DCGuy64

Then the rest of us will laugh and point at you. 😉 (JK, my wife often wears a mask just to be on the safe side)

Comments like yours (which I heartily agree with) are partly why I'm sad Cruise Critic disabled the private messaging function, because I would love to reach out and chat more about this offline. By no means am I saying this is restricted to CC, but there SO many armchair quarterbacks out there who, no matter happens, insist a company "should have done this" or "should have anticipated that" or "should have done better." I often wonder what industry many of our fellow passengers are/were in that they can pontificate, criticize and second guess NCL, etc. whenever things don't go their way. I suspect if they were to actually work for a cruise line, they wouldn't be so judgmental.

Absolutely. Everyone must do what he feels is in his best interests. But, and I'm sure you already know this, but the CDC has already taken that into account. The CDC knows that some people will still get Covid and potentially pass it on to other people. And yet, even with that knowledge, they're comfortable rolling back the restrictions. What they're doing, and I think it's very wise, is allowing people to make their own choices and have the freedom to do what they feel is best. IMO: Good, and about time!

Personally, I think you're wrong. The CDC wouldn't be doing this (they're notoriously MORE paranoid than everyone else, always behind the times when it comes to easing restrictions) if there weren't solid evidence for it. I think if you are that worried about disaster and outbreaks, you should stop cruising. I'm serious. I don't know what else to say if the CDC is OK with it but you're not.

Agreed. Just yesterday, even the CDC relaxed its recommendations further. Time to get back to normal.

I feel your pain. This has happened to us once with Princess, 3 times with NCL, and 3 times with MSC. All since 2020, and every single time, prices went up. Very frustrating, to say the least. We've also had a land-based vacation to Iceland get postponed 3 times since 2019. It's aggravating to have these cancellations or delays, especially when they're due to factors outside our control. Still, I'm grateful we're able to afford the vacations at all. The company I work for helps people in very poor countries, so my perspective is that I feel blessed to be able to travel.

I could be wrong, but I think there are two parts to this: 1. The cruise line's own requirements 2. The requirements of the countries whose ports the cruise line visits. As I understand it, NCL is dropping its OWN testing and vaccine requirements, which are separate from those of the countries they visit. I am open to being wrong about this, but it's my understanding.

That was the OP, not @wolft927. OP is @mthayer295 🙂

My understanding is that TA's only get paid if a guest actually goes on a vacation, so no cruise = no pay. 😞

Wow! Talk about shooting the messenger! I feel sorry for the TA. Once NCL turned our reservation over to American, that was it. I'm surprised this other passenger is being given the runaround by United. Hard to believe there are no other flights available, but things being what they are in the flight industry right now, I guess it's possible. Still....

I'm sorry to hear that! What a shame you'll miss your cruise. 😢

Agreed. If people are that upset about it, let them book their own flights. Due to the way NCL gets these deals, I suspect the $100 fee is to offset something NCL is having to pay anyway, essentially a pass-through fee. Anyway, it's just me and my wife, so this would never be an issue for us.

You make some really good points. My wife and I typically only go on one cruise a year. If our only cruise were to get canceled, that would not be fun. However, do we actually know what percentage of passengers are in this category? I'd love to see that. My suspicion is that a lot of cruise passengers aren't on Cruise Critic, so I'd sure love to know how many people on a canceled cruise were those "once a year, can't reschedule" kinds. We've have multiple cruises canceled due to Covid, and my boss was always understanding when I told her I had to reschedule. OTOH ever since 2020, for various reasons, the cruise industry has been experiencing tons of issues outside their control: the pandemic, the war in Ukraine, Canada being closed, then open, some countries totally closed off, staff shortages, supply chain issues, etc. They've lost tons of money, so I highly doubt any cruise line is itching to cancel cruises and upset customers. Everyone who cruises needs to pack patience and realize there's always a possibility your cruise won't happen. And make sure to get insurance.

Very true, I say inane things all the time, just ask my wife! 🤣 And part of the right to say what you want means being able to respond to criticisms you think are nonsensical, unreasonable, unworkable, etc.... 😉

My wife is the same. She HATES Pepsi. On our last cruise, she drank water rather than touch it. She was thrilled yesterday when I told her about the change. I don't drink much soda on cruises, actually. For me, it's cocktails, wine, champagne, some juice, and water.

I swore I wouldn't go down this rabbit hole, but here I am again, LOL. Well of course, I don't know for sure, it's just a guess. I do know from news reports that medical experts have suggested people with rebound cases of Covid tend to experience milder symptoms if they've been vaccinated (although one could argue that people who've recovered, unvaccinated, could also have milder symptoms). The truth is, I don't know for sure. What I *do* know for sure is that I'm a fan of NCL's policy and I suspect that most people aren't going to change their minds about this virus based on what I say. CC is many things, but it's no peer-reviewed journal of medical experts. As a friend of mine used to say, "my opinion plus about $2 will buy you a cup of coffee." 🙂

I was just responding to the question about whether being vaccinated can have an effect on the severity of it. And I said "absolutely," because my wife (who has several co-morbidities) has had Covid 3 times, the 1st one before the vaccination and the other 2 after. And the ones post-vaccination were much, much milder. That's why I say it absolutely CAN have an effect. Will that be the case every time for every person? I can't say for sure, but I do know it affected my wife's bouts with Covid.

Absolutely.

Bite your tongue! Jack Daniels isn't bourbon! 😉

If I've learned one thing by being a member of Cruise Critic, it's that it proves the old adage: "you can please some people all of the time, you can please all of the people some of the time, but you can't please all of the people all of the time." People can demand that the cruise lines explicitly detail what they'll do for every possible eventuality, but then they'll complain the fine print is too long and won't read it (but still feel righteous indignation when the cruise line points out where they already accounted for that). Somebody right now is mad that NCL didn't write out all of the specifics regarding testing for Bermuda. People will complain that NCL should swap out Coke for Pepsi and vice versa. They'll complain when a cruise is cancelled altogether because they don't have the staff, and will say it should sail at less than capacity, and then complain then they do exactly that. I think all of the people who second guess and complain should quit their jobs and go to work for NCL, implementing their (no doubt foolproof, perfect) solutions and see what happens. That doesn't mean folks don't have a right to be mad, but as I said, you can't please all of the people all of the time. Personally, I'm happy I get to cruise when I can, and I try not to complain too much, it makes me unhappy when I do that. (and usually makes other people unhappy, too)

Yeah, people saying NCL should just "fix it" are living in a dream world. I've got news for them: staffing shortages are happening all over the country right now. I see "help wanted" signs everywhere here in the DC area. Our last flight, from DC to Hilton Head, left from Reagan National airport and we were delayed by several hours because they couldn't find flight crews. Restaurants in HH were warning people of delays getting their food because there weren't enough servers. There is a serious shortage of workers in this country and inevitably it's going to impact the cruise industry.

Good for you! But complaining about the prices is a time-honored custom here on CC. Just sayin...

Haha, take a trip over to the discussion forums at Carnival and RCI. If it's a day ending in "Y," chances are people are complaining about their prices, too! 😁

Until they come back to you and are willing to beat your current company's offer. Like @mjkacmom said, keep comparing.

Actually, it wasn't a rhetorical question, it was an attempt at humor. 🤣