What will the conditions be for the first crew members to set sail again? Selection process, protocols, restrictions, will some not go back at sea? Royal Caribbean Official Newsletter Data.
Last week we analyzed the conditions of the first cruises to sail in times CoViD-19, and how Royal Caribbean is organizing its fleet come back.
This time we look into how Royal plans to re-staff its vessels, how the first crew members to return will be chosen, according to official communications, and what protocols will be part of the process. We will look into the crew members' response in the biggest crew survey ever conducted that focused on the workers' general outlook on things and willingness to return despite certain possible conditions that have given a lot to talk about recently.
Choosing the Returning Crew
The criteria that Royal Caribbean stated in our internal Newsletter will be based on:
⇢ Document Readiness
Valid Travel Documents like passports and visas.
Up to date training certificates typically required for the crew.
⇢ Negative PCR test prior to travel, from approved facilities.
⇢ Travel Availability
Government Clearance.
Flight Availability.
⇢ General Experience within the company and specific vessels.
Overall Performance.
Specialty Skills.
⇢ Longest time spent on land since last sign-off.
What's great about this: For our guests, this means that the best in their departments will be overseeing the safe return to cruising.
Re-Cap
Refreshing some of the measures that the recent cruises have implemented and we might see more of going forward that could affect the crew, and some of Royal Caribbean plans:
⇢ Compulsory Use of Masks.
⇢ Bigger ships sailing first.
⇢ Private Destinations and Tours allowed a controlled environment.
⇢ More Sea Days.
⇢ Reduced Capacity.
⇢ Use of Contact-Less Technology.
⇢ Cruising to healthy Countries first.
Possible Future Conditions for Crew
There has been a lot of speculation recently of what restrictions crew members will have to face once back on board while the virus is still around.
The main concerns for most of the workers would be:
⇢ Shore leave not allowed or restricted since it looks like guests will only be allowed in monitored shore excursions. Perhaps the crew will have their own organized tours as well as we've seen before the pandemic many times. At the same time if the vessel is sailing to a private destination like CocoCay there should be no problem there being a controlled environment as the ship itself.
⇢ Reduced salaries are the second fear after being laid off, sadly some cruise lines have stopped operating completely due to the impact of the pandemic and others like Costa have announced a temporary reduction of rates for the time being. Luckily that doesn't seem to be the case with Royal Caribbean although they did announce to us earlier this year that in 2020 there won't be any yearly raises as we are used to.
⇢ More working hours seem like a possibility considering all the new precautions crew must have while working, sanitization, and the sheer need to keep oneself disinfected and safe throughout the day. We have all experienced those 20-minute breaks in which all we want to do is go to our cabin and lay down in bed for a quick re-charge, something that seems like a hassle if you are wearing several PPEs and need to disinfect them all before going back.
In turn, this could mean added privileges to compensate such as:
⇢ More activities especially for the crew, mostly on board the vessel, like the use of guest venues for parties or pools being open exclusively for crew occasionally.
⇢ Access to restaurants and special menus. Since one of the reasons many of us go out in port is to taste a change in the food we get for 6 months out of the same canteen.
⇢ Free Wi-Fi available for the crew on board. Being the number one reason most seafarers go to shore when in port considering satellite internet prices are quite expensive even for us.
⇢ Single cabins have already been allocated to the crew sailing this very month, avoiding the sharing of a high-contact area like the toilet between crew members, although there's some that argue that the crew have already been testing prior to embarking as well as all the passengers, either way as the ships sail with reduced capacity and it's a possibility no crew member will complain about this.
All seafarers have different reasons that made them join a career at sea.
For those who do it mainly for the traveling, mostly on the younger side, it's understandable that the prospect of not being allowed off in ports defeats the purpose of being at sea in the first place. But for many others, the chance of a salary paid in US dollars is all the reason and in fact many of those who work onboard to maintain their families don't have a tendency to go out in port much as it usually means spending money.
It is important to keep in mind that:
⇢ These measures, if they take place, have been confirmed to be temporary while the virus is still an active threat. The strictness of policies will diminish as fewer cases are perceived worldwide and especially when a vaccine is widely spread.
⇢ If contracts were to be under these conditions, and considering all the workforce is now currently at home and waiting to get back to work, contracts might be shorter this upcoming year not only to counteract the effects of all these added strains but to allow a faster rotation that would put more crew members earning their salaries again sooner.
Crew Feedback for Royal Caribbean
The survey conducted last month aimed to "read the mood" of the crew members, their thoughts on regulations, their fear of the virus, their willingness to return soon, amongst other related topics.
55,000 Replies Have Been Registered
9 out of 10 ↔ Willing to Return
3 out of 4 ↔ Would Come Back this Fall
7 out of 10 ↔ Feeling as Safe as Usual
Most expect changes to the operations
Wide support of pre-boarding testing, medical-grade sanitization, and transparency regarding vessel status
Difficult Times for Seafarers
Most of what we know so far is pure speculation, or could simply change any day depending on the development of the international scene. Sadly in many cases what we know is what everyone else knows, we are also waiting impatiently for the return of cruises but for us, it's our livelihood, not simply our leisure time. Believe me, we are having too much of that this year, since everyone on land is ironically considered to be on vacation right now.
Working on cruise ships comes with many benefits but as well with certain job in-stability in return. Working contract-based means that when on vacation, not only you are not paid but if you don't have a confirmed assignment to return you are stuck in a sort of unemployment limbo as you are still connected to the company but nothing seems to assure you will be called back again. Although usually you should clearly be notified if you are not to be called to work again in the future.
In these times that sort of limbo situation is extra jarring as we have no idea when to expect to be back, in a couple of months? In a year? Maybe my cruise line will go bankrupt or let me go? All of these worries are being expressed by crew around the world.
Royal Caribbean has expressed they approve of its staff to seek temporary jobs while on land, while a positive gesture on their behalf, it makes us wonder if we really should, but again, are we talking a temporary gig? or should we be more serious about this pursuit? Sometimes it's hard to find a position when you are actually just waiting for something else to come along and your potential employer knows you would ditch them for it. It's a difficult situation to balance no doubt and especially complicated to make decisions in the dark. Plus in the case of getting a new job there's always the possibility of choosing to follow that new path than to go back.
It's not far fetched to assume many cruise ship workers won't come back on board after this. Or at least not while the virus is still a threat.
It is not surprising that some voices in the community have expressed this is the end for their careers at sea, like one very renowned Carnival Cruise Director who made headlines, some got to this decision with rather grim remarks of the future of the industry, which data doesn't quite back up, but others just took this rather forceful chance to pursue something else, as it can be hard also to let go of this floating community and re-join the land world.
Royal Caribbean has offered further monetary aid for those that have suffered substantial losses due to the virus in three specific scenarios: Hospitalization due to Covid-19; Death of a Direct Relative; Loss of House due to economical struggles.
My heart goes out to those that have lost their jobs at sea, hopefully, other cruise lines open their arms to you or you can settle your sea-legs on land swiftly. But one thing is for sure...
We will be back!
Thank you for reading,
Stay Curious!
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