Price drops due to Corona virus...

[twangster]

21 hours ago, Goodtime Cruizin said:

 

As of this moment, this has not effected the pricing for our Sept 9 day cruise out of Rome to Greece.  But something tells me it might eventually. Thanks for the update. Due to a fu & busy weekend schedule,  I had not read or heard of this yet. 

 

Latest update for restrictions but September is a long way down the road:

 

• Regardless of nationality, we will deny boarding to:
  • Any guest who has travelled from, to, or through mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Iran, South Korea, and the Italian regions of Lombardy and Veneto in the past 15 days.
  • Any guest who has come in contact with anyone with 15-day prior travel to mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Iran, South Korea, and the Italian regions of Lombardy and Veneto. The CDC characterizes contact with an individual as coming within 6 feet (2M) of a person.

[Goodtime Cruizin]

We have until June 20th (final due date) to decide what to do...by then hopefully there will be a much cleaerer picture of which way this thing is going. 

[bearette]

After I saw this I checked my cruise March Jewel out of Dubai, they already canceled next season there due to low booking (from the rumors) so I was sad my cruise went down $1,500, but we were able to upgrade for pennies to a Grand Suite and we cancelled our pre cruise week stay in Dubai to jump on a B2B by booking the week before. We got the last connecting ocean views rooms for the four of us (hubby and two school age kids) for less than $1100. 

 

I'm sure the virus didn't help the cruises which were already not selling well, but I'll take advantage of the opportunity to book my first suite. 

 

I keep seeing more outbreaks of the virus happening everyday, but hopefully with so many countries self-quarantining they will get a handle on it so it will fizzle out by the end of March and only be a distant memory.

Edited February 25, 2020 by bearette

[twangster]

US State Dept weighing in about cruises from Asia and beyond.   Could impact bookings and cancellations.

 

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/before-you-go/travelers-with-special-considerations/cruise-ship-passengers.html

 

U.S. citizens should reconsider travel by cruise ship to or within Asia.  U.S. citizens planning travel by cruise ship elsewhere should be aware that, due to the current public health situation, many countries have implemented strict screening procedures in order to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19. This is a dynamic situation and U.S. citizens traveling by ship may be impacted by travel restrictions affecting their itineraries or ability to disembark, or may be subject to quarantine procedures implemented by the local authorities.  While the U.S. government has successfully evacuated hundreds of our citizens in the previous weeks, repatriation flights should not be relied upon as an option for U.S. citizens under the potential risk of quarantine by local authorities. U.S. citizens should evaluate the risks associated with choosing to remain in an area that may be subject to quarantine and take the appropriate proactive measures. Passengers who plan to travel by cruise ship should contact their cruise line companies directly for further information on the current rules and restrictions, and continue to monitor the Travel.state.gov website and see the latest information from the CDC: https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/page/cruise-ship-asia.

 

[twangster]

Rough couple of days for the stock

 

 

Today wasn't kind either:

 

 

[CTCruiser76]

Buy low......………….

[tottenhamfc]

When do you think RCL will start to entice their Crown and Anchor customers with cheaper fares. They have not been very fair with chartered cruises and make their customers beg for compensation after bumping them with the only intent to make more profit on that cruise.. This is the perfect example where customer retention is important. This not meant as a slight against RCL it is merely intended to point out just how important loyal customers are in times of need. The chances of losing the next generation of cruisers is high because of the problem with Diamond Princes. It’s time for the cruise lines to retain customer interest by being loyal to us now. 

[Nado44]

Our March 2020 sailing on Adventure OTS (8 night Eastern Caribbean) has been sold out for many weeks. There's suddenly availability in all categories. It looks as if passengers are bailing. We will either upgrade (if prices come down) or bail (if the coronavirus situation becomes more dire).

[Biker19]

4 hours ago, Nado44 said:

There's suddenly availability in all categories. It looks as if passengers are bailing.

That may have little to do with COVID-19. Same thing happened to some Anthem sailings before the outbreak.

Edited February 26, 2020 by Biker19

[DCL2RCI]

5 hours ago, Nado44 said:

Our March 2020 sailing on Adventure OTS (8 night Eastern Caribbean) has been sold out for many weeks. There's suddenly availability in all categories. It looks as if passengers are bailing. We will either upgrade (if prices come down) or bail (if the coronavirus situation becomes more dire).

 

1 hour ago, Biker19 said:

That may have little to do with COVID-19. Same thing happened to some Anthem sailings before the outbreak.

Our Symphony sailing in April also showed sold out for a couple of months (suites for around six) but now has availability all the way from interior GTY to the Star Loft suite. Prices are still "normal" for the sailing, though.

[Iamcruzin]

13 hours ago, twangster said:

US State Dept weighing in about cruises from Asia and beyond.   Could impact bookings and cancellations.

 

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/before-you-go/travelers-with-special-considerations/cruise-ship-passengers.html

 

U.S. citizens should reconsider travel by cruise ship to or within Asia.  U.S. citizens planning travel by cruise ship elsewhere should be aware that, due to the current public health situation, many countries have implemented strict screening procedures in order to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19. This is a dynamic situation and U.S. citizens traveling by ship may be impacted by travel restrictions affecting their itineraries or ability to disembark, or may be subject to quarantine procedures implemented by the local authorities.  While the U.S. government has successfully evacuated hundreds of our citizens in the previous weeks, repatriation flights should not be relied upon as an option for U.S. citizens under the potential risk of quarantine by local authorities. U.S. citizens should evaluate the risks associated with choosing to remain in an area that may be subject to quarantine and take the appropriate proactive measures. Passengers who plan to travel by cruise ship should contact their cruise line companies directly for further information on the current rules and restrictions, and continue to monitor the Travel.state.gov website and see the latest information from the CDC: https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/page/cruise-ship-asia.

 

My biggest concern would be missing ports of call especially in places like Europe. One Caribbean island is just like another so no big deal if they swap one or miss one. I wouldn't even consider Europe this year and if I had something booked I would cancel if before final payment.  What good is a reduced rate if you can't call one the ports on the itinerary. I think the prices for the Caribbean and Alaska will spike unless the outbreak spreads this way. Italy is on lock down. I wonder how soon before the rest of Europe follows along. 

[davy jones]

Since most price drops are inside of the final payment window, it would be difficult to tell the price drop is due to corona virus cancellations or just to fill unsold cabins.