Jim_Iain – East meets West Equinox Caribbean – B2B2B -March 14 to April 4

[shipshape sam]

30 minutes ago, RickT said:

 

Our flight back to Canada was sold out....  Wall to wall people... almost a flying pitre dish.  Fingers crossed that my DW or myself are virus free.

For sure!  

 

Hoping everyone will comply and isolate.  

[h20cruzer]

Glad to see you guys made it home safely. I am sure you are disappointed that your cruises were cancelled. I am certainly having cruise withdrawal and have no idea when any of us will be able to cruise again.

Norma

[GeorgiaPeach51]

sorry!  Posted in error.

Edited March 18, 2020 by GeorgiaPeach51

[GeorgiaPeach51]

So true.  Cruises are the carrots we hang out there to keep going with our normal, which is taking care of four year old twins each day...a labor of love for sure, but exhausting.  So it’s the same, I’m sure for all of us, depressing to shove it all to the side.  But I keep reminding myself of all the birthdays and weddings and honeymoons and family reunions that are not taking place and it makes our disappointment kind of minor.  Not to mention what is happening in beautiful Italy.  
 

Maybe that first cruise we all take after this nightmare will be the best of all...like the first cruise we took that caused us to fall in love with cruising!  I know we will be very grateful for the chance to have that great anticipation and countdown to the big day.  😍

[Jim_Iain]

1 hour ago, h20cruzer said:

Glad to see you guys made it home safely. I am sure you are disappointed that your cruises were cancelled. I am certainly having cruise withdrawal and have no idea when any of us will be able to cruise again.

Norma

Norma -

While it was disappointing, in retrospect somewhat happy we didn't leave and then get stuck out at sea.

[maggieq]

Jim, glad you are both home safe and healthy.  I agree better to be home than stuck at sea.  I do have to ask if you have any cruises booked for later in the year?

[hcat]

4 hours ago, RickT said:

 

Our flight back to Canada was sold out....  Wall to wall people... almost a flying pitre dish.  Fingers crossed that my DW or myself are virus free.

Hoping so too! 

Airplanes are scary ..very close quarters... but at least flights are for hours not days like cruises! Keep us posted

[Jim_Iain]

2 hours ago, maggieq said:

Jim, glad you are both home safe and healthy.  I agree better to be home than stuck at sea.  I do have to ask if you have any cruises booked for later in the year?

Our next is April 30 - Millennium Seattle to Alaska -    Pretty sure it will also be cancelled but not a word from Celebrity.    All we can do is wait and see how this nasty virus plays out.   I know we can cancel but holding out to see what happens.

 

[BBsails]

We're doing the same for the April 30 cruise on the Millennium.

 

Betsy

[eyecantwait]

10 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

 

 

Angela, stay safe.

Thanks Jim....I appreciate that....it's definitely interesting times...

[dani negreanu]

13 hours ago, GeorgiaPeach51 said:

Cruises are the carrots we hang out there to keep going with our normal

 

Well said.

Hopefully, we'll be back to cruising before long.

Meantime, spending more on those boards😁

[Jim_Iain]

12 hours ago, BBsails said:

We're doing the same for the April 30 cruise on the Millennium.

 

Betsy

Was really looking forward to this cruise.   Due to the great prices we invited my sister and daughter along. 

[MamaFej]

54 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

Was really looking forward to this cruise.   Due to the great prices we invited my sister and daughter along. 

We were to be onboard 10 days earlier in our first suite ever, due to the great price. We were looking forward to the double points as well.

If we weren't already booked for Alaska a month later on Princess out of LA, we would have booked this one as well. 

[REEtired]

On 3/18/2020 at 9:49 PM, Jim_Iain said:

Our next is April 30 - Millennium Seattle to Alaska -    Pretty sure it will also be cancelled but not a word from Celebrity.    All we can do is wait and see how this nasty virus plays out.   I know we can cancel but holding out to see what happens.

 

please keep us posted. We sail to Alaska shortly after you. Just wonder how much notice you will receive this time around. 

[Jim_Iain]

On 3/22/2020 at 1:15 PM, REEtired said:

please keep us posted. We sail to Alaska shortly after you. Just wonder how much notice you will receive this time around. 

Will do but don't expect to hear anything for about a month.   I don't have great hopes that this cruise is going to happen. 

 

Good news is my Daughter's passport renewal arrived today. 

[Luv2Crus40]

Sorry to hear your b2b2bs got cancelled - especially with the free Zenith cruise.  Was looking forward to your posts.  Glad you had a great time in Ft. Lauderdale.  We used to go there 2 or 3 times a year to visit with family, but they've passed and/or moved to other states so we don't go any more.  Too bad you missed Carlos & Pepes by the Embassy Suites, we always stopped there when we were in Ft. Lauderdale.  Our May cruise on the Summit was cancelled and my husband and I rebooked for the Constellation (we love those "M" ships) out of Tampa to the Caribbean on December 13th. 

We're determined to get our 40th Wedding Anniversary cruise in before the end of the year.  I'm sure you guys will be back on board soon!.   No cruise as per CDC before mid-July.  We feel pretty sure that our December w\2020 cruise will be a go.

Stay safe, stay well in the meantime.

Bon Voyage!

[Jim_Iain]

1 hour ago, Luv2Crus40 said:

Sorry to hear your b2b2bs got cancelled - especially with the free Zenith cruise.  Was looking forward to your posts.  Glad you had a great time in Ft. Lauderdale.  We used to go there 2 or 3 times a year to visit with family, but they've passed and/or moved to other states so we don't go any more.  Too bad you missed Carlos & Pepes by the Embassy Suites, we always stopped there when we were in Ft. Lauderdale.  Our May cruise on the Summit was cancelled and my husband and I rebooked for the Constellation (we love those "M" ships) out of Tampa to the Caribbean on December 13th. 

We're determined to get our 40th Wedding Anniversary cruise in before the end of the year.  I'm sure you guys will be back on board soon!.   No cruise as per CDC before mid-July.  We feel pretty sure that our December w\2020 cruise will be a go.

Stay safe, stay well in the meantime.

Bon Voyage!

Thanks for your kind words.   I haven't been posting much here on CC as all of the posts are either B&M the sky's falling and I find them very discouraging. 

 

We still haven't heard anything from Celebrity on FCC''s but if they don't arrive shortly will probably be calling in. In addition to the Caribbean Cruise our Alaska April 30 Cruise was also cancelled.   These cancellations have really left a hole in my heart as I have placed all our planning on hold until things settle down.

 

Our next planned cruise is a November B2B2B2B SE Asia, Australia and New Zealand.   We are pretty much on hold for the next 6 months until we hear any updates.  

[upwarduk]

Have you seen this Jim?

https://www.cdc.gov/quarantine/pdf/No-Sail-Order-Cruise-Ships_Extension_4-9-20-encrypted.pdf

[Jim_Iain]

11 hours ago, upwarduk said:

Have you seen this Jim?

https://www.cdc.gov/quarantine/pdf/No-Sail-Order-Cruise-Ships_Extension_4-9-20-encrypted.pdf

Yea... I've saw that a couple days ago.   Actually I have seen it 6-7 times a day on the news and social media. 

 

Curious if the UK equivalent of CDC is posting similar orders?

[awhfy]

Jim, I’m sad your cruise didn’t go. I was really looking forward to following another Jim & Iain adventure. We got off Reflection on 13 Mar after a fabulous b2b that included MardiGras. Zero illness on board. We flew home on American very blessed to be in first class, with everyone madly cleaning their seats & surrounding area but had the longest delays we’ve experienced in years, due home at 8 pm & arrived at 3 am. We planned on self isolating when we got home. Unfortunately DH got viral bronchitis two days after getting home (not the virus, both of us tested negative) & ended up in hospital in isolation for 3 days (that’s scary stuff!). Docs are 90% sure he got sick from MardiGras. Better now thank goodness. Today we got notification that we were now Elite Plus. Looking forward to our March 2021 Constellation b2b from Tampa. You & Iain stay well!!!

[upwarduk]

3 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

Curious if the UK equivalent of CDC is posting similar orders?

,All I have seen was on 13 March, Gov.UK advising against cruising and laterly  a general advisory against travel.

[Jim_Iain]

1 hour ago, awhfy said:

Jim, I’m sad your cruise didn’t go. I was really looking forward to following another Jim & Iain adventure. We got off Reflection on 13 Mar after a fabulous b2b that included MardiGras. Zero illness on board. We flew home on American very blessed to be in first class, with everyone madly cleaning their seats & surrounding area but had the longest delays we’ve experienced in years, due home at 8 pm & arrived at 3 am. We planned on self isolating when we got home. Unfortunately DH got viral bronchitis two days after getting home (not the virus, both of us tested negative) & ended up in hospital in isolation for 3 days (that’s scary stuff!). Docs are 90% sure he got sick from MardiGras. Better now thank goodness. Today we got notification that we were now Elite Plus. Looking forward to our March 2021 Constellation b2b from Tampa. You & Iain stay well!!!

Glad to hear you returned safe and your bout with Bronchitis has subsided.    I am sure it was a scary couple of days.

 

We are surviving well and keeping active walking and finding new routes to avoid coming in contact with others.  

[kwokpot]

On 4/10/2020 at 5:46 PM, Jim_Iain said:

Our next planned cruise is a November B2B2B2B SE Asia, Australia and New Zealand.   We are pretty much on hold for the next 6 months until we hear any updates.  

You feel comfortable doing four foreign cruises in a row with so many diverse ports with Covid19 unsolved?

Edited April 11, 2020 by kwokpot

[Luv2Crus40]

I hope we won't be needing doctor's approval forms by end of year. 

[MJSailors]

   With all due respect, I have to agree with kwokpot’s question posted above.

If it were me, I would not be contemplating such cruises,especially to SE Asia for various reasons. One being  that area was a  Covid-19 hot spot early on in the health crises. Another is the question of the state of health for those countries and New Zealand and Australia in seven month’s time.

Being that the cruises are to begin in November, if it were me, I would be cancelling those cruises before final payment.

     Perhaps my DH and I are overly cautious, but on March 1 we cancelled a trip to Bermuda beginning on March 4. It was a resort stay to play golf with a return date of March12. We lost the deposit for the hotel and have been given a credit good for a year for future travel with the airline. Despite this financial loss, we had various  concerns about taking the trip,namely  being quarantined in Bermuda if one or both of us were to contract the virus, risking putting ourselves in harm’s way by traveling during a time when the virus was developing around the world and we  also questioned if we would be allowed to return to the US after travel to a foreign country. 

       For us, we made the right decision. I do not think we would have enjoyed the vacation considering the effects of the virus becoming so quickly rampant in the world that it was soon to be categorized as a pandemic.