EU Health Protocols

[Travelcat2]

1 hour ago, Bellaggio Cruisers said:

Hey Jackie... those gloom and dormers  think we are stupid. Since they are not active Regent cruise folks, they just don’t understand how we look forward to cruising, whenever Regent starts up again. We won’t pay too much attention to them. 
Cruising is a good part of our lives... we are retired and love to meet old friends on new Regent cruises. Can’t wait to cruise again!

sheila

 

Sheila - you and I are not in the minority - there are tons of articles out there about people that are very anxious to cruise.  We miss our Regent family and the people that we cruise with.  Right now, every time a cruise is about to get canceled, we make sure that we have a new one to book.

 

Life in general seems to be getting worse.  People seem angry and ready to bite your head off if you look at them.  It is a sad state of affairs.  There is nothing wrong with wanting to be amongst like-minded people (aka cruisers) that enjoy being together (6’ apart), sharing stories, laughing together and, just enjoying each other’s company.

 

CruisetheC’s - this is an example of one poster not understanding what the other poster is trying to convey (which happens on posting boards).  When people ask the opinion of others (like TA’s, what suite to book or avoid, which ports or excursions are best, etc.). They want opinions.  I do not recall anyone asking whether or not we (any of us) think that they should cruise during the pandemic.  

 

“Doom and Gloom” is another story.  I have used that term a lot when responding to posters that repeatedly say that Regent is going to go out of business (not being said quite as much lately).   Stating reasons over and over again about why we should not cruise is also a bit of gloom and doom (unless someone asks).

 

JMARINER - would you trust the vaccine(s) developed by Russia, the UAE and Saudia Arabia?  Just curious.

 

greykitty - the only thing we learned from the TUI ship is that they likely either had the wrong protocols or were not enforcing them.  Someone on another thread noticed a photo with people on the ship in close contact with each other not wearing a mask.  

 

 

[Bellaggio Cruisers]

10 minutes ago, pappy1022 said:

Everyone else is guessing so why not this person? It is all a guessing game at this time. There is no safe haven once you are interacting with people especially on a closed environment.

Many of us are not guessing. We are waiting for the CDC to give us direction. 
We don’t  need medical direction on CruiseCritic, we don’t need arm chair quarterbacks, we need to keep hope the world heals quickly, we need to pray for the sick, we need to follow directions from our own physicians. 
We are in a safe haven in a closed environment, at home right now, Interacting with family and friends on FaceTime and zoom. 
And, I would hope our fellow cruisers  would just chill out and just support each other, during this difficult time, in a positive way. 
Let’s all keep thinking about our favorite dishes aboard and the fun times still ahead. 
Sheila

[CBWIR]

62 posts on this thread in less than 8 hours. It is Saturday evening. People, pour a martini and relax. Nobody including the "experts" know what is going to happen in the next few months. So relax and go with the flow.

[Bellaggio Cruisers]

5 minutes ago, CBWIR said:

62 posts on this thread in less than 8 hours. It is Saturday evening. People, pour a martini and relax. Nobody including the "experts" know what is going to happen in the next few months. So relax and go with the flow.

Agree.... we are sitting at home, waiting for the hurricane to hit us in a couple of hours. 

[Travelcat2]

12 minutes ago, Bellaggio Cruisers said:

Many of us are not guessing. We are waiting for the CDC to give us direction. 
We don’t  need medical direction on CruiseCritic, we don’t need arm chair quarterbacks, we need to keep hope the world heals quickly, we need to pray for the sick, we need to follow directions from our own physicians. 
We are in a safe haven in a closed environment, at home right now, Interacting with family and friends on FaceTime and zoom. 
And, I would hope our fellow cruisers  would just chill out and just support each other, during this difficult time, in a positive way. 
Let’s all keep thinking about our favorite dishes aboard and the fun times still ahead. 
Sheila

 

Amen to that!  Hoping that the hurricane goes out to sea and misses the states completely.  Your and Herb need to stay safe.

 

Jackie

[cwn]

1 minute ago, CBWIR said:

62 posts on this thread in less than 8 hours. It is Saturday evening. People, pour a martini and relax. Nobody including the "experts" know what is going to happen in the next few months. So relax and go with the flow.

So true. This is a thread about EU Protocols. The good and the bad as people see them. If you don't want to read about what others think about this, well...… simple don't read the comments

 

Good luck on the Hurricane. Hope you will dodge the worst of it. We were lucky last week with the one in Texas.

 

 

 

[Ladys Mom]

It is early to discuss the new year but let us hope 2021 brings better news than has 2020.  I have given up any hope of major cruise lines starting up before 1/21, but once the new year rears its diapered bottom, let us hope that a vaccine is available and we can finally get on the cruise ships that we love and see the world as it should be, even if we still have to wear a mask and social distance from each other.  Pray everyone stays safe.  Norma

[Bellaggio Cruisers]

1 minute ago, Ladys Mom said:

It is early to discuss the new year but let us hope 2021 brings better news than has 2020.  I have given up any hope of major cruise lines starting up before 1/21, but once the new year rears its diapered bottom, let us hope that a vaccine is available and we can finally get on the cruise ships that we love and see the world as it should be, even if we still have to wear a mask and social distance from each other.  Pray everyone stays safe.  Norma

Well said!

sheila

[Ladys Mom]

Thank you Sheila.

[Travelcat2]

I agree - very well said!

[JMARINER]

1 hour ago, Travelcat2 said:

JMARINER - would you trust the vaccine(s) developed by Russia, the UAE and Saudia Arabia?  Just curious.

 

Maybe,  But I would rely on my Physician's advice. 

 

You do know that a large percentage of Rx sold in the USA and Canada comes from India and China. Do you worry about those?  The Russian are a fairly smart group. They almost beat us in the cold war.

 

J

Edited August 2, 2020 by JMARINER

[Travelcat2]

24 minutes ago, JMARINER said:

Maybe,  But I would rely on my Physician's advice. 

 

You do know that a large percentage of Rx sold in the USA and Canada comes from India and China. Do you worry about those?  The Russian are a fairly smart group. They almost beat us in the cold war.

 

J

 

For a long time I was getting prescription drugs from India (suggested by my physician).  I suppose that I should not be concerned about the vaccine (that we are unlikely to have access to).  I am a bit over-anxious to have the world inoculated so that the deaths will stop.  No matter what I saw on CC, saving lives is of utmost important to me.  I would stop cruising for the rest of my life if it meant that people that could have died from Covid will be safe.

 

P.

[Travelcat2]

24 minutes ago, JMARINER said:

Maybe,  But I would rely on my Physician's advice. 

 

You do know that a large percentage of Rx sold in the USA and Canada comes from India and China. Do you worry about those?  The Russian are a fairly smart group. They almost beat us in the cold war.

 

J

 

For a long time I was getting prescription drugs from India (suggested by my physician).  I suppose that I should not be concerned about the vaccine (that we are unlikely to have access to).  I am a bit over-anxious to have the world inoculated so that the deaths will stop.  No matter what I saw on CC, saving lives is of utmost important to me.  I would stop cruising for the rest of my life if it meant that people that could have died from Covid will be safe

[SusieQft]

6 hours ago, Bellaggio Cruisers said:

Karen

Why are you guessing about what the rules will be, including quarantining? 

sheila

I was not guessing about anything.  I was responding to a comment by someone else.  But why should I not guess?  If we are talking about the future of cruising, none of us can do anything else.

 

6 hours ago, Bellaggio Cruisers said:

Hey Jackie... those gloom and dormers  think we are stupid. Since they are not active Regent cruise folks, they just don’t understand how we look forward to cruising, whenever Regent starts up again. We won’t pay too much attention to them. 
Cruising is a good part of our lives... we are retired and love to meet old friends on new Regent cruises. Can’t wait to cruise again!

sheila

I am assuming that you are putting me in the basket of gloom and doomers.  Hopefully I am wrong about that, but if not you are welcome to your opinion, as I should be to mine. 

 

However, you are totally wrong if you think I am not looking forward to cruising.   Since Regent just canceled our October cruise, we are looking forward to our next booking, which is also on Regent in May 2021.  I took the FCC for October and am using it to pay off our May booking, with enough left over to put a deposit on something else.  Am I still considered not to be  "active Regent cruise folk" just because I have not sailed with them before?  If my May booking is cancelled (and I am realistic enough to know that is possible if not likely), I will of course roll it over to something else with Regent.  I have no choice now, since I took the FCC and it is no longer refundable.

 

I am getting really tired of the bashing of Regent newbies.  I hope the atmosphere on board is more welcoming and friendly.  If not, I will just go back to Crystal when I run out of Regent FCC.  I know that Crystal will welcome me "home."  Actually, I suspect that the on board experience has a lot of similarities, although obviously not identical.  But of course, as has been pointed out to me numerous times, I could not possibly form an opinion about that yet.  Or at least I expect to be flamed if I dare to express it here, which to me is really sad.

[taznremmy]

@SusieQft  Don't feel bad.  I was on a board yesterday and stated my opinion, only to be told by another poster that my opinion was "rubbish".  I think social media brings out the worst in some people because they aren't facing who they are speaking to.  All common courtesy and consideration goes out the window.  Keep your chin up.  

[pappy1022]

6 hours ago, SusieQft said:

I am getting really tired of the bashing of Regent newbies.  I hope the atmosphere on board is more welcoming and friendly.  If not, I will just go back to Crystal when I run out of Regent FCC.  I know that Crystal will welcome me "home."  Actually, I suspect that the on board experience has a lot of similarities, although obviously not identical.  But of course, as has been pointed out to me numerous times, I could not possibly form an opinion about that yet.  Or at least I expect to be flamed if I dare to express it here, which to me is really sad.

Maybe the “Oldies” are afraid that some of us “newbies” might bring some common sense into the conversation and we won’t blindly accept whatever Regent says or does as being the right thing to do. I think Regent is a great choice for a luxury cruise and I will cruise with them again when I feel safer to travel but my experience is that they are far from perfect. To be constantly bashed or “corrected” for saying anything about Regent that isn’t glowing is ridiculous. Thankfully there is only a small handful of people on this discussion board that are like that and at least 1 of them has relinquished me to the penalty box and won’t read my comments (another sign of being closed minded). I know that some folks badly want to cruise and that is certainly their right to feel that way and I wish them well and hope they get to do that soon. But other folks don’t share that opinion and are much more weary of all modes of travel at this point. The “newbies”, the “oldies” and everyone in between have the right to express their opinions and on occasion bring some facts into the conversation. 

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Listen, when we took a hiatus from Regent for a few years, I was told here that my opinions were not valid.  So you so-called newbies are in good company. We then did our Mariner SA trip in 2017 and we were in the board's good graces again.

 

I am definitely in the 'doom and gloom' category.  I am skeptical about the effectiveness of vaccines in the short term (several years.)  I can't see how cruising can resume any time soon.  I am very sorry about that, and I do miss being at sea, and the pampering that we receive onboard. And at our age, it's a convenient way to travel and see parts of the world we haven't visited.

 

But, we have been lots of lovely places, and met lovely people, so I'm content.  My enjoyment of life does not depend on being able to be on a cruise.  I would love to travel again, but if not, then I feel like we've had a pretty good run.  We could, in fact, travel to Europe this fall if we wished, from Canada.  Except that no travel medical insurance would be available as long as there is a government travel advisory in place (which applies everywhere).  So we're stuck in Canada, and we aren't even allowed to travel to all provinces right now.

 

At the moment, my main concern is whether Florida will be in any kind of decent shape by November when we usually go south, and whether the Canadian government will even allow us to go.  If not, we may have to sell our place in the long-run, and in the short-run, we will be stuck here for the winter (ugh.)  But then again, Canada had something like 300 new cases yesterday.

Edited August 2, 2020 by Wendy The Wanderer

[Ladys Mom]

We realized lately that by the time we finally get on a cruise ship, at the earliest, we will have been stuck at home for 1 1/2 years. This is not fun.  We have not been able to even travel to our grandchildren or my sister for six months, and it doesn't look like we will seen them any time soon.  I would love it if an effective vaccine was available now, but I am willing to travel wearing a mask and being tested frequently, so that we can travel soon.  Only time will tell if this is even possible.  Until then we will dream and collect FCC to be used at some time in the near future.

[pappy1022]

Wendy, you are a voice of reason and a refreshing change from some of the “oldies”.

[BBWC]

11 minutes ago, pappy1022 said:

Wendy, you are a voice of reason and a refreshing change from some of the “oldies”.

I agree with you and I am one of the “oldies” (over 400 nights on Regent). I really welcome the perspective of the “newbies” and hope you continue to post. I am also with Wendy in that we can live without cruises for a while and are fortunate to have seen so much of the world.

[diebroke]

4 hours ago, pappy1022 said:

The “newbies”, the “oldies” and everyone in between have the right to express their opinions and on occasion bring some facts into the conversation. 

I think it might be helpful to post the criteria for graduating from the classification of "newbie." It a condescending & demeaning label. Is it some # of nights on Regent, # of Regent ships sailed on, # of posts on this board, something else? It may be a classification unique to this forum as I don't remember seeing it on the Seabourn board. Losing the label appears to offer some benefits.

[greykitty]

Italy may be rethinking their authorization of cruise ships (and I wonder if the questioning happened within the last 48 hours);  per AIDA web site.  

 

"The concepts and certifications for the restart of the cruise have been successfully developed and confirmed with the competent authorities. Contrary to our expectations, a final formal release for the start of short trips from 5 August 2020 by the flag state of Italy is still pending.

Unfortunately, we have to cancel the planned short trips from AIDAperla and AIDAmar with departure dates between 5 and 12 August 2020. The guests affected by this will receive the relevant information directly."

 

https://www.aida.de/kreuzfahrt/angebote-buchen/wichtiger-reisehinweis.40233.html?teasersrc=03df2617-ee69-43d4-ab9f-c759da3ea349

 

Also, AIDA had issues with some of their crew testing positive. I think this was discussed already.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/cruises/2020/07/28/aida-cruises-crew-members-test-positive-covid-19/5525310002/

 

 

[pappy1022]

I’m not the one who came up with the term “newbie”. It came from 1 of the “oldies”. I think they came up with this term because people who haven’t cruised much with Regent (or first timers) aren’t supposed to have opinions about Regent and if they do, we should all ignore them because they don’t know what they are talking about. 

[Wendy The Wanderer]

30 minutes ago, diebroke said:

I think it might be helpful to post the criteria for graduating from the classification of "newbie." It a condescending & demeaning label. Is it some # of nights on Regent, # of Regent ships sailed on, # of posts on this board, something else? It may be a classification unique to this forum as I don't remember seeing it on the Seabourn board. Losing the label appears to offer some benefits.

 

Agreed.  And no, I don't think anyone has a real definition in the context of this board. 

 

I don't think I've seen this on the Seabourn board, no.  But I do feel sometimes a palpable sense among the regulars.  They almost speak in code.  (I've lurked there because I did one Seabourn cruise a couple of years back--loved it btw.)

[greykitty]

I think 'newbie' is often used out in the world to indicate someone brand new to a given activity - generally used in good humor, like calling someone a padawan in a certain 'universe'; however, here it's often used to dismiss or denigrate people who aren't, oh, shall I say of a certain sycophantic  mindset?