Jan. 2021 World Cruise advisable?

[Aero45]

We booked the 111 day Princess World Cruise beginning January 17 some time ago, and wonder if it's advisable to go. Who knows what the Covid19 situation will be in those 48 ports then? Any input/advice will be welcome. Thanks!

 

https://www.princess.com/cruise-search/details?voyageCode=2103A

[crzndeb]

Nobody really knows. As you get closer to making final payment, you can decide if you think it’s best. Nobody can answer that for you. 
I have friends who have booked the 97 day Princess Cruise for Jan/2022.

I know it’s a whole of money to be spending for something you aren’t sure of. Maybe you can postpone for a year.

[Heidi13]

12 minutes ago, Aero45 said:

We booked the 111 day Princess World Cruise beginning January 17 some time ago, and wonder if it's advisable to go. Who knows what the Covid19 situation will be in those 48 ports then? Any input/advice will be welcome. Thanks!

 

https://www.princess.com/cruise-search/details?voyageCode=2103A

 

Welcome to cruise critic.

 

Having completed the 2020 World Cruise with Viking, spending just less than 100 days aboard before it was eventually cancelled, we spent every day at sea from Bali (Mar 10th) to Gibraltar (Apr 10th). Those ships are smaller, but have less than 1/2 the pax, so are not so crowded. We also enjoyed the life on-board, so while missing the ports was disappointing, we still thoroughly enjoyed the cruise.

 

If the ports are very important, or you wouldn't enjoy prolonged days at sea, then I would be considering if this is the right time for you to embark on a WC. However, if you are like us and enjoy the ship and sea days and don't mind almost daily changes, then enjoy the cruise.

 

My other concern would be flying into a port where the virus numbers are not under control.

 

[cruisemom42]

In addition to the ports, don't underestimate the fact it is not just a matter of you not getting sick, but also your fellow passengers. If there is COVID-19 onboard, not only will you be exposed to the illness, but it's likely that your ship will not be allowed to stop anywhere. I'm not sure which would be worse, for me....

 

[clo]

1 minute ago, cruisemom42 said:

In addition to the ports, don't underestimate the fact it is not just a matter of you not getting sick, but also your fellow passengers. If there is COVID-19 onboard, not only will you be exposed to the illness, but it's likely that your ship will not be allowed to stop anywhere. I'm not sure which would be worse, for me....

 

And wouldn't one be quarantined in their cabin?

[cruisemom42]

1 minute ago, clo said:

And wouldn't one be quarantined in their cabin?

 

We can only assume the answer is yes, since the cruise lines have been silent with regard to how they will deal with COVID cases onboard, so far as I know...

 

[navybankerteacher]

2 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

We can only assume the answer is yes, since the cruise lines have been silent with regard to how they will deal with COVID cases onboard, so far as I know...

 

As they have been generally with regard to ALL aspects of dealing with COVID.  There have been very little in the way of specific information.

[ilikeanswers]

My personal feeling is for the immediate future if I do a cruise it is going to be one that crosses as few borders as possible. A lot of the cruises that really struggled to get a port when infected were the longer ones. Personally I would pick a cruise that didn't cross any borders or just with neighbours. I'm not particularly fond of sea days so I wouldn't want to be forced to have them😜. You have to go with what you are comfortable with but make sure you have the insurance that will cover you in the event of a COVID 19 situation.

 

You might want to check out this article about the Artania world cruise. It might give you some insight for a worst case scenario. It is in German but the online translaters do a good job:

 

The last eight passengers return from the world's oceans on the Artania cruise ship

 

[chipmaster]

17 hours ago, Aero45 said:

We booked the 111 day Princess World Cruise beginning January 17 some time ago, and wonder if it's advisable to go. Who knows what the Covid19 situation will be in those 48 ports then? Any input/advice will be welcome. Thanks!

 

https://www.princess.com/cruise-search/details?voyageCode=2103A

 

That isn't very far away and with the variety of ports/countries I'd say plan a staycation.  

 

Sorry for this situation, that sounds like a dream vacation.

[Aero45]

Thanks for all the responses so far. Your cruising experience is evident. Each one makes good sense, and the general direction seems to be what my gut also says - probably not a good idea, too many chances for a bad outcome. We have until the end of August, but unless a miracle appears we'll most likely cancel.

[Mike981]

For what it's worth, we moved our January 2021 10 day cruise to 2022. For many reasons.

[mayleeman]

@Aero45 I think that it might be helpful to remember that 7 months ago, there was no hint of the novel coronavirus that has now disrupted everything. Now, almost 9 million people have been infected and yesterday nearly 180,000 new cases were reported. We are almost at 500,000 deaths. The economies of the world are said to take years to recover.

 

That cruise is 7 months away. With the trend seeming to indicate this pandemic will still get much worse before it gets better, do you think that this next 7 months can nevertheless include a successful vaccine and a return to normalcy and safety in all the places you would visit?

 

I always opt for taking action sooner rather than later when doing so preserves more options. In this case, that would mean rebooking and might include a better chance, I think, of staying healthy--and alive.

 

Good luck whatever you decide. 

Edited June 20, 2020 by mayleeman

[drsel]

On a world Cruise you will travel to many countries which have got high rates of infection.

Plus you are paying a heavy price for it.
World Cruises are definitely overpriced, whether you consider total cost or even cost per night.

[ldubs]

On 6/18/2020 at 3:01 PM, Aero45 said:

We booked the 111 day Princess World Cruise beginning January 17 some time ago, and wonder if it's advisable to go. Who knows what the Covid19 situation will be in those 48 ports then? Any input/advice will be welcome. Thanks!

 

https://www.princess.com/cruise-search/details?voyageCode=2103A

 

Just me personally.   If final payment were tomorrow I would cancel.  Reasons have been outlines already.   If not, wait until the last possible moment to see what if any conditions might change by then.  If there are still issues, then you can still cancel.  

[drsel]

If cancellation is free without penalty then you should cancel

[Aero45]

So far it's unanimous not to go. We'll rebook for 2022. Once again, thanks so much to all for responding.