Do You Feel The Calm?

[Oceangoer2]

Just now, GRBlizz said:

Someone posted a tweet from Trump thanking the cruise lines for honoring his request to stop cruising for 30 days [out of the US]. If it was requested by the government, I expect (and hope) that the cruise lines and their crew are getting some federal money to help cover the immense losses.

Do you think the cruise lines had any choice...could they 'turn down' the president's 'request'?  The different plans came out of X official site and changed almost daily if not hourly...last minute...cancel all cruises...we know where that direction came from.  Maybe the federal gov't could cover or share these expenses incurred by so many hourly workers, etc losing wages and/or out of work.  Maybe they already have a plan in place to do so...it's very early days for both the cruise lines and the gov't to consider financial issues...but keep these issues forefront (in a respectful way) or they may all get lost in the course of time and rhetoric.

[bEwAbG]

The uproar that would be caused by providing bailouts to foreign corporations would be immense, so I don't know why they would take this administration's word for it.  More likely that they were told to do a voluntary action for a few weeks or face being shut out of the country altogether.

[K12Guy]

11 minutes ago, GastroGnome said:

Facing the loss of a buisness, or a home.  

Very good point. I work part-time, seasonal, for a desert guiding company and our tours have all cancelled during what is normally the busiest part of the year. Thank goodness, for me, that I don't rely on the income to pay our mortgage. However, my boss is going nuts trying to figure out how her business can survive even two weeks without normal income, much less gratuities. Some of my guide associates rely on the income for their bread and butter.

[hrhdhd]

30 minutes ago, SusieV said:

Things happen, but generally when it’s this close to sailing they offer a full refund and a full fcc, so we were expecting a 200% fcc and then compensation for flight issues.

 

125% and nothing is a pretty rude offer given what they normally do.

 

Wow. Just wow. This isn't one ship with a propulsion issue. This is an entire industry basically shutting down.

 

Don't take it so personally.

[PTC DAWG]

22 minutes ago, GRBlizz said:

So, I am not yet calm about the trip. But, we are also in Atlanta. Our community is all shut down, and we are in our home for the duration. We have adequate food for the humans and dogs, supplies, and medicine, so we are relaxed about that. Plus I just found a small bottle of hand sanitizer squirreled away in a purse, and I felt like I won the lottery 

I am also in the ATL area, we are not  shut down here, was out last night for some pizza and beer...continue living. 

Edited March 14, 2020 by PTC DAWG

[Moby Jones]

1 hour ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

For weeks the anxiety and hostility of the tone in Celebrity threads on CC has grown palatable as cruisers stress over cancelled vacation plans, quarantines, fear of illness or unwittingly making others ill, and just like that, it seems like a calm has washed over the scene.  Isn't it interesting how we can get so wrapped up in our own views that we lose site of the bigger picture?  The one thing we all have in common is that we love to travel, see the world, and cruise.  I am grateful and relieved that the cruise lines have finally suspended operation for a while giving all of us an opportunity to reset and regroup.  When the time comes, our ship will sail again and I hope to be on board.  

 

What are your take-aways from this situation?

I think they've done the right thing by temporarily suspending operations. I have sympathy for those who have been impacted by cancellations but I think most will see the much bigger picture. 

The economic impact on the cruise industry will be huge and the compensation or refund offers although they won't please everyone seem fair and pragmatic. 

Bow I'm just hoping that the disease will start to disappear in a couple of months or so and that everything will return to normal before too much damage is done. It would be very sad to see any cruise line go bankrupt because of COVID 19. 
 

[Georgia_Peaches]

1 minute ago, PTC DAWG said:

I am also in the ATL area, we are not  shut down here, was out last night for some pizza and beer...continue living. 

Ditto for us.  We went to our regular Friday night hang out for Mexican food and margs...but I will say it was much slower than usual.  The owner commented that things had slowed considerably since Tuesday.  We did our part to keep the money flowing...taking one day at a time.

[niklah]

Incredible to me how some are so angry. It's not like a worldwide pandemic is normal.  Yes, I'm disappointed but I try to keep it in perspective.  This IS after all a vacation. How many are fortunate enough to even have vacations,  much less a cruise? Even if I loose money, it's not my life or my livelihood. 

[LMaxwell]

24 minutes ago, GRBlizz said:

Someone posted a tweet from Trump thanking the cruise lines for honoring his request to stop cruising for 30 days [out of the US]. If it was requested by the government, I expect (and hope) that the cruise lines and their crew are getting some federal money to help cover the immense losses.

 

The cruise lines self-insure for loss of use or earnings.  Federal money will be needed for areas like Seattle, San Francisco, Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Charleston, Jacksonville, Orlando, port cities that thrive on tourism sales tax revenue and that many hourly workers are going to be losing jobs or have reduced hours/pay.  Those are our neighbors and US citizens.  The government is not interested in bailing out foreign run cruise lines.  They have operated forever under flags of convenience and had record breaking 5 years of profits and executive compensation packages.  Why aren't they turning to their flag states for help?  RCCL and NCLH have already secured cash lines of credit to meet overhead and operational expenses.  When we don't even know how long this situation will extend, throwing money at the cruiselines is a poor decision.

[LMaxwell]

22 minutes ago, bEwAbG said:

The uproar that would be caused by providing bailouts to foreign corporations would be immense, so I don't know why they would take this administration's word for it.  More likely that they were told to do a voluntary action for a few weeks or face being shut out of the country altogether.

 

Yes.  The federal money is going to flow to the states and cities, not to the foreign corps directly.  But, for example, Port Miami is waiving berthing fees for homeported ships (provided however much space they have to accommodate).  I doubt Miami is doing this solely as goodwill; that money is going to be provided back from state/feds.  

[mafig]

I was one of those whose cruise was cancelled.  I elected to get the full refund and filling out the form was easy.  Full refund in 30 days.  However, I did book the cruise a while ago and afterwards it occurred to me that the card I used was afterwards cancelled by my bank because of suspected activity and a new one issued.  My husband says not to worry, that the bank will take care of it, like they do for us when we have auto pays.  I hope so.

 

Also, I went to Publix and it was like Christmas and New Year's rolled into one.  Mobbed!  People were very testy.  No toilet paper or Purell, of course.

I ran into a woman whose daughter lives in Bergan County, NJ and she said her store was out of meat!

 

Cruise Critic will be my island of calm for a few days.

[Georgia_Peaches]

3 minutes ago, mafig said:

Cruise Critic will be my island of calm for a few days.

Love it!  Same here.  It will be interesting to hear from those who are currently finishing out their itineraries.  Maybe they will chime in a with a live review allowing us to cruise vicariously.  

[Mr&MrsBee]

My concern is I cancelled my May cruise  and have no problem as  FCC for my Dec cruise.  Since wife and I both type 2 diabetes(controlled), have cruised for last 10years with it on X with no problem,  Now under the new rules we cannot board, can no longer use FCC and X has our $5000 that they will not refund. 

Edited March 14, 2020 by Mr&MrsBee
wrong wording

[OuiOnboard]

Being calm is a good thing in these times. I empathize with those who are not able to achieve this state right now. We had begun planning 30+ days of cruising for March-April when news from China in January caused us to delay the process. So yes, we are calm at home with the heat cranked watching the waves crash.

Not at sea but very close.  

[NMTraveller]

It may be calm here.

 

Just don't go to a Costco or Sam's Club.  Media induced hysteria.  People fighting over bottled water.  The shelves at Sam's Club, many are empty.  My wife commented that the lines were worse than Christmas.

 

People buying groceries for their kids who are out of school?  Do they buy their kid's SPAM, dry goods,  a year's supply of toilet paper, and bottled water?   

 

 

[Oceangoer2]

33 minutes ago, LMaxwell said:

 

The cruise lines self-insure for loss of use or earnings.  Federal money will be needed for areas like Seattle, San Francisco, Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Charleston, Jacksonville, Orlando, port cities that thrive on tourism sales tax revenue and that many hourly workers are going to be losing jobs or have reduced hours/pay.  Those are our neighbors and US citizens.  The government is not interested in bailing out foreign run cruise lines.  They have operated forever under flags of convenience and had record breaking 5 years of profits and executive compensation packages.  Why aren't they turning to their flag states for help?  RCCL and NCLH have already secured cash lines of credit to meet overhead and operational expenses.  When we don't even know how long this situation will extend, throwing money at the cruiselines is a poor decision.

I agree...don't throw it at the cruise lines...you have a point re the flags of opportunity...but it's the PEOPLE affected, their livelihood.   It's a big picture, and for a while I agree on the shutdown to help cleanse this whole thing, but help those temporarily out of  job.

Edited March 14, 2020 by oceangoer2

[wrk2cruise]

Our schools have not been cancelled.  Just returned from BJ's as we got back from a cruise last night.  No TP a little bread milk and eggs.   Lines to check out were to the rear of the store.   Twice as many people as I have ever seen in the store even on holidays.   I'm not going anywhere near Walmart.

[PTC DAWG]

11 minutes ago, NMTraveller said:

People buying groceries for their kids who are out of school?  Do they buy their kid's SPAM, dry goods,  a year's supply of toilet paper, and bottled water?   

 

 

Exactly, people are crazy. 

[Oceangoer2]

11 minutes ago, Mr&MrsBee said:

My concern is I cancelled my May cruise  and have no problem as  FCC for my Dec cruise.  Since wife and I both type 2 diabetes(controlled), have cruised for last 10years with it on X with no problem,  Now under the new rules we cannot board, can no longer use FCC and X has our $5000 that they will not refund. 

I know how disappointed you must be cancelling and now concerned as to whether you can use your FCC in the long term. Perhaps you mean you can't use the FCC until this 'ban on health issues' is lifted;  hopefully that will be sooner rather than later and you'll enjoy a great cruise even more so for having to wait for it.  

[bikerunner]

4 minutes ago, PTC DAWG said:

Exactly, people are crazy. 

It’s totally panic and media driven right now.   Tbh.  I went out this morning and just watched people at bjs and Walmart.  There next to each other.   

[Mr&MrsBee]

1 minute ago, oceangoer2 said:

I know how disappointed you must be cancelling and now concerned as to whether you can use your FCC in the long term. Perhaps you mean you can't use the FCC until this 'ban on health issues' is lifted;  hopefully that will be sooner rather than later and you'll enjoy a great cruise even more so for having to wait for it.  

Thank you for your response.  My concern is the fact X changes the rules and makes unclear statements. Meanwhile we will be out $5000. Many of the plus 70 crowd sail on X.  I just thank that X has not thought this thing through and  is shooting from the hip.

[mafig]

22 minutes ago, Mr&MrsBee said:

Thank you for your response.  My concern is the fact X changes the rules and makes unclear statements. Meanwhile we will be out $5000. Many of the plus 70 crowd sail on X.  I just thank that X has not thought this thing through and  is shooting from the hip.

 

I know.  My dh (who is close to but not 70 yet) has Type II diabetes..Controlled..Never been hospitalized because of it.  But yet supposedly he'd be a risk.

He told me today "now that you asked for a refund, why not look at other cruise lines."

 

I still want to see Edge, though.🍷

Edited March 14, 2020 by mafig

[cruzfiend]

Mr and Mrs Bee, try to stay patient. This will calm down soon. 😎

 

[mom says]

2 hours ago, lexmiller said:

We are waiting for Celebrity to cancel the Solstice sailings in Australia/New Zealand and ending in Vancouver......we are booked on 5 back to backs, supposed to start on March 20, ending in Vancouver on May 21.  New Zealand and Canada have closed their borders to cruise ships.  I will not be feeling the calm of which you speak until we get cancellation notices at least for some of these 5 cruises as we cannot absorb that much FCC - so hopefully, soon, I will be feeling that sense of calm!

Well, here's a start for you : https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2741822-rccl-30-day-suspension-now-global/

 

[BlackHullSailor]

Patience, patience, patience.....

 

I was one of those that was cancelled yesterday (Equinox, March 28th).  Although the "suspension" is for 30 days, it's realistic to believe that it will be much longer.  Covid 19's spread worldwide is nowhere near complete.  Was talking with a friend last night who is another avid cruiser.  I would hate to be in Celebrity's operations room right now trying to figure out what to do.  The closest thing we could recall to the current situation was the airlines having to deal with the groundings post 9/11.  They had to "reset" the system to get planes and crews in the right place and that was relatively easy compared to what the major cruiselines will face.  In the 9/11 case, the "system" opened back up simultaneously relatively speaking.  Not what we are looking at here at all.  Each country going forward will decide when to open back up.  Additionally, the timing is relatively bad as many of the lines have their "assets" running in the Caribbean and close to the normal TA reposition time (April) and the movement of ships for the Alaska season on the West Coast of the USA.  Now what? Do you sail TA and thru the Panama Canal empty to get the ships placed in anticipation of a rapid reopening?  Lay off the crews and park the ships somewhere until the picture becomes clear.  From a corporate perspective, when you can operate again, do you go for the quickest money you can get in hand or reset your system based upon "normal" seasonal schedules?   For cruise fans, interesting times will be coming for sure.  Certainly unprecedented for sure.