Cruise anyone?

[onlyslightlymad]

As I wait for the much awaited tsunami wave of Omicron to break across the shores of NZ (Ah to own a restaurant in such exciting times...), my thoughts turn to the Viking Cruise that we have booked in December from SYD to AKL, and to wonder if the darned thing is actually going to go.  I reckon it's about 50 % probability on a good day.  About 30% when I'm feeling more negative.

So, here's my question of the day.  Do you have a cruise booked, if so where and with whom and when.  What do you think the probability is that it will go and, more importantly, that you will be on board...

[OzKiwiJJ]

I've just asked my Princess Vacation Planner to book us on a Tassie cruise in October. I have high hopes this will go ahead as the Federal elections will be over by end May at the latest - we'll either see a restart announcement just before the election of just after it.

 

We've also got a Cunard Xmas/NY cruise booked. Tasmania (again) and NZ. I'm actually slightly less confident about this one as Cunard may pull out of the season early, like they did last year.

 

That's all for this year. We have two cruises booked for 2023 and one for 2024.

 

We'll certainly be onboard the first two if they sail.

[onlyslightlymad]

7 hours ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

I've just asked my Princess Vacation Planner to book us on a Tassie cruise in October. I have high hopes this will go ahead as the Federal elections will be over by end May at the latest - we'll either see a restart announcement just before the election of just after it.

 

We've also got a Cunard Xmas/NY cruise booked. Tasmania (again) and NZ. I'm actually slightly less confident about this one as Cunard may pull out of the season early, like they did last year.

 

That's all for this year. We have two cruises booked for 2023 and one for 2024.

 

We'll certainly be onboard the first two if they sail.

I am looking forward to the first person on here actually going a cruise and reporting back.  I must admit to feeling a bit gloomy when I made that post.  Just very tired and nervous as to how I am going to get through the next few weeks and worried about this business of ours.  Anyway who said life was supposed to be easy. 😉

[Chiliburn]

1 hour ago, onlyslightlymad said:

I am looking forward to the first person on here actually going a cruise and reporting back.  I must admit to feeling a bit gloomy when I made that post.  Just very tired and nervous as to how I am going to get through the next few weeks and worried about this business of ours.  Anyway who said life was supposed to be easy. 😉

I have been chatting with a fellow from sydney who is in the US and is doing 8 cruises with his wife.

They left sydney just after Christmas and he said with a little research it has been a fairly normal experience.

[bazzaw]

I have been following the trials and tribulations of Cunard cruising in the UK/Europe. Seems to be sort of "OK" - but I really can't see it happening here for some time. I would have expected that the cruiselines would have become insolvent by now - the word DEBT seems to have been removed from the financial lexicon. Remember when Governments and Companies tried to balance their Budgets, etc - except for the Americans who seem to be able to defy financial Gravity by simply printing Trillions of US Dollars.  Can this all go on forever??? 

[cruisermsoon]

December is a while away, and the situation may change well before then; also, business and governments may want to get tourism under way soon after the "all clear" sign is given by health authorities.

I have booked two cruises, both to NZ and from our local port, Brisbane [so no flying!], the Coral Princess Christmas / New Year cruise and another on Pacific Encounter in March.

I would dearly like to go to Europe next year, but this will be on a "wait and see" basis.

[Cruisers47]

Hi

 

interesting reading all the thoughts this morning.

 

I had a cruise booked with Azamara to Croatia in June.   I have cancelled that but since I had the airfares booked with Emirates I have changed the cruise to a RCL around the UK in July.   If we have any health issues I would rather be in the UK than elsewhere in the EU.   My husband has a Sister in Edinburgh and the boat stops there so it will be a pleasant .    I have a few cruises booked in Oz for August and November and December. Surely after the election we will open up.!!!

 

eileen 

[MMDown Under]

21 minutes ago, Cruisers47 said:

Hi

 

interesting reading all the thoughts this morning.

I had a cruise booked with Azamara to Croatia in June.   I have cancelled that but since I had the airfares booked with Emirates I have changed the cruise to a RCL around the UK in July.   If we have any health issues I would rather be in the UK than elsewhere in the EU.   My husband has a Sister in Edinburgh and the boat stops there so it will be a pleasant .    I have a few cruises booked in Oz for August and November and December. Surely after the election we will open up.!!!

eileen 

That is my style of thinking.  I have told my US friends I won't be visiting the US anymore (covid insurance) but I would like to do another trip to the UK.  Despite having travel insurance in the US on land travel, I would always relax when we drove into Canada.  I have been in hospital in Canada and never felt under threat of selling my house.

[LittleFish1976]

I have a cruise booked for Feb 2023 with Cunard from Melbourne to Auckland. I doubt I would have booked anything but I had a big credit with them for a booking I cancelled at the beginning of this whole covid mess and couldn't cash it out.

 

Will it go? In light of this omicron wave I don't think anyone would know except that I think governments all over the world are getting more pragmatic about illness and deaths, especially now we have vaccinations that can help protect a large proportion of the population (makes you think about the ones who refuse to be vaccinated who are now clogging up our hospitals including ICUs - grrrrrr).

 

Also, I think I would make a kinder assessment than @bazzaw of how Cunard's operations are going. They seem to have very rigorous pre-departure testing; vaccinated only; masks on-board etc. They are still having cases and I know they had to abort one cruise which was unfortunate. They've also had the benefit of the Queen Victoria being stationed in the Caribbean acting as a covid support vessel for the Carnival ships in the area - I doubt they'd be able to do that in the Aus/NZ region.

 

I think the stance of the NZ government will play a large in whether any of us is cruising from Australia to NZ, though. You're clearly on the brink of a watershed time in this pandemic. You coped so well with delta so you might be okay.

 

Are you familiar with the Providoor business that restaurants in Melbourne organised during the Big Lockdown and it has continued to this day? People can order (a day or two in advance) to have meals delivered from a proper restaurant to their homes. The delivery contains items for your dishes which are prepped to a greater or lesser degree, with instructions on how to finish them off. We've done it a couple of times for family birthdays during lockdowns - they also make a nice gift to someone else who is having an occasion or a rough time. Could be worth looking into. Or just straight take-away?

 

At least the omicron waves are short and very sharp although NZ would be well served to control it and make it a slower wave to protect your health system.

 

 

[OzKiwiJJ]

We have Providoor in Sydney too. I ordered a lovely seafood meal from Cirrus for my birthday last year. It was delicious and very generous servings.

[bazzaw]

I have a $5000 FCC from Cunard which I have to use by 30 September 2022. This is not really "my money", as we finally got a large cruise refund of over $30K in late 2020 after waiting for 8 months for it (this WAS our money) - so this FCC was some added cream offered to us at that time. So I don't stand to lose anything if we do not use it. Time will tell. BTW , I wasn't being negative or critical of what Cunard is doing in the UK - as I said it appears that it is going "OK" - but they are sailing with very light passenger numbers. I am more wondering how much time they have left in them financially.  

[onlyslightlymad]

The best modelling as things stand at present in NZ is that we are to experience a three month wave.  Predicting 50000 infections a day by Waitangi weekend (which is next weekend).  So we shall see.

[LittleFish1976]

2 minutes ago, onlyslightlymad said:

The best modelling as things stand at present in NZ is that we are to experience a three month wave.  Predicting 50000 infections a day by Waitangi weekend (which is next weekend).  So we shall see.

In Victoria and NSW our offical case numbers were well below the modelled numbers but it has been very difficult to get tested or even buy rapid antigen tests (aka Lateral flow tests depending on which continent you're on) which gives an artifically lower number. I'm surprised NZ isn't allowing people (as far as I know) to purchase those tests and do their own home testing. We've found it very useful to be able to test ourselves, for example, before we had a big family gathering on Christmas day. And to be able to do a quick test if you feel a bit 'off' at home.

 

I don't see how you could go from what - 105 today? - to 50,000 in a week! If you get those numbers every day, your hospitals will be overrun in a couple of weeks. I really hope that's not the case.

 

Our waves here in Vic and NSW look like resolving within 8 weeks. However, the AustOpen and school going back next week will make the tail longer.

[MicCanberra]

We have a few booked to go in October and November, all of which I am sure will go. The issue is will we be on them, currently Aussies are restricted on entering quite a few of the countries where the cruises visit

[gogo65]

I have the north east passage from Tromso to Nome Alaska booked for august, now I was feeling 50:50 for a while but as this cruise goes over the top of Russia and we require a Russian visa I’m very much doubting it will happen, if only Russia would behave..

[lissie]

2 hours ago, LittleFish1976 said:

 

I don't see how you could go from what - 105 today? - to 50,000 in a week! If you get those numbers every day, your hospitals will be overrun in a couple of weeks. I really hope that's not the case.

 

well yesterday it was 48 and the day before 23 from memory. 

 

So its just the double every day scenario - lets round to 100 toady

200

400

800

1600

3200

64000 in 7 days time 

[lissie]

On 1/27/2022 at 10:57 PM, onlyslightlymad said:

As I wait for the much awaited tsunami wave of Omicron to break across the shores of NZ (Ah to own a restaurant in such exciting times...), my thoughts turn to the Viking Cruise that we have booked in December from SYD to AKL, and to wonder if the darned thing is actually going to go.  I reckon it's about 50 % probability on a good day.  About 30% when I'm feeling more negative.

So, here's my question of the day.  Do you have a cruise booked, if so where and with whom and when.  What do you think the probability is that it will go and, more importantly, that you will be on board...

 

We have   mid July on QE SF-Barcelona  and then 10 Oct on her again back to Singapore.  I'm optimistic enough to have started booking hotels and flights around the cruise dates. If the first cruise doesn't happen because Cunard doesn't want to reposition for an Alaska season - we'll fly to Europe anyways. Two years of life on hold is long enough. 

 

I'm delighted that we have Omicron in the community. Without it I felt the border open dates of late Feb/April would have been delayed again - but now the wave is starting we can't justify keeping the borders closed for much longer. As soon as the borders open the safe travel site has to drop the whole world down from the level 4 do not travel alert. Once that happens travel insurance will actually  work again!   

 

At the moment I'm 100% we're leaving the country July or August. I'm about 80% hat the  cruise will actually happen (that will 100% in May when the QE has to relocate to Alaska for the start of the season). 

[LittleFish1976]

10 minutes ago, lissie said:

well yesterday it was 48 and the day before 23 from memory. 

 

So its just the double every day scenario - lets round to 100 toady

200

400

800

1600

3200

64000 in 7 days time 

 

I haven't heard of anywhere doubling every day although I take your point - it could be possible. Early in our omicron wave I think NSW was doubling every 2.5 days or so. In Victoria I know we noticed a very prompt prolonging of that doubling time to over a week. A lot of people quickly got the message that it wasn't so safe out there and have been isolating and avoiding any social or shopping activity.

 

You may get an early bump up in numbers from that music festival. Hopefully, it'll settle into a much slower increase.

 

By the way, your journey later this year sounds fantastic. Can't wait to read all about it on here!

 

Edited January 28, 2022 by LittleFish1976

[lissie]

11 minutes ago, LittleFish1976 said:

 

I haven't heard of anywhere doubling every day although I take your point - it could be possible. Early in our omicron wave I think NSW was doubling every 2.5 days or so. In Victoria I know we noticed a very prompt prolonging of that doubling time to over a week. A lot of people quickly got the message that it wasn't so safe out there and have been isolating and avoiding any social or shopping activity.

 

You may get an early bump up in numbers from that music festival. Hopefully, it'll settle into a much slower increase.

 

By the way, your journey later this year sounds fantastic. Can't wait to read all about it on here!

 

That's probably a very much worst case and given that we are all wearing masks  inside businesses and socially distancing in cafes/bars I don't think it will be quite that bad. But the government has warned we'll go to "level 2" when we get to 1000 cases a day and that could be next week... Remember basically virtually no one has had Covid here - but our vaccination rate is good - it will be an interesting couple of weeks - but I genuinely find it interesting not frightening. Omicron cases doubling in 1.5 to 3 days in areas with local spread - WHO | Reuters

 

Thanks - will do updates here - though not real time - the wifi on Cunard is horrible 

Edited January 28, 2022 by lissie

[Cruisers47]

Hi

 

i feel good that there are a few others planning to go overseas in the middle of the year!

 

I live in hope…after two years of doing virtually nothing we must get going again or I will be too old to do anything !

 

eileen

[frantic36]

I optimistically last year booked a cruise in July from Rome to Rome. The cruise is cancellable within 3 months of sailing, our flights are with points so I can get the majority back. Our hotel in Rome is cancellable. I've been to Rome a couple of times so don't feel the need to book tours. I am into avoiding crowds 🙂.

 

Being in WA I am starting to have my doubts but I will take a wait and see attitude. All my immediate family have been boosted including my adult sons who got done yesterday. For my family over East and overseas they still wait and hope to visit as they take all the precautions they can.

[onlyslightlymad]

9 hours ago, LittleFish1976 said:

In Victoria and NSW our offical case numbers were well below the modelled numbers but it has been very difficult to get tested or even buy rapid antigen tests (aka Lateral flow tests depending on which continent you're on) which gives an artifically lower number. I'm surprised NZ isn't allowing people (as far as I know) to purchase those tests and do their own home testing. We've found it very useful to be able to test ourselves, for example, before we had a big family gathering on Christmas day. And to be able to do a quick test if you feel a bit 'off' at home.

 

I don't see how you could go from what - 105 today? - to 50,000 in a week! If you get those numbers every day, your hospitals will be overrun in a couple of weeks. I really hope that's not the case.

 

Our waves here in Vic and NSW look like resolving within 8 weeks. However, the AustOpen and school going back next week will make the tail longer.

We can't get RAT test because our govt has been so slow to order them that there simply aren't enough.  A bit of a bureaucratic bungle.  Yes, I do tend to agree with you re 50000 but it is exponential.  We have an immune naive population in that we have had very little virus circulating but then our adult population is about 90% vaccinated.  We're like you were a couple of months ago.

[onlyslightlymad]

7 hours ago, lissie said:

That's probably a very much worst case and given that we are all wearing masks  inside businesses and socially distancing in cafes/bars I don't think it will be quite that bad. But the government has warned we'll go to "level 2" when we get to 1000 cases a day and that could be next week... Remember basically virtually no one has had Covid here - but our vaccination rate is good - it will be an interesting couple of weeks - but I genuinely find it interesting not frightening. Omicron cases doubling in 1.5 to 3 days in areas with local spread - WHO | Reuters

 

Thanks - will do updates here - though not real time - the wifi on Cunard is horrible 

I'm not afraid Lissie but it's all a bit complicated for me.  With owning a restaurant, which is an industry with very tight profit margins and staffing issues as it is, it's a bit stressful.  I also work in education, so that's complicated too.  Especially as the govt seems to say that we can operate in person and via distance at the same time.  I also have a daughter with health issues so there's that.  Also, my elderly mother is reaching the end of her life and is in a facility with tight controls on visitors.  So, am feeling very squeezed.  I am accepting of the fact that Omicron will spread but am not confident that our underfunded health system will cope.

[MMDown Under]

9 hours ago, lissie said:

That's probably a very much worst case and given that we are all wearing masks  inside businesses and socially distancing in cafes/bars I don't think it will be quite that bad. But the government has warned we'll go to "level 2" when we get to 1000 cases a day and that could be next week... Remember basically virtually no one has had Covid here - but our vaccination rate is good - it will be an interesting couple of weeks - but I genuinely find it interesting not frightening. Omicron cases doubling in 1.5 to 3 days in areas with local spread - WHO | Reuters

 

Thanks - will do updates here - though not real time - the wifi on Cunard is horrible 

NZ can learn from Australia and Qld's experience in particular.

18 deaths highest number so far, 818 in hospital with 54 in intensive care, 9974 new infections.

Qlds vaccine rollout first dose 91.9% second dose 89.3%.

The number in hospital has continued to decline, so outbreak in SEQld. has peaked this week.

I have been following a number of blogs and have been surprised that there have been covid cases on board, despite all the best precautions by the ship and passengers. 

[Port Power]

I went on two Coral Expeditions expedition cruises late last year, Kimberley coast and Coral coast, and in March will be on Coral Discoverer in Tasmania.  I am certain that will go ahead.  Then there will be Caledonian Sky in April and Coral Discoverer in May, both from Broome around the Kimberley coast again.  Again, I am confident they will go ahead.  Being small ships and not mainstream cruise lines, they can operate when large ships cannot.  
 

At the end of this year is a deferred Viking European river cruise which I am 50/50 about right now. I’m sure the cruise will go, but not sure I’ll be on it.  In December I’m booked on Azamara Quest from Fremantle to Melbourne with New Year’s Eve in Sydney.  I really hope that does go ahead this year. Pretty confident it will.🤞