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Rebook or Destination Vacation??


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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?

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3 minutes ago, Matt said:

My thought is book the cruise and hope for the best. 

Let's say it gets cancelled, there's usually enough warning you could do a vacation home rental or something a little more local. 

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!

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Ultimately it is up to you and what you feel comfortable with. If you know you have the time and money, I would wait until last minute to book a cruise, after I knew it would be going. Rebooking for what might be the possible start of the season is a gamble. I also don't think people who are cautious are doomsdayers, that's not the right word...maybe naysayers is a more apropos word. Another point to remember is that there will be protocols. I don't know how old your children are but mask maybe required for flights, rides, etc. We were planning to take a 4, 7, 8, and 11 to the Dells in Sept. None of them can keep a mask on for more than a half an hour.

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FWIW this is my plan for wife and I --> If September is cancelled we will take the refund, move our December Harmony Cruise to September 2021 and that's that. If it isn't cancelled but we decide to cancel, then I'll Lift and Shift to September 2021, cancel December Harmony and apply the FCC towards upgrading to a Jr. Suite or higher. So, price preservation isn't important since we want a Jr. Suite or higher.

We too are anxious to take a real vacation. We are currently working on a trip to Wildwood, NJ. It's a 3 hour drive, a place we have not been in a while and something we can make arrangements (hotel, etc) last minute. We would need the dates picked out ahead of time because my wife needs to give her manager decent notice for vacation but, my job is more flexible and can work around her jobs schedule.

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My husband and I were just talking about what we want to do if one or both of our cruises get cancelled. We won't be booking airfare for our December cruise until September or October so we are hoping by then we will have a more comfortable feeling about the fate of our vacation...BUT. We know things can change last minute so we figured out how to create a backup plan.

Our cruise in December leaves from Orlando which is awesome because there are so many different kinds of vacations you can do there. Coming from Ohio anything is going to feel like a vacation, and although a cruise is our top pick......WE AREN'T BEING PICKY LOL. We are planning a mini Disney vacation just in case our cruise cancels. If both cruises cancel then the second one (Symphony in January) we will just lift and shift. 

I'm not sure where your cruise port is but if it's in a good tourist area you might not be 100% out of luck. Anywho this is just an idea and hopefully you all still get to go!

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We are currently backup planning in case our August cruises get canceled.  We were canceled for a family cruise in June so we are heading to Mexico July 1st to replace that.  The beginning of August hubby is supposed to take all 3 kids cruising and give me a break at home.  They may end up in Ft. Lauderdale.  The end of August is supposed to be a couples cruise and thinking either another all-inclusive or Atlantis in the Bahamas.  We cruise on casino cruises so each cancellation and replacement trip costs us a lot more than the cruise would. Start running some numbers on places you would like to go and keep those handy till Royal makes their next announcement. 

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17 hours ago, Ampurp85 said:

Ultimately it is up to you and what you feel comfortable with. If you know you have the time and money, I would wait until last minute to book a cruise, after I knew it would be going. Rebooking for what might be the possible start of the season is a gamble. I also don't think people who are cautious are doomsdayers, that's not the right word...maybe naysayers is a more apropos word. Another point to remember is that there will be protocols. I don't know how old your children are but mask maybe required for flights, rides, etc. We were planning to take a 4, 7, 8, and 11 to the Dells in Sept. None of them can keep a mask on for more than a half an hour.

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.

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FWIW I've spent the last week or so funneling my normal cruise obsession into All Inclusive land vacation research. I went ahead and booked for 2022 (why not) to try to lift my vacation spirits and get familiar with the options so if our 7 day November Allure trip is cancelled I know where to go and what steps to take to get something else on the books. If our short weekend trips in August and September cancel it's not a huge deal but if our biggie in November cancels I will need to replace for the same time frame a real 7 day vacation.

Nothing of any use to anyone here; just sharing my experience so you know you're not alone ?

 

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@Mrs. Thomas I have no doubt that if the CDC allows cruises to commence in Aug, mask are going to required at least 50% of the time. I can't keep the the 4 and 7 y/o from going up to random people asking questions. So how do you socially distance when children can't? At least with maybe a land based vacation, your kids will be freer in a sense.

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21 hours ago, Mrs. Thomas said:

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?

Are you located in a city or near one that has a resort style hotel? We lived in Tulsa and we spent many long weekends at the Margaritaville Resort. Something like that might work for your family. If you wanted to still go Caribbean, you could check out the Hilton Rose Hall Resort in Jamaica. I believe it's all inclusive and has a lazy river and play area for the kids. 

 

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2 minutes ago, Okgladgal said:

Are you located in a city or near one that has a resort style hotel? We lived in Tulsa and we spent many long weekends at the Margaritaville Resort. Something like that might work for your family. If you wanted to still go Caribbean, you could check out the Hilton Rose Hall Resort in Jamaica. I believe it's all inclusive and has a lazy river and play area for the kids. 

 

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.

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4 minutes ago, Mrs. Thomas said:

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.

We spent a week in St. Thomas and loved it! Our next land based vacation will be back there.

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35 minutes ago, Ampurp85 said:

@Mrs. Thomas I have no doubt that if the CDC allows cruises to commence in Aug, mask are going to required at least 50% of the time. I can't keep the the 4 and 7 y/o from going up to random people asking questions. So how do you socially distance when children can't? At least with maybe a land based vacation, your kids will be freer in a sense.

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. :147_information_desk_person: LOL

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15 minutes ago, Mrs. Thomas said:

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

Our kids weren't with us but we stayed Frenchman's Reef/Morning Star Resort. This was before VRBOs or Airbnb. That will be our choice next time. We rented a car for the week and drove all over the island! Our hotel was on Morningstar beach so we spent most of the time there but we also spent a day at Megan's Bay Beach, Coki beach and Coral World. We went to VIEco tours and did the kayak, snorkel & hike trip. We've also done that twice with our kids on a cruise excursion & it's highly recommended. We rode the ferry and spent a day at St. John and Trunk Bay. We went to Blackbeard's Castle & Paradise Point. Those are the high points...too many more to list. I got most of my info from Trip Advisor.

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38 minutes ago, Mrs. Thomas said:

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. :147_information_desk_person: LOL

Ahh yes, mask loopholes will get us over this pandemic and back to cruising faster. 

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15 hours ago, Hoski said:

We are currently backup planning in case our August cruises get canceled.  We were canceled for a family cruise in June so we are heading to Mexico July 1st to replace that.  The beginning of August hubby is supposed to take all 3 kids cruising and give me a break at home.  They may end up in Ft. Lauderdale.  The end of August is supposed to be a couples cruise and thinking either another all-inclusive or Atlantis in the Bahamas.  We cruise on casino cruises so each cancellation and replacement trip costs us a lot more than the cruise would. Start running some numbers on places you would like to go and keep those handy till Royal makes their next announcement. 

I started looking into all inclusive today.  August 3rd Independence isn’t looking like a go.  I just wish, like all of us, that they make a decision soon.  

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On 6/19/2020 at 9:50 AM, Mrs. Thomas said:

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.

Hotel/resort in USA with indoor water park like Splash Lagoon or the Wilderness Lodge one?  I've created a list of backups but most of them require a passport except San Juan.  Hubby and I already have flights for there so trying to decide if we want to spend a week there or switch it up.

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On ‎6‎/‎21‎/‎2020 at 3:03 AM, MichelleB1234 said:

Seems unlikely cruising will work out this fall.  I would fly to St. Thomas and book a house through vrbo or air b and b

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.

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2 hours ago, Mrs. Thomas said:

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.

VRBO is typically full rentals, not shared spaces.  AirBNB has both.

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