What does the future of cruising look like?

[Roger88]

Yes, the times are difficult at the moment, but trust me, it wont be long till the situation becomes settled. And when it does, demand will be so high, that all these cruising companies will flourish greatly. I am sure 2021 major cruises will be overbooked. People are craving to go cruising at the moment. Hope the situation settles quickly 

[deadzone1003]

6 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

so why are  you proclaiming people take this

This tread is supposed to be about the future of cruising.  I'm speculating this might happen as a means for cruising to return before a vaccine is available.

[clo]

2 hours ago, deadzone1003 said:

As for the Nobel prize for medicine, it should be going to Dr. Raoult of France

For me he's reason enough to not take it:

 

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/03/didier-raoult-hydroxychloroquine-plaquenil.html

[deadzone1003]

12 minutes ago, clo said:

For me he's reason enough to not take it:

 

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/03/didier-raoult-hydroxychloroquine-plaquenil.html

It is your perogative not to take the drugs if you have coronavirus.  But, France has already authorized that combination of drugs for coronavirus and the FDA has authorized Hydroxychloroquine for coronavirus.  If you get the virus, there is another option, Remdesivir, that seems to be effective, but it is not approved for coronavirus, it is approved for Ebola virus.  It seems to work anecdoctally, but it cost $1,000 a pill.  The other cocktail of drugs cost about $20 for the entire treatment.  

[Riverroad]

36 minutes ago, clo said:

For me he's reason enough to not take it:

 

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/03/didier-raoult-hydroxychloroquine-plaquenil.html

Thanks for the link. I'm with you!

[clo]

16 minutes ago, deadzone1003 said:

It is your perogative not to take the drugs if you have coronavirus.  But, France has already authorized that combination of drugs for coronavirus and the FDA has authorized Hydroxychloroquine for coronavirus.  If you get the virus, there is another option, Remdesivir, that seems to be effective, but it is not approved for coronavirus, it is approved for Ebola virus.  It seems to work anecdoctally, but it cost $1,000 a pill.  The other cocktail of drugs cost about $20 for the entire treatment.  

My prerogative will be to talk to and listen to my doctor, having done my own research and having questions to ask her.

[Zesty Italian]

1 hour ago, Paulchili said:

I was tempted to continue this discussion with deadzone but I then I remembered Kenny Rogers:

 

"You've got to know when to hold 'em
Know when to fold 'em
Know when to walk away
And know when to run… 

 

..and I am folding and running 😀

ME TOO!!

[Hoopster95]

1 hour ago, Roger88 said:

Yes, the times are difficult at the moment, but trust me, it wont be long till the situation becomes settled. And when it does, demand will be so high, that all these cruising companies will flourish greatly. I am sure 2021 major cruises will be overbooked. People are craving to go cruising at the moment. Hope the situation settles quickly 

 

I cannot disagree more.

 

I just had a ZOOM meeting with approx. 40 colleagues. Pre-meeting we're all discussing the pandemic. They all know me as the cruise-fanatic. There's one other cruiser in the bunch. They all ask me how I'm doing since I can't travel for now. The discussion continues with minimum 5 of them saying there's no way in hell anyone of them would take a cruise, let alone allow a member o their family on board. Looking at my zoom screen as they were talking, several of the silent participants were just nodding their heads in agreement.

 

I feel the general sentiment for non-cruise crazy fanatics (like on Cruise Critic) is so negative at this time, and is about to get beat up even more with the Zaandam saga unfolding and the mass positive tests coming out of Oasis of the Seas. Just wait until the media jumps on that horse.

[deadzone1003]

24 minutes ago, clo said:

My prerogative will be to talk to and listen to my doctor, having done my own research and having questions to ask her.

Correct, just think of what I have been saying as research.  As Reagan said, "trust, but confirm".

[JVNYC]

15 minutes ago, Hoopster95 said:

 

I cannot disagree more.

 

I just had a ZOOM meeting with approx. 40 colleagues. Pre-meeting we're all discussing the pandemic. They all know me as the cruise-fanatic. There's one other cruiser in the bunch. They all ask me how I'm doing since I can't travel for now. The discussion continues with minimum 5 of them saying there's no way in hell anyone of them would take a cruise, let alone allow a member o their family on board. Looking at my zoom screen as they were talking, several of the silent participants were just nodding their heads in agreement.

 

I feel the general sentiment for non-cruise crazy fanatics (like on Cruise Critic) is so negative at this time, and is about to get beat up even more with the Zaandam saga unfolding and the mass positive tests coming out of Oasis of the Seas. Just wait until the media jumps on that horse.

Totally agree with you! Being trapped at sea, being denied entry to ports, potentially getting sick....having no control over your own life is no way to spend a vacation. This is the future of cruising. 

 

Edited March 31, 2020 by JVNYC

[CintiPam]

2 hours ago, OnTheJourney said:

 

Well, presumably I can take that as an insult...but thanks anyway. I just checked with my Viking representative, and he also never heard of this. But, guess he's an idiot too then, right? Initially, when I mentioned it, he responded by saying that, being in the US, there is no need to do anything since US is one of the visa-free countries to visit Europe. So there is likely to be some confusion between needing to fill out the Schengen application and simply applying for ETIAS - which is a much simpler process. 

As Lyn pointed out in post 186 above, the system will not be operational until 2022 and not mandatory until 2023 (as specifically stated in the EU materials link she has supplied, the reading of which is the only research I have done), so this simple online form should not put off anyone from traveling to Europe from one of the visa-free countries when it again will be safe to do so.  
 

In contrast, when I traveled to St. Petersburg, Russia with my sister as part of a Grand Circle Travel Scandinavian pretour back about 13 years ago, the multiple pages I had to complete to obtain a Russian visa was daunting: every address where I ever had lived, every country I ever had visited and when, etc., hours of work to complete for a 3-1/2 day land visit.  When I returned there in 2011 on Oceania’s Marina with my husband, we made certain that all our time on land was with a local tour operator so we could take advantage of a special visa exemption carved out for cruise ship visitors accompanied by licensed tour operators throughout their visit.

[Paulchili]

3 minutes ago, CintiPam said:

As Lyn pointed out in post 186 above, the system will not be operational until 2022 and not mandatory until 2023 (as specifically stated in the EU materials link she has supplied, the reading of which is the only research I have done), so this simple online form should not put off anyone from traveling to Europe from one of the visa-free countries when it again will be safe to do so.  
 

In contrast, when I traveled to St. Petersburg, Russia with my sister as part of a Grand Circle Travel Scandinavian pretour back about 13 years ago, the multiple pages I had to complete to obtain a Russian visa was daunting: every address where I ever had lived, every country I ever had visited and when, etc., hours of work to complete for a 3-1/2 day land visit.  When I returned there in 2011 on Oceania’s Marina with my husband, we made certain that all our time on land was with a local tour operator so we could take advantage of a special visa exemption carved out for cruise ship visitors accompanied by licensed tour operators throughout their visit.

Been there, done that - got a visa on our own for a land trip and then toured with SPD. I would never even dream of getting another Russian visa on my own.

The ETIAS seems very simple in comparison.

[deadzone1003]

38 minutes ago, deadzone1003 said:

Correct, just think of what I have been saying as research.  As Reagan said, "trust, but confirm".

Correction, Reagan actually said "trust, but verify".  Sorry, he said it over 30 years ago, I guess I'm getting old.

[YoHoHo]

58 minutes ago, deadzone1003 said:

Correction, Reagan actually said "trust, but verify".  Sorry, he said it over 30 years ago, I guess I'm getting old.

Quoting this Russian proverb seems apropos now that the thread has turned to discussing Russian Visas

[CintiPam]

13 minutes ago, YoHoHo said:

Quoting this Russian proverb seems apropos now that the thread has turned to discussing Russian Visas

Thanks for my first belly laugh today! 

[drkitkat123]

3 hours ago, deadzone1003 said:

No, I am not a doctor.  Never said I was.  I am a retiree just like most of you.   I do have a few degrees in mathematics, so I'm more prone to think logically.  If you recall, this tread was about the future of cruising.  My speculation (everything about the future is speculation) is entry 127.  All of my other replies are how I got to my "speculation".  At least, I have a basis for my speculation.  I believe the last paragraph of entry 127 was my only wild speculation which I noted.  

 

All of the information that I have given you is in the Internet.  None of it is made up.  

I have not read the entire thread but has anyone seen the irony of this statement?

[OnTheJourney]

2 hours ago, CintiPam said:

  When I returned there in 2011 on Oceania’s Marina with my husband, we made certain that all our time on land was with a local tour operator so we could take advantage of a special visa exemption carved out for cruise ship visitors accompanied by licensed tour operators throughout their visit.

 

Same here - on our Baltic cruise we used Alla Tours - and so did not need to get a visa. 

 

Thanks all for clarification on the Schengen Visa / ETIAS, and for even mentioning it since it was something I was neither familiar with nor encountered in any of the threads that relate to the inaugural Viking Venus sailing beginning of next year (that is IF the construction of the ship restarts and/or gets done in a timely fashion). 

Edited March 31, 2020 by OnTheJourney

[Hoopster95]

2 hours ago, Hoopster95 said:

I feel the general sentiment for non-cruise crazy fanatics (like on Cruise Critic) is so negative at this time, and is about to get beat up even more with the Zaandam saga unfolding and the mass positive tests coming out of Oasis of the Seas. Just wait until the media jumps on that horse.

 

2 hours ago, JVNYC said:

Being trapped at sea, being denied entry to ports, potentially getting sick....having no control over your own life is no way to spend a vacation. 

 

I just watched this video posted from someone on Zaandam.

The video itself is nothing extraordinary....

 

Read the comments below from all the average "non-cruisers" to get a sense what the public sentiment is.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNsvvWAh9Yo

 

Zero... and I mean zero ... sympathy and some harsh comments.

 

Edited March 31, 2020 by Hoopster95

[LHT28]

15 minutes ago, Hoopster95 said:

Zero... and I mean zero ... sympathy and some harsh comments.

 

Bet if it was them or their family they would screaming blue murder

 

All non Americans  should Boycott  Florida

[Paulchili]

50 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

All non Americans  should Boycott  Florida

Even some Americans already are and have been 😃

[CintiPam]

1 hour ago, OnTheJourney said:

 

Same here - on our Baltic cruise we used Alla Tours - and so did not need to get a visa. 

 

Thanks all for clarification on the Schengen Visa / ETIAS, and for even mentioning it since it was something I was neither familiar with nor encountered in any of the threads that relate to the inaugural Viking Venus sailing beginning of next year (that is IF the construction of the ship restarts and/or gets done in a timely fashion). 

We used SPD in St. Petersburg (just 4) and Berlin (18 whom I organized from our roll call.)They did a great job; I was so impressed with our one day dash to Berlin that we returned a few years later (on our own) for six days.  Between art enthusiast me, spouse Mr. Military History, great city transportation options and English speakers everywhere, we thrived at our own admittedly slow pace.  Also hotel and meal prices in Berlin are very similar to prices here in Cincinnati!

 

I hope you get to sail from Rome in January.  Although it can be rainy there at that time of the year, it is a great time to sightsee there with no crowds.  My best friend has sailed twice now on Viking and enjoyed it immensely.  With a tour provided every day, all she had to do was pack her things and remember her passport.  We are supposed to go on an art (land) trip to Madrid in January with 18 others but it now is on hold, temporarily I hope!

 

Why does the name “Viking Venus” strike me as very odd? 😁

[clo]

31 minutes ago, Paulchili said:

Even some Americans already are and have been 😃

Having grown up in ATL if I'm never in FL again that's fine with me.

[OnTheJourney]

2 hours ago, CintiPam said:

 

 

Why does the name “Viking Venus” strike me as very odd? 😁

 

I believe it'll seem less odd when you consider the names of the rest of the fleet:  Star, Sea, Sky, Sun, Orion, and Jupiter, and also with Venus being the evening star.  Thanks for the well wishes...same right back to you. I've never been anywhere in the Med, so looking forward to it. 

Edited April 1, 2020 by OnTheJourney

[DeanoNorthPerth]

3 hours ago, CintiPam said:

We used SPD in St. Petersburg (just 4) and Berlin (18 whom I organized from our roll call.)They did a great job; I was so impressed with our one day dash to Berlin that we returned a few years later (on our own) for six days.  Between art enthusiast me, spouse Mr. Military History, great city transportation options and English speakers everywhere, we thrived at our own admittedly slow pace.  Also hotel and meal prices in Berlin are very similar to prices here in Cincinnati!

 

I hope you get to sail from Rome in January.  Although it can be rainy there at that time of the year, it is a great time to sightsee there with no crowds.  My best friend has sailed twice now on Viking and enjoyed it immensely.  With a tour provided every day, all she had to do was pack her things and remember her passport.  We are supposed to go on an art (land) trip to Madrid in January with 18 others but it now is on hold, temporarily I hope!

 

Why does the name “Viking Venus” strike me as very odd? 😁

Just for clarity and in case anyone is going to Google them, I think you used SPB, not SPD.

[CintiPam]

4 minutes ago, DeanoNorthPerth said:

Just for clarity and in case anyone is going to Google them, I think you used SPB, not SPD.

Thanks; definitely my typo.  

SPB did a great job creating the tour of St. Petersburg I requested because I was trying to fit the highlights of my 3-1/2 day visit with my sister with GCT into what only was a two-day port stop with my husband, a true challenge! We were helped by touring with four only, which permitted a lot of line skipping (which at least in 2011 was permitted for groups of eight or less, I believe.)