What is your expected return date to cruising?

[clo]

To us, just as important as vaccination is a large amount of time to see how well it works. One shot or two? Annual? More often? Etc. Completely unanswerable at this time. So I booked us for a cruise in Sept. '22 with a fully refundable deposit up to mid-May '22. So a year and a half from now for a cruise that's almost two years out. THEN we'll see what the data is and if we're comfortable with that. (We're in our mid70s.)

[bigrednole]

March 28, 2020. I can only be hopeful that this cruise sails. If not, we have to wait until July 24th.

[FredT]

3 hours ago, KirkNC said:

I don’t think it will take five year, two or three maybe.  I am sure you know those older then 65 are in the highest risk group.

Yes I know we are in a higher risk group.....   BUT, I feel we have about 10 years of expected "good health" ahead of us, and neither my wife or I are willing to hide out in our home for (possibly) half of that time.   Hell, we have spoken about the vaccine before when we thought it would be like the flu vaccine (50% effective) and were willing to go with that.   95% effective?    LETS GO!!!

[FredT]

2 hours ago, navybankerteacher said:

So, doesn’t being unwilling to wait for a sense of normalcy involve being willing to accept mandatory mask wearing, limitations on shipboard activities, limitations on port activities, etc.?  How close to (or far from) the quality of experience which attracts you to cruising in the first place, are you willing to go just to get on a ship?

No problem with the mask wearing,   and shipboard activities (for us) is a nice place to read a good book while watching the world go by. (And a good promenade deck to walk) As far as limitations on port activities, oh yeah, thats a problem.  Our hope is that once the vaccine's are out there that this "issue" will become far less important.  

Edited November 19, 2020 by FredT
spelling

[clo]

23 minutes ago, FredT said:

Yes I know we are in a higher risk group.....   BUT, I feel we have about 10 years of expected "good health" ahead of us, and neither my wife or I are willing to hide out in our home for (possibly) half of that time.   Hell, we have spoken about the vaccine before when we thought it would be like the flu vaccine (50% effective) and were willing to go with that.   95% effective?    LETS GO!!!

Not picking on you at all, but I'm so tired of the term "hiding out." We're not hiding out now. 

 

But my point is that we've started a little cruising because it's easier to do as we get older and we're in our 70s. If we choose I'm guessing we could go well into our 80s. The cruise I just booked is Scandinavian and Baltic, not a trip we would want to do via plane, train and automobile. At this time.

[FredT]

Just now, clo said:

Not picking on you at all, but I'm so tired of the term "hiding out." We're not hiding out now. 

 

But my point is that we've started a little cruising because it's easier to do as we get older and we're in our 70s. If we choose I'm guessing we could go well into our 80s. The cruise I just booked is Scandinavian and Baltic, not a trip we would want to do via plane, train and automobile. At this time.

LOL.....   We are not "yet" retired, and own a rental company in the NY Suburbs.    The term "Hiding out" or "sheltering in place" are terms we hear every day from customers.   While things loosened up significantly this summer, it's going backwards now, and even the restaurant owners we know say that business is falling like a rock over the past week.   (And yes, we do go out for dinner twice  a week...   ) 

[clo]

14 minutes ago, FredT said:

LOL.....   We are not "yet" retired, and own a rental company in the NY Suburbs.    The term "Hiding out" or "sheltering in place" are terms we hear every day from customers.   While things loosened up significantly this summer, it's going backwards now, and even the restaurant owners we know say that business is falling like a rock over the past week.   (And yes, we do go out for dinner twice  a week...   ) 

Ditto. Waiting for the latest from our governor.

[cruisemom42]

1 hour ago, bigrednole said:

March 28, 2020. I can only be hopeful that this cruise sails. If not, we have to wait until July 24th.

 

 2020's come and gone. 

[Aquahound]

7 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

 2020's come and gone. 

 

[ColeThornton]

11 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

 2020's come and gone. 

 

Attention, Staff:  Our quarterly meeting on Time Travel will be held two weeks ago.

[cruisemom42]

1 hour ago, ColeThornton said:

 

Attention, Staff:  Our quarterly meeting on Time Travel will be held two weeks ago.

 

Noooooo -- I don't want to relive ANY part of this year.  Well, maybe the first two month; my trip to Italy in February was fine. Who was to know how fast it would go downhill from there...

 

[NIATPAC29]

Way too much fear and pesimissim. All will be good in 2nd quarter of 2021.

[iancal]

As each day passes we are very anxious to get back to independent land travel but less anxious to get back to cruising.    I believe that we will be doing extended land trips well before we take another cruise.

[clo]

3 minutes ago, iancal said:

I believe that we will be doing extended land trips well before we take another cruise.

Ditto.

[SelectSys]

41 minutes ago, iancal said:

... I believe that we will be doing extended land trips well before we take another cruise.

 

Do you have any different requirements for returning back to cruising that don't apply to land travel?  I am kind of thinking my requirements are pretty similar regardless of where and how we travel. 

 

For me, I want a vaccine, open borders, ensured access to health care, easy flights, access to good experiences, etc before making any big travel commitment. 

 

Just curious if your statement was driven more by health considerations or by what will be available from the cruise lines in terms of experience.

[Hlitner]

18 minutes ago, SelectSys said:

 

Do you have any different requirements for returning back to cruising that don't apply to land travel?  I am kind of thinking my requirements are pretty similar regardless of where and how we travel. 

 

For me, I want a vaccine, open borders, ensured access to health care, easy flights, access to good experiences, etc before making any big travel commitment. 

 

Just curious if your statement was driven more by health considerations or by what will be available from the cruise lines in terms of experience.

In our case I would answer, absolutely!  In about two weeks we will be off on a 9 day domestic land trip (which involves a couple of airline flights).  While it is likely our April 2021 Asian cruise/trip will be cancelled we are considering a long driving trip in Europe for next spring assuming that Europe is open to tourism.  When DW and I are on land we can control much of our environment in terms of accommodations, using rental cars (not other folks), enjoy nice meals for two at decent restaurants (with lots of social distancing) and generally avoiding crowds.  None of this is normally possible on a cruise.   I do agree that a vaccine would be nice, but we think we would have access to health care on any trip to Europe.  As to good experiences, when I am traveling along with DW it is always a "good experience."  When we do our independent driving trips (or rent a flat in a major city) we have lots of control over what we do.  

 

As to our cruise future we keep booking future cruises with the hope that all will be fine.  But so far, we have had 5 cruises cancelled and we are in the process of changing a 6th cruise to the following year.  Will cruises ever be the same as we have grown to expect?  I have no idea but I have concerns.

 

Hank 

[MamaFej]

We, too, are traveling on land, but quite differently from Hank. 

 

Our original retirement plan was to buy "THE" retirement motor home and live in it nearly full-time, traveling around North America. After taking a last-minute Baltic cruise for our 25th anniversary in 2016, and a fantastic Med cruise with friends for my 50th birthday and our kids' college and HS graduations in 2017, we came to realize that we loved cruising. We decided that international  cruising and land trips were what we wanted to do for the first few to several years of retirement. In the last few working years (2016-19), we managed to get to 25 countries, 23 of them by cruise ship, and two between cruises. 

 

Then Covid happened. It led to the cancelation of an Alaska cruise with our oldest 2, as well as  the 11-ish week, 3 continent trip we should currently be on, the 12-ish week trip we had planned for early 2021, and plenty of international land travel. We lost a few short cruises on the west coast of North America as well. 

 

Back to Plan A! After using our 20 year-old motor home (in which we've taken the kids to 49 states and quite a bit of Canada) to safely get our oldest home to CA from Montana and back, and home again, then moved within MT, we purchased a new one on the way home. It's a 2021 model, and we love it! Hubby and I have been in it more days than not since getting it in early August, mostly out of state. We are taking off tomorrow for a few days, with the younger two adult  "kids" and dogs,  and we have some great stuff planned for December through April. When on longer trips, the aforementioned college senior and her college freshman brother are our built-in house and dog sitters. They are both taking classes online, and they call their life "adulting with training wheels." 

 

We sincerely hope to return to cruising again, and have some great stuff booked for 2022. For now, we will enjoy land cruising in our RV, safely distant from others. 

 

I have not yet responded to the survey, but our earliest currently booked cruise is for January 2022 in the South Pacific. If it happens, it will be the beginning of a four month cruise and land trip, including two continents, and many, many islands. We are looking at cruises later in 2022, but are hesitant to fork over more cash at the moment. We have substantial FCCs for all the cancelled cruises with Celebrity and Princess. We opted for full refunds from the third (Oceania). 

 

-----

 

In case other RVers are interested in joining us, I have started a thread for cruisers who love RVing. 

 

 

[iancal]

5 hours ago, Hlitner said:

In our case I would answer, absolutely!  In about two weeks we will be off on a 9 day domestic land trip (which involves a couple of airline flights).  While it is likely our April 2021 Asian cruise/trip will be cancelled we are considering a long driving trip in Europe for next spring assuming that Europe is open to tourism.  When DW and I are on land we can control much of our environment in terms of accommodations, using rental cars (not other folks), enjoy nice meals for two at decent restaurants (with lots of social distancing) and generally avoiding crowds.  None of this is normally possible on a cruise.   I do agree that a vaccine would be nice, but we think we would have access to health care on any trip to Europe.  As to good experiences, when I am traveling along with DW it is always a "good experience."  When we do our independent driving trips (or rent a flat in a major city) we have lots of control over what we do.  

 

As to our cruise future we keep booking future cruises with the hope that all will be fine.  But so far, we have had 5 cruises cancelled and we are in the process of changing a 6th cruise to the following year.  Will cruises ever be the same as we have grown to expect?  I have no idea but I have concerns.

 

Hank 

Ditto....and tis is our plan for two months next fall and two months next winter.  No cruises.

[clo]

10 hours ago, MamaFej said:

For now, we will enjoy land cruising in our RV, safely distant from others. 

We had intended to head in January to Grand Canyon etc. but now that we're being asked to stay in our own state, we are for now. We've found some places near Vegas that we'll do. Even with a small footprint and bubble when you live near WA, OR, CA etc...well, you get the picture. Enjoy yourselves.

 

[clo]

1 minute ago, fyree39 said:

Although we have a December '21 cruise booked and paid for, I don't expect it will happen. I expect the August '22 cruise to be a go, so I voted 2H '22.

We're of the mindset that a cruise happening really, really doesn't mean that we'll be on it. I just booked something for 9/22.

[SelectSys]

17 hours ago, Hlitner said:

In our case I would answer, absolutely!  In about two weeks we will be off on a 9 day domestic land trip (which involves a couple of airline flights).  While it is likely our April 2021 Asian cruise/trip will be cancelled we are considering a long driving trip in Europe for next spring assuming that Europe is open to tourism.  When DW and I are on land we can control much of our environment in terms of accommodations, using rental cars (not other folks), enjoy nice meals for two at decent restaurants (with lots of social distancing) and generally avoiding crowds.  None of this is normally possible on a cruise.   I do agree that a vaccine would be nice, but we think we would have access to health care on any trip to Europe.  As to good experiences, when I am traveling along with DW it is always a "good experience."  When we do our independent driving trips (or rent a flat in a major city) we have lots of control over what we do.  

 

As to our cruise future we keep booking future cruises with the hope that all will be fine.  But so far, we have had 5 cruises cancelled and we are in the process of changing a 6th cruise to the following year.  Will cruises ever be the same as we have grown to expect?  I have no idea but I have concerns.

 

Hank 

 

I took an 8 day domestic trip which didn't include airfare.  I don't see this as an "extensive" trip.  I thought about a quick flight last week to see one of my kids but passed due to the increasing cases.  Maybe I am just a "wimp" and the risks really aren't all that high.

 

I think the vaccine will be required for any foreign travel to places like Europe. I think the same will be true for cruises.  If this turns out to be the case, I don't think the restrictions will be all that different between international travel and cruising.

 

I can see the destinations on cruises being limited and the pricing being higher based on pent up demand.  This might influence which way I go, but my bottom line requirement for cruising and extensive travel is really the same - an effective vaccination.

[gooch47]

Not sure we ever will.  If at all, not until 2022 is my best guess.

 

We aren't getting any younger (73 and 76) and the last cruise even two years ago was getting to be a bit much.  I'm thinking maybe a cruise inside the USA.  Great Lakes, Mississippi River, something like that.

[clo]

7 hours ago, gooch47 said:

Not sure we ever will.  If at all, not until 2022 is my best guess.

 

We aren't getting any younger (73 and 76) and the last cruise even two years ago was getting to be a bit much.  I'm thinking maybe a cruise inside the USA.  Great Lakes, Mississippi River, something like that.

Is it the getting to and from the ship that wears you out? We're your age and generally to to Europe or Latin America so it's multiple planes/layovers. (Reno doesn't have a lot of nonstops flights.) So we always get in at least two or three days ahead of time.

[gooch47]

2 minutes ago, clo said:

Is it the getting to and from the ship that wears you out? We're your age and generally to to Europe or Latin America so it's multiple planes/layovers. (Reno doesn't have a lot of nonstops flights.) So we always get in at least two or three days ahead of time.

We always go in a couple days early, too.  But dragging suitcases around and just walking around the mega ships both wear us out. 

[getting older slowly]

I think there are quite a few people out there. who do not enjoy long oversea flights....

 

and some who simply wont fly... and only do it at a last resort

 

Even at the pointy end..... which is costly.....  basically we are not interested in travelling outside our own country particularly with pandemic still running riot in some countries

 

So if and went cruising start  it will only be local..... Don

Edited November 21, 2020 by getting older slowly