Mrs. Thomas

4 minutes ago, crisgold52 said:

I already have bookings set for FEB and soon to be MAY which I will simply switch into should my NOV not go ahead. While it's good to be hopeful at this point it's a sense of remote hopefulness as one can't see the lines heading out of the US with cases spiking in most parts of the country compared to say Canada. 

Even though cases have went up, the death rate continues to go down. Which I think is fabulous. I don't know about Canada, but in the US we don't ever look at flu cases. We look at flu deaths (well that's what the media reports on). Is this different because it is new? I understand that this can be really bad, but why are we confining the healthy in fear instead of quarantining the sick? I have a Feb. sailing booked. If it is canceled due to all of this, then I will get a full refund and not cruise again until I know that this insanity is over. That means I may never cruise again, which is sad. I will adjust though. There are plenty of beautiful places in the US that I haven't seen yet.

26 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

Cash can be turned into an FCC but an FCC can never be turned into cash....at least, that's the way I understand it.  Back in the good ol' days, you could apply an FCC to a Paid-In-Full cruise and receive a CC refund but not anymore.

So if a cruise is cancelled where an FCC was used, the only cash you can get back would be any additional "new money" that you added in addition to the FCC.  The FCC will be reissued as a new FCC.

I think there may have been some communication break-down between my TA and RC. This isn't what I was told. Either way, I'm going to just "roll the dice" as Matt says and hope for Oct. If it is canceled again, then I will hang onto my FCC and any refunds and look to next year. I won't book anymore until the "No-Sail Order" is over. I can't handle the back and forth of the monies. At least I never told my kids what we were doing. They won't be as upset about not going anywhere.

@Jill Looks like they are creeping closer to our Oct. SOS sailing. I wonder if the lines will take the initiative and cancel into October or just hang on as long as they can. They may wait until the end of next month so they can see if what they are doing with the panel will be in their favor. Do you know if you can get a refund after opting for FCC and that cruise you use FCC for is canceled?

@Rene Desmarais I'm glad someone is trying to find a silver lining.

15 hours ago, USCG Teacher said:

The Guard doesn't require a Congressional nomination for the Academy, so if he's all about that Ring Knocker life, he can do it without all the games.  Just sayin'.   

We will definitely make sure he weighs all his options. He's 7 right now so we got some time. Thanks for the information.

@JimnKathy That sky!!  Oh my! I can't wait to get going again.

1 hour ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

I’m All Marine All of the Time.

My father, 2 husbands, 2 Fathers-in-law, 1 son.

Semper Fi !

That's awesome! My grandfather was Navy (WWII), Dad was Army, brother is Navy, in-laws that are Air Force, Husband is Marine. I figure if my son goes into Coast Guard we will have the entire military covered. He does love the water. LOL

3 hours ago, teddy said:

Very cool.  

'88-'93 here.

Thank you for your service sir!

3 hours ago, michelle said:

Totally agree - I really think 2021 is more realistic to get more assurances in place

Nice to meet you Mrs Thomas, I'm the spouse of a retired Marine as well. Semper Fi

 

I have a 3 day booked for Feb. 2021. I don't really want that to be the first cruise for my family, but it may be. All we can do is wait and see.

@WAAAYTOOO It's nice to meet fellow Marine Wives. Semper Fi

@crisgold52 I'm not sure how that would go. At first they may require everyone to have a test before boarding. Could you imagine RCL trying to test everyone onboard? That would be a nightmare. I would do the whole Atlantis thing, but you need a passport and none of us have one. Getting one, especially right now, would be a pain and take forever. IF we start back in October (I don't care if anyone thinks this will happen, it is just for example) and the islands have a spike in cases, which is feasible no matter when tourists are allowed back, then they (the islands) may shut everything down no matter what the cruise lines decide. With no ports there are no cruises. All of this is just crazy; too many unknowns.

Take the information as you will. This is the most up to date that I could find. Let's hope that things get better soon. We can't cruise if there is nowhere to go.

https://www.travelandleisure.com/travel-news/caribbean-islands-opening-travel-coronavirus

On ‎7‎/‎10‎/‎2020 at 3:17 PM, FManke said:

@Mrs. ThomasI didn't notice until now, the logo with your name. Thank you husband for his service!

I was just able to add it the other day. I will tell him. Thank you. :)

On ‎7‎/‎8‎/‎2020 at 6:30 PM, bhageerah said:

You are 100 percent correct and have to agree with both of you!!!  While I may not be a mother, I usually am the one that is the chef, I also take care of the yard, home repairs, and vehicle repairs.  I work 240 hours a month at my full time job (24 hour shifts) and then work about 64 hours a month part time.  I can tell you that for me cruising is peace of mind, it is comfort, and mental stability.  Being home just isn't cutting it either, with the twin 14 year olds that constantly argue, and are in need of time away from each other due to them being isolated since mid March a cruise is EXACTLY the therapy that all of us in this house need at the moment!  Like you have said @Lovetocruise2002 a cruise vacation represents quite a few things that you just can not explain to those that have not gone on one or gotten hooked on cruising.  For me right now it is  almost as if I have lost the comfort of a close friend. 

Bless you dear! I have kids who like to fight too. Hooray for puberty. My husband doesn't understand why I enjoy traveling or getting away, probably because he doesn't do the housework or take care of our kids like I do. He's also a Marine so (thanks to Parris Island) he isn't a big fan of sand and says he got his "traveling bug" out then. Which part of the reason he doesn't go places with us. Personally I enjoy new experiences and helping others have them too. My Dad has always told my Mom about the beauty of the ocean. She has always wanted to visit the Caribbean and I want to help her see it before she gets to a place that she can't as my Dad has. I really hope that we can all get back to our happy place soon, whichever ship that may be.

@Neesa I'm glad for your sake that you found out. I think that cruises like that should have a warning for others trying to book that aren't part of that group that it "may not" be appropriate for people with kids. I used to work at a hotel and they would have swinger weekends. The sanitization of things like that is insane! Not all "couples" think about the person staying in that room after them.

Two years ago life was a bit easier and carefree. Also, this lady was at dry dock. Click the link for a video of what the Symphony of the Seas looked like then at dry dock, still getting some work done. I hope that she will be filled with smiling faces and laughter soon. (preferably mine and my family's lol)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_YWQZCBK5N0&t=11s

15 hours ago, USFFrank said:

If you get a covid antibody test and the results are positive that you have the antibodies for covid and you can't remember the last time you even coughed, then you are one of the vast majority of the population who had it, beat it and didn't know it.

But why would a person get a test if they don't think they ever got sick? Those who may be or have been asymptomatic will likely never get a test. I personally wouldn't get one because I wouldn't want to add to the positive test numbers for something I no longer have. That's just me.

@cruisellama depends on where the band-aid is LOL

@crisgold52 What you described is part of my problem with the whole asymptomatic idea. Everyone goes around looking at everyone like typhoid Mary. It reminds me of the "red scare" in the 50's. No one trusted anyone else. It is causing division between people. No one wants to go near anyone else and normal courtesies are abandoned. Heck, you can't even smile at anyone because of wearing a mask and if you try you just look like you're squinting. LOL I understand the why (mostly) but that doesn't mean I have to like it. If we look at how many people are asymptomatic to the flu (and I use it because it is the closest thing we have to COVID at the moment) and use that data for this, then you could say that up to 20% of people are asymptomatic to COVID as well. On a ship that has 4000 passengers and 1000 crew, for a total of 5000 people, 1000 of them would be asymptomatic. That sounds like a lot of people and it is. However, according to world wide statistics of how many people have gotten sick verses total population, 500 people on board will have already gotten sick and recovered. A hundred of those people will have been asymptomatic. So, we all know that stats aren't perfect because there are other variables, like how safe were the people before boarding etc. However, we can use it to say that we have more of a chance of getting if from someone who is in the incubation period than a person who is asymptomatic. Every cruise is at your own risk, always has been. Everyone also needs to understand that this virus isn't going away ever. We need to learn how to live with it as people in the early 1900s did with the flu. We washy-washy, don't kiss strangers or lick doorknobs and do our best to keep being kind to people because the effects of this thing is starting to do more than just physical or financial damage.

17 hours ago, Ray said:

less than 800,000 cctv cameras in london as of 2020.

Also i watched a news report last week where Donald said that the telephone was invented by America pretty sure Alexander Graham bell was Scottish 

 

 

The cameras thing about all of Britain and not just London, that was my oversight with how it was worded. The idea that the telephone is an American invention is because Bell was working in Boston when he developed and applied for the patents for it. Yes he was Scottish, but he lived in Canada too, so who actually gets the claim? I say Bell and not the countries. The documentary I watched was actual CCTV footage and was more of a TV series than just a movie. Like I said though, I'm not heading out to big US cities either, especially right now.

2 minutes ago, YOLO said:

I sent RCL a letter pleading with them to no avail.  On a ship the Captain is in charge and his decision is final.  All I can say is whoa Momma Bear - you really wouldn't want the consequences.  There was no refund (not even partial) for me.  And when I sailed on the Rhapsody to Alaska the following year I received no less than 3 phone calls from RCL officials.  They asked me lots of questions and were essentially testing me.  They wanted to make sure the issue was behind me and that I was not a risk!  So in the end, I was very lucky that the Captain did not choose to ban me from RCL for life.  It could have happened to me, but thank God it did not.  Ceil likes her cruises and I can bear the thought of being the reason why we weren't cruising Royal.

Over the years I have learned to stay chill. I run the mouth first and find the right people. However, if I found myself surrounded by those kinds of people we would have done our best to steer clear of them. I may have even made a complaint about not knowing such people were chartered with my small kids.

2 minutes ago, crisgold52 said:

Lots of asymptomatic folks. 

This is a general question, not necessarily towards you. But, how do we know that there are lots of asymptomatic people? If a person doesn't have symptoms and doesn't know they are sick, then they are most likely NOT going to be tested. How do we know how many people are actually NOT sick but everyone thinks they are because they don't have symptoms? I'm not trying to make people scared of everyone. I know people can be asymptomatic of many things like strep or the flu as well. I think I may be of strep as my family gets it but I never seem to. What if the majority of people AREN'T asymptomatic and everyone is getting sick from people in the 2 week gestation period? That whole gestation period makes me wonder how well taking a temp before boarding helps. A person could be within that 2 weeks and not know it and not show signs for DAYS after their cruise.

@TempoGL @Ray I saw a documentary about all of the crime in Britain, not just London. I wasn't just talking about violent crime. Basically, if you want to be robbed then London is the place to go. Even with the 2 million+ cameras they have, there isn't much the police actually do. That's a lot of money to spend to go somewhere just to be pick-pocketed. However, I'm not planning a trip to any major US cities either, especially right now with a lot of people acting crazy. I'm not naïve. Right now, going to grocery store without my kids is as close to a vacation as I can get.

34 minutes ago, YOLO said:

Arrgh, my next cruise is on Nov 1st.  All this uncertainty is driving me crazy!

At this point, I am kind of just waiting for the cruise start date to be pushed out again...

Same. I'm hesitant to rebook my extras for my Oct. sailing. I may just sit on the money until closer to sailing. It may cost more if we do get to go, but then I won't have to worry about waiting on refunds again.

@YOLO That is crazy! I understand the policy of protecting certain charter groups. Unfortunately we all know that some people are hateful. However, the things that were going on is unacceptable. I'm a bit of a Momma bear so I would have had my husband stopping me instead of the other way around. I'm glad you have learned from it and now I know we all need to behave ourselves.

2 hours ago, ChessE4 said:

I think we will need vaccines before new cruisers are willing to give ships a try.  We ourselves are waiting for the vaccines.  We don't worry about getting a random virus, but we do worry about dropping dead....

This virus doesn't make you just "drop dead". It isn't the black death. If you have an underlying condition then by all means, please wait until you feel safe. For the relatively healthy person you have a small chance of dying from the virus. There are multiple statistics on it. That being said, do what you think is necessary to stay healthy.

@crisgold52 I was mostly meaning that I can't get a refund if they cancel again, instead of FCC. I almost wish I would have opted for the money and just did something else with it. However, I'm trying to have something to look forward to. This all HAS to end EVENTUALLY! We can all sit and be pessimistic about how things will go and it is easy to. But, there is that small ray of hope that since there are previous CDC and government officials on the panel that it will help/speed up the time frame of getting back into the water. They know the ropes of the CDC and can keep that in mind while working on the new policies. If we can't get going by Sept. 16, then maybe Oct. 1st. We cannot stop looking towards the brighter spots of hope.

1 hour ago, cruisellama said:

Here's a friendly story:  https://www.foxnews.com/travel/health-expert-cruise-ship-safer-travel-coronavirus

Thank you for posting this! The article says that it may be safer than a vacation in London. With their crime rate, I would have to agree.

On ‎7‎/‎6‎/‎2020 at 3:53 PM, Jill said:

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. 

I'm on that same sailing and the idea of moving it again just makes me ill. Since I used FCC I won't be able to do anything else. Not sure when I would try to do it for. The holiday season is out for us as we do a lot of things with family on land. Right now I'm just gonna keep that staring at the sliver of hope. "Some people" may want to make sure cruising happens by Nov. due to voting.

3 minutes ago, YOLO said:

If you violate RCL's policy you can be dropped off at a port with no way home - it happened to me...

Oh my! I didn't know they could do that. What in the world did you do!? LOL