Are you willing to give the cruise lines new money?

[SelectSys]

Well, I "pulled the trigger" yesterday and made a cruise reservation yesterday.  It's a US departing cruise for the Caribbean that gets as far south as Cartagena.  Why did I do it?  Well - let's see -

 

• The weather was really nice yesterday
• The price was right
• Cruise cancellation policy was good
• No long haul travel
• In 2 days my age group 50-64 will be eligible to get a vaccination in California
• Want some kind of travel on the books
• I expect the end of next March to be a realistic return date given the 1918 pandemic lasted 2 years

 

Are you ready to spend money?  I am curious what others are thinking regardless of what side of the question they are on.  Please vote in the survey and provide comments!

[Aquahound]

Poll is broken.  You have to respond to both the "if yes" and "if no" blocks in order to submit.

[SelectSys]

42 minutes ago, Aquahound said:

Poll is broken.  You have to respond to both the "if yes" and "if no" blocks in order to submit.

yes - I see that  - the work around is to simply click other as I can't edit the poll.  I guess I learned something

Edited March 30, 2021 by SelectSys

[iancal]

Not a dime until we know exactly what the on board environment will be, what the port stops are actually going to be, and until we know that we do not have to take a cruise line excursion in order to get off the ship.   Until then...nada.  No interest in buying a pig in a poke.  No desire to end up with a cruise to nowhere either.

Edited March 30, 2021 by iancal

[lenquixote66]

2 hours ago, SelectSys said:

Well, I "pulled the trigger" yesterday and made a cruise reservation yesterday.  It's a US departing cruise for the Caribbean that gets as far south as Cartagena.  Why did I do it?  Well - let's see -

 

• The weather was really nice yesterday
• The price was right
• Cruise cancellation policy was good
• No long haul travel
• In 2 days my age group 50-64 will be eligible to get a vaccination in California
• Want some kind of travel on the books
• I expect the end of next March to be a realistic return date given the 1918 pandemic lasted 2 years

 

Are you ready to spend money?  I am curious what others are thinking regardless of what side of the question they are on.  Please vote in the survey and provide comments!

There is something interesting in cruising to Cartagena.

[SelectSys]

3 hours ago, iancal said:

until we know that we do not have to take a cruise line excursion in order to get off the ship.

That is where I believe that I am at most risk.  Time will tell...  The good news is I can cancel up until 4 days in advance - of course I will be receiving my first, infamous FCC if I don't go...

 

3 hours ago, lenquixote66 said:

There is something interesting in cruising to Cartagena.

I enjoyed my previous visit during the Christmas holidays for a couple of days.  This happened about 15 years ago, I would guess, while trying to catch up with my first and hopefully last missed cruise!  Of course tastes vary so your experience might be different than mine.  

[lenquixote66]

1 minute ago, SelectSys said:

That is where I believe that I am at most risk.  Time will tell...  The good news is I can cancel up until 4 days in advance - of course I will be receiving my first, infamous FCC if I don't go...

 

I enjoyed my previous visit during the Christmas holidays for a couple of days.  This happened about 15 years ago, I would guess, while trying to catch up with my first and hopefully last missed cruise!  Of course tastes vary so your experience might be different than mine.  

I was referring to what Cartagena was known for years ago.

[SelectSys]

5 minutes ago, lenquixote66 said:

I was referring to what Cartagena was known for years ago.

That can go in several directions.  I assume you aren't referring to its role in Spanish Colonial times.  Can you be more specific?

Edited March 30, 2021 by SelectSys

[lenquixote66]

2 minutes ago, SelectSys said:

That can go in several directions.  I assume you aren't referring to its role in Spanish Colonial times.  Can you be more specific?

The drug cartels

[NantahalaCruiser]

6 hours ago, Aquahound said:

Poll is broken.  You have to respond to both the "if yes" and "if no" blocks in order to submit.

And that is why the No-Other box is so large

[SelectSys]

 

2 minutes ago, NantahalaCruiser said:

And that is why the No-Other box is so large

Thanks for posting this.  Clicking the "other box" is the work around to making an entry.

[Mary229]

It has been my habit for years to only hold one cruise reservation at a time.  DH is not as avid a traveler and we have 3 or 4 extensive cruise+ journeys planned that we would like to do fairly quickly before he tires of travel and I become a solo traveler. So yes, if the right cruise is offered in our planned time slots I will consider.  Until limited shore excursions are off the table so are some of our choices. We will be selective in any we do book.    

[NantahalaCruiser]

Booked a RD January 2023 New Zealand cruise a few days ago in order to get my choice of cabins.

 

Only risk is a Celebrity bankruptcy - which I believe is a low probability.  If there were to be a bankruptcy, it would most likely be a Chapter 11 reorganization which I doubt would result in the loss of my deposit. 

[taglovestocruise]

4 hours ago, lenquixote66 said:

There is something interesting in cruising to Cartagena.

Spain or Columbia. 

[lenquixote66]

1 hour ago, taglovestocruise said:

Spain or Columbia. 

The OP was referring to the Caribbean.

[cruisingguy007]

Deposits yes, I have two future cruises that I booked during the pandemic. I definitely wouldn't take a FCC deal though; as with my last cruise that was canceled, I will take a full refund and rebook something else, not convert my cash into company money and have a bunch of funds tied up or be stuck with a gift card. The cruises I booked are for April 2022/Jan 2023, if cruising is not back by then, then it may not be back at all. Not comfortable booking anything sooner, don't want to be anywhere near the first dozen or so cruises. Based on what I see in society, it will be a cluster with both the free spirited and the fearful on one ship in constant conflict (no thanks). I want to sail when things are normal. I'll vacation in CA in the meantime, plenty of great areas I love here in CA. 

[Honolulu Blue]

I didn't vote in the poll, but as of this time I am NOT willing to give any more money to the cruise lines until they start up again in the U.S. with cruises that are actually going to run and conditions that I'm willing to live with.  The little trips around the Caribbean that are coming soon don't count, IMHO.

 

Back in August I plunked down a deposit for my next scheduled (charter) cruise.  My reasons for doing this were multiple - it was over 18 months away and things figured to be much better by then, the cruise's theme was compelling, the price was right, the insurance was reasonable, the charter company had handled their previous cancellations/delays relatively well, all important parties involved seemed likely to make it until the cruise ran, and I could make payments until the end of time (or this November, whichever came first).  I don't regret it and I don't spend (too) much time worrying about whether it will go.  I think it's about 60% to go as scheduled, 15% to go with significant changes, and 25% to be canceled/delayed again.

[Hflors]

I said yes.  I have a cruise to the Caribbean booked for this Dec.  I am not sure it will go.  I have put money on an Oct 2022 cruise as a backup.  Both cruises are to celebrate our 50th Anniversary!    Both of the cruises had the cabin I wanted so I decided to take a chance.

[ilikeanswers]

I was planning on booking a certain Antarctica cruise that had an amazing deal but it is still expensive. I don't really feel comfortable giving that kind of money to a company who I don't know will run said cruise or even exist. If I was doing cheaper cruises maybe I would take the risk but my problem is the cruises I like are usually on the pricey side and for me it would be a lot of money to lose. 

[klfrodo]

No, I'm not willing to give them "New" money.

 

Had to answer other.

I'm not in the business of floating the cruiselines an interest free loan to keep them in business.

When they return to the business of cruising, I'll return then.

[sparks1093]

I have two cruises booked for 11/21 and 2/22, looking at booking a cruise for 4/23. With reduced deposits being available it's not fronting them much.

[SelectSys]

47 minutes ago, klfrodo said:

No, I'm not willing to give them "New" money.

 

Had to answer other.

I'm not in the business of floating the cruiselines an interest free loan to keep them in business.

When they return to the business of cruising, I'll return then

I totally understand this sentiment.  I guess in some sense I am trying to "time the market" for cruises and buy on the assumption that they will be coming back. 

 

My macro perspective is that waiting for cruises to fully restart will only result in paying more or delaying my return to cruising even more waiting for prices to fall.

 

I could be 100% wrong, but I don't think I have much money at risk right now.

 

1 hour ago, ilikeanswers said:

I was planning on booking a certain Antarctica cruise that had an amazing deal but it is still expensive. I don't really feel comfortable giving that kind of money to a company who I don't know will run said cruise or even exist

I probably wouldn't do this either.  The cruise I booked on a per night basis was very affordable in terms of my expectations.  It was also on a larger line, RCCL, that is extremely unlikely to fail.  Cruises lines too big to fail?  Maybe... 

 

If it was a smaller or boutique line I would definitely feel differently.  Those lines are less likely to be able to tap the capital markets if things remain closed beyond two years from the start of the pandemic.  

 

BTW - my own expectation is that like in 1918 the COVID pandemic will last two years.  Just a guess on my part, but my cruise falls outside of that 2 year window.

[c-boy]

I feel that by the time our November trip comes around covid immunizations  will be in hand.  I don't plan on traveling to places were it's not. 

[Ashland]

I don't necessarily look at it as giving them "new money"...I'm booking new cruises for 2022 and when the schedule opens further I'll give them more....I'm seeing certain itineraries and cabin categories booking up pretty quickly.

[c-boy]

5 minutes ago, Ashland said:

I don't necessarily look at it as giving them "new money"...I'm booking new cruises for 2022 and when the schedule opens further I'll give them more....I'm seeing certain itineraries and cabin categories booking up pretty quickly.

this is what I was afraid of. A mad dash on bookings and availability.