Scrumps

Airports are starting to bring in instant testing that you can pay for to avoid 2 week quarantine. I think this is going to be the only way cruising restarts any time soon. The logistics of it and the reliability of the tests need work though.  I said 2 months ago I believed that is where all the cruise companies should be jointly putting their money right now.

It's a cascade effect though. Those under 30's who may be asymptomatic in their thousands and not filling hospital beds, but they likely will pass onto others who will end up in a bed. That is what happened in NY. The death rate increased later on and kept increasing as the new case numbers went down. 

Just my opinion..

Cruise stocks are taking a beating and with no good news, they are being downgraded, rated down, targets set lower etc.
I believed all along that if there is no light at the end of the tunnel by fall, then cruise companies will reach a point of 'concern', or significant decision point.
We have covid numbers spiking in the south, FL may start to see the same highs as NY. The CDC is silent and I can't imagine they are going to allow anything with these covid numbers.

And further cancellations past September and the new provisional date would be?  January? 

I love cruising, I just can't see any good news coming any time soon..    Will Europe open up for Europeans?  Will Aus/NZ open up for locals?  Middle East cruises?

Someone cheer me up and give me some good news or belief that cruising will start in Oct!

14 hours ago, Tira04 said:

Anyone else planning for 2021?

We cancelled all our cruises and got our money refunded.  We will not book again until an active covid case does not result in the entire ship being quarantined and struggling to dock at the final port, and my wife being forced into 2 weeks unpaid self isolation on her return home.  We just booked our first US based vacation for years. Cost more than a cruise  

4 hours ago, twangster said:

If cruising restarts and there are mass infections that won't bode well for the industry.

I would go as far as to say that if they restart and there is a mass inflection, you will likely see no cruises way into 2021 and the cruise industry lifeline hanging by a thread.  

This part was interesting..  Evacuation agreements with ports. It is the first I have read in regards to any agreements with ports.

.. but there is still nothing being said about what happens to the ship and passengers if an active case is discovered on board. Will the ship be allowed to dock as normal and all passengers allowed to get off. That needs to be addressed and there to be solid agreement from at least the final port before we will cruise again.

Made a ton of money trading RCL, CCL and NCHL stock.. up, down, up, down, up, down..

That 100,000 American dead in just 3 months (WITH a self quarantine in place) is still being thought of as an over reaction is astonishing.

I personally don't see how any changes on board is going to make much of a different for a virus that is past via respiratory droplets. You can clean all the surfaces you want, but people in an elevator, walking down the corridor/boardwalk, in the theater, or around a bar/pool etc and game over if 1 person is asymptomatic. Masks are proving to be the significant factor in reducing the spread of the virus and yet a huge number of people refuse to wear one when inside public buildings.

Our deal breakers are:

1. The 14 day home quarantine my wife will have to take using PTO and then unpaid leave. She already had to use 2 weeks when we got back from England in March.
2. That there appears to be no answers (yet) on what happens if there is an active or suspected covid case on board a ship.  Will ports be open for that ship?  will it be refused entry? Will the US home port refuse the ship returning as planned?  Will the passengers will allowed to get out as normal or will the whole ship be quarantined?  Will airlines allow you to fly if they know you just got on a cruise ship where there were covid cases?

I continue to read a lot about changes on board ship. So far I have seen nothing on the logistics of the an active case on board a ship.

I wouldn't say that we should not worry about bankruptcy.  Since the question has yet to be addressed on what happens with the first covid case on a ship when cruising starts, and if that ship will be able to redock in the US... and with a possible 2nd spike in the fall,  then I still believe bankruptcy is a real possibility for a lot of companies.  However, if that happens, CCL and RCL will likely file Chapter 11 to reorganize their debt with a view to continue operating. In which case, any bookings and deposits would be safe.  In the event everything goes bad, I would not put money on NCLH surviving, even with the loans they took on. 

On 5/19/2020 at 12:03 AM, bytheslice said:

will bring our own Clorox.  I don't trust what type of bleach the waiters may be serving in the restaurants.

The concern we have is that we keep seeing items being cleaned with the same wipe..  like the grocery carts etc. We saw the person cleaning self checkout with the same piece of cloth over and over and putting it in her pocket. Not sure what the spray they were using, but if we can't smell bleach, then there is no way it is strong enough to make any difference when using the same cloth.. so we bring our own wipes.

What we enjoy most is the CHOICE..  some nights we eat in the MDR, some, depending on activities and excursions, we eat in WJ. That the choice is now being removed is disappointing. We know it is a breeding ground for germs, but that can be controlled. Make it mandatory to wash hands, not a suggestion. Have hand sanitizer around the area. Change out the serving utensils often. 

We are always careful when we go to WJ. We know it's likely we will pick up something from the area.. so we hold plates with one hand, server with another. When we get to our table, wipe it down and sanitize our hands. Not perfect, but we have never had an issue.

I really do not see WJ being any worse than the elevator, boardwalk, cafe's, the theater etc in regards to covid.  The main way that covid is being past is in droplets, not surfaces.

We will cruise again when it can be 100% guaranteed that even with an active (or suspected) covid case onboard, we can get off the ship at the end of the planned cruise and be on our way without being held or quarantined, and our companies not ordering us to self isolate without pay for 2 weeks.

Until then, we plan US based vacations where we can drive to.

Keep an eye on the news coming out of Aus and NZ..  if there is any sort of increase in cases later this year, I suspect the entire cruise season in that area will be cancelled.  We had a sailing in Jan and just cancelled it. 

For me, they still need to answer this important question.. and I would think most would want to know the answer before sailing.

What guarantee is there that if the ship has an active, or even suspected case of covid, that the ship be allowed to dock as normal, on time and for passengers to get off.

Most ships that had active cases pretty much quarantined everyone in their rooms.. so it is not like you get an extra 1-2 weeks of cruising time. I just don't believe that US ports, or any ports are going to just be at a point where they accept covid cases and allow everyone to just leave.

It really does not matter if the ships are at 40% or 75%.. in close quarters and that the virus can be passed through respiratory droplets then an infected person is going to spread it.

I still have not read a single thing on what will happen at all these ports, and the home port, if there is a suspected covid case onboard a ship. 

We got our refund yesterday.  Can't remember when they cancelled the cruise, but it was for a 6/5 Alaska cruise. So just a few days past the 4/30 date they stated.

Well, we decided to cancel our cruise last night.  I just can't see us planning such a trip at the last moment and still not being 100% sure it will happen, if flights would be refunded etc.. and there is no guarantee that RC would even have the cash to refund at the end of the year. If by some miracle everything clears up and we are all flying and cruising again, I am pretty sure we can rebook later in the year.

14 hours ago, Cile said:

I need you advise. My cruise for this months is cancel. Reading about possible bankruptcy I am afraid Royal can go try that to. Should I get money back or gamble and put 125% for cruise that I put deposit for next May?   

Assuming RC filled to reorganize debt, I am 99% sure that FCC would still be valid. The company still needs customers to survive and they want people to take their cruses. If they made all FCC's worthless, then the company would be done. 

It is going to depend on what happens with those first few cruises. What happens when a suspected active case of covid is found. Will the ship be allowed to dock and everyone get off as normal?  Does it get treated like a case of Norovirus and a quick clean and everything continues?  Or will the ship be quarantined and refused entry to a port?  If the latter, then I would say the chances of CCL and RCL filing bankruptcy to reorganize debt will be 100% ..  

17 minutes ago, tonyfsu21 said:

I agree. The future is positive. There are way too many people who enjoy cruising and are itching to spend money on vacation again. This is just a matter of riding out the storm because once operations begin again the cruise lines will be flush with plenty of cash to pay off debt. 

We love cruising. We had 2 big cruises booked but as I said elsewhere, we are not planning to cruise again until I can be 100% sure that the originating port will allow the ship to dock and I can get off as scheduled... and that we will then be able to go home and my wife (who can not work from home) is not forced to stay home without pay for 2 weeks in self isolation like what happened in March. 

For us, we live for vacations.. but we are planning US based vacations for the next 18 months. Some time before the end of the year, we will likely see CCL and RCL follow NCL. I just do not see how they can avoid it. I hope I am wrong..

I am no expert, but my guess is that your deposit would be ok if they are looking for bankruptcy protection instead of going under completely. In a structural reorganization of debt, they still plan to keep sailing and so want you to actually take the cruise.

Before we cruise again I need the following answered.
That the US port will allow the ship to return and dock even if there are confirmed active cases on board and the process for disembarking everyone else.

I know people are eager to cruise, but I just don't believe for a second that a ship coming into port with an active covid case is going to be allowed to dock and 4000 people scatter to the winds all across the country/world.  Also, what about airlines?  Several crew refused to fly with a plane load of cruise ship passengers only a month ago. Are airlines really going to allow people on their plans that just got off a ship with a confirmed covid case?

If you are in a job that can't work from home, it is likely you will be forced to self isolate for 2 weeks after you get back from a cruise and international travel for the foreseeable future.

I would be surprised if the 2021 season goes ahead. I just can't see either Australia or New Zealand opening up anytime soon.. I normally book trips like this way in advance and it's a huge cost from the east side of the US, so I can't imagine waiting until the last minute to know if our Jan cruise will be cancelled. Anyone else booked on NZ or Aus cruises?

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-52540733

Class action lawsuits in the US became a gold mine for attorneys and that is all some of them do. I get listed in about 5-6 every year and it's the same result. Everyone gets a free month of netflix (that you have to cancel or they charge you) and the attorney's get 50 million or more. 

The issue listed above about the American singer I feel is lacking details. The ship is docking in a US port for supplies, I am pretty sure that she could not be forced to remain on board and refused entry to the US. It may have taken longer than it should, but the US has accepted all US nationals back into the country. What would they have done if she had walked off the ship and onto US soil? thrown her back into the ship?

As for the other people, I don't blame CCL and RCL for having issues with what the CDC is demanding.. but on the other hand, you have a foreign listed company, with a foreign registered ship with non US nationals on board.