Going to South America

[Bawbob]

We are supposed to leave December 5. Do you think they will require masks?

 

 

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[Nachosdelux]

Masks are the least of your worries.

 

Very likely this cruise will cancel.  Not likely to be any cruises this year, especially international.

 

good luck!

[Flatbush Flyer]

2 minutes ago, Nachosdelux said:

Masks are the least of your worries.

 

Very likely this cruise will cancel.  Not likely to be any cruises this year, especially international.

 

good luck!

The real question is which O ships will be involved in restarting during the 3rd and 4th quartet of this year. Regatta has recently repositioned to the Port of Oakland and will be ready for whatever Alaska and/or transpacific itinerary may work best. 

That said, the roll out will be staged. So, there may only be half the O fleet back in service by 12/31/20.

Whichever ship(s) restart, I'd say masks in any venue not appropriate for social distancing will be required.

On a different related thread I posted my shipboard prognostication for the immediate "new normal."

[Ladys Mom]

Bawbob, I think we are on the same cruise out of Miami on December 5, 2020.  We are going all the way to Buenos Aires and I sure hope we go.  This cruise was to replace a world cruise that I am extremely reluctant to do until there is a vaccine.  I expect we will be wearing masks when out in public.  There will be no get it yourself anything.  We might even be watching the entertainers on TV in our cabin.  From what I have researched most of SA looks it better shape, as far as Covid, than the US does, so I am hoping the cruise is a go.

[Flatbush Flyer]

19 minutes ago, Ladys Mom said:

Bawbob, I think we are on the same cruise out of Miami on December 5, 2020.  We are going all the way to Buenos Aires and I sure hope we go.  This cruise was to replace a world cruise that I am extremely reluctant to do until there is a vaccine.  I expect we will be wearing masks when out in public.  There will be no get it yourself anything.  We might even be watching the entertainers on TV in our cabin.  From what I have researched most of SA looks it better shape, as far as Covid, than the US does, so I am hoping the cruise is a go.

Which ship?

I'm thinking there will be no more than 3 ships before January and perhaps one of them will be an O ship while the other two (or one) will be an R ship (thus allowing them to test Covid prep conditions on both infrastructures).

Because of our own November cruise plan, I've got my fingers crossed that Nautica will still have its NEXT makeover this summer (perhaps even modified as a test for "new normal" conditions). She's now repositioning from Dubai (where she's been since the fullest week of March when we disembarked) to the Suez Canal (which will get her closer to the Med yard doing her NEXT (last I heard it was in Spain).

[Ladys Mom]

We will be on the Marina, we hope.

[Classiccruiser777]

1 hour ago, Nachosdelux said:

Masks are the least of your worries.

 

Very likely this cruise will cancel.  Not likely to be any cruises this year, especially international.

 

good luck!

Is this conjecture or do you have a reliable source?

[rialannah]

50 minutes ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

Which ship?

I'm thinking there will be no more than 3 ships before January and perhaps one of them will be an O ship while the other two (or one) will be an R ship (thus allowing them to test Covid prep conditions on both infrastructures).

Because of our own November cruise plan, I've got my fingers crossed that Nautica will still have its NEXT makeover this summer (perhaps even modified as a test for "new normal" conditions). She's now repositioning from Dubai (where she's been since the fullest week of March when we disembarked) to the Suez Canal (which will get her closer to the Med yard doing her NEXT (last I heard it was in Spain).

Nautica's NEXT makeover is scheduled to commence on 8 June at the CNDM facility in Marseille, the same place that the Sirena refurb was done.

[Bawbob]

That doesn’t sound too encouraging. Maybe I need to be more realistic. What you describe does not seem too good


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[Mura]

I'm no expert here and have no "inside information".  But I would NOT count on any late 2020 cruise at this point.  I'd love to be proved wrong!

 

So we aren't booking anything ... and given my husband's desire not to travel anymore (due to severe vision problems) it makes our decision easy!  But not a happy one...

 

Mura

[alcpa1]

We were on the Marina in February before the shut down. There are other things to consider if you haven't already.

Do make sure you have your Yellow Fever shot among others. I'd follow the Malaria protocol particularly if the rains return in the same pattern they presented in late 2019 and early 2020.

Rio, and all of Brazil, is not handling their Covid 19 outbreak well. Just read the news. In addition the province/state is suffering from bad water. It became a real issue around the first of 2020 and bottled water was as difficult to find as toilet tissue has been in the lower 48. There were only a few (very very high end) hotels that were providing bottled water to their patrons. A favorite, the Copacabana Hilton was not one but there were several groceries near the hotel that got in daily shipments. Between the political effects, and affects, of the virus, and the water situation......Not to mention international air travel to and from Rio is almost nonexistent and there have been no announcements of resuming air travel.

I hate to be a downer but I'd consider saving this itinerary, which we intend to take in the future, for the future. 

[Flatbush Flyer]

3 hours ago, Bawbob said:

That doesn’t sound too encouraging. Maybe I need to be more realistic. What you describe does not seem too good


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Perhaps to you.

I'd prefer masks, expanded dining hours, smaller tour groups, capacity controls beyond Oceania's slready admirable crew and space ratios. I even would welcome some extra sea days to replace ports we'be been to multiple times.

So, we're rolling the dice that Nautica will cruise by November. If not, we'll get 100% refund  if O cancels plus a 2 yr United Air ETC and transfer of our cruise insurance to the next trip.

[Flatbush Flyer]

3 hours ago, Mura said:

I'm no expert here and have no "inside information".  But I would NOT count on any late 2020 cruise at this point.  I'd love to be proved wrong!

 

So we aren't booking anything ... and given my husband's desire not to travel anymore (due to severe vision problems) it makes our decision easy!  But not a happy one...

 

Mura

Oceania Regatta, along with one Regent and one NCL ship have all just moved to the Port of Oakland. This repositions them for late third quarter of all fourth quarter ease of deployment for their originsl itineraries.

"Parking" at Oakland is not exactly cheap. So, why else would NCLH make this calculated/strategic move? 

Edited May 18, 2020 by Flatbush Flyer

[Nachosdelux]

9 hours ago, Classiccruiser777 said:

Is this conjecture or do you have a reliable source?

 

of course it is conjecture.  you really think there will be international cruising prior to a (widely available) vaccine?

[DeanoNorthPerth]

Brazil has just overtaken Italy and Spain in number of Covid19 cases. Enjoy your cruise.

[KirkNC]

14 hours ago, Ladys Mom said:

From what I have researched most of SA looks it better shape, as far as Covid, than the US does, so I am hoping the cruise is a go.

 

You might want to update your research as Brazil has exploded with CV.

[KirkNC]

15 hours ago, Nachosdelux said:

Masks are the least of your worries.

 

Very likely this cruise will cancel.  Not likely to be any cruises this year, especially international.

 

good luck!

Possibly but some of the recent pricing for 2020 cruises is very attractive.  We booked the Insignia for December.  Will she actually sail, maybe, maybe not but if she does we will be getting a great bargain.  We realize that the experience maybe choppy as they work out the new normal.

[Paulchili]

1 hour ago, KirkNC said:

We booked the Insignia for December.  Will she actually sail, maybe, maybe not but if she does we will be getting a great bargain

Will you sail in absence of vaccine or effective drugs?

[KirkNC]

30 minutes ago, Paulchili said:

Will you sail in absence of vaccine or effective drugs?

Yes, a vaccine probably won’t be ready until mid 2021.  We would take reasonable precautions to protect ourselves.  I don’t believe the sailing will occur without a substantial reduction in cases.

Edited May 18, 2020 by KirkNC

[pinotlover]

Was interesting reading international news stories today quoting the leaders of Italy, GB, and Spain. Their stated view was “ it may be years, if ever, before we have a vaccine. We must decide upon a way to get going again. We can’t stay shutdown indefinitely.”

 

They were, of course, speaking for countries. Paul was asking as an individual. Do you plan on staying shutdown indefinitely and possibly never sailing again, as he has clearly stated he is until the maybe arrival of the silver bullet.

 

On a related note, one of our best friends is the medical director of our region hospital. He dropped by for a glass of wine  for my birthday yesterday, physical distancing of course. He says the CDC is already sending out preliminary guidelines , for review and comments , on concerning priorities and protocols on who gets the vaccine and in what order. Needless to say, healthy non working old farts Like me are a long way down the list of getting the shot when available. Could be 9-12 months after the vaccine becomes available depending upon production capacity.

[Ladys Mom]

10 hours ago, alcpa1 said:

We were on the Marina in February before the shut down. There are other things to consider if you haven't already.

Do make sure you have your Yellow Fever shot among others. I'd follow the Malaria protocol particularly if the rains return in the same pattern they presented in late 2019 and early 2020.

Rio, and all of Brazil, is not handling their Covid 19 outbreak well. Just read the news. In addition the province/state is suffering from bad water. It became a real issue around the first of 2020 and bottled water was as difficult to find as toilet tissue has been in the lower 48. There were only a few (very very high end) hotels that were providing bottled water to their patrons. A favorite, the Copacabana Hilton was not one but there were several groceries near the hotel that got in daily shipments. Between the political effects, and affects, of the virus, and the water situation......Not to mention international air travel to and from Rio is almost nonexistent and there have been no announcements of resuming air travel.

I hate to be a downer but I'd consider saving this itinerary, which we intend to take in the future, for the future. 

For those who think I am overly optimistic that we would sail in December I would like to clarify what I meant.  No way would we travel to Brazil now or in the near future.  They have had problems with Zika, yellow fever, and now Covid.  This is why we plan to get off the ship in Buenos Aires and fly home.  Before we booked the cruise I checked the situation in each of the countries we would be visiting and none approached the US or Brazil.  It is important not to generalize.  That's why I said parts of South America.

[Flatbush Flyer]

20 minutes ago, pinotlover said:

....... Needless to say, healthy non working old farts Like me are a long way down the list of getting the shot when available. 

Geezers in general may not be the highest priority except that one can hope that those folks like me who have the "RGL factor" will be moved up the list.

(RGL = Rugged Good Looks) 👀

[DeanoNorthPerth]

Rugged good looks and a sense of humour. What a catch!

[Ladys Mom]

I venture to disagree.  Since all the young folks have been told to social distance, to the point of don't visit, all of us old folks wouldn't it make sense that the old people got it first then young people can go about their lives and visit us again.

[pinotlover]

Trust me, we geezers are on the bottom of the heap. Only those geezers with high vulnerabilities get to move up to the level of non essential workers. 
 

Children and students were actually 2nd on the list, only behind medical and 1st responders. Recognized need to get them safely back in school. Angela Merkel said upon announcing schools would restart in Germany “ we can’t get the economy going until we get the kids back in school. The parents have to be able to go to work.” Listening to my kids, I’m sure that applies here in the US also.

 

Of course, RGL may get its own higher category! 🤣. Still leaves me, with my old bald head at the bottom of the heap!  🥵