Death, of the industry no. But it is going to be a very long road to tow before the industry gets to where it was 2 months ago. Keep in mind, these ships still need constant maintenance and crew, even if they're not hauling people......and where do you dock all these cruise ships long term if they're not doing trips?

There will be some outrageous bargains at the end of this "crisis" for those so inclined.

Well.. we’re gonna reschedule ours. We have 24 hours before to cancel and get up to a 1 year time frame to reschedule. This will just put a temporary hold on cruises, they will never be hurt long term.

quote:

Originally posted by njauto:
Well.. we’re gonna reschedule ours. We have 24 hours before to cancel and get up to a 1 year time frame to reschedule. This will just put a temporary hold on cruises, they will never be hurt long term.

Our Viking river cruise (St Petersburg to Moscow) leaving May 4 is still on, we can cancel anytime and get a 100% voucher. Viking already canceled out neighbor's April 26 ocean cruise around Norway, they're getting a 125% voucher.

I'm not good at math, but I think 125% is a better deal and we're holding out for Viking to do the canceling.

I'm posting from the middle of the Caribbean on Day 7 of an eight day cruise. While passenger attendance MAY be down, I'm seeing a lot of people on board having a thoroughly good time. We made four ports of call, and people were out and about everywhere. Yes, there is a focus on cleanliness, and I wonder how much the cruise lines have invested in Purell, but nowhere have I heard people talking gloom and doom.

The flight down to Florida, from where my cruise originates and terminates, was completely full.

I will say that the cruise line sweetened the deal for me. I was able to upgrade to a king bed with balcony for pennies on the dollar, and was gifted $150 onboard credit. That's a nice meal in the steakhouse restaurant and some sushi at the sushi place (I don't drink, or it might pay my bar bill!).

The destination ports are concerned because the cruise lines make up a lot of the revenue. Tourism is #1 in many of these places, and many of these people live on tips and trinkets. I said they are concerned. They aren't slitting their wrists at this point.

My good fortune, if unintended, is that once I get home, the work I am doing will require me to stay at home. So, I will be self-quarantining myself even though I have no desire to.

quote:

My good fortune, if unintended, is that once I get home, the work I am doing will require me to stay at home. So, I will be self-quarantining myself even though I have no desire to.

Yeah, a lot of companies in the area where I work are going to mirror the policy of our major customer. Anyone returning from a cruise will be required to self quarantine for 14 days and get an 'all clear' from a doctor before returning to work. When that policy changed, we had three people on Caribbean cruises. We're setting things up so they can tele-commute during that time so they don't have to use any sick or leave time.

I know we're not the only company adopting that policy. And the mandatory self quarantine is what's going to hurt the cruise industry in the short to medium time frame. We're going out of our way to make sure people won't have to burn their sick time. Not every company can or will. And no one wants to risk burning two weeks of sick time (that they may or may not have) for a few days ride on a boat.

Just to clarify: My employer is not requiring me to self-quarantine after my cruise. Rather, I'm scheduled to spend the next two weeks providing remote training to customers. I have a better setup at home to do this training than I do at my office. My plans always included staying home for the two weeks following my trip. A happy coincidence, maybe?

School districts here have mandated that anyone who has been on a cruise or out of the country must self-quarantine for 14 days before returning to school. They must report to the district where they have been and when they went. The good news for those that I talked to yesterday that were going on a cruise is, as of last night the cruises are cancelled.

quote:

Originally posted by trapper189:
...The good news for those that I talked to yesterday that were going on a cruise is, as of last night the cruises are cancelled.

I don't know about other lines, but Viking has canceled all cruises only thru the end of April. Our St Petersburg to Moscow river cruise sails on May 4 and is still on.

Sorry, in my mind I was thinking of the cruises only for the next few weeks that people I know had planned for spring break. It would have been bad for them to have gone on a cruise and come back to miss an additional two weeks of school due to being self-quarantined. They probably wouldn't have gone on the cruise in that case.

"Look at the cruise lines...that's a big, that's a tremendous business, a big business, very important to Florida, and it's unthinkable a month ago, just unthinkable, they were setting all sorts of records, they're building new ships. We can't let the cruise lines go out of business. I mean that would be massive numbers of jobs for our country, and actually for the world, but for our country it's a massive business, and it doesn't take much to keep them going."

-Donald J. Trump, Coronavirus update March 22, 2020

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sb-zp0Mv1yw
1:54:54

There does seem to be an increase in demand for hospital ships. Let's park a few in New York harbor, and staff them with Cuban doctors. They have great health care in Cuba, ya know?

During the American Revolution, the British made use of prison ships in New York harbor.

During the War of 1812, Francis Scott Key wrote the national anthem from a British prison ship.

So all we need to do is get the British to buy some excess cruise ships, fill them up with British prisoners and dock them in American harbors again. It's kind of like recycling, good for the environment and all. We could sell them food.

Oh, wait, if British prisoners were fed real good American food, the British would all commit crimes and end up as prisoners in America. I think that British food was the reason America was founded by the British in the first place.

So never mind.

The cruise ship industry is not dead yet.

Maybe.

Tomorrow, on April 1st, Carnival Cruise lines is offering $3 billion in debt. You can't make this up.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news...nds-in-dollars-euros

No surprise, Viking just canceled our May 4 St Petersburg to Moscow river cruise. All cruises thru June 30 are canceled.

https://www.vikingrivercruises...-sailings/index.html

Dear Viking Guests,

I am writing to you today from my home, rather than the Viking office. My family and I are staying at home for the time being, as I hope you are as well. It is an adjustment for all of us and particularly for someone like me, who spends most of his time traveling. But we are truly living in an unprecedented time.

Since we started Viking nearly 23 years ago, we have always cared first and foremost about our guests and our employees. I feel we have become one large Viking family of 500,000 guests each year and 10,000 employees. Since day one, it has been our mission to create experiences for our guests that focus on the destination and allow them to explore the world in comfort. This has always been Viking’s ambition and will remain so.

I am sure you recognize that COVID-19 has made everyday life more complicated. On March 11, we were the first cruise line to announce a temporary suspension of operations through April 30, 2020. In the time since that announcement, many of you have expressed concern for our crew, and I want to reassure you that we are taking good care of them. We are using this period of non-operation as a time for additional training and initiatives to ensure we have the safest and healthiest fleet in the industry. As a private company we do not have to worry about quarterly profit expectations – and that flexibility allows us the ability to do what is best for our guests and our employees.

In that spirit, we have made the decision to extend our temporary suspension of operations through June 30, 2020.

As a guest whose cruise falls within this window of suspended operations, we are offering a Future Cruise Voucher valued at 125% of all monies paid to Viking. By adding 25% to the value of what you originally paid, you now have the opportunity to enhance your trip – such as choosing a longer itinerary; adding a Pre/Post cruise extension; upgrading your stateroom category; or even upgrading to business class air. You will have 24 months to use your Future Cruise Voucher to make a new reservation on any river, ocean or expedition cruise. For additional flexibility, if you are unable to use your voucher, we will automatically send you a refund equal to the original amount paid to Viking after the voucher expires. These 125% Future Cruise Vouchers will also be fully transferable.

Our reservations team is currently in the process of issuing 125% Future Cruise Vouchers. However, if you prefer the alternative, you may choose a refund equal to the amount paid, by calling Viking at 1-833-900-0951 or your Travel Agent by April 6, 2020.

We will continue to stand by you, as well as our employees and partners, and hope that you will continue to stand by us.

Sincerely yours,


Torstein Hagen
Chairman

People have short memories. All you need is the article title...

quote:

Carnival swamped with cruise bookings after announcing August return

https://nypost.com/2020/05/09/...ncing-august-return/

Short memories of what? A few people git sick, everybody panicked and the were quarantined on a boat for a couple of weeks.

When they get over the stupid, the wife and I will be on a boat

Our dream trip of our lifetime in Alaska has been cancelled No flights, no cruises, no parks open, damn my luck!

World's Largest Cruise Ship Set For Scrapyard Without A Single Sail

https://www.zerohedge.com/mark...-without-single-sail

The hard-hit cruise industry has yet to recover as many cruise ship stocks tumble to their lowest levels since the early days of the virus pandemic. One sign the industry remains in deep turmoil is the potential scrapping of an unfinished cruise ship set to be the largest in the world.

German cruise-industry magazine An Bord reports the 9,000-passenger Global Dream II is about 80% finished. Its shipbuilder MV Werften filed for bankruptcy in January 2022, and bankruptcy administrators can't find a buyer.

Christoph Morgen, an insolvency administrator at Brinkmann & Partner, said attempts are being made to sell parts of the vessel, including engines and propulsion systems. The cruise ship is located at a shipyard on Germany's Baltic coast.

Multiple parties expressed interest in purchasing the cruise ship. The vessel is buoyant and can be towed to another location. It was initially designed for service in Asia. Since no serious buyers have come to the table, the 1,122-foot ship could be liquidated for scrap.

"If no buyer with a serious offer can be found in the coming weeks, the insolvency administrator will have to opt for a sale in a bidding process. Then shipbrokers with contact to shipbreaking yards can also submit their bids. The ship's scrap value has risen due to the rise in scrap prices," An Bord said.

Shipbuilding began in early 2018 and was expected to be completed in the first half of 2021. The virus pandemic sent demand for cruise ships into collapse and has been a troubled industry ever since.

Morgen said the cruise ship would need to be moved from the German shipyard by the end of the year because the commercial zone was sold to Thyssenkrupp's naval unit, which will begin building submarines, corvettes, and frigates in 2024.

Perhaps the unfinished and unwanted 9,000-passenger cruise ship is an ominous sign of where the industry is headed...

quote:

World's Largest Cruise Ship

By gross tonnage - no, not by a long shot. Royal Caribbean has that locked up.