SHOULD WE BOOK A CRUISE FOR LATER ON THIS YEAR?

[edgekid]

I don't think it's a stretch to say that Celebrity and all other cruise lines will be out of commission for at least the next two to three months.  I'm thinking about using my FCC to book a cruise in November or December of this year, if for no other reason than to have something positive to look forward to.  From what I see the pricing for this year is considerably less than a similar cruise in 2021. Any thoughts??

[ECCruise]

I don't see any reason to jump quickly into a booking now.  I would wait and see how things flesh out after they announce the next round of shut downs (which I expect this week and I expect for 60 days). 

As for people who say that prices are going to go way up because the cruise lines need to recoup their losses, I say "are you kidding?  Do you have any idea how difficult it is going to be to get large numbers of people on cruise ships in the next year?"

[Ozzmund]

I can't see booking anything for at least 12 months. 

We have a deposit on a December cruise on Celebrity and will transfer it to a cruise in 2021.

[edgekid]

Thanks for the reply

 

yeah,  I'm starting to think along those lines also

[Fouremco]

We have a booking for next March and are very skeptical that we will ever take it. Far too early IMO to know how long the current situation will last.

[Lastdance]

The issue that I am contemplating is what the resurgence will look like, along with a vaccine and other protective measures.  If you get Covid-19, and do okay then you will have protection, but not everyone will get it.  This is not a one and done, unless something remarkable happens.  I had an Apex b2b planned for October, but my DH had a skiing accident, needing surgery on his shoulder.  He had his MRI, but we will find out about surgery on 2/23/2020.  However, with medical emergencies, it might have to wait.  So, our next booked cruise is Galapagos for 5/2021... if my crystal ball didn't drop and break into 1,000 pieces, I might have a better idea for you!  The best answer is that no one really knows!

Edited March 22, 2020 by Lastdance

[az_tchr]

You obviously have doubts because you are asking the question about booking.  Would booking a December cruise become a source of worry if Covid19 continues to increase?  If so waiting probably best.

[NMTraveller]

I would wait 2 or 3 months and consider it then.

[Denny01]

I understand not booking anything in 2020....but I have a TransAtlantic on the Apex in late Oct and it’s something I can enjoy planning and thinking about. A cruise I made in Oct 2019. Just a good diversion We’ll see how it goes, but it’s nice having it there to talk and plan about. I also have one in late March 2021 on Eclipse from Tokyo to Vancouver. It looked great but unless there’s a huge change, that one will go away. 

 

So my view is, yup, wait a bit and see how this all goes through May and then consider it. It would be low risk if you are a Celebrity cruiser and don’t have a problem with a FCC for 2021 if you made the reservation for late 2020 and then moved it.

 

Den

[cleobella]

We just cancelled our Canary Island, Spain and Portugal cruise for September. It broke my heart. Not just because I cancelled the trip, but also because we love cruising and I want the industry to rally . Still, I suspect the time out will be at least 3months, and then if there is no vaccine, there could be a resurgence of the virus in fall/winter next year.  I say wait on your booking a bit. I truly hope the cruise lines  come back stronger and better, but I suspect that will take a while to happen.

[tallnthensome]

Wait .....no hurry.

[davekathy]

We've got another cruise booked for this year (September 2020) that we booked September 2019. Staying positive that we'll be going on that cruise. 🤞  We'll just wait and see what Celebrity decides. But we also thought we were going on our 28 March and 4 April B2B Summit cruise. So close...

[hcat]

We are not planning to cruise again til Jan 2021...hoping to apply our FCC

 

Also  booked  for Jan 2022.. before the mess started.

 

But not looking for anything new. Too iffy and pricey.

[Pentlands]

Check your travel insurance before transfering a cruise on or booking new. Many will not cover anything to do with CV19, so you could be funding your own sickness abroad if it is CV19 related.

[dandee2]

Cristal Ball says not until late 2021 (if that). I would'nt mind that lawmaker make changes to maritime laws to permits cruises within a particular country, lets say a cruise ship navigating canadian water and stopping only in canadian port. No way I'm bringing viruses or getting them across the world.

[Mr. Click]

We have one booked for Oct 2020 that we booked last fall during one of those $50 NRD deals.  Will it happen?  Who knows but we have until July or so to see how it is all working before we have make yes or no on it.  We also have one in May from Dublin that we are just waiting to see if they cancel it so we have the option of cash or FCC plus bonus and we have Alaska in early July from Vancouver that is not likely to happen but final play is about 8 days away and with 6 people in 2 cabins we have decided to cancel at that point unless they beat me to it.  Oh, Panama Canal out of LA in Sept 2021 so there is hope for that.  Those are booked, zthose I have to deal with, I won't book anything else for 2020, just too much risk right now.

[jelayne]

We have a B2B2B booked for September, so final payments start in June.  With one cruise cancelled with a FCC to use we don’t want to end up with more FCCs if we don’t cancel before final payment.  We really want to do the B2B2B, all air, hotel and private excursions planned for a fabulous trip now we go back and forth from maybe we should cancel to maybe we should hang on and hope things are better.  
 

At this point I wouldn’t book anything for this year, tying up $ and adding stress to your life.

[RSLeesburg]

We have one cruise booked in December, and will keep it until it gets closer to final payment. But I am not sure I would book this same cruise now under current conditions.  Although, funny enough, the price of that cruise has not gone down at all even with everything that’s going on.  

[Edinburghgirl1]

We have a land holiday to Thailand and Vietnam in June a Baltic’s cruise at the end of August and an Azamara cruise in November from Dubai to Singapore. We have resigned ourselves to the fact we will not be holidaying this year at all. We have a b2b from Tampa at the end of March 2021 and are more hopeful for that one but still not getting my hopes up.. 

[emmas gran]

Our Maldives trip in April is looking very unlikely at this moment!  3 cruises booked November 20 /March 21 / Nov 21

as we are both seniors it's a case of wait and see.

[yorky]

9 hours ago, edgekid said:

I don't think it's a stretch to say that Celebrity and all other cruise lines will be out of commission for at least the next two to three months.  I'm thinking about using my FCC to book a cruise in November or December of this year, if for no other reason than to have something positive to look forward to.  From what I see the pricing for this year is considerably less than a similar cruise in 2021. Any thoughts??

Easy answer is no. We could be a good 12 months or more before we return to anything near to normal. I think our cruise next February is probably in doubt.

[Roger88]

I said it before on other threads in here. You can either plan a cruise for later this year or just stay at home and save money for a better cruise in Spring next year. I understand that people are super eager to jump on board and sail but jees, please be aware that there is no guarantees that you wont lose your money or whats worth get yourself sick. I would monitor the situation till the beginning of summer before making a final descision. 

[PTC DAWG]

I have a 10 day ABC Cruise book on Equinox in Sept..if it goes, I’m on it. Booked over Veterans day sale, all 4 perks, it is showing almost $1,000 more for a similar balcony cabin...without the extra OBC we received with this booking. 
 

I think we’ll be sailing then...if not, the travel business will be a shell..nobody needs that. 

[Pinboy]

" Cruising " is the farthest thing from my mind-- 

The Virus and the stock market will either bring " Cruising " back into the fold or it don't matter how much time there is to use a FCC . 

 

[jonthomas]

We have cancelled Nov/Dec for this year.  Some think that by waiting , the Cruise lines will give 125%. The situation for Cruise lines is really dire, they are all trying to figure out how to stay solvent. We will be fortunate if we get out deposits back. Unrealistic to think about getting anything  more than that.