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On 12/14/2022 at 10:58 AM, Homosassa said:

You must always check this information for yourself (along with any required documents for the cruise).

 

Claiming that (place entity here) told you (or didn't tell you) makes no difference when denied boarding at the pier.

 

I booked a cruise back in July for January 2o23.  At the time testing was required for all passengers. 

 

It has been changed and is currently testing is not required.  However, with the current problems with the triple disease epidemic, I will check the requirements to see if any change has been made. 

Yes, I will keep checking the website for the most current info. It just seems the customer service people are not up on the latest.

On 12/13/2022 at 8:26 PM, Classynfun1 said:

We juat booked ourselves for the same cruise. Were told during booking that there was no need for vaccination cards or testing prior to embarkation. 

Awesome, do you have kiddos? I have a 16 year old boy, 12 year old girl and 10 year old boy. Enjoy, maybe we will see you on the ship!

2 hours ago, styles27 said:

Are you going to Colon? If not then you don’t need to test. If so then you do need a test. 

Nope. Only going to Nassau and Ocean Cay. I'm not worried, my husband is.

Hello. My family of 5 is departing from Miami on an MSC cruise in 8 days. It says on the MSC website that testing for unvaccinated guests is no longer required, only recommended for guests departing from U.S. ports. (We are not vaccinated, not interested in a debate on that!) We've called MSC twice now and they tell us we are required to provide a negative test to board, but I suspect this is incorrect info based on their website? How to we find out for sure? Can anyone who has sailed recently provide your experience? Thanks. I really don't want to test all of us if it isn't necessary!

So it says Miller Lite draft is $7.00. That's literally all my husband drinks (lol) and he is very concerned about whether he should get the easy or easy plus package to ensure Miller Lite is included. Since easy package includes drinks up to $7.50, does that mean it's included? We are sailing on Divina on Dec. 19 if that makes a difference. TIA!

Hello, we are Americans who were booked on the May 30th sailing of the Seaside. Because I think it's highly unlikely cruising will be back that soon, I decided to cancel. I was still in the window where I could get a cash refund and lose my $200 deposit, so that's what I decided to do. I wanted to make sure I got a cash refund and not a FCC, so that's why I decided to go this route. It's been over a week, and the refund hasn't come through yet. Other Americans that have cancelled, how long until you received your refund? I'm sure MSC is backed up in processing refunds, but I can't help but be nervous and I won't relax until it comes through. TIA!

Well I was booked on the May 30th sailing of the Seaside out of Miami. (I'm an American.) I got spooked and just cancelled after reading all these reports. With the way things are going, I just don't feel comfortable leaving that much money in their hands and I still had 12 days left to cancel and lose my deposit only. So that's the route I took. I'm supposed to get a full refund minus $200. I also already had flights so now I have a $600 flight credit I have to use in 90 days I don't need. I'm so sad and disappointed, I really wanted to go on this cruise and was so excited about it. 😞

7 hours ago, sverigecruiser said:

 

Do you know if all teachers have enough knowledge about that so that they can give instructions without first learning it themself?

 

E-learning was just approved by the state of Illinois this year. Our school district was already set up for 2 e-learning days, which I'd image teachers and school officials assumed would be used for snow days, not a pandemic. 😉 My kids have a folder that is supposed to be kept in their backpack at all times that includes materials and login instructions. I'd imagine teachers had to scramble to get together e-learning for 3 additional days, though. And according to state of IL statute, only 5 days need to be made up and anything beyond that is considered an "act of God." If all goes well and things calm down with this virus, 5 days of school is all they should miss since the other week was already our planned Spring Break. Education varies so much in the U.S. though, so each state will have their own laws regarding this and each local school district will have their own procedures. My family is in a better position than most, I substitute teach for our district so I'm very familiar with the curriculum and my husband works in IT so we have plenty of computers in our house. My oldest is in 8th grade so he has a computer from the school (since our district provides them to 5th grade and up) but my younger two are in 4th and 1st grade so they don't have a computer through the school.

4 hours ago, sverigecruiser said:

Thank you for that information.

 

What happens if someone doesn't have a computer at home? Does everyone get a "schoolcomputer" to use? 

Schools in the U.S. are all run by local governments and overseen by states, so there is a lot of variation in how things are done. In my particular school district, students don't get a computer through the school until 5th grade and up. It was just announced by the Illinois governor that all schools in our state will now be closed from Tuesday through the end of the month. Some districts are closing Monday as well, our district will be open Monday so teachers can give instructions on e-learning and pass out paper assignments to students who don't have computer access. One of the weeks we have off was our scheduled Spring Break so there will be no e-learning that week. I'm not even sure exactly how this will all work, this is the first time we will be using e-learning.

I'm in IL. New this year, our school district set up e-learning (online learning) days so that any missed days of school (due to snow days, etc.) would not need to be made up. Our district's superintendent sent out an email yesterday that our district is currently set up for 2 e-learning days, and they are rushing to prepare for 3 additional e-learning days. Anything past that are considered "Act of God" days by Illinois statute and would not need to be made up. I assume each state has their own rules regarding this. Seems crazy that many days could just be forgiven, though! There is still over 2 1/2 months left in the school year!

32 minutes ago, GatorMomInNC said:

I don't understand how they can offer on FCC when THEY cancelled.  I understand they have been holding out on cancelling  until the last minute, in my opinion to pressure the passengers to cancel and accept a FCC.  I think it is unfair if passengers are basically unable to make it to the cruise due to various travel bans, including this sudden and ridiculously broad ban from here in the US; but again, I guess they can say, well, not our fault, you cancelled, FCC only.  BUT WHEN THEY CANCEL THEY SHOULD REFUND THE MONEY.

Do we know cash isn't being refunded and only a FCC offered when the cruise is cancelled? If that's the case, that will tip the scales for me and I will cancel and eat my deposit. I'm not sailing until May 30 and things might be better then, or they might not. But right now, I can still cancel for cash and lose my deposit. If I wait too long, that won't be the case. If things are better by then and the ship sails, I would like to go on the cruise. We are not elderly and don't have underlying health issues. If the cruiseline cancels for whatever reason, I want cash back and not a FCC. We already have flights and want to use that money for a land vacation if we don't cruise. If cash isn't being given, I'm playing it safe and cancelling now while I can still get most of my money back.

ETA, we are Americans cruising out of Miami so international flight bans aren't a concern.

I'm in IL, our district sent out a form today that we needed to fill out if we are traveling over Spring Break which starts week after next. We aren't cruising, our cruise isn't until May 30th after school gets out for the Summer. We do have a Spring Break road trip to Destin, FL planned, though. We rented a privately owned condo and can't cancel so we're going. I hope it doesn't get my kids kicked out of school for a few weeks but if it does, I guess I'll be homeschooling for a few weeks!

1 hour ago, WonderMan3 said:

 

Because some of us don't know when or if we would be able to reschedule a cruise (I have other trips lined up already through next year), and with the way things are going who knows what might happen to them as a company. I don't want a credit that becomes worthless if the company was to go belly up a few months from now.

Exactly. This is a big concern of mine. I was lucky *sarcasm* enough to buy a brand new house in 2007, right before the U.S. housing crash. My builder went bankrupt 1 month after we closed, we never got the fully sodded lot we paid for, we never got our home warranty, and we were luckier than the people who hadn't closed yet and had houses under construction they had put large deposits down on. They never got those deposits back. Obviously a house is a bigger investment than a vacation, but losing the money you paid for a vacation still hurts. I'm worried about what this will do to many aspects of the travel industry, MSC included, if this doesn't resolve itself fairly quickly. I don't want a FCC and then the company goes belly up.

My family of 5 (2 adults, 3 kids) are booked on the May 30th sailing of the Seaside. I'm at the point now where I can get my money back minus my deposit. Come end of March when I'm 60 days out, that will no longer be the case. Does anyone know if they are doing anything for people like me, are they refunding deposits or issuing the deposit as a FFC? Or would I just be out the deposit? I REALLY want to go on our cruise, but if things continue to go south, I also really want my money back instead of a FFC so I'm trying to weigh my options before we reach the 60 day point.

Does anyone know if these family cabins on the Armonia accomodate 5? We are a family with 3 kids and are booked on the Armonia this June in 2 rooms. I'm not thrilled we have to be split between 2 rooms but the price of the Armonia couldn't be beat so we went with it anyway. It would be ideal if we could put everyone in one room. Those family rooms are likely booked anyway since we are less than 5 months out but I thought I'd ask! TIA.

2 hours ago, Até said:

ETA: If you plan on purchasing a drinks package for just the two adults you may have trouble because officially everyone in the cabin is supposed to be required to have an equivalent package.  That said there have been reports of people being able to purchase the drinks package for only one of the passengers in the cabin on the MSC website.  It would also be best to purchase packages in advance because once on the ship a 15% gratuity will be added to the cost of the package.

Thanks for the reply! I was pricing it out with the non-alcoholic package for the kids because I thought it was required and it still came out slightly cheaper. If we can get away with only buying the easy package for the adults, that would be great! I don't think my kids will drink enough soda/juice to justify the price so I'd prefer to not buy it for them if possible.

9 hours ago, Até said:

How many people are in the cabin?  For two people on that sailing in Bella and Fantastica the All In rate is $200 per person more than the Escape rate.  So $400, minus any Voyagers discounts which will make it cost a little less than the following.  I'm not sure of the exact price on Armonia right now but on US sailings the standard internet has been about $75, leaving approximately $325 as the cost of the beverage package.  Dividing by two people then by seven nights yields $23 per person per day.  Pre-purchasing the Easy package is now $35 per person per day, add 15% if you do it on the ship.  Not the best deal I've seen, but at least it's some savings if you wanted the a drinks package and internet anyway.

It's actually for 5 people, 2 adults and 3 kids. (Well, 2 kids and 1 teen.) We are looking at booking 2 cabins. 1 adult and 1 child in 1, 1 adult and 2 children in the other. This is what I was basing my math on.

Thanks for the replies everyone! I was looking at the June 14, 2020 Armonia sailing and doing the math, the escape rate plus adding easy drinks and internet a la carte actually comes out just slightly cheaper, so I was wondering if there was something I was missing? Sounds like it's better to just book the escape rate, thanks!

Just wondering if there is any advantage to booking the "all in" rate that includes drinks and wifi vs. booking the "escape to sea" rate and adding drinks and wifi a la carte? A little background, this is for a Caribbean sailing out of Miami and we will likely purchase the easy drink package and basic internet regardless. Doing the math, it doesn't appear that "all in" saves any money vs. a la carte. Just wondering if there is anything I'm missing? Thanks!

Yes, you need to book for 4 people and you will still need to pay taxes and fees on the 3rd and 4th guest. Click here, it should show you all the available sailings with the free 3rd and 4th guest free offer. Not all sailings qualify for this offer:

https://www.ncl.com/vacations/?sailingmerchandisingspecials=Free_Extra_Guests_Available

Thanks for the reply. It's just going to be my 12-year-old son and I and we are just planning to take a carry on bag each. I could book the Carnival transfers or use Uber, the Flyway bus seems like a much less expensive option and it doesn't sound like there is too much to mess up since it goes directly from the airport to Long Beach? I'm not familiar with the L.A. area though, so I will just do Uber or Carnival transfers if the Flyaway is a bad idea? I was thinking the Flyaway might work out well since it drops off in downtown Long Beach. I was hoping there would be shops there to pick up a few things for the cruise we can't bring on the plane.

Thanks for the replies everyone! I'm leaning towards taking your advice and booking the Escape. It seems to be a great deal with the 3rd and 4th guest sail free promotion and the free at sea promotion compared with what I'm seeing on other cruise lines. Plus, they have rooms for 5 which is difficult to find. I'm definitely not above taking them out of school early, like I mentioned earlier they just missed their last day for Disney earlier this month. (School was extended for snow days.) It caught me off guard because in the past they always got out the week before Memorial Day and only went past the holiday if there were snow days. The 2018/2019 calendar came out and they changed it so their last day is now the Tuesday after Memorial Day, boo. My hubby likes to vacation the week of Memorial Day too because it is one less vacation day he has to use. As long as we read the terms and can cancel if they end up having a ton of snow days, I think we should be good. I only see it potentially being a problem with my oldest since he will be in 7th grade this year. (Finals, etc.) I'm excited to hear everyone loves the Escape, this will be our first family cruise!

*I should add that I made an error in my first post but it is too late to edit it. The Gem sailing out of Boston is on June 7th, not June 9th. But since my kids get out of school June 2nd, that date allows a few days for snow days and still has the 3rd and 4th guest sail free promotion. But no rooms for 5 except suites.

Are you saying that the Escape doesn't have the promotion on the June 9th sailing? We were on the June 10th sailing and there were a ton of kids. Maybe if they don't offer the 3 & 4th for free because they fill up the rooms regardless?

Yes, the 3rd and 4th guest sail free promotion is only available on the June 2nd sailing of the Escape. (There is a June 9th sailing, but the promotion isn't available.) I think I'd rather be a bad Mom and take my kids out of school a little early vs. paying way more, LOL.

Thanks for the replies. My oldest will be in 7th grade this year, middle in 3rd grade and youngest in kindergarten. They missed their last day this year for a Disney trip we had booked. In that case, they would have been out in time but we had 2 snow days. Missing the last day was no big deal, my concern is mostly if we have more snow days next year. We are in the Chicago area so snow days are common. We like to do our family vacation right after school gets out because the prices usually go up a lot later in the summer. Hence this problem, the 3rd and 4th guest sail free promotion is only available on the early June sailings. If only the Escape was making the June 9th sailing!