Mrs. Thomas

Thanks. I think I get it now. Either way, I hope that I can get my rebooking done and get the rooms I want.

So it includes the deposit if I had everything paid? Sorry, I just want to make sure I'm clear in my head. LOL

I know we don't like the idea of them holding on to our money longer, because let's face it we need it too, but if they can survive all of this then we can still cruise at some point. My rebooking is for October so if it is cancelled then we have lost any hopes for a big vacation this year. I will probably just rebook again, but for next year some time. Land vacations make me more nervous at this point then being on a ship. The choices are possible violence or risk getting sick. I'll take my chances with a virus, just my opinion. However, we may back to see my brother who lives near Myrtle Beach, SC and visit Ripley's Aquarium for my son's birthday which is right before the Oct. sailing date. But like everyone else, I would rather be on a ship with the wind in my hair.

Ok, so it happened. My August sailing on SoS is cancelled. I have decided to "roll the dice", as Matt puts it, and rebook for October. However, I'm confused about how we will be getting our deposits back if we choose the 125% FCC. Will it be cash or lumped in with the FCC? Also, will we get it no matter if we did a refundable deposit or not? I honestly can't remember which I did and my poor TA is only working 2 days a week due to all the 'Rona stuff. Sorry but, I'm a bit obsessive about making sure I have everything together for big plans like these as things can get costly if you forget something. I guess we are all that the point where we need to have more than just a plan B for our vacation plans.

I think they are hoping for the best and wanting to sail asap. However, that is also less they have to refund at one time. It may help with not overwhelming an already stressed refund system. I hope for your sake (and others) that we are all cruising on time this go around.

I don't think they are waiting for a vaccine. I think they are waiting for numbers to go down more in the US. Personally, I think we will see a big spike way before Fall due to everyone wanting to get out now and many doing it. Most believe that if the media would stop talking about it so much that people would, for the most part, stop worrying about it as bad. That's not to say we shouldn't be cautious at all, but it isn't Captain Tripps (reference from "The Stand"). Let's all just hope that this is the last postponement of sailings. I'm not sure how much more the industry can take if it isn't.

I'm an idiot! I completely forgot about the 125% FOC for the excursions and drink packages and cancelled my stuff on Friday in hopes of getting my money back sooner. I should have just waited! UGH! I have decided to "roll the dice" as Matt says and rebook for October. Who knows, maybe we all have escaped a bad storm by not sailing in August. (trying to look on the bright side) @WAAAYTOOO we may need to add a "cancelled" section to our cruises on our signatures. LOL

Is Vrbo and Air BandB those things where you book people's houses that they live in but have extra rooms? If so, then that's a nope. I don't trust people like that. However, I am going to roll the dice and rebook for October. If they cancel again I'll just figure out what plan C is. We already have a short cruise for February booked so we may just plan the big one for next Spring.

I honestly can't answer that last question. I just have been able to stop my son (the 7yr old) in the past year or so from going up and just hugging strangers. We are still working on personal space with him. I thought about a loophole of a mesh mask. Technically it would be a mask, but without the problems of a standard one. Either that or my son is going to be Batman or Spider-Man for our trip. LOL

Where did you stay and what did you do while you were there?

EXACTLY!! @bobroo There have been lockdowns, public schooling at home, food shortages, paper products and disinfectant shortages, unpaid furloughs from work, deaths of family and friends to which we were not able to have funerals. Now we have protests, riots, civil unrest, the possibility of more lockdowns due to a spike in some areas, and just plain bad news streaming from everywhere. WE ALL NEED A BREAK! We all have thousands of dollars tied up in our cruises and the thought of that much money being in limbo or some of it not returned isn't something any of us want to think about either. I don't think our stomach is in knots, but it is one more stressor to an already stressful 3 or 4 months.

No, we don't. Jamaica is out because you need a passport to enter. None of us have one and getting one for my daughter would be an act of congress. (baby daddy issues) I've looked at flying to St. Thomas. It is a US Virgin Island. Just not sure yet.

I agree. The problem is that the CDC seems to be dragging their feet a bit. Personally I think that they should just make everyone be screened before getting on the ship and take precautions while aboard and just let us sail.

Hope springs eternal! It's what is keeping most of us going at this point.

My kids are 11 and 7. The 7 yr old has ADHD so days w/o masks are interesting as it is. He wouldn't keep a mask on for long. None of us have a passport and it would be extremely hard to get one for my daughter (baby daddy problems) so going where you need one is basically out of the question, especially since their offices are just opening up as well. I don't want to wait too long to rebook (if I decide to) because of price changes and if they cruise at less than full capacity, which is highly likely, then we may miss out on when we can go. I have a little bit of flexibility with my job for days off, but not much. I have looked into going to St. Thomas and it would be about the same, if not cheaper, to just fly there and stay for about a week. However, cruising is my first choice. I want to go on Symphony so much! I love the Oasis class ships.

Yes, I am. @Baked Alaska I keep seeing it for others but not sure how to set it up for myself.

We usually go to the Myrtle Beach area because my brother lives close by. However, there have been multiple shootings here lately and I don't care to go and it's a bit of "old hat" right now. I will probably rebook, but all this makes me glad that I haven't told my kids what we are supposed to be doing as they would be upset. There is WAY too much stress going on right now!

How do you get the past cruises list when you post?

Ok, it looks like the "powers that be" may kill the cruising season this summer and possibly early fall. For those of us with children, we would like to take a vacation THIS YEAR. So here is my dilemma, my cruise in August seems to be threatened at this point. I have planned on rebooking it for October if it is. However, the doomsdayers are saying that this could extend to the end of October, and with the CDC dragging their feet and not wanting to actually be helpful to the cruise industry, this may very well happen. So what should I do? I EXTREMELY want to take my family on a cruise and do all of the fun excursions that I have planned and PAID FOR, but if I rebook and it's cancelled too then we haven't had a vacation at all this year. Should I rebook and take that chance OR should I just plan a destination vacation to somewhere like St. Thomas or St. Martin (provided that they are open to tourists)? Going to a local beach is not an option for us. Also, considering the charged climate right now in the US, there aren't too many places to go that won't end up with us probably being attacked. The point of a vacation is to get away from the stress and madness, but here lately it seems that trying to do that makes the stress worse. A "staycation", meaning staying at home, means nothing more than working around the house (for a Mom) IS NOT a vacation. Oh, and for those who may mention camping, I love it but due to my husband's health we can't. So which would be best? Rebook? or Destination?

I'm not saying that it is all of those that work there. I also don't mean that they necessarily want people to be sick. What I am saying is that those who are in the most powerful of positions are enjoying the ability they now have to control people, even if they don't say it out loud. If you think that some people don't ever think that way then you truly don't understand the human condition and I would love to live with your rose colored glasses. You should look up the Stanford prison experiment. There is more going on with all of this than what most see on the surface. I've done my own research and there are things that aren't adding up. Anyway, yes, I believe the cruise industry is getting a raw deal. We see how RCCL and others are doing their best to do what is needed and then the rules change just as it is getting done, kind of like when Cinderella is trying to go to the ball (Disney version).

I am honestly looking at a destination vacation to St. Thomas or St. Martin with my family if they decide to extend the no sail order. If we have to cancel through August and then again through October after I have rebooked to then, my kids will have completely lost out on having a vacation this year. This has been such a horrid year for kids, they need the vacation just as much if not more than we adults do. Their lives have been turned upside down. Plus, they end up hearing about all of the craziness going on in other places (especially in the US) and it adds to the stress. I would gladly fly to catch a ship at this point.

Then the quality will go way down just like everything you buy at Walmart.

Because they are finally in charge of something. It's bureaucratic crap. This is the only time they are relevant and "important" and they are making the best of it. When else does anyone pay attention to them? It sounds like you are in a sarcastic and smart axx mood today. Maybe you should take a cruise and distress....oh wait...nevermind.

It's about more than just when we will sail again. If the CDC continues to be like this they can successfully mortally wound if not kill the cruising industry. Let's just say that they stop cruising for an entire year, which is possible, then a good few of the cruise line will go belly up, Virgin probably being one of the first. If that happens it will effect many other travel industries and the economies of other countries that depend on the tourism. Many of us are tired of being told what to do by a group of people who don't seem to completely know what is going on as they keep changing their statements and their numbers always seem to just not add up completely. The CDC thrives on panic and confusion and (IMO) they are enjoying this sudden rush of power.

They need to cancel August before July though. That way people can get their FCC and refunds in time to rebook. I plan on rebooking in October if my August cruise is cancelled, which now looks like is very possible. If October is cancelled then I will have to see about next year. My kids are looking forward to a week's vacation, though they don't know what we are supposed to be doing. If they cancel our vacation, I may just send a picture of my children crying to the CDC with a note at how they are destroying the ability of kids to have any fun or family time right now. They have chosen to be a bully to this industry and are ruining people's lives in the process, and I'm talking about owners, employees, etc.