KEN W

The other thing about booking it through the cruise line is that when you book it, the payment for the air is due when you make the final cruise payment. That's if you only make a deposit. It you book the air through other travel agencies or with the airline, you have to make the payment when you book it. 

2 hours ago, Ashland said:

We book our own air. No TA is going to be obsessed with checking prices as often as I do and also responding when there has been a change which affects our chosen seating. I actually enjoy booking our air.

 Yes.....I book air. Almost always on the Cruise line website. I want to book seats of my choice. Also it is almost always cheaper through the Line. Plus I can keep checking for lower costs and make a change easily.

You can always binge watch "The Love Boat."

Thanks for the replies. We sailed on Star Princess out of San Francisco to Hawaii a few years ago. I booked the Royal on Jan 31 and booked our flights on Princess also.

Looking forward to 10 days away from winter here in Minnesota in February.

Which of these will most likely have less kids going to the Mexican Rivera in January or February?

Carnival Panorama out of Los Angeles or Royal Princess out of San Francisco?

Our 50th anniversary cruise.

If you are looking at the Mediterranean. The best place to start is Rome. Hand's down. We did it a few years ago on Norwegian. By starting in Rome, you can add days before or after. We booked a Bed and Breakfast before. Did a tour of Rome. Including a day tour and then a night tour with the same company. Awesome history and gorgeous at night. Churches and fountains everywhere and looked different at night.

Next we did 2 tours of the Vatican. Everyone should see the Vatican whether Catholic or not. First we went below St Peter's with their archeology dept. Only allowed 12 at a time. And only 3-4 groups in the morning only. So it has to be booked months in advance. Saw streets during the first century and ended at St Peter's tomb. Then ate lunch and started the second tour of the Vatican itself. Sistine Chapel is breathtaking.

Went aboard the ship and went around the Med for 12 days.

If you are looking at a bus ride around Europe. We did that with Expat Explore out of London. 12 days to 12 countries. Saw a lot....including all the major cities except Berlin.

345 days

Blizzard here again yesterday. 4-6 inches and 40-50 mph winds.👎

Snow and 35 mph winds. Gusting to 65 mph. Blizzard conditions. Can't see across the street. The 7th blizzard of this winter. Because of Covid all the schools here have E learning. Good thing or there would be a lot of make up days. Getting old.

5 hours ago, lenquixote66 said:

Friends of ours left yesterday on the Anthem.Nothing would deter them from cruising.

I am waiting till the pandemic ends and masks are only used by bank robbers.

Same here.....Not wearing a mask every time I go inside except for eating. That would not be enjoyable.

YES

When we don't have to wear a mask outside our cabin. Maybe late winter or next summer. Right now none booked. Not going to give the lines a free loan with their large deposits and too much uncertainty.

You evidently found the story by Talor Dolven of the Herald. I was surprised by that statement also. How can these ship's crews get Covid. 33 is quite a few. But evidently that's what the Herald got from the CDC.

Not sure if this has  been printed on here.

 This is from the Miami Herald Saturday. Don't see how The lines can get started if crew members are still testing positive.

The CDC first banned cruises in U.S. waters in March 2020 amid COVID-19 outbreaks on multiple ships. After extensive lobbying from the industry, it lifted its no-sail order on October 30, replacing it with the conditional sail order. In November, the CDC added instructions for lab testing, and in December it expanded the list of tests cruise companies can use

Since then, crew members have continued to test positive for the virus at sea. Thirty-three cruise ships in U.S. waters have reported crew members testing positive for COVID-19 or having COVID-like illness (clinically compatible without laboratory confirmation) since the start of the year, according to CDC documents obtained by the Herald.

We had booked a cruise with Carnival for this past January .We took  out and paid for insurance. when we cancelled it, Carnival refunde our deposit. But the insurance company would not. Is this recoverable from them?

This was through Travel Insurers International.

Do you ever balk at what a line wants for a deposit on a cruise? I only book cruises that are refundable. That's another question.

Example......

Carnival is asking for $49 deposit per person.

Royal and Celebrity are asking for $450 per person.

I only book refundable deposits. Especially with these uncertain Covid problems. I want to know what is needed to go and what is required on ship before I book any cruises.

We both received the second shot 3 weeks ago. Won't book until we see what is required to go. What changes the cruise lines are making from the past normal. 

1.What is required to get on and off the ship.

2.What is required to get around on the ship.

3. What is required in the dining rooms.

4. What is required to leave the ship in port.

Yes.....He was talking about all Canadians getting vaccinated by end of summer. He was on NBC's Meet the Press yesterday. 

Right now there are no companies making vaccines in Canada. They are hoping to have some by year's end. Not sure how they will all be vaccinated by the end of the summer if they have to compete with the rest of the world to buy them.

As of 2 days ago only 1% of Canadians have at least 1 dose.

US is at 7.5%

Thankfully my wife and I are part of that 7.5%.

Good.....Hopefully the border will be open by the end of the summer. Living in a border state.....I would like to see it open as soon as possible.

Saw Prime  Minister Trudeau on TV yesterday. He said he feels they will all be vaccinated by the end of the summer. So why would ports be closed until Summer 2022? 

I received the survey and said yes. My wife and I received the second dose today. We also get the flu shot every year. Better safe than sorry. You have to make the decision yourself if you get the shot. If someone get sick and dies because they didn't get it, that's on them. BUT you do not have the right to give it to someone else so they get sick and die.

Looking forward to getting back on a ship again. Especially if it was right now.....

We live in Minnesota and the air temp tomorrow morning is supposed to be -30. Even colder north of here.

We went on Norwegian out of Rome. But they aren't doing that cruise anymore. 

You need to make a decision on which ports you want to go to. As said above....ports are more important than ships. Unless cost is a factor. Make a decision on what you want to see. Then look at the ships that stop at those places. Then look for excursions.

On our list.....

1.Rome....We spent 3 nights there before the cruise started. Everyone should see the Vatican, even if you aren't Catholic. 

2.Jerusalem.....Ship spent 2 nights here. We booked a hotel in Jerusalem instead of the ride back and forth to the ship. Unbelievable history.

3. Egypt.....Probably not available now because of the danger.

4 Athens.....Again the history 

 We also stopped at Naples, Crete, Cyprus, and Turkey. These were           secondary for us.

Asia.....Singapore to or from Tokyo.

Baltics......including an extra day in St. Petersburg to go to Moscow on the train.

Yes, you are correct. Forgot about stopping in a foreign port. Otherwise they have to pay US taxes and have a US crew at US wages. The only one who does that is Norwegian Pride in the Hawaiian Islands.