StanandJim

If you delay a trip to avoid stress and the new trip never happens because you pop off, -

Who loses?

5 minutes ago, RJB said:

 

28 minutes ago, RJB said:

Not worth the risk and the stress.  Can always go a year from now. 

Be careful of wishing your life away.....

See post 56

11 minutes ago, Shawnino said:

Unless the share price goes to zero.

Don't be a crepe hanger 😷

26 minutes ago, mauibabes said:

The cruise line industry is in the “Tank” and stock prices are VERY low. When you are a Shareholder of NCL cruise line, 100 shares, you receive a benefit from NCLH of $50, $100, or $250 in Ship Board Credit on every cruise. Yesterday the price was under $12. A bunch of our Oceania  travel friends have also become shareholders.  The stock price will eventually go up AND we are booked on some future cruises and looking forward to taking advantage of this benefit. At $60 a share I opted out but at today’s prices, it presents a great opportunity for us travelers. Check it out and NO, I am not an employee of any NCL company but I am a travel agent so this applies to any of the major cruise lines.  Just sharing an idea. Gerry

+1

-and this also applies to 401k stock portfolio's

Stock up (pun intended)  for the future-😷

It can only get better after this

2 hours ago, bbtondo said:

I'm wondering if the Riviera is going to stay in Miami for the 30 days.

There will probably be quite a display of laid up cruise ships in Miami and elsewhere.

It is positively amazing how history will repeat itself every so often, if given the chance.

The Seamen's Strike happened when I was 5 years old, so my memory of it mostly concerns the raised voices of the adults in my life. That situation broke the back of the Maritime World.

I don't believe that Cunard ever recovered.

14 minutes ago, eldaradoe said:

i'm sure they all aren't complaining....I would guess they will be compensated very well and hopefully will be able to do it again.

True, but this can be a classic case of not counting your chickens before they hatch.

When a much loved regular Poster on this Forum had his World Cruise plans disrupted by a just before the trip fire, he was over the moon about the generous compensation. He and I were hip deep in "the next cruise" preparations when  fate intervened.  He passed away mid voyage-

For people of his, and what is rapidly becoming our ages, Carpe Diem sometimes rules the day.

37 minutes ago, roger b said:

why don't you blame the bottom line and the shareholders instead of the overworked and underpaid crew.

 I don't because in this instance, both the crew and the shareholders have identical motivations to keep the ships sailing.

In other words, if they slit the throat of the shareholders, the crew will bleed to death as well.

1 hour ago, Kate-AHF said:

Oceania is either 1. delusional that the global situation will magically heal itself in short order, or 2. they are just playing chicken with their customers to see who blinks first - and betting it will be us.

 

Guess which one I think is the truth?

Or maybe they are  hoping for a slightly better solution for their thousands of loyal employees whom many of us profess to love so much.

Loss of gratuity income will economically ruin many staff lives.  

3 hours ago, Shawnino said:

In the mean time, O is marketing that 73-day cruise on Riviera from Miami in 2022 that returns to Miami seven times.

What demo is THAT bad boy geared toward?

My in laws in Florida just received info on that Cruise, they are marketing it to Snow birds as cheaper than staying home.  

2 hours ago, bbtondo said:

Whoever is running Viking is a smart cookie!  IMHO What they pay now in refunds will come back to them big time in the future.

If they are still in business to collect it-

19 minutes ago, Hawaiidan said:

O would never fit the RCCL business. plan.    

+1

FWIW, if RCCL has not sprung for a new SHIP for Azamara, after all these years, it seems unlikely that they would  be buying an entire Cruise Line, even at distress pricing.

12 minutes ago, Hawaiidan said:

 

As an observation, it appears that  the problem is pretty much co-related to the size of the ship... The risk is seeming to rise according to the number of passengers present .   Too many rats in the box so to speak is not a recipe  for a good risk potential

+1  

- I see it as as a socio-educational issue.

Once educated people are convinced that the threat is real, they seem to be better at avoiding it.

35 minutes ago, susiesan said:

I am wondering, with so many people canceling their cruises scheduled for the next few months over virus panic, how may passenger cancellations would it take for Oceania to decide it is not economically feasible to run a particular cruise sailing? Has Oceania ever done this before, cancelled a sailing for lack of interest? Have their ships sailed with less than half the cabins occupied? I am thinking about cruises that are overseas, like mine in the Baltic. If airlines were to stop flying from the US to particular countries or even to Europe as a whole, but the cruise wasn't cancelled, then Americans would have to cancel the cruise since they couldn't get there. How many empty cabins would Oceania sail with? Airlines sometimes cancel particular flights if they don't have enough tickets sold to justify the expense of flying the plane. They use the excuse of mechanical problem and book passengers on another flight.

The cost savings would be miniscule for a cancelled voyage.  

The Crew has to be fed and  paid, regardless.

The food cannot be saved, it would just have to be tossed.

Fuel would be saved, but docking costs would increase.  

Not a happy picture-

18 minutes ago, jo-b said:

So they don’t have to warn Brits? 😷😳😷

 

The travel advisory is fairly discreet on the O site but it is there, I can’t see anything at all on the Regent site. 

Just saying that one cannot compare apples to apples about what is or isn't on each Site, as we are probably looking at different Sites with different content.  

29 minutes ago, jo-b said:

I have since posting looked on the Regent site and can find no information at all about the virus or their travel advisories. Could be unfamiliarity with their site but it is well hidden! 

FWIW, you guys overseas probably see a different Website than we do in North America.

1 hour ago, Andee said:

I can't remember the reason why, but one time we went to a specialty dining room right when they opened at 6:30 and asked if they could accommodate us. At 6:45, we were seated because people hadn't shown up for their reservation.

That is how it was handled in the bad old "before we could reserve online days".  

Getting Specialty Restaurant Reservations was the very first thing that everyone did on the ship, once upon a time.

🤓

It depends on how particular you feel about where you are placed on the ship.

Guarantee means that you will be on the ship, but they can place you where they want to.

40 minutes ago, Petoonya said:

Especially since the document states no requirements for the conditions of proof of health. I made an appt with my health care provider for 2 days prior to my departure to hopefully cover contingencies. But sent the info along to my TA to get her input. Worst case scenario we just rebok for next year as difficult as that sounds. 222

 

I've been told that the turnaround for confirmation of COVID-19 test is 1-2 hours similar to that for rapid flu test. But without symptoms hard to imagine that expensive test would be required. My guess is that a professional's listening for lung sounds is about the best that can be asked, not that that is any proof someone is not carrying the virus.

I get the impression, Petoonya that you skew to the younger and more vigorous end of the Oceania demographic.

Many (most?) of your compatriots won't present as healthy enough to get way without the test-  

46 minutes ago, Verokaren said:

Thank you, Petionya! Well, this is a big development indeed. I wonder how Oceania will handle this?  This is difficult for those of us traveling early.

I believe that the takeaway here needs to be that a Doctor must be consulted within a few days of departure yet far enough out that test results may be confirmed.

What IS the turnaround time for that sort of thing? 🤒

7 hours ago, bigmjh said:

+1 👍 The BEST way to do it!

That may be true for those of you using the mobile App.  

As someone who follows Cruise Critic on a Desktop, however, I can assure you all that have  never lost any content during the posting process.  On the ship, naturally, is a different kettle of fish and there I do compose off line in Word.

When I do need to cut and paste large Posts onto (into?) Cruise Critic, the Specialty Restaurant Rules & Regs come to mind,  I generally need to finesse the formatting and content quite a bit before hitting "Submit Reply".

I also miss the old method, the one just before this last big change, where we could view our Posts exactly as they would appear on the Site,  before authorizing that final Submission.

5 hours ago, FolsomMike said:

Not necessarily..We had a two week tour of Italy booked with Perillo for late September 2001 and THEY called US two days after 9/11 and offered a full refund. We took it and later booked the same tour for the following year...Smart customer relations. 

An apples to oranges comparison, I'm afraid.

Perillo does not (and never did)  own the hotels, busses or restaurants which they provide on their Tours.  They hire Guides on an as needed basis.  After 9/11, they might have been out of pocket for a cancellation fee or three.

For a Cruise Line, the heavily leveraged unused ships also have huge, extensively trained hotel staffs which cannot be sent packing without losing their expertise.  The crew must be fed and paid until the all clear is sounded.

Customer relations mean nothing if the Company ceases to exist.  

6 hours ago, bbtondo said:

CDC Level 3, Avoid Nonessential Travel to Italy.  Do the right thing Oceania, and cancel the upcoming Med cruises  and give a complete refund.

 

https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/notices/warning/coronavirus-italy

 

You really can't expect more than a future cruise credit-

Refunds would put them out of business, do you want that?

8 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

Dock the ships until the virus is gone..no place is safe

Have you ever wondered  what the costs are for an idle  Cruise ship?

There wouldn't be a Line left in business.