AUGUST 1st target to resume operations

[TYMAN]

3 minutes ago, island lady said:

 

Just a B2B JS for us as well.  But if my previous cruises to this one keep getting canceled as much as they are...and this one still goes...going to use that "saved" money to upgrade.  😉 

I don't blame ya. If our 08/30/20 cruise cancels, we'll move that to a fall 2021 Harmony cruise. I think having the connecting cabins will work our great, with the 2 bathrooms etc. 🙂 Anyway, we'll keep our fingers crossed, and hope to share some vino's with you and Bucky soon! 

[island lady]

5 minutes ago, TYMAN said:

I don't blame ya. If our 08/30/20 cruise cancels, we'll move that to a fall 2021 Harmony cruise. I think having the connecting cabins will work our great, with the 2 bathrooms etc. 🙂 Anyway, we'll keep our fingers crossed, and hope to share some vino's with you and Bucky soon! 

 

Sounds great to me!!  Cheers!  🍷

[firefly333]

24 minutes ago, island lady said:

 

That's a nice compliment.  😉 

Yes, I cant wait to cruise and wish I had as many as you lined up.

 

I do have one booked on carnival, couldnt resist and was looking at partial panama. Carnival ship goes up close to the locks, rcl doesnt. It's not that I dont prefer rcl. Galveston doesnt have a lot to choose from and last time I drove to new orleans was hard on me, getting older. I'm just doing the easiest cruises I can to see the ocean.

 

Wish I still lived in florida but moved back to texas to help out elderly parents. We all gotta do the best we can in life. As long as i can cruise, bring it on. I lived in boca raton before this but worked and no time, now i got the time but harder to get on cruises. If i lived in boca still I'd be on every ship I could at florida prices. 

[island lady]

2 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

Yes, I cant wait to cruise and wish I had as many as you lined up.

 

I do have one booked on carnival, couldnt resist and was looking at partial panama. Carnival ship goes up close to the locks, rcl doesnt. It's not that I dont prefer rcl. Galveston doesnt have a lot to choose from and last time I drove to new orleans was hard on me, getting older. I'm just doing the easiest cruises I can to see the ocean.

 

Wish I still lived in florida but moved back to texas to help out elderly parents. We all gotta do the best we can in life. As long as i can cruise, bring it on. I lived in boca raton before this but worked and no time, now i got the time but harder to get on cruises. If i lived in boca still I'd be on every ship I could at florida prices. 

 

 

Funny thing is that only 5 of the ships we have booked are out of Florida.  The rest involve flights.  

 

Ironically, now that we are in the position in life that we CAN do these longer trips...we can't ...sigh.   😞 

[xxHadleyxx]

12 hours ago, mugtech said:

 Most all those Chinese cruises are going to Japan during the now postponed Olympics.  The prices are very  expensive for 4 and 5 day cruises.

You do realize that RCI has regular sailing from Shanghai and a strong Chinese customer base, regardless of the Olympics, correct?

We sailed from Shanghai in March 2019 and had b2b sailings from Shanghai booked for this March (a trip which was obviously cancelled).  These are sailings geared towards the Chinese market with few westerners  onboard.  

Edited May 26, 2020 by xxHadleyxx

[firefly333]

34 minutes ago, xxHadleyxx said:

You do realize that RCI has regular sailing from Shanghai and a strong Chinese customer base, regardless of the Olympics, correct?

We sailed from Shanghai in March 2019 and had b2b sailings from Shanghai booked for this March (a trip which was obviously cancelled).  These are sailings geared towards the Chinese market with few westerners  onboard.  

Lol I did one of the first oasis cruises out of miami and decided it wasnt geared toward english speaking. I dont think half of the pax were usa. Sat with some from Ireland, nice, but it was a strain to eat and figure out what they said so much accent. I gave him my logo gift, a rcl baseball hat. He was happy and really wanted one. 

 

I cant tell you how many times I got into the elevator and said a polite hello and no speak english said back almost every time until i just gave up being polite. I know how to say hi in a few languages. 

 

That's one thing I love about going out of Galveston... lots of texans and good ole boys wearing cowboy hats even in the dining room lol. Friendly. 

[mugtech]

1 hour ago, xxHadleyxx said:

You do realize that RCI has regular sailing from Shanghai and a strong Chinese customer base, regardless of the Olympics, correct?

We sailed from Shanghai in March 2019 and had b2b sailings from Shanghai booked for this March (a trip which was obviously cancelled).  These are sailings geared towards the Chinese market with few westerners  onboard.  

Yes, the prices are still way too high no matter who is paying them.

[xxHadleyxx]

17 hours ago, firefly333 said:

Lol I did one of the first oasis cruises out of miami and decided it wasnt geared toward english speaking. I dont think half of the pax were usa. Sat with some from Ireland, nice, but it was a strain to eat and figure out what they said so much accent. I gave him my logo gift, a rcl baseball hat. He was happy and really wanted one. 

 

I cant tell you how many times I got into the elevator and said a polite hello and no speak english said back almost every time until i just gave up being polite. I know how to say hi in a few languages. 

 

That's one thing I love about going out of Galveston... lots of texans and good ole boys wearing cowboy hats even in the dining room lol. Friendly. 

I guess that's one of the great things about Royal...there are ships and sailings for everyone.  Me?  I much prefer a more diverse group of cruisers.  Meeting a variety of people and getting out of my own little bubble is one of the things I most enjoy about cruising

[LXA350]

On 5/25/2020 at 3:24 PM, ECCruise said:

Here is my fear.

We are doing some really stupid things here in the US.  Don't need to post the pictures of the idiots in Lake of the Ozarks, or nose to tail lines to get into retail stores, bars wall to wall with patrons, all without masks.

But if cruising does start first week of August (and I honestly think we may be stupid enough to do it) and there are a couple of outbreaks, even if minor, cruising as a vacation choice will largely be done forever.
And I really like to cruise.  Over 1200 days on ships and 300 booked and deposited.

But not a minute before it is prudently the right thing to do.  And August ain't it. 

 

Thank you, I am really happy to read such a response here.

 

Don't worry, RCL will not start cruising out of the US in August, they know what they have to loose and the management is probably a bit smarter than many others in the country. The reputational risk to start crusing and have a case of COIVD-19 onboard would be fatal, for them and also for the industry. Also, they would be the only ones doing so and I doubt they ant to be the first ones to put their toes into the water.

 

I still have hopes for Europe, but now that Costa and AIDA (Carnival) have postponed to start sailing as of August, chances seem to go down for this as well. Let's say it this way, if those two cruiselines and MSC will sail in August in Europe it's quite realistic that RCL will start as well, but if the other lines will also furthr postpone then there will be no Europe season this year.

[Sunshine3601]

Here is an article about caribbean reopening.  Although no mention of cruise travel allowed there Yet!

https://www.cntraveler.com/story/caribbean-islands-will-begin-reopening-to-americans-in-june?utm_source=nl&utm_brand=cnt&utm_mailing=CNT_Daily_PM_053020&utm_campaign=aud-dev&utm_medium=email&bxid=5cc87c0ccff06b7e08539930&cndid=57158723&hasha=766b02f6057dbbe891155136cb17ffca&hashb=94207a1d47f22dd185543cacd8e143b043eb2233&hashc=d882f66a1aa7acc66c83f28c865d52fed650d99e45beb922ff16c53e0fec3907&esrc=survey_rca_2017&utm_content=B&utm_term=CNT_Daily

[firefly333]

1 hour ago, LXA350 said:

 

 

Don't worry, RCL will not start cruising out of the US in August

How do you know this when seems like no one else knows for sure ?

 

The article after your post says the caribbean airlines will allow flights in as of June 1st. If it's ok to fly in i dont see the difference with cruising in.

 

Lol if I was as sure as you I'd book one of those carnival august cruises just to get the $600 obc bonus when its cancelled. Carnival is only doing the 3 ports in august, Galveston is one where I'm out of. I wish I knew as you seem to know. 

[wolfie11]

19 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

How do you know this when seems like no one else knows for sure ?

 

The article after your post says the caribbean airlines will allow flights in as of June 1st. If it's ok to fly in i dont see the difference with cruising in.

 

Lol if I was as sure as you I'd book one of those carnival august cruises just to get the $600 obc bonus when its cancelled. Carnival is only doing the 3 ports in august, Galveston is one where I'm out of. I wish I knew as you seem to know. 

There is a huge difference between flying in and cruising.  People get off the plane and go stay in hotels and eat in restaurants, most of which are still at 50% capacity.  They stay for a week and spend money for lodging, food, car rental/taxis, local shops, etc.  The resorts are scattered around the island instead of concentrated in a port.  Cruise ships dump a large amount of people into a concentrated area, who spend some money on souvenirs, maybe buy lunch, and generally mill around the port area.  
 

According to the article I read, some places still have "safer at home" restrictions in place with no gatherings of more than 10 people.  

[firefly333]

2 minutes ago, wolfie11 said:

There is a huge difference between flying in and cruising.  People get off the plane and go stay in hotels and eat in restaurants, most of which are still at 50% capacity.  They stay for a week and spend money for lodging, food, car rental/taxis, local shops, etc.  The resorts are scattered around the island instead of concentrated in a port.  Cruise ships dump a large amount of people into a concentrated area, who spend some money on souvenirs, maybe buy lunch, and generally mill around the port area.  
 

According to the article I read, some places still have "safer at home" restrictions in place with no gatherings of more than 10 people.  

All the early cases here in dallas flew in. Hard to convince me it's better to have people fly in because they stay for a week and spend more. 

 

I've heard the more exposure the better chance to get it. So a few hours is less risky than flying in and staying for a week. Too many cases I know of flew in to visit to convince me. I think cruises get a bad rap.

[cruiselvr04]

I work for a large hospital in Dallas.  We have a mandatory 14 day quarantine if we travel to Miami and certain other cities and states.  Miami area has had 52k covid cases.  DFW 54k.  Tell me how that makes sense.  

 

I’m ready for cruising to resume this fall.  Otherwise we might as well keep it locked down until a vaccine comes around.  It’s not going to get “safer” this fall. It’s just going to be more of an acceptable risk to resume like everything else.  We haven’t opened our bars and restaurants because it’s safer as we have just as many cases as before, even have had an increase in the last couple of weeks. We flattened the curve so to speak but people are still getting sick and more will get sick.

 

i agree that cruise lines need to do everything they can to help us from getting covid.  Past that it’s personal risk and responsibility. They need to open soon to survive just like every other business.

 

[rtazz17]

2 hours ago, cruiselvr04 said:

I work for a large hospital in Dallas.  We have a mandatory 14 day quarantine if we travel to Miami and certain other cities and states.  Miami area has had 52k covid cases.  DFW 54k.  Tell me how that makes sense.  

 

I’m ready for cruising to resume this fall.  Otherwise we might as well keep it locked down until a vaccine comes around.  It’s not going to get “safer” this fall. It’s just going to be more of an acceptable risk to resume like everything else.  We haven’t opened our bars and restaurants because it’s safer as we have just as many cases as before, even have had an increase in the last couple of weeks. We flattened the curve so to speak but people are still getting sick and more will get sick.

 

i agree that cruise lines need to do everything they can to help us from getting covid.  Past that it’s personal risk and responsibility. They need to open soon to survive just like every other business.

 

To your point a vaccine may never come out. Many vaccines show early promise only to fail in later trials. Gotta live with the virus. Cant stop living.

[mek]

On 5/26/2020 at 1:48 PM, island lady said:

 

 

Funny thing is that only 5 of the ships we have booked are out of Florida.  The rest involve flights.  

 

Ironically, now that we are in the position in life that we CAN do these longer trips...we can't ...sigh.   😞 

Tell me about it.  I retired on 3/13 -  Friday the 13th!  This is nothing like I ever expected retirement to begin.  All the time in the world and nowhere to go.

[Diver2014]

2 hours ago, rtazz17 said:

To your point a vaccine may never come out. Many vaccines show early promise only to fail in later trials. Gotta live with the virus. Cant stop living.

 

Quite agree.  So many people think a vaccine will be the ultimate cure all for the cruise industry.  Wrong.  A flu shot doesn't prevent you from getting the flu so I doubt a corona vaccine will be prevent anyone from getting the virus.  Maybe just not as severe as without a vaccine.  The cruise lines are not going to wait around for a vaccine that may or may not work.

[Grandma Petania]

9 hours ago, mek said:

Tell me about it.  I retired on 3/13 -  Friday the 13th!  This is nothing like I ever expected retirement to begin.  All the time in the world and nowhere to go.

I was supposed to be celebrating my 80th birthday on Symphony in March 2020.  Not a very nice birthday present.  😢

[firefly333]

1 hour ago, Grandma Petania said:

I was supposed to be celebrating my 80th birthday on Symphony in March 2020.  Not a very nice birthday present.  😢

Happy belated birthday

[island lady]

16 hours ago, mek said:

Tell me about it.  I retired on 3/13 -  Friday the 13th!  This is nothing like I ever expected retirement to begin.  All the time in the world and nowhere to go.

 

You got that.  Our bad luck on timing...sigh...  😞 

[PhillyFan33579]

22 hours ago, cruiselvr04 said:

I’m ready for cruising to resume this fall.  Otherwise we might as well keep it locked down until a vaccine comes around.

What if a vaccine never comes around? There is no guarantee an effective vaccine will be developed. If you are old enough to remember the 1980s, there was a lot of optimism about a vaccine being developed for HIV. There were a lot of similarities to today with lots of efforts focused on developing a vaccine, predictions that a vaccine would be developed within two years, etc. It is now 2020 and there is still no vaccine for HIV. 

[Milwaukee Eight]

26 minutes ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

What if a vaccine never comes around? There is no guarantee an effective vaccine will be developed. If you are old enough to remember the 1980s, there was a lot of optimism about a vaccine being developed for HIV. There were a lot of similarities to today with lots of efforts focused on developing a vaccine, predictions that a vaccine would be developed within two years, etc. It is now 2020 and there is still no vaccine for HIV. 

Comparing HIV to COVID19 is Apples to Oranges 

[John&LaLa]

On 5/24/2020 at 2:13 PM, karena1 said:

you don't know that.  Until it is a FACT, I will continue to have HOPE and be Positive.  There is nothing wrong with that

 

Are you conveying this false hope to your clients?  Don't you feel you have an obligation to be realistic with them. They depend on you. 

 

I for one would be miffed if my TA kept preaching unrealistic hope for an August 1 voyage. I depend on him to be honest in his assessment of the situation.

 

That is all.

Edited May 31, 2020 by John&LaLa

[island lady]

1 minute ago, John&LaLa said:

 

Are you conveying this false hope to your clients?  Don't you feel you have an obligstion to be realistic with them. They depend on you. 

 

I for obe would be miffed if my TA kept preacjing unrealistic hope for an August 1 voyage. I depend on him to be honest in his assessment of the situation.

 

That is all.

 

John, are you on your balcony with a Cape Codder?  😉 

[PhillyFan33579]

5 minutes ago, Milwaukee Eight said:

Comparing HIV to COVID19 is Apples to Oranges 

The point I was conveying is there is no guarantee an effective vaccine will be developed for the current coronavirus. A lot of posters on this forum appear to believe it is a foregone conclusion that a vaccine will be developed for this virus.
 

While all viruses are different to some degree, I used HIV as a comparison because a lot of money, time and very smart people worked on developing a vacccine for HIV in the 1980s without success, although there were a lot of promising early results. Just my personal observation, but the current talk about developing a vaccine reminds me a lot of the talk you heard back in the mid 1980s concerning an HIV vaccine.