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BAD NEWS CRUISE UPDATE : ALASKA CANCELLED, Masks, Kid Ban, River Plans, Vaccines & More
Jan 28, 2025
In this packed Tips For Travellers cruise update, I discuss disappointing and bad news cruising updates and cruise news including Canada banning cruise ships until 2022 so that means Alaska season will have to be cancelled, a strict and far-reaching mask ruling by the CDC, why vaccines to cruise is growing, the real ban in children on cruising versus speculation, and what the European river cruise lines and American River Cruise lines are saying about 2021
The up-to-date dates cruise lines hope to resume sailing: http://www.tipsfortravellers.com/cruise-line-cancellation
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0:00
has a new cdc ruling set cruising back
0:03
much further than it appears the first
0:06
u.s
0:06
cruise lines make vaccines mandatory is
0:09
alaska cruising
0:10
a no-go this year are europe river
0:12
cruises off the cards for non-europeans
0:15
what cruisers have children actually
0:17
been banned from
0:19
this is the latest of my cruise updates
0:21
where i unpick
0:23
the latest developments and what they
0:24
mean for you
0:26
and for me as cruisers there's lots to
0:29
cover
0:29
so let's get going
0:33
as i was just finishing off this video
0:34
and getting ready to go
0:36
live with the video some big breaking
0:38
news came around alaska i had been
0:40
talking about
0:41
the big hurdles for alaska opening but
0:44
one of the big hurdles
0:45
has now become a huge issue canada have
0:48
announced that they have put a ban on
0:51
all cruise ships
0:52
for a year right through to february
0:54
2022
0:56
this means that it's likely that there
0:58
will be no
0:59
alaska season since those cruise ships
1:01
are able to go into canada
1:03
and under u.s law all ships that leave
1:05
from seattle
1:07
or any other part of the u.s or corn to
1:09
the u.s
1:10
so calling to alaska have to call it a
1:12
foreign port and they all call on canada
1:14
it's extremely unlikely that the u.s
1:16
will lift the passenger act
1:18
which requires that so certainly that is
1:21
a huge deal
1:22
and it certainly looks like the 2021
1:23
season is going to have to be cancelled
1:26
the actual order bans adventure seeking
1:29
pleasure craft
1:30
all passenger vessels carrying more than
1:32
12 people
1:33
and all cruise vessels carrying 100 or
1:35
more people are prohibited from
1:37
operating in canadian waters importantly
1:40
also the canadian government
1:41
strongly increases advice for canadians
1:43
not to go on cruises
1:45
anywhere in the world more to come as
1:47
this happens but the alaska season
1:49
you'll likely see being cancelled
1:51
because of this ban
1:53
there is a reminder that no one knows
1:55
when cruisers will be returning
1:57
in the u.s and in fact beyond that it's
1:59
certainly not soon
2:01
this has just as i recall this being
2:03
confirmed by richard feyne now he's the
2:05
head
2:06
of the royal caribbean group and in his
2:08
most recent video he said and i quote
2:10
my answer is consistently i just don't
2:14
know
2:14
lots of speculation of course that it
2:15
could be as late as july
2:18
at the very start of february the uscdc
2:21
issued an order
2:22
on the wearing of masks on all forms of
2:24
transport so that included trains
2:25
included planes
2:26
taxis ride chairs and of course cruise
2:29
ships
2:30
and it has some really big implications
2:32
for cruising when it returns
2:34
especially in and out of the usa the
2:36
rules i believe
2:38
are so much stricter than the lions have
2:40
proposed in their various kind of return
2:42
to cruise protocols
2:43
and they are even harsher than what is
2:46
in place for the italian and german
2:48
lines that have been sailing within
2:50
europe
2:51
there's also a very key ruling in there
2:53
about testing and vaccines
2:55
that i think most media reporters are on
2:58
this whole order they seem to have
2:59
missed but
3:00
more on that important development a
3:02
little bit later
3:03
first of all the cdc order says and i'm
3:05
going to quote here
3:07
conveyance operators traveling into or
3:09
within the united states
3:11
may transport only persons wearing masks
3:15
and must use best efforts to ensure
3:18
that masks are worn when embarking
3:20
disembarking
3:21
and throughout the duration of travel
3:25
now they're also going to say the masks
3:27
must be worn until your actual arrival
3:29
at your destination there are four
3:33
really big things that struck me on the
3:35
order and digesting the whole order that
3:37
i want to
3:38
talk about first of all and probably the
3:41
most important
3:42
mask covering both your nose and mouth
3:44
they have to be worn
3:45
during the entire journey except in
3:48
another quote here
3:49
while eating drinking or taking
3:50
medication for brief
3:52
periods now note the emphasis on entire
3:55
journey
3:55
and on brief periods this entire journey
3:58
ruling is
3:59
a pretty big one and it seems to follow
4:01
much more the approach used in
4:02
asia rather than in europe now for
4:06
example
4:06
royal caribbean quantum of the seas
4:08
that's currently selling
4:10
out of singapore they require all their
4:12
passengers to wear face masks
4:14
in pretty much all public places both
4:16
indoors
4:17
and outdoors regardless of any physical
4:20
distance in measures that are in place
4:21
so even
4:22
if there's physical distancing possible
4:24
you still have to wear your mask
4:25
so for example there's some quite crazy
4:28
rules where you have to wear
4:29
a mask around the pool and only take it
4:32
off when you're actually in the pool
4:33
itself
4:34
now this particular cdc order makes
4:36
wearing at all times
4:37
even when distancing is possible that's
4:40
really really important
4:41
the second thing that struck me is the
4:42
lines will have to
4:44
have really strict enforcement because
4:46
the order says if people do not comply
4:48
the carrier should at the earliest
4:50
opportunity disembark
4:52
any person who refuses to comply
4:55
this mirror is very much the singapore
4:57
approach you know royal caribbean was
4:58
forced to actually increase
5:00
monitoring mask wearing and they had to
5:02
increase the amount of warnings to
5:03
guests
5:04
because they felt they just wouldn't be
5:06
strict enough so strict enforcement
5:08
thirdly
5:09
everyone over the age of two has to wear
5:11
the mask this does
5:12
seem a pretty low age but everyone over
5:14
two and the only exception
5:16
for not wearing a mask is if you are a
5:18
registered
5:19
or have a registered disability and you
5:21
cannot safely wear a mask and it does
5:22
sort of imply
5:23
you have to have some form of
5:24
documentation now fourthly
5:27
and this is really key too masks are
5:30
still required for
5:31
anyone that has either been vaccinated
5:34
or those who've recovered from covert
5:36
19.
5:37
now the cdc says the reason for this is
5:39
that i'm sorry but it's going to be
5:40
another quote here
5:42
vaccines are highly effective at
5:44
preventing severe
5:45
or symptomatic covered 19 at this time
5:48
there is limited information
5:50
on how much the available covert 19
5:52
vaccines may reduce
5:53
transmission in the general population
5:55
and how long protection lasts
5:57
i know that's a little bit wordy but
5:58
basically you have to
6:00
have a mask irrespective of vaccines
6:04
or you're recovering now of course once
6:05
you see the technical details for the
6:07
test cruises
6:08
which are required by the cdc will have
6:10
a little bit more detail but a pretty
6:12
big change
6:13
i think now in a really big development
6:16
another big development
6:17
two more cruise lines and the very first
6:19
u.s based ones
6:20
have announced they are to make vaccines
6:23
required joining
6:24
saga cruisers in the uk now the lines
6:26
are the american
6:28
steamboat company and victory cruise
6:31
lines
6:32
and they will require vaccines from the
6:34
first of july and by then
6:36
that's when they're estimating their
6:38
passengers their target passengers
6:40
will have had the opportunity to
6:41
actually have been vaccinated based on
6:42
the time of the rollout
6:44
now there's also development again in
6:46
the united states that i think makes it
6:48
likely to make it easier and may
6:50
eventually even require
6:51
the lines to go down this vaccine route
6:53
the cdc
6:54
in that recent order said that travel
6:56
operators like cruise lines
6:58
can and what they actually say impose
7:00
requirements
7:02
or conditions for carriage as well as
7:04
requiring evidence
7:05
that the person does not have coveted
7:07
19. so
7:09
clearly the cdc are giving permission
7:11
for lines to lay down
7:13
conditions on who they will and won't
7:15
take so for example they could
7:16
say you have to have a vaccine and it
7:19
really seems possible to me
7:20
that as the cdc is now requiring the
7:22
wearing of masks they're requiring
7:24
testing as a condition of cruising
7:27
another logical step
7:28
could be adding vaccines to that because
7:30
they've already said they see these as
7:32
the most effective way to stop
7:34
serious illness from the virus as i've
7:36
already discussed
7:38
now the cdc requiring vaccines would of
7:40
course make it much easier
7:42
for the lines to move down this route it
7:44
is really worth noting
7:45
that 50 of cruise passengers based on
7:48
data from
7:49
clear the cruise line association are
7:51
over 60 and almost three quarters
7:53
over 40 years of age the biggest age
7:56
group of passengers
7:57
on board cruises is actually the 60 to
8:00
69
8:01
year of age so these sort of ages we're
8:03
talking are the ones that are all very
8:05
high
8:06
on vaccine priority lists so they are
8:08
likely to have had their vaccine
8:09
before cruising resumes so lines that
8:12
focus
8:13
on those age groups like the u.s river
8:15
cruises
8:16
saga cruises who went that way it will
8:18
be interesting to see
8:19
whether others with that sort of profile
8:21
also follow
8:23
quite a few people have been in touch to
8:24
ask what's going on around children
8:26
being banned from cruises that they've
8:28
seen
8:28
various blogs vlogs and articles talking
8:31
about
8:32
it's really important to note that there
8:33
is a ban on children but it's a very
8:35
specific
8:36
ban for a very specific activity at a
8:39
very specific
8:40
point in time the cdc requires test
8:43
cruises as part of the return to
8:44
sailing and they have said that only
8:47
people over the age of 18 can go on the
8:49
test cruises no children
8:51
are allowed on those cruises there is no
8:53
other plan
8:54
or news around children being banned
8:56
from cruising of course
8:57
if vaccines are required then it is
9:00
possible that there may
9:01
need to be some kind of dispensation or
9:03
ruling but it's hard to believe
9:05
that children would be banned as
9:07
cruising resumes so this point in time
9:09
there is a ban on children but it's a
9:11
very specific ban
9:12
and no doubt as we come closer to
9:14
cruising and as the authorities on the
9:16
cruise lines assess
9:17
the requirements around testing vaccines
9:19
whatever they may be
9:20
the role of children and cruising will
9:23
be addressed in some way
9:25
the other thing i get asked a lot for
9:27
updates
9:28
is river cruising mostly around river
9:30
cruising a little bit around the us
9:32
so i thought i would touch on that in
9:33
more detail now there has
9:35
been some recent news and updates on
9:37
river cruising we
9:38
are seeing some lines pushing the
9:41
hopeful start to the season into may and
9:43
we've even seen june now
9:44
with two river cruises they've just
9:46
moved into june
9:48
so we're seeing lines shifting along
9:51
but importantly there's also been a big
9:53
river cruise industry meeting
9:55
virtually of course there was 30 of the
9:57
river cruise line members taking part
9:59
and it revealed a lot
10:00
what they said is they see this year
10:02
effectively being a transition year
10:03
after the wipeout of 2020
10:05
and what they think will be a big return
10:07
in 2022.
10:09
most of the lines are not expecting
10:11
return of all of their fleet
10:13
and a lot of them are expecting to bring
10:16
back
10:16
at most half of their ships and it all
10:19
hinges
10:20
on which travelers that they actually
10:22
cater for
10:23
so the lines with mostly european guests
10:25
so cruise lines like crossy europe
10:27
they're still hopeful they could start
10:29
sailing in april may or
10:30
june but lines that rely on
10:32
english-speaking guests
10:34
mostly of course from the united states
10:36
so that's things like ammo autos for
10:38
example
10:39
they say when and how the scene starts
10:41
is going to really really depend
10:43
on when travel between the united states
10:45
into europe
10:46
opens freely and they think this is
10:48
going to hinge all around the pace of
10:50
vaccine rollout
10:51
on both sides of the atlantic and that's
10:54
going to be the big determinant
10:56
now they hope of course that if a
10:57
significant number of americans are
10:59
vaccinated for
11:00
covert which of course is possible
11:03
because much of their audience is in
11:04
that older age group who have priorities
11:06
we spoke about earlier
11:07
then they do think that river cruise
11:09
ships and river cruise lines
11:11
that cater for north americans could be
11:12
back in operations
11:14
late in the summer so july august time
11:16
or maybe just a little bit
11:17
after that the cruise lines are also
11:20
working on the assumption which i was
11:21
very interesting that
11:22
they think that airlines or countries in
11:24
europe are going to make vaccinations a
11:26
requirement to travel
11:28
freely and without restrictions which of
11:30
course would also
11:31
if there does have make americans
11:32
perhaps more able and more willing to
11:34
join
11:35
european river cruises certainly those
11:36
that have been vaccinated
11:38
the protocols that were used in the very
11:40
few 2020 sailings
11:42
are going to remain in 2021 they include
11:44
reduced capacity
11:46
mask wearing pre-boarding health
11:48
screenings
11:49
covered 19 tests for crew and in some
11:50
cases for passengers
11:52
daily temperature checks and removal
11:55
things like self-service dining so all
11:56
those
11:57
protocols we're pretty used to so if you
11:59
want to river cruise in europe this year
12:00
again
12:01
push your booking to as late in the
12:03
season as you possibly can
12:05
is my advice american river cruise lines
12:08
like the american seaboard company and
12:09
victory
12:10
cruisers they are hoping to resume in
12:12
march
12:13
april their course will only have covert
12:14
19 testing as a requirement
12:16
with vaccines coming in in the middle of
12:18
the year now on my website
12:20
tips for travellers i keep a constantly
12:22
updated list by month of when both ocean
12:25
and river cruise lines aim to start
12:27
selling so you can keep up to date there
12:29
with the changing situation the link is
12:31
in the notes of this episode
12:34
so i hope you found all of this helpful
12:35
i have hundreds more
12:37
tips for travellers episodes packed full
12:39
of cruising updates
12:40
tips and advice so why not enjoy
12:43
another one right now
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