Has the pandemic made you rethink how you cruise?

[chipmaster]

Has the pandemic made you rethink how you cruise?

 

I found it shocking that people answered no... really no change.  Pandemic used to be a thing out of the movies, now it is real and life will never be again the same.    Things like Contagion or Outbreak ( go see them ) were things nobody every said could happen, well they now did, and will again, hopefully we'll be smarter when it does.   

 

Hopefully cruising, traveling and the economy first and foremost will return to some normal.

 

Only a fool would / could say it doesn't make me rethink cruising 😉

 

Edited April 30, 2020 by chipmaster

[lenquixote66]

Just now, chipmaster said:

Has the pandemic made you rethink how you cruise?

 

I found it shocking that people answered no... really no change.  Pandemic used to be a thing out of the movies, now it is real and life will never be again the same.   

 

Hopefully cruising, traveling and the economy first and foremost will return to some normal.

 

Only a fool would / could say it doesn't make me rethink cruising 😉

 

I feel that I exist in a science fiction movie,this cannot be real but it is .I cannot believe the people who think this will go away anytime soon,.

 

[getting older slowly]

It really depends what you get out of cruising, it is not really the ports which are nice for us, but it is the sea days... would not go on a cruise without sea days... but that is us

 

always get a nice cabin with room to move and it becomes our home.....  

 

have generally avoid crowd place... don't eat at the buffet.... try not to use elevators...

 

and have a wonderful time   

 

it is each to his or hers own thing.........

 

the future ... yes we have a couple booked.... if they go ahead we will go.. if not we won't......  as far as cruises beyond that... if the prices goes up too much... one will pull the plug on cruising... if not we will continue.....

 

Whatever your decision .... enjoy yourself....  life is short....

 

Cheers Don

[chipmaster]

44 minutes ago, getting older slowly said:

It really depends what you get out of cruising, it is not really the ports which are nice for us, but it is the sea days... would not go on a cruise without sea days... but that is us

 

always get a nice cabin with room to move and it becomes our home.....  

 

have generally avoid crowd place... don't eat at the buffet.... try not to use elevators...

 

and have a wonderful time   

 

it is each to his or hers own thing.........

 

the future ... yes we have a couple booked.... if they go ahead we will go.. if not we won't......  as far as cruises beyond that... if the prices goes up too much... one will pull the plug on cruising... if not we will continue.....

 

Whatever your decision .... enjoy yourself....  life is short....

 

Cheers Don

 

Sorry to ask if it isn't the joy / convenience / value of the moving hotel how is this different than a nice Bed N Breakfast, or 5 star all inclusive boutique hotel that dot every city.  Get a nice room, room service, tons of food likely in walking distance, entertainment of far better quality, etc. etc... 

 

Agree life is short live it up as tomorrow might be your last day, but also you might live another few decades! 

[ldubs]

On 4/29/2020 at 5:09 PM, ilikeanswers said:

 

Thanks for the suggestion. I have seen the questions about what cruise lines should regulate but I was curious if individual cruisers would change anything in the way they cruise because of the COVID19 situation🤗. 

 

I think this is an interesting thread.  I was actually thinking, in the context of CV, there wasn't a whole a passenger could change beyond the obvious hygiene type things.  But then after reading WarmBreezes post #12, and especially items 1 & 2, I changed my mind.  

[getting older slowly]

48 minutes ago, chipmaster said:

 

Sorry to ask if it isn't the joy / convenience / value of the moving hotel how is this different than a nice Bed N Breakfast, or 5 star all inclusive boutique hotel that dot every city.  Get a nice room, room service, tons of food likely in walking distance, entertainment of far better quality, etc. etc... 

 

Agree life is short live it up as tomorrow might be your last day, but also you might live another few decades! 

 

Good Question......Chipmaster..... I will try to explain.... how it look from inside my brain box

 

Ok the things you can on a ship.... get up in morning.. go for a walk around the top watching the sun rise and be able to see the horizon all around... walking along the promenade watching the waves go past.... standing on the balcony looking at the wake disappearing into the distance....

and the no cooking, no cleaning and no driving....

 

and for land  base.... yes we do go to a  6 star all inclusive 20 room luxury lodge, but it is  about three times the cost of cruising per day.....  it is wonderful.... the food and service could not be better..and they cater for your every wish... the view is pretty special as well..... but is doesn't float and 4 nights is enough.

 

or we do a lot of self contain cottages.... which involves driving, cleaning and cooking.... you get very nice surrounding and generally a view and relaxation

 

As for the entertainment on a ship...... about all we really enjoy is some of music in the bars... don't do floor shows anywhere......or go out for entertainment  ...  at home we watch movies on our home cinema...

 

Everybody is different..... some of us a bit strange....

 

Cheers Don

[ontheweb]

On 4/29/2020 at 9:32 PM, NantahalaCruiser said:

I would not change anything in how I cruise. It is the when I cruise that is important to me - and that is when there is an effective vaccine so that I will not have to change anything.

 

Luckily there are several vaccine programs well underway; and the one by Oxford University is already in clinical human testing - which is astounding since their development in just four months usually takes a few years. It is entirely possible that an effective vaccine could be in mass production in the latter part of 2020.

 

Of course it many not be effective; we can only hope.

Dr. Fauci who earlier this year said 12-18 months before there would be a vaccine is now saying he is aiming at January 2021. Let us all hope for the best.

 

And the virus could mutate to be less deadly rather than worse. For it to survive, it has to not kill off all its potential hosts so becoming less dangerous is actually the mutation that would not only be better for humans but also better for the survival of the virus. Using the theory of survival of the fittest, that would make less severe mutations the ones more likely to survive.

[K32682]

The pandemic has not caused me to rethink how I will cruise again but whether I will cruise again.

 

Of all the travel modes cruising was hit hardest.  Shipboard quarantines, double quarantines for some, ships with infected and dead passengers being denied landfall to render medical aid. Cruise lines embarking on month-long cruises in early March after warnings were issued, one company being the subject of a homicide investigation and reports of one large line ordering its call center to downplay the virus to convince people to make bookings. 

 

With the exception of Antarctica there is not a single place I can't visit and not have to expose myself to thousands of people on a boat that could reasonably be described as one large floating viral disease vector.  So until which time there is a proven vaccine I wouldn't consider a cruise and will stick to land-based travel once it reopens. 

 

[George C]

12 hours ago, chipmaster said:

 

Sorry to ask if it isn't the joy / convenience / value of the moving hotel how is this different than a nice Bed N Breakfast, or 5 star all inclusive boutique hotel that dot every city.  Get a nice room, room service, tons of food likely in walking distance, entertainment of far better quality, etc. etc... 

 

Agree life is short live it up as tomorrow might be your last day, but also you might live another few decades! 

Entertainment on our cruise can maybe only matched by Vegas and New York,  mostly music cruises with people like Boz Scaggs, Michael McDonald, Todd rundgren,  America, Air Supply and many many more .

[chipmaster]

7 hours ago, ontheweb said:

Dr. Fauci who earlier this year said 12-18 months before there would be a vaccine is now saying he is aiming at January 2021. Let us all hope for the best.

 

And the virus could mutate to be less deadly rather than worse. For it to survive, it has to not kill off all its potential hosts so becoming less dangerous is actually the mutation that would not only be better for humans but also better for the survival of the virus. Using the theory of survival of the fittest, that would make less severe mutations the ones more likely to survive.

 

Poor Dr Fauci, a once respectable doctor that has to work for... well you know what, remember rumor he was going to get fired when he drifted outside of some guardrails.

 

Remember when someone says a year to 18 months what does that mean, remember he said that just a few weeks ago.   Literally that means 12-18 months, that suggest  April of 2021.

 

Funny someone isn't happy and put a new date, all off a sudden a "year" means 9 months not 12 months.   Maybe there was a breakthru, I sure didn't see one.  Is this like the other things light, disinfectant???

[chipmaster]

1 hour ago, George C said:

Entertainment on our cruise can maybe only matched by Vegas and New York,  mostly music cruises with people like Boz Scaggs, Michael McDonald, Todd rundgren,  America, Air Supply and many many more .

 

Ah, yea a lot of these guys come thru the Casinos and I can see cruise ships, no longer enough to tour the big arenas.   

 

I guess given the current situation, I'd just figure out where they are touring and hit up a local casino, plan a good meal at a nice restaurant ( far more then any cruise ship), and pick a nice 5 star hotel with a high level view.

 

No worries about getting quarantined in some port 

[chipmaster]

13 hours ago, getting older slowly said:

 

Good Question......Chipmaster..... I will try to explain.... how it look from inside my brain box

 

Ok the things you can on a ship.... get up in morning.. go for a walk around the top watching the sun rise and be able to see the horizon all around... walking along the promenade watching the waves go past.... standing on the balcony looking at the wake disappearing into the distance....

and the no cooking, no cleaning and no driving....

 

and for land  base.... yes we do go to a  6 star all inclusive 20 room luxury lodge, but it is  about three times the cost of cruising per day.....  it is wonderful.... the food and service could not be better..and they cater for your every wish... the view is pretty special as well..... but is doesn't float and 4 nights is enough.

 

or we do a lot of self contain cottages.... which involves driving, cleaning and cooking.... you get very nice surrounding and generally a view and relaxation

 

As for the entertainment on a ship...... about all we really enjoy is some of music in the bars... don't do floor shows anywhere......or go out for entertainment  ...  at home we watch movies on our home cinema...

 

Everybody is different..... some of us a bit strange....

 

Cheers Don

 

Totally agree for the value all those things we love too!   And we cruise for that variet/value as you can see in my signature, we were really looking for a cruise this coming summer, alas that is now pushing to 2021 summer 😞

 

I am hopefully some things return like fall sports and spring sports, so deep down how POTUS gets his wish but driven by real good data instead of wishful, and can get the family out on a cruise. 

 

We also love the twice a day strolls around, sunset / sunrise, cheap entertainment, three sit down meals, afternoon tea, and new ports every day with no worries about where and what we are doing in the evening.

 

stay healthy and safe!

 

[George C]

2 minutes ago, chipmaster said:

 

Ah, yea a lot of these guys come thru the Casinos and I can see cruise ships, no longer enough to tour the big arenas.   

 

I guess given the current situation, I'd just figure out where they are touring and hit up a local casino, plan a good meal at a nice restaurant ( far more then any cruise ship), and pick a nice 5 star hotel with a high level view.

 

No worries about getting quarantined in some port 

We do nyc we get a nice suite that is about 600 a night , drinks and food another couple of hundred ,another couple of hundred for shows , suite on ship is a bargain compared to that. Although I would not want to give up either.

[chipmaster]

8 minutes ago, George C said:

We do nyc we get a nice suite that is about 600 a night , drinks and food another couple of hundred ,another couple of hundred for shows , suite on ship is a bargain compared to that. Although I would not want to give up either.

 

Agreed, did NYC two years ago and hit four shows and a little touring,  my preference is more west coast SFO/LAX/Seattle, but always get the hotel on points.  I am too cheap to every spend that much on a room, the one perk of traveling and why cruising where the room/food/entertainment is looks so good, but currently grounded 😞

Edited May 1, 2020 by chipmaster

[pacruise804]

On 4/29/2020 at 3:58 PM, clo said:

So could you equally enjoy a really nice AI, oceanfront?

 

On 4/29/2020 at 6:05 PM, jeremyosborne81 said:

Not who you quoted, but that would have to be one advanced AI with "smellovision," a good warm mist, and blowing wind synced with the visuals.

 

Am I the only one who read this thinking the two posters were referring to different "AI"?  I assume Clo means All Inclusive, land based resort on a beach.  I figure jeremyosborne  is referencing an Artificial Intelligence  with the reference to smell-o-vision.

 

Like a previous poster, I have little interest in flying to a resort if I can drive to a cruise port.  I enjoy snorkeling and a little time on the beach, but I also enjoy feeling the ship movement and watching the vastness of the ocean which has a different feel from a ship than from land.  I've never seen flying fish on land either 🙂 

 

An AI might be enjoyable, but I doubt I would equally enjoy it.

[clo]

22 minutes ago, pacruise804 said:

I have little interest in flying to a resort if I can drive to a cruise port.

Well, the only port we could drive to would be SF and we have no interest in any of those trips. 

 

But I'm seeing people who have been cruising for decades and are leaning heavily towards never doing it again. 

 

We're beginning to see what NV's 'phase 1' will be. I'm guessing cruise ships will be enacting similar things and maybe for the long term. It will be interesting to watch.

[Jasawyer]

On 4/29/2020 at 11:36 AM, iancal said:

We really do not understand this big push for some folks to get back to cruising.  Why not wait until it is safe or at least until you will be able to truly enjoy the ship and enjoy unfettered access to all the port cities on the itinerary.

 

Is this rush an ego thing, macho, pride of some sort, or desire to be the first?  Don't understand why anyone would put their health or well being at risk simply to cruise early and have their enjoyment curtailed.

Well, please define what you consider to be a reasonable time to get back to cruising?  Even if they come out with a vaccine, it will be just like the flu vaccine. Will only work half the time every other year. And to borrow a line from Anchorman, "60% of the time, it works every time"... Yep, I know, that was woefully macho and oh so selfish of me. 

Edited May 8, 2020 by Jasawyer

[clo]

11 minutes ago, Jasawyer said:

Well, please define what you consider to be a reasonable time to get back to cruising? 

Right now, I'm guessing 2022 but it could be never. There aren't vaccines for all viruses.

[Jasawyer]

2 minutes ago, clo said:

Right now, I'm guessing 2022 but it could be never. There aren't vaccines for all viruses.

Precisely... So we may as well just stay in our homes forever.... Or, we can risk it like we do when we drive, or fly, or go visit a loved one in a hospital, and try to live with what we have. Yes, that's a bit fatalistic but we, all of us, are not meant to live in our homes in fear for the next two years. I think folks who are high risk should probably reconsider cruising but those of us that haven't reached that point yet can determine what we think we should risk. 

 

Additionally, there won't be any cruiselines left to cruise on if we don't patron them before 2 years. They will all go belly up. We normally travel by air but we do love our annual cruise. Heck this year, we had two planned. I am just crying in my IPA right now wishing I could visit my barber. 

 

 

[clo]

50 minutes ago, Jasawyer said:

So we may as well just stay in our homes forever.

I see that rather too often these days. There's a long, long way between staying at home and going out in the ocean with a few thousand strangers. And I have just now made an appointment for me and my hair for 5/21!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And tomorrow we may go out to lunch where the pass the food and our Margaritas out a window and we go to a nearby picnic area.  Woohoooooo 🙂

[jeremyosborne81]

There are currently flights coming into New York from Italy or Seattle from China EVERY DAY, but taking a cruise is the danger. Right. 🙄

[clo]

23 minutes ago, jeremyosborne81 said:

There are currently flights coming into New York from Italy or Seattle from China EVERY DAY, but taking a cruise is the danger. Right. 🙄

I'm not flying now either. But IMO there's a huge difference between, say, a ten hour intl. flight with a few hundred pax and a ten DAY cruise with a few thousand.

[lenquixote66]

1 hour ago, Jasawyer said:

Precisely... So we may as well just stay in our homes forever.... Or, we can risk it like we do when we drive, or fly, or go visit a loved one in a hospital, and try to live with what we have. Yes, that's a bit fatalistic but we, all of us, are not meant to live in our homes in fear for the next two years. I think folks who are high risk should probably reconsider cruising but those of us that haven't reached that point yet can determine what we think we should risk. 

 

Additionally, there won't be any cruiselines left to cruise on if we don't patron them before 2 years. They will all go belly up. We normally travel by air but we do love our annual cruise. Heck this year, we had two planned. I am just crying in my IPA right now wishing I could visit my barber. 

 

 

 

10 minutes ago, clo said:

I'm not flying now either. But IMO there's a huge difference between, say, a ten hour intl. flight with a few hundred pax and a ten DAY cruise with a few thousand.

I have no problem with the idea of staying in my house the next 2 years.

[Jasawyer]

3 minutes ago, lenquixote66 said:

 

I have no problem with the idea of staying in my house the next 2 years.

Feel free to do just that.... But for me and my family, we'll take freedom but we will wear our masks and keep 6' apart as best we can.

[clo]

3 minutes ago, lenquixote66 said:

 

I have no problem with the idea of staying in my house the next 2 years.

Len, of course, your situation is not so good - that's an understatement - but we're going to err on the side of caution.