Direct Line Cruises is owned and operated by Helen Coiro.
After I've read a positive article in a trade magazine, I talk about it in my next newsletter.
The news about the CDC's new cruise guidelines makes me worry. Everyone seems to be happy with this week's news, and I am hoping that there are many people within the industry who are also uneasy about it.
I came down with Covid symptoms last week and have heard of a lot of new cases over the past few weeks. The numbers are moving in a positive direction.
I hope that the majority of people in this industry realize that vaccination and testing requirements are not what is keeping people from getting back on a cruise ship, as opposed to a person's fear of contracting Covid on a ship.
Most of our clients are satisfied with the precautions the cruise lines have taken. It's something I hear a lot. The cruiser are coming back slowly but surely.
Travel advisors are happy about the end of the CDC's Covid program.
The cruise lines have been praised for their handling of the covid epidemic. I talked about the details and the millions of dollars spent on the safe environment they created. Clients gave me positive feedback. The cruise lines did a great job turning things around. People come back because of this.
I wore my mask despite the supermarkets dropping the requirement. I know that a lot of people were happy that they didn't have to worry about being stuck in traffic while shopping. It was foolish to think that the changes made by the supermarket management would make me less vulnerable. There had to be a lot of people in those aisles. I stopped wearing my mask a few weeks ago. I think I should be happy that I didn't contract it until now.
There is a chance of vaccinations being recommended but not required. I don't think I need a crystal ball to know that the industry is in danger. I don't think we're ready to swap one word for another.
What is the answer? The cruise industry has been doing what it has been doing for a long time. Most of the cruising population believe that the safest place to be is on a cruise ship. It's just a matter of time before those requirements are dropped. I like knowing that no one on my cruise ship is going to get sick. The cruise lines have control over that and I feel safe.
Our only hope was that the ships would sail again and that the cruise lines would find a way to keep them out of harms way. It was a long and difficult journey to get there.
The leaders of this industry were the ones who brought us to where we are today. They went to work transforming the industry into something no other vacation venue has done. They didn't back off about the obstacles. They didn't build bridges. Now is the time for us to showcase the industry's ability to control the spread of the virus on a ship.
I said control, not stop. The CDC is allowing us to show the public what we can do without being told. We want and need this.
People will put their faith in what the management tells them if the cruise lines stop requiring vaccinations and testing before the disease is under control. At which point there will be no credibility left, more will come back, but soon after there may be an uncontrollable outbreak. The media will pounce, and all of the hard work and money put into protecting passengers on ships will be history at that point, with perhaps no way back.
Let's keep being disrupted for a while. The easy way out isn't the way to go. The leaders of the cruise lines have done a great job.
We will gain more respect and passengers in the future.
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