The cruise lines are telling Wall Street that
2022 bookings are weakening significantly, which is not a surprise to me as I’m being
asked all the time by potential cruisers if they should go cruising anytime
soon, or even this year at all. I have been cruising and found many challenges,
issues, and things to consider. I’ve managed to boil it all down to 4 big questions that you need
to ask if you are thinking of cruising this year. And more importantly, through my mistakes
and experiences, I have very specific actions and things you can do if after these
questions you still want to go cruising. By the way, if you are new here, welcome
aboard. I’m Gary Bembridge and it’s my goal to make it fun and easy to discover, plan
and enjoy unforgettable cruise vacations First, you need to ask if you are able and, more importantly, willing to keep
on top of the constantly changing rules.
And of course, be willingly
to adapt and change plans as the rules change – often during the
trip – without getting stressed out. For example, just two days before I left
for Panama to join a cruise on Oceania. Panama changed the rules around
vaccination which required three doses to avoid any of the
restrictions and quarantining. Whilst on my Ponant Antarctic trip, the UK
changed the type of test required for my return which meant finding a new test
centre before my flight home. On the cruise I'm just back from in the Caribbean,
as I record this, ports were constantly changing in-port restrictions, which we would often only
discover the night before or even on the day. St Lucia, Barbados and St Kitts decided we could
only go on a cruise-line “bubble” excursions, or use government approved taxis to
a small list of government approved locations. We only were aware of that often
the day before we got into some of those ports. If you decide you are happy to travel
with changing rules likely, like I am, what should you do to make this less stressful? First, get someone else to do much of
the work.
I book through a travel agent, Sarah Bolton of Travel Counsellors, who
I know, trust and have proven herself to be up to date and proactive in terms of
tracking and letting me know the rule changes. Her agency also has a 24-hour helpline
that can be contacted by phone, but also importantly by email which is key when on a ship. Second, I make I read every single
document the cruise lines send me. For example, from both Holland America and
Oceania cruises I’ve just done almost every day in the run up to the cruises there were e-mails
announcing, reinforcing, or changing rules.
I read every one of them as many require
actions and I know if I miss anything the lines will refuse boarding,
and that will be at my expense. The third critical thing is I found travellers
need to be tech savvy to navigate all of this. You need to be good with a smartphone or tablet.
People without these I saw getting really stressed and struggling because you must complete these
various country and cruise line forms online. And you need access to emails
and a device to be able to pull up the various competed forms to scan
QR codes, and to stay in touch with changes. Also, once on board the cruise lines
have now shifted most of the cruise materials and bookings onto their Smartphone App. I watch the new muster drill process often
on an app.
I review the daily program, book dinner times, book a slot at some events
and venues and reserve excursions on those Apps. Of course, you can get help in person
from the crew to do all these too and will not be excluded, but I have seen less
tech-savvy passengers get stressed and fraught on all my trips struggling to navigate the changes
and country, line and port requirements and forms However, there is an even more fundamental
question to ask that could be the killer one. Will you be comfortable with whatever protocols the cruise lines will
have in place when you cruise? We will not know exactly what they
will be until the time of the cruise. This struck me when I received an email
from one of the followers of the channel saying their wife had said that she refused
to go on their cruise if she had to wear a mask. They had a cruise booked in
7 months, but what should he do. My point to him was, we have no idea what
the protocols will be throughout this year. There’s some key protocols which I am assuming are going to stay for
a while, if for much of the year.
First, vaccinations. I think if you
can't have, or don't want to have a vaccine – or soon a booster – then
cruising as a vacation option will be impossible or very restricted
and I would not schedule one. The cruise lines are extending their
vaccine mandates further into the year. And the requirement for ‘fully vaccinated”
to require a booster jab is gaining speed. I received e-mails in the two
days before I recorded this from three lines, I have bookings with this year (Silversea, Viking and Azamara) advising that
I must have a booster to be able to board. P&O and Cunard in the UK for
recent cruises required boosters. Even Carnival Cruise Line say they will
follow whatever the rules the USA CDC have, and they are indicating they're likely to
change the definition of fully vaccinated to including boosters (which may have
happened by time you watch this).
Growing number of countries that cruises
call on, like Panama as I already mentioned, are requiring boosters or vaccines
within a certain timeframe to enter. I cannot even enter the United States
without being vaccinated to join a cruise because the US only let vaccinated visitors in. The cruise lines will have to keep vaccines as part of the protocols because many countries
require a vaccine before you can even go in. The second protocol is
masks. Mask wearing mandates will likely over time diminish or be reduced. However, I believe that cruise lines will be
one of the last places to lift mask wearing as are in an enclosed environment and interacting
a lot, and many ports seem set to maintain it. Lines, I believe, will be slow to lift this
as mask protocols have largely been followed and customer data I’ve seen reported
that many find it a reassuring measure. Less clear to me is around lower
capacity and social distancing on ships, and how quickly they will build back higher load levels. This brings me though to
a related question. One I am wrestling with. How comfortable will you be if
they lift all the protocols? If the lines say, we're now sailing
with full ships, no social distancing, no masks or even lifting the vaccine rules,
how comfortable will you be getting on a ship? I think there's many who will not be comfortable
with that change once they think about it.
I've been on quite a few cruises since
shutdown. All at very reduced capacity. My Holland America Nieuw Statendam was
around 30%. Other cruises I've been on, including Celebrity, Princess, Viking and
even Ponant Antarctica we had 50% capacity. I am used to space and no crowded and
busy places on board. It was reassuring. I noticed for example, when I was
on my last cruise, that people were informally socially distancing in the theatre.
And if a stranger sat down next to someone, people would get up and move
to keep space between them and the new arrivals – even though it
wasn't part of the rules and regulations.
How comfortable will I, and you, be with full
theatres, full excursion busses and so on? If you are not comfortable to cruise not knowing
what protocols will be in place when you cruise, I have some actions and tips. First, look at delaying or
pushing back your cruise now. But even if you are happy to go
without clarity on protocols, understand the rules, key decision
dates and flexibility your line is offering in case the protocols are
not suitable close to the cruise. Check if the line offers a
“cruise with confidence” fare that allows you, even once you've
paid final balance, to cancel or postpone your cruise. I made the mistake
of not checking on my last cruise and realised too late that only 30 days before
departure could I change with no penalty.
If booking a new cruise, go for a refundable
deposit or very low one. For example, I recently booked a Christmas 2022 cruise on Westerdam
which only has a £120 (about $170) deposit. But if you have any reservations do not pay your
final balance and move your cruise, as once you have paid it even if you delay and get Future
Cruise Credit you have a lot of money tied up. But there is another thing to consider
based on the type of cruise you are doing.
Is the cruise a bucket list
cruise? Perhaps one that you've always wanted to do and may only do once in your
life, or maybe there is a destination, port, or activity fundamental to why
you are going on the cruise. There is no certainty on when lines
and ports will be able to deliver everything, so are you willing to pay a
full fare and not get that full experience. I got no compensation for a change of port (from
Martinique to Grenada) or a cancelled St Thomas call on my Caribbean cruise and neither
have others for more port cancellations. I was happy to go to the Caribbean knowing that
ports may chop and change because any of them offered that I wanted to do: escape European
winter, get some sun, and go to the beach. So, whether I was doing this is in Grenada,
or Martinique was less important to me. But if that Martinique was fundamental
to my going, this would be very different For example, I have a Baltic
cruise during the summer, and knowing I will get to go to
Saint Petersburg is essential.
For that cruise, I bought cancellation
insurance for any reason as I could not get a “cruise with confidence” fare. Also, linked to this is ask if there
are specific things that you want to do onboard the ship or in a port that
is fundamental to the experience. If you are doing a cruise where the itinerary, or on-board activities, are
key then these are my tips: First, if you have an absolute must do,
must go to place, look at your options to move now and, at least, know the key
decision dates to shift without penalties. Second, if making a new booking look for a fare
that offers changes close to the cruise or with low financial risk, like that Christmas
cruise I mentioned with only $175 deposit. There is one question which few
seem to ask which, in my view, is essential as it could make a huge difference
to how your trip plays out, and costs. This is asking exactly what happens
if you test positive for Covid or are a close contact of someone
who tests positive. And, who's going to cover any costs of isolation,
quarantine and medical care if needed.
I have found that cruise lines have not made
it that easy to find out what those will be. On my recent cruise on Oceania, they were
the first to have sent to me in detail in a pre-cruise email, and unpromoted,
what happens if I tested positive. For example, testing positive
in the pre-boarding test means 5 days quarantine in a hotel
arranged and covered by Oceania. Testing positive and symptomatic means 10 days
quarantine on board. If the cruise ends before that time is up, then I would be disembarked
into a hotel arranged and covered by them. If asymptomatic and been in quarantine
for at least 5 days, means disembarking as planned and able to travel home. On most lines I have been on, positive
passengers are moved from their cabin to dedicated cabins in a secure
and restricted area on the ship. Close contacts are usually quarantined
in the cabin they have booked.
However, these rules differ by region.
In the Caribbean isolated passengers and crew are kept on the ship or perhaps
transferred to a separate quarantining ship. However, in Europe, positive
and close contact guests are usually removed from the ship for isolation. In all those cases the cruise line was covering
costs, transfers home arranged, and costs covered. This is what I do and recommend First, get your travel agent or the line
to confirm will happen at all stages and who covers the costs, including if you will be
refunded any of the fare while in isolation. Second, have insurance that covers
Covid issues like quarantine, return home and medical. My insurance covers that. Third, if travelling to a foreign country to
catch a cruise, time it so you can do the required cruise line PCR or Antigen test for boarding
at home. So you don’t have to do it once there, as if you test positive then you will have to sort
and pay for your quarantine and miss the cruise.
Fundamental to this whole thing is
flexibility. If you are flexible and you know that you will not get stressed
by some of this uncertainty, keep going. Why not find out more about what it's like to
cruise right now during the current situation, look at this video where I show you in detail
exactly what it's like starting with one of the things that I had probably thought was going
to be a massive issue, but turned out not to be a massive issue, and one that caught me
completely blindsided. See you over there..