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6 Cruise On-Board Changes ALREADY Agreed Due To Covid-19
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Jan 28, 2025
I explore the on board cruise ship changes already put in place due to the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. Cruise ship changes that are already in place with cruise ships sailing around the world, in Europe, French Polynesia, Iceland and parts of Asia, and also those announced as in place by the mainstream cruise lines ready for when they are allowed to start cruising again. These are changes on board cruise ships that we will have to get used to. Join this channel to get access to perks: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_qE-Obs2ocdmPXY0TIU-cw/join SUPPORT THE CHANNEL BY :Buying my Cruise T-shirts: http://bit.ly/TFTStore Gary Bembridge's Tips For Travellers aims to help you make more of your precious travel time and money on land and when cruising the oceans or rivers of the world. To help you, in every video I draw on my first-hand tips and advice from travelling every month for over 20 years and 77 cruises at time of making this video. Follow Tips For Travellers on: - Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/garybembridge - Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/tipsfortravellers - Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/garybembridge #CruiseChanges #CruiseShipChanges #HowWillCruisingChange 00:00 Start 01:15 Screening Changes 01:58 Testing Changes
View Video Transcript
0:00
what are the changes on board we're all
0:02
going to have to get used to
0:04
when we start cruising again i'm gary
0:07
bemidji and i want to talk about some
0:08
really big changes
0:10
that are coming to the whole cruising on
0:12
board experience that we're all going to
0:14
have to get used to if we want to go
0:15
cruising again i'm going to talk about
0:17
everything from
0:18
what venues you can accept whether you
0:20
have to do testing they have to wear
0:22
masks
0:23
changes to dining excursions the whole
0:25
gamut of stuff that has been
0:27
announced and put in place i've taken a
0:29
look at cruise lines that are already up
0:31
and sailing
0:31
which includes lines like ponanto de
0:34
grueten
0:34
sea dream the royal caribbean owned mine
0:37
shift which is now sailing in germany
0:39
carnival corporation
0:40
and aida which is sailing out of germany
0:42
as well and also the royal caribbean
0:44
hapag
0:45
lloyd brand but i've also taken a look
0:47
at the changes that have been put in
0:49
place and announced
0:50
by other big cruise lines including
0:52
things like crystal cruises
0:54
norwegian cruise line virgin voyages and
0:57
even some of the asian cruise lines that
0:59
are now selling like a dream
1:00
for example out of taiwan so what are
1:03
these changes
1:04
that you're going to have to get used to
1:06
when you go cruising again
1:07
of course i'd love to hear as we go
1:08
through this what you think about the
1:09
changes and if they are likely to put
1:11
you of cruising when you are able to go
1:13
cruising next you're going to have to
1:16
get used to
1:17
significant changes in the whole health
1:20
screening
1:20
process not only before you get on the
1:22
ship but ongoing
1:23
throughout your voyage there's a couple
1:25
of key things to think about here first
1:27
of all
1:28
before you board your ship you're going
1:30
to have to do
1:31
a online health questionnaire even
1:34
before you head off on your cruise once
1:36
you get
1:36
to the port you'll then go through a
1:38
much more detailed health
1:40
screening you're going to have a timed
1:41
arrival so you're going to have to
1:42
arrive at a very certain
1:43
and set time and that's because the
1:45
cruise lines are going to be doing a
1:46
much deeper
1:47
medically supervised check-in they're
1:50
going to look at your questionnaire
1:51
they're going to check take your
1:53
temperature and really delve in
1:55
and approve your health status before
1:57
they let you
1:58
board the second thing that you can
2:00
expect is temperature checks
2:02
and temperature checks and more
2:04
temperature checks you'll find your
2:05
temperatures being checked before you
2:06
enter the terminal before you board the
2:08
ship
2:08
once you're on the ship what we're
2:10
seeing happening is multiple
2:12
temperature checks taking place
2:13
throughout the cruise you normally have
2:15
your temperature taken before you head
2:16
into a dining venue for example
2:18
some of the major events when you get
2:20
off the ship to head out an excursion
2:22
when you return from
2:23
an excursion so constant temperature
2:25
checking
2:26
right throughout your cruise experience
2:28
this is of course designed to make sure
2:30
they
2:30
capture and identify infected passengers
2:34
as quickly as they possibly can when it
2:36
comes to asymptomatic passengers
2:38
is there is an increasing chance that
2:40
you are going to have to have
2:41
some kind of covet 19 test let's take a
2:44
look at where that's already happening
2:45
first of all
2:46
all crew are going to be cover 19 tested
2:48
before they get on a ship
2:50
to stop asymptomatic crew coming on
2:52
board the importance of this
2:54
is shown just in the last couple of
2:55
weeks where crew heading back
2:57
to board carnival's aida out of germany
3:00
were tested
3:01
and 10 of them were found to be
3:03
asymptomatic having the virus but not
3:05
knowing so they were able to identify
3:06
that crew before they boarded the ship
3:08
and isolate them i think we're going to
3:10
see that increasingly happening with
3:11
passengers so let me talk through
3:13
what i'm seeing and when i think you're
3:14
going to find that's going to affect you
3:16
first of all it's important to bear in
3:17
mind that both the eu guidelines
3:20
to resume cruising in europe recommended
3:22
that cruise lines look
3:24
at testing passengers and crew the cdc
3:27
the us
3:27
authorities they are doing a
3:29
consultation which has just been issued
3:31
where testing of passengers and crew
3:33
before they board
3:35
is one of the things they're consulting
3:36
on so that's definitely on their agenda
3:38
thirdly we're seeing on cruises which
3:40
involve international guests joining a
3:42
cruise
3:43
visiting multiple countries covert 19
3:45
tests are already part of that
3:46
so for example if you want to go and
3:48
join a cruise in french polynesia
3:50
iceland or even if you want to head into
3:51
alaska for example
3:53
you have to have a covered 19 test
3:55
before you can actually enter those
3:56
territories
3:56
and it's a requirement of boarding a
3:58
ship what's also very important
4:00
is we're also seeing a whole raft of
4:02
countries requiring curved 19 tests for
4:05
land-based visitors so even those
4:08
islands in the caribbean
4:09
that aren't open to cruise ships yet
4:11
many of those are acquiring a cover 19
4:13
test before they'll let people
4:14
enter the country so a logical extension
4:16
of that is that probably will extend
4:18
that
4:18
to cruising one would think but
4:20
certainly we're seeing if a cruise is
4:22
touring around multiple countries some
4:24
sort of covert 19 test seems to be part
4:26
of what's already in place and could
4:28
come
4:28
virgin voyages for example have said
4:30
they plan to have a
4:32
fast covert 19 test in place so they can
4:34
test all passengers before they board
4:36
their ships
4:37
when they eventually start sailing we're
4:39
seeing for exotic and expedition cruises
4:42
covert 19 tests are part of that whole
4:44
process so for example
4:46
as we head into the antarctic season
4:48
panant and other
4:49
major expedition cruise lines are
4:51
requiring over 19 tests from passengers
4:53
before they head off to board the cruise
4:55
in those european cruises that are
4:57
already up and running as part of the
4:59
terms of service
5:00
what they say is although they're not
5:02
currently requiring general curved 19
5:04
tests if the rate the rate of infection
5:07
in a particular country or subsection of
5:09
a country increases
5:10
they will introduce covert 19 tests so
5:12
for example in germany
5:13
although the rate is relatively low what
5:15
they're saying is if there is an
5:16
outbreak
5:17
or a flare-up in a particular region
5:19
you'd need a covert 19 test if you're
5:20
coming from that region
5:21
so testing and temperature screening is
5:24
going to be a fundamental part it seems
5:26
at varying levels as we move forward
5:28
with cruising something we need to get
5:30
used to
5:31
we're also going to have to get used to
5:33
social distancing
5:34
on board cruise ships pretty much as
5:36
we're having to get used to that
5:38
on land so it's going to reflect very
5:39
much what's happening on land
5:41
there's a couple of ways that we're
5:42
seeing that changing on cruising first
5:44
of all
5:44
all cruise lines have announced or put
5:47
into place
5:48
that they are going to sell with lower
5:50
capacity so fewer passengers on board
5:52
all the cruisers that have sailed so far
5:54
have between 50 and
5:55
60 percent the number of passengers they
5:58
normally use to carry
5:59
and all cruise lines are said certainly
6:00
when they start sailing they will
6:02
carry fewer passengers so that enables
6:05
social distancing
6:06
secondly they're all putting in place a
6:08
requirement for passengers to keep six
6:10
feet
6:10
apart at all times and what they're
6:13
doing to enable that to happen
6:15
is they're putting capacity constraints
6:17
on a number of venues so you'll find
6:19
the theater the dining rooms the pool
6:23
elevators gyms shops they all
6:27
are going to be capacity controlled
6:29
different cruise lines are putting
6:30
different procedures in place so some
6:32
for example you're having to book to go
6:34
to dining in advance or having to book
6:36
to go to the theater in advance but
6:38
you're going to find there are capacity
6:39
controls on everything
6:40
even including bars so they're going to
6:42
limit the numbers of people
6:44
at any one time in a venue we've seen
6:46
for example in the areas that's caused a
6:47
lot of discussion is around
6:48
the swimming pools and hot tubs where
6:51
both the eu
6:52
guidelines were pretty strict on those
6:53
but cruise lines are limiting the number
6:55
of people around
6:56
and spreading out the lounges so that
6:59
they're one and a half feet desire
7:00
six feet apart so expect to have
7:03
more limited access also any time to
7:05
access and restricted access to the
7:07
venues around the ship
7:08
one of the other big changes is
7:09
reinventing the whole master drill
7:11
so royal caribbean have launched a new
7:14
process called muster
7:15
2.0 which is a technology they're
7:17
rolling across their cruise lines so
7:19
that includes of course celebrity and
7:20
azamara but they've also offered the
7:22
technology
7:23
to all other cruise lines the idea with
7:25
master 2.0
7:26
is on your interactive television or on
7:28
your smartphone through the app you do
7:30
the whole
7:31
muster drill process yourself on the app
7:34
you then have to go
7:35
and scan it in and get checked that
7:37
you've done the whole process
7:38
in your actual muster station so
7:40
removing the need to bring big groups of
7:42
people together another
7:44
thing that you're probably going to get
7:45
need to get used to on board is much
7:47
more activities outdoors as we all know
7:49
outdoors has proven to be a much safer
7:52
environment to operate in so
7:53
for example in the eu guidelines they're
7:55
encouraging to do more activities
7:56
outdoors
7:57
and actually recommending that all
7:58
indoor pools are closed completely
8:01
in order to enable social distancing and
8:03
safer environments
8:04
as on land one of the most hotly debated
8:08
and discussed topics is around the use
8:10
of masks masks
8:12
could well play a part on the whole
8:14
cruising experience that you need to get
8:16
used to and certainly those cruise lines
8:17
are started selling
8:18
there is varying degrees of the role of
8:20
masks what the cruise lines are saying
8:22
is that they will reflect the mask rules
8:26
on land in their home port so if you're
8:28
selling a particular port a particular
8:30
country
8:30
that has a set of rules around masks
8:32
that will apply once you get
8:33
on board the board brush rule however
8:37
is that masks need to be used in the
8:39
whole cruising experience
8:40
when you can't maintain social
8:42
distancing which is true of course on
8:44
land
8:45
some of the cruise lines only require
8:46
for example when you're in corridors
8:49
where you're going to be in close
8:50
proximity to people or in large
8:52
gatherings
8:52
of people sometimes on an invocation or
8:54
disembarkation where it's harder
8:55
to do social distancing crystal has
8:57
taken a probably one of the stronger
8:59
views
9:00
on mars they're talking about it being
9:01
required in situations
9:03
which include before you seat in a
9:05
restaurant in all the show lounges in
9:07
the casino
9:08
in the elevators on the tenders in the
9:11
terminals in the tour dispatch areas
9:13
and possibly also on excursions if they
9:15
are required
9:16
in those local countries so it is likely
9:18
that a mask is likely to play some sort
9:20
of role and what we've seen of all the
9:21
cruise lines who've launched is they are
9:22
providing little packs
9:24
with things like masks and sanitizing
9:26
wipes
9:27
so you can expect that whatever's
9:28
happening on land will happen
9:30
on your cruise ship and that's something
9:32
you're gonna have to get used to one of
9:33
the things you will absolutely have to
9:34
get used to when it comes to masks
9:36
is crew will be wearing ppe personal
9:39
protective equipment
9:40
at all times so any crew that are
9:42
passenger facing they will be wearing
9:43
either visors
9:45
or masks or be behind those perspex
9:47
screens so
9:48
crew will have very clear ppe
9:51
requirements and you have to get used to
9:53
crew around you
9:54
wearing pbe the next big change that
9:57
we're gonna have to get used to is
9:58
around the area
9:59
of dining the most obvious change of all
10:01
is the dining times are going to be
10:03
extended this is so that they can seat
10:04
fewer people
10:05
at any point in time so you'll find
10:08
dining
10:08
is really extended and the tables in the
10:12
restaurants are spread out much more
10:13
many of the cruise lines are limiting
10:15
the amount of people
10:16
at a table to only those people in your
10:18
cabin or
10:20
the household that you're traveling with
10:22
or party that you're traveling with
10:23
there's going to be increasing
10:24
encouraging of passengers to do
10:27
in-room dining so that also reduces the
10:30
pressure on the number of people in the
10:31
dining room
10:32
there's going to be no self-service at
10:34
all and increasingly what we're seeing
10:35
on those
10:35
cruise ships that have launched is
10:37
contactless ordering so a lot of them
10:39
are using things like
10:40
qr codes and all paperless menus on the
10:43
app so
10:44
there is a chance to reduce the amount
10:46
of contact that people have and touching
10:48
things a lot of the cruise lines have
10:49
also instituted
10:50
something where you have to pre-book all
10:52
of your dining some of the cruise lines
10:54
for example with royal caribbean's mind
10:57
chief
10:57
you have to have actually booked all
10:59
your dining up to three days before the
11:01
cruise others
11:02
basically once you're on the cruise so
11:03
you're gonna have to find that you're
11:04
gonna have to be much more rigorous
11:06
about the time you're dying when you're
11:08
done and you'll probably have to book it
11:10
and sharing tables is not like to be
11:12
something that
11:13
if you were used to you have to get used
11:14
to not sharing with strangers
11:16
another thing that you may have to get
11:18
used to is a sudden change
11:20
in ports and itineraries not only before
11:22
you sail but also once you're sailing
11:25
with the virus still out there there's
11:26
always a chance of flare-ups so you
11:28
might find a particular port you would
11:29
do to go into
11:30
has a flare-up or has closed down some
11:32
of their facilities at
11:33
short notice and therefore the cruise
11:35
line will not call
11:36
on those ports so you need to expect as
11:39
you start traveling and heading out on
11:41
cruises pretty much
11:42
as you do also on land base is you might
11:44
find that suddenly things close
11:45
and so you need to expect almost as a
11:47
new norm that the itinerary you head out
11:49
to do
11:50
may chop and change for example this can
11:52
happen also with land-based holidays
11:54
at the time of recording this for
11:55
example there had been some flare-ups in
11:57
spain
11:57
and governments had started to restrict
12:00
the amount of people moving in and out
12:01
of spain putting a lot of travel
12:02
restrictions
12:03
that kind of thing could also happen
12:04
once you're on a cruise so you need to
12:05
expect
12:06
that the itinerary you set off to do may
12:08
change because of flare-ups
12:10
one other thing we're going to get used
12:11
to is around the area of excursions
12:13
which could see
12:14
some pretty big changes this is separate
12:16
the fact that we're seeing
12:17
of the cruisers as they start up they
12:19
tend to be a little bit shorter
12:21
they're having much fewer ports of call
12:22
or some of them even really focusing on
12:24
much more scenic cruising
12:26
when it comes to excursions we're going
12:27
to see a real change and this is in a
12:29
number of areas
12:30
that have already started to happen the
12:32
conservative ports of course there's
12:33
lots of people coming off the cruise
12:34
ship who may or may not
12:36
you know infect or bring something on to
12:38
land and of course there's a concern
12:40
from the cruise ships and the ports that
12:41
perhaps people don't pick up something
12:42
on land
12:43
and bring it back onto the ship so what
12:46
we're seeing
12:47
is the cruise lines increasingly will be
12:49
encouraging or even requiring passengers
12:52
to do cruise line excursions because
12:54
these are ones that they can control
12:55
they're building alliances with the port
12:57
authorities and all the providers where
12:59
they can make sure that the protocols
13:01
required
13:02
are enforced so things like fewer
13:05
passengers
13:06
on board the buses buses being
13:07
disinfected they can make sure that the
13:09
places they visit
13:11
they have opportunities for hand
13:12
sanitizer hand washing so all the kind
13:14
of controls that they're putting in
13:15
place on board
13:16
so you're going to see a lot of pressure
13:18
or encouragement to do cruise
13:20
line only excursions we've already seen
13:22
some of the ports talking about how they
13:23
don't believe
13:24
that there will be independent
13:25
excursions that all be very much
13:27
controlled by
13:28
the cruise lines and signed off by the
13:30
port authorities to keep people
13:31
effectively in little bubbles i think
13:33
you'll also probably see
13:34
more and more outdoor type excursions
13:37
taking place so expect to see a big
13:39
pressure and lots of emphasis on doing
13:41
cruise line excursions rather than
13:43
independent touring
13:44
and with independent tour operators some
13:46
of the cruise lines for example
13:48
with their crew have put into the
13:51
contracts the crew contracts
13:53
that they're not allowed to head off
13:54
into port when ships are
13:56
in port so it's pretty strong and
13:59
difficult time for the crew they can't
14:00
even head off for a couple of hours in
14:02
port so
14:02
that's not true across all cruise lines
14:04
but certainly controlling what people do
14:06
on land is something we're going to have
14:07
to get very much more used to certainly
14:09
in the early stages of cruising on the
14:11
plus side of course
14:13
it does mean that excursions are going
14:14
to have fewer people on you know
14:16
more room on the bus you can have much
14:18
more attention of the
14:20
tour guide so that's the plus side of
14:21
course of some of these changes that we
14:23
could of course
14:24
get really used to and it's actually
14:25
going to be a plus there's a whole bunch
14:27
of
14:27
changes coming to the cruise experience
14:29
that we are going to have to adapt to
14:31
and get used to many of these of course
14:33
reflect what we're getting used to on
14:34
lands of course these will evolve and
14:36
change as the learning of the virus
14:37
changes as more cruise lines come aboard
14:39
but certainly i think we're going to see
14:40
a lot of challenges particularly
14:42
with changes for cruise ships that are
14:45
sailing between multiple countries
14:47
with international passengers which is
14:48
why we've seen a lot of cruise lines
14:50
start up by sailing in local areas with
14:53
local
14:54
passengers only because this is much
14:55
easier to control and they have to have
14:58
much less draconian kind of rules and
15:00
regulations on board
15:01
that's why we're seeing out of norway
15:03
who degrades in a sea dream setting
15:04
pronounced out of france for french
15:06
passengers
15:06
we're seeing a whole raft there of
15:08
cruise lines hapag lloyd mind shift
15:10
aida out of germany and many more
15:13
regional
15:14
cruises to come i'd love to know what
15:15
you think about these changes and if
15:17
they
15:17
are like to put you off going cruising
15:20
anytime
15:20
soon and certainly when it starts up i
15:23
have loads more
15:24
of videos of course to watch for
15:25
cruising tips so why don't you watch
15:26
another one of those
15:27
right now
#Cruises & Charters
#Public Health