We just completed our second 4 days/3 nights cruise to nowhere this week with our older son. We wanted to have a short vacation with him before he returns back to the UK for the start of his new school term next month. The first cruise to nowhere was in May with our younger son and the older one could not join us as he was doing his internship.
Thanks to Covid, cruises have been given a bad reputation after a number of disastrous episodes early last year. Infected ships were not allowed to dock and were banned from countries while the situation worsen onboard. As more passengers contracted Covid, the elderly became the hardest-hit age group. Little virus information was known then and how they spread. The ships became like zombie prisons which many would have sweared off cruises forever. It eventually resulted in a total shutdown of the cruise industry.
S’pore authorities put on a brave front and then announced in Oct 2020 that they would like to reopen cruises in a controlled manner. Two cruise liners were chosen to operate cruises to nowhere with new Covid guidelines. Passenger capacity was to remain at no more than 50% with strict testing at the start and contact tracing to remain 24/7 while on board.
Genting and Royal Caribbean won the 2 mandates that were up for grabs and they started operating out of the Marina Bay Cruise Centre in Nov/Dec 2020. To date, things have been going on smoothly except for a positive case from the KTV cluster in Jul. That was quickly contained as the virus protocols kicked in and affected persons ringfenced immediately thanks to the strict contact tracing process. Capacity was dropped to 25% for a while as a precautionary measure.
We were lucky as the first cruise was in May. We choose Genting as we were familiar with the Malaysian owned company, having done a cruise with them many years ago when the kids were little. Masks had to be worn throughout the cruise ship except when you are in the rooms, swimming or taking a quick photo outdoors on the upper decks. Complimentary food was alright and Asian focused. Shows were varied and we had the use of the gym too.
This week, we decided to try the other operator Royal Caribbean. It was SGD 1,500 for the 3 of us in a suite room with a balcony. This included a Covid test 3 days before the cruise and another rapid test on the actual day of embarkation. Like Genting, the check-in process took about 2 hours before we finally got into our rooms.
Once we reached our rooms, we had to frantically book shows, dinner and activities using the app provided as it was our first time on Royal. Their processes differ slightly from Genting’s. To start the cruise, we had a nice steak dinner at the Chops Grill with unlmited appetitzers by paying extra. The rest of the days were relaxing and chilling, doing pretty much nothing and eating a lot while sleeping well. By the last night, we were ready to look forward to stepping on dry land again.
During the 3 nights, we had a chance to speak to the employees who were serving us during meal times. I really got to know how tough their lives can be while trying their hardest to please all customers they meet.
Most were sent back to their home countries when the pandemic outbreak happened last Mar. They had to survive on their savings while waiting for a call to see if they can work again. Some were lucky to be called late last year to S’pore when this cruise hybrid window opened. Some only managed to start less than 2 months ago while living off more than 16 months of joblessness.
Life onboard the ship is not as rosy as one would think. They had to do quarantine and vaccination before being allowed to start. The first wave of employees that returned had already spent 11 months living non-stop onboard. During their off days, they were not allowed to step out of the ship due to the heightened pandemic alerts. When they were finally allowed to step off, it was only for about 100 of them at a time – there are 1,500 of them working in the ship at the allowed 50% passenger capacity.
Given that the cruise does a 3 and 4 nights cruise back to back, it means that the ship is occupied every day of the week. Hence when they are not working, they probably had to stay in their bunkers which are mainly located on deck 2, just above the engine room on deck 1 gangway. The ship is 16 stories high and I cannot imagine the amount of claustrophobia they have to overcome.
Facing the passengers, they have to make maximum efforts to please them and not incur bad reviews. We saw many from all nations, coming mainly from China, Phillipines and Europe. Their last port of call was in China before arriving in S’pore in late 2020. Their lives were not a bed of roses and their families need the financial support to combat the virus surge back home. One was so glad that he can work again after being laid off for more than 16 months at home. This was the side we seldom see and it made me more appreciative of their sacrifices in these difficult times.
There was the marathon parliamentary debate on CECA on Tues which I totally missed as we were in the middle of nowhere in the ocean around the Straits of Malacca. I have read some of the newspaper reports and still trying to digest them. But all this was simply overwhelmed by the open mic cockup where an elite school was called “lousy”. Sad that the gist of the debate had been overshadowed by these off the cuff careless comments.
Meanwhile, Delta continues to ravage our tiny red dot. Daily cases are about to break above 1k any time soon as we continue to move towards an endemic strategy. There is still so many uncertainties of the unknown in the next few weeks as we charter our way through this brave new world. We need to move on with life and fight the virus. This is a war that humans cannot afford to lose.
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