Jill

I still have the old format on my phone. Haven’t checked desktop.

Yay thanks!

You’re the best!

I’m pretty sure they’re robbing Peter to pay Paul at this point. They are burning $250 million a month just to keep ships afloat. The only money they have coming in are deposits, payments/final payments and cruise planner purchases. When someone makes a final payment, that money likely goes to pay someone else’s refund. I’m not making excuses for them but this has been a financial disaster. Not to mention most of these refunds are being done by hand as there isn’t a Computer program mass cancellations, although there should be by now. I’m not booking anything new until this appears to be behind us. I had 2 booked before the bottom fell out. One was already canceled (May) and rebooked for October (likely to be canceled) and one for October 2021. I’ve got enough FCC to just about pay for both so I’m not giving them anymore money. Have you escalated to a manager or resolutions team? I will say it makes no sense in how they’re processing refunds. Some get theirs quickly, others wait months.

I’ll send Sharla at MEI an email today. I can’t imagine they’d wipe out $1800 of cruise planner OBC if the cruise gets canceled by them. I would think they’d just reissue the certificate to be used on another. This isn’t like free OBC promotion. This was for all my purchases from our canceled May cruise plus an extra 25%. I applied this certificate to my upcoming October cruise which likely will get canceled.

So I applied my 125% cruise planner credit from my canceled May cruise to an upcoming October cruise. What happens to that 125% OBC if that October cruise is canceled? I’ve heard it gets wiped out because it’s considered OBC. I REALLY hope that’s not the case. Has anyone had a cruise canceled that applied 125% CP OBC? If so, did you get it reissued?

I promise we’re not all on ventilators. ? This article deserves attention. So tired of the fear. https://www.850wftl.com/opinion-why-the-new-case-numbers-will-mislead-you/?fbclid=IwAR1pJLWJ_lrSeMVB41ny6EI8dqWZyXAh2ruDE92ReFJHN5IdArAlLrzlVNg

Yes in my opinion ? I love the Keys, just not key west.

Key west is overrated. Go half way to marathon or islamorada. Much better experience. Key west is like the Daytona or Panama City of the Keys. Fun for a few hours but that’s about it. I’m a Floridian so I can say such things! ?

You should try an oasis class at least once! ? Just drive over I-4 to Canaveral and come to the dark side. ? I personally love oasis class. Central Park is amazing as well as aqua theater. It’s an experience for sure.

Mine was a rebook from our canceled May symphony so paid for with FCC. If I had real money to outlay, I’d probably take my refundable deposit and not make final payment. My daughter just sent me this: https://www.chicagotribune.com/coronavirus/sns-bb-cruise-ceos-insist-ships-are-safe-20200707-jzrhqem7ijejhcqorgm6fqozqi-story.html I think the cruise lines are about to create a mutiny! Lol

This is why my MEI TA (Sharla) did not apply my FCC until final payment was due. She continued to reprice up until the last minute.

Well my FCC was just applied yesterday for my October 17 Symphony. @JLMoran didn’t mention “when” so I at least am on the right ship! Lol Some very slight good news......Florida’s positivity rate for Covid is down to 12% from 18%. First time it’s been down since late June.

Is this the article you read? It’s quite an impressive group on the panel. https://www.cruisecritic.com/news/5438/

Well now I need to go look at November dates. ?

So with RC and NCL collaborating (that’s new news to me) I guess that means they don’t get along with Big Brother Carnival. I would have expected an united front with all 3. Hmmm So health protocols due by end of August. Seems a little close to September 16. I’ll believe it when I see it. I’ve got Symphony October 17. I’m giving it a 10-15% chance of sailing. I think pigs will fly first but I’ll keep that sliver of hope.

So here’s something that I Think I remember reading...... Didn’t RC say when they start it’ll be the most popular ships going to the most popular ports from ports that are “driveable.” Do you think they would cancel those that have to fly to the port? Flying obviously raises the risk of virus. I’m not sure how they could enforce that though. How would they know if you drove or flew? I mean it could be very obvious (airport shuttles showing up at the port). Just some Monday morning musings.....

I honestly don’t think we will see another Princess disaster. I think the lesson was learned that you can’t quarantine people on a ship for weeks. This I’m sure is a main focal point with the lines and the CDC. How to handle a positive case on board. Just like with our land hospitals, cruise lines I’m sure have dedicated areas now for isolation.

Here’s the thing......in order to be infected, you need to be within 6 feet of an infected person for 10 minutes or longer. Passing someone in a hallway or on the Promenade likely will not get you infected. My only real areas of concern would be elevators and theaters. I’d wear a mask in these areas. They can change muster drills in many ways to avoid the classic squish we all encounter before, during and after. I absolutely believe that embarkation times will have to be enforced. No more showing up at 10:30/11:00 and boarding in 15 minutes. MDR the tables would need to be further apart but if you’re sailing at reduced capacity = less tables. In all honesty, land resorts are resorting to the same type standards. It all boils down to how badly you want/need a scenery change and what you’ll accept to get it. On the whole, a cruise ship is considerably cleaner than any land resort, especially in the US. I think the bigger issue is getting countries to accept ships. Right now most of the islands are requiring some type of negative Covid test. Maybe rapid tests will be in our future? ————————————————- “Close contact is defined as being within approximately 6 feet of someone who is positive for COVID-19, including those who may not yet be showing symptoms. Experts say that contact with someone positive for the virus for about 10 minutes or longer can result in transmission.“

I thought all new builds were put on hold? This post shows pics of the keel. Won’t let me post a link so I’ll just screen shot. NB 1400 is the yard number for Icon. Here is a link to Meyer with Icon info: https://www.meyerwerft.de/en/ships/n.n._2022.jsp

That’s good to know! I’ve got a 9 night Odyssey booked for Italy/Greece in 2021 and currently in a regular balcony. I’ve got a pretty healthy FCC from a canceled JS on Symphony. Our plan was to use the FCC to pay for our replacement Symphony (regular balcony) in October and use the remainder to pay for Odyssey cruise. If symphony is canceled again, I just may scrap cruising until my odyssey cruise, use our full FCC and upgrade to a JS.

We did the 3 night last October kind of last minute. We are only 2 hours from PC. It’s a nice ship. You’ll have a great time. Maybe spring for Izumi one night for the entertainment value. Food is pretty good. We did all specialty dining on that cruise. Your kids will love CocoCay. Nassau I’d probably get a day pass to Atlantis or go swim with the Dolphins at Blue Lagoon. Be sure to board as early as you can. 10:30-11:00 to take advantage of the ship. Get on the Flowrider! It’s a great way to get your feet wet cruising. I will warn you though, if you come back and book an oasis class, you’ll have a hard time going back to smaller ships with kids.

Put a deposit down on what you want then transfer the booking to a new agency. I also use Sharla at MEI and she’s been wonderful.

I read today that it’s estimated only 50% will take the vaccine. Anyone know off hand the flu A/B percentage?

But what kind of piece of mind is 50% effective? You’ve got a 50/50 shot at being protected. That’s IF you produce antibodies to the vaccine.