Ships to sail at reduced capacity until AT LEAST 2022

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

22 minutes ago, S and D cruisers said:

I have NEVER gotten off a ship with less money than I got on with (that includes souvenirs on the ship and at ports. I do not drink alcohol, I drink their tea/lemonade and bring my Coke Zeros. (I have been cruising now for 16 years)

 

Yep - those ATM's usually payout well!  jk

 

You're an outlier to be sure. Best of luck 🙂

 

Tom

[USAWanderer]

Hello All. Haven't posted since my 1st cruise in 2017 but wanted to chime in. I read all 9 pages of comments and there are some good topics and points of view discussed. Personally, I enjoy cruising (and camping). I was on the Sun Princess (February 2020 - March 2020) when I first heard about Covid-19. Although the ship and its occupants were not welcomed at 2 ports, the 46-day cruise turned out to be pretty good in my opinion and no one on board had/got Covid. Now, given all the deaths caused by Covid, the people who found themselves stuck in limbo on cruise ships (some staff still are), and all the cruise cancellations currently going on, I decided not to cruise before 2022. I am hoping the cruise lines will have their safety protocols ironed out and will have had several cruises by then to test those protocols.  I recently found 4 cruises ranging from 10 to 50 days that I want to take between January 2022 and April 2022 on Princess, Carnival, RCI and NCL and I am praying they don't get cancelled. As a solo traveler the balcony prices were pretty good, even with the single supplement and I got freebies with some of the bookings.  You have to beat the cruise lines at their own game when you can and booking early has its perks. I don't gamble so I have to get my perks somehow. I don't think I would like walking around with a mask on all day or shouting across the table to talk on the pool deck. But, if it keeps everyone safe and well, I'll make the sacrifice. I only do balconies, so not worried about air re-circulation or being confined to the cabin. I often go back to the cabin mid afternoon and sit on the balcony and watch the flying fish, occasional ship{s} that might pass by in the distance (binoculars are a must for this) and to just listen to the waves and maybe doze off. I have been told on a past cruise that having the balcony door open screws with the ship's a/c but between you, me and the rest of the world, I sometimes open the balcony door about 9" or so, especially at night. The sound of the waves lullabies me to sleep. As for Carnival (and NCL for that matter) being the "fun/party/family" cruise line, I have been told by their booking reps that most of their ships are designed for such. I am more of a low key person so I tend to book my cruises when US children are in school (NO OFFENSE ANYONE) when there are less young people on the ship. I agree with you FYREE re: Lower Capacity. Less isn't always a bad thing. I am surprised the cruise lines are still taking bookings for 2020 cruises. I agree, a lot, if not all, of these cruises will probably be cancelled. Maybe the cruise lines are actually doing this to get the cash under their belts (like mentioned earlier) knowing a lot of people will accept some kind of cruise credit deal instead of wanting their money back. I made sure my 2022 reservations are refundable. I prefer money to credit because there is a time frame to use the credit and if the cruise line doesn't sail where I want to go within that time frame, I am left with nothing. Well, happy cruising everybody (when cruising starts) and please stay safe and well.

[S and D cruisers]

11 minutes ago, Tom-n-Cheryl said:

 

Yep - those ATM's usually payout well!  jk

 

You're an outlier to be sure. Best of luck 🙂

 

Tom

Funny you say that, my husband and I gamble often, and when i say often, i mean A LOT. so when we go on cruises (usually it is Royal Caribbean because my husband is a cruise snob, i finally got him to go on Carnival and now we get free cruises go figure.) I "do not let" my husband take his Debit Card, because I know how he is. we take "what we are comfortable losing" and that's all we use any time we gamble (we allot so much a day). If he runs out of gambling money then we will both go find something else to do. He has tried to come to me and asks me to be his ATM but he knows better LOL we keep our finances separate for a reason. 😉 

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

5 minutes ago, S and D cruisers said:

Funny you say that, my husband and I gamble often, and when i say often, i mean A LOT. so when we go on cruises (usually it is Royal Caribbean because my husband is a cruise snob, i finally got him to go on Carnival and now we get free cruises go figure.) I "do not let" my husband take his Debit Card, because I know how he is. we take "what we are comfortable losing" and that's all we use any time we gamble (we allot so much a day). If he runs out of gambling money then we will both go find something else to do. He has tried to come to me and asks me to be his ATM but he knows better LOL we keep our finances separate for a reason. 😉 

 

Sounds like you have worked out a good "system" between the two of you !

[S and D cruisers]

6 minutes ago, Tom-n-Cheryl said:

 

Sounds like you have worked out a good "system" between the two of you !

It's working, but if you ask him, its not a GOOD SYSTEM lol (he tends to drink too much and thinks NEXT SPIN i will be rich!! and i do not drink alcohol at all, so he knows deep down its for the best)

[drsel]

So how much do you gamble everyday and on every Cruise

[S and D cruisers]

Just now, drsel said:

So how much do you gamble everyday and on every Cruise

I allot $125 a day on each cruise usually, and i gamble maybe 5 days out of the 7 we are on there (coming up cruise is 9 and usually maybe gamble another day) anything over $125 left one night, rolls to the next night, and so on and so on. last time we cruised, on the last gambling night my $125 was $825. I ended up getting off the ship with a little over $500 in winnings, after souvenirs were purchased. (husband is a different story) he takes $125 per night and didn't have any gambling money left at the end of the cruise LOL  he said, but I had well over $625 worth of fun!! and that's why we gamble/cruise, for fun. For our up-coming cruise since it is 9 nights, he wants to take $1,000. the cruise was free, and It's his money, (we keep finances separate), so I told him go for it.. I will be taking $750 just in case 😉 

[StCroixCruiser]

55 minutes ago, USAWanderer said:

 I am more of a low key person so I tend to book my cruises when US children are in school (NO OFFENSE ANYONE) when there are less young people on the ship.

I found years ago that the best way to have a lower number of kids running around the ship is to book longer cruises.  I try to go 10 nights or more.  Most parents don't seem inclined to take the kids out of school for more than a week or pay for the kids to accompany them on longer cruises.  The occasions where my only option when I have time off work is to book back to back 7 night cruises leads to some level of regret, due to the higher kid count and how that affects life onboard.  I avoid cruises of less than a week like the plague.  Which we all have some experience with lately!

[Bgcruising]

34 minutes ago, StCroixCruiser said:

I found years ago that the best way to have a lower number of kids running around the ship is to book longer cruises.  I try to go 10 nights or more.  Most parents don't seem inclined to take the kids out of school for more than a week or pay for the kids to accompany them on longer cruises.  The occasions where my only option when I have time off work is to book back to back 7 night cruises leads to some level of regret, due to the higher kid count and how that affects life onboard.  I avoid cruises of less than a week like the plague.  Which we all have some experience with lately!

 

The longer the better.

[CruizinKittie40]

On 7/10/2020 at 5:01 PM, Saint Greg said:

 

Forget that. Let them do that to the people who cram 5 people in a room. I pay double as it is. Just put a max of 2 people per room which will eliminate all of the 3rd, 4th, 5th person discounts and reduce the total number of guests while maximizing profits. These kids have been freeloading long enough!

 

 

Or just nix kids cruising all together

Edited July 20, 2020 by CruizinKittie40

[Semi Retired]

Some cruiselines do care and want to sail with happy cruisers and crew....RC and NCL formed a Safe Sail committee to spearhead the start up, with 4 members that are or were with CDC, 2 members that were with WHO, and 1 that was in office with Bill Gates. It doesn't matter if cruisers are in cabins next to each other...there is a wall. It does matter for crew to not share a cabin, which is why there is consideration of having them in lower deck cruiser cabins. Fun Fact: ships can sail with 2/3 capacity and still make money.

[xDisconnections]

3 hours ago, Bgcruising said:

 

The longer the better.

Not always. I was so glad when my Antarctica cruise was finished. It was 16 nights with 4 ports on a very boring ship. Thankfully the Internet was unlimited and reached that far south.

Edited July 21, 2020 by xDisconnections

[newcruiser1956]

On 7/10/2020 at 6:01 PM, Saint Greg said:

 

I agree,  I also travel single and pay double ...  less drunks would be nice :)

 

 

 

[xDisconnections]

On 7/20/2020 at 3:46 PM, drsel said:

On 7/20/2020 at 3:42 PM, S and D cruisers said:

I have NEVER gotten off a ship with less money than I got on with (that includes souvenirs on the ship and at ports. I do not drink alcohol, I drink their tea/lemonade and bring my Coke Zeros. (I have been cruising now for 16 years)

To which players do they provide free alcohol and on which Cruise lines?

Princess gives you a free mini bar if you're an Elite Member or sailing in a suite.

[SNJCruisers]

On 7/20/2020 at 2:46 PM, drsel said:

On 7/20/2020 at 2:42 PM, S and D cruisers said:

 

To which players do they provide free alcohol and on which Cruise lines?

Carnival provides it sometimes only in the casino and at other times all over the ship.  Either way they have a 15 alcoholic drink limit per day, whether it be through the "drinks on us" program or through Cheers.  I don't know the exact rules as to how much and how often you need to gamble to be offered either of the versions.  I would assume if you're a heavier gambler, you would receive the Cheers program which is good all over the ship.

[EscapeFromConnecticut]

On 7/20/2020 at 5:53 PM, Bgcruising said:

 

The longer the better.

Repositioners have proven mighty good bets when you want to avoid kids & hordes of partying teens/20-somethings.

[drsel]

Carnival provides it sometimes only in the casino and at other times all over the ship.  Either way they have a 15 alcoholic drink limit per day, whether it be through the "drinks on us" program or through Cheers.  I don't know the exact rules as to how much and how often you need to gamble to be offered either of the versions.  I would assume if you're a heavier gambler, you would receive the Cheers program which is good all over the ship.

You need to play $2500 to collect 1000 points to get the "drinks on us" deal, which is valid only in the casino.

Cheers package is not is not given free to casino place

 

[S and D cruisers]

11 minutes ago, drsel said:

You need to play $2500 to collect 1000 points to get the "drinks on us" deal, which is valid only in the casino.

Cheers package is not is not given free to casino place

 

I never take more than 750 on a cruise (i have cruised 1 time on Carnival in the last 10 years) for gambling. and I get drinks on us, so what now? (and the free drinks is already there when i booked. not like i got it while on ship)

 

Edited July 27, 2020 by S and D cruisers

[fireofficer5]

On 7/20/2020 at 8:52 PM, Semi Retired said:

a

 

[S and D cruisers]

2 minutes ago, fireofficer5 said:

 

REALLY? you are kidding right?

[xDisconnections]

8 hours ago, drsel said:

You need to play $2500 to collect 1000 points to get the "drinks on us" deal, which is valid only in the casino.

Cheers package is not is not given free to casino place

 

Generally speaking, the casino does not comp a Cheers package and instead opts to provide the Drinks on Us promotion for use in the casino. With that said, we have recently been seeing elevated targeted offers show up during this strange time that provide the full Cheers package and specifically advertise it as being available anywhere on the ship. No doubt, it’s an attempt to attract more bookings and alcohol essentially costs pennies on the dollar.

 

Will we see more of these if operations ever resume or get back to normal? Who knows?

[drsel]

I didn't get any Cheers package when I recently booked carnival Cruises

[d12j28]

On 7/27/2020 at 3:38 PM, drsel said:

You need to play $2500 to collect 1000 points to get the "drinks on us" deal, which is valid only in the casino.

Cheers package is not is not given free to casino place

 

1000 points is for less than 5 day sailings. 5 days an over are 1500 points. 

[drsel]

1000 points is for less than 5 day sailings. 5 days an over are 1500 points. 

Good point.
so you have to play $3750 to get 1500 points for free drinks on a cruise more than 5 nights.
Longer Cruises mean more alcohol consumption

[drsel]

So, on a really long Cruise like a transatlantic of 15 nights, it would make sense to play 3750 in Craps, in which the loss percentage / house advantage is the minimum (less than 4%)