Four Years Ago Today

[SomewhereGirl]

Had been looking at Canada/NE cruises for that Fall.  After the initial shutdown I kept telling myself it wouldn't continue into Fall.  Slowly the cruises started getting cancelled.  Ended up going to Vegas where it was safe.  🤣

[TenForward]

4 hours ago, UKstages said:

and, indeed, in january of that year, when i returned home, i came down with a really debilitating case of the "flu."

 

it was almost assuredly covid.

 

that's right... i was patient zero!

 

I will say there was a strange bug going around in January that year that both my husband and I got as well as several friends.  It was kind of flu like, yet different. But it wasn't Covid. 

 

We got Covid day 1 of the shut-down.   That original strain was not mild...  I remember us both breathing like fish out of water -- lips puckered up into an "O"... very strange. 

 

6 hours ago, JamieLogical said:

Four years ago today, I received the following letter about my March 15, 2020 sailing on the Bliss:

 

Can I just take this moment to reflect on how grateful I am that I have since been able to go on 16 cruises? I am happy to be back to debating about our First World problems like no room service breakfast or evening turndown service. I am grateful to be struggling to pick between three separate cruises on three separate lines for a week in May!

 

I remember that letter... We had 2 cruises cancelled -- one in April 2020 (finally took in July 2022) and the 2nd from February 2021 which we finally took in October 2022.  

 

Now looking forward to yet another in just 37 days! 😄

 

Edited March 13 by TenForward

[JamieLogical]

1 minute ago, TenForward said:

I remember that letter... We had 2 cruises cancelled -- one in April 2020 (finally took in July 2022) and the 2nd from February 2021 which we finally took in October 2022.  

 

Now looking forward to yet another in just 37 days! 😄

 

 

The letter I posted was for my 3/15 sailing. I got 150% FCC because it was canceled just two days ahead of sailing. I was also booked on the 3/22 sailing and that one only got 125% FCC since it was more than a week out. After that, my many cancelations and rebookings only offered me 10% off a future cruise and you could only have one of those coupons on your account. Ultimately, I ended up using my 10% coupon and FCC to book a B2B on the very first sailings out of NYC to Bermuda on the Breakaway. But there were MANY booked and canceled cruises between March 2020 and when I sailed on the Breakaway in September 2021. I also sailed on Celebrity when they restarted in July 2021 before that Breakaway sailing finally happened.

[The Traveling Man]

4 hours ago, EllieinNJ said:

We were suppose to do the 21 day NY to Seattle NCL Bliss on April 19, 2020.  We got our cancellation notice on April 3rd.  I remember trying to decide between that cruise and the Gem that did a similar itinerary in January.  The Gem made it.  The Bliss didn't.

We were on that Gem cruise.  Boarding in San Francisco on 24 January 2020, we got off the ship in NYC on Valentine's Day.  We also were booked on a B2B on the Spirit leaving Cape Town for Tokyo in late March of 2020.  Obviously that never happened.  We didn't sail again until late August 2021.  So happy to be able to cruise again!

[The Traveling Man]

26 minutes ago, TenForward said:

 

I remember that letter... We had 2 cruises cancelled -- one in April 2020 (finally took in July 2022) and the 2nd from February 2021 which we finally took in October 2022. 

I would like to issue a challenge to find the most persistent, most optimistic, and most frequently frustrated cruiser with the greatest number of cancellations during the COVID shutdown.  You know who you are.  "This thing can't possibly last more than a couple of weeks, so I'm going to book a different cruise for next month."  Again, and again, and again.

 

I'll start the bidding at 20 cruises cancelled during the COVID shutdown.  Any takers?

[NikiPinkston]

Not even close to 20, but I rescheduled that POA cruise 6 times before we could finally go!

[gizfish]

We were on the last cruise before the shut down and returned to a totally different NYC on 3/11/20.  Of course the Princess cruise was all over the news, and I remember our relief that our ship was not going to be like that as we pulled into New York harbor.

[Ticatraveler]

Our first cancelled cruise was February 2020. We were going to Singapore. It was first going to 

Hong Kong but there was political unrest. Then they completely canceled because of some "'mystery virus". We then booked a Panama Canal cruise. That didn't happen. 

My college kids had spring break.so we decided on a last minute cruise. Escape out of Miami. March 7-14, 2020. While out on the sun deck, several college age kids started getting messages that classes were cancelled. Then my kids got the same message.  It was such a weird experience.  We were the last cruise for the Escape before the shut down. Such crazy times

[mugtech]

19 hours ago, UKstages said:

i kinda knew.

 

in december and january of 2019 and 2020, i did two trips to the philiipines. everybody was wearing masks. (normally, the only place you saw masks at that time was at the tokyo airport. their employees have been wearing them for decades.) cab drivers, shop clerks, supermarket cashiers... all wearing masks.

 

and, indeed, in january of that year, when i returned home, i came down with a really debilitating case of the "flu."

 

it was almost assuredly covid.

 

that's right... i was patient zero!

Currently many people still wearing masks, required at all health facilities.  Went food shopping today, they still expect people to stand in line at least a meter apart.

[Cruising Lynne]

On 3/13/2024 at 12:08 PM, JamieLogical said:

 

Yeah... actually looking at a Pricness sailing now because I got a casino offer from them.

Hi Jamie. I can't believe it has been four years since things shut down. I also remember how upset you were when the initial re-start cruises on NCL were cancelled on us all at the last minute. On the bright side, it got you to branch out and try other lines.

 

When the shutdown occurred I was ten days away from a bucket list trip on NCL Star to the ABC islands which was cancelled. I had been looking forward to this trip which also included several days pre-cruise in Florida. We have been on several cruises since the re-start on NCL and finally did the ABC islands on Holland America Rotterdam in November 2023. We enjoyed the trip, but I still prefer the entertainment on NCL. In May we are trying MSC Meraviglia, and late summer we will try Princess. These were all casino offers. I was most excited to get the card in the mail for my "Free" NCL cruise. So far they are still my favorite. I have also cruised with Royal Caribbean and once on Celebrity a long time ago. 

 

I like that the NCL casino offer does not require you to pay all your money up front, and I use a cruise next deposit for the deposit. We usually upgrade our cabin and I like that on NCL the money isn't due until final payment time. On HAL and Princess we had to make full payment at the time of booking.

 

There were a lot of older people on HAL, but it was still fun, I had the reality check that at 59 and 69 years of age my husband and I are older cruisers, but I felt young on HAL compared to others. I enjoy the mix of ages on NCL ships and really want to try the next new Prima class ship when it comes out. The NCL Aqua. I will end up paying up for that since I do not think the new ship will be included in the casino offer. My voucher has not come in the mail yet, and I do not think I will have a lot of choices since I have not been to the casino much over the winter.

 

We are lucky to be fairly healthy and able to enjoy our cruise adventures. 

 

Happy Cruising to all !!

[dmwnc1959]