BlueRiband

20 hours ago, oskidunker said:

If you can prove that you have been vaccinated, do you think this requirement might go away by October? I don't mind the test but fear a false positive after flying from the US and being denied boarding.

This concern is keeping a lot of people from booking right now.  A positive test means that one won't considered clear until having two consecutive negative tests taken at least 24 hours apart.  Meanwhile, the clock is ticking and the ship will have already sailed. 

If implemented Cunard can do this one of two ways: require test documentation for boarding or test everyone at the terminal.  I don't even want to think of the crowding and waiting in the second scenario.

6 hours ago, Mudhen said:

Instead of Halifax, could they substitute Bermuda? Or is that too far?

Interesting idea since the ship is registered in Hamilton, Bermuda.  The logistics involved would likely require a lot more lead time than two months.  The July 4th sailing has traditionally been sold as an Independence Day call in Boston.  Those things plus sailing to Bermuda would mean hotter, not cooler, weather ashore.  Not sure this would appeal to the Cunard passenger as there had been no shortage of booze cruises from New York going there. 

As long as the Canadian border remains closed it's not possible to run the July 4th trip as that requires a call at Halifax due to the PVSA. 

Between reduced sailing capacity and pent-up demand, it's unlikely that Cunard has any need to offer discounted fares.  You might check after the final payment date. Who knows how many people will pay the fare and how many will instead choose to bail.

13 hours ago, deck chair said:

Hello!

 

Everything is purely speculative at this point.  No one knows what is going to happen in November and beyond and what restrictions if any will be in place.  NO ONE!   

I am booked on the January 3, 2022  62 day sailing from New York to Sydney. 

I am hoping the final payment due date will be pushed back to November.  

One thing is for sure:  If it is not clear what it will be like on the ship with respect to mask wearing and social distancing, and port excursion restrictions by time final payment is due I am going to cancel.

There is no way I am sailing if masks are required inside (Unless eating or drinking), port restrictions are in place and social distancing is in place.  I may as well vacation in a hospital or nursing home.  No thank you.

Deck Chair

Yesterday I received a telephone call from a Cunard rep who asked if I was interested in the upcoming voyages.  We had a pleasant but brief conversation where I mentioned these points, especially having to dine alone.  As a solo I pay double and it would be no fun.   I left it stand where I would welcome promotional mailings and emails but won't book until the covid restrictions can be lifted. 

These on-board policies are in flux right now and you can find Cunard's current position on the US site here.

As of right now Cunard has not yet mandated passenger vaccination (except for UK-only  voyages).  Covid testing may be required and if so the cost would be rolled into the fare.  On this last point a negative test may not be very effective in regard to a cruise.  The other day there was a report of 53 passengers from a New Delhi to Hong Kong flight testing positive for covid during the later's required quarantine period - despite all having a negative  test within 72 hours of boarding that flight.  (No mention was made of their vaccination status.)

The launderettes will probably be closed as there is no way more than one person can be in them and maintain social distance.  Imagine how the sparks would fly if one person took their time to meticulously fold their clothing while others were outside waiting. 

As for non-compliance with social distancing and other protocols, in an extreme case one could be confined to their cabin.

The "Healthy Gateways" protocols have been discussed here at length.  Some want to be back on board so badly that they will tolerate just about anything to make it happen.  Others don't see any enjoyment in sailing under such restrictions. 

If true we're not likely to see the Blue Ensign fly from a Cunard ship anytime soon.

Or, private companies can be used as proxies for such a requirement.  One's life can rightly or wrongly be severely restricted by having them be the ones to require vaccination proof in order to use their services or to enter their premises. 

In a quick news search, I didn't find any mention of the Brooklyn Terminal since May of last year.  Their website has no posted schedule, just links to the corporate sites of the cruise lines that have used it in the past.   It's not normally "open" unless the cavernous baggage hall space is booked for some non-cruise event.  Perhaps any rumors to it being "closed" until 2022 are referring to event rentals.

Just now, BlueRiband said:

Between the PVSA and Canada's border remaining closed that can't happen. 

 

On the Pacific side the Alaska tourism industry wants to get around both by temporarily classifying sailings between the states of Washington and Alaska as "foreign voyages".  But the bill currently in the US Senate is unlikely to ever get out of committee for political and other reasons.

17 minutes ago, IB2 said:

... Thus perhaps the November TA might be replaced by a cruise up the US coast?  

Between the PVSA and Canada's border remaining closed that can't happen. 

On the Pacific side the Alaska tourism industry wants to get around both by temporarily classifying sailings between the states of Washington and Alaska as "foreign voyages".  But it's not likely to happen.

I'd sail this year IF the covid restrictions were no longer in effect.  I'm not spending money to mask, encounter restricted capacity at venues, and having to dine alone. 

No.

FWIW, two US Senators from Alaska have introduced the "Alaska Tourism Recovery Act" that would temporarily classify the transport of passengers between the states of Washington and Alaska as a "foreign voyage".   Alaska Tourism Recovery Act

Should it go into effect it may not be in time for Alaska cruses to resume this year as these itineraries take months of logistical planning.   That, and the extreme greens claim that cruise ships only plunder, pillage, and pollute the ports that they call upon.  

9 hours ago, lissie said:

Or a false negative 

Let's also recall that a person could have become infected and tested before the virus replicated to a threshold where it could be detected.  No thanks, as long as travel carriers require covid testing I'm choosing not to risk being denied boarding and/or quarantined at the departure/embarkation point.  Or the cruise coming to an abrupt end.

Personally I'd feel more comfortable with a vaccination requirement than a covid test requirement.  A false positive test would turn a long-awaited vacation into a nightmare. 

It might be curious to know if "sold out" is at full capacity or reduced capacity?  It may very well be at some reduced capacity as who knows how stringent the covid protocols will still be by the time the voyages finally start. 

38 minutes ago, alibabacruisers said:

I understand what you are saying regarding supply and demand, but think that with the past year and the companies needing "us" to revive their business, you would think they would give that a bit of weight in the pricing decision.  Wishing thinking, I know.

It's a business.  Any business is going to sell their product or service for whatever the market will bear.  Some people want to be back on board so badly that they will tolerate the covid protocols and pay whatever the cost may be.

6 hours ago, deck chair said:

Hello

 

When I was last on the ship in February 2020, I was told by a couple of MDs that both the Queens Grill and Princess Grill are going to be extended out so as to make them roomier.  How far out they did not know.  Of course, that would take deck space away from deck 7.  Who knows!!!

Deck Chair.

The drydock never happened, so perhaps those requirements have all been extended due to the ships bring laid up. 

The deck area immediately aft of the Grills on QM2 was most recently the smokers' leper colony.  That area would have to be relocated should the restaurants be extended.   The last thing I would want to see is QM2's 360 wrap around promenade deck disrupted.   (Lack thereof is a major complaint here about the expected design of Cunard's under-construction 4th ship.)

FWIW today I received an email from Cunard which advertised European sailings.  QM2 itineries were advertised as "round trip London".  Right now Cunard cannot count on being able to sail into the US or Canada.  It's more complicated for US sailings as restrictions can vary state to state.

Door decorating is not a common practice on Cunard and I hope it never will be.   At best it's folk art.  At worst it's about as appealing as subway graffiti.  On some cruise lines where decorating is taken to hideous excess the management is finally starting to rein in the practice and requiring that decorations be flame-retardant.

FWIW, just yesterday I got a promo email from Cunard that included a November 2021 Caribbean sailing on QM2 out of New York.  Cunard evidently anticipates the CDC allowing foreign flagged ships into the US by then.  Whether on board covid restrictions will still be in place by then is anybody's speculation.

Elimination of assigned tables would be a deal breaker for me as well.  (It's also why I'll never sail NCL.)  Some of my best memories came from the camaraderie of a shared table. 

In the US the "Jones Act" was temporarily suspended during past emergencies to allow critical shipments of essentials.  No way do I see the PVSA being suspended to allow cruise ships to operate.   Cruse ships have no domestic competition in the US but environmental zealots would lobby against it even if the CDC had no objections.