ladychater

Last week I got sent an email that I had a balance due for my May 9th Mediterranean cruise (which I'm certain won't be sailing).   If you read the whole email, it goes on to mention that I owe "$0.00," which is true, as I paid the in full when I bought the cruise ages ago.  I called to see what was up and was assured that I owed nothing.  I asked if the cruise was still going and was told that, as of that moment, it was still scheduled to go.  Today I got the same email again.  This is really weird.  I mean, even if I did owe them money, why would they still be trying to collect for a cruise that can't possibly be sailing?

I'm sailing the Panorama in November.  It will be the first time I'm in a room without a balcony.  We had credit from a cancelled cruise to use up and got a good deal and thought we'd go cheaply for once.  We're Californians, so we can just drive to the port, enabling us to make no hotel or air reservations, so there will be very little to unwind should this get cancelled.  I've seen some YouTube videos of the Panorama and it looks great!  If anyone has info about the Outside View/non balcony rooms, I'd love to hear it.

I just wished they'd cancel my May Mediterranean cruise already.  How can I go on the ship if I'm not allowed to fly into Europe?

On 10/1/2020 at 7:09 AM, D C said:

Did the CDC just recommended 15-Feb or did they do so with justification of what will be different by then?  The previous orders and extensions were completely arbitrary. Is this proposal not the same? 

 

Is there anything to suggest that we won't still be in this a perpetual state of hiding from the virus while crossing fingers for a vaccine? 

Well, returning to cruising just as flu season hits seems unwise.  Since March there's been talk that the Fall would be bad.  Considering how abysmally we did in the Summer, I can't see people suddenly becoming vigilant.  So the Fall promises to be a challenge already with lots more  infected people, and tests often will give a false negative if administered too soon before exposure.  It seems like it would be difficult to keep infection from sneaking onto a ship and running wild.

18 hours ago, Cruisesfun65 said:

If you haven't called in for a full refund or to apply the FCC to another cruise, your cancelled booking will stay active in the booking engine. 

Ah, thanks for the tip.  I think we're going to take the FCC, but we haven't found a cruise to apply it to yet.  I'm not booking anything until a cruise ship actually sets sail from a US port.

With all of the new covid 19 protocols, I don't think FTTF will matter anymore.  If we're traveling in ships that are vastly under capacity and only getting off for organized excursions, I don't think there will be any use for it.  Perhaps wait to see what the protocols will be before booking FTTF?

Hi,

When I go onto the Carnival website, it shows that I'm cruising in 12 days.  I'm pretty certain that I'm not.  I though it was funny for the first few weeks that the website still showed that we're cruising, but now it just seems weird.  Is their office so bare-bones now that no one is updating things on the site?

I'm not surprised at all, but let down.  On the upside, for a few months I had something to look forward to, and hope is a valuable thing.  It perked me up to think I'd be on a ship again.  Ah, well.  There will be other ships and other years.  Let's all be glad we have our health and look toward a brighter future.

I'm in the same boat - literally!  I would have wanted to get all of my excursions locked in by now, but do I really want to get that much of my money tied up if the trip only gets cancelled?  One thing's for sure, I won't be booking anything through independent vendors. If the cruise gets cancelled, Royal will refund my excursions.  But some random person/group in Europe?  Try and collect...

The port cities really are the problem now.  I don't have the numbers, but say you're a port city like New York.  Perhaps historically 80% of the folks sailing out of New York  were from the Tristate area (I have no idea if this is true).  Maybe you'd be like, "okay, let's open the port and have cruises go in and out."  But what if historically it was more like 20%?  Would you want to be letting/encouraging all of these out-of-towners flock into your city?  If I were the mayor of a port city, I'd be really concerned about inviting folks from far and wide to come into my town.  Hell, I live in the Bay Area and the spot here with the worst covid-19 rate is San Jose - also known as where we keep our airport.  So the cruise lines are at the mercy of the cities where they'll be sailing out of and where they're hoping to visit.  If Major League Baseball can't seem to keep covid out of their "bubble" with all the money and precautions they have how can you expect a ship full of ordinary people to?

I've never been on a Carnival winter cruise, but on a Princess cruise that sailed the Friday after Thanksgiving, there was a huge tree in the atrium, some Christmas activities (I didn't partake, but I know they existed) and even a complimentary champagne toast and  "countdown" on the second formal night, that fed into a faux New Year's party.  It was really lovely.  Carnival is a sister company and always looking for a good excuse to party, so imagine they'd celebrate Christmas all December.

36 minutes ago, HaveWeMetYet said:

Uh, have you checked Mexico's numbers concerning covid? How about Central and South America? Don't make yourself so obvious. You can do a better job of covering it up. Can't You?

Saying that some other countries are also doing a crap job doesn't make us sound any better. We've lost 135,000 souls. That's horrific. And while Europe, Australia and Asia have covid under control, our weekly cases are still RISING. I'm just saying what is obvious. The US is failing to control this on a grand scale. That's why we won't e welcome in other countries. Sorry that you don't like hearing it.

I'm on this cruise, too, so this is good news! That bring said, this country is doing such a piss poor job of containing covid 19, I can't imagine Mexico is going to welcome The Plague  Boat.  Siiiiiiiiiigh

We're booked for October 12th, but are hedging our bets by not booking anything else.  We'll have to drive 7 hours to the port, so, at the very last moment, we'll book a hotel for the night before.  We're also holding off on booking a kennel for our dog.  But I wouldn't cancel, I'll wait for Carnival to make the decision, which I guess means I'll be paying them the final payment in about 2 weeks!

1 hour ago, Lottacruises said:

 

I'm surprised that consumers would pay this.

Eh, if you love a restaurant and want to see them survive, you gotta dig deep.  We've been getting takeaway from a favorite restaurant throughout the shelter in place, and we always pay a 20% gratuity even though we're driving over to get the food and no waiters are serving us.  We figure, it's not costing us any more than we used to pay to eat there and it'll help the owners stay afloat.

Yes, it will be safe again.  Viral plagues have torn through societies throughout history.  Eventually, and often quite mysteriously, some go away (think of the "sweating sickness" from the age of Henry VIII that would kill huge swathes  people in a day or two, and just disappeared).  Others, we create immunizations for, like measles, smallpox  or polio.  One way or another, this will pass and we will live safely without face masks and social distancing.  But until then, we must wait and do our best to not spread covid 19 around.  Chins up, folks, this bleak time will pass.  🙂

I think it's better for Venice.  The large ships going in and out were causing huge, damaging waves and polluting the water.  If taking a train for an hour will help save this imperiled city, then it's well worth it.  Sounds like RC is being a responsible citizen of the world, and I find that laudable.

The alarming rise in infection (yesterday saw us break the record for highest daily new infections) is making me fear that no country is going to let Americans in.  I have a cruise to Mexico in October and a Mediterranean cruise in May 2021.  I keep seeing how miserably we're doing at controlling this virus and wondering who'd let people from Plague Central in?  Come on, people.  If we don't get this under control, none of us will get to travel for a long, long time.  😞

2 hours ago, naxer said:

 

I don't mean to be argumentative, but how will September 30th be different from today, in terms of what is causing the cancellations?  I suspect they will cancel for the rest of the year in August.

I get the gist of your question. I THINK what will change by Sept 30th is that by then a set of guidelines will have been agreed to by the cruise companies, the CDC and the various government agencies (countries, ports, etc.) that will allow the cruise industry to sail again despite the presence of the corona virus. If by then certain air filters are installed and there are plans for masks, social distancing etc that seem feasible, enforceable and not too miserable for the cruisers, then we'll be able to go. We're probably also waiting on reliable, quick testing and an agreed to plan on what to do should passengers get sick while aboard. All of this requires a lot of parties coming together and agreeing on things, signing off and probably drawing up insurance arrangements and passenger waivers (us signing on that we are aware of risks). Once ALL those things are done, then we will sail. My guess is that Carnival has a reasonable expectation that it can all be nailed down by 9/30 and that it definitely won't be ready before then. So that's what I, in my humble opinion think will change. And I'm hopeful that it can be done. Good luck to us all!

As desperate as we all are to cruise, Carnival is even more desperate.  I'm sure that they're only cancelling cruises that they absolutely positively know they can't do, and are fighting tooth and nail to get everything in place to honor the sailings that are booked (as well as having those sailings filled to whatever the capacity will be).  We're doing the same thing in publishing (my industry), where printer closures and shipping delays etc. are killing our publication dates, but we're reluctant to announce/resign ourselves to delayed publications because we're pulling every string and working every logistical angle to make the dates so our books come out on time and our revenue keeps rolling in.  So whatever date they announce as their new proposed start date, believe you me, it's not a  game they're playing with us, they've plotting, planning and cajoling various government agencies, etc. to ensure that they can hit that date.  And if they end up having to cancel further out, it'll be due to things beyond their control.  And when you're dealing with an unpredictable pandemic and numerous government agencies, there's A LOT that is out of Carnival's hands. 

Fingers crossed for tomorrow.  As for me, I won't believe my 10/12 cruise is happening til I step onboard.

Carnival probably has a lower percentage of folks in formal clothing than RCI, but there are still some people who really put on the dog and I love it! It looks beautiful and it's fun to have a reason to get all dressed up as it's so rare. Do what makes you happy and know that whatever you choose will be acceptable. 

Amen on the Indian food and vegetarian options. Another great things about having servers us that non vegetarians are always putting meat utensils in the vegetarian food. So disgusting. Use the specific utensil for the item you want! People are really lazy and inconsiderate.

Please add rice pudding! 😀 I know this sounds bonkers, but it's a bit of an old-timey New York City diner thing.  As an old timey (well, 48 year old) New Yorker living in California, it's always delightful when I find it on a ship.  Princess had it on the buffet when I sailed with them, and I had a fair few bowls! 

I'm guessing that the Lidos are going to look a bit like Ikea cafeterias in the future, where there are glass cabinets you open to take out ready-plated food items and stations where you line up to point at what you want the servers to put on your plate.  That's fine by me, especially if they have tissues to use when you open up the cabinets.

I live in the Bay Area, but I'm a New Yorker, so I'm happy to say that most days, at least for some portion of the day, the weather sucks in San Francisco.  It's often wet and overcast if you're anywhere near water, so sailing out of there you'll probably have to stay inside.  It's a rare day when it isn't raw, misting and bitter on the water in San Francisco Bay.  Theoretically, there's lots to do in SF, but as a New Yorker, I'm not impressed.  Plus, everything is wildly expensive.  I say San Diego is the way to go! 

P.S. If you're wondering why I live here, hating the weather as I do, I live inland which is an ENTIRELY different climate.

I have my doubts that it will actually happen, but I'm sailing on the Carnival Miracle to Ensenada and Catalinain October.  I'm wondering, is there a beach in Ensenada that anyone could recommend?  Is it the kind of place where one goes to a beach?  The boyfriend and I aren't terribly interested in any of the excursions and would love to just take a dip in the ocean and have a drink in the sand if that's an option.

Thanks!