yorky

I honesty think if anyone is wanting to cruise from next October onwards get booked up because with the vaccine getting rolled out shortly pent up demand for cruising again is going to see sky high prices. I’m glad we are sorted for Feb 2022 in Asia because I can see the price of our cruise being double as we we get nearer to the date.

People will move on from Covid the way the human race has from various wars and other disasters, that’s the way we’re built. Don’t worry about it, when we’re all cruising again all will be well.

13 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

Good point made here, its like any restaurant saying "No shirts or shoes, no service", which is perfectly within their right to require, if it is applied to all patrons without exception.

I do wonder how the cruise lines will deal with it, not a problem for us as we will be vaccinated but potentially a problem for some.

17 minutes ago, djthird2 said:

We have an Alaskan cruise booked for June 2021 and would like to Lift and Shift to June 2022.  The cruise dates have just been posted but no extension of the May 4, 2022.  I called Celebrity asking them if and when that will be extended.  Representative had no idea.  I certainly hope this doesn't end up excluding all the Alaskan cruises for 2022 since they don't start until June 2022

Will it really depend on how quickly they initiate immunisation. I can see conditions for cruising improving very quickly after mass vaccinations.

40 minutes ago, emmas gran said:

Yorky please be aware that some people posting seem to want the argument ,  a couple like us from UK

 

Liz

I guess it’s the nature of the online beast. I’m personally not interested in trying to influence anyone else any more than they will influence me. If you don’t want the vaccine don’t take it, individual decision and risk. We will be taking it so hopefully we won’t be effected directly by someone who has not taken it and becomes ill. Can’t really do any more than that.

31 minutes ago, KnowTheScore said:

 

The question is moot

 

I don't allow emotional rhetoric to get in the way of objective analysis of facts

 

I lost my FIL to Parkinsons, other friends to cancer and all manner of other things.

 

None of it remotely sways my perception of how few people those things kill in relation to the total population.

 

I don't base my vaccination decisions on whether a friend or family member has died from a given virus or disease.  I do the research of what matters.   Efficacy rate, list of ingredients, side effects, chances of getting a disease, chances of dying from a disease.

 

Over the past year I have seen many people on forums bring in emotional content of disparate anecdotal cases to try and support an argument.  It doesn't work.  All the deaths have been tragic, but they don't change the facts which are that 99% of people survive Covid.

 

I only ask because having spoken to a few people their opinion on Covid has changed dramatically from before losing someone close to it actually happening. 

1 minute ago, KnowTheScore said:

 

As always money will do the talking.  It's a business decision not a public health decision.

 

Does anyone genuinely think that pubs, clubs and restaurants will want to start mandating vaccines?  Errrr nope.  The loss of business that would result in would be catastrophic.   It will be the same for airlines and cruise ships.

 

People are not refusing to fly or cruise because of people not being vaccinated.

 

They are refusing to do so because they want Covid to be treated as just another virus like Flu.

They are refusing because of all the draconian measures like mask wearing and social distancing and endless uncomfortable testing.   Some have nevertheless hopped on board ships despite those measures but it's been a token handful of cruises with very limited duration.

 

Covid was downgraded to no longer be an HCID (High consequence infectious disease) the very week BEFORE the first lockdown on 19th March.

 

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/high-consequence-infectious-diseases-hcid

 

We simply have to get to a point where we treat it just like Flu.   Where we accept that like so many viruses and illnesses it routinely kills a proportion of people every year who are weak and have underlying health conditions and that just like other viruses and illnesses it leaves some people with residual longer term issues.    Those who are worried about such things can go and get Flu vaccines, Pneumonia vaccines, Shingles vaccines and now Covid vaccines and god knows how many more vaccines that will undoubtedly appear in the future.   The rest of society just gets on with life.  That's how it has to be.  Herd immunity will enable that to happen and we need to achieve it as quickly as possible if indeed we have not already achieved it.

 

This whole schtick by a relative minority of older people who want a return to WW2 style

 

"Ihre papiere, bitte"

 

is rather sad and out-dated imo

 

Out of interest have you lost any of your close family to Covid ?

47 minutes ago, HaveWeMetYet said:

UK just announced vaccination will not be mandatory. 

It was never going to be mandatory in the UK, not the way we work. I would imagine those not wanting the vaccine will just have some form of limitation on travel and leisure. That may include cruising which is their choice in my view. We will be getting it as soon as but I don’t believe we should demand it of others. We’ve had loss in our family and what could be lifelong conditions from catching it but it’s not my body. I know people will state these individuals are putting others at risk but I still believe it should be a personal choice.

32 minutes ago, TeeRick said:

Go Pfizer!  Go UK!  They say 800,000 doses being delivered in the next few days to weeks.  And 40 million on order.  Excellent news for the UK.  I sure hope it succeeds!

This is from the quoted article.  "Elderly people in care homes and care home staff have been placed top of the priority list, followed by over-80s and health and care staff."

 

Similar to the US priorities announced by CDC yesterday.

 

As doses get delivered and priorities are set - it will be interesting to see how many can actually get vaccinated per day.  That will be a bottleneck.

Inoculations start in Scotland next Tuesday, happy days.

Fantastic news, we will be getting ours the minute it’s available to us.

We have had nothing to complain about. We booked direct with Celebrity for next February to Asia and found a great rep who moved us a year on within days of asking at a saving then moved our cabin when requested. Love that grats are now included because I’m sick of many fellow Brits trying to stiff the crew by stating they have already paid for the holiday, they now have to pay it or don’t cruise. Happy days.

Looks like we could be looking at Easter over here before life start returning to something like normal if everything goes ok. Next summer should see a lot more cruising in my view.

With the internet now included in many packages I wonder just how much that’s going to slow it down.

We have the vaccine in the very near future, let’s all just take a deep breath because things are going to look up very quickly.

50 minutes ago, Pinboy said:

If I were a " bettin man " I'd put my money on the fact that there are more sr citizens on social media than ever before.  As for myself, I have a eye phone  ( LOL ) that I can use when I'm at Tim Hortons discussing " important " stuff , like " When is the NHL going to restart ?".

 " Sr Citizens are not relevant "--- Ok, nice try !!! 

 

Last year we were sitting in a fast food restaurant in Glasgow. Next to us were two American students and one came out with the statement that old people should not be allowed to vote as they would soon be dead. Nice.

I tend to read quite a few posts on here stating the word “Loyalty”. Sorry but I’m much of the opinion that people need to forget about loyalty, it’s now something that belongs in the past for most companies and certainly with cruise lines it’s all about the bottom dollar. They don’t care if you don’t come back as long as there is someone else to take your place. They won’t even say goodby as the door closes. It’s rather like banking when people threaten  to close their account if not happy, my wife simply states I can do that for you right now.

It’s worth noting at this point that we are beginning to learn more about “ long Covid” regardless of age. My mother in law died from probable Covid in a care home and both my brother in law and sister in law caught it in April. They were both hospitalised and both still have problems, my brother in law is just back at work but has probably lung damage, my sister in law now suffers from confusion. I was in contact with a guy that made national news when he caught it in Vietnam, he was a pilot with them and I think in his 40s. He described his health now as walking like a geriatric and has developed an ear problem so bad he feels he will never fly as a pilot again. It’s certainly a personal choice what we do but worth being aware that regardless of age this thing can leave you with serious problems that could be life long. A risk worth taking for a two week vacation ?

We did the lift and shift from Feb 2021 to Feb 2022 a few months ago when we could see where this was going in Asia.  Moved from M class to S class and actually saved £36. Very happy.

3 hours ago, OceanCruise said:

If the rules were fully made clear before sailing I have no problem with this. However, I would not want to take a cruise with these draconian measures in place. Part of the fun of a cruise is exploring the ports on our own. I would also feel safer being with only my spouse walking around or using a private driver rather than being confined for hours with an entire group of people.

The thing is that group of people have been tested. That private driver probably won’t have been. You are in a relatively safe bubble which makes a lot of sense.

5 hours ago, diamondintn said:

Well, Hubby and I sat down and had "the talk". You all know the one...The pros and cons of Lift & Shift. 

I said "If Reflection sails in April, I will be aboard, vaccine or no vaccine".  He said " I don't want to be quarantined at sea" . I said "It will make the cruise longer". He was not amused. He said "I don't want to wear a mask everywhere". I said "neither do I". So I called the TA, she made the switch, helped us pick a cabin on Millennium for a 10 night Ultimate Caribbean in March of 2022. Whew! Glad that's over with. I gotta admit it still stings a little but I believe it has relieved some stress as well. 

Cheers! Lisa

We felt a lot better after lifting and shifting our cruise to 2022. Just too stressful worrying about the impact of Covid and a second spike. There is obviously disappointment but we just felt it was the sensible option.

Would love it if we won the lottery. But I think we would do it on a proper ocean liner like the QM2.

Really good to here your experiences onboard an actual cruise, we need some cruise positivity for a change rather than one or two of the usual suspects posting every negative article  they can find.

In my opinion Celebrity were very fair with you, they actually could have offered you nothing. Very unfair and misleading thread title in my view. 

5 hours ago, Cruise a holic said:

We really enjoyed Qsine- So many choices!  It was fun to dine.  Very creative presentation of the food also.  We also enjoy Le Petit Chef- also very clever- however fewer choices.  They usually offer a fixed menu, but you can change if you do not like it.  

 

Boy do I miss cruising.  We aren't fans of Sushi on five, and miss Bistro on Five.  If you do not like sushi- don't waste your time.

Sorry don’t agree with that, we are not Sushi fans but there are many cooked options including fresh made pork and prawn dumplings.

13 hours ago, El Crucero said:

My travel agent (who happens to be a neighbor just down the street) works for a large virtual travel agency.  She participates in a weekly conference call with Celebrity in Miami.  She says she doesn't like Le Petit Chef (she and her clients loved Qsine) and it is getting a lot of complaints.  It is like a one trick pony, once and done.  Celebrity is hearing the complaints and she hopes they make some changes but has heard nothing so far.  On the other hand she likes Sushi on 5 (or whatever it's called) but my wife doesn't care for it and it is not terribly successful compared to the other restaurants.  Notice Celebrity is now adding an Indian cuisine night a couple of times a week to boost attendance at Sushi on 5.

We were never fans of Qsine, a one and done for us. We loved Sushi on 5 and intend going back there on our next cruise. It was quite when we were there but we were told it’s very popular with younger cruisers and staff. I think they should change the name as I believe many people think they only serve Sushi when in fact they have many cooked options. The drinks including different Sake are also great fun.