Explorer525

Glad they let you pack.  I had heard some say they don't let you go back to your room, and they pack up everything for you, which is not good.  Hopefully its more like you experienced.  I wonder how they would contact you during the day when you are out and about.  I have my ipad all loaded up with books, movies and TV shows.....just in case.

HappyGCruiser,

How did they contact you to let you know that you were going to be quarantined because of contact tracing?  Did they announce your name on the loudspeaker? Call your cell phone?   Where did they ask you to report to? Did you get a chance to go back to your cabin to get a bag and your medicines, etc.?  

How do they alert you that you were contact traced? Do they announce your name on the loudspeakers?  Do they lock you out of your cabin when you come back and leave a note?  Curious as to the procedure.  Can you grab a bag with your medicines from the cabin before being put in the quarantine cabin? 

I noticed the fare for the 1/22/2022 Seashore has gone up in price for a balcony.  In fact its higher in price than the 1/15, 1/29, 2/5 sailings of the Seashore.  Should I infer that there is some demand for those cabins, and that the 1/22/2022 sailing will be a little less of a ghost ship with more than 642 passengers?  In December they were running 1800+ on the Seashore, given that its the newest to the fleet.

Thanks… That is really valuable info.   That is about 15% of maximum capacity. Much safer.  626 on the Seashore 1/8/2021.  I guess you had a test at port. Was embarkation difficult?  Are they fogging the hallways and room with disinfectant?  I heard that on the Divina board. Please keep us updated.

gadaboutgal, 

How many passengers are on your 1/8/2021 Seashore Cruise?  I am going later in Jan, and was curious to how packed it was.   Keep us up to date. Thanks for the info.

1817 is not full capacity by far, but not tiny.  I agree, I think we will see far fewer on the January cruises. That should make social distancing much easier and chances of a big breakout....nil.  I think this may be a safer time to cruise due to so few people onboard.  The Jan 8th seashore just took off.  Wonder how many onboard....

Going on a cruise ship with so few onboard is a once in a lifetime opportunity...iiterally, unless we get another pandemic.  Just wear a KN95 on your airplane.

How many passengers are onboard your ship?  Did a lot cancel or get rejected because of positive tests?

How many passengers onboard?

I was wondering, especially in January 2022 how many passengers are onboard these MSC ships.  In October on our Meragavlia cruise, we only had 864 out of probably 5,000 full ship.  So less than 20%.  I suspect we will see similar numbers in January.  Lower numbers makes it much safer, and no lines for anything.  I heard that Carnival recently cruise at 80% which is insane with Covid not eradicated.  No wonder they had some of the biggest outbreaks.  MSC seems to have better safety protocols and not run near full capacity in these trying times.  I feel comfortable cruising with MSC in January because of the lower numbers of people onboard (cancellations, and people cancelling because of positive test).

What is it like to leave from an overseas port compared to the ships that leave from Miami and Port Canaveral?  I guess there are many languages spoken, but what other differences are there?  I would guess that they have excursions in many different languages.  What is ship life like for an english speaking passenger.

My friend gets his PCR test weekly from CVS. He always has always gotten his results back the next day in the late afternoon.  However the last time, he did not get it till midnight the next day, which still would be ok for the cruise. However this can vary by state and labs.  Its a big dicey these days.  MSC seems to be more stringent on safety than say Carnival which I heard ran at 80% capacity recently which is a big no no in my book. I expect cruises in January to run at 25% full capacity or lower.  Just my guess.  No lines and better social distancing.

How fast or slow is the MSC internet packages?  Will the Browse & Stream package render web pages faster than the Browse package? 

What about the 1 device package. Can I use my phone while roaming the ship, but switch to an Ipad when in the cabin, only have one device connected at a time?

Whenever you see all cabins sold out for all dates on a ship....  Its cancelled for sure. This is exactly what I saw with the Gem in the  Dominican.  Will the Encore replace the Bliss? That is the question.  But how can you get airfare if you have such instability with the cruises?

Keep in mind that cruises need ports to go to.  I suspect that most countries will ban cruise ships until a vaccine is developed and most people are vaccinated.  That means cruises to nowhere or cruises to cruise owned islands.  I cant see cruising resuming anytime soon.  The cruise companies will never be the same for many years, and they overbuilt ships with more on the way. 

The cruise industry has to come up with a way to test people before they enter the ship.  Abbott Labs has just developed a 5 minute coronavirus test.  There has to be a way to safely cruise again.  The main problem will be the ports that they go to.  Someone could catch corona from a native of an island or country.  Maybe the cruise lines could do cruises to nowhere or to their private islands.  The lockdown will probably last 60-80 days, but then people will be wary of getting on cruise ships. 

A viable treatment for the coronavirus that works right away would remedy this situation, as the ships could store this medicine in the dispensary on the ship.  They would have to have early detection of anyone getting sick. Keep the ship clean.  No more hand shaking, high fives,  or fist bumping.  That will be a relic of the past.   There are temperature devices that you just point at someones forehead.  The cruise industry has to re-invent itself to build confidence in people getting onboard. 

Norwegian Breakaway, December 3rd, 12 day western Caribbean from NYC.

$579 Solo rate for inside Sailaway cabin.

No perks at this rate in the sailaway category, but a great price for 12 days.

Last minute: Departs Miami September 26th.

4-Day Cuba (Overnight) & Bahamas from Miami

NCL SKY $329 SOLO inside. All inclusive drinks.

Not sure what kind of shape Cuba or the Bahamas is in.

**Update New Promotion

Just put down a deposit on the Norwegian Breakaway for a 12-Day Eastern Caribbean from New York. This is a SOLO discounted cruise. This is a latitudes cruise as well, so you get 24 points in the latitudes program (double points), which is enough to get me from Silver to Gold. Inside cabins, Ocean View, Balcony, Spa, and Mini-Suite cabins are all SOLO discounted, and there are still a few Solo Class cabins available. They also give you $50 on board credit for a Solo or inside cabin, and $100 for balcony and above. (I believe "Sailaway Rates" are excluded from all benefits).

Norwegian Breakaway December 3-15, 2017

Islands: San Juan (Puerto Rico) St. Thomas (US Virgin Islands) Tortola (British Virgin Islands) Philipsburg (St. Maarten) St. John's (Antigua) Basseterre (St. Kitts)

**New Distinctive Voyages Promotion 8/2017

In addition to the Free at Sea promotion, you now get all these too!...

250 internet minutes

$50 off shore excursions

Air Credit up to $400

$100 hotel credit

Free Phone Call Package

Just put down a deposit on the Norwegian Breakaway for a 12-Day Eastern Caribbean from New York. This is a SOLO discounted cruise. This is a latitudes cruise as well, so you get 24 points in the latitudes program (double points), which is enough to get me from Silver to Gold. Inside cabins, Ocean View, Balcony, Spa, and Mini-Suite cabins are all SOLO discounted, and there are still a few Solo Class cabins available. They also give you $50 on board credit for a Solo or inside cabin, and $100 for balcony and above. (I believe "Sailaway Rates" are excluded from these benefits).

Norwegian Breakaway December 3-15, 2017

Islands: San Juan (Puerto Rico) St. Thomas (US Virgin Islands) Tortola (British Virgin Islands) Philipsburg (St. Maarten) St. John's (Antigua) Basseterre (St. Kitts)

As someone mentioned, the boats are running full, due to the booming stock market, and better economy. I heard that during the last recession there were unbelievable bargains. When the next recession hits (and there always will be another one), you should have no problem finding bargains for Solos...... As the ships have to try and fill their boats, just to reduce their losses.

Here is a question related to the "Sail Away Insides" .....

I saw a cruise that was a latitudes insider cruise, which means you get double points for the cruise. Do you still get credit for those extra latitude points if you take the "Sail Away" special deal, or does that go away like the "Free at Sea" promos do when booking that deal?

Has anyone here gotten a Sail away cabin? Were they good, or were they noisy cabins (like over the auditorium).

The internet package is valued at $120, the excursion package at $150 if you take 3 excursions. There is also a specialty restaurant perk (not sure what that is worth). Adding this to the $100 gratuities gets you $220-250. I like to get the wifi internet package. If you are not going on excursions or getting internet, or specialty restaurants, then your break even is $100 for drinks.

Going solo on the NCL Gem September 30th to New England and Canada from Manhattan. This is a Solo discounted cruise by NCL, which according to someone I met on a solo cruise will have a lot more Solos onboard to meet. We shall see. I was on two NCL cruises with studio cabins previously and they were great. This Norwegian Gem does not have studio cabins, but I hope will work out well since it's a bargain for Solos. Inside cabins start at $869 for solo. https://www.ncl.com/cruises/7-day-canada-and-new-england-from-new-york-GEM7NYCHALSJBBHBPWMNYC?cruiseTour=1&autoPopulate=f&cruiseHotel=1&numberOfGuests=4294953450&pageSize=10&ships=4294961000&cruise=1&sortBy=Featured&from=resultPage&state=undefined&currentPage=1&cruiseHotelAir=1&itineraryCode=GEM7NYCHALSJBBHBPWMNYC

TravelChick.... You would like the NCL ships with studio cabins, and the studio lounge. Lots of people to meet. I learned from another cruiser that you can book NCL cruises with Solo discounts, as these will have a lot of solo travelers onboard. She said there were 50 solos in her group. I am going to try this on the NCL Norwegian Gem from Manhattan to Canada ,New England, Sails Sept 30th. Hopefully a lot of Solos onboard. This ship has no studio cabins, but Solos flock to the Solo discounted tours from what I hear.