GrandmaAirplane

WE have been visiting the bourbon trail, we’re not even huge bourbon fans, but the country side in Ky is so beautiful and all the horse farms near Lexington are nice to visit, also enjoy the Smokey Mountians, we had a cruise canceled in May, have not tried to rebook anything yet. 

Im using the enforced lack of vacation options to pay down accumulated medical debts, instead of having a bajillion different $100-a-month payment plans for anywhere from 6 months to 6 more years.
Hoping this will leave me debt-free by the time I get my annual bonus in Feb 2021, so I can book a cruise for summer 2022 (if the outlook looks rosy enough by then). Would be the last chance for a trip with the whole family. Mediterranean if no Iceland offerings available, but for sure something more exotic and longer duration.

Well, I love being on holiday but asbsolutely hate the travelling to get there, especially flying which freaks me out to the extent that I usually need to take some tranquilizers for a couple of days beforehand.
So, depite being gutted at losing 3 trips this year to Covid, I have decided to enjoy the fact that, for once, I don't have to get on a plane and I will finally take advantage of the fact that I live in a tourist hot spot that people pay good (and sometimes lots of) money to visit. I have lived here for 34 years and have never truly made the most of it. I guess this is going to be the year to put that to rights, so I have decided I'm going to´stop lamenting our Covid-cancellations and put as much effort into planning our staycation in the Algarve as I do into planning our cruises!
And I totally intend to do no housework and eat out or order in every day!
(Can I post a staycation live blog???) ?

I feel your pain and feel comfortable enough to share this..... Been dealing with clinical depression since I was 16, traveling always made me feel better. I always took some sort of cruise, river, day, etc. There is something about water that makes me extremely happy. Those memories could last long enough to get me through.  I had three plan this year and was hoping to get in 5 for 2021. Had to move my January's and couldn't do March thanks to company restrictions. On top of that I had COVID don't want to get it again. My lasting side effect is extreme fatigue, so would have loved to just lay out on a cruise deck and read my books. I don't think I would be able to hike or be as active as I once was. As a Chicagoan I was stoked to be able to do day cruises on the Chicago river.....not happening since we rolled back phases. Now some of my only options are: a staycation or staying in a bed and breakfast in Galena IL. Neither hold a candle to cruising.

We’re thinking of renting a houseboat! About as close as we can get to cruising. 

Been kayaking in the Detroit River/Lake St. Clair at least once a week.  Did a weekender backpacking trip along the Bruce Trail in Ontario.  We have a cottage booked for a week next to a lake in August.  

Same! I seriously feel you pain.  This summer is our first staycation in I don’t even remember how long. It feels weird.
Our solution? Desperate times and too long in dry dock make you do crazy things. With nowhere to go, we are building a pool, hot tub, and cabana right in our backyard! All inspired by Oasis Lagoon of course. Excavation just happened two days ago. You can take the cruise away from the girl, but you cannot take away the love. ?

Just my opinion, but I think more than anything, this shows that its not worth sinking money, time, energy into a 2021 BIG GROUP cruise that may not end up being a BIG GROUP. I think, believe, have faith that cruising will resume by 2021, but they wont be full or close to full. These huge group cruise things are expensive to organize, and its just not cost effective if you cant max it out. 

That Star Trek charter looks so dang fun.....I mean the 80s one is also pretty rad. But I agree that this is not a sign, as conventions need to be overcapacity to make it worth it. Any cruise that features a theme or something like that has to be full to make it worth it as they are already a sort of specialized rate. Plus socializing at these types of things is number 1, so social distancing can't be involved.

I think for most of next year, full ship charters won’t be possible as full ships won’t be possible. 

I'm torn because I could see sailings not happening or very limited until the spring season begins (late March / April).
However, my random opinion, I wouldn't use themed cruises as a guide to what the industry will be doing. They want to fill the ship, they want it to be fun and safe for everyone and know even if ships are sailing first quarter it'll be limited capacity, lots of regulations, and only crazy cruise nuts like us will want to sail. A lot of variables, I think it was smart for them to do their own L&S, personally. 

And the Bahamas just closed their border to American citizens again...

And the Bahamas just closed their border to American citizens again...

Well said.  I am continually disappointed by seeing people here allow their passion for cruising to get in the way of the reality of this virus.

Rubbish, deaths are double what they were 2 weeks ago. Currently death rates are lower than the peak because the cases are spread further around the country. Hospital capacity is being stretched in more and more places and if it continues numbers will explode again. Sorry but there is no justification in cruising until numbers turn around. Americans may see it as OK and say it is our right to have freedom and live our lives but what country would accept them as tourists.

Yes and I see that and have seen that for a while now.  
When you listen to the experts and remove the political noise the experts are warning that may not be the case.  
Ten years from now we’ll all be back to old ways talking about what a son of a gun this pandemic was.  
Five years from now we should all be back to old ways talking about what a son of a gun this pandemic was.  
Two years from now we might all be back to old ways talking about what a son of a gun this pandemic was.  
One year from now we will still be dealing with this thing talking about what a son of a gun this pandemic is.  

Just like the weather on a Caribbean island.  If you don't like it, just wait, it's gonna change.  
RCL stock isn't finished with the roller coaster ride.  On many roller coasters the wild and fast ride down and into a curve is always preceded by a climb to a peak.  

The tone of the cruise industry is very interesting to me.  It seems to me that "woe is me" is the mantra.  Unfortunately, there are good reasons why cruises cannot operate now and probably will not operate for at least several more months.  That seems to fall on deaf ears in some circles.  Scholes makes the claim that the “The executive office wants to avoid anything that could raise Covid case numbers ahead of the November election.”  That would make sense on it's surface, but at the same time, there is a massive push from the Trump administration to have schools in regular session, which would cause an even more dramatic rise in COVID numbers.  That pretty much decimates Scholes' premise that the cruise lines are being used as a political chess piece. 
I do think the observation that they are not American companies and therefore not a priority for assistance is accurate, though.  But on that note, the cruise companies have avoided paying hundreds of millions, if not billions of dollars in taxes and additional salaries that they would have had to pay as American companies over the years.  You can't have it both ways.

Quebec City has a similar dynamic, love/hate relationship with cruising. Since it’s only such a limited seasonal occurrence, it’s tolerated there. If the season was a little longer, or more ships start coming in, that tolerance would evaporate very quickly, and their continued presence would indeed become a political issue here too. 
Cruisers tend to overlook the fact that local residents do find the high influx of ‘day tourists’ a stressor, without necessarily being on the compensating “economic benefits” end of things. The garbage alone left behind is staggering.

Really is a nice place.  Great restaurants.

I hate to say it, I think they're running her in circles to drain her oil tanks dry ?

That’s exactly what we did for an extended long week-end birthday trip:
Flew into MIA, picked up a convertible, drove down the Keys to Key West, and flew back from EYW. 
We spent 3 nights midway down the keys, snorkeled with baby nurse sharks and spotted a seahorse, then spent a couple of nights in Key West. We didn’t even have to pay a one-way drop-off fee for the rental car. It was the best short vacation that we have ever taken!
I can see how many residents of KW would prefer the smaller cruise ships, rather than the behemoths.

That’s exactly what we did for an extended long week-end birthday trip:
Flew into MIA, picked up a convertible, drove down the Keys to Key West, and flew back from EYW. 
We spent 3 nights midway down the keys, snorkeled with baby nurse sharks and spotted a seahorse, then spent a couple of nights in Key West. We didn’t even have to pay a one-way drop-off fee for the rental car. It was the best short vacation that we have ever taken!
I can see how many residents of KW would prefer the smaller cruise ships, rather than the behemoths.

Independence of the Seas. 
It is available for a couple of times in October when the weather is still good and then a couple of times in Jan/Feb on other ships when the weather is less good.
I really like the itinerary, if it was offered more often i would have moved to next year instead of sliding back to Octboer.

Both private destinations employee hundreds of locals so the risk of infection or spread is not eliminated even if it reduced.  A sick American spreading it to a local who lives on a small island near CocoCay will bring it back to that small community where it could quickly rip through the otherwise more isolated small island community.  Like we see in America, people with symptoms will hide them so they can work so they make money so they can support their family at any cost.  I'd expect no different from a Bahamian or Haitian local desperate for money.  
Haiti is probably easier to buy off.  CocoCay is in the Bahamas so it's subject to Bahamian laws and any cruise ship restrictions.  While America and Florida especially has surging numbers it's unlikely the Bahamas wants Americans showing up.  There is also no guarantee that the CDC would change its policy to reflect private destination only itineraries.  
Unfortunately this virus is highly spreadable and much of that spread including the first cases around the world involved people who didn't show symptoms at the time.  The CDC won't change it's policy until the risk of spread is significantly lower than it is today.  As long as the ships sail from the U.S. or wish to stop in the U.S. the CDC policy is in play.  As long as this virus is killing people ships will be restricted by countries around the world.  If we reach the point people just get sick and the death potential is low then we have turned a corner.