pcur

There's lots more: I was responding to the points I quoted, not the whole post. All that I stated IS required to keep each other safe from this nasty thing, IMO. If they had us sign a document about Noro Virus for the past umpteen years, then what I've stated is the next step for COVID19, which doesn't just make you throw-up and poop a lot, but can KILL you. Stay safe. Wash your hands. Wear a mask. Hug your housemates.

This doesn't make sense. We all need to wear masks ANYWHERE there are other people in a confine space. Period. As far as testing is concerned, cruise lines should require proof of a negative test within 3-5 days before sailing, and a signed document at boarding that the passenger has been social distancing and wearing a mask since receiving the results. Of course people will lie, and therefore cruise lines should require masks on board until a vaccine is available. THEN, they should require written proof that the passenger has been vaccinated. My husband and I just got tested last Friday. It is now Monday, Memorial Day, and our negative test results were emailed to us this morning. The test was free with Project Baseline. (Oh, anyone planning on getting the test, here's a hint: when the swab comes at you, breathe in once, hold your breath and be still while the swab goes up. This eliminates almost all the stinging effect.)

It depends on what part of your card's benefits you are filing the dispute under. For instance, my Chase Sapphire card benefits guide that I downloaded today, states to dispute a purchase, I have to file the complaint within 120 days of the purchase. So, the cruise I put a deposit on yesterday, that leaves next April, will be outside of the 120 days if I waited until after September to file the dispute. But, if I filed the claim under the travel cancellation portion of my benefits: Eligible Travel Expenses are Non-Refundable prepaid travel expenses charged by a Travel Supplier (Travel Agency, Tour Operator, Provider of Lodging, rental car agency, Rented Recreational Vehicle Provider, commercial recreational excursion provider, Cruise Line, airline, railroad, and other Common Carriers) However, the benefit is void if it's due to: Your disinclination to travel due to an epidemic or pandemic So, I would not try to dispute the charge as a purchase, but as trip cancellation NOT related to being disinclined to travel because of COVID19. All in all, IMO it's best to wait until the cruise line cancels, goes beyond the date they say the refund will be issued, and immediately file the dispute as a trip cancellation.

And, what's wrong with booking ahead? The cruise lines I book with are reputable, and I WANT them to keep the lights on and stay in business. It's pretty rare in today's business environment that large corporations don't go for reorganization bankruptcy to stay in business. Plus, my credit card benefits cover me for 4 months after purchase, and in case of the supplier's bankruptcy/refusal to reimburse. I've been keeping up on the cruise news and also hotel and restaurant changes. After all that's what a cruise ship is: a floating hotel/restaurant complex. I like what I'm reading. Plus, not all cruising fits all people. A blanket statement that it's fantasy doesn't fit us, for instance. We keep to ourselves on cruise ships, anyway, and are not involved in large groups except for evening drinks and the ever-hated muster drill. Those are specific things the cruise lines are working on: crowding people together, and avoiding it.

My husband and I hit the cancel button on several cruises recently. Our rule of thumb right now is this: if we are flying and cruising without a vaccine in us, then it's a bad idea. I have my doubts about Italy and Greece being opened enough for you and your group to really enjoy them. I would cancel and hold the deposit money as an FCC, and look at the same sailing next year, or even a back-to-back on the same ship to get 2 itineraries combined. Be safe. Think hotels, airports, flying, eating out, people touching your stuff. Get yourselves vaccinated, THEN travel.

I just booked my next cruise about 2 hours ago. We have been slowing figuring out what we want to do about travel, having multiple discussions over the last several days. The painful one was cancelling the family Thanksgiving trip to FL. We have a 2 year old and a 4 year old grandbabies to consider, so I pulled the plug and the whole family agreed with me. Next, is our trip to see les bebes this August. Seems OK, right? However, the county that DTW airport is in has over 19,000 covid19 cases, and over 3,200 deaths. Factored for population between that county and where I live in CA, they have 11 times more cases. So, we're not thinking their pandemic curve will be over in 2.5 months. Next was our cruise plans for this Fall. We agreed that flying during flu season this year without a vaccine is not a good idea, so we canceled two RCCL cruises for the end of Nov and early Dec. FCC or refunds on both of them. We had a Princess cruise booked for late Oct, and that got the boot, too, but now the good news!! We found a cruise to Hawaii leaving SF next April, and moved the deposit for the booted Oct cruise to the new one. No flying, and maybe, just maybe we'll have a vaccine. Again, refundable deposit. I have been keeping up on what the cruise industry is planning to do for passenger safety, and I'm pleased with what I'm reading. Plus Hawaii is literally taking prisoners if people mess with their public health directives, so we might be sailing for the relaxation, ocean views, and Hawaiian scenery, but at least we have a nice place to live for 15 days, unlimited drinks and wifi, and most likely great weather! 😷

Interesting replies. I especially like the raised prices due to the 125% FCC. I was on the Allure inaugural 2-night to nowhere cruise, and I though at that time in December 2010 that cruise ships were getting too crowded. We went on the Allure in 2013, and we could barely walk through the cafe because of the jammed tables. I found this to be progressively a problem in most Windjammer venues on a variety of ships. I actually found another cruise with more research. We want to cruise this Fall, if possible. We have Princess booked for the first half of November, but are both feeling a little nervous about traveling that far into the flu season. I found a HAL cruise in September for a surprising comparable price, with 2 more days. So, we will have to cancel and wait for Princess to refund, while turning over another $1,200 to HAL. Time for a discussion about it all with Mr. Pcur.

Weeeellllll, I am on the fence right now. We have a Princess cruise to Mexico booked, great perks, and nice itinerary. But, it's sailing too far into the next flu season for my comfort now, after what I'm reading. HAL has one with a spectacular itinerary, leaving early Fall, but they want $1,200 deposit. So, I'm debating. Maybe I'll get my Princess refund around the time that final payment is due for HAL. I'll have to have Mr. Pcur weigh in and push me off the fence one way or the other.

I will add washable masks for the next 2 years. Otherwise, it's packing as usual.

I did some price check research this morning, to see if any of our booked cruises would be better at another time, or with another cruise line for a better deal. What I found was pretty interesting: RCCL, Princess, and HAL are not lowering their prices for the itineraries I was looking at. HAL especially seemed very expensive. I'm wondering if they are testing the waters to see if they can get the bookings, or if they have just arbitrarily increased pricing to try and recoup some of their losses? I also noticed from the 3 cruise lines, HAL and Princess are offering free drink packages, gratuities, and wifi. I priced this for our currently booked Princess cruise (which includes this add-on package), and the $900 total add-on for these items is less than what we would pay for them separately. I took into consideration that we have 1,000 minutes free wifi on Princess, so threw that out of consideration. Plus, we are light drinkers, and Mr. Pcur only drinks diet coke. So, call us a cheap date, so to speak. We still come out ahead with the included perks. It shows me that: a) Princess and HAL are more desperate b) RCCL has enough bookings and cash on hand that they don't have to offer these things. It will be interesting to see if RCCL loses business because of the lack of booking perks. Also, all three of these cruise lines might see sluggish response in general. I know I wasn't tempted to book any additional cruises. The prices weren't attractive enough for me. Thoughts?

I agree with you. After 4.5 decades with RCCL, I have seen, heard, and read about them being very customer-centric. Of course, they need to keep their business alive, but they are VERY sensitive to bad media coverage. It's all about perspective. Many people complain about them grabbing for money with drink packages, specialty restaurants, photos. But, the passengers WANT these products. Inflation plays a lot into this. If RCCL has to temporarily change the congregate areas of the ship, then so be it. We are ALL trying to find our footing in the "new normal" of our lives for the next 2 years. Yes, years. People need to breathe, wash their hands, wear a mask, keep 6 feet away from strangers, and hug their housemates/families. 😷

That looks great! I just gave myself my 3rd haircut since this thread started. Still socially acceptable. I suck at selfies.

I have also been reading that RCCL will be social distancing their eating venues, and doing crowd control. I'm guessing the pager system will be used, or the RCCL app. Don't forget that most, if not all, cruise lines will most likely be requiring masks for a time, also, while we are moving around getting our food and drinks.

I'm hoping I'm wrong, since I have a cruise booked for the end of October on Princess, but I think there's a possibility Spain may not be fully open to cruise ships in November. Plus, we will be entering our next flu season, most likely without a vaccine. I would cancel before final payment and get the Future Cruise Credit. It can be used for any cruise until the end of 2021.

Not if all the food is served by staff. This is the way it's done on HAL and I like it much better. It's close to a no-touch environment. I'm going to assume that HAL will go one step further, and even the drinks, appetizers, and desserts will be served by the staff.