People Still Booking Cruises

[skridge]

4 hours ago, rodndonna said:

 

This is what I am thinking as well - nothing (except maybe some limited test runs) before 2021 but the Cruiselines will continue on the path of extending the short term cancellations for business reasons. Can't really fault them for that - they are trying to stay afloat as long as possible to hopefully ride this out , and from a business perspective it helps with cashflow in the meantime.

I get that.  I just don't understand peoples willingness to give an interest free loan to an entity in this climate who has really shaky credit.

[firefly333]

8 minutes ago, glrounds said:

 

I book through a site that posts desperation pricing (think 90-day ticker). Usually filled with bookings of people that have cancelled in order to beat the cancellation penalties. I'm at $239 for the 7-day PANORAMA and still seeing $189 for the week following. I'm getting the feeling this will also be cancelled based on the posts that are talking about the shutdown lasting 'til 2021.

 

"Trust yourself when all men doubt you, but make allowance for their doubting too" - - Kipling

I didnt know there was a place to get prices lower than carnival. I can see why you are tempted, but odds are good we will be cancelled. I've had 2 canc on rcl, but annoyed with their trick and games and changing rules how fcc can be applied so asked for refund on last canc rcl cruise, lol and came back to carnival. Every day almost someone posts a new wrinkle in getting rcl fcc applied, enough to make me mad.

 

At least carnival isnt doing those games.

[glrounds]

10 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

I didnt know there was a place to get prices lower than carnival. I can see why you are tempted, but odds are good we will be cancelled. I've had 2 canc on rcl, but annoyed with their trick and games and changing rules how fcc can be applied so asked for refund on last canc rcl cruise, lol and came back to carnival. Every day almost someone posts a new wrinkle in getting rcl fcc applied, enough to make me mad.

 

At least carnival isnt doing those games.

 

To be fair, there isn't any OBC with those quotes. Sometimes Carnival gives enough OBC to equal that pricing so it's pretty much a push. I'd rather have that amount taken off the top, however. When I purchase I request that that purchase be posted IMMEDIATELY  (not at the end of the day) and I always go to Carnival's site and it's already there with a xxxxdays until your cruise notation.

 

If the cruise is cancelled I'll just take the $600 OBC and rebook for 2021 some time.

 

Edited April 24, 2020 by glrounds

[JT1962]

I just don't understand peoples willingness to give an interest free loan to an entity in this climate who has really shaky credit.

 

I agree. We are taking the refund for our canceled cruise and hoping they are able to pay it. We also have a deposit on a cruise for late November and if things are not drastically different by the time the final payment is due in August, we will cancel that for a refund of our deposit as well. With the refund, we can rebook a cruise on any line and on our timeframe, take a land based vacation, use it for something else or just leave it in the bank.

 

I think there are two main reasons people are willing to take a future cruise credit and a risk:

 

1. They love cruising and think they will always be cruising so they might as well take the bonus the cruiseline is offering.

 

2. Many people seem to think that companies are loaded with money and will never fail. I have seen a few comments posted that say “Carnival has been around for years and always will be” or “Royal Caribbean is a huge company and has plenty of money”. Just because a company has been around a long time or may have what appears to be a lot of money, does not mean they can survive for months without any income coming in.

[firefly333]

Well I guess my answer is your #1, they book expecting to get canc for the bonus.

 

I do think at some point people will get stuck and not canc, but I dont know anyone not worried about the future of ccl or rcl if they will make it.

 

 

Edited April 24, 2020 by firefly333

[glrounds]

2 minutes ago, JT1962 said:

 

I agree. We are taking the refund for our canceled cruise and hoping they are able to pay it. We also have a deposit on a cruise for late November and if things are not drastically different by the time the final payment is due in August, we will cancel that for a refund of our deposit as well. With the refund, we can rebook a cruise on any line and on our timeframe, take a land based vacation, use it for something else or just leave it in the bank.

I think there are two main reasons people are willing to take a future cruise credit and a risk:

1. They love cruising and think they will always be cruising so they might as well take the bonus the cruiseline is offering.

2. Many people seem to think that companies are loaded with money and will never fail. I have seen a few comments posted that say “Carnival has been around for years and always will be” or “Royal Caribbean is a huge company and has plenty of money”. Just because a company has been around a long time or may have what appears to the average person what appears to be a lot of money, does not mean they can survive for months without any income coming in.

 

 

In my case, at these cheap prices with final payment cut down to 30 days out, it's money I can easily afford to lose. In my 80 years I've had many opportunities to "roll the dice" and most of them have been monster gambles that USUALLY paid off. The reports that I read has Carnival, above all the others, as the most likely to survive this blip in their success. I don't worry about a Bankruptcy. Death is the only thing that could put a serious damper in my plans. LOL

[TNcruising02]

I received a $600 OBC for rebooking a cancelled cruise.  That's a good deal for me. I don't think cruising will stop forever, so eventually I will be able to take that cruise even if it doesn't sail in September.  Some people prefer to get refunds and others prefer to rebook.  I'm not worried about worst case scenario.  Worst case scenario can happen in anything and I just prefer to remain positive.  If I lose in the end, oh well.

[dave_k58]

I am really tempted to go in August - but I keep taking a deep breath and say to myself " not so fast".  If carnival would get on the ball with my refund for our cancelled cruise in March, I would probably do it.  Since the prices are so good, especially for Casino - I would get get two cabins, and the difference in price I would take in OBC.  Apparently it doesn't work like that. 

[JT1962]

 
In my case, at these cheap prices with final payment cut down to 30 days out, it's money I can easily afford to lose. In my 80 years I've had many opportunities to "roll the dice" and most of them have been monster gambles that USUALLY paid off. The reports that I read has Carnival, above all the others, as the most likely to survive this blip in their success. I don't worry about a Bankruptcy. Death is the only thing that could put a serious damper in my plans. LOL

Hopefully you are correct and they will all survive. The one thing you may want to check is what current age and health restrictions might be on your favorite cruise line. Many had put in place requiring a doctors note for people over a certain age or with certain health issues just prior to the cruise shut down. Those restrictions may stay in place, at least initially, when cruising resumes. Others, such as Princess, are proposing requiring a basic health screening and possible secondary more in-depth health screening at the pier before boarding would be allowed.

[outdoors27]

4 hours ago, skridge said:

I get that.  I just don't understand peoples willingness to give an interest free loan to an entity in this climate who has really shaky credit.

Because the people who really love to cruise are taking advantage of really low rates. Who cares about a couple hundred dollar deposit. Do you play the lottery? Do you go to a professional athletic event and spend a few hundred between tickets, eating, drinking and enjoying it. I bought over $400.00 in raffle tickets and for my daughters soccer club and didn't win (oh well), it was for a good cause. So my deposit that I give carnival for my now 4 cruise between 2021 and 2022 plus June 27th. Is fine with me. If it keeps carnival afloat. I'm all in. 

[glrounds]

2 hours ago, JT1962 said:

 

Hopefully you are correct and they will all survive. The one thing you may want to check is what current age and health restrictions might be on your favorite cruise line. Many had put in place requiring a doctors note for people over a certain age or with certain health issues just prior to the cruise shut down. Those restrictions may stay in place, at least initially, when cruising resumes. Others, such as Princess, are proposing requiring a basic health screening and possible secondary more in-depth health screening at the pier before boarding would be allowed.

 

 

Already have the letter from my Doctor. However, I can't see how the cruise lines can even function without us old "ready to croak" guests. Maybe Carnival with it's young naive blue-card newbies, but overall we truly are the back bone of the industry, IMHO. 🙂

 

When this issue came up a few months ago in another thread many of the posters who are over 70 made it clear that their Doctor would NEVER issue such a letter.

 

Also, with the temperature check upon boarding and all kinds of "quickie" tests that are supposed to be available, the number of infected people could be severely lessened. A lot of guests under the age of 70 could be CARRIERS and not even know it. I don't see any thing changing for the cruise lines other than with older cruisers they are probably going to have more deaths on board to deal with, but it's always been that way (see Cunard articles about their world cruise).

 

Edited April 24, 2020 by glrounds

[gtonda]

All of you who are so concerned with Carnival possibly declaring bankruptcy, you do realize that doesn't mean they shutter and your money just vanishes, right? Recall that every current major U.S. airline has declared bankruptcy in the past 15 years. And guess what, no one lost their ticket, and those airlines are still operating. 

Edited April 26, 2020 by gtonda

[ontheweb]

5 hours ago, gtonda said:

All of you who are so concerned with Carnival possibly declaring bankruptcy, you do realize that doesn't mean they shutter and your money just vanishes, right? Recall that every current major U.S. airline has declared bankruptcy in the past 15 years. And guess what, no one lost their ticket, and those airlines are still operating. 

I don't think anyone has flown recently on TWA or PAN AM. I would worry about Norwegian Airlines which was in trouble even before this.

 

[EscapeFromConnecticut]

Getting back money from failed airlines isn't always so simple:

 

https://thepointsguy.com/guide/what-to-do-airline-bankruptcy/

 

My question is why anyone would want to take the risk of tying up money with a cruise line right now. We're talking about multi-billion-dollar, foreign corporations run by richly paid executives, so it's not like buying a gift card right now in hopes of saving the neighborhood, family-owned restaurant.

[jimbo5544]

7 minutes ago, EscapeFromConnecticut said:

Getting back money from failed airlines isn't always so simple:

 

https://thepointsguy.com/guide/what-to-do-airline-bankruptcy/

 

My question is why anyone would want to take the risk of tying up money with a cruise line right now. We're talking about multi-billion-dollar, foreign corporations run by richly paid executives, so it's not like buying a gift card right now in hopes of saving the neighborhood, family-owned restaurant.

Which large corporations are not run by “richly” paid executives?  Where are these “foreign” corporations HQ located?

[Floriduh]

1 minute ago, EscapeFromConnecticut said:

My question is why anyone would want to take the risk of tying up money with a cruise line right now. We're talking about multi-billion-dollar, foreign corporations run by richly paid executives, so it's not like buying a gift card right now in hopes of saving the neighborhood, family-owned restaurant.

 

Because I like cruising. I have a pattern that I book and pay off my cruises and I am sticking to that pattern because it works for me.

 

As far as to why I am not afraid of the company going under and losing my money:

 

1) Industry leader. Smaller cruise lines might have trouble. "Carnival" is almost synonymous with cruising. 

2) Took on the funds needed to bridge the gap until cruises start again.

3) Money is still coming in daily for future cruises. The cruises have stopped but the cash flow has not.

4) People want to cruise. For each person that will not cruise again or will wait for years, there is someone willing to take that cabin and have a vacation experience that only cruising can bring. Which brings me to...

5) Cruising is a unique experience. It won't be replaced by another experience.

 

I will continue to look to a bright, fun future.

[jimbo5544]

1 minute ago, Floriduh said:

 

Because I like cruising. I have a pattern that I book and pay off my cruises and I am sticking to that pattern because it works for me.

 

As far as to why I am not afraid of the company going under and losing my money:

 

1) Industry leader. Smaller cruise lines might have trouble. "Carnival" is almost synonymous with cruising. 

2) Took on the funds needed to bridge the gap until cruises start again.

3) Money is still coming in daily for future cruises. The cruises have stopped but the cash flow has not.

4) People want to cruise. For each person that will not cruise again or will wait for years, there is someone willing to take that cabin and have a vacation experience that only cruising can bring. Which brings me to...

5) Cruising is a unique experience. It won't be replaced by another experience.

 

I will continue to look to a bright, fun future.

Well said, it is what the vast majority of us here want to do.😉

[ontheweb]

3 hours ago, Floriduh said:

 

Because I like cruising. I have a pattern that I book and pay off my cruises and I am sticking to that pattern because it works for me.

 

As far as to why I am not afraid of the company going under and losing my money:

 

1) Industry leader. Smaller cruise lines might have trouble. "Carnival" is almost synonymous with cruising. 

2) Took on the funds needed to bridge the gap until cruises start again.

3) Money is still coming in daily for future cruises. The cruises have stopped but the cash flow has not.

4) People want to cruise. For each person that will not cruise again or will wait for years, there is someone willing to take that cabin and have a vacation experience that only cruising can bring. Which brings me to...

5) Cruising is a unique experience. It won't be replaced by another experience.

 

I will continue to look to a bright, fun future.

I hope you are right, and of course especially at this time we all hope for a brighter future.

 

The one thing you said that I wonder about is #4. With all the bad publicity cruises have recently had, I wonder where the market for new cruisers will come from. You would think listening to the CDC that without cruises, the petri dish for the virus, this pandemic would never have happened. It does not matter that that is not the truth as it is still there as a perception for many people.

[Floriduh]

14 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

I hope you are right, and of course especially at this time we all hope for a brighter future.

 

The one thing you said that I wonder about is #4. With all the bad publicity cruises have recently had, I wonder where the market for new cruisers will come from. You would think listening to the CDC that without cruises, the petri dish for the virus, this pandemic would never have happened. It does not matter that that is not the truth as it is still there as a perception for many people.

 

I truly think people will keep cruising. This is just based on me and my co-workers and friends. Plus, when I say co-workers you should understand that my office books people on Disney cruises. The calls are still coming in and my co-workers are all still talking about the cruises we have coming up.

 

Unfortunately, "Floating petri dish", I am afraid that might linger for a while. Comparing it to John McCain's "Human cockfighting" reference about Mixed Martial Arts matches. It did stick even after rules were changed, government sanctioning, etc. They survived but it took a long time to distance themselves from that phrase.

 

Just my thoughts.

[EscapeFromConnecticut]

34 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

I hope you are right, and of course especially at this time we all hope for a brighter future.

 

The one thing you said that I wonder about is #4. With all the bad publicity cruises have recently had, I wonder where the market for new cruisers will come from. You would think listening to the CDC that without cruises, the petri dish for the virus, this pandemic would never have happened. It does not matter that that is not the truth as it is still there as a perception for many people.

I'll stick with the CDC and scientists on whether cruising worsened the spread.

 

And will continue looking to facts to signal if/when cruising will happen again.

The real-world outlook for would rank as "Bleak-minus" anytime in the foreseeable future. 

 

Surely not in Italy: https://nation.com.pk/26-Apr-2020/italy-to-remain-closed-for-tourism-until-end-of-year

 

 

 

Edited April 26, 2020 by EscapeFromConnecticut

[glrounds]

4 hours ago, Floriduh said:

 

Because I like cruising. I have a pattern that I book and pay off my cruises and I am sticking to that pattern because it works for me.

 

As far as to why I am not afraid of the company going under and losing my money:

 

1) Industry leader. Smaller cruise lines might have trouble. "Carnival" is almost synonymous with cruising. 

2) Took on the funds needed to bridge the gap until cruises start again.

3) Money is still coming in daily for future cruises. The cruises have stopped but the cash flow has not.

4) People want to cruise. For each person that will not cruise again or will wait for years, there is someone willing to take that cabin and have a vacation experience that only cruising can bring. Which brings me to...

5) Cruising is a unique experience. It won't be replaced by another experience.

 

I will continue to look to a bright, fun future.

 

Floriduh's thinking so closely parallels mine and expresses is so clearly. To me the financial pittance I have to put up to purchase an absolute steal of a cruise most definitely justifies the very minimal risk of losing it all. Especially on Carnival's newest ship with a no airfare problem for me. Thinking I was safe with an August sailing, if I turn out to be wrong and I think there is a very good possibility of this,  I'll take the FCC. If it turns out I was really really wrong, I'll just consider it a donation to a company that has given me  decades of pleasure and continue on "never breathing a word about my lose". 😂

 

"If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, but make allowance for their doubting, too" - - Kipling

[Joe817]

18 minutes ago, glrounds said:

 

Floriduh's thinking so closely parallels mine and expresses is so clearly. To me the financial pittance I have to put up to purchase an absolute steal of a cruise most definitely justifies the very minimal risk of losing it all. Especially on Carnival's newest ship with a no airfare problem for me. Thinking I was safe with an August sailing, if I turn out to be wrong and I think there is a very good possibility of this,  I'll take the FCC. If it turns out I was really really wrong, I'll just consider it a donation to a company that has given me  decades of pleasure and continue on "never breathing a word about my lose". 😂

 

"If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, but make allowance for their doubting, too" - - Kipling

...But make allowance for their doubting too; If you can wait and not be tired by waiting -- Kipling

[gtonda]

7 hours ago, ontheweb said:

I don't think anyone has flown recently on TWA or PAN AM. I would worry about Norwegian Airlines which was in trouble even before this.

 

Ya, except those are not quite the same scenario. The airline industry had many more options/competition then. Those bankruptcies were an effect of many poor decisions and circumstances over the course of decades. The much more recent waive of airline bankruptcies are the result of a sudden, random event (9/11), similar to this virus. And even that was mostly done to shed horrible labor contracts. At worst, they resulted in consolidation, and tickets issued under the other airline were honored no differently. This is exactly what would happen even if worst case scenario happened in the cruise world, which would be a bit of a consolidation. There's a slight chance that one of the tiny cruise companies could face this, but NCL, RCL, CCL, etc, will come out mostly business as usual. 

[ZoeyVictoria]

3 hours ago, glrounds said:

 

Floriduh's thinking so closely parallels mine and expresses is so clearly. To me the financial pittance I have to put up to purchase an absolute steal of a cruise most definitely justifies the very minimal risk of losing it all. Especially on Carnival's newest ship with a no airfare problem for me. Thinking I was safe with an August sailing, if I turn out to be wrong and I think there is a very good possibility of this,  I'll take the FCC. If it turns out I was really really wrong, I'll just consider it a donation to a company that has given me  decades of pleasure and continue on "never breathing a word about my lose". 😂

 

"If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, but make allowance for their doubting, too" - - Kipling

I feel the same way.  I have nine booked through the end of 2021.  If the first one doesn’t sail, that FCC can be applied to the one in March.  If the second one doesn’t sail, that can be applied to the one next September.  And so on.  

[firefly333]

I'm thinking those who talk about losing their deposits as if it's a big deal, arent large stock holders. Unfortunately I am, duh. Losing my deposit, pffft who cares, carnival going under, that would be a huge deal. Ill support cruiselines until they set sail.