Do You Feel The Calm?

[Pushka]

The world is not a calm place right now. Anyone who thinks it Is needs a significant wake up.  

[Spif Barwunkel]

Lot's of stress on this thread. Probably not exactly what the OP was looking for. Assertive opinionizing has it's place, but perhaps does more harm than the intended good when it pertains to something we know nothing or very little about. Such is the case with our current crisis and its many ramifications. Everyone needs to take it down a notch, you'll feel better. The more stress you house within yourself, the less immune strength exists to fortify your foundation. Not a good prognosis considering Corona is out there waiting....without the lime. Proceed with cautious awareness and an easy-does-it attitude. Things will work out.   

[Retty2Go]

I'm not sure how continued spikes in deaths, loved ones self-quarantining, and empty grocery store shelves interprets to "calm," but if it works for you, so be it.

[jimmieg]

Takeaways-

1. We are here because we like cruising and may be in danger of losing one or more we planned on.

2. We feel we are not just consumers of our chosen cruiseline, but in someway stakeholders.

3. When our cruiseline lets us down, we react. Celebrity has not shown leadership even after things were going south:

-They were last of the majors to announce "a pause."

-By choosing a weak 30 days pause(less actually to preserve a weekend of departures), they only made it a certainty they would relikely revisit this moment in a month, while leaving more folks with plans hanging. 

-revelations of positive passengers aboard being revealed by forum members and not Celebrity leadership is another black eye.

 

In short, the CEO has been awol without bold leadership. Press releases do not calm.  It takes a leader, not someone playing catch up. And the visuals should not be saved just for addressing cabin stylistic innovations.  Perhaps cruising has been on autopilot until 20' swells cultural swells were hit. And no one has grabbed the wheel. 

So it's just a vacation, but for those on the CC boards, we long to get back to smooth waters.

 

[TeeRick]

22 hours 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.

What world are you part of right now?

[Georgia_Peaches]

As a middle school principal, I took an early retirement last May to escape the madness of the education arena.  I now teach part-time at a local college (currently suspended due to Covid-19) two days a week.  My routine has changed drastically since retirement and includes a hot cup of coffee over a morning perusal of my favorite CC boards and travel sites.  Leading up to the cruising pause announced by all lines, I noticed a greatly heightened sense of anxiety in the threads/posts as so much uncertainty about this horrible virus left people wondering about their health, vacation plans, and financial losses.  The tension was palatable and the snark toward fellow cruisers seemed to have increased ten-fold.  I was there myself and I didn't like it.

 

Then, just like that, it seemed to stop...for a brief moment.  Yesterday, I did feel a sense of calm, on the CC boards, that is....prompting me to start a thread about take-aways from this unprecedented situation as it relates to Celebrity cruises.  At no point did I mean to suggest that the world is a calm place, indeed, it is not.  Nor would I take to CC to start a thread about the unrest in the off-line world.  I am sure we are all experiencing similar reactions in our communities across the nation, none of which are feeling very calm.

 

It's so easy, and perhaps even human nature to point fingers of blame...and to speak in shoulda, woulda, coulda's as it relates to what the cruise lines should have done.  I'm not making excuses for any of them.  I'm sure they are doing the best they can to balance the financial aspect of the business with the human aspect of their customers and employees.  Having been in roles of leadership, it is not a job I envy in them right now.

 

For me, cruising was my escape from the education world. No bells, no obnoxious parents whose children do no wrong, no kids I had to discipline, no testing, no routine.  CC helped bridge the gap between my office (where I always had a mock up of my balcony dimensions taped out on the floor) to my next Celebrity cruise.  It's ironic, now that I have the time to cruise, the cruising world, and world at large, has been turned upside down.

 

Please forgive me if my OP seemed naive.  It was an effort to bring back some lost civility over the last few weeks on one of my favorite CC boards. I hold tightly to faith that the world will right itself, a new normal will be defined, and there will be take-aways.  Until such time and despite the madness, I choose to feel the calm and pray you find some as well.

 

Edited March 15, 2020 by Georgia_Peaches

[Spif Barwunkel]

I completely understand the valid sentiments expressed in posts 78 & 79. You'll notice that each one presents thoughts and opinions from a different priority perception. This goes to the exact point that I was making in my post #77. There is so much to take in and process - and that will certainly continue - I do not believe that my mind can handle it all. Hence the need for prioritization as to what matters most to you...for your own sake. Keeping a level head as best we can will prevent us from gorging on all the negatives at one time, thus rendering ourselves incapable of perhaps making a proper decision when necessary. 

 

Most definitely, this is not a cookie-cutter, one-size-fits-all situation. I do feel that the best we can do at keeping ourselves relatively at ease, in times like these, is most beneficial in the long run.

[Spif Barwunkel]

41 minutes ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

As a middle school principal, I took an early retirement last May to escape the madness of the education arena.  I now teach part-time at a local college (currently suspended due to Covid-19) two days a week.  My routine has changed drastically since retirement and includes a hot cup of coffee over a morning perusal of my favorite CC boards and travel sites.  Leading up to the cruising pause announced by all lines, I noticed a greatly heightened sense of anxiety in the threads/posts as so much uncertainty about this horrible virus left people wondering about their health, vacation plans, and financial losses.  The tension was palatable and the snark toward fellow cruisers seemed to have increased ten-fold.  I was there myself and I didn't like it.

 

Then, just like that, it seemed to stop...for a brief moment.  Yesterday, I did feel a sense of calm, on the CC boards, that is....prompting me to start a thread about take-aways from this unprecedented situation as it relates to Celebrity cruises.  At no point did I mean to suggest that the world is a calm place, indeed, it is not.  Nor would I take to CC to start a thread about the unrest in the off-line world.  I am sure we are all experiencing similar reactions in our communities across the nation, none of which are feeling very calm.

 

It's so easy, and perhaps even human nature to point fingers of blame...and to speak in shoulda, woulda, coulda's as it relates to what the cruise lines should have done.  I'm not making excuses for any of them.  I'm sure they are doing the best they can to balance the financial aspect of the business with the human aspect of their customers and employees.  Having been in roles of leadership, it is not a job I envy in them right now.

 

For me, cruising was my escape from the education world. No bells, no obnoxious parents whose children do no wrong, no kids I had to discipline, no testing, no routine.  CC helped bridge the gap between my office (where I always had a mock up of my balcony dimensions taped out on the floor) to my next Celebrity cruise.  It's ironic, now that I have the time to cruise, the cruising world, and world at large, has been turned upside down.

 

Please forgive me if my OP seemed naive.  It was an effort to bring back some lost civility over the last few weeks on one of my favorite CC boards. I hold tightly to faith that the world will right itself, a new normal will be defined, and there will be take-aways.  Until such time and despite the madness, I choose to feel the calm and pray you find some as well.

 

The OP is refreshing. The sentiment is genuine. And, naivete is nowhere to be found.

[Bo1953]

1 hour ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

As a middle school principal, I took an early retirement last May to escape the madness of the education arena.  I now teach part-time at a local college (currently suspended due to Covid-19) two days a week.  My routine has changed drastically since retirement and includes a hot cup of coffee over a morning perusal of my favorite CC boards and travel sites.  Leading up to the cruising pause announced by all lines, I noticed a greatly heightened sense of anxiety in the threads/posts as so much uncertainty about this horrible virus left people wondering about their health, vacation plans, and financial losses.  The tension was palatable and the snark toward fellow cruisers seemed to have increased ten-fold.  I was there myself and I didn't like it.

 

Then, just like that, it seemed to stop...for a brief moment.  Yesterday, I did feel a sense of calm, on the CC boards, that is....prompting me to start a thread about take-aways from this unprecedented situation as it relates to Celebrity cruises.  At no point did I mean to suggest that the world is a calm place, indeed, it is not.  Nor would I take to CC to start a thread about the unrest in the off-line world.  I am sure we are all experiencing similar reactions in our communities across the nation, none of which are feeling very calm.

 

It's so easy, and perhaps even human nature to point fingers of blame...and to speak in shoulda, woulda, coulda's as it relates to what the cruise lines should have done.  I'm not making excuses for any of them.  I'm sure they are doing the best they can to balance the financial aspect of the business with the human aspect of their customers and employees.  Having been in roles of leadership, it is not a job I envy in them right now.

 

For me, cruising was my escape from the education world. No bells, no obnoxious parents whose children do no wrong, no kids I had to discipline, no testing, no routine.  CC helped bridge the gap between my office (where I always had a mock up of my balcony dimensions taped out on the floor) to my next Celebrity cruise.  It's ironic, now that I have the time to cruise, the cruising world, and world at large, has been turned upside down.

 

Please forgive me if my OP seemed naive.  It was an effort to bring back some lost civility over the last few weeks on one of my favorite CC boards. I hold tightly to faith that the world will right itself, a new normal will be defined, and there will be take-aways.  Until such time and despite the madness, I choose to feel the calm and pray you find some as well.

 

^^^^^^ - These are words of calm and concern, for all.

 

Upon seeing news reports of what is going on in parts of Italy and Spain where those who are under 'lock down' situations and they are not panicking or as angry as displayed on these boards over cruising, it does make one wonder what is really going on, not too much concern for others who are health challenged and etc.?

 

I Am sure the film and photos showing a sense of calm in these cities may NOT be the overwhelming reaction of many residents/visitors currently, I will venture to say that on the whole, it is an action to emulate and to support others who are directly infected with this virus.

 

Hopefully the rest of us can follow suit and trend towards calm and understand that there are things we can do to protect ourselves and often times those on the other end of the phone or not have to think about their protection and families as well.

 

We need to figure out a way to work within the situation which has moved world wide and keep perspective as far as everyone else is concerned, no matter how difficult it can be to understand and see at times.

 

Now, I have to go food shopping and distribute some TT and water in my neighbourhood and possibly others, for those who cannot get out.

 

In health and bon voyage

[Lilactime]

On 3/14/2020 at 10:36 AM, GRBlizz said:

 

We're on one of the Apex cruises in northern Europe which for some reason have still not been cancelled. However, they've said we can't go because hubby has a chronic illness (MS). All they are offering us is 100% FCC. We are holding out for the cruise to be canceled, and if it is not and they still won't let us go, we will insist on a cash refund instead. That's the least they should do when they are denying us the chance to cruise. 

 

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 found two small bottles of hand sanitizer and my thought was I struck gold. 

[TeeRick]

20 hours ago, Lilactime said:

I found two small bottles of hand sanitizer and my thought was I struck gold. 

Check your neighbor's garage.  Some of them probably have cases and cases of it.

[Ride-The-Waves]

31 minutes ago, TeeRick said:

Check your neighbor's garage.  Some of them probably have cases and cases of it.

Only in The Villages.