How many cruises have had problems

Deficiencies cited based on those visits can attest to the broader health and safety culture on the ship, said Ross Klein, an academic in Newfoundland who tracks cruise ship outbreaks and has spent two decades researching and studying the industry. They were handed a questionnaire to report any recent travel abroad to countries of concern or symptoms of the new coronavirus.

Later, they wondered why no one from the ship had interviewed them in person or checked their temperature, a more rigorous approach to coronavirus screening. Investigators now believe that outbreak started with a passenger and spread to the crew — who continued to work unless they had symptoms — especially food service workers working closely together and living in cabins on the same deck, the CDC said in a report released this week.

The Grand Princess was similarly vulnerable as it sailed away for 13 days, making four stops on islands in Hawaii. The Rafanellis recalled rough seas as the ship turned toward Ensenada, Mexico, with less experienced cruisers vomiting in public and crew scurrying to clean up.

By then, U. The captain shared the news over the loudspeaker that afternoon and canceled a reception that night for VIP cruisers. A planned music and dance show was instead piped into the rooms, where the Rafanellis watched it.

The crew now wore gloves and served the food rather than allowing passengers to help themselves from the buffet. Rafanelli, 73, recognized the protocol from a previous cruise with a norovirus outbreak. That night, he was not allowed to touch common utensils. In a ship cafe after dinner, Michelle Saunders, 23, sipped hot cocoa with her grandmother.

She had been impressed throughout the cruise by how attentively the crew were wiping down handrails and elevator buttons. Still, she wondered whether crowds should be mingling. A letter delivered overnight to passengers' rooms offered details. Out of an abundance of caution, he wrote, the CDC was requiring passengers who had sailed on both trips to stay in their rooms until medically cleared.

It was not until later Thursday that passengers received instructions to isolate themselves in their rooms. Before retreating, Cathy Rafanelli, 67, darted back to the buffet line, which was still open despite the new guidance, to stock up on cookies and fruit.

Clean linens arrived in bags. Rafanelli and her husband left their cabin only once for an organized deck walk, with protective masks provided. Cruising is just part of their life now, Maureen and Richard's children have left the nest and it is time for them to enjoy themselves. They also have a lot of cancelled cruises and missed opportunities to make up for.

The problem is they cannot quite look forward to these cruises with the same restless anticipation they used to. Covid could mean they are cancelled or delayed pretty much anytime. But like the industry itself, they just can't wait to get back to a life on the ocean waves. Image source, Getty Images. Passengers on the MSC Virtuosa, pictured, had to keep their masks on.

Image source, Mike Bugsgang. Mike Bugsgang left on the Fred Olsen cruise ship Braemar, says younger people are now taking up cruising. Image source, Maureen Pepper. Maureen and Richard Pepper have three other cruises booked for this year. Cruise ships have been moored up around the world, waiting out the pandemic. And methane is around 80 times more potent as a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide, although it remains in the atmosphere for less time. Armed with this knowledge and the growing pressure on the maritime industry — and the cruise industry in particular — most observers expect further, more stringent, measures to be applied to the shipping industry in the next few years, with regulators targeting LNG as a fuel well before the end of this decade.

In addition, there is a growing and vociferous environmental lobby that has focused on the effects of cruising on the marine environment — from problems caused by invasive species carried in the ballast water tanks of larger ships, to the detrimental effects of large-diameter propellers on local ecosystems.

A recent example includes the alleged damage to the coral reef around the Mexican island of Cozumel. The cruise industry has altered dramatically since early , and the changes so far are only the early moves in a protracted transition. Expectations of consolidation in an industry where there are few players are not far-fetched. Reduced demand and substantially inflated prices will play into this scenario.

The question for cruise companies is how much of a burden the transition to climate-friendly fuels will be. If shipping is to make the transition to greener technology, that too may limit employment opportunities, with a decrease in demand for new vessels impacting cruise ship building, which is centred mainly in European yards, in Finland, Italy and France, with smaller vessels built in Norway.

It is the acute and urgent changes to the economic ecosystem of the cruise business that will mean, by , cruising will be unrecognisable from the industry that set sail at the start of the decade.

View the discussion thread. Cruising into stormy weather. Nick Savvides. Related Content. In Yemen, a deadly concoction of arms sales, conflict and Covid Alternatively, opt for flexible dining if your ship offers it -- which will allow you to eat whenever you'd like and with whomever you'd like between certain hours -- or avoid the main dining room, and stick to the buffet, specialty restaurants and room service.

The Remedy: The longer the cruise you are on, the more likely you will be able to secure a sitting. But sometimes your preferred dining time isn't available. You can avoid this issue by making a booking online in advance of your cruise. As soon as you have access to your cruise's online reservation system, go ahead and make a dinner booking.

But if you've neglected to do this, and spots have filled up, you can still find a way to try the alternative dining venues. Here are some tricks:. Go on the first night. In general, most specialty restaurants are dying for customers on the first night.

Some even throw in free wine or a discount on the cover charge. Be flexible. If you're willing to dine early or late, the restaurant might have an opening at an odd hour.

The time might not be ideal, but at least you'll get to try out the restaurant. Get on a waitlist. If you're willing to accept a reservation at the last minute, ask if the restaurant can alert you if there's a cancellation or if it can squeeze you in if someone leaves early.

Befriend the maitre d'. Go to the restaurant, and personally talk to the maitre d'. Explain why you really must dine at the specialty venue your anniversary or your first cruise, for example. Sometimes the personal touch gives the dining staff more incentive to find a way to slot you in. Go for lunch. Some specialty venues are open for lunch on sea days often with a lower surcharge. The menu might be more limited than the evening one, but it gives you another opportunity to dine at the restaurant.

Be persistent. Don't be afraid to be annoying. Ring regularly. It's unlikely that something won't come up at some point during your cruise. Your enthusiasm might make the maitre d' more determined to find you a booking or he'll do it to get you out of his hair. The Remedy: Visit the shore excursions desk as soon as possible to ask to be added to a waiting list. People invariably change their minds and cancel plans, so you might get lucky.

Or, if there's a lot of interest, the staff might be able to add on an extra bus or departure for the excursion. Cruise lines give priority to passengers who are most loyal to them, so if you're an upper-tier member of the line's loyalty program, you might be added to a priority wait list. If you've purchased an Internet package and are willing to spend your valuable minutes doing some research, visit tourist boards and Cruise Critic's travel boards to see what independent options might be available.

A handful of independent excursion companies basically offer the same kind of tours at about 10 to 20 percent off the cruise line cost. In some destinations, such as Alaska, independent tour operators set up shop on the pier, and you can book a tour as you debark.

The Remedy: For shore tours booked through the line, report your dissatisfaction to the shore excursion manager immediately upon returning onboard. Be clear and concise about the nature of the problem.

If you simply didn't enjoy the tour, you are unlikely to receive compensation, so avoid making a complaint unless you have a valid reason. As Cruise Critic member diane. Cruise lines will be more likely to listen to your complaint if there are a number of people on your tour who agree. And, speaking of power in numbers, don't forget to tell people about your experience by using sites like Cruise Critic and TripAdvisor. If the problem is not resolved in a satisfactory way, put it in writing, and make sure you save a copy.

Then follow up with the line itself when you return from the cruise. If you booked an excursion through an independent tour operator, you will have to take up the problem with that company.

Ask to speak to a manager while still in port if there's time before your ship sails, or follow up with a letter, phone call or email when you return home. Document the situation as best you can by keeping receipts, taking photos of problematic situations and noting tour staffers names to aid in your claim.

The Remedy: You are responsible for reporting bad service. And time is of the essence in these matters. If you sit on the complaint, there will be little the cruise line can do to address the situation. If it's a problem with your waiter, have a chat with the maitre d'. Otherwise, contact the hotel director or the front desk staff, and relay the nature of your problem as soon as you can.

It's also helpful to express what you feel is an acceptable solution an apology, a move to another dining table, etc. If the problem is not resolved in a satisfactory way, put it in writing, and make sure to save a copy.

Then follow up with the line itself when you return from the trip. Know this: The cruise line will try harder to respond if there's a record that you attempted to solve the problem onboard.