Firepath

Our Alaska cruise is in August 2021. 3 out of 4 of us are over 65 and will likely have vaccine by then, but one person is under 65 and may not. I wonder if they will let all 4 cancel or Lift & Shift?

If I actually go on my Alaska cruise next year (I've never been) it sounds like it might be wise to schedule excursions now,

except my money would then be tied up on on unsure trip. 

I will definitely take more photos. Really enjoying everyone else’s.

So there was a big earthquake in Alaska, 7.8 I believe. No cruise ships this year so it’s a non-issue, but what would happen if an earthquake occurred near a cruise ship?

Thank you.

Try different masks until you find one that is comfortable for you.

Thank you. Any word on their status?

I knew I should've read the "HAL for dummies" before posting! I can't wait for my key chain.

Is there an update on how passengers and crew are doing after the ”rescue” efforts a couple months ago? I hope everyone who was or got sick is completely healed now.

Even if they are found to be not negligent, they still spend a lot of money defending these cases, the cost of which, of course, gets passed on to all of us.

1 hour ago, foxnan said:

Unfortunately next years Alaska cruises are already through the roof.  Several thousand dollars more than I'm paying now.  At least  the 125% FFC will take out some of the sting.

We just switched out our August 21, 2020 for next year, same ship, same price, same ports, perks. You could always take them up on that offer. Our TA got it switched quickly and only a slight difference in cabins.

My husband love golf. Would he be able to take his clubs on board, keep them in our cabin,

golf in port, and then bring them back on board?

If your existing perks are thru a TA (classic drink package for us), would Celebrity still honor that and at the TA's price, which is a bit less?

Our Alaska cruise in August isn't cancelled yet, but most certainly will be. I cancelled all our X-sponsered excursions and drink package a couple of months ago and after about a month, got our refund! We have a $500 NRD with final payment due in a few days. I was holding out for X to cancel, but now looks like that won't happen. If I call to cancel, I think I lose $100 and get $400 FCC. Is that correct? What happens if I do nothing or can't get thru to TA? Does it automatically cancel, and I lose all $500, or get FCC anyways? I don't really want to spend hours on hold but FCC would be nice. I realize I may never see a cash refund and I'm not worried about that. It's small compared to many. Would we  qualify to book the same cruise for next year deal if we booked nearly a year ago, long before Covid-19?

13 hours ago, cruisingator2 said:

Holland America and Princess cancels certain  summer sailings. Celebrity cannot be far behind.

 

https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/22904-princess-cancels-remaining-2020-summer-season.html

 

https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/22905-holland-america-cancels-all-2020-alaska-europe-and-canada-sailings.html
 

I wish they’d hurry up. We have final payment due in a couple of weeks.

or Cast Members. Employees of the mouse.

I saw on a FB group that the Port Canaveral webcam today is showing 3 DCL ships. Don't know how long they've been there, but it's fun to see them all together. I believe they are Left

to Right, Fantasy, Dream, and Magic. I wonder where Wonder is.

With NCL being the only line currently with a Hawaii only itinerary, what do you think will happen if they are out of the picture? No more 7 day islands only cruise or would someone else be allowed to take over that route? It seems quite popular.

I honestly don’t recall but I think it was port first then a left “u-turn” to the starboard. 
I don’t see how it could be the other way unless we went clockwise around the island.

Sorry for the confusion!

I ran across this while looking for Kindle books. It is about a pandemic that starts in the Caribbean and on a cruise ship. If anyone does read it, be forewarned that it ends with the worst cliffhanger I’ve ever read. Other than that, I thought it was a good but graphic (very descriptive symptoms) read.

I would go on any of those as long as I didn't have to go thru NYC!

We have an Alaska cruise booked for August. My brother and SIL are also booked (separate reservation and cabin). Our final payment is not yet made but due soon. My brother was involved in a serious accident and has been in ICU for the past month. When he is released it will be rehab. It’s unlikely he will be able to cruise, possibly ever, and we don’t want to go without them. We both have travel insurance that we bought through our TA. I believe this is a covered event for both of us. Not sure if we can file an insurance claim just for our Non-refundable deposits or we should just wait for the probable cancellation by X to get our refund that way. Can I make insurance claim for just the deductible (and possible air fare)?

On 4/11/2020 at 6:09 AM, Argo. said:

An email from one of the agencies that we have used in the past:

 

"Dear Mr. Argo,

I hope this letter finds you and your loved ones safe and healthy.

I want to start today with a very sincere apology to anyone who has encountered long hold times on phone calls and long wait times for a response to an email sent to --------------. I can only imagine how frustrating this is for customers who need help with a cancellation or a rebooking, and for that, I apologize.

We are trying to manage about 10 times the usual number of customer inquiries due to cruise line cancellations. Each time the cruise lines roll their suspensions of service forward for a month, we have tens of thousands of affected customers asking for assistance at essentially the same time.

All of our cruise counselors and customer care specialists are working long hours under stay-at-home orders to provide the best possible service, but we know we are failing to meet your expectations--and our own--in terms of response time.

Please rest assured that we are doing everything we can to work through this backlog and we will be back to normal as quickly as we possibly can. I appreciate your patience and understanding as we navigate this crisis together.

Last month, I wrote to announce the suspension of oceangoing cruises worldwide due to COVID-19. Soon after, river cruise companies and escorted tour companies announced their own cancellations.

International vacation travel has virtually ceased for the time being.

Most of the cruise line suspensions are currently set to extend into May with a few stretching into the summer. Alaska sailings are suspended until July at the earliest.

Yesterday, the CDC extended indefinitely their warning against cruise ship travel while the virus rages and I believe that more suspensions of service are inevitable.

Many health professionals believe that new cases of COVID-19 will peak in the U.S. in the coming four to five weeks, with the peak week dependent on location. I've looked for projections for the peak week in Canada but haven't seen anything that looked official yet.

If the peak happens as predicted in the U.S., and the virus goes dormant in the summer, as many expect, there is still hope for a summer vacation for a travel-starved population.

Some countries in Europe were hit earlier than the U.S. and are already seeing new cases of COVID-19 decline, an encouraging sign for all of us.

We are continuing daily updates to our comprehensive guide to coronavirus-related cruise news and you can see it ........

Our update includes every cruise line and river cruise operator we represent and lists such things as cancelled sailing dates, options for refunds and future cruise credits for sailings cancelled by the cruise lines, and relaxed refund and final payment policies for future bookings.

In closing, I want to wish all of our friends and customers around the world good health, good fortune and an early return to the life we all enjoyed such a short time ago."

I received that same email. We also have a pending August cruise and received another email specific to that. Part of it reads:

I'm not sure how that will work as their pricing is different as is the insurance offered.

We use one of the large on-line agents that many of you also use. I called them last. Saturday when I saw that for the price I paid for inside cabin I could now get a veranda and wanted to switch. My agent was not available and the person I spoke with told me they were short handed because most of their agents had just been furloughed. 

I'm fairly new to cruising. We currently have an Alaska cruise booked for late August this year. I have seen some discussion about some cruise lines possibly not surviving this pandemic. We currently have about $1500 tied up in excursions, drink upgrades, and gratuities. I know there's a chance this cruise will be cancelled. We have a $500 non-refundable deposit. I got sale pricing on most of the excursions and know they would be much more if I rebook them later. On the other hand I don't want to lose everything. I could also just wait until final payment is due next month and then decide. What do you think?