Will B2Bs be allowed?

[gerelmx]

6 minutes ago, njkruzer said:

Yes.  We have a TA scheduled for April.   Waiting.

 

I have for next July with Celebrity a 31 day B2B2B on the Reflection from Amsterdam (Norwegian Fjords+Scandinavia & Russia+British Isles) then a gap of 5 day to board the Summit 14 day from Southampton to Boston (Iceland & Greenland).

 

I want to L&S to 2022, but L&S expires in Nov 30 and 2022 schedules are not released yet

[BillOh]

On 10/31/2020 at 12:15 PM, ipeeinthepool said:

Has the CDC or the cruise lines specifically ruled out B2B's?  It would seem that if you get a negative Covid test getting off the ship, that should be good enough to re-board.  I think that B2B's are such a small portion of the passengers it won't specifically be addressed.

This is speculation, but reasonable speculation.   Like a lot of things we just don't know till it happens.  It would stand to reason, but that doesn't mean anything, but I'm guessing they may adopt new procedures that will allow for not getting off the ship on turnover day. 

[Biker19]

On 11/1/2020 at 4:16 PM, notmyrealnameoremail said:

If the voters in Key West pass the referendum that bans ships with capacity for over 1300 people, Royal won't even own a ship small enough to go there.

It looks like they did:

Voters in Key West, Florida, on Tuesday approved ballot initiatives to sharply limit the number of daily cruise ship visitors and the size of cruise ships.

 

The measures cap the number of persons disembarking to a total of 1,500 per day and prohibit ships with capacity for 1,300 or more persons (passengers and crew) from disembarking.

Voters also supported priority for cruise lines with the best environmental and health records.

 

According to The Miami Herald, all three measures were approved by wide margins, but a court battle looms.  

Pier B Development Corp., owner of one of Key West's three cruise docks, had sued Key West and the Committee for Safer, Cleaner Ships, which gathered enough signatures to get the initiatives on the ballot.

 

Hearing to examine legality of the changes

State Circuit Court Judge Bonnie Helms allowed the referenda to proceed but granted a post-election hearing to consider whether the proposed changes are legal. In October, Key West Citizen reported the possibility that Pier B Development Corp. could continue to take large cruise ships while the other two docks, one city-owned and the other owned by the US Navy, would have to follow the restrictions in the referenda.

 

The case hinges on who has the authority to regulate international shipping in local waters: local government or federal maritime law.

 

Busiest US cruise transit port

Key West is the busiest US cruise transit port, with 965,000 passengers on 417 calls in calendar year 2019.

The Greater Key West Chamber of Commerce calculates cruising's economic impact is worth an estimated nearly $91m a year and supports 833 jobs. 

 

According to data shared by the Chamber, restricting ships carrying more than 1,300 people would have a dramatic effect. Based on the same roster of vessels that visited last year, subtracting those with capacity above 1,300 leaves 12 ships. The total passenger count would be reduced to just under 11,000, and ship calls to 22.

 

[notmyrealnameoremail]

We enjoyed our port stops in  Key West.  I guess time will tell if we will be going back by ship.

[Sunshine3601]

Did the healthly sail report that rcl submitted to cdc mention anything about b2bs?

[Ourusualbeach]

1 minute ago, Sunshine3601 said:

Did the healthly sail report that rcl submitted to cdc mention anything about b2bs?

No

[firefly333]

The cdc also didnt address port excursions. Someone said duh, the ports are outside the US, they can't on another board.

 

I'm thinking ships want the extra money and protection of only their excursions but it's not addressed.

 

 

[HaveWeMetYet]

8 hours ago, notmyrealnameoremail said:

We enjoyed our port stops in  Key West.  I guess time will tell if we will be going back by ship.

Sounds like they (Key West citizens) don't want you back. I will be more than happy to stay away.

[cruisegirl1]

RCCL is still booking B2B.  Booked a set YESTERDAY for September 2021.   The agent did not advise against the booking  Since we have to fly or have a long drive to port we  prefer the B2B.    The set  I just booked is a 5N/4N and we would likely not consider just one leg.    Even for 7 night  cruises we prefer a B2B  rather than 2 separate cruises to cut down on travel expenses.

 

m

[packercruising]

35 minutes ago, cruisegirl1 said:

RCCL is still booking B2B.  Booked a set YESTERDAY for September 2021.   The agent did not advise against the booking  Since we have to fly or have a long drive to port we  prefer the B2B.    The set  I just booked is a 5N/4N and we would likely not consider just one leg.    Even for 7 night  cruises we prefer a B2B  rather than 2 separate cruises to cut down on travel expenses.

 

m

Same with us. We are waiting to see what happens with our 11 day cruise on Vision in March. We have until the end of the month for final payment. Wondering if they will make it a 7 day. We have to fly to the port city from WI, so we like longer cruises. It is good to know they are still booking B2B. Our original cruise in February was a 7 day sailing and we had booked a 5 day itinerary. That would have been nice.

[njkruzer]

44 minutes ago, cruisegirl1 said:

RCCL is still booking B2B.  Booked a set YESTERDAY for September 2021.   The agent did not advise against the booking  Since we have to fly or have a long drive to port we  prefer the B2B.    The set  I just booked is a 5N/4N and we would likely not consider just one leg.    Even for 7 night  cruises we prefer a B2B  rather than 2 separate cruises to cut down on travel expenses.

 

m

Not sure that counts. I understand booking agents have been known to allow people to book Hawaii to Seattle, not legal under PVSA. I'm not sure the issue is b2b but no cruises more than 7 days.  Time will tell.  Good luck.

[bouhunter]

1 hour ago, HaveWeMetYet said:

 I will be more than happy to stay away.

They won't miss you.

[Blizzard54]

57 minutes ago, cruisegirl1 said:

RCCL is still booking B2B.  Booked a set YESTERDAY for September 2021.   The agent did not advise against the booking  Since we have to fly or have a long drive to port we  prefer the B2B.    The set  I just booked is a 5N/4N and we would likely not consider just one leg.    Even for 7 night  cruises we prefer a B2B  rather than 2 separate cruises to cut down on travel expenses.

 

m

They have been allowing people to book pretty much anything since this all started. They are looking for all the deposits they can get to help their cash flow.  They have also been very slow to cancel cruises that they know will not sail.  They have been waiting until after final payment to make the cancelations.  If the start of cruising does not allow B2B, at some point they will be allowed.   I believe you should be safe with September 2021.  

[firefly333]

25 minutes ago, Blizzard54 said:

They have been allowing people to book pretty much anything since this all started. They are looking for all the deposits they can get to help their cash flow.  They have also been very slow to cancel cruises that they know will not sail.  They have been waiting until after final payment to make the cancelations.  If the start of cruising does not allow B2B, at some point they will be allowed.   I believe you should be safe with September 2021.  

Technically you can still book jewel out of Galveston for 1/3 to 2/7 ... what are the chances of sending jewel all the way to Galveston for about 1 month at most ?

 

The 1/3 also is a 9 day I used to have booked and moved to another date. Goes to 5 so so ports including key west if I remember. So even less chance. 2/7 i think is the last chance for coco cay out of Galveston so people really want it to go. Idk why liberty doesnt go there? Is it too big for coco cay?

Edited November 4, 2020 by firefly333

[Blizzard54]

3 hours ago, firefly333 said:

Technically you can still book jewel out of Galveston for 1/3 to 2/7 ... what are the chances of sending jewel all the way to Galveston for about 1 month at most ?

 

The 1/3 also is a 9 day I used to have booked and moved to another date. Goes to 5 so so ports including key west if I remember. So even less chance. 2/7 i think is the last chance for coco cay out of Galveston so people really want it to go. Idk why liberty doesnt go there? Is it too big for coco cay?

Not too big for Cococay.

[firefly333]

7 minutes ago, Blizzard54 said:

Not too big for Cococay.

I'd be thrilled to death if they would send us to coco cay then, but I'm betting they are all booked up.

 

I'd be happy to go there and no where else, just get me on a ship. April 25th next up. Idk why Galveston hardly gets any itineraries to coco cay?

[Blizzard54]

14 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

I'd be thrilled to death if they would send us to coco cay then, but I'm betting they are all booked up.

 

I'd be happy to go there and no where else, just get me on a ship. April 25th next up. Idk why Galveston hardly gets any itineraries to coco cay?

Time and distance...more fuel burn.

I still have some hope of sailing April 25th,  If not we will pack up the RV and head out.  May even head to Galveston to cruise.    

 

 

[firefly333]

1 hour ago, Blizzard54 said:

Time and distance...more fuel burn.

I still have some hope of sailing April 25th,  If not we will pack up the RV and head out.  May even head to Galveston to cruise.    

 

 

Hope you like liberty. Lol all my bookings turned into liberty but the price is right. 

 

I'm sure april they arent charging full solo supplement. Come on down. Galveston has a rv park and a beach and friendly folks. Idk if rcl will resume building pier 3 or not so we can get oasis sized ship in here. If rcl didnt have the money to do pier 3 last april when covid hit, seems doubtful they will have it next april. Just my 2 cents. Only other ship is adventure alternating 4/5 days. 2 piers shared with disney and carnival.

[orville99]

I sure hope they allow B2B cruises by mid-year in 2021. We have two B2B's booked on Allure (one in July, and one in October).

[Blizzard54]

53 minutes ago, orville99 said:

I sure hope they allow B2B cruises by mid-year in 2021. We have two B2B's booked on Allure (one in July, and one in October).

If things go smoothly I could see them being allowed by mid-year.

[orville99]

38 minutes ago, Blizzard54 said:

If things go smoothly I could see them being allowed by mid-year.

I hope so, it’s our 25th Anniversary.

[firefly333]

On 11/2/2020 at 9:46 AM, gerelmx said:

 

I have for next July with Celebrity a 31 day B2B2B 

 

I want to L&S to 2022, but L&S expires in Nov 30 and 2022 schedules are not released yet

Idk of anyone replied to this yet, but you can only lift and shift thru april 2022, it's in the terms, so it wouldnt matter if later dates are released into November or not.

 

 

[taglovestocruise]

6 hours ago, Blizzard54 said:

If things go smoothly I could see them being allowed by mid-year.

I hope you are right. We have a 7 night med followed by a 14 night back to Florida.  No b2bs, no cruises over 7 nights and no Gringos in Barcelona. Lots of ways to screw things up.  Social distancing and mask requirements and we would cancel. Kudos to Royal for L&S and Cruise With Confidence.  happy cruising

[Blizzard54]

4 hours ago, taglovestocruise said:

I hope you are right. We have a 7 night med followed by a 14 night back to Florida.  No b2bs, no cruises over 7 nights and no Gringos in Barcelona. Lots of ways to screw things up.  Social distancing and mask requirements and we would cancel. Kudos to Royal for L&S and Cruise With Confidence.  happy cruising

With the current regulations, I am a bit concerned about any inbound TA's and TP's for 2021.  

[njkruzer]

6 minutes ago, Blizzard54 said:

With the current regulations, I am a bit concerned about any inbound TA's and TP's for 2021.  

We have 2 TAs next year and each is a b2b.  Have my most concerns about our April Rhapsody cruises.  Our October 2021 Anthem might be more likely.   Will see.