Are our cruising days over? (merged topics re: health and age restrictions)

[PrincessLuver]

1 hour ago, DCGuy64 said:

Thanks for saying that, I appreciate it.

Part of why I'm so upbeat is that I've been watching a lot of videos on YouTube by cruise experts, and all of the ones I've seen are optimistic. Furthermore, cruising has already begun in other parts of the world. Hurtigruten in Norway had a sailing a few weeks ago, and Dream cruises is sailing a Taiwan cruise on July 26. I will be interested to see how various guidelines change how people cruise, at least for the time being, but I do see cruising resuming very soon. We have cruises booked for January and next April and are hopeful. A guy's gotta hope!

 

My family lives in Norway and this is the first year we cannot visit in decades because Americans are banned.  The Hurtigruten technically never stopped cruising because it serves as a ferry service for Norway.  It is allowing locals and Danes to now book trips but that is it and it has cut significantly the number of passengers that it is carrying per cruise.  Norway and Denmark have Covid under control and their citizens have no problems following guidelines..  A few other small cruise lines have started some service in Europe but they are basically sailing in tourist bubbles in countries with Covid under control.   Not sure we will be cruising until cruising can be sold as safe and we have Covid under control which we do not at this time.

 

https://www.cruisecritic.com/news/5396/

Edited July 9, 2020 by PrincessLuver

[DCGuy64]

1 minute ago, PrincessLuver said:

 

My family lives in Norway and this is the first year we cannot visit in decades because Americans are banned.  The Hurtigruten technically never stopped cruising because it serves as a ferry service for Norway.  It is allowing locals and Danes to now book trips but that is it.  Basically because Norway and Denmark have Covid under control.  A few other small cruise lines have started some service in Europe but they are basically sailing in tourist bubbles in countries with Covid under control.   Not sure we will be cruising until cruising can be sold as safe and we have Covid under control which we do not at this time.

 

https://www.cruisecritic.com/news/5396/

I'm jealous! I love Norway and speak Norwegian fluently. It's such a beautiful country, and I love the Norwegian people, too.

Cruising is coming back, I have no doubt about that. It may take some time for the "big" names but, for example, some paddle wheel boats will be starting up here in the US later this summer, and the smaller cruise lines like Crystal and Oceania should have less trouble adhering to social distancing guidelines. The same could be said for river cruises in Europe. We will see what the future holds!

[dog]

I am getting frequent cruise promotions from Carnival & Celebrity again And Air Canada sent me promotions for flights this summer to Europe. Canadians are allowed in to EU, but not the UK. 
I’m using my FCC on a cruise out of Southampton, England in April 2021  I would not want to cruise before that. And really won’t feel comfortable flying or cruising before we see students safely back to school. This is what I am most concerned about right now. 

[PrincessLuver]

4 hours ago, DCGuy64 said:

I'm jealous! I love Norway and speak Norwegian fluently. It's such a beautiful country, and I love the Norwegian people, too.

Cruising is coming back, I have no doubt about that. It may take some time for the "big" names but, for example, some paddle wheel boats will be starting up here in the US later this summer, and the smaller cruise lines like Crystal and Oceania should have less trouble adhering to social distancing guidelines. The same could be said for river cruises in Europe. We will see what the future holds!

 

Very impressive....Norwegian is a difficult language to master.....that will be our first trip when they allow Americans into the country.....cannot blame others for not wanting us by the way we are handling things in regards to the virus.....my Norwegian family is not impressed and very CONFUSED with our response to Covid......

[Jo and Rob]

The kicker in the e-mail is:
 
If you are unable to provide a "fit to travel" letter from your physician or have a compromising medical condition, they will provide you with a Future Cruise Credit to come back and sail with them at a later time.
 
Will PCL cure me of Diabetes? That would be wonderful as I have been fighting this disease for over 20 years. So until I am over this disease Princess will provide me with a Future Cruise Credit? 

Surely they can't stop diabetics from cruising!


Sent from my ONEPLUS A6013 using Forums mobile app

[mimip]

Thankfully the fit to travel letter is no longer required.

[AF-1]

22 hours ago, DCGuy64 said:

Thanks for saying that, I appreciate it.

Part of why I'm so upbeat is that I've been watching a lot of videos on YouTube by cruise experts, and all of the ones I've seen are optimistic. Furthermore, cruising has already begun in other parts of the world. Hurtigruten in Norway had a sailing a few weeks ago, and Dream cruises is sailing a Taiwan cruise on July 26. I will be interested to see how various guidelines change how people cruise, at least for the time being, but I do see cruising resuming very soon. We have cruises booked for January and next April and are hopeful. A guy's gotta hope!

I had three cancelled for this year;  next year we have Oct booked;  so we shall see what the new year bringss

[DCGuy64]

1 minute ago, AF-1 said:

I had three cancelled for this year;  next year we have Oct booked;  so we shall see what the new year bringss

I hear ya, we've had 3 vacations cancelled this year due to COVID-19, one of them a cruise, one domestic and another in Iceland (land-based, ironically that trip was rescheduled from 2019 and now may NEVER happen). So I'm pretty sick and tired of vacations being canceled at this point. I'm tentatively going to Europe in December, we'll see if that happens!

[AF-1]

Good luck;  we will keep checking the blogs, and you tube for info about upcoming cruises. 

[trbarton]

On 7/9/2020 at 10:01 AM, PrincessLuver said:

 

My family lives in Norway and this is the first year we cannot visit in decades because Americans are banned.  The Hurtigruten technically never stopped cruising because it serves as a ferry service for Norway.  It is allowing locals and Danes to now book trips but that is it and it has cut significantly the number of passengers that it is carrying per cruise.  Norway and Denmark have Covid under control and their citizens have no problems following guidelines..  A few other small cruise lines have started some service in Europe but they are basically sailing in tourist bubbles in countries with Covid under control.   Not sure we will be cruising until cruising can be sold as safe and we have Covid under control which we do not at this time.

 

https://www.cruisecritic.com/news/5396/

I have traveled on the Hurtigruten before & I really enjoyed it. All of those towns were a blessing to see. 
 

Hopefully things will approve for all of us. 
 

Tom😀

[Shaver John]

Still waiting for our refund from March 19 cruise Princess stopped in the middle of South America. Will wait to book anything till we get the money returned.

[jotjot]

Hey! you are so correct dcguy keep it up,  not to forget the Roaring Twenties after the Spanish Flu.

[Ride-The-Waves]

On 7/9/2020 at 11:55 AM, DCGuy64 said:

Thanks for saying that, I appreciate it.

Part of why I'm so upbeat is that I've been watching a lot of videos on YouTube by cruise experts, and all of the ones I've seen are optimistic. Furthermore, cruising has already begun in other parts of the world. Hurtigruten in Norway had a sailing a few weeks ago, and Dream cruises is sailing a Taiwan cruise on July 26. I will be interested to see how various guidelines change how people cruise, at least for the time being, but I do see cruising resuming very soon. We have cruises booked for January and next April and are hopeful. A guy's gotta hope!

Hopefully you are fully aware that those "cruise experts" earn a living by advocating cruising.  They are not virologists, doctors or health officials.  

[DCGuy64]

3 hours ago, Ride-The-Waves said:

Hopefully you are fully aware that those "cruise experts" earn a living by advocating cruising.  They are not virologists, doctors or health officials.  

You are correct.

[Elevatorman]

We feel as though we experienced the “golden age “ of cruising, the near future at least the next 4 or 5 years won’t be the cruising we knew.  We don’t think the ships handled norovirus outbreaks well let alone coronavirus. From what I’ve read in press releases buffets aren’t figured out yet, having pax seated and handed menus or digital menus and having servers bring you the food, is an option they are considering. The biggest hurdle seems to be the elevators and how to keep people safe in a small space, without everyone crammed in. The boarding and debarking too. It’s a challenge all the way around. 

[AF-1]

All good points Elevatorman.  Thanks for sharing your views

[npcl]

On 7/9/2020 at 10:07 AM, DCGuy64 said:

I'm jealous! I love Norway and speak Norwegian fluently. It's such a beautiful country, and I love the Norwegian people, too.

Cruising is coming back, I have no doubt about that. It may take some time for the "big" names but, for example, some paddle wheel boats will be starting up here in the US later this summer, and the smaller cruise lines like Crystal and Oceania should have less trouble adhering to social distancing guidelines. The same could be said for river cruises in Europe. We will see what the future holds!

River cruising was going to start on the Columbia River in the US, but with a recent up tick in cases it was stopped by Oregon.

[npcl]

5 hours ago, Ride-The-Waves said:

Hopefully you are fully aware that those "cruise experts" earn a living by advocating cruising.  They are not virologists, doctors or health officials.  

A little like going to your travel agent to ask if it is safe to travel.

[MissP22]

59 minutes ago, Elevatorman said:

We feel as though we experienced the “golden age “ of cruising, the near future at least the next 4 or 5 years won’t be the cruising we knew.  We don’t think the ships handled norovirus outbreaks well let alone coronavirus. From what I’ve read in press releases buffets aren’t figured out yet, having pax seated and handed menus or digital menus and having servers bring you the food, is an option they are considering. The biggest hurdle seems to be the elevators and how to keep people safe in a small space, without everyone crammed in. The boarding and debarking too. It’s a challenge all the way around. 

The way I see them operating the buffets is that they just might have the selections in view & you then will order from a server what you would like. It seems like that might be a waste of food since a waiter can't judge how much of each item your might want. 

If that's the way it'll operate then we'll probably stick to the DR for most meals since it won't be much different. 

The elevators will have to be operated with an operator stationed in each one to limit over crowding, much like the first day when people are just boarding.

If you think they were slow before, just wait. 

The stairs will be more crowded then every before.

[Elevatorman]

What I wish would happen is not what I believe will happen, and I believe 2020 and 2021 cruises will be experiments. I don’t want to be a guinea pig. So while I can’t imagine my life without cruising, I am not hopeful.

Taking a passengers temperature is meaningless because it is only a picture of that person at that moment, not their temperature the next morning. Not to mention the crew. The vaccine may come, but you can’t even get people to vaccinate against measles . Too much to navigate, no pun intended

[caribill]

12 hours ago, Elevatorman said:

What I wish would happen is not what I believe will happen, and I believe 2020 and 2021 cruises will be experiments. I don’t want to be a guinea pig. So while I can’t imagine my life without cruising, I am not hopeful.

Taking a passengers temperature is meaningless because it is only a picture of that person at that moment, not their temperature the next morning. Not to mention the crew. The vaccine may come, but you can’t even get people to vaccinate against measles . Too much to navigate, no pun intended

 

CDC says that up to 50% of infections are caused by people within two days before showing any symptoms.

 

In effect, taking temperatures is like locking the barn door after the horse has been stolen.

[MissP22]

16 hours ago, Elevatorman said:

What I wish would happen is not what I believe will happen, and I believe 2020 and 2021 cruises will be experiments. I don’t want to be a guinea pig. So while I can’t imagine my life without cruising, I am not hopeful.

Taking a passengers temperature is meaningless because it is only a picture of that person at that moment, not their temperature the next morning. Not to mention the crew. The vaccine may come, but you can’t even get people to vaccinate against measles . Too much to navigate, no pun intended

It's depressing to think of not being able to cruise again but I can't envision it being an option in the distant future. (2021 or 2022)

What is interesting is that the future sales are up for 2021 for many of the cruise lines.

NONE of our friends or people we talk to are interested in booking any cruises at this moment. Could this be that they've just released exaggerated claims to entice people to return to cruising once again as soon as they sailing again? 

[Big Tiger Fan]

Well, folks. We can always do what our Beloved Leader says and stop testing so many people. That way the number of people testing positive will drop. 
Problem solved!!

🙀

[Big Tiger Fan]

I apologize for the last post. I just saw the posted warning about political statements. The Devil made me do it and I did not resist as I should have.

I won’t do it again...on CC.
 

[Doubt It]

2 hours ago, MissP22 said:

It's depressing to think of not being able to cruise again but I can't envision it being an option in the distant future. (2021 or 2022)

What is interesting is that the future sales are up for 2021 for many of the cruise lines.

NONE of our friends or people we talk to are interested in booking any cruises at this moment. Could this be that they've just released exaggerated claims to entice people to return to cruising once again as soon as they sailing again? 

 

MissP22 - you are likely correct.

 

They have to exaggerate or out right lie - part of their marketing plan. Many people simply moved their trip to another year. 

 

We have a large group of friends who have all become disillusioned about cruising over the past years - we have eliminated about 70% of our planned group cruising trips over the past 5 years.

 

Last year we replaced cruising with escorted land travel and everyone was beyond pleased. Much better value for money and way better travel experience.

 

None of us, none, have any interest in cruising going forward.