Is anyone losing or lost their enthusiasm for Cruising?

[njkruzer]

Just now, Jimbo said:

What part of TN, we are from NJ also, thinking of moving to South Western Virginia. How do you like that part of the country?

 

We're in Nashville.   We wanted transportation,  medical care, universities,  and a Jewish community.  Alour daughter is here.  The airport here is good and expanding.  Currently you can fly 5 days a week nonstop to Heathrow.  3 interstates run through the city so we can drive lots of places.  Really good medical care and the universities have lots to do.  When you say southwestern VA, do you mean near I-81?  We've stopped near Blacksburg on drives south from NJ.  We moved here in 2018.  Let me know if you want more info.

[sgmn]

5 hours ago, grapau27 said:

I absolutely agree.

I haven't looked at a cruise since  our Allure cruise was cancelled in June 2020.

 

I've looked but haven't bitten. Even planned days out are getting cancelled now because of increase in cases. But I did manage to get my hair cut two days before we went back into lockdown 👍

[grapau27]

18 minutes ago, sgmn said:

I've looked but haven't bitten. Even planned days out are getting cancelled now because of increase in cases. But I did manage to get my hair cut two days before we went back into lockdown 👍

We are still in Tier 3 but I think we will all be in Lockdown soon.

Take care Sue.

I hope you and your family still have a nice Christmas.

Graham.

[ShmuelCharlie]

On 12/14/2020 at 11:30 AM, njkruzer said:

I just want to go.  Cancelled our April cruises but hoping maybe to do something in August.   Want to go somewhere where they feed me!  Heading to Hilton Head next month but I will still be cooking. Not enough. 

I also want to go, but I also have to be judicious about where to cruise w/o fouling up the port cities' citizens' health. That's why I hope that that everybody in the world--including me--gets vaccinated during the next 6 months so that I can resume cruising, especially in Europe. I am sympathetic towards the UK's citizens and their economy when they were saddled with those new travel restrictions for flights to and from the UK to the Continent as a result of the virus's new strain.  

[ShmuelCharlie]

On 12/14/2020 at 2:45 PM, molly361 said:

I'm waiting for the one that only needs one poke😇

So am I. I think that's the one made by Moderna. 

[ReneeFLL]

5 hours ago, John&LaLa said:

 

Anyone lower in status would feel short changed in the activities, etc..

 

Just an observation

Thanks.

[ShmuelCharlie]

On 12/14/2020 at 3:01 PM, Iamcruzin said:

I have been feeling this way since the fall. It's just too much work involved in getting tested traveling to port and the anxiety of possibly getting there only to find that the cruise is canceled or they have to turn around because someone tested positive. I think the icing on the cake was no cruises longer than 7 days and the ship board excursions. It's just not worth the effort for an experience that is going to be subpar with all of the limitations. I don't see the experience any different than staying at home.

Nearly 9 months of staying home except for the occasional sortie to the bank, nail salon for pedicures (yes, I'm a guy), hair salon, etc., was boring. The only good thing about staying home was having long sleeps and getting delivered food from DoorDash. I'd rather cruise or stay at a beach resort than stay at home. 

[ShmuelCharlie]

On 12/14/2020 at 7:53 PM, bobmacliberty said:

We normally only cruise once or twice a year, so not missing it too much yet.  Next cruise scheduled for Sept 2021 which will hopefully be somewhat close to normal. We've been making annual trips to Europe lately and had a 3 week Italy trip (that include a 9 day Greek Isles cruise) cancelled in September.  I DO miss the Europe trips.

I also miss Europe cruises, that's why I like booking European cruises even though I've visited many of the ports frequently. My next cruise will be on Harmony OTS in June '21, and I'll be visiting Marseilles and La Spezia for Northern Tuscany places like Cinque Terre. The only places I haven't seen yet are Herculaneum (Naples), Naples itself, Lucca (Livorno), Portafino and Rapallo (Naples). Regarding Tuscany, I have to wonder why RCCL, Celebrity, et al don't offer excursions to cities like Siena, the city famous for its Palio (sp?) horse races. 

[Jimbo]

1 hour ago, njkruzer said:

We're in Nashville.   We wanted transportation,  medical care, universities,  and a Jewish community.  Alour daughter is here.  The airport here is good and expanding.  Currently you can fly 5 days a week nonstop to Heathrow.  3 interstates run through the city so we can drive lots of places.  Really good medical care and the universities have lots to do.  When you say southwestern VA, do you mean near I-81?  We've stopped near Blacksburg on drives south from NJ.  We moved here in 2018.  Let me know if you want more info.

Yes, near I-81 between Christianburg and Wytheville. How do you like the pace between NJ and TN. Currently in South Jersey near Cherry Hill.

[ShmuelCharlie]

On 12/14/2020 at 2:49 PM, Mapleleafforever said:

My wife and I have had some great times in our 10 years of cruising and the last 2 with the kids and grandparents in tow. We'll always have great memories of all of our cruises. Cruising under the new restrictions and guidelines, however necessary, has us considering other types of vacations at this time though. We do have an Odyssey cruise booked for Feb 2022 but I doubt we'll go if all the talked about restrictions are still in place. 

Is the Odyssey OTS the new RCCL ship that's a member of the Quantum Class? Have you been aboard the Quantum Class ships before and used their Ripcord IFly and NorthStar experiences or rides? How were they?  

[Jimbo]

7 minutes ago, ShmuelCharlie said:

Is the Odyssey OTS the new RCCL ship that's a member of the Quantum Class? Have you been aboard the Quantum Class ships before and used their Ripcord IFly and NorthStar experiences or rides? How were they?  

https://fb.watch/2wX4N6pejn/

 

That's my wife laughing her ass off at me.

 

Probably as close as I will ever get to sky diving thankfully !!!

Edited December 21, 2020 by Jimbo

[ShmuelCharlie]

On 12/14/2020 at 3:37 PM, mkmaj said:

I'm still excited to cruise. I am concerned with what we'll come back to. Covid protocols aside... the cruiselines have A LOT of revenue to make up. I'm worried about where the cuts will be made and/or prices raised.

Re: where cuts will be made, I wouldn't be surprised if the Windjammer Buffet were taken out of service along with other potentially crowded venues such as Dazzles nightclub and the Glow Parties on Lido Deck for Harmony OTS. 

[njkruzer]

28 minutes ago, ShmuelCharlie said:

So am I. I think that's the one made by Moderna. 

Sorry, it needs 2 shots also.

[njkruzer]

7 minutes ago, Jimbo said:

Yes, near I-81 between Christianburg and Wytheville. How do you like the pace between NJ and TN. Currently in South Jersey near Cherry Hill.

Nashville is a busy city. I believe the area you are looking at is very quiet, though lots of truck traffic on 81.  Is there a college near there?  Any hospitals?  Why that area?  It would be too remote for us.

[ShmuelCharlie]

On 12/15/2020 at 1:10 PM, WeMissSeaView said:

I have a bunch of cruises booked in 2021 starting in March, but many are over 7 nights and many are B2B.  I just wish Royal would decide what they are doing with 7+ and B2B cruises.  For once, I do not want to make final plans for cruises that I may not get to take.  I am tired of the what if game.

And I had two cruises booked for this past July to see Norwegian Fjords and iceland on Island Princess sailing from Copenhagen and one for this month aboard Freedom OTS from San Juan for the Southern Caribbean, but I had to cancel both sailings. Fortunately, I was able to receive cash refunds instead of an FCC on both sailings. 

[ShmuelCharlie]

On 12/15/2020 at 6:09 PM, puerto penasco lady said:

 

I am an optimist....I have a 13 week b2b.  Board Liberty on August 22 and don't get off til November 21.  Making up for all my cancelled cruises, and when I get off I will be Pinnacle.

How long were you at the Diamond Plus tier before you were able to accumulate the points to get to Pinnacle? I know that the points for Diamond Plus start at 176 and you need 750 to reach Pinnacle, right? I hope you reach that apex of tiers. I'm still accumulating points toward Diamond Plus, and I've been Diamond since 2010. 

[ReneeFLL]

5 hours ago, njkruzer said:

We're booked on that Jewel cruise.  The reason it has no cruises listed after arrival in Amsterdam is that there are 2 charters by Dave koz for jazz cruises.  I asked the same question. 

Thanks for the info. It saved me from doing some research. The TA we had was going to Bermuda, Azores, Cork and Waterford. I like those ports better but I guess I can’t be to picky right now if I want a TA. I’m still thinking about it. The b2b cruise had Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Tallinn, overnight in St. Petersburg, Helsinki, Stockholm, and Skagen. I was really hoping to find something similar but no such luck. Would have been a great cruise for I think it was 27 nights. 

 

3 hours ago, Seville2Cabo said:

We are on the 4/22 TA as well. Wondered why there was no option for B2B. We decided to do a couple weeks driving Europe. 

That sounds like fun.

[Jimbo]

15 minutes ago, njkruzer said:

Nashville is a busy city. I believe the area you are looking at is very quiet, though lots of truck traffic on 81.  Is there a college near there?  Any hospitals?  Why that area?  It would be too remote for us.

Rather not be near the large of city, ready for retired life. Beautiful area around there and found a beautiful house. Virginia Tech is in Blackburg not far from where we will be. Yes there are Hospitals in the area.....................and golf courses and beautiful mountains.

[Merion_Mom]

9 minutes ago, ShmuelCharlie said:

How long were you at the Diamond Plus tier before you were able to accumulate the points to get to Pinnacle? I know that the points for Diamond Plus start at 176 and you need 750 to reach Pinnacle, right? I hope you reach that apex of tiers. I'm still accumulating points toward Diamond Plus, and I've been Diamond since 2010. 

You need 175 points to be Diamond Plus and 700 points to be Pinnacle.  ☺️

[ShmuelCharlie]

On 12/16/2020 at 1:51 PM, Domino D said:

So when I retire, 2-3 years I think, I'm thinking of taking a 111 day around the world cruise out of Ft Lauderdale.  I'm wondering, what's the most days consecutively you've sailed?  I include back to back, as that is mostly like a port day in essence (even if you do have to repack sometimes or switch ships).  Have you ever felt like it was too long?

 

I'm sure we would be okay and enjoy it, but just curious. 

I can count on one hand the number of cruises I've had whose duration did not exceed 16 days: Celebrity Millennium to South America during the Xmas and New Year's in '05-06; Celebrity Millennium Wine Cruise down the West Coast in October '09; and the HAL Ryndam West Coast to Ft. Lauderdale from San Francisco in October '98. Everything else has been either 12-14 days or 10 days such as the one aboard HAL Noordam (the old Noordam) in Fall 2000; between 7-8 days; or 3-4 days days such as the ones that visit The Bahamas.   

[John&LaLa]

18 minutes ago, ShmuelCharlie said:

How long were you at the Diamond Plus tier before you were able to accumulate the points to get to Pinnacle? I know that the points for Diamond Plus start at 176 and you need 750 to reach Pinnacle, right? I hope you reach that apex of tiers. I'm still accumulating points toward Diamond Plus, and I've been Diamond since 2010. 

 

D+ to Pin in 5 or 6 years as I recall

And 700 to 1050 in 18 months

Edited December 22, 2020 by John&LaLa

[ShmuelCharlie]

On 12/16/2020 at 2:23 PM, island lady said:

 

Haven't got there yet...but not for lack of trying!!  Our long hoped for, and planned for, bucket list of our Aussie adventure was to be from boarding Serenade in Sydney on 2/10/21 staying on board all the way up to Vancouver on 5/16/21.  Pretty much our home for over 3 months.  So much for that.  😞 

 

Currently I think our longest was the B2B2B we did on Vision out of PR last January.  21 days.  We were just starting to ramp up the longer cruises, and international cruises for this year.  Really bad timing.  😞 

My bucket list includes cruising from Singapore to visit SE Asia along with Australia and New Zealand. My big question to myself is whether I would be able to handle a very long flight across the Pacific that was longer than the one I took in '01 to Hawaii--post 9/11--for a 12-day Carnival Spirit sailing of the Hawaiian Islands w/o getting DVT/PE in my legs.   

[ReneeFLL]

33 minutes ago, Jimbo said:

https://fb.watch/2wX4N6pejn/

 

That's my wife laughing her ass off at me.

 

Probably as close as I will ever get to sky diving thankfully !!!

That poor employee gets a work out with that job. I would hope they switch out employees occasionally. It doesn’t look as fun as I thought it would. What did you think about it?

[njkruzer]

16 minutes ago, Jimbo said:

Rather not be near the large of city, ready for retired life. Beautiful area around there and found a beautiful house. Virginia Tech is in Blackburg not far from where we will be. Yes there are Hospitals in the area.....................and golf courses and beautiful mountains.

Enjoy.  We each choose what works.   BTW lots of open nearby.

[Mapleleafforever]

43 minutes ago, ShmuelCharlie said:

Is the Odyssey OTS the new RCCL ship that's a member of the Quantum Class? Have you been aboard the Quantum Class ships before and used their Ripcord IFly and NorthStar experiences or rides? How were they?  

It is indeed! We have not been on a Quantum class yet, I'll report back if the cruise is a go though.