Whisper Caribbean Thanksgiving cruise

[traveling6pack]

I know this itinerary isn't as adventuresome as many of the posted questions, but we are wondering if there will be any changes to the itinerary as it disembarks in Ft. Lauderdale.  Not to get political, but Florida isn't allowing cruise lines that require full vaccinations to dock there.  We are waiting to make hotels in San Juan and return flights from Ft. Lauderdale in the event of possible changes.   Any thoughts?

[Arlopop]

We are booked on Whisper out of FLL immediately after the Thanksgiving cruise (12/02, FLL-FLL, 15 day) and haven’t heard anything regarding a change.  As it stands now, Florida’s ban on vax mandates for cruise lines was halted by a judge.  I suspect that since Disney Cruise Lines is now requiring vaccines to board, Florida will not push back (Disney has enormous power there.)

[Lois R]

I am on the same sailing as Arlopop........are you sure about that judgement?  I don't recall seeing that.....but that would be awesome if it is true.

 

But to the first question,  Silversea has been requiring all guests to be vaccinated.......hopefully they will continue with this policy.  I guess we will just have to see what happens between now and December.

[Arlopop]

Unless it’s changed since last month, this ruling is still in place:

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/economy/judge-blocks-florida-law-that-prevents-cruise-lines-from-requiring-proof-of-vaccination

Edited September 15, 2021 by Arlopop

[cruiseej]

And whatever is the case today may not be the case tomorrow! Such is the state of cruising at this time.

 

We're going on a Seabourn cruise in the Caribbean in abut 10 days. We had one port of call dropped, then replaced with another about a month ago. Just this week, we were notified that a different port of call was being dropped. The local conditions continue to evolve, and the governments are re-writing their rules and protocols all the time.

 

I don't think you can be confident that today's itinerary for a cruise 10 weeks away will remain unchanged, and I don't think anyone can tell you with certainty. If concern over itinerary changes is significant for you, you might be better canceling when you can, and waiting for the waters to be calmer sometime in the future. If you're okay rolling with whatever changes come along, then you'll likely have an enjoyable cruise. 

[Lois R]

1 hour ago, Arlopop said:

Unless it’s changed since last month, this ruling is still in place:

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/economy/judge-blocks-florida-law-that-prevents-cruise-lines-from-requiring-proof-of-vaccination

Thanks for the link.......goes back to August 9th........normally I follow this pretty closely but I missed this one.......I am sure an appeal was entered but don't remember that either.

[cruiseej]

When it comes to booking flights or hotels, I'd caution against trying to keep up with the legal wrangling in the courts, because you might miss seeing some ruling or understand how it's being enforced and reach an incorrect conclusion. All that matters is what the cruise line says it is doing.

 

In this case, I'd check with Silversea to confirm that they still as of now intend to depart from San Juan and end in Ft. Lauderdale. (As we see almost daily on this forum, there are sometimes changes planned or in the works which have not yet been updated on the website.)

 

Next, you might consider requesting a quote from Silversea Air for your plane tickets. If it's reasonably close to what you could book on your own, then doing it through Silversea will cover you completely if they end up moving the point of embarkation or disembarkation. If you can't get a competitive price from SS, or if you're trying to use points, then you have to plunge ahead and hope that SS will cover your flight change costs if they make a last-minute change. (In normal times, I would say they would; these, however, aren't normal times, so while I think it's likely, I don't think it's certain.) Similarly, for your hotels, if at possible, try to book at a hotel which allows you to cancel without cost. Most U.S. hotels will let you cancel within one or a few days of your scheduled arrival.