voljeep

10 minutes ago, gmjc2 said:

Our may 16th Alaska is still being sold on travel agent websites. The price has been greatly reduced but what good is that when Alaska and Seattle are closed to ships!!!  Come on Princess do the right thing and cancel us so we can get our money back.

still being sold on Princess website, also - I went all the way thru a 'mock booking' to the point of either getting a one-day courtesy hold or payment in full - right at $1,200 for the get-on price, no perks

if you are a gambler … do you book, pay in full, then wait for Princess to cancel and get full refund + FCC ???🤑 - or be a real gambler and book the most expensive cabin you can with Princess Plus perks 

1 minute ago, EDDY0827 said:

Grand Class ? - definitely one of our go-to spots - book an aft interior - out the 'secret' door - the up a few steps to our "balcony"

8 minutes ago, oskidunker said:

They claim only 14% over 70 comprise their passengers.  Not sure if that is the case on longer cruises

i would reckon that the longer the cruise, the older the demographic  - time and money

24 minutes ago, Daniel A said:

The main advantage to cruising especially for seniors is that you travel to various locations in your hotel room eliminating the need to constantly pack, unpack and more importantly drag your luggage through train stations or to or from a bus each day.

 

If the cruise industry were to block passengers over 70 YOA it would be the death knell of the industry.  It is the retirees that have the cash and time to take these cruises, not the 20 somethings.

exactly - cruises over 7 days would really struggle to fill ships 

26 minutes ago, Thrak said:

We have worries. Last year my daughter and her husband made plans to leave where they are and move up north. We would help them move (into our house!) and we would take the first month to go camping. This would give them time to find somewhere (they are hoping to purchase a small home) and for him to find work and it would also help to keep from making me crazy

wasn't that when the fires were raging in Chico  (deleted )… and you wanted 

yeah , lots of peoples plans / lives changed … so has ours - but ...

1 minute ago, dog said:

Text for now. I don’t do other 

My lawyer facetimed me the other day to sign an affidavit … that he then notarized to submit to the court ( which is now shut down , of course ) … new law in Florida 

3 minutes ago, dog said:

 

Not me. I'm still in self isolation after returning from Ft. Lauderdale---14 days.

skype … facetime … zoom ?

11 minutes ago, dog said:

Yes, we understand.

I did hear Bill Gates on CNN the other night. He had predicted a pandemic 5 years ago. However, it is very sad to watch what is happening worldwide.

My heart also goes out to the children. My gd is out of school, probably until Sept. I just ordered an interesting 3D castle puzzle for her. This certainly has slowed the world down.

at least now we can "see" our kids / grandkids when we call them … meet George Jetson ...

hopefully it won't be a April 1st (Fool's Day) type of prank … 

7/1 earliest day to resume operations - my bestest guess

if your cruise got cancelled by Princess, and you had put down a cash/credit card for the deposit … then can that amount be applied as a deposit to a future cruise ?

sitting in my home office here in way too hot ( but better than cold ) central florida ...

plenty of tp, water, food, adult beverages, etc … our county still not on any kind of lockdown, shelter in place, curfews … yet

looking out my office window , I see a lot of new / different people walking , walking dogs, kids than usual … which may be due

to people either working from home, or worster temporarily laid off...

just an observation

and just read that the state of florida is setting up checkpoints for people who might be driving in from Louisiana to self-quarantine for 14 days … yeah, like that will work

If / when cruising starts back again on Princess - say on 8/1 or so, I'm ASSuMEing they will just pick up with their "normal" cruise schedule … but wouldn't it make sense ( maybe not financially, and it's always about the money ) to ease into the process by having more /shorter / B2B cruises on the East and West coasts since a lot of ships are there already ?

I'm more concerned about flying somewhere now on an international flight, or even a domestic flight

flame on

is either ship having "problems" ? ( non-corona related ) 

the race is on ! - refund from Princess vrs. stimulus check from the Gubmint !

9 minutes ago, npcl said:

Since this type of refund is exactly what their systems are set up to process automatically they cannot claim manual processing issues.

and you 'know' this how ?

so, just to clarify … Princess must first notify it's "bank" how much and where to send the refund to the customers form of payment ?

maybe that's limited to how many a day/week ? can be processed by that "bank" ?

14 minutes ago, Traderboy said:

We booked with a TA.

 

If we hadn't rebooked another cruise then they expected us to pay up the full balance now for our cruise in September.

6 months in advance ??? - what, world cruise ?

OK, Cornwall - maybe the rules are different there ...

re-book now with a refundable deposit to secure the cabin you want … then follow cruise fares / promotions and re-fare, rebook when those happen 

direct with Princess or thru a TA ?

23 minutes ago, cscurlock said:

Vaccine.

then this time next year … or later 

while it is not necessary to quote this with a response - but that is a very solid posting .. Well Done

10 minutes ago, CruiseBabys said:

I hope & pray everyday that Princess would send us some updates... anything!   

deleted ... but really wanted to post ...

2 hours ago, fishin' musician said:

If cruiselines were forced to incorporate in the US and thus be subject US taxes, labor and wage laws; cruising as we know it would not exist. I would expect perhaps a 10 fold increase in fare price??? Which would leave this style of vacation for only the extremely well-heeled. Would demand decrease to the point where you might have one ship a week leaving Miami or Fort Lauderdale?

 

Also realize that by US standards working 12 hour days for 8 months with no days off for a fraction of US minimum wage may be abhorred by many of us, but these jobs are in high demand in these people’s homeland and their families are quite well-off. I’ve talked to a few older cabin stewards who were putting their kids through medical and dental school.

 

Personally, I rather enjoy the current model that allows DW and I to take 2-3 cruises a year to destinations I could once only dream about!

3 minutes ago, nbsjcruiser said:

They dont pay payroll taxes on their employees who work on ships which is why they use flags of convenience to avoid all that bothersome stuff including workmen's compensation.  Not sure what you mean by "other taxes".

this was my response

Big corps don't pay income taxes - they pay tax attorneys  and CPA's to avoid/delay NOT EVADE ...

they do pay payroll taxes and other taxes

16 minutes ago, dog said:

I am dealing with 3 cruises 2 cruielines right now. This one I mention is directly through Princess ( had not transfer yet to a TA). $1.00 deposit pp plus dinners, wine, $100.00 OBC pp. in today’s call she would not change it. Would not give me back my balcony cabin still available, not give me price drop for upgraded mii suite or original balcony. Put me on hold after saying this and I was disconnected. 
I did not want to cancel. I have been very positive about Princess. Today, I don’t know what to think. 

obviously call back and get a different rep/answer … then again, sorry, why not just cancel a $ 1 deposit cruise ??

4 hours ago, rucruisn2 said:

One thing I don't understand here are restaurants offering drinks to go?  Why are they promoting drinking and driving?  I seen this on several places here in So. Florida.

bottles, cans, or individual drinks , say like a Gin and tonic ?