Captain_Morgan
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Posts posted by Captain_Morgan
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4 minutes ago, Jim Avery said:
Lots of charter aircraft are biz only. Think about what sports teams charter. Just for one example. And biz is included for all WC passengers.
That did cross my mind, but those aircraft are typically customized for the purpose and I doubt there's a custom airbus laying about in Dubai (unless its owned by one of the local Sheikh's 😆) and even if it is i'm sure its going to cost a heck of a lot more than standard business class fares on Emirates. Not to mention the standard airbus layout is about 30 seats in the front.
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3 minutes ago, DaveSJ711 said:
I wonder whether the chartered plane will carry the WCers in business class. Can’t have a Viking cruiser stuck in economy!Guess it depends how bad they want to get home?!? I suppose though if the plane is chartered it will be ONLY passengers disembarking so unlikely that the entire plane is fitted with business class seats?
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Wonder what the going rate for a chartered wide body plane is these days given this is the plan to get the people back to North America from Dubai now the world cruise is cancelled?? Can't be a cheap endeavor, surely?!? Another hit to the bottom line as i don't see that being 'discounted' 🤔
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2 minutes ago, brisalta said:
Bit of a slightly rosier picture they're painting than the more recent news article
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2 minutes ago, samiam1 said:
Would appear to support the position that after Diamond Princess, all the cruise line should have stood down but let the bean counters take precedence over martime safety. Carnival Corp. and the other giants will likely be sued into bankruptcy.
Add to the fact now a HAL ship is under localized (onboard) lockdown due to 'flu' which as we all know are similar symptoms as COVID-19....not saying this is whats happening on there without tests, etc. but its the first thing that comes to mind right now and could be another nail for them as a corp...
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Not sure if this has been posted anywhere but I didn't see it....
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1 hour ago, Baron Barracuda said:
The difference is FEMA used the ships to house physically fit rescue workers while Carnival is now offering them as hospital space for non-Corona patients. Cruise ship gangways and corridors aren't well suited for wheelchairs and stretchers and onboard medical facilities are limited. With most hotels on land almost vacant believe they present a more suitable option. Thanks for the offer Carnival, but no thanks.
I don't think they'd be used as operating theaters and long term care homes, more like a means to house and treat patients dealing with 'minor' issues in compare. And to say the ships corridors aren't well suited for wheelchairs, have you been on a HAL, SAGA, or Fred Olsen ship? Even many of the Carnival ships are filled with motor scooters and they get around just fine.
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28 minutes ago, Harry Peterson said:
If governments bail out companies, I'm pretty sure it will be done in such a way that the shareholders don't benefit - and quite right too. And I say that as a Carnival shareholder. Branson's Virgin, for example - why should the taxpayer pay to get Richard Branson off the hook - particularly with his record?
Virgin is actually financed by a private equity firm (Bain Capital) and Branson is just the face of the enterprise...that said, they are building the rest of their ships in Italy, which is highly unlikely to be done on time if at all...
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Re. Dubai there are currently 7 ships alongside according to marine traffic. Not sure how long they've been there, but it seems like 'closed' doesn't always mean what it seems...
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2 minutes ago, Son of Anarchy said:
Apparently Saga have been in touch with the Govt offering the use of their ships at Tilbury for use hospital overflow.
And i'm sure they're not going to offer their services for 'cost' either...
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Safe to say the initial 'generous' offer was just that...initial, and once the larger picture became clear (and they accepted their reality) the screws began to tighten all around.
Although it sounds to me like its a difference of 15% between what was offered in the beginning and what's on offer now, some might not think much of it and others might think its a bigger deal.
I equate this to a sale in a shop that is limited to the first X number of purchases, and then after they reach that number they decrease the value of the sale accordingly.
I'm not advocating the actions of the company but is anyone really and truly shocked? Many will say they're never going back and others will take in stride, but I can almost guarantee ALL of the lines will be scaling back their initial offers in order to save money wherever they can.
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12 hours ago, Happy2b@sea said:
This is what Carnival are about to do in the States.
Just to mention, Carnival Cruise Line leased ships to the federal government during the recent hurricane catastrophe in the Caribbean to the tune of $300,000,000 so I have a hard time believing that Mickey is going to do anything for 'cost'....not to mention this is a great way to maintain a revenue stream without having to ask for a loan / bail out...
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No different than when FEMA 'leased' a few of Carnival's old rust buckets after the hurricanes ravaged the Caribbean. We were onboard Viking Sea in the Caribbean and saw a Carnival ship alongside in St. Croix at which time it was explained that the ship in question was being used by FEMA, to aid in the disaster relief.
I'm sure this latest move is just Carnival's way of getting around a bail out and the scrutiny that would follow and they dont have to repay a loan.
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19 minutes ago, terrydtx said:
I think you misunderstood what I was trying to say, our cruise isn't until September 21, but we have until May 20th (120 days out) to get a full cash refund from Viking if we cancel. In that case we lose our AA tickets cost as it would not be covered by insurance. If we wait and Viking and/or AA cancels flights and cruise from Venice before Sept 21 we would get cash for the cruise and AA tickets.. I know this will not all be settled by May 20th but it has a better chance by September, I hope.
Gotcha! Still hard to believe with the trend as it is that Italy will be recovered come September....hope they do, but they're getting decimated right now with no signs of improvement, and the myth that warmer weather will somehow be the cure is hard to believe given how hot/humid countries in SE Asia haven't been immune from getting it
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30 minutes ago, terrydtx said:
We are in a similar situation for our September cruise from Venice. I have until May 20th to cancel for full refund but my American Airlines tickets are non refundable. Insurance will ONLY pay if AA cancels service to Venice and/or Viking cancels the cruise. AA will lets us rebook for no fees but we have to rebook on a flight departing within a year after the date we purchased the tickets, in our case by Nov 19, 2020. Our insurance will cover us if either AA or VO goes out of business but still we are in a wait and see situation for the next two months.
Good luck on your situation.
How the hell can AA still have valid flights to Venice when the entire country is locked down and in no certain terms a state of meltdown? We had flights to Malta booked for the end of this month via Amsterdam and the last leg to Malta was cancelled by the airline despite the country having nowhere near the same issues as Italy.
The likelihood that Italy will be back to 'normal' come May 20th is highly unlikely but I suppose AA and other airlines are just waiting for Uncle Trump to hand out big dollars and/or hoping that you and others cancel on your own so they can just offer non-transferable credits.
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6 minutes ago, Floridiana said:
I have just come back from Rio de Janeiro. One American Airlines passenger told us his wife asked him to bring toilet paper. There was none to be had in her Chicago neighborhood.
In all honesty I was 60/40 serious/joking 🤭
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Jim - you're not wrong with the sentiments that the public have lost their ever-loving minds when it comes to panic buying...and TP of all things?!? We were in our local Target & Walmart yesterday and many shelves were barren, as were many of the freezers so i guess there's going to be a lot of people eating 'Hungry Man' dinners and using TP as napkins?!? 😏
As an aside, with the Sun having recently stocked up on TP (i presume) in Sri Lanka with an aim to call into Oman next if they're able, I don't think there's many if any more places along the way between there and the UK that will have them. Wonder how many of these intrepid travelers will be stowing TP in their luggage for the trip home 'just in case' 🤣
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22 minutes ago, Jim Avery said:
Here's hoping Greenwich is in yall's future Andy.
And Ragnar, good point about Polio. Most vulnerable were children, opposite what the present virus seems to attack. Kids in our school died or were horribly crippled. Yet the world did not collapse. Dad still went to work. The Yankees still played ball, life went on while waiting for a brilliant Doctor named Jonas Salk to come up with an effective vaccine. My earlier point is not to diminish the severity of the new virus. Though it seems to have a similar mortality rate or even less to any number of earlier disease outbreaks in human history, my point is the rapid, willing, early collapsing of collective world economies and ways of life. The few thousand that have died, while certainly to be mourned, are such a tiny portion of 7 billion or so souls on the planet. Collective government action, as we have seen time and time again, once done is more easily done the next time. It could be said the "cure" is worse than the disease. How many times can we ruin the livelihood of millions? Next time, and there always is a next time, the actions and panic will be worse. Again, not to diminish the seriousness of any disease outbreak but the collective responses of our government, and the promised bailouts to come are taking us into a perilous place financially. Throughout history, when economies break down, the results are not pretty.
Part of the issue as well has been the massively delayed response to the issue from the offset. China had its outbreak and no doubt wasn't giving the whole truth about just how bad their issues were, and as such it was allowed to spread rapidly.
Not to politicize the issue on a travel forum, but its no secret that the world's biggest economies and so-called most powerful nations have dropped the ball and tried to convince the world there was nothing to see here....and now the aftermath of such ignorance is on full display.
Its all well and good saying that access to the country from China was blocked, but its very much a case of closing the barn door after the horse has bolted and hoping if you tell people there never was a horse they might actually believe you...
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As has been said, i think the 30 day suspension is just the tip of the iceberg as it gives all companies some time to slowly sift through their operations and scale down future bookings, and in some cases perhaps even wait for people to cancel and opt for the FCC option.
Princess has gone for 60 days, but i think that's due in large part to the fact that 2 of their ships were directly affected with outbreaks onboard, whereas all the others (P&O included) are following the guidance offered from CLIA, which in truth is just a lobbying firm for the industry so they've got a vested interest in all things industry related.
As none of us have a crystal ball, all we can do is speculate as to when the worst of this whole mess will be behind us, but i think the ripple effect will last a lot longer than many want to admit. Needless to say, i think this is a really bad time as well to be building ships let it be in Germany or worse, Italy...
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4 hours ago, janieb1962 said:
So what would you prefer them to have done ? How can they sound more sincere?
Look no further to the 'great pumpkin' in America and what happens when he gets in front of a camera and starts talking....i'm not making a direct correlation between Ludlow and his highness but sometimes a written statement with well thought out text is better than a perceived half-hearted visual of someone reading a canned statement from a teleprompter.
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1 hour ago, janieb1962 said:
Good grief , what more would you like them to do!
Some people just like to complain!
how is what I said a complaint? If anything it’s a simple observation that the message they’re providing rings a little hollow and offers little to no reassurance. Add to the fact they seem to be waiting until the 11th hour before making statements when people are literally waiting with baited breath in order to facilitate changes to their holidays and lives in general.-
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Is it just me, or do these staged video messages from cruise execs come across as hollow and lacking sincerity? Not trying to be cruel, but when you’ve got passengers and crew in a state of uncertainty I would think a more sincere message with plans would be more apt than a canned response saying not much at all. Just my 2 cents.
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1 hour ago, Jennizor said:
Just got back from our Britannia cruise. Very sad at dinner on Friday night. At about 8.45 the Captain addressed the ship. His message was that the people who had travelled out that day had had their cruises cancelled. They would stay on board and travel back to Southampton, starting on Saturday evening (after we had all disembarked). They were offered 125% future cruise credit or they could apply for a 100% cash refund. They also got £300 per person OBC. We were also told that cruises up to May 1st had also been cancelled.
Obviously everyone was disappointed and upset. One couple should have been on for 28 nights.
A lot of the staff were also upset and concerned about losing pay. Obviously the Captain will have spoken to them separately.
I have to say that a lot of the people involved took it quite stoically. Nothing could be done about it and so they would just make the best of their time on Britannia.
Our Virgin plane came out empty to pick us up, so we got off lightly.
Our next cruise is on 14th of June to Northern Europe and the Baltic. Not sure, like lots of you, whether it will go.
We did have a lovely cruise but the Corona virus was on everyone’s mind all time.
The part of your post that interests me the most (and likely others) is the bit about cruises being cancelled up to May 1!!!
Was this something they were told directly onboard or is it a combination of speculation and best estimates? TIA
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7 minutes ago, comcox said:
U.S. government is talking about providing special loans or tax breaks to travel industry which would include Carnival. Although given the state of fighting between our two houses of Congress, I have no idea if any of that will be worked out.
If i were a taxpayer in America i would find it a hard pill to swallow to think the gov't is giving bail outs to companies that don't pay taxes to the country on the billions of earnings they make each year as a result of being incorporated and/or registered in 'convenient' countries
Zaandam and Rotterdam Situation (merged topics starting March 22, 2020)
in Holland America Line
Posted
Isn't that what they thought onboard Diamond Princess? Quarantine onboard a ship clearly doesn't work due to the simple logistics of the operation...crew still inter-mingling, passengers socializing on balconies, etc and they wonder why the numbers continue to rise?!?
Here's hoping that this is nothing but flu, but how likely is it that common flu would spread like this in the day and age of flu shots, etc? Not saying thats the silver bullet, but its a mitigating factor for something that has mitigation unlike COVID-19.