TexasBrit

26 minutes ago, boatseller said:

Except I literally can go to Fantasyland tomorrow, or Hogsmeade or Sesame Street.  So yeah, Floridians and our guests are enjoying life right now.  And these same people are ready to set sail.

 

So much for 'science'.  I understand how frustrated you feel when people make decisions you don't agree with.

 

"a systematic and enforced approach" Really?  How's that working out with the Flu?  Do tell, exactly (be precise) what science suggest we can better control the ccv vs influenza?  A link to a cited peer reviewed study will do.  Like I said, New Zealand is 1 tourist away from losing control, again...and again...and again...and again..and it will never end.  How is that sustainable?  I'd love to know, with science.

 

You know, in every one of these fun debates, I ask for the 'science' that's so oft referenced and...it never manifests.  Funny how that works.  But please, your chance to be the first.

You want science?  Check here:

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/

Look at all the data from each country including the graphs and charts.

You can also look up many other scientific studies. I am not doing your literature search for you.

The point is to keep the new cases (and deaths) going down, not up.

Once that is accomplished, a vaccine, together with effective treatments will be needed to keep the

cases down.
Flu virus is very different, in its transmissibility and the symptoms for most people are nowhere near as severe with the numbers in ICUs, so its not the same burden on the health care systems. And there is a reasonably effective flu vaccine available every year.

But please go ahead with your lovely dreams.

Go and enjoy all the fun in bars in Florida. I hear it is great!

33 minutes ago, boatseller said:

That's science.

The virus will never be under control, just like influenza.  Sorry, it's pretty much the same thing now.  But please, live in your fantasy world, I guess not Fantasyland though, while we're cruising.

Seems like you are already in the fantasy world.

Totally out of step with any scientific reality, sadly.

You are probably right that the COVID-19 is not going to disappear, but it can be brought under control with

a systematic and enforced approach which is what is happening in many places, but not in the US right now.

Enjoy your fantasy cruise, it will be the only one you'll be on for a while.

4 hours ago, MistyRo76 said:

We are on a 4 day sailing - the shorter sailings have final payment dates that are closer to departure date. The Carnival FAQ's showed 75 days, but ours is 60 days out. 

 

Speaking of final payment dates, I have seen a couple comments on here about people who were able to get their final payment dates extended an extra month due to everything going on with COVID. So that might be an option to get you more time to decide what you want to do (or see if Carnival cancels your sailing). Not sure how consistent Carnival is being in allowing this, but wouldn't hurt to ask. 

I called Carnival and asked several questions.

The agent said that the cruise is still scheduled to sail.

I asked about extending the final payment date because of the uncertainty and not wanting to pay and then

have to wait for refunds. She initially said that it was not available right now. I pointed out that I had heard that some people had final payment dates extended by their PVP. I stated that I did not have a PVP because I had booked the cruise myself, so could I speak to a PVP please. She then said that the best she could do was extend final payment until July 31 but not a whole extra month. So I accepted this offer and it was done and confirmed by email.

So thank you for this information and suggestion to ask about it.

But the firm July 31 date also raised my suspicions that they are waiting until August to announce cancellations for October.

She did also say that the booking can be transferred to 2021 or 2022 for no change fee, which is not too bad.

But at least I have a bit more time to wait and see and think about what to do.

1 minute ago, MistyRo76 said:

We are on a 4 day sailing - the shorter sailings have final payment dates that are closer to departure date. The Carnival FAQ's showed 75 days, but ours is 60 days out. 

 

Speaking of final payment dates, I have seen a couple comments on here about people who were able to get their final payment dates extended an extra month due to everything going on with COVID. So that might be an option to get you more time to decide what you want to do (or see if Carnival cancels your sailing). Not sure how consistent Carnival is being in allowing this, but wouldn't hurt to ask. 

Thank you once again!

Very helpful, I will call Carnival today.

19 minutes ago, MistyRo76 said:

I spoke to my PVP last week about our October 19th cruise. She recommended that we wait until our final payment date (August 20th) to see if Carnival cancels our sailing. Then we can take advantage of any rebooking incentives being offered at that time for the cancellation. She also told me that Carnival was allowing anyone booked on a cruise in October, November or December to rebook on another cruise within one year of their original sailing date at no penalty. So that is our plan. 

 

The last round of cancellations were made fairly well in advance so that many hadn't reached their final payment dates yet. I'm hoping that we hear something solid by the early to mid- August. 

Thank you.

Your final payment date seems strange. Usually it is 90 days before sailing, which should be about July 20th.

I hadn't heard about the re-booking plan, I'll see if it applies to us also.

2 minutes ago, sanger727 said:

 

Yes, you are correct; they want people to go into final payment limbo where they either lose their deposits by cancelling or pay their final payment and carnival gets extra money for 90 days. I don't know if anyone has posted in this exact situation. But it appears that most of the cruise lines are holding tight to cancellation penalties. If you cancel before them according to whatever cancellation penalties are in effect at the time - when they cancel you no longer had a reservation and are not entitled to any refund. I believe the not making final payment in time would be, in effect, a cancellation and forfeiting your deposit. You could call and see if they would extend your final payment date.

Thank you. My April cruise allowed the forfeited money to go to FCC at least. Not sure if Carnival will do this also. It does seem like a scam when they probably know fine well they are not going to sail in October. This is certainly not acting in good faith. If any other company behaved like this, they would lose a lot of customers and business very quickly. This may be the case with the cruise lines.

19 minutes ago, Pyrate13 said:

If it was a non refundable, such as early saver, and you cancel, then you will lose the deposit. If Carnival cancels you should get it back since they are not providing the cruise you paid the deposit on.

Would this still apply if they eventually cancel it after the final payment date?

Seems like they want people to cancel before they announce cancellation so that they can keep the deposits.

What happens if I don't cancel but just don't send in the final payment?

I have a cruise scheduled for October, with final payment due very soon. So far I have only paid the reduced deposits.

We are not intending to go on the cruise anyway, even if it sails. I would like to get my deposits back.

If Carnival cancels, I would expect to get them refunded.

But what happens if I cancel or just don't make the final payment on time?

Will I forfeit the deposits even if they eventually cancel the cruise a little later?
or can I claim them back if they cancel it?

I think that if I paid the balance and then they cancel, I would get it all back, but I don't want to

pay out any more money as I am still waiting for a refund from a canceled April cruise.

It seems they are waiting to get all the payments in before announcing any cancellations.

Thanks

On 6/20/2020 at 5:30 PM, drsel said:

Because the risk of virus transmission in a sealed airtight chamber on a small plane is more than that on a huge Cruise ship with well ventilated open decks.

 

It would also be unfair to allow the airlines to be in business and deny the cruise lines.

 

But there are also closed-in bars and restaurants with many close tables all over the ships, not to mention the casino. This is where the transmission of the virus takes place. And the total time of exposure is increased over multiple days. So it is not clear which would carry the higher risk of infection. The other issue is the foreign ports that are not allowing ships to enter.

Not sure fairness is part of the considerations.

I have three cabins booked on the Vista in October and also have had several emails and texts regarding the final payment due soon.

We probably will not be going if it sails, but we are hanging on before actually canceling as long as possible so that we don't lose the deposits in the hope that Carnival cancels first! It is a cat and mouse game.

8 minutes ago, topaz123 said:

Hmmmm.....seeing some interesting statistics.... note number of Confirmed cases vs Recovered Cases....pretty close. Just not seeing the leap from  Yes, I have Corona to I have a few weeks to live. I recall the news coverage in January of thousands upon thousands dying in the USA, hospitals overflowing, blah.....Yes Serious stuff, but dont see the leap. Yes, I'll sign a waiver and board next week if I could.

But, but "thousands upon thousands" have died in the USA since January, the predictions were not incorrect, and there will be thousands more in the coming months. It will eventually be hundreds of thousands.

I am rapidly coming to the sad conclusion that we will never see our money again. It seems that almost nobody has got any refund so far from this company for the cruises they cancelled.

I guess I was lucky, I got 25% plus the taxes and fees refunded at once the day I called to cancel March 11, with the rest going into FCC. We are probably not going to go on a cruise before the FCC deadlines expire, so unless they allow it to be converted to be a refund, it will be lost. Even if they do allow the conversion, I don't expect to get the refund anyway.

Similarly for the airplane fares to and from the ports. We won't be going anywhere within their time limit to book replacement flights.

Placing a dispute with the credit card company also probably will not be productive, as we accepted their terms and conditions when we bought the tickets, and they will just contest the chargeback and probably will win.

So sadly I am not expecting to see this money again, and it will be a bonus if I do. I will keep trying but as has been pointed out previously, it is an exercise in frustration.

4 hours ago, cbr663 said:

I also believe that the changes that will be needed to cruise will significantly change the cruise experience.  Here are just some, yet I still can't figure out how they would socially distance crew and we know that crew can spread the virus.

 

• The number of passengers will have to be significantly reduced,
• No more dropping your luggage off at ship side - you need to carry your luggage on board yourself meaning embarkation and screening will take a lot longer.  Same at the end of the cruise you have to take your luggage with you,
• Set embarkation times to arrive at the ship so as to discourage those long line ups and large crowds waiting to board,
• No elevator use permitted as it is almost impossible to physically distance in them and to sanitize after every use (I had read that many companies in China have shut down their elevators and they must use the stairs),
• Many on board amenities would either be totally closed or significantly changed like pools, hot tubs, gyms, and walks on the promenade deck,
• Don't know how they would deal with passengers and those long, skinny hallways.  They may need to assign crew on each end of each hallway to direct people,
• No or very limited cabin cleaning during the cruise.  Many hotels are still operating and some others are releasing their plans when they open and you have to make your own bed and clean your own bathroom,
• Set time for dining throughout the entire ship.  The buffet could be shut down permanently and the buffet dining tables reconfigured so it works like a restaurant,
• Set times for passengers to disembark at ports.  Ports requiring tenders may be eliminated all together, and set times to return at ports to discourage large crowds from returning at the same time,
• Temperature screening and other health screens at least every day and every time you leave and board the ship at ports,
• Ports limiting the number and times of ships able to dock at a time to discourage over-crowding,
• A lot less lounging chairs throughout the ship.  Expect a lot less lounging chairs at the pools,
• Dining venues like the pizza and the Dive In will change to a sit down restaurant.  No more buzzers to wait for your order,
• Self-service of any type essentially eliminated.  No grabbing water, coffee, or even a fork anymore,
• Seating in all bars and nightclubs will have to be limited and spaced far apart,
• Shops and casinos will have to limit the number of people who can enter at any one time,
• Reservations for shows and entertainment venues to control groups,
• All un-necessary items removed from cabin like paper, pens, flower vases, fruit baskets,
• All activities onboard will be restricted by passenger numbers to discourage groups,
• No more tours of the ship like galley or bridge tours,
• Had washing stations installed everywhere on the ships

If it is going to be like this, what is the point of going anyway. It would not be enjoyable. I certainly would not pay to take a cruise under conditions like this.

I am afraid that the gig is up for cruising vacations as we have known them. The financial model with the crews from the underdeveloped countries who work for low pay that made the cruises affordable for a lot of people and profitable for the industry and having ships flagged to avoid regulations and taxes is also no longer viable. An effective vaccine together with powerful medication to fight the virus and cure the patients will also be needed to entice people aboard and to get ports to allow ships to visit. How far off is that? Mask-wearing is another issue for many people.

I received a full refund of my premium for my policy with Allianz once I had cancelled the April cruise.

I am not certain why they did this. Certainly the refund was far less than they might have paid out to reimburse lost expenses, although it seems the policy excluded epidemics anyway.

So far we have not actually lost any money. We got some direct refund from HAL with the rest put into FCC. Our airline tickets are also on hold for re-booking with no change penalties. However who knows if we will ever get to use these credits or if they will eventually be refunded somehow.

Probably the insurance company decided it was cheaper to refund the premium, since we never did travel, rather than risk having to pay more for potential losses in the future. Either that or they were just being nice.

If so, it is the first known case of an insurance company being nice. 🙄

FWIW, on my transatlantic crossing in 1968, there was a burial at sea. I happened to be out on an upper deck aft, waiting for the late dining room sitting, and was asked to leave the area due to the burial about to take place below on the crew deck. As I did not see it, I don't know anything about the ceremony, procedure etc.

I asked about this to one of the waiters who was from my home town and I had become friendly with. He mentioned that it happened sometimes due to the large number of elderly people on the ship on each crossing. This was a passenger liner for transport, not a cruise ship for recreation/vacation. 

1 hour ago, NavyCruiser said:

Thinking of using our combined $2400 to buy 100 shares of RCL stock at around $22 & 100 shares of CCL stock at $8, around $3000 total.

 

So that considered re-investing into the economy...?

Buying stock just transfers the money to the individual who is selling the stock. Just like buying a used car. None of it goes back to the company.

Tried it on Freedom, ordered the fish & chips. 30 minutes later received it. The batter was undercooked, still runny on the inside, and inedible so was thrown away. Did not want to wait another 30 mins for a re-do.

Gave it another go on Vista. Still slow service but the fish was cooked properly this time. Fries not good, so I just got some from Guy's to go with the fish. Only below average quality as far as fish and chips in other restaurants, and way below quality of the other other food options on board.

Overall not good, certainly not worth the money, and will not be trying it again on our cruise booked on Vista in October, if indeed it does sail.

So in answer to the original question, a firm NO from me.

Sailed transatlantic on this ship in 1968 as Empress of Canada!

Old time ocean liner-type operation.

Was in a porthole 4-berth cabin with 3 other men I did not know. Didn't spend much time in the cabin. Food and service was excellent. Also enjoyed the low price drinks, much cheaper than on land because no duty was charged. Not much entertainment, some movies in a small theatre and a dance band nightly. Daily puzzles to solve, but no competitions.

One burial at sea (private) of passenger who died on board. Table waiter mentioned it was not unusual from time to time.

18 hours ago, Mary229 said:

The Wright amendment was a federal law prohibiting flights from Dallas to go directly anywhere except in Texas and adjoining states.   It was aimed at Southwest by American. It took years but finally By popular demand and a friendlier Congress it was overturned.  The cruise lines and or Alaska should now go to Congress and have the Jones rule overturned.  They are all special interest protectionism.  

Although beneficial to American and other major airlines, it was actually done initially to protect the new DFW Airport. The major airlines all agreed to depart Love Field and use DFW, so the Law was used to prevent them from continuing to use Love Field. Southwest Airlines was then formed and operated from Love Field because they were not in existence for the agreement to use DFW, but initially only stayed within Texas to avoid some FAA requirements. They later expanded to the adjoining states for many years until the Wright Amendment was repealed. But by then DFW airport didn't need the protection anymore. Some of the major airlines tried to have limited service at Love Field, but were not successful and gave up. Southwest still does not use DFW at all.

We cancelled Wednesday and the cash refund was in my credit card account today.

Forgot to mention one thing in my post yesterday.

The safety briefing was the strangest I have ever experienced. Everyone is lined up outside on the boat deck (4?) in 4 or 5 long rows

for 20-30 minutes to listen to the procedures and watch the demo of the life jackets. Then everyone left at the same time creating huge crowding at the elevators!

On all previous cruises, the muster stations were in lounges or the theatre with seating, and spread out over the entire ship.

Is this the way it is done on all Carnival ships now?

Just back from week on Freedom on the Jamaica/Cayman/Cozumel route. It was OK, but having previously been on Magic it seemed like a comedown. The cabin was standard and the attendant was very good, although came only once per day. We had to tell him what time we wanted the service. MDR service was spotty (we had anytime) depending on which table you were put on. Guy's Burgers and Blue Iguana were very good and lines there and at the main Lido buffet were not very long. Pizza was standard, as was BBQ and deli sandwiches. Did not try sushi. Fish & Chips at Seafood Shack was the worst I have ever had in my life. Chips overcooked, fish undercooked and a $6 charge with a 20 minute wait?! Theatre shows were very basic, canned music, no orchestra, consisting of 8 dancer/singers. Some people thought even the singing was recorded and they were lip-synching. The other music shows were OK, consisting of a pop group, a male-female duet and a solo folk/pop guitarist/singer and a Rod Stewart "impersonator" in the piano bar.

The comedy shows were variable, we heard three, one was good, one so-so and one just pathetic. We did not attend the adult-rated late night ones, multiple f-bombs and mouth noises not to our amusement, but if you enjoy them, you could find them fun.

Alchemy Bar and Red Frog Pub seemed sparsly used, but Atrium, Casino and deck bars were always busy.

As on all cruises, there are continual efforts to get you to part with your money, such as bingo, over-priced photos, art sales, various items for sale, spa treatments with mystery liquids for sale and of course the casino.

They allow smoking in there which gets the smokers in to gamble, but the ventilation is not good and the place is full of 2nd hand smoke and associated smells.

Malcolm the C-D was good, being informative without being intrusive, and was very visible at the events. This was an unusual cruise because it had both Mardi Gras and Valentines theme events in the same week and both were great fun. The marriage game was very funny as usual, and Malcolm did a great job on it. Embarkation was very efficient this time, straight on board with no waiting. The new system is much better. Disembarkation was the usual procedure, with waiting around for your number to be called.It was only delayed an hour or so due to some technical issue with the ground personnel. In summary, it was OK, but in future we will stick to the Dream or Vista class ships.

We are booked on the Russia/Scandinavia cruise in May 2017 and will be traveling

with a couple who live in the UK.

The price has gone up on the Celebrity.com web site, and when I

emailed our friends they checked and the price is still the same on the Celebrity.co.uk

site in UK Pounds as it was previously. So the price is higher in dollars than in pounds.

I verified this myself. A Veranda cabin is now $9000 for two on the US site but only 4000 Pounds on the UK site.

It is very strange.

We used to do the fixed dining option, and did this recently when cruising with the kids and grandkids. But on one Carnival cruise 3 years ago, we could not get a 2-top in fixed and were placed on a rectangular 8-top (4 each side with companion and I on the same side) with the most unhappy people we have ever seen. The man opposite me looked as though he had been told he had only days to live (perhaps he had). After one evening meal there, we went to the anytime dining, even though the Maitre D' had told us it was not available. We never had to wait anytime at all and were able to get essentially the same table area with the same servers every night. It was the same on our next Carnival cruise. But on our recent Princess TA, there was always a wait for a 2-top and we were always (slightly) pressured to share, which we did a couple of times. This was because we wanted to be sure to be finished to get a seat in the show, which were always completely full. However it did not work because the service on a 6-top and 8-top were extremely slow. Also on one night there were arrogant and snobbish people at the table who spent the entire evening telling everyone else how many cruises they had been on. The problem was that there were not many 2-top tables and a larger proportion of passengers on that cruise were very experienced cruisers in the same demographic group and all wanted 2-tops at around 7 PM! Also the reservation line was always busy and I was told that they only reserve about 40% of the tables, and they all get given out very early each day, as soon as the line opens. Even with this, the wait was never more than 20 minutes and we tried to get there a little earlier. Overall for us that is much better than being at a fixed time and having to stick to that schedule, and also avoids being stuck on a table with incompatible people.

But as was mentioned previously, a lot depends on the type of cruise and passenger mix.

Having eaten in SHARE twice last week, the salty dog, and Crown Grill, I can safely say I will not be going back to Crown Grill.

 

We went to both Crown Grill and Sabatini's on Caribbean Princess recently and were disappointed in both. The food was nothing special and really no different than in the MDR in quality. In Crown Grill it was no better than in an average steakhouse such as Outback, and the service was not as good. Our server's clothes smelled of stale cigarettes. It was nowhere near as good as the Steakhouse on Carnival, which is more like an upscale steak restaurant such as Del Frisco or Ruths Chris.

Sabatini's was also only average, and nothing like the Sabatini's we had on a previous Princess cruise about 15 years ago. Neither were up to the quality of the special restaurant we experienced on Celebrity, for about the same price.

Overall we would not go again to either of them, and probably would not have done so this time if we had not had some OBC to use up.

And incidentally, the special pizza lunch in Sabatini's that some people stood in line for 30 mins or more for was less tasty than the pizza served on the pool deck. I was also surprised that there was a charge for tea during the Pub Lunch (I did not pay it) when it is free in the buffet and at tea time.