Squire5000

On 8/19/2020 at 5:43 PM, stevenr597 said:

Yes...Discovery Princess

I'll be the most surprise person if that ship sails in 2021.  I doubt it will make a transatlantic cruise.  Instead it will be ready for 2022 cruises.

33 minutes ago, san diego sue said:

If you cancel before Princess does for the next round of cancellations, you get your refund right away. It is when we get caught up in the huge Princess cancels cruises that the big wait begins.  I cancelled in July for October cruises (before Princess cancelled) and my money was on my credit card in a few days. No bonus FCC but I just wanted my money back and got it.

We have a couple of cruises for January 2021 and will probably cancel soon before Princess.

If you know you'e not going to sail, just cancel and get your money back. IMHO, the FCC is just a gimmick to keep your money.  I'm not going to  give interest free loans to Princess.  That's what bank are for.  I'm still on the fence as to whether some of these cruise ones will survive this thing.  

Cancelled a February 2021 cruise on the Enchanted Princess August 10.  The credit showed up on August  13. One credit card, deposit only.

47 minutes ago, cruising deacon said:

The cruise lines are just trying to find out how many people are so addicted to cruising that they are willing to put up with ANYTHING just to cruising again.  The NEW WAVE of cruising is NOT a vacation that I would spend my money on, NOR risk with my health.

I totally agree.  We have 2 cruises next year,  a February cruise on the Enchanted Princess that,  if not cancelled by Princess, will be cancelled by us.  Too risky.  We also have a Med cruise on the Discovery Princess in November.  I saw this morning that the placement of the bow of the Discovery is roughly 4 months behind schedule.  I doubt that one will go forward.

Like many, we have booked a cruise for February 2022, what I call a "spec cruise". Those cruises are pretty well booked right now as people are hedging their bets on 2021 Caribbean cruises that my be cancelled.  If we're still  dealing with COVID-19, in 2022,  we'll  probably cancel that one too.  Not worth our health.

From a financial point, I can't help but wonder how long the cruise lines can operate without actual cruises taking place.Very dicey.  

On 7/23/2020 at 6:38 PM, cruiseintoheaven said:

 

Well said. Hardly sounds relaxing does it!?


Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

Agree

Having done the rail, it's a no brainer.  Who wants to sit on another bus?

18 hours ago, Esprit said:

I doubt it will sail to Florida given the scale of infections and apathy to contain them.

 

I'm inclined to agree.  Too much uncertainty at this point in time.  Not only is the CDC "do not sail order" likely to be extended, getting to the port by air is a potential non starter for many.

As of today, I seriously doubt that EP will participate any Caribbean cruises in 2021/2022.    

14 hours ago, muffydawg said:

You are correct. Not a surprise if you've followed the RFI posted by the CDC on the Federal Register. Nothing to do with masks or vaccines; its all about the CDC  https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=CDC-2020-0087-0001

I read the CDC Federal Register post.  There is no way that cruises are going to sail anytime in the future. Based on my federal experience which, I admit is 16 years old, my  comments may well have changed since I worked.

Comments are due September 20th.  After that, they have to be reviewed and then a proposed final rule has to be published seeking comments before the rule becomes final.  At that point, the cruise lines have to make the necessary changes to comply with the final rule.  If this process is still timely, we'll be lucky to cruise anytime in 2021.

On 7/14/2020 at 6:55 PM, AtlantaCruiser72 said:

 

While I attended the webinar, I'd take any information from the VP of SALES with a grain of salt when it comes to ship deliveries.   What he stated was the originally planned delivery/deployment for Discovery. I would not expect him to be at liberty to discuss otherwise in a sales webinar. The fact that the company made a statement in the quarterly earnings report which specifically stated 9 ships on order for 2020/21and only 5 are now to be delivered in FISCAL 2020/21 (fiscal year ends November 30th for Carnival Corp) leads me to believe that the Discovery Princess will be delayed to some degree, as she was due to launch in early November 2021. I'd not be surprised to see her delayed by at least 6 months and end up launching in late Q2 2022 and staying in Europe for spring/summer 2022 instead of going to the US West coast. I think the announcement of Majestic Princess doing 7 night Mexico/California coast from fall 2021 to spring 2022 is in preparation for that to happen.

 

These are just my opinions and musings until a definitive announcement of which ships are to be delayed, and for how long. 

I think you're 100%correct.  We are booked on the November 7, 2021, cruise and I'd be very surprised if that occurs

 I'm not trying to be a smart a$$, but I haven't had what I would call a great meal on Princess in years.  Our most memorable meal was when they first opened Sabatini's.  Now that was a dinner, probably 8 courses.   As for recent dining experiences, forget it.  Sabatini's is mediocre Italian food, the steak house wouldn't know what to do with a good piece of meat.  Sorry for the sour grapes, but we cruise to get away from the cold in the winter.  We have yet to find a better alternative to cruising, (pre coronavirus) but if dining is the criteria  to cruise, we'd stay home.

1 hour ago, latserrof said:

Has this extension changed anyone's mind about the severity of the situation and its impact on the bleak future of cruising?

We were booked on the Enchanted Princess for July 2020 and we canceled in early March.  We concluded that there was no way Europe was going to be open in July and there was no way the cruise lines were going to be able to address everyone's concerns regarding cruising and the COVID 19.  

We are booked on the Enchanted in February 2020 and are seriously cancelling that cruise.  With all that's going on, it just isn't worth it.  We have come the the realization that our days of cruising are probably over absent a vaccine that truly offers protection from the virus.

I figure they'll wait until the holiday season.

23 hours ago, Squire5000 said:

Received our cruise deposit for the Enchanted Princess, 7/11/20,  on 6/26/20.  Only thing outstanding is specialty dining.

All credits received!

On 6/20/2020 at 2:16 PM, Squire5000 said:

Just received a credit on my AMEX for excursions booked for the Enchanted Princess 7/11/20.  Still awaiting cruise deposit and specialty dining credit.  Canceled cruise on 3/27/20

Received our cruise deposit for the Enchanted Princess, 7/11/20,  on 6/26/20.  Only thing outstanding is specialty dining.

Just received a credit on my AMEX for excursions booked for the Enchanted Princess 7/11/20.  Still awaiting cruise deposit and specialty dining credit.  Canceled cruise on 3/27/20

2 hours ago, Pmorton3360 said:

I'm sailing Enchanted on February 20. I feel pretty good about it happening.  It's a casino cruise so no money spent yet. I've had 1 cruise and 1 vacation to the beach canceled so far.  Need a cruise. 

What’s a casino cruise?

We canceled our summer cruise to Europe on March 27. My TA advised me that the cancelation date of the cruise has no bearing on the processing of the refund.  It is based on the date of the cruise.  Since our's was July 11, I'll be lucky to see a refund by Christmas.  

Princess has really dropped the ball on this.  I find it hard to believe that the refunds are taking this long.  They can sure bill the credit card within minutes of booking a cruise, but it takes months to refund to the same credit card.I don't think so.  Just reverse the original charge.  No brainer.

We have two Princess cruises next year.  We are contemplating canceling both as we are in the age group that is most susceptible  Covid 19  and we are very reluctant to get on a plane.  Maybe I should cancel those now and hope I get my deposit back by July 4, 2021.

No canceled 3/24 for 7/11 cruise

No.  July11 canceled March 27

We've completed 50+ cruises over the past 20 years.  I'm in my mid 70"s and take care of myself though I suffer form afflictions common to one of my age, all of which are under control.  Right now, we have 2 cruises planned for Princess in 2021 after cancelling a Mediterranean  cruise scheduled for this July.  At this juncture, we will not take these cruises if COVID 19 is still an issue.  

All cruise lines have demonstrated tone deafness regarding this pandemic.  But for various regulatory bodies, I'm quite certain that cruises would be taking place as I type this.  As to medical requirements/certifications, they should be applicable  for every passenger boarding the ship. No discrimination.  If they choose to go that route, (one requirement for those over 70 and one for everyone else) our days of cruising are over.  

18 hours ago, nini said:

 

 

Thank you to both of you! I have been called a liar, troll, and lots of other non attractive nouns because of this new policy.

 

I have also told a robotic Princess rep that they will lose 50-60% of their clientele. And what about those Baby Boomer

grandparents who want to treat their kids and grandkids to a family reunion cruise? Not going to happen.

 

I as well, also call this discrimination. How many people do you know UNDER the age of 70 who may have diabetes

or other "chronic" conditions who have no business cruising? My DH just turned 70 and has none of those

conditions and exercises every day. However, try to get a physician to sign away their practice...….

 

We will wait until the last minute possible to cancel our cruises- next one is scheduled for this September.

You make a great point about people under 70.  We saw on the TV news last night that they are seeing more people between 20 and 50 coming down with the virus.  I wonder how they'll handle that group.  I see many lawsuits based on discrimination in the future for the cruise lines if they try to implement this insane policy.

I have to believe that if the cruise lines make these medical certification requirements for passengers over 70 permanent, our days of cruising may well be over.  No doctor in his right mind would sign such a certification fearing lawsuits from the patient or the cruise lines if something was undetected.  In addition, it can be hard and costly to secure a medical appointment that coincides with your cruise date.

We have witnessed the deterioration of the cruise product over the years.   We still cruise in February to get away from the winter weather.  We just enjoy sleeping in, havIng our meals prepared for us and just lounging around  around the pool taking it easy.  What we confront today is mediocre food, smaller cabins and balconies, being nickeled and dived to death, etc.  We are cruise devotees reaching   Elite on Princess, diamond on RCCL/Celebrity and Mariner 4 star on HAL.  Great memories, but like another person noted, if the cruise industry seeks to make it more difficult for us old timers, you’re going to see some lines go under.

I cancelled reservations for specialty dining and shore excursions about 10 days ago.  The site indicates that the refunds will be made to the credit card that was originally used.  Does anyone have any idea how long it takes to get the credit processed by Princess?

Thanks

On 3/18/2020 at 2:01 PM, bluesea321 said:

 

Those refundable deposits will mean nothing if the cruise lines don't have the cash to pay them back.  With CCL stock at under $9 and their bonds at junk ratings their future is not good.  

I agree.  We canceled our 6 day cruise tour of Italy and a 14 day cruise that was booked for July 2020 and rebooked the same cruise for 2021.  I used a FCC to book the 2021 cruise.  The TA asked if we wanted to apply our existing cruise deposit for the 2021 cruise.  No way.  I want my deposit money with Princess refunded as well as my booking costs for excursions.dining.  I doubt anyone knows how all of this will end for the economy and cruise lines/airlines in particular.