SpeedNoodles

It's possible to avoid the news.  Mr SpeedNoodles hasn't seen the news since March.

My advice, with C&A....if the count is in your favor, say nothing.

Well at this point anything is possible. We didn't think the industry would be shuttered for this long much less continuing down this path so ultimately it all comes down to risk and publicity. The answer logically would be risk trumps publicity. We all know that the new cases are asymptomatic and that nothing is fool proof, so the risk of going out to sea for the lines now is, if someone contracts it which is extremely likely to happen probability wise... then it becomes a question of what kind of plan they'd have in place for that or if they are willing to press ahead regardless. Only time will tell. I am fully expecting the next slate of cancellations for the remaining September sailings to come down hopefully by Mid-August. It was just not so long ago that they assured us that their full return would be June 12 and then it kept getting pushed back... also the big three will only ever follow each other ultimately... so if one opts not to start, then no one will start. Its more than just RCL now.
 
Also October is flu season so its a scary thought to think what will happen then. When ever you have people flying in from all over the country to one central port to board a ship, those people would also have had contacts from their home cities and towns and everyone then comes together so there will be asymptomatic spread. Realistically 2020 doesn't seem to be logical. Of course lets see if you are right, we'll wait and see, and take it as it comes. No sense in trying to make conjecture here about what may or may not happen 🙂 Even in my home province of British Columbia... local reports out today indicate our provincial authorities are even hesitant to make any calls on cruises up to Alaska come April 2021. We already lost the cruise season for the Alaska market this year. Ultimately the final call does rest with the Federal Government of Canada as marine and waterways are Federally regulated on the advice of the local Provincial Authorities. So generally if the provincial authorities recommend something the Federal Government would act.
 
My advice is, use your best judgements when making final payments. Hold off on any cruise planner bookings because the more money one has tied up now should there be more cancellations will again be a wait to get all those pre-cruise purchases back. There's always sales, so no rush there.
 

OK, I'll bite.  Here is the very short story.  My family & friends found ourselves on the 2012 Freedom charter by the High Seas Rally group - essentially a bunch of bikers.  They accounted for over 2200 passengers on that sailing.  I would have never booked that cruise had I known and now always check (as best as possible) to make sure I am not booking a partial chartered cruise.  The majority of the cruisers were smokers (muster was horrible), formal night attire was mostly leather (picture backgrounds catered to them), fireworks on the ship (thought this was against ship rules), pirate banners on balconies (thought this was against ship rules), and even sex in public!  You get the idea.  Anyway on the way down to dinner in an elevator with my family, a drunk Rally member jumped into our elevator with his wife.  She was in a wheelchair, so he was carrying both of their glasses of red wine.  At every floor we stopped at he proceeded to invite waiting people into our elevator - even though we were pretty full.  He was drunk and having his own fun.  Anyway, a guy on the elevator (not us) tried to get him to stop, but he was not having it.  When we reached the floor above where we were having dinner, he got out with his wife AND as the door was almost closed he threw both glasses of red wine at us!   My older sister is very proper and very well dressed.  Unfortunately, she got most of the red wine on her dress.  I was pissed so chased him down, got into a fight, and the captain had us both dropped off at the next stop in Jamaica.  My mistake, I should have summoned security.  Please learn from my mistake.  So far, I have...

Sounds like story time to me

I got a bunch of refunds yesterday for my cancelled August Symphony cruise.  I have been very, very fortunate.  So far (fingers crossed behind my back) all of the CP refunds have been accurate and complete for a single cruise...so I haven't had to go searching trying to and identify which refunds are from which cancelled cruise.  My unprofessional observation is that they are working in reverse.  I got my October refunds first, now August but still waiting for May.

Hey, they're starting to trickle in - great news, lol!

Well, they did tell me an "average of 45 days", lol.

Canceled my Aug 1, 2021 Iceland & Greenland sailing this morning. There will be no bucket list trip for me, or apparently any cruises at all, at any point in the foreseeable future.

I cancelled my cruise planner items for a better sale price on 5/5... refunded on 7/1... 58 days

It seems that there is a time honored tradition of people being negative about things they don't understand or,  potentially, know anything about. I'm not sure what drives it, but the negative reactions come from a truly diverse crowd. Mention a cruise, and, unless a fellow cruiser is involved,  the response is immediate: "Floating Pastry Dish .. " 🤔😖 (Yes, I know the actual term,  but I refuse to write it 🤣... and 'Pastry' remains best autocorrect yet on this board)
Like so many things, I think it is a case of legend always seems to take precedence over fact. 

Oh, no....I was referring to me dodging people being irrationally against cruises. I typically find I don't enjoy the company of the types of people who are anti cruising, anyway.....so it works out, just fine. 

You have NO idea how much I need this thread today. 

I've got banned from several Disney Facebook groups for saying this. Just because a theme park is opening this Saturday doesn't mean it's smart to go. Orlando is the epicenter of the pandemic.

FYI, I just figured I would follow up on this thread.  I just received my $230 cruise planner refund back to my BOA RCL Visa.  It was dated July 4th.  I wonder if RCL was working that day.  Anyway that was a frustrating 44 days for something that usually takes less than 4 minutes.  I am just glad it is done.  BUT, now I have a $230 Visa credit to deal with when it only should have been been $32...

I think masks are controversial because they are new to most people in the West. 
In the US the CDC flip flopped on masks.  Initially in early 2020 they said masks were not needed unless you were in contact with someone known to be infected.  I wonder to this day if they took that position due to the shortage of masks so that people wouldn't hoard masks like toilet paper and prevent healthcare workers from being able to get masks.  In doing so they ignored science themselves and that is where they went off the rails.  Later they flipped and said masks were beneficial. 
Anytime an agency like the CDC does a 180 it's going to fuel controversy.  
My personal believe is that masks are part of the solution but not the entire solution.  The virus is still out there, it hasn't changed in how it spreads so easily since the first cases eight months ago.  If a mask in public places gives me a 17% better chance avoiding spreading the virus that's good enough for me.  Does it solve everything?  No.  Do I need to wear a mask in my living room with family who aren't known to be infected?  No.  If a family member was known to be infected you bet I'd be wearing a mask around my home and they would be wearing one too.  If my mask isn't perfect maybe my chances of transmission drop to 10%.  That's still enough for me to wear a mask.  
In my past I have driven a car in situations where I probably shouldn't have due to drinking alcohol.  Over the years I've never killed anyone doing so, never even got in an accident of any kind.  Yet the awareness that I could kill someone despite feeling invincible caused me to change my ways.  Just take an Uber.  Could be the best $15 I ever spent.  It's a pain sometimes but probably the best thing to mitigate the horrible possibility that would come from taking a life in a DUI accident. 
Wearing a mask follows this logic.  Of course if I felt sick I wouldn't go out and risk spreading it.  The science tells us that you can be infected and contagious without knowing it.  I don't ever want to be in a position to know I passed it along and caused someone else to die but I still need to go shopping and do things in public.  When this is all said and done I want to be able to look back and know I did everything I could to not be part of the problem.  So I wear a mask when shopping.  My mask procedure isn't perfect but it's something I can do to be part of the solution.  When others see me wear my mask it reinforces that they should too.  That is when it is even more effective.  Lead by example, motivate others without overtly calling them out, shaming them or confronting their choice not to wear a mask.  Let my adult children see me do it so I lead by example.  
The virus hasn't changed in eight months with respect to ease of transmission.  We need much of society to open, we need commerce.  With the virus basically unchanged masks are a means to allow society to reopen in some limited ways that will improve our economy while reducing the chances of spread.   
If wearing masks outside of my cabin on a ship proves to be an effective mitigation that allows cruising to resume I will wear a mask on a cruise and proudly sport my mask tan lines.  It may be the step that saves the cruise lines so it's totally worth it but we need everyone to get on board.  If it's required to cruise it needs to be enforced and there should be ramifications for those that said they would do it but choose not to.  If you won't wear a mask on a cruise I respect your choice not to sail for that reason but don't board a ship knowing you intend to violate the mask policy.  That's just not cool.

@Neesa FYI, I just received my $230 CP refund from a cancellation I made on May 22nd.  The refund was dated July 4th.  Happy 4th of July to me...

While it's not a mass-market cruise line and it doesn't stay out to sea for more than a few hours at a time, this may give some hints to how casinos might operate on the big guys when sailing resumes!  Doug Parker, from Cruise Radio, took one for the team and went for a little sail to check it out.
https://cruiseradio.net/florida-casino-ship-offers-preview-of-cruise-gambling/

I reread my communication with Royal - they said "an average of 45 days".  Which leaves them a whole lot of wiggle room.

It's ridiculous that they won't let you cancel everyone's.  First, I'd call and talk to someone else - escalate it to a supervisor.  If that doesn't work, as much as you shouldn't have to and it would be a pain the the butt to do, you could call and say you're the other person (people). It's not as though they aren't going to know your voice, and the voice of Uncle Jim, etc.  But I'd definitely talk to someone else first.  It's not unusual to get different answers from different employees there.

I reread my communication with Royal - they said "an average of 45 days".  Which leaves them a whole lot of wiggle room.

I'm still waiting for my May 9th refund as well.

+1 for May 16 Majesty.  I received the FCC's but nothing more.  Still waiting on taxes, port fees, gratuities and Cruise Planner refunds.

It's ridiculous that they won't let you cancel everyone's.  First, I'd call and talk to someone else - escalate it to a supervisor.  If that doesn't work, as much as you shouldn't have to and it would be a pain the the butt to do, you could call and say you're the other person (people). It's not as though they aren't going to know your voice, and the voice of Uncle Jim, etc.  But I'd definitely talk to someone else first.  It's not unusual to get different answers from different employees there.

After reading the summary of the EU recommendations, in particular that cruises be limited to 4-7 night sailings for some unspecified initial time, with no indication when that "initial time" will actually start...
And after seeing that the US is officially excluded from all travel to the EU for the foreseeable future, most likely extending well into 2021 at the rate we're going...
And after thinking about a realistic timeline for a vaccine, and concluding that it isn't realistically happening until the spring of 2021 at the very earliest...
I've decided that I'm just canceling my 2021 Iceland and Greenland cruise, and that it won't be replaced with anything. I no longer have any faith that there will be a solution in anything less than a year, probably two. And not to be morbid, but that's assuming I'm still alive then and haven't caught this disease that will be a lot worse for me (as an asthmatic) than many. (I've confirmed I'm antibody-negative, after thinking I caught it earlier in the year)
And I'm not going to leave my money tied to hope when there's a non-zero risk of the company that hope is tied to going bankrupt and forcing me into some FCC deal I may not want. Or be able to take advantage of if I'm... y'know... not here any more to enjoy it.
I can't begin to say how angry I am, or how demoralized this makes me.