Carnival may resume US cruises in 2020

[Bgcruising]

I think it will resume this year. Not so sure I'm booking any additional cruises... lol

[ProgRockCruiser]

34 minutes ago, Butterbean1000 said:

I think life in general as we know it over.  I gave too much credit to people to be thinking creatures.  A lot of things has happened over the past several weeks that I never thought I would see come to pass. But you, oh great sage, saw it all as you kept reminding us. 😋

As the other great Sage, K, stated in Men In Black:

 

"A person is smart. But people are dumb, panicky, dangerous animals and you know it."

 

I, too, have been disappointed in the behavior of a large portion of the herd/pack/whatever.

[MsTabbyKats]

21 minutes ago, Butterbean1000 said:

I think life in general as we know it over.  I gave too much credit to people to be thinking creatures.  A lot of things has happened over the past several weeks that I never thought I would see come to pass. But you, oh great sage, saw it all as you kept reminding us. 😋

And "your friendly cruising sage" will remind you again, when life normalizes, that there will be buffets, there will be maskless cruises and there will be herds of people crowding into the elevators.

[Honolulu Blue]

2 hours ago, firefly333 said:

No menus?  How does that work? How do people see what's for dinner? I guess I'm tech challenged but dont see how you order from a bar code for dinner onboard  ship. Or breakfast and lunch, snacks. 

 

In addition to the QR codes that several others have mentioned (which aren't on Carnival yet), Carnival's app actually shows menus for most of their dining options when onboard.  It can be tricky to get to, and the .pdfs are hard to read, but they do exist, and they can in theory be used to order in the MDR.  My guess is they'll come up with something better when they're ready to sail again.

[firefly333]

1 hour ago, jetsfan58 said:

Saw somewhere where an MSC cruise departed this week. This cruise ending results should accurately gauge the probability of a comeback? Starting Colleges and any type of school is a bad idea right now. Not so much the disregard for the outbreak as much as keeping kids "focused on protocol" is a difficult task. 

I'm seeing videos of lots of kids in bars with total disregard. At that age they think they know it all and are invincible. I can already see problems with colleges. Kids arent adults yet or think like adults. Party.

[LouChamp]

a waste of time to read and dream. not for me. if you go...all the best...i have family to worry about


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[RD64]

If nothing else, MSC is taking a planned approach to everything. One ship to start, and if all goes well with the initial two cruises, a second ship will start on August 29th.

 

From what I have seen - unless things have changed, Carnival plans on having eight ships sailing the first week of November (from ports that may/ may not be ready) to ports that may/ may not be ready and willing to accept them. Then there is the whole re-staffing of the ships. How can they possibly accomplish this with such a short time line?

 

Regarding paper menus - the school board where I used to work prior to retirement is not even allowing paper handouts to be distributed when school re-starts.

[teknoge3k]

Like others, my area has been almost 100% QR code menus since this virus all started. We eat out usually twice a week and have been since May when things reopened around here. The QR codes are great because not only are you not bothered with menus, but the restaurant can update them in real-time rather than having to update a hard copy of a menu. I imagine that Carnival will still have physical menus for the few who don't have a smartphone, the same way they still have a hard copy of The Fun Times for those that prefer that version. For those of us who prefer 100% digital, that option is there as well.

 

As far as buffets, when we were in the Dominican Republic last month at the AI, they had glass up between the buffet and you, and there was someone serving you whatever you wanted from the buffet and it was passed through a window. It was very efficient. (All of the restaurants used QR codes there as well. QR codes have been around for a while and are here to stay)

[Butterbean1000]

2 hours ago, MsTabbyKats said:

And "your friendly cruising sage" will remind you again, when life normalizes, that there will be buffets, there will be maskless cruises and there will be herds of people crowding into the elevators.

We rarely go to the buffet and we take the stairs 90% of the time. These things don't bother me. However, as I've stated before, face masks are a deal breaker. 

[OceanZena]

If cruises start before my Nov. 30 sailing and it's with masks and social distancing, I hope they will honor refunds to those who still feel uncomfortable cruising under those new situations. 

[TNcruising02]

8 minutes ago, OceanZena said:

If cruises start before my Nov. 30 sailing and it's with masks and social distancing, I hope they will honor refunds to those who still feel uncomfortable cruising under those new situations. 

If they don't allow refunds, they may allow you to move your booking to a later time.  If I had a cruise this year, that's what I would probably do just because I think the first few cruises (at least) will require masks.   I've got a cruise booked for January 2nd and keep going back and forth on what to do.  It's still a long time away and a lot can happen between now and then, so I am hoping for the best.

We had a road trip planned for this month to a beach condo, but moved it to the end of October.  I guess that will be our only scheduled vacation this year.  At least we are saving a lot of money by not cruising and making some money on these unstable travel stocks.  There's always an upside. 

Edited August 18, 2020 by TNcruising02

[skridge]

3 hours ago, keywest1 said:

They will try to start two school systems and a University in our county on Monday.  If they can pull that off,  maybe I can feel

better about cruises resuming anytime soon.

University of North Carolina made it two weeks before they shut down the dorms and moved everything to on-line learning.  Maybe you will have better luck in Kentucky.

[arby70]

23 minutes ago, OceanZena said:

If cruises start before my Nov. 30 sailing and it's with masks and social distancing, I hope they will honor refunds to those who still feel uncomfortable cruising under those new situations. 

I know when Carnival cancelled my March 2020 cruise, rather than get a refund, we went ahead and rebooked for February 27, 2021.  Who would have thought we would still be in such a mess and that booking one for a year later may still be questionable.  If we have to do masks, and either take Carnival excursions only or have to stay on the ship, I do hope they allow refunds too.  I have until the end of November to make up my mind and would lose my deposit if I don't feel comfortable.  All 3 of us ladies will be 68+ by then.  Maybe they will allow us to change cruises for something later in 2021 without the change fees?  That could be an option perhaps.

Edited August 18, 2020 by arby70

[pc_load_letter]

3 hours ago, keywest1 said:

They will try to start two school systems and a University in our county on Monday.  If they can pull that off,  maybe I can feel

better about cruises resuming anytime soon.

 

Yeah, my employer starts next week as well. Over 2000 kids in the dorms.

 

I closed on a refi yesterday and the notary has her kids back in school. My wifes school opens next week as well.

[Cruiseboy06]

I'm seeing no cruises through December 15th atleast..........   Remember  HHS Secretary will need to say we are not in a health emergency anymore and the CDC needs to lift the no sail order before we can sail again........  

[firefly333]

3 hours ago, RD64 said:

If nothing else, MSC is taking a planned approach to everything. One ship to start, and if all goes well with the initial two cruises, a second ship will start on August 29th.

 

From what I have seen - unless things have changed, Carnival plans on having eight ships sailing the first week of November (from ports that may/ may not be ready) to ports that may/ may not be ready and willing to accept them. Then there is the whole re-staffing of the ships. How can they possibly accomplish this with such a short time line?

 

Regarding paper menus - the school board where I used to work prior to retirement is not even allowing paper handouts to be distributed when school re-starts.

I heard a little while ago the msc cruise out of italy required a covid test. And allowed no more than up to 60% capacity. First time I heard a covid test required for that msc cruise.

[BlerkOne]

Just now, firefly333 said:

I heard a little while ago the msc cruise out of italy required a covid test. And allowed no more than up to 60% capacity. First time I heard a covid test required for that msc cruise.

My understanding is MSC was running with 70% capacity. Or at least that was their plan.

[firefly333]

4 minutes ago, BlerkOne said:

My understanding is MSC was running with 70% capacity. Or at least that was their plan.

I was watching fbn before another program came on. And they showed a ship and said it was a msc ship out of Italy and had been allowed by some regulatory agency to sail at 60%. They could have been wrong.

 

It was the mandatory covid test that got my attention. Idk if administered on the ship or what.

 

 

[jimbo5544]

2 hours ago, skridge said:

It wouldn't surprise me if the "beards" in the C Suite at Carnival has asked JH to get out there on social media and get as many of his followers as he can to sign up for all these cruises they know have less than a 1% chance of leaving American ports.  Keep that free money coming in.

People want to cruise  

[RD64]

1 hour ago, BlerkOne said:

My understanding is MSC was running with 70% capacity. Or at least that was their plan.

I read that 1000 passengers boarded in Genova (some reports were 1500). An additional 1500 passengers were to be boarding at the additional embarkation ports. Therefore approximately 2500-3000 passengers on a ship with 4800 lower berths.

[RD64]

1 hour ago, jimbo5544 said:

People want to cruise  

I agree - people want to cruise - I want to cruise again as well. I do not - however - want to book a cruise that may or may not sail.

[skridge]

1 hour ago, jimbo5544 said:

People want to cruise  

I want to cruise.  That doesn't make it reasonable to sell cruises that anyone can see are not going to happen.  It also doesn't make it reasonable to continue saying on JH's social media platforms that people who think it is a bad idea to cruise before the end of the year as doom and gloomers, when Carnival Corp has cancelled all cruises through December 15th except for Carnival ships.

[lensonlife]

Our Journeys cruise out of NYC in June was obviously cancelled so we finished some projects around the house and then drove up to Bar Harbor, ME (we live in VT). They were using the QR codes there and it was very easy to navigate. We rebooked out of NYC next June, but am not feeling very confident that sail will happen (even if some ships are moving by then). 

[BlerkOne]

13 hours ago, RD64 said:

Also, John Heald mentions that cruising has restarted in Europe, but doesn’t mention with what stipulations:

 

* No buffets

* reduced passenger capacity

* 10% of cabins reserved for potential covid cases

* no independent port tours - passengers allowed to disembark at ports only if they PURCHASE a ship sponsored tour.

* no menus - everything done by scanning bar codes

* reduced number of people in pools and on decks

* and several others

 

Would the average Carnival cruiser be willing to accept these changes?

 

Works for me. I like cruising with considerate cruisers.

[xDisconnections]

3 minutes ago, BlerkOne said:

 

150% of your statistics are made up and if you think slandering John Heald gets points, you think wrong.

Agreed. John Heald is just doing his job and providing us the most accurate, confirmed and up-to-date information and travel advisories. He would never attempt to lie or deceive anyone on purpose.