Going forward will cutbacks ruin cruising?

[Ombud]

@LoreniFCC can be surrendered for reimbursement.  If I wasn't itching to cruise I'd cash mine out. I know my next experience will differ which will be interesting. That said I've got 4 booked but nothing until December 2021. Looking for a land based trip this year

[ontheweb]

5 hours ago, Thrak said:

 

I can see why this would be done but I'm unsure as to how to get the desired amount. In my case I often take a very small amount of a number of things so this method might result in waste on my part. Of course I do (often) see people who load up tons of stuff they never eat so maybe this would actually result in less wasted food.

My DW has the same problem of too much food given to her. She especially likes the buffet to have a salad made to her likes, but they always give her more of each ingredient than she would take herself. 

[West Coast Gal]

7 hours ago, ontheweb said:

Wow. They no longer allow you to wear glasses for your passport pictures; yet many of us are always wearing their glasses.

I know, I really wondered about that too!

[gardenbunny]

I love cruising - been on 2 World Cruises.  I love that it is a great way to see a lot of the world in long cruises to all the different regions.  Usually do 4 per year.  I miss it more than I thought.  Moved a lot to August and September of 2021 thinking surely we can cruise again.  Regardless of what CDC required, I was teady to go.  

 

My August Alaska just got cancelled.  And when I asked the CSR about my 3 Enchanted trips in the Med in September from Rome the answer was not encouraging.  I was mostly going for the new ship and a few ports I had never been to. She said “we will probably know soon”. Not sure what that means but I am thinking May/June time frame. 2022 they will be putting Enchanted to Canada New England.  Regal will be doing Med with no Corsica or Malta (ports I wanted) but adding Istanbul and Kusadasi.   Discovery will be Alaska 2022.

I will probably cancel and start over for 2022.  

 

My BIG question....can cruise lines afford another year of no revenue?  I am really concerned for their futures.  Airlines got some Fed help but cruise lines cannot. Airlines are flying again and should have a better year than 2020 and probably looking ahead for 2022.  Air flights are flown in hours with hundreds on board.   Cruises are for days with thousands.  

 

Looking into some USA trips - like the 5 Mighty national parks in Utah. Have a booked since 2019 Rocky Mountaineer train in Canada that we moved from 2020 to 2021.  Now it is harder to get into Canada than Hawaii!  Probably cancel that, too.

 

Feeling a bit down.....

 

[Porky55]

16 hours ago, Grego said:

There will always be some that find fault with a sunrise that is on the other side of the ship.

Oh how wonderful is this comment 👏 thank you, you made my day 🤩
May I quote you in future ?
 

[Loreni]

10 minutes ago, gardenbunny said:

I love cruising - been on 2 World Cruises.  I love that it is a great way to see a lot of the world in long cruises to all the different regions.  Usually do 4 per year.  I miss it more than I thought.  Moved a lot to August and September of 2021 thinking surely we can cruise again.  Regardless of what CDC required, I was teady to go.  

 

My August Alaska just got cancelled.  And when I asked the CSR about my 3 Enchanted trips in the Med in September from Rome the answer was not encouraging.  I was mostly going for the new ship and a few ports I had never been to. She said “we will probably know soon”. Not sure what that means but I am thinking May/June time frame. 2022 they will be putting Enchanted to Canada New England.  Regal will be doing Med with no Corsica or Malta (ports I wanted) but adding Istanbul and Kusadasi.   Discovery will be Alaska 2022.

I will probably cancel and start over for 2022.  

 

My BIG question....can cruise lines afford another year of no revenue?  I am really concerned for their futures.  Airlines got some Fed help but cruise lines cannot. Airlines are flying again and should have a better year than 2020 and probably looking ahead for 2022.  Air flights are flown in hours with hundreds on board.   Cruises are for days with thousands.  

 

Looking into some USA trips - like the 5 Mighty national parks in Utah. Have a booked since 2019 Rocky Mountaineer train in Canada that we moved from 2020 to 2021.  Now it is harder to get into Canada than Hawaii!  Probably cancel that, too.

 

Feeling a bit down.....

 

Utah is a really beautiful state.  After the last cruise, following Dr. Fauci’s advice, we drove home from CA instead of flying.  It took a long time, but gave us a chance to see some of Utah.  We were able to briefly visit both Zion and Arches National Parks.  For years, we’d talked about a road trip to see some more of the National Parks. Anyway after that unplanned cross country road trip, it would be fun to do a planned one, with less driving per day.  I would love to go back to Utah...but first the beach.

[caribill]

10 hours ago, Lady Arwen said:

HAL has implemented the no touch buffet permanently on all ships for quite some time, now.  Works well for everyone.  You still get what you want,  but a server does it for you. 

 

10 hours ago, Jadn13 said:

Both of the HAL cruises I was on out of Port Everglades  were hands free buffets, you ordered and it was plated for you pre-covid 

 

On the two HAL cruises I had in 2019, about 80% of the buffet offerings were given to you by the staff.

 

Passengers still picked their own:

a) Fruit (oranges, apples, bananas)

b) Pre-made wrapped sandwiches

c) Desserts that were already plated

d) Cold cereals

e) Milk containers

f) Beverages such as water, coffee and tea

g) Condiments (especially near the hamburger grill by one of the pools)

 

Also, most of the sections for service were about 10 feet long, so those in each line were packed close to one another. Certainly no social distancing with that setup.

[Lady Arwen]

5 hours ago, caribill said:

 

 

On the two HAL cruises I had in 2019, about 80% of the buffet offerings were given to you by the staff.

 

Passengers still picked their own:

a) Fruit (oranges, apples, bananas)

b) Pre-made wrapped sandwiches

c) Desserts that were already plated

d) Cold cereals

e) Milk containers

f) Beverages such as water, coffee and tea

g) Condiments (especially near the hamburger grill by one of the pools)

 

Also, most of the sections for service were about 10 feet long, so those in each line were packed close to one another. Certainly no social distancing with that setup.

Yup, you’re right.  I think that buffets will be completely different when ships start to sail.  Doubtful if passengers will be able to do anything except point at what they want and then a server will bring it to your table.  No salt and pepper shakers or sugar packets will be on the tables, either.  It’s going to be a whole new world of cruising in the future.

[jwattle]

@Loreni To be clear, Princess isn't the only one making the post COVID changes. All lines will be,  and they will be part of requirements, not necessarily cruise line choices. ( not to mention, things done for passenger safety)  So, before slamming Princess, maybe look at this through a wider lens, a more understanding one and take a breath as you head off to your cottage. In the meantime, we will prepare for the changes to safely and happily sail again on our line of choice ( @PrincessLuver call me a cheerleader if you wish, I'm flattered at 55)

Edited February 28, 2021 by jwattle

[AnyMajorCruiseDude]

1 hour ago, jwattle said:

@Loreni To be clear, Princess isn't the only one making the post COVID changes. All lines will be,  and they will be part of requirements, not necessarily cruise line choices. ( not to mention, things done for passenger safety)  So, before slamming Princess, maybe look at this through a wider lens, a more understanding one and take a breath as you head off to your cottage. In the meantime, we will prepare for the changes to safely and happily sail again on our line of choice ( @PrincessLuver call me a cheerleader if you wish, I'm flattered at 55)

Exactly!

[winemama]

On 2/26/2021 at 5:21 PM, Astro Flyer said:

Princess has considered ordering food at a table in the buffet area. Or at the least as some cruise lines are planning to be served at the food stations by staff like during norovirus outbreaks.

 

It’ll be interesting to see the final outcome after CDC regulations are provided which could still need to be modified after cruising begins.

Our last trip on HAL right before Covid ,their buffet was staff served, it wasn't a problem even came to your table with coffee and juice..it was great

[Ombud]

On 2/27/2021 at 1:32 PM, beg3yrs said:

Let's get masks with bar codes! - Yeah I know that won't work but I think it's humorous.

Like this?

Edited February 28, 2021 by Ombud

[ontheweb]

3 hours ago, winemama said:

Our last trip on HAL right before Covid ,their buffet was staff served, it wasn't a problem even came to your table with coffee and juice..it was great

Yes, one server constantly made sure my lemonade glass was always full. At one point, I called her over to ask her for her name so I could give her a write up as one of the employees who made my cruise special. I explained the only other way to get her name was to stare at her chest where her name tag was.😊

 

After that she kept checking that I knew how to spell her name.🤣

[Ombud]

How do you think it will change for those who do not use the buffet? Will i make my own bed? Will I clean the bathroom? Will I only get raw food? (actually us vegetarians & vegans might be okay with that) Will they eliminate small group ( normally under 9) excursions? Will they eliminate music? Will i even notice the difference?

[AnyMajorCruiseDude]

2 hours ago, Ombud said:

How do you think it will change for those who do not use the buffet? Will i make my own bed? Will I clean the bathroom? Will I only get raw food? (actually us vegetarians & vegans might be okay with that) Will they eliminate small group ( normally under 9) excursions? Will they eliminate music? Will i even notice the difference?

Think we all need to see what requirements are imposed by regulators.  Many here say they dont want to comply, so see you later!

[Ombud]

2 hours ago, AnyMajorCruiseDude said:

Think we all need to see what requirements are imposed by regulators.  Many here say they dont want to comply, so see you later!

Not until December .... I'm used to wearing a mask 

 

FWIW I was being sarcastic 

Edited March 1, 2021 by Ombud

[AnyMajorCruiseDude]

My bad.  Too many who actually believe that way....

[loge23]

I would think that anyone of us who love to travel would be sizing up alternatives to cruising these days. That said, cruising is still our preferred vacation and we are anxious to see the industry rebound.

The cruise lines have an interesting problem ahead of them, aside from the obvious current layup, and that is how to regain their market. Many folks on these pages are "givens" to cruise lines - we cruise whenever we can and more than a few of us already have several bookings in the que. We're ready when they are.

It's everyone else that the cruise lines must attract back. To that end, they must "wow" us, not repel us with noticeable cutbacks in service and quality. It's a rather delicate predicament for the industry after well over a year without revenue outside of deposits. 

I expect differences at sea much in the way I see differences in everyday life on land. 

But back to alternatives. We recently began planning a road trip that would take us about ten (10) days to complete. We got as far as the first stop with the planning, detoured, and ended up booking another cruise, our third in the future category. We'll stick with the day trips for now.

Cruising will change, just as many other facets of our daily lives will also change - including alternative forms of vacation. But don't think that that cruise lines will use this layup as an excuse to cut back on amenities when amenities are their (sorry, but) bread AND butter.

 

 

[Cruise Raider]

There are quite a few changes (cutbacks) that I will be willing to suffer through ... some might even be for the better.  For one, I won't miss them trying to seat me at a table of people I'm not traveling with.  Reservations for meals or shows might be kind of nice, actually.  

I don't mind having my meals served to me, even if it is in the buffet, the outside grill or the IC ... if these will all still exist.  

I also wouldn't mind if they cut the room steward's work to a minimum.  As long as I have clean towels and bathroom tissue, I am fine with seeing the room steward once every other day.  We went to a hotel over the summer when things had briefly opened up for us for a three night stay.  We tipped the housekeeper and told her we didn't need our room tidied up for our entire stay.  She gave us some extras for the bathroom and we were fine with nobody coming into our room to clean.  Granted, we are rather tidy and pick up after ourselves anyway, so it was never a mess.  

 

I think there will be things I will miss, such as the entertainment and games in the piazza and bars.  

But, whatever it is, we'll make the best of it.  It's funny because I absolutely love eating my meals in my room or out on the balcony ... my DH, not so much.  He may have to endure if they schedule room service for some of our meals, as I've seen suggested on one of the write ups on how they are going to deal with the dinner crowds.  

 

[USCcruisecrazy]

On 2/27/2021 at 10:02 PM, ontheweb said:

My DW has the same problem of too much food given to her. She especially likes the buffet to have a salad made to her likes, but they always give her more of each ingredient than she would take herself. 

No one really knows what the buffets will look like.  I was in Montgomery Alabama 4 weeks ago and stayed at a very nice Marriott Rennaissance Hotel.  They had a buffet open with limited items..it was serve yourself!!  

[voljeep]

1 minute ago, USCcruisecrazy said:

No one really knows what the buffets will look like.  I was in Montgomery Alabama 4 weeks ago and stayed at a very nice Marriott Rennaissance Hotel.  They had a buffet open with limited items..it was serve yourself!!  

the salad/soup bar at our local ( Publix ) was closed for a while, but now back open ... with a box of gloves available to handle the tongs / spoons

 

I'll pass on that at least for now

 

also the cooking demo setup has also closed with no current plans for re-opening

[Thrak]

1 hour ago, loge23 said:

We recently began planning a road trip that would take us about ten (10) days to complete.

 

My wife just plotted out a road trip that will likely take 5-6 weeks. Taking our little teardrop trailer on the road again. We are so very tired of being stuck at home. We get our second vaccinations on March 4 and won't be leaving on this trip until early May. We don't have any cruises booked until 2022. (We had a number of cruises booked but they were all cancelled.)

[USCcruisecrazy]

8 minutes ago, voljeep said:

the salad/soup bar at our local ( Publix ) was closed for a while, but now back open ... with a box of gloves available to handle the tongs / spoons

 

I'll pass on that at least for now

 

also the cooking demo setup has also closed with no current plans for re-opening

Yeah, one thing I miss about Costco...no cooking demos!

But think about it this way...if everyone has been vaccinated to get on board, and everyone is required to wash their hands before entering, and you don;t lick your fingers (LOL), it's a pretty controlled environment.  Just like stopping Noro...if people had enforced the rules, it would likely not have ever been an issue.  I suppose it will take stricter guidance and enforcement if they have open buffets, but not beyond the possible.

Edited March 1, 2021 by USCcruisecrazy

[iancal]

I believe that the market will respond with offers from cruise lines that have not cut back.

 

The real question is are people willing to pay for items that have been cut from the mass market lines?  I believe that it is possible to avoid those cut backs by paying a higher fare and moving away from the mass market cruise lines.

[sfaaa]

Cut backs are fine if it means paying lower cruise price. You can always upgrade if you want more service or amenities.