ChutChut

Cruise lines can't continue to "remain afloat" if these low percentages continue....

On 1/19/2022 at 6:45 PM, julie3fan said:

 

Currently on the Bliss...the GM said crew is basically at 100%, and guest capacity is about 20-25%, so the room stewards *must* have fewer cabins to maintain.  

I wonder how long cruise lines can survive at that low level of capacity....

Lots of time before your cruise. They may re-insert those ports. But I wouldn't expect anything from RCL. Refund of port fees/taxes - that's it.

On 1/13/2022 at 10:05 PM, BlerkOne said:

To placate infidels? How many people walk around enjoying a bowl of soup? 

 

I wonder how many people questioning Carnival's rules questioned their parent's rules and lived to tell about it? Or blatantly ignored them in front of said parents?

When rules didn't make sense? Yes, I questioned them. We must, as a society, practice common sense. Sip and Cover is nonsensical. 

On 1/6/2022 at 5:10 PM, 12cruise2 said:

Yes, when we sailed on the NA for the four weeks in Nov/Dec, I will report that we had the experience of TonyC1952--the second to last week, a passenger by herself sat next to us in the MDR for dinner--and proceeded to report to us that she was not vaxed and had a medical exception issued to her.  We were furious, and our complaints went up and down the officer chain on the ship.  Once again, home office letting things happen that we are not being told about, then leaving the mess to the folks on board to deal with.  We as passengers should be made aware of any person not-vaxed; I believe other cruise lines with honest 95% may make those unvaxed wear wrist bands to identify themselves, be tested 2-3 times a week, and sit in a separate area in the large entertainment venues.  We were FURIOUS.  And WE ended up having to change dining tables for the last two weeks, not her, because she wouldn't move tables, and we didn't want to be anywhere near her, especially with the attitude she had about it all.  She said before we knew about her vax. non-compliance that she'd really wanted OUR table for dinner, but was told we had it for two of the four weeks she would be on the ship.  Then, of course, she ended up with our table, despite the maitre d' promising she wouldn't be assigned the table.  We did end up with a better table, but the whole idea of it all was infuriating.

Would you be furious if the person sitting next to you was HIV-positive? It's none of your business what the medical status is of anyone around you. You're not entitled to know that information.

I don't understand the Sip and Cover rule. I mean - you can transmit any virus when eating or drinking without the mask. Pulling up/taking down, etc. probably is worse as you're fingering your mask, face, etc. a lot. This rule seems nonsensical. Either allow no masks at all upon entering an eating/drinking establishment or don't allow eating/drinking as pulling your mask down defeats the purpose. 

11 minutes ago, PGol said:

Thanks for the reply. The locals are not available at all. The proctored ones won’t ship on time and aren’t available I stores. 😞

I'd take the test and if you don't get the results back by the 14th, I'd cancel and go at a later date.

9 hours ago, heidiatmn1 said:

Hi all-we have $500 on board credit and I'm sharing a room with my 13 yr old daughter. Will half of it go on her account (if so can I change that) or will it all go to mine?  Thanks!

It will go to the room.

1 hour ago, bdever said:

No this is not the case. I was a close contact (hugs and all because he’s my friend) of a bartender onboard the Panorama during the NYE cruise after yours and he tested positive but I was never notified. I have tested negative as of yesterday. I think my defense may have been the 4th dose of vaccination I got on 12/18 but who knows, maybe he was exposed after our initial closeness. 

Closeness doesn't equate to infection. Your individual health, immune system, etc., all play a role.

On 1/3/2022 at 9:42 PM, smellywax said:

I also had my mask on outdoors. Lots of coughing on this sailing (typical to what you hear during flu season). The table on either side of us at dinner had several kids so who knows I’d they were vaccinated but the dining room was full and everyone close and up and dancing during showtime.

Covid is air borne. You could have gotten it anywhere and from anyone - just like the flu or a cold.

14 minutes ago, Luvcrusn said:

Lots of folks have seemingly said in a rather cavalier manner that they'd just drive home and would only cruise if they could drive to the port. We generally drive to ports when we can. However if sick with Covid, it would be a rather challenging chore to drive a long distance! Yes I'd rather do that than quarantine and then board an airplane, but still neither is an optimal solution. 

Good point. I've driven for about 6ish hours before when pretty sick but, looking back, unsure if I would do that again. 

4 hours ago, Babr said:

The confusion seems to lie in the fact that the cash refund is an option only if someone tests positive at the pier. Otherwise, FCC is given if you test positive within 14 days of travel.

 

Insurance  for cancellation would be a factor prior to the cruise; but once someone tests positive at the pier, insurance would be for quarantine expenses which would be supplemented by NCL if one meets certain requirements (prior negative test). NCL would provide refund or FCC for testing positive at embarkation.

 

Of course, travel insurance covers other risks not related to COVID, but this is how I understand its role in relation to NCL’s refund and cancellation policies.

 

One note: You still have to cancel and refuse the FCC offered by NCL. It is part of the claims process. You’ll be asked about the cancellation policy or other relief available to you.

 

It might be a good idea to talk to your insurance company before you cancel anything so that you understand what is required and that you do it in the proper order.

I'm not sure the insurance will accept the fact you refused to be reimbursed by NCL in the form of a refund or FCC. I suspect the insurance company will direct you to the primary source of reimbursement (NCL) and won't pay out if you've refused it.

32 minutes ago, kylenyc said:

^This. I'd be pretty surprised if a travel insurance company doesn't request information on and consider all sources of reimbursement that a guest is entitled to in a claim including full or prorated refunds, FCC, other insuring parties like credit cards, duplicate coverage, etc.  I'd expect all benefits from all sources for a claim would be considered.

I'm curious how all parties work this sort of thing out. Any insurance experts out there?

The insurance company absolutely will. When I filed a claim due to a cancelled cruise (became rather ill the day of embarkation - not Covid), there was a section on the form asking me for other methods of reimbursement.

Read your insurance policy carefully. If you file an insurance claim, there will be a part on the claim form where it requires you to list any other methods of reimbursement. You must list that you will receive/are entitled to receive/have received a refund/FCC from the cruise line. You have to sign the claim form attesting to its truthfulness. You may be entitled to other reimbursements under your policy (e.g. hotel, food, etc.). But if you'll be receiving a refund/FCC with NCL, you can't double dip. If you lie on the claim form, the insurance company can come after you for fraud, etc.

4 hours ago, lovebelle said:

As of now I have an appointment scheduled at the vital statistics office in NYC scheduled on the 28th, but Since I live in FL would have to fly in for a day to get this done. I hate the idea of flying up there so close to the cruise especially with so many flight delays and cancellations, but the earliest i could get an appointment was that week. When I get  2 weeks out from travel I’m going to try to get an appointment at the Miami passport office to renew. I have given myself a headache, but I’m praying oneof these options work out.  

I also plan on speaking to Carnival just in case. If the previous interventions don’t work, i hope as a last resort they can just accept my expired passport and my daughters birth certificate which has my place of birth on it, but I’m not holding my breath on that at all. 

You will need to find your birth certificate, get a new one from Vital Records, or get a renewed, expedited passport. They WON'T accept an expired passport. Good luck. I keep my important docs in a safe. That way I always know where they are, etc.

10 hours ago, boxman52 said:

We are booked for this cruise in February and of course we know there is a risk. We have three days on the island before we cruise so we know there is a risk that we could catch it in that period, or travelling even if we enter with a negative PCR. However we expect if we do catch it to be be treat with decency.

 

It seems from all reports on boarding at Barbados this is sadly not the case. If someone can say after testing positive it was not like this, then I'd be delighted and relieved to hear so.

 

Firstly the process for checking in is taking hours and hours during which you are crammed in together. The ship sailed on the Monday as opposed to the Sunday this week due to delays

 

The reports of if you test positive are difficult to believe, however they are coming from multiple sources now. 

 

They consist of being locked up in a cage at the port with no food, drink, seats or toilets for 7 hours. 

 

No communication from Royal who seem to abandon you.

 

Negative passengers in a party with a positive being locked up in the same cage (and yes it sounds like a prison cage) with positive passengers. Obviously this might well pass on the virus if the already hours spent queuing with other passengers hadn't already. This will prolong any stay in quarantine. No consideration given for age or medical conditions. 

 

You are then offered to stay in the Government facility. Reports with pictures in UK press show this to be a prison level facility complete with armed guards. You need to test negative to be released and that will cost you $300 per test. You have no idea how many tests you will need

 

You can stay in an approved hotel at $350+ per night with food another $200 plus per day. Testing is on top of that.

 

Even the taxi ride from the port to the rip off accommodation is at a crazy price.

 

It seems that Royal don't want to know if you aren't on the ship and you are left at the mercies of unscrupulous people and an exploitive government. 

 

To be honest as much as I want to go, why on earth would anyone even if it is a slight chance, and lets be clear its a bit more than that, put themselves and their families in a position where this could happen.

 

I just hope Cruise Critic don't take this down as this warning needs to be known before travel 

Personally, I would cancel if I felt uneasy or uncomfortable about the situation.

46 minutes ago, jgd3rdbcfd said:

Complete refund.  Nice but I would have really enjoyed what I had come to expecct for my 4th cruise w/ Cunard.

I'm sorry for your experience. However, you cruised DURING A PANDEMIC. You should have understood the risks associated with such. I really do feel for people who are impacted by illness aboard, but your posts give the impression you expected it to be exactly like your previous ones. That was an utterly unreasonable expectation. 

45 minutes ago, jgd3rdbcfd said:

That is correct.  They were all tested at the dock in Southampton BEFORE being allowed to board.  Once again that means they were OK on Dec 13.  What happened during the cruise is the basis of my statement regarding possivle future actions.

Not entirely correct. They may have had it upon embarkation but their viral loads were to minimal to trigger the test.

4 hours ago, Duanerice1 said:

Thanks for sharing.  Hope you all feel better.

 

This is a perfect example that masks really don't help that much overall unless you wear 24/7.  All the efforts you guys made to not get it and... well you got it.  In this environment we are going to get Covid, that's just the way it is.  If you're vaccinated then it's mostly a non issue (yes there are exceptions as with everything).   If not, well that's a choice that person made.  All these silly rules so.... you end up with Covid.

 

Take care of yourselves.....

 

 

 

Regular cloth masks don't prevent transmission. Vaxxed people will still come down with Covid. For the vast majority, it's nothing more than a cold.

19 hours ago, smellywax said:

I also had my mask on outdoors. Lots of coughing on this sailing (typical to what you hear during flu season). The table on either side of us at dinner had several kids so who knows I’d they were vaccinated but the dining room was full and everyone close and up and dancing during showtime.

It's an exercise in futility to attempt to ascertain who may have given you a virus. You could have touched a surface and then touched your nose, etc. In the end - it doesn't matter -  you have it and will recover. We never question who gave us a cold, the flu, etc. It's a virus. It has a way of infiltrating everything. All we can do is be healthy (not obese, smoker, excess drinker, etc.) and be vaxxed if we choose.

24 minutes ago, Lady_E said:

Basically, because Carnival is requiring COVID tests no sooner than 48 hours before sailing, we'll already be in New Orleans. Basically, I know if we test positive we'll get an FCC but I'd be concerned about getting on a plane after that.

 

Has anyone gone through this? Is there a way to test earlier? I'm just concerned about being stuck in a city and having to fly home. We're super familiar with NOLA, but it's still a concern.

I think the only alternative would be to self-isolate for five days. I'm not sure about hotel accommodations as you would have to inform the hotel you've tested positive, etc. Same with a rental car company.  I'm not sure what the protocols are with respect to renting cars, hotel rooms with Covid. Best to ensure you're not positive before you travel to NOLA.

On 12/29/2021 at 5:34 PM, Selbourne said:

My wife is a full time wheelchair user. She is unable to stand unaided, let alone walk. As a result, flying is not an option for us as she would be unable to use the tiny toilets on planes, unless you know of any airlines that have fully wheelchair accessible bathrooms on board? That is why we only travel on round trip cruises from the U.K. Cruising during Covid hasn’t appealed to us due to all the on board restrictions and the risk of being confined to a cabin, but are completely impractical for us now due to the very real risk of being offloaded from the ship to a quarantine hotel overseas.

Best to stay home and not cruise as flying home due to unforeseen circumstances always was/is a possibility.

14 hours ago, Ocean Boy said:

Because those who are not vaxxed stand the chance of having more severe sickness which could overwhelm the ships medical facilities, cause more medevacs, cause ports to reject a ship, or cause an early termination of a cruise.

 

If you choose to not be vaxxed that is fine. Just stay off a ship where your decision has the potential to affect the vacation of a few thousand other people.

 

 

Not for kids. This isn't a kid virus. Mortality rate is virtually zero. Those with co-morbidities need to get healthy first (lose the fat, get off your butt and move, stop smoking, stop drinking, etc.) and stop relying on jabs. We are an unhealthy nation - that's our problem.

12 hours ago, Mapleleafforever said:

Royal doesn't even require vaccines. 

They do for teenagers on up.

10 minutes ago, ReneeFLL said:

Food for thought. The first shot didn’t affect you (at least not that you posted that I’m aware of), but the second was terrible. Maybe the third shot might not affect you either. Another unknown is if/how bad would a flare up be if you were to get covid? Not saying you should or shouldn’t get the third one, but these are questions that occurred to me. They probably occurred to you to, but just thinking out loud. Best of luck whichever way you go.
 

They should’ve tightened them sooner. There probably wouldn’t have been as many positive cases on board. Hopefully they will live and learn and the sooner the better.

You can get (and infect other with) Covid if you've had the jab and if you've been boosted....