Earthworm Jim

That's the crux of the problem and the big question: Would raising prices generate more revenue, or less because fewer people will cruise? And I believe they have to do more than cover the cost of inflation. They need to become more profitable to pay off their debt, not just keep up with inflation. Put another way, the status quo isn't working for them financially, so they have to do something different.

True. If it was only the cost of your actual trip you were insuring, self insuring would make a lot of sense. But unless you're one of the lucky few who's health insurance is good enough to cover you overseas (Medicare doesn't), including medical evacuation, you have the tiny but very consequential chance of having a 5 or even 6 figure overseas medical bill. And how many of us can afford to self insure that?

Of course it's a loss for the vast majority of people. That's the whole idea of insurance, shared risk. Everyone pays a little so the one person who needs emergency medical care and evacuation isn't stuck with a $50,000 bill.

Insurance from a third party, not Carnival. Is the trip insurance Carnival offers backed by them, or is it a third party insurer whose finances are separate and Carnival is just the middle man? If it's the latter that might be OK, but the coverage vs. cost of Carnival's insurance isn't very good anyway. So you probably want to look somewhere else regardless.

While that statement is accurate, I don't know how reassuring it is. While having no ships sailing was definitely worse, an already struggling cruise line heading into a recession is bad too. But the Covid part is looking up, at least for the moment.

Another factor is how a possible bankruptcy goes. Would they be going out of business, or just restructuring?

I get what you're saying, but if they're only buying 100 shares they're only risking ~$700 or so. Less than the price of a cruise for 2. I don't know how much it would cost for a financial consultation, but you know what they'll tell you: As an investment, it's rather risky and there are better places to put your money. Is it worth a maybe $100 (??? I really have no idea) consultation on a $700 roll of the dice?

Good idea! No one will steal that.😉

Another theory: Years ago on one of Carnival's sister lines (Princess) our cruise had a noro outbreak and returned to our home port 2 days early. Princess rearranged our flights to be 2 days earlier for us. (We must have had input and approval on this, though I honestly don't remember) Perhaps Carnival just wants your Pre-Check info so they can include it if they have to rebook your flights for you due to hurricane or other issues?

Years ago we were on the Carnival Miracle due to return to Tampa during Hurricane Katrina. They decided to divert to Miami instead and bused us back to Tampa. Which actually worked out OK. Carnival was pretty organized. Though that route did force the ship to squeeze between Katrina and the coast of Cuba, so we were within 90 miles of the eye at one point. But even that wasn't as rough as you'd expect. Iirc, it turned out the Port of Tampa was open after all, because as we know the storm headed toward New Orleans. But by that time they had already committed to go to Miami.

Lighten up Francis. I wasn't saying it happened. Just speculating on possible motivations one might have to swipe your S&S card. You make it sound like I'm a member of the Illuminati trying to intentionally mislead people. I led with "In theory", and had question marks after each of those theories, so I obviously wasn't trying to claim these had definitely occurred. And no. I don't think picking up your card at your cabin is a big deal.

Huh? The security of your Sign and Sail account is non-important? I could see it if you said my concerns were unwarranted. But non-important?

This part of it is going over my head. What's the connection between whether you get your S&S card in the terminal or at your cabin and FTTF? If people can get to their cabin earlier than they are supposed to, what's the difference whether they got their card in the terminal or it's waiting for them at their cabin?

Well, in theory they could run up charges on the card. But you'd have to look vaguely like the person (not likely) or do something where your picture isn't an issue. Withdraw cash at the Sign and Sail kiosk maybe? Could you use it in the casino? Though the casino wouldn't be open yet.

Not exactly true. You do need to fill out ArriveCan, but it doesn't need to be via the app. There is a website version for people that don't have a smartphone. They suggest having a friend or relative do it for you, or use a library or hotel computer if you don't have a computer either. https://arrivecan.cbsa-asfc.cloud-nuage.canada.ca/en/welcome

Just off Grand Princess Alaska Northbound, August 3 thru 7. Crew was almost always wearing masks. Occasionally someone might have a mask below the nose, but not often. Passengers compliance walking around the indoor hallways was pretty high, say 70% maybe. But once people were seated in a venue, more people took masks off. Particularly if the venue wasn't too crowded. I didn't notice any difference in compliance late in the week.

I imagine the beach vibe is somewhat less than Princess Cays.😉

According to this article, in addition to Royal and Discovery canceling their upcoming Skagway stops, which were already mentioned in this thread, Grand will cancel their July 30th call there and will go to Sitka instead: https://www.travelweekly.com/Cruise-Travel/cruise-pier-Skagway-closes-due-to-rockslide-risk That's disappointing. I'm on the Grand the following week so I assume we'll be canceled too.

Thanks for taking the time to give me all this info martincath! Much appreciated.

I knew that Deck 0 balcony deal I got was too good to be true.

I don't know the building name, but it seems to be just north of the Rogers Center on Expo Blvd. (Though it doesn't have an Expo Blvd address). Google Maps advises going Abbott to W. Cordova to Canada Place. We are arriving 2 days before the cruise, so we will have 1+ days to see some of the Vancouver sights, if you have any you particularly recommend. I didn't even know I wanted to go to Granville Island, but it sounds like maybe I do.

Thanks martincath. I didn't know about the illegal rental part, but at this point I guess it is what it is since we've already made our final payment and we're kind of forced to hope we get away with it. Ugh, more stress. I'm not sure if they actually said Chinatown or not, that was more my guess from looking at a map. Thanks also about the tip that big suitcases are banned on the Expo line. Whether I'd get away with it or not, I'm not looking to piss off the locals. According to Google, it's a 1.2km, 0.75 mile, 16 minute walk to Canada Place. Which would have the advantage or controlling our arrival time more accurately.

Supposedly the AirBnb is 140m/2 minute walk from the Stadium/Chinatown station. So that's not very significant. My first inclination was to agree with your assessment. But I wondered if there are long lines to get dropped off via cab at Canada Place, which might mitigate the advantage. Two ships there the day we're boarding.

What's our best bet for going from our AirBnb in Chinatown to Canada place? There are 6 or us, with luggage of course. It looks like the Expo Line can get us fairly close, but it's still a 600m/2000ft walk and I don't know whether bringing luggage on the train is practical or not. Would a cab/Uber be a better bet?

One reason might be that you don't have to pay until cruise final payment. You could just wait until that late to book your flights from the airline I guess, but then you may pay higher prices than you would had you booked earlier. Also payment is fully refundable until 54 days in advance through EZAir, which airlines may not offer on their cheaper fares. Those aren't necessarily good enough reasons, but they are reasons. EZAir screwed up the names for my flights. Say I registered for the cruise as Mr. John James Public, which is like what my passport reads. Princess booked the flights with United as First Name: Johnjamesmr, Last name: Public. I'm not sure if United will even let me fly with my first name showing as a combination of my first and middle name then title, all without spaces. I can't find a way to correct it though. They did the same thing with my wife's first name, Janesusanmrs for example.