VACruiser

My wonder isn’t that cruising will start sometime this summer or early fall, it’s more the thinking of which countries will let you in for travel purposes and will employers require a 14 day quarantine upon your return. I think there is going to be some major changes to itineraries as this starts back up depending on which countries will accept guests. I think Coco Caye is going to get a lot of guests and visits but it can only handle so many ships per day. Think of the mainstays of ports visited - Western Cruises - Cozumel, Mexico, Falmouth Jamaica, Labadee Haiti, and Easterns of St. Thomas, St. Martin, St. Kitts...All different countries with their own Government to work with. They need the travel money so it will be interesting to see the balance between their people and travel money.

I totally agree with this. I was able to upgrade to an L1 CLS from a Grand Suite on Harmony of the Seas for my December cruise for about 1k. This is my second RCI Cruise so I’m going from a Balcony to the CLS 17th floor. I’m ruined!

I actually got a refund on a drink package that I canceled a month ago. I wish I could have just told them to put against my cruise balance but I guess it doesn’t work that way. Oh well, once I got it I just put on the cruise balance before the credit was even cold.

@WAAAYTOOO You don’t know how bad it’s become...for instance, this year’s Dec 20 cruise is in a Grand Suite on Harmony and my Nov 21 cruise is the worst yet - a Crown Loft Suite on Oasis, 17th floor baby!!! This place is bad for starting you down that road!

@Kcusack89I was on the IOS last year in a hump balcony room and I met my neighbor who had a Junior Suite next to mine...I was in 9340 and they were in JS 9338. They were kind enough to allow us into their room to take a look at the differences and it’s a much larger room and bathroom. The balcony room can feel squished, especially in the bathroom area and shower, but the JS is much larger and more like a living room feeling. No jumping around the bed as there is plenty room to walk around in the room. The bathroom is also much larger. The size of a JS is about a balcony and a half room. If the cost is close I would definitely take a Junior Suite over a Balcony hands down. You get double the points and priority embarkation. And, never forget the walk-in closet.

I have a cruise out of Miami on December 6th on Harmony of the Seas and I’m 75% sure it will happen. Not sure of much else, or where it ultimately will go, but as of now it’s Coco Cay, St. Thomas and St. Kitts. Two of the three RCI can’t control but maybe we will go to Coco Cay for three visits ?.

They’ll survive. It will just slow down innovation for the future. Revenue will be down for a couple of years as they pay off debt. New ships won’t come out as quickly or get cancelled and new play areas in the Bahamas will be put off. Cruises work off selling tickets to people with disposable income, and we had lots of it, but now the number of people with that level of income will drop for awhile as we get back to work. On the good side, if you have the money, there should be some great sales for 2021 and 2022 as all the future cruise credits make their way through the system and what’s left is lots of rooms chasing few people that have money. I’m thinking that new cruisers will not come to cruise unless the prices are really tempting - you know the floating petri dish viewpoint that everyone talks about. Most of my non-cruising friends have said those words to me in the past month - like why would you ever go back to that floating Petri dish? That’s what cruise lines are up against going forward. They had some bad publicity and it’s going to be hard to get past that sentiment in the near-term.

Depends on how you look at revenue. RCI has been getting loans to sustain itself, so as potential buyer of stock, you have to look at how much debt they are taking on versus incoming revenue. Will they be able to pay the debt back with interest, pay off bond holders, and Saudi Sheiks, to be able to remain solvent. RCI was making 5 Billion a year before the pandemic occurred which brought us such things as Coca Cay, new ships, and future research and development. How long will it take to get back to that - that is the question? When a stock drops 80% of its value it’s normally for a reason. You have to figure out how bold you and try to capture a falling knife. They always say it is good to buy when the crowd is running in fear and sale when all are extremely happy. Hard to do as we are fear based people. It’s either terror or being over joyed . Look at their earning statements going forward and really no one knows what’s going to happen next in revenue. I wouldn’t want to the CFO trying to forward forecast revenue.

Honestly that’s when I checked in. @JLMoran is speaking in-depth financial discussions and he makes a lot of sense. I am still monitoring but will stay on the sidelines and wait it out or look for stabilization.

The old adage goes - don’t try and catch a falling knife because it will cut you. Wait until it stabilizes along support levels which it blew through all the support levels so there really isn’t any left. It’s in free fall with daily trading at five - six times its normal volume. That’s never a good sign on the falling side. Lots of sellers and few buyers around. Be careful at the moment with money that you need. If it’s disposable income and you want to try, than by all means go for it. We are not done with this situation and April 10th can come and go quickly without resumption of cruises. Be wary if you are a new investor. I thought $30 was going to be a support level but it went right past and never stopped on it’s decline.

Out of sheer curiosity, and envy, how many years are the cruises spread out?

Cruising is about disposable income and it used to be just for the rich. Since we are in a time where the middle class has more money than anytime historically the cruising industry has answered the call and has developed huge ships to meet the need. RCI is a for profit company with publicly traded stock and has to answer to stock holders. This time is a historic period in our lives and they have to figure out a way to stay profitable. As I look above and read the posts I don’t understand the conversations about price increases and being upset. RCI and other cruise companies have to figure out a way to make money and so there is no choice but to raise prices to make up for lost revenue. The only way to counteract that is don’t cruise and they will have to lower the price to entice people to return to cruising. It is about supply and demand...it’s about the elastic part of the economy. As a product is demanded beyond its ability to supply the price increases. When demand exceeds existing stock they build more ships. That’s why we have Oasis class ships. There was a demand so they built them and they have to price the voyage to make a profit. I have no problem with the pricing structures and it seems to me RCI is operating as they should. If cruising returns to normal the Allure of the Seas will get upgraded. That’s capitalism at its best.

As a relatively new cruiser do you mind expanding on your statement I’m not sure I understand the between the lines discussion?

I gave her the Dr’s note in a PDF and she worked the magic but I don’t believe she actually had to use it. At this point the mere mention of the flu will have them giving a future cruise credit to get you off and away from the ship. I can’t say I blame them with all the bad press. Just look at this months RCI stock price and you will see why they are so worried.

I did get a doctors note indicating the positive test for Influenza- Strain A. My MEI TA Michelle Cunningham did all the work while I slept and took tamiflu. And, that is why a TA is worth their weight in gold when it comes to these issues. I also had insurance for the trip too.

As someone who is getting over the flu, and had a cruise set for this Sunday, 8 March 20 on OAS, I can tell you they moved our cruise to Dec 20 without much of a fuss. I got the flu on Tuesday, 3 March and I bet I could pass those medical tests easily so it doesn’t provide much comfort to the fellow passengers. I never had above a 99 fever and the major symptoms were gone within 48 hours leaving me with a bad cough and very snotty nose. But, the doctor told me to stay away from people for 7-10 days as I could be still contagious.

Good thing you looked it up I was too scared to. ?

I also found out today that a guy at work I speak to a lot also just tested positive for influenza Type Alpha. I think he had it first so I can blame him. You always need a fall guy!

Also found out this morning that my wife had insurance on the flights from Washington Reagan National to Miami, so although we lose $200, the rest is on a credit from Expedia so we can use it to fly to Orlando in December and should have no issue using the remainder of the credit for the flights. All well that ends well in these poor circumstances.

They rebooked my wife and I as a package deal in 1 room.

I know catchy title but the worst happened this week. I have a cruise for this Sunday, 8 March 2020 on Oasis of the Seas. We booked this cruise a year and half ago and was really looking forward to it. I woke up Tuesday morning with the room spinning out of control and feeling very nauseous. I knew that feeling, it was the flu. Knowing I couldn’t just ride it out I had to go to the doctors and get a note indicating my status to inform RCI. Under the rules I had to be 14 days well to sail and I was well within that window. So off I went to the walk-in clinic where they jabbed a cotton swab so far up my nose I thought they were hitting brain. Nurse puts it in a container and says I will be back in 10 minutes to let you know the results. PA walks in next and says what I already suspected- Influenza Type A....UGH! There goes the trip. At this point I send an email to @michelle at MEI to let her know what was going on. Michelle let us know our options - Go to insurance (always get insurance people) and get the money back or she would TRY and rebook us but no promises. She had me choose 3 cruises by priority and she would give them a call. This morning I woke up to a new cruise in December 2020 and all the previous items for the Oasis cruise will be refunded and the cruise money itself will transfer over to new cruise. I just have to replan the cruise for what we want to do. I love doing that already so I’ll have fun doing a new cruise planner. I found about MEI from this blog, as I have never had an agent before, and this is a classic case of why they are so important. I have learned so much from this site so thanks to @Matt for starting this blog forum. Plug for Michelle - she did an awesome job in a very short amount of time and I am so thankful for her help. If you ever thought of an agent but said no, I could do it myself, think again...I would still be on the phone with the flu trying to fix this mess. Instead I was home in bed taking Tamiflu and getting rid of this flu without having to rebook or fight the insurance for a refund! Thanks again and maybe this thread can help someone else in the future if the worst happens to you pre-cruise week. Oh BTW - someone should be getting a Royal-up for Junior Suite 12636 soon since I had to cancel. And, I did have a flu shot this year so It didn’t work so well.

Clorox Disinfecting Wipes - strong and kills a lot of germies or Clorox Healthcare Bleach Germicidal Wipes

Could you imagine Cozumel when six cruise ships are in port and someone coming down with symptoms after leaving port? Or someone testing positive to COVID-19 a week after visiting the island. That would be a mess. Oh yea, I will be in Cozumel 13th of March with six ships that day so it is something I have thought about but not worry about it.

I am pretty sure that this is the one and only time a person mistook an open window on a cruise ship and lifted a child up to a window and released the child as if the window would hold the child and the child fall to its death. There is so many wrong thoughts in doing that act it is hard to begin to understand what was going on in the Grandpa's mind. I feel so sorry for the family and I couldn't even imagine them sitting down for Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner together in the future. The pain and tragedy would be too much.

The one item that I didn't look at the first time I bought luggage was how the wheels on the bottom of the suitcase are protected. The first cruise and two of the four broke. If you have ever seen how your luggage gets onto the ship you will quickly see how much torture it takes. Make sure you look at those things that protrude from the case itself and think how it will stand up to the pressure of movement. They take a lot more torture going onto the ship than they will ever do at the airlines which toss them around pretty good as it is. I'm trying a new one this time that protects the wheels but we shall see. I wish there were wheels that can be retracted back into the case and you can lower them only when required.