Cruise lines have plenty to worry about these days. Income-generating browsing for Carnival (NYSE: CCL) (NYSE: CUK), Norwegian Cruise Line (NASDAQ: NCLH)and Royal Caribbean (NYSE: RCL) They have been suspended for more than four months, and we are at least another two months away from a possible restart. Cancellations continue to accumulate as the restart date is delayed, and that will be a headache for companies trying to stay afloat during the outage.
The longer ships go, the more difficult it will be for cruise lines to attract passengers. The cruise industry headlines have been largely negative since the pandemic began, and it will take a lot of marketing muscle to reverse the consumer mindset. There is also a recession that will naturally limit the number of people who have the means to risk a luxury cruise. However, before we get the first batch of passengers paying for the catwalk, the industry will have to figure out how to hire staff for these trips. Will Carnival, Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Line be ready with the crews they need when the industry gets the green light?
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Crew cuts
There were more than 100,000 crew members on board the industry ship fleet when the pandemic occurred. That these cruise ships are fully staffed and ready to depart later this year is not a fact. Crews have been through a lot, and if you think attracting potential passengers for the first time will be difficult to sell in the new normal, just imagine talking to experienced employees on a ship.
Most of the crew of a cruise ship is international. They agree to leave their families for months at a time, tempted by the ability to earn more than they would in their home countries and for the sake of adventure. It’s been a siren song lately. Crew members were trapped in the ships, for months and many without charge, during the long repatriation process. It wasn’t until before is month the industry was able to complete the process of sending most of its workforce home on board.
It was not easy. If you thought COVID-19 spreads quickly on a crowded ship in a week’s sailing, imagine the crew members who have had to keep up the show for another four months. Thousands of employees became ill and a Miami Herald The investigation counts at least 23 deaths among the crew members.
The dangers of working on a ship certainly increase in the new normal, and now it seems that even the adventure component may be under fire. A list of MSC Cruises for new protocols that has been circulating online this month includes a shore-based license ban, except in emergencies during the first phase of resuming navigation. Being able to go down in exotic ports of call after working long hours on a ship with narrow crew quarters is a bonus. It will not be easy to attract and retain staff if they are confined to the ship itself, especially after all they have been through this year.
It is important to note that this is only an independent cruise line with proposed protocols already confirmed by the Miami Herald. There is no universal list of new regulations that all players have to comply with at this time. Carnival is working on its own protocols. Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Line are partnering to work on their new rules for passengers and crew.
Cruise line operators will not resume departures with all of their current ships, and that will help reduce the number of crew members needed across the industry at first. However, it will be a challenge to have fully trained and willing staff when Carnival, Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Line return to business after these brutal last few months.
