1st cruise - which one suits my needs?

[Chiliburn]

9 hours ago, tomtankman said:

Im thinking Serenade of the Seas to QLD in October. My wife really wants to a do a Magestic Princess TO QLD in November. Reviews are slightly better for Serenade. Does anyone have experience on the two? Cheers

Don’t bother about this season 20-21 I don’t think it will happen and if it does I doubt serenade will be coming.It’s still in the Caribbean at anchor.

If this season happens it will be will with  the newer ships .Wait a few months at least before you book anything.

[tomtankman]

Thanks again everyone. We were thinking this season actually but I didn't realise the ships are not in Australia. I naively thought that as they are selling rooms the ships would be here

[MicCanberra]

1 hour ago, tomtankman said:

Thanks again everyone. We were thinking this season actually but I didn't realise the ships are not in Australia. I naively thought that as they are selling rooms the ships would be here

They want/need new bookings on these cruises even if they may be cancelled in the near future so as to have a cash flow and pay the passengers refunds on the already cancelled cruises

[drsel]

They want/need new bookings on these cruises even if they may be cancelled in the near future so as to have a cash flow and pay the passengers refunds on the already cancelled cruises

I wonder what they did with the huge amounts paid for booking the cancelled Cruises

[MicCanberra]

1 hour ago, drsel said:

I wonder what they did with the huge amounts paid for booking the cancelled Cruises

they would be servicing their loans and providing refunds.

[Chiliburn]

7 hours ago, tomtankman said:

Thanks again everyone. We were thinking this season actually but I didn't realise the ships are not in Australia. I naively thought that as they are selling rooms the ships would be here

Yes don’t book a cruise.

As mick said,it seems they are using the bookings to keep the ball rolling and if the ball leaves the court you may not get your money back.

So just leave it and see what happens .

Cruise companies are losing $Bs .

[drsel]

Repeated

[drsel]

Yes don’t book a cruise.
if the ball leaves the court you may not get your money back.Cruise companies are losing $Bs .

Are you referring to the Cruise lines becoming bankrupt and all the money paid as booking deposits being forfeit?

[drsel]

I was about to pull the trigger and pay Carnival and Princess deposits on Cruises for April and May 2021, but now you got me scared.

 

I was expecting that by April 2021, the virus would be under control, but I am not sure about them going bankrupt and their future Cruises been cancelled.

And the risk of them defaulting on refunds of deposits

 

 

[Chiliburn]

2 minutes ago, drsel said:

I was about to pull the trigger and pay Carnival and Princess deposits on Cruises for April and May 2021, but now you got me scared.

 

I was expecting that by April 2021, the virus would be under control, but I am not sure about them going bankrupt and their future Cruises been cancelled.

And the risk of them defaulting on refunds of deposits

 

 

Well this is how I see it.

Cruise lines need a lot of money to keep all those ships and employees going.

They are borrowing Billions to keep the doors open and the longer they can’t get revenue the more doubtful is their outlook.

Just leave it.

[Chiliburn]

14 minutes ago, drsel said:

 

Are you referring to the Cruise lines becoming bankrupt and all the money paid as booking deposits being forfeit?
 

Yes

[drsel]

Thanks now you got me convinced.

my money will remain in my pocket until the cruises actually start sailing.

 

I have to take the risk that the dirt cheap prices available right now will go up substantially, that's all.

 

On the other hand, the deposits for April and May 2021 cruises are just $69 for each Cruise upto 10 nights and $200 for each Cruise over 10 nights.

This is is at Carnival.

At Princess, the deposit is almost 50% of the total fare

 

 

[Chiliburn]

10 minutes ago, drsel said:

Thanks now you got me convinced.

my money will remain in my pocket until the cruises actually start sailing.

 

I have to take the risk that the dirt cheap prices available right now will go up substantially, that's all.

 

On the other hand, the deposits for April and May 2021 cruises are just $69 for each Cruise upto 10 nights and $200 for each Cruise over 10 nights.

This is is at Carnival.

At Princess, the deposit is almost 50% of the total fare

 

 

For me at this time with no certain plans for a cruise season, I won’t be making any plans to book a cruise.

 I have 3 for this season ,that I booked a year ago and my plans at this time is to forfeit the deposit and forget about them.

Thats my opinion,maybe others may disagree?

[drsel]

the risk of the virus not being in control by April-May 2021 appears small compared to the risk of the Carnival group shutting down permanently.

because no government will bail out any cruise line, unlike the airlines and banks (which were bailed out in the last global financial crisis)

[MicCanberra]

Personally, I am not so much worried about cruise lines going bust but more likely that they just tie up your money for so long.

I would not book any cruise this year or even 2021 until the Australian government or the government of whatever country you want to cruise from allows the cruise ships back and they are actually sailing.

If you have any already booked like me, try and get them moved to late 2021 or even 2022 if you cannot get refunds.

[OzKiwiJJ]

All the Princess cruises I currently have booked were booked with FCDs so in total we'd lose $800 if Princess went bust. And the Cunard Jan21 cruise was only 5% deposit on a very cheap (for Cunard) deal so not too bad either.

[drsel]

Since the Cruises being listed on 15 april 2020, there have been 4 price drops.

 

still not a single cabin has been booked in the last 30 days that I am checking.

all the cabins are still available.

 

 

 

 

[drsel]

All the Princess cruises I currently have booked were booked with FCDs so in total we'd lose $800 if Princess went bust. And the Cunard Jan21 cruise was only 5% deposit on a very cheap (for Cunard) deal so not too bad either.

The cheapest cunard Cruises are the trans Pacifics starting at 135 dollars per day in September and August 2021

[Chiliburn]

If this crisis is going to go on for another year I can’t see cruise lines being in business.

There talk in the airline industry that the A380 will not be in the air for 3 years because of the lack of business.Just park them in the desert for a few years .Now thats a big loss.

[OzKiwiJJ]

18 minutes ago, drsel said:

33 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

All the Princess cruises I currently have booked were booked with FCDs so in total we'd lose $800 if Princess went bust. And the Cunard Jan21 cruise was only 5% deposit on a very cheap (for Cunard) deal so not too bad either.

The cheapest cunard Cruises are the trans Pacifics starting at 135 dollars per day in September and August 2021

The one we have booked is an NZ one, an aft balcony guarantee and it was about 25% cheaper than normal when we booked it. I'm going to be seriously peeved if it's cancelled as we've always wanted to try Cunard.

[drsel]

That's interesting !
what are the salient features of Cunard that make you choose it in preference to Princess, Royal Caribbean, Holland America, Norwegian et cetera.
Also considering that it is much more expensive.

[OzKiwiJJ]

Itinerary basically. We do the NZ cruise every two years so we can catch up with friends and family in NZ, especially my brother in Dunedin. We like to do a one way cruise from Auckland to Sydney. Up until now we've done the NZ cruises with Celebrity, as Princess weren't doing many one way itineraries back then. However Celebrity cut their itineraries from 12/13 days to 10 for next year so we looked for an alternative. We were considering Norwegian but then the Cunard sale popped up. We've always wanted to cruise Cunard so it was an opportunity too good to miss.