How Will Holland America Survive ?

[mightycruisequeen]

1 minute ago, kazu said:

 

I have two booked for next year - Norway and Europe TA 🙂. I’m not alone by the look of my roll calls 😉 

 

 

I asked if you were planning to book a cruise.   We've got two cruises booked for next year too, but we're not even considering any new bookings, and we'll probably have to cancel the cruises we have booked, if HAL doesn't cancel 'em first. 😕

[cruisemom42]

1 hour ago, mightycruisequeen said:

I asked if you were planning to book a cruise.   We've got two cruises booked for next year too, but we're not even considering any new bookings, and we'll probably have to cancel the cruises we have booked, if HAL doesn't cancel 'em first. 😕

 

I'm planning to book a new cruise in the next day or two for early December simply based on how well we were treated (and how well Celebrity handled the restrictions) on our summer Alaska cruise.

 

I also have two cruises booked for next year (2022) that are still well before final payment. To your point, if I were so concerned I would be canceling those cruises as there is as yet no penalty for doing so. So yes, I think that says something about intent.

[SueMo]

I booked two HAL cruises for Dec “21 and May ’22.  I’m looking at booking a Celebrity cruise in October ’21.  I don’t understand why — with the Abbott Bionax Now test that can be done anywhere you have an internet connection and a phone or device with a camera— it is so difficult for so many people to be tested within 48 hours of boarding.  I don’t see it as a huge inconvenience at all. And I think it is definitely worth a half hour of my time to make sure that the ship is safe so that we can all travel without the worry of getting sick. IMO the alternative of having no vaccine mandates or testing would have a worse effect on the cruise industry as people would not want to travel without those safety guidelines in place. The only thing I am careful of is not being around crowds of people the two weeks leading up to the cruise so I don’t get an unexpected positive test!

[kazu]

47 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

I also have two cruises booked for next year (2022) that are still well before final payment. To your point, if I were so concerned I would be canceling those cruises as there is as yet no penalty for doing so. So yes, I think that says something about intent.

 

Completely agree.  Both of my cruises were booked long after covid hit when I could see that vaccination was a reality.  We have certainly been planning with full intentions to go 🤞 

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

2 hours ago, kazu said:

 

It’s not the cruise lines that are creating the additional precautions - it’s the virus and the countries they are visiting that are requiring the protocols like testing and vaccination.

Correct the cruise lines are just following the rules.

[mightycruisequeen]

3 hours ago, mcrcruiser said:

I cancelled a March 13 ,2022 Koningsdam cruise &  booked the Jan 31 ,2023 Hawaii cruise ;but ,I did that with tongue in cheek ; because NO One knows what this man made virus will do  in the future .Even  the  current vaccines  are not 100% protective  except may be death  protection   .BTW this is not being negative but realistic in face of what is going on in the world & not  just in ones  own back yard ,so to speak .  We live in  very uncertain times   but we can Hope & Pray for a quicker end 

 

 It has taken 2 years from us already  & we are 82  ,so we don't have lots of time to look forward to  cruises any longer  ;but great that we did close to 90  on our bucket list .Therefore  , now looking at  the  different  possible alternatives 

I sure do admire your attitude and outlook! 😎

[ontheweb]

1 hour ago, Gail & Marty sailing away said:

Correct the cruise lines are just following the rules.

But the judge in Florida said the rules were arbitrary and agreed with Florida that they were unjustifiably hurting Florida's economy. As far as I can tell, his decision has not been overturned.

 

The cruise lines have decided to follow them as RECOMMENDATIONS as they are no longer requirements.

[kazu]

13 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

But the judge in Florida said the rules were arbitrary and agreed with Florida that they were unjustifiably hurting Florida's economy. As far as I can tell, his decision has not been overturned.

 

The cruise lines have decided to follow them as RECOMMENDATIONS as they are no longer requirements.

 

Might not be a requirement in Florida but fully vaccinated and testing is a requirement for many places the cruise lines are visiting out of Florida.

It is definitely a requirement in most of Europe.

[Hlitner]

For the moment I will leave the arguing about vaccines, masking, social distancing, etc. to others.  As one who loves to both travel (domestic and international) and cruise (generally about 100 days a year) we simply must face the reality that if we want to continue our travel habit (which has never stopped during COVID) we must simply go along with rules.  To be honest, DW and I are more involved in our usual trip planning and complying with the various rules to waste our time protesting.

 

So, lets clear the air when it comes to vaccines.  If you want to travel it is very wise to be fully vaccinated and have the documents to prove it!  It is becoming increasingly difficult to travel and/or cruise without vaccination documentation.  Folks need to also understand that the Biden administration is on the path of requiring vaccinations in order to fly domestically in the USA.  I do not know if this will happen but those planning on flying in the future should be prepared just in case.  

 

That is the reality of today's traveler.  Most of us do not like it....but the choice is increasingly comply or stay home.

 

Hank

[kazu]

3 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

If you want to travel it is very wise to be fully vaccinated and have the documents to prove it!  It is becoming increasingly difficult to travel and/or cruise without vaccination documentation.  Folks need to also understand that the Biden administration is on the path of requiring vaccinations in order to fly domestically in the USA.  I do not know if this will happen but those planning on flying in the future should be prepared just in case.  

 

It is the exact same in Canada.  Now that Trudeau has been re-elected again the policies will go into effect shortly.  If you want to travel by plane, train, bus or ship you must be fully vaccinated here.

 

It’s simply the way things are going to be and makes sense IMO without going into a discussion.

[Tennessee Titan]

It would be nice if they improved their communications.

At the moment, other liens are offering their guests packages of 2 and 3 Binax test kits. From HAl, nothing,, as usual.

No effort  to keep us up to date on the changing COVID scene (our cruise is 28 days out).

I could go on and on.....

[rkacruiser]

16 hours ago, Kenito said:

Follow the money.  I wish I had the cash to buy more CCL stock last year when it was at $9; last week at $30; 2018 at $70... and some analysts expect it to see $60 again relatively soon. 

 

I think CCL/HAL will adjust, adapt, and conquer.

 

It's difficult to be a contrarian investor at times.  I have had some winners; I have had a disappointing looser.  

 

Like you, I still believe in the ability of two of the major cruise lines to survive the pandemic.  #3?  No money invested in that bet.  

[mcrcruiser]

9 hours ago, JRG said:

 

82 is the new 62 Big Mac.   Keep shopping for those quick getaways that leave from San Pedro because where we live we can wake-up,  catch the sprinter/coaster/metro train to Union Station in LA,   eat authentic across the street at Olvera Street*  and then catch the Silver Line (bus) direct to the Dock (across the street) to board the ship.   

 

*or you can walk few block to Phillippe's for the Worlds Best French Dip Sandwich.

 

$20 gets you a week-end pass for the train and connections too.

 

That's how we roll!

Seems to me you are younger . We no longer can sleep  2 pieces of luggage like a teenager  ,so we get  our son to drive us to either San Diego for HAL or San Pedro for Princess cruises .  You enjoy that authentic Mexican food .sounds yummy😄

 

[mcrcruiser]

3 hours ago, Tennessee Titan said:

It would be nice if they improved their communications.

At the moment, other liens are offering their guests packages of 2 and 3 Binax test kits. From HAl, nothing,, as usual.

No effort  to keep us up to date on the changing COVID scene (our cruise is 28 days out).

I could go on and on.....

Wow, we did not know that .What cruise lines are offering those test kits  ?   We rather go with a cruise  line that helps people  vs place road   blocks in our path  for enjoyment   .Seems to me that there  should be  easier ways  to deal with pre testing & not be  the way HAL management is doing things  . We always say if you don't bend you break 

[mcrcruiser]

Sail Safe & Feel Free video from Norwegian Cruise lines :

 

 https://www.ncl.com/sail-safe

[mcrcruiser]

Just checked Royal Caribbean & they too are making it harder for people with the 48 hour testing ,   Norwegian   Cruise lines are  light ears ahead of  of the main line cruise lines making life easier for vaccinated   people . Thus ,we can easily transfer from HAL or Princess to Norwegian in the future if those lines do not make our travel  burden lighter ,since Norwegian also sails from Southern   California  as well as Florida ports ,for those who can fly or drive to the  Florida  ports 

[zgscl]

Crystal has recently announced vaccine requirements through 2022. It would not be surprising to see others follow suit but time will tell. Like it or not both a vaccine and test are required at this time pretty much across the industry with limited exceptions. We all must take this into consideration when booking in the ever changing environment including which cruise line policy works for us, although this can change rapidly.

 

As a reminder the rules of this forum prohibit discussion or debate of vaccination, masking, individual rights, etc and is limited to information about individual policies/procedures issued by various cruise lines. I suggest we return to the topic of HAL's survival given low occupancy and few ships sailing, or close this thread if that is not possible.