in this big cruise update we have all of the latest news
including that mandatory testing will now be required on all major cruise lines
and it looks like a major restart to cruising in november is off the table
plus, one cruise line or should we say yacht line is open for business
with some fantastic deals
well ahoy there cruisers
hope you're doing well this week
welcome to this week's news roundup
make sure you hit that subscribe button below
if you're new to the channel or if you're not subscribed
so in that headline news that mandatory testing will now be required for all major cruise lines
passengers and crew will now be required to present a negative test
to board any cruise line international association, best known as CLIA,
member ship with a capacity of 250 passengers or more
CLIA cruise members represent more than 95% of the global cruise line operation
so basically everybody
it doesn't really specify how that is going to be done
whether or not the test will have to be completed at your own cost and time
or if they will follow the suit of lines such as MSC and Costa
and test you at the port as part of the screening process
they did say that u.s port testing will be done pending availability
otherwise guests will have to provide
evidence of a negative test done prior to the cruise at their own cost
we've been looking into this and it costs anywhere from 150 pounds to 350 pounds
or about 200 to 400 dollars to arrange a private test
and signed travel certificates
you'd need to keep this into mind
so next up Royal Caribbean have cancelled all their november 2020 cruises
with the first voyage not leaving now until at least december
this is surprising as the CDC no sail order is due to end at the end of october
possibly allowing cruise lines to resume cruising in november
we're still waiting to hear the results of the Healthy Sail panel
and the recommendations that they sent to the CDC
it was always going to take time to implement the new protocols
and refill the ships of crew and retrain all the crew with the new protocols
so it's good to see that Royal Caribbean are
putting the welfare and safety of the crew and passengers first
by not rushing into a return to service
but it is slowly looking like we might not see mainstream cruise lines like Royal Caribbean
sailing in 2020 at all
As well as this worldwide suspension they also announced that all australia sailings
through december 31st 2020
are also cancelled
in a glimmer of light Royal Caribbean CEO Richard Fein
said they could restart in a very limited form before the end of 2020.
whether or not this is going to happen we just don't know
but in other Royal Caribbean news today
they have announced that the Quantum of the
Seas will be carrying out a series of cruises to nowhere
for singapore residents out of singapore this december
Quantum of the Seas will sail at less than 50% capacity with some big onboard changes
the ship will follow strict sanitization guidelines
with passengers required to produce a negative test before boarding
fresh air will constantly be cycled through the ship using new filter technology
and guests will have to wear masks while outside their stateroom
both boarding and disembarkation will be staggered to avoid crowds
it looks a little bit like a beta test before they return elsewhere
to prove the concept actually works
we were on Quantum of the Seas back in february this year before the lockdown
so it's really nice to see her coming back with passengers on board
would you like to do a cruise to nowhere?
i know we would
yeah we definitely would we had such a fantastic time
we'll link to the playlist for that Quantum of the Seas vlog series
you can see in the corner here so you can catch up with our time on board
Norwegian Cruise Line have also announced that they are cancelling all november sailings
there has also been a change on how they will be processing the cancellations
in a letter to travel agents they stated that those with current and active bookings
impacted by the latest round of cancellations
will automatically receive a hundred percent refund
and the all guests impacted by this round of cancellations will receive a 10
discount on their next Norwegian cruise
valid for all sailings from january 1st 2021 to december the 31st 2022
so this is a big change in what they've been doing previously
and unfortunately it's less than the 125% future cruise credit
that guests have been offered in the past
they have said though that refunds will all be processed faster by october 27th 2020.
Norwegian line ceo frank del rio has also suggested the company
wouldn't be ordering any new ships until at least 2022
This means that the current cruise ship ordering boom that we're seeing will be put on hold
and we'll see far less new cruise ships in the future as a result of this whole shutdown
Carnival Cruise Lines however are still hoping for
a november return to cruising from select floridian ports
six of their ships the Carnival Breeze, Conquest, Elation, Horizon, Liberty and Sunrise
still have sailings planned for this year
they are still reiterating that the return will be gradual and they'll be phased in
and finally some great news from SeaDream Yacht Club
if you're from the UK or anywhere else you can now book cruises for winter 2020
so this year
it's really surprising their mantra if you don't know them is it's yachting not cruising
so it's a perfect way to enjoy a smaller ship experience
with the feel of a private yacht
and because of all of the regulations in the UK, the EU and the US
it means they can sail because they have much less passengers on board
and they're not bound by the same cruising regulations
they have two mega yachts
the SeaDream I and the SeaDream II
they're basically identical and they only hold up to 112 guests
with a one on one ratio to crew and passengers
making them super intimate with an outstanding five-star service
how crazy is that, one crew member for each passenger
we've been taking a good look at their website
and videos on YouTube and we have to say we're really impressed
They offer fantastic value for money with their all-inclusive cruises
we were expecting to see the prices much much higher for what they offer
they are a lot cheaper than some of the other luxury cruise lines
but this is like a private yacht how cool is that yeah
it looks awesome
it really sort of reminded me a little bit of river cruising but on an ocean
yeah really intimate yeah really lovely
yeah and similar to river cruising which has been able to start
like ben said there are a yacht
and because they have much less passengers it means that they
can get back to cruising quicker than cruise lines
yeah and the food looks incredible and we love
the fact that the ships come with some really cool features
such as water toys, jet skis, trampolines, boats and bikes.
How cool is that
we were watching some videos
they literally just put the jet skis and everything on the back
of the ship and you just go and enjoy yourself
it looked crazy
it looked like something from- have you ever seen the tv show Below Deck?
The private yachts it looks really funny it looks like something from that
but of a fraction of the cost but still with the same service
they're offering a series of six, seven and eight night round trip cruises
from barbados from the 7th of november until april 2021
visiting places such as saint vincent and the grenadines as well as grenada
So some really unique ports there that the bigger ships really can't get into
and they've hand-picked ports which are safe as well during the situation
this isn't a sponsored video at all but we're working very closely with
SeaDream on a very upcoming and exciting project
and we wouldn't recommend anything we don't think is fantastic anyway
and the fact that we Brits and you are subscribers can cruise this year is absolutely amazing as well
yeah like other cruise lines they're offering an ultimate
book assurance scheme meaning you can book with peace of mind
and even cancel up to the day of departure
that's absolutely perfect for these uncertain times
and because barbados isn't on the quarantine list for those in the UK
there's loads of flights available as well so you
can go out there and come back without having to quarantine
and obviously they've got loads of procedures in place to keep you safe
we seen some really cool technology such as the uv uh bleaching of the rooms
the misting guns misting guns
yeah that's- it looked really like futuristic
so take a look at the link in the description section below and let
us know if you've sailed with SeaDream before
we'd love to hear from you because it seemed like such an uh an amazing cruise
to be honest we haven't really heard of them before
i remember seeing one of their ships in gibraltar yeah um
and it looked really small
that's all i remember from it
really tiny ships and you know we love our tiny ship experiences
they are so different to that big ship experience
but imagine being in the caribbean this year who would have thought of it
i know such a treat would be awesome yes let us
know if you've sailed with SeaDream in the the comment section below
so that's it for this week's episode
we hope you enjoyed it
we love to hear from you so make sure you drop us a comment below
and remember to hit that subscribe button it really helps us out
and it helps us bring you much more content
So go on hit it!
Big thank you to all of our patrons for supporting us
you can find out more about patreon by clicking the link in the description section below
the cruise captain of the week of this week is carter
That's it till next time,
Happy cruising... or Yachting