Restrictions that reduces the FUN

[SNJCruisers]

40 minutes ago, jfunk138 said:

 If cruiselines are forced to sail at half capacity, you can certainly expect to be paying double. 

The mass market cruiselines (like Carnival) offer the prices they do because they pack so many people in.

Regarding packing people in, Carnival has the 3 Vista Class ships that average around 4,000 passengers.   MSC has 10 ships that allow more passengers and Royal has 11 ships with more passengers.

And there is no way that you're going to pay double just because the ship will be at 50% capacity.  Next week bookings will open up for the Millenium sailings out of St. Maarten and the Adventure sailings out of Nassau and at that point we will know for certain what the percentage up charge is, but it certainly will not be 100%.

[jfunk138]

3 minutes ago, SNJCruisers said:

Regarding packing people in, Carnival has the 3 Vista Class ships that average around 4,000 passengers.   MSC has 10 ships that allow more passengers and Royal has 11 ships with more passengers.

And there is no way that you're going to pay double just because the ship will be at 50% capacity.  Next week bookings will open up for the Millenium sailings out of St. Maarten and the Adventure sailings out of Nassau and at that point we will know for certain what the percentage up charge is, but it certainly will not be 100%.

Yes, I'm sure there will be "intro rates" on these test cruises but they aren't going to bring additional capacity back online to have it be unprofitable.  Airlines aren't going to bring planes out of storage if middle seats are still empty. 

[BlerkOne]

Even if cruise lines sail at a loss, they will still have income and can live to float another day. Losing less money buys more time.

[travelhound]

On 3/6/2021 at 6:59 PM, stobe1 said:

I wouldnt consider the hairy chest competition going away as a bad thing. That would be a plus in my book.

Yup, I think all of us can do without the hairy chest contest 🙂

[adonisr]

On 3/20/2021 at 4:00 PM, jfunk138 said:

Yes, I'm sure there will be "intro rates" on these test cruises but they aren't going to bring additional capacity back online to have it be unprofitable.  Airlines aren't going to bring planes out of storage if middle seats are still empty. 

Empty middle seats are already becoming a thing of the past.  Just booked a flight to Cancun for mid June.  Plane is almost sold out.  Folks are tired of being cooped up at home.

[canlin1]

We hope to cruise again in October. Our last cruise was two years ago and we have re booked twice.I can hardly stand it. I am actually watching reruns of The Love Boat and YOUTUBE ships in bad weather. I cannot think of a restriction that will hamper my fun. Yes, things will be different and we may be annoyed by some of the changes. But I tell myself it is my choice to go. I do think once they get the green light, the cruise lines need to make it clear what we can and cannot expect. Then, let people rebook to a later time if the restrictions are deal breakers.

[Trueblueky]

On 3/6/2021 at 7:51 AM, ledges1 said:

1. Mask required -- great if all comply and it gets us cruising again

2. Limited seating in nightclubs -- ok by me

3. Limited seating in shows -- ok by me 

4. Limited seating/games in casino - -not my thing

5. Slow turnover of players in casino resulting in waiting to get a slot machine -- not my thing

6. Carnival only excursions -- Great, gives us something to buy with all the OBC

7. Fewer ports of call due to slow reopening by other countries -- that would be sad. Their country, their rules.                

8. Key West no longer available as a destination -- if I want to go to Key West, I'll drive -- and Grand Cayman may limit cruise ship visits. -- their country, their rules                             

9. Hairy chest contest eliminated -- DW and I do not participate         

10. Lido deck games removed due covid restrictions; putt putt, cornhole, chess, ping pong, ice carving, mixology contest, hot tubs, etc...  -- ok by me         11. Must show your Fauci ouchie card to board or to visit certain ports -- ok by me

What else you got?

[Jasonsterling]

On 3/6/2021 at 6:51 AM, ledges1 said:

With the anticipated return of cruising, excitement is high as are bookings. Many of us remember cruising as it once was. With new restrictions, will this limit the FUN on Carnival and possibly sour the experience until restrictions are lifted. This could take a year or two. Will these possible restrictions limit the FUN.

1. Mask required

2. Limited seating in nightclubs

3. Limited seating in shows

4. Limited seating/games in casino

5. Slow turnover of players in casino resulting in waiting to get a slot machine

6. Carnival only excursions

7. Fewer ports of call due to slow reopening by other countries.                  8. Key West no longer available as a destination and Grand Cayman may limit cruise ship visits.                              

9. Hairy chest contest eliminated.          

10. Lido deck games removed due covid restrictions; putt putt, cornhole, chess, ping pong, ice carving, mixology contest, hot tubs, etc...                               I have no real insight to what the restrictions may be, but in reallity, these could all occur.  Will this effect your experience?

It would impact the "fun" and it's one of the reasons I lean toward a fully vaccinated passenger list as a requirement. While I won't catch COVID myself (statistically) I hate to see everything end early or for ships to get shut down again because someone chose not to get vaccinated and then is diagnosed mid-journey with COVID and it's on the news and you know that's the end again. Also, in the end part of the fun of cruising, for me, is the crowds and the action and the liveliness of the atmosphere. A party where everyone's trying to line dance six feet apart isn't going to be much fun or a nearly empty Chef's Table or a bunch of closed activities. That's part of why I booked my first return to cruising for NYE in hopes that it'll be eased up by that time. It was a leap of faith to even do it and there are times I think about just losing the deposit and dropping the booking but I'll wait for now on that and see how the summer shakes out. That said, I cruise with my son and a big part of the fun is also just hanging out with him and we'd still be able to do that and get out of town and I just love being out on the water. So, it's really something to consider- hard to say exactly how I feel about it though with so little real information. Right now I'm planning on going and going with the flow. 

[stellarose]

1 hour ago, Jasonsterling said:

It would impact the "fun" and it's one of the reasons I lean toward a fully vaccinated passenger list as a requirement. While I won't catch COVID myself (statistically) I hate to see everything end early or for ships to get shut down again because someone chose not to get vaccinated and then is diagnosed mid-journey with COVID and it's on the news and you know that's the end again. Also, in the end part of the fun of cruising, for me, is the crowds and the action and the liveliness of the atmosphere. A party where everyone's trying to line dance six feet apart isn't going to be much fun or a nearly empty Chef's Table or a bunch of closed activities. That's part of why I booked my first return to cruising for NYE in hopes that it'll be eased up by that time. It was a leap of faith to even do it and there are times I think about just losing the deposit and dropping the booking but I'll wait for now on that and see how the summer shakes out. That said, I cruise with my son and a big part of the fun is also just hanging out with him and we'd still be able to do that and get out of town and I just love being out on the water. So, it's really something to consider- hard to say exactly how I feel about it though with so little real information. Right now I'm planning on going and going with the flow. 

I too booked Christmas/ NYE.  By the end of April- all four of my family members will be vaccinated and ready to cruise.  but things change daily.  now the philllies are allowing more and more fans. so by summer it could be most ships sailing. 

[SNJCruisers]

46 minutes ago, stellarose said:

so by summer it could be most ships sailing. 

Not anywhere,  on any cruise line.  A handful of ships by Royal and NCL embarking outside of the US.  We will be extremely lucky to be cruising in the US by Labor Day and most ships by the first of the year. 

[Tapi]

4 minutes ago, SNJCruisers said:

Not anywhere,  on any cruise line.  A handful of ships by Royal and NCL embarking outside of the US.  We will be extremely lucky to be cruising in the US by Labor Day and most ships by the first of the year. 

If the restart in the US keeps dragging on, I foresee these cruise offerings from Nassau, Bermuda, Montego Bay, La Romana etc extending into Thanksgiving or even Christmas. I’m not ready to book the ones in June or July, but I may do it if we’re still in limbo come Thanksgiving. 

[xDisconnections]

On 3/20/2021 at 3:53 PM, SNJCruisers said:

Regarding packing people in, Carnival has the 3 Vista Class ships that average around 4,000 passengers.   MSC has 10 ships that allow more passengers and Royal has 11 ships with more passengers.

And there is no way that you're going to pay double just because the ship will be at 50% capacity.  Next week bookings will open up for the Millenium sailings out of St. Maarten and the Adventure sailings out of Nassau and at that point we will know for certain what the percentage up charge is, but it certainly will not be 100%.

The other cruise lines may cram more passengers in but they certainly feel less crowded than Carnival’s ships. The design used by cruise lines such as Royal Caribbean permits far superior passenger space ratios with crowd flow and passenger logistics in mind. In addition, they control the flow of passengers in the background using technology and strategic planning to alleviate congestion.

[SNJCruisers]

19 minutes ago, xDisconnections said:

The other cruise lines may cram more passengers in but they certainly feel less crowded than Carnival’s ships. The design used by cruise lines such as Royal Caribbean permits far superior passenger space ratios with crowd flow and passenger logistics in mind. In addition, they control the flow of passengers in the background using technology and strategic planning to alleviate congestion.

I will agree about your comparison between Carnival and Royal, but MSC I believe is cramming in substantially more people per tonnage compared to Carnival. 

[Tapi]

4 hours ago, SNJCruisers said:

 MSC I believe is cramming in substantially more people per tonnage compared to Carnival. 

I didn’t check every single ship in their fleets, but I did check each line’s 2 newest ships. On both counts, Carnival packs more passengers per tonnage with a considerably worse space to passenger ratio at double occupancy. 

[xDisconnections]

5 hours ago, SNJCruisers said:

I will agree about your comparison between Carnival and Royal, but MSC I believe is cramming in substantially more people per tonnage compared to Carnival. 

 

1 hour ago, Tapi said:

I didn’t check every single ship in their fleets, but I did check each line’s 2 newest ships. On both counts, Carnival packs more passengers per tonnage with a considerably worse space to passenger ratio at double occupancy. 

Thanks for the research, Tapi. I know very little about MSC.

[Tapi]

1 hour ago, xDisconnections said:

 

Thanks for the research, Tapi. I know very little about MSC.

I really like the design of MSC ships. In some way, they remind me of Royal ships. Well thought out, good passenger flow, spacious, and open pool decks with tons of space and larger pools. When we did the Meraviglia in the Med, I remember thinking that it reminded me of an Oasis class ship. Not quite the same "wow" factor, but close. 

[Trueblueky]

Some of the "other cruise lines are more spacious" comes from their having smaller cabins than Carnival.

[Joebucks]

These comparisons of people per GT can be deceiving. It isn't as simple as looking at a spec sheet, and determining that there is more "space". How is the space being used? Where are the people congregating? Is a big open promenade really going to bring much more joy? What if it's 10 square foot in each cabin?

 

While it's a good indicator, the real measurement is the size of the popular venues. You can have whatever GT measurement you want, but a small pool, theater, comedy club, etc can happen on either end of the spectrum. Unfortunately, Carnival has had a few poor designs of those areas. 

[IntrepidFromDC]

On 3/20/2021 at 4:00 PM, jfunk138 said:

Yes, I'm sure there will be "intro rates" on these test cruises but they aren't going to bring additional capacity back online to have it be unprofitable.  Airlines aren't going to bring planes out of storage if middle seats are still empty. 

Airlines were flying plane with the middle seats empty based on a formula designed to mitigate losses, not eliminate them.  In other words, due to the combined effect of "fixed costs and variable costs" and "supply and demand price elasticity", they were able to lose less money each month flying with the middle seats empty than by not flying at all.

[BlerkOne]

59 minutes ago, Joebucks said:

These comparisons of people per GT can be deceiving. It isn't as simple as looking at a spec sheet, and determining that there is more "space". How is the space being used? Where are the people congregating? Is a big open promenade really going to bring much more joy? What if it's 10 square foot in each cabin?

 

While it's a good indicator, the real measurement is the size of the popular venues. You can have whatever GT measurement you want, but a small pool, theater, comedy club, etc can happen on either end of the spectrum. Unfortunately, Carnival has had a few poor designs of those areas. 

GT is itself deceiving. 50' ceilings add a lot of GT but zero sq footage for people to walk around.

[jperry2011]

I couldn't care less at this point. The mask requirement wouldn't make much sense to me though and would be annoying. Why would we be required to wear one if everyone is able to get vaccinated? Doesn't make any sense. 

[SNJCruisers]

17 minutes ago, jperry2011 said:

I couldn't care less at this point. The mask requirement wouldn't make much sense to me though and would be annoying. Why would we be required to wear one if everyone is able to get vaccinated? Doesn't make any sense. 

Carnival has not come out yet with any official policy regarding masks, yet alone vaccination requirements.  Once they do, then you can complain if you object.

[jordanaire]

Hell no it won't change anything for my wife and I. We are vaccinated and ready to set sail. If we're are stuck in our balcony cabin, so be it. We were stuck in our home for months! As for the bars and night clubs, we don't use either. As for the shore excursions, we've been to just about every place we'd like to visit. Getting away from our daily routine is more important than anything for us when it comes to cruising.

[LouChamp]

My wife and i have been blessed to have traveled and seen the world.  I know some people have not and respect everyone’s opinion. Unfortunately i know several people who have died from the virus. We have been vaccinated and i was able to get my mom out of senior assisted living because they are still restricting visitors and services.  I am hoping we will resume travel next year but I also thought the same for this year. Love all the cruise lines as each one provides their own atmosphere and of course the crew makes the ship.  I am thinking  that as we are now 60ish, we will probably concentrate on the smaller ships as i’m pretty much done with the larger bells and whistles. That’s my opinion but i pray that everyone stays safe and that the cruise lines know what they are doing. Part of me feels that the first few months will be “test” cruises whether or not they call it that.  So everyone please stay safe and smooth sailing soon!

[jperry2011]

2 hours ago, SNJCruisers said:

Carnival has not come out yet with any official policy regarding masks, yet alone vaccination requirements.  Once they do, then you can complain if you object.

I already complained. You can wear 3 masks around that's enough for us all.