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Matt S

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We are on Oasis May 10th which seems to be in jeopardy but hopefully things get better in 56 days. If not we will get 125% credit and go in September. I think if we don't use it all for that cruise, which we definitely won't we can use the rest for another cruise so we use the rest to book a cruise next spring too. Hell of a deal to me. Is that how it works?

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We are in the same boat (no pun intended lol). Our cruise is 6/1/2020 and the final payment is due Wednesday. I am contemplating if we should cancel or not. We have been looking forward to this for so long, my kids live in North Carolina with my ex and this was going to be our summer vacation. They have never been on a cruise. They have been watching all the youtube videos about the mariner of the seas. On the other hand, I feel guilty because here I am worrying about my vacation when some people are fighting to live. Sorry for the long post. 

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We are on the SOTS on April 11th. We just barely made it. I'm excited that we were not cancelled, but I know in my heart this isn't over, and they are canceling in waves. I dont see this being better until July. With that being said, I am more saddened for all the people in and out of the cruise industry whose livelihood is on the line. We are worried about being on a ship and others are worried about rent and food. Either on a cruise or not, I'm thankful for what I have, and hope all goes well for everyone.

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I am going on my first cruise June 21 on Harmony of the Seas.  I still hold out hope that things will be ok by then, but if not, well I guess we will just have to take that cruise credit and roll it forward to a different one.  I do not think I will cancel.  I am going to wait on them to cancel me and hope for some perks..=)

 

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14 minutes ago, Cmaccullen said:

Another question is can the cruise industry survive this? I mean it is 30 days now, but lets say this goes on for another few months. Sad...

When we can cruise again the industry will need our help, I suggest we all book twice as many cruises as normal just so we can do our part...=)

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Booked for Oasis July 4th, scheduled to visit Montreal for a bit before that. I wonder what the chances are at this point. Would definitely be upset to miss this one, but safety comes first.

On a much bigger note, the constant worry and uncertainty is really beginning to stress me out, and I'm far from the worst affected. It really sucks that there still isn't any light at the end of the tunnel - I don't ever remember the world being as downcast as it has been throughout the past few days.

I think that many people's mental health will be far worse affected than their physical health over the next few months, particularly if there are any lockdowns (thankfully not yet in the UK). If I get the virus, I am pretty much 100% confident that I'll be fine given my age and health but the constant doom and gloom may impact me and many others mentally.

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I have a European cruise booked for June 22. On the bright side, I called up today and saved over $400 on my cruise fare. I don’t mind having to cancel and receiving FCC as I have a cruise already booked in 2021.

The main thing stressing me out is that we booked our flights 2 weeks before we found out about coronavirus and airlines aren’t addressing flights booked after April just yet.

I also had to alert my company that I have a trip planned and they keep emailing me about my decision, but I don’t want to cancel just yet since the trip is in 3 months and anything can happen.

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1 hour ago, Vancity Cruiser said:

Anyone feel the cruiselines could get a government bailout like the big 3 auto makers did in 2008? #toobigtofail

Yes they will. Politicians have already discussed it. As much as I am not a fan of Trump he has mentioned the cruise lines a few times as a valued industry to the US. I believe they will be taken care of. 

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OK, I'm bucking the trend here. I not only am staying on my cruise, I doubled down and took advantage of the fact people are starting to cancel. Cabins are opening up with some modest price drops, so I've asked my TA to upgrade me from my current pair of interior cabins to a pair of OV cabins. I'm moving from deck 7 to deck 3, but at least now we'll all have a nice 4-foot diameter window to look out of and have some natural daylight coming in should the worst happen and we get quarantined while at sea.

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3 hours ago, Vancity Cruiser said:

Anyone feel the cruiselines could get a government bailout like the big 3 auto makers did in 2008? #toobigtofail

I was told very doubtful as I believe they pay very little in US taxes unlike the big 3 automakers with a lot of US employees

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Question. If Royal cancels the cruise, do they offer a refund instead of FCC? 

We are set to sail June 7 on Oasis. Will happily go if it sails, just thinking ahead. The same cruise in 2021 is much more expensive at this point and is honestly the only time of year we can get the whole family together.

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@Wnuk If RCCI cancels then you will get a refund.

I am sure the government will bail out the cruise industry but they will ask for a bit of restructuring. I will say that I expect Memorial Day to be the inaugural return of cruising and not a day before. If everyone follows the advised quarantine of 2 to 3 weeks then we should be seeing a shift in the virus cases.

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I have a cruise booked for June 14.  My final payment was due on yesterday and I did pay it, but only after I called and got a room upgrade from an oceanview room with pull down beds and no sleeper sofa to two oceanview balcony rooms for my family of 5 for $400 more.   I really hope things are better then, as I'm much more excited about it now that I don't have to sleep with my kids in my room and have 2 bathrooms, but at the same time I'm realistic so won't be surprised if we have to postpone.  

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I think we are all in for a shock as far as the extent that this will impact day to day life.  I don't think any of us will be cruising over the next 60 days.  

Once the spread has stopped it will take weeks before that will be known.  Even then they'll be cautious to remove restrictions to ensure it doesn't flare up again.  Once the spread has stopped and we go through a waiting period to be absolutely certain it has stopped life will begin to get back to normal, airlines will start flying again, bars and restaurants will open, ship will start sailing, hotels will resume normal operations, movie theaters will reopen.

It hasn't peaked yet so we will face more changes in the coming weeks.   In my opinion May cruises on the bubble, June cruises are a possibility, July and August look better.  That will all change as this progresses.

Consider your cancellation strategy carefully, don't cancel prematurely especially if you are paid in full.  We've already seen some people cancel only to have a better offer appear a day or two later.  I think that is a possibility for the next phase of cruises after April 10, the end of the current cessation.   If there is another phase after that it may ring true again.

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16 hours ago, RCIfan1912 said:

I think if we don't use it all for that cruise, which we definitely won't we can use the rest for another cruise so we use the rest to book a cruise next spring too. Hell of a deal to me. Is that how it works?

Yes..once you sail on the first cruise the remaining FCC will get reissued for you to use to book the next one!

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5 hours ago, twangster said:

I think we are all in for a shock as far as the extent that this will impact day to day life.  I don't think any of us will be cruising over the next 60 days.  

Once the spread has stopped it will take weeks before that will be known.  Even then they'll be cautious to remove restrictions to ensure it doesn't flare up again.  Once the spread has stopped and we go through a waiting period to be absolutely certain it has stopped life will begin to get back to normal, airlines will start flying again, bars and restaurants will open, ship will start sailing, hotels will resume normal operations, movie theaters will reopen.

It hasn't peaked yet so we will face more changes in the coming weeks.     In my opinion May cruises on the bubble, June cruises are a possibility, July and August look better.  That will all change as this progresses.

Consider your cancellation strategy carefully, don't cancel prematurely especially if you are paid in full.  We've already seen some people cancel only to have a better offer appear a day or two later.  I think that is a possibility for the next phase of cruises after April 10, the end of the current cessation.  

I completely agree with your take on the situation. It is hard to predict however. If, and I realize that is a huge word, people will use common sense and the guidelines that are being suggested we might see this end in as early as 60 days. However I'm more concerned over the whole "note from your doctor" . I really can see this putting a lot of people (70 and older} out of the mood to sail. I'm all about safety first but this almost seems preschool in some aspects. With temps being checked as well as advanced medical screening at the port terminals and probably air terminals to follow the last thing I want to do is make an appointment with my family physician. Our sail date is May 29th and we will hold out, however my wife turns 70 in December and unless we sail prior to her birthday a lot of praying and discussion will be in order. At this point I would hold out for the FCC, but I would only attempt one rebook, if that were to fall through we would probably find an entirely new vacation venue. Again not blaming anyone or any entity at some point one has to decide whether the hoop is worth jumping through.

Safe travels to all !!  

Edited by Fireman973
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12 hours ago, cheby said:

I was told very doubtful as I believe they pay very little in US taxes unlike the big 3 automakers with a lot of US employees

Not surprising, and if so, I sure hope they don't get a bailout. I would personally much rather my tax dollars go to struggling small business owners rather than mega corporations that pay relatively little in taxes. 

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2 minutes ago, Zacharius said:

Not surprising, and if so, I sure hope they don't get a bailout. I would personally much rather my tax dollars go to struggling small business owners rather than mega corporations that pay relatively little in taxes. 

Relative is the operative word.  All large corporations including the big three automakers use business strategies to minimize tax burden.  Our own president admitted he pays no taxes and proclaimed that is smart.  Indeed it is.  They all use the tax code as it is written to minimize tax burden.

The cruise industry isn't just about where the ships are registered.  All shipping companies around the world register their ships under a flag of convenience.   The spin off jobs created in support of the cruise industry number in the hundreds of thousands.  Just like the automakers it wasn't the automakers that were bailed out - it was the supply chain that supports them.  That's is what lawmakers who bailed them out were afraid of, not the automakers failing themselves.

Unlike our president, American cruise lines do pay US taxes, just not on the asset value of the ships.  These are American corporations that pay taxes on their profits like any other American corporation.  If they moved their HQ to some foreign country and operated as a foreign corporation I could see a reluctance to offer them bail out funds but that is not the case.  

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3 hours ago, twangster said:

I think we are all in for a shock as far as the extent that this will impact day to day life.  I don't think any of us will be cruising over the next 60 days.  

Once the spread has stopped it will take weeks before that will be known.  Even then they'll be cautious to remove restrictions to ensure it doesn't flare up again.  Once the spread has stopped and we go through a waiting period to be absolutely certain it has stopped life will begin to get back to normal, airlines will start flying again, bars and restaurants will open, ship will start sailing, hotels will resume normal operations, movie theaters will reopen.

It hasn't peaked yet so we will face more changes in the coming weeks.   In my opinion May cruises on the bubble, June cruises are a possibility, July and August look better.  That will all change as this progresses.

Consider your cancellation strategy carefully, don't cancel prematurely especially if you are paid in full.  We've already seen some people cancel only to have a better offer appear a day or two later.  I think that is a possibility for the next phase of cruises after April 10, the end of the current cessation.   If there is another phase after that it may ring true again.

I agree.  I wish RCCL would go ahead and cancel through mid May at least.  I’m supposed to cruise on 5/10 and don’t expect it to happen. 

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1 minute ago, Kelly68 said:

I am very happy my cruise is end of October so confident I purchased air fare last week and planning another one in January 

i am so sorry for everyone vacation delays hope everyone stays healthy to go on your next cruise whenever it may be.

I have one planned for either June or July, but if neither of those are a go, I've got a Christmas cruise to look forward to!

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On 3/16/2020 at 8:28 PM, Wnuk said:

Question. If Royal cancels the cruise, do they offer a refund instead of FCC? 

We are set to sail June 7 on Oasis. Will happily go if it sails, just thinking ahead. The same cruise in 2021 is much more expensive at this point and is honestly the only time of year we can get the whole family together.

I'm in the same boat (literally LOL). I really hope things are better by then. I have waited for so long for this!

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   Like Twangster said,  its not just the big guy we bail out but the LARGE supply chain that gets bailed out also.  Something simple like milk,  goes back to the small dairy.  When the auto industry was bailed out,  they ended up paying back the government with interest.  It wasnt just given to them free and clear.

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Many industries are going to be impacted by this and will come looking for a bailout.  I think the government is going to make hard choices about who gets saved and who doesn't.  Airlines (as one example) are far more critical to the nation's economy than cruiselines.  So don't be surprised if the cruiselines don't get a bailout, or don't get as much of a bailout as they might hope for.  It's hard to predict what the cruise industry will look like in the long-term.  Do all lines survive this?  We don't know...but I don't think it's certain that all do.  

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