You NCL cruisers out there…stop planning cruises

[CaptainWoody]

I blame Canada for screwing with my cruise plans.  I don't blame Canada for the OP poster (although I certainly don't agree with most of his post).  Now that Washington has fixed the situation (successful vaccine and suspension of that foreign port requirement), I'm not really looking to blame anybody.  I just want to cruise in October.

[saltsandknit]

35 minutes ago, DCGuy64 said:

Absolutely not, we don’t want that. We just booked onto the Norwegian Sky, and if NCL’s website is to be believed, the Balcony and Suite cabins are already sold out. (For our sailing, that is) 

the inside cabins and balcony cabins on my booking on the Sky are almost sold out very few left. The same applies for the week before and after. I tried to book specialty dining last night and the times were filling up faster than I could book. I finally managed to get them booked but it was a race.

[BermudaBound2014]

I’m excited your sky cruises are selling well. That is the best shot we’ve got at getting cruises sailing again. 

[Gen X Life]

5 hours ago, marktwothousand said:

We started vaccinating 12 year olds weeks ago here and now we are pretty much at the stage where those are the people mostly going to the clinics right now. If you want to rest on your laurels among a less amount of fully vaccinated people vs. a larger amount of partially vaccinated, that’s fine, but you guys have hit a wall on your overall totals because of the huge anti-vaccine population and just general apathy.
 

We are going to be fully vaccinated here very very soon and I would much rather live safely among a population with low COVID circulating and partially vaccinated than only a handful of people fully. Our COVID rates per capita are dropping fast and let’s see where you guys are two weeks after this Memorial Day with all your “no vaccinated” people travelling. Hope your news covers what’s happening in the UK because it’s not good and their cases are rising.

 

PS Plus: Partially vs fully really doesn’t matter anyway in the big picture because we’re probably all going to need third shots for the winter until the next generation of vaccines are approved anyway. So if you’re only looking at this as a two-dose deal you’re not looking at it longer-term. It’s really probably going to be four total doses once you factor in another booster of this vaccine generation and then maybe one final shot next year with newer, better vaccines. 
 

So, I hope you Enjoy the rest of your summer after the explosion of Memorial Day cases in two weeks. the hospitals will be jammed with people on oxygen again, unfortunately. And there will be no cruises…thanks.  

 

You started this with insults...you got called on it and you just can't stop.. OK..

 

It is not the fault of the USA that there are not cruises.. (have you checked Canada Borders? Australia? ) it is due to COVID19 and other countries LOW VACCINE RATES and/or outbreaks (again CHECK CANADA; among other countries/continents - EU, ASIA, Africa, South Amer. etc )

 

You started this by insulting/belittling my country with falsehoods and condescension , then you elevated it by making up scientific nonsense and destorting facts about vaccine efficacy and timelines (to try to make Canada look better while again demeaning the USA) - now you wish the USA and it's citizens harm/possibly death . WOW!  Seek Professional Help!

 

And yes you did.....   Shame on you!  

 

Most reasonable and intelligent people would realize when they crossed the line and went to far and would feel contrite ..

 

A real man would have apologized,  I guess this is what a Canadian does.. or maybe just you...

 

Just stop..   Its Memorial Weekend! We honor our  FALLEN HEROS.

 

 

 

Edited May 30, 2021 by Gen X Life

[Gen X Life]

4 hours ago, WarfRatWA said:

"What was Canada’s roll in all of this?"

 

Who cares...its a pandemic.

 

Tell that to Johnson & Johnson: One and Done.. She is changing Vaccine Rates!! She is a Miracle!!

 

What does being a Pandemic have to do with citing; ownership or drug patent to vaccine ?  Oh that's right.. it has nothing to do with it.  

 

But ownership is everything... which Vaccine does Canada Own/Develop????  Still waiting....

 

 

Edited May 30, 2021 by Gen X Life

[Wink87]

On 5/28/2021 at 2:41 AM, saltsandknit said:

Yeah no. I will keep booking until we sail, and then I will book more. I have no problem with cancelations and rebookings. I understand the fluid nature of what is happening and I don’t blame the Cruiselines for trying to make the best choices in a difficult environment. Why in the world would I wait

Agreed!

[alohayall]

What was the point of this thread?  Chastise the US for our stubbornness in not vaccinating?  Trying to convince us to put our cruise-planning energy and excitement into convincing stubborn people to get vaccinated?  
 

Yep, here on a website to chat with other cruise fanatics, comes a post that is neither a question for information or giving information that will help others.

 

But it did give several people a chance to interact.

 

I have a PIF Disney cruise that got bumped.  The second date is not officially cancelled, but I don’t believe a November cruise is happening.  I haven’t expected them to cruise since May 2020.  So far, that’s true.  
 

I saw NCL cruises going to Alaska this summer.  This was after they changed from the Bliss to the Encore.  I’ve bitten the bullet and took their offer.  30% off.  Expires in 4 days.  Then it ran again.  It’s on another time.  I don’t think it’s filling fast enough.  
 

I even booked flights on airline miles.  At least they can be re-deposited.  Cruise deposit is refundable.  Full payment date is approaching, but it can be a future cruise if necessary (hoping it’s not a corporate bankruptcy - but also not a pricy cruise).  All along, not totally expecting it to happen.  But hoping it will.  
 

Why now?  100% vaccinated cruise with reduced capacity.  Take tourist $$ to Alaska.  Which includes the big $$ the cruise lines turn in for each port.  Those port fees we pay are for the government of those towns to use for public expenses.

 

And I book in advance not just to pick my cabin, but to get a better airfare - but most importantly, to have the fun of planning.  A cruise May last a week, but two months of planning is two months of learning about a place.  Mother always told me, “Planning is half the fun.”  She was right.  She failed to mention the other half was actually thinking and talking about it afterwards (for years!). I have some photos if you’d like to see them...

 

The Encore is currently in SE Asia, dropping OFF crew members from other ships.  Employees were moved from the Joy to the Bliss to do Alaska.  Now that arrangement is moot.  It does not look promising for a quick restart, but if they can do 10 cruises successfully in AK, it’s a move forward.

 

... And the Europeans have been sailing along on their ships.  Despite slow vaccination rates in some countries.  It takes 3 months between doses in England!

 

Good job, OP, you allowed another person to go on a rant.  I had fun.

Edited June 17, 2021 by alohayall
Word usage

[Cb2534]

On 5/28/2021 at 4:39 PM, CaptainWoody said:

You are quoting what the credit card's trip interruption insurance covers.  That's totally different than what consumer protection laws cover.  If I pay for a service, and it's not delivered when agreed upon, than I get my money back as long as I report it within 60 days of when it was due.  I'm on a financial forum where this stuff was discussed ad nauseum last year.  When all the facts were found, the conclusion was clear.  I'm at zero risk.

I don't believe this is true.  I disputed a canceled flight on a Canadian airline with my credit card company immediately after they refused to refund my money and instead gave me a travel credit.   I lost and exhausted every option available at the time.   Recently this airline announced it is offering refunds but turns out I don't qualify because I supposedly waived my right to a refund when I took the matter to dispute shortly after cancellation.  A real kick in the pants - twice now. I continue to fight without much hope of success.   I did discover a fairly active and angry facebook group dedicated to the sole purpose of "make the Canadian airlines pay" and they've been a great anger management outlet for me.  

 

[FiremedicMike151]

On 5/29/2021 at 4:56 PM, marktwothousand said:

We started vaccinating 12 year olds weeks ago here and now we are pretty much at the stage where those are the people mostly going to the clinics right now. If you want to rest on your laurels among a less amount of fully vaccinated people vs. a larger amount of partially vaccinated, that’s fine, but you guys have hit a wall on your overall totals because of the huge anti-vaccine population and just general apathy.
 

We are going to be fully vaccinated here very very soon and I would much rather live safely among a population with low COVID circulating and partially vaccinated than only a handful of people fully. Our COVID rates per capita are dropping fast and let’s see where you guys are two weeks after this Memorial Day with all your “no vaccinated” people travelling. Hope your news covers what’s happening in the UK because it’s not good and their cases are rising.

 

PS Plus: Partially vs fully really doesn’t matter anyway in the big picture because we’re probably all going to need third shots for the winter until the next generation of vaccines are approved anyway. So if you’re only looking at this as a two-dose deal you’re not looking at it longer-term. It’s really probably going to be four total doses once you factor in another booster of this vaccine generation and then maybe one final shot next year with newer, better vaccines. 
 

So, I hope you Enjoy the rest of your summer after the explosion of Memorial Day cases in two weeks. the hospitals will be jammed with people on oxygen again, unfortunately. And there will be no cruises…thanks.  

FYI, the US is pretty far ahead of Canada in per capita vaccination rates.. 

 

But by all means, continue your rant.

[Murph269]

On 5/29/2021 at 4:56 PM, marktwothousand said:

 

So, I hope you Enjoy the rest of your summer after the explosion of Memorial Day cases in two weeks. the hospitals will be jammed with people on oxygen again, unfortunately. And there will be no cruises…thanks.  

How did this prediction turn out for you? 

[DCGuy64]

55 minutes ago, Murph269 said:

How did this prediction turn out for you? 

Right? That didn't age well, did it? One wonders if the poster will be back to take ownership of his (wildly pessimistic and wrong) prediction.

[All-ready2cruise]

6 minutes ago, DCGuy64 said:

One wonders if the poster will be back to take ownership of his (wildly pessimistic and wrong) prediction.

You don't really want to know, do you?  Let's just keep the positivity going. I'm so happy right now, just dreaming about how nice it will be to cruise again and meet so many wonderful people and have such wonderfully relaxing time at sea.  

 

I just need to figure out which cruise to take now I'm fully vaccinated.  Some are saying we won't need to quarantine 14 days on our return anymore (depending if you have a negative test). Unfortunately, I haven't seen the official government update.  I can wait.  👍

Cheers 

[At Sea At Peace]

2 hours ago, FiremedicMike151 said:

FYI, the US is pretty far ahead of Canada in per capita vaccination rates.. 

 

But by all means, continue your rant.

 

1 hour ago, Murph269 said:

How did this prediction turn out for you? 

 

17 minutes ago, DCGuy64 said:

Right? That didn't age well, did it? One wonders if the poster will be back to take ownership of his (wildly pessimistic and wrong) prediction.

 

Agree with those disagreeing with the rant and I'm not getting into another 'PC' thread about vaccinations, immunity, kids, masks etc. 🙄 (I didn't know that you could make an italicized smiley!)

 

However, Canada has made a terrific uptick in vaccinations after a rough start.  Hopefully the border will open up as Canadian commerce is very important, including tourism in the North East.  Also, generally some of the nicest quests in our area.

 

 

[DCGuy64]

11 minutes ago, All-ready2cruise said:

You don't really want to know, do you? 

Actually, I do. I would hope that anyone who lambasted other people for having the temerity to book vacations (and who did so in a rather rude way) would have the common decency to come back and retract some of his rather outlandish statements. Perhaps I hope for the impossible. Then again, I suppose I could use the ignore function on him, LOL. I would argue that "keeping the positivity going" involves calling out those who predict doom and gloom with virtually no evidence. It undermines the person's credibility. Anyway, have a good day!

 

[VtMac]

4 hours ago, Murph269 said:

How did this prediction turn out for you? 

Crickets...

[Hadacareer]

On 5/28/2021 at 9:28 PM, Gen X Life said:

Excuse me OP.. BUT

 

Canada has  less than 2 million fully Vaccinated people 

 

USA has 133 million people fully vaccinated; and we have now approval to administer to children and we are starting/already in process.

 

I am so sick of Canada, and their self righteous pseudo superior Prime Minister  looking and speaking down their nose at the United States and it's citizens:

 

With all due respect:

Sir;  you and your country should get your own vaccination implementation organized and expedited , stop BEGGING the United States for our extra ( and yes actually your Government HAS! ) and worry about the ramifications to your health, economy and diplomacy when casting your vote in the next election.  

 

( Maybe YOUR news is the state sponsored propaganda! Maybe you like keeping/voting a Guy that dances around in Black face and chases little girls.. see Americans know too, but it is not our business and we are polite enough to keep our mouths shut and laugh behind your back!! )

 

Americans (USA not North Americans) Never bother to stick their nose in Canada's business - Why do Canadians always feel they are entitled to an opinion in USA business!! Newsflash your not - BUTT OUT! OR PAY TAXES!

 

Clean up your own back yard before sticking your nose over the fence and telling your neighbor what to do with their's!!

 

Hey Canadian here, and I agree with your comments..yes la d8 da we are finally catching up on first doses, but we are failing on  second doses..and yes Canada was begging because Trudeau was getting flack..also hate they closed our borders so long and many lost their jobs/income..getting really tired of our government patting itself on the back.  Ps I am also a snowbird and usually live happily in Florida for half the year..but I would never propose to criticize another country’s business (unless of course, human rights violations are occurring...yes, we do need to clean up our own backyard.  Anyway, being retired I take great joy in planning my cruises, and yes, three have been cancelled..fingers crossed for our transatlantic on the getaway in dec!

[Trimone]

Trudeau has recently been to the U.K. for the G7 summit, he didn’t have much to say, the only comment in the press was about his haircut or lack of it?

[CptBoatface]

As a US citizen with property in 🇨🇦,  id love to see an end to the Softwood tariffs. This would help ease some tension unrelated to Covid. But tariffs are bad only if they negatively affect our rivals not our allies...

[marktwothousand]

As another poster just posted a couple posts up, we are smashing records in the developed world up here, vaccinating at rates beyond the US’ wildest dreams. I didn’t think we’d surpass the UK. But we even did that. And Now, Royal has delayed yet another cruise by a month due to COVID. 

 

so you tell me, based on the facts above, if cruising will be ready to go? Feel free to let NCL or whoever hold your money and keep cancelling on you, I don’t think you should, but it’s your choice. But until the vaccination rates go much higher in the US, another 10% at least I’d say, not much is going to change…not to mention the spat between Florida, the CDC and the cruise lines is going on and on. I get it: Don’t tell states what to do. But this is a port that sails to international waters and cruise ships are a different industry than any other. They should be granted an exemption for the vaccination requirement to allow for cruises to sail. This isn’t going to be a forever thing, it’s just a short-term public health measure to allow these companies to operate.

 

Otherwise we are looking at 2022 before they sort this out and anything other than 30% full (or whatever the number is) “test cruises” sail.

 

Trust In Science that the vaccinations work, keep yourself safe, and we will be back.

[soccermommy]

OP, I am really happy Canada is doing so well with vaccinations. I grew up near the Canadian border in NY and now live in New England. I love visiting Canada, and have missed it. 
So, I am not interested in getting into a discussion about which country is doing better. You are playing catch up, we are in neutral gear, it seems. 

I wish I could wave a magic wand and have everyone vaccinated, but I have given up trying to talk people unvaccinated by choice into getting one. It’s frustrating that some people are truly scared, others don’t want be told what to do, and some think they are being injected with tracking chips or alien technology, though why they think the government is that organized is beyond me. Massachusetts has done a pretty good job getting shots into arms, but we are still trying to vaccinate people in areas that have lower rates.As for Florida’s  stand on cruising and it’s governor, you’ll have to ask a Floridian. I have no idea.

The point is, none of this has anything to do with cruise or travel planning. If I wish to do so, and if I am wasting my time, it’s my choice. The only person I am affecting is my husband, and he’s as anxious to travel as I am. Okay, my pocket book could suffer a bit, but not much. I’m still trying to reschedule my third attempt on Celebrity to see Iceland, and I used my last FCC to book the Getaway next year. 
I believe cruising will return sooner than you think. It’s going to be a different experience for a bit, but after the last year,  I don’t mind a slow, careful restart. I’m having a lot of fun planning.

I wish you the best and hope for a reopening between our countries soon! 

[MichiganBound]

Canada will finish all this with a higher percentage of its population fully vaccinated against COVID than the US does.  I'm thinking they will probably pass the US by early September.  There isn't as large a contingent of anti-vaxers/anti-science people in Canada.  Hence more willingness to get the vaccine.  Sure...Canada got off to a slower start than the US in terms of getting its population vaccinated, but I'm more interested in where a country ends up with vaccinations than where it starts.  My hat goes off to Canada.

[MSUjohn]

10 minutes ago, MichiganBound said:

Canada will finish all this with a higher percentage of its population fully vaccinated against COVID than the US does.  I'm thinking they will probably pass the US by early September.  There isn't as large a contingent of anti-vaxers/anti-science people in Canada.  Hence more willingness to get the vaccine.  Sure...Canada got off to a slower start than the US in terms of getting its population vaccinated, but I'm more interested in where a country ends up with vaccinations than where it starts.  My hat goes off to Canada.

anti science i hate that term.

[All-ready2cruise]

For me, it's not a question who has the highest level of vaccinations; it's a question of whether we will continue to fight this virus together.. 

I'm a little ashamed that someone who, IMO, has very little experience with this type of thing; has the audacity  to suggest that many on this forum have less experience than they have when it comes to understanding the possibilities of the outcomes of cruising during or post-Covid 19. 

 

We would be so lucky if covid would be controlled (would love to say defeated but ..... I hesitate to say that ) sooner rather than later. 

 

I'd apologize but know it would be a moot point.  I wish my fellow Canadians and my wonderful American family and friends all the best in the coming months and hope we will be getting great news on the border opening in the near future.  

Cheers

[Treasure Hunter]

Well I just put in all our passport etc. information for our family thanksgiving cruise ( we are all fully vaccinated including the two teens) and took two of the funniest security photos! If we can eat inside restaurants, go shopping and go to the movies without masks, then we can cruise. I’m smiling for the first time since we got off the Regal Princess February 2020. And we have two more NCL cruises booked for 2022. Bless our brilliant scientists.

[osterbound]

Booked for November. If it cancels it cancels. no reason to wait .