******FINAL PAYMENT MADE!!! Ready to Sail...*****

[geonurse]

After much debate, we are forging ahead with the cruise we’ve had booked for over a year for our group  of four . I know that we will get a refund if it gets cancelled, but it’s just a matter of having that money tied up , and  then how to proceed with airline tix, etc. with the least amount of hullabaloo. 
I have seen cruises before and after this one being cancelled. But somehow this itinerary remains. My thought is that maybe because the destinations are more controllable( Amber Cove and Grand Turk) ie: a good day can be had just by staying in the port areas?) 
I know there will be many changes aboard that will require massive doses of patience and I am not a fan of mandatory masks , but I will do what I have to do in order to sail again. 

Does anyone have any thoughts about this or find yourselves in the same situation? 

[Don Kehote]

December 6 is coming quick.  We are optimistic.

[beef8066]

We are scheduled on an 8 day leaving December 5th out of Orlando. Its just cross your fingers and wait at this point.  This is our third scheduled cruise for 2020.

[MeganGC1983]

We leave a month after you out of Miami... Jan. 9 on the Horizon. Same worries. Hoping everything gets sorted out and we can enjoy our vacation. 

[Purvis1231]

Good luck, I hope you sail.

 

[SurfCat]

We have a Dec 31 booked out of Charleston and plan to pay the final payment. Even though my final payment is close to 6k for 3 suites, I don't think that its that big of a risk with interest rates so low.  Unless you're paying by a credit card with exorbitant rates, you're really not losing much. 

[hurricane0226]

Cruising Nov 21st out of Port Canaveral, on Breeze,  Carnival still has not canceled it, So good luck

[Organized Chaos]

On 9/29/2020 at 10:16 AM, geonurse said:

After much debate, we are forging ahead with the cruise we’ve had booked for over a year for our group  of four . I know that we will get a refund if it gets cancelled, but it’s just a matter of having that money tied up , and  then how to proceed with airline tix, etc. with the least amount of hullabaloo. 
I have seen cruises before and after this one being cancelled. But somehow this itinerary remains. My thought is that maybe because the destinations are more controllable( Amber Cove and Grand Turk) ie: a good day can be had just by staying in the port areas?) 
I know there will be many changes aboard that will require massive doses of patience and I am not a fan of mandatory masks , but I will do what I have to do in order to sail again. 

Does anyone have any thoughts about this or find yourselves in the same situation? 

 

Ours isn't until the first week of Jan. We've been overly optimistic most of this time, but with each extension of the shutdown, our optimism wanes. If it does get cancelled, we'll take the FCC/OBC and re-book a different one. We usually have most of the logistics lined up by now, but have been putting them off. We always rent a car and drive to our cruises, but that's refundable. We'll be sure to book a refundable hotel room.

 

One thing that gives us pause is the mask policy. Wondering if it'll still be in place by then and, if so, how strict. They don't give too many details about it, but we don't think we'll have much fun cruising with masks, so that's the one thing that could make us rethink going. Other than that, we're not worried. I'm confident they'll do everything in their power to keep things safe and we're willing to take the risk. We refuse to live in fear of it. We were on the Horizon's last cruise in March before the shutdown. I'm guessing the safety measures they had in place at that time will still exist when they start up again. Plus others, obviously.

 

We're scheduled for Grand Turk and Amber Cove as well. Amber Cove is, in my opinion, a very nice port complex. I"m not really the type of guy who enjoys sitting around a pool, but that pool area is very nice and if that's all we get to do just to get off the ship for a while, so be it. GT is a pretty small island. A lot of people just do the beach, the shops, and Margaritaville, which are all right by the pier. Jack's Shack not too far down the beach from there.

[Mud_Shark]

Also scheduled for same ports same ship in January, but we will not make final payment as Canada still has not opened the border and there is still a 14 day quarantine afterwards which neither of us can do due to work requirements.

 

So no cruise again....

 

Don

[richfret]

Well, the deed is done.  I changed my January 9, 2021 Horizon cruise to May 1, 2021.  First of all, I doubt there will be a January 9 cruise and if there is, I did not want to be on one of the first ships to return to cruising.   That gives about 7 months for the virus situation to be resolved.   I took the chance of losing the $600 future cruise credit and got an increase of about $150 in pricing but I did get to pick my cabin.  It was not easy because both my TA and Carnival have reduced their responses so it takes days to get through.  Now the question remains "Did I push it back far enough".  I would have gone into the summer but being a Floridian, I know what hurricanes are all about.  I also have a cruise already booked for January of 2022.  Oh well, can always change cruise timing again if necessary.  Then again, you begin to wonder if there will be a cruise company to deal with a year from now. 

Edited October 8, 2020 by Host Carolyn

[mouche]

We decided to go ahead and make our final payment today on our Feb 6, 2021 Mardi Gras cruise, not sure if it will sail or not but if it does we will be on it (Lord willing). If it's delayed again that's find as well as we know the money tied up in it would still go towards a cruise eventually. I'm getting excited, although I wasn't planning on being on the inaugural sailing, I wanted the potential bugs to be worked out first. So we shall see, if we will sail or not.

[phoneman69]

Making final payment on my January 16 th out of Miami. Someone please tell the CDC to leave us alone.

[Host Carolyn]

 

******Topic is "made final payment, ready to go", not the umpteenth debate re if, when, how cruising will start. Place for folks to post this, sort of like a roll call. No judgment, naysaying etc please???? ****

[Nic6318]

2 hours ago, Host Carolyn said:

 

******Topic is "made final payment, ready to go", not the umpteenth debate re if, when, how cruising will start. Place for folks to post this, sort of like a roll call. No judgment, naysaying etc please???? ****

 

Hi Carolyn

 

Hate to point this out, but if it weren't for those posts, all umpteenth of them, there wouldn't have been a lot to dwell on for the last number of months. After all, this site is called Cruise Critic, and without cruises, this site didn't shut down mainly because that was/is the main concern for most and remains the only thing that is relevant (at least in North America) for those that have cruises booked at this time. 

[Host Carolyn]

1 hour ago, Nic6318 said:

 

Hi Carolyn

 

Hate to point this out, but if it weren't for those posts, all umpteenth of them, there wouldn't have been a lot to dwell on for the last number of months. After all, this site is called Cruise Critic, and without cruises, this site didn't shut down mainly because that was/is the main concern for most and remains the only thing that is relevant (at least in North America) for those that have cruises booked at this time. 

 

There are already at least 3 current threads with ongoing discussions speculating on ne cruising guidelines, the financial situation, conditions in home port areas, masks etc. There have been several threads started to post that someone made final payment, sail date .....rather than have a ton of those, we created a topic for folks to post this information in one place. It's uncharted waters for sure these days and we just try to keep things semi corralled in the right topic so people can find information. Hope this clarifies this for you!

P

[Nic6318]

6 hours ago, Host Carolyn said:

 

There are already at least 3 current threads with ongoing discussions speculating on ne cruising guidelines, the financial situation, conditions in home port areas, masks etc. There have been several threads started to post that someone made final payment, sail date .....rather than have a ton of those, we created a topic for folks to post this information in one place. It's uncharted waters for sure these days and we just try to keep things semi corralled in the right topic so people can find information. Hope this clarifies this for you!

P

 

Hi there

I see it and I understand, but it is not much different than the multiple threads that were always happening in the past on any other given subject. I guess it's the thrill of starting a new thread, or the fear that someone's concerns might be buried on some other longer thread that make people feel that starting a new thread is the way to go. I think more often it's just a case that people can't be bothered reading what others have had to say in the past. 

I believe the moderators here have done a great job, allowing a lot of flexibility and when seen fit, combining threads that are just repeating what has already been said.

keep up the good work 😃

[FTLCruiseGal]

I love Grand Turk.  Very chill port.  Happy cruising!

[xDisconnections]

1 hour ago, FTLCruiseGal said:

I love Grand Turk.  Very chill port.  Happy cruising!

Good to know.

[PhillyFan33579]

1 hour ago, FTLCruiseGal said:

I love Grand Turk.  Very chill port.  Happy cruising!

Jack’s Shack is a must see every time we go to Grand Turk. It will be sad not seeing Topher the next time we go there.