will you be booking a new cruise yet.

[rkacruiser]

22 hours ago, Covepointcruiser said:

Hope RKA is still all right.   Virginia Beach is a current hot spot but if you get through the next 14 days you are probably okay.   If I were you I would be safe and get tested.

 

 

I appreciate your concern.  Thank you.

 

7 hours ago, SLSD said:

RKA said that his trip to Virginia Beach was not going to happen this year. 

 

 

 

Correct.  It's just foolish, in my opinion, to try to make that trip.  

 

 

[LouChamp]

dreaming


Sent from my iPad using Forums

[Fletcher]

1 hour ago, LouChamp said:

dreaming


Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

Me too . . . 

[robertmartha]

Fletcher

 

Do tell....ship and port of that BEAUTIFUL photo?!

 

Bob

[galeforce9]

3 hours ago, Fletcher said:

 

Me too . . . 

Iles des Saintes?   Beautiful spot. 

 

Mine is definitely inferior to Fletcher’s.   Here is a video I took at the same place.  

 

 

Edited July 22, 2020 by galeforce9

[NorthbyNorthwest]

Me too...

 

[Fletcher]

12 hours ago, robertmartha said:

Fletcher

 

Do tell....ship and port of that BEAUTIFUL photo?!

 

Bob

 

Galeforce is right - Iles des Saintes, Guadeloupe, and it's the Quest.  

[Fletcher]

jeg ogsa (but note the social distancing here) . . .

Edited July 23, 2020 by Fletcher

[robertmartha]

Thank you everyone for the great photo's......

 

So with the latest announcement from Princess extending their pause till mid-December.....

 

would assume Seabourn may follow suit ? (I know their extension was Oct/Nov already)

[Isklaar]

3 hours ago, robertmartha said:

Thank you everyone for the great photo's......

 

So with the latest announcement from Princess extending their pause till mid-December.....

 

would assume Seabourn may follow suit ? (I know their extension was Oct/Nov already)

 

I'm making the same assumption. 

 

Agree about the great photos. Especially Ile des Saintes, one of my favourite ports. 

 

[Flamin_June]

More dreaming... waiting to take you ashore....

[robertmartha]

Was really hoping to sail again in March '21...but I don't know.....

Thinking it may be early Summer or  Fall '21 at the rate things are going here in the US .....

 

Will need to live vicariously off photo's like these and off the postings of those early posters once and where sailings resume

[rkacruiser]

3 minutes ago, robertmartha said:

Will need to live vicariously off photo's like these and off the postings of those early posters once and where sailings resume

 

Thanks be for Cruise Critic!

[Fletcher]

Ready for another pic?

[whogo]

[Cruise Beach]

[brittany12]

I want to hear how Seabourn will relaunch as a luxury, small ship cruise line again. Luxurious accommodations and itineraries  are one thing and lets assume they can provide a relatively safe environment. Masks or no masks, social distancing. Better air supply. It takes years to gain a reputation for excellence to justify high prices. How will they re-crew? How many will be rookies? how will kitchen and food be? What will staffing be like as the cruise line climbs out of its deep financial hole. Smaller crew? Less entertainment?  Will they have the money to buy the best provisions and will Carnival allow little excesses as in past. The vast bulk of the people laid off are not on any pay from Seabourn or their countries. Each ship has kept a small skeletal crew aboard to keep the engines going and moving parts moving. There will be many who've found new jobs or just do not want to risk their own lives by going back to sea. 

For those returning from the past,  many will be rusty. From engine room to behind the walls to mid level officers, where will they find not just people but the best people? Competition for the same experienced people by all the cruise lines can cause  big pay increases that can affect pricing. They're thinking about their own safety too. It will be like launching the two new 650 passenger ships a few years back. But there there is no four other ships to draw the best people from. This is what I want to understand a lot better before I commit to go back not just to cruising but also to Seabourn luxury cruising. Too much on this site is about safe cruising and not the quality of what we have learned to expect.

[Dwtlion]

WOW! Talk about a glass half empty. Brittany12, why not wait a year and see what develops? Obviously you are not eager to get on a ship anytime soon. So, just chill and see how the cruise lines handle the restart. I see the glass half full and have booked Seabourn for  3 weeks in April next year.

[hamrag]

11 hours ago, brittany12 said:

I want to hear how Seabourn will relaunch as a luxury, small ship cruise line again. Luxurious accommodations and itineraries  are one thing and lets assume they can provide a relatively safe environment. Masks or no masks, social distancing. Better air supply. It takes years to gain a reputation for excellence to justify high prices. How will they re-crew? How many will be rookies? how will kitchen and food be? What will staffing be like as the cruise line climbs out of its deep financial hole. Smaller crew? Less entertainment?  Will they have the money to buy the best provisions and will Carnival allow little excesses as in past. The vast bulk of the people laid off are not on any pay from Seabourn or their countries. Each ship has kept a small skeletal crew aboard to keep the engines going and moving parts moving. There will be many who've found new jobs or just do not want to risk their own lives by going back to sea. 

For those returning from the past,  many will be rusty. From engine room to behind the walls to mid level officers, where will they find not just people but the best people? Competition for the same experienced people by all the cruise lines can cause  big pay increases that can affect pricing. They're thinking about their own safety too. It will be like launching the two new 650 passenger ships a few years back. But there there is no four other ships to draw the best people from. This is what I want to understand a lot better before I commit to go back not just to cruising but also to Seabourn luxury cruising. Too much on this site is about safe cruising and not the quality of what we have learned to expect.

 

9 hours ago, Dwtlion said:

WOW! Talk about a glass half empty. Brittany12, why not wait a year and see what develops? Obviously you are not eager to get on a ship anytime soon. So, just chill and see how the cruise lines handle the restart. I see the glass half full and have booked Seabourn for  3 weeks in April next year.

 

Wow....I did not read anything Brittany12 wrote as how you describe the post(s)!!

 

For me, all of it is well thought out with reasoned points in relation to the niche luxury position that Seabourn trades on. I believe it will take probably 6-12 months following relaunch for Seabourn to return fully to that level of quality and service, and the point (I think) really was will the current pricing position be justified given the highly likely deterioration in the product....in the initial relaunch period.

 

Thanks Brittany12 for your thoughts, very well put together.

[NorthbyNorthwest]

I understand why some folks require a full return to normal before they will cruise again.  Health concerns (e.g. requiring a vaccine) are highly personal, and we’ve grown accustomed to (and will be charged for) outstanding service levels.

 

Recently I’ve learned to enjoy the modified version of things… e.g. wearing a mask to my favorite restaurant, choosing from a limited menu, eating in a less lively atmosphere.  Early on I’d spend my time dwelling on how this covid version paled in comparison to meals in 2019, nit-picking every last thing.  But then I realized I was only cheating myself out of enjoying the present moment.   Comparison is the thief of joy, as they say.

 

Should Seabourn be satisfied with delivering anything less than “luxury cruising, refined to its purest form” (their words)?  Of course not.  At the same time, I’m very willing to go with the flow on my next cruise (hopefully Spring 2021!) for delight of gazing out over the bow with a glass of champagne at sunset.  
 

  

[jenidallas]

Someone mentioned in a Seabourn-related Facebook group that they should be sharing their resumption strategy today so I suspect we’ll know more sooner than later.  
 

So far what I’ve seen from other lines has been mostly around health/safety precautions and not hard/soft changes to the passenger experience so I don’t know if we’ll really learn much until passengers sail and give us first-hand accounts.  And I can’t say I’d be enthusiastic about being one of those early reporters... not at normal fare premiums anyway!

[rkacruiser]

4 hours ago, jenidallas said:

Someone mentioned in a Seabourn-related Facebook group that they should be sharing their resumption strategy today so I suspect we’ll know more sooner than later.  
 

So far what I’ve seen from other lines has been mostly around health/safety precautions and not hard/soft changes to the passenger experience so I don’t know if we’ll really learn much until passengers sail and give us first-hand accounts.  And I can’t say I’d be enthusiastic about being one of those early reporters... not at normal fare premiums anyway!

 

I think that it is likely we will learn more "later than earlier".  

 

I doubt that any of the North American based cruise lines have "settled" on what their health and safety precautions will be let alone on product alterations required because of those precautions.  I would think that there are working groups within the companies concerning that issue.  

 

Unless there is a major decrease in the number of Covid infections throughout the United States, I certainly would not consider being an "early reporter" of the "new cruising experience".

[rkacruiser]

5 hours ago, NorthbyNorthwest said:

Recently I’ve learned to enjoy the modified version of things… e.g. wearing a mask to my favorite restaurant, choosing from a limited menu, eating in a less lively atmosphere.  Early on I’d spend my time dwelling on how this covid version paled in comparison to meals in 2019, nit-picking every last thing.  But then I realized I was only cheating myself out of enjoying the present moment.   Comparison is the thief of joy, as they say.

 

 

I admire your post.  Thank you for your thoughts.  I am not yet where you are.  I must internalize your last two sentences.  

 

Slowly, I think, I am getting there.  Went to my favorite local donut shop on Monday which had closed when Ohio shut down, re-opened as my State began to re-open, but then had to close for 2 weeks because an employee tested positive for Covid.  After having to wear my "hated" mask, I survived and am enjoying my donuts.  Maybe that will help me to have a bit more courage to try another "adventure" that has been forbidden/discouraged for months.   

[rols]

6 hours ago, rkacruiser said:

 

I admire your post.  Thank you for your thoughts.  I am not yet where you are.  I must internalize your last two sentences.  

 

Slowly, I think, I am getting there.  Went to my favorite local donut shop on Monday which had closed when Ohio shut down, re-opened as my State began to re-open, but then had to close for 2 weeks because an employee tested positive for Covid.  After having to wear my "hated" mask, I survived and am enjoying my donuts.  Maybe that will help me to have a bit more courage to try another "adventure" that has been forbidden/discouraged for months.   

Perhaps I wish I were more like NorthByNorthwest but I haven't gotten there either. I also particularly hate wearing a mask and since wearing them became mandatory every time you step out of the house our routine has adjusted to avoid stepping out of the house any more than necessary .. which proves to be not very often. The fact it's 90F and 100% humidity here every day probably doesn't help there much, it's quite unpleasant. 

 

so we'll start cruising, or going to the cinema, or eating out or any other leisure thing when the adjustments made for 'safety' don't basically ruin a large part of the experience. Some of the suggestions I've seen for what the new cruising might be to me sacrifice a lot of the fun of it so we'll be taking a wait and see approach to what actually happens. 

 

Masks are a particular bug-a-boo for me, perhaps way more than other people, we all have things we're more or less concerned about; but let me ask, if the new cruising required you to don a mask as you left your suite in the morning and wear it around the ship whenever you are in a public space, sunbathing by the pool, at trivia, lectures, on any and all excursions, only removing it when you were sat down eating .. would you still cruise? I wouldn't. I feel like a lot of people wouldn't but I could be very wrong about how much other people find it annoying. This isn't a question by the way about whether people think they are effective and should be worn, only a question about whether having one on all waking hours would affect your enjoyment of the vacation.  

[robertmartha]

Rols

 

Completely agree with you. Here in the NYC area - mask wearing is mandated and strictly followed - gladly by me for both my protection AND the protection of others.

But I also agree that having to wear one on vacation - in the case of cruising - outside your suite, around the ship, off the ship, etc. is not something I would want to do. 

 

Bob