ledges1

The cancellations will continue after March 31st. Until the cruise ports in the Caribbean and other locations open for tourism, there is no where to go. A cruise to no where with a mask does not have much appeal. I am on the waiting list (#1 I was told) for a May 1st cruise to the ABC islands. The ABC ports will not be open for this cruise. I do not think I am going out on a limb predicting the ports will be closed. I have $600 in obc to spend, I think we are looking at next fall or 2022. Early fall is possible, but hurricane season has been to active for me to book. I think it will be another long year and Carnival may have to reduce the fleet some more to lower cost. I hope my thoughts turn out totally incorrect, but it is not looking good.

I had an 8 day cruise to the ABC islands in October that was cancelled. I took the $600 onboard credit for a future cruise. I would like to book, however, booking another 8 day priced cruise that will be only 7 days is difficult to do. Especially when the itenirary could change to ports I do not not want to go to at this time. When will Carnival update their website with the itenirary for the real cruise. Those cruises in April, May and June will not be 8 days. With the new administration going in in January, the CDC may shut down cruising with no objection from the new Administration.

All cruises in the 1st quarter may be in jeopardy. Even though the current White House administration overruled the CDC. A new adminstration will be more friendly to the CDC and reinstate the suspension of cruising until February of 2021. As much as I would like to go on a cruise (credits on file at carnival), I am waiting until later in 2021 to book.

I sailed on the Fantasy in late January. I had a good time except for the nasty cold that my wife and I caught on the ship. Carnival is not only reducing the fleet, it is reducing the number of ports of embarkation. It less expensive to consolidate to the larger ports for all the ancillary services (food, beverage, equipment, bedding, fuel, etc...). This consolidation may also eliminate administrative staff in the home office for HR, Accounting, etc... The loyal cruisers (including me) cannot fill up over 100 ships. Cities such as Mobile may not see a ship again for 10 years. This is unfortunate because they have a cruise terminal and deck with a bond issue the city has to pay. I believe the 13 ships may become 20 if cruises are discontinued until 2021. Cruises are not only depending on the US to open up, but also the destination ports. Key West has a referendum to eliminate large cruise docking. This could be another devestating hit to the industry. The cruise lines have not seen the worst yet. Norwegian is diluting it's common stock with a new issue of common shares to generate cash. Existing holders will have their current shares devalued. Another loss for the industry. Carnival is looking for another billion as they are selling and scrapping ships, an ominous sign. There will be future consolidation and some cruise lines may be forced to merge with others to survive. This is not unlike the banking industry when giants such as Wachovia, Merrill Lynch, Colonial and many other institutions disappeared. I do not like what I see happening, but I fear things will get worst, but I hope for a vaccine.

I have an 8 day cruise to the ABC islands in October ( booked before Covid19). If the ship is allowed to sail, I do not believe these islands will allow us to dock. ABC islands appear to have control of the virus and why would they let a ship from the US dump 3000 or more people on shore. Much less 6000 people if there were 2 ships in port. Aruba is currently not letting US citizens fly to their country until mid July. With the spike in Covid 19, that could be extended. Does anyone want to go on an 8 day to nowhere cruise?  I suspect it will be cancelled. 

Also, I have not heard anyone discuss the referendum on the Nov ballot in FL to reduce the number of visitor by cruise ships to Key West to 1500 a day. If this passes, this will put a crimp in the # of ships and size that can visit.

I agree. A vaccine will not be available until 2021.  I do not see much on the news now about a vaccine. Ports such as Aruba with low Covid19 cases are not going to let 3000 people off a ship into their country. They will not not let US citizen fly there now. I booked a cruise before covid19 to the ABC islands. Final payment due 7/19. Why not cancel and let me out of the final payment? No, they need the cash. They will cancel after the final payments. They are giving us false hope to reduce the draw on their line of credit.

With the reduction of administrative staff in CCL Headquarters, they can only process cancellations through September. As soon as this volume is processed, the 4th quarter cruises will be cancelled. They need the 4th quarter cruises to pay in full before cancellation. The cancellation process is all about cash flow. When will the public catch on? The CDC cancels cruises through July 24 and CCL was booking cruises with June departures (back in May). People are still giving CCL money and they will continue to take it.

8 hours ago, xDisconnections said:

For now 😉 

I just read on Key West news, that a referendum will be on the Nov 3rd ballot to reduce the  number of people that can exit cruise ships per day in Key West (1500 people). This could have a tremendous effect on the cruise industry. Especially, if this were to catch on in other ports such as St Thomas, Cozumel, Honduras, Jamaica, Bahamas, etc... Mega ships might have to drop Key West. Ports such as Cozumel can have at least 6 ships in port at one time. How many people is that, 10,000 to 15,000 people. The industry is facing tremendous challenges that will take years to address. We need a vacine!

I live in the Gulf Coast area. Carnival has an abundance of ships in this area that has the same iteniary as Mobile. Carnival, in my opinion, will be doing some serious downsizing. They need to reduce expenses desperately, not just now but in the future. I have a cruise planned in October out of Miami (booked before Covid19). I do not think it will sail. I am not sure college football play (23 players at Clemson tested positive for Covid19). If the cruise industry has to delay until 2021, some cruise lines will fail and some will have to reduce their fleet to survive. I love to cruise, but the world is changing and so is  the demand for cruises. The industry can not survive with only platinum and diamond cruisers. The industry needs new young cruisers, to survive. I think the industry has lost its luster at the moment to this group. If there is a surge in Covid19 in the fall, the cruise industry will be in survival mode more so than now. This is just an opinion based on 40 years of business experience in an industry that had significant consolidation. Of course, I could be wrong.

I believe Carnival is looking far beyond our current short term horizon. There could be a long term consolidation of the industry as some these cruise lines are forced to find future funding. Long term, CCL and NCL could merge after a big reduction in ships.  CCL may need to reduce it's footprint (embarkation ports) to survive over the next few years. NCL may not have that option and to file bankruptcy or sell off its ships to CCL or RCL. This is similar to the consolidation that the US banking industry faced. This is just an opinion and has no more merit than anyone elses.

I had a double bypass and aorta valve replacement on 10/16/2018. I went on a cruise 11/11/2018. It was approved by my surgeon. I would not normally have gone but it was booked months ahead. I asked the surgeon if I should cancel and he said no. He did want to see me before the cruise for a final release (11/6). It was not the best cruise. I moved around ok on the ship and sat in the sun on the Lido. My appetite had not fully recovered. However, I was constantly cold. My wife was not. It was my condition. I went on another cruise in January 2019 and I was back to normal (3 months). I went snorkelling in St Thomas. I was 63 at the time. Also, I did not tell Carnival and did not ask for any special considerations (handicap boarding) that would signal an issue.

I have a drawer full of lanyards. One more for the collection.

I am 62 and have only cruised on Carnival. I can afford to go on any cruise line but prefer Carnival. You can find many different demographics on a Carnival cruise depending on the time of year and port of departure. Also, the festive activity varies depend on the time of the year. For example, a 7 day cruise in January or November has different demographics than a cruise in July. November and January is an older group. I went on an 8 day cruise in April (not spring break time) and the cruise had the most Diamond category than the ship had ever had. It was an older group. If you pick your cruise and timing with Carnival, you can have some control over the type of crowd on the ship that fits your style of cruising. Not here to offend,

only to provide insight.

I had a friend that took his first cruise with his wife and did not want to go. She won the cruise and was going with a group of others that had won also. Me and another friend talked to him about all the things to do on the cruise and activities in Cozumel (4 day cruise). He countered every suggestion with weak opposing arguments. When we finished I told my other friend he will hate the cruise because he wants to hate the cruise. We suggested watching the hairy chest contest, mixology contest, ice carving, going away party, welcome aboard show, etc... we suggested hanging out with the other spouses, in Cozumel. we suggested the guys hang out and let the wives shop. We suggested that if his wife likes to shop, do not just follow her from one shop to another. Get with guys and go to Three Amigos. After all these suggestions, he went on the cruise and had a miserable time because that is what he wanted. I wished I could win a cruise. I have been on a dozen and never had a bad time, rain or shine. I would suggest read the fun times. You can find them online and read and do some preplanning. If he still does not like the cruise, find a friend to go, if he is miserable, it could spoil your fun.

Leave this Saturday for 8 days. Anticipation is part of the fun. Don't stand in front of the soft ice cream machine, it could get ugly.

I have been on about a dozen carnival cruises. My experiences have generally been good. Over the years, I have learned which entrees I prefer and those that are not as good. Therefore, I am usually not disappointed with the food. I had a friend tell me ( never been on a cruise) that he heard the food was fabulous on a cruise. When he goes on his first cruise he will be disappointed with that expectation. I tend to go on cruises in April, May, October and November. This avoids the over zealous partiers and the public bathrooms are cleaner. Generally the language of the fellow passengers is better. Openly foul language can be a problem on carnival. If you say anything, most have over indulged and you could end up in a bad situation. I have not seen Carnival address this issue in my experience. However, there are plenty of places on the ship to go an remove yourself from the situations. Also when boarding the ship everyone is nice and courteous, debarkation can be a much different experience on carnival.

I am also platinum on Carnival. I have noticed that the mints went away. Most probably ended up in the trash. We did not eat them. As a stockholder also, I feel the mints were an unnecessary expense. As for bathrobes, I never wore the robes. I see people wearing them around the ship in common areas. I saw two ladies wear the robes to the muster drill with hairnets and bedroom slippers. Please keep the robes in the room. Overall, I like carnival. If your taste have exceeded that level of cruising, move on to another brand, there is someone waiting on your room.