only a very limited number of people would sign up for this. Would not be profitable. Not to mention Disney will not resume sailing if all of this is what’s necessary to do it safely. Not to mention the logistics of quarantining all of those people for a month outside of the cruise time and ensuring compliance. Not a chance.

I agree. But many of those places that have opened started out with those requirements. This would not make sense when it comes to cruises.

 

[tvguy]

Lol. It would be hard to be otherwise when cruise ships haven't sailed from U.S. ports since March.

And here, schools haven't been in session since March either and are closed at least until next year.

 

[icc2515]

To this day there is nothing an airline can do about a person refusing to wear a mask other than refuse you future service since there is no CDC mask requirements in planes. You can walk all over a plane and spread all the Covid you want and all the airline can do is refuse you future service on their airline.

I don't know where you get your information from, but just Google plane returns due to passenger refusing to wear a mask. I mean do you just make this stuff up. Plus it is against federal law to interfere with a flight attendant and refusing a safety order is against the law. The FAA can fine you $25,000.

 

[icc2515]

Gotta have a foreign port. If Bahamas will let cruise ships dock, then they could go to their own private islands and do shorter cruises right from the get-go.

How are you gonna get there when the CDC bans travel to the bahamas to fight the cruise line work around?

 

[T & R]

I don't know where you get your information from, but just Google plane returns due to passenger refusing to wear a mask. I mean do you just make this stuff up. Plus it is against federal law to interfere with a flight attendant and refusing a safety order is against the law. The FAA can fine you $25,000.

Not making it up, there’s currently no CDC mask requirement. Also, airlines didn’t do their own internal mask policies until mid May. So the CDC could have stepped up and saved lives when the airlines wouldn’t but they stopped at cruise ban. You are correct, interfering with a flight crew is a crime but refusing to wear a mask is not. If you read the whole story the passengers become disruptive, argumentative and loud which crosses into disorderly conduct and interfering with a flight crew. The first one I read, the passenger actually started sneezing on people which goes way beyond simply refusing a mask. The refusing a safety order would be a stretch because then you would have to lock up everyone who leaves their device on it tray table down. So far airlines are just refusing future service to passengers who refuse to wear a mask unless their conduct goes further (which it sometimes does such as threats, insults, profanity, refusal to take a seat or even physical contact).

https://nypost.com/2020/09/07/more-than-700-airline-passengers-banned-for-refusing-to-wear-masks/

 

[T & R]

How are you gonna get there when the CDC bans travel to the bahamas to fight the cruise line work around?

Travel bans are done by Presidential proclamation not CDC. CDC just does cruise bans. Current travel ban proclamations are on CDC website. I think Bahamas has a current ban on us but some are saying they don’t so not really clear. I do know The Bahamas currently has a ban on DCL size cruise ships though. So cruise lines will have to work through that but won’t matter if CDC renews their ban again.

 

[MonorailPrincess]

Not making it up, there’s currently no CDC mask requirement. Also, airlines didn’t do their own internal mask policies until mid May. So the CDC could have stepped up and saved lives when the airlines wouldn’t but they stopped at cruise ban. You are correct, interfering with a flight crew is a crime but refusing to wear a mask is not. If you read the whole story the passengers become disruptive, argumentative and loud which crosses into disorderly conduct and interfering with a flight crew. The first one a read the passenger actually started sneezing on people which goes way beyond simply refusing a mask. Thanks for sharing.

First CDC doesn't have any authority over anything, anywhere. They advise. As far as mask wearing on an airplane, try it sometime. My son is a pilot, his airline's policy is to remove the passenger and contact airport police. If plane is already in the air, land where they can, remove passenger, call police. And yes, they're never flying on that airline again. All the major airlines have similar policies.

 

[T & R]

First CDC doesn't have any authority over anything, anywhere.

The cruise lines may disagree with you.

 

[jerseygal]

Missouri. We actually just got home from taking the kiddos for a walk in the park, wearing our masks. Went by a playground with a mask required sign, probably 30-40 adults and kids there, and i counted only two people with any kind of mask (and they were the completely useless valve ones).

That is very distressing. Can’t slow the spread if no one follows rules!

 

[LAX]

With all due respect, my cruise is not worth someone's life. Our priorities are soooo out of wack in this country.

I argue this is precisely why the number of US cases is 6.5 million (as of Sept 12) and counting.

LAX

 

[Intr3pid]

Look, there's an election coming up in about 50 days. COVID-19 is the number 1 question on everyone's mind. Flu season is around the corner. Schoolgoers are getting anxious. Universities are on shaky grounds.

No US government official is going to take an unnecessary risk and somehow chat up a cruising restart before December. It's just not happening. The cruise line CEOs should know this.

The best case scenario is that you get a response back from CDC after November. They flag some items but are happy with others. You go back and forth a few times, and then it's Christmas. A few more rules are put in place, a vaccine or two shows promise, and - maybe, just maybe - they allow some limited cruising in early 2021. Proof of concept first. All before the big school breaks in March/April and while the cases continue to trend lower.

That's the best case. Amen to that if the cases shoot up or the vaccine gets delayed.

 

[monkeydawn]

So far airlines are just refusing future service to passengers who refuse to wear a mask unless their conduct goes further (which it sometimes does such as threats, insults, profanity, refusal to take a seat or even physical contact).

Where is your source on this for the entire air industry? Id like to see what kinds of overall numbers are being allowed to continue mask less trips on planes.

 

[DCLMP]

How are you gonna get there when the CDC bans travel to the bahamas to fight the cruise line work around?

Why do cruises need to go to the Bahamas? Why not Mexico.

 

[disneygeek401]

Why do cruises need to go to the Bahamas? Why not Mexico.

Bahamas is easiest because all of the cruise lines have their own private islands in the Bahamas. So for example with DCL and CC its a mostly controlled environment, it isn't like if they were to dock in Jamacia, well people live there, you could get COVID from someone else and not know it. But with the private islands generally the only people who are there full time are a "skeleton crew" of a few dozen DCL employees who are essential to take care and maintain the island. And then of course the only other people there are a very small amount of bahamian vendors and the people on the Disney cruises who go there as their port stop for the day.

So, they don't have to go to the Bahamas. Cruise lines can create itineraries with other caribbean island nations. But when cruising returns, in the current climate, its more than likely how they will get started right from the get-go, with short cruises that go to CC

 

[tvguy]

Why do cruises need to go to the Bahamas? Why not Mexico.

Well, probably because Mexico doesn't cruise ships either. Or because the State Department has issued a travel advisory for Americans not to go to Mexico because their are number six on the list of nations with the highest covid-19 infection rates. And that is on top of the standing travel advisory for Americans not to go to Mexico because of the threat of becoming crime or kidnap victims. https://mx.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-services/covid-19-information/

 

[DCLMP]

Bahamas is easiest because all of the cruise lines have their own private islands in the Bahamas. So for example with DCL and CC its a mostly controlled environment, it isn't like if they were to dock in Jamacia, well people live there, you could get COVID from someone else and not know it. But with the private islands generally the only people who are there full time are a "skeleton crew" of a few dozen DCL employees who are essential to take care and maintain the island. And then of course the only other people there are a very small amount of bahamian vendors and the people on the Disney cruises who go there as their port stop for the day.

So, they don't have to go to the Bahamas. Cruise lines can create itineraries with other caribbean island nations. But when cruising returns, in the current climate, its more than likely how they will get started right from the get-go, with short cruises that go to CC

I get that, but there are Disney cruises that don’t stop at castaway. They go to Cozumel and grand cayman. If Bahamas not welcoming cruise ships and other countries are then just go to other ports. If they can have cruises in Europe that don’t go to private islands I don’t see that as a nonstarter.

 

[DCLMP]

Well, probably because Mexico doesn't cruise ships either. Or because the State Department has issued a travel advisory for Americans not to go to Mexico because their are number six on the list of nations with the highest covid-19 infection rates. And that is on top of the standing travel advisory for Americans not to go to Mexico because of the threat of becoming crime or kidnap victims. https://mx.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-services/covid-19-information/

Oh please Americans visit Mexican cruises ports and numerous other tourist destinations in Mexico and don’t get kidnapped. The Covid rate doesn’t seem to be stopping Americans from visiting there either.
At this point we don’t know what ports are going to be open in a few months when cruising does resume.