When will you cruise again? How will travel change for you?

[BarnCat1]

I think I will wait another year or so, maybe 2022, and let the virus, the cruise lines, etc., figure things out.  Until then, I'll try to vacation safely in my own country and pray. 

[Georgia_Peaches]

For me, the better question is;  "How has the inability to travel changed me?"  

 

Answer?  Made me much more appreciative of the opportunities we've had in the past and of the things I have taken for granted.  This travel halt has been a humbling experience.  When we travel again, I will be sure and savor EVERY SINGLE MOMENT.  

 

My last cruise was February 29th.  If I had any concept of how Covid was going to change life as we knew it, I think I would have kept a video diary of everything we did on that trip. We were among the very last groups of people to experience cruising in the "old way" and I'm sorry I took that for granted.

[BatchawanaBabe]

2 hours ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

For me, the better question is;  "How has the inability to travel changed me?"  

 

Answer?  Made me much more appreciative of the opportunities we've had in the past and of the things I have taken for granted.  This travel halt has been a humbling experience.  When we travel again, I will be sure and savor EVERY SINGLE MOMENT.  

 

My last cruise was February 29th.  If I had any concept of how Covid was going to change life as we knew it, I think I would have kept a video diary of everything we did on that trip. We were among the very last groups of people to experience cruising in the "old way" and I'm sorry I took that for granted.

 

I agree with you.  We've done over 10 cruises starting around 20 years ago and a lot of vacations where we flew in, rented a car and stayed in hotels, b&b's, and vacation rentals in order to experience more of a country than a half or full day excursion would give you. Yes, everyone took their freedom to travel for granted.

 

I'm glad that we had a great time visiting the ABC's during our last cruise in November.  We just cancelled our November Panama Canal cruise going from LA to Miami. We don't plan on travelling until this pandemic is over and/or vaccinations are available and it's under control.  In the meantime, we have our memories, photos and videos.  We've made friends that we keep up with on FaceBook.  We're fortunate that we live on a relatively large property with a sandy beach on Lake Superior so it's great that we're not confined to a dense urban area.  We have a condo in Florida where we stay for half the year but there's a good chance that we'll have to stay in Canada over the winter until we feel safe enough to travel 26 hours there.

[Suite Heart]

On 6/23/2020 at 5:34 AM, farmersfight said:

 

Good luck for your Panama Canal cruise...I hope it goes. I'm guessing that it is a partial transit of the Panama Canal? I say this because it sounds like your ship will be staying in the Atlantic/Caribbean and not transiting all the way through the canal to the Pacific.

 

I believe on these partial transits, the ships go through the first set of locks, Gatun locks (on the Atlantic side) then sail into Gatun Lake, turn back around and lock through the Gatun locks again in the reverse direction.

 

You'll marvel and love the Panama Canal. It is an engineering marvel. My dad was a Panama Canal pilot for many years (he has passed). He and my mom were divorced many years ago and I would fly down to Panama during summer breaks and visit him. He took me on many Panama Canal transits with him. I always loved taking these transits with him and I firmly believe these experiences/influences led me to go into the maritime field. I went to Texas Maritime Academy, got my 3rd Mates license. Didn't sail too much after graduation as the industry jobs were tight at the time (early '80s) and I was not able to land a 3rd Mate job on a U.S flag commercial ship. Long story short, I ended up working most of my career on shore, mostly with the USCG in their marine safety program (inspecting/examing ships among other things).

 

I have since retired and now have plenty of time to "get my sea legs back" and sail but this time as a passenger on cruise ships (much better way to go than working on a ship, lol). Wrt to Panama, since I have been to Panama and transited the canal numerous times, I don't have the desire to take a cruise there ("been there, done that"). I want to cruise in parts of the world I haven't been to/seen yet (Hawaii, some of the Southern Caribbean islands, the Mexico riviera, etc).

 

Anyway, I still have those two RCCL cruises in Dec 2020 on my mind but I'm waiting to see when/how/if cruising will resume in these COVID 19 times. As I mentioned before, I will be sailing solo so I'd really love to snag those solo balcony staterooms on RCCL. We'll see what happens.

 

Again, good luck with your Panama cruise going. Take care.

 

My guy and I did the Canal on NCL Star in 2011. Yes, it was the partial transit as my cruise in Feb will be. And I have been to most of the ports already. The main reasons I am taking this particular cruise are:

1 - the price, and

2 - the ship. I have never sailed the Joy, and it has some things on-board that I have not done, e.g., the Galaxy Pavilion (virtual interactive animated 3-D experience), race track, laser tag, the American Diner, the Food Republic (sounds like a multi-nation food court - - we'll see), and the Cavern Club.

 

I would like to do the A, B, Cs (Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao) and to try the Mexican Riviera. We did Hawai'i and Alaska 20 years ago, but would definitely consider them again.

 

Nice "talking" to you. Be safe, and be well!

 

 

[JuneauWhatIMean]

On 6/28/2020 at 5:25 PM, BatchawanaBabe said:

 

I agree with you.  We've done over 10 cruises starting around 20 years ago and a lot of vacations where we flew in, rented a car and stayed in hotels, b&b's, and vacation rentals in order to experience more of a country than a half or full day excursion would give you. Yes, everyone took their freedom to travel for granted.

 

I'm glad that we had a great time visiting the ABC's during our last cruise in November.  We just cancelled our November Panama Canal cruise going from LA to Miami. We don't plan on travelling until this pandemic is over and/or vaccinations are available and it's under control.  In the meantime, we have our memories, photos and videos.  We've made friends that we keep up with on FaceBook.  We're fortunate that we live on a relatively large property with a sandy beach on Lake Superior so it's great that we're not confined to a dense urban area.  We have a condo in Florida where we stay for half the year but there's a good chance that we'll have to stay in Canada over the winter until we feel safe enough to travel 26 hours there.

   Beautiful post.  You sound very intelligent and I agree with you totally.   Stay safe in your perfect retreat.

[JuneauWhatIMean]

35 minutes ago, Suite Heart said:

 

My guy and I did the Canal on NCL Star in 2011. Yes, it was the partial transit as my cruise in Feb will be. And I have been to most of the ports already. The main reasons I am taking this particular cruise are:

1 - the price, and

2 - the ship. I have never sailed the Joy, and it has some things on-board that I have not done, e.g., the Galaxy Pavilion (virtual interactive animated 3-D experience), race track, laser tag, the American Diner, the Food Republic (sounds like a multi-nation food court - - we'll see), and the Cavern Club.

 

I would like to do the A, B, Cs (Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao) and to try the Mexican Riviera. We did Hawai'i and Alaska 20 years ago, but would definitely consider them again.

 

Nice "talking" to you. Be safe, and be well!

 

 

I really miss and dream of Puerto Vallarta and the beach escape excursion.  Boat ride to a private area, buffet lunch, go to the beach with water toys, and get unlimited drinks served to you at your beach chair, visit the monkeys, (albeit in a cage), shower and boat back.  Heavenly.  Wishing you happy trails and sails, Friend.

[nhtravels]

On 6/28/2020 at 6:08 PM, Georgia_Peaches said:

For me, the better question is;  "How has the inability to travel changed me?"  

 

Answer?  Made me much more appreciative of the opportunities we've had in the past and of the things I have taken for granted.  This travel halt has been a humbling experience.  When we travel again, I will be sure and savor EVERY SINGLE MOMENT.  

 

My last cruise was February 29th.  If I had any concept of how Covid was going to change life as we knew it, I think I would have kept a video diary of everything we did on that trip. We were among the very last groups of people to experience cruising in the "old way" and I'm sorry I took that for granted.

 

[nhtravels]

I have to agree!  We plan to grab every opportunity we can to make more memories.  I think sometimes we've focused on the things that we thought were so important and what COVID-19 has taught us is what matters is 

1) our time together

2) our family

3) tackling the bucket list of dreams

 

Be well! 🙂

[azbaby8062]

We booked our first European cruise June 2022. I am hoping by then things will have gone back to normal.