teacherman

A few weeks ago we booked a Reflection cruise departing on January 19.  A ten night out of FLL with 5 sea days.  For us, a chance to get away from the cold northern winter and enjoy some warm weather.  We don't really care about the islands, although it might be nice to spend one day on a beach.  We are vaccinated and thought that much of this would be better by January.  Now, I am sorry we booked it.  When I see a tv interview with nurses who are given a list of FACTS showing numbers of people hospitalized and dying who are unvaccinated and numbers of people who are vaccinated with no serious side effects, and many other FACTS and DATA showing the efficacy of the vaccines, and then their response is "Are they really facts?", then I am totally doubting that things are going to improve.

I clicked on the underlined link in post 56 above.

Just curious:  I looked through the long list of suspended cruises.  I see that Reflection is suspended for Caribbean dates in November, December, February.  We are scheduled for 10 night Southern Caribbean on January 19.  Do you think it will sail?  Why would everything on that ship be cancelled except for the January cruises?

A friend of mine had a cruise scheduled for March, 2020.  He made the decision to cancel his cruise and took a FCC that must be used by a certain date.  He is unable to use it.   Celebrity told him that he could transfer it to someone else but had to do it by a certain date.  He has offered it to me at a deep discount.  He said that I am to make the booking and then he calls Celebrity and applies the FCC to my booking number.  QUESTION:  If he does that and I have to cancel my cruise, will I receive a new FCC for the total amount of my cruise, an FCC for only the non-refundable deposit, or no FCC at all?  Do any of you have experience with this issue?  I did the booking under the "Cruise with Confidence" plan.  Very much appreciate any information you might offer.

We went January, 2020 on HAL and had an amazing trip.  They had 3 excellent presenters who gave many lectures on what we would be seeing during the cruise and they also did narrations from the bridge during some parts of the voyage.  To me, the scenery was the big thing, not the shows.  And definitely do Iguazu for 2 or 3 nights if you can.  It is amazing.  And get a falls view room at the Melia in the park.  A once in a lifetime trip.

We also chose to disembark on arrival day.  No rush,  Enjoy breakfast and walk off by ourselves with no crowds.  We stayed the night at a hotel and caught the early flight to Iguazu.  Also left our big luggage and only took our carry on to Iguazu.  Stayed at the Melia 2 nights and wish I would have stayed 3.  Had a falls view room.  Beautiful and you are in the park and can get on the trails in the morning before all of the day trippers coming on the buses.  We then flew back to our BA hotel and spent another 2 nights before flying home.  IMHO there is much more to see and do on the Argentine side.  If you are only going to be there once in your life, then do it right and enjoy the experience.  Someone told me that after seeing Antarctica, Iguazu would be the cherry on the sundae.  They were right.   Buy your Iguazu air tickets when they first go on sale.  Most flights do sell out.

We were there in January, 2019.  One of the most beautiful places we have seen.  We flew from Buenos Aires on Aerolinas Argentinas.  Easy to do but go on line and reserve them early as they do normally sell out.  We spent 2 nights and I wish we would have spent three.  If you can do it I suggest staying at the Melia Iguazu actually in the park and get a falls view room.  Wonderful.   Never were bothered by snakes, spiders, etc  If you get a chance to go, then DO IT.

I also just saw it on the internet news.  I guess it may be time to cancel my January Africa cruise on the Jade and get my deposit back.  No sense in making final payment on September 1 when there are just too many unknowns.  And not investing thousands in rt airfare.  Oh, well.

Looking at a NCL offer (second person flies "free") for a flight to Cape Town, South Africa.  People say that you can maybe pay the airline to "upgrade" your seats.  I assume that NCL will book you into the lowest priced seat (middle seats in a row of 4) for a potential 26 hour flight with 2 stops.  Anyway, since I have received very low priced seats, exactly how can the airline determine how much it cost me to upgrade?  Is it the difference in price on the day I do it, or difference on the day NCL bought it?  How likely is it I could actually upgrade to business class?

As the last year has demonstrated, anything can change at anytime.  We used to drive across the river to have dinner in Canada.  We used to drive 4 hours to Toronto to save thousands of dollars on airfare to Europe.  Not now.  Or for the last year.  Or for who knows how much longer.

I like to cruise.  I have been on many cruises.  I have had 3 cruises canceled because of Covid.  I have an Africa cruise scheduled for January.  I hope it goes.  BUT, with all of the uncertainty in the entire world right now, there is no way I would have booked any of these early cruises.  Too many logistics in a time of uncertainty.

If I am not fairly certain by final payment date that the cruise will go, and that I can fly to S Africa in January without having to present a negative Covid test, there is no way I am going to commit a very large sum of money with so much uncertainty.  There are always enough things that can go wrong on any trip that requires international flights and a cruise that I see no reason to add more potential problems.   That's just my view of this whole situation.

We have always tried to practice "social distancing".  Even before all of the Covid rules.  Just saying.  Different strokes for different folks.

In my opinion DeSantis is like many politicians.  Appeal to as many folk as possible.  His way out is simply to make a lot of noise when it first began (I will sue the CDC so cruising can begin as it is hurting the economy of Florida).   Then when cruise ships figure out a way to sail by mandating vaccinations for all aboard (I will not allow Florida businesses to invade people's medical privacy), appeal to other folk.  The win for DeSantis is that if the Federal government says they can sail, then many people are happy and forget the rest of it, and DeSantis can say "See, the liberal, socialist FEDERAL government has, once again, stepped into your private lives and ONLY I CAN FIX IT".

Sound familiar?🤔😇😷

Most people die within 15 miles of their home, so best thing is to get far away.🤔

Hey, Nelblu... Just curious if you still look both ways before you cross a busy street?😇

I wanted information for a particular cabin on the Jade.  I just Googled -Jade and the cabin number and found several sites that showed layout, photos, and even a video of the cabin.

We were vaccinated at RiteAide.  Before we went there, we received an email asking us to PLEASE sign up for the V-Safe program.  We did so.  It is operated by the CDC.  We received a simple survey (1 minute) each day after our shot for 2 weeks.  It asked us if we were experiencing any side effects.  After the 2 weeks, we receive it once a week.  But we now have a V-Safe account.  If we log in, it shows what type we received, where it was administered, and what dates.  It is easy to access on our mobile phones and show to whomever may be required to confirm our vaccination.  Just like credit card information, event tickets, plane tickets, etc.   We are in Michigan and we were told that all vaccinations are automatically entered into the State Health Dept. data base.  BUT, our children also received vaccines and were never asked to sign up for V-Safe.  Either way, it was voluntary and I am glad we did it.  There is very little privacy left today.  If someone whats to find out about something, and they have the time and expertise to do it, they can.  The safety, to me, is that there is SO MUCH information available,  how do they decide what to go after?

Sorry for the above question.  I guess i am "lazy" this morning.  I have just managed to find photos and a video tour of our stateroom.  It just looks a little small compared to other rooms we have had on different cruise lines, but we selected this cruise for the itinerary of South Africa.  It is still 9 months away, so I hope we will be able to do it.  Thank you for all of your responses.

We have been on many cruises, just not on NCL.  I chose a stateroom with other cabins both above and below.  Since the rooms are "mirrored" of each other, where do I find information on whether the bed is near to the balcony or away from it?  

In making a reservation for a balcony cabin on the Jade, it ask what our bed choice is:  a sofa or lower convertible.  What does this mean?  We just want the 2 beds together to form a queen size.  This is our first NCL cruise.

We stayed overnight in Rome.  The next morning we were picked up at our hotel by Rome Cabs and had a great day touring the countryside on the way to the ship.  We stopped to visit an archaeological site and had lunch in a very small, and beautiful, hilltop town.  Arrived at the ship 2 hours before departure and after the crowds.  It was a great and relaxing way to begin our cruise.  There were 6 of us who met on the roll call and planned it.

Just wondering...what percentage of American citizens/residents (CDC affected) don't really have any interest in whether or not cruise ships get started again?  How many have no interest in going on a cruise?  How many do not have the financial means, especially at this time, to go on a cruise?  Those of US who frequent these boards probably consider cruising a very important recreational part of OUR lives, but I would guess that the vast majority of American citizens/taxpayers have little, if any, interest in when ships can start back up.  I know that many people in some parts of the country have jobs tied to the cruising industry, but there are many people who HAD jobs tied to the sports, stadiums, theaters, concerts, etc. that are not currently taking place.  It may be possible that we see some cruising before we see a "normal" return to these other industries.  In many states, it is being reported that there is a shrinking "demand" for vaccines, even though it is available.  So, I don't look for a quick "back to normal" very soon for anything.  And, again, I point out that I have had 3 cruises canceled and am hoping my Africa cruise goes next January.

Hawaii is "close" to opening up to tourists who have been vaccinated without requiring them to quarantine on arrival.  IF this happens and NCL requires vaccination to cruise, then I don't see what the problem is in getting off the ship on your own.  Too many unknowns as of today.  I personally have cancelled all my trips and will not make any non-refundable plans until things are more certain.

I DO NOT KNOW, but the 12 hour thing could be for more extensive cleaning of the staterooms.  Some hotels advertise that there is a 24 hour period before a room is rented out after being vacated by the previous customer.  All of these "ideas" are probably going to change several times before ships sail again.  If these were hard and fast rules ships could start sailing ASAP.  The whole problem appears to come from the "sensational" exploits of the Princess ships and HAL Zaandam when this first began.  No one wants to be involved in something like that again, not the cruise companies, the crew, the passengers, the Coast Guard, the CDC, the governors of port states, etc.  No one.

Reading a lot of these boards is like hearing the little kid in the family car continually asking "Are we there yet?"  We were told last year when this all first began that it would probably take 12 to 18 months to get back to "normal".  That would put the expected target date sometime near to October/November.

So, even though I am "learning" a lot about CDC authority and the Jones Act and the authority limit of Federal judges and who likes DeSantis and who doesn't, all I can say is what I say to the little kid, "No, dear, we are not there yet."  And I am not willing to start speeding and put myself in danger just to get there a little earlier.