Welcome to Cruise Ship/Ocean Liner Thread - 2022. Please continue to add your comments below

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Thanks for the new thread. Not a great start for the cruise industry for 2022 but Id say by March we will see things ease again.
The latest CDC advice is really going to hit hard for the next few months.


Cruises should be avoided regardless of vaccination status, CDC says

https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/ ... index.html

When we went on a family reunion cruise wife and I booked (at list price, not bargain) a small inside cabin. It was for sleeping. It would have been a terrible experience to have been quarantined there. Have any of the ships considered setting up a quarantine area where those with known or unknown illnesses could quarantine with some outside access, at least some limited indoor areas with good ventilation. It would not take much of an improvement to 'rescue' a disastrous vacation to a merely more adventurous than expected. It could well be some of those small staterooms with an exclusive elevator to a restricted area of the upper decks. Perhaps they are doing something like this already.

I'm booked on Epic for December (NY to PR just in time for Xmas). I'm hoping NCL extends their Peace of Mind policy in some form or they reduce capacity. Thankfully, Epic has enough balance of outdoor activities vs indoor ones. That being said, I'm in a studio cabin so IF I have to quarantine, probably not the best place.

einsteinboricua wrote:

I'm booked on Epic for December (NY to PR just in time for Xmas). I'm hoping NCL extends their Peace of Mind policy in some form or they reduce capacity. Thankfully, Epic has enough balance of outdoor activities vs indoor ones. That being said, I'm in a studio cabin so IF I have to quarantine, probably not the best place.

Did not know they had one-way cruises like that. How would you say Norwegian is? I have never cruised outside of the Celebrity/Royal Caribbean line since I had a good time with them and never looked elsewhere.

Quite a few C-19 outbreaks in recent days .

Covid outbreak cruise passengers allowed to disembark

Disconsolate passengers stuck on a cruise ship in Lisbon port for five days due to a Covid-19 outbreak began disembarking early today.

The AIDAnova, carrying 2,844 passengers and 1,353 crew, had docked in Portugal's capital on Wednesday.

https://www.rte.ie/news/world/2022/0103 ... id-lisbon/

stl07 wrote:

einsteinboricua wrote:

I'm booked on Epic for December (NY to PR just in time for Xmas). I'm hoping NCL extends their Peace of Mind policy in some form or they reduce capacity. Thankfully, Epic has enough balance of outdoor activities vs indoor ones. That being said, I'm in a studio cabin so IF I have to quarantine, probably not the best place.

Did not know they had one-way cruises like that. How would you say Norwegian is? I have never cruised outside of the Celebrity/Royal Caribbean line since I had a good time with them and never looked elsewhere.

Norwegian is all I sail. I like their no dressup/no reservation dining policy. Most one way cruises are repositioning cruises. Instead of just sailing from one homeport to another, they make a cruise of it. Three years ago, we did one on the Pearl which started in AMS and ended in FCO. It had stops in LeHavre, Brugges, Lisbon, Cadiz, Barcelona and a few other stops.

stl07 wrote:

Did not know they had one-way cruises like that. How would you say Norwegian is? I have never cruised outside of the Celebrity/Royal Caribbean line since I had a good time with them and never looked elsewhere.

It's reposition cruise. Epic will sail from San Juan for Winter 2023.

Honestly, I don't think I'll ever sail with another cruise line again. Their Freestyle approach works really great and their ships are proportionally sized for the passengers and activities. No set dining time, just do you at will.

I've sailed only with RCL before and I liked them, but once I tried NCL, I was sold. On top of that, the studios are a great offering for people like me who travel solo but don't want to pay 200% of a fare.

I'm glad that we did the NYC-Bermuda cruise in mid-December, right before things became more restrictive again.
Another good thing about NCL was their 100% vaccinated policy. While omicron is different, I think the other cruise lines shot themselves in the foot with their 95% and increased capacity policies during Delta. Their outbreaks due to short term profits hurt the industry. NCL seemed to do it right. Of course, I don't know the financial condition of any of the cruise lines, so maybe they need every fare that they can get.

NCL have had their issues just like most other cruise lines and have not always got it right. Of course some lines have been better compared to others. Some have been outright disastrous.


Norwegian Cruise Line cancels voyages on 8 ships

The Norwegian Pearl returned to Miami on Wednesday after one day at sea, cutting short a voyage that was scheduled to return to Miami on January 14. Several Covid cases among the crew prompted the move, according to the Miami Herald. Norwegian Pearl cruises with embarkation dates through January 14 are canceled.

https://www.cnn.com/travel/amp/norwegia ... index.html

OA260 wrote:

NCL have had their issues just like most other cruise lines and have not always got it right. Of course some lines have been better compared to others. Some have been outright disastrous.


Norwegian Cruise Line cancels voyages on 8 ships

The Norwegian Pearl returned to Miami on Wednesday after one day at sea, cutting short a voyage that was scheduled to return to Miami on January 14. Several Covid cases among the crew prompted the move, according to the Miami Herald. Norwegian Pearl cruises with embarkation dates through January 14 are canceled.

https://www.cnn.com/travel/amp/norwegia ... index.html

Like I said in my earlier post, omicron's contagiousness changes everything.

frmrCapCadet wrote:

Have any of the ships considered setting up a quarantine area where those with known or unknown illnesses could quarantine with some outside access, at least some limited indoor areas with good ventilation. It would not take much of an improvement to 'rescue' a disastrous vacation to a merely more adventurous than expected. It could well be some of those small staterooms with an exclusive elevator to a restricted area of the upper decks. Perhaps they are doing something like this already.

They are, at least I know Royal Caribbean is; they're blocking an entire deck solely for quarantine on each ship, usually the lowest one, nearest the medical center.

And get this - they've got two "Plague Ships" in the form of Rhapsody of the Seas and Vision of the Seas that are sailing the Caribbean with nothing but crew onboard, occupying all the passenger cabins. These ships meet up with other RCI vessels to take on infected crew from those doing live passenger sailings and refresh those ships with healthy, COVID-free replacement crewmembers. There's even a well-documented thread on the Cruise Critic forums showing RCI crew at the pier in SXM marching off one ship in Tyvek suits and cling-wrapped bags, going over to Rhapsody or Vision while healthy crewmembers join the passenger cruise.

We're booked on Jewel of the Seas for the 1/29 sailing, but we're going to cancel - not because we're afraid of COVID, but because with all the ports randomly turning ships away each week if their crew/passenger complement exceeds a 1% or so threshold of cases aboard, the thought of being on an 8 night cruise that goes from 4 ports to just two or even one just sounds awful, even though I love sea days. (My kids would go nuts, and make us nuts in the process)

EA ... Thanks. The great thing about the Inside Passage to Alaska (even though the boats are too large for much of the real Passage) is the scenery along the way. A good book. near the coffee urn, the scenery side, kids, grandkids, sibs, nephews, grand nephews. all were memorable. Even for this non-cruise person. We've all agreed we want to do it again.

Cruise liner Hurtigruten cuts short Antarctic voyage after Covid outbreak

https://www.irishexaminer.com/world/arid-40779912.html

Very disappointing for those involved but to be expected in current times.

Royal Caribbean cancelled sailings of 4 vessels starting this Saturday through February 12th - including mine!

EA CO AS wrote:

Royal Caribbean cancelled sailings of 4 vessels starting this Saturday through February 12th - including mine!

Sorry to hear that. Did they offer to reimburse you or give vouchers? I'm supposed to sail out on Royal Caribbean on Feb 28th. Thinking they will cancel mine too.

EA CO AS wrote:

Royal Caribbean cancelled sailings of 4 vessels starting this Saturday through February 12th - including mine!

Sorry to about that. I hat about any airfare or hotels you’ve booked ? They cover that ?

tomaheath wrote:

EA CO AS wrote:

Royal Caribbean cancelled sailings of 4 vessels starting this Saturday through February 12th - including mine!

Sorry to about that. I hat about any airfare or hotels you’ve booked ? They cover that ?

The offer for my 1/29/22 sailing was full refund or future cruise credit equal to 125% of my fare. Those on closer-in sailings got a full refund plus a 100% future cruise credit. I used my miles to fly to/from MIA so I just redeposited the miles, cancelled my hotel, etc.

'Turning into a nightmare': Passengers stuck at sea as US cruise cancelled mid-voyage

https://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/travel-t ... -midvoyage

Now is not the time to take a cruise. No matter how many thousands of Covid tests are given before the ship leaves...

Richard Blumenthal
@SenBlumenthal
Continued cruises lead to confusion & chaos—as well as danger. Better to cancel before ships go to sea. Norwegian provides a teaching moment.

https://twitter.com/SenBlumenthal/statu ... 85158?s=20

I had an opportunity to go in March but decided against it . Still too risky . Unless something changes I wont go until Summer .

DIRECTFLT wrote:

'Turning into a nightmare': Passengers stuck at sea as US cruise cancelled mid-voyage

https://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/travel-t ... -midvoyage

Now is not the time to take a cruise. No matter how many thousands of Covid tests are given before the ship leaves...

Richard Blumenthal
@SenBlumenthal
Continued cruises lead to confusion & chaos—as well as danger. Better to cancel before ships go to sea. Norwegian provides a teaching moment.

https://twitter.com/SenBlumenthal/statu ... 85158?s=20

Those articles are so much BS. The NCL ship isn't "stuck at sea", it's coming back at its original scheduled time. Yes, they are missing a few ports, but it's not their fault. The woman in the article seems like a dingbat. Days at sea are nice and relaxing. She's getting a full refund plus a 50% credit for her next cruise. If the ship came back early, she'd be complaining that she had to pay for a last-minute flight home. Some people just don't want to be happy. Maybe she should read the cruise line's terms of service. As far as the second link--Look, a grandstanding politician! We've never seen that before.

Some good PR for NCL despite the issues .



https://www.fox5ny.com/video/1024482

https://www.maritime-executive.com/arti ... insolvency

Looks bad if not the end for Crystal (and probably Dream and Star cruises).


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OA260 wrote:

Some good PR for NCL despite the issues .
https://www.fox5ny.com/video/1024482

That may be the understatement of the (so far short) year. Someone somewhere at NCL made a great decision and just got a 5 minute advert in NYC.

northstardc4m wrote:

https://www.maritime-executive.com/article/crystal-cruises-suspends-operations-due-to-genting-hk-insolvency

Looks bad if not the end for Crystal (and probably Dream and Star cruises).


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Looks like authorities just issued a warrant to seize Crystal Symphony . I was on it a few times and a lovely
ship. Such a undignified end and probably more to come.

Indeed it does look like a sad end for Crystal...an arrest warrant on Crystal Symphony has been issued in Miami. The ship is therefore ending it's current cruise in Bimini and guests are being transferred back to Florida by ferry.

https://www.seatrade-cruise.com/legal-r ... uises-ship

Sailed on the Danube in November and was very impressed. Talking to other guests, they seemed fiercely loyal to the brand and the quality they offer. Superb food, great attention to detail, even the coach they had that followed our trip along the river was a "luxury" model with fewer seats and better recline.

I hope that the brand as a whole can be saved but I suspect it'll end up being wound down and the assets acquired by different companies. Can't see who in the top-end luxury market would take the ocean vessels though.

What about their 777? Is it owned or leased?

PR from 2015 says owned, but may have changed?

https://mediacenter.crystalcruises.com/ ... oeing-777/

EA CO AS wrote:

the thought of being on an 8 night cruise that goes from 4 ports to just two or even one just sounds awful, even though I love sea days. (My kids would go nuts, and make us nuts in the process)

If the ship is large enough it'll have activities for everyone. When I went on Norwegian Encore's inaugural cruise (TATL WB), I had full days ahead of me and still felt I couldn't do everything I wanted, so I'd say keep it. Ports are definitely a good experience, don't get me wrong, but sometimes I feel like they may be a hassle: wake up early to beat everyone off the ship to shop for souvenirs or do a tour and be back about an hour before you set sail again. Compare that to simply waking up and pick and choosing what you wanna do from the day's agenda or letting the day unfold as you want...

And most cruises have kid activities as well so if your children are no older than pre-teens, I'm sure the ship will have stuff to do (my condolences if they're teenagers).


EDIT: sorry, saw that your cruise got canceled...but the advice still stands for a future cruise.

If the shoreside activities are of limited interest, why not just book a hotel?.

I picked up a RCCL free cruise for mid March. I’m hoping the current Covid wave will wind down by then. Just it case there is a lockdown on the ship or something I went with the shorter cruise, 3 nights with a stop in Nassau and the perfect day at Cococay. This way I won’t be starved or completely bored to death too long if I’m stuck in the room lol. I’m hoping that if there is a Covid outbreak they will at least stop for the prefect day. Was hoping to do a longer 5-6 day cruise as this will be my second cruise, maybe next year.

bananaboy wrote:

Indeed it does look like a sad end for Crystal...an arrest warrant on Crystal Symphony has been issued in Miami. The ship is therefore ending it's current cruise in Bimini and guests are being transferred back to Florida by ferry.

https://www.seatrade-cruise.com/legal-r ... uises-ship

AP - Cruise ship changes course after US judge orders seizure

https://apnews.com/article/entertainmen ... 46d2f90038

Some passengers were taken by ferry to Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale on Sunday. The ferry ride was apparently “uncomfortable due to inclement weather,” according to a statement from a Crystal Cruises spokesperson. The company said guests were also taken to local airports, but wouldn’t comment on the lawsuit.

It was not immediately clear how many passengers were aboard, with one news outlet reporting 300 and another, 700. According to the company website, the vessel can carry up to 848 passengers.

DIRECTFLT wrote:

bananaboy wrote:

Indeed it does look like a sad end for Crystal...an arrest warrant on Crystal Symphony has been issued in Miami. The ship is therefore ending it's current cruise in Bimini and guests are being transferred back to Florida by ferry.

https://www.seatrade-cruise.com/legal-r ... uises-ship

AP - Cruise ship changes course after US judge orders seizure

https://apnews.com/article/entertainmen ... 46d2f90038

Some passengers were taken by ferry to Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale on Sunday. The ferry ride was apparently “uncomfortable due to inclement weather,” according to a statement from a Crystal Cruises spokesperson. The company said guests were also taken to local airports, but wouldn’t comment on the lawsuit.

It was not immediately clear how many passengers were aboard, with one news outlet reporting 300 and another, 700. According to the company website, the vessel can carry up to 848 passengers.

Reminds me of the MarkAir (BF) bankruptcy, where U.S. marshals showed up and locked a tow bar to one of their B737s being seized on behalf of the lessor, right as they were in the middle of boarding it for a revenue flight!

EA CO AS wrote:

DIRECTFLT wrote:

bananaboy wrote:

Indeed it does look like a sad end for Crystal...an arrest warrant on Crystal Symphony has been issued in Miami. The ship is therefore ending it's current cruise in Bimini and guests are being transferred back to Florida by ferry.

https://www.seatrade-cruise.com/legal-r ... uises-ship

AP - Cruise ship changes course after US judge orders seizure

https://apnews.com/article/entertainmen ... 46d2f90038

Some passengers were taken by ferry to Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale on Sunday. The ferry ride was apparently “uncomfortable due to inclement weather,” according to a statement from a Crystal Cruises spokesperson. The company said guests were also taken to local airports, but wouldn’t comment on the lawsuit.

It was not immediately clear how many passengers were aboard, with one news outlet reporting 300 and another, 700. According to the company website, the vessel can carry up to 848 passengers.

Reminds me of the MarkAir (BF) bankruptcy, where U.S. marshals showed up and locked a tow bar to one of their B737s being seized on behalf of the lessor, right as they were in the middle of boarding it for a revenue flight!

What I remember most, is the large British Travel Agency, who operated planes, going bankrupt, and their customers being stranded all over the globe.

DIRECTFLT wrote:

EA CO AS wrote:

DIRECTFLT wrote:

AP - Cruise ship changes course after US judge orders seizure

https://apnews.com/article/entertainmen ... 46d2f90038

Some passengers were taken by ferry to Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale on Sunday. The ferry ride was apparently “uncomfortable due to inclement weather,” according to a statement from a Crystal Cruises spokesperson. The company said guests were also taken to local airports, but wouldn’t comment on the lawsuit.

It was not immediately clear how many passengers were aboard, with one news outlet reporting 300 and another, 700. According to the company website, the vessel can carry up to 848 passengers.

Reminds me of the MarkAir (BF) bankruptcy, where U.S. marshals showed up and locked a tow bar to one of their B737s being seized on behalf of the lessor, right as they were in the middle of boarding it for a revenue flight!

What I remember most, is the large British Travel Agency, who operated planes, going bankrupt, and their customers being stranded all over the globe.

Sounds like Thomas Cook, although the repatriation was pretty well organised, and everyone got flights home, even those who technically weren't entitled to one. Anyway, I digress...

Last occurance that I know of a ship being arrested was last summer in Dover. Golden Horizon was briefly detained.

https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/crui ... er-uk.html

bananaboy wrote:

DIRECTFLT wrote:

EA CO AS wrote:

Reminds me of the MarkAir (BF) bankruptcy, where U.S. marshals showed up and locked a tow bar to one of their B737s being seized on behalf of the lessor, right as they were in the middle of boarding it for a revenue flight!

What I remember most, is the large British Travel Agency, who operated planes, going bankrupt, and their customers being stranded all over the globe.

Sounds like Thomas Cook, although the repatriation was pretty well organised, and everyone got flights home, even those who technically weren't entitled to one. Anyway, I digress...

Last occurance that I know of a ship being arrested was last summer in Dover. Golden Horizon was briefly detained.

https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/crui ... er-uk.html

Yes, it was Thomas Cook, and they eventually all got home. I don't if everyone that had pre-paid for future trips got their money back..

I'm glad that I took my Baltic cruise a decade ago. I don't know if I'd do it nowadays. At that time, all the Russians we met derisively called him "Putin the Great". How things change...

New ship for Ambassador in 2023

Carnival is disposing of Ecstasy and Sensation:

https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/crui ... fleet.html

that makes 6 of the 8 Fantasy class gone, and all the original weight and propulsion ones.

If they are going to scrap or sold to another line not announced yet. Sensation has not and will not return to service with Carnival. Ecstasy will be around into October sailing out of Mobile, the replacement has not been announced, my guess is either Mobile gets suspended or Elation gets moved from Port Canaveral, but we will see.

The Crystal Serenity and Symphony have docked in Freeport in the Bahamas where both ships have been arrested.

An announcement made to the crew aboard by the captain on the Symphony cited unpaid bills.

https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/crui ... 1O91AOUpDM

Looks like its curtains unless they can get cash quick

OA260 wrote:

The Crystal Serenity and Symphony have docked in Freeport in the Bahamas where both ships have been arrested.

An announcement made to the crew aboard by the captain on the Symphony cited unpaid bills.

https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/crui ... 1O91AOUpDM

Looks like its curtains unless they can get cash quick

https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/ ... mpany-woes

Dream is being wound up so that doesn’t hold well for Crystal unless it’s sold, but really I don’t see the whole thing selling. The River cruises might sell by itself. But the 3 ocean going ships at best will sell to other lines. Crystal Symphony is small and old (1994 build) so the outlook isn’t very good.

Serenity is a little newer so maybe someone like Azamara might pick it up. And The expedition ship Endeavour is brand new so likely would get picked up by someone else for similar service or possibly as a large yacht.

Update from MSC on vaccination rules


Guests embarking on a Mediterranean cruise between 1st February 2022 and 31st March 2022, regardless of Nationality, must present a vaccination certificate at embarkation indicating that complete vaccination or a booster has taken place within the last 6 months.

The cruise industry has been impacted today by events in Ukraine . Itineraries for Scandinavia and Russia look set to get major changes .

I depart on the Carnival Breeze from Galveston TX this coming Mon (Feb 28) for a 5 day Western Caribbean cruise. Stops in Cozumel and Costa Maya.

Anyone ever been on this ship or routing?

ArchGuy1 wrote:

The Queen Mary is currently undergoing critical repairs and that includes removing the lifeboats. The city hopes to have the ship reopened by late 2022.
https://abc7.com/queen-mary-long-beach- ... /11547071/

Tough outlook when the lifeboats are being removed for good. Also not get that $5 million has been designated to work on the ship, but the consulting firm thinks it needs $23 million in work in the next 2 years alone

OA260 wrote:

The cruise industry has been impacted today by events in Ukraine . Itineraries for Scandinavia and Russia look set to get major changes .

I think Baltic cruises just went bye-bye. I'm glad I did mine 10 years ago.

I just looked and NCL cancelled all their St Petersburg stops this year. I'm sure the other lines have, also.

N626AA wrote:

I depart on the Carnival Breeze from Galveston TX this coming Mon (Feb 28) for a 5 day Western Caribbean cruise. Stops in Cozumel and Costa Maya.

Anyone ever been on this ship or routing?

Done this routing many times, Cozumel is Cozumel, they've managed to over develop the island, now I would take the ferry over to Playa Del Carmen and relax on the beach there.

Costa Maya, get off the ship, walk down the pier, go through the tourist traps, find a cab and tell them you want to go to Yaya beach. It's a 5 minute drive away, but a world away from Costa Maya. Now, with that said, it's probably been 3 years since I was there, best thing to do is check with the crew, ask them if everyone still goes to Yaya or have they moved on.

FGITD wrote:

ArchGuy1 wrote:

The Queen Mary is currently undergoing critical repairs and that includes removing the lifeboats. The city hopes to have the ship reopened by late 2022.
https://abc7.com/queen-mary-long-beach- ... /11547071/

Tough outlook when the lifeboats are being removed for good. Also not get that $5 million has been designated to work on the ship, but the consulting firm thinks it needs $23 million in work in the next 2 years alone

I wish Long Beach would bite the billet and scrap the ship. No doubt the city can recoup the cost by selling developmental rights to the land surrounding it. At least it’d be developed into something useful, that locals may actually enjoy.

What is the oldest ocean liner still in service?

WidebodyPTV wrote:

FGITD wrote:

ArchGuy1 wrote:

The Queen Mary is currently undergoing critical repairs and that includes removing the lifeboats. The city hopes to have the ship reopened by late 2022.
https://abc7.com/queen-mary-long-beach- ... /11547071/

Tough outlook when the lifeboats are being removed for good. Also not get that $5 million has been designated to work on the ship, but the consulting firm thinks it needs $23 million in work in the next 2 years alone

I wish Long Beach would bite the billet and scrap the ship. No doubt the city can recoup the cost by selling developmental rights to the land surrounding it. At least it’d be developed into something useful, that locals may actually enjoy.

You have to wonder if the lifeboats have to be removed to maintain structural integrity, what is the future of the distinctive three funnels?
Surely without the lifeboats the historic integrity of the entire vessel has diminished beyond the point of redemption.
Sad to see it go, it was a landmark on approach to LAX, but historically it always was anomalous in that location. New York or Southampton OK but
Los Angeles? Nah.