Cruise = yes. Excursions = nope.

[craig01020]

I'm still going on my Jan. 9 cruise on the Bliss, but I've decided to cancel any booked excursions that include transportation. I'm not afraid of catching covid, but I don't want to be identified as a close contact in case someone else on the bus does.

 

Now I just have to endure calling NCL.

Edited January 2, 2022 by craig01020

[European_CruiseGirl]

Thats my worry too. Though our cruise is only in April but includes ports in Italy where you need to take ncl excursions and cannot arrange your own excursions (local covid related government rule). 
 

After 2 covid + (March 2020/February 2021) and three shots of vaccinations (Pfizer x 2 + Moderna) I am not that afraid of catching covid as I do my best by using a fitted FFP3 mask. However none of this matters if I am considered a close contact of a covid + person who has been sitting close to me on an excursion bus etc. I wouldn’t really want to spend x days of my cruise in quarantine…

 

As my current cruise is very port intensive with lots of excursions needed (Rome, Florence, Napoli, Barcelona etc etc) I am thinking about moving my cruise perhaps to one which mainly visits Greek islands (Santorini etc) which would be easier to explore alone. It doesn’t really feel that we would be getting an optimal experience on those ports (many of them first time for us) during these covid times. However my husband is determined to take advantage of the good bargain price we got for this cruise (aft suite, 5100e/10 nights) 😏

Edited January 2, 2022 by European_CruiseGirl

[julie3fan]

Craig, can't you cancel excursions online?  It's been so long ago since I took a ship's excursion so I don't know how that works anymore, but it might be worth digging into.

 

We're on the same cruise, and aren't doing any excursions either, ship's or private.  I initially made that decision because we've been to all the ports except Mazatlan, but if I did have some planned, I'd be cancelling them too.

[craig01020]

Just now, julie3fan said:

Craig, can't you cancel excursions online?

Yes and no. Yes for some other cruise lines. No for NCL. 😠

[TNcruising02]

I also cancelled all of my excursions.  We will probably not do any group excursions.  When I called Norwegian, the process took about five minutes and I should receive a refund.  We are really considering driving to the port.  However, if we do fly we will only use Uber and not transportation where we are in a vehicle with several other people.

[debenson0723]

29 minutes ago, craig01020 said:

I'm still going on my Jan. 9 cruise on the Bliss, but I've decided to cancel any booked excursions that include transportation. I'm not afraid of catching covid, but I don't want to be identified as a close contact in case someone else on the bus does.

 

Now I just have to endure calling NCL.

That is what I did on my Bliss Thanksgiving cruise.  I enjoy just being on the ship and I swear in Ensenada I was the only non-crew member on board at one point.  Plus your chances of winning trivia are better when only 6 people are playing (we had just under1800 on this cruise).

And if you are still on hold, try the chat feature. I have found I can do almost everything via chat.

[craig01020]

I still plan to go into ports. I just don't want to be on a list of close contacts.

[tallnthensome]

39 minutes ago, craig01020 said:

I'm still going on my Jan. 9 cruise on the Bliss, but I've decided to cancel any booked excursions that include transportation. I'm not afraid of catching covid, but I don't want to be identified as a close contact in case someone else on the bus does.

 

Now I just have to endure calling NCL.

That's what I did back in August.....I'd for sure be doing it now. 

[Shayhooper]

We did the Mexican Riveria in August and still did tours but instead were more picky about choosing our independent tours.  In Mazatlan we booked an electric bike tour - all outdoors with no bus rides.  Cancun we booked a private pontoon boat that gave us a tour and then took us snorkeling, which was surprisingly cheap and involved a quick (5 minute) shuttle to the marina.  Puerto Vallarta we did a Resort for a Day so we only needed a cab ride.  IIRC I booked all of these through Viator.

[FBegg]

I just canceled my NCL excursions as well, thank you for the reminders.  I've already been to the ports on the itinerary many times before, both on land based vacations and cruises.  Nothing new to see that I can't live without.  Excellent point about being identified as a "close contact," thank you.

 

BTW- I had to call NCL shore excursions (866-625-1167), the rep couldn't do it for me using the chat function.

Edited January 2, 2022 by FBegg

[sparkygirlfamily]

Are you still considered a close contact if wearing an appropriate level mask?  In our case we have packed KN-95's that fit each member of our family including our 11 year old?  

[jesstree]

8 hours ago, craig01020 said:

I'm still going on my Jan. 9 cruise on the Bliss, but I've decided to cancel any booked excursions that include transportation. I'm not afraid of catching covid, but I don't want to be identified as a close contact in case someone else on the bus does.

 

Now I just have to endure calling NCL.

We just got the Bliss. Don't bother with any excursion that is "shopping" city your, or anything that is not on the ocean. We cancelled Ensenada and so glad we did, other members of our party did not. In Cabo we did the 3 in 1 snorkel and that was great. You are on a boat outdoors. If you have to get on a bus cancel. In Mazatlan we just did our own thing Cabs are open air and cheap.

[classy_cruiser]

Has anyone actually been quarantined for being a close contact on a Caribbean excursion? Thought it was more Bermuda/Europe related 

[amarvel]

Would this be the same for Cabo, which is a tender port? Are people skipping it since you cant avoid taking the tender?

[mlgb]

6 hours ago, amarvel said:

Would this be the same for Cabo, which is a tender port? Are people skipping it since you cant avoid taking the tender?

Definitely thinking of not getting off in Cabo.

[craig01020]

8 hours ago, classy_cruiser said:

Has anyone actually been quarantined for being a close contact on a Caribbean excursion? Thought it was more Bermuda/Europe related 

That's a good question. I wish I knew. For now, I'll stay paranoid.

 

I'm not afraid of covid (I'm triple vaxxed). I'm concerned with the overreaction of being near someone with a stuffy nose.

[SimplyAlbert]

We decided early on that we're treating our February cruise as an all-inclusive floating vacation.  Honestly, we're just going to be happy with a change of scenery.  We've been to all the ports multiple times before so we're just going to hang out on our aft balcony, enjoy being out of the cold/ice/snow, and relax.