Oceania’s fall cruisers

[royallondon]

2 hours ago, victory2020 said:

Yesterday our governor said the state will open up to normal on June 15th, hoping that is a good sign.

Thank you victory2020 for your updates, appreciated.

 

Regards

[Tranquility Base]

On 4/7/2021 at 5:13 AM, clairol said:

Just looked at our October 2021 cruise (Istanbul to Venice) it is now all waitlisted... not very encouraging...😢

  Turkey has just had a record number of deaths in 1 day and a record number of cases in 1 day since the start of the pandemic.

Source: CNN

[clairol]

19 hours ago, Tranquility Base said:

  Turkey has just had a record number of deaths in 1 day and a record number of cases in 1 day since the start of the pandemic.

Source: CNN

Eeeek! 

 

Funny thing is the Riviera cruise directly before ours which ends in Istanbul on 10/18 is still available...??

[cotto22]

I just checked our September cruise Los Angeles RT, and it is entirely waitlisted. Not a good sign. I had been optimistic with the announcements of late, but this is a real disappointment.

 

[royallondon]

13 minutes ago, cotto22 said:

I just checked our September cruise Los Angeles RT, and it is entirely waitlisted. Not a good sign. I had been optimistic with the announcements of late, but this is a real disappointment.

 

Yes, thanks for the heads up.  
This could indicate that Regatta will be deployed in Mexican waters with revised itineraries soon to be announced.

[pinotlover]

On 4/8/2021 at 11:42 AM, clairol said:

Eeeek! 

 

Funny thing is the Riviera cruise directly before ours which ends in Istanbul on 10/18 is still available...??

A couple of points. First, Turkey announced very early that their vaccination drive would begin in Istanbul and its tourist destinations. Tourism is important to some countries economic well being and recognized as such. Other countries, not as much.
 

Therefore when Turkey reports a vaccination rate for the entire country, that in no way gives any indication of what the vaccination rate is in those targeted tourism areas.

 

It is likewise not reported where those new outbreaks in Turkey are. Are they occurring in those targeted tourist areas or in non targeted more remote areas? We don’t know.

 

As an analogy, last year our county reported a huge outbreak of Covid in a two day span. If one read the paper, we were all being ravaged. The news then sheepishly reported that the outbreak was exclusively inmates in the county Jail. If you hadn’t been in Jail, or in contact with any of the staff that had all tested negative, you didn’t have a problem. A lot about that Turkey outbreak we don’t know.

[LHT28]

On 4/8/2021 at 12:42 PM, clairol said:

Eeeek! 

 

Funny thing is the Riviera cruise directly before ours which ends in Istanbul on 10/18 is still available...??

A lot can happen in 6 months in the World of Covid

[deadzone1003]

We have a 10-day r/t cruise from Bridgetown, Barbados on Nov. 11th.  I am expecting the cruise to go on as planned with all passengers and crew vaccinated.  Whether we can dock anywhere may be another question.  

[ByTheOcean]

On 4/9/2021 at 12:32 PM, cotto22 said:

I just checked our September cruise Los Angeles RT, and it is entirely waitlisted. Not a good sign. I had been optimistic with the announcements of late, but this is a real disappointment.

 

Are you on the September 23 from Los Angeles? We are booked on that one. I noticed it’s now all on wait list, which doesn’t fill me with confidence...

[cotto22]

We are on the September 14th version of that cruise. We feel your pain!

[KS&JW]

On 4/12/2021 at 12:11 PM, ByTheOcean said:

Are you on the September 23 from Los Angeles? We are booked on that one. I noticed it’s now all on wait list, which doesn’t fill me with confidence...

 

 I agree September cruises are iffy at this point.  However, I am on a two cruises scheduled for 2022 and they are also both waitlisted.  They are not waiting to be canceled, but are just full.  So don't lose hope.  

[mauibabes]

Don’t panic about waitlisted cruises. That is their way to signal the itinerary has reached its theoretical booking limit, not necessarily that it is going to be cancelled. My guess is the ship is 60% + booked and if there are limits placed by the EU or other governments, they would not have to be cancelling bookings. Remember, if they are forced to Socially Distance guests, they will be reducing the number of staterooms sold to create spaces between staterooms.  
 

We are booked on the Oct18, 2021 Grand Voyage on Riviera from Istanbul and have backed that up with the Grand Voyage November 7 from Monte Carlo.  With cruises cancelled thru July 31, We should know in July if the Covid Monster is still controlling our cruising world. 
Gerry and Bonnie

[TheDarkestBlue]

On 4/11/2021 at 12:20 PM, deadzone1003 said:

We have a 10-day r/t cruise from Bridgetown, Barbados on Nov. 11th.  I am expecting the cruise to go on as planned with all passengers and crew vaccinated.  Whether we can dock anywhere may be another question.  

 

We are on the cruise following yours, round trip Barbados, same itinerary, and will be fully vaccinated in a couple weeks.  Have not booked anything, still waiting to see how things will shake out for vaccinated travellers. At this point, Barbados requires a test before you leave and a test once you get there, if you are fully vaccinated. The USA will require us to show a negative test to get back into the country, I'm not sure how that gets done, being on the ship and planning to fly back the same day. I am hoping that the rules ease as more people get vaccinated, and this will start to settle down.

 

A lot can happen between now and then - another concern is the erupting volcano on Saint Vincent, they say that the situation now is similar to the 1902 eruption which lasted 8 months, it's been dumping ash on Barbados, turning the ocean water grey, and had to close their airport at times for lack of visibility.

 

Now, pyroclastic flows -- which are fast-moving volcanic ash, lava droplets and hot gas -- have destroyed homes and farms and threatened the island’s food and water supplies. Ash from the ongoing explosions has fallen on Barbados and other nearby islands. Scientists believe this is the first of many explosions to come. Volcanic eruptions can last weeks or even months, and La Soufrière has a history of deadly eruptions. Records show that in 1902, the volcano erupted for nearly eight months. Richard Robertson, with the University of the West Indies’ Seismic Research Center, said the latest explosion is equivalent to the one that occurred in 1902 and killed some 1,600.

[Redtravel]

On 4/9/2021 at 3:32 PM, cotto22 said:

I just checked our September cruise Los Angeles RT, and it is entirely waitlisted. Not a good sign. I had been optimistic with the announcements of late, but this is a real disappointment.

 

I join you in being disappointed.  Having had cruises canceled, I know how sad it feels.  I used to book a cruie and really get excited. Now that doesn’t happen.  I keep using fcc to book and rebook.  I hope that I will really sail sometime. for now we wait for safer times.

When a cruise suddenly shows up all or mostly waitlisted, it is likely going to be canceled soon.  Oceania has a pattern.....move the final payment to 60 days,  wait a month or so,  show cruise as waitlisted for a month or so, and then cancel just before final payments are due.  It lets them off the hook to return the final payments or issue bonus fcc.  Unfortunately, times are tough.  We all want the pandemic to go away so that we can feel good about traveling.  

[ByTheOcean]

16 hours ago, mauibabes said:

Don’t panic about waitlisted cruises. That is their way to signal the itinerary has reached its theoretical booking limit, not necessarily that it is going to be cancelled. My guess is the ship is 60% + booked and if there are limits placed by the EU or other governments, they would not have to be cancelling bookings. Remember, if they are forced to Socially Distance guests, they will be reducing the number of staterooms sold to create spaces between staterooms.  
 

We are booked on the Oct18, 2021 Grand Voyage on Riviera from Istanbul and have backed that up with the Grand Voyage November 7 from Monte Carlo.  With cruises cancelled thru July 31, We should know in July if the Covid Monster is still controlling our cruising world. 
Gerry and Bonnie

Ordinarily I would agree with you that waitlisting usually means a sailing is becoming full. But these are not ordinary times. I seriously doubt that the sailing has gone from almost every cabin in every grade being available (as it was when my mother recently booked) to 60% sold in a matter of weeks in the current climate. They are not leaving empty cabins between guests. My mother was able to book the one immediately next to ours and we live in different countries and have different last names. I booked on the US website and two weeks later my mother booked on the UK website, as she lives in the UK. So there’s no way that Oceania would have known we are related. 
 

I’d really like to be wrong in my assumption that they are going to cancel it. I was looking forward not only to the cruise but also to seeing my mother for the first time in over 2 years. Given that the cruise is longer than 7 nights and calls at a US port, they may have no option but to cancel it as the CDC currently forbids this length of sailing through November this year. Oceania were obviously banking on this being overturned early or exceptions being made but there’s no guarantee that will happen.

Edited April 21, 2021 by ByTheOcean

[mauibabes]

When I have talked with reps in Miami it has been my understanding that they are capacity controlling the cruise with a Waitlist. If a category is Reflected as Available, it only means there are staterooms eligible to be sold in that category. They can close off sales of categories for various reasons that are not shared with the public.  Sometimes large Travel Agencies or Groups have been given blocks of rooms in certain categories so O May have to balance out sold versus available rooms. We have been in situations before when Oceania bought back our booking to accommodate an oversold category.  We received a different and longer cruise, a PH upgrade and $$ so it was Well worth the “Bump”. W
The only way to be sure what the Waitlisting of the entire ship means is to call Oceania and pose the question.  Like I said, my understanding during these  Covid times with all the unknowns, it is their way to control the ships guest capacity.  My read of the tea leaves.

 

That is great you will be able to see your mother and that she was able to get booked on this trip to travel with you. The Covid road has definitely been long and winding. Let’s hope we can sail soon. 🛳🙏🤞
Gerry

[SoCalTraveler]

On 4/7/2021 at 10:25 AM, royallondon said:

Thank you victory2020 for your updates, appreciated.

 

Regards

I think we're booked on the same cruise, Regatta leaving LA on Sept. 23.  Having had 4 of our last 6 cruises cancelled (and only three for COVID reasons), we are handling the uncertainty more easily than others as the port is about 40 miles South of us.  For our cancelled cruise in Nov 2019, some folks were on the tram from the car park to Heathrow when that cruise was cancelled.  We were on our way to LAX to fly to Quito via Panama.

 

In any event, RoyalLondon, if the cruise is cancelled that close to departure, contact us and we'll go on a hike to the Hollywood sign.  

 

Seriously, I expect restrictions to be eased if not lifted as the political pressure to do so, both in California where our governor is facing a recall election, and nationally, is great. 

[royallondon]

46 minutes ago, SoCalTraveler said:

I think we're booked on the same cruise, Regatta leaving LA on Sept. 23.  Having had 4 of our last 6 cruises cancelled (and only three for COVID reasons), we are handling the uncertainty more easily than others as the port is about 40 miles South of us.  For our cancelled cruise in Nov 2019, some folks were on the tram from the car park to Heathrow when that cruise was cancelled.  We were on our way to LAX to fly to Quito via Panama.

 

In any event, RoyalLondon, if the cruise is cancelled that close to departure, contact us and we'll go on a hike to the Hollywood sign.  

 

Seriously, I expect restrictions to be eased if not lifted as the political pressure to do so, both in California where our governor is facing a recall election, and nationally, is great. 

I appreciate your kind gesture and will bring my hiking boots and a picnic basket 😂

 

Our TA rang at the weekend to advise that final payment is due next month but no flights were yet live to book (UK travel ban still in place).  With all cabins moved to “wait list” and no communication yet from “O” on resumption plans, we are looking to again push back to Sept ‘22 or May ‘23 to remove all uncertainty.  

In the meantime, let’s hope worldwide recovery gains momentum to help unlock us from this awful situation.

 

Regards

 

 

 

[ByTheOcean]

7 hours ago, royallondon said:

I appreciate your kind gesture and will bring my hiking boots and a picnic basket 😂

 

Our TA rang at the weekend to advise that final payment is due next month but no flights were yet live to book (UK travel ban still in place).  With all cabins moved to “wait list” and no communication yet from “O” on resumption plans, we are looking to again push back to Sept ‘22 or May ‘23 to remove all uncertainty.  

In the meantime, let’s hope worldwide recovery gains momentum to help unlock us from this awful situation.

 

Regards

 

 

 

I have just received notification of the cancellation and an announcement is on the Oceania website to that effect also. 

[LHT28]

new cancellations

https://www.oceaniacruises.com/coronavirus-statement

[royallondon]

12 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

new cancellations

https://www.oceaniacruises.com/coronavirus-statement

Thank you LHT28, much appreciated.

 

Here’s wishing “O” and indeed all cruise lines, a successful and safe return.

[Goofusalabamus]

My September 23 cruise (LA To LA) was cancelled today. 😢I’m thinking of booking September 21 Montreal to New York. Why would that be any different? Will it be canceled too? Is Canada more open than the US?

[clairol]

6 minutes ago, Goofusalabamus said:

My September 23 cruise (LA To LA) was cancelled today. 😢I’m thinking of booking September 21 Montreal to New York. Why would that be any different? Will it be canceled too? Is Canada more open than the US?

https://www.oceaniacruises.com/coronavirus-statement

Only Marina is cruising before September 30, 2021... everything else is cancelled.

[LHT28]

51 minutes ago, Goofusalabamus said:

My September 23 cruise (LA To LA) was cancelled today. 😢I’m thinking of booking September 21 Montreal to New York. Why would that be any different? Will it be canceled too? Is Canada more open than the US?

Do you mean Sept 2022?

 Canada is Closed for cruise ships until Feb 2022