People Still Booking Cruises

[jfaaborg]

12 minutes ago, jimbo5544 said:

Then we are fine, that is why I asked.  

Didn't think we weren't fine

[MomtherOfDragons]

We didnt originally plan a summer cruise but the price was too good, so we booked July 11 from Galveston. If it gets cancelled it’s no big deal and we aren’t worried about getting sick 🤷🏻‍♀️. 

[jfaaborg]

2 minutes ago, MomtherOfDragons said:

We didnt originally plan a summer cruise but the price was too good, so we booked July 11 from Galveston. If it gets cancelled it’s no big deal and we aren’t worried about getting sick 🤷🏻‍♀️. 

Interested to see what changes they put in place. Buffets may not be self serve, and a I'm sure there will be more hand sanitizer! 

 

[MomtherOfDragons]

39 minutes ago, jfaaborg said:

Interested to see what changes they put in place. Buffets may not be self serve, and a I'm sure there will be more hand sanitizer! 

 

 

I’m pretty happy about those things lol. Maybe people might actually wash their hands after going to the restroom now! 😏

[glrounds]

1 hour ago, jfaaborg said:

Interested to see what changes they put in place. Buffets may not be self serve, and a I'm sure there will be more hand sanitizer! 

 

 

On my last cruise on the IMAGINATION in February, buffets were ALREADY NOT SELF SERVE and there were hand sanitizers all over the place.

[rotchill]

Staff will be serving at buffet and ice cream, etc.

More screening before boarding

Sailing at less capacity

Less people in theatre(may have to have a booking system)

1/2 of the chairs removed from the deck

Total enforcement of arrival times at port

Handwashing stations at entrance to all food venues and sanitizer

Rooms will be cleaned twice a day

More cleaning around ship of railings and high touch areas

Hotter water used to wash things

Some ships are talking about disposable menus

Talking about more automatic doors or foot openers for washrooms

Hospitals on board will be higher staffed and ships need to have an isolation area

Talking about having a day between sailings so less people at terminal and to clean ship better and more time to get off

May have to have two muster drills?

Some of the changes I have been hearing of.

[glrounds]

3 hours ago, rotchill said:

Staff will be serving at buffet and ice cream, etc.

More screening before boarding

Sailing at less capacity

Less people in theatre(may have to have a booking system)

1/2 of the chairs removed from the deck

Total enforcement of arrival times at port

Handwashing stations at entrance to all food venues and sanitizer

Rooms will be cleaned twice a day

More cleaning around ship of railings and high touch areas

Hotter water used to wash things

Some ships are talking about disposable menus

Talking about more automatic doors or foot openers for washrooms

Hospitals on board will be higher staffed and ships need to have an isolation area

Talking about having a day between sailings so less people at terminal and to clean ship better and more time to get off

May have to have two muster drills?

Some of the changes I have been hearing of.

 

Six foot social distancing in the buffet lines and debarkation and embarkation lines in all the ports would be interesting (talk about a congo line that snakes through the ship). Fighting over who gets the tickets to the shows that only seat half as many guests will be interesting. Bribery and extortion will reach new levels. Main dining room will become a nightmare.

 

Maybe they should have a separate part of the ship for us old farts. Keep us separated from the rest of the guests. Like NCL's solo cabins area complete with keycard entry. Except with the locks arranged so we can't "wander" around the ship. We could take our meals there and sign up for daily trips to an exterior deck to see the sea and get some sunshine and fresh air.

 

GAWD ! I'm beginning to hope my August cruise is cancelled, so I can get my refund and take another trip to Europe. If that's the new look of cruising, I'll wait for the vaccine.

Edited April 29, 2020 by glrounds

[mredandchis]

I have a back to back scheduled on the Breeze in late november that was done before Covid.  Right now I am letting it ride.  

I have been reading up on some of the Caribbean ports and they too are fighting the silent enemy.  Some believe they will remain closed thru the end of the year.  Others said they would open sooner to fly in tourist before opening to cruise ships.  It appears logical that someone staying on the island for days will spend more cash than a cruise ship passenger.  They could even screen at the airport but the crowd from a ship would be too large.  They have to worry about the islands safety also.  

 

I do think if some of the port-of-calls had to be skipped, I would still climb onboard as we have been to most of them and some a lot. 

 

My only real concern is feeling safe on board.    I dont feel like cleaning the boat is THE answer but it is part of it.  This thing is spread by even speaking to someone else in close quarters. If I was chief honcho of a cruise line I would be passing out face masks that are of a excellent quality.  And adding more sterilization stations at every bar.   Wash your hands and have a drink sort of thing.  Only real issue is wearing a mask isnt possible when drinking and eating.  Distancing onboard would be an issue.

 

Last night the medicos were talking about trials for vaccines going on that will wrap up next April.  If one works well then we will have a vaccine to end all of this.  I wish them all the luck in the world. I want to go back to normal.

 

 

[EscapeFromConnecticut]

2 hours ago, mredandchis said:

I have a back to back scheduled on the Breeze in late november that was done before Covid.  Right now I am letting it ride.  

I have been reading up on some of the Caribbean ports and they too are fighting the silent enemy.  Some believe they will remain closed thru the end of the year.  Others said they would open sooner to fly in tourist before opening to cruise ships.  It appears logical that someone staying on the island for days will spend more cash than a cruise ship passenger.  They could even screen at the airport but the crowd from a ship would be too large.  They have to worry about the islands safety also.  

 

I do think if some of the port-of-calls had to be skipped, I would still climb onboard as we have been to most of them and some a lot. 

 

My only real concern is feeling safe on board.    I dont feel like cleaning the boat is THE answer but it is part of it.  This thing is spread by even speaking to someone else in close quarters. If I was chief honcho of a cruise line I would be passing out face masks that are of a excellent quality.  And adding more sterilization stations at every bar.   Wash your hands and have a drink sort of thing.  Only real issue is wearing a mask isnt possible when drinking and eating.  Distancing onboard would be an issue.

 

Last night the medicos were talking about trials for vaccines going on that will wrap up next April.  If one works well then we will have a vaccine to end all of this.  I wish them all the luck in the world. I want to go back to normal.

 

 

   Yes, you've identified the elephant in the cabin ... potential transmission by asymptomatic people who are simply breathing near other people. 
   This is what the masks & distancing rules are all about, and unfortunately what a lot of CC members seem to overlook. The Purell and handwashing and ship washdowns are all good, but they don't address this new threat.  Cruisers automatically think of them as solutions because they're so well-suited to fighting cruising's old enemy, noro.  
    But the coronavirus is very different than noro. 
 
    You make a good point about developing excellent quality face masks. If cruising is going to happen while the general population is still advised to wear masks, then the cruise lines would do well to distribute masks that are effective but less uncomfortable/awkward than what's available now.

[hayesktrm]

Shoot, I'm only Gold so if a face mask is going to be the gift, I won't get one :-(.  LOL.

[Joe817]

6 hours ago, hayesktrm said:

Shoot, I'm only Gold so if a face mask is going to be the gift, I won't get one :-(.  LOL.

Not to worry. They will selling them in the Fun Shops. 3 for $20.00.  (said in jest)

[glrounds]

1 hour ago, Joe817 said:

Not to worry. They will selling them in the Fun Shops. 3 for $20.00.  (said in jest)

 

And it'll even have Carnival's Fun Ship logo on it . . . felt my pulse quicken. 🙄

[Joe817]

3 minutes ago, glrounds said:

 

And it'll even have Carnival's Fun Ship logo on it . . . felt my pulse quicken. 🙄

Sayyyyyyy, that's a good idea! 🤣

[TNcruising02]

They could have red, blue, gold, platinum, and diamond.  People can wear them to show their status. 😅

[Tjcalley]

I saw the Carnival masks for sale already! Not from Carnival but from others making them. 

[sfaaa]

3 hours ago, Joe817 said:

Not to worry. They will selling them in the Fun Shops. 3 for $20.00.  (said in jest)

Sounds like a deal but how much are the fun shop logo toilet papers?

[Illbcruzn4life]

On 4/28/2020 at 11:56 PM, rotchill said:

Staff will be serving at buffet and ice cream, etc.

More screening before boarding

Sailing at less capacity

Less people in theatre(may have to have a booking system)

1/2 of the chairs removed from the deck

Total enforcement of arrival times at port

Handwashing stations at entrance to all food venues and sanitizer

Rooms will be cleaned twice a day

More cleaning around ship of railings and high touch areas

Hotter water used to wash things

Some ships are talking about disposable menus

Talking about more automatic doors or foot openers for washrooms

Hospitals on board will be higher staffed and ships need to have an isolation area

Talking about having a day between sailings so less people at terminal and to clean ship better and more time to get off

May have to have two muster drills?

Some of the changes I have been hearing of.

 

Hope that one doesn't come to fruition. Based on the replies on another about prebooking shows on Horizon quite a few CCL fans are dead set against that.

[skridge]

On 4/29/2020 at 3:39 AM, glrounds said:

 

Six foot social distancing in the buffet lines and debarkation and embarkation lines in all the ports would be interesting (talk about a congo line that snakes through the ship). Fighting over who gets the tickets to the shows that only seat half as many guests will be interesting. Bribery and extortion will reach new levels. Main dining room will become a nightmare.

 

Maybe they should have a separate part of the ship for us old farts. Keep us separated from the rest of the guests. Like NCL's solo cabins area complete with keycard entry. Except with the locks arranged so we can't "wander" around the ship. We could take our meals there and sign up for daily trips to an exterior deck to see the sea and get some sunshine and fresh air.

 

GAWD ! I'm beginning to hope my August cruise is cancelled, so I can get my refund and take another trip to Europe. If that's the new look of cruising, I'll wait for the vaccine.

I don't think cruising can happen in the way you describe in your post.  I also think your post is spot on with all the things that would have to happen for cruising to continue in the near future.  What you describe sounds more like torture than a vacation.  The other thing that has to be looked at is the cost to the cruise lines to get back up and running.  Getting ships in position, reopening ports, provisioning food with so many  meat processors are shut down., and the huge expense of flying all the workers back to  get on the ships.....     If they do that and there is another outbreak on a ship that could be the nail in the coffin of the industry.  As happy a face the industry is trying to put on this situation I am pretty sure the "beards" in all the major cruise lines are probably taking a much more conservative approach to the reopening.  

[bunnyette]

On 4/28/2020 at 5:49 PM, jfaaborg said:

Interested to see what changes they put in place. Buffets may not be self serve, and a I'm sure there will be more hand sanitizer! 

 

Personally I’m happy if buffets are no longer self serve.  I’ve seen too many people, kids doing nasty things at them.    I once went to a buffet in Istanbul (on a Carnival cruise), and you were served from the buffet.   Nobody complained 

[mouche]

I can't book anything out of Miami through Carnival's site until August, this says a lot, no way in this current environment is every ship booked or even scaled back for social distancing. I'm not buying it. Time will tell though.  

[EscapeFromConnecticut]

 Interesting that some tourism bureaus report convention business is dead for 2020. That's a different market than cruise enthusiasts, but may still provide some useful insight.

   https://www.freep.com/story/money/business/columnists/carol-cain/2020/05/02/those-who-market-michigan-its-dream-now-and-visit-later/3057764001/

[lmb84]

On 4/18/2020 at 10:47 PM, Joe817 said:

I agree. All that's coming down is happening so fast, I can't wrap my head around all the possibilities. When I'm about ready to trip the trigger, somethinghing deep down inside of me says...' hold on, don't act in haste.'  Now is the time to double think your desires. This stuff is happening way to fast for me. So I'm going to step back, and observe and absorb the news for a while before I act to hastily. Just IMO. 

I have to agree with you.  My Alaskan cruise in May was cancelled of course....I just can't bring myself to book anything in the near future....too risky!

 

[firefly333]

21 hours ago, mouche said:

I can't book anything out of Miami through Carnival's site until August, this says a lot, no way in this current environment is every ship booked or even scaled back for social distancing. I'm not buying it. Time will tell though.  

From another post here on cc

 

Of all of the cities that are available to select when searching for August 2020, all cruises are gone from Baltimore, Barbados, Barcelona, Charleston, Jacksonville, Long Beach, Mobile, New Orleans, New York, San Francisco, San Juan, Sydney, Tampa, and Venice.  Only Galveston, Miami, Port Canaveral, and Seattle show availability.

 

[tonit964]

No cruises showing to book for the Panorama to Mexico from Long Beach until September 5th. This is new from the last time I checked a week or so ago.

[jfaaborg]

wonder how long before I get a cancellation letter for my Jun 29 cruise? I was looking forward to that one...