A glimpse into the future....

[voljeep]

2 minutes ago, lx200gps said:

If it's only Princess Cays, there's no way we'd waste our time going

totally agree with that in your case if you have to fly, of course

[lx200gps]

4 hours ago, voljeep said:

totally agree with that in your case if you have to fly, of course

Yup, none of this means anything if Canada and the US haven't opened up our mutual borders and we can't even get to south Florida. Our first cruise  under the new reality is currently 28 November on the Enchanted (St Thomas, St Maarten and a Sanctuary day at Princess Cay ;o), hopefully the borders will be long open by then and some semblance of decent cruising is happening. As it stands now, there SHOULD be a fair bit experience from the highly commuted early adopters to let us know what the on board experience is like before we have to commit to making final payment. 

[voljeep]

11 minutes ago, lx200gps said:

 first cruise  under the new reality is currently 28 November on the Enchanted

 

11 minutes ago, lx200gps said:

As it stands now, there SHOULD be a fair bit experience from the highly commuted early adopters to let us know what the on board experience is like before we have to commit to making final payment. 

good luck with that … at 60 days, your final payment is around Sept 28 … which there will be NO Princess cruises by then in my opinion … as I think the first Princess cruises "may" be the November Caribbean cruises ...

[lx200gps]

11 minutes ago, voljeep said:

 

good luck with that … at 60 days, your final payment is around Sept 28 … which there will be NO Princess cruises by then in my opinion … as I think the first Princess cruises "may" be the November Caribbean cruises ...

Fair enough, sloppy wording on my part. What I was trying to say was that, given our go/no go decision time of end-September, there should be enough data from cruise travelers fresh off ships (though probably not off Princess ships) as well as clear policy info from Princess corporate as to EXACTLY what the on board experience will be, for us to make our informed decision. And yes, the way things are progressing I, too, am not optimistic. We booked the late November trip in case things improved, but I don't think we're going to :be there" by that time. 

 

As to our mid-February trip on the Enchanted, they'd better be ready by then, it's SWMBO's birthday adventure. God help ME if they still don't have it together by then  ;o)

[Ride-The-Waves]

Nice, however mostly fantasy.

 

Live in Florida and yesterday at a Publix supermarket about 20 percent of customers were not wearing masks and belligerently going the wrong way down aisles.  Just one example of the impossibility of having even a 50 percent passenger compliment cruise of people following directions for everyone's safety.  What does a cruise line do with non-compliant passengers?  Lock them in their cabins?  

 

"Private" islands have a similar challenge.  While they may be "private" in the sense that a cruise line owns the land, they are still under the jurisdiction of the country from which the island is leased.  "Crew" for the islands still come from local towns/cities.  We do not cruise to travel to a "private" island, rather cruise to experience the world.  So far have been north of the Arctic circle, south of the Antarctic Circle and set foot on all 7 continents.  Experiencing new and revisiting "old" cultures is the reason we cruise, not to drink or eat on a ship.  That said, the shipboard environment is very important for comfort and security.

 

Maybe changes which reduce passenger capacity, improve dining and offer varied and excellent entertainment will entice people to return to cruising in a "new normal" fashion.  I would be willing to pay more for a better on board experience.

[PrincessLuver]

31 minutes ago, Ride-The-Waves said:

Nice, however mostly fantasy.

 

Live in Florida and yesterday at a Publix supermarket about 20 percent of customers were not wearing masks and belligerently going the wrong way down aisles.  Just one example of the impossibility of having even a 50 percent passenger compliment cruise of people following directions for everyone's safety.  What does a cruise line do with non-compliant passengers?  Lock them in their cabins?  

 

"Private" islands have a similar challenge.  While they may be "private" in the sense that a cruise line owns the land, they are still under the jurisdiction of the country from which the island is leased.  "Crew" for the islands still come from local towns/cities.  We do not cruise to travel to a "private" island, rather cruise to experience the world.  So far have been north of the Arctic circle, south of the Antarctic Circle and set foot on all 7 continents.  Experiencing new and revisiting "old" cultures is the reason we cruise, not to drink or eat on a ship.  That said, the shipboard environment is very important for comfort and security.

 

Maybe changes which reduce passenger capacity, improve dining and offer varied and excellent entertainment will entice people to return to cruising in a "new normal" fashion.  I would be willing to pay more for a better on board experience.

 

Just because of the example that you cited many people do not take COVID-19 seriously and the numbers keep going up and they are predicting 200,000 dead by the end of summer and I am sure there will be a new conspiracy theory on why that happened too.  No unified compliance by the general population with CDC guidelines really means no cruising period for a long time.

Edited June 13, 2020 by PrincessLuver

[voljeep]

5 minutes ago, PrincessLuver said:

 No unified compliance by the general population with CDC guidelines really means no cruising period for a long time.

Disney theme parks opening in about 30 days … that speaks volumes, as well as the political rallys that will be taking place

 

Cruises, in some manner, will happen sooner, rather than later, in my opinion … and by sooner, I mean no earlier than November 2020 … with shorter (4-7 days) and at a reduced capacity 25-50% max - which will be easy to do at first ...

 

some line / some bodys … gotsta be firstest … and they damn sure better get it right … maybe the younger demographic  Disney out of Port Canaveral ...

[cruising deacon]

I agree with most of these posts.  Cruising will NEVER be the same: it will not feel safe, nor like a vacation.  Cruising as we have known it is gone forever, therefore my cruising days have ended after 42 cruises.

[billco]

I wonder why so many people who are done with cruising and will never cruise again keep reading and posting on these forums. Move on.

[Potstech]

You know the old saying "who died and..."

[K.T.B.]

34 minutes ago, Potstech said:

You know the old saying "who died and..."

 

You know the old saying, "if you can't say anything nice..."

[Potstech]

What was not nice about what I posted?  I could have posted much worse and can. Become a moderator you have?

[PrincessLuver]

On 6/13/2020 at 8:41 AM, billco said:

I wonder why so many people who are done with cruising and will never cruise again keep reading and posting on these forums. Move on.

 

It seems to me many of the people who post on Cruise Critic have a wealth of information about cruising and if some choose not to cruise in the futrue ( depending on if cruising every starts ups again) because it may be challenging it does not make their opinions or expertise any less valuable then others.....I say post away!!!!

[Potstech]

👍👍👍👍👍👍🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗👆👆👆👆👆👍👍🙌👍🙌

[Ombud]

I live my ignore button 🤩

[Grego]

On 6/13/2020 at 11:41 AM, billco said:

I wonder why so many people who are done with cruising and will never cruise again keep reading and posting on these forums. Move on.

Amen.  I'll bet that most of them will get back on board if the fare is great and keep on living in their hypocritical world.

[Grego]

If we wait until there is a vaccine that is 100% effective, we might forget what cruising is like.  I would rather see more evidence that the cures that were talked about are effective and then live with a vaccine that may or may not be 100%.

[gardenbunny]

“We do not cruise to travel to a"private" island, rather cruise to experience the world.  So far have been north of the Arctic circle, south of the Antarctic Circle and set foot on all 7 continents.  Experiencing new and revisiting "old" cultures is the reasonwe cruise, not to drink or eat on a ship.  That said, the shipboardenvironment is very important for comfort and security.

 

Maybe changes which reduce passenger capacity, improve dining and offer varied and excellent entertainment will entice people to return to cruising in a "new normal" fashion.  I would be willing to pay more for a better on board experience.”

 

I agree with PrincessLuver!  We have also done all those places you mentioned and 2 world cruises, and we cruise for the exact same reason - and I still have a few more cruises/places to see to finish what I want to do by ship travel.

A vaccine is not a guarantine - we all cruise now having had a flu shot and can still get the flu (and thousands die yearly in US from that)  and even though norovirus is not at all pleasant, we still take the risk. The vast majority of people who get COVID recover.  Unfortunately it is highly contagious.

But I will take all the necessary precautions and follow all the rules because I cannot wait to cruise again.

My big question - if there is reduced capacity, which I think will be the case for a while, and probably no inside cabins, for future cruises after Novemeber 2020 that we have already booked, how will they determine who gets an allotment for those cabins? By order of date booked for people who already  chose suites, balcony or OV?  Inside cabins will be on a wait list or get a FCC?  By loyalty rank?  

That seems to be quite a dilemma......

 

[MISTER 67]

As far as a look to the future, buffets will be a thing of the past. The closest thing we will see is Cafeteria style service where the buffets were. This will have to be 100% to work, everything you care for and wish to eat from condiments to drinks  and to silverware will have to be served to you by a crew member.

I think this will be a great thing as I haven't been wild about the buffets since the Norovirus became a problem. 

Another thing I wish that would happen but it's probably a pipe dream is there will be would no more turnaround days. A ship reaches it's dis-embarkation port and doesn't sail until late afternoon on the next day. There is no way on earth that the ships are being cleaned and sanitized thoroughly on the same day when 5,000 passengers are off the ship by 10 AM and 5,000 more are boarding starting at 11:30AM.

Edited June 21, 2020 by MISTER 67

[PrincessLuver]

4 hours ago, Grego said:

Amen.  I'll bet that most of them will get back on board if the fare is great and keep on living in their hypocritical world.

 

4 hours ago, Grego said:

Amen.  I'll bet that most of them will get back on board if the fare is great and keep on living in their hypocritical world.

 

Wow....another false assumption.....fares have nothing to do with cruising for us because we always do Mini Suites or Suites......but getting deathly sick on a ship in the day and age of COVID -19 is not being critical....it is reality.  

 

We are not part of the Pollyannish Princess crowd that roams CC.  We have plenty of other ways to see the world and do not care what it costs and many times it is much more fun than being with some boorish cruisers that we have met on Princess ships and CC.

Edited June 21, 2020 by PrincessLuver

[PrincessLuver]

19 minutes ago, MISTER 67 said:

As far as a look to the future, buffets will be a thing of the past. The closest thing we will see is Cafeteria style service where the buffets were. This will have to be 100% to work, everything you care for and wish to eat from condiments to drinks  and to silverware will have to be served to you by a crew member.

I think this will be a great thing as I haven't been wild about the buffets since the Norovirus became a problem. 

Another thing I wish that would happen but it's probably a pipe dream is there will be would no more turnaround days. A ship reaches it's dis-embarkation port and doesn't sail until late afternoon on the next day. There is no way on earth that the ships are being cleaned and sanitized on the same day when 5,000 passengers are off the ship by 10 AM and 5,000 more are boarding starting at 11:30AM.

 

Vegas has started doing all you can eat buffets again (Caesars) and you order what you want from paper menus or your mobile device and servers bring it plated to you.  You can have as much as you want and some is prepared for you.  Might work on a cruise ship but the numbers could be overwhelming too.

[voljeep]

2 minutes ago, PrincessLuver said:

all you can eat buffets again

is that really a buffet ? or just a 2 hour window to order whatever you want off a menu for a fixed price 

do you actually walk thru a line, see the food you want, then order it ?

 

"show this post"

[WAMarathoner]

On 6/10/2020 at 2:00 PM, Cruise-Crazzy said:

Cruise ships won't sail until the threat of COVID19 is eliminated. 

Do you think it will ever be "eliminated"?  I'm sort of doubting it, but hope does spring eternal.

[WAMarathoner]

On 6/13/2020 at 7:26 AM, Ride-The-Waves said:

offer varied and excellent entertainment will entice people to return to cruising in a "new normal" fashion.  I would be willing to pay more for a better on board experience.

This is a great idea.  Two shows going on at once, targeted to different audiences.  Some of the musicians with small venues have been good enough that I would've been happy to sit and listen to them in a larger one.  I'm not much for crude humor from some of the comedians, so having another option would not only spread people out but enhance the experience.  Good thinking!

[MISTER 67]

11 minutes ago, WAMarathoner said:

Do you think it will ever be "eliminated"?  I'm sort of doubting it, but hope does spring eternal.

If there is no vaccine, most likely it will die away in 2 years  like the Spanish Flu in 1918-19. Of course there is a lot we still don't know about this virus so who really knows.