Curious: are others looking at alternative cruise or land itineraries “in case” NCL cancels

[vacation44]

9 minutes ago, jlseymour3 said:

Looking at a March trip to Costa Rica.  I offered DW the choice between all inclusive and cute boutique hotel - she said "all inclusive" in a way that made it clear she thought I was daft for even asking.

My family and extended family are booked at Margaritaville in Costa Rica in May.    

[aubreyc1988]

for me, there is nothing like cruising. SO if I don't get to cruise this winter, I will save my pennies for a super lush cruise in the spring/summer/fall 😄

[Cruiser933]

No, I am starting to research backup plans in case I decide to cancel. I don’t want to make full payment and have cancellation penalties until the situation stabilizes. I am not willing to pay a premium price for what I now consider less than I want in a cruise. I would rather go somewhere in my car where I know I can head home or to a hospital if something happens. I feel it is easier to limit my exposure on land than on a cruise. I hope to cruise again someday, but probably not for at least several months.

[ElizaSTN]

50 minutes ago, jlseymour3 said:

Looking at a March trip to Costa Rica.  I offered DW the choice between all inclusive and cute boutique hotel - she said "all inclusive" in a way that made it clear she thought I was daft for even asking.

Costa Rica is one place I would never even consider an all-inclusive.  Too many great restaurants and fun places to hang. 

[SplashOfWater]

I've been checking on cruises for end of February or early March, in case my Jan 30th cruise is cancelled. We sailed on a 4-day Royal Caribbean cruise in early December. It was so good to be back on a ship. 

[jlseymour3]

2 hours ago, ElizaSTN said:

Costa Rica is one place I would never even consider an all-inclusive.  Too many great restaurants and fun places to hang. 

Depends on where, I think.  We stayed at a resort on the Nicoya Peninsula the last time we were there and we found a couple great restaurants, but were definitely glad we had the resort to fall back on.  In San Jose we stayed at a really great little boutique hotel and wandered - it was great.  Of course, that was a long time ago, so maybe things have changed, even on Nicoya.  That would be sad.

 

[ElizaSTN]

11 minutes ago, jlseymour3 said:

Depends on where, I think.  We stayed at a resort on the Nicoya Peninsula the last time we were there and we found a couple great restaurants, but were definitely glad we had the resort to fall back on.  In San Jose we stayed at a really great little boutique hotel and wandered - it was great.  Of course, that was a long time ago, so maybe things have changed, even on Nicoya.  That would be sad.

 

 

That's true.  Haven't been to Nicoya.  We've stayed in small hotels in La Fortuna and Monteverde, and rented a condo in Manuel Antonio.  In all places, we found the most amazing restaurants...some of the best meals I've had on vacation, ever.    

[vacruizer]

At this point I’ve even got backup plans for my backup plans. 
 

I’m scheduled for 1/29 on the Joy. It’s my honeymoon, I’ve already got the week off work, and we haven’t had a vacation since last May so I’m finding something to do that week. 
 

I just hope if they cancel it’s not on a day or two of notice like some sailings have been. Cancel now, refund me, and let me make alternate plans. 
 

 

[Idaho Breeze]

If we get to Tampa to discover our Jan 29 Dawn cruise is cancelled we may head over to one of the resorts in the Bahamas for a week or so. We don't want to rush back to snow in Inland Northwest! 

[vacation44]

4 hours ago, ElizaSTN said:

Costa Rica is one place I would never even consider an all-inclusive.  Too many great restaurants and fun places to hang. 

From all of the research we did last year when we booked it, I agree that the vast majority of visitors do choose non all inclusive.    For us, going with a large group which contains 6 young adults, we wanted everything paid for and for them not to want to leave the resort at night.  And we are huge Jimmy Buffett fans--my young adult children saw him the past few summers in concert so that is why we choose Margaritaville.    

 I

[addicted2cruizin]

We have been defaulting to plan B for the last two years. Three cruises cancelled, so we have taken several trips to Mexican AI’s and weekend trips around the US. Fingers crossed our Iceland cruise on the Star is a go this June.  Flights have been bought with miles. One way or another I am going to Europe!

[CDR Benson]

We had a cruise to New England/Canada scheduled for October, 2019, with Royal Caribbean.  When it was canceled, we opted to find another Canadian cruise and were willing to wait an extended time, hoping COVID would run its course.

 

In the autumn of 2019, we booked a New England/Canada cruise on NORWEGIAN JOY for September of this year.  One advantage of being willing to wait was that we got one heck of a good price for it.

 

But, aye, once bitten, twice shy.  I've already got back-up cruises in place, scheduled for the end of the year or the beginning of 2023.  The Good Mrs. Benson stated that if this Canadian cruise falls through, she doesn't care where the next cruise goes, as long as our accommodations are luxuriant.

 

There's a certain "planning fatigue" that sets in, though.  I feel a bit of it with only one canx under my belt.  I can imagine it's especially wearisome on you folks who've had their cruises canceled two, three, or more times, now.

Edited January 28, 2022 by CDR Benson

[mertziek]

34 minutes ago, CDR Benson said:

There's a certain "planning fatigue" that sets in, though.  I feel a bit of it with only one canx under my belt.  I can imagine it's especially wearisome on you folks who've had their cruises canceled two, three, or more times, now.

Not only planning fatigue but also fatigue from all of this uncertainty.  Imagine the stress experienced by the people who recently had their cruise from Miami canceled as they were enroute flying in to Miami.  I’m hopeful we will eventually get back to some semblance of normal but expect more cancellations ahead for a while yet.  We try to remain patient and optimistic but are always thinking ahead to the “what if” scenario.  Takes a lot of the enjoyment out of planning vacays.

[njkate]

I cancelled my Hawaii/Tahiti cruise as too many things can go wrong. I love cruising but not the hurdles one must go through to cruise at this time, with still no matter how cautious you are no guarantees you will get on the ship. So for this year looking at other options for a vacation

[njkate]

On 1/13/2022 at 1:17 PM, vacation44 said:

My family and extended family are booked at Margaritaville in Costa Rica in May.    

Wow Costa Rica has a Margaritaville?? CR must have changed a lot since I was there back in 1999

[vacation44]

1 hour ago, njkate said:

Wow Costa Rica has a Margaritaville?? CR must have changed a lot since I was there back in 1999

Yes; however, it is a smaller resort and very, very laid back from what I have researched.

[SimplyAlbert]

On 1/13/2022 at 5:14 PM, ElizaSTN said:

 

That's true.  Haven't been to Nicoya.  We've stayed in small hotels in La Fortuna and Monteverde, and rented a condo in Manuel Antonio.  In all places, we found the most amazing restaurants...some of the best meals I've had on vacation, ever.    

We stayed in Playa Langosta, right outside of Tamarindo.  Ever since we got back I've said that the food in Costa Rica is one of the best kept secrets out there.  Everywhere we ate, whether at a little roadside stand or in one of the nicer places on the beach the food was wonderful.

[RocketMan275]

On 1/12/2022 at 5:29 PM, vanchelle said:

what else/where else are you considering if these cancellations continue? 
stay home?

We're staying home and spending the cruise money on upgrading our home.

 

We cancelled our Breakaway cruise out of NOLA for March.  We had booked a Deluxe Owners Suite w/large balcony and the adjacent Penthouse Suite for our son and  his wife.  This was to be our 30th anniversary present.  We cancelled when NCL mandated masks on board.  We're both double vaccinated and boosted and see no reason to wear masks.

 

 We are going to enclose our veranda and install a/c and heat.  We love sitting there but it gets a bit cold in the winter.  It has a magnificent view of the golf course next door and we're looking forward to it becoming a  year round treat.  We do have another cruise booked on Prima for March 2023.

Edited January 28, 2022 by RocketMan275

[BermudaBound2014]

We had a two-month cruise/trip planned through South America and Antarticia January 2020. I turned that into a 4 month stay on Maui (recently retired so I was not about to spend winter in Michigan). We have also completed a half dozen land vacations in 2021 including a month-long trip to Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons which was spectacular. January 2022 Antarticia was cancelled again long ago so, once again, I'm back on Maui until the end of April. It's not a hardship lol.

 

We have a two-month Africa cruise/ safari trip booked for January of 2023 on NCL and I am already making back up plans. I was long range planning to do a world cruise in 2023, but I'm way too uncomfortable with the unknown to even consider planning for that at the moment.

 

If the political/financial climate remains unstable, I'll keep finding alternates to cruising. Wanderlust is in my soul. There was a time when I loved cruising more than any other type of vacation, but I have diversified and have managed to make lemonade from the most bitter lemons. There are lots of choices available for those who wish to travel without the uncertainty of cruising at the moment.

 

Aloha and happy travels to all! 

Edited January 28, 2022 by BermudaBound2014

[kochleffel]

If my next cruise is cancelled but it's possible to visit the country, I'll keep the airline booking and go there. The trip is sort of a replacement for two cruises previously cancelled by the cruise lines -- one in 2021 to the same region, one this year at the same season.

[Cindy]

We’ve been trying to take our Pride of America cruise since April of 2020. We have quite a bit of money tied up in this trip, but we really want a cruise, not a refund! We’re trying one more time to take the cruise in October 1 of this year. The difference is this time I already have refundable back-up plans booked for the same dates we would be gone on the cruise. Cruise or no cruise, we plan to fly to Honolulu on September 27th.

[cruiser123!]

When the 2020 cruise was canceled, we ended up spending 5 days in Costa Rica.  When our summer cruise was canceled, we went and an African Safari.  It was amazing!!

[Sailing12Away]

14 hours ago, kochleffel said:

If my next cruise is cancelled but it's possible to visit the country, I'll keep the airline booking and go there. The trip is sort of a replacement for two cruises previously cancelled by the cruise lines -- one in 2021 to the same region, one this year at the same season.

Same with us. We booked our upcoming May trip almost 2 years ago at a steal of a price. If it's cancelled there is no way we would be able to just rebook it for a later month (already have other trips planned) or year later (price would never be matched). Business class flights are already booked to Barcelona and home from London, so if the countries let us in, we're headed there. 

Hotel reservations get extended and we start trying to better understand the train systems over there to get us from one country to the other.

[beerman2]

Right now we are sticking to land vacations.

We are vaxed and not afraid of catching Covid, just we prefer to not get quarantined on a ship if we do.

 

On land WE control the lodging, food. Getting food delivered to your room doesn’t sound appealing from the reports here on CC.

 

 

[BermudaBound2014]

22 hours ago, cruiser123! said:

  When our summer cruise was canceled, we went and an African Safari.  It was amazing!!

 

Now that's what I'm talking about 🙂