LDEE

On 11/2/2023 at 4:54 PM, RocketMan275 said:

Many have confirmed you can still get shareholders benefits even if you use a TA.

 

Indeed I did receive the SBC and used a TA.   Now if only the stock value would improve. Remember when it paid dividends?

15 minutes ago, Panhandle Couple said:

But we have been approved on our 2nd cruise in December. And we used a TA for both.  

Don't assume everything you read here is correct.

 Good point

On 10/4/2023 at 11:57 PM, MountainToTheSea said:

We applied for our OBC for our upcoming 21 day cruise. We were just declined because we used a travel agent. Just heads up to everyone…no sense in owning the stock if you use a TA! 

Good to know so I can sell the stock before it loses any more value.

I had a similar experience for the December 1 cruise. The "boards" advised I stay up or wake up at 12:01AM on the day reservations open but I failed and went on-line around 6AM.  Tables for 2 were only available at 9 or 9:30PM across the board.  By selecting "sharing" I was able to find some more amenable times (we do not like to eat late) but my "plan" ( prefer sea days etc.) went out the window.

Even though we are not interested I took a look at "cooking class" reservations and they were basically sold out.   All in all, a bit of downer for a "luxury" cruise. 

On 10/17/2023 at 1:51 AM, Tidalmist said:

Hi all,

I am sailing on the Vista on Dec.1 and since we are now 45 days from sailing I was able to choose speciality dining however Red Ginger was not available to choose. Does anyone out there know why this happened and what my next steps should be?

13 hours ago, gmevld said:

On the reflection sailing on April 18. Wondering how the Wi-Fi works in the middle of the ocean…my dw and I both will be using it a lot…any experiences/

thanks

I believe its satellite based so should work about the same as always with a few blips.

On 12/31/2021 at 3:16 PM, Stockjock said:

Having a nice time so far on the Summit’s New Year’s Eve Cruise.  No problems or complaints whatsoever. Everything’s been great so far.

 

I heard that we have 1175 passengers on board. I’m not sure if that’s true or not, but it seems like it’s a pretty good sized group but there’s still plenty of room to breathe.

 

The staff and crew have been really wonderful so far. Everyone seems very happy and friendly, so it’s nice to see some level of normalcy returning, even though Covid is still out there.
 

Tonight we will dress up and do a little celebrating to kick in the new year. If anyone has any questions just ask.

Thanks for posting and glad you are enjoying.   With only about 1,000 passengers it looks quite uncrowded.  Any mask requirements aboard?

19 hours ago, beltsbear said:

We are leaving on Saturday.  I had my test at Wednesday at 11am.  That is 74 hours.  But the website clearly says three days.  Most people interpreting that would mean a test on anytime during Wednesday would be ok.  But other people might say no, it has to be within 72 hours.  Anyone have clarity on this?  

Due to American's difficulty with numbers, the CDC changed 72 hours to 3 days.  If you fly on a Sunday, you  can test anytime on Thursday or later. We just flew from Paris to Newark and the United Airline's web site indicated the same.

On 6/28/2021 at 6:00 PM, OnTheJourney said:

Back in '17, very honestly, I never even gave it a thought. Since they were running the cruises, I just figured all is well with the ships they use to go down there. Now, however, it gives pause for reflection as to how the Infinity would have fared depending on what conditions could have been encountered. You just never know. I would have never imagined being airlifted off of the Viking Sky back in March '19 in a mayday situation. 

I recently read that the responsibility for enforcement of the Polar Code rests with the country the vessel is flagged in.  This would mean that government officials in Malta would be charged with this responsibility.  With all that is going on in the cruise world, somehow, I doubt the Infinity is going to conform to the code and I also doubt it will matter.  But who knows.

8 minutes ago, sippican said:

 

The Celebrity reply has about as much validity as Celebrity had when they claimed they were compliant with all laws in the Galapagos a few years back. They tried to totally skirt the laws, resulting in suspension and cancelled sailings by the government at the very last second. All the while they claimed  - no sailings will be impacted,

 

 Evidently they are still completely ignorant of the rest of the regulations: different fuel, enclosed lifeboats on every single ship sailing into the region, cold water survival suits for every passenger ....

When I called almost two years ago, they denied any knowledge whatsoever about the Polar Code. Call me a skeptic if you must!

Now that the Falklands have banned all large vessels from visiting, it'll be interesting to see what happens to these itineraries.

Sadly Celebrity's main goal is to collect the most cash possible. So any itinerary changes or even cancelations will only come much later. A large percentage of cruisers opt for FCC which only encourages delay in changes. All of this begs the question do we want to sail to Antarctica without these safety features in place?

23 hours ago, PaulMCO said:

Not exactly true.  The IMO is agency of the UN. As such it makes recommendations that are enforced by the countries involved.  So run afoul of the IMO regulations by Celebrity will cause issues with USA (where RCL has headquarters) and Malta/European Union where the ships are registered.

Thanks for that!  It is has been frustratingly difficult to get any information from the cruise lines on exactly what the story is.  Perhaps the pandemic will push it all back anyway?

On 2/26/2021 at 8:15 AM, OnTheJourney said:

Given the lack of response to questions that LDEE posed, I think you're probably right, or else the travel agent and whomever else didn't want to commit to anything. 

I recently read that the Polar Code is created and enforced by the IMO (International Maritime Organization) which is a self-policing organization without any real enforcement powers.  My guess is the cruises will proceed as planned and that compliance will be more less "voluntary."

1 hour ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

You’re dreaming if you think there will be any flexibility beyond something like, at least, a QR code viewable on your phone or printed at home (or hotel) from an electronic medical record (either notated immediately after vaccination or added to by your physician with acceptable proof at a later date). The latter printed process would be similar to how airline boarding passes are done now.
 

Whether on your phone or printed from the internet, the QR code (readable at embarkation) would be far less possible to counterfeit when compared to the current Covid vaccination cards or even the long-standing WHO “yellow” cards currently used for Yellow Fever vaccine or waiver.

 

Whatever folks do with the current Covid card, they should make double sure that there is also a new entry in an existing medical record (if you received the vaccine from one of your existing healthcare providers) or in a newly created medical record if you received the vaccine at a pop-up or different health provider. The good news is that there is a bona fide medical record of that vaccination somewhere.

 

But, it is our job to make sure that the original recording of vaccination is also placed in an easily accessible/acceptable record like MyChart (or some other EPIC syncable record system). 

FWIW: soon after each day that I received one of the two Moderna shots from our County Heath Department (chosen in part because they use MyChart medical records, which already serves more than 100 million US patients), I electronically synced that MyChart record with my primary MyChart record at UC San Francisco (where all my medical history resides).
 

That true/electronic proof of vaccination is immediately accessible on my iPhone or from any other internet device on which I access that page of my medical record. And, should a third party vaccine passport happen sooner than later, providing the required evidence via that electronic medical record will be spared the scrutiny sure to be given to a dog-eared card (which hopefully wasn’t misplaced in the pile of “to do” papers at home).

It is interesting to note that Iceland, which allows travel with proof of vaccination, requires the proof to include a signature and a passport number.  So it is anybody's guess as to what will constitute proof.  I doubt cruise lines will require anything but the minimum, but they most likely will  need to conform to the requirements of the country they are sailing from.  I am hoping for the best.

33 minutes ago, hvbaskey said:

 

Wee update to above dry dock news.  Celebrity Engagement Centre (One Touch) sent me this reply to my inquiry (click on image to enlarge).   Seems like the Celebrity Infinity will be ready for the 2022 season (in addition to perhaps others who are doing the Northern Hemisphere arctic regions).

 

Excellent news and great work

On 2/23/2021 at 10:43 PM, OnTheJourney said:

From what I heard Celebrity might not be going anymore cause their ships won't qualify under the new code...not certain though. 

 

In case you weren't already part of this thread...  https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2661915-the-new-polar-code/

 

 

I attended a zoom meeting held by a travel agent and hosted by NCL and Seabourne about travel to Antarctica.  I asked THREE times about the Polar Code and what it might mean for "drive-by" sailings and received no answers.  I have also asked "investor relations" at RCCL and received no answers.

On 1/26/2021 at 9:59 AM, cruisestitch said:

I’ll give it a try. A lot of people call the passenger vessel services act the Jones act. That’s an error. The Jones act referred to cargo. The PVSA is for passengers.

 

The PVSA prohibits taking on passengers from one US Port and allowing them to disembark in a different US Port without visiting distant foreign ports in between.  
 

A cruise can start in Fort Lauderdale and visit Key West and then return to Fort Lauderdale. Passengers may not disembark in Key West, because that would violate the PVSA.

 

On the left coast, passengers can embark in Los Angeles and visit San Francisco  on the way to Vancouver but they cannot disembark in San Francisco.  
 

it is enforced and there are fines applied.

The law was originally written to protect US cargo vessels on the east coast from foreign-flagged competition. So a vessel leaving Jacksonville, FL, for example, under a French flag could not call on Baltimore without visiting a foreign port.  Effectively ended any foreign competition.

Some might remember that more recently, the Trump administration suspended the laws so vessels could travel directly from east coast to Puerto Rico after the hurricane. There simply were not enough US flagged vessels to provide the need.

On 10/24/2020 at 3:04 PM, cruisestitch said:

I am hoping that Cheng75 or Someone else with knowledge of logistics can give us some ideas here.

 

I am thinking of such issues as getting all the crew on board.  They have to be hired, trained, their visas and work papers arranged, then transported to the cruise port, all tests passed, and ready to safely operate the ship. 

 

Then there is the question of getting all food stuffs on board?   I should think that restocking the bars would be pretty easy, but all the food must be brought aboard, inventoried and stored.  kitchen staff will need to be trained.  Health inspections will need to be performed.  
 

Realistically, how long would it take to get a ship ready to sail?

 

The CEO of NCL claims they need 60 days to return a vessel to service.

On 9/17/2017 at 6:52 PM, Stuart&John said:

Celebrity's SS Meridian, Summer 1992, Bermuda, Roundtrip out of NYC.

 

Hooked us for life....

Our first cruise was on the same ship!  RT NYC just like yours- 1995.    She was sold later, changed her name to Sun Vista and sank off the coast of Malaysia in May 1999.  Still have the deck plan!

On 7/24/2020 at 2:03 AM, Ben100014 said:

Very good point. My guess is reduced capacity will address this somewhat; I would also imagine that they would need to figure out a way to more efficiently and precisely stagger dining/entertainment to prevent any kind of 'rushes.' Even then, it's hard to imagine limiting elevator capacity considering how essential they are. Overall, I really don't see the appeal in cruising until after a vaccine is distributed, but there could be some incredibly innovative solutions we haven't thought of that are being worked on. I really doubt it, though.

 

Hard to justify dropping thousands of dollars on a half-baked vacation experience, at least for now.

Agree. This is the essential dilemma.   How is this enjoyable?  

12 hours ago, Germancruiser said:

On board Mein Schiff 2 since yesterday. I will not describe the ship in detail, since it is very similar to X S- Class and a little Edge parts throwen in. In all a very nice and stunning ship. All and completly for the German market. 

The biggest issue might be check in - due to social distancing and the numbers of people that can enter the Cruise Terminal. I took 1,5 hours to get on board. Nothing to worry about - I expeceted something like this- so it was okay. 

Before one is allowed to enter the building ones tempratrue is taken, that is a very quick an efficent process. The moment you enter the Terminal all goes very swift - they dont hand out the cruise cards- that is waiting in a sealed envelope at your cabin. 

Everything is a bit different, but if you love cruising as I do- it is really no big deal.

No menues, neither in any lounge or bar or in any dinning room. You have to scan everything (QR Code) with your mobil. I wonder how it works for people with no mobiles. So you can read the menue on your device and order as usual.

No self serving buffets. No self serving coffee, tea ... etc.  All has turned to table side service. Works pretty well. 

Hand sanitizers everywhere. Before entering the MDR one is lead to a handwashing station - after that the sanatizer. 

That´s it for now I will be back with how they handle theater, dancing and so such things. 

All in all i did - so far not regret it one minute  to have taken the chance and board a big ship in the midst of a Pandemic.

Thanks for sharing this!   Looking forward to more.

Yea!  We have sailed with Celestyal in Greece and around Cuba a few years ago.  The cruise line tries harder!  They have to in order to compete with the big guys.  Glad to see they will have a new ship for the fleet.   In Greece we were aboard the Aquamarine which started out in life as RCCL's Nordic Prince.  They forgot to remove one painting of the "Prince" on a staircase.

Celestyal also offered a great circumnavigation of Cuba back in 2016 which embarked from Montego Bay Jamaica.

Anyway let's hope they find a way to make cruising safe again.

On 7/4/2020 at 6:51 PM, cruisemom42 said:

I've read for several years now that starting January 1, 2022 the larger cruise ships that do "drive by" Antarctica cruises will no longer be able to offer them. On the strength of this I booked an itinerary for January 2021 on Westerdam thinking it may be my last chance to do this cruise without investing in the hefty cost of the expedition vessels.

 

Needless to say I've been losing hope of a January 2021 sailing due to COVID (and even if the sailing takes place, not sure I would feel safe...).  Yet a few weeks ago when I went looking at itineraries to try to figure out what to do about that, lo and behold I found a number of larger ships STILL OFFERING these itineraries in January 2022 -- including Westerdam, Celebrity's Silhouette (larger still) and Princess' Sapphire Princess.

 

How can this be?  Other than a poster or two here on Cruise Critic, there seems to be an absence of clear information on the Polar Code's impact to larger cruise ships. I do understand there are two categories of requirements, those that are environmentally-based (which already went into effect I believe) and those that are safety based.

 

Now as I cannot believe that all of these large ships have had the necessary hull-strengthening done, I am wondering what gives?  The alternatives seem to be:

• For some reason the hull requirement has been rolled back or further delayed.
• Large cruise lines are ignorant of the ruling (impossible to believe) or are simply ignoring it.
• Cruisers are being lied to when the description says that we will have "expedition cruising in the Antarctic peninsula" on our cruises.
• Past interpretations posted here on CC of what the changes would entail were incorrect.

 

Having found a good deal on the January 2022 cruise on Westerdam, I went ahead with a reservation. But I would be very curious to find out exactly what is going on. (I am still holding on to the 2021 for the time being "just in case".) 

 

I will be most unhappy if I am told 3 months out by HAL that the itinerary has changed due to "new" requirements -- which have been known since 2017 at least. That's a bait and switch that would be difficult to gloss over. 

 

Anyone have any thoughts on this situation? I've already read a number of online articles about this and feel very little wiser.

 

 

 

We have reservations on Celebrity Silhouette for Feb 2022 and have the same concerns.  If we can't sail south of the 60th parallel that would effectively leave out the Antarctic peninsula - at least from what I can see on a map.  Very difficult to get any correct information on this topic.  One thing for sure, they are not going to re-enforce the hull of the Silhouette.

On 5/21/2020 at 1:28 PM, Langley Cruisers said:

I want to be optimistic, but I just can't be at this point. Our provincial health officer predicts a second wave in fall, and it could be devastating. I expect there will be second waves of this virus all over North America. I would not feel comfortable cruising this year at all. The reason they are going month to month is to collect final payments and then cancel the cruises, hoping customers will take FCC instead of refunds.

I think you maybe right. I read the total amount of cruise deposits that RCCL has equals the entirety of their liquid assests. Having read what other cruise ship companies are doing to prepare it will be more like a hospital visit then a cruise.

On 4/13/2020 at 6:00 AM, BP99 said:

TOTALLY agree with you.

Many cannot understand what's going on.

Lacking an effective vaccine the only way cruising can be safe would entail major changes including fully-equipped hospitals on board,  world-wide evacuation plans and reduction of the number of passengers.  All this means costs for cruising would go up substantially.  The entire cruise model might have to change.

3 hours ago, WonderMan3 said:

One more...

 

9) All the major ports to have an "emergency pier" that has facilities designed to handle outbreak situations like this for coordinating a medical disembarkation that ships could be taken to in a crisis.

Well thought out but the problem might be that Covid19 carriers can be totally asymptomatic on boarding.  Then, after a few days out the virus starts to spread.  So the only solution is a test that detects any latent virus and that can produce test results in minutes. If you test the entire crew and passengers- you are good to go.  What happens at the next port?  I am still thinking.