While it’s wishful thinking that this could go ahead safely, it’s also wishful thinking that it will become a parable that shows Turmp supporters the error of their ways.
The thing is, it’s likely that many – if not most – of these cruises will be covid-free, because of how numbers work. And obviously, they’ll be populated with covid denialists (+ some voiceless wage slaves). So what’s going to happen is that thousands of Facebook’s most insufferable citizens will be spamming everyone they know with (truthful) posts about how they’re having a great time on a crowded boat with no rona. And the more anyone’s said to them “you will surely die”, the more they’re going to crow about it.
Yes, if Rona is on the boat, it could well become a floating death camp unable to dock anywhere. But then it’ll just be “how could Carnival let this happen when all those other cruises were fine”.
Anyway, it’s a great illustration (for future historians, if no one else) of how shitty businesses are at functioning in a state-like capacity outside of the control of any government. I imagine the invisible-hand argument here is “Carnival wouldn’t do this if the risk of liability was too great, so it all works out”. Except, yes, they would: they might have calculated a 97% chance of being sued into bankruptcy, but they’ll take that if the alternative is a 100% chance of bankruptcy.
I was just reading about the thousands of people, mostly ship staff, who haven’t set foot on land since February, still stuck on cruise lines because no country will let them off. Which makes me wonder if they’ll be allowed off before the passengers get on…
The other point I forgot to mention was, who is so in love with the cruise lifestyle that they can’t stand to delay their booking by even a month to see whether it’s a death sentence?
And I suspect the answer is “hardcore swingers”.
So they probably don’t care where the boat is, as long as there’s a buffet and a bunch of other tan-line-free suburbanites ready to smash wrinkles together.
And if anyone decides to take a job with this cruise line, then I can’t conjure much sympathy for them either. Yet if one of these ships makes it into port, I just KNOW there will be hospital employees- from the janitors on up- who will have to deal with this COMPLETELY FORESEEABLE and AVOIDABLE problem. Enjoy your umbrella rum drinks, jerks.
Her lips were red, her looks were free,
Her locks were yellow as gold:
Her skin was white as leprosy,
The Nightmare Life-in-Death was she,
Who thicks man’s blood with cold.
If nothing else, Carnival (through its subsidiary Holland America) owns the entire island of Little San Salvador, in the Bahamas. Normally, it’s staffed by folks from other islands, but I could imagine them coming up with some plan to isolate it that was acceptable to the Bahamian government (which is not necessarily to say “a good idea.”)
I know you are being completely sarcastic, but it is still bizarre that it still is cheaper to take the cruise, specially with the forced quarantine later before you can land, if you are healthy enough to expect to don’t have problems with corona.
I think the number might help now, but maybe in August it will be the opposite, with a higher chance that most of them will have at least one or a few infected passenger boarding.
I’m not familiar with the usual costs, but it feels to me that they are planning to declare bankruptcy before the cruise start and do not incur in any cost.
They probably need to change the theme of the cruise to some sort of “Immunity Challenge Cruise!” with prizes for anyone who manages to not come down with a communicable disease during the voyage.
