Reduced Capacity

[dlfntx]

Does anyone have any thoughts about reduced capacity sailings once cruising starts up again?  My first cruise will be May 7 in Alaska.  If it sails, most likely it will be a reduced capacity cruise.  Lets say that it will be sailing at 60% (1710 passengers) and by the time of final payment they have already booked 80% (2280 passengers).  I will be making that final payment in good faith (buying airfare, hotels, etc.) thinking that I will be going on a cruise not realizing that I might be one of the 600 passengers that will have to be cut from the sailing.  How do you think they will make those decisions?  Last in - first out, or do you think that they will say "we can only have 60% inside cabins, OV, Balconies, Suites, etc.  This seems to me like a nightmare scenario for all concerned.

[ECCruise]

No one has any idea, and frankly, don't see any reason to speculate since the cruise lines will make the decisions based on health, revenue and other factors.

We will just have to wait and see.  

[bluwes]

Have you done a price check recently. Having had 2 cruises cancelled and one moved to next August I noticed that the closer  to final payment you got, prices had shot through the roof, almost as though they are pricing people out of booking the cruise.

 

Its the same for our 7th February  sailing on the Equinox, which is the Mardi Gras sailing to New Orleans. We are going to pull that one ourselves prior to final payment. There are so many cabins available, this sailing is normally sold out as we have tried twice  before to book it, but it was full.

 

Our next cruise is to the Norwegian Fjords next summer and prices are much higher than our original booking and doing a cabin check there is lots of availability, far more than you would normally see. 

 

[davekathy]

My Magic 8 Ball says, "cannot predict now". 🎱

[bouhunter]

1 hour ago, ECCruise said:

No one has any idea, and frankly, don't see any reason to speculate

That sums it up at this point.

[dlfntx]

1 hour ago, ECCruise said:

No one has any idea, and frankly, don't see any reason to speculate since the cruise lines will make the decisions based on health, revenue and other factors.

We will just have to wait and see.  

Yes, we will have to wait and see - I only have three months before final payment before I have to make my decision and I was hoping for some word of wisdom. ☺️

[bouhunter]

13 minutes ago, dlfntx said:

Yes, we will have to wait and see - I only have three months before final payment before I have to make my decision and I was hoping for some word of wisdom. ☺️

Remember, many people aren't going to cruise for months for various reasons:

- Fear of virus

- Fear of quarantines on ships

- Masks

- Restrictions in ports

- Limited ports

- Restrictions in ships facilities and activities

- Fear of air travel

etc etc etc

 

Us for example.  We don't fear the virus or air travel, but have no interest in masking up for a restrictive cruise vacation.  We've cancelled/moved all our 2021 cruises and made other plans.

 

After filtering out all the people who won't cruise for a while for many reasons, they may not have trouble reaching their reduced capacity goals.

Edited October 14, 2020 by bouhunter

[dlfntx]

17 minutes ago, bluwes said:

Have you done a price check recently. Having had 2 cruises cancelled and one moved to next August I noticed that the closer  to final payment you got, prices had shot through the roof, almost as though they are pricing people out of booking the cruise.

 

Its the same for our 7th February  sailing on the Equinox, which is the Mardi Gras sailing to New Orleans. We are going to pull that one ourselves prior to final payment. There are so many cabins available, this sailing is normally sold out as we have tried twice  before to book it, but it was full.

 

Our next cruise is to the Norwegian Fjords next summer and prices are much higher than our original booking and doing a cabin check there is lots of availability, far more than you would normally see. 

 

No, I have not price checked, but that makes me feel better that they seem to be pricing themselves out of the market.  I think cancelling your Mardi Gras cruise is the smart way to go.  Fingers crossed for your summer sailing!

[Arizona Wildcat]

15 minutes ago, dlfntx said:

Yes, we will have to wait and see - I only have three months before final payment before I have to make my decision and I was hoping for some word of wisdom. ☺️

In the World today, 3 months is forever.  My only word of wisdom is the BC Director of Health. - Dr Bonnie Henry - is well respected and if there is no vaccine generally available has stated BC has no reason to open its borders to International Tourism.  Victoria and Vancouver Island have almost zero COVID and are almost fanatic in keeping it that way.

Thus, make sure anything you book is refundable.  Without ports opening many cruises cannot happen.

Edited October 14, 2020 by Arizona Wildcat

[ldubs]

2 hours ago, dlfntx said:

Does anyone have any thoughts about reduced capacity sailings once cruising starts up again?  My first cruise will be May 7 in Alaska.  If it sails, most likely it will be a reduced capacity cruise.  Lets say that it will be sailing at 60% (1710 passengers) and by the time of final payment they have already booked 80% (2280 passengers).  I will be making that final payment in good faith (buying airfare, hotels, etc.) thinking that I will be going on a cruise not realizing that I might be one of the 600 passengers that will have to be cut from the sailing.  How do you think they will make those decisions?  Last in - first out, or do you think that they will say "we can only have 60% inside cabins, OV, Balconies, Suites, etc.  This seems to me like a nightmare scenario for all concerned.

 

I read somewhere on these boards that a reduced sailing cruise would eliminate the inside cabins first.  I guess that makes some sense.  I sure don't know how they will ration the remaining cabins.  

[davekathy]

1 minute ago, ldubs said:

I sure don't know how they will ration the remaining cabins.  

The line starts behind us. 😉🥂

[dlfntx]

21 minutes ago, bouhunter said:

Remember, many people aren't going to cruise for months for various reasons:

- Fear of virus

- Fear of quarantines on ships

- Masks

- Restrictions in ports

- Limited ports

- Restrictions in ships facilities and activities

- Fear of air travel

etc etc etc

 

Us for example.  We don't fear the virus or air travel, but have no interest in masking up for a restrictive cruise vacation.  We've cancelled/moved all our 2021 cruises and made other plans.

 

After filtering out all the people who won't cruise for a while for many reasons, they may not have trouble reaching their reduced capacity goals.

I understand your reasoning and I agree that they probably won't have problems reaching their reduced capacity goals.  That is one less thing to worry about.  LOL

[Fouremco]

38 minutes ago, dlfntx said:

Yes, we will have to wait and see - I only have three months before final payment before I have to make my decision and I was hoping for some word of wisdom. ☺️

There are several current threads where this has been discussed, with numerous scenarios suggested on how Celebrity could reduce the numbers. As others have pointed out, however, everything is pure speculation at the point in time, so you aren't going to receive any actionable information until such time as Celebrity announces its plans.

[PTC DAWG]

After reading many threads here over the last few months, I have no doubt that many will choose to "opt out"..for various reasons...and that's a good thing for those of us ready to cruise.

 

I too wonder will they "zero out" the ships and start accepting new bookings under the new protocols....I am booked on The Edge March 21, 2020 and am hoping I will still be able to keep my SV cabin...scored a good deal with lots of OBC.  

Edited October 14, 2020 by PTC DAWG

[PTC DAWG]

3 minutes ago, Fouremco said:

There are several current threads where this has been discussed, with numerous scenarios suggested on how Celebrity could reduce the numbers. As others have pointed out, however, everything is pure speculation at the point in time, so you aren't going to receive any actionable information until such time as Celebrity announces its plans.

Sort of like the college football games and limited attendance...not everyone was/is pleased as to how they handled it, but it had to be handled in some way, no way to please everyone for sure.  

 

 

[H2OH!]

40 minutes ago, Arizona Wildcat said:

In the World today, 3 months is forever.  My only word of wisdom is the BC Director of Health. - Dr Bonnie Henry - is well respected and if there is no vaccine generally available has stated BC has no reason to open its borders to International Tourism.  Victoria and Vancouver Island have almost zero COVID and are almost fanatic in keeping it that way.

Thus, make sure anything you book is refundable.  Without ports opening many cruises cannot happen.

 

Check the numbers- while low compared to most of the US- Numbers are changing

VANCOUVER | News

 

First update in 4 days: 549 new cases of COVID-19 in B.C., 5 deaths

Published Tuesday, October 13, 2020 7:07AM PDTLast Updated Tuesday, October 13, 2020 10:22PM PDT

 

 

[Fouremco]

1 minute ago, PTC DAWG said:

Sort of like the college football games and limited attendance...not everyone was/is pleased as to how they handled it, but it had to be handled in some way, no way to please everyone for sure.  

 

 

Agreed. I think that there are some approaches that would be more palatable for the customer base than other approaches. For example, cancelling all existing booking and starting from zero might (or might not) be the easiest for Celebrity, but it probably has the highest PO factor of the options I've seen suggested to date. 

[dlfntx]

3 minutes ago, PTC DAWG said:

After reading many threads here over the last few months, I have no doubt that many will choose to "opt out"..for various reasons...and that's a good thing for those of us ready to cruise.

 

I too wonder will they "zero out" the ships and start accepting new bookings under the new protocols....I am booked on The Edge March 21, 2020 and am hoping I will still be able to keep my SV cabin...scored a good deal with lots of OBC.  

I hadn't thought about that scenario.  To "zero out" a ship might be a good way to get the right percentages of cabins across the board.  By eliminating, say all interiors you aren't necessarily keeping cabins and their occupants apart.  Financially, I don't know if it would be smart to "zero out" a ship after final payment and hope that you will get enough people to rebook.

[DaCruiseBug]

It will be interesting for sure. Last week I booked an AquaClass Apex sailing for April and I just checked the price and it's more than double what I booked for. I hope they don't do it based on how much your cruise fare is otherwise i'm screwed! LOL!

[Arizona Wildcat]

2 hours ago, H2OH! said:

 

Check the numbers- while low compared to most of the US- Numbers are changing

VANCOUVER | News

 

First update in 4 days: 549 new cases of COVID-19 in B.C., 5 deaths

Published Tuesday, October 13, 2020 7:07AM PDTLast Updated Tuesday, October 13, 2020 10:22PM PDT

 

 

Here is that last report on COVID cases on Vancouver Island.  The city of Vancouver is NOT on the island.  Victoria is the provincial capital and IS located on Vancouver Island.

Note the 15 cases are for an entire week.  The locals feel this is a big number.  Many weeks there were no new cases in Victoria or the island.  Thus a disposition toward remaining closed.

 

VICTORIA - CTV NEWS - Vancouver Island health officials identified 15 new cases of COVID-19 over the past week, marking one of the largest increases in infections in the region since the earliest weeks of the pandemic.

There are 17 active coronavirus cases in the Island Health region as of last count on Tuesday. The region has now recorded 235 cases since the pandemic began, up from 220 on Tuesday, Oct. 6

[Baron Barracuda]

There's also the issue of whether Alaska (and Canada) will be open to cruise lines.  Last I checked Alaska required tourists to test negative prior to visit and still be quarantined upon arrival..

[LGW59]

43 minutes ago, Arizona Wildcat said:

Here is that last report on COVID cases on Vancouver Island.  The city of Vancouver is NOT on the island.  Victoria is the provincial capital and IS located on Vancouver Island.

Note the 15 cases are for an entire week.  The locals feel this is a big number.  Many weeks there were no new cases in Victoria or the island.  Thus a disposition toward remaining closed.

 

VICTORIA - CTV NEWS - Vancouver Island health officials identified 15 new cases of COVID-19 over the past week, marking one of the largest increases in infections in the region since the earliest weeks of the pandemic.

There are 17 active coronavirus cases in the Island Health region as of last count on Tuesday. The region has now recorded 235 cases since the pandemic began, up from 220 on Tuesday, Oct. 6

Just the beginning, COVID, meet the FLU...hope you guys do not get along very well!

[hcat]

Travel ins covering  everything would seem to be essential!

[phoenix_dream]

57 minutes ago, Baron Barracuda said:

There's also the issue of whether Alaska (and Canada) will be open to cruise lines.  Last I checked Alaska required tourists to test negative prior to visit and still be quarantined upon arrival..

No one knows what will happen, but it has been made pretty clear that the Alaska ports are desperately in need of the income that cruising brings.  I can't imagine they will not try to find some way, somehow to allow the summer cruise season to happen.  The Canada issue is more difficult. I'm not holding my breath, but perhaps Congress will modify, at least temporarily, the laws that require stopping in a foreign port.  That's a game changer for these cruises.

[phoenix_dream]

3 hours ago, dlfntx said:

I hadn't thought about that scenario.  To "zero out" a ship might be a good way to get the right percentages of cabins across the board.  By eliminating, say all interiors you aren't necessarily keeping cabins and their occupants apart.  Financially, I don't know if it would be smart to "zero out" a ship after final payment and hope that you will get enough people to rebook.

Not to mention it would be an administrative nightmare that neither Celebrity, nor the major cruise travel agents could handle IMHO.