We sail in 25 days. Any chance of cancellation?

[TX-Cruiser]

We are sailing on Ovation to Alaska on the Sept 17 sailing. I want to get excited...but have not allowed myself because of fear of cancellation. Thoughts? I would think at this point it is a go no matter what...but again...after a few cancellation maybe I am being a bit too cautious? Momma needs a vacation. 

[crzndeb]

Not likely at this point. I’m on the Oct 1 and 8 sailing, and I’m planning on going.

[TheInnocentAge]

17 minutes ago, TX-Cruiser said:

We are sailing on Ovation to Alaska on the Sept 17 sailing. I want to get excited...but have not allowed myself because of fear of cancellation. Thoughts? I would think at this point it is a go no matter what...but again...after a few cancellation maybe I am being a bit too cautious? Momma needs a vacation. 

 

There's always the chance, especially in these times, but I think it's OK be excited and optimistic while still being prepared for anything. We cruise in six days on Symphony and the itinerary changed just this morning from eastern Caribbean to western, with a stop in Coco Cay. I would think the Alaska routes may be more stable, but who knows.

 

Best wishes for a great cruise!

Edited August 23, 2021 by TheInnocentAge

[WeMissSeaView]

I am on Ovation in September and again in October and I see it as a 100% go.

[bmblob]

2 hours ago, TX-Cruiser said:

We are sailing on Ovation to Alaska on the Sept 17 sailing. I want to get excited...but have not allowed myself because of fear of cancellation. Thoughts? I would think at this point it is a go no matter what...but again...after a few cancellation maybe I am being a bit too cautious? Momma needs a vacation. 

We will be disembarking when you are getting on board on 9/17.  I expect now that this is a go.  Haven't started packing yet but getting all the ducks in a row.  Resigned to masking indoors, getting a Covid test before cruising and having all our vaccine documents together.  But we will be cruising again in a few weeks.  Yea! for that!!!  

[Sweetnspicy]

2 hours ago, TX-Cruiser said:

We are sailing on Ovation to Alaska on the Sept 17 sailing. I want to get excited...but have not allowed myself because of fear of cancellation. Thoughts? I would think at this point it is a go no matter what...but again...after a few cancellation maybe I am being a bit too cautious? Momma needs a vacation. 

I think you will be good to go. Be aware that WA state mandated masks again in all public locations starting today. 

[sharktums]

I totally get you, we have several cruises booked and I just don't want to get my hopes up too high cause I feel like at any time they could be cancelled for any number of reasons. =(

[tallnthensome]

Being realistic there is always a chance in today's environment 

[rj59]

It will go, but just be ready for rain and cold and wind, particularly on the two days on the open sea. I just watched a couple of Ovation tours made last week on a youtube channel called Cruising with JT, and he said the North Star and skydiving simulator aren't operating now. I saw some steep price drops for the Sept 17 sailing, so you might use their Best Price Guarantee to get a shipboard credit if there's a difference between what you paid and the current fare.

[TX-Cruiser]

1 hour ago, rj59 said:

It will go, but just be ready for rain and cold and wind, particularly on the two days on the open sea. I just watched a couple of Ovation tours made last week on a youtube channel called Cruising with JT, and he said the North Star and skydiving simulator aren't operating now. I saw some steep price drops for the Sept 17 sailing, so you might use their Best Price Guarantee to get a shipboard credit if there's a difference between what you paid and the current fare.

Thank you. We did receive a hardy OBC after price drop a couple weeks ago!

 

Thank you everyone. Now just crossing my fingers that we can find a rapid test as I don’t have much confidence on a PCR with lab times backing up again. 

[Marilyn Johannes]

5 hours ago, TX-Cruiser said:

We are sailing on Ovation to Alaska on the Sept 17 sailing. I want to get excited...but have not allowed myself because of fear of cancellation. Thoughts? I would think at this point it is a go no matter what...but again...after a few cancellation maybe I am being a bit too cautious? Momma needs a vacation. 

We felt the same way you do and we didn’t start packing until we received the rapid Covid test the day before our departure to Seattle. We are on the Ovation right now. Things are different but it is nice to be traveling and cruising again. North Star and Ifly are not working, not sure if it’s Covid related or a mechanical issue. Dining room is somewhat spaced, but there are a lot of two seat tables situated very close together (less than 2 feet apart). We asked and were given a table that is socially distanced from others. If you are doing My Time Dining be aware that some nights it is impossible to go to the show and eat in the dining room. Also, Windjammer being closed for dinner makes dining more difficult. 
The crew has been great and food is okay. We decided we probably will postpone our next cruise in April if cruising has similar practices as now. 

[Dat Cruisin Couple]

Unlikely to be cancelled, but until both feet are onboard it's not 100%. 🙂

[barb in ga]

TX-Cruiser--I so feel the same way! Like many of us, we've been looking forward to this cruise after lockdowns, cancellations, etc.

 

Just 5 weeks ago, DH started coughing like crazy and I insisted he call his Dr.'s office to schedule an appointment, worried that it was pneumonia or bronchitis. They insisted that he get a Covid test. We almost scoffed, after all, we're both fully vaxxed with Pfizer, and are careful about social distancing. Like many people we got more relaxed about masks in June, but hey! we were OK, right? We were shocked to find that he was indeed positive. His doctor recommended he get the infusion of monoclonal antibodies, but he was still sick for over a week. After 10 days, he was tested again and still showed positive, but started feeling a lot better.

We waited another 2 weeks for him to get tested again..now his test is negative. I was just about to cancel the cruise, but he is totally ready to be out and around.

 

I still am so thankful that we were both vaxxed, as an 85 year old with some issues and pneumonia history, I fear he wouldn't have survived a full blown case. His immunity had started to weaken, but 5 weeks ago, no one was talking much about breakthrough cases.

 

For everyone who is vaxxed and ready to cruise, just go back to masking and social distancing as we know we should. Thanks RCI for asking everyone to get tested prior to their cruise. It's all good for everyone to watch out for our health.

Barb

[deliver42]

I'm on the Sept. 10th sailing, and we'll try to keep the ship nice and clean for you. Have a great cruise.

[crzndeb]

I don’t sail the Ovation until Oct 1, but I’m already googling Covid test sites. As others mentioned, it seems like rapid tests in my area are a little harder to find. The place I went to test in June (I had Covid and was vaxxed), is still a drive through, but I think it is PCR. I did get my result in a day, but don’t know if that holds true now. May still go there and find a rapid test place as a backup, or even as a secondary.

[pstone1]

On 8/23/2021 at 8:50 PM, barb in ga said:

TX-Cruiser--I so feel the same way! Like many of us, we've been looking forward to this cruise after lockdowns, cancellations, etc.

 

Just 5 weeks ago, DH started coughing like crazy and I insisted he call his Dr.'s office to schedule an appointment, worried that it was pneumonia or bronchitis. They insisted that he get a Covid test. We almost scoffed, after all, we're both fully vaxxed with Pfizer, and are careful about social distancing. Like many people we got more relaxed about masks in June, but hey! we were OK, right? We were shocked to find that he was indeed positive. His doctor recommended he get the infusion of monoclonal antibodies, but he was still sick for over a week. After 10 days, he was tested again and still showed positive, but started feeling a lot better.

We waited another 2 weeks for him to get tested again..now his test is negative. I was just about to cancel the cruise, but he is totally ready to be out and around.

 

I still am so thankful that we were both vaxxed, as an 85 year old with some issues and pneumonia history, I fear he wouldn't have survived a full blown case. His immunity had started to weaken, but 5 weeks ago, no one was talking much about breakthrough cases.

 

For everyone who is vaxxed and ready to cruise, just go back to masking and social distancing as we know we should. Thanks RCI for asking everyone to get tested prior to their cruise. It's all good for everyone to watch out for our health.

Barb

Thank you for sharing your story!  I’m glad to hear your husband has recovered and feels good!  Enjoy your cruise!

[Russ Lomas]

On 8/23/2021 at 2:59 PM, TX-Cruiser said:

We are sailing on Ovation to Alaska on the Sept 17 sailing. I want to get excited...but have not allowed myself because of fear of cancellation. Thoughts? I would think at this point it is a go no matter what...but again...after a few cancellation maybe I am being a bit too cautious? Momma needs a vacation. 

There is always a chance that the cruise could be cancelled.  I felt the exact same way right up until we boarded the Odyssey just over a week ago.  Now that I have returned from our (amazing) cruise, I feel 100% confident in how RCCL is managing their ships to eliminate/minimize the chance of getting COVID on the ship due to sailing with lower numbers, physical distancing, masking rules, sanitization, etc.  I can almost guarantee your cruise will not be cancelled due to a COVID outbreak on the ship.

 

Rules are constantly changing however, so restrictions will likely be somewhat different for your cruise than they are today.  Have a wonderful and well-deserved vacation on the Ovation.

[tserface]

I think there's always a chance of a cancellation, but the cruise lines seem to be getting into their stride so it's probably unlikely.  Do keep up on the website stuff with protocols and tests and all the things.